Give an account of the compilation of Hadiths during the period of the Successors of the Successors, referred to as the golden age of Hadith compilation.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. Mark according to the marking grid for AO1 – Knowledge, given on page 4.
2. Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.
3. The period of the Successors of the Successors (tabi' al-Tabi'in) is referred to as the golden age of Hadith compilation. Many hundreds of thousands of Hadiths were compiled by the Successors of the Successors during this period.
4. From the early third to the early fourth century AH a large number of jurists combined the musannaf and musnad compilations in the form of a Sunan or Sahih book. A Sunan was organised topic wise and focused on Hadiths with full isnads and thus could be used as legal reference.
5. The jurist who compiled the Sunan/ Sahih devoted great efforts in ensuring the authenticity of its contents. Foremost amongst the compilers at this time were Imam Bukhari and Muslim, they broke away from the tradition of using weak Hadiths in law, their collections were devoted only to Hadiths whose isnads met with the requirements of authenticity.
6. The collections of Bukhari and Muslim became the most famous books of Hadith collection called the Sahihayn (literally meaning the two Sahihs).
7. Bukhari devoted sixteen years of his life to sifting the Hadiths he included in his Sahih, from a pool of six hundred thousand narrations. The finished work was not just a Hadith collection but rather a massive expression of Bukhari's vision of Islamic law and belief backed with Hadiths the author felt met the most rigorous standards of authenticity.
8. Muslim's Sahih contains fewer chapters and lacks Bukhari's legal commentary. Muslim kept all narrations of a certain Hadith in the same section but without the commentary reports from Companions and later figures. Their work had a great influence on their students and contemporaries.
9. Candidates can further develop their answer by writing about how the compilers focussed on rules of isnad and matn and went about collecting the authentic Hadiths.
10. Four other books gained renown and together with the Sahihyan of Bukhari and Muslim have come to be known as the Sahih Sitta, 'The Six Sound Collections'. With their compilation, the Sahih / Sunan movement and the Hadith tradition reached its climax and is known as the golden period in Hadith compilation.
11. Candidates can go on to give the names and collections of the other muhaddithun of this time to develop their answer. The four prominent Shi'a collections comparable to the Sahih Sitta may also be written about.
12. Mark according to the marking grid for AO2 – Understanding, given on page 5.
13. Answers may include some of the following ideas, but all valid material must be credited.
14. The preserved Hadiths gave detailed explanations of things that were in the Qur'an, explanations of rules and regulations which helped set down the rules of sharia.
15. Rules regarding the practice of Islam and how to behave towards others became more accessible as Hadiths emphasised more on how to do something. For example, how to practically offer salat.
16. As Islam spread to newer areas and communities and new issues arose over time, preserved Hadiths served, together with the Qur'an, to provide answers for the new issues. Their preservation also helped the secondary sources in formulating law as the Hadiths provided essential details.