Hadith, (pl. Ahadith)
(ḥadīth (pl. ’aḥādīth))
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| (Language: Arabic) |
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| Short Description: |
Saying(s) of the Prophet. |
| Long Description: |
(A) Saying(s) of the Prophet Muhammad transmitted outside the Qur’ān through a chain of known intermediaries. There are two kinds of aḥādīth : ḥadīth qudsī (sacred sentence), a direct revelation, in which God speaks in the first person by the mouth of the Prophet; and ḥadīth nabawī (prophetic sentence), an indirect revelation in which the Prophet speaks as himself. (B) The collected sayings of the Prophet of Islam. The ḥadīth, which comprise the Prophet’s sayings, actions and tacit approvals, constitute the second most important source for Islamic teachings after the Qur’ān, though in volume they far exceed the Qur’ān. The ḥadīth were transmitted through a traditional chain of known intermediaries. A single saying of this sort is called a ḥadīth. This term is also used in English to designate the collected body of the many thousands of such sayings. |
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| Source(s): |
(A) Introduction to Sufi Doctrine (by Titus Burckhardt). (B) Islam, Fundamentalism, and the Betrayal of Tradition, edited by Dr. Joseph Lumbard ; also from The Fullness of God: Frithjof Schuon on Christianity, by Frithjof Schuon, edited by Dr. James S. Cutsinger |
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