european criticism of hadith::::1

Among all European critics, almost without exception, there is a prevalent idea that the Muslim critics of hadith have never gone beyond the transmission line, and that the subject-matter of Hadith has been left quite untouched. Suggestions have also been made that even the Companions of the Holy Prophet were at times so unscrupulous as to fabricate Hadith, while it should be common knowledge that the strictest Muslim critics of the transmitters are all agreed that when a Hadith is traced back to a Companion of the Holy Prophet, its authenticity has been placed beyond all question.
In the chapter on ‘Criticism of Hadith by Muslims,’ Guillaume makes the suggestion that Abu Huraira was in the habit of fabricating hadith “A most significant recognition within hadith itself of the untrustworthiness of guarantors is to be found in Bukhari. Ibn ‘Umar reports that Muhammad ordered all dogs to be killed save sheep-dogs and hounds. Abu Huraira added the word zar’in; whereupon Ibn ‘Umar makes the remark, ‘Abu Huraira owned cultivated land!’ A better illustration of the underlying motive of some hadith can hardly be found” (Tr. Is., p. 78).
The word zar’in in the above quotation means cu1tivated land, and the suggestion is that Abu Huraira added this word for personal motives. In the first place, Abu Huraira is not alone in reporting that dogs may be kept for hunting as well as for keeping watch over sheep or tillage (zar’). Bukhمri reports a hadith from Sufyan ibn Abi Zubair in the following words: “I heard the Messenger of Allah, may peace and the blessings of Allah be upon him, saying, Whoever keeps a dog which does not serve him in keeping watch over cultivated land or goats, one qirat of his reward is diminished every day. The man who reported from him said, Hast thou heard this from the Messenger of Allah? He said, Yea, by the Lord of this Mosque” (Bu. 41: 3)
Now this report clearly mentions watch dogs kept for sheep as well as those kept for tillage, but not dogs kept for hunting, which the Holy Qur’an explicitly allows (5:4). Abu Huraira’ s report in the same chapter, preceding that cited above, expressly mentions all these kinds, watch dogs for sheep or tillage and dogs for hunting, which only shows that Abu Huraira had the more retentive memory. And as for Ibn ‘Umar’ s remark, there is not the least evidence that it contained any insinuation against Abu Huraira’s integrity. It may be just an explanatory remark, or a suggestion that Abu Huraira took care to preserve that part of the saying, because he himself had to keep watch dogs for his cultivated land.
With all the mistakes that Abu Huraira made in reporting so many hadith no critic has ever yet questioned his integrity; in fact, critics are unanimous in maintaining that no Companion of the Holy Prophet ever told a lie. Thus Ibn Hajar says: “The Ahl Sunna are unanimous that all (the Companions) are Adul i.e. truthful” (Is. I, p. 6).
The word ‘adala, as used regarding transmitters of reports, means that there has been no intentional deviation from the truth, and this is not due merely to the respect in which the Companions are held, for the critics of the transmitters of Hadith never spared any one simply because he held a place of honour in their hearts.
Further on in the same chapter Guillaume asserts that independent thinkers in the second and third century not only questioned the authority of Hadith altogether, but derided the very system: “However, there was still a large circle outside the orthodox thinkers who rejected the whole system of hadith. They were not concerned to adopt those which happened to fit in with the views and doctrines of the doctors, or even with those which might fairly be held to support their own view of life.
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So far from being impressed by the earnestness of the traditionists who scrupulously examined the isnad, or by the halo of sanctity which had gathered round the early guarantors of traditions, the dependent thinkers of the second and third centuries openly mocked and derided the system as a whole and the persons and matters named therein” (Tr. Is., p. 80).
And as evidence in support of these sweeping statements, he adds: Some of the most flagrant examples of these lampoons will be found in the Book of Songs, where indecent stories are cast into the form in which tradition was customarily handed down to posterity” (Tr. Is., p. 80).

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