Refuting Skeptics on Hadith Authenticity
Sheikh Dr. Othman Al-Khamis refutes the claim that late Hadith compilation led to errors, explaining how both the Quran and Sunnah relied on meticulous oral transmission. He highlights the unparalleled precision of Hadith scholars who verified every letter and exposed unreliable narrators to preserve the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
How do we refute the claim of skeptics regarding errors in the noble Hadiths of the two Sahihs,
because they were written down two hundred years later?
My good people, these matters...
...the claim that the writing down of Hadith came late, so what guarantees there are no errors?
Whether they exist or not, and so forth...
Mind you, even the Noble Quran was written down later,
not just Hadith.
The reality of the matter is that when the Noble Quran was being written down...
...whenever revelation came to the Prophet ﷺ, he had scribes of revelation,
nearly forty-three Companions (RA) served as scribes of revelation,
including the Four Caliphs, Mu'adh ibn Jabal, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, Zayd ibn Thabit, 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and others.
When something was revealed to the Prophet ﷺ, he would call whichever scribe was present and say, "Write this down," and that was it.
Everyone received the Quran directly from the Prophet ﷺ by ear.
No one read it from written copies; they learned it orally.
After the Prophet's ﷺ death, during the Wars of Apostasy, seventy reciters were martyred—
memorizers of the Book of Allah ﷻ.
'Umar (RA) advised Abu Bakr (RA) to compile the Quran.
Eventually, Abu Bakr (RA) agreed and tasked Zayd ibn Thabit (RA) to collect it, so he compiled the Quran.
It was kept in Abu Bakr's house and not distributed; people continued to learn the Quran orally.
In the time of Uthman (RA), when disagreement arose among the Muslims regarding recitations and other matters,
Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman came and told Uthman, "Save Muhammad's Ummah! They're nearly fighting over the Quran."
So it's said: Abu Bakr compiled the Quran, and Uthman united the people upon it.
So he ordered its compilation. When Uthman compiled it, he made only six copies—just six:
one master copy kept with Uthman (RA), one sent to Yemen, one to...
Makkah, one to Sham, one to Iraq, and one to Egypt.
That was all—just one standard text. People relied on learning through listening.
There were no written copies like today's widely available ones
with everyone having a Mushaf at home. Everything was based on oral learning.
Some time later, some people began writing a Mushaf for themselves only,
but everyone still relied on oral transmission—and so did Hadiths.
Hadiths were recorded in the Prophet’s ﷺ time on a small scale, as they mostly relied on oral transmission.
'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As (RA) said, "I used to write everything the Prophet ﷺ said, but Quraysh stopped me."
Some Quraysh elders told him, "You write down everything from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ,
yet he is human, speaking in pleasure and anger." So he stopped writing.
"Then I went to the Prophet ﷺ and told him. He said, 'Write!
By Allah, nothing comes from this but the truth.' ﷺ So 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr used to write.
Abu Hurairah (RA) said, "None of the Companions of Allah's Messenger ﷺ narrated more Hadiths than me except Abdullah ibn Amr,
for he used to write, while I did not."
And in Sahihayn, when the Prophet ﷺ gave a sermon in Arafah, a man called Abu Shah came
and said, "O Messenger of Allah, write it for me; I couldn't memorize it." He ﷺ said, "Write for Abu Shah."
Also, the Prophet's ﷺ Hadith was written down, but there were no compiled Hadith books.
just as there was no printed Quran, and learning was through oral transmission.
All relied on oral transmission, hence the saying: "Don't take Quran from a Mus-hafi,"
"nor Hadith from a Suhufi."
All relied on direct transmission and learning by listening.
The Quran and Sunnah were equal in this regard.
and the narrators of the Quran were the narrators of the Sunnah.
What happened was that during the reign of Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (RH),
Umar ordered Abu Bakr ibn Hazm and Muhammad ibn Shihab al-Zuhri to compile
as much of the Sunnah as possible into a book.
So Abu Bakr ibn Hazm compiled, and Muhammad ibn Shihab compiled.
Then after that, people began paying attention to the matter of writing down Hadith,
but oral transmission remained key. Scholars distinguished memory retention from written, most relying on memory.
Very few relied on written accuracy; most relied on memory.
People memorized and relied on memory in transmitting Hadith.
As for the idea that errors might have occurred—no, people exerted immense effort into Hadith; they scrutinised every word.
Rest assured, they would pause over a single word to ensure the accuracy of the Hadith.
Abdullah ibn Umar (RA),
when he narrated from the Prophet ﷺ the Hadith: "Islam is built upon five [pillars]:"
"The testimony of faith, prayer, Zakat, Hajj, and fasting Ramadan."
Someone said: "Fasting Ramadan and Hajj?"
He said: "No, Hajj and fasting Ramadan." See the difference?
That was their level of precision.
And when the Prophet ﷺ taught Al-Bara (RA) the supplication before sleep,
he said: "...Your Book which You revealed, and Your Prophet whom You sent."
Al-Bara repeated: "...Your Book which You revealed, and Your Messenger whom You sent."
He ﷺ said: "No, 'Your Prophet whom You sent.'"
Such precision: "Prophet" versus "Messenger."
They were extremely meticulous about this matter.
And if someone made a mistake, they would note: "So-and-so added such a word," or
"omitted such a word"—all recorded in Hadith books.
Anyone who reads Hadith thoroughly will find: "So-and-so added the letter *wa* (and)," and so on.
"And so-and-so did not mention the *wa*; so-and-so mentioned it."
One said, 'Abdullah,' and another said, 'Ubaydullah.' It is extremely precise.
So claims that they made errors—this is empty talk.
These claims are baseless, empty claims,
from people who do not respect the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ nor know its worth.
As for the scholars, they cared for the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ and transmitted it accurately,
verifying it meticulously. No nation has ever evaluated its narrators like the Muslim nation.
It spoke candidly about itself: 'This Hadith is authentic; this Hadith is weak.'
'This narrator is trustworthy.' This [scrutiny] exists in no other nation except the nation of Islam.
It preserved the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and the Noble Quran.
meaning, in terms of mass transmission from generation to generation.
The difference between the Quran and the Sunnah is that the Quran is only transmitted by mass concurrence,
whereas a Sunnah report might be transmitted by one, two, three, or four—that is the only difference.
Yet regarding precision, they were so diligent that no one could attribute a lie to the Prophet ﷺ.
Sufyan al-Thawri said, 'If someone lied against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the West,
he would be exposed in the East by morning.'
Now, when we mentioned 'Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah, for whom the Prophet ﷺ used to pray: "O Allah, save 'Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah!"
'Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah (RA) was from the Muhajirun of Quraysh, a noble Companion. His grandson was a liar!
Aban ibn Abi 'Ayyash was a liar—the grandson of 'Ayyash ibn Abi Rabi'ah.
Shu'bah ibn Al-Hajjaj used to walk in the streets, in the markets,
shouting, "O people, Aban ibn Abi 'Ayyash is a liar!" Exposing him publicly because he lied against the Prophet ﷺ,
to the extent
that Hammad
ibn Zayd (RH) related:
"I went to Shu'bah and said to him, 'O Abu Bistam, go easy on the man.
His grandfather was a noble Companion, his family is renowned, he is elderly—enough, you have exposed him!
Wherever you go: "Aban is a liar!"' He replied, 'He lies against the Messenger ﷺ!'
I said, 'Well, everyone knows now, enough!' So he promised me he would refrain from him.
A day or two later, we were attending a funeral. While they were preparing the grave and people had gathered,
Shu'bah spotted Aban, so he called out to Hammad ibn Zayd,
'O Abu Isma'il, I take back my promise!'"
"I take it back! O people, Aban is a liar!"
pointing at him, "Aban is a liar!
O Abu Isma'il, this is religion!
Religion! No joking around, this is religion!"
He said, "This is religion."
So no one could lie about the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
And if someone erred in a narration, everyone knew—that is, the master scholars of Hadith,
the 'ilal scholars would say, "He erred here, added this, or omitted that"—immediately.
They gathered all Hadith routes and memorized them.
So claiming "maybe they made mistakes" is baseless, unsubstantiated talk.
Give us an example! Give us an example of a mistaken Hadith or Hadiths!
Rather than just saying, "Maybe they erred." Well, maybe you are not your mother's son!
Maybe you are a liar! Maybe you are a thief! These are mere accusations
thrown at people like this. Unacceptable! "Maybe!"
Give us proof! "The onus of proof is on the claimant."
This religion is preserved by Allah ﷻ.
When Sufyan al-Thawri mentioned this, he then recited:
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’ān], and indeed, We will be its guardian.” (Quran 15:9)
"...will surely guard it." He said:
"If a man were to lie in the West, he would be exposed in the East."
“Indeed, it is We who sent down the message [i.e., the Qur’ān], and indeed, We will be its guardian.” (Quran 15:9)
"...are its guardians."
And Allah ﷻ knows best.
May Allah ﷻ send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.