Ali Ibn Abi Talib - Volume 2 of 2

'Ali ibn Abi Trilib 543
you from the Messenger of Allah (B), and you are not listening.' Ibn
'Abbb said: 'At one time, if we heard a man say, "The Messenger of
, said," we would all turn to look at him and listen to him.
But when the people started to narrate a great deal, we did not accept
from the people anything but that which we were familiar with.' Then
when lying became widespread, the Tftbi'oon began to ask for chains
of narration. Abu al-'Aliyah said: 'We used to hear hadiths from the
Companions, hut we would not be content until we went to them and
heard it from them.' Ibn al-Mub%ak said: 'The chain of narration is
part of the religion. Were it not for the chain of narration, anyone
could say what they wanted.' Ibn al-Mubkak also said: 'Between us
and the people are the lists' - meaning chains of narration."978
Allah (g) ~.
3.7.2. Verifying hadiths
This was done by referring to the Companions, Tibi'oon and
prominent scholars in this field. It is a sign of Allah's preserving the
Sunnah of His Prophet that He made the lives of some prominent
Companions and scholars among them long, so that they could serve
as a reference point and people could be guided through them. When
the fabrication of hadiths began, the people turned to these
Companions first, asking them what they knew of hadiths and seeking
their advice concerning the hadiths and reports they heard. Many trips
were made by the Tibi'oon, and even some of the Companions, from
one country to another for that purpose, so that they could hear proven
hadiths from trustworthy narrators. Hence J2hir ibn Abdullah
travelled to Syria, and Abu Ayyoob travelled to Egypt to hear hadiths.
3.7.3. Critical examination of narrators,
highlighting how truthful they were
This is a very important field, through which the scholars were
able to distinguish sound from fabricated hadiths, strong from weak.