Hadith
hadîth
Collections of sayings of Muhammad and the first Muslims. Used as an addition to the Holy Koran for understanding Islam.
When the revelations that Muhammad received, ended with his death in 632, many Muslims felt that there were questions that would be enlightened, or even answered, if one had more information on what was right conduct in different situations.
But the real collections of what today is known as hadiths or Sunna, became a systematic science not before about 2 centuries after the death of Muhammad. Until then there were stories on Muhammad's and his followers life, called sira. To which extent these were used in guidance in people's lives is somewhat difficult to ascertain, but the collecting and systemising of these stories two centuries later, would not have come if there was no traditions on how to implement the message of these stories in everyday life.
With the collecting of the siras, two methods were used. First, one tried to weigh the authenticity by seing who had transmitted the stories, how far back in time you could trace the transmitters, if these transmitters were honest people an so forth. The other method was to compare stories, and the better a group of stories fitted one another, the more likely the were considered.
The resulting work, is 6 collections of hadiths, of which the one of Bukhari is counted as the most scientific. Al-Muslims hadith is considered almost as outstanding. The other four have also high value, but most people reading the hadiths seldom extend beyond Bukhari and Al-Muslim.
The value of the hadiths must be valued as high, seen with modern scientific standards as reference. The technique used by these historians, resembles to a large extent what is used today, except that they had no reference historical works to depend upon. While irregularities can be traced, little can be ascribed to lack of scientific honesty. Moreover, the traditions of these times, appears to have helped these early historians.
The implementation of the hadiths are more problematic than most Muslims will admit to. While the notion that the Koran is all-including is central to actually being a Muslim, the hadiths are frequently used, and one could hardly image the development of Muslim theology and science of law, Sharia without it. Muslim lifestyles can have been just as much shaped by the hadiths as by the Holy Koran. But the hadiths have far from the same effect on Muslims as widely used books, and have little of the symbolic meaning of unity and godly presence, as come with the Holy Koran.