Questions - Hadith Browse Categories

I am in a process of learning and I would like to consult you in this context. Following is a piece of Hadith, I would appreciate it if you would send me the complete Hadith with reference, along with the authenticity of the Hadith. I heard that three caliphs are also included in some versions of this Hadith.

أنا مدينة العلم، وعلى بابها

I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its door.

On several articles on your website you talk about tawatur with reference to sunnah. You say that collection of hadith is not sunnah. Is not hadith a source of sunnah? How else would we know how much to pay in zakat, how to do salat or do sawm? If you claim that sunnah is passed on generation to generation and preserved, then how come the shias offer salat differently from sunis, how come their fast has different times for breaking and starting than sunni's fast? Where did the change come from? Obviously passing down the sunnah generation to generation has not worked very well, otherwise we would be offering the rituals in the same way. Has Allah promised to preserve the sunnah?

I believe that the ḥadīths recorded in the Saḥīḥ of Bukhāri and Saḥīḥ of Muslim are conclusive. This means that there is only one possible stance regarding the disputed matters if seen in the light of the sound narratives ascribed to the Prophet (sws). If this is true then why do we plead to weak narratives and support counter opinions on an issue?

Are all the contents of the ḥadīth literature are the words of the Holy Prophet (sws)? Please give sufficient evidence if they are. If they are not, then why do we consider them ḥadīth?

What is the status of ḥadīth as compared to the holy Holy Qur’ān? Can a hadith be equally authentic as a verse of the Qur’ān?

How do you define the hadith? What is the significance of the hadith literature as the source of the Shari‘ah?

You say that the sunan are not derived from the hadith books but they have reached to us by the ijma and tawatur of the Muslim ummah. But in many of your various articles you mentioned that hadith books besides having the record of some historical facts and other things do have a record of some of the sunan. Thus the statement that the hadith books do have a record of "some of the sunan" clearly implies the fact that hadith books do not have the record of all the sunan. So on the basis of this statement I ask can you mention a single sunnah which has reached to us by the tawatur and ijma of Muslim ummah but has not been recorded in a hadith book?

Though there are many who claim that every hadeeth recorded in the Sahih Bukhari collection is authentic, there are some traditions in the collection that seem to contradict each other. I would like to refer to a tradition that mentions hazrat Zainab sws to be the one who served the prophet Muhammad sws honey and another that claims hazrat Hafsah sws was the person who served that honey. It is this incident that led to the revelation of the first few verses of the 66th surah of the Quran though there is another tradition also recorded in Sahih Bukhari that claims a different reason for the revelation of the these verses. Please explain why with the presence of such traditions there are still sholars who claim Sahih Bukhari to be authentic? I understand that the method used by Imam Bukhari is regarded as the most strict with regards to authentication, but I do not understand what makes it error-free.

I heard a hadith which says that once Hazrat Ali (rta) asked permission from Muhammad (sws) for second marriage and the Prophet (sws) refused to grant him permission. Could you please confirm the hadith and, why Muhammad (sws) refused to grant Hazart Ali (rta) his request?

I have just received an email mentioning an event of the Caliphate of Hazrat ‘Umar (rta). It says that Hazrat Umar (rta) punished his son for adultery with the punishment of 100 flogs and during this punishment his son died. This whole incident is reported as a high sample of justice from the Caliph, Hazrat ‘Umar (rta) that he didn’t even space his own son. I am little bit confused as never heard of any such incident. Can you please confirm the authenticity of this incident?