Understanding Hadith: A Closer Look

Before we begin quoting Hadith on this page, it's important to understand what Hadith truly is — and what it is not.

What Are Hadith?

Hadith are traditionally believed to be the sayings, actions, and approvals of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. For many Muslims, they form the foundation of religious law and daily life, second only to the Qur’an. However, there is no contemporaneous evidence confirming that these sayings were directly spoken or approved by the Prophet himself.

Prophet Muhammad passed away in 632 CE, and neither he nor his immediate companions left behind any written record of his sayings or life events. The earliest known biography — Sīrat Rasūl Allāh — was written over a century later by Ibn Ishaq (d. 767 CE). Unfortunately, his original work is lost, and what we know of it comes through Ibn Hisham (d. 833 CE), who heavily edited and curated the narrative.

When Were Hadith Actually Written?

The earliest Hadith collections did not appear until the 8th and 9th centuries CE — that’s nearly 120 to 250 years after the Prophet’s death. This means at least 8 to 10 generations had passed. It's difficult to imagine that over such a long span, oral transmissions were perfectly preserved and free from exaggeration, fabrication, or political influence.

Here’s a timeline of some major Sunni and Shia Hadith compilations, along with their authors and time periods:

• Sahih al-Bukhari

  • Author: Imam al-Bukhari (d. 870 CE)

  • Century: 9th century (3rd Hijri)

  • Notes: Widely considered the most authentic Sunni hadith collection, with over 7,000 narrations.

• Sahih Muslim

  • Author: Imam Muslim (d. 875 CE)

  • Century: 9th century

  • Notes: Known for a more systematic structure compared to Bukhari. Often listed second in reliability.

• Sunan Abu Dawood

  • Author: Abu Dawood (d. 889 CE)

  • Century: 9th century

  • Notes: Focuses on fiqh-related hadith; part of the “Six Canonical Books” of Sunni Islam.

• Jami’ al-Tirmidhi

  • Author: Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 892 CE)

  • Century: 9th century

  • Notes: Categorizes hadith as sahih, hasan, or da’if; includes opinions of companions and jurists.

• Sunan al-Nasa’i

  • Author: Al-Nasa’i (d. 915 CE)

  • Century: 9th–10th century

  • Notes: Known for strict criteria of authenticity; includes both a major and an abridged version.

• Sunan Ibn Majah

  • Author: Ibn Majah (d. 887 CE)

  • Century: 9th century

  • Notes: The sixth and last book of the Kutub al-Sittah; contains many hadith not found in other major collections.

• Muwatta’ Malik

  • Author: Imam Malik ibn Anas (d. 795 CE)

  • Century: 8th century

  • Notes: One of the earliest collections; blends hadith with legal opinions from the scholars of Madinah.

• Musnad Ahmad

  • Author: Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 855 CE)

  • Century: 9th century

  • Notes: A massive compilation (~30,000 hadith) arranged by the name of the companion who narrated it.

• Usul al-Kafi (الأصول من الكافي)

  • Author: Al-Kulayni (d. 941 CE)

  • Century: 10th century (4th Hijri)

  • Notes: The most well-known hadith collection among Twelver Shia. Contains sayings of Prophet Muhammad and the Twelve Imams. Regarded as foundational in Shia scholarship.

• Kitab al-Mahasin

  • Author: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Khalid al-Barqi (d. 893 CE)

  • Century: 9th century

  • Notes: One of the earliest preserved Shia hadith books. Survives partially. Focuses on virtues and ethical teachings.

• Basair al-Darajat

  • Author: Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Saffar (d. 902 CE)

  • Century: 9th century

  • Notes: Specializes in narrations emphasizing the spiritual status and virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt (family of the Prophet).

• Al-Tawhid (التوحيد)

  • Author: Shaykh Saduq (d. 991 CE)

  • Century: Late 10th century

  • Notes: Focuses on theological issues, especially God's unity (tawhid). Considered essential in Shia doctrinal teaching.

• Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih (من لا يحضره الفقيه)

  • Author: Shaykh Saduq (d. 991 CE)

  • Century: 10th century

  • Notes: One of the “Four Books” of Twelver Shia Islam. Compiled as a practical guide for those who do not have access to a jurist.

Who Wrote the Hadiths – And Where Were They From?

The hadith compilers we’ve listed above — both Sunni and Shia — were not contemporaries of the Prophet. In fact, most of them lived over 150 to 250 years after his death, and none of them were from Mecca or Medina, the two cities where the Prophet lived and preached.

1. Imam al-Bukhari

• Born: 810 CE

• Place of Birth: Bukhara, Uzbekistan

• Place of Death: Khartank, Uzbekistan

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 3,097 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 2,875 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 3,093 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 2,871 km

• Born ~178 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

2. Imam Muslim

• Born: 821 CE

• Place of Birth: Nishapur, Iran

• Place of Death: Nishapur, Iran

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 2,465 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 2,250 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 2,465 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 2,250 km

• Born ~189 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

3. Imam Abu Dawood

• Born: 817 CE

• Place of Birth: Sijistan, Iran

• Place of Death: Basra, Iraq

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 2,421 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 2,297 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 1,284 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 1,047 km

• Born ~185 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

4. Imam al-Tirmidhi

• Born: 824 CE

• Place of Birth: Tirmidh, Uzbekistan

• Place of Death: Tirmidh, Uzbekistan

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 3,171 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 2,985 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 3,171 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 2,985 km

• Born ~192 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

5. Imam al-Nasa’i

• Born: 829 CE

• Place of Birth: Nasa, Turkmenistan

• Place of Death: Ramla, Palestine

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 2,572 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 2,346 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 1,269 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 941 km

• Born ~197 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

6. Ibn Majah

• Born: 824 CE

• Place of Birth & Death: Qazvin, Iran

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 2,230 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 2,020 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 2,230 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 2,020 km

• Born ~192 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

7. Imam Malik ibn Anas

• Born: 711 CE

• Place of Birth & Death: Madinah, Saudi Arabia

• Distance to Makkah: 423 km

• Distance to Madinah: 0 km (He lived and died in Madinah)

• Born ~79 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

8. Ahmad ibn Hanbal

• Born: 780 CE

• Place of Birth & Death: Baghdad, Iraq

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 1,396 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 1,121 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 1,396 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 1,121 km

• Born ~148 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

9. Al-Kulayni

• Born: 864 CE

• Place of Birth: Kulayn, Iran

• Place of Death: Baghdad, Iraq

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 1,962 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 1,745 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 1,396 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 1,121 km

• Born ~232 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

10. Shaykh Saduq (Ibn Babawayh)

• Born: 923 CE

• Place of Birth: Qom, Iran

• Place of Death: Rayy, Iran

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 1,943 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 1,733 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 1,927 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 1,717 km

• Born ~291 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

11. Al-Barqi

• Born: ~820 CE

• Place of Birth: Barq, Iran

• Place of Death: Qom, Iran

• Distance from Birth to Makkah: 1,941 km

• Distance from Birth to Madinah: 1,730 km

• Distance from Death to Makkah: 1,943 km

• Distance from Death to Madinah: 1,733 km

• Born ~188 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ

12. Al-Saffar

• Born: ~870 CE

• Place of Birth & Death: Qom, Iran

• Distance to Makkah: 1,943 km

• Distance to Madinah: 1,733 km

• Born ~238 years after Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
  

Some of the Hadiths & Their General Understanding.

We begin exploring a set of hadiths that many readers have likely never encountered before — or if they have, it was from a very different perspective. These are not the popular narrations quoted in sermons or Islamic lectures. Rather, they are hadiths that deserve a closer, more critical lens. With each hadith we present, we will not only mention the narration itself but also reflect on the hidden implications and the indirect messages it may be sending. At times, what appears to be a religious statement is actually a subtle form of character assassination — not offering genuine knowledge, but quietly undermining the honor of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ or even distorting the divine image of God Himself. As discussed earlier, it's crucial to remember that these hadiths were documented over 200 years after the Prophet’s passing, often in lands far from Mecca or Medina, raising serious questions about their authenticity, intent, and impact. First we will start general Hadiths and then we move to different topics.

Disclaimer:
Everything you are about to read below is not our personal opinion, nor are these our words. Each hadith is presented exactly as recorded in the original Islamic sources, with full references and book citations provided alongside. Our intention is not to offend, distort, or misrepresent — but to simply expose what already exists in the classical texts, much of which is often overlooked or intentionally ignored. Any emotional, intellectual, or theological impact caused by the content or its interpretations is not our responsibility. We invite readers to reflect, question, and verify for themselves.

According to hadiths which are accepted as authentic starts here :

The following hadith reports this chilling episode:
Anas b. Malik reported that: Gabriel came to the Messenger of Allah while he was playing with his playmates. He took hold of him and lay him prostrate on the ground and tore open his breast and took out the heart from it and then extracted a blood-clot out of it and said: “That was the part of Satan in thee.” And then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a golden basin and then it was joined together and restored to its place. The boys came running to his mother, i.e., his nurse, and said: Verily Muhammad has been murdered. They all rushed toward him (and found him all right) His color was changed, Anas said, “I myself saw the marks of needle on his breast.”
Sahih Muslim 162c

“…the Prophet (Mohammad) became so sad as we have heard that he intended several times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains and every time he went up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself down, Gabriel would appear before him…”
Sahih Bukhari 6982

Anas bin Malik said, “The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number.” I asked Anas, “Had the Prophet the strength for it?” Anas replied, “We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)…”
Sahih al-Bukhari 268

“…Then a white animal which was smaller than a mule and bigger than a donkey was brought to me.” (On this Al-Jarud asked, “Was it the Buraq, O Abu Hamza?” I (i.e., Anas) replied in the affirmative). The Prophet said, “The animal’s step (was so wide that it) reached the farthest point within the reach of the animal’s sight. I was carried on it, and Gabriel set out with me till we reached the nearest heaven….”
Sahih Bukhari 5:58:227

Muhammad married Aisha when she was six. He was 54 years old when he consummated his marriage with his child bride. Narrated Aisha: That the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5134

Anas bin Malik said: “The Messenger of Allah said: “Whoever sends salah upon me once, Allah will send salah upon him tenfold, and will erase ten sins from him, and will raise him ten degrees in status.”
Sunan an-Nasa’i 1297

Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah: Allah’s Messenger said, “Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?…”
Sahih al-Bukhari 4037

She used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her.’ Thereupon the Prophet said: ‘Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.’”
Sunan Abi Dawud 4361

“If anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad, then Muhammad is dead, but if (anyone of) you used to worship Allah, then Allah is alive and shall never die….” You can read about this incident in the following authentic hadith of Al-Bukhari, and other similarly authentic hadith narrations reporting this event.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4452, 4453

Similarly, Allah and Muhammad can both equally be hurt. The punishment for hurting Allah and Muhammad is to be killed. Allah’s Messenger said, “Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?”
Sahih al-Bukhari 4037

Narrated Abu Juhaifa: Allah’s Messenger came to us at noon and water for ablution was brought to him. After he had performed ablution, the remaining water was taken by the people and they started smearing their bodies with it (as a blessed thing)…
Sahih al-Bukhari 187

Narrated Ibn Shihab: Mahmud bin Ar-Rabi` who was the person on whose face the Prophet had ejected a mouthful of water from his family’s well while he was a boy, and `Urwa (on the authority of Al-Miswar and others) who testified each other, said, “Whenever the Prophet, performed ablution, his companions were nearly fighting for the remains of the water.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 189

The Prophet asked for a tumbler containing water and washed both his hands and face in it and then threw a mouthful of water in the tumbler and said to both of us (Abu Musa and Bilal), “Drink from the tumbler and pour some of its water on your faces and chests.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 188

Narrated As-Sa’ib: …He then performed ablution and I drank of the remaining water of his ablution
Sahih al-Bukhari 5670

When he had his haircut, people lined up to grab a couple of strands of his hair. “…He then called for a barber and, turning his right side to him, let him shave him; after which he trimmed his left side. He then gave (these hair) to the people.”
Sahih Muslim 1305a

Women collected Muhammad’s sweat and used it in their perfume. Allah’s Apostle said: “Umm Sulaim, what is this that you are doing?” Thereupon she said: “That is your sweat which we mix in our perfume and it becomes the most fragrant perfume.’
Sahih Muslim 2331a

“Whoever changes his religion, kill him.” Sunan an-Nasa’i 4059

When the Prophet arrived at Medina he found that the Jews observed fast on the day of ‘Ashura’. They were asked the reason for the fast. They replied, “This is the day when Allah caused Moses and the children of Israel to have victory over Pharaoh, so we fast on this day as a sign of glorifying it.” Allah’s Messenger said, “We are closer to Moses than you.” Then he ordered that fasting on this day should be observed.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3943

“Fasting the day of ‘Ashura’, I hope, will expiate for the sins of the previous year.”
Sunan Ibn Majah 1738

“Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you and when you meet any one of them on the roads force him to go to the narrowest part of it.” Sahih Muslim 2167a

Covering of women root cause Umar Sahih al-Bukhari 146

A woman was my wife and I loved her, but Umar hated her. He said to me: “Divorce her”, but I refused. Umar then went to the Prophet and mentioned that to him. The Prophet said: “Divorce her.” Sunan Abi Dawud 5138

Narrated Anas bin Malik: While we were sitting with the Prophet in the mosque, a man came riding on a camel. …“Who amongst you is Muhammad?” At that time the Prophet was sitting amongst us (his companions) leaning on his arm. We replied, “This white man reclining on his arm.” The man then addressed him, “O Son of `Abdul Muttalib.” The Prophet said, “I am here to answer your questions.” Sahih al-Bukhari 63.