What is "Hadith" ?

This is a body of literature that comprises the sayings, teachings, behaviour etc. of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Muslims try to emulate the character of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) in their daily lives and use the hadith as a key source to that end. The Qur'an together with hadith constitute the two most authoritative sources for moral, ethical and spiritual guidance for Muslims.

Some Hadiths were written down during the life of the Prophet, while others were passed on orally and collected later. Scholars study the Prophetic Hadiths and their chains of oral transmission to determine which are valid or authoritative. No Hadith is held true or cited as a proof unless it can be authentically attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

There are six well known collections of Hadiths, the most authoritative of which are those by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. After a Hadith is quoted, it is common to cite the collection(s) from which it came. If the same Hadith appears in all of them, the words “agreed upon” or “the group” will usually follow it.