Ahle hadeeth movement What and Why?

Ahle hadeeth and Ahle Sunnah

(أََهْلُ الْحَدِيْثِ وَ أَهْلُ السُّنَّةِ)

Hadeeth means message and Sunnah means custom. Terminologically, the word, deed and approvals of the Prophet (sm) are called Hadeeth. Though according to the dictionary meaning there is some difference between Hadeeth and Sunnah, but there is no difference in terminology and application. Because, the subject matters of both are the same and everything attained its written form through Hadeeth. ­ So the terms 'Ahle Sunnah'­ and­ 'Ahle hadeeth' have been used in Hadeeth and Fiqh at the same meaning. But in later days, the name Ahle hadeeth got an especial recognition against Ahlur Rai.

Since 37th of hijra, some adulterations took place in the pure water of Islam. But the sacred efforts of honoured Sahabis and Tabeiis could prevent its expansion to some extent. To keep the Muslim Ummah free from all these turmoils they took utmost care and started to call themselves as Ahle Sunnah and Ahle hadeeth against the innovators (Bid‘atis). Thereafter, the followers of Truthas their supportersalso mentioned themselves as Ahle hadeeth. As the famous Tabeii Muhammad Ibnu Seereen (33-110 A.H.) says,      

لَمْ يَكُوْنُوْا يَسْأَلُوْنَ عَنِ الْإِسْنَادِ، فَلَمَّا وَقَعَتِ الْفِتْنَةُ قَالُوْا سَمُّوْا لَنَا رِجَالَكُمْ، فَيُنْظَرُ إِلَى أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ فَيُوْخَذُ حَدِيْثُهُمْ وَ يُنْظَرُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْبِدْعِ فَلاَ يُؤْخَذُ حَدِيْثُهُمْ-

‘People did never ask for the chain of narrators or the sources of any Hadeeth before it. But when the age of turmoil appears, then people began to ask, at first you give the names of the narrators. Thereafter, if it was found that the narrator was from Ahle Sunnah then the Hadeeth narrated by him was accepted. But if he belonged to Ahl-i-Bid‘at then the Hadeeth narrated by him would have not been accepted.[1] Therefore Imam Ibnu Taimiyah (Rh) says,

وَ مِنْ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ مَذْهَبٌ قَدِيْمٌ مَعْرُوْفٌ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَخْلُقَ اللهُ أَبَا حَنِيْفَةَ وَ مَالِكًا وَ الشَّافِعِىَّ وَ أَحْمَدَ، فَإِنَّهُ مَذْهَبُ الصَّحَابَةِ الَّذِيْنَ تَلَقَّوْهُ عَنْ نَبِيِّهِمْ-

‘Long before the birth of Abu Haneefah, Malek, Shafe‘ii and Ahmad, an old Mazhab of Ahle Sunnat wal Jama‘at was well-known. That was the Mazhab of the honoured Sahabis, who had directly received Ilm (knowledge) from their Prophet (sm).[2] The Jama‘at of Sahaba was known as Ahle hadeeth, which we have been known earlier with reference to the statements of the Sahabi Abu Sa‘eed Khudri, Imam Sha‘bi, Ibnu Hazm Andalusi and by other scholars (see footnote 1, 2, 11).

In different books of Hadeeth and in reliable books of Fiqh, the Ahle hadeeth have been described as Ahle hadeeth, Ashabul Hadeeth, Ahle Sunnah wal Jama‘at, Ahlul Athar, Ahlul Haq, Muhadditheen etc. As the followers of Salaf-i-Saleheen,[3] they are also known as Salafi. In the countries like Egypt, Sudan, Srilanka etc. the Ahle hadeeth are known as Ansarus Sunnah; in SaudiArabia, Kuwait and in others as Salafi; in Indonesia Jama‘at-i-Muhammadiah and in Indo-Pak subcontinent it is known as Muhammadi and Ahle hadeeth. Though their adversaries call them in bad names as La-Mazhabi (having no Mazhab), Rafadani, Wahhabi, Ghair Muqallid etc.



[1]. Muqaddamah Muslim (Bairut: Darul Fikr 1403/1983) P. 15.

[2]. Ahmad Ibnu Taimiyah, Minhajus Sunnah (Bairut: Darul Kutubil ‘Ilmiah, n.d.) P. 1/256.

[3]. Sahaba, Tabe‘een and the Scholars of Hadeeth of the past are regarded as Salaf-i-Saleheen. Author.