THE PRESERVATION OF HADITH

Hadith, as a colophon of the Qur’an, attracts divergent comments. Its oral transmission over a century, in particular, is a subject of various academic polemics. The main objection of some critics is that the Ahādith could not have been orally transmitted over a century with great accuracy. Furthermore the existence of two opposing views that are attributed to the Prophet, as far as the recording and the preservation of hadith is concerned, also generate heated debate. Both the opponent and the proponent capitalize on some of these Traditions which are contained in As-Sihahu Sitta. In spite of the authenticity of the two opposing set of Traditions on the recording of hadith , this paper argues in favour of the conservation of the hadith during the Prophetic era by lending weight to the great enthusiasm that was displayed by the Sahābah, individually and collectively, in the recording and the preservation of hadith. It is this effort by some curious Sahābah, that forms the kernel of this paper.