Islamic Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Islamic Studies - Essay Example I t is consisted of everything that the prophet has spoken of, his decisions on important matters, his opinions and his answers to the queries and doubts raised by his followers and believers. The Hadiths literature which consists of the narrations of the life of the prophet also has played major role in the shaping of Islamic faith. The fact that the Hadith were recorded after the death of the prophet make many to doubt the authenticity and the validity of the Hadith. There are people who consider the Hadith merely as a history book having not much of religious significance. The essay attempts to unearth the understanding of Hadith in Islam religion, and it tries to bring out the differences in the understanding and the practice of Hadith soon after the death of Prophet Mohammed with a special reference to the changed political scenario after the Prophets death. The Hadith assumed greater significance after the death of Mohammed as the believers could no longer ask their questions or clear their doubts from the prophet. So wherever they did not have a specific guideline in the Quran, they sought for it in the Hadith. The hadiths very often acted as the guiding principle for the Muslim way of life along with the Koran. One should not forget the fact that the Hadith was transmitted by the companions of the prophet (his contemporaries and witnesses to his teaching) to the next generation through oral tradition in the initial stages. Therefore, many attempts have been undertaken by the scholars to assess the reliability and authenticity of Hadith. The Hadith was judged based on their content, the degree in which they did not contradict the Quran and the extend to which they resonated divine wisdom. Thus, they were categorized into authentic, good or weak. Hadith were collected and confirmed or proved to be authentic by many scholars; however on e cannot negate the influence of personal bias or prejudices in the process. There was also the risk of interpreting the personal responses of the prophet as having general implications to the Islamic teachings. In the eighth century there was a considerable division in the Islamic thought due to the diversity of thought that the Hadith were not reliable and authentic. This division of thought prompted Muhammad ibh Idris al-Shafi to make a common methodology for all schools of Islamic faith by the end of 9th century. He identified four sources of Islamic law- the Quran, the sunnas or the tradition of the prophet, reasoning by analogies and unanimous agreement. The Muslim community strongly believed that Allah has sent His prophets and messengers to keep them united with Him and Mohammed for them is the last of the prophets. Mohammed proved himself to be a strong religious leader for the Muslims and after his time the Islam community really lacked strong spiritual leaders even though they did have some powerful rulers in the caliphs who succeeded Mohammed. After the death of Mohammed, there weren't any undisputable leaders for the Muslims and one comes across a series of struggle for power and control over the Muslim community and it is interesting to note how this struggle affected the Muslim belief and their way of life. It is these struggles that led to the formation of Sunnism and Shiism, and the underlying reason for most of the conflicts and struggles within Islam can be attributed to these struggles. The original version of the Hadiths suffered various setbacks at the hands of