Hadith
الحديث النبوي
Hadith is what is transmitted of the Prophet ﷺ's words, deeds, tacit approvals and descriptions, reaching us through a chain of narrators ending at him; it is Islam's second source after the Qur'an, expounding its generals and fixing the details of worship, dealings, biography and conduct. It was gathered into works arranged by legal chapter or by narrator's musnad, most famously the six books.
At a glance
- Era
- The Prophetic Era · The Rashidun Caliphate · The Umayyad Period · The Early Abbasid Caliphate
- Region
- Arabia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 1/5 · Help complete it
Overview
Its standing
It is the second source of Islam after the Qur'an. It explains what the Qur'an states in general terms, and it sets out the details of worship, dealings, the conduct of life, and ethics.
How it has come down to us
The hadith comes through the chain of transmission. It was gathered in books arranged by chapters or by the musnads of transmitters, and the best known of these are the six canonical collections.
The hadith is linked to the discipline of the Prophetic biography. Further detail needs a further source.
Connections
People and things also explored
Muhammad· Shama'il Muhammadiyya· The Prophetic sira· Isnad· Hadith methodology (mustalah al-hadith)· Bukhari 3547 — Anas's description of the Prophet· Muslim 2307 — The bravest of people; the night fright of Medina· Muslim 2308 — More generous with good than the blowing wind
Sources
- Sahih al-Bukhari
- Sahih Muslim
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Hadith”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-hadith-al-nabawi/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-17.