A Hadith is a report: The Arabic word "Hadith" means "the new" or "the recent" — a fresh piece of news, a recent report. In Islam it came to mean the report of the words and guidance of the Prophet (SAW) and the Imams (as), because their words were the freshest, most important news of divine guidance.
Four things count as Hadith: In the Shia view, a Hadith reports the saying (Qawl), the action (Fi'l), or the silent approval (Taqrir) of a Ma'sum — an infallible. A fourth kind is added for the Imams (as): a description (Sifa) of their character, appearance, and personal habits.
Fourteen infallibles, not one: For Shia Muslims, Hadith comes from fourteen Ma'sumeen: the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), Sayyida Fatima al-Zahra (sa), and the Twelve Imams (as). Their guidance spans about 250 years of continuous divine teaching, from the Prophet's (SAW) mission to the occultation of Imam al-Mahdi (ajtf).
Why Hadith matters so much: The Quran gives us Allah's words. Hadith shows us how the Prophet (SAW) and the Imams (as) lived those words — how they prayed, judged, taught, and treated people. Without Hadith we would have the Quran, but not the living example of how to follow it.
Example
Your teacher says in class, "Do the homework tonight." Your friend writes it down and tells you later. Your friend's report is like a Hadith — the teacher's words reaching you through someone else. The difference is that a Hadith carries the words of a Ma'sum (as), so scholars check very carefully who passed it on.
Key Terms
- Hadith (حدیث) — a report of the words, actions, or approvals of a Ma'sum
- Ma'sum (معصوم) — an infallible: the Prophet (SAW), Fatima (sa), and the Twelve Imams (as)
- Qawl (قول) — the spoken saying of a Ma'sum; the most common kind of Hadith
- Taqrir (تقریر) — tacit approval: the Ma'sum saw something done and did not object
Quran or Hadith
Imam al-Sadiq (as) said: "Whoever wakes without concern for Muslims' affairs is not among them." — Al-Kafi. — to be checked. This is a saying (Qawl) of an Imam (as) — this is what a Hadith looks like.
Fresh diagram to be drawn: A simple picture — the Prophet (SAW) and an Imam (as) at the top, with arrows carrying their words down to an open book labelled "Hadith", and the caption "The words of the Ma'sumeen, passed on to us."
- A Hadith is a report of the saying, action, or silent approval of a Ma'sum.
- For Shia Muslims, Hadith comes from fourteen Ma'sumeen: the Prophet (SAW), Fatima (sa), and the Twelve Imams (as).
- The Quran is Allah's word; Hadith shows us how the Ma'sumeen lived it.