Musulmi sun yarda cewa Sunnar Annabi Muhammadu ﷺ ita ce tushe na biyu daga cikin tushen Musulunci guda biyu da aka saukar, bayan Alkur'ani Mai Girma. Sunnah ingantacciya tana cikin babban littafin Hadisi.1.

The Muslims are agreed that the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is the second of the two revealed fundamental sources of Islam, after the Glorious Qur'an. The authentic Sunnah is contained within the vast body of Hadith literature.1.

Hadisi (jam'i ahadisi) ya ƙunshi sassa biyu: matn (rubutun hadisin) da isnad (jerin masu ruwaito). Rubutun hadisi na iya zama kamar mai ma'ana da hankali, amma sai yana da isnad ingantacce tare da amintattun masu ruwaito kafin a karɓe shi. 'Abdullah b. al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), ɗaya daga cikin malaman Imam al-Bukhari masu daraja, ya ce: "Isnad wani ɓangare ne na addini: da ba don isnad ba, duk wanda ya so zai faɗi duk abin da ya ga dama."2.

A hadith (pl. ahadith) is composed of two parts: the matn (text) and the isnad (chain of reporters). A text may seem to be logical and reasonable but it needs an authentic isnad with reliable reporters to be acceptable; 'Abdullah b. al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH), one of the illustrious teachers of Imam al-Bukhari, said, "The isnad is part of the religion: had it not been for the isnad, whoever wished to would have said whatever he liked."2.

A lokacin rayuwar Annabi (Allah ya yi masa salati da sallama) da bayan rasuwarsa, Sahabbansa (Sahabah) suna ambatonsa kai tsaye idan suna ambaton maganganunsa. Tabi'ai (Tabi'un) sun bi sawu; wasu daga cikinsu suna ambaton Annabi (Allah ya yi masa salati da sallama) ta hannun Sahabbai, yayin da wasu kuma suke cire mai shiga tsakani - irin wannan hadisi daga baya aka sani da mursal. An gano cewa mahaɗin da ya ɓace tsakanin Tabi'i da Annabi (Allah ya yi masa salati da sallama) na iya zama mutum ɗaya, watau Sahabi, ko mutane biyu, inda mutum na ƙarin shi ne wani Tabi'i tsoho wanda ya ji hadisin daga Sahabin. Wannan misali ne na yadda bukatar tabbatar da kowane isnadi ta taso; Imam Malik (d. 179) ya ce, "Mutum na farko da ya yi amfani da isnadi shi ne Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri" (d. 124).3.

During the lifetime of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and after his death, his Companions (Sahabah) used to refer to him directly, when quoting his sayings. The Successors (Tabi'un) followed suit; some of them used to quote the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) through the Companions while others would omit the intermediate authority - such a hadith was later known as mursal. It was found that the missing link between the Successor and the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) might be one person, i.e. a Companion, or two people, the extra person being an older Successor who heard the hadith from the Companion. This is an example of how the need for the verification of each isnad arose; Imam Malik (d. 179) said, "The first one to utilise the isnad was Ibn Shihab al- Zuhri" (d. 124).3.

Wani dalili mafi muhimmanci kuma shi ne yadda wasu ƙungiyoyi da suka bayyana a cikin Musulmai suka ƙirƙira hadisai da gangan, domin su goyi bayan ra'ayoyinsu (duba daga baya, a cikin bayanin hadisai maudu'ai). Ibn Sirin (d. 110), wani Tabi'i, ya ce: "Ba su kasance suna tambayar game da isnad ba. Amma sa'ad da fitina ta faru, sai suka ce: Ku faɗa mana sunayen mutanenku. Don haka ana karɓar riwayoyin Ahl al-Sunnah (Mabiya Sunna), amma ba a karɓar na Ahl al-Bid'ah (Mabiya Bidi'a)."4.

The other more important reason was the deliberate fabrication of ahadith by various sects which appeared amongst the Muslims, in order to support their views (see later, under discussion of maudu' ahadith). Ibn Sirin (d. 110), a Successor, said, "They would not ask about the isnad. But when the fitnah (trouble, turmoil, esp. civil war) happened, they said: Name to us your men. So the narrations of the Ahl al-Sunnah (Adherents to the Sunnah) would be accepted, while those of the Ahl al-Bid'ah (Adherents to Innovation) would not be accepted."4.