CONCLUSION

The divine guidance that came to the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) was in the form of the Holy Qur'an which, in essence is the verbatim word of Allah (SWT). Since the Holy Qur'an, in many instances does not provide the details for the divine injunctions, the Hadith of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) supplements the Qur'an in that it serves to elaborate upon the Qur'anic teachings. This is so in view of the fact that since the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.s.) was the one who received the revelation directly, he was the one who could interpret the meanings of the Holy Qur'an. The words and deeds of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) came to be recognised as the second source of Islam and, as discussed earlier, the Holy Qur'an itself exhorted Muslims to obey and follow the Prophet (s.a.w.s.).

The teachings of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.) in the form of his Hadith (sayings) and Sunnah (deeds) were well recorded and preserved and transmitted by the Sahabah (ra.) orally. Though the Ahadith were recorded in writing during the lifetime of the Prophet (s.a.w.s.), it was only in the second century Hijri that the first systematic compilation of Hadith was accomplished by Imam Malik bin Anas (d. 193/808). Thereafter other compilations appeared including what is termed as al-Sihah al-Sittah (The Six Authentic Books of Hadith). However, later on, these compilations were found to be too bulky and not easily accessible to students and lay Muslims. There arose a need therefore for concise compilations of Hadith that would cover all aspects of the teachings of Islam. One such distinguished compilation was Masabih al-Sunnah which was later revised by al-Tabrizi and came to be known as Mishkat al-Masabih.

This study was undertaken in order to ascertain the importance of Mishkat al-Masabih as a standard textbook for Hadith and Islamic Jurisprudence. It was pointed out that from the time that the Mishkat was compiled, it attracted the attention of Muslim scholars and attained popular acceptance. The book was popular among laymen and scholars alike in view of the fact that it dispensed them from recoursing to the larger compilations of Hadith. Many commentaries were written on it and it was subsequently translated into Farsi, Urdu and English. Moreover, it was also established that from as early as the 14 century C.E. the Mishkat was introduced in the curriculum of the Dar al-'Ulums in India. Furthermore, the Mishkat, up to the present time, is being used as an introductory work on Hadith and students learn how to draw juridical inferences from the Ahadith of the Mishkat.

In the final analysis, therefore, judging from the views expressed by Muslims scholars on the Mishkat, the commentaries that have been written on it, and the fact that the Mishkat is still being taught in religious institutions in various parts of the world, including South Africa, one has to concede that the Mishkat is undoubtedly a valuable work of Hadith and Islamic Jurisprudence. Had it not been so, it would not have sustained consistently the popular academic recognition at all levels.

Maulana Yunus Osman

Chapter 6 ... cont'd

Mishkat al-Masabih