The Arabic word hadith basically means ‘an item of news, conversation, a tale, a story or a report,’ whether historical or legendary, true or false, relating to the present or the past. Its secondary meaning as an adjective is ‘new’ as opposed to qadeem, ‘old’. However, like other Arabic words (e.g. salaah, zakaah), its meaning changed in Islaam. From the time of the Prophet (ρ), his stories and communications dominated all other forms of communication. Consequently, the term hadith began to be used almost exclusively for reports which spoke of his actions and sayings. The Fundamentals of Hadeeth Studies, P.…
