The issue is related to the compilation of Hadith. The most common propaganda which has been preached during last few years is that the Hadith which is available to us in the form of Sihah e Sitta are not authentic because the compilation of Hadis started during the Abbasi caliphate many years after the death of Holy Prophet (PBUH). Another allegation is that the Hadith has been subjected to fabrication and has not been protected by Allah like Quran.

It is to start with the last address of Holy Prophet (PBUH) when He (PBUH) said to His followers which was a mammoth gathering. Holy Prophet (PBUH) said:

"Listen oh people carefully and behold for I think we shall not meet here again"....the closing sentences were "I am leaving behind me two things for you i.e. The BOOK OF GOD AND MY SUNNAH".

The Sunnah of the prophet (PBUH) and its all details whatever is available is only from the hadith-e-Rasool which is with us today. Moreover all the Aima e kiram i.e. Imam e Azam, imam Shafi, imam Malik and imam Ahmed bin humble all derived and based their Fiqah on the Hadith available to them in their times and they are all equally respected and honoured by all muslims of the world. They attached so much importance to sahi Hadith that imam e azam Abu Hanifa said that if you find any of the order of my Fiqah which is against sahi Hadith just discard it and throw it on the wall.

Same is true with other three Aima e Kiram and these words are written on their books. Next important step is to explain the compilation of hadis. Although Holy Prophet did not allow his (PBUH) followers to write Hadith like Quran because the group of sahaba who wrote wahi were called katibeen e wahi and the wahi written is known as wahi e maktoob which is available with us in the form of Holy Quran.

In spite of this order many sahaba learnt Hadith by heart and few had a record of it with them which they preserved. Hazrat Ayesha for example remembered about one lakh hadis and Hazrat Abu Huraira remembered many and many hadis by heart. This Hadith is known as wahi e ghair Maktoob.

Since Quran does not tell us the ways of offering prayer, kalima e tayyaba and many fundamental orders but regards them mandatory for a Muslim. All such details are available in Hadith and Fiqah. So it is not possible to follow Quran without Hadith.

Abbasis only collected the people who knew Hadith by heart and others who had record of Hadith and very honestly compiled it. It is a wrong concept that Hadith has been subjected to fabrication. A famous English writer William scott has written a book on analysis of essays and legal procedures. He says that among all the systems of verification of anything in this world the best system which allowed me to verify the false and true is the system adopted by Muhaddiseen for verification of Hadith. He further says that Usul e Hadith is such a perfect system that there is no chance of error.

This is the statement of a non Muslim. But unfortunately some people do not regard Hadiths and declare that QURAN is sufficient for them. One cannot enter in to Islam as a Muslim without Kalima e Tayyaba and it is not written in Quran. Next step is prayer which is also mentioned but method is not written in QURAN. Moreover Quran was revealed on Holy Prophet (PBUH) and he was given the responsibility to tell the people how to practically demonstrate Islamic practices. This is the Sunnah of the prophet (PBUH) which is available only from Hadith and Fiqah and not from the books of history because they also rely on Hadith e Rasool mostly.

Islam was revealed on Prophet (PBUH) and it was practically demonstrated by him (PBUH). This practical demonstration is actually known as Hadith and nobody can deny this fact.

"And Prophet speaks nothing but what ever is revealed on him by Allah" (Quran)

This Ayat holds good for both Wahi e Maktoob i.e . QURAN and Wahi e ghair Maktoob or Hadith.

On the other hand the collectors and distributors of Hadiths of Prophet (PBUH) before and after the Prophet were also found to be honorable and qualified to undertake the such scholarly works. i.e, Abullah ibni Masud, Abdullah ibni Abbas, Omar ibni Khattab, Abu Hurairah, Aisha (R.A).

Aisha R.A.s role was quite significant. It is of the greatest relevance to note the pivotal role she played as a teacher, exponent and interpreter of the religion of Islam. Aisha was an exceptionally intelligent and astute woman, a young prodigy, and this was the main reason why she was got married to the Holy Prophet, as is clearly proved by events after the Holy Prophet’s life. She entered his household, shortly after his emigration to Madina, just at the time when the teachings of Islam in all fields of life for the Muslim community were starting to be revealed to the Holy Prophet and demonstrated by him by his example and practice. An intellectually gifted person was required who would have daily contact with the Holy Prophet at the closest and most personal level, so as to absorb the teachings that he was giving on all aspects of life by his words and actions. Such a person would need to possess the following qualities:

* an excellent, precise memory to retain a vast amount of detail accurately,

* the understanding to grasp the significance and the principles of the teachings,

* powers of reasoning, criticism and deduction to resolve problems on the basis of those teachings,

* the skills to convey knowledge to a wide range of audience,

* and, finally, have the prospect of living for a considerable period of time after the death of the Holy Prophet in order to spread his message to distant generations.

That Aisha possessed all these qualities and carried out this mission is an absolutely positive and undeniable, historical fact. After the Holy Prophet’s death, she acted as a teacher and interpreter of Islam, providing guidance to even the greatest of the male Companions of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. They made a special point of going to her to gain knowledge and seek her opinion. A vast number of sayings and actions of the Holy Prophet are reported from her in books of Hadith. She not only quoted his sayings and reported her observations of events, but interpreted them to provide solutions to questions. Whenever necessary, she corrected the views of the greatest of the Companions of the Holy Prophet. She made rulings and judgments on which Islamic law is based.

The following are two examples of what the Holy Prophet’s male Companions said about her:

“Abu Musa said: Whenever there was any hadith that was difficult [to understand] for us, the Companions of the Messenger of Allah, and we asked Aisha we always found that she had knowledge about that Hadith.”

“Musa ibn Talha said: I never saw anyone more eloquent than Aisha.”

In the famous compilation of the lives of saints in Islam, Tadhkirat-ul-Auliya, the author Farid-ud-Din Attar, who lived eight centuries ago, introduces the life of the early female saint Rabia of Basra as follows:

“If anyone says, ‘Why have you included Rabia in the rank of men?’, my answer is that the Prophet himself said, ‘God does not regard your outward forms’. … Moreover, if it is proper to derive two-thirds of our religion from Aisha, surely it is permissible to take religious instruction from a handmaid of Aisha.”

It is thus recognized, from the earliest times in Islam, that some two-thirds of Islamic Sharia is based on reports and interpretations that have come from Aisha.

In view of these exceptional qualities of Aisha and the towering role played by her in the transmission of the teachings of Islam, it is simply preposterous and outrageous to suggest that she was the victim of some form of child and marital abuse. We ask in particular the Christian and Jewish critics of Islam, who are reviling the Holy Prophet Muhammad on the basis of his marriage with Aisha, whether they can point out any example of a woman in their religions who played a role like that of Aisha in learning the religion from its founder and becoming the teacher and instructor of all his followers, including men, after his death.

it is a common misunderstanding amongst people that Hadith were collected and written down after 150 to 200 years of Prophet Muhammad(s.a.w) 's death.

Hadiths were compiled and written down since the time of Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w), companions (r.a) of the Prophet (s.a.w) had their own scrolls or books, with the help of these scrolls and books were other Hadith books compiled.

At first the Prophet (s.a.w) stopped the companions (r.a) to write down Hadith, told them to erase anything other then Quran but however narrate Hadith as nothing but the truth comes out of the Prophet (s.a.w) 's mouth, and whoever lies upon the Prophet (s.a.w) should locate his place in hell [Saeeh Muslim]

He probably didn't want the Quran to get mixed with Hadith, the people should know the difference. Later he permitted to write Hadith:

Apostle of Allah (s.a.w) said to Abdullah bin Omro (r.a) " write Hadith, I swear by who holds my life in it 's hand, from this mouth nothing but the truth comes out"

[Abu Dawood, volume 1, pg 158]

Abdullah bin Omro (r.a) says: " we were seated near Apostle of Allah (s.a.w) and writing, in this manner was asked: which city will be first conquered, Constinpole or Rome? He (s.a.w) said: Hercule 's city will be conquered first"

[Darami, pg 126]

Prophet (sa.w) said " write this Hadith and give it to Abu shah (r.a)...." [ Saeeh Bukhari, Saeeh Muslim]

Hazrat Ali (r.a) says: " we don't have anything but Kitab Allah and the scriptures in which are hadiths of Apostle of Allah (s.a.w)" [ Saeeh Bukhari & Saeeh Muslim]

Hazrat Abu Huraira says " In the companions (r.a) no one tells Hadith more then I do but Abdullah bin Omro (r.a), because he use to write them and I didn't" [ Saeeh Bukhari]

Hazrat Anas (r.a) heard a hadith and liked it so much, he told his son to write it and he wrote it. [ Saeeh Muslim, Kitab ul Iman]

Hazrat anas (r.a) says that when Hazrat Abu Bakr (r.a) sent him to Yemen as the governor, he wrote on a scroll and gave it to me whose article was " Start with Allah's name who is Rehman and Raheem, this is the obligations of Zakat which Apostle of Allah (s.a.w) has made a obligation on the Muslimeen and this is what Allah ordered it 's own apostle"

[ Saeeh Bukhari, Kitab ul Zakat]

The narrator Hamad bin Salma says " I got this book from Anas (r.a) 's grandson Samama" [ Nisai, kitab ul zakat]

Imam Malik (r.e) says: " I read Hazrat Omar (r.a) 's book" [ Mutawa Malik, pg 106]

From these few narrations from many, we can conclude that Hadiths were being written down since from the Prophet (s.a.w) 's time. From these scripts other famous Hadith s books like Bukhari & Muslim etc were compiled.

A Muslim should also bear in mind the following Hadith s:

Book 40, Number 4587:

Narrated Al-Miqdam ibn Ma'dikarib:

The Prophet (s.a.w) said: Beware! I have been given the Qur'an and something like it, yet the time is coming when a man replete on his couch will say: Keep to the Qur'an; what you find in it to be permissible treat as permissible, and what you find in it to be prohibited treat as prohibited..... [ Abu Dawood, Sanad: Saeeh]

Book 40, Number 4588:

Narrated Abu Rafi':

The Prophet (s.a.w) said: Let me not find one of you reclining on his couch when he hears something regarding me which I have commanded or forbidden and saying: We do not know. What we found in Allah's Book we have followed. [ Abu Dawood, Sanad: Saeeh]