The Living Thoughts of the Prophet Muhammad. Maulana Muhammad Ali

and about one-third at Medina where he passed the last ten years of his life. In arrangement the chapters revealed at Mecca are intermixed with those revealed at Medina. The following table will give the reader an approximate idea of the historical order of revelation of the chapters as they stand in the present arrangement:

      Early Mecca period — 60 chapters: 1, 17-21, 50-56, 67-109, 111-114.

      Middle Mecca period — 17 chapters: 29-32, 34-39, 40-46.

      Last Mecca period — 15 chapters: 6, 7, 10-16, 22, 23, 25-28.

      Early Medina period — 6 chapters: 2, 8, 47, 61, 62, 64.

      Middle Medina period — 12 chapters: 3-5, 24, 33, 48, 57-60, 63, 65.

      Last Medina period — 4 chapters: 9, 49, 66, 110.

      The Holy Quran is the chief, and admittedly the most reliable, source of the Prophet’s teachings, the principles being all laid down in it. Sunna (lit., a way or rule or manner of acting), which means the Prophet’s practice, is a secondary source of what the Prophet taught. Hadith literally means a saying, but in its technical sense it is the narration or record of Sunna. In effect Sunna and Hadith cover the same ground and are applicable to the Prophet’s actions, practices and sayings, but Hadith is a wider term as it contains, in addition to the record of the Prophet’s practices, prophetical and historical elements. Sunna or Hadith was recognized from the very beginning as affording guidance in religious matters, and its need, its force as law and its preservation are all traceable to the life-time of the Prophet, though undoubtedly Hadith collections in book form came later.

      The collection of Hadith passed through five stages before it assumed the form of Musnad and Jami‘. The latter brings the knowledge of Hadith to perfection, and it not only arranges reports according to their subject matter, which is not the case with Musnad, but is also of a more critical tone. Six collections of Hadith are recognized in this class by the Ahl Sunna as reliable, commonly known as Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja and Nasa’i. Of these Bukhari which is the first in point of time is the most critical also, and undoubtedly occupies the first place in reliability. In this treatise Bukhari has been referred to more frequently than any other collection. Occasionally the Mishkat, which is a collection of Hadith taken from the above six books and some other collections, such as Baihaqi, Dar Qutni, etc., and has been translated into English, has also been referred to.

      All references given in this treatise without an indication of the name are to the Holy Quran, the first figure representing the number of the chapter and the second figure the number of the verse. All other references are indicated by name. In the reference to Hadith collections, the first figure represents the number of the book and the second the number of the chapter.

      MUHAMMAD ALI

      MUSLIM TOWN, LAHORE, INDIA. 3.12.46.