وضعِ حدیث: اسباب و مقاصد اور اثرات کا تحقیقی جائزہ

Hadith Fabrication: A Scholarly Analysis of Its Causes, Motives, and Effects"

Abstract

The Qur’an is the preserved Word of Allah, while the Sunnah of the Messenger ﷺ is its practical interpretation and explanation. The noble hadith not only provide the foundation for beliefs (‘aqa’id) and acts of worship (‘ibadat), but also offer guidance in matters of ethics, social dealings, and communal life. Alas, with the passage of time, certain trends emerged that undermined the true spirit of the Prophetic traditions. Among these, the most dangerous was the phenomenon of “fabricated hadith” (mawdu‘ ahadith) statements falsely attributed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ by individuals or groups in different eras to serve their personal interests, biases, or misguided ideologies.Such fabricated narrations not only obscure the pure form of the religion, but also plunge ordinary Muslims into the mire of misguidance, innovations (bid‘ah), and erroneous beliefs. They have been used as tools to divert the Ummah from the authentic Sunnah, to lay flawed jurisprudential or sectarian foundations, and at times, to achieve political or religious objectives. For this reason, the hadith scholars (muhaddithun) devoted their lives to investigating, scrutinizing, and identifying these fabrications.In the present article, we will examine in detail who the fabricators of hadith were and what drove them to commit such acts, explore the possible motives and objectives behind these fabrications, and analyze their individual and collective impact on the Muslim community.