By Asad Ali (Mathabah Institute Student)
The existence of the Prophet can be proven through the validity of the Isnād chain
- The isnād chain is used to authenticate any narration by demonstrating if the narration can be accurately associated to whom it is being attributed to.
- The most authentic isnād chain is known as mutawātir, where a tradition has been narrated by so many people who can authentically trace back their chain to the original source that it becomes impossible to think that it was a lie. An example of this is the existence of World War I: Many people never saw World War I, but the vast number of narrations of people who took part in it, or are related to somebody who took part in it, makes it absurd for one to deny its existence. The next category is mashūr, which is not as abundant as mutawātir, but is also not less than 3 [authentic chains]. The last category is known as khabar al wāhid and it is any tradition which has less that less than 3 authentic chains that go back to its original source. (Authority of Sunnah, Taqi Usmani, pg. 78,79)
The Prophet Muḥammad’s life has been documented in narrations known as ḥadīth.
- The science of ḥadīth deals with authenticating each ḥadīth by examining its isnād chain back to the Prophet himself. Those narrations of the Prophet Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) that are seen to be mutawātir are impossible to deny, just as it is impossible to deny World War I. One mutawātir ḥadīth is enough to establish the existence of the Prophet Muḥammad, however there are several mutawātir narrations of the Prophet Muḥammad which make his existence even more undeniable. The inclusion of mashūr and khabar al wāhid narrations which have been rigorously authenticated makes the question of the existence of the Prophet Muḥammad completely irrelevant. (Authority of Sunnah, Taqi Usmani, pg. 82)
- A ḥadīth goes through much scrutiny before it can be confirmed to be authentically attributed to the Prophet. Things taken into consideration before claiming a narration is authentic includes the credibility of its narrators, which serves as a separate science in itself, the constancy of the narrators back to the original source, meaning that there are no gaps in the chain of narration, consistency in the style in which the narration is conveyed compared to similar narrations, and contents of the narration itself, which assesses whether it contradicts common sense or other established principles. The intense scrutiny that is placed of the science of ḥadīth ensures that only the most authentic of narrations are considered, while a narration with even a shadow of doubt is not considered. (Authority of Sunnah, Taqi Usmani, 120-126)
With the scrutiny involved in the authentication of ḥadīth taken into account, as well as the validity of the isnād system, the existence of the Prophet Muḥammad becomes an undeniable fact that only the most ignorant would deny.
- One can go as far to say that there is no other historical figure that has ever existed that has gone through the same rigors of authentication that the life of the Prophet has gone through. After being exposed to the science of ḥadīth, the burden is now placed on the one who denies the existence of the Prophet to go through each narration independently, and using the standards of the ḥadīth sciences, to prove that these narrations are fabricated.
