Islam. The Hanifites,
however, as well as other Muslims, acknowledge the six standard collections
of Traditions as direct revelations of the will of {70} God. They range
over a vast number of subjects, and furnish a commentary on the Quran. The
Prophet's personal appearance, his mental and moral qualities, his actions,
his opinions, are all recorded over and over again. Many questions of
religious belief are largely founded on the Traditions, and it is to them
we must go for an explanation of much of the ritual of Islam. It is very
difficult for any one, who has not lived in long and friendly intercourse
with Muslims, to realize how much their religious life and opinions, their
thought and actions, are based on the Traditions.

Having thus shown the importance of the Traditions, I now proceed to enter
a little into detail on the question of the rules framed concerning them.
The classification adopted by different authors may vary in some
subordinate points; but the following account is adopted from a standard
Muhammadan work. A Tradition may be Hadis-i-Quali, that is, an account of
something the Prophet said; or Hadis-i-Fa'li, a record of something which
he did; or Hadis-i-Taqriri, a statement of some act performed by other
persons in his presence, and which action he did not forbid.

The Traditions may be classed under two general heads:--

First.--_Hadis-i-Mutawatir_, that is, "an undoubted Tradition," the Isnad,
or chain of narrators of which is perfect, and in which chain each narrator
possessed all the necessary qualifications for his office.[64] Some
authorities say there are only a few of these Traditions extant, but most
allow that the following is one: "There are no good works except with
intention," for example, a man may fast, but, unless he has the intention
of fasting firmly in his mind, he gains no spiritual reward by so doing.

Second.--_Hadis-i-Ahad._ The authority of this class is {71} theoretically
somewhat less than that of the first, but practically it is the same.

This class is again sub-divided into two:--

(1). _Hadis-i-Sahih_, or a genuine Tradition. It is not necessary to go
into the sub-divisions of this sub-division. A Tradition is Sahih if the
narrators have been men of pious lives, abstemious in their habits, endowed
with a good memory, free from blemish, and persons who lived at peace with
their neighbours. The following also are Sahih, though their importance as
authorities varies. I