Muhammad, the Qur'an and Islam
In the 3rd Islamic century, the first collections of the canonical hadith seem
to have been compiled by the Sunnis, and the collections of^12 the Shiites
appear to have followed about a century later.^13
Indeed, many traditions in their present forms are tainted with the political
overtones of early Islam, so that the evident biases in favor of Abu Bakr,
Umar,Uthman, Ali or theAbbasids (Ibn `Abbas) imply that their
various claims to the caliphate were somehow justified.
Even in the case of Muhammad, traditions seem to have been invented to
support his claims to prophethood. Whereas the Qur'an shows that
Muhammad did not have "signs" or miracles to confirm his ministry, a
number of traditions were obviously developed to depict him as a performer
of miracles. Muhammad is also not referred to in the Qur'an as^14 being a
future intercessor for his followers, but quite a few later hadith present him
as an intercessor for Muslims at the Judgment.^15
Conversely, however, some later (i.e. post-traditional) Muslim theologians
became rather successful in establishing and propagating doctrines which
are in direct opposition to both the Qur'an and hadith. The Qur'an and
traditions show, for example, that Muhammad had sins and was
commanded to pray for forgiveness (cf. e.g., 47:21), but later Islamic
theologians declared that Muhammad was sinless. Moreover, t^16 he Qur'an
(93:7) canonical hadith and^1718 Sira traditions show that Muhammad had^19
probably been a pagan earlier, but dissatisfied Muslim theologians decreed
that he had never been a polytheist.^20
Some traditions claim that Muhammad also made prophecies, and although
such hadith about specific persons seem to have been influenced by later
Islamic political issues, others do appear to have been relatively old. In one
example, Muhammad is reported to have said that "the Hour" (or end of the
world) would come shortly after his death. When Muhammad was^21 asked
about this on other occasions, he reportedly replied that no one would be
living 100 years after his death. Although this provision o^22 f a time period
is somewhat out of keeping with the testimony of the Qur'an (cf. 36:48), the
later modifications made to this hadith (some of which claim^23 that
Muhammad had only said that none of his peers would be alive 100years^
from then) indicate that this tradition must really date fro^24 m the first 100
years of Islam. Another hadith claims that Muhammad had said that when
the then-reigning Byzantine emperor died, there would be no emperor after