Hadith of position meaning "report", "account" or "narrative". Hadith are second only to the Quran in developing Islamic jurisprudence, and regarded as important tools for understanding the Quran and commentaries ("tafsir") on it. The hadith literature is based on spoken reports that were in circulation in society after the death of Muhammad. Unlike the Quran itself, which was compiled under the official direction of the early Islamic State in Medina, the hadith reports were not compiled by a central authority. Hadith were evaluated and gathered into large collections during the 8th and 9th centuries, generations after the death of Muhammad, after the end
Introduction to the Science of Hadith the earlier scholars as appropriate and mostly sufficed with conclusions drawn from them and then specifying or clarifying a definition. The definitions Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ used to describe the individual terms of hadith terminology were largely in accordance with the views of the majority of hadith specialists. In some instances, he would mention an undisputed opinion, before mentioning one that was widely accepted and then describing the difference. He would generally precede his critique of differing opinions by saying: "I say". For the primary terms described, he mentioned an example to illustrate that definition. His goal in doing so was to