The Eminence of the Hadith Adherents

The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "There will always remain a group from my nation prevailing upon the truth. They will not be harmed by those who forsake them, nor by those who oppose them." (Sahih al-Bukhari 7311, Sahih Muslim 1920) When Imam Ahmad was asked who these people were, he said: "If they are not the hadith adherents, then I do not know who they are."

About This Book

The Eminence of the Hadith Adherents is a translation of Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith — the work of Imam al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (392–463 AH) in defense of the scholars of hadith and those who adhere to the prophetic narrations. This Dar Al-Arqam edition is a bilingual Arabic-English hardback translated by Ayman Jalal.

What This Book Covers

The Status of the Hadith Adherents in the Sight of Allah and His Messenger

Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi opens by establishing, from Qur'anic verses and authentic narrations, the status of those who carry, study, and adhere to the hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). These are the people who preserved the Sunnah from corruption, repelled those who fabricated narrations, and ensured that what Allah's Messenger said reached every subsequent generation intact.

The Role of Hadith Scholars in Protecting the Sunnah

The book documents how the scholars of hadith functioned as guardians of the prophetic tradition — identifying fabricated narrations, exposing weak narrators, and maintaining the chain of transmission that connects every authentic hadith to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) himself. This is the science that made it possible for Muslims to know what the Prophet actually said, centuries after his passing.

Statements of the Scholars on Hadith and Its Adherents

The work collects statements from the Imams and scholars of the Salaf on the nobility of hadith, the regard in which they held its adherents, and the warnings they issued against those who opposed or disparaged the prophetic narrations. These statements offer a window into how the early scholars understood the relationship between the Sunnah and the survival of the religion.

About the Author

Imam Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ali al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (392–463 AH) was a scholar of hadith and its sciences and the historian of Baghdad. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani noted that virtually every hadith scholar who came after him was indebted to his works. Published by Dar Al-Arqam.

Who This Book Is For

Students of hadith who want to understand the status and virtue of the science they are studying. Muslims who want to understand why adherence to authentic hadith is not a secondary concern but a defining characteristic of Ahlus-Sunnah. And anyone who wants to know who the "saved group" the Prophet described actually are — and what distinguishes them.

Continue Reading

We carry a second translation of this same work under the title Disciples of Hadith: The Noble Guardians — an English-only edition from Dar as-Sunnah. This Dar Al-Arqam edition is bilingual Arabic-English. Browse more from Al-Khatib Al-Baghdadi, the full hadith collection, or our guide to the best hadith books to start with the Sunnah.