Definition
of Mutawatir (The recurrent Hadith)
A Mutawatir Hadith is a report of such a large number of narrators
(at different times) that their agreement upon a lie is inconceivable.
The condition must be met in the entire chain from the origins of the report
to the very end.
Conditions Of Mutawatir Hadith
There are four conditions which must be present in a Hadith for it to
reach this category:
-
At least four different persons must have narrated this Hadith (Although
there is a difference in opinion about the required number, ranging from
four to several hundreds.)
-
It has to have been impossible for these four or more to have concurred
on a lie.
-
They must have narrated the Hadith from similar people (the first two conditions
being applicable) from the beginning of the chain of transmitters until
the end of it.
-
Their narrations must rely on the mind and the senses, not the mind only,
because the mind might be mistaken (as imagining something to have happened).
All these conditions are met in the Hadiths referring to the descent of
I`sa reported from the prophet Muhammad (sallaho alayhi wasallam), thus
their authenticity is without doubt.
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