There were certain conditions that must be fulfilled before any Hadith is accepted as statements of the Prophet S.A.W. They include:
i. The Hadith should not be at variance with the teachings of the Holy Qur’an or any of the accepted principles of Islam.
ii. The Hadith should not be contrary to the well known traditions already accepted in Islam.
iii. The Hadith should not be against reason or laws of nature as well as common experience.
iv Any Hadith that contain statements which are against the Islamic belief of Prophet Hood should be rejected.
v Any Hadith that sings that the praises of any tribe, nation or culture should be totally rejected.
vi Under the principle of Asma’ Rijal any Hadith that tends to predict the future should be rejected.
vii Any Hadith that suggests lesser punishment for a big offence or a big punishment for a lesser offence should be totally rejected.
Apart from the above, the early scholars of Hadith took time to scrutinize the personalities of transmitters of Hadith. These are in the areas of their truthfulness, reliability and maturity.
i. The Hadith should not be at variance with the teachings of the Holy Qur’an or any of the accepted principles of Islam.
ii. The Hadith should not be contrary to the well known traditions already accepted in Islam.
iii. The Hadith should not be against reason or laws of nature as well as common experience.
iv Any Hadith that contain statements which are against the Islamic belief of Prophet Hood should be rejected.
v Any Hadith that sings that the praises of any tribe, nation or culture should be totally rejected.
vi Under the principle of Asma’ Rijal any Hadith that tends to predict the future should be rejected.
vii Any Hadith that suggests lesser punishment for a big offence or a big punishment for a lesser offence should be totally rejected.
Apart from the above, the early scholars of Hadith took time to scrutinize the personalities of transmitters of Hadith. These are in the areas of their truthfulness, reliability and maturity.
In addition, the character of any transmitter of Hadith is also a focus of attention under the science of Asma’ Rijal. This is to find out if the transmitter for instance is a drunkard, a gambler or an adulterer. The intention was that since the Prophet was a man of impeccable character, any statement credited to him and for which should be a guide to future Muslims must be of doubtless status.