Hadith
/həˈdiːθ/noun
A report describing a saying, action, or practice of the Prophet Muhammad, regarded as a source of Islamic tradition and law.
Did you know?The Arabic root ḥ-d-th connects Hadith with the concept of “newness” and with events that happen or come into being, giving the term a linguistic link between narration and occurrence.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Semitic
Proto-Semitic
*ḥ-d-ṯ
“A root associated with being new, recent, or happening.”
Classical Arabic
Arabic
ḥadīth
“Something new; speech, report, or narrative.”
7th Century
Arabic
ḥadīth
“Reports preserving sayings, actions, and approvals attributed to Muhammad.”
8th–9th Centuries
Arabic
ḥadīth
“A technical term in the developing scholarly discipline of collecting and evaluating prophetic reports.”
17th Century
English
hadith
“An English borrowing referring to a report or tradition about Muhammad.”
Modern English
English
hadith
“A documented prophetic tradition used alongside the Qur’an in Islamic scholarship and law.”