Historicity of Muhammad - Hadith

Hadith

Early Muslim scholars were concerned that some hadiths (and sīra reports) may have been fabricated, and thus they developed a science of hadith criticism (see Hadith studies) to distinguish between genuine sayings and those that were forged, recorded using different words, or were wrongly ascribed to Muhammad.

In general, the majority of western academics view the hadith collections with caution. Bernard Lewis states that "The collection and recording of Hadith did not take place until several generations after the death of the Prophet. During that period the opportunities and motives for falsification were almost unlimited." However, some Western historians have defended hadith and the general authenticity of Isnad (chain of transmission). It has also been suggested that the concept of isnad was a precursor to modern academic citation.