A Critical Analysis of Prophetic Narrations Mentioned in KAFA JAKIM’s ‘Aqīdah Textbooks

The introduction of Quranic and Fardhu Ain courses (Kelas Al-Quran dan Fardhu Ain (KAFA) by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) is an effort to produce a generation that is moulded by the teachings of Al-Quran and Al-Sunnah. However, there are specific ḥadīths quoted in the textbook that require further attentive verification. This study seeks to verify the status of the ḥadīth mentioned in the „Aqīdah textbook in the eyes of the Ahlussunnah Wal Jama‟ah scholars. This is because „Aqīda his the most important subject in Islamic studies.This research is a qualitative research which uses data analysis method, where allthe data and information obtained will be analysed using descriptive method. The method of takhrijal- ḥādīth will be applied to verify the status of the ḥadīths . This study reveals that there are six ḥadīths mentioned in the „Aqīdah textbook and the status of 3 of them are problematic. The origin of one of these ḥadīths isunknown while two of them are not properly narrated. This study also suggests the establishment of a committee or panel that is comprised of ḥadīth scholars/experts from the local universities in order to makesureall ḥādīths mentioned in the textbooks would adhere to the prescribed standards.


Introduction
According to the statistics furnished by the Malaysian Islamic Education Information Systems Portal (SIMPENI), there are more than 5,000 Quran and Muslim Personal Duty Class (KAFA) schools registered nationwide, along with 388,000 students enrolled. These figures indicate that KAFA Textbooks are among the important references for Muslim youth in Malaysia in attaining knowledge pertaining to their religion.
There were several publishers that were certified by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM)for the printing of KAFA Textbooks when this research was undertaken, namely: i. PenerbitanFargoesSdn. Bhd. ii. Aras Mega (M) Sdn. Bhd.
iii. Era VisiSdn. Bhd. iv. Penerbitan Sri KenangaSdn. Bhd. v. RimbunanIlmuSdn. Bhd. However, only PenerbitanFargoesSdnBhd had received certification from JAKIM to print textbooks for all subjects within the KAFA syllabus. This is because, at that time, they were the only ones with the capability to print and distribute the publications at the required capacity. These textbooks also had passed examinations by some evaluation panels appointed by JAKIM Ahmad Tamizi bin . Due to this circumstance, this study focused only on the ḥādīths mentioned in KAFA textbooks that were published by Penerbitan Fargoes.

Literature Review
The study on textbook content is not new in Malaysia, in fact it has been continuously conducted in various aspects of research for continuous improvement of its quality from time to time. Textbook sareundeniably one of important references in the educational system of Malaysia. According to a study by the Ministryof Education of Malaysia conducted in 1972, there was a strong relation in terms of correlationbetween the usage of textbooks and dropout, while according to another study conducted in 1977, there was a strong connection between the usage of textbooksand student achievement (Hussein Hj Ahmad, 1985).
In one of the studies on textbooks, Norhayati (2008) decided to analyse the frequency of creative and critical thinking skills items in the science textbook of form two students of the government school. She found that the frequency distribution of the items were not equally distributed among all the items. She also found that 70% of the questions included in it were designed to enhance creative and critical thinking skills of the students.
Among other studies conducted there was also a corpus-based investigation on English prepositions which are presented in three English language textbooks used by lower secondary schools in Malaysia conducted by Jayakaran and Norwati (2009). The study found that there were grammar items that were not sufficiently presented in the textbook and they had recommended some teaching strategies in order to achieve the outlined teaching objectives.
Mohd Nazriq Bin Noor Ahmad (2016), conducted a comparative researchstudy where he studied the difference between Malaysian and Singaporean Final Secondary Level Mathematics Textbooks. The research among others seeksto investigate the reasons why the performance of Malaysian students was not as good as Singaporean students despite both of them using the same English medium textbook. He recommended for future research, to consider looking into textbooks from other grades, as well as workbooks and supplementary materials.
These studies are among various others that have been conducted with a focus on textbooks in various fields of knowledge. There were also studies on ḥādīthsin the textbooks, but they are still considered little. Despite the fact the KAFA Textbooks that are used by about 400,00 of young Muslims in this country , there is no study on ḥādīthyet done for these textbooks.Among the studies on ḥādīthsin the textbooks are the following: 1. The study on the Islamic Education Textbook, of the New Secondary School Curriculum(KBSM),for Form Two undertaken. The study on 42 ḥādīth textsrevealed that weak and fabricated ḥādīths are mentioned in that textbook. They urged that the study on the status of ḥādīthbe conducted on all textbooks for all education levels.
2. The study on Negeri Sembilan"s Sīrah Textbook for the Afternoon Islamic School Session by Adel and Ahmad Sanusi in 2011.A thorough revision upon factual sīrah evidences used in it was recommended by them, after it was discovered that there were contents with unknown sources of reference in the textbook (Adel M Abdul Aziz and Ahmad Sanusi Azmi, 2011).
In addition, according to Dr. Faisal Ahmad Shah, one of the ways that ḥādīths would spread within the Malay society is through formal class sessions in the schools (Faisal Ahmad Shah, 2016). Therefore, there is a possibility that weak and fabricated ḥādīths are also there and could be present in KAFA Textbooks. Hence, these statements became the driving factors in the completion of this study upon KAFA text books of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM). In this paper however, the researchers will discuss only one of the subjects of the KAFA Textbooks which areAqidah (Islamic Creed) Textbooks that are namedas Fundamentals of Islamic Sciences ("Aqīdah).

Methodology
This is a qualitative research study which uses the data analysis method. The data and information needed, especially the ḥādīths that were studied, were obtained from the KAFA Aqidah Textbooks. Allthe data and information obtained was analysed using the descriptive method in which the ḥādīthstexts available in the textbooks were studied and analyzed. In order to investigate the status of the ḥādīths, the method of takhrijal-ḥādīthvia computer and web applications like al-Maktabah al-Shamilah, al-Durar al-Sanniyyah and hdith.com was applied. This method was used so that the ḥādīths texts could be located rapidly. The printed sources were then consulted to ensure the accuracy of the information.
After the required information like the chain of narrators were acquired, the researchers assessed the ḥādīths texts based on the following steps: 1. Identification of the narrators and investigation about their defective characteristic as a hadith narrator. The correct narrators will be identified so that the correct narrator will be investigated.
2. With the correct narrators being investigated and a defect found, the opinion of the scholars of rijāl will be highlighted. If the narrator found thiqah (trusted), the opinion of the scholars on him will not be mentioned except when needed.
3. The chain of narrators will be checked if there is a broken chain. The broken chain can be examined through the narrator"s date of birth and his teacher"s date of deceased. 4. Hidden defect ("ilāl) of the ḥādīth then be examined through the previous researches by the scholars of "ilāl like the book of "IlālbyAl-Dāraquṭnī, the book of "Ilāl byIbn Abi Ḥātim, the book of Al-Ḍu"afā" oleh Al-"Uqaylīand the book of Al-Kāmilfī al-Ḍu"afā" oleh Ibn "Adi.
5. Finally, the Matn of the ḥādīth will be inspected. Any defect found in it will be mentioned in the evaluation of the ḥādīth.

Research Questions
This study attempts to answer the following research questions: 1. What are the status of the hadiths in KAFA Aqidah textbooks? 2. Are there hadiths that have to be replaced or fixed? Results and discussion Overall, these textbooks consist of 6 books, one for each year from Year 1 until Year 6. All of them were in the range of 44 to 76 pages long. The font used in these books is JawiBaru (Modern Jawi). The textbooks have many attractive illustrations portrayed, in black and white prints. They also have brief notes in the form of key points, along with a series of exercise activities. As mentioned in the back cover of the textbooks, the content is arranged accordingly in fulfilling a study session over a period of one year. Its exercises were designed to train the students to pronounce, read, identify, comprehend, and write.

Chart-1. Shows the number of ḥādīths based on the year of study
This research found that in total, there are only six ḥādīths mentioned in these textbooks. Year 2 had the most ḥādīths, with three mentioned. Then, two were mentioned in the textbook for Year 6 and one was mentioned in the Year 1 textbook. No ḥādīths were mentioned in the textbooks for Years three, four, and five as illustrated in Chart 1.

Chart-2.
Shows the categories of ḥādīths based on its status, whether acceptable, not properly narrated or having no origin After all ḥādīths in the textbook were carefully analyzed, it was discovered that three of them were of maqbūl (accepted) status, while two ḥādīths were not properly narrated, and there was one ḥadīth where the researchers were unable to find its origin.

Chart-2. Shows the number of ḥādīths based on its categories
In the group of maqbūlḥadīth, two of them were actually graded as muttafaqun "alayh (agreed upon) and one was graded as ṣaḥīḥḥadīth. On the other hand, there were three ḥadīth found problematic which needed to be fixed or replaced.

MaqbūlḤādīths (Accepted Ḥādīths)
The following is a brief analysis on ḥādīths in this category:

The Problematic Ḥādīths
This research found three problematic Ḥādīths. One of them needed to be replaced and the other two needed to be fixed. The explanation on each of them are as follows.

Ḥādīthsin Which Its Sanad (Chain of Narrators) Were Not Found
After attempting to track the sanad of the ḥadīth in the books of sanad available, the researchers had failed to find its sanad. In ḥadith sciences, the sanad is a vital element for a ḥadīth in ensuring that the verification upon the status of the narrators can bepursued.
Furthermore, it is through the sanad that the narration can be verified whether it has taken place or not. This is because one may claim that a narrator narrates a ḥadīth from his teacher, while in actuality the narrator did not even physically meet the teacher.
Therefore, since the sanad of that ḥadīth could not be verified, then the researchers were unable to verify the status of the narrators andas a result unable to prove that this narration had actually taken place or not. The following is the ḥadīth in which its sanad was unable to be verified. It is mentioned here to facilitate other researchers in attempting to trace its sanad: "Hadīth of the messenger of AllahṣallaAllāh "alayhiwasallam: ‫أٗالىدَْٝعسفخهللا‬ The first step in the religion is to knowAllāh" (Marzuki, 2014). The researcherswere unable to find this ḥadīth in any of the ḥadīthbooks that provides the sanad of ḥādīths. Therefore, for now it is considered as ḥadīth that has no basis or origin.

Ḥādīths That Were Improperly Narrated
There were two ḥadīths that were not properly narrated in the textbooks. Upon further review, the researchers did not find the text of the ḥadīth mentioned. However, there were ḥādīths with a slightly different text carrying the same meaning. Therefore, this research suggests that these ḥādīths be fixed for the next edition. The following is a brief analysis of those ḥādīths.

The First Ḥadīth
"The messenger of Allah ṣalla Allāh "alayhiwasallamsaid: ‫ٗمبّبىيٖ٘حدٕ٘ىَٞنَْعٖشٜء‬ And Allāh is Unique, and there is nothing with Him (Marzuki, 2014). The researchers were unable to find the lafẓ (wording) of this ḥadīth in any of the ḥadīth books that lists the sanad of ḥādīths. It could be that this lafẓ was narrated according to its meaning, which is almost akin to a ḥadīth collected by Al-Bukhārīand ibn Ḥibbānin theirṢaḥīḥ, on the authority of "Imrān bin Ḥuṣaynraḍiya Allāh "anhu.
Al-Bukhārīnarrated from "Abḍān from AbūḤamzah from Al-A"mash from Jāmi"bin Shaddād from Ṣafwān bin Muḥrizfrom "Imrān bin Ḥuṣayn, who said:  (something)." (After a while) some Yemenites entered, and he said to them, "O the people of Yemen! Accept the good news, as BaniTamim have refused it. "They said, "We accept it, for we have come to you to learn the Religion. So we ask you what the beginning of this universe was." The Prophet ‫)ﷺ(‬ said "There was Allah and nothing else before Him and His Throne was over the water, and He then created the Heavens and the Earth and wrote everything in the Book." Then a man came to me and said, 'O `Imran! Follow your she-camel for it has run away!" So I set out seeking it, and behold, it was beyond the mirage! By Allah, I wished that it (my she-camel) had gone but that I had not left (the gathering)" (al-Bukhārī, 1422H). IbnḤibbānnarrated from "Umar bin Muḥammad Al-HamdānīfromMuḥammad bin IshkābfromMuḥammad bin Abi "Ūbaydah bin Ma"nfrom his father Abi "Ubaydahfrom al-A"mashfromJāmi" binShaddādfromṢafwān bin Muḥrizfrom "Imrān bin Ḥuṣayn, who said,

The Second Ḥadīth
"Hadīth of the messenger of Allah ṣallaAllāh "alayhiwasallam:

‫منعملعمالأشركفيهغيريفهىلهكلهىأناأغنىالشركاءعنالشرك‬
He who does an action, associating other than me in it, so it (the action) is all for it (the associate) and I am the Most Self-Sufficient and I have no need for an associate" (Marzuki, 2014) The text of this ḥadīth is the text narrated by Abu Hurayrah, it is narrated from Abu Ṭāhir al-Mukhallis by way of Al-A"la bin "Abdar-Raḥmān, from his father "Abdar-Raḥman bin Ya"qūb, from Abu Hurayrah, from Rasulullāh‫.ﷺ‬ It is slightly different compared to the textof the ḥadīth found in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, where its ending (underlined) is placed in the frontwithout the text ‫ٍعٜ‬ and ‫فٖ٘ىٖنئ‬ along with the additional text ‫ٗشسمٔ‬ ‫.رسمزٔ‬ The wordings in Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim are as follows: ‫ٗشسمٔ‬ ‫رسمزٔ‬ ‫غٞسٛ،‬ ‫ٍعٜ‬ ‫فٞٔ‬ ‫أشسك‬ ‫عَال‬ ‫عَو‬ ٍِ ‫اىشسك،‬ ‫عِ‬ ‫اىشسمبء‬ ‫أغْٚ‬ ‫أّب‬ I am the Most Self-Sufficient and I have no need for an associate, those who does and action, associating in it with me other than me, I will leave him and his associate" (Muslim, n.d.).
In TakhrījIḥyā Al-Muwaṭṭa" and its text is from the ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrahwithout him stating "And I free myself from that" and it was also narrated by Muslim by beginning and ending without that wording. Similarly with ibn Mājahwith an authentic sanad (Al-"Irāqī, 1987).

The Third Ḥadīth
"The messenger of Allah ṣallaAllāh "alayhi wasallam said: ‫ٍْعْعْخظٞئخفعيٖٞ٘شزٕبٗٗشزٍْعَيجٖبالْٝقصَْأٗشازَٕشٞئب‬ And whosoever initiates an evil practice in Islam and is emulated by others will bear the sin of it and the sin of all those who act on it without their burden being diminished in the least. (Marzuki, 2014) The text of this ḥadīth is not found in the well-known nine books of ḥādīth (al-Kutub at-Tis"ah). However, there are more than 10 narrations having similar wording with this ḥadīth. Among them are the following lafẓ: 1.  Al-Nasa'i, Kitāb al-Zakāh, Bāb al-Taḥrīḍ "ala al-Ṣadaqah, no. 2554  The researchers had concluded that this ḥadīth was not narrated in its precise wording. And the following is the takhrīj(verification) upon the abovementioned ḥādīths This ḥadīth was collected by Muslim, Aḥmad, Al-Nasa"ī, Ibn Mājah, Ibn Ḥibbān, Al-DārimīandIbn Khuzaymah from three different companions, namely Abu Hurayrah, Abu JuḥayfahdanJarīr Al-Bajalīthrough the following paths of sanad: 1. The ḥadīth of Abu Hurayrah. Ibn Mājahnarrated from "Abd Al-Wārith bin "Abd Al-Ṣamadfrom "Abd Al-Ṣamad bin "Abd Al-Wārith from Ayyūb from Muḥammad bin Sīrīn from Abū Hurayrah from Rasul Allāh ṣallaAllāh"alayhiwasallam (Muḥammad bin Yazīd Al-Qazwīnī, n.d).