This period of naively adopting institutions, doctrines, and traditions was soon followed by an awakening to the consciousness that Islam could not well absorb any more of such foreign elements without endangering its independent character.  Then a sorting began; and the assimilation of the vast amount of borrowed matter, that had already become an integral part of Islam, was completed by submitting the whole to a peculiar treatment.  It was carefully divested of all marks of origin and labelled hadith,[1] so that henceforth it was regarded as emanations from the wisdom of the Arabian Prophet, for which his followers owed no thanks to foreigners.

[Footnote 1:  Hadith, the Arabic word for record, story, has assumed the technical meaning of “tradition” concerning the words and deeds of Mohammed.  It is used as well in the sense of a single record of this sort as in that of the whole body of sacred traditions.]

At first, it was only at Medina that some pious people occupied themselves with registering, putting in order, and systematizing the spiritual property of Islam; afterwards similar circles were formed in other centres, such as Mecca, Kufa, Basra, Misr (Cairo), and elsewhere.  At the outset the collection of divine sayings, the Qoran, was the only guide, the only source of decisive decrees, the only touchstone of what was true or false, allowed or forbidden.  Reluctantly, but decidedly at last, it was conceded that the foundations laid by Mohammed for the life of his community were by no means all to be found in the Holy Book; rather, that Mohammed’s revelations without his explanation and practice would have remained an enigma.  It was understood now that the rules and laws of Islam were founded on God’s word and on the Sunnah, i.e., the “way” pointed out by the Prophet’s word and example.  Thus it had been from the moment that Allah had caused His light to shine over Arabia, and thus it must remain, if human error was not to corrupt Islam.

At the moment when this conservative instinct began to assert itself among the spiritual leaders, so much foreign matter had already been incorporated into Islam, that the theory of the sufficiency of Qoran and Sunnah could not have been maintained without the labelling operation which we have alluded to.  So it was assumed that as surely as Mohammed must have surpassed his predecessors in perfection and in wonders, so surely must all the principles and precepts necessary for his community have been formulated by him.  Thus, by a gigantic web of fiction, he became after his death the organ of opinions, ideas, and interests, whose lawfulness was recognized by every influential section of the Faithful.  All that could not be identified as part of the Prophet’s Sunnah, received no recognition; on the other hand, all that was accepted had, somehow, to be incorporated into the Sunnah.