The claim that ḥadīth was not codified until the second Islamic century has long circulated, primarily due to reports such as the directive of ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz to Abū Bakr ibn ʿAmr ibn Ḥazm to collect prophetic reports for fear of knowledge being lost. This, along with the fact that most early compilers lived after 143 AH, led many historians—including al-Dhahabī, Ibn Ḥajar, and others—to conclude that Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī was the first to formally write ḥadīth. However, this view oversimplified the matter by neglecting evidence of earlier written collections (ṣuḥuf) from the time of the Companions and Tābiʿūn. It was not until al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī’s Taqyīd al-ʿIlm that the subject received a comprehensive, systematic reassessment.
Al-Khaṭīb demonstrated that the issue of writing was debated among the earliest Muslims, with some reports discouraging it to prevent confusion with the Qurʾān and to safeguard memorization, while other reports affirm the permissibility and even practice of writing. His work showed that the initial hesitation was not an absolute prohibition, but rather a contextual precaution rooted in the early community’s circumstances, such as the lack of widespread literacy and the need to prioritize Qurʾānic preservation. With the growth of transmission chains, the multiplication of narrators, and the increasing volume of reports, writing became a practical necessity, and al-Khaṭīb established that the Prophet ﷺ himself permitted it, especially for those unable to rely solely on memory.
Beyond the question of writing, the preservation of ḥadīth also relied on travel (riḥla fī ṭalab al-ḥadīth), which became an institutionalized practice of scholarly pursuit. From the time of the Companions, such as Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh and Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī, journeys were undertaken across vast distances to hear single narrations directly from their sources. This precedent was later treated as indispensable by leading muḥaddithūn like al-Bukhārī, Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, and Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ, who emphasized travel as essential for verifying isnād and achieving scholarly authority. Together, the dual practices of writing and travel anchored the early methodology of ḥadīth preservation, ensuring both accuracy and authenticity in the transmission of the Sunnah.
