Marife Turkish Journal of Religious Studies

Abstract

In this paper it is aimed at evaluating, in a critical point of view, the article
"A hadith (the prophetic saying) used in religious education of child and it's analysis"
published in the previous volumes of "Marife" (Year: 2, Vol: 2, Autumn 2002,
pp. 53-79) under the name of Mustafa Ertürk; and intended to explore the hadith
"Do order your children praying (salat) when they are seven years of age, in their
tenth (if they do not pray) beat them..." anew and more carefully in terms of isnad
(chain of narrators) and matn (content of hadith's text). The author of the article
mentioned above drew the conclusion that the hadith in question stands in contradiction
to the Prophet's words and deeds (Sunnah) and has been forged in the
name of Prophet therefore it is not genuine/authentic narration (Sahih) unlike the
claim of certain scholars. However, this study given below, attempts to show, in the
light of legal opinions of jurists and traditionists within six Islamic schools, that the
hadith is both in essence a "sahih" narration having sound isnads technically verifying
each other and conforms with "amal" (historical facts and practices) which accompanied
with it; in addition, that the message given by the hadith is not unreconcilable
with contemporary methods of Education on the contrary to claimed
one.