EARLY HADITH DOCUMENTS 

There are two main kinds of Hadith i.e., official letters or documents and private collections by Companions of the statements and actions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). Let us deal with the first category. 

A few documents date back to a period even earlier than the migration to Madinah. We are no doubt aware that in the fifth year of prophethood, when the pagan of Makkans intensified their persecution of Muslims, some of them were permitted by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) to emigrate to Abyssinia. In this connection we come across a document often referred to in the books on the Sirah i.e., the life of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). This is a letter to the king of Abyssinia which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) gave to his first cousin, Ja'far al-Tayyar, with instructions to deliver it to the king. Towards the end the letter has words to this effect: "I am sending my cousin Ja'far to you. He is accompanied by some other Muslims. Please extend your hospitality to them when they present themselves to you." 

It is obvious that even though it does not bear a date the letter relates to the period of emigration to Abyssinia. Similarly we have another interesting document of the period which has caused surprise to some. This is the case of Tamim al-Darl. He was a Christian from Syria. He came to Makkah and embraced Islam. He was a much travelled sailor whose voyages have been mentioned in some detail in the Sahih of Muslim. Tamim al-Darl told the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) that he was sure that the Muslim army would soon conquer Syria, his country. "When this comes about", said the Syrian, "I should be awarded such and such a village as my fief ". According to the historians, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) dictated a document to this effect and gave it to Tamlm al-Darl. Its words were: "If Martum Hebron and. . . [mentions the names of some villages] are conquered, they should be given to Tamim al-Darl. This is also one of the first documents of the Migration period. Other writings relating to this time are also available. 

The second period relates to the migration to Madinah and covers about a dozen days spent in the actual journey from Makkah to Madinah. We also came across documents of this period. For example, there is the incident of Suraqah ibn Malik pursuing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) with the intention of arresting him and then selling him to the Quraysh who had placed a price on his head. A number of miracles took place and Suraqah eventually sought forgiveness. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) forgave him. Upon this he requested for a permit of safety. Narrators relate that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) had pen, ink and paper with him during the journey and that one of the members of his party was a slave by the name of 'Amir ibn Fahirah. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) dictated the document to him. It guaranteed peace and protection to Suraqah ibn Malik on behalf of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). Later he became a Muslim. When he came for the purpose of conversion he produced the letter of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). The Companions allowed him to proceed on the basis of the letter with the result that the crowds notwithstanding, Suraqah was ushered into the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and talked to him.