What is ahadith or hadith?
The ahadith are traditions or sayings from the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, that were passed on by his noble companions and his wives. There is an authentic chain of narrators tracing all of the way to the Messenger, peace be upon him. The authentic or (Sahih) hadith have been recorded and compiled by the following people: Shahih Bukhari, Shahih Muslim, Maliks Muwatta, Abu Dawuud and Shamaa-il Tirmidhi and more. These people were known to be very honest, righteous, trustworthy, islamically correct and intelligent Muslims. The chain of narrating started shortly after the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, began to give the final Message of Allah through the Quran. Anyone that was found to be dishonest in any manner was automatically eliminated from being a narrator in any and all hadith.
