The second source of the fiqh in islam is the Hadith (the traditions) of the Holy prophet which have come down to us through the most reliable chain of transmitter (Ruw-wat) going back to what the companion had heard and witness from the prophet himself.
Since Allah had sent His messenger along with the reveal book, the book contained only general principles and absolutely essential instruction. The rest of the details were to be demonstrated and taught by the messenger of Allah. Hence, the hadith of the prophet plays an important role in framing all aspect of religious, political and civil life of a muslim.
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Since Hadith has come to supplement the Qur’an as a source of Islamic religious law, Muslim scholars always turn to both these sources for answer to all problems, be they legal or religious. It was after the death of the prophet Muhammad that every case that came up for decision had to be referred either to the Holy Qur’an or to some judgment or saying of the Holy prophet, which saying judgment, therefore, obtained a wide reputation as a case law.
There are a number of cases on record in which a right is claimed on the basis of a judgment or the tradition of the prophet, and evidence was demanded as to the authenticity of the saying. In other words the hadith literature provides us with apostolic precept and example covering the whole duty of man.
The muwatta of imam Malik bin Anas (d.179 A.H/798 A.D.) show, for example, how the law can be drawn from these usage and traditions of the prophet. Late Imam Ahmad bin Hambal (D.241 A.H./885 A.D.) also followed the same system in his famous book, the musnad.