CONTENTS Pronunciation and Transliteration Chart... 15 Arabic honorific symbols used in this book... 19 About the Word Lord... 21 Publisher s Note... 23 Introduction... 25 CHAPTER ONE A brief history of the emergence and development of Hadith terminology I. During the Prophet s time... 31 II. Scrupulousness of the Companions... 33 III. General features of the early preservation of Hadith... 34 IV. Genesis of isnād and proliferation of forgery... 35 V. Emergence of asmā ar-rijāl... 36 VI. Earliest origins of criticism... 38 VII. Prominent critics... 39 VIII. Writing on Hadith terminology... 41 1. Ash-Shāfi i s ar-risālah... 42 2. Al-Muḥaddith al-fāṣil Bayna ar-rāwī wa al-wā ī by ar-rāmahurmuzi [Distinction between the One Who Narrates and the One Who Memorises]... 42 3. Al-Ḥākim s Ulūm al-aḥādīth... 42 4. Al-Khaṭīb s books... 43 5. Qāḍi Iyāḍ and al-mayāniji... 43 6. Ibn aṣ-ṣalāḥ... 43 7. After Ibn aṣ-ṣalāḥ... 44
6 The Science of Hadith Terminology and Classification CHAPTER TWO Preliminary Definitions I. Ilm muṣṭalaḥ al-ḥadīth... 45 The basic concern of Hadith terminology... 45 II. Hadith sciences... 46 III. Classification of Hadith sciences... 46 1. Reporting of Hadith [riwāyah]... 46 2. Dirāyat al-ḥadīth... 46 IV. Definition of Hadith... 47 V. Khabar [report or news]... 48 VI. Athar [vestige or remnant]... 48 VII. Isnād [chain of narrators]... 49 VIII. Sanad [support]... 49 IX. Musnad [traced back]... 49 X. Matn [text]... 50 XI. Titles of traditionists [alqāb al-muḥaddithīn]... 50 1. Musnid [narrator of Hadith]... 50 2. Ṭālib [seeker of knowledge]... 51 3. Muḥaddith [traditionist]... 51 4. Ḥāfiẓ [memoriser]... 51 5. Ḥā iṭ [magnate in learning]... 52 6. Al-Ḥujjah [proof]... 52 7. Al-Ḥākim... 52 CHAPTER THREE Transmission of Hadith: Etiquettes of Hadith reception and delivery I. Age of Hadith students... 53 II. Etiquettes of sessions... 53 III. Basic requirements for Hadith inquirers... 54 IV. Validity of reception and delivery before adulthood or accepting Islam... 54
Contents 7 V. Methods of reception and delivery of Hadith... 55 VI. Hearing the speech of the teacher [as-samā min lafẓ ash-shaykh]... 56 1. Verbal narration of materials from memory... 56 2. Verbal narration of materials from books... 56 3. Narration from memory accompanied by dictation [imlā ]... 56 4. Narration from the book along with dictation... 57 5. Questions and answers... 57 6. Expressions used to prove samā... 57 VII. Recitation to the teacher [al-qirā ah alā ash-shaykh]... 57 Expressions used to prove al-qirā ah alā ash-shaykh... 58 VIII. Licensing [Ijāzah]... 58 IX. Transference [al-munāwalah]... 59 1. Transference coupled with licensing... 59 2. Transference without licensing... 60 X. Correspondence [Mukātabah]... 60 XI. Bequest [al-waṣiyah]... 60 XII. Finding [al-wijādah]... 60 Prominent works on the etiquettes of transmitting Hadith... 60 CHAPTER FOUR Classification of Hadith according to authority a) Divine text... 63 b) Marfū [elevated] tradition... 63 c) Mawqūf [stopped] tradition... 63 d) Maqṭū [severed]... 63 I. Divine [qudsi] hadiths... 64 1. Forms of divine hadiths... 65 2. Further remarks on divine hadiths... 65 3. Qur an, divine hadiths and traditions of the Prophet ( )... 66 4. An example of a divine hadith... 68 5. Prominent compilations of divine hadiths... 68 II. Marfū [elevated] hadiths... 69 1. Marfū and musnad... 69
8 The Science of Hadith Terminology and Classification 2. Forms of elevated [marfū ] hadiths... 70 III. Mawqūf [halted] hadiths... 78 IV. Maqṭū [cut-off] hadiths... 78 CHAPTER FIVE Classification of Hadith according to the number of narrators: āḥād and mutawātir I. Mutawātir hadiths... 81 1. What is mutawātir?... 81 2. Basic requirements of mutawātir... 82 A) Numerous narrators... 82 B) Diversity of location... 82 C) The impossibility of collusion... 83 D) The basis of the report is sensory perception... 83 3. Types of mutawātir... 84 A) Mutawātir lafẓī [verbal consecutive hadiths]... 84 B) Mutawātir ma nawī [continuously recurrent by meaning]... 85 C) Mutawātir amalī [consecutively recurrent practice]... 86 4. Legal value of mutawātir... 87 II. Āḥād [solitary] hadiths... 87 Types of āḥād... 88 III. Gharīb [strange] hadiths... 88 1. Types of gharīb hadiths... 88 2. An example of an absolutely strange hadith... 89 3. Examples of al-gharīb an-nisbī [relatively strange] hadiths... 90 IV. Azīz [scarce] hadiths... 93 Example of an azīz [scarce] hadith... 94 V. Mash-hūr [well-known] hadiths... 95 1. Why is it called mash-hūr?... 95 2. Definition of mash-hūr... 95 3. Example of a mash-hūr hadith... 95 VI. Non-Technical mash-hūr... 97 1. Examples of non-technical mash-hūr... 98
Contents 9 A) Famous hadiths among the jurists... 98 B) Famous hadiths among the scholars of uṣūl... 98 C) Famous hadiths among grammarians... 99 D) Famous hadiths among the general public... 99 E) Famous hadiths in the marketplace... 100 2. Compilations of famous hadiths... 100 3. Al-Mustafīḍ... 101 VII. Further readings on āḥād and mutawātir... 101 CHAPTER SIX Classification of āḥād hadiths: sound, reliable and weak I. Ṣaḥīḥ [sound] hadiths... 106 1. Basic requirements of ṣaḥīḥ... 106 A) Continuity of the chain of authorities... 106 B) Uprightness and retentiveness of all reporters... 106 Types of Ḍabṭ... 107 C) Absence of anomaly... 107 D) Absence of obvious and subtle defects... 107 2. An example of a ṣaḥīḥ [sound] hadith... 108 3. Classification of ṣaḥīḥ hadiths... 109 A) Ṣaḥīḥ li dhātih [intrinsically sound]... 109 B) Ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrih [extrinsically sound]... 110 An example of ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrih [extrinsically sound]... 110 4. Legal value of ṣaḥīḥ hadiths... 111 A) The most authentic chains of transmissions... 113 B) The first to compile sound hadiths... 114 C) Have Bukhari and Muslim encompassed all possible sound traditions? 116 5. Further compilations including sound hadiths... 116 A) Ibn Khuzaymah s Ṣaḥīḥ... 116 B) The Ṣaḥīḥ of Ibn Ḥibbān... 116 C) Mustadrak of al-ḥākim an-naysābūri (d. 403 AH)... 117 D) Why did Imam Muslim not include traditions from his teacher, Imam Bukhari?... 117 6. Grades of sound hadiths... 117 A) What is ṣaḥīḥ al-isnād?... 118
10 The Science of Hadith Terminology and Classification B) Expressions used by Imam at-tirmidhi... 119 a) Ḥasan gharīb [reliable but odd]... 119 b) Ṣaḥīḥ gharīb [sound but odd]... 119 c) Ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb... 119 d) Ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ... 119 C) Mustadrakāt and mustakhrajāt... 120 7. How to discern authentic hadiths... 120 A) What is the meaning of muttafaqun alayh [agreed upon]?... 122 B) Difference between agreed upon and related by Bukhari and Muslim. 122 II. Ḥasan [reliable] hadiths... 122 1. Some definitions given by major scholars... 122 A) Abu Sulaymān al-khaṭṭābi... 122 B) At-Tirmidhi... 123 C) Ibn aṣ-ṣalāḥ... 123 D) Ibn Ḥajar... 123 2. Difference between ṣaḥīḥ and ḥasan hadiths... 124 3. Legal value of ḥasan [reliable] traditions... 125 4. Example of a ḥasan tradition... 125 5. Types of ḥasan hadiths... 127 A) Ḥasan li dhātih [intrinsically fair]... 127 B) Ḥasan li ghayrih [extrinsically reliable]... 127 a) Ḥasan li ghayrih is originally weak and cannot be accepted generally... 127 b) Acting upon ḥasan li ghayrih... 128 c) An example of a dismissed ḥasan... 129 6. Who was the first to adopt ḥasan and use it?... 129 7. Al-Baghwi s designation of sound and reliable traditions... 130 8. Major compilations that include reliable traditions... 130 A) The Jāmi of Abu Īsā at-tirmidhi... 130 B) Abu Dāwūd s Sunan... 130 C) Ad-Dāraquṭni s Sunan... 130 D) Ibn Mājah s Sunan... 131 E) An-Nasā i s Sunan [commonly known as al-mujtabā]... 131 F) Musnad of Imam Aḥmad... 131
CHAPTER SEVEN Classification of Authentic Hadiths: Legally Effective and Non-Effective Traditions Contents 11 I. Muḥkam [unequivocal] hadiths... 134 II. Mukhtalif hadiths... 134 1. Some remarks on mukhtalif hadiths... 134 2. How to resolve an apparent contradiction in hadiths... 135 A) Reconciliation [jam ] between the texts... 137 a) Misunderstanding on the part of the report s recipient... 137 b) Inadvertent deletion of key words in the text... 139 c) Scope and subject matter of application... 141 d) Missing correlation between an absolute and a qualifying text... 142 e) Missing correlation between general and specifying texts... 143 f) Conflict entails permissibility of both conflicting acts... 144 g) Decontextualising hadiths... 145 B) Abrogating and abrogated hadiths... 147 a) Prerequisites of abrogation... 147 b) Abrogation which is indicated by the Prophet ( ) or by a Companion... 149 c) Abrogation which is detected by analysing the hadiths dates... 152 d) Abrogation identified by scholarly consensus... 153 C) Rules of preference [qawā id at-tarjīḥ]... 154 a) Preference by virtue of textual analysis... 155 b) Preference by virtue of transmitters retentiveness and uprightness. 160 c) Mode of reception and delivery of the reports... 163 d) Preference due to integrity of the text... 165 e) Preference through a chronological order... 165 f) Preference through external factors... 165 g) Priority of evidence affirming continuation of the original state... 165 D) Suspension and abandonment... 167 CHAPTER EIGHT Ḍa īf [weak] hadiths I. Meaning of ḍa īf... 170 1. Technical definition... 170 2. Example of a weak hadith... 171 3. Distinction between ḍa īf [weak] and mawḍū [fabricated]... 172 II. Subcategories of ḍa īf hadiths... 173
12 The Science of Hadith Terminology and Classification 1. Weakness due to a gap in the chain of narration or text... 173 2. Weakness due to an obvious defect... 173 A) Mu allaq [hanging] hadiths... 173 a) Types of mu allaq... 174 b) An example of a mu allaq hadith... 174 c) Reasons for including mu allaq in Hadith compilations... 175 d) Should all mu allaq hadiths be regarded as weak?... 175 e) Mu allaqāt [hanging traditions] of Ṣaḥīḥ al-bukhāri... 176 B) Mursal [loose] hadiths... 180 a) An example of a mursal hadith... 181 b) Intricate mursal hadiths... 182 c) An example of an intricate mursal hadith... 182 d) The authenticity of mursal hadiths... 182 e) A mursal hadith of a Companion... 184 f) Exclusively mursal compilations... 184 C) Mu ḍal [perplexing] hadiths... 184 a) How to detect a mu ḍal tradition... 184 b) Examples of mu ḍal hadiths... 185 D) Munqaṭi [interrupted] hadiths... 186 a) Examples of munqaṭi hadiths... 187 b) How to prove an interruption in the chain of narration... 189 E) Mu an an and mu an an hadiths... 190 3. Weakness of a hadith due to an intricate defect... 191 A) Mudallis... 191 B) Types of tadlīs... 191 a) Tadlīs al-isnād... 191 b) Tadlīs ash-shuyūkh... 193 C) Classes of those who practiced tadlīs... 193 D) Legal value of mudallis hadiths... 194 E) Important treatises on tadlīs... 195 4. Weakness of a hadith due to a deficiency in the transmitter... 195 A) Types of weak reports due to deficiencies in reporters... 197 a) Forged Hadiths... 197 b) Matrūk [discarded] hadiths... 202 c) Munkar [disclaimed] hadiths... 203 d) Shādh [anomalous] hadiths... 205 e) Mu allal [defective] hadiths... 206 f) Mudraj [interpolated] hadiths... 208 g) Maqlūb [inverted] hadiths... 212 h) Insertion into an already-connected-chain report [Mazīd fi muttaṣil al-asānīd]... 214
Contents 13 i) Inconsistent [muḍṭarib] hadiths... 214 j) Muṣaḥ-ḥaf [dot-distorted] and muḥarraf [vowel-distorted] reports.. 216 III. Acting upon weak hadiths... 217 CHAPTER NINE Classification of Hadith: Common categories between weak and sound I. Musnad [supported] hadiths... 221 II. Muttaṣil [uninterrupted] hadiths... 223 III. Addition of a reliable narrator [ziyādat ath-thiqah]... 225 1. It is defined as additions... 225 2. Additions in the text of the hadith... 226 3. Additions in the chain of narration of the hadith... 230 4. Legal value of additions provided by reliable narrators... 232 IV. I tibār, mutābi and shāhid... 233 1. I tibār... 233 2. Mutāba ah... 233 A) Types of Mutāba ah... 234 a) Complete confirmation [mutāba ah kāmilah]... 234 b) Partial confirmation [mutāba ah nāqiṣah]... 235 3. Shāhid... 236 CHAPTER TEN Hadith narrators: Qualifications, criticism and literature I. Qualifications of Hadith narrators... 239 1. Ash-Shāfi i s view... 239 2. Ibn aṣ-ṣalāḥ s conditions... 240 3. Additional qualifications... 240 II. Uprightness and accuracy... 241 1. Uprightness [ adālah]... 241 2. Defects impairing integrity... 243 A) Telling lies [kādhib]... 243 B) Being accused of lying or fabrication [mutahamun bi al-kadhib]... 244 C) Moral corruption [fisq]... 244 D) Want of information [jahālah]... 245
14 The Science of Hadith Terminology and Classification E) Heresy [bid ah]... 245 3. Retentiveness [ḍabṭ]... 246 4. Defects impairing accuracy... 246 A) Making enormous mistakes [fuḥsh al-ghalaṭ]... 246 B) Heedlessness [ghaflah]... 247 C) Inadvertence [wahm]... 247 D) Contradicting others [mukhālafah]... 248 E) Being forgetful [sayyi al-ḥifẓ]... 249 5. How a good record [tazkiyah] is attested... 249 Ibn Abdul-Barr s sweeping generalisation... 250 6. How a transmitter is recognised as being accurate... 250 A) Validation is established without reasons... 251 B) Number of critics necessary for judging the personality of a narrator... 251 C) Conflicting judgements... 252 7. Labels of accredited and discredited narrators... 252 A) Categories of discrediting [jarḥ] as used by Ibn Abi Ḥātim... 252 B) Ranks of commendation [ta dīl] as used by Ibn Abi Ḥātim... 253 III. Literature on Hadith narrators... 254 1. General works... 254 A) The Ṭabaqāt of Ibn Sa d [The Great Book of Classes]... 254 B) At-Tārīkh of Bukhari... 254 C) Al-Jarḥ wa at-ta dīl by Abu Ḥātim ar-rāzi... 255 2. Biographical dictionaries of particular narrators... 255 A) Biographical dictionaries of Companions... 255 B) Biographical dictionaries of narrators of a town or a province... 255 C) Biographical dictionaries of accredited or discredited narrators... 256 Conclusion... 257 Bibliography... 260 Glossary of Islamic Terms... 270