The Principles of Ḥadīth

Compiled by
Hazrat Allamah Nafees
Ahmed Misbahī

Translated by
Mawlana Omar Khan

and students from

Darul Uloom Ghawthiyyah Ridawiawiyyah

Under the Supervision of

Mawlana Nizamuddin Misbahi
Book name: The Principles of Ḥadīth

Author: Hazrat Allamah Nafees Ahmed Misbahī

Translation: Mawlana Omar Khan & Students from

Darul Uloom Ghawthiyyah Ridawiawiyyah

Guidance of: Mawlana Nizamuddin Misbahi

Cover and Typesetting: @MaksudYusuf

First Edition: 1441 Jamad al-Akhirah / 2020 February

Token of thanks: This book is published with the support and

contributions of the individuals for the Isaal-e-Thawab of their
families:

Haji Dawod Bharthari (Blackburn)

Haji Imtiaz Chanchwel (Blackburn)
Farid Banglawala (Blackburn)
Altaf Bhai Khusthar (Manchester)
Kazem Bhai (Blackburn)
Maulana Umar (Keighly)
Mohammedazeem Rokad (Blackburn)
Haji Yusuf Bhai (Blackburn)

© All rights reserved

Aside from fair use, meaning a few pages or less for non-profit
educational purpose or review, no part of this publication may
be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
written permission of the copyright owner.

2
 ‫بِ ْس ِ ِمِاللِِال َّر ْح ٰم ِنِِال َّرح ِْی ِمِ‬

‫َوالصَّ لٰوۃُِ َو َّ‬

‫السال َُمِ َعلٰی َِر ُس ْو ِلِالل‬

‫َو َعل ٰ ِیِآل ِ ِہ َوِاَ ْص َحاب ِ ِہ اَ ْج َم ِعی ْ َِن‬

‫‪3‬‬
Contents
Preface ............................................................................................. 15
Introduction.................................................................................... 16
Usūl al-Ḥadīth – Definition .......................................................... 16
Subject matter of this science ....................................................... 16
The aims and objectives of learning this science ....................... 17
Famous books on this science ...................................................... 17
al-Muḥaddith al-Fāsil Bayn al-Rāwi wa al-Wā’ī............... 17
Ma’rifah ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth .................................................... 17
al-Mustakhraj ‘alā Ma’rifat ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth .................... 17
al-Kifāyah Fī ‘Ilm al-Riwāyah ............................................. 17
al-Jāmi’ li Ādāb al-Shaykh wa al-Sāmi’ ............................. 18
al-Ilmā’ ilā Ma’rifah Usūl al-Riwāyah wa Taqyīd al-Samā’
................................................................................................. 18
Mā Lā Yasa’ al-Muḥaddith Jahlah ...................................... 18
‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth (Muqaddimah ibn al-Ṣalāh)................... 18
al-Taqrīb wa al-Taysīr li Ma’rifah Sunan al-Bashīr al-
Nadhīr .................................................................................... 19
Tadrīb al-Rāwī fī Sharh Taqrīb al-Nawawī ....................... 19
Nadhm al-Durar fī ‘Ilm al-Athar ........................................ 19
Fath al-Mughīth fī Sharh Alfiyyah al-Ḥadīth.................... 19
Nukhbah al-Fikr fī Mustalah Ahl al-Athar ....................... 20
Nuzhah al-Nadhr fī Tawdhīh Nukhbah al-Fikr ............... 20
Muqaddimah al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq ‘alā al-Mishkāt al-
Masābīḥ ........................................................................................... 20
Definition of al-Ḥadīth .................................................................. 21
The meaning of al-Taqrīr .............................................................. 21
The three types of al-Ḥadīth .................................................... 22
al-Marfū’ ................................................................................ 22
al-Mawqūf.............................................................................. 22
al-Maqtū’ ................................................................................ 22
The difference between al-Ḥadīth and al-Athar........................ 23
Difference between al-Ḥadīth & al-Khabar................................ 24
There are two types of al-Ḥadīth al-Marfū’ ........................... 24
The three types of al-Sarīhī and al-Hukmī ............................ 25
al-Marfū’ al-Sarīhī al-Qawlī ..................................................... 25
al-Marfū’ al-Sarīhī al-Fi’lī ......................................................... 26
Examples of how an action may be explicitly attributed to
Messenger of Allāh À ................................................................... 26
al-Marfū’ al-Sarīhī al-Taqrīrī ................................................... 27
Examples of how approval may be explicitly attributed to
Messenger of Allāh À ................................................................... 27
al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī al-Qawlī .................................................. 27
Examples of when a statement may be impliedly attributed to
Messenger of Allāh À ................................................................... 28
al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī al-Fi’lī ...................................................... 29
al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī al-Taqrīrī ................................................. 29
Explanation of al-Sanad, al-Matn and matters connected to
them ................................................................................................. 30
al-Sanad ...................................................................................... 30

5
 al-Isnād ....................................................................................... 30
The two types of al-Ḥadīth when considering the connection or
disconnection of al-Sanad............................................................. 30
1 - al-Ḥadīth al-Muṭṭasil ............................................................ 30
2 - al-Ḥadīth al-Munqatī’ .......................................................... 31
The types of al-Ḥadīth al-Munqaṭi’ ............................................. 31
1 – al-Mu’allaq ........................................................................... 31
Ta’līqāt al-Bukhārī ................................................................ 31
2 – al-Mursal .......................................................................... 33
Is al-Ḥadīth al-Mursal reliable as a form of proof within
Islamic Law? .......................................................................... 34
3 – al-Mu’ḍal .......................................................................... 36
4 – al-Munqaṭi’....................................................................... 36
5 – al-Mudallas ...................................................................... 37
Linguistic Meaning of al-Tadlīs .............................................. 37
The Terminological Meaning of al-Tadlīs.............................. 38
The ruling pertaining to al-Tadlīs ........................................... 40
The ruling of narrating a Ḥadīth narrated by a narrator who
carries out Tadlīs ....................................................................... 40
Causes of carrying out al-Tadlīs ............................................. 42
The ways in which narrations are conveyed ............................. 45
‫ رواية بالمعني‬- Narrating the meaning of the narration without
quoting every word of the narration ...................................... 45
The first position ................................................................... 45
The second position .............................................................. 46

6
 The third position ................................................................. 46
The fourth position ............................................................... 46
Important Note about the aforementioned difference
between Scholars ....................................................................... 47
Beneficial Note ...................................................................... 48
Exercising caution when narrating a Ḥadīth without
quoting exact words ............................................................. 48
‫ رواية باللفظ‬Narrating a Ḥadīth whilst quoting every word .. 50
‫ العنعنة‬Narrating a Ḥadīth using the word ‫ عن‬......................... 51
The conditions for acceptance of a Mu’an’an narration ...... 51
al-Musnad .................................................................................. 52
al-Shādh, al-Munkar and al-Mu’allal al-Shādh – ‫ الشاذ‬............... 53
Ruling pertaining to al-Shādh ............................................. 53
al-Maḥfūdh ................................................................................. 53
al-Munkar ................................................................................... 53
al-Ma’rūf ..................................................................................... 54
The difference between al-Ma’rūf, al-Munkar, al-Maḥfūdh
and al-Shādh .............................................................................. 54
Beneficial Note ........................................................................... 54
al-Mu’allal .................................................................................. 55
al-Mutābi’ ................................................................................... 56
The Benefit of al-Mutāba’ah .................................................... 57
The Types of al-Mutāba’ah ...................................................... 58
al-Mutāba’ah al-Tāmmah – Complete Support ................ 58
al-Mutāba’ah al-Qāśirah – Incomplete Support ............... 58

7
 Conformity in words and conformity in meaning ........... 59
al-Shāhid ..................................................................................... 60
A second definition of al-Mutābi’ and al-Shāhid ................. 61
A third definition of al-Mutābi’ and al-Shāhid ..................... 61
al-I’tibār ...................................................................................... 61
The classification of al-Ḥadīth as authentic and weak ............. 61
al-Ṣaḥīḥ ........................................................................................ 62
The two types of al-Ṣaḥīḥ ..................................................... 62
al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Dhātihī ...................................................................... 62
al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Ghayrihī.................................................................... 62
al-Ḥasan ...................................................................................... 62
al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī ................................................................ 63
al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī .............................................................. 63
al-Ḍa’īf......................................................................................... 63
The types of al-Ḍa’īf narrations ................................................... 64
al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf bi Ḍu’f Qarīb ............................................... 64
al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf bi Ḍu’f Qawiyy wa Wahn Shadīd ........... 64
al-Maṭrūh .................................................................................... 65
al-Mawḍū’ - Fabricated............................................................. 65
The ways to strengthen Ḍa’īf narrations .................................... 66
Numerous Narrations .............................................................. 66
The action by the people of knowledge upon a narration .. 68
The action of the pious upon a Ḍa’īf narration ..................... 69
The derivation of proof by a Mujtahid ................................... 69

8
 Strengthening a Ḥadīth based upon experience and spiritual
insight (Kashf) ........................................................................... 70
A Mawḍū’ (fabricated) narration cannot be strengthened by
similar narrations ...................................................................... 73
Beneficial Note about “authentic” and “weak” narrations . 73
al-‘Adālah – Good Character ....................................................... 75
al-Taqwa (piety) ........................................................................ 75
al-Murūah (dignity). ................................................................. 76
Difference between al-Adl (good character) required for al-
Riwāyah (narration) and al-‘Adl required for al-Shahādah
(witness testimony) ................................................................... 76
al-Ḍabṭ - Precision .......................................................................... 77
Ḍabṭ al-Ṣadr................................................................................ 78
Ḍabṭ al-Kitāb .............................................................................. 78
Causes for criticism of a narrator ................................................ 78
al-Kadhib (lying) ....................................................................... 79
al-Mawḍū’ – Fabricated narration ...................................... 79
The ruling of the narration of one who purposely lied
about a Ḥadīth ....................................................................... 79
Ruling a Ḥadīth to be Mawḍū’ is Dhannī (Presumptive) 80
Ittihām al-Rāwī bi al-Kadhib (A narrator being alleged to
have lied) .................................................................................... 82
al-Matrūk ............................................................................... 82
The ruling pertaining to a narrator who is infamous for
lying ........................................................................................ 82

9
 The ruling pertaining to the narrator who lies on odd
occasions ................................................................................ 83
al-Fisq (Disobedience) .............................................................. 83
Jahālah al-Rāwī (the narrator being unknown) = al-Ḥadīth al-
Mubham ..................................................................................... 83
The ruling pertaining to al-Mubham ................................. 84
al-Bid’ah...................................................................................... 85
The ruling pertaining to the Ḥadīth of al-Mubtadi’
(innovator) ............................................................................. 86
Narrating a Ḥadīth from the members of the deviant sects
................................................................................................. 87
The Causes for criticism in a narrator connected to al-Ḍabṭ ... 88
Fart al-Ghaflah (excessive heedlessness) ............................... 88
Kathrah al-Ghalat (abundant errors) ...................................... 88
Mukhālafah al-Thiqāt (opposition of reliable narrators) ..... 89
al-Wahm (Illusion) .................................................................... 89
The intensity of knowledge required to realise that a
Ḥadīth is al-Mu’allal ............................................................. 90
Sū al-Ḥifẓ (Bad memory) .......................................................... 90
The ruling pertaining to the narrator with a bad memory
................................................................................................. 91
al-Mukhtalaṭ (short term memory loss) ................................ 91
The ruling pertaining to al-Mukhtalaṭ ............................... 91
Factors establishing fabrication ................................................... 92
Types of al-Aḥādīth in terms of the number of narrators ........ 98
al-Gharīb ..................................................................................... 99
10
 al-Fard al-Nisbī ..................................................................... 99
al-Fard al-Mutlaq .................................................................. 99
A narration being Gharīb does not negate it being Ṣaḥīḥ
............................................................................................... 100
Another definition of al-Gharīb ........................................ 100
al-‘Azīz ...................................................................................... 101
al-Mashūr ................................................................................. 101
Note pertaining to the minimum amount required in al-
Gharīb, al-‘Azīz and al-Mashūr ........................................ 102
al-Mutawātir ............................................................................ 102
The different categories of al-Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḍa’īf .... 103
Categories of al-Ḍa’īf .............................................................. 103
Categories of al- Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Ḥasan .................................... 104
Aṣaḥḥ al-Asānīd – The most authentic chains of narrations
................................................................................................... 105
The terminologies of al-Tirmidhī .............................................. 106
Objection – how can a narration that is Ḥasan also be Gharīb?
................................................................................................... 107
Responses to the objection ..................................................... 107
Taking proof from al-Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḍa’īf ................. 108
Deriving proof from al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf ................................ 108
The manners of deriving proofs from al-Aḥādīth................... 110
al-‘Aqāid al-Qat’iyyah – The Definitive Beliefs .................. 110
al-‘Aqāid al-Ẓanniyyah – The Qualified Beliefs .................. 111
al-Ahkām– Rulings ................................................................. 111

11
 al-Faḍāil and al-Manāqib - Virtues ....................................... 112
The different levels of al-Ṣaḥīḥ and the books containing al-
Ṣaḥīḥ narrations ........................................................................... 114
al-Muttafaq ‘Alayh .................................................................. 115
The stations of al-Ahādith al-Ṣaḥīḥah .................................. 115
What it means when a narration fulfils the conditions of al-
Bukhārī and Muslim ............................................................... 116
Are al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah only found in al-Bukhārī and
Muslim? .................................................................................... 117
Important Note.................................................................... 118
Other books of al-Aḥādīth which consist of Ṣaḥīḥ narrations
................................................................................................... 119
al-Mustadrak of al-Imām al-Hākim ................................. 119
Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Khuzaymah ........................................................ 121
Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Ḥibbān ................................................................. 121
al-Mukhtārah ....................................................................... 122
Some further works ............................................................ 123
The six famous books – al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sittah ................................ 123
Are all narrations within these books Ṣaḥīḥ? ...................... 124
al-Ṣaḥīḥayn and al-Kutub al-Arba’ah ................................... 124
The terminology of al-‘Allāmah al-Baghawī ....................... 124
Sunan al-Darimī ...................................................................... 125
It is impossible to mention all the books of al-Aḥādīth ..... 126
al-Ikmāl bi Dhikr Asmā al-Rijāl ............................................ 127
The types of books of al-Aḥādīth .............................................. 127

12
al-Jāmi’ ...................................................................................... 128
al-Sunan .................................................................................... 128
al-Musnad ................................................................................ 129
al-Mu’jam ................................................................................. 129
al-Juz ......................................................................................... 130
al-Mufrad ................................................................................. 130
al-Gharībah .............................................................................. 130
al-Mustadrak ............................................................................ 131
al-Mustakhraj ........................................................................... 131
al-Risālah .................................................................................. 131
al-Arba’īn.................................................................................. 132
al-Amālī .................................................................................... 132
al-Aťrāf...................................................................................... 132
al-‘Ilal ........................................................................................ 132
al-Majma’ .................................................................................. 133
al-Zawāid ................................................................................. 133
al-Musannaf and al-Muatta ................................................... 134
The categories (al-Tabaqāt) of books of al-Ḥadīth .............. 134
al-Tabaqat al-Ūlā – The First Category ................................ 134
al-Tabaqat al-Thāniyah – The Second Category ................. 135
al-Tabaqat al-Thālithah–The Third Category...................... 135
al-Tabaqat al-Rābi’ah – The Fourth Category ..................... 135
Important Note – the categorisation does not result in the
third and fourth categories being rejected ...................... 136

13
The words used to narrate a Ḥadīth ......................................... 138
Situations when these words are used ................................. 139
Conclusion .................................................................................... 141
The etiquettes of writing al-Aḥādīth .................................... 141
Writing praise and supplications .......................................... 142
The importance of proofreading ........................................... 144
The virtues of writing books on ‘Ilm al-Ḥadīth .................. 144
Abbreviations of words used when narrating Aḥādīth ..... 146
al-Tahwīl – Mentioning a second Sanad along with first .. 147

14
Preface
This book, which is within your hands, is authored by
Hazrat Allamah Nafees Ahmed Misbahī, who is a teacher
in Jamiatul Ashrafia, Mubarakpur. With great proficiency,
he has gathered the major principles and terminologies of
the science of Usūl al-Hadīth.

As this book was only available in the Urdu language, it

was necessary to translate it into the English language, in
order to facilitate correct understanding of this science, for
English speaking students. Some students from Jamiā
Ghawthiyyah Riḍawiyyah (Blackburn) embarked upon
this task and thereafter the majority of the translation was
completed by Hazrat Allamah Muftī Omar Saab
(Keighley).

After completion of the translation, the book was sent to

Mawlanā Muhammed Naeem Munshi (Blackburn) for
review and amendments. Finally, the text was typeset and
formatted into a beautiful book by Maksud Yusuf
(Blackburn).

May Allāh reward all those involved with this task and
bless them with success in this world and the hereafter.

[Mawlana, Muftī] Muhammed Nizamuddin Misbahī

[Headteacher] Jamiā Ghawthiyyah Riḍawiyyah,

Blackburn
15
Introduction

Usūl al-Ḥadīth – Definition

Usūl al-Ḥadīth 1is a science that consists of principles and
rules pertaining to al-Sanad (chain of narrators) and al-
Matn (the core words of the narration).

The simple definition of this science is that it provides

details about the narrators and their narrations based
upon which it can be ascertained whether a Ḥadīth is
acceptable/reliable or not.

Subject matter of this science

The subject matter of this science is al-Sanad2 and al-Matn3
in terms of their being accepted or rejected. al-Matn is the
main factor as it provides the vital information, whilst al-
Sanad is that which assists us in ascertaining the
authenticity of al-Matn.

1Editor’s note – This science is also called 'Ilm Musțalah al-Ḥadīth, 'Ilm Musțalah al-
Athar and 'Ilm Usūl al-Ḥadīth. (al-Īḍāh).

2Editor’s note – al-Sanad is the chain of narrators through whom the core text of the
narration reached us. (al-Īḍāh, al-Tamhīd, Ma'rifah 'Ilm al-Ḥadīth wa Ahammiyyatih)

3Editor’s note – al-Matn consists of the words of the Ḥadīth which strongly make clear
the meanings of the Ḥadīth. (al-Mukhtasar, al-Muqaddimah fī bayān usūl wa
istilhāhāt)

16
The aims and objectives of learning this science
The purpose of learning this science is to check the
authenticity of the chains of narrations (al-Sanad) and the
narrations themselves (al-Matn), as well as their
acceptability and unacceptability.

Famous books on this science

al-Muḥaddith al-Fāsil Bayn al-Rāwi wa al-Wā’ī

This was the first book authored on this science. It was
written by al-Qāḍī Abū Muhammad Ḥasan ibn ‘Abd al-
Rahmān al-Rāmhurmuzī (d. 360 AH).4

Ma’rifah ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth

Nīshāpūrī (d. 455 AH).

al-Mustakhraj ‘alā Ma’rifat ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth

This is a work that was authored by Abū Nu’aym Ahmad
al-Asbahānī (d. 430 AH).

al-Kifāyah Fī ‘Ilm al-Riwāyah

This work was written by al-Imām Abū Bakr Ahmad ibn
‘Alī al-Khatīb Baghdādī (d. 463 AH)

4Editor’s note – As al-Rāmhurmuzī (Allāh shower mercy on him) was the first to write
upon this science, Shaykh Nafīs Ahmad Misbāhī (the author of this work) described
him as the founder of this science in his introduction to Sharh Nuzhah al-Naẓr.
(published by Majlis al-Barakāt, Mubarakpūr, India)
17
al-Jāmi’ li Ādāb al-Shaykh wa al-Sāmi’
This is also one of the works written by al-Khatīb al-
Baghdādī. This great scholar has written books in relation
to nearly every branch of the sciences pertaining to Ḥadīth.
The scholars of Ḥadīth after him all took blessings from his
works.

al-Ilmā’ ilā Ma’rifah Usūl al-Riwāyah wa Taqyīd al-Samā’

This is the work of al-Imām al-Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ (d. 544 AH)

Mā Lā Yasa’ al-Muḥaddith Jahlah

This is a concise thesis penned by al-Shaykh Abu Hafs
‘Omar Miyānjī (d. 580 AH).

‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth (Muqaddimah ibn al-Ṣalāh)

This is the work of al-Imām Taqiyyuddīn Abu ‘Amr
‘Uthmān ibn al-Ṣalāh al-Sharzūrī (d. 643 AH) and is more
famously known as al-Muqaddimah li ibn al-Ṣalāh. It is a
very beautiful work in this science, and it consists of a
compilation of all preceding works on this science. The
latter generations of scholars have considered this work to
be their main source of reference. This work has been
widely accepted.

18
al-Taqrīb wa al-Taysīr li Ma’rifah Sunan al-Bashīr al-Nadhīr
This is an abridgement of al-Muqaddimah li ibn al-Ṣalāh.
This work was penned by Shaykh al-Islām Muhyuddīn
Abū Zakariyyā Yahyā ibn Sharaf al-Nawawī (d. 676 AH)

Tadrīb al-Rāwī fī Sharh Taqrīb al-Nawawī

This is an excellent and reliable commentary of al-Imām
al-Nawawī’s book, al-Taqrīb. This work was written by al-
Imām Jalāluddīn ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Abī Bakr al-Suyūtī
(d. 911 AH).

Nadhm al-Durar fī ‘Ilm al-Athar

This is a poetic work on this science written by al-Shaykh
Zaynuddīn ‘Abd al-Rahīm al-‘Irāqī (d. 806 AH). This work
is famously known by the name of “Alfiyyah al-‘Irāqī.”

Fath al-Mughīth fī Sharh Alfiyyah al-Ḥadīth

This is the most splendid and accepted commentary on
Alfiyyah al-‘Irāqī. This commentary was written by al-
‘Allāmah Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Sakhāwī (d.
902 AH).

19
Nukhbah al-Fikr fī Mustalah Ahl al-Athar
This is a concise but very comprehensive work written by
al-Ḥāfiẓ Shihābuddīn Ahmad ibn ‘Alī who is famously
known as ibn Hajr al-‘Asqalānī (d. 852 AH). Many
commentaries were written on this work amongst which
the most well-known is the following commentary written
by Shaykh ibn Hajr himself.

Nuzhah al-Nadhr fī Tawdhīh Nukhbah al-Fikr

This is a very well-known commentary upon Nukhbah al-
Fikr and is included in the syllabi of all the prominent
seminaries that provide traditional Islamic teachings.

Muqaddimah al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq ‘alā al-Mishkāt

al-Masābīḥ
This is a concise thesis penned by the Ḥadīth scholar,
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq Muḥaddith al-Dihlawī (d. 1052 AH).
This work is studied in various institutes in the
subcontinent, as well as worldwide. Although originally
published with the Ḥadīth compilation of Mishkāt al-
Masābīḥ, it has recently been published as a separate
work.

There are many other publications on this science as well,

which have not been mentioned here.

20
Definition of al-Ḥadīth
According to the majority of Ḥadīth Scholars, whatever is
attributed to the Prophet of Allāh À from statements
(qawl), actions (fi’l) and approval (taqrīr)5 is called al-
Ḥadīth. Similarly, the actions, statements and approval of
a Sahābī and a Tābi’ī6 are also sometimes described as al-
Ḥadīth.

The meaning of al-Taqrīr

al-Taqrīr basically means approval, as it refers to an action
that was carried out in the presence of Messenger of Allāh
À or to a statement that was stated before him À and he À

did not reject this action or statement, nor did he À

prohibit it. Thus, the Messenger of Allāh À established the
permissibility of this action or statement through his
blessed silence. This is why al-Taqrīr can be described as
tacit approval or silent approval.

5Editor’s note – Similarly, the narrations that mention the blessed attributes of the Final
Messenger of Allah À are also included in the definition of al-Ḥadīth. (Taysīr Mustalah
al-Ḥadīth, Dr Mahmūd al-Tahān). Nevertheless, the definition given in the text can be
interpreted to be inclusive of the blessed attributes as they come under actions in some
way.

6Editor’s note – In Nukhbah al-Fikr, ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī defined a Sahābī as

somebody who met the Prophet À whilst believing in him and passed away upon
Islām. ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī defined a Tābi’ī as someone who met a Sahābī as a
believer in the religion of Islam and left this world as a Muslim.
21
The three types of al-Ḥadīth
When considering whom the al-Sanad (the chain of
narration) is finally connecting to:

al-Marfū’
The narration whose chain of narration reaches the
Messenger of Allāh À is called al-Marfū’.

al-Mawqūf
The narration whose chain of narration reaches the Noble
Companions is called al-Mawqūf.

This occurs when there is attribution of a statement, action

or approval to somebody like Sayyidunā ‘Abd Allah ibn
‘Abbās. Sometimes the wording of a narration itself makes
it clear that it is al-Mawqūf upon a certain Companion –
e.g. al-Mawqūf upon Sayyidunā ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Abbās.

al-Maqtū’
The narration whose chain of narration reaches al-Tābi’ūn
is called al-Maqtū’.

22
The difference between al-Ḥadīth and al-Athar
Some Scholars of Ḥadīth define al-Ḥadīth to be only
inclusive of those narrations that are attributed to
Messenger of Allāh À and his Companions and therefore
state that only al-Marfū’ and al-Mawqūf can be described
as al-Ḥadīth. These scholars categorise any narration
attributed to al-Tābi’ūn (which are known as al-Maqtū’) to
be al-Athar. However, there are many scholars who class
al-Ḥadīth and al-Athar to be identical in their meaning.

Thus, one will find al-Marfū’ narrations being described

as al-Athar. This is why the supplications that are narrated
from the Messenger of Allāh À are described as al-
Ad’iyyah al-Ma’thūrah. al-Imām al-Tahāwī entitled his
book, “Sharh Ma’ānī al-Āthār.” This book is inclusive of
Prophetic narrations as well as narrations from the Noble
Companions.

al-Imām al-Sakhāwī stated that al-Tabarī has a book

entitled “Tahdhīb al-Āthār.” This work specifically
consists of al-Aḥādīth al-Marfū’ah– Prophetic Narrations.
The narrations attributed to the Noble Companions are
mentioned coincidentally and marginally within the
aforementioned book.

23
Difference between al-Ḥadīth & al-Khabar
The most common position is that al-Ḥadīth and al-
Khabar are similar and therefore, both words are
synonyms.7 However, some Scholars of al-Ḥadīth state
that the actions and statements of the Blessed Prophet À ,
the Companions and their pious predecessors (al-Tābi’ūn)
come under the definition of al-Ḥadīth whereas the events
and circumstances of the rulers and kings of the past come
under the definition of al-Khabar. This is why the scholar
who has expertise in al-Ḥadīth is called a Muḥaddith,
whilst the scholar who has expertise in history is known
as Akhbārī.

There are two types of al-Ḥadīth al-Marfū’

al-Sarīhī = explicit
al-Hukmī - implied

1) al-Marfū’ al-Sarīhī
2) al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī

Each of them has three types

7
Editor’s note – It is stated in Nuzhah al-Naẓr that al-Ḥadīth and al-Khabar are synonyms,
according to the scholars of this science.
24
The three types of al-Sarīhī and al-Hukmī
1) al-Qawlī
2) al-Fi’lī
3) al-Taqrīrī

al-Qawlī = linked to a statement

al-Fi’lī = linked to an action
al-Taqrīrī = linked to tacit approval

Therefore, there are six types of al-Marfū’ Ḥadīth

altogether which we will now define individually.

al-Marfū’ al-Sarīhī al-Qawlī

This is when a Companion clearly attributes a statement
to the Messenger of Allāh À .

Examples of how a statement may be explicitly attributed

to Messenger of Allāh À

‫سمعت رسول هللا صلي هللا عليه وسلم يقول كذا‬

“I heard the Messenger of Allāh À saying such and such.”

‫قال رسول هللا صلي هللا عليه وسلم‬

“The Messenger of Allāh À said.”

‫عن رسول هللا صلي هللا عليه وسلم أنه قال كذا‬
“It is narrated from the Messenger of Allāh À that he said
such and such.”

25
al-Marfū’ al-Sarīhī al-Fi’lī
This is when a Companion clearly attributes an action to
the Messenger of Allāh À

Examples of how an action may be explicitly attributed

to Messenger of Allāh À
This occurs when a Companion says,

‫رأيت رسول هللا صلي هللا عليه وسلم فعل كذا‬

“I saw that the Messenger of Allāh À performed such and such
an action.”

‫عن رسول هللا أنه فعل كذا‬

“Narrated by the Messenger of Allāh À that he did such and
such.”

‫عنه مرفوعا أنه فعل كذا‬

“It is narrated from a Companion whilst being Marfū’ i.e.
attributed to the Prophet À , that he carried out such and such
an action.”

‫رفعه أنه فعل كذا‬

“A Companion attributed to the Prophet À that he did such
and such.”

26
al-Marfū’ al-Sarīhī al-Taqrīrī

This is when a Companion clearly attributes tacit approval

to the Messenger of Allāh À .

Examples of how approval may be explicitly attributed

to Messenger of Allāh À
This type of al-Marfū’ is found when a Companion or
someone other than a Companion states,

‫فعل فالن أو فعل أحد بحضرة النبي صلي هللا عليه وسلم كذا‬
“So and so carried out such and such in the presence of the
Prophet.”

When a narration is mentioned with similar words to the

above and there is no mention of any prohibition from
Messenger of Allāh À then the Ḥadīth is al-Marfū’ al-
Sarīhī al-Taqrīrī.

al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī al-Qawlī

This is where it is implied from the statement of a
Companion, that the words he is narrating are actually
from the Messenger of Allāh À . This occurs when a
Companion is conveying such information, which he has
not attained from previous scriptures nor is there any
room for him to have obtained this information from his
own analogy.

27
Examples of when a statement may be impliedly
attributed to Messenger of Allāh À

al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī al-Sarīhī occurs when a Companion

who had not read previous scriptures mentions the events
that occurred during the eras of the previous Prophets or
when a Companion mentions the situations that will occur
in the future – such as the trials and tribulations that will
occur towards the Day of Judgment, the dreadful
circumstances that will ensue on the Day of Judgment and
the specific rewards or punishments for various acts of
goodness or evil etc.

It is not possible for a Companion to have become aware

of these matters on his own accord without hearing this
information from Messenger of Allāh À .

Therefore, although the Companion does not explicitly

mention that the Messenger of Allāh À had mentioned the
information that the Companion is conveying, it is
understood from the context that the Companion is in
actuality narrating these words from the Messenger of
Allāh À .

28
al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī al-Fi’lī
This type of al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī is found when a
Companion carries out such an action which could not be
carried out using legal reasoning (Ijtihād). Due to the
nature of the action, it is understood that this action must
have been carried out by the Companion further to this
action being carried out by the Messenger of Allāh À .

al-Marfū’ al-Hukmī al-Taqrīrī

This type of al-Ḥadīth al-Marfū’ occurs when a
Companion states that people used to carry out a certain
action during the time of the Messenger of Allāh À . It is
understood from such a narration that he À approved of
this action otherwise he À would have prohibited this
action due to revelation. As was the case with many
actions carried out by the Noble Companions.

Similarly, this type of al-Ḥadīth al-Marfū’ occurs when a

Companion states;

‫ومن السنة كذا‬

“And such and such is from the Sunnah.”

When the word “Sunnah” is mentioned by itself then it

refers to the Sunnah of our Master, the Best of all creation
À .

29
Some scholars have stated that the word Sunnah, which
can be translated as “way”, can also refer to the way of the
Companions and more specifically, to the rightly guided
Caliphs. But the word generally refers to the way of
Messenger of Allāh À when used by itself. So, when it is
said that a certain act is from the Sunnah, it is normally
understood to refer to the Sunnah of RasulAllāh À .

Explanation of al-Sanad, al-Matn and matters

connected to them

al-Sanad
al-Sanad refers to the chain of narrators i.e. the narrators
who have narrated a specific Ḥadīth.

al-Isnād
al-Isnād comes in the same meaning as al-Sanad. It
sometimes refers to the act of mentioning a chain of
narrators for a Ḥadīth.

The two types of al-Ḥadīth when considering the

connection or disconnection of al-Sanad

1 - al-Ḥadīth al-Muṭṭasil
This is the Ḥadīth in which every narrator is mentioned
within al-Sanad. The action of mentioning every narrator
in al-Sanad is called al-Ittisāl.

30
2 - al-Ḥadīth al-Munqatī’
This is the Ḥadīth in which either one or more narrator is
not mentioned. The action of not mentioning one or more
narrator is called al-Inqitā’.

The types of al-Ḥadīth al-Munqaṭi’

1 – al-Mu’allaq
When the narrator is not mentioned at the beginning of al-
Sanad, the Ḥadīth is called al-Mu’allaq. The action of
removing a narrator in this way is called al-Ta’līq.

Beneficial Note

Sometimes one narrator is not mentioned whilst other

times more than one narrator is not mentioned in al-
Ḥadīth al-Mu’allaq. Many authors and orators do not
mention any narrators at all and instead state,

‫قال رسول هللا صلي هللا عليه وسلم كذا‬

“The Messenger of Allāh À said such and such.”

Ta’līqāt al-Bukhārī
al-Ta’līqāt are mentioned abundantly within the titles of
the chapters within al-Imām al-Bukhāri’s “al-Jāmi’ al-
Ṣaḥīḥ.” As al-Imām al-Bukhārī has ensured that all the
narrations within this book are Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic), therefore
31
al-Ta’līqāt of al-Bukhārī are in the ruling of al-Muṭṭasil –
thus even though al-Bukhārī did not mention the
narrators, the Ḥadīth is in the same status as those Aḥādīth
where the narrators are all mentioned.

Nevertheless al-Aḥādīth al-Musnadah (narrations with all

narrators mentioned) within al-Bukhārī are of a higher
status than al-Ta’līqāt of al-Bukhari. However, those
narrations which are mentioned with all their narrators in
certain parts of al-Bukhārī and then written in other parts
without the mentioning of narrators are of the same status
as al-Aḥādīth al-Musnadah.

In relation to al-Ta’līqāt, differentiation is also made

between the use of active verbs (al-Ma’rūf) when narrating
a Ḥadīth and the use of passive verbs (al-Majhūl). Where
active verbs are used when mentioning al-Ta’līqāt in al-
Bukhārī then the narration is Saḥīḥ (authentic) as al-Imām
al-Bukhārī would never have attributed a statement to the
Messenger of Allāh À with certainty unless he was
satisfied that this attribution was based on reliable
evidence. Examples of how active verbs are used include;

‫قال فالن‬ “So and so said.”

‫ذكر فالن‬ “So and so mentioned.”

When passive verbs (al-Majhūl) are used within al-

Bukhārī when mentioning al-Ta’līqāt then it is
comprehended that there is a possibility for reservation in

32
relation to the authenticity (Siḥḥaḥ) of the narrations.
However, as these narrations have been mentioned by al-
Imām al-Bukhārī in this great book, it is evident that there
will be an origin for the narrations. This is why the
scholars of al-Ḥadīth state that al-Ta’līqāt of al-Bukhārī are
in the ruling of al-Ittisāl. Examples of how passive verbs
are used are as follows;

‫قيل‬ “It was said.”

‫يقال‬ “It is said.”
‫ذكر‬ “It was mentioned.”

2 – al-Mursal
If one or more narrator is omitted from the last part of al-
Sanad after a Tābi’ī then the narration is known as al-
Mursal and the action of not mentioning the narrator is
called al-Irsāl. An example of this is when a Tābi’ī states
that the Messenger of Allāh À said such and such a thing.
As the Tābi’ī was not blessed with meeting Messenger of
Allāh, it is evident that at least one Companion of
Messenger of Allāh has not been mentioned and there is a
possibility that along with at least one Companion, one or
more of the al-Tābi’ūn have been omitted as well.

It should be noted that al-Mursal and al-Munqaṭi’ are

sometimes used in the same meaning. Nevertheless, the
more prevalent terminology is the one mentioned above
as al-Mursal is a type of al-Munqaṭi’.
33
Is al-Ḥadīth al-Mursal reliable as a form of proof within Islamic
Law?

There is a difference of opinion amongst the great scholars

of Islam in relation to the reliability of al-Ḥadīth al-Mursal.
However, it should be noted that this difference of opinion
only exists when it is known with certainty that the Tābi’i
who omitted a narrator would only omit narrations from
reliable narrators. If it is evident that the Tābi’ī would take
narrations from both reliable and unreliable narrators,
then there is no difference of opinion. All scholars have
agreed that there should be reservation in relation to al-
Mursal narration of such a Tābi’ī.

The following positions are held by the distinguished

scholars pertaining to the reliability of al-Ḥadīth al-Mursal
narrated by such individuals amongst the Tābi’ūn who are
known with certainty to only omit those narrators who are
reliable:

1 - The majority of scholars are of the position that there

be reservation (tawaqquf) in relation to the reliability of al-
Ḥadīth al-Mursal because it is not known whether the
narrator who has been omitted is reliable or not. This is
because a Tābi’ī is sometimes narrating from another
Tābi’ī. There are reliable and non-reliable individuals
amongst al-Tābi’ūn.

34
2 – al-Imām al-Āzam Abū Hanīfah and al-Imām Mālik
(Allāh shower mercy upon them both) stated that al-
Ḥadīth al-Mursal is absolutely reliable as evidence within
Islamic Law. The reason why they hold this position is that
they state that the scholar who is omitting narrators before
him is doing so because he has complete trust upon their
reliability. If the scholar was doubtful in relation to the
reliability of the narration he would never have said,

‫قال رسول هللا كذا‬

“The Messenger of Allāh said such and such.”

3 – al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī believed that a Mursal narration

becomes reliable if it is supported by another Mursal
narration or another narration that is Musnad (i.e. in
which all narrators are mentioned). Even if the supporting
narration is Da’īf (weak), al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī believed that
it would nevertheless confirm the reliability of a Mursal
narration.

4 – There are two narrations from al-Imām Ahmad on this

matter. His first statement is that al-Ḥadīth al-Mursal is
reliable and is proof within Islamic Law whilst his second
statement is that there should be reservation in relation to
this matter. The first statement is more commonly
attributed to al-Imām Ahmad.8

8
Tadrīb al-Rāwī (by al-Imām Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī)
35
To gain further understanding regarding this discussion
the reader is encouraged to read Sharh Alfiyyah al-Ḥadīth
by al-Imām al-Sakhāwī.

3 – al-Mu’ḍal
When two narrators are omitted together (i.e. one after the
other) from the middle of al-Sanad then that narration is
called al-Mu’ḍal.

4 – al-Munqaṭi’
When one narrator is omitted from a Sanad or a number
of narrators are omitted from different parts of a Sanad
then the Ḥadīth is described as al-Munqaṭi’.

Based on this definition, al-Ḥadīth al-Munqaṭi’ is one type

of disconnected (Ghayr-Muṭṭasil) narration. However, al-
Munqaṭi’ is often used in a wider context to include all
Ghayr-Muṭṭasil (disconnected) narrations and thus al-
Mu’allaq, al-Mursal, al-Mu’ḍal and al-Mudallas are
classed as types of al-Munqaṭi’.

How to recognize when a chain is Munqaṭi’

One recognises a Ḥadīth to be Munqaṭi’ when it is evident
that the narrator never met the Shaykh who is mentioned
before him in al-Sanad. There are two possible ways of
ascertaining that they never met. Firstly, this is ascertained
by them both being from different eras. Secondly, this is
established when they are both from the same era but it is

36
clear that they never gathered in the same place during
their lifetimes nor was there any Ijāzah (permission)
granted to the narrator by the Shaykh who is mentioned
in al-Sanad before him.
All of these aforementioned matters are related to the
biographical history of the narrators through which one
learns the dates of birth and death, the time periods of
their studies and the records of their journeys. This is why
the scholars of al-Ḥadīth give huge importance to the
biographical history of narrators.

5 – al-Mudallas
The act of narrating a Mudallas narration is known as al-
Tadlīs and the one who is narrating a Mudallas narration
is known as Mudallis.

Linguistic Meaning of al-Tadlīs

al-Tadlīs linguistically refers to the concealing of defects
within the items of sale. The root words to this word are
‫ دلس‬which originally refer to the severity of darkness.

The reason why this type of narration is called Mudallas

is because there is an element of obscurity and hiding a
factor when narrating it just like there is a veiling of certain
attributes within the item of sale by the seller in the
marketplace. The reader will understand this fully below
when learning the terminological meaning.

37
The Terminological Meaning of al-Tadlīs
al-Tadlīs within the terminology of the Scholars of al-
Ḥadīth refers to the action of a narrator whereby he does
not mention the name of the Shaykh from whom he is
narrating the Ḥadīth and instead mentions the Shaykh
above his direct Shaykh and uses such wording that
causes one to assume that the narrator directly heard the
narration from his grand Shaykh.

Nevertheless, although there is an assumption that the

narrator heard the narration from his grand Shaykh, it is
not absolutely proven that the narrator falsely claimed to
have directly heard the narration from his grand Shaykh
(thus the narrator is not accused of lying). For example, the
narrator says,

‫“ عن فالن‬It is narrated by so and so.”

‫“ قال فالن‬So and so said.”

When the narrator states that so and so narrated or said

something, he has not explicitly claimed to have heard the
narration directly from so and so but one may assume that
this narrator has heard it from so and so directly due to the
way he expressed it.

Thus, when it becomes apparent that he never met so and

so then it is clear that this narration is Mudallas and that

38
the narrator had actually heard this narration from
someone else who had directly heard it from so and so.9

9 Editor’s note – there are two types of Mudallas narrations:

1 – Tadlīs al-Isnād
The narrator omits the Shaykh from whom he is narrating the Ḥadīth and narrates it
using words such as “narrated from” or “so and so stated that” in relation to the Shaykh
above the Shaykh from whom he took the narration.

An example of this is when Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah was narrating a Ḥadīth from al-Zuhrī,
he was asked if he had heard this from al-Zuhrī to which he replied that he had not
heard this narration from al-Zuhrī but rather had heard this Ḥadīth from ‘Abd al-
Razzāq who heard it from Ma’mar who heard it from al-Zuhrī.9

It should be noted that sometimes the grand Shaykh is someone from whom the
narrator has directly heard other narrations. For example, Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah had
directly heard other narrations from ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī but had not heard the
particular narration he was narrating in the above example directly.

2 –Tadlīs al-Shuyūkh
The narrator does not omit the Shaykh from whom he took the narration but describes
him with such a description or title with which he is not well known.

An example of this is when one of the leaders in the science of Qirā’ah, Abu Bakr ibn
Mujāhid narrated a Ḥadīth from “AbdAllah ibn AbdAIllah” who is in actuality Abū
Bakr ibn Abī Dāwūd al-Sijistānī. Therefore, he mentioned the lesser known title of this
narrator.

Both types of Mudallas are summarised in the stanzas of al-Mandhūmah al-

Bayqūniyyah in the following manner;
‫وما أتي مدلسا نوعان‬
"‫األول اإلسقاط للشيخ وأن ينقل عمن فوقه ب"عن" و"أن‬
‫ ال يسقطه لكن يصف أوصافه بما به ال ينعرف‬:‫والثان‬

The summary of these stanzas is that whatever comes as Mudallas is of two types; The first is
where the Shaykh is omitted, and the narrator mentions the narration from someone above
the Shaykh using the word ‫ عن‬or ‫أن‬. The second type is where he does not omit the Shaykh
above him but describes him with such attributes with which he is not well known.

al-Shaykh Wajīhuddīn al-‘Alawī Gujrātī also mentioned a third type of al-Tadlīs in his
commentary upon Nuzhah al-Naẓr which is Tadlīs al-Taswiyah in which the narrator takes the
narration from a reliable narrator who took the narration from a weak narrator who had taken
it from a reliable narrator. In Tadlīs al-Taswiyah, the narrator omits the weak narrator from the
chain of narration and only mentions the two reliable narrators. This is the worst type of al-
39
The ruling pertaining to al-Tadlīs
al-Imām al-Shumunnī stated that al-Tadlīs is forbidden
according to the leading scholars. al-Imām al-Shummunnī
narrates from al-Imām al-Wakī’ that he said, “When it is
not permissible to hide factors pertaining to clothes then
how could this be allowed in relation to Aḥādīth?” al-
Imām al-Shu’bah described al-Tadlīs as being the brother
of lies and worse than fornication whilst emphasising its
condemnation to a large extent.10

The ruling of narrating a Ḥadīth narrated by a narrator

who carries out Tadlīs
The scholars of al-Ḥadīth have differed in relation to
accepting the narration of a scholar who carries out al-
Tadlīs;

1 – Some scholars of al-Ḥadīth and al-Fiqh believe that

carrying out al-Tadlīs is a defect and therefore a narration
of any narrator who is famously known to carry out al-
Tadlīs will not be accepted at all by such scholars.

2 – Other scholars believe that the narration of such a

narrator who carries out al-Tadlīs will be accepted.

Tadlīs as the narrator is sometimes not known for al-Tadlīs and therefore a reader assumes it
to be an authentic narration without becoming aware that there is an omitted narrator in the
chain of narration who is weak. This is very deceptive and thus this is the worst type of al-Tadlīs.

10 Note from compiler – Refer to al-Muqaddimah li ibn al-Salāh for further details
40
3 –The majority (Jumhūr) of al-Ḥadīth scholars state that
the narration of the narrator who only carries out al-Tadlīs
pertaining to reliable narrators will be accepted. An
example of such a narrator is Sufyān ibn ‘Uyaynah. Such
narrators only omit a narrator above them who is
authentic, so their narration is acceptable according to the
majority of al-Ḥadīth scholars.

The majority of al-Ḥadīth scholars do not accept the

narration of any narrator who does al-Tadlīs of unreliable
as well as reliable narrators. As they omit unreliable
narrators, the majority of scholars reject their narrations
due to the doubt that exists as to whether they have
received their narration from a reliable source or not.

There is an exception to the aforementioned stance of the

majority – when such a narrator who does al-Tadlīs of
reliable as well as unreliable narrators makes clear that he
directly heard the narration from the Shaykh above him
then the majority of scholars accept his narration. This
occurs when the narrator uses words such as;

‫“ سمعت‬I heard.”
‫“ حدثنا‬Mentioned to us.”
‫“ أخبرنا‬Informed us.”

41
Causes of carrying out al-Tadlīs
al-Tadlīs is carried out for a number of immoral reasons
such as;

1 –The Shaykh who is being omitted is young.

2 –The Shaykh who is being omitted is not well known or

not widely revered. Therefore, the narrator does not wish
to make clear that he has taken this narration from that
Shaykh.

3 – The Shaykh is Ḍa’īf (weak) and therefore the narrator

mentions him with a title with which he is not well known
in order to conceal the weakness of the narration.

4 – The narrator wishes to make out that he has taken

narrations from numerous scholars, therefore, he
mentions the same scholar with different titles. For
example, a narrator states about the same person (al-Imām
Muslim);

‫“حدثني مسلم‬Muslim narrated to me.”

‫حدثني أبو الحسن القشيري‬

“Abu al-Ḥasan al-Qushayrī narrated to me.”

‫حدثني ابن الحاج النيسابوري‬

“Ibn al-Hājj Nisāpūrī narrated to me.”

42
To a normal individual it will seem that the above are
names of different people when in actuality these are
names and titles of the same person.

It should be noted that great scholars like Sufyān ibn

‘Uyaynah, al-Imām al-A’mash and many other great
leaders from al-Tābi’ūn and their pious followers did not
carry out al-Tadlīs due to any immoral reason but rather
they carried out al-Tadlīs due to their complete confidence
in the authenticity of the narration and they felt that the
names mentioned in the chain were sufficient to establish
the authenticity of the narration. al-Imām al-Shumunnī
stated that it is possible that the narrators had heard a
specific narration from many reliable narrators directly.

However, as the narration was proven to be authentic

according to the narrator, he deemed it to be sufficient to
mention the Shaykh of all the narrators rather than
mentioning one of the Shuyūkh or all of them. This is
similar to the narrator who narrates a Ḥadīth as Mursal
due to his confidence that it is authentic.

al-Muḍtarib
This is such a narration where there is a contradiction
within al-Sanad or within al-Matn. This is caused by
mentioning certain names or words at the beginning
instead of mentioning them at the end, by adding
something, by mentioning a certain narrator rather than
another, by including a certain Matn rather than another
43
Matn, by alteration of certain parts within al-Sanad or al-
Matn or by removing certain names or words.

Ruling of narrating al-Muḍtarib narrations

If it is possible to establish conformity within such
narrations and thus one is able to overcome any
contradiction, then it will be permissible to narrate al-
Muḍtarib narrations. Otherwise there will be reservation
in relation to the narration – it will neither be accepted nor
rejected.

al-Mudraj
This is such a narration in between which the words of a
Companion or a Tābi’ī are added by the narrator for a
beneficial purpose e.g. explanation of the meaning of a
difficult word, elaboration on its meaning, the mentioning
of exceptions to an otherwise unrestricted principle or any
other such reason.

The ruling in relation to al-Mudraj narrations

al-Imām An Nawawī firmly prohibited adding words in
between any narration making it al-Mudraj. However, al-
Imām Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī states that narrating a Ḥadīth
as al-Mudraj due to explaining unique and rare words is

44
not forbidden. This is why the great leader, al-Imām al-
Zuhrī narrated some narrations in this manner.11

The ways in which narrations are conveyed

‫ رواية بالمعني‬- Narrating the meaning of the

narration without quoting every word of the
narration
Riwāyah bi al-Ma’nā refers to summarising the meaning
of a Ḥadīth without transmitting the exact words of the
Ḥadīth.

The scholars of al-Ḥadīth differed in relation to narrating

a Ḥadīth in this way;

The first position

The majority of al-Ḥadīth scholars, al-Fiqh scholars and
scholars of Islam state that narrating a narration in this
manner is permissible for that person who has knowledge
of the Arabic language, the grammatical structure of
Arabic sentences, the different styles of articulation and
the meanings of various words. The four Imāms of the
four schools of jurisprudence are agreed upon this.
However, this permissibility of narrating a Ḥadīth with
rewording does not apply when the Ḥadīth is Jawāmi’ al-
Kalim (comprehensive sentences of our Master À which

11
Refer to Tadrīb al-Rāwī for further details
45
have less words but have very vast meanings) nor does it
apply to the situation where the words of a Ḥadīth are
actually supplications which are recited during worship.

The second position

The second opinion is that narrating in this way is
permissible in single words but not in compound words.
An example of this is the use of an alternative word for the
word “lion.” If in one narration the word ‫ أسد‬is used for a
lion and then when mentioning the same narration, a
narrator uses another word like ‫ ليث‬which also means lion
then this is permissible according to the scholars who hold
this second position. However, these scholars would not
allow paraphrasing any more than this.

The third position

The third position held by the scholars is that narrating in
this way is permissible for those who have the original
words securely in their minds so that they can properly
rephrase the narrations.

The fourth position

The fourth position which is held by other scholars is that
it is permissible for those who have the meanings of the
narrations in their memories but have forgotten the exact
words to narrate the summary of a narration instead of
46
quoting it word by word as there is a need to understand
the summary to comprehend rules.

However, the one who knows the words of the narration

by heart and still remembers them is not permitted to
narrate summarily as there is no difficulty or need
requiring this.

Important Note about the aforementioned difference

between Scholars
The difference mentioned above is not pertaining to the
narration of Aḥādīth which are narrated in books as it is
absolutely impermissible to narrate Aḥādīth in Arabic
from books whilst summarising or rewording the original
words of the narration.

The room for permissibility for narrating without quoting

exact words is limited to the situation of difficulty in
recollecting exact words which are not present in books.
Whilst a narrator is permitted to rephrase something that
is in his memory, he does not have the right to change
words recorded in a book.12 Basically, it is not permissible

12
Editor’s note – In order to make this matter clearer to the reader, a statement of ibn al-
Salāh in his work, Ma’rifah ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth in this regard is worthwhile noting down;

ِ ‫ فليس ألحد أن ُي‬،‫الكتب‬ ُ َ َّ َّ َّ ُ

‫شء‬‫غي لفظ ي‬ ّ ‫تضمنته ُبطون‬ ُ ‫اس فيما‬
‫ فيما‬- ‫نعلم‬ ُ ‫الن‬ ً ‫إن هذا الخالف ل نراه‬
‫ ول أجراه‬- ‫جاريا‬ ‫ثم‬
َّ َ َّ ِ َّ ً ُ َّ ُ
‫ ويثبت بدله فيه لفظا آخر بمعناه؛ فإن الرواية بالمعن رخص فيها من رخص؛ لما كان عليهم يف ضبط‬،‫من كتاب مصنف‬
َّ ُ ُ َّ
ُ ّ ‫ وذلك‬،‫والجمود عليها من الحرج والن َصب‬
ُ ‫األلفاظ‬
‫ وألنه إن ملك‬،‫غي موجود فيما اشتملت عليه بطون األوراق والكتب‬
ُ َّ
"‫ وهللا أعلم‬،‫غيه‬ ّ ‫تغيي تصنيف‬
ّ ‫ فليس يملك‬،‫تغيي اللفظ‬ ّ

“Furthermore we do not view this difference of opinion to be applicable (nor do the scholars
apply it as far as we know) upon the narrations that are included within the books. Therefore,
47
to rephrase a narration when narrating from a written
work as this will open the door to alteration and distortion
of literary works.13

Beneficial Note
al-Riwāyah bi al-Ma’nā is present in the six most authentic
books of al-Ḥadīth as well as other works of al-Ḥadīth.
This is proven in the narrations of these works as there are
often different words in various works pertaining to the
same event that occurred at the time of the Messenger of
Allāh À . The reader may refer to Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and other
works in order to comprehend this.

Exercising caution when narrating a Ḥadīth

without quoting exact words
The most prudent way for a narrator who is narrating a
Ḥadīth without quoting the exact words of the Ḥadīth, is
for him to state after mentioning the Ḥadīth;

‫أو كما قال صلي هللا عليه وسلم‬

“Or however he stated this – À .”

it is not permissible for anyone to change any word from a book that has been written and
replace it with another word that is in its meaning. The only reason why a group of scholars
gave permission to narrate a narration without quoting exact words was due to the difficulty
in recollecting the exact words. This difficulty (in recollecting exact words) is not present in
narrations that are recorded upon papers and books. Another reason for this is that the
narrator has the authority to change a word (and replace it with another word which has the
same meaning) but does not have the authority to alter any work written by somebody else.
And Allāh knows best.”

13
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
48
 ‫نحوه‬ “Similarly narrated.”
‫شبهه‬ “Narrated similarly.”

These are just examples. Other such words can also be

used that make clear that the actual words of the Prophet
of Allāh À may have been slightly different. Many Noble
Companions would say similar words at the end of their
narrations. They were more aware than anyone else of the
blessed speech of Messenger of Allāh À and they were
great experts of the Arabic Language.

They were very cautious and used such words at the end
of their narrations because they understood the possibility
of making errors when narrating without quoting every
word.

Ibn Mājah, Ahmad and al-Hākim narrate from Sayyidunā

‘AbdAllāh ibn Mas’ūd that he once said, “Messenger of
Allāh À said.” After he said this, his eyes became swollen
and the veins on his neck became visible. He immediately
said,

‫أو مثله أو نحوه أو شبيه به‬

“Or something similar, or something like it or something that
is of the like of it.”

49
It is narrated in Musnad al-Dārimī and al-Kifāyah of al-
Khatīb from Sayyidunā Abū Dardā that when he would
narrate a Ḥadīth of Messenger of Allāh À , he would say,

‫أو نحوه أو شبهه‬

“Or something like it or similar to it.”

It is narrated by ibn Mājah and Ahmad from Sayyidunā

Anas ibn Mālik that he would say,
‫أو كما قال رسول هللا صلي هللا عليه وسلم‬
“Or however Messenger of Allāh À said.”

If one is doubtful about any word whilst narrating a

Ḥadīth then it is better for him to say,

‫أو كما قال صلي هللا عليه وسلم‬

“Or however he À stated.”14

‫ رواية باللفظ‬Narrating a Ḥadīth whilst quoting every

word
It is agreed by all scholars that the most virtuous way of
narrating a Ḥadīth is by quoting every single word of it.
The Master of all creation À said;

‫تضر هللا امرأ سمع مقالتي فوعاها فأداها كما سمع‬

“Allāh keep that person blossoming who heard my words,
preserved them and conveyed them just as he heard them.”15

14
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
15
al-Tirmidhī, Musnad al-Imām Ahmad
50
‫ العنعنة‬Narrating a Ḥadīth using the word ‫عن‬
Narrating a Ḥadīth whilst using the word ‫ عن‬which
literally means “from” when mentioning the narrators
from whom one is taking the narration is known as al-
An’an’ah. The Ḥadīth which consists of this word is
known as al-Mu’an’an.

The conditions for acceptance of a Mu’an’an

narration
al-Imām Muslim was of the position that in order for an
An’anah narration to be accepted, it is essential that the
narrator be of the same era as the Shaykh from whom he
is narrating and it should also have been possible for them
to have met. However, al-Imām al-Bukhārī, ibn al-Madīnī
and other masters of this science stated that mere
possibility of the narrator meeting the Shaykh is not
enough. Moreover, it has to be established that the
narrator met the Shaykh. Some scholars of this science
have placed the additional condition that the narrator be
proven to have heard and taken narrations from the
Shaykh. al-Imām Muslim rebutted both of the other
opinions harshly in the Muqaddimah (Introduction) to
Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.

The preferred and most reliable position is that the

‘An’anah of al-Mudallis is not acceptable.16

16
al-Fatāwa al-Riḍawiyyah Volume 2 Page 257
51
al-Musnad
There are three statements in relation to the definition of
this type of al-Ḥadīth;

1 – According to scholars like al-Hākim Abū ‘AbdAllah

Nishāpūrī, al-Musnad is that al-Ḥadīth al-Marfū’ which
has a complete (al-Muṭṭasil) chain of narration. In
Nukhbah al-Fikr, al-Imām ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī only
mentioned this position thus relying on it alone. In Tadrīb
al-Rāwī, al-Imām Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī described this to be
the most authentic position.

2 – Some scholars such as Abū Bakr al-Khatīb al-Baghdādī

describe any Muṭṭasil narration as al-Musnad regardless
of whether it is al-Mawqūf or al-Maqtū’.

3 – al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū ‘Amr ibn ‘Abd al-Barr classes al-Musnad

to be a synonym of al-Marfū’. Therefore, according to him,
every Marfū’ narration is Musnad regardless of whether it
is al-Mursal, al-Mu’ḍal or al-Munqaṭi’. No one besides ibn
‘Abd al-Barr held this position.17

17
Nuzhah al-Naẓr
52
al-Shādh, al-Munkar and al-Mu’allal al-Shādh – ‫الشاذ‬
Linguistically this refers to the one who is separate to the
mainstream group. According to Islamic terminology, al-
Shādh refers to a narration which opposes the narrations
of reliable narrators.

Ruling pertaining to al-Shādh

If a Shādh narration is narrated by an unreliable narrator,
then it will be unacceptable. If it is narrated by a reliable
narrator, then other factors such as the strength of the
narrator’s memory and abundant chains of narration will
be considered when deciding whether it has preference
over other narrations or not.

al-Maḥfūdh
When comparing the narrations of two narrators, the
narration which has preference is known as al-Maḥfūdh
whilst the narration which does not have preference is
known as al-Shādh. In summary, al-Maḥfūdh is the
narration of the narrator who is greater in authenticity as
opposed to the narrator who is less authentic.

al-Munkar
al-Munkar is the narration of the Aḍ’af (weaker) narrator
which opposes the narration of narrators who are less
weak than him.

53
al-Ma’rūf
This is the narration of the Ḍa’īf (weak) narrator which
opposes the narration of the Aḍ’af (weaker) narrator.

The difference between al-Ma’rūf, al-Munkar, al-

Maḥfūdh and al-Shādh
The narrators in both al-Ma’rūf and al-Munkar are Ḍa’īf.
However, the narrator of al-Munkar is more Ḍa’īf in
comparison to the narrator of al-Ma’rūf. Therefore, the
narration of the less weak narrator is called al-Ma’rūf
whilst the narration of the weaker narrator is called al-
Munkar. As opposed to this, the narrators of al-Shādh and
al-Maḥfūdh are both strong.

However, the narrator of a Maḥfūdh narration is stronger

than the narrator of a Shādh narration. The narration of
the strong narrator is called al-Shādh whilst the narration
of the stronger narrator is called al-Maḥfūdh.

Beneficial Note
Some scholars of al-Ḥadīth have not placed a condition of
opposing other narrators within the definitions of al-
Shādh and al-Munkar regardless of whether the other
narrators are strong or weak.

They state that al-Shādh is the narration which is narrated

by only one reliable narrator and there is no source
54
supporting the narration. This definition thus applies to
that al-Khabar al-Wāhid which is Ṣaḥīḥ and narrated by
one reliable narrator. Some scholars of al-Ḥadīth have not
considered reliability of the narrator and opposition to
other narrations when defining al-Shādh.

al-Mu’allal
This is the Ḥadīth in the al-Sanad of which there are such
hidden and technical defects which affect the authenticity
of the narration. Only the great experts amongst the
Scholars of al-Ḥadīth can recognise these hidden defects.

Examples of when these hidden defects arise include

when a Ḥadīth is shown to be al-Muṭṭasil (with a
connected chain) when in reality it is al-Mursal (a narrator
after the Tābi’ī has been omitted) and similarly when a
narration is narrated as though it is al-Marfū’ (attributed
to the Messenger of Allāh À ) when it is actually al-
Mawqūf (attributed to the Noble Companions).

Sometimes a scholar who is describing a Ḥadīth to be al-

Mu’allal does not manage to substantiate his argument
with any proof. This is similar to a person who deals with
gold and silver who manages to ascertain the lack of
purity in the gold and silver of certain coins based on his

55
expertise but does not manage to convince somebody who
does not have the same expertise as him of this.18

al-Mutābi’
When a Ḥadīth is narrated by a certain narrator and
another narrator narrates a Ḥadīth that is in conformity to
his narration, the second Ḥadīth is known as al-Mutābi’
(conformer) and the first Ḥadīth is known as al-Mutāba’.
The action of bringing a narration that is conformity to the
first is al-Mutāba’ah.

The scholars of al-Ḥadīth use the following words to

describe when a narration conforms to another narration;

‫تابعه فالن‬
“So and so carried out al-Mutāba’ah of it.”

al-Imām al-Bukhārī has done al-Mutāba’ah in many places

within his book. When the Scholars of al-Ḥadīth wish to

18 Sometimes a scholar who is a Master of al-Ḥadīth is certain that there is a hidden

defect in the Ḥadīth but is not able to substantiate this with any evidence. al-Muhaddith
ibn al-Mahdī stated, “Knowledge of the science of al-Ḥadīth is attained through Divine
Bestowal.” He was once asked, “You classify some Ahādīth to be Saḥīḥ (authentic)
whilst you classify others as not Saḥīḥ. Based upon what evidence do you state this?”
He replied,
‫أرأيت لو أتيت الناقد فأريته دراهمك فقال هذا جيد وهذا بهرج أكنت تسأل عمن ذالك أو تسلم له األمر فهذا كذلك بطول المجالسة‬
‫والمناظرة والخبرة‬
“If you went to a specialist and showed him your silver coins and he stated that this
one is pure and this one is counterfeit, would you ask him for the source of his
information or would you accept his opinion?” He then said, “The same situation is of
this science which is attained through lengthy meetings, discussions and research.”
(Tadrīb al-Rāwī)

56
make clear that a narration is strong and has been
supported by other narrations, they write;

‫وله متابعات‬
“And it has other narrations supporting it.”

The Benefit of al-Mutāba’ah

al-Mutāba’ah strengthens a narration so long as there is no
severe weakness in al-Mutābi’ i.e. so long as the narrator
of the supporting narration is not somebody accused of
lying and so long as the narration is not Munkar or
Shādh.19

It is not necessary for al-Mutābi’ to be of the same status

as al-Mutāba’. A narration has the capability to strengthen
another even if the supporting narration is not of the same
level as the supported narration.

It should be noted that it is a condition in al-Mutāba’ah

that both the supporting narration as well as the
supported narration be narrated from the same
Companion.

19
al-Manhal al-Latīf fī Usūl al-Ḥadīth al- Sharīf by al-Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Alawī al-Malikī,
page 134
57
The Types of al-Mutāba’ah
There are two types of al-Mutāba’ah;

1) al-Mutāba’ah al-Tāmmah– Complete Support

2) al-Mutāba’ah al-Qāśirah – Incomplete Support

al-Mutāba’ah al-Tāmmah – Complete Support

This is where the supporting narration agrees with the
supported narration throughout the chain of narration, as
the supporting narrator has narrated from the same
narrator as the first narration.

al-Mutāba’ah al-Qāśirah – Incomplete Support

This is where the supporting narration agrees with the
supported narration from a Shaykh above the first
narrator.

al-Mutāba’ah al-Tāmmah is described as complete

because it strengthens the chain from the narrator at the
beginning which is usually the place where most of the
weakness is found.20

20
Editor’s note – It would be helpful to mention an example of both types given by ibn Hajar
al-‘Asqalānī in Nuzhah al-Naẓr. al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī narrated a Ḥadīth in his book “al-Umm” from
al-Imām Mālik who narrated from ‘AbdAllah ibn Dinār, who narrated from ibn ‘Umar that the
Messenger of Allāh À said,

‫ثلثي‬
ّ ‫حن تروه فإن غم عليكم فأكملوا العدة‬
‫حن ترو الهالل ول تفطروا ي‬
‫الشهر تسع وعشون فال تصوموا ي‬

“The month is twenty-nine days. Therefore, do not fast until you see the new moon and do
not stop fasting until you see it. If it is clouded over you, then complete thirty days.”

58
Conformity in words and conformity in
meaning
al-Mutāba’ah is sometimes done with exactly the same
words which give exactly the same meaning whilst it is
sometimes done with varying words which provide the
same meaning;

‫مثله‬
If the supporting narration is in conformity to the
supported narration in both words and meaning, then the
scholars will use the word ‫ مثله‬when stating that the second
Ḥadīth is similar to the first.

Some scholars stated that al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī was alone in narrating this particular type of
wording from al-Imām Mālik. This is because other students of al-Imām Mālik narrated this
Ḥadīth with the following wording;

‫فإن غم عليكم فاقدروا له‬

“Then if it is cloudy then estimate it.” (i.e. complete thirty days)

However, a Mutābi’ was found for the narration al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī as the same words were
narrated by ‘AbdAllah ibn al-Maslamah al-Qa’nabī from al-Imām Mālik. Therefore, this is al-
Mutāba’ah al-Tāmmah as al-Mutābi’ here is also from al-Imām Mālik.

There is also a Mutāba’ah Qāśirah for this narration as there is a narration of Saḥīḥ ibn
Khuzaymah in which ‘Āśim ibn Muhammad narrated from his father, Muhammad ibn Zayd
who narrated from his grandfather, ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Umar,

‫ثالثي‬
ّ ‫فكملوا‬

“So complete thirty.”

Whilst the narration in this example is from the same Companion, ‘AbdAllāh ibn ‘Umar, the
narrator at the beginning is different and therefore this is al-Mutāba’ah al-Qaśirah.

59
‫نحوه‬
If the supporting narration is in conformity to the
supported narration in meaning only and not in words,
then the scholars will use the word ‫نحوه‬when stating that
the second Ḥadīth is similar to the first Ḥadīth.

al-Shāhid
If the supporting (al-Mutābi’) narration is narrated by a
different Sahābī then this supporting narration is
described as al-Shāhid. An example of this is when it is
said;

‫له شاهد من حديث أبي هريرة‬

“There is a Shāhid of this from the Ḥadīth of Abū Hurairah.”

Similarly, the following two sentences are used;

‫له شواهد‬
“There are Shawāhid for this.”

‫يشهد به حديث فالن‬

“The Ḥadīth of so and so is Shāhid for this.”21

21
Editor’s note – An example of al-Shāhid is given alongside the examples of al-Mutāba’ah al-
Tāmmah and al-Mutāba’ah al-Qāśirah by al-Hāfiẓ ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī in Nuzhah al-Naẓr. Again,
the point of discussion is the narration of al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī in his book al-Umm. The same
wording is mentioned in a narration of al-Nasā’ī from Sayyidunā ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Abbās which
confirms the narration of al-Shāfi’ī (which is narrated from Sayyidunā ‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Umar). The
wording is;

‫فإن غم عليكم فأكملوا العدة ثلثين‬

“If it is clouded over you then complete thirty days.”

60
A second definition of al-Mutābi’ and al-Shāhid
Some scholars of al-Ḥadīth have stated that al-Mutābi’ is
that supporting narration which has the same words,
whilst al-Shāhid is the narration that is confirming the
meaning of the first narration but does not have the same
words. They do not take into consideration whether the
narrations are narrated by the same Companion or not.

A third definition of al-Mutābi’ and al-Shāhid

Some scholars class al-Mutābi’ and al-Shāhid to by
synonyms.

al-I’tibār
The search through various chains of narrations in order
to find narrations that are al-Mutābi’ and al-Shāhid is
called al-I’tibār.

The classification of al-Ḥadīth as authentic and weak

When considering the strength or weakness of Aḥādīth,
the original classification of Aḥādīth is into three types; 1)
al-Ṣaḥīḥ 2) al-Ḥasan 3) al-Ḍa’īf.

This second narration of al-Nasā’ī is al-Shāhid for the narration of al-Umm as it is

narrated by a different Companion.

61
al-Ṣaḥīḥ
This is the loftiest type of al-Ḥadīth. This is that Ḥadīth
which is narrated by a narrator who is just (‘Ādil) and
complete in his preservation (Ḍhabt – i.e. strong precision
through memory or through writing). This narration has
to be Muṭṭasil (with a connected chain) and it should not
be al-Mu’allal or al-Shādh.

The two types of al-Ṣaḥīḥ

al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Dhātihī
This is the type of al-Ṣaḥīḥ in which all the aforementioned
attributes of al-Ṣaḥīḥ are found completely.

al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Ghayrihī
This is the Ḥadīth in which one of the aforementioned
attributes (i.e. Ḍhabṭ) is lacking which is covered by there
being numerous chains.22

al-Ḥasan
In status, this type of al-Ḥadīth is between al-Ṣaḥīḥ and al-
Ḍa’īf. It has two types;

22
Editor’s note – As explained in works like Taysīr Mustalah al-Ḥadīth: al-Saḥīḥ li Ghayrihī is a
narration that is originally al-Hasan li Dhātihī, but which has been strengthened by another chain
of narration which is similar to it or stronger than it. Such that when two narrations that are al-
Hasan li Dhātihī meet, they result in the narration becoming al-Saḥīḥ li Ghairihī –
al-Hasan li Dhātihī + al-Hasan li Dhātihī = al-Saḥīḥ li Ghairihī

62
al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī
This is the Ḥadīth in which the aforementioned attributes
are lacking, and this has not been covered by other chains
of narrations.

Beneficial Note
It seems from the aforementioned words of al-Ḥadīth
scholars that any of the attributes of al-Ṣaḥīḥ can be lacking
in al-Ḥasan. However, this is not the case. The only
attribute that is lacking in al-Ḥasan is the attribute of
Ḍhabṭ. The rest of the attributes are all required for a
Ḥadīth to be classed as al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī.

al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī
This is the Ḥadīth which is originally Ḍa’īf (weak) but its
weakness is covered by other chains of narrations23,
through the reliance of Islamic Scholars upon itor through
other means (which will be discussed in detail further on
with the Will of the Almighty).

al-Ḍa’īf
This is that Ḥadīth in which some or all of the conditions
of al-Ṣaḥīḥ are not found and this has not been covered
through any other means.

23 al-Ḍa’īf + al-Ḍa’īf = al-Hasan li Ghayrihī

63
The types of al-Ḍa’īf narrations
There are four types of al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf;

al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf bi Ḍu’f Qarīb

The weakness in this type is so minute that it is
appropriate to search for other chains which can cover its
weakness. Examples of this are where the weakness is due
to narrators being mixed up in the chain, weak memory of
a narrator or a narrator being a Mudallis etc. Through
Mutābi’ and Shāhid narrations, this weakness can be
covered and the narration that is originally Ḍa’īf can rise
to the station of al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī. Furthermore,
depending on how many chains of narrations are found,
the narration can even be raised to the level of al-Ṣaḥīḥ li
Ghayrihī.

al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf bi Ḍu’f Qawiyy wa Wahn Shadīd

This is the type of Ḥadīth which is very weak. This occurs
when the narrator is rejected due to severe defects like his
disobedience (fisq), but that disobedience does not involve
lying.

This type of al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf is not reliable as evidence

within Islamic Rulings. The preferred position is that this
type of al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf is acceptable in relation to al-
Faḍāil (virtues).
64
If this type of al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf is supported by a number
of chains, then it is acceptable with consensus.

al-Maṭrūh
This is the narration whose narrator is a fabricator, a liar
or a person who is accused of lying. This is the worst type
of al-Ḍa’īf.

Some scholars class this type to be the same as al-Mawḍū’,

whilst there is a group who state that it will be the same as
al-Mawḍū’ when its narrator is a liar. Based upon these
terminologies this is classed to be al-Mawḍū’ al-Hukmī i.e.
it is classed to be in the same ruling as fabricated.

al-Mawḍū’ - Fabricated
By consensus, it is not possible to cover the weakness of
such a narration nor is such a narration acceptable in
relation to virtues (al-Faḍāil). In reality such a narration is
not even a Ḥadīth. It is only described as being a Ḥadīth
metaphorically.

65
The ways to strengthen Ḍa’īf narrations24

Numerous Narrations
When a Ḍa’īf narration is narrated through various chains
of narrations, it reaches the status of al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī
whilst at times it reaches the status of al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Ghayrihī.

Even if the other narrations are Ḍa’īf, they will still raise
the original narration to at least the status of al-Ḥasan li
Ghayrihī, so long as they are not of the worst types of al-
Ḍa’īf.

al-Ḍa’īf + al-Ḍa’īf = al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī

It is stated in Mirqāt al-Mafātīh commentary of Mishkāt

al-Maṣābīh;

‫تعدد الطريق يبلغ الحديث الضعيف إلي حد الحسن‬

“Numerous chains make a weak narration reach the level of al-
Ḥasan.”

al-Imām ‘Abd al-Wahhāb al-Sha’rānī states in Mīzān al-

Sharī’ah al-Kubrā,

‫قد احتج جمهور المحدثين بالحديث الضعيف إذا كثرت طرقه وألحقوه بالصحيح تارة‬
‫وبالحسن أخري وهذا النوع من الضعيف يوجد كثيرا في كتاب السنن الكبري للبيهقي‬
‫التي ألفها بقصد االحتجاج ألقوال األئمة وأقوال أصحابهم‬

24 The plural of Ḍa’īf is Ḍi’āf.

66
‘The scholars of al-Ḥadīth have derived proof from al-
Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf when it has numerous chains of narration.
They link it to al-Ṣaḥīḥ at times whilst at other times they
link it to al-Ḥasan. This type of al-Ḍa’īf is found a lot in the
book al-Sunan al-Kubrā of al-Bayhaqī, which he compiled
with the intention to derive proof for the statements of the
great Imāms and their companions.’

It is not necessary for there to be many chains of narrations

in order to strengthen al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf. Even if two
chains of narrations are found i.e. the Ḍa’īf chain of
narration along with another chain of narration then this
is sufficient to strengthen the narration. It is stated in al-
Taysīr when describing a narration;

‫ضعيف لضعف عمرو بن الواقد لكنه يقوي بوروده من طريقين‬

‘It is Ḍa’īf due to the weakness of ‘Amr ibn al-Wāqid but

it has been strengthened by it being narrated through two
chains of narrations.’25

25
al-Fatāwā al-Riḍawiyyah Volume 2 Page 449
67
The action by the people of knowledge upon a
narration
A narration is strengthened when the people of
knowledge act upon it even if its chain of narration is Ḍa’īf.
al-Imām al-Tirmidhī stated in a number of places within
his As Sunan after discussing a Ḥadīth;

‫والعمل علي هذا عند أهل العلم‬

Action is upon this narration according to the people of

knowledge.

Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī states in Mirqāt al-Mafātīh;

‫ وإسناده‬:‫رواه الترمذي وقال غريب والعمل علي هذا عند أهل العلم قال النووي‬
‫ضعيف نقله ميرك فكان الترمذي يريد تقوية الحديث بعمل أهل العلم‬

‘al-Tirmidhī narrated it and said, “It is Gharīb.26 The action of

the people of knowledge is upon this.” al-Nawawī said, “Its
chain is weak.” Mīrak narrated it. al-Tirmidhī was stating that
the Ḥadīth was strengthened through the action of the people of
knowledge.’

26
Has only one narrator in each generation of its chain
68
The action of the pious upon a Ḍa’īf narration
When the pious bondsmen act upon a narration then this
strengthens the narration. The narration about Ṣalāh al-
Tasbīh is Ḍa’īf. al-Imām al-Hākim and al-Baihaqī stated
that this narration is strengthened by the fact that
Sayyidunā ‘AbdAllah ibn al-Mubārak (the student of al-
Imām Abū Hanīfah) acted upon the narration.

Mawlānā ‘Abd al-Hayy Farangī Mahallī Lakhnawī writes,

‫قال البيهقي كان عبد هللا بن المبارك يصليها وتداولها الصالحون بعضهم عن بعض‬
‫وفي ذالك تقوية للحديث المرفوع‬

‘al-Baihaqī stated that AbdAllah ibn al-Mubarak used to

perform it and the pious bondsmen passed it on to one another.
This strengthens al- Ḥadīth al-Marfū’ .”27

The derivation of proof by a Mujtahid

When a Mujtajhid (such a Master of sciences who has the
authority to derive proofs from the verses of the Holy
Qur’ān and the words of al-Ahādith) uses a narration as
evidence then that narration is strengthened by this.

27
al-Āthār al-Marfū’ah
69
Khātam al-Muhaqqiqīn (the seal of research scholars), al-
‘Allāmah ibn ‘Abidīn al-Shāmī writes;

‫إن المجتهد إذا استدل بحديث كان تصحيحا له كما في التحرير وغيره‬
‘When the Mujtahid derives proof from a Ḥadīth, this is
authentication of that Ḥadīth as is mentioned in al-Tahrīr
etc.‘28

Strengthening a Ḥadīth based upon experience and

spiritual insight (Kashf)

A Ḥadīth that is Ḍa’īf can at times be strengthened through

experience and spiritual insight. Sayyidunā Mullā ‘Alī al-
Qārī writes in both Mirqāt al-Mafātīh Sharh Mishkāt al-
Maṣābīh and in his Sharh al-Shifā;

Sayyid al-Mukāshifīn (The Master of those who possess

spiritual insight) Sayyidunā Muhyiddīn ibn al-‘Arabī
states that a Ḥadīth reached him from Messenger of Allāh
À in which it is stated;

‫من قال ال إله إال هللا سبعين ألفا غفر هللا تعالي له ومن قيل له غفر له أيضا‬
‘Whoever recites ‫ ال إله إال هللا‬seventy thousand times, Allāh the
Almighty will forgive him and whosoever it is recited for will
also be forgiven.’

al-Shaykh Muhyiddīn ibn al-‘Arabī said that he recited

these words seventy thousand times without the intention

28
Radd al-Muhtār
70
of the recitation being for any specific individual. He then
attended a meal with some Companions amongst whom
was a young man well known for being bestowed with
spiritual insight (kashf). Whilst eating, he began to cry.

Sayyidunā Muhyiddīn ibn al-‘Arabī asked him about the

reason for this. He said, “I see my mother being
punished.” Sayyidunā Ibn al-‘Arabī conveyed the reward
of the recited words to her, within his heart. The young
man then laughed and said, “I now see her in the best of
states.” al- Shaykh Muhyiddīn ibn al-‘Arabī said,

‫فعرفت صحة الحديث بصحة كشفه وصحة كشفه بصحة الحديث‬

“I recognised the authenticity of the Ḥadīth through the
validity of his Kashf and I recognised the authenticity of his
Kashf through the validity of the Ḥadīth.”29

al-‘Allāmah Shihābuddīn al-Khafājī al-Misrī al-Hanafī

writes in his commentary upon al-Shifā, Nasīm al-R’Iyāḍ
Sharh al-Shifā;

It has been stated in some Aḥādīth that cutting nails on

Wednesday causes leprosy. A scholar cut his nails on
Wednesday with the perception that this narration is not
Ṣaḥīḥ. The scholar was afflicted with leprosy. The Master
of all creation À came in his dream and said, “Did you not
hear that I have forbidden this?” The scholar replied, “O

29
al-Mirqāt al-Mafātīh, Kitāb al-Salāh, Bāb mā ‘ala al-Ma Mūmimin al-Mutāba’ati wa Hukm al-
Masbūq
71
Messenger of Allāh À this narration is not Ṣaḥīḥ in my
view.” The Master of all creation À said, “It was enough
for you that this Ḥadīth reached you whilst being
attributed to me.” The Messenger of Allāh À wiped his
blessed hands over the body of the scholar. His whole
body was immediately cured from the leprosy.

The scholar immediately repented in the court of Allāh

and made the firm intention to never go against the
teachings of any Ḥadīth that he would hear.30 The scholar
who experienced this situation was al-Imām ibn al-Hājj al-
Makkī al-Mālikī, the author of al-Madkhal as is clarified
by al-‘Allāmah al-Sayyid al-Tahtāwī in his marginal notes
(hashiyah) upon Durr al-Mukhtār.31

A similar event is reported to have occurred in relation to

Hijāmah (cupping) on Wednesday. This is reported in
Musnad al-Firdaws of al-Daylamī and al-Tārikh of ibn
‘Asākir.32

30
Nasīm al-Riyādh Sharh al-Shifā, Volume 1 Page 344
31
Hāshiyah al-Tahtāwī ‘alā al-Durr al-Mukhtār Volume 4 Page 202
32
For further detail refer to: al-‘Atāyā al-Nabawiyyah fī al-Fatāwā al-Riḍawiyyah
72
A Mawḍū’ (fabricated) narration cannot be
strengthened by similar narrations
If a Ḥadīth is Mawḍū’ (fabricated) then it will remain
unreliable even if it is narrated through various Mawḍū’
chains of narration. Falsehood is not authenticated when
it meets with falsehood. Furthermore, a Mawḍū’ narration
is in reality not even a Ḥadīth. Therefore, as a non-existent
entity it cannot be strengthened.

Beneficial Note about “authentic” and “weak”

narrations
A normal person may assume that a narration being
described as “Ṣaḥīḥ” (authentic) denotes that it is
absolutely correct and therefore anything that is not
authentic is false and rejected.

However, this is not the case in the terminology of al-

Ḥadīth scholars. When the scholars of al-Ḥadīth say, “This
Ḥadīth is not Ṣaḥīḥ,” this does not entail that the Ḥadīth is
wrong, fabricated or without any basis. Rather, the term
“al-Ṣaḥīḥ” is used by al-Ḥadīth Scholars to refer to the
Ḥadīth which is of the highest calibre in all of its attributes.

There are strong and stringent conditions which have to

be met in order for a Ḥadīth to be Ṣaḥīḥ. Only a few
Aḥādīth meet these conditions fully.

73
When a Ḥadīth is not Ṣaḥīḥ, it is possible for it to be one of
seven types. Therefore, when the scholars of al-Ḥadīth
negate a narration being Ṣaḥīḥ, they refer to it as not being
al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Dhātihī. It is possible for it to be al-Ṣaḥīḥ li
Ghayrihī, al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī or al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī.

Anybody with even limited knowledge of Usūl al-Ḥadīth

knows that the aforementioned three types (al-Ṣaḥīḥ li
Ghayrihī, al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī and al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī) are
acceptable as valid proofs for the rulings pertaining to
Halāl and Harām.

al-Imām ibn Hajar al-Makkī states in Sawā’iq al-

Muharraqah;
‫قول أحمد أنه حديث ال يصح أي لذاته فال ينفي كونه حسنا لغيره والحسن لغيره‬
‫يحتج به كما بين في الحديث‬
‘al-Imām Ahmad’s statement that a Ḥadīth is not Ṣaḥīḥ means
that it is not Ṣaḥīḥ li Dhātihī, this does not negate it being al-
Ḥasan li Ghayrihī. al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī is used as poof as was
explained in the discussion about al-Ḥadīth.33

Sayyidunā Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī states in al-Mawḍū’āt al-

Kabīr;

‫"ال يصح" ال ينافي الحسن اه ملخصا‬

The summary of his statement is that the negation of a

Ḥadīth being al-Ṣaḥīḥ does not negate it being al-Ḥasan.34

33
As Sawā’iq al-Muharraqah, al-Fasl al-Awwal fī al-Ayāt al-Wāridah fī him
34
al-Asrār al-Marfū’ah fī Akhbār al-Mawḍū’ah, Ḥadīth number: 929
74
It is ignorance to conduce from the words “this Ḥadīth is
not Ṣaḥīḥ” that the Ḥadīth is to be rejected and that it is
fabricated. This is clear from our discussion above.
Anybody who draws such erroneous conclusions is
clearly unaware of al-Ḥadīth sciences.

A detailed discussion in relation to this matter may be

found in the thesis of al-Imām Ahmad Riḍā Khān al-
Qādirī al-Barelwī entitled, Munīr al-‘Ayn fī Hukm al-
Taqbīl al-Ibhāmayn. The detailed and intellectual
discussion within that thesis is very unique.

al-‘Adālah35 – Good Character

al-‘Adālah is a natural disposition which inclines a person
towards upholding al-Taqwā (piety) and al-
Murūah(dignity).

al-Taqwa (piety)
This refers to abstinence from evil acts such as al-Shirk
(polytheism), al-Fisq (disobedience – major sins) and al-
Bid’ah (innovation).36 There is a difference of opinion
between the scholars in relation to whether the narrator

35Editor’s note – The word “al-‘Adālah”encompasses the good conduct of the narrator, his
honourable record and his integrity which is understood in the details that follow.
36
Editor’s note – More detail pertaining to al-Fisq and al-Bid’ah can be found in the coming
chapter pertaining to the causes for criticisms of a narrator.
75
has to abstain from minor sins as well in order to possess
this quality.

The preferred position is that it is not a condition for the

narrator to be free from minor sins due to this being out of
his capacity. However, it is a condition that the narrator
abstain from continuously carrying out minor sins, as
minor sins develop into major sins when they are
continuously carried out.

al-Murūah (dignity).
This involves the narrator being free from contemptible
and degraded traits. Though these traits are not prohibited
or censured, they do not befit a person of honour and
dignity. Examples of this are eating and drinking in public
and urinating on paths.

Difference between al-Adl (good character)

required for al-Riwāyah (narration) and al-‘Adl
required for al-Shahādah (witness testimony)
For both al-Riwāyah and al-Shahādah, al-‘Adl is required.
However, there are some differences in the way al-‘Adl is
applied to both. There are three differences which we wish
to mention here in relation to the way in which the
condition of al-‘Adl is applied to al-Riwāyah and how it is
applied to al-Shahādah;

76
 1) al-‘Adl for al-Riwāyah is inclusive of both slaves and
free people, whilst al-‘Adl for al-Shahādah is not
inclusive of slaves. Thus al-‘Adl for al-Riwāyah is more
general in comparison to al-‘Adl for al-Shahādah.

2) It is not necessary for a narrator to be an ‘Ādil male in

any situation (an ‘Ādilah female’s Riwāyah will be
accepted even if she is alone) whilst there are times
when it is necessary for an ‘Adil male to be amongst the
witnesses in order for Shahādah to be accepted.

3) A narrator is able to narrate a Ḥadīth from his ‘Ādil

father, grandfather or any predecessors as well as son,
grandson or any descendants. On the other hand, a
person seeking a witness testimony cannot rely on the
Shahādah of his ‘Ādil father, grandfather or any
predecessors nor can he rely on the Shahādah of his
sons, grandsons or any descendants.37

al-Ḍabṭ - Precision
This refers to the narrator possessing strong ability to
memorise a Ḥadīth that he heard and for him to have such
good precision that he does not omit or add anything to
the narration and can easily narrate it in this manner when
needed.

37
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
77
There are two types of al-Ḍabṭ;

1) Ḍabṭ al-Ṣadr
2) Ḍabṭ al-Kitāb

Ḍabṭ al-Ṣadr
Memorising the Ḥadīth and preserving it in the memory
in such a way that he can relay it whenever needed.

Ḍabṭ al-Kitāb
Keeping the Ḥadīth preserved in writing from the time of
the narration until the time that it is narrated to someone
else.

Causes for criticism of a narrator

The causes of criticism negating al-‘Adālah from a
narrator are five;

1) al-Kadhib (lying)
2) Ittihām bi al-Kadhib (alleged lying)
3) al-Fisq (disobedience)
4) al-Jahālah (being unknown)
5) al-Bid’ah (innovation)

78
al-Kadhib (lying)
This criticism takes place when the narrator accepts that
he has lied in relation to a Prophetic Ḥadīth or when there
are other signs clearly establishing that he has lied about a
Prophetic Ḥadīth.38

al-Mawḍū’ – Fabricated narration

A Ḥadīth of a narrator who is criticised as a liar is known
as al-Mawḍū’ (according to the more prevalent
terminology amongst the scholars of al-Ḥadīth).

The ruling of the narration of one who

purposely lied about a Ḥadīth
The narration of the narrator who is proven to have lied
about a Ḥadīth purposely will never be accepted even if it
only occurred once and even if he repented from this
action. This is in contrast to the one who knowingly gives
a false testimony (Shahādah), as his narration will be
accepted if he repents from this action.

38
Compiler’s note – The scholars of al-Ḥadīth have mentioned various ways through which a
narrator can be proven to have lied or fabricated a narration. al-Hāfiẓ Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī has
discussed them in detail in Tadrīb al-Rāwī. Shāh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz al-Muḥaddith al-Dihlawī has
mentioned eleven scenarios in which such criticism can be proven against a narrator in his thesis,
‘Ujālah Nāfi’ah whilst al-Imām Ahmad Ridhā Khān al-Muḥaddith al-Barelwī has mentioned fifteen
methods of establishing fabrication in his thesis, Munīr al-‘Ayn fī Hukm Taqbīl al-Ibhāmain with
a lot of detail. There will be a summary of these methods in the coming pages so that the readers
may benefit.

79
It is important to note that the description of a Ḥadīth as
being Mawḍū’ by the scholars of al-Ḥadīth does not mean
that this specific Ḥadīth has been proven to have been
fabricated by the narrator. Rather, it entails that the
narrator of this Ḥadīth is someone who has been proven
to have lied and fabricated.

Ruling a Ḥadīth to be Mawḍū’ is Dhannī

(Presumptive)
This matter is Dhannī (presumptive). Therefore, ruling
that a narration has been fabricated is based upon Dhann
al-Ghālib (strong presumption) and there is no way of
being absolutely certain in relation to this, as a liar
sometimes speaks the truth.
As mentioned above, a narration is proven to be Mawḍū’
(fabricated) when a narrator accepts that he has lied about
a Ḥadīth (this is one of the ways through which a Ḥadīth
is proven to have been fabricated).
The famous al-Ḥadīth scholar, al-‘Allāmah Taqiyyuddīn
ibn Daqīq al-‘Īd, stated;

“It is not absolutely proven with certainty in this situation

that the Ḥadīth is Mawḍū’ as it is possible that the narrator
is lying when announcing that he has fabricated the
Ḥadīth.”

Scholars of al-Ḥadīth like ibn al-Jawzī etc. construed the

words of ibn Daqīq al-‘Īd to mean that a Ḥadīth cannot be

80
deemed to be Mawḍū’ based upon the narrator’s
acceptance. They understand this to mean that the
acceptance of the narrator is unreliable as he is a liar. al-
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq al-Muḥaddith al-Dihlawī states that
the statement of scholars like ibn al-Jawzī is not valid as
the Dhann al-Ghālib (strong presumption) in this situation
is that the narrator is truthful when accepting that he has
lied about the Ḥadīth.

If the acceptance by a disobedient person was to be

categorically rejected, then it would not be possible to
issue capital punishment against aperson based on his or
her own confession.

Such as is the case when sentencing a murderer to death

based on his own confession and sentencing an adulterer
to stoning based on his own confession. Yet, such capital
punishments are issued according to Islamic Law based
upon the confession of a perpetrator.
There is no issue with the statement of ibn Daqīq al-‘Īd as
he was stating that the acceptance by a narrator that he
lied about a Ḥadīth does not provide absolute knowledge
but rather it gives us a strong presumption (Dhann al-
Ghālib) that he lied about the Ḥadīth.

There is still an unlikely possibility that the narrator is

lying when stating that he lied about a Ḥadīth.

81
Ittihām al-Rāwī bi al-Kadhib (A narrator being
alleged to have lied)
This cause of criticism in a narrator arises when a narrator
is well known to be someone who lies in relation to normal
worldly affairs but is not proven to have lied about a
Prophetic Ḥadīth.

al-Matrūk
This is the narration of a narrator who is famously known
to lie about worldly affairs. It is stated that the narration
which goes against the specified and essential principles
of the Sharī’ah is also from this type. When describing a
Ḥadīth as al-Matrūk, the scholars use the following
wording;

‫حديثه متروك‬ ‘His Ḥadīth is Matrūk.’

‫فالن متروك الحديث‬ ‘So and so is Matrūk al-Ḥadīth.’

The ruling pertaining to a narrator who is

infamous for lying
If a person who is infamous as a liar in relation to worldly
affairs repents sincerely and the signs of truthfulness
become apparent from him then it is permissible to hear
(or narrate) al-Ḥadīth from him.

82
The ruling pertaining to the narrator who lies on
odd occasions
Narrating a Ḥadīth from a person who sometimes lies or
rarely lies in relation to matters besides the Prophetic
Aḥādīth is permissible. Even though his lying about
matters besides the Aḥādīth on rare occasions is still a
sinful trait, this will not affect his narration. Therefore, his
narration will not be described as al-Mawḍū’ or al-Matrūk.

al-Fisq (Disobedience)
This refers to disobedience in actions rather than
disobedience in belief. Disobedience in belief comes under
al-Bid’ah (innovation). al-Bid’ah is predominantly used to
describe innovated beliefs.
Whilst lying (al-Kadhib) is also an act of disobedience, it is
classed as a separate type to other acts of disobedience by
the scholars of al-Ḥadīth due to its severity.

Jahālah al-Rāwī (the narrator being unknown) = al-

Ḥadīth al-Mubham
Another cause for criticism of a narrator is his being
unknown. When the narrator’s name and his personal
background is not known then it is not possible to know
about his situation. Thus, without knowing who the
narrator was, it is not possible to ascertain whether he was
reliable or unreliable. This situation of unknown narrators
arises when it is stated in the chain of narration;

83
‫حدثني رجل‬ “A man narrated to me.”
‫أخبرني شيخ‬ “A Shaykh narrated to me.”

It is not known who this “man” or “Shaykh” were.

A narration which has an unknown narrator is called al-
Mubham.

The ruling pertaining to al-Mubham

al-Ḥadīth al-Mubham is unacceptable unless the unknown
narrator is from the Companions (Sahābah) of Messenger
of Allāh À as they are all of noble character (‘Adl).

There is a difference of opinion about the situation when

a Mubham narration is narrated in such a way that the
unknown narrator is described as being ‘Ādil.

This is done through the use of the following words;

‫أخبرني عادل‬
‘A narrator of good character, narrated to me.’

‫حدثني ثقة‬
‘A reliable narrator, narrated to me.’

The most authentic position in this regard is that the

narration will remain unacceptable as it is possible that the
unknown narrator is ‘Ādil according to the person
narrating whilst in reality he is not ‘Ādil. If, however, a

84
leading scholar with great expertise says that the
unknown narrator is ‘Ādil then this will be acceptable.

al-Bid’ah
al-Bid’ah is belief in a new matter which opposes that
which is known within the religion of Islām and is in
opposition to that which is established with the Messenger
of Allāh À and his Companions. This opposition has to be
based upon a doubt or upon an interpretation and not
through rejection, as the opposition based upon rejection
is actually disbelief.

al-Bid’ah is of two types:

1) Bid’ah Mukaffirah – innovation which reaches the

extent of disbelief.

2) Bid’ah Mufassiqah – innovation that does not reach the

extent of disbelief but is miguidance and transgression.

85
The ruling pertaining to the Ḥadīth of al-
Mubtadi’ (innovator)
There is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars in
relation to the Ḥadīth of a Mubtadi’;

- The majority (Jumhūr) state that it is to be rejected.

- Some scholars state that the narration will be accepted if
the Mubtadi’ is known to be truthful and someone who
safeguards his tongue.

- Some scholars state that his narration will be rejected if

he is a person who rejects a matter which is Mutawātir
(mass-transmitted) and is from Ḍurūriyāt bi al-Dīn
(known to be necessarily from the religion). If he is not
of such a nature then his narration will be acceptable if
he possesses the attributes of strong precision, piety,
caution and care.

- The preferred (Mukhtār) position is that the narration of

that Mubtadi’ is rejected who invites towards his Bid’ah
and propagates it. If he does not invite towards his
Bid’ah, then his narration will be accepted. Unless he
narrates something that strengthens his Bid’ah, in which
case it will definitely be rejected.

86
Narrating a Ḥadīth from the members of the
deviant sects
The author of Jāmi’ al-Usūl, al-‘Allāmah ibn Athīr al-Jazīrī,
stated, “A group of al-Ḥadīth Scholars narrated Aḥādīth
from narrators who were from al-Khawārij and those who
were attributed to al-Qadariyyah39, Shī’ism, al-Rifdh and
all the people of al-Bida’ (innovations) and al-Ahwā
(desires). Another group of al-Ḥadīth Scholars refrained
from taking narrations from these sects. All of them had
their own intentions.”

Undoubtedly, taking Aḥādīth from such groups is only

done after research and verification. Nevertheless, the
caution in relation to this matter is in not taking narrations
from deviant sects, as it is established that these sects used
to fabricate narrations to spread their positions.

Some of them verified this after repentance and retraction.

And Allāh knows best.

39
This is an early deviant sect and should not be confused with the Qadirī spiritual chain
87
The Causes for criticism in a narrator connected to al-
Ḍabṭ
There are five causes for criticism of a narrator pertaining
to his Ḍabṭ (precision);

1) Fart al-Ghaflah (excessive heedlessness)

2) Kathrah al-Ghalat (abundant errors)
3) Mukhālafah al-Thiqāt (opposition to reliable narrators)
4) al-Wahm (Illusion)
5) Sū’ al-Hifz (Bad memory)

Fart al-Ghaflah (excessive heedlessness)

This refers to such heedlessness of the narrator due to
which he accepts the intervention of others i.e. he accepts
the statements of others when they say to him, “You heard
this narration in such and such a way. “

Kathrah al-Ghalat (abundant errors)

This occurs when the errors committed by a narrator when
mentioning a Ḥadīth are either more or equivalent to his
correct transmissions.

It is clear from the aforementioned definitions that

Ghaflah (heedlessness) is connected to the listening of a
narration and memorising it, whilst Ghalat pertains to
reciting a Ḥadīth to someone else and transmitting a
Ḥadīth to someone else.

88
Mukhālafah al-Thiqāt (opposition of reliable
narrators)
There are a number of ways in which opposition to other
reliable narrators may be found in al-Sanad and al-Matn.
By opposing reliable narrators, the Ḥadīth becomes al-
Shādh. There are a number of scenarios for this which may
be studied in more advanced works.

The reason why opposition to reliable narrators is

included amongst the types of causes for criticism
pertaining to al-Ḍabṭ (precision), is that the reason for the
narration opposing reliable narrations is due to the lack of
al-Ḍabṭ and memory. As well as lack of preservation of the
narration from being altered.

al-Wahm (Illusion)
When a narrator makes an error due to forgetfulness or
due to a misconception, then his narration is described as
al-Wahm. If this is ascertained through the signs that point
towards hidden defects, then the narration is known as al-
Mu’allal.

89
The intensity of knowledge required to realise
that a Ḥadīth is al-Mu’allal
The science of ascertaining if a Ḥadīth is al-Mu’allal is from
the most difficult and delicate of Ḥadīth sciences. Only
those scholars who were granted vast understanding
pertaining to the statuses of narrators, along with
extraordinary memory and complete knowledge about
the statuses of narrators and situations of al-Sanad and al-
Matn were able to master this science. This science was
mastered by Scholars of al-Ḥadīth from the early
generations like ‘Alī ibn al-Madīnī, Ahmad ibn Hanbal,
Muhammad ibn Ismā’īl al-Bukhārī, Ya’qūb ibn Abī
Shaybah, Abū Ḥātim and the last of these scholars was al-
Dāraqutnī. It is said about al-Dāraqutnī, “Nobody of his
stature in this science came after him.” And Allāh knows
best.

Sū al-Ḥifẓ (Bad memory)

The meaning of Sū al-Ḥifẓ (bad memory), within the
terminology of al-Ḥadīth, refers to the criticism that is
targeted at a narrator when his mistakes are more than his
correct statements. If his errors are equivalent to his
correct statements he is also criticised as possessing Sū al-
Ḥifẓ (bad memory).

90
The ruling pertaining to the narrator with a bad
memory
If the issue of bad memory is something that persists at all
times throughout the life of a narrator, then his Ḥadīth will
not be acceptable. Some scholars of al-Ḥadīth state that the
narration of a person with bad memory comes under al-
Shādh.

al-Mukhtalaṭ (short term memory loss)

If the issue with memory loss is not persistent but rather
has developed due to a certain factor e.g. old age, weak
eyesight or due to loss of access to books then the narration
is known as al-Mukhtalaṭ.

The ruling pertaining to al-Mukhtalaṭ

If it is possible to differentiate between the narrations
narrated prior to this situation arising and the narrations
narrated after this situation of memory loss, then the
narrations that were narrated prior to the arising of
memory loss will be accepted. If it is not possible to
differentiate then there will be reservation in relation to all
narrations. The same ruling will apply if any doubt arises
about this matter.

If al-Mutābi’āt and al-Shawāhid are found for al-

Mukhtalaṭ narrations, then the matter will rise to be

91
acceptable. The same ruling applies to the narrations of
somebody whose situation is unknown (Aḥādīth al-
Mastūr) as well as to al-Mudallas and al-Mursal
narrations.40

Factors establishing fabrication

al-Imām Ahmad Riḍā Khān al-Qādirī al-Barelawī wrote in
his thesis, Munīr al-‘Ayn Fī Hukm Taqbīl al-Ibhāmayn,
that there are fifteen factors that establish fabrication
within narrations.

The first six factors deal with the narration opposing them
without any possibility of conformity between the
narration and the factors, and without there being any
valid interpretation that can be made to remove the
disparity between the narration and these six factors.
These six factors are:

1) The words of the Holy Qur’ān

2) Al-Sunnah al-Mutawātirah (Mass Transmitted Sunnah)
3) al-Ijmā’ al-Qat’ī (Definitive Consensus)
4) Clear Intellectual Concepts
5) The Sound Human Senses
6) Unquestionable Historical Gacts

40Editor’s Note – This is an opportunity for the reader to revise and revisit the
definitions of al-Mutāba’ah, al-Shāhid, al-Tadlīs and al-Irsāl

92
After these six factors there are nine more factors
mentioned by al-Imām Ahmad Riḍā Khan;
7) The seventh method is where the meaning of the
narration is so disgraceful that it is unimaginable for it
to have been stated by the Messenger of Allāh À . This
occurs when (Allāh forbid) the narration consists of
strife, nonsense, stupidity, praise of falsehood or
condemnation of the truth.

8) When the narration is rejecting and denying (through a

testimony that relies upon one of the senses e.g. I
heard, I saw etc.) the narration of a large group who
reach the level of al-Tawātur (mass transmission) and
cannot have gathered upon a lie or have blindly
followed each other, then it is clear that this narration
has been fabricated.

9) Where the narration only has one narrator in each

generation yet the information it is giving is of such a
nature that if it was true then there would be at least
three narrators in each generation of its chain of
narration.

10) When the narration is praising despicable acts and

promising reward for them. Similarly, when the
narration is severely condemning an action that is not
grave, with long exaggeration in warning. It is clear in
both these situations that such words do not have any
similarity to the miraculous words of our Master À and
his Prophetic Sunnah.
93
 11) The aforementioned ten factors are all of such a nature,
that when they arise it is clear and explicit that the
narration is Mawdū’ (fabricated). The remaining five
factors are not as clear;

12) The wording in the narration is weak, to the extent that

hearing it is difficult and one’s nature rejects it due to its
complexity. Yet the narrator claims that these are the
words of the most fluent and eloquent of speakers, the
Messenger of Allāh À . This also occurs when the
circumstances necessitate that the narration be narrated
word to word, yet the words do not reflect the fluency
and accuracy of the Prophetic language; the eloquence
of which is itself one of his great miracles.

13) When the narrator is a Rāfidhī (Shi’ah) who narrates

such things about the Blessed Family (Ahl al-Bayt) of the
Beloved of Allāh À which are not proven from others.
An example of this is the narration,

‫لحمك لحمي ودمك دمي‬

“Your flesh is my flesh and your blood is my blood.”

Similarly, those virtues that are narrated about Sayyidunā

Amīr Mu’āwiyah and Sayyidunā ‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās by the
Nawāsib (enemies of the Ahl al-Bayt) alone are to be
rejected as fabricated. The Rawāfidh have fabricated
almost three hundred thousand Aḥādīth in relation to the
virtues of Amīr al-Mu-minīn, Sayyidunā ‘Ali ibn Abī Tālib
94
and the pure family of Messenger of Allāh À as explained
by al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū Ya’lā and al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Khalīlī in al-Irshād.
In the same way, the Nawāsib fabricated Aḥādīth in
relation to the virtues of Sayyidunā Amīr Mu’āwiyah as
al-Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal has mentioned.

14) When signs are testifying that the narration was

fabricated due to greed or anger, then it is clear that it
was fabricated.

15) When there is complete research of all the Islamic

literary works and there is no sign of any such narration
within them, then it is evident that this narration is
fabricated. This was only the ability of the great Huffāẓ
of al-Ḥadīth and the great leaders of the sciences. This
expertise has been non-existent since many centuries.

16) When the narrator accepts that he has fabricated a

narration whether explicitly or through words which
are deemed as acceptation. An example of when a
narrator is deemed to have accepted that he has
fabricated a narration is when he claims to have directly
heard a Ḥadīth from a Shaykh and mentions such a date
of narration when it was impossible for him to have
taken the narration.

95
The aforementioned fifteen factors may not be found as
having been discussed together in any other work prior to
this thesis of al-Imām Ahmad Riḍā Khān.41
There are three statements of the Noble Scholars in
relation to describing any narration as al-Mawḍū’ which
does not come under any of the aforementioned fifteen
factors;

1) Complete Negation – i.e. when none of the

aforementioned matters are present in a narration then
there is no permissibility of describing the narration as
Mawḍū’ (fabricated). This is the case even when the
narration relies on a narrator who is a liar and fabricator.
al-Imām al-Sakhāwī held onto this position in Fath al-
Mughīth Sharh Alfiyyah al-Ḥadīth.

2) The second position is that only the narration of that

narrator will be described as al-Mawḍū’ regarding
whom it is proven that he purposely lied about the
Messenger of Allāh À . This is proven based upon strong
suspicion rather than certainty, as it cannot be said with
complete certainty that a narrator has lied. As even the
greatest liar tells the truth on odd occasions.

If it is not proven that the narrator purposely lied, then

the narration of the narrator is not Mawḍū’ (fabricated)
even if he is alleged to have lied and fabricated. This is

41
al-Fatāwa al-Riḍawiyyah Volume 5
96
 the position of the great Imām, al-‘Allāmah ibn Hajar al-
‘Asqalānī and other scholars. An example of this is the
narration in which al-Imām Mālik said to Khalīfah
Mansūr ‘Abbāsī, “Why turn your face away from the
Master of all creation À ? He is your Wasīlah (means)
and the Wasīlah (means) of your father, Adam. Ask for
his Shafā’ah (intercession) for indeed Allāh will accept
his intercession.”

The leading Scholars narrated the aforementioned

narration with sound and acceptable chains of
narrations. Ibn Taimiyyah recklessly said without any
proof;

‫إن هذه الحكاية كذب علي مالك‬

“Indeed, this story is a lie against al-Imām Mālik.”

al-‘Allāmah al-Zarqānī stated in rebuttal of Ibn

Taimiyyah’s statement that this is careless and
audacious. Abu al-Ḥasan ‘Aliyy ibn Fahr has narrated
this event in his book, Faḍāil Mālik with an authentic
Sanad. al-Imām al-Qāḍī ‘Iyāḍ has extracted this
narration from a number of chains of narrations which
have reliable Shuyūkh in them. How could such a
narration be described as false when it does not have
any lying or fabricating narrator?42 It is understood from
this, that only those narrations which have narrators in
their chains who are liars are described as al-Mawḍū’.

42
Sharh al-Zarqānī ‘alā all Mawāhib al-Ladunyah
97
 3) Some Scholars state that the narration about the
conversation between al-Imām Mālik and the Khalīfah
Mansūr could only have been described as al-Mawḍū’ if
one of its narrators was alleged to have lied (muttaham
bi al-kadhib). As this is not the case with this narration,
it is not Mawḍū’. It is apparent from this that it is the
view of these scholars that a narration of the one accused
of lying can be classed as al-Mawḍū’.

The scholars are unanimous in stating that a Ḥadīth can

never be described as Mawḍū’ when it is free from any
categorical proofs pointing towards it being fabricated
and is also free from any narrator who has been accused
of lying (muttaham bi al-kadhib). Anybody who classes a
narration to be Mawḍū’ which is free from these defects
then he is an extremist. Allāh guide them.43

Types of al-Aḥādīth in terms of the number of narrators

There are four types of Aḥādīth when considering the
number of narrators;

1) al-Gharīb
2) al-‘Azīz
3) al-Mashūr
4) al-Mutawātir

43
al-Fatāwa al-Riḍawiyyah Volume 5
98
al-Gharīb
This is that Ṣaḥīḥ Ḥadīth which has only one narrator in at
least one generation of its Sanad, if not all generations of
its Sanad.

Another name for al-Gharīb is al-Fard. There are two types

of al-Fard;

1) al-Fard al-Nisbī
2) al-Fard al-Mutlaq

al-Fard al-Nisbī
If there is one narrator in the chain at only one point, then
this is called al-Fard al-Nisbī.44

al-Fard al-Mutlaq
If there is only one narrator in every generation within a
Sanad, then this narration is called al-Fard al-Mutlaq.

44
Editor’s note – with regards to al-Fard An Nisbi and al-Fard al-Mutlaq, the point at which there
is only one narrator starts from the generation of al-Tābi’ūn. al-Shaykh Wajīhuddīn al-‘Alawī al-
Gujrātī explains in his commentary upon Nuzhah al-Naẓr – that a narration in which a Companion
is alone in narrating from the Final Prophet of Allāh À is not al-Gharīb/al-Fard. As all the
Companions are reliable so there is no separate categorisation, regardless of whether there is
only one Companion narrating or many Companions narrating. In the same work it is explained
that al-Fard al-Mutlaq is where a Tābi’ī is alone in narrating from a Companion, whilst al-Fard al-
Nisbī is the narration which was narrated by more than one Tābi’ī from a Companion or
Companions but then there is only one narrator in a later generation.

99
A narration being Gharīb does not negate it
being Ṣaḥīḥ
A narration being Gharīb is not contrary to it being Ṣaḥīḥ.
It is possible for a Gharīb Ḥadīth to have such a reliable
narrator in each generation who fulfils the conditions of
al-Ṣaḥīḥ.

Another definition of al-Gharīb

al-Gharīb literally means strange. In this way, al-Gharīb is
sometimes in the same meaning as al-Shādh, which is a
type of criticism pertaining to a narrator. This is the type
of al-Gharīb the author of al-Maṣābīh, al-Imām Muhy al-
Sunnah al-Baghawī was referring to when describing a
Ḥadīth as al-Gharīb. This is because al-Imām al-Baghawī
was mentioning al-Gharīb as a form of criticism (Ta’n).

Some define al-Shādh as being a narration which has only

one narrator and they do not consider opposition to al-
Thiqāt (reliable narrators) to be an attribute of a Shādh
narration. As they define al-Shādh in this way, they are of
the view that a narration can be Shādh and Ṣaḥīḥ
simultaneously. This is why these scholars are seen stating
about certain narrations that they are Ṣaḥīḥ and Shādh.
Nevertheless, when a narration is described as Shādh
whilst being criticised, this description is referring to the
narration opposing reliable narrators.

100
al-‘Azīz
This is that narration which has at least two narrators in
each generation of its Sanad. It is important to note that
there has to be at least two narrators in each generation for
the narration to be classed as al-‘Azīz. If there are two
narrators in only one place within the chain and there is
less anywhere else in the chain then the narration will be
al-Gharīb, and not al-‘Azīz.

It should be noted that both al-Gharīb and al-‘Azīz are

known as Khabar al-Wāhid.

al-Mashūr
When there are more than two narrators (i.e. at least three
narrators) in each generation of a Sanad, then the Ḥadīth
is known as al-Mashūr. This type of narration is known as
al-Mustafīdh. It should be remembered that there has to
be at least three narrators in each generation of al-Sanad
for the narration to be classed as al-Mashūr – otherwise the
narration will either be al-Gharīb or al-‘Azīz.

101
Note pertaining to the minimum amount
required in al-Gharīb, al-‘Azīz and al-Mashūr

The reader will have noticed that the focus in all three of
the aforementioned types is on the minimum amount of
narrators – (i.e. if the minimum amount of narrators in
each generation of al-Sanad is three then the narration is
Mashūr, if the minimum amount of narrators in each
generation of al-Sanad is two then the narration is al-‘Azīz
and if the minimum amount of narrators in each
generation is one then the narration is al-Gharīb). This is
why there is a maxim of the scholars of al-Ḥadīth;
‫إن األقل حاكم علي األكثر في هذا الفن‬

“Indeed, the minimum rules over the maximum in this

science.”

al-Mutawātir
This is where there are so many narrators in each
generation of al-Sanad that it is habitually impossible for
them to have gathered upon a lie.

The scholars of al-Ḥadīth differed in relation to the

minimum number of narrators required in each
generation of al-Sanad for a narration to be al-Mutawātir,
though none of them have given this number to be an
amount less than three. Amongst the minimum amounts
of narrators for a Mutawātir narration mentioned by the
scholars are; four, five, ten, twelve, forty and seventy.
102
 ‫كل حزب بما لديهم فرحون‬
“Every group is happy with what it has.”

al-‘Allāmah ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalānī states that the correct

position is that there should not be any specification in the
amount. al-Ḥāfiẓ Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī classed this
position, that there not be any specification in the amount, as
the most authentic position (Aṣaḥḥ).45

The different categories of al-Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Ḥasan and al-

Ḍa’īf

Categories of al-Ḍa’īf
As discussed previously, al-Ḍa’īf is that narration in which
either all or some of the conditions of al-Ṣaḥīḥ and al-
Ḥasan are not found and the narration is al-Shādh, al-
Munkar or al-Mu’allal.

45
Editor’s note – There are two types of al-Mutawātir:

1) al-Mutawātir al-Lafẓī –When the exact words of a narration are narrated by so many
narrators that it is habitually impossible for them to have collaborated upon a lie then the
narration is Mutawātir al-Lafẓī.
2) al-Mutawātir al-Ma’nawī – When the meaning of the narration (but not the exact words) is
narrated by so many narrators that it is habitually impossible for them to have collaborated
upon a lie, the narration is known as al-MutawātirulMa’nawī.45

al-Mutawātir provides definitive knowledge

It should also be noted that the knowledge provided by a Mutawātir narration is
essential knowledge (al-‘Ilm al-Ḍurūrī), which is such certainty that it compels one to
accept the information strongly, as though he has witnessed the matter himself. All
Mutawātir narrations are acceptable. This is why there is no need to discuss the
situations and circumstances of their narrators. (Taysīr Mustalah al-Ḥadīth)

103
al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf has many different types. According to
al-‘Irāqī; al-Shaykh ibn al-Ṣalāh stated that there are forty
two types of al-Ḍa’īf, ibn Ḥibbān stated that there are forty
nine types, some scholars have stated that there are sixty
three types and al-Shaykh Sharafuddīn al-Manāwī
mentioned that there are one hundred and twenty nine
types of al-Ḍa’īf. There are specific names and titles for
many of these types e.g. al-Shādh, al-Mawḍū’, al-Maqlūb,
al-Mu’allal, al-Muḍtarib, al-Mursal, al-Munqaṭi’, al-Mu’ḍal
and al-Munkar. Some of these types do not have any
specific title.46

Categories of al- Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Ḥasan

There are varying categories of al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Dhātihī, al-
Ḥasan li Dhātihī, al-Ṣaḥīḥ li Ghayrihī and al-Ḥasan li
Ghayrihī due to some narrations meeting the respective
conditions at varying levels, even though they all fulfil the
conditions.

The scholars of al-Ḥadīth have specified the levels of Ṣaḥīḥ

narrations and have mentioned examples of them. This is
because the attributes of al-‘Adālah and al-Ḍabṭ are found
in all narrators of Ṣaḥīḥ narrations, though some possess
these attributes more, in a stronger way than others.

46
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
104
Aṣaḥḥ al-Asānīd – The most authentic chains of
narrations
There is a difference of opinion amongst the scholars in
relation to unrestrictedly describing a chain of narration as
the most authentic chain of narration;

1) Some Scholars of al-Ḥadīth state that the most authentic

chain of narration is;
‫زين العابدين عن أبيه عن جده‬

‘Zain-ul-‘Abidīn narrates from his father who narrates from

his grandfather.’

2) The second statement is that the most authentic chain of

narration is;
‫مالك عن نافع عن ابن عمر‬

‘Mālik narrates from Nāfi’ who narrates from ibn ‘Umar.’

3) The third statement is that the most authentic chain of

narration is;
‫الزهري عن سالم عن ابن عمر‬

‘al-Zuhrī narrates from Sālim who narrates from ibn‘Umar.’

However, the correct position in this regard is that it is not

correct to describe any specific narration as Aṣaḥḥ al-
Asānīd (the most authentic chain of narration). In reality,
there are many great levels of authenticity and there are
many authentic chains of narrations.

105
Therefore, it is better and correct to state:

“the most authentic chain of narration from such and such a

city or the most authentic chain of narration pertaining to such
and such a topic or ruling is…”. And Allāh knows best

The terminologies of al-Tirmidhī

al-Imām al-Tirmidhī often describes narrations within his
work, al-Jāmi’ al-Tirmidhī, with the following words;

‫حديث حسن صحيح‬

‘A Ḥasan and Ṣaḥīḥ Ḥadīth.’

‫حديث غريب حسن‬

‘A Gharīb and Ḥasan Ḥadīth.’

‫حديث حسن غريب صحيح‬

‘A Ḥasan, Gharīb and Ṣaḥīḥ Ḥadīth.’

It is certainly possible for a Ḥadīth to be both al-Ḥasan and

al-Ṣaḥīḥ, as a Hadith can be al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī and al-
Ṣaḥīḥ li Ghayrihī. Similarly, a Ḥadīth can be Ṣaḥīḥ and
Gharīb if Gharīb is defined according to the predominant
definition – where there is only one narrator in at least one
generation within the chain of narration.

106
Objection – how can a narration that is Ḥasan also
be Gharīb?
An objection is raised which is that al-Imām al-Tirmidhī
states that a Ḥasan narration has to have a number of
chains of narrations. How can he then describe a Ḥasan
narration as also being Gharīb?

Responses to the objection

There are four ways in which the Scholars of al-Ḥadīth
have responded to this objection;
1) Scholars of al-Ḥadīth have responded to this objection,
by stating that al-Imām al-Tirmidhī did not consider the
condition for al-Ḥasan to have numerous narrations to
be unrestricted. Rather this is restricted to a specific type
of al-Ḥasan. When referring to another type of al-Ḥasan,
al-Imām al-Tirmidhī does not consider numerous chains
of narrations to be a condition, and thus he describes
that narration to be al-Gharīb.

2) Some Scholars of al-Ḥadīth state that al-Imām al-

Tirmidhī would refer to the Ḥadīth being narrated from
different chains of narrations. Thus, the meaning is that
this Ḥadīth is Gharīb in accordance with one chain of
narration whilst it is Ḥasan according to another.

3) The meaning is that the Ḥadīth is either Gharīb or

Ḥasan. This establishes that there is doubt in relation to
107
 which of the two categories the Ḥadīth falls into as al-
Imām al-Tirmidhī was not certain about this.

4) The meaning of al-Ḥasan here is linguistic rather than

terminological. Therefore, the meaning of al-Ḥasan is
“good” i.e. human nature inclines towards it. However,
this view is far-fetched.

Taking proof from al-Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḍa’īf

There is consensus that deriving proofs from al-Ḥadīth al-
Ṣaḥīḥ in relation to al-Ahkām (rulings) is correct.

According to the majority of scholars, to derive proof from

al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī is possible. al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī is linked
to al-Ḥadīth al-Ṣaḥīḥ, even though al-Ḥasan li Dhātihī is
lower in status to al-Ṣaḥīḥ.
There is also consensus in relation to deriving proofs for
rulings from al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf which is narrated through
a number of chains of narrations, and thus reaches the
level of al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī.

Deriving proof from al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf

The famous position, that al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf is only reliable
in relation to virtues (Faḍāil) rather than rulings (Ahkām),
is applicable upon individual Ḍa’īf narrations and not a
group of them. The meaning of this is that the Ḍa’īf
narration which has only one Sanad is not reliable in
relation to rulings.
108
However, a Ḍa’īf narration which is narrated from a
number of chains is reliable in relation to rulings as well
as virtues.

This is due to it being a type of al-Ḥasan rather than al-

Ḍa’īf. The Scholars of al-Ḥadīth have clarified this.

Some scholars have stated, that the Ḥadīth which is

narrated by truthful and trustworthy narrators but is Ḍa’īf
due to bad memory, confusion or omission of narrators is
of such nature that its weakness is overcome by the
existence of other chains of narration, and thus that
narration will become al-Ḥasan.

If however, the narration is Ḍa’īf due to a narrator being

alleged to have lied or if the narration is Shādh or has a lot
of mistakes in it, then this weakness will not be covered by
the existence of other chains of narration and it will not be
classed as al-Ḥasan. Rather, it will be classed as Ḍa’īf.
Nevertheless, it will be reliable in relation to virtuous
actions. It is this latter type of al-Ḍa’īf in relation to which
it is said;

‫لحوق الضعيف بالضعيف ال يفيد قوة‬

“The connection of al-Ḍa’īf to al-Ḍa’īf does not strengthen the
narration.”

The aforementioned type is one which would be

completely rejected if it was not understood in this way.
Therefore, the reader should concentrate on this point.
109
The manners of deriving proofs from al-Aḥādīth
There are four types of matters that are desired to be
derived from al-Aḥādīth;

al-‘Aqāid al-Qat’iyyah – The Definitive Beliefs

These are the beliefs such as al-Tawhīd (Monotheism), al-
Risālah (belief in the Messengers), belief in the Book of
Allāh. Such beliefs can only be established through al-
Ahādith al-Mutawātirah regardless of whether the
narrations are al-Mutawātir al-Lafďhi or al-Mutawātir al-
Ma’nawī. al-Akhbār al-Āhād (i.e. narrations that are not
Mutawātir) are not reliable as proof for absolute and
definitive beliefs, even if the Āhād narrations have very
strong chains of narration deeming them to be very
authentic narrations. al-‘Allāmah Sa’duddīn al-Taftāzānī
writes in Sharh al-‘Aqāid al-Nasafiyyah;

‫خبر الواحد علي تقدير اشتماله علي جميع الشرائط المذكورة في أصول الفقه ال يفيد‬
‫إال الظن وال عبرة بالظن في باب اإلعتقادات‬
“Khabar al-Wāhid gives benefit of speculative knowledge (al-
Ẓann) even if it fulfils all the conditions mentioned in Usūl al-
Fiqh. Speculative knowledge is not relied upon in relation to
matters of belief.”47

47
Sharh al-‘Aqāid al-Nasafiyyah, Bahth Ta’dād al-Ambiyā
110
al-‘Aqāid al-Ẓanniyyah – The Qualified Beliefs
These are beliefs that are not absolute or definitive.
Examples of these are beliefs pertaining to the
circumstances of the grave and the weighing of actions etc.
These beliefs can be established through al-Khabar al-
Wāhid.

al-Ahkām– Rulings
In order for rulings to be derived from a narration, it has
to be at least al-Ḥasan li Ghayrihī. Rulings cannot be
derived from al-Ḥadīth al-Ḍa’īf.48

However Ḍa’īf narrations are sometimes used when they

are teaching a cautious approach. al-Imām al-Nawawī
states in al-Adhkār, al-Imām al-Sakhāwī states in Fath al-
Mughīth and Shihābuddīn al-Khafājī states in Nasīm al-
Riyāḍ;

‫أما األحكام كالحالل والحرام والبيع والنكاحوالطالق وغير ذلك فال يعمل فيها إال‬
‫بالحديث الصحيح والحسن إال أن يكون في احتياط في شيء من ذلك كما إذا ورد‬
‫حديث ضعيف بكراهية بعض البيوع أو األنكحة فإن المستحب أن يتنزه عنه ولكن‬
‫ال يجب‬
‘As for the rulings which are, for example, rulings of
permissibility, impermissibility, marriage and divorce etc. –
they cannot be implemented except through al-Ḥadīth al-Ṣaḥīḥ
and al-Ḥasan. That is, unless there is caution in any matter
e.g. when a Ḍa’īf narration states that certain business
transactions or matrimonial unions are disliked, then it is

48
al-Fatāwā al-Riḍawiyyah
111
 preferred that such a transaction or union be avoided, but it is
not necessary to avoid it.’49

al-Imām Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī states in Tadrīb al-Rāwī;

‫يعمل بالضعيف أيضا في األحكام إذا كان فيه احتياط‬

‘A Ḍa’īf narration will also be acted upon in relation to

rulings when there is caution in it.’50

al-Faḍāil and al-Manāqib - Virtues

The scholars unanimously accept a Ḥadīth Ḍa’īf to be
reliable in relation to virtues of actions and personalities.
This occurs when a Ḥadīth encourages an action, by
stating that a person who carries out such and such an
action will gain so and so reward or when a Ḥadīth
mentions the status granted to a certain Prophet or
Companion by Allāh. A Ḥadīth Ḍa’īf will be accepted
when attributing virtues to such actions and personalities.

It is ignorance to reject virtues based upon the narration

being Ḍa’īf and this is a sign of not being aware of the
differences between the varying stations of al-Aḥādīth.51

49
Nasīm al-Riyādh Sharh al-Shifā, Tatimmah wa Fāidah Muhimmah fī Sharh al-Khutbah
50
Tadrīb al-Rāwī, al-Naw’ al-Thānī wa al-‘Ishrūn
51
al-Fatāwā al-Riḍawiyyah
112
al-Imām Shaykh al-Islām Abū Zakariyyā Yahyā ibn Sharaf
al-Nawawī wrote in Kitāb al-Adhkār al-Muntakhab min
Kalām Sayyid al-Abrār;

‫قال العلماء من المحدثين والفقهاء وغيرهم يجوز ويستحب العمل في الفضائل‬

‫والترغيب والترهيب بالحديث الضعيف ما لم يكن موضوعا‬
“The Scholars of al-Ḥadīth and al-Fiqh as well as others stated
that it is permissible and preferable to act upon a Ḍa’īf Ḥadīth,
in virtues as well as in narrations in which there is
encouragement and warning, so long as the Ḥadīth is not
Mawḍū’ (fabricated).”52

It should be noted that al-Ḥadīth al-Mawḍū’ cannot be

relied upon at all in relation to any matter even if it only
pertains to virtues. It is impermissible to narrate or
mention a Mawḍū’ narration whilst being aware that it is
Mawḍū’, unless one explicitly clarifies that this narration
is Mawḍū’.

52
Kitāb al-Adhkār, Fasl Qāla al-‘Ulamā min al-Muḥaddithīn
113
The different levels of al-Ṣaḥīḥ and the books
containing al-Ṣaḥīḥ narrations
Due to al-Ṣaḥīḥ narrations being of different levels, some
books of al-Ṣaḥīḥ narrations are of a higher level than
others. This is why, it is the view of Jumhūr (majority) of
the Scholars that al-Jāmi’ al-Ṣaḥīḥ of al-Imām al-Bukhārī
has superiority over all other books of al-Ḥadīth. The
Scholars state;

‫أصح الكتب بعد كتاب هللا صحيح البخاري‬

“The most authentic book after the Book of Allāh is Ṣaḥīḥ al-
Bukhārī.”

However, some scholars of Morocco and surrounding

areas give superiority to Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim over Ṣaḥīḥ al-
Bukhārī. al-Ḥāfiẓ Abū ‘Alī Nishāpūrī stated that there is
no book more superior than Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim under the skies.

The majority (Jumhūr) of Scholars of al-Ḥadīth state that

the superiority given to Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim over Ṣaḥīḥ al-
Bukhārī is pertaining to the beauty of the articulation, the
excellence of the order within the book and the subtle
signals and points within the chains of narration which are
not part of the discussion here.

The consideration here is actually of the authenticity and

strength of narrations, as well as other such matters, that
are linked to these factors. In this regard, there is no book
which is equivalent to Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
114
This is because, the attributes required for a Ṣaḥīḥ Ḥadīth
are found fully in the narrators of al-Bukhārī. Some
scholars are hesitant to give superiority to either Ṣaḥīḥ al-
Bukhārī or Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. However, the correct position is
to give preference to al-Bukhārī over Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.

al-Muttafaq ‘Alayh
This title is used to describe a Ḥadīth which is narrated by
both al-Bukhārī and Muslim. al-Imām ibn Hajar al-
‘Asqalānī stated that it is also a condition that both the
narrations be narrated from the same Sahābī (Companion)
in order for them to be classed as al-Muttafaq ‘Alayh. The
Scholars of al-Ḥadīth state that the total number of al-
Muttafaq ‘Alayh narrations is two thousand, three
hundred and twenty-six (2326).

The stations of al-Ahādith al-Ṣaḥīḥah

1) The highest station of Aḥādīth are those narrated by
both al-Imām al-Bukhārī and Muslim.
2) Thereafter the narrations narrated by al-Bukhārī alone.
3) Then the narrations narrated by al-Imām Muslim alone.
4) Thereafter those narrations which fulfil the conditions
of both al-Bukhārī and Muslim even though they are not
narrated by them.
5) Then the narrations which fulfil the conditions of al-
Bukhārī but are not narrated by al-Bukhārī.

115
 6) Then those narrations which fulfil the conditions of
Muslim but are not narrated by Muslim.
7) Thereafter, the narrations which are Ṣaḥīḥ and narrated,
as well as verified, by scholars who uphold the
conditions of Ṣaḥīḥ narrations firmly.

These are seven stations altogether.

What it means when a narration fulfils the

conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim
The meaning of a narration being upon the condition of al-
Bukhārī and Muslim is that its narrator has those
attributes which are in accordance with the conditions of
al-Bukhārī and Muslim i.e. the narrator has al-Ḍabṭ
(precision) and al-‘Adālah (justice), and his narration is
not Shādh or al-Munkar, nor is the situation of the narrator
unknown.

Another statement in relation to a narration fulfilling the

conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim is that its narrators
be the same narrators from whom narrations were also
taken in al-Bukhārī and Muslim. There is a very long
discussion in relation to this matter by al-Shaykh al-
Muhaqqiq al-Dihlawī in the introduction to Sharh Safar al-
Sa’ādah.

116
Are al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah only found in al-Bukhārī
and Muslim?
Ṣaḥīḥ narrations are not found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī alone –
there are also other works which have Ṣaḥīḥ narrations
within them. Nevertheless, the majority of narrations
within al-Bukhārī and Muslim are Ṣaḥīḥ.

There are many narrations which fulfil the conditions of

al-Bukhārī and Muslim and both Imāms classed them to
be Ṣaḥīḥ but did not mention them within their works.
There are also countless other narrations classed as Ṣaḥīḥ
by other scholars of al-Ḥadīth. al-Imām al-Bukhārī stated;

‫ما أوردت في كتابي هذا إال ما صحولقد تركت كثيرا من الصحاح‬

“I only mentioned that which is authentic within this book and
I left out a lot of authentic narrations.”

Similarly, al-Imām Muslim stated;

‫الذي أوردت في هذا الكتاب من األحاديث صحيح وال أقول إن ما تركت ضعيف‬
“Whichever Aḥādīth I mentioned in this book are Ṣaḥīḥ.
However, I do not say that the narrations I did not mention are
weak.”

Nevertheless, there are reasons why certain Ṣaḥīḥ

narrations were not mentioned in the books by these two
great Imāms whilst others were. These reasons may
include the stronger nature of certain narrations or due to
other reasons.
117
Important Note
It is important to note that all the Ṣaḥīḥ narrations are not
found within the six most authentic books, as there are
Ṣaḥīḥ narrations in other books too. Furthermore, all the
Ṣaḥīḥ narrations are not recorded within the written works
as it is possible that many Ṣaḥīḥ narrations have not been
mentioned in any work whatsoever.

al-Imām al-Bukhārī knew six hundred thousand Aḥādīth

off by heart. However, according to ibn al-Ṣalāh and al-
Nawawī, the number of Ahādīth within his al-Jāmi’ al-
Ṣaḥīḥ amount to four thousand (when considered without
repetition). Similarly, other compilers of great works of al-
Aḥādīth knew a lot more al-Aḥādīth by heart then are
recorded in their books.

No Scholar of al-Ḥadīth has ever claimed to have gathered

all the narrations within his book and nor has any
compiler claimed to have memorised all the Aḥādīth that
exist. Therefore, it is very likely that thousands of
narrations have not been recorded within the written
works, in spite of the tireless efforts of the scholars to
record as much as possible.

118
Other books of al-Aḥādīth which consist of Ṣaḥīḥ
narrations

al-Mustadrak of al-Imām al-Hākim

al-Hākim Abu ‘AbdAllah Nīshāpūrī53wrote this work.
Within it, he gathered the narrations which are in
accordance with the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim
but are not narrated by them. Some of these narrations are
in accordance with both al-Bukhārī and Muslim, whilst
others are in accordance with only one of them. A
minority of the narrations mentioned are those which are
in accordance with the conditions of other scholars.

al-Hākim stated, ‘al-Bukhārī and Muslim did not say that

the narrations besides that which we have narrated are not
Ṣaḥīḥ.’ He also said, ‘A new group of deviant people have
arisen in our times who say disrespectfully, about the
great Scholars of Islam, that the Ṣaḥīḥ narrations according
to these Imams do not even amount to ten thousand. It is
narrated from al-Imām al-Bukhārī that he knew one
hundred thousand Ṣaḥīḥ narrations by heart and two
hundred thousand that are not Ṣaḥīḥ.’ It is clear that this is
referring to those narrations which fulfilled the conditions
of al-Bukhārī (otherwise al-Imām al-Bukhārī would not
describe them as Ṣaḥīḥ). Yet, the amount of narrations in
Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī amount to seven thousand, two hundred

53
Editor’s note – One of the great Huffāẓ of al-Ḥadīth and authors, who passed away in 405
AH. He was a follower of the Shāfi’ī school of jurisprudence and was born in the year 321 AH.
He heard Ahādīth from approximately two thousand Scholars of al-Ḥadīth. The reader may
refer to Siyar A’lām al-Nubalā for further details about his biography.
119
and seventy-five if we include the repeated narrations.
Otherwise there are four thousand narrations if we
exclude the repeated narrations.’ The repeated narrations
within al-Bukhārī are three thousand two hundred and
seventy-five. It is clear that the amount of narrations in al-
Bukhārī is only a small portion of the Ṣaḥīḥ narrations that
he knew by heart.

Critical Analysis of al-Mustadrak by the

Scholars of al-Ḥadīth

The Scholars of al-Ḥadīth commend al-Hākim Abū

‘AbdAllah Nishāpūrī as a Ḥāfiẓ of al-Ḥadīth and a reliable
narrator. However, they are critical in relation to his book
al-Mustadrak, in regard to which they state that al-Hākim
has exercised too much leniency. Therefore, the Scholars
of al-Ḥadīth state that ibn Khuzaymah and ibn Ḥibbān are
higher in rank and stronger in memory than al-Hākim,
and they are better and more careful in relation to Asānīd
(chains of narration).

120
Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Khuzaymah
Amongst the other books consisting of Ṣaḥīḥ narrations is
the work of ibn Khuzaymah54 who is known as Imām al-
Aimmah (leader of the leaders). He was the Shaykh of ibn
Ḥibbān. Ibn Ḥibbān said in praise of his Shaykh, ibn
Khuzaymah, ‘I have not seen any person on the earth with
a stronger memory of al-Aḥādīth and with greater
expertise in the science of al-Ḥadīth. It seems as though all
al-Aḥādīth are before his sight.’

Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Ḥibbān

This is a work written by ibn Ḥibbān, who is a student of
ibn Khuzaymah.55Ibn Ḥibbān was a reliable, firm, well
qualified and leading scholar of this science who
possessed great expertise in the science of al-Ḥadīth. al-
Hākim said in relation to ibn Ḥibbān,

‫كان ابن حبان من أوعية العلم واللغة والحديث والوعظ وكان من عقالء الرجال‬

‘Ibn Ḥibbān was from the most well-versed of scholars in

knowledge, language, Ḥadīth and guidance. He was
amongst the intellectual men of that era.’

54
Editor’s note – The name of this Shaykh is Muhammad ibn Ishāq ibn Khuzaymah. His
appellation was Abū Bakr. He was a great jurist of the Shāfi’ī school, as well as a great Hāfiẓ of
al-Ḥadīth. He was born in 223 AH and passed away in 311 AH. (Siyar A’lām al-Nubalā)
55
Editor’s note – His name is Abū Hātim Muhammad ibn Hibbān ibn Ahmad al-Tamīmī. He was
a Shāfi’ī scholar who passed away in the year 354 AH. He was a master of Fiqh, Ḥadīth and
history. He wrote many works in the science of al-Ḥadīth. (Mu’jam al-Muallifīn)
121
The actual name of ibn Ḥibbān is Muhammad whilst his
appellation is Abū Ḥātim. His lineage is;

Muhammad son of Ḥibbān son of Mu’ādh son of Ma’bad

al-Tamīmī al-Bustī. Bust was a city of Sistan. It was due to
his connection to this city that he was known as al-Bustī.
Ibn Ḥibbān had studied al-Ḥadīth under al-Imām al-Nasaī,
Abu Ya’lā Mawsilī, Ḥasan ibn Sufyān and Abū Bakr ibn
Khuzaymah. He wrote in his book, al-Taqāsīm wa al-
Anwā’, ‘It is my estimation that I attained knowledge of
al-Ḥadīth from two thousand Shuyūkh.’56

The book al-Taqāsīm wa al-Anwā’ is designed in a

completely new style. It is not set out in different chapters
nor is it sequenced based upon the narrations of specific
Companions or narrators. As the title suggests, the book
consists of al-Taqāsīm (types) and al-Anwā’
(subdivisions). The structure of the book is such that
different types are mentioned primarily and then the
subdivisions of these types are mentioned.57

al-Mukhtārah
The author of this book is al-Ḥāfiẓ Ḍiyā al-Dīn al-Maqdisī.
He extracted narrations that were not narrated in al-
Ṣaḥīḥayn. Scholars have described this work as being
better than al-Mustadrak.

56
Bustān al--Muḥaddithīn by ‘Allāmah al-Shāh ‘Abd al-‘Azīz
57
Bustān al-Muḥaddithīn
122
Some further works
Amongst other works consisting of only Ṣaḥīḥ narrations
are; Ṣaḥīḥ ibn ‘Awānah, Ṣaḥīḥ ibn al-Sakan and al-
Muntaqā of Ibn al-Jārūd. However, some Scholars of al-
Ḥadīth criticised these works either based on rigidity or
based upon just reservations. ‘And above every possessor
of knowledge is another scholar.’58 And Allāh knows best.

al-Muntaqā of Ibn Jarūd is like a continuation of Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn

Khuzaymah. al-Muntaqā consists of principles of al-
Ḥadīth only. It is written by Abū Muhammad ‘AbdAllah
ibn ‘Alī ibn Jārūd.59

The six famous books – al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sittah

The six famous books of al-Ḥadīth that are well known
and relied upon in Islam are;

1) Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
2) Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim
3) al-Jāmi’ al-Tirmidhī
4) al-Sunan of Abū Dawūd
5) al-Sunan of al-Nasaī
6) al-Sunan of Ibn Mājah

58
Surah Yusuf 12:76
59
Bustān al-Muḥaddithīn
123
Some Scholars of al-Ḥadīth have stated that the sixth book
is al-Muatta of al-Imām Mālik rather than al-Sunan of Ibn
Mājah. The author of Jāmi’ al-Usūl, al-‘Allāmah Ibn al-
Athīr gave preference to the view that al-Muatta is the
sixth book rather than al-Sunan Ibn Mājah.

Are all narrations within these books Ṣaḥīḥ?

The narrations within these six most authentic books
range from al-Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḍa’īf. These books are
described as al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sittah (six most authentic books)
because they mainly consist of Ṣaḥīḥ narrations.

al-Ṣaḥīḥayn and al-Kutub al-Arba’ah

Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim are both described as al-
Ṣaḥīḥayn. Where the Scholars of al-Ḥadīth say that al-
Arba’ah (the four) narrated something, this refers to the
four books besides al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

The terminology of al-‘Allāmah al-Baghawī

The author of al-Maṣābīh, al-‘Allāmah al-Baghawī
described the Aḥādīth narrated by the scholars besides al-
Shaykhayn (al-Imām al-Bukhārī and Muslim) as al-Ḥasan.
There are a few possibilities in relation to this terminology;

1) This means the narrations within those books are

predominantly al-Ḥasan, which would thus be close to
the linguistic meaning.
124
 2) The other possibility is that al-Baghawī formulated his
own terminology in this regard and thus defined al-
Ḥasan differently to other scholars.

Sunan al-Darimī
Some Scholars of al-Ḥadīth classed Sunan al-Dārimī to be
the sixth book amongst al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sittah. This is because,
only a small number of its narrators are Ḍa’īf. There are
only a few Shādh and Munkar narrations within this book.
The chains of narration within this book are of high
standard. The Thulāthiyāt60 within Sunanal-Dārimī are
more in number in comparison to al-Bukhārī.

The actual name of al-Imām al-Dārimī is Muhammad. His

appellation is Abū Muhammad and his lineage is;
‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān ibn Fadhl ibn Bahrām ibn
‘Abd al-Samad al-Tamīmī al-Darimī al-Samarqandī. He
narrated Ḥadīth from elite Scholars of al-Ḥadīth such as al-
Imām al-Bukhārī, Nadhr ibn Shumayl and Yazīd ibn
Harūn. His students were great scholars of al-Ḥadīth such
as al-Imām Muslim, Abū Dawūd and al-Tirmidhī.61

The student of al-Dārimī, ‘AbdAllah, narrates from his

father, al-Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal, ‘There are four
Huffādh of the science of al-Ḥadīth in Khurāsān; Abu

60
Thulāthiyāt – narrations in which there are only three links in the chain (to Messenger of
Allāh À ).
61
Mirqāt al-Mafātīh Volume 1 Page 23
125
Zur’ah al-Rāzī, Muhammad Ismā’īl ibn al-Bukhārī,
‘AbdAllah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmān al-Dārimī al-Samarqandī
and Ḥasan ibn Shujā’ Balkhī.’62
al-Imām Ad Dārimī was born in 181 AH and passed away
on the day of ‘Arafah in the year 255 AH.

It is impossible to mention all the books of al-

Aḥādīth
The books mentioned in this chapter are the very famous
and prestigious within this science. There are many other
famous books as well as these. al-Imām Jalāluddīn al-
Suyūtī gathered Aḥādīth from more than fifty books in
Jam’ al-Jawāmi’. The Aḥādīth within al-Suyūtī’s book are
of all types –al-Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Ḥasan and al-Ḍa’īf. However, al-
Imām al-Suyūtī ensured that the book remained free from
al-Mawḍū’ (fabricated) narrations.

Al-Imām al-Suyūtī stated about this book that he did not

mention any narration within it which had been described
as al-Mawḍū’ to such an extent that the scholars were
unanimous in rejection of it. And Allāh knows best.

62
Bustān al-Muḥaddithīn
126
al-Ikmāl bi Dhikr Asmā al-Rijāl
The author of Mishkāt al-Maṣābīh, al-‘Allāmah Khatīb al-
Tabrezī, recorded the names of the most reliable Scholars
of al-Ḥadīth in the preface to Mishkāt al-Maṣābīh. He
mentioned the following great scholars; al-Imām al-
Bukhārī, al-Imām Muslim, al-Imām Mālik, al-Imām al-
Shāfi’ī, al-Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Imām al-Tirmidhī,
al-Imām Abū Dawūd, al-Imām al-Nasaī, al-Imām Ibn
Mājah, al-Imām al-Dārimī, al-Imām al-Dāraqutnī, al-
Imām al-Bayhaqī and al-Imām al-Razīn. He also briefly
referred to other scholars. al-Shaykh ‘Abd al-Haqq al-
Muhaddīth al-Dihlawī wrote the details about the lives of
these Scholars of al-Ḥadīth in his book, al-Ikmāl bi Dhikr
Asmā al-Rijāl. This is different to the work of al-Shaykh
Abū ‘AbdAllah Muhammad ibn ‘AbdAllah al-Khatīb al-
Tabrezī entitled al-Ikmāl fī Asmā al-Rijāl. The latter has been
published alongside Mishkāt al-Maṣābīh for many years.

The types of books of al-Aḥādīth

The types of al-Aḥādīth based on the way in which the
books are structured are as follows;
al-Jāmi’, al-Sunan, al-Musnad, al-Mu’jam, al-Juz, al-
Mufrad, al-Gharībah, al-Mustadrak, al-Mustakhraj, al-
Risālah, al-Arba’īn, al-Amālī, al-Atrāf, al-‘Ilal, al-Majma’,
al-Zawāid, al-Musannaf and al-Muatta.

127
al-Jāmi’
This is a type of book of al-Ḥadīth which consists of eight
topics;
1) al-‘Aqāid (Beliefs)
2) al-Ahkām (Rulings)
3) al-Tafsīr (Exegesis of the Holy Qur’ān)
4) Siyar and Maghāzī (Biographies and Details of Battles)
5) al-Ādāb (Etiquettes)
6) al-Manāqib (Virtues)
7) al- Fitan (Situations of Tribulations)
8) Ashrāt wa ‘alāmāt al-Qiyāmah (The Signs of the Day of
Judgment)

Examples of such books are; al-Bukhārī and al-Tirmidhī.

Although Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim has eight topics within it, the topic
of al-Tafsīr is only dealt with briefly. Therefore, Ṣaḥīḥ
Muslim is classed as being from al-Sunan rather than al-
Jāmi’.

al-Sunan
This is the type of book in which the Aḥādīth pertaining to
rulings are set out in accordance with the chapters of Fiqh
(jurisprudence). Generally, these books do not consist of
narrations dealing with al-‘Aqāid, al-Manāqib, al-
Ghazawāt and al-Tafsīr etc. The narrations within this
type of book are Marfū’ (attributed to the Prophet À ).
Examples of this type of book are; al-Sunan of Abū

128
Dāwūd, al-Sunan of al-Nasaī, al-Sunan of Ibn Mājah and
al-Sunan of al-Bayhaqī etc.

al-Musnad
This is the type of book in which, in each chapter, the
narrations of each Companion are gathered. The chapters
are either set out based on alphabetical order or based on
the virtues and excellences of each Companion. There are
just over one hundred books of this nature. Examples of
them are; al-Musnad al-Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-
Musnad al-Humaydī, al-Musnad Abū Dawūd al-Tayālisī
and al-Musnad ‘Abd ibn Hamīd.

Sometimes the Scholars of al-Ḥadīth describe al-Musnad

as the type of book which has al-Marfū’ narrations. An
example of this is al-Musnad Baqiyy ibn Makhlad al-
Andalūsī.

al-Mu’jam
This is the work in which the narrations of the narrators
are set out according to alphabetical order. Sometimes the
narrators who are listed are the Companions of Messenger
of Allāh À , whilst at other times the Shuyūkh of the author
are considered. At times the Shuyūkh and Scholars are
listed according to their cities. al-Imām al-Tabarānī wrote
three books of this type. al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr is a book in
which the names of the Companions are considered when

129
listing. In al-Mu’jam al-Awsat and al-Mu’jam al-Saghīr,
the names of the Shuyūkh are considered.

If the names of the Shuyūkh are listed without considering

their alphabetical order then instead of al-Mu’jam, the
book is called al-Mashyakhah. An example of this is al-
Mashyakhah ‘AbdAllah ibn Haydar al-Qazwīnī.

al-Juz
This is a type of book in which all the narrations of a
certain narrator are gathered or al-Aḥādīth pertaining to a
certain topic are gathered. An example the first type is the
work of Abu Ma’shar ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Tabarī (d. 478 AH)
entitled, Juz Mā Rawāhu Abū Hanīfah ‘an al-Sahābah.
Examples of the second type is Juz Raf’ al-Yadayn fī al-
Ṣalāh and Juz al-Qirā’ah Khalf al-Imam.

al-Mufrad
This is a work in which the narrations of one narrator are
gathered. An example of this is Kitāb al-Afrād of
Dāraqutnī.

al-Gharībah
This is the book in which there are Gharīb narrations from
one student. An example of this is Gharāib Mālik.

130
al-Mustadrak
This is a type of book in which the narrations that fulfil the
conditions of a certain author, which were not written in
the work of that author, are compiled. An example of this
is al-Mustadrak ‘alā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn of al-Hākim Abū
‘AbdAllah Nīshāpūrī.

al-Mustakhraj
This is a type of book in which the narrations of a specific
book are verified by mentioning alternative chains of
narrations for the Shaykh or Shuyūkh of its author. There
are many books of this nature. There are ten books
pertaining to al-Ṣaḥīḥayn. Examples of such books are;

al-Mustakhraj Ismā’īlī in relation to al-Bukhārī. al-

Mustakhraj Isfrāīnī in relation to Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
Mustakhraj Abī Nu’aym al-Asbahānī in relation to both al-
Bukhārī and Muslim. Mustakhraj Qāsim ibn Asbagh in
relation to al-Sunan of Abū Dawūd.

al-Risālah
This is a type of work in which narrations pertaining to a
specific subject from the eight subjects of al-Jāmi’ are
mentioned. Examples of these are Kitāb al-Zuhd wa al-
Adab of al-Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Adab al-
Mufrad of al-Imām al-Bukhārī.

131
al-Arba’īn
This is a book in which forty Aḥādīth are gathered
regardless of whether they are connected to a certain topic
or various topics. An example of this is al-Arba’īn of al-
Imām al-Nawawī.

al-Amālī
This is a type of literary work in which, the dictated
narrations and commentaries upon narrations of a certain
Shaykh are mentioned. An example of this is al-Amālī of
al-Imām Muhammad.

al-Aťrāf
This is a type of book in which parts of al-Aḥādīth are
mentioned which point towards their respective
meanings, and then the entire chains of narrations are
mentioned or the chains of narrations from certain books.
Examples of such works are; Aťrāf al-Kutub al-Khamsah
of Abul ‘Abbās Ahmad ibn Thābit al-Turuqī and Atrāf al-
Mizzī.

al-‘Ilal
This is a type of book of al-Ḥadīth in which only those
Aḥādīth are gathered in which there are hidden defects,
and those hidden defects are identified and explained.

132
Examples of such works are ‘Ilal ibn Abī Ḥātim and ‘Ilal
Daraqutnī.

al-Majma’
This is a type of book in which many books of al-Ḥadīth
are gathered. Examples of such works include;
1) Mashāriq al-Anwār al-Nabawiyyah of Ḥasan ibn
Muhammad al-San’ānī (d. 650 AH) in which al-Bukhārī
and Muslim are gathered.
2) al-Tajrīd lī al-Ṣiḥāḥi wa al-Sunan of Abul Ḥasan Ahmad
ibn Razīn al-Andalūsī (d. 535 AH) in which the
narrations from the most authentic works of Ahādith i.e.
al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, Abū Dawūd, al-Nasaī
and al-Muatta of al-Imām Mālik are gathered.
3) Jāmi’ al-Usūl min Ahādith al-Rasūl written by Ibn al-
Athīr (d. 606 AH) is also like al-Tajrīd lī al-Ṣiḥāḥi wa al-
Sunan.
4) Jam’ al-Fawāid min Jāmi’ al-Usūl wa al-Zawāid of
Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sulaymān al-Maghribī
(d. 1094 AH) which is a compilation of fourteen
important works.
5) Jam’ al-Jawāmi’ of al-Imām Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī (d. 911
AH). This book is also known as al-Jāmi’ al-Kabīr.

al-Zawāid
This is a type of book in which those Aḥādīth are gathered
which are additional to other works. Examples of this type
are Misbāh al-Zujājah fī Zawāid ibn Mājah of Abul ‘Abbās

133
Ahmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Bawsīrī (d. 480 AH) and Ithāf al-
Sādat al-Mahrat -al-Khayyirah of the same author. In the
first book, such narrations of Ibn Mājah are mentioned
which are not mentioned in other books of al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-
Sittah. In the other book, the additional narrations to al-
Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sittah are mentioned in ten important chapters.

al-Musannaf and al-Muatta

This is a book which is compiled in conformity to the
chapters of Fiqh books and the narrations within it are al-
Marfū’, al-Mawqūf and al-Maqtū’. Examples of this are;
al-Musannaf ibn Abī Shaybah, al-Musannaf ‘Abd al-
Razzāq, al-Muattā al-Imām Mālik and al-Muatta of ibn
Abī Dh’ib.

The categories (al-Tabaqāt) of books of al-Ḥadīth

Sayyidunā Shāh WaliyyAllah al-Muḥaddith al-Dihlawī
mentioned four categories of books of al-Ḥadīth:

al-Tabaqat al-Ūlā – The First Category

The most famous and accepted books like Ṣaḥīḥ al-
Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and al-Muattā of al-Imām Mālik
come under this category.

134
al-Tabaqat al-Thāniyah – The Second Category
These are books which are close to the high standards of
the books in the first category, but which have more weak
narrations within them in comparison to the first category.
Examples of works that come under this category are; al-
Jāmi’ al-Tirmidhī, al-Sunan of Abū Dāwūd and al-Sunan
of al-Nasaī.

al-Tabaqat al-Thālithah–The Third Category

This category consists of works written prior to the era of
al-Imām al-Bukhārī and al-Imām Muslim, or during their
time or close to that time, by the reliable Scholars of al-
Ḥadīth. However, there are more Ḍa’īf narrations in this
category compared to the second category. Moreover,
there are fabricated narrations in this category as well.
Examples of books in this category are; al-Musnad of al-
Imăm al-Shāfi’ī, al-Sunan of Ibn Mājah, al-Musannaf of
‘Abd al-Razzāq, al-Musannaf ibn Shaybah, al- Sunan al-
Dārimī, al-Sunan Dāraqutnī, al-Sunan al-Bayhaqī, al-
Tabarānī and the book of Abū Dāwūd al-Tayālisī.

al-Tabaqat al-Rābi’ah – The Fourth Category

This category consists of the works written by Scholars of
al-Ḥadīth from the eras after al-Imām al-Bukhārī and al-
Imām Muslim whose narrations are not proven from the
early generations. Examples of works from this category

135
are; al-Daylamī, Abū Nu’aym, Ibn al-‘Asākir and the
works of al-Hākim.

The reason for these narrations not being found in the

works from the earlier generations, may be because the
earlier Scholars of al-Ḥadīth did not come across these
narrations or they did not accept these narrations due to
hidden defects.

Important Note – the categorisation does not

result in the third and fourth categories being
rejected

The categorisation of the Aḥādīth books does not entail

that the later categories are to be rejected and rebutted.
Rather the purpose behind the categorisation is to
introduce these books in a hierarchy. The fourth category
also has many narrations that are al-Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Ḥasan.
al-Shāh WaliyyAllah al-Muḥaddith al-Dihlawī classified
al-Mustadrak of al-Hākim as being from the fourth
category, even though many of its narrations are of the
highest calibre of al-Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Ḥasan.

Many narrations of al-Mustadrak fulfil the conditions of

al-Bukhārī and Muslim.

al-Shāh ‘Abdul ‘Azīz al-Muḥaddith al-Dihlawī has

accepted these categories. He stated in Bustān al-
136
Muḥaddithīn with reference to al-Imām al-Dhahabī,
‘Many Aḥādīth within al-Mustadrak are fulfilling the
conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim or the conditions of
one of them. Almost half of the Aḥādīth within al-
Mustadrak are of this nature.

A quarter of the narrations are apparently Ṣaḥīḥ but do not

fulfil the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim. The
remaining quarter consist of al-Munkar and weak
narrations to the extent that some of them are fabricated
(al-Mawḍū’).’

Although al-Shāh ‘Abdul ‘Azīz described a quarter of the

Aḥādīth within al-Mustadrak as being Ṣaḥīḥ but not
conforming to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim,
al-‘Allāmah al-Suyūtī wrote in Tadrīb al-Rāwī with
reference to al-Imām al-Dhahabī, ‘Many of the narrations
of al-Mustadrak accord to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and
Muslim, whilst there are also many which fulfil the
conditions of either al-Bukhārī or Muslim.
Almost a quarter of the narrations are al-Ṣaḥīḥ but are
criticised for some hidden weaknesses. The remaining
quarter are al-Munkar and weak to the extent that some of
them are al-Mawḍū’.’63

From the words of both al-Shāh ‘Abdul ‘Azīz and al-Imām

al-Suyūtī it is apparent that three quarters of the Aḥādīth
are al-Ṣaḥīḥ. Therefore, it is not correct to hold the view

63
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
137
that the narrations within the third and fourth category are
unacceptable. It is, nevertheless, correct to assert that the
narrations within the third and fourth category have all
different types of Aḥādīth within them – al-Ṣaḥīḥ, al-Ḥasan
and al-Ḍa’īf etc.

This is actually the case with the second category as well.

Every person is not able to research into the authenticity
of the narrations. Therefore, one should refer to the
opinions of the expert scholars in relation to the narrations
before relying on any of them. A’lā Hazrat al-Imām
Ahmad Riḍā Khān al-Qādirī (d. 1340 AH) wrote a
beneficial and comprehensive thesis on this topic entitled,
Madārij Tabaqāt al-Ḥadīth.

In this thesis, al-Imām Ahmad Riḍā Khān established that

there are not just four categories of al-Ḥadīth, and that this
categorisation into only four is not beneficial for the expert
researcher nor the student following his research.64

The words used to narrate a Ḥadīth

There are eight words of narration;
1) ‫ حدثني‬،‫ سمعت‬which literally mean, “I heard” and “He
mentioned to me.”
2) ‫ قرأت عليه‬،‫ أخبرني‬which literally mean, “He informed
me” and “ I read to him. “

64
Muqaddimah Nuzhat al-Qārī Sharh Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī
138
 3) ‫ قرئ عليه وأنا أسمع‬which literally means, “Was read to him
whilst I was listening. “
4) ‫ أنبأني‬which literally means, “He informed me.”
5) ‫ ناولني‬which literally means, “He granted me.”
6) ‫ شافهني باإلجازة‬which literally means, “He directly
granted me permission.”
7) ‫ كتب إلي باإلجازة‬which literally means, “He wrote to me
with permission.”
8) ‫ عن فالن‬means, “Narrated from so and so”. There are
other similar words in which there is a possibility of
hearing and not hearing, and granting permission and
not granting permission, which are similar to this
sentence e.g. ‫ روي‬،‫ ذكر‬،‫قال‬. This is the situation when the
first-person pronouns are not used with these three
words. Otherwise, when the first-person pronouns are
used, then it will be in the same meaning as65

‫حدثنا‬

‘He mentioned to us.’

Situations when these words are used

1) ‫ حدثني‬،‫ سمعت‬These words are used when a Shaykh is
narrating a Ḥadīth from his Shaykh alone.
2) ‫ حدثنا‬،‫ سمعنا‬These words are used either when the narrator
heard the narration from the Shaykh when alone or
when the narrator heard the narration from the Shaykh
in the presence of other people. If the narrator is alone
in hearing the narration, then plural is used for

65
Sharh Nukhbah al-Fikr ma’a Hāshiyah ‘Aqd al-Durar
139
 reverence. Nevertheless, it is rare for these words to be
used when the narrator heard the narration whilst
alone.
3) ‫ سمعت‬is a word that establishes more clearly that the
narrator physically heard the narration from the Shaykh
as opposed to ‫حدثني‬. This is because the narrator is clearly
stating that he heard the narration from the Shaykh,
which establishes that there is no other narrator between
the narrator and the Shaykh. However, when the word
‫ حدثني‬is used, there is a possibility of al-Tadlīs as this
sort of wording is used in a narration of al-Mudallis.
4) ‫ قرأت عليه‬،‫ أخبرني‬These wordings are used when a narrator
reads a narration in front of the Shaykh whilst alone.
5) ‫ قرأنا عليه‬،‫ أخبرنا‬These wordings are used when the
narrator reads the narration in front of his Shaykh whilst
there are other people present.
6) ‫ أنبأ‬According to the earlier Scholars this wording is the
same as ‫أخبرنا‬

However, the later Scholars class this wording to be the

same as 66‫عن‬

Beneficial Note
It is the position of al-Imām al-Bukhārī that the following
words are all in the same meaning;

‫ روي‬،‫ أنبأ‬،‫ حدث‬،‫ أخبر‬،‫ سمع‬،‫قال‬

66
Nuzhah al-Naẓr
140
This is the position of al-Imām al-Zuhrī, al-Imām Mālik,
al-Imām Ibn ‘Uyaynah, Yahyā ibn Sa’īd al-Qattān, al-
Imām al-Azam Abū Hanīfah, the majority of the people of
al-Hijāz (al-Haramayn al-Sharīfayn and surrounding
areas) and the people of al-Kūfah. Ibn al-Hājib gave
preference to this position within his al-Mukhtasar. al-
Imām al-Hākim stated that this is the position of the four
schools of thought.

al-Imām al-Bukhārī set an entire chapter within Kitāb al-

‘Ilm of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.67

al-Imām Muslim, al-Imām al-Tirmidhī and other scholars

differentiated between these words. al-Imām Ibn Jurayj,
al-Imām al-Awzā’ī, al-Imām al-Shāfi’ī, Ibn Wahb and the
majority of the eastern scholars state, that the following
words are used when the Shaykh reads and the student
listens;

‫أخبر أنبأ‬

Conclusion

The etiquettes of writing al-Aḥādīth

It is necessary for the scribe who is writing the Aḥādīth in
books (or the typist) to write with full research and
complete attentiveness, whilst taking into consideration
the principles pertaining to writing al-Aḥādīth. The scribe

67
Muqaddimah Nuzhat al-Qārī
141
should write the letters in such a way that they are all very
clear, along with their shapes and their dots. Where there
are difficult words, the scribe should also place Tashkīl
(vowels – fathah, dhammah and kasrah) especially on
names, as it is difficult to comprehend difficult names. It
is important to exercise all these cautions so that the reader
does not enter into any doubt. It is mentioned in some
narrations that a change in the formation of a word in Injīl
led the Christians into the pits of disbelief. Allāh said to
Sayyidunā ‘Īsā in al-Injīl (the Bible);

‫أنت نبيي ولدتك من البتول‬

'You are my Prophet who I created from the pure maid.’

The Christians altered one word here and distorted the

meaning;

‫أنت بنيي ولدتك‬

'You are my son who I created.’68 (Allāh forbid).

Writing praise and supplications

The scribe should write the praise of Allāh after
mentioning His Exalted Name with words such as;

‫عز و جل‬
‫سبحانه وتعالي‬

68
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
142
The scribe should write salutations and blessings upon the
Final Prophet of Allāh À fully without abbreviating the
words. It is severely prohibited to abbreviate the words of
salutations and blessings. The hands of the first person to
abbreviate salutations and blessings were cut off.
Similarly, the following words of supplications should be
written after the names of the Noble Companions and
great Scholars;

‫رحمة هللا عليه‬

69
‫رحمه هللا تعالي‬

Abbreviating the supplications after the names of the

scholars is a deprivation of blessings.

al-‘Allāmah al-Sayyid Ahmad al-Tahtāwī stated;

‫يكره الرمز بالترضي بالكتابة بل يكتب ذلك كله بكماله‬

'It is disliked to abbreviate when writing ‫ رضي هللا عنه‬but it is to
be written fully.’

al-Imām al-Nawawī writes in Sharh Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim;

‫ومن أغفل هذا حرم خيرا عظيما وفوت فضال جسيما‬

'Whoever is heedless of this is deprived of a great amount of
good and has lost out on great virtue.’

69
Tadrīb al-Rāwī

143
In the English language the condemned abbreviations are;
PBUH, RA etc. which are written by heedless individuals
in literature.70

The importance of proofreading

When a person finishes writing a work then it is important
to proofread. If a scribe is writing or typing a work which
he is copying from an original manuscript, then it is
important to carefully compare the drafts with the original
manuscript. al-Imām Yahyā ibn Abī Kathīr and al-Imām
al-Awzā’ī stated;

‫من كتب ولم يعارض كمن دخل الخالء ولم يستنج‬

'Whoever wrote and did not compare, he is like the one
who relieved himself and did not purify himself
thereafter.’71

The virtues of writing books on ‘Ilm al-Ḥadīth

Writing works on the science of al-Ḥadīth is not just
preferable but rather it is very important. Whosoever has
the expertise and capability to write works on this science
should write with great care.
He should contribute through his writing in a way that is
beneficial to future generations. There are a number of
ways in which this may be done;

70
The reader may refer to al-Saniyyat al-Anīqah fī al-Fatāwā al-Riḍawiyyah
71
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
144
 1) By gathering information scattered across works into
one work.
2) By compiling a work in a specific order.
3) By writing contents for a book.
4) By providing references for Aḥādīth in unreferenced
works.

It is very difficult to attain expertise in the science of al-

Ḥadīth without writing works on this science.

al-Imām al-Nawawī writes in Sharh al-Muhadhdhab;

‫بالتصنيف يطلع علي حقائق العلوم ودقائقه ويثبت معه ألنه يضطره إلي كثرة التفتيش‬
‫والمطالعة والتحقيق والمراجعة واإلطالع علي مختلف كالم األئمة ومتفقه وواضحه‬
‫من مشكله وصحيحه من ضعفه وجزله من ركيكه وما ال اعتراض فيه من غيره وبه‬
‫يتصف المحقق بصفة المجتهد‬

'The author becomes aware of the reality of the sciences

and their intricacies, and their knowledge becomes strong
through writing works. This is because writing works
forces a person to fully investigate, read, research, revise
and look into the difference of opinion of the scholars.
Their unanimous positions, the clear narrations and
difficult ones, the Ṣaḥīḥ narrations and the Ḍa’īf
narrations, the sound narrations and the feeble narrations.
It is through this awareness that the researcher becomes
known as al-Mujtahid.72

72
Tadrīb al-Rāwī
145
Abbreviations of words used when narrating
Aḥādīth
Scholars of al-Ḥadīth use abbreviations to signal towards
words of narration;

‫ثنا = حدثنا‬
‫نا = حدثنا‬
‫أنا = أخبرنا‬
‫أرنا = أخبرنا‬
‫ثني = حدثني‬
‫دثني = حدثني‬

The word in Arabic denoting “he said” is often not written

but is understood in the context of the Ḥadīth e.g.

‫حدثنا عبد هللا بن يوسف أخبرنا مالك‬

Similarly, the words meaning “that he”
are not mentioned due to conciseness e.g.

‫عن عطاء بن أبي ميمونة‬

146
al-Tahwīl – Mentioning a second Sanad along with
first
Mentioning an alternative chain of narration for a Ḥadīth,
along with its chain of narration, is called al-Tahwīl. This
is usually denoted by the letter ‫( ح‬pronounced Ḥā) written
at the point in the original chain of narration, where the
second chain is about to start as a continuation of the first.

‫تم الكتاب بعون هللا الملك الوهاب وصلي هللا تعالي علي خير خلقه محمد وآله‬
‫وصحبه أجمعين‬

This book has been completed by the Grace of Allah, the

Almighty King and Bestower. Peace and blessings of
Allah be upon the Best of His creation and his Family
and his Companions.73

73
The translation of this work was completed on the 24th of Rabī al-Thānī 1441 AH, coinciding
with 21st December 2019 in Keighley, England.
147