Qualification of Transmitters

• Concept and Nature of Evaluation of

Transmitters
• Factors That Disqualify the Transmitters
• Ranking of Validation and Invalidation
(Maratib al-Jarh wa al-Ta`dil)
 Concept And Nature of Evaluation of Transmitters

Meaning
of Evaluation
(naqd)

Disclosing attitude and status of a

hadith reporter in regard to his
integrity (`adalah) and retentiveness
(dabt) by a person whose moral
conduct is par excellent.
 Basis for Evaluation
• Qur’anic verse: surah al-
hujurat : 6
• Bi’sa akhu al-`ashirah
• The first step in verifying a report is to
know the reality of the person reporting a
piece of news. That is why Allah (swt) says:
ِ ‫اس ٌق ِب َن َبإٍ َف َت َب َّي ُنوا أَنْ ُت‬
‫صيبُوا َق ْو ًما ِب َج َهالَ ٍة‬ ِ ‫ين آ َم ُنوا إِنْ َجا َء ُك ْم َف‬ َ ‫• َيا أَ ُّي َها الَّ ِذ‬
‫ين‬َ ‫َف ُتصْ ِبحُوا َع َلى َما َف َع ْل ُت ْم َنا ِد ِم‬
• ‘O you who believe! If a Fasiq comes to you
with a news, verify it, lest you harm people in
ignorance, and afterwards you become
regretful to what you have done.’ [49:6]
• Here the ‘illah for verifying or scrutinizing a
report is the potential harm that will be
caused by accepting a false report. It is on
the basis of this ayah that the
Muhadditheen began to seek out information
about narrators in order to verify their
narration.
• But what about recording and publicizing the
defects of such narrators, what is the
Shar’I justification for doing this?
 ‫يسى َح َّدثَنَا حُمَ َّم ُد بْ ُن َس َو ٍاء َح َّدثَنَا َر ْو ُح‬ ‫ح َّدثَنَا عمرو بن ِ‬
‫ع‬
‫َ ُْ ْ ُ َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫شةَ ‪ :‬أ َّ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ائ‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ن‬‫ع‬ ‫ة‬ ‫و‬ ‫ر‬‫ع‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ر‬ ‫ِ‬
‫د‬ ‫ك‬
‫َ‬ ‫ن‬ ‫م‬‫ْ‬‫ل‬‫ا‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ن‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ِ‬
‫د‬ ‫م‬ ‫ن‬‫ع‬ ‫ِ‬
‫م‬ ‫ِ‬
‫اس‬ ‫بْ ُن الْ َق‬
‫َن‬ ‫َ ْ ُْ َ َ َ ْ َ َ‬ ‫َ ْ حُمَ َّ ْ ُ ْ‬
‫س أَ ُخو‬ ‫ال ب ِْ‬
‫ئ‬ ‫ق‬ ‫آه‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ا‬ ‫م‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ف‬ ‫م‬‫َّ‬
‫ل‬ ‫س‬ ‫و‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ه‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ع‬ ‫ه‬ ‫َّ‬
‫ل‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ى‬ ‫َّ‬
‫ل‬ ‫ص‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ِ‬
‫استَأْ َذ َن َعلَى النَّب‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ََ َ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ِّ‬ ‫َر ُجاًل ْ‬
‫صلَّى اللَّهُ َعلَْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم فِي‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ب‬ ‫َّ‬
‫ن‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ق‬ ‫َّ‬
‫ل‬ ‫ط‬ ‫ت‬ ‫س‬ ‫ل‬‫ج‬ ‫ا‬ ‫م‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ف‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ة‬ ‫ير‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ُّ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ال َْع َ َ َ ْ ُ َ َ‬
‫ش‬ ‫ْع‬
‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ن‬ ‫اب‬ ‫س‬ ‫ئ‬
‫ْ‬ ‫ب‬ ‫و‬ ‫ة‬ ‫ير‬ ‫ش‬
‫ين‬ ‫ح‬‫ول اللَّ ِه ِ‬ ‫س‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ة‬ ‫ش‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ائ‬‫ع‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ق‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ج‬ ‫الر‬ ‫ق‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ط‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ا‬ ‫ا‬ ‫م‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ف‬ ‫ه‬‫ِ‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ِ‬
‫إ‬ ‫ط‬ ‫س‬ ‫ِ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ َُ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ُُ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫َّ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫ْ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َ‬ ‫َو ْج َ َ َ‬
‫ب‬ ‫ن‬
‫ْ‬ ‫ا‬ ‫و‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ه‬
‫ت إِلَْي ِه َف َق َ‬
‫ال‬ ‫ت َْ َ ََ َ‬
‫ط‬
‫ْ‬ ‫س‬ ‫ب‬ ‫ن‬
‫ْ‬ ‫ا‬‫و‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ه‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ه‬ ‫ج‬ ‫و‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ف‬ ‫ت لَهُ َك َذا َو َك َذا ثُ َّم تَطَلَّ ْق َ‬ ‫الر ُج َل ُق ْل َ‬ ‫ت َّ‬ ‫َرأَيْ َ‬
‫شةُ َمتَى َع ِه ْدتِنِي فَ َّحا ًشا إِ َّن َش َّر‬ ‫صلَّى اللَّهُ َعلَْي ِه َو َسلَّ َم يَا َعائِ َ‬ ‫َ‬
‫ول اللَّ ِ‬
‫ه‬ ‫َر ُس ُ‬
‫َّاس ِّات َقاءَ َش ِّر ِه‪ .‬رواه البخاري‬ ‫ن‬ ‫ال‬ ‫ه‬ ‫ك‬
‫َ‬ ‫ر‬ ‫ت‬ ‫ن‬ ‫م‬ ‫ة‬‫ِ‬ ‫ام‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ْق‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ا‬ ‫م‬ ‫و‬ ‫ي‬ ‫ة‬
‫ً‬ ‫ل‬
‫َ‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ز‬ ‫ن‬ ‫م‬ ‫ِ‬
‫ه‬ ‫َّ‬
‫ل‬ ‫ال‬ ‫د‬ ‫ِ‬
‫َّاس ْ َ‬
‫ن‬ ‫ع‬ ‫الن ِ‬
‫َْ َ ْ َ َ َ َ ْ ََ ُ ُ‬
• Narrated 'Aisha:
• A man asked permission to enter upon the Prophet.
When the Prophet saw him, he said, "What an evil
brother of his tribe! And what an evil son of his
tribe!" When that man sat down, the Prophet
behaved with him in a nice and polite manner and
was completely at ease with him. When that person
had left, 'Aisha said (to the Prophet). "O Allah's
Apostle! When you saw that man, you said so-and-
so about him, then you showed him a kind and
polite behavior, and you enjoyed his company?"
Allah's Apostle said, "O 'Aisha! Have you ever seen
me speaking a bad and dirty language? (Remember
that) the worst people in Allah's sight on the Day of
Resurrection will be those whom the people leave
(undisturbed) to be away from their evil (deeds)."
» Volume 8, Book 73, Number 59o:
• This hadith teaches us that in warning the
Muslims from a harm it is allowed to
backbite because the man Rasulullah was
warning about is one man named ‘Uyaynah b.
Hisn who outwardly showed that he was a
Muslim thought in reality he was not a
Muslim. Rasulullah wanted to warn the people
about this man so he said what an evil man he
is.
• This is indicated by the Prophet’s answer to
A’isha when she asked him why he used bad
language, he replied that he one who used
bad language is the worst of people yet he
(saw) used bad language to describe this
man. Therefore the reason must be that he
wanted to warn the people and not to abuse
the man and hence when he met him he was
very polite to him.
• Imam al-Qurtubi commenting on this hadith
said: ‘The Hadith contains the permission to
backbite the one who publicly shows his Fisq or
Fahsh and the like from unjust rulers or those
who call to innovation though its allowed to do it
in a polite manner as long as long as it does not
lead to compromising the Deen of Allah Ta’aala.’
[4] Thus, when we come to narrators of hadith
it is clear that unscrupulous hadith narrators
are not only harmful to Muslims but to Islam
itlsef and therefore their faults must be
recorded so no hadith will be accepted from
them.
• The endeavor to verify the reports gave rise
to the science of Rijaal (ie the knowledge
and collation of the biography of narrators)
and the Science of Jarh (disparagement) and
Ta’deel (attestation). Information regarding
the probity and precision of narrators were
recorded whether the information was
disparaging or confirmed the reliability.
• The honest defamation or Ta’n was
considered part of the Deen since it was
necessary to protect the Deen. In collecting
this material the Rijal critics spared no one
to the extent that the son would criticize his
father. It is reported that ‘Some people
asked ‘Ali b. al-Madeeni, the great Rijal
scholar, about his father. He said: Ask
somebody else. They repeated the question.
He fell silent and then lifted his head and
said: This (is part) of the Deen. He (my
father) is weak (da’eef).’
• ’ It is for this reason that people like the
great Tabi’I ‘Ata b. as-Saa`ib and well known
Seerah writer Ibn Ishaq were not spared
from criticism. Yayha b. Ma’een said: ‘We
disparaged people who had already been
admitted to Jannah more than a hundred
years ago.’ Their prime motivation for doing
this was fear of Allah and not the fear of
the people.
• It is reported that Yahya b. Sa’eed al-
Qattan was asked: Do you not fear that
those people whose hadith you have rejected
will dispute against you before Allah? He
said: no, that these people should dispute
with me is better than the Messenger of
Allah (saw) disputing with me by saying: Why
did you narrate a hadith which you thought
was a lie?’
Development of Transmitters
Evaluation
• Informal Evaluation :After the death
of the Prophet – Fourth Century
Hijrah
• Formal Evaluation : Fourth –Seventh
Century Hijrah.
• Systematic Evaluation : Seventh –
Ninth Century Hijrah.
 Scholars Known for
Evaluation
• Informal
– Shu`bah ibn al-Hajjaj (d.160/776)
– Yahya ibn Sa`id al-Qattan (d.198/813)
– `Abd al-Raman al-Mahdi (d.198/813),
• Formal
– Abu Muhammad `Abd al-Rahman ibn Abu Hatim (d.327)
– Ibn al-Bayyi` al-Hakim al-Naysaburi (d.405)
• Systematic
– Zayn al-Din `Abd al-Rahim al-`Iraqi (d.806)
– Ahmad ibn `Ali ibn Hajar al-`Asqallani (d. 852)
 Informal Evaluation
• The evaluators recorded their own as
well as others' expressions used for
assessing the general credibility of
hadith reporters of their time.
However, in most cases, these
comments and judgments were only
preserved orally at first.
 Formal Evaluation
• The evaluators recorded their own
as well as others' expressions used
for assessing the general
credibility of hadith reporters of
their time. These comments and
judgments were collected and
preserved in written form.
 Systematic Evaluation
• Evaluation of later scholars. They studied and
investigated all the expressions and terms of
their predecessors used for assessing the
general credibility of reporters of their time.
They compared one’s term with that of
another and applied correct meanings to
them. They standardize the term and gave
final verdict to the reporters. These
comments and judgments were documented
and preserved in written form.
 Need
Need
for
for
Systematic
Systematic Evaluation
Evaluation

************************************
Diversity of Appraisals of the Reporters
• A scholar charged a particular reporter with two
seemingly contradictory expressions

• Same terms carry different meanings

• Inconsistency in verdicts

• Ambiguous Expressions
 Causes for Deficiency: Unspecified
• Dislike to behavior of a reporter
• Fanatic to certain thought
• Evaluators’ Attitude: Strict, Moderate,
and Lenient.
 Systematic Evaluation: Activities
• Grouping terms and expressions
• general, relative, conditional, and sectarian labels.
• Establishing Methods to Determine Trustworthies
• Number of witness or recommendations
• Nature of the witness
• Identifying factors disqualify reporters
• 10 Factors
• Ranking the validation and invalidation
• 12 Ranking
• Classification of Transmitters According to the Age in
Which They Lived
• 12 Generation
 7.2: Disqualifying Factors
• Accuracy (dabt):
• Integrity (`adalah):
– Great blundering
– Lie (kadhib) (kaithrat al-ghalat)
– Suspicion of falsehood – Carelessness
(al-ittiham bi al-kadhib) (ghaflah)
– Impiety (fisq) – False supposition or
– Innovation (bid`ah) imagining (wahm)
– Disagreement
– Unknown identity (mukhalafah)
(jahalah)
– Faulty Memory (su’
al-hifz).
 Grouping terms and expressions
• General • Conditional
– "So-and-so is – So and so was
trustworthy" trustworthy. At the
end of his life, he
• Relative became confused.
– X is more reliable • Sectarian
than Y in the hadith – Zindiq, rafidi, or
of Z. mubtadi`
»Z
– X Y
 7.3: Ranking the validation and invalidation
(maratib a-jarh wa al-ta`dil)
• Superlative adjective: • awthaq al-nas (most
trustworthy person).
• Repeated adjective / • thiqatun thiqah
repeated meaning of the (trustworthy
adjective: trustworthy) / thiqatun
hafiz (trustworthy, of
excellent memory)
• thabt (accurate)
• Single adjective:
• Grade lower than the third but •
awarded good marks.
• Grade lower than the fourth
• Transmitters who transmitted •
very little hadith and for
whom there is neither proof of
his being unreliable, nor any
positive proof of his high
accuracy.
• Transmitters who had more
than one student who
transmitted hadith from him,
but whose condition is
unknown and whose hadith
was not declared authentic by
the scholars.
saduq (truthful) la ba’sa
bihi (no harm in him)
• saduq sayyi’ al-hifz (truthful,
but of bad memory)
He is addressed with the
expression maqbul
(acceptable), and layyin al-
hadith (lenient about the
hadith).
• mastur (concealed) or majhul
al-hal (one whose integrity is
not verified).
• Transmitters who has no • To describe this rank,
positive judgments from the expression used is
any scholar, while some da`if (weak).
scholars have spoken
against him and
invalidated him.
• Transmitters who is not
• majhul (unknown)
known in literary- or
hadith -critical circles at
all except through the
report of a single narrator
and who has no mention
by any scholars.
• Transmitters who has no • matruk (left aside), matruk
certificate of credit from
the scholars, who rather
have spoken against him,
giving as reasons for their
statements that he was
one who committed many
mistakes, was a corrupt
man who did not meet the
legal requirement of
righteousness, or was
stupid.
al-hadith (one whose
narration is rejected), wahi
al-hadith (weak of hadith),
and saqi (one who was
disqualified from
transmitting hadith).
– some kind of
innovation, like
tashayyu` (having Shi`i
beliefs), qadar (having
Qadari beliefs), nasibi
(having Nasibi beliefs),
irja’ (having Murji`i
beliefs), and tajahhum
(having Jahmi beliefs).
• Transmitters who were • muttaham (accused), and
charged with accused of muttaham bi al-kadhib
forgery (accused of a lie).
• Transmitters who were • kadhdhab (liar), wadda`
charged with outright (forger), yada`
falsehood (fabricates), ma
akdhabahu (what a liar
he is!).
Factors Ranks Terms Status
1 awthaq al-nas sahih li dhatihi
2 thiqatun thiqah sahih li dhatihi
3 thabt hasan
4 saduq hasan

Faulty Memory 5 Saduq sayyi’ al-hifz Da`if (weak)

Disagreement 6 layyin al-hadith Da`if (weak)

majhul hal 7 Majhul al-hal Da`if (weak)

Bid`ah 8 Da`if Da`if (weak)

majhul al-`ain 9 Majhul suspended

Impiety 10 Wahi al-hadith, Munkar

Bid`ah tashayyu` (denied)
Great Blundering
Carelessness
False Supposition

Ittham bi al-kadhib 11 Muttaham bi al-kathib Batil (false)

matruk

Al-kadhib 12 kadhdhab Mawdu` (forgery)