Islam, the Arabic word Sunnah has come to denote the way
Prophet Muhammad (S), the Messenger of Allah, lived his
life. The Sunnah is the second source of Islamic
jurisprudence, the first being the Qur’an. Both sources
are indispensable; one cannot practice Islam without
consulting both of them. The Arabic word hadith (pl.
ahadith) is very similar to Sunnah, but not identical. A
hadith is a narration about the life of the Prophet (S) or
what he approved - as opposed to his life itself, which is
the Sunnah as already mentioned.
In M. M. Azami's Studies in Hadith Methodology and
Literature, the following precise definition of a hadith
According to Muhaddithiin [scholars of hadith -ed.] it
stands for 'what was transmitted on the authority of the
Prophet, his deeds, sayings, tacit approval, or
description of his sifaat (features) meaning his physical
appearance. However, physical appearance of the Prophet is
not included in the definition used by the jurists.'
Thus hadith literature means the literature, which
consists of the narrations of the life of the Prophet and
the things approved by him. However, the term was used
sometimes in much broader sense to cover the narrations
about the Companions [of the Prophet -ed.] and Successors
[to the Companions -ed.] as well.
The explosion of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries
confronted Islamic scholars with a daunting task: to
preserve the knowledge of the Sunnah of the Prophet (S).
Hence the science of hadith evaluation was born.
The promise of Allah
The promise made by Allah (SWT) in Qur'an 15:9 is
obviously fulfilled in the undisputed purity of the
Qur'anic text throughout the fourteen centuries since its
revelation. However, what is often forgotten by many
Muslims is that the divine promise also includes, by
necessity, the Sunnah of the Prophet (PBUH), because the
Sunnah is the practical example of the implementation of
the Qur'anic guidance, the wisdom taught to the Prophet (PBUH)
along with the scripture, and neither the Qur'an nor the
Sunnah can be understood correctly without the other.
Allah (SWT) preserved the Sunnah by enabling the
companions and those after them to memorize, write down
and pass on the statements of the Prophet (PBUH), and the
descriptions of his way, as well as to continue the
blessings of practicing the Sunnah.
Later, as the purity of the knowledge of the Sunnah became
threatened, Allah (SWT) caused the Muslim Ummah to produce
individuals with exceptional memory skills and analytical
expertise, who travelled tirelessly to collect thousands
of narrations and distinguish the true words of prophetic
wisdom from those corrupted by weak memories, from
forgeries by unscrupulous liars, and from the statements
of the large number of Ulama (scholars), the companions
and those who followed their way. All of this was achieved
through precise attention to the words narrated, and
detailed familiarity with the biographies of the thousands
of reporters of hadith.
The methodology of the expert scholars of hadith in
assessing the narrations and sorting out the genuine from
the mistaken and fabricated, for ms the subject matter of
the science of hadith. In this article a brief discussion
is given of the terminology and classifications of hadith.
Components of Hadith
A hadith is composed of three parts (see the figure
Matn (text), isnad (chain of reporters), and taraf (the
part, or the beginning sentence, of the text which refers
to the sayings, actions or characteristics of the Prophet
(PBUH), or his concurrence with others action). The
authenticity of the hadith depends on the reliability of
its reporters, and the linkage among them.
Classifications of Hadith
A number of classifications of hadith have been made. Five
of these classifications are shown in the figure [below],
and are briefly described subsequently.
1)According to the reference to a particular authority
Four types of hadith can be identified.
Qudsi - Divine; a revelation from Allah (SWT); relayed
with the words of the Prophet (PBUH).
Marfu - elevated; a narration from the Prophet (PBUH),
e.g. I heard the Prophet (PBUH) saying ...
Mauquf- stopped: a narration from a companion only, e.g.,
we were commanded to ...
Maqtu' - severed: a narration from a successor
It invites his attention to the history of those who
purchased the punishment of Hell in exchange for the
comforts of this world. It tells him of those who were
granted the entry into Paradise for having led a life of
Briefly put, the Qur'an prepares man for attaining
salvation both in this world and the next through
obedience to the Divine commandments.
2)According to the links of Isnad - interrupted or
Six categories can be identified.
Musnad - supported: a hadith which is reported by a
traditionalist, based on what he learned from his teacher
at a time of life suitable for learning; similarly - in
turn - for each teacher until the isnad reaches a well
known companion, who in turn, reports from the Prophet (PBUH).
Mutassil - continuous: a hadith with an uninterrupted
isnad which goes back only to a companion or successor.
Mursal - hurried: if the link between the successor and
the Prophet (PBUH) is missing, e.g. when a successor says
"The Prophet said...".
Munqati - broken: is a hadith whose link anywhere before
the successor (i.e., closer to the traditionalist
recording the hadith) is missing.
Mu'adal - perplexing: is a hadith whose reporter omits two
or more consecutive reporters in the isnad.
Mu'allaq - hanging: is a hadith whose reporter omits the
whole isnad and quotes the Prophet (PBUH) directly (i.e.,
the link is missing at the beginning).
3)According to the number of reporters involved in each
stage of Isnad
Five categories of hadith can be identified:
Mutawatir - Consecutive: is a hadith which is reported by
such a large number of people that they cannot be expected
to agree upon a lie, all of them together.
Ahad - isolated: is a hadith which is narrated by people
whose number does not reach that of the mutawatir.
It is further classified into:
Mash'hur - famous: hadith reported by more than two
Aziz - rare, strong: at any stage in the isnad, only two
reporters are found to narrate the hadith.
Gharib - strange: At some stage of the Isnad, only one
reporter is found relating it.
4)According to the nature of the text and isnad
Munkar - denounced: is a hadith which is reported by a
weak narrator, and whose narration goes against another
Mudraj - interpolated: an addition by a reporter to the
text of the hadith being narrated.
5)According to the reliability and memory of the
This provides the final verdict on a hadith - four
categories can be identified:
Sahih - sound. Imam Al-shafi'i states the following
requiremetts for a hadith, which is not mutawatir, to be
acceptable "each reporter should be trustworthy in his
religion; he should be known to be truthtul in his
narrating, to understand what he narrates, to know how a
different expression can alter the meaning, and to report
the wording of the hadith verbatim, not only its meaning".
Hasan - good: is the one where its source is known and its
reporters are unambiguous.
Da'if - weak: a hadith which fails to reach the status of
hasan. Usually, the weakness is: a) one of discontinuity
in the isnad, in which case the hadith could be -
according to the nature of the discontinuity - munqati
(broken), mu'allaq (hanging), mu'dal (perplexing), or
mursal (hurried), or b) one of the reporters having a
disparaged character, such as due to his telling lies,
excessive mistakes, opposition to the narration of more
reliable sources, involvement in innovation, or ambiguity
surrounding his person.
Maudu' - fabricated or forged: is a hadith whose text goes
against the established norms of the Prophet's sayings, or
its reporters include a liar. Fabricated hadith are also
recognized by external evidence related to a discrepancy
found in the dates or times of a particular incident.