Categories of Hadith
The khabar (report) which is synonymous to the terms hadith and sunnah is divided, in terms of the line of transmission (sanad), into the khabar mutawatir (continuously recurrent report) and khabar ahad (isolated report).
Mutawatir
The mutawatir comprises of four issues, and these are:
1. The number of transmitters
should be such that they are a group and not be restricted to any
specific number. So whatever number proves to be a group, that is
considered mutawatir. However, the minimum requirement is five. Four is
not enough, because four are in need of another to attest their
integrity (tazkiyah) if nothing is known about them when they give
testimony for zina. The group accredited for tawatur (continuous
transmission) is that it should not need any attestation (tazkiyah) so
as to be definite by the mere notification of the report.
2. It should preclude collusion on a possible lie.
It differs according to the difference between persons and locations.
So five people like 'Ali b. Abi Talib are sufficient to consider their
report as mutawatir. However for other types of people, five may not be a
sufficient figure. Five transmitters who have not met from five
different countries may be enough for the report to be considered as
muttawatir, for they did not meet together in one place for collusion to
occur. Probably a notification by the same number of people in one
country may not suffice.
3. That they transmit the report from a group
like them from the beginning to the end of the transmission, in a
manner that precludes collusion on a possible lie, even if they were not
of the same number. In other words, the first two conditions should be
met in every tier of transmitters.
4. The basis of their report should be sensory perception,
like hearing and the like, but not what is established by pure reason,
because the pure reason can make mistakes if not based on sensory
perception, thus not indicating certainty.
The value of the mutawatir report is that it yields positive knowledge ('ilm daruri).
It is what one is compelled to accept, such that he is unable to refuse
it. It is compelling, because it does not require study, meaning the
mutawatir report imparts certainty (yaqin).
The mutawatir report is divided into two categories:
1. The verbal (lafzun) mutawatir
like the hadith: 'Whosoever intentionally lies about me, let him
reserve his place in the Hellfire.' and the hadith of wiping on the
socks (khuff), hadith of hawdh (river in paradise), hadith of intercession (shafa'ah) and the hadith of raising the hands in prayer.
2. The mutawatir by meaning (ma'nun),
such as when the transmitters concur on a matter occurring in different
incidents such as the sunnah of the morning prayer being two rakats, a
category which does exist. Numerous mutawatir hadiths have been reported
even though the 'Ulema differ on what constitutes mutawatir according
to their different views about the mutawatir report.
Khabar ul-ahad
As for the isolated report (khabar
ul-ahad). It is the report whose narrators have not reached the number
required for the muttawatir, whether it was reported by one or four
narrators, meaning it is the report which falls short of the preceding
four conditions for the mutawatir report. It is divided, in terms of the
number of narrators, into three categories:
1. Gharib (Alien)
It is the report narrated by a single
transmitter, meaning there is a single narrator throughout the narration
at any stage in the isnad (line of transmission). It is divided into:
gharib in isnad only, and gharib in isnad and matn (wording of hadith)
together. There is no such report as gharib only in matn. The gharib in
matn and isnad is that whose narration is by a single narrator. For
example the hadith prohibiting and donating the sale of wala'a
(patronage). The gharib in isnad and not in matn is the matn narrated by
a group of Sahabah, but a single transmitter narrated it from another
Sahabi, like the hadith: ‘Actions are judged according to intentions.'
2. Aziz (scarce)
It is a report transmitted by more than
one narrator but less than four, meaning it is narrated by two or three
narrators, even at one tier. It is called aziz (scarce) due to its
rarity.
3. Mashur (famous)
A report which has been narrated by more
than three narrators, but still it did not reach the level of
mutawatir. It is called mashur due to it being clear and widely
mentioned on the lips of people, irrespective of a sanad (chain) being
found for it or not found. It is also the mustafid (abundant). It has
two categories: mashur according to the scholars of hadith and mashur
for the general public.
The first is like the hadith of Anas,
that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم made du'a (qunut) for one month
against (the tribes of) Ra'al and Dhakwan.
The second category is like the hadith: 'A Muslim is someone from whose (sharp) tongue and hands other Muslims are safe.'
Not every mashur report among people is
sahih. Some ahadith which have no basis or are entirely fabricated may
become famous and well known. These are many, like the hadith: ‘the day
of your fast is (identical to) the day of your sacrifice', which has no
basis. The Khabar al-ahad also, whether gharib, aziz or mashur, the
isnad has a termination point, either ending with the Prophet صلى الله
عليه وسلم or with a Sahabi or tabi'i. In terms of the end of the chain
(isnad) there are three types:
1. Marfu'
It is a report which has been
specifically ascribed to the Prophet in terms of his actions, sayings,
consent or description, whether the one who attributed it to the Prophet
صلى الله عليه وسلم was a Sahabi, tabi'i or someone who came after them.
An example of that is when the Sahabi says: ‘we used to do or say such and such (thing) during the lifetime of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم , ‘or when he was among us', or ‘when he was amongst us', or ‘we did not see anything wrong with such and such thing',
or the Sahabah used to do or say such and such (thing); or such and
such (thing) was said during the lifetime of the Messenger صلى الله عليه
وسلم.
Another example is when the Sahabi says: ‘We were ordered to do such and such (thing)', or ‘we were forbidden from doing such and such (thing)' or ‘such and such (thing) is from the Sunnah'.
It is also considered a marfu' report when the Sahabi says: 'We used to do or say such and such (thing)'
even if they did not attribute it to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم,
because it indicates a consent. Likewise, the saying of Anas b. Malik is
considered as a marfu' report when he said: ‘The Prophet's doors used to be knocked using the fingernails', and when Anas said; Bilal was ordered to double the azan and make iqamah one.'
Similarly the tafseer of the Sahabah
concerning the cause of revelation comes under the rule of marfu'.
Anything other than that from the tafseer of the Sahabah is not
considered part of the hadith. That is because the Sahabah performed
many ijtihads in explaining the Qur'an and they disagreed as a result.
We find also many of them used to narrate isra'illiyyat from the people
of the Book. That is why their tafseer is not considered part of the
hadith, let alone considered as a marfu' hadith.
2. Mawquf
It is the narration from the Sahabah in
terms of their sayings and actions. It is specifically related to the
Sahabah. Its isnad can be continuous or broken. It is the report many of
the Fuqaha and muhaddithun also call ‘athar'. The mawquf does not serve
as a proof, because Allah سبحانه وتعالى said:
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا
"And whatsoever the Messenger gave you, take it, and whatsoever he forbade you abstain (from it)." [59:7]
"And whatsoever the Messenger gave you, take it, and whatsoever he forbade you abstain (from it)." [59:7]
This means that whatever came to us from
other than the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم do not take it. Therefore,
there is no proof in the saying of anyone except Rasool Allah صلى الله
عليه وسلم. It is not permitted to ascribe it to Rasool Allah صلى الله
عليه وسلم, because it is a mere possibility and not a prevalent opinion (zann), and possibilities are not recognised.
3. Maqtu'
It is not the same as munqati'. It is
that whose chain stops at the Tabi'i in terms of sayings and actions. A
proof is not established by it, and it is weaker than the mawquf.
Categories of the Khabar al-Ahad
The khabar al-ahad (isolated report) in
its three forms: gharib, 'aziz or mashur, whether marfu', mawquf or
maqtu' is divided by the scholars of hadith, in terms of its acceptance
or rejection, into three categories: sahih, hasan, da'eef. The following
is a clarification of each category:
1. Sahih
The hadith whose isnad continues through transmission of the reliable ('adl) narrator whose retention is accurate (dhabit)
from another reliable (‘adl) transmitter who has an accurate retentive
ability, and so on until the end of the chain, and is not shadh (irregular) or mu'allal (defective).
In other words, the isnad of the hadith
continues through by the transmission of the reliable ('adl) and
accurate (dhabit) narrator from another of same quality until it ends
with Rasool Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم or a Sahabi or someone after him.
The statement of the scholars of hadith
that the ' the isnad of the hadith continues through the transmission of
the reliable ('adl) and accurate (dhabit) narrator from another same as
him', excludes the mursal, munqati' and mu'dhil hadiths, from the
category of sahih.
The mursal is what the Tabi'un have narrated from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم without mentioning the Sahabi.
The munqati' is when a single narrator is omitted in one or more places in the isnad.
The mu'dhil has two or more narrators missing from one or more places in the isnad.
These three all have discontinued isnads which takes them out of the sahih category. The statement that "the hadith should not be shadh" (irregular) excludes
from the sahih hadith the shadh report where a trustworthy narrator
goes against the narration of narrators who are more reliable than him.
Their statement: ‘It should not be mu'allal (defective)'
excludes from the sahih hadith the mu'allal report which has a defect.
The 'illah (defect) consists of a weakness in the hadith, causing its
rejection, a matter which appears to the critics when collecting and
examining the various transmission routes of the hadith.
For example, the chain of a narrator being continuous while a group has transmitted it as mawquf. Their statement: ‘By the transmission of the reliable (‘adl) narrator',
it excludes the report narrated by a transmitter whose apparent and
hidden condition is not known, majhul al-'ayn (not known personally), or
he is known to be weak. Such a hadith is not considered as sahih. Their
statement: ‘by the transmission of a narrator who has accurate retentive ability (dhabit)'
excludes what has been narrated by someone who is not retentive and
aware, that is his transmission is negligent and he commits many
mistakes. This report is not considered a sahih hadith, rather, all the
conditions which have been clarified should be met in the sahih ahadith.
If one condition is missing then the hadith is not sahih.
2. Hasan
It is a report whose collector is known
and its transmitters are well known. It is the most regular hadith, and
most scholars accept it, and it is used by the fuqaha generally, meaning
that in its isnad there are no narrators that have been charged with
lying, nor it is a shadh (irregular). It is of two types:
First: a hadith whose
isnad is not free from a transmitter who is mastur (of hidden condition)
and whose capacity is not realized, but not negligent nor prone to make
many mistakes or charged with mendacity. However, a hadith of similar
matn might have been narrated from another way, and it is thus excluded
from being shadh or munkar (rejected).
Second: The narrators
must be known for their trustworthiness and honesty, but they do not
attain the level of the transmitters of the sahih category in retention
and percesion; and what he narrates of reports singularly is not
considered as munkar (rejected), nor is the matn irregular (shadh)or
defective (mu'allal). So the hasan ahadith is the report transmitted by a
reliable ('adl) narrator who is of lesser retentive capacity, but its
isnad is continuous and not irregular (shadh) or defective (mu'allal).
The hasan hadith is used as proof exactly as the sahih hadith.
3. Da'eef
It is the hadith which does not have the
qualifications of the sahih or hasan hadiths. The weak hadith is not
used as evidence at all. It is a mistake to say that when a da'eef
hadith comes via numerous lines of transmission then it rises to the
level of hasan or sahih. For when the hadith is weak because its
narrator has actually committed transgression or has been accused of
actual lying, and the hadith came through other lines of transmission
which are of this type, then it has increased in iweakness. As for when
the meaning contained in the da'eef hadith is also contained in the
sahih ahadith, then the sahih hadith is cited and the da'eef hadith is
rejected. Therefore, the da'eef hadith is not used as proof in any way
whatsoever.
