An Introducton to Ulum Al-Hadith

Lesson 3
An Introduction to Ulum Al-Hadith Lesson 3

An Introduction to Some Important Ḥadīth Terminologies (2)

Khabar literally means that which is reported, whether it is something

big or small. As such, this includes naba’ because it is a great event which is
being reported.2
It is thus stated in Tāj al-‘Arūs:

‫ﺇ ﱠﻥ ﭐﳋﱪ ﻋﺮﻓﺎﹰ ﻭﻟﻐﺘﹰﺎ ﻣﺎ ﻳﻨﻘﻞ ﻋﻦ ﺍﻟﻐﲑ ﻭ ﺯﺍﺩ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻫﻞ ﭐﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﻭ ﺍﺣﺘﻤﻞ ﺍﻟﺼﺪﻕ ﻭ‬
.‫ﭐﻟﻜﺬﺏ ﻟﺬﺍﺗﻪ ﻭ ﭐﶈﺪﺛﻮﻥ ﺍﺳﺘﻌﻤﻠﻮﻩ ﲟﻌﲎ ﭐﳊﺪﻳﺚ‬
“Indeed khabar customarily and literally means that which is
narrated by others, and the experts in Arabic language have added
the essential probability of its being true or false while the
traditionists apply it to mean ḥadīth.”3

Also, the book Miṣbāḥ al-Munīr considered khabar to mean

“information” and “awareness”. 4
Khabar has two types of expression (iṣṭilāḥ), viz. expression in logic and
expression in ḥadīth:
1. In logic (manṭiq), complete compound (murakkab tāmm) has two
basic divisions, viz. predicative (khabar) and non-predicative (inshā’). 5
Khabar means a statement which may essentially accord or not accord with
reality. In case it accords with reality, it is called “true” (ṣādiq) otherwise it is

1
Ibid.
2
Lisān al-‘Arab, vol. 4, p. 226; Al-Baḥrayn, vol. 3, p. 281; Ibn Athar al-Jazrī, Al-
Nihāyat fī Gharīb al-Ḥadīth wa ’l-Athar, vol. 2, p. 6.
3
Muḥammad Murtaḍā al-Zibaydī, Tāj al-‘Arūs Min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs, vol. 3, p.
166.
4
Al-Miṣbāḥ al-Munīr, vol. 1, p. 122.
5
Muḥammad Riḍā al-Muẓaffar, Al-Manṭiq, p. 52.

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called “false” (kādhib). 1 The same meaning is also applied in rhetoric

(ma‘āni wa bayān).2
2. Concerning the technical meaning of ḥadīth, there is a difference of
opinion among traditionists (muḥaddithūn), and all in all, there are three
views being presented in this regard:
a. The majority of traditionists regard khabar as synonymous with
ḥadīth, giving the same definition to both terms. 3
b. Some have considered khabar to include ḥadīth in the sense that
khabar includes the statement of any person while ḥadīth is exclusive to the
statement of the Prophet (ṣ), the Ahl al-Bayt (‘a) and Companions
(ṣaḥābah).4
c. Others give a distinction between the technical meaning of ḥadīth
and that of khabar, saying that khabar is used to refer to historical accounts
of the previous communities or the Islamic ummah. For this reason, anyone
who is in charge of studying historical events is called akhbārī. Meanwhile,
ḥadīth is limited to a statement narrated from the Infallibles (ma‘ṣūmīn),
Companions and Followers (tābi‘ūn); hence, anyone who is in charge of
studying the Prophet’s Sunnah is called muḥaddith.5 From this perspective,
the term khabar cannot be applied to the technical sense of ḥadīth.
Among these views, the first one seems correct because in the parlance
of the traditionists and the prevailing usage of narrations (riwāyāt), ḥadīth
and khabar are used interchangeably, and what is meant by technical
meaning is nothing but the prevalent and common usage. But the fact that
historical reports are called khabar in the parlance of historians – which is
also a correct claim in its own context – is in no way inconsistent with the
fact that according to the traditionists, the term khabar is synonymous with
and used in place of ḥadīth.

1
Ibid., p. 53.
2
Majma‘ al-Baḥrayn, vol. 2, p. 266; Al-Mukhtaṣar al-Wajīz fī ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth, pp.
19-20; Zayn al-Dīn al-Shahīd al-Thānī, Al-Ri‘āyat fī ‘Ilm al-Dirāyah, p. 58.
3
Al-Tadrīb al-Rāwī, vol. 42; ‘Alī Akbar Ghaffārī, Dirāsāt fī ‘Ilm al-Dirāyah
(Talkhīṣ Miqbās al-Hidāyah), p. 11; ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth wa Mu ala ih, p. 121.
4
Al-Mukhtaṣar al-Wajīz fī ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth, p. 19; Dirāsāt fī ‘Ilm al-Dirāyah, p. 12.
5
Tāj al-‘Arūs Min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs, vol. 10, p. 13.

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5. Athar
Yet another term which is relatively used often for ḥadīth is athar. Athar
literally means trace or that which remains from a thing.1 For example, athar
carries the same meaning in the Qur’anic verse below:

‫ﺎ ﹴﻡ‬‫ﻲ ﹺﺇﻣ‬‫ﻩ ﻓ‬ ‫ﺎ‬‫ﻨ‬‫ﻴ‬‫ﺼ‬‫ ٍﺀ ﺃﺣ‬‫ﺷﻲ‬ ‫ﻭ ﻛﹸﻞﱠ‬ ‫ﻫﻢ‬ ‫ﺭ‬ ‫ﺁﺛﹶﺎ‬‫ﻮﺍ ﻭ‬‫ﻣ‬‫ﺎ ﹶﻗﺪ‬‫ﺐ ﻣ‬
 ‫ﻧﻜﹾﺘ‬‫ﻭ‬ ‫ﻰ‬‫ﺗ‬‫ﻤﻮ‬ ‫ﻴﹺﻲ ﺍﻟﹾ‬‫ﺤ‬‫ ﻧ‬‫ﻦ‬‫ﻧﺤ‬ ‫ﺎ‬‫﴿ ﹺﺇﻧ‬
﴾ ‫ﹺﺒﲔﹴ‬‫ﻣ‬
“Indeed it is We who revived the dead and write what they have sent
ahead and their effects (āthārahum) [which they left behind], and We
have figured everything in a manifest Imām.”2

Jawharī says:

‫ ﻳﻨﻘﻠﻪ ﺧﻠﻒ ﻋﻦ‬‫ ﺃﻱ‬،‫ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻣﺄﺛﻮﺭ‬:‫ ﺇﺫﺍ ﺫﻛﺮﺗﻪ ﻏﲑﻙ ﻭ ﻣﻨﻪ ﻗﻴﻞ‬،‫ﺃﺛﺮﺕ ﭐﳊﺪﻳﺚ‬
.‫ﺳﻠﻒ‬
“Whenever you narrate a ḥadīth to anyone, it is said “I left a ḥadīth
(athartu ’l-ḥadīth).” As such, ḥadīth ma’thūr means a ḥadīth which
is narrated by the predecessors to the successors.”3

Regarding the technical meaning of athar, two views have been

presented:
1. Athar is synonymous with ḥadīth; hence, the muḥaddith (traditionist)
is also called atharī.4
2. The traditions (aḥādīth) which are narrated from the Companions
(mawqūf) or the Followers (maqṭū‘) are referred to as athar in contrast to
ḥadīth which is only used for the Prophet’s (ṣ) saying. 5
The second view is indefensible because in proving such exclusivity in
the usage of athar, no proof has been presented. On the contrary, a general
view of the book on ḥadīth proves that in addition to athar, the terms

1
Al-Ṣiḥāḥ, vol. 2, p. 575; Tāj al-‘Arūs Min Jawāhir al-Qāmūs, vol. 3, p. 5.
2
Sūrat Yā Sīn 36:12.
3
Al-Ṣiḥāḥ, vol. 2, p. 575.
4
Al-Ri‘āyat fī ‘Ilm al-Dirāyah, p. 51.
5
‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth wa ’l-Mu ala ih, p. 122; Muḥammad ‘Ajjāj al-Khaṭīb, Uṣūl
al-Ḥadīth, ‘Ulūmuhu wa Mu ala ih, p. 28.

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riwāyah and ḥadīth are also applied to the saying of the Companions 1
although it must be acknowledged that in some cases, especially when both
the terms ḥadīth and athar are used together, ḥadīth signifies the saying of an
Infallible (‘a) while athar denotes a saying of one of the Companions or
Followers. For instance, Ibn Athīr Jazrī gives the title Al-Nihāyat fī Gharīb
al-Ḥadīth wa ’l-Athar to his book which exclusively deals with strange
narrations.
From what has been said so far, we can conclude that the four terms
ḥadīth, riwāyah, khabar, and athar are synomous in our opinion, although
compared to the terms khabar and athar, the terms ḥadīth and riwāyah are
more frequently used, and there is a difference between the term sunnah, on
one hand, and the said four terms, on the other.

6. Ḥadīth Qudsī
Among the traditions, we can read narrations which are direct quotations
of God, one of the most famous examples of which is the tradition of silsilat
al-dhahab which Imām ‘Alī al-Riḍā (‘a) has narrated on the authority of his
forefathers down to the Prophet (ṣ) as narrated to him by Archangel Jibra’īl
(Gabriel) (‘a) from God:

.‫ﻋﺬﹶﺍﰊ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ‬ ‫ﻦ‬ ‫ﲏ ﹶﺃﻣ‬‫ﺣﺼ‬ ‫ﺧﻞﹶ‬ ‫ﺩ‬ ‫ﻦ‬‫ ﹶﻓﻤ‬،‫ﲏ‬‫ﺣﺼ‬ ‫ﻪ ﹺﺇ ﱠﻻ ﺍﷲ‬ ٰ‫ﻻﹶ ﹺﺇﻟ‬
“Lā ilāha illāllāh (There is no god except Allah) is My fortress;
whoever enters it is saved from My wrath.”2

Such a tradition is technically called “Sacred Tradition” (ḥadīth qudsī).

The difference between ḥadīth qudsī, on one hand, and the terms mentioned
earlier such as ḥadīth, sunnah, riwāyah, and others, on the other hand, is
clear because those terms refer to the saying, action and tacit approval of an
Infallible (ma‘ṣūm) whereas ḥadīth qudsī refers to the saying of God.
The general difference between ḥadīth qudsī and the Qur’an is that the
wording (lafẓ) and the meaning (ma‘nā) of the Qur’an emanate from God

1
For example, see Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān ibn al-Kūfī, Manāqib Amīr al-
Mu’minīn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib (‘a), vol. 1, pp. 142, 266; Ibn Abī ‘Āṣim al-Ḍaḥāk, Al-
Āḥād wa ’l-Mathānī, vol. 1, p. 36; Jalāl al-Dīn Suyūṭī, Tanwīr al-Ḥawālik: Sharḥ
‘Alā Muwaṭṭa’ Mālik, p. 147; Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī, Fatḥ al-Bārī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ al-
Bukhārī, vol. 6, p. 355; Muqaddimah Ibn Ṣalāḥ, p. 182.
2
Shaykh Ḥurr al-‘Āmilī, Al-Jawāhir al-Saniyyat fī ’l-Aḥādīth al-Qudsiyyah, p. 175.

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while in the case of ḥadīth qudsī, only the meaning and purport is attributed
to God and its verbal structure is made and presented by the Prophet (ṣ). 1
Some also believe that ḥadīth qudsī is different from the Qur’an on the
ground that its purport is inspired to the Prophet (ṣ) while in a state of sleep
or in the form of divine inspiration (ilhām) whereas the verses of the Qur’an
are conveyed to him while in the state of wakefulness and in direct form or
through the agency of an angel.2
In addition to what has been said, other differences between the Qur’an
and ḥadīth qudsī have also been stated.3 Be that as it may, it seems that the
abovementioned differences are incomplete because there is no need for us to
dismiss the idea that wordings (alfāẓ) of ḥadīth qudsī come from God. The
apparent implication of the Prophet’s phrase “Allah, the Exalted, said…
(Qālallāhu ta‘āla)” is that the meaning and word of the tradition come from
God. Alternatively, ḥadīth qudsī may also be imparted to the Prophet (ṣ)
directly or through the agency of an angel.
Therefore, the only difference that can be considered between ḥadīth
qudsī and the Qur’an is that although the word and meaning of ḥadīth qudsī
is attributed to God, such a statement has never been presented as inimitable
or miracle (mu‘jizah) with the aim of challenge [for the faithless]. On the
contrary, apart from attributing its word and meaning to God, the Qur’an has
been sent down as a mu‘jizah with the declaration of challenging
[faithlessness (kufr)].4
Given this explanation, ḥadīth qudsī can be defined in the following
manner: “It is a saying of God, without being a mu‘jizah and as a challenge,
as quoted from the prophets (‘a).”
It is noteworthy that Shaykh Ḥurr al-‘Āmilī has compiled a collection of
Sacred Traditions in a treatise entitled Al-Jawāhir al-Saniyyah fī ’l-Aḥādīth
al-Qudsiyyah.

1
‘Ilm al-Ḥadīth wa Dirāyat al-Ḥadīth, p. 13; Muḥammad Rawwās al-Qāl‘ihchī,
Mu‘jam Lughat al-Fuqahā’, p. 177; Muḥammad ibn ‘Abd al-Ra’ūf al-Manāwī, Fayḍ
al-Qadīr, vol. 4, p. 615.
2
Muḥammad Bāqir al-Muḥaqqiq al-Dāmād, Al-Rawāshiḥ al-Musāwiyat fī Sharḥ al-
Aḥādīth al-Imāmiyyah, p. 205; Fayḍ al-Qadīr, vol. 4, p. 615.
3
Ilm al-Ḥadīth wa Dirāyat al-Ḥadīth, pp. 13-14.
4
For further elaboration, see Qawānīn al-Uṣūl, p. 409; Dirāsāt fī ‘Ilm al-Dirāyah, p.
13; Aḥmad Fatḥullāh, Mu‘jam Alfāẓ al-Fiqh al-Ja‘farī, p. 155; ‘Alī al-Mishkīnī,
Iṣṭilāḥāt al-Uṣūl wa Mu‘ẓam Abḥāthuhā, p. 141; Zayn al-‘Ābidīn Qurbānī, ‘Ilm-e
Ḥadīth, p. 23.