‘Types of Hadith’

Introduction of Hadith and importance of Hadith

 Hadith are the sayings, actions and tacit approval of Prophet (SAW).
 It is the second most important source of Islamic legal thinking.
 Together with the Quran, it provides complete guidance in all aspects of life.
 It corroborates the teachings of the Quran, explains the Quran and gives a ruling when the
Quran is silent about certain things.
 It also provides an extension of laws through Ijma and Qiyas. For this purpose, it was really
important to have authentic hadith.

Contribution of Compilers in forming Principles

Imam Shafi, a great scholar, is amongst the first scholars to write down the rules to verify the
authenticity of a hadith.
The rules to verify the authenticity of hadith involve the following two sciences:
1. “Asma ur Rijal” or “Jarh-wa-Tadeel”: In this important science, thousands of biographical
accounts of the narrators of Ahadith have been recorded in detail. We can distinguish the
trustworthy narrators from the weak ones with the help of this science.
2. „Ilm-ul-Hadith‟: In this science, the sanad and matn are scrutinized. It is determined through
this science when a sanad (chain) is acceptable and when it is to be rejected. Critiquing the
text (matn) is also learnt.
The former is known as „Principles of Riwayaah‟ and the latter is known as „Principles of
Diraayah‟

Principles of Riwayat (related to narrator i.e., Raawi)

 Under the principles of Riwayat, the compiler of the hadith checks the name, nickname, title,
parentage and occupation of the narrator and other details like memory, characters and
chain of narrator.

Principles of Dirayat (related to the text/understanding)

 Under the principle of Dirayat, the text was judged. The text should have pure Arabic style
and should not contain any grammatical error and other details like it must not contradict
Quran or reliable hadith and must not be illogical etc.
The text is critiqued according to the above-mentioned criterion, only when there is also a
defect in the isnad generally, else we strive to reconcile between apparently contradicting
texts.
 Classification of Hadith by Original Narrator/Rawi
(Brief Details about Each Type)

 Qudsi (Divine) hadith refer to a saying (hadith) of the Prophet Muhammad in which the
meaning is revealed by God and the phrasing is formulated by the Prophet. “My mercy
prevails over my wrath”.
 Marfu (Elevated) is a narration from the Holy Prophet (SAW). For example, I heard the
Prophet (SAW) said….
 Mauquf (stopped) is a narration from a companion only. For example, “We are commanded
to…”
 Maqtu (Severed) is a narration from a successor.

Classification of Hadith by Number of Narrator/Rawi

(Brief Details about Each Type)

1. Mutawatir Hadith (detail explanation with examples)

 The Mutawatir refer to the Hadith that were reported by a significant number of narrators,
whose agreement upon a lie is impossible

Mutawatir in words
A hadith whose words are narrated by such a large number as is required for a mutawatir, in a
manner that all the narrators are unanimous in reporting it with the same words without any
substantial discrepancy.
For example: "[Muhammad said:] Whoever intentionally attributes a lie against me,
should prepare his seat in the Fire." This is a mutawatir hadith in its wordings because it has
a minimum of seventy-four narrators.

Mutawatir in meaning

A hadith which is not reported by multiple narrators using the same words. The words of the
narrators are different. Sometimes even the reported events are not the same. But all the
narrators are unanimous in reporting a basic concept, which is common in all reports. This
common concept is also ranked as a mutawatir concept.
For example: It is reported by such a large number of narrators that Muhammad enjoined
Muslims to perform two ra'kat in Fajr, four ra'kat in Dhuhr, Asr and Esha and three ra'kat
in the Maghrib prayer, yet the narrations of all the reporters who reported the number of
ra'kat are not in the same words.
 2. Ahad Hadith
Ahad means isolated hadith which is narrated by people whose number does not reach that
of the Mutawatir case. Ahad is further classified into:

i. Ghareeb (strange)
Ghareeb hadith is one conveyed by only one narrator. For example, Narrated 'Umar bin Al-
Khattab: I heard Allah's Messenger (saws) saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the
intentions” (Sahih Bikhari)

ii. Aziz (rare, strong)

Aziz is any hadith conveyed by two narrators at every point in its isnād (chain of narrators)
For example: "None of you (truly) believes until I become more beloved to him than his
father, his son, and all the people."
These types of hadiths are mainly narrated by Abu Hurayrah and Anas bin Malik (RA)

iii. Mashur (famous)

Mashur refers to hadith conveyed by three or more narrators.
For example: “Indeed Allaah does not take way knowledge by stripping it away from
the people, rather he takes away knowledge by the death of the scholars…”

Classification of Hadith by Authenticity (sanad and matn is checked)

(Details about Each Type with example)

Definition of Sahih Hadith (Authentic)

 One of the types of hadith is the Sahih hadith.These are absolutely correct Ahadith having,
no weakness is its chain of transmission (isnad) and text (Matn). This means we can be
certain that the Prophet (PBUH) actually said or did what was reported in the tradition.
 One of the examples of Sahih hadith is, “Pray as you seen me praying” this hadith fulfils all
the criteria of authenticity as there is no defect in tradition in any aspect.

Definition of Hassan Hadith (Approved/ Good)

 The first individual to define the term Hasan hadith was Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa at-
Tirmidhi. These ahadith are like Sahih traditions except that its narrators or some of its
narrators have been found defective in memory in comparison with the narrators of Sahih
traditions.
 These hadith are lower in status to sahih hadith because of a slight weakness in its chain as
compared with Sahih hadith. Example: “Indeed paradise is under the shade of swords”
The narration of this hadith in Jami at-Tirmidhi is Hasan, because the first narrator is
known slight defect in memory.
Definition of Da‟if Hadith (weak)

 A weak (da’if) hadith is a hadith that fails to meet all of the conditions for an acceptable hadith.
(The five conditions for a hadith to be acceptable).
 If it does not meet all of the conditions then it is a rejected hadith.
 If it fails to meet even one of the conditions of the acceptable hadith then it is a weak hadith.

Example of Da‟f Hadith (Weak)

 One of the examples of Da’if Hadith is; Abdullah ibn „Amr ibn A‟aas reported that Prophet
SAW made Abul A‟aas pay a new mehar and perform a new nikah with his daughter
Zainab.
 This hadith is considered Daeef because of the defect in chain and another Sahih
Hadith tells that the Prophet SAW validated the previous Nikah.

Definition of Maudo‟ Hadith (Fabricated)

 A maudo’ (fabricated) hadith is such type of hadith in which chain of narration contains a
narrator known for lying, or accused of it. Its wordings are inarticulate, unlike the authentically
transmitted words of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬which are very eloquent. It might suggest matters that go
against physical reality and logic. It might go against clearly established matters in the
Shariah. It might also contain a lot of exaggeration.
 For example: “Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China”

Conclusion:

 This is how the hadith was classified into different types. By classifying the
hadith, Muhaditheen were able to determine the strong and weak Hadith and save the Muslim
Ummah from being disunited
 ‘Types of Hadith as per Authenticity’

Introduction of Hadith and importance of Hadith

 Hadith are the sayings, actions and tacit approval of Prophet (SAW).
 It is the second most important source of Islamic legal thinking.
 Together with the Quran, it provides complete guidance in all aspects of life.
 It corroborates the teachings of the Quran, explains the Quran and gives a ruling when the
Quran is silent about certain things.
 It also provides an extension of laws through Ijma and Qiyas. For this purpose, it was really
important to have authentic hadith.

 Early Muhaditheen like Maalik ibn Anas, Shu'bah ibn al Hajjaj, Sufyan ath-Thawri, al-
Awza'ee etc. collectively agreed to make a systematic approach to classifying hadith.

 Each hadith they analyzed was labelled as either sahih (authentic), hasan (good), mutawatir
(recurrent in many chains), ahad (solitary), da‟eef (weak), or mawdu’ (fabricated). This
system for hadith then became the standard by which all hadiths were classified by other
hadith scholars.

Definition of Sahih Hadith (Authentic)

 One of the types of hadith is the Sahih hadith. This type of hadith is considered as the most
authentic hadith as it fulfills all the criteria if authenticity.
 These are absolutely correct Ahadith having, no weakness is its chain of transmission (isnad)
and text (Matn).
 This means we can be certain that the Prophet (PBUH) actually said or did what was reported
in the tradition.
 One of the examples of Sahih hadith is, “Pray as you seen me praying” this hadith fulfils all
the criteria of authenticity as there is no defect in tradition in any aspect.

Compilation of Sahih Hadith

 Bukhari’s collection has always been accepted as the most reliable with respect to both its
being the first of its kind and due to his rigorous application of the sahih hadith criteria.
 The works of Bukhari and Muslim are known as the Sahihayn (the two sahih). The hadith
agreed upon by both are referred to as muttafaqun alayh and have been regarded as the
soundest hadith.
Features of Sahih Hadith (Isnad)
1. Original narrator has narrated that he had heard the hadith directly from the Prophet (SAW) If a
narrator referred his hadith to another narrator, the two have lived the same period and have
met the one before and the one after him. This means that the chain is not broken and it went
back to the Prophet (PBUH).
2. Narrators were pious, honest, and trustworthy Muslims. They were never accused of lying or
committing crime. They never spoken against the reliable people.
3. They had sound memory or had written down the hadith.
4. The hadith must not oppose the wording of other reliable hadith.
5. The hadith must not have a hidden defect.
Hence, isnad of Sahih hadith fulfills all the criteria set by the compilers to check the authenticity
of hadith
 Features of Sahih Hadith (Matn)
 The text is in pure Arabic style
 It does not conflict with Quran
 None of Sahih hadith is against the common sense
 The matn of Sahih hadith also fulfills all the criteria set by the compilers to check the
authenticity of hadith

If all the narrators in Isnad and the text fulfill the stipulated conditions the tradition is classified as
an accurate saying or action of the Prophet and is called Sahih

Definition of Hassan Hadith (Approved/ Good)

 The first individual to define the term Hasan hadith was Abu Isa Muhammad ibn Isa at-
Tirmidhi. These ahadith are like Sahih traditions except that its narrators or some of its
narrators have been found defective in memory in comparison with the narrators of Sahih
traditions.
 These hadith are lower in status to sahih hadith because of a slight weakness in its chain as
compared with Sahih hadith.
 Tirmidhi kept the scope of the meaning of Hasan hadith quite broad and accepted weak
hadith that were corroborated with a second chain of transmission as fair.

Features of Hassan Hadith

The isnad of Hassan hadith fulfills most of the criteria of authenticity except one. The memory of
the narrator is found slightly weak.
One of the examples of Hassan hadith is, “Indeed paradise is under the shade of swords” The
narration of this hadith in Jami at-Tirmidhi is Hasan, because one of the narrator had a slightly
weak memory.

Hassan Hadith meets the conditions of Saheeh hadeeth in terms of:

1. Its chain of narration (isnad) leads back to the Prophet (SAW).
2. The chain of narration is connected all the way back to the Prophet (SAW).
3. The narrators are trustworthy.
4. It is free from contradicting any narrations stronger than it.
5. It is free from subtle or hidden defects.

Definition of Da‟if Hadith (weak)

 A weak (da’if) hadith is a hadith that fails to meet all of the conditions for an acceptable hadith.
(The five conditions for a hadith to be acceptable).
 If it does not meet all of the conditions then it is a rejected hadith.
 If it fails to meet even one of the conditions of the acceptable hadith then it is a weak hadith.

Example of Da‟f Hadith (Weak)

 One of the examples of Da’if Hadith is; Abdullah ibn „Amr ibn A‟aas reported that Prophet
SAW made Abul A‟aas pay a new mehar and perform a new nikah with his daughter
Zainab.
 This hadith is considered Daeef because of the defect in chain and another Sahih
Hadith tells that the Prophet SAW validated the previous Nikah.
 Features of Da‟if Hadith

 Doesn’t quote what was said or done by the Prophet (SAW)

 Cannot be traceable to the Prophet (SAW)
 Has broken chain of transmitters
 Information about the Prophet and his companions may not be accurate
 May be illogical and not appealing to reason
 The hadith is narrated by a person who is a munafiq/not pious
 Contradicts other hadith on the same subject
 Contradicts the teachings of the Quran
 The trustworthiness of the narrator may be in doubt.

It is permissible to quote Dha‟if Hadith if;

 It is not related to Islamic beliefs.
 It is not related to Halal and Haram.
 It is related to things like motivation or admonition.

Definition of Maudoo‟ Hadith (fabricated)

 A Maudoo’ Hadith (fabricated) hadith is such type of hadith that is man-made version and is
attributed falsely to the Prophet (SAW), in which it does not, in fact, have any relation with
the Prophet (SAW)

Example of Maudoo‟ Hadith (fabricated)

“Seek knowledge even if you have to go as far as China”

Features of Maudoo‟ Hadith (fabricated)

1. It's chain of narration contains a narrator known for lying, or accused of it.
2. Its wordings are inarticulate, unlike the authentically transmitted words of the Prophet ‫ ﷺ‬which
are very eloquent.
3. It might suggest matters that go against physical reality and logic.
4. It might go against clearly established matters in the Shariah.
5. It might contain a lot of exaggeration.

The abovementioned criteria is to be used by scholars trained in hadith sciences to identify such
kind of fabricated hadith. The layman is not allowed to deem a hadith fabricated, without the
guidance of someone with deep association with hadith

Conclusion:
This is how the hadith was classified into different types. By classifying the hadith, Muhaditheen
were able to determine the strong and weak Hadith and save the Muslim Ummah from being
disunited.

Reference:
 Islam Beliefs and Practice by Yasmin Malik
 Cambridge O level Islmaiyat by Dr.Saqib Muhammad Khan & Habibur-Rehma