CLASSIFICATION /

CATEGORIES/ TYPES
CLASSIFICATION ON THE BASIS OF :
• AUTHORITY
• AUTHENTICITY
• ACCEPTANCE
• COMPILATION
ON THE BASIS OF AUTHORITY

1. HADEES E QUDSI
• The words of Allah said by holy prophet pbuh
• These are very few ahadees
• Example : Prophet said that Allah says “Fasting is for me and I will
compensate it”
2. HADEES E NABWI
• The sayings and actions recorded directly fro the holy Prophet are
Hadees e Nabwi
• Example: “Pray as you see me praying”
• Further categorization done by later generations were Marfu,
Mauqoof, Maqtu
ON THE BASIS OF AUTHENTICITY

1. SAHIH / SOUND /AUTHENTIC

• Whose accuracy is beyond question.
• To check its authenticity, compilers developed specific rules governing
the acceptance of the narrators transmitting Hadiths and established
rules to check the chain of transmitters and what they said (isnad and
matn) of Hadiths. (take notes from checks / examining the Ahadees)
• Examples of sahih hadees collections are Sahih Bukhari and Sahih
Muslim
• “the rewards of the deeds depends on the intentions” (Bukhari)
ON THE BASIS OF AUTHENTICITY
2. HASSAN / GOOD /APPROVED
• whose text is absolutely true, but whose narrators (isnads) do not
pass the test of complete reliability and accuracy of memory based on
the strict criteria established by a specialist (Muhadditheen)
• The Hadith in this group, though considered reliable and good, are a
degree less in quality than the Sahih Hadiths and hence are
considered inferior to them in Hadith literature.
• Example: “Indeed the gates of paradise are under the shades of
swords” (Tirmizi)
ON THE BASIS OF AUTHENTICITY
3. ZAEEF / WEAK
• are those whose truthfulness in both text and transmission is not beyond question.
• Though their authenticity is not proven they are not rejected altogether.
• A Hadith could be weak for many reasons, for example:
• a) one of its narrators may not be well known for his piety or reliability, but the
compiler has no evidence that would question the narrators’ character
• b)The narrator could have a less than perfect memory, but his truthfulness was
never questioned
• c) Weakness in a Hadith could be due to interruption in the isnad.
• Example: “The deen is the brain and he who has no religion has no brain ”
ON THE BASIS OF AUTHENTICITY
4. MAWDOO / FABRICATED / FORGED
• A saying or an action attributed to the Prophet which he has not said or
done
• Narrator declared by his contemporaries as a liar and a decietful person
• Example: “Conversation in a masjid eats up the good deeds the way
animals consume grass”
• Some scholars compiled the fabricated ahadees called ‘Al- Maudoo’ so
that the possibility of them being included in other Hadees collection
did not arise.
ON THE BASIS OF ACCEPTANCE

1. MUTAWATIR
• Meaning consecutive: reported such as a large number of rightful
companions, is agreed upon and is authentic
2. AHAD
• Meaning Isolated: the number of the narrators does not reach upto
the number of Mutawatir
• Ahad ahadees are further divided into Mashur, Aziz and Ghareeb
ON THE BASIS OF COMPILATION
1. MUSANNAF COLLECTIONS
• it was the first organised work of Hadith collection and was made topic-wise.
• Musannafs were mainly legal documents that developed during the first two
centuries of Islam e.g. zakat, prayer, purity, inheritance etc.
• example Al Muwatta by Imam Malik
2. MUSNAD COLLECTIONS
• Ahadees are arranged according to the names of their original narrating
authorities
• These are most helpful in study Isnad by tracing a particular hadees to a
particular narrator
• Examples are masnad of Imaam Shafi, Imaam Haifa and Imam Hanbal
May/June 2022
past paper question

• 2(a) Write an account of the following three categories of Hadiths:  Sound

Hadith (Sahih)  Good Hadith (Hasan)  Weak Hadith (Da’if). 10 marks
• 2(b) In your opinion, why was it considered important to classify Hadiths
into Sahih, Hasan and Da’if? Give reasons to support your answer 4 marks
Answer part b: One reason could be that Hadiths are used in making Islamic
law and for this purpose it would be critical to know whether a Hadith was
Sahih or Da’if as in legal matters only the most authentic Hadiths can be used
to prevent incorrect law making. Weak Hadiths also have a place in Hadith
literature, and it is important to classify them. They explain and provide
information on questions relating to morals and religious devotion and thus
keep the faith pure and its practice correct. Candidates may give an example
of a weak Hadith to develop their answer further.