Islamic

Hadith

Topic 3b

Isnad
 15 Nov 20
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e r Isnad Key words:
ta r t What do you think a sanad is? Riwaya
S Rijaal
Sanad
Jarh
Ta’diil

Understanding what Isnad is?

Understanding the importance of isnad
The importance of biographies for isnad
 Isnad

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• isnād, (from Arabic sanad, “support”).

• in Islam, a list of authorities who have
transmitted a report (hadith) of a statement
and action of Propet Muhammad scw, or
one of his Companions (Ṣaḥābah), or of a
later authority (e.g. tabiʿī); its reliability
determines the validity of a hadith.

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• So, what’s

• Sanad ?
• The definition of a tabi’i?
 Isnad

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• The isnād precedes the actual text (matn) and

takes the form, “It has been related to me by A
on the authority of B on the authority of C on the
authority of D (usually a Companion of the
Prophet) that Muhammad scw said “….”

• During Muhammad’s lifetime and after his death,

hadiths were usually quoted by his Companions
and contemporaries and were not prefaced
by isnāds; only after a generation or two (c.
700 CE) did the isnād appear to enhance the
weight of its text.
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 Isnad

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• Whats the difference between:

• Matn and hadith?

 Jarh and Ta’diil (Criticism and Praise)

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• The science of criticism and praise (al-jarh wa

al-ta’dil) is a part of science of Hadith, dealing
with identifying the narrators whether they
are reliable or not.

• Al-Jarh (criticism) is finding a deficiency

whether it is in His righteousness (adil) or in
His accurateness (dabit), or in both.

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Isn’t this backbiting?

 Questions

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• 1. What’s Isnad?
• 2. What’s jarh and ta’diil?
• 3. Why do we study the biography of the people in the sanad?
• 4. Where is the isnad located in the reports?
• 5. What’s a matn?
• 6. When did the isnad come to appear?