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Sayings (Hadiths) of Prophet Muhammad
Different classes of Hadith
Ibn Hajar has dealt with different classes of Hadith in the Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikr at great length. The most important division of Hadith is into mutawtir (continuous) and ahad (isolated). A Hadith is said to be mutawatir (lit. repeated successively or by one after another) when it is reported by such a large number that it is impossible that they should have agreed upon falsehood, so that the very fact that it is commonly accepted makes its authority unquestionable.
To this category belong hadith that have been accepted by every Muslim generation down from the time of the Holy Prophet.(19) . The mutawdtir hadith are accepted without criticizing their narrators. All other hadith are called ahad (pl. of ahad or wahid meaning one, i.e., isolated).
The ahad are divided into three classes
1. mashhur (lit, well-known), technically hadith which are reported through more than two channels at every stage ;
2. ‘aziz (lit, strong), that is, hadith that are not reported through less than two channels;
3. gharib (lit, strange or unfamiliar), namely hadith in whose link of narrators there is only a single person at any stage.
It should be noted, that in this classification the condition as to the hadith being narrated by more than two or two or less than two persons at any stage applies only to the three generations following the Companions of the Holy Prophet, i.e., the tabiun or atba’al-tabi’in, or atba’u atba il-taibiin.
Of the two chief classes of hadith the mutawatir and the ahad, the first are all accepted so far as the line of transmission is concerned, but the latter are further sub-divided into two classes:
1. maqbul or those which may be accepted.
2. mardud, or those which may be rejected.
Those that are maqbul, or acceptable, are again sub-divided into two classes:
1. Sahih(lit. sound).
2. Hasan (lit, fair).
The condition for a Hadith being or sound is that :
1. its narrators are ‘adl (men whose sayings and decisions are approved or whom desire does not deviate from the right course)
2. and tamm al-dzabt (guarding or taking care of hadith effectually);
3. that it is muttasil al-sansad, i.e., that the authorities narrating it should be in contact with each other, so that there is no break in the transmission;
4. that it is ghairu mu’allal i.e., that there is no ‘lila or defect in it;
5. and that it is not shadhdh (lit, a thing apart from the general mass), i.e., against the general trend of Hadith or at variance with the overwhelming evidence of other hadith.
A hadith that falls short of this high standard, and fulfils the other conditions but does not fulfill the condition of its narrators being tamm aldzat (guarding or taking care of liadith effectually), is called hasan or fair. Such hadith is regarded as sahih or sound when the deficiency of effectual guarding is made up for by the large number of its transmitters.
A sahih hadith is accepted unless there is stronger testimony to rebut what is stated therein. I have already said that it is recognized by the Muhaddithin that a hadith may be unacceptable either because of some defect in its transmitters, or because its subject-matter is unacceptable. Thus Ibn Hajar says that among the reasons for which a hadith may be rejected is its subject-matter.
For example, if a hadith contradicts the Holy Qur’an or recognized Sunna or the unanimous verdict of the Muslim community or common-sense, it is not accepted.
As regards, defects in transmission, a hadith is said to be marfu’ when it is traced back to the Holy Prophet without any defect in transmission, muttasal when its isnad is uninterrupted, mauquf when it does not go back to the Prophet, mu’an’an (from ‘an meaning from) when it is linked by a word which does not show personal contact between two narrators, and mu’allaq (suspended) when the name of one or more transmitters is missing (being munqata’ if the name is missing from the middle, and mursal if it is from the end).
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