The Science of Hadith

Lesson 22

Narration of Hadith

 

The purpose of the science of Hadith is the documentation of the Sunnah (The Prophet’s sayings and traditions) with regards to the narration and text, and judging the validity of the Hadiths.

Traceable Hadith

     

In absolute terms, Hadith refers to all that pertains to the Prophet’s sayings, doings, tacit approval of a practice, or a description of the Prophet presented by one of the Companions. It is also known as a traceable Hadith.

Qudsiyy Hadith

Qudsiyy Hadith is that which Allah transmitted to the Prophet (SAWS) who expressed the meaning in his own words.

  

Mawquf Hadith

Mawquf (arrested) Hadith is that which is ascribed to the companions, not to the Prophet (SAWS).

    

Discontinuous Hadith

     

A discontinuous Hadith is one whose chain of transmission ends with a Successor, rather than a Companion or the Prophet (SAWS).

The Chain of Hadith Narration

 

The method of chaining Hadith narration:

• Hearsay from a Hadith narrator

• Reading or showing (for approval) to the narrator

• The narrator’s permission to another to narrate on his behalf

• The narrator’s handing over of his original writing

• The narrator’s assignment of another to write a copy of his writing.

According to the Number of Channels

The Hadith is divided, according to its number of channels, into:

• Mutawatir

• Ahad.

Mutawatir Hadith    Mutawatir (recurrent) Hadiths are those

related by whole groups of trustworthy individuals (may be five, ten, or more) from whole groups, in multiple generations of transmission, leading back to the Prophet himself, such that the sheer number of separate channels, at each generation of transmission is too many to be possible for all to have conspired to fabricate the Hadith.

Ahad Hadith

It is that Hadith in which the conditions of the Mutawatir Hadith are not satisfied in one or more generations of transmission.

It is divided into:

a) A Well-known Hadith

A Well-known Hadith is one whose channels of transmission came through only three people up to five at any point in its history.

A Hadith is also termed Well-known if it is well-known in the concerned circles, regardless of the terminological definition. A Well-known Hadith, in that sense, is not necessarily an authentic one.

b) A Rare Hadith (`Aziz)

A Rare Hadith (`Aziz) is one transmitted through just two for each generation of its transmission.

c) A Singular Hadith (Gharib)

A Singular Hadith (Gharib) is one transmitted through just one individual at some stage in the history of its transmission.

Proofs from Qur’an and Sunnah

The Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) said:

“He who deliberately lies on me his abode will be in the Hell.”

(Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim)