Mustalahu l'Hadith Notes
These are the fundamentals, Usul in Arabic. Without these basics a
person can't get far just like with learning anything else, everything
starts from the basics. Many Muslims don't learn the basics and everyone
has their own idea and thinks they know the best yet they don't know the
basics and then they split of into groups and subgroups based on
everything other than the Usul. A person who knows the Usul can make the
right conclusion.
For example if a person comes with a statement that
sounds correct, but contradictory to another sound statement that is of
higher level of authenticity, then that's called Shadh and
unacceptable. Without the knowledge of Shadh a person can easily
go into following the Shadh. This is just one example and there
are many such basic rules. I'll try here to cover some.
Basic terminology needed for understanding the lessons of Usul:
Rawi
In Arabic the person transmitting a narration is called a Rawi. The
plural of Rawi, Rawis is Ruwaat in Arabic.
Senad
The chain of narrators over the generations is called Senad.
Riwayah
The narration is called Riwayah. The plural form is Riwayaat.
Metn
The part of the narration that is transmitted as news is called the
Metn.
Tahkik
The process of verifying the authenticity of the Senad and Metn is
called Tahkik.
Tahrij
The process of extracting a narration out of compilations of
narrations is called Tahrij.
The Basic Subjects Taught in Mustalahu l'Hadith:
Khabar
Khabar means news, everything is news regardless if it's an Ayaa,
or Hadith, or words of the Sahabah, or the words of the Tabaiin or news
about an event from history. There are two types of Khabar:
Ahad
and Mutawatir.
Ahad Khaber are of three types:
1.Gharib comes from one Rawi.
2.Aziz comes from two Rawis.
3.Mashhur comes from three Ruwaat.
Mutawatir Khaber comes from more than three Ruwaat.
Marfuu Khabar is the one about the Prophet Salallahu Aleyhi wa
Sallam
Mawkuf Khabar is the one about a Sahabah.
Maktuu Khabar is the one about a Tabai.
Sahih Khabar
Sahih Khabar is a Khabar with each Rawi being
Adil and
precise and the transmission not being Shadh nor Muallal.
Adil means to be just, honest, in the terminology of Jarh wa Taadil.
Precision in Arabic is Zhabt. A Rawi who is precise is called
Zhabit.
Shadh
Shadh Hadith (or Khabar in general and for simplicity
we will refer to the Khabar as Hadith from here on) is a Riwayah
of Ruwaat who are truthful (Thiqah in Arabic) but is contradictory to a
Riwayah of Ruwaat who are more truthful (more Thiqah).
Muallal
Muallal Hadith is a Hadith that has an
Illa. An
Illa is a hidden
fault. A Muallal Hadith looks Sahih but is not Sahih due to an
Illa.
Hasan Khabar
Hasan Hadith is an authentic Hadith, but with one or more of the
Ruwat being a
little less precise then the ones in the category of Sahih Hadith.
The Rawi with the precision, Zhabt in Arabic,
lesser than that of the Rawi of a Sahih Hadith, is said to be lighter
in precise and is called Hafifu Zhabit. Hafif in Arabic means
light.
Dayif Khabar
Dayif Hadith is with one or more Ruwaat not being Adil and/or Zhabit.
Mawduu
Mawduu is not a Hadith but instead made up material. There are five
ways to conclude that a material is Mawduu:
1.The persons admitting to have made the material up.
2.The person conveying the material being known as a person making up
material.
3.The material being contradictory to Shariyah.
4.The material being contradictory to Arabic.
5.The material having wording that is simple (at a low level of
literacy).
Types of Senad
1.Marfuu is a Senad that reaches from the first Rawi (closest to us)
to Rasulullah Salallahu Aleyhi wa Sallam.
2.Mursal is a Senad that doesn't mention the Sahabah.
3.Munkatie is a Senad with a person missing in it.
4.Mu'dal is a Senad with tow persons missing in it one after the
other.
5.Mualaq is a Senad missing the forst Rawi closest to us.
Musnad Hadith is a Hadith with a Senad which could be Sahih,
Hasan or Dayif.
Mutasil Hadith is a Hadith with a Senad that has no
disconnections in it.
Munkar Hadith is a Dayif Hadith that is in contradiction with a
Sahih Hadith.
Tadlis is of two types. The first type of Tadlis is when a Rawi
says En or says An which in Arabic is a way of saying from but can mean
that Rawi heard the narration from someone else not the person mentioned
as the narration being from. The second type of Tadlis is to address a
person by other than the name they are known by. An example is to call
Imam Bukhari by Abu Abdullah.
Senad that is Mursalu l'Khafy is a Senad with the En or An
wording between two authentic Rawis that lived in a shared time period
but which has a Rawi in between who is Daif, not acceptable as
authentic.
Shahid Hadith is when a Hadith with separate Senads carry the
same Metn. (Shahid in Arabic means witness. Shahid Hadith support each
other's authenticity like witnesses to each other.) When a Hasan Hadith
is a Shahid Hadith of a Sahih Hadith, then it is called Sahih li
Ghayrihi Hasan li Dhatihi. When a Dayif Hadith is a Shahid Hadith
of a Sahih Hadith or a Hasan Hadith, then it is called Hasan li Ghayrihi
Dayif li Dhatihi.
Mufrad Hadith is a Hadith with a Metn found no where else.
Ziyadatu th'Thikaat is a Hadith with an extra wording from an
authentic Rawi. This is a good thing.
Muanan and Muenen Senads are Senads with the An En type
of narration when a Rawi says En or says An which in Arabic is a way of
saying from but can mean that Rawi heard the narration from someone else
not the person mentioned as the narration being from.
Musalsal Hadith is a Hadith with all the Ruwaat saying a
particular wording or doing a particular action when transmitting the
Hadith. For example throughout the Sanad each Rawi points to the sky
when transmitting the Riwayah.
Senads that are Ali and Nazil are Senads with few and many Ruwaat.
An Ali Senad with few Ruwaat is more likely to be authentic as opposed
to a Nazil Senad with a large number of Ruwaat.
Senads that are Sabik and Lahik are Senads with people in it who
died before others. A Sabik Senad with Ruwaat that lived shorter has
lesser chances of the Ruwaat than the Lahik Senad's Ruwaat that lived
longer lives and had more time to become faulty.
Mudabbaj Riwayat (Muddabaj transmissions) have two Rawis in the
same generation transmitting from each other. Aisha Radiallahu Anha
transmitted Hadith hearing them from Abu Hureyra Radiallahu Anhu since
she stayed at home and Abu Hureyra was outside the home with Rasulullah.
The same way Abu Hureyra transmitted Hadith hearing them from Aisha
Radiallahu Anha since she lived in the home of Rasulullah.
Munkalab Hadith is a Hadith when misplaced Senade and Meten with
another Hadith, or a misplaced name of a Rawi in its Senad with a name
of a Rawi in another Senad. This occurs when a person writes Hadith and
by mistakes switches places of two Senads or names in two Senads.
Mudraj Hadith is Hadith with the words of the Rawi mixed into the
Metn by mistake.
Mazid fi Mutasili l'Asanid is when in a Sahih Senad a Rawi hears
two Rawis who head the narration from the same person.
Jahalah is when nothing is known about a Rawi. There are three
types of Jahalah: Mubham, Majhulu l'Eyn and Majhulu
l'Hal. Mubham is
when absolutelly nothing is known who transmitted the narration. Majhulu
l'Eyn is when only one Alim Mutabar (A trustworthy scholar) verified
the person as being authentic and no one else mentions that Rawi.
Majhulu l'Hal is when only two Alim Mutabar type of person verified the
person as being authentic and no one else mentions that Rawi. An Alim
Mutabar is the person who is in the lineage of the people with whom
Allah Ta'Ala Has Preserved his Din on earth. This is explained in the
lessons of how the authentic Sunnah is preserved through the line of
Ulema , Taba-tabaiin, Tabaiin, Sahabah about whom Allah Ta'Ala Said in
the Qur'an that they are reliable.
Mudtarib Hadith is when two Sahih Hadith of equal authenticity
carry meaning opposite to each other. This is called
Iddtirab in Arabic.
In the case of
ddtirab 5 things are done beginning with the first and
if it can't resolve then the next till the last fifth action.
1. Uniting the meaning of the two Hadith.
2. If the above is not possible, then applying the rule of Nasikh
and Mansukh.
3. If the above is not possible, then looking at which one came later
and taking the Hadith.
4. If they came at the same, time then looking at the Rajih and
Marjuh taking the Hadith with the Rajih meaning.
5. If none of the above are possible then stopping is the next action
until more knowledge is later acquired.
(To understand the terminology of these five actions one must study
Usulu l'Fikh and Usulu t'Tafsir. Nasikh and Mansukh are old and mew
laws. For example the Tawrat and Injil laws are old Mansukh laws
and the laws in the Qur'an are the new Nasikh law. In arabic
language phrases can have two meaning and the meaning that is acceptable
is called Rajih while the other meaning that is not taken is called
Marjuh.)
Musahhaf Hadith is a Hadith with writing in it written the wrong
way.
Muttafik are Hadith with writings written the differently way but
read same.
Muftarik are Hadith with writings written the differently and
read differently.
Muttalif are Hadith with writings written the same way but read
differently.
Kunya is the name before the real name and starts with Abu. An
example is Abu Hureyra.
Lakab is the ending of a person's name. An example is Bukhari.
Ones that are recorded as sons of their grandfathers are people
who have been written as sons of their grandfathers. An example is Imam
Ahman bin Hanbal whose grandfather was Hanbal not his father.
Levels of Jarh wa Taadil
Mustalahu l'Hadith covers Jarh wa Taadil. Jarh in Arabic means wound
and it refers to a Rawi's being faulty. Taadil in Arabic means making
just, rightful, and it refers to the Rawis being correct. There are
levels of Jarh wa Taadil.
Levels of Taadil
There are five levels of Taadil regarding Rawis that transmit Sahih
Hadith and two levels of Taadil of Rawis that transmit Hasan Hadith.
Levels of Taadil of Sahih Riwaya Rawis:
1.Thiqah Hafizh
2.Thiqatu th'Thiqah
3.Thiqah
Levels of Taadil of Hasan Riwaya Rawis:
4.Saduq (Hafifu Zhabt Rawi)
5.Sheykh Yuktab Hadithahu (Sheykh whose Hadith should be written
down)
The person narrating the Hadith is called the Sheykh and the person
listening and then transmitting the Hadith is the Rawi.
Levels of Jarh:
There are two kinds of Dhayif Riwayas: the Yenjabir and the La
Yenjabir. Yenjabir Dayif Riwaya can be accepted if there is a Sahih or
Hasan Shahid Riwaya to it. LaYenjabir means that the Dayif Riwaya can
not be accepted because the Rawi is at the lower levels of Jarh.
Yenjabir Dayif Riwaya Rawi's Levels:
1.Waahi (inaccurate)
2.Matruk (rejected)
La Yenjabir Dayif Riwaya Rawi's Levels:
3.Kadhdhab (liar)
4.Wadda (inventor)
5.Dajjal (deceiver)
Types of Riwayaat:
Sima'a is hearing.
Qiraat Ala Sheykh is when the Sheykh listens to what his students
wrote hearing from him
Sima'a Man Yansakh Waktu Qiraa is a third person's writing
down while the Sheykh listens to his students reading what they wrote
hearing from him.
Sima'a min al Mustamli Liman Yasma'a Kalamu Sheykh is listening to a
Mustamli who listens to a Sheykh. A Mustamli is a person standing in the
place where everyone sits listening to the Sheykh transmitting Hadith
and repeats loudly what the Sheykh is saying so that the listeners in
the back rows can hear. In the past thousands of people would sit around
a Sheykh listening to the Riwayaat of Hadith and the Mustamli persons
would be standing between the rows repeating the words of the Sheykh so
that people could hear. A similar practice is present nowadays in Salah
with large Jamaats, where a person between the rows loudly says Allahu
Akbar for the Ruku and Sajda, so that the people in the back rows can
hear.
Ijazah is the permission of a
Sheyk to his student to transmit Hadith
that he heard from him.
Munawalah is a Sheykh's giving a Rawi his book of compilations of
Hadith. An example is when a Sheykh gives his student a book of the
Hadith that he compiled and says to him: "These are my Ahadith, you may
transmit them."
Mukatibah is receiving Hadith through a letter.
The next strongest Hadith are the Hadith compiled by Imam Bukhari.
The next strongest Hadith are the Hadith compiled by Imam Muslim.
The next strongest Hadith are the Hadith compiled by Imams of the
Sunnen in order: Tirmizhi, Abu Dawud, An Nisaii, ibn Maja.