This book is written by Sheikh, Taha Ibn Muhammad Ibn Futuh Al-Bayquni. Some other scholars argue and said that his name is Umar Ibn Muhammad. Khairuddin az-Zirikhly in his book talks of the doubt if the name of the author is Taha or Umar. He was a muhaddith usuli. He was alive before the year 1080 AH (1669). This book gained acceptance among the scholars and the students of knowledge.
Ilm al-Hadith is one of the greatest things one can use to get closer to Allah. It is to illuminate and clarify the path of the Messenger. This is a poem that can be easily memorized in a sitting or two if one puts their heart and mind to it.
Importance of the Chain of Narration
It is a virtue which Allah has blessed only this Ummah (Ummatul Isnad) with.
Imam Suffian at-Thawri said,
اَلإِسْنَادُ سِلاَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُ. إِذَا لَمْ يَکُنْ مَعَهُ سِلاَحٌ، فَبِأَيِّ شَيْءٍ يُقَاتِلُ؟
“The Isnad is the weapon of the Believer. So if he does not have a weapon with him, what will he fight with?
Imam Muslim narrates in his Muqaddimah, Abdullah Ibn al-Mubarak said,
“اَلإِسْنَادُ مِنَ الدِّيْنِ، وَلَولاَ الإِسْنَادُ لَقَالَ مَنْ شَاءَ مَا شَاءَ.
The Isnad is part of the Deen. If it were not for the Isnad, then any person would have said (about Islam) whatever he wished.” Imam Muslim also reports Muhammad ibn Sirin (through his own chain), who states:
إِنَّ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ دِيْنٌ، فَانْظُرُوا عَمَّنْ تَأْخُذُونَ دِيْنَکُمْ.
“The science of chain of authority and narration of hadith is din itself. You should check whom you are receiving your din from.”
The Muqaddimah can have weak narrations as it does not follow the conditions of the Imam for the rest of the ahadith.
Imam Tirmidhi said in his Sunan, Kitab al-Ilal, Imam Ibn Sireen said,
لَمْ يَکُوْنُوْا يَسْأَلُوْنَ عَنِ الإِسْنَادِ، فَلَمَّا وَقَعَتِ الْفِتْنَةُ، قَالُوا: سَمُّوا لَنَا رِجَالَکُمْ، فَيُنْظَرُ إِلَى أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ فَيُؤْخَذُ حَدِيْثُهُمْ، وَيُنْظَرُ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْبِدَعِ فَلاَ يُؤْخَذُ حَدِيْثُهُمْ.
“Before the fitna, they (salaf) never felt any necessity to ask about the chain (because all authorities before the period of fitna were undoubtedly honest, truthful, trustworthy and reliable). After this fitna had occurred they started asking the narrator to mention their chain of authority before them; and if the knowledge of din was narrated from an authority belonging to Ahl as-Sunna they used to accept his transmission; and if he belonged to Ahl al-Bid‘a they rejected it.”
It was after such words that the scholars of Hadith dedicated their lives to research and verify, formulating the Sciences of Hadith.
Imam Nawawi says, The knowledge of hadith is a honourable science. It befits, it goes hand in hand with good etiquette and good manners. It is from the knowledge of the Hereafter and not from this Dunya. Anyone who is prohibited from this field, he is prohibited from a lot of good. Anyone whom Allah has blessed with this then he has gained a high and noble position and virtue.
المنظومة البيقونية
1.
أَبْـدَأُ بالْحَـمْـدِ مُصَلِّيَـاً عَلَـى – مُحَـمَّـدٍ خَيْـرِ نَبِـيٍّ أُرْسِـلاَ
I begin with praise while invoking prayer upon – Muhammad, the best Prophet ever sent.
What is the difference between hamd and shukr? Hamd is praising a person for what he is, not for something that he has done for you. Ex: Being strong, smart etc. It can be for what you are and what you do for me. Shukr on the other hand carries a broader aspect. Hamd is by the utterance and that which is in the heart. Shukr is in the heart, on the tongue and also in the action. Ex: Sajda-e-Shukr.
مُصَلِّياً is a حال. It is a hal for an action that has passed abdahu. So what can be said technically is that I am praising Allah and while I’m praising Allah I am also praising the Messenger, the best Messenger ever sent. This is based on the hadith of Tirmidhi where the Prophet tells us of him being the best of Banu Adam without any arrogance.
أُرْسِـلاَ means commissioned.
2.
وذِي مِنْ أَقْسَـامِ الْحَـدِيثِ عِدَّهْ – وَكُــلُّ وِاحِـدٍ أَتَـى وَحَـدَّهْ
And these are several types of Hadith – while every one has come with a definition and there are many in number.
Hadith means that which has been transmitted from the Prophet in terms of actions, speech, or that which he consented to, or a description (sifat khuluqiyyah and khulqiyyah) The word وَذِي is Ism Ishara. It means ‘this’ – points toward. These are from the types of hadith. Ilm al-Hadith is of 2 types – Dirayah and Riwayah.
Ilm al-Hadith Dirayatan is like the 40 Hadith, Adab al-Mufrad etc. It’s basically the explanation and the commentary – getting the fiqh from the hadith.
Ilm al-Hadith Riwayatan is in turn of 2 types:
- Ilmu Jarh wa Tadeel – The Science of who is Thaqeeh (Who is ثقة thiqah (a reliable individual)) and who is weak. Who are the muaddileen and who are the majruheen – those who are praiseworthy and those who are weak.
- Ilmu Tareekh ar-Riwayah – The knowledge of the tareekh of the riwayah – the history of the narration and this is where Bayquniyyah enters.
عِدَّهْ means divided or categorized and وَحَـدَّهْ means they have come with their definitions.
3-4.
أَوَلُهَـا الصَّحِيحُ وَهْـوَ مَا اتَّصَلْ – إِسْـنَـادُهُ وَلَمْ يُشَـذَّ أَوْ يُعَـلّ
يَرْوِيـهِ عَدْلٌ ضَـابِطٌ عَـنْ مِثْلِهِ – مُعْتَـمَدٌ فِي ضَـبْـطِهِ وَنَقْلِـهِ
The first of them is Sahih (sound), and that is neither broken – in its chain, nor does it contradict or have a hidden failing.
One who is upright and precise, narrates from his like – Reliable in his precision, as well as his transmission
The first type of Hadith is Sahih (Authentic). A hadith is Sahih if the following 5 conditions are fulfilled:
- اِتِّصَالُ السَّنَد : The chain of narration is connected.
- عَدَمُ الشُّذُوْذ: The hadith is safe from any opposition. It is not shaadh. It does not oppose any other narration.
- عَدَمُ العِلَّة: The hadith is safe from defect.
- اَلْعَدَالَة: The narrators of the Hadith are reliable and just narrators.
- ضَبْطُ: The narrators memory is on point – have complete memory.
Ex: Abdullah Ibn Yusuf told Imam Bukhari who heard from Imam Malik, who took it from Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri, who took it from Muhammad Ibn Jubayr, who took it from his father Jubair Ibn Mut’im who heard Surah Tur from the Messenger during Salatul maghrib. We have 5 narrators here, all of whom are reliable and have precise memory on point. The chain is connected. There is no contradiction, opposition or illah.
What does it mean that a chain is connected?
The narrator has heard it from the narrator he is ascribing the narration too.
The narrator read this narration to the narrator from whom he is taking the narration.
If the person has heard the narration from the Sheikh, then he is allowed to use either of the 2 modes of narration: حدثنا (Haddathana) – He narrated to us or سمعت (sami`tu) – I heard.
If the person has read the narrations to the Sheikh, like Imam Shafi’i read the Muwatta to Imam Malik then he uses the term أخبرنا (Akhbarana).
What if the narrator uses the terms قَالَ (qala) – said or عَنْ (ann) – from the scholar?
Scholars look at the person using these terms and if he is known to be one who sorts, hides, shortens the chain of narration, then this chain is considered as disconnected. Just because someone said something, doesn’t necessarily mean that he is told that directly from the actual narrator of the narration.
Another principle to remember is that the قَالَ (qala) or عَنْ (ann) of the likes of Imam Bukhari is considered as a connected chain without any shred of dount. Shu’bah Ibn Hajjaj said that it was more beloved for him to commit zina with his neighbours wife (metaphor) than sort the chain of narration. He is of those whose قَالَ (qala) or عَنْ (ann) are also taken to be as connected. But then we have others like Ibn Jurayj and others whom we don’t take at all.
حدثنا (Haddathana), سمعت (sami`tu) and أخبرنا (akhbarana) are together called ﺗَﺴْﺮِﻳْﺢ ﺍَﻟﺴﱢﻤَۃُ (tasreeh hus-simah) which means evidence to know that a narrator heard the narration. قَالَ (qala) and عَنْ (ann) don’t qualify in this category except in the case of Imam Bukhari and his likes. Emphasis is laid on this classiication because people have used this to make music halal, where Imam Bukhari narrated the hadith regarding music with the word قَالَ (qala). The qaidah is that Imam Bukhari’s قَالَ (qala) is as good as though he heard it in connection. Him and others on his level were never known to to skip, order or remove anyone from the chain of narration they heard or took from.
This used to happen because a short chain was something highly coveted. Why would you have a person or two between you and the Prophet when you could narrate directly to him. Such a chain signifies closeness and importance of the narrator. Another reason to order the chain was so that a slightly weak narrator in the chain could be hidden. Point to remember is that even if a narrator hides a narrator in his chain, technically we cannot call him a liar as it’s his choice to reveal the name or not.
مدلّس – Mudallis (Person) – Tadlees (Action) – Hiding the defects of an article being sold. In Hadith, it refers to hiding a defect in the isnad and making it to appear to be sound. Tadlees is not considering slandering a scholar. It is necessary to preserve the Ilm al-Hadith. Even though Jarh wa Tadeel existed before, Shu’ba was the first to identify such orderings in the chain of narration of Abu Ishaq as-Sabi’i and others.
What is Shaadh?
Shaadh is a form of opposition. It can happen in 2 ways:
- The one who is opposing is a reliable one. Ex: Imam Malik or Imam Shafi’i.
- The one opposing is individually stronger than the others involved, but when they concur together as a group, they are stronger. In this scenario we have a thiqah opposing a group of thiqah’s, hence outweighed.
For Shaadh, the one who is opposing is more higher, qualified and knowledgeable than the one being opposed. If 2 conflicting reports can be reconciled then they are not considered to be shaadh.
What does it mean to be safe from defect? (Illah)
Ghamidh Illah (Hidden Defect) – A student misses a class of the narration and the teacher moves on. He gets the narration from a fellow student but when he narrates the narration, he narrates directly as though he took it from the teacher. The scholars of hadith need to know everything; where a narrator was born, where he lived, his conduct, his travels, his death and much more. He needs to fulfil the requirements to be judged as Aadil (the one who has adl (just)).
Ex: Jews came to the Khalifa with a forged letter complete with the seal of the Prophet and the names of the sahaba as witness on it. The letter as they claimed was given to them by the Prophet during the time of Khaibar and claims that they don’t need to pay any jizyah. This puts the Khalifa in a predicament as a lot of the revenue was generated from the Jews. Imam Khatib al-Baghdadi enters and asks to see the letter. Immediately he declares that the letter is fake as the names of the sahaba used as witness, some of them weren’t even Muslim at the time of Khaibar.
The ‘tabaqat’ – lives and the details of the sahaba, the tabi’i, those after them, the major scholars and the scholars of the different madhaib are all recorded. These schools have written about the strong, weak and even the fabricated ones to maintain sincerity and professionalism. As long as the isnad is given, the work is done. Now it is up to the person to inspect, verify and authenticate the chain and the text along with it.
What does it mean that the narrators are reliable?
For a narrator to be reliable, he needs to meet 5 conditions:
- He is a Muslim – A Kafir is never considered as reliable in hadith. But if he was a kafir when he heard the hadith but is Muslim when he narrates it then that we can take from him. Ex: Jubayr Ibn Mut’im when he heard Surah Tur, he wasn’t a Muslim. Islam is a condition for a person to be able to convey hadith.
- He is mukallaf – A person who is sane (aaqil) and has reached the age of puberty (baaligh).
- It is needed for him to have Ijtinabil Fisq – He has to abstain from major sins and indulging in them in the public. Basically, not a fasiq.
- He abstains from bad moral conduct. Generally morals differ from place to place. Ex: Imam Bukhari never took hadith from a man who ate in the streets.
- He is precise in his memory – This is of 2 kinds:
• ضَبْطُ الصَّدَر (precision of the heart) – Memorizes correctly and transmits it as he heard it and that he understands it if he is reporting its meaning. He should know the hadith of the top of his head, has solidified it in his memory and remembers it from the time he heard it till the time he narrates it. Whenever he’s asked for it, he can immediately bring forth the narration.
• ضبْطُ الكِتَاب (precision of writing) – Correctly writes it down, preserves it an makes sure that it is passed on correctly. Not everyone can access or modify his narrations. He needs to be able to read his narrations well so that he knows it inside out and can detect any change or modifications if any. He has memorized it very well.
For a hadith to be considered as Sahih 3 out of the 5 conditions need to be present and 2 have to be absent.
Present:
• Chain is connected.
• Narrators memory is on point.
• The narrators have to be reliable.
Absent
• No shaadh – No opposition or contradiction to the narration.
• No illah or defect.
5.
والْحَسَــنُ الْمَعْرُوفُ طُرْقَاً وَغَدَتْ – رِجَـالُهُ لاَ كَالصَّحِيـحِ اشْتَهَرَتْ
And the Hasan (beautiful) is the one whose chains of narration are known and there have come – its transmitters well known, (but) not like (those of) the Sahih.
Hasan is a sound or fair narration. It’s a hadith whose root and chain is known. Hasan is exactly the same as Sahih in terms of its required conditions, except that the memory of the narrator is a bit low. What he gets right is more than what he gets wrong or errs in. Just one man like such can make the chain Hasan. If he gets more wrong, than he does right then it becomes Daeef. This line from the ode is questioned by the scholars like Dr. Abdul Sattar Abu Guddah, who corrected and said that in the chain of narration, the narrators memorization is slightly deficient or weaker as compared to that of the Sahih.
If the reliability is missing from the conditions, then the narration is either fabricated or weak – Mawdu or Daeef.
If the chain is disconnected, it is Daeef.
6.
وَكُلُّ مَا عَنْ رُتْبَةِ الحُسْنِ قَصُـرْ – فَهْـوَ الضَّعِيفُ وَهْـوَ أَقْسَامٌ كَثُرْ
And all of what falls short of the rank of goodness (husn) – then it is da’if. And it is of alot of types.
Anything that goes lower than the station of Hasan and falls short of its requirements, then it is Daeef and it is of many types.
Weak narrations are only of 2 types:
- Those which have a chain of narration problem.
- Those which have a reliability problem.
The narrator has been criticized or the chain of narration is disconnected.
Ex: It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said: The Messenger of Allah said: “If you see a man frequently coming to the mosque, then bear witness that he is a believer, for Allah says: ‘The mosques of Allah shall be maintained only by those who believe in Allah and the Last Day; perform as-Salah, and give Zakah …’ [al-Tawbah 9:18].”
[Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2617), Ahmad in al-Musnad (27325) and others, all via Darraj Abu’l-Samah, from Abu’l-Haytham, from Abu Sa’eed.
This is a da’eef (weak) isnad, because of Darraj ibn Sam’an Abu’l-Samah al-Qurashi. Al-Daraqutni said: he is da’eef. Al-Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawood regard him as da’eef only in the ahadeeth (narrations) that he narrated from Abu’l-Haytham, as in this case.
Imam al-Dhahabi commented, “Darraj narrated many munkar (disapproved) reports.”
Imam Ahmad said, “It is a munkar hadeeth; Darraj narrated munkar reports.”
7.
وَمَا أُضِيـفَ للنَّبِـيِّ الْمَرْفُوعُ – و مَـا لِـتَـابِـعٍ هُـوَ الْـمَقْطُــوعُ
And what is attributed to the Prophet is (called) Marfū’ – And what is (attributed) to the Successor is (called) Maqtū’.
Marfu and Maqtu deal with the narrator – who said it.
Marfu (مرفوع) literally means elevated or risen. Technically it means traced directly. If a narration is ascribed to the Prophet, then it is called Marfu. For a hadith to be classified as Marfu, we have 5 types:
1. مرفوع قولي (Marfu Qawli) – It is Marfu by wording – Ascribing the wordings to the Prophet.
2. مرفوع فعلي (Marfu Fi’li) – It is Marfu by action – Ascribing the action to the Prophet. Ex: He used to sleep on the right side.
3. مرفوع تقريري (Marfu Taqriri) – Iqraran – Something that was done in the presence of the Prophet and he was silent about it. It takes the same ruling as though he commanded to do it. Ex: Hadith of Jabir on Coitus Interruptus.
4. مرفوع وصفي – Characteristics of the Prophet in terms of his appearance. Ex: Hadith of Anas, Shamail – Sifatul Khalqiyyah. Sifatul Khuluqiyyah – His morals and characteristics.
5. مرفوع حكمي – If a sahaba informs us of the unseen and doesn’t ascribe it to the Prophet. then we say that the wording is mawquf but the ruling is marfu with the exception of Abdullah Ibn Amr and Abdullah Ibn Salam. Why? As they used to read from the scriptures of the People of the Book, hence there is a chance of them narrating from there. On the day of Khaybar, Abdullah Ibn Amr was seen with 2 huge bags of their manuscripts and he was reading from it.
Ex: Imam Bukhari reported from Al-Humaidi Abdullah Ibn Zubair who reported from Sufyan who reported from Yahya b. Sa’id al-Ansari who reported from Muhammad b. Ibrahim al-Taymi who reported from ‘Alqamah b. Waqqas al-Laithi, who said: I heard ‘Umar Ibn al- Khattab saying, while on the pulpit, “I heard Allah’s Messenger saying: The reward of deeds depends on the intentions, and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended; so whoever emigrated for wordly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he migrated.”
Mawquf (موقوف) literally means stopped. Technically it means the Hadith in which chain of transmission stops at Sahabah and does not reach the Prophet. It is of 2 types:
1. موقوف قولي (Mawquf Qowli) – That Hadith in which a particular statement of a Sahabi is stated.
2. موقوف فعلي (Mauqoof Fi’li) – That Hadith in which a particular action of a Sahabi is described. Ex: Umar used to do the qunut, both before at times after the rukuh.
Ex: Abu Bakr, Ibn Abbas and Ibn Zubair narrated, “”The grandfather is (treated like) a father.” [Sahih Bukhari]
Maqtoo (ةقطوع) literally means cut. Technically it means that statement or deed which is attributed to some Tabaee. In this Hadith chain of transmission stops at two steps-down i.e., at the level of Tabaee. This differentiation is necessary so we know who said what. The Prophet’s words are hukm and a hujjah upon us. As for the sahaba, then no there is a difference of opinion regarding their actions being a hujjah upon us, unless there is an agreement among the sahaba on that matter. Only a speech or an action can be attributed to the tabaee.
Ex: Muslim reports in the Introduction to his Sahih that Ibn Sirin said, “This knowledge (i.e. Hadith) is the Religion, so be careful from whom you take your religion.”
If we have a mursal hadith where a Tabaee attributes directly to the Prophet by skipping a sahaba in the middle and we find what is being narrated is found in the action of a sahabi then as per Imam Shafi’i this strengthens that narration.
8.
وَالْمُسْنَدُ الْمُتَّصِلُ الإِسْنَادِ مِـنْ – رَاوِيـهِ حَـتَّى الْمُصْطَـفَى وَلَمْ يَبِنْ
And the Musnad (tradition) is what is connected from – its narrator up to Mustafa and hasn’t been severed.
Muttasil (متصل) literally means joined. Technically it means the hadith which has got successive narrators continuously without any gap or omission in between. Its chain or Sanad is uninterrupted from beginning to the end. Ex: Imam Malik says that he heard from Nafi’, who heard from Ibn Umar, who in turn heard from the Prophet.
Musnad is that which has 2 characteristics – Chain of narration is connected from its narrator till it is ascribed to the Prophet. Musannaf and Muwatta don’t qualify for this.
Musnad also means a book that compiles the narrations of every sahabi individually – Musnad Imam Ahmed.
9.
وَ مَا بِسَـمْـعِ كُلِّ رَاوٍ يَتَّصِـلْ – إسْـنَـادُهُ للْمُصْـطَفَـى فالْمُتَّصِـلْ
And what by every narrator hearing (it) connected is – its chain to Mustafa then it is Muttasil.
The hearing of every narrator is connected. Its chain is ascribed to the Prophet. This is known as Muttasil. A marfu and a muttasil together are called a musnad. Even if a hadith is connected to the sahabi or to a tabaee, it is still called muttasil. What matters is where the chain ends at.
Musnad (مسند) literally means having been related or attributed to. Technically it means that Marfu Hadith whose Sanad or chain is Muttasil (joined) is called Musnad Hadith.
10-11
مُسَلْسَلٌ قُلْ مَا عَلَى وَصْفٍ أَتَى – مِثْـلُ أَمَـا وَاللَّهِ أَنْـبَـأَنِي الْفَـتَى
كَذَاكَ قَـدْ حَدَّثَنِـيهِ قَائِمـاً – أَوْ بَـعْـدَ أَنْ حَـدَّثَـنِي تَبَسَّـمَا
Musalsal, say: (it is) what has come upon a (particular) description – like: “Oh! By Allah, the boy told me!”
Likewise: “He told me it while standing” – or: “After he told me, he smiled.”
Musalsal is an emphasis on the chain of narration being connected. Musalsal basically means linked – that the narrators narrate one after the other by a particular characteristic, either by way of speech, action, or both of them. The narrators use the same description or action to narrate it. Ex: All of them say Wallahi from the Prophet till the narrator.
Ex: Hadith of Muadh – Muadh ibn Jabal reported: The Messenger of Allah took me by the hand and he said,
يَا مُعَاذُ وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّكَ وَاللَّهِ إِنِّي لَأُحِبُّكَ فَقَالَ أُوصِيكَ يَا مُعَاذُ لَا تَدَعَنَّ فِي دُبُرِ كُلِّ صَلَاةٍ تَقُولُ اللَّهُمَّ أَعِنِّي عَلَى ذِكْرِكَ وَشُكْرِكَ وَحُسْنِ عِبَادَتِكَ
“O Mu’adh, I swear by Allah that I love you. I swear by Allah that I love you! O Mu’adh, I advise you not to forget supplicating after every prayer by saying: O Allah, help me to remember you, to give thanks to you, and to worship you in the best manner.” [Sunan Abi Dawud]
So who ever is narrating this hadith will say, “I swear by Allah that I love you” and then narrate this hadith forward.
Al Imam Ibnu Salah in his book Ulumul Hadith says, “Hardly do the type of ahadith that is linked as such get saved from falling into weakness.” Most of such ahadith are weak or fabricated.
12.
عَـزِيزٌ مَرْوِيُّ اثْنَيْنِ أَوْ ثَلاَثَـهْ – مَشْهُـورٌ مَـرْوِيُّ فَوْقَ مَـا ثَلاَثَـهْ
Aziz is related by two or three (narrators) – Mashhur is related by beyond what is three.
Aziz is a strengthened narration where the narrators who narrate it are either 2 or 3. Basically 2 or 3 sahaba narrated the hadith from the Prophet, then 2 or 3 tabaee narrated it from the sahaba and so on till the end of the chain.
Ex: The Prophet ﷺ said,
لاَ يُؤْمِنُ أَحَدُكُمْ حَتَّى أَكُونَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ وَالِدِهِ وَوَلَدِهِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ
“None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind.”[Bukhari]
This hadith has been narrated by Anas Ibn Malik and Abu Hurairah, but it became Aziz from the side of Anas as Qatadah and Abdul Aziz narrated from him. Shu’ba and Saeed narrated it from Qatadah. Ismail Ibn Ulaiyah and Abdi; Warith narrated from Abdul Aziz.
Mashhur means famous or popular. It is the hadith that has been narrated by 3 or more narrators in all of the chain of the narration. Bayquni’s view is that it is more than 3.
Mashhur is of 6 types:
1. Mashhur to the people of hadith particularly.
Ex: Hadith of Anas: “that Allah’s Messenger made qunoot for a month after rukoo’ invoking against Ri’l and Dhakwaan.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
2. Mashhur” to the people of hadith , the scholars and the common people.
Ex: “The Muslim is he whom the Muslims are safe from his tongue and his hand.” [Bukhari and Muslim]
3. Mashhur to the fuqaha (scholars)
Ex: The most hated of the permissible to Allah is divorce.” [Da’eef Abu Dawud, Ibn Maajah and al-Haakim]
4. Mashhur to the Scholars of Usul (principles of fiqh).
Ex: “Mistakes and forgetfulness have been set down (forgiven) for my Ummah and that which they are forced to do.” [Sahih at-Tabarani from Thawbaan]
5. Mashhur to the people of Arabic grammar – Grammarians.
6. Mashhur to the common people.
13.
مُعَنْعَنٌ كَعَنْ سَعِيدٍ عَنْ كَـرَمْ – ومُبْهَــمٌ مَـا فِيـهِ رَاوٍ لَمْ يُسَـمْ
Mu’an’an is like: “From Sa’id – from Karam” – And Mubham is what has in it a narrator who hasn’t been named.
Dr. Abdul Sattar says that Mu’an’an and Muannan take the same ruling. كَ here means like, عَنْ – from. Its when a narrator narrates using عَنْ to link back to another narrator. This type of hadith where عَنْ is used is not accepted from everybody, it’s rejected from some people.
The word عَنْ means from and there is a possibility that the person might not have heard from the person directly or that there could be other narrators in the middle. That’s why scholars of Hadith employ usage of words like حدثنا (Haddathana), سمعت (sami`tu) and أخبرنا (akhbarana). These words are explicit and make things very clear. When the word عَنْ is used, we look at the person narrating. If he is someone known for dropping narrators in the middle of the chain, then his usage of the word is not taken and is considered to be a mudallis.
Mubham is the obscure or ambiguous which contains in its chain a narrator who isn’t known. Ex: “A man” came to the Prophet. We have 2 types here:
Mubham in the Matn – Where a sahabi relates a Hadith and says ‘a man’ or ‘a woman’ came to the Prophet, who said or did such and such and it is differed over who that person was. This does not necessarily affect the grade of the narration and there are narrations like this in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
Mubham in the Sanad – There are several different ways in which a sanad can contain Ibham. For example, it can refer to when a trustworthy narrator relates a Hadith on authority of two different trustworthy narrators. In this case, it is not certain which of the two is the correct narrator.
Route 1: A –> B (Thiqah) –> C (Sufyan bin Uyaynah) –> D (Thiqah)
Route 2: A –> B (Thiqah) –> C (Sufyan ath-Thawri) –> D (Thiqah)
Or it can be when there are two routes for a Hadith- in one route a trustworthy narrator relates on authority of ‘a man’ without naming who it is but definitely identifying another unnamed Tabaqah, and there being another route in which the unnamed narrator is named and he is trustworthy.
Route 1: A –> B (Thiqah) –> C (عن رجل) –> D (Thiqah)
Route 2: A –> B (Thiqah) –> C (Sufyan bin Uyaynah) –> D (Thiqah)
If the narrator isn’t known then the narration is said to be weak.
14.
وَكُلُّ مَا قَلَّـتْ رِجَـالُهُ عَلاَ – وَضِـدُّهُ ذَاكَ الَّـذِي قَـدْ نَـزَلاَ
And all of whose transmitters are few is elevated (in status) – And its opposite is that one which has descended (in strength).
Those narration whose men are few in the chain are called عَلاَ (Aal-in Isnad). The shortest chain to the Prophet was highly treasured. The opposite of this is where the chain is very long and is called Nazilul Isnad.
15.
وَمَا أَضَفْتُهُ إِلَى الأَصْحَابِ مِنْ – قَوْلٍ وَفِعْـلٍ فَهْـوَ مَوْقُوفٌ زُكِنْ
And whatever you have attributed to the Companions of – a statement or action then it is Mauquf. It is known.
Mauquf is anything that is attributed to a sahabi be it word or action.
- Mauquf Qowli (موقوف قولي) – That Hadith in which a particular statement of some Sahabi is stated.
- Mauquf Fi’li (موقوف فعلي) – That Hadith in which a particular act of some Sahabi is described.
- Mauquf Taqriri (موقوف تقريري) – That Hadith in which some Tabaee said or did something in presence of a Sahabi and the latter did not object to that.
If a sahabi said something and doesn’t attribute it to the Prophet like if we have something from Abdullah Ibn Abbas and he couldn’t have gotten it by his own striving (intellect or ijtihad) like the matters of the unseen – then the wording is mauquf but the hukm is marfu. This depends from sahabi to sahabi as they were of different levels.
If the sahabi says that “This is from the Sunnah” then both the wordings and the hukm are raised to the level of marfu.
16.
وَمُرْسَلٌ مِنْهُ الصَّحَـابِيُّ سَقَـطْ – وَقُـلْ غَرِيْبٌ مَا رَوَى رَاوٍ فَقَـطْ
And (in) Mursal the Companion falls from it – And say: “Gharib is what only one narrator relates.”
Imam Bayquni says that a Mursal hadith is when a sahabi is disconnected and that which is Gharib is that which has only one narrator.
There is a mistake here. If a sahabi is missing from the chain, it is still accepted for all the sahaba are reliable. We don’t take from the tabaee like that for they could be taking from another tabaee instead of a sahabi and not all tabaee are reliable.
Mursal literally means left out or forwarded. Technically it means that Hadith which a Tabaee quotes directly from the Prophet without mentioning the name of Sahabi.
Ex: حدثنا رسول الله كذا و كذا
“Rasulullah said so and so.”
This type of Hadith is usually considered Mardood (rejected) or Dhaeef (weak) as the state of left out narrator is not known who can be a non-Sahabi as well. But some scholars like, Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam Ahmed and Imam Shafaee, say that Mursal Hadith can be depended upon and should be considered if the Tabaee is authentic and reliable.
Gharib means strange and it is called such since there is just one narrator narrating it either in every stage of the isnad, or at a single point. It is also known as “al-fard”. In the view of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar “al-fard” and “al-ghareeb” are the same, except that “al-fard” is usually used to refer to “al-fardul mutlaq” (that which is reported by a single Companion), and “al-ghareeb” to refer to “al-fardun-nisbee” (which occurs later in the isnaad).
Ex: Hadith of Umar about Intention – We get this narration only from Umar. It was narrated from Umar only by Alqamah Ibn Abi Waqqas al-Laythi. The only person who narrated from him is Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim at-Taymi. The only person who narrated from him is Yahya Ibn Saeed al-Ansari. After him it got narrated by a large number of narrators.
17.
وَ كُـلُّ مَا لَمْ يَتَّصِـلْ بِحَــالِ – إِسْــنَــادُهُ مُنْقَطِعُ الأَوْصَــالِ
And all of what hasn’t connected at all – its chain is of severed ties (Munqati’).
If a hadith is disconnected it is called Munqati' where a narrator or more are missing from the chain at different places but not first and last.
It is dhaeef by agreement of the scholars, since we do not know the state of the missing narrator.
18.
وَالْمُعْضَلُ السَّـاقِطُ مِنْهُ اثْنَـانِ – وَ مَـا أَتَــى مُدَلَّسَاً نَوْعَــانِ
And the Mu’dal (tradition) is the one from which two are dropped – And what comes as Mudallas is two types:
This is a different type of disconnection. When 2 individuals are missing but are next to (connected to) one another.
Mu’dal literally means difficult or problematic. Technically it means that Hadith in which two or more than two narrators are missing successively in the Sanad. It is considered Dhaeef and of lower grade than Mursal and Munqata.
Mudallas is someone who drops someone in the chain to shorten it but not lying.
Mudallas literally means deceptive, where a defect is concealed. Linguistically “tadlees” is hiding the defects of an article being sold. Technically it means that Hadith in which an attempt is made to conceal the defects of the Sanad or chain of transmission.
19 -20
الأَوْلُ الإِسْـقَاطُ للشَّيْخِ وَأَنْ – يَنْـقُـلَ عَـمَّـنْ فَوْقَهُ بِعَنْ وَأَنْ
وَ الثَّانِ لاَ يُسْقِطُهُ لَكِنْ يَصِفْ – أَوْصَـافُهُ بِمَـا بِـهِ لاَ يَنْعَـرِفْ
(1) The first is the dropping of the Shaikh and to – relate from he who is above him while using “From…” and “…that.”
(2) And the second, he doesn’t leave him out. Rather he describes – his characteristics with that by which he isn’t known.
Tadlees is of 3 types:
1. Tadleesut-taswiyah – تَدْلِيْسُ التَّسْوِيَة
This is in reality a type of tadleesul isnaad. It is: A narrator narrating a hadeeth from his Sheikh with his isnaad and then dropping the name of a weak narrator occurring in between two reliable narrators who are known to have met each other. He organizes the chain of narration and gets rid of the weak narrators.
This is of the worst forms of tadlees and the hardest to detect. Those well-known for practicing tadleesut taswiyah: Baqiyyah ibn al-Waleed and al-Waleed ibn Muslim.
2. Tadleesul Isnad – تَدْلِيْسُ الإِسْنَاد
A narrator reports from the one whom he has heard from, that which he did not hear from him, using such wording as will leave the impression that he heard it from him, though not definitely stating so.
What actually takes place is that the narrator reports from a sheikh of his, whom he narrates from generally, however he has not heard this particular narration from him. Rather he heard this narration from another narrator who narrated from the sheikh, so he drops the name of this intermediary and quotes it directly from the sheikh using a wording which conveys the idea that he heard it from him, such as: “the sheikh said:” or “from the sheikh:”, however he does not use such wording as “I heard him say:” or “he narrated to me:” as this would make him a liar.
3. Tadleesush-Shuyookh – تَدْلِيْسُ الشُّيُوْخ
A narrator narrates a hadeeth which he heard from his shaykh, and gives his shaykh a name, kunyah or title which he is not normally known by, in order to disguise his identity.
21.
وَ مَـا يُخَـالِفُ ثِقَةٌ فِيهِ الْمَلاَ – فَالشَّاذُّ وَ الْمَقْلُوَبُ قِسْـمَـانِ تَلاَ
(3) And what by which a trustworthy one contravenes the majority – Then (it is) Shādhdh. And Maqlūb is two divisions that follow:
Shaadh has laready been mentioned above. Shaadh is a form of opposition. It can happen in 2 ways:
- The one who is opposing is a reliable one. Ex: Imam Malik or Imam Shafi’i.
- The one opposing is individually stronger than the others involved, but when they concur together as a group, they are stronger. In this scenario we have a thiqah opposing a group of thiqah’s, hence outweighed.
For Shaadh, the one who is opposing is more higher, qualified and knowledgeable than the one being opposed. If 2 conflicting reports can be reconciled then they are not considered to be shaadh.
Maqlub linguistically means something turned around/upside down. Technically it means changing the wording for another in the isnad or the text.
22.
إِبْـدَالُ رَاوٍ مَـا بِرَاوٍ قِسْـمُ – وَ قَلْـبُ إِسْنَـادٍ لِمَتْـنٍ قِسْـمُ
(1) Substituting a narrator for what has (a different) narrator is a division – (2) and inverting a chain to a (different) text is a division.
This is known as Maqlubul Matn – مَقْلُوْبُ المَتَن
This also has 2 forms:
1. The order of two words is reversed, e.g. the hadith which Muslim reports from Abu Hurairah about the 7 who Allah shades on the Day when there is no shade other than that of His Throne, wherein it occurs: “and a man who gives in charity and hides it such that his right hand does not know what his left gives in charity.” This wording being a narrator’s mistake, the correct version being: “such that his left hand does not know what his right gives in charity.” [Bukhaari and Muslim]
2. Giving the text of a hadith the isnad of another and giving its isnad also to a different hadith, done for example as a test, like the people of Baghdad did to Imam al-Bukhari.
This is the second type and is called Maqlubus-Sanad – مَقْلُوْبُ السَّنَد
This itself has 2 forms:
1. That the name of a narrator and his father’s is reversed, e.g. instead of “Ka’b ibn Murrah”, he is called “Murrah ibn Ka’b”.
2. That the name of a narrator is replaced by that of a completely different narrator, producing a new isnad. One who does this is described as “stealing hadith”.
23.
وَالْفَرْدُ مَـا قَيَّـدْتَهُ بِـثِقَـةِ – أَوْجَمْـعٍ أَوْ قَصْـرٍ عَلَـى رِوَايَةِ
And the Fard (tradition) is what you have bound, one who is trustworthy – or a group or a region, to a (single) narration.
This is of 2 types:
1. Al-Ghareebul Mutlaq (absolute) اَلْغَرِيْب المُطْلَق
It is also known as Al-Fardul Mutlaq. That which occurs at the root of the isnaad – being narrated by a single reliable narrator. It is unrestricted.
Ex: Hadith of Umar – Verily actions are but by intentions. This was reported only by Umar Ibn al-Khattab.
2. Fard Muqayyid
It is the restricted type of singular narration. It is of 2 types:
a) That where a narration has been narrated by only by those of a particular land. Narration is restricted by the land.
b) If a singular individual made the narration and it took place in the middle of the chain of narration.
24.
وَ مَا بِعِلَّـةٍ غُمُوضٍ أَوْ خَفَـا – مُعَـلَّلٌ عِـنْـدَهُـمُ قَـدْ عُـرِفَا
And whatever has an obscure or subtle weakness is – Mu’allal. With them it is known.
Mu’allal is that narration which has a defect. But when you look at it from the apparent, it looks pure and clean with no such defect apparent. Only those who have reached a pinnacle and a mastery in Hadith can identify this.
Mu’allal can be in the sanad or in the matn.
One of the ways of finding out such a defect is when a scholar brings all the chains of narration regarding that narration together and compares the differences between them.
Ex: Ya’la Bin ‘Ubaid from Suffian at-Thawri from ‘Amru bin Dinar from Ibn ‘Umar who narrated from Rasulullah – البيعان بالخيار مالم يتفرقا
Ya’la Bin ‘Ubaid made the mistake here when he said Suffian at-Thawri took from ‘Amru bin Dinar when in reality he had taken from Abdullah bin Dinar, his brother.
25.
وَ ذُو اخْتِلاَفِ سَنَـدٍ أَوْ مَتْـنِ – مُضْطَّرِبٌ عِنْـدَ أُهَـيْلِ الْـفَـنِّ
And the possessor of discrepancy in a (shared) chain or (shared) text is -Mudtarib according to the People of the Art.
The hadith which contradicts itself be it from the chain or the text. al-Mudtarib linguistically means that causing disturbance. Technically it means that which is reported in contradictory forms, all of equal strength.
It is of 2 types:
1. Mudtaribus-Sanad – مُضْطرِبُ السَّنَد
This is generally more common. Ex: Hadith of Abu Bakr in at-Tirmidhi: “Hud and its sisters have turned my hair white.”
Imam ad-Daraqutni says of it: “It is mudtarib, since it is not reported except by way of Abu Ishaq, and the reporters from him report it in about 10 different ways, some reporting it as being mursal, others as being mawsool; some declaring it to be from Abu Bakr, some from Sa’d and some from Aishah and in other ways. And its narrators are reliable and it is not possible to prefer some over others or to harmonize.
2. Mudtaribul Matan – مُضْطرِبُ المَتَن
Ex: Hadith of Fatimah bint Qays in at-Tirmidhi: “Verily there is a right due upon wealth other than the Zakaat.” However Ibn Maajah’s narration from her is: “There is no right due upon wealth other than Zakaat.”
al-’Iraqi says: “So this is an idtiraab which cannot be explained away.”
26.
والْمُدْرَجَاتُ فَي الْحَدِيثِ مَا أَتَتْ – مِـنْ بَعْـضِ أَلْفَاظِ الرُّوَاةِ اتَّصَلَتْ
And matters interpolated (Mudrajāt) in hadiths are what have come – from some of the words, of the narrators, that are connected.
Mudrajāt means there is an additional element in the hadith which wasn’t there in the original, be it in the chain or the text. Linguistically it means something entered into something else. Technically it means that whose isnad has a text connected to it incorrectly, or that which has something entered into its text which is not from it.
Its 2 types:
1. Mudrajul Isnaad – مُدْرَجُ الإِسْنَاد
That whose isnad has a text connected to it incorrectly, e.g. that a narrator relates an isnad, and then something happens which causes him to say something not connected to the hadith, and some of those who hear it think it to be the text of the hadith and so they report it as such.
2. Mudrajul Matan – مُدْرَجُ المَتَن
That which has something added to its text which is not from it, without any separation.
Ex: It was related that Abu Hurairah said that the Messenger of Allah said: “The righteous slave has two rewards.” Abu Hurairah said: “By The One in Whose Hand is the life of Abu Hurairah, had it not been for jihad in the cause of God, pilgrimage and doing good to my mother, I would have wished that I would have died as a slave.”
This is of 3 types:
a) That the idraaj occurs at the beginning of the hadith (which is rare), e.g. that the narrator makes a statement and then quotes a hadith directly after it to support it, so some of the listeners think it all to be part of the same hadith.
b) That the idraaj occurs in the middle of the text (and this is even rarer), e.g. that a narrator explains a word of the text after quoting it.
c) That the idraaj occurs at the end of the hadeeth.
This (Idraj) is done by a narrator because:
• He wants to explain or clarify what a particular word or ruling meant.
• Extraction of a ruling from a hadith before completing its narration.
• Explanation of the meaning of a word in the text.
27.
وَمَا رَوَى كُـلُّ قَرِينٍ عَنْ أَخِـهْ – مُدَبَّجٌ فَاعْـرِفْهُ حَقَـاً وَ انْتَخِـهْ
And what each peer narrates on the authority of his brother – is Mudabbaj. Know it properly, and be proud!
Al-Aqrān is the plural of qarīn which means companion so basically, contemporaries – Narrators who are close in terms of age or in terms of the chain or students of same Sheikh. Mudabbaj means that 2 aqran narrate a narration from each other. Ex: Abu Hurairah narrating from Aisha.
Linguistically it is the passive participle from al-tadbīj which means to beautify. Al-Tadbīj is derived from “dībājatay-l-wajh” i.e. the two cheeks. It is as if the mudabbaj is so called due to the equality of the narrator and the one from whom he narrates just as the two cheeks are equal.
28.
مُتَّفِـقٌ لَفْـظَـاً وَخَطَّـاً مُتَّفِقْ – وَ ضِـدُّهُ فِيمَـا ذَكَرْنَا المُفْتَرِقْ
(A name) agreeing (with another) in pronunciation and spelling is (called) Muttafiq – And its opposite in what we’ve mentioned is (called) Muftariq.
Muttafiq basically means that the way the name is written, said or pronounced is basically the same but the person being referred to is different.
Ex: Khaleel Ibn Ahmed – We have 6 people with the same name and this also includes the Sheikh of Sibaway, Khaleel Ibn Ahmed al-Farahidi.
Ahmed Ibn Jafar Ibn Hamdan – We have 4 people with the same name who lived at the same time.
29.
مُؤْتَلِفٌ مُتَفِـقُ الْخَـطِّ فَقَـطْ – وَ ضِدُّهُ مُخْتَلِفٌ فَاخْشَ الْغَلَـطْ
Mů-talif agrees in spelling alone – And its opposite is (called) Muķhtalif. So beware of erring!
Narrators when you write their name, the only difference is where the dots (tashkeel) are placed. In the earlier times, the harakat were not present.
30.
والْمُنْكَرُ الْفَـرْدُ بِهِ رِاوٍ غَدَا – تَـعْدِيـلُهُ لاَ يَحْمِـلُ التَّفَـرُّدَا
And the Munkar (tradition) is the Fard (tradition) that one narrator has come with – His vindication cannot strengthen the lone-narration.
A strong person opposing a narration is shaadh. Munkar is a narration where a person who is weak does opposes the reliable narrators.
31.
مَتْرُوكُهُ مَـا وَاحِدٌ بِهِ انْفَرَدْ – وَأَجْمَعُـوا لِضَعْفِـهِ فَهُـوَ كَرَدّ
The Matrūk of it (Hadith) is what one is alone with – and they have unanimously agreed upon his weakness. So it is like a spurious (tradition).
Matruk is just one lone weak narrator and his weakness is unanimously agreed upon. Such narrations are not taken into consideration at all.
32.
و الْكَذِبُ الْمُخْتَلَقُ الْمَصْـنُوعُ – عَـلَى النَّبِـيِّ فَذَلِكَ الْمَوْضُوعُ
And the lie that is concocted and manufactured – upon the Prophet, that is the Maudū’ (narration).
The fabricated narrations are those which are made up. It doesn’t matter if they did this intentionally or not, it is considered fabricated and not considered at all. It’s presence is as good as its absence.
Ex: Ahadith placed by the Raafidha to elevate the status of Ali.
33.
وَقَدْ أَتَتْ كَالْجَوْهَرِ الْمَكْنُـونِ – سَمَّـيْـتُهَـا مَنْظُوْمَةَ الْبَيْقُونِي
And it has come like the hidden pearl – I entitled it Manzhūmat Al-Baiqūni.
34.
فَـوْقَ الثَّـلاَثِينَ بِأَرْبَعٍ أَتَـتْ- أَقْسَـــامُهَا ثُمَّ بِخَيْـرٍ خُتِـمَتْ
Beyond Thirty-by-Four thus have come – their divisions, finished. With goodness, they are sealed.
