Praise to Allah2 who never ceases being knowing3, able. May Allah bless4 our liegelord

Muḥammad5, whom He sent to humankind as a bearer of good tidings and a warner, and

upon his folk6, Companions, and many salutations. 7

To commence8: The books of the nomenclature of ḥadith specialists are many and were

expanded9 and condensed10. One of my brothers[2] asked that I summarize for them what

is important from the books that are lengthy11. I responded to his request seeking to be

counted among those who trod the [scholarly] paths. So I say:

[12]Reports & Their Paths

89 The scholars mentioned all the differences amongst the scholars on a particular issue.

Book “Tadreebu Raawi” - The training of the Raawi. It's in 2 volumes and very detailed book. Ibn Hajr wrote a length book “Al Nukht al Ibn Salah” where he goes into more detail on what Ibn Salah mentions. It's 2 volumes, and he passed away before completing it.

101112Mustalahul Hadith is knowledge of the principles through which the status and condition of

the narrated and narrator are known. Usool al Hadith , Qawaidul Hadith, and Uloomul Hadith are synonymous with Mustalahul Hadith . Ar Risaala (by Imam Shafi, born in 150, died in 204) which they claim is a book of Mustalahul Hadith only speaks about a few general principles of Mustalahul Hadith, although Imam Shafi was one of the first people to start talking about this. Abu Muhammad Ar-Raamahurmuzee – his book was called Al Muhadithal Faasil isn't a very comprehensive book on the topic. The next person to discuss Mustalahul Hadith was Abu Abdillah Al Haakim Annaysapoori who wrote Ma'arifatu Uloom Al Hadith (The knowledge of the sciences of hadith), he didn't include certain things, and certain things were not placed in a proper sequence. Al Khateeb Al Baghdaadi. The most famous book he wrote on Mustalahul Hadith is Al Kifiyya fee 'Ilm Al Riwiyya He wrote this book but he also wrote many separate books of the sciences of hadith. Ibn Nukhta said “whoever is honest and unbiased, he will admit that every Muhadith after Kateeb Al Baghdaadi was dependent upon his books.” Abu 'Amr Ibn Salah – the Shafi scholar, wrote “Mareefatul Uloom al Hadith” but which became famous as “Al Muqadeemah fee Uloom al Hadith” or “Muqadeemah Ibn Salah”

The paths of a report ([13]khabar 13) [14]are either:

1. 14without specific number (chains of narrations)[15]

2. 15more than two paths (3+)

3. 16two paths (isnaads)

4. 17one path (only one isnad)

The first is the mass–transmitted report ([16]mutawātir)[17], 18and conveys sure

knowledge [18](‘ilm yaqīnī) when its conditions are met.19 [19] 20

13Linguistically, that which is reported and spoken about. A piece of news. A hadith is the Prophet SAW sayings, actions, or tacit approval. Other scholars (who said that Isnaad and Sanad were not synonymous said that Isnaad is the process of reporting something by using a chain of narration. So,for example, “My father told me, who's father told him...etc, until the actual piece of news is reported.”. The actual process of doing that is Isnaad. But, the actual people in that chain of narration are called the Sanad. Isnaad is therefore narrating something with a Sanad.

14 . 15161718The early scholars only classifies Hadith as Sahih or Daef, and didn't mention hadith to

be Muttawaatir or Ahad.

The second is the well–known report 21(mashhūr)[20] and it is also called the well–

circulated report 22(mustafīḍ)[21] according to one opinion.

The third is the rare report 23(‘azīz)[22]. It is not the [minimal] condition for authenticity,

contrary to whoever claimed it.24 [23]

.1920 Ibn Hajar says that a Muttawaatir hadith conveys certain knowledge, without doubt, when certain

conditions are met: (1) The impossibility of lying. (2) The basis of what they narrate must be based on their senses, meaning it must be seen, heard etc. (3) It must be based on knowledge, not suspicion or doubt. Someone can't say, I think etc. (4) These conditions must be present in all levels of the Sanad.

21 Example of a Mashhur hadith is “Indeed Allah swt has removed knowledge swiftly from the slaves, rather he will take iaway knowledge by taking away the Ulama.” It has been narrated by 3 or more companions. The Hanafi scholars say that a Mashhur hadith hasn't got lots of narrators in the level of the companions, but thereafter has an increasing number of narrators in every level. They say that it is a hadith that is between Ahad and Mutawaatir. When it comes to Mashhur, Aziz or Ghareeb, we cannot say that these hadith are authentic, or not authentic.

22Some scholars say that Mashhur and Mustafid are synonyms, the other opinion is that Mustafid is the same number of narrators in every level, example 3 Sahaba, 3 Tabieen etc until the end.

23Aziz is linguistically (1) Rare or (2) Strengthened. Technically it is that which is narrated by 2, even if it is in a few Tabakhaat of the sanad. Example, “None of you truly believe until I become more beloved to him than his father (meaning his parents), his child, and all people.”. This hadith is narrated from the Prophet SAW by Anas and Abu Hurairah, and 2 narrators narrate this from Anas: Qataadah, and Abdul Aziz ibn Suhaib. 2

people narrated from Qataadah: Shu'bah, and Saed ibn Abi

The fourth is the uncommon report 25(gharīb). [24]

All of them except for the first are solitary reports 26(āḥād)[25]. They [=these reports]

encompass the 27accepted and the rejected since using them as evidence hinges on

investigating the status of the reporters, contrary to the first category (Al

Muttawaatir)28. Yet they might contain what conveys inductive knowledge (‘ilm naẓarī)

with external indicators, according to the preferred opinion29. [26]

Ru'bah and from Abdul Aziz ibn Suhaib: Abdul Warith and Ismael Ibn Ulayah. We find that in every single Tabakha of this sanad we have at least 2 narrators. Therefore the scholars clasify this hadith as Aziz.Ibn Hibaan (ra) claims that according to this definition of an Aziz hadith(that it has to have 2 narrators in every level), no such hadith exists. That's why we say that even if it's in a few Tabakhaat we can still consider this hadith to be Aziz.

24The last hadith in Bukhari, “There are two phrases that are light on the tongue and heavy on the scales.” That hadith is narrated by Abu Hurairah, and he is the only companion to narrate this. These 2 ahadith are enough to refute those who say that Bukhari only includes ahadith in his collection which are narrated by 2 or more companions.

25 Technically, it is a hadith which contains a single narrator in at least one Tabaqa of its sanad. The word Fard and Gharib are synonyms.

26 . 27 .

29

Some external indicators (1) The Hadith is Mashhur, and is verified of being free of any defects. (2) It is reported by Imams, Example, Imam Shafi narrates from Imam Malik, who narrates from Nafa'i (the slave of Ibn Umar), who narrates from Ibn Umar, who narrates from the Prophet SAW. When we look at this sanad, we see that every person in it has reached the highest level of scholarship and the highest level of trustworthiness. We do not need to look into the biography. (3) Anything that is narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, this hadith is without a doubt authentic.. (4) If a hadith is verified by the Muhaditheen, and there is no disagreemen

Uncommonness

Then the uncommonness (gharāba) is either:

at the root of the chain (sanad ) [27]1.

or not.2.

The first is the absolutely–unique report (fard muṭlaq)[28] [e.g. one–ḥadīth narrator [29],

one–compiler narrator, one–narrator ḥadīth, one–locality narrations.]

30The second is the relatively–unique report (fard nisbī),[30] and it is rare that the term

‘unique’ (fard) is used for it without qualification. [31]

Does Ahad indicate certainty? 3 opinions: ( 1) No, only speculation. There aren't enough Ruwaat toindicate certainty. (2) Yes, without any qualification. (3) Yes, if it is supported by these indicators .

30 .If someone says “Fard” - without expanding on that, then they are talking about Fard Mutlaq . If for example, if a hadith is narrated by 2 companions, but only narrator narrates from (both of)

them. It is relative to that particular stage in the sanad, which is why we call it Fard AnN .

Dividing Accepted Reports into Sound & Fair

]32]The solitary report (āhād) transmitted by:[33]

1. an upright (‘adl)31 [34]

2. thoroughly accurate person 32(tāmm al-ḍabṭ) [35]

3.33

with a continuous chain [36](sanad) [37] 34

4. that is not defective (mu‘allal) [38] 35

31Must be Muslim, must be Mukalaf (sane and pubescent), you do not commit Major sins, nor do you persist on minor sins, you do what is compulsory and refrain from that which Allah swt has prohibited, and that you have Maroo'a (good character, and etiquette, by what is considered good character in your society). Maroo'a – e.g. In Sydney, if it is considered bad manners to sit on the pavement and eat. From an islamic perspective, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But, if people look down at that, then this tarnishes the reputation of the Muhaddith. The scholars were not only concerned about the memory etc. of the Muhaddith, but also if he had good character, was respectful etc.

32Two types of Dabt (accuracy): Dabt As Sadr and Dabt Al Kitaab. For a Raawi to be considered to have Taamm al Dabt, it means that he has the ability to memorise and recall whatever he's memorised whenever he's asked to do so.

33 . 34

. We know that they all met, that teach student studied from the teacher that he claimed to have studied from. This chain is Muttassil, it's continuous, there's no break in it. If we say that Imam Bukhari said that Imam Malik reported something, we would say that this is not a continuous chain because we know without a doubt that Imam Bukhari was not a student of Imam Malik.

35An 'Ilah is a hidden defect which negatively effects the authenticity of the hadith when it appears as if the hadith is free of the defect. There are certain defects which do not effect the hadith negatively. Example, if a Tabi'i says “A man from the companions of the Prophet SAW narrated to me something that the Prophet SAW said or did”, here we do not know exactly who the companion is, but we know that the companion is Thiqa (If a Raawi has 'adl and Dabt, we call that Raawi Thiqatun. The Plural of Thiqa is Thiqaat). The fact that we do not know who the companion is is a type of defect. But, we know that the Tabi'i is Thiqa and the Companions are all Thiqaat, so not knowing who the companion is doesn't negatively effect the authenticity of the hadith.

What is a hidden defect? A certain narrator who is Thiqa says that my Shaykh narrated a particular hadith to me, (we know that the narrator is Thisqa and his Shaykh is Thiqa, and they met) but after careful investigation we find that that particular hadith that he claims to have heard from his Shaykh, he didn't hear directly from his teacher.

5. nor anomalous (shādhdh) [39] 36

is the sound–in–itself [40]report (ṣaḥīḥ bi dhātihi). Its ranks are commensurate to

variation in these conditions[41]. Hence al-Bukhārī’s Ṣaḥīḥ was put first[42], then

Muslim’s37, and then what matches their criteria (shurūṭ).38 39 [43] 40

36Example, if a narrator says that the Prophet SAW used to make Tasbeeh with his hand, this was reported by many narrators, who are all Thiqaat. But, if a narrator says that he used to make Tasbeeh with his right hand, that is contradictory, therefore, we call that Shaadh. Therefore, for the hadith to be accepted, it must be free of any Shudhood – these contradictions. If a person has Dabt we call him Daabit. This is refutation of those who say that Muhaditheen didn't bother to look at the text of the hadith, but their main concern was to look at the actual asaanid. But, the condition of Shaadh is a clarification that the scholars looked at the text and looked at contradictions.

37The reason for this is (1) The status of Imam Bukhari (Muslim was one of his students) (2) The book itself. The narrators in Bukhari are Thiqa, they are more reliable, Bukhari has less narrators who have been criticised. Most of those narrators were Bukhari's teachers, so if they have been criticised, he knows exactly what they have been criticised for, he was able to avoid those mistakes, because he knows them better, they were his teachers.

3839Muslim said that if the Thiqa narrator had the possibility of narrating from the person he claimed to

have narrated from, that was sufficient. Bukhari said that they definitely had to have met. When we speak of the West, we mean scholars from Spain and Morocco etc. they were of the view that Sahih Muslim was better. Not better because it was more authentic, but because it doesn't do what Bukhari does. Bukhari would break up hadith, for example, “Actions are judged by intentions.” - he breaks it up and mentions it 7 times, he breaks it up and uses it different times. Whereas, there's very little repetition with Imam Muslim. From that perspective, they say Sahih Muslim as being better than Bukhari..

40 Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim never wrote down their criteria for choosing hadith. The scholars looked at these books and studied them in great detail. There 7 cateories of Sahih – (1) The highest level of authenticity is that which has been narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, (2) narrated by Bukhari alone, (3) Narrated by Muslim alone (4) That which fulfils and is according to the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim (5) That which is according to the criteria of Bukhari alone (6) That which is according to the criteria of Muslim alone and (7) That hadith which fulfils the conditions of authenticity, even though they are not in Bukhari and Muslim, they have been authenticated by other scholars. They fulful the conditions of Sahih hadith.

Fair Reports 41

If the accuracy decreases then it is the fair–in–itself report (ḥasan li dhātihi)[44]; with

multiple paths [45]it is considered sound (ṣaḥīḥ).42

If the grading is composite[46] [e.g. fair–sound (ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ)] it is [either] because of

indecision regarding the reporter when it [=his report] is unique [either fair or sound];43

otherwise it is from examining two chains [one fair and one sound].

41The definition of a Hassan hadith is exactly the same, except that we do not say Taam al Dabt, meaning thoroughly accurate, rather we say Khafeefu Dabt meaning of a lesser accuracy and precsion. If a narrator makes a mistake in 1 of 50 hadith,, we would say he is Taam Al Dabt. If another makes a mistake in 4 out of 50 hadith, we would say he is Khafeefu Dabt, and we would label this hadith as being Hassan Lee dhaatihi

42An example of this is the hadith “If it was not that I did not want to burden my ummah, I would have ordered them to use the Siwaak at every Salaah. The Raawi, Muhammad Ibn Amr Ibn 'Alqama is sudooq, meaning he is not Thiqaa as he makes mistakes. This hadith is reported in Tirmidhi and Bukhari and Muslim which raised its level from Hassan to Sahih.

43happens in the Jamiah of Imam Tirmidhi after almost every single hadith. If the grading of Sahih or Hassan is joined together, it is either because of indecision, (1) On the part of the Ulama - is he Thiqa or is he Sudooq? We say that the hadith is Sahih if he is Thiqa and Hassan if he is Sudooq. That is why in Tirmidhi after the hadith it will say Sahihul-Hassan, and sometimes it has this meaning, or otherwise, it is from examining 2 chains. in the 2nd we look at 2chains, one we say is Sahih and the other we say is Hassan because of those 2 chains, we state that the hadith is Sahih and Hassan.

Additions from Trustworthy Narrators

An addition from a narrator of each of these two types of chains [the sound and the fair]

[47] is accepted as long as his addition does not negate [the report of] someone who is

more trustworthy.[48] (Or a group of Thiqaat)44

If the addition is contrary to something superior (arjaḥ), the stronger is the well–preserved

report (maḥfūẓ),[49] and its opposite is the anomalous report (shādhdh). 45

If in addition to being contrary it is weak (ḍa‘īf)[50], the stronger is the well–recognized

(ma‘rūf), and its opposite is the disclaimed report (munkar).

When a report agrees with a relatively–unique report (fard nisbī) it is called a

corroborative chain (mutābi‘).[51]

44These Ziyaadaat can be divided into 3 types: (1) The narrator contradicts other narratiors (2) There is no contradiction (3) Where an additional wording is not narrated by the rest of the scholars. “The Earth has been made for us a Masjid, and its earth has been made for us a means of purification” (Sahih Muslim). And the wording in Bukhari and Muslim is that “The earth has been made for me a Masjid and a means of purification.” The difference in the 2 effects rulings. The 2nd one, reported by Bukhari and Muslim means that anything on earth can be used to make Tayyamum. Whereas the first one specifies that only sand or soil can be used for Tayyamum. An example of this is the hadith, “When any of you prays the 2 raka of Fajr, then let him lie down on his right hand side” - this is not authentically reported from his saying, I.e. all the other reporters said that after the Prophet SAW prayed 2 raka of Fajr, he lay down, not that he said that “when any of you...etc.” Abdul Wahid Ibn Ziyaad, narrators who are more reliable than him say that this is something that

the Prophet SAW did, and not said. The first, I.e. that which has been narrated by the more reliable narrators, that is the Mahfuz narration, and that which has been narrated by Abdul Waahid Ibn Ziyaad, that is the Shaadh report. The Shaadh report must be rejected.

45 If a weak narrator contradicts a Thiqaat, what is well known and reported by the Thiqaat is called Ma'ruf, and the narration of the weak narrator is called Munkar. An example of this is: The hadith “whomsoever establishes the Salah and gives the Zakah, and performs the pilgrimage, and fasts the month of Ramadhan, and honours the guest – he will enter Jannah. Most narrators report this from the words of, or the saying of Ibn Abbass, whereas a weak narrator says that these are the words of the Prophet SAW. nothing wrong with the meaning of this hadith, but to attribute it to the Proophet SAW, that's wrong.

If a report’s content (matn) is found that resembles it, then it is a witness–report (shāhid).

Investigating the paths of transmission for the above is called evaluation (i‘tibār).46

Contradiction & Objection

That which is accepted (maqbūl):

if it is free from contradiction or objection (mu‘āraḍa), [52]then it is decisive (muḥkam). 47

If it is contradicted by something equal to it [in soundness]:[53]

46 If we find that a companion narrates a hadith. In the corroborative chain (mutābi‘), Before we start investigating we assume that this hadith is only narrated by this companion (there is only one sanad), but after we start investigating we find that there is another sanad linking up with this Sahaabi, and the hadith has exactly the same wording or an meaning, or only has the same meaning but the companion is the same. This supporting, corroborative chain is called the Mutaabi'. An example of this is the hadith “The month is 29”, reported by Imam Malik from Imam Shaf'i. Imam Shafi'i says that Imam Malik says who reports from Adbullah ibn Deenar, who reports from Ibn Umar. At the beginning we thought this was the only chain. Later, after some investigation we find that Qa'nabee (one of the students of Imam Malik) also narrates this hadith, and it links up with Ibn Umar, the same companion, therefore we say that this narration of Qa'nabee is Mutaabi' because it has the same companion, and the same wording and meaning as the narration of Imam Shafi'i. Shaahid. Imam An Nasai reports the previous hadith, with the same wording, but on the authority of Ibn Abbass. So, the wording of the hadith is the same, but the companion is different. Therefore, because the Matn is the same as the previous narration, in the Mutaabi', but it is by a different companion, then we call this narration Shaahid. Imam Bukhari reports this hadith, that the month is 29 days, on the authority of Abu Hurairah. This whole process is called 'Itibaar and the Mutaabi' and the Shaahid are the fruits of 'Itibaar

47 fulfilled the conditions of Sihah (authenticity), then the next step is to make sure that nothing contradicts it in the sunnah or the Qur'an.

if reconciliation (jam‘) is possible, they are reconcilable reports ([mukhtalif al-ḥadīth}); 48

if not and the later one is positively established (thābit), then one is the abrogating report

(nāsikh) and the other is the abrogated report (mansūkh);49 [54]

if not, superiority is sought (tarjīḥ)[55]; 50

and lastly, neither one is confirmed or denied (tawaqquf).51 [56]

48

49 like Jaabir (ra) saying that before the Prophet SAW did x then abrogated that, and that if anyone eats meat or food cooked over a fire – his wudu was not nullified. The presence of Ijmaa. Ijmaa itself does not abrogate and is not abrogated. But, rather, it indicates to us that there was something that abrogated that ruling.

Example of the one who drinks continuously. “If a person drinks, then whip him, and if he drinks again, then whip him again, and if he drinks a third time, then kill him.” We find that this is contradicted by other reports of the Prophet SAW, but there's Ijmaa of the Ulama that if a person continuously drinks, that person will not be killed. Therefore, that indicates that there was a report that the Prophet SAW had abrogated that particular issue.50 We look at: (1) Narrators – If we find one hadith has more reliable narrators than the other, than

we say that those particular narrators are more reliable, therefore we give preference to this. (2) Manner in which hadith was obtained. If every single narrator says that they heard it from their Shaykh, then another hadith which contradicts it says “I read to my Shaykh, or my Shaykh gave me the book, and gave me permission, which is a weaker form of narration. We give preference to the narrators who say that we heard directly. (3) The time, we give preference to what came in Madina, compared to Makkah. (4) We look at that which is specific over that which is general, and give preference to the specific. These are just some of the ways to deal with contradictions, and some of the scholars mention 50 ways.

51 , we cannot now confirm or deny any of the 2

The Rejected & its Divisions

Reports are rejected (Mardud) because of:

1. lacuna (saqṭ)52 [57]

.2 or aspersion (ṭa‘n). [58]

Lacunas

Lacunas are either:

1. at the beginning of the chain (sanad) on the part of the compiler,

2. at the end of the chain after the Successor ,

3. or elsewhere.

The first [case] is the suspended report (mu‘allaq). 53

52Lesson 3, part 3 The Mabda, or Mabaadi of the sanad is the beginning of the chain I.e. from the Musanif, or the compiler. The opposite is the 'Asl of the chain, which is the side of the Companion of the Prophet SAW. The missing link can either be from anywhere

53 Comes from the word suspended. technical terms, it is a missing link if one or more narrators are missing from the beginning of the isnaad, if those missing links continue to the end of the sanad. So there are 5 scenarios: (1) The entire sanad can be deleted. Example, Imam Bukhari says that the Prophet SAW

The second is the expedient report (mursal). 54 [59]

The third:

says. (2) The enire sanad is removed, and Imam Bukhari just quotes a saying without attributing it to anyone (3) The entire sanad is deleted, except the companion. So, Imam Bukhari says “Abu Hurairah said,”(4) The entire sanad, except the Tabi'i and the companion has been deleted. Example, if Imam Bukhari says, Nafi'i says that Ibn Umar says that the Prophet SAW said. There are 2 links between Nafi'i and Imam Bukhari, but he has deleted them. (5) He deletes his Shaykh and attributes it to someone above his Shaykh. Example, Imam Bukhari narrates a hadith from Qa'nabee, and Qa'nabee from Imam Malik, so Imam Bukhari would then take away Qa'nabee, his teacher, and narrate from Imam Malik, who is the shaykh of his Shaykh.

These hadith are rejected, because there is no 'Itisaal. We said that for a hadith to be Sahih, it needed to have a continuous chain of narration

If we find a Mualq hadith in Bukhari and Muslim what is the ruling? Muslim has about 13/14 Mualq hadith, but Bukhari has 100s, so much so that Ibn Hajar, when he explains Sahih Bukhari, in a separate venture, he takes out all the ahadith which Bukari has mentioned without a sanad from himself to the companion, or the Tabi'i or the Prophet SAW (in his book Taghlik Ta'leek). In that book he strives to find all the missing links which Bukhari mentions.

If we look at the Mualaq hadith in Bukhari, there are 2 types: (1) we find that it has a continuous chain in another. (2) It is not Mawsul (continuous) in either Bukhari or Muslim. It is either(a) Jada * (?) - meaning it is in an active voice, Imam Bukhari says that the Prophet SAW said, or did, or Abu Hurairah reported. If he used the active voice, it's called Manzum. If he uses the passive voice, it was said, it was narrated, “it is said that the Prophet SAW said, then in the Jazm, no for sure that it is authentic to whom Imam Bukhari has suspended it on. If it is said in a passive voice, we need to verify it, and need to know who are the missing links in that chain of narration.54Literal definition of the Mursal hadith is that it is the hadith which has been quickly sent..

The Mursal hadith is that which the Tabi'i attributes to the Prophet SAW. Some scholars say that only if a senior Tabi'i (I.e. a Tabi'i who narrates from many of the senior companions of the Prophet SAW, and from many companions), if he attributes something to the Prophet SAW only, without mentioning the companion, only that is called Mursal. The majority of the scholars state that if any narrate something directly from the Prophet SAW,, without mentioning the companion, that is called a Mursal hadith. Because there is no continuous chain, then one of the conditions of Siha has not been fulfilled, and the hadith is not accepted. There are 3 opinions on the Mursal hadith: (1) It is accepted. (2) It is daef because it is not continuous. (3) It is accepted, based on certain conditions. Mursal of the sahaabi. Narrated by the companion of the Prophet SAW who was too young, or who wasn't present to have heard this from the Prophet SAW. Example, Muhammad , the son of Abu Bakr was born when the Prophet SAW was on his way for Hajj, a few months before the Prophet SAW passed away. This was in Dhul Qa'adah, and the Prophet SAW passed away in Rabial Awal. So, this companion was only about 3-4 months old when the Prophet SAW passed away. He was a companion, and his mother, Asma bint Awais, and his father, Abu Bakr, were companions. But, he could not have been a witness, so whatever he reports from the Prophet SAW is called Mursal. Even though he was a companion, he was considered to be a Tabi'i because he was too young to have narrated something from the Prophet SAW.

The Mursal of the Sahaabi is accepted, as seen in the case of Aiesha (ra), she wasn't present when the Prophet SAW received revelation but in Sahih Bukhari, in the first chapter, she narrates hadith about when the Prophet SAW received revelation. She wasn't there, she wasn't even born at that time, which shows us that the scholars have accepted the Mursal of the Sahabi, because the only source a companion could have had is another companion, so the issue of the missing link doesn't apply here.

o If the lacuna consists in two or more narrators consecutively then it is the problematic

report (mu‘ḍal),55 [60]

o

If not, then it is the broken–chained report 56(munqaṭi)[61]

The lacunas[62] can be:

1.57

obvious [63]

2. or hidden. [64]

The first is recognized by lack of meeting [between inter–connected reporters].

Hence the need for [biographical] history.

The second is the camouflaged report (mudallas)[65], a report related with a phrase

which implies possible meeting, such as “From so–and–so”, “He said…”, (‘an, qāla).

Likewise, the hidden expedient report (mursal khafī )[66] from a contemporary he did

not meet [or did not meet as a narrator, such as a baby Companion from the Prophet

, e.g. Mūsā ibn Ṭalḥa .

55We find many example of this in the Muwatta of Imam Malik. Many times he says “It has reached me that Abu Hurai

rah . Between Imam Malik and Abu Hurairah there are 2 people. How do we know this? Because in other narrations, in Sahih Muslim We know that they are 2 consecutive missing links, that are neither at the beginning nor at the end. This is an example of a Mu'dal report. It is daef from this chain of narration (not from the wording, the wording is authentic), but a Sahih narration from Muslim and others.

56

57 Al Haakim mentions an example of Abu Jafaar Al Kushi who reports from Abdi Ibn Humayd. The scholars asked Abu Jafaar when he was born (found it strange that he had narrated from Adbi ibn Humayd), so he said, I was born in the year 260. So Haakim turned to the rest of the gathering and said that this man claims to have narrated from Abdi Ibn Hummayd 13 years after his death. He was able to expose this person just by using History.

Aspersion

Aspersion (ṭa‘n)58 is because of one of the following:

1. the narrator lying [67]

2. 59being accused of lying [68]

58This Aspersion is because of one of 2 things (1) The Adaalah of the Raawi, or (2) because of the Dabt of the Raawi.

The majority of the Muhadithoon say that if a person has been accused of lying once, that that is enough for their narration to be rejected forever

3.60

making enormous mistakes [69]

4. being heedless (ghafla)61 [70]

5. being morally corrupt (fāsiq)62 [71]

6. being delusionary (wahm)63 [72]

7. contradicting others (mukhālafa) [73]

8. being unknown (jahāla)64 [74]

9. being an innovator [75]

10. being chronically forgetful 65 [76]

The first is the forged report (mawḍū‘).66 [77]

59This could mean one of 2 things: (1) He is the only one to report a particular narration and it contradicts established matters in the Deen, whether or not it has been established in the Qur'an or sunnah. (2) This person is known to lie in his daily speech with people, but it has never yet been ascertained that he lies when he narrates hadith.This person is Muhatahamun bil Kathib – accused of lying. The ruling on this type of narration is that his narration is rejected.

60 Example, mistakes in more than half, his narration is rejected.

61 62There are 2 types of interpretation. (1) Interpreting the Qur'an or hadith incorrectly, and

falling into a sin (biddah) (2) Disobedience without any proof, such as drinking 63 For example, he cannot be sure if the hadith is from the Prophet SAW, or the saying of the

Sahaabi.. This person's narration would be rejected. It's important to note that the hadith itself

would not be rejected. If you find the same hadith throught different asaan

id, then you can accept it. 64There are actually 3 types (for clarity), (1) Jahalatul Dhaat – we don't have the name of the

person. 65There are 2 types of forgetfulness when it comes to the Raawi (1) Permanent – The Raawi

has always had a bad memory. He makes so many mistakes that we cannot accept his testimony (2) It happened later, due to old age, or he lost a family member, and that affected him so badly psychologically, or he used to narrate from his books, but they were binned or burnt, and now he narrates from his memory, and his memory is bad. If it is chronic, then his narration is rejected. Lesson 4, part 2

66 I

The second is the discarded report (matrūk). [78]

The third is the disclaimed report (munkar) according to one opinion, as are the

fourth and fifth.

When delusion (wahm) 67 is discovered through external indications

(qarā’in) and gathering the paths of transmission, then it is the defective

report (mu‘allal).

As for contradicting others (mukhālafa), if it results from:

We know if is a fabricated ahadith by (1) The person admits it and makes Tawba. (2) The person claims to have heard it from a particular person, and it would be historically impossible for this to have happened. Example, if a person said that the Prophet SAW was with his uncle, Abu Talib at Hudaybiyya, this is impossible, as his uncle died before the hijrah. (3) Unintentional fabrication. Example, one of the Sheikhs of hadith was sitting in a gathering narrating hadith and said that the Prophet SAW said...and then a man walks in who has Nur on his face, and the Shaykh says “whoever makes salah at night will have Nur on his face during the day” - so everyone thought that this was the hadith . But, when we research this, we realise that the hadith is a lie, but it was done unitentionally. (4) It was done intentionally, example, the hadith about the horse and the sweat. A person can tell immediately that the Prophet SAW never said that, without looking at the chain of narrators, we can see that just from the hadith itself.

67Al Wahmu, or Al Wahamu. To find out if a delusion has taken place we look at external indications, or we look at all the different asaanid and we join them together and we can see that there is something wrong with this. There are a few types of ilah, e.g. the Raawi says “ Murrah ibn Ka'b, instead of saying Ka'b ibn Murrah, or there is an Ilah in the text itself, when one Raawi mentions something that other Ruwaat didn't mention, and we discussed that under Shadh, or we find an ilah in the sanad and the Matn.

o changing the wording of the chain, it is the chain–interpolated report (mudraj al-

isnād)68 [79]

o conflating a halted Companion–report (mawqūf) with a raised Prophetic–report

(marfū‘) then it is the content–interpolated report (mudraj al-matn) 69

o or transposition, then the topsy–turvy report (maqlūb)70 [80]

o or inserting a narrator, then it is the insertion into an already–connected–chain

report (mazīd fī muttaṣil al-masānīd) [81]

o or it is substituting one narrator for another [without preponderance of one chain

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distorted report (muṣaḥḥaf) 72and the vowel–distorted report (muḥarraf).73 [84]

68If he added a narrator. 69This can happen at the beginning, middle or end of the hadith. (1) This happens sometimes

when the narrator, after the Tabieen, he adds the words of a companion into the words of the Prophet SAW. The words were separate, but he joined them together. Sometimes people are unsure pf what the Prophet SAW meant. An example of this is – “there are no days in which good deeds are more beloved to Allah swt than these 10 days.” When people who were not present heard this hadith, like the Ta'bieen and those after them, they will not know what the Prophet SAW meant. So the Raawi says, “He means the 10 days of Dhul-Hijjah “ - we know that those are not the words of the Prophet SAW, but the Raawi is seeking to clarify what the Prophet SAW means. Aiesha (ra) discusses when the Prophet first received revelation. She said that he used to worship, the word is “Tahanathu” and the Raawi explains that it means to worship. If it is something we know that the Prophet SAW could not have said. Example, “For the slave, he has 2 rewards, and if it was not for Jihaad and being good to my mother, than I would have wanted to be a slave.” - There is no problem in the first part of the hadith, but the Prophet SAW's mother passed away when he was a child, so there is no way that the Prophet SAW could have been good to his mother. It is clear that these are not the words of the Prophet SAW, but of Abu Hurairah

(2)The other case of an intentional fabrication is when someone lies upon the Prophet SAW. 70Example, instead of saying Malik an Nafia, he says Nafia an Malik

The Prophet SAW said that 7 people will be under the shade of Allah on the day when there will be no shade. One of those people will be a person who gives in secret so much so that his left hand doesn't know what his right hand has given. Some narrators have narrated this hadith and have said that “he gives charity in secret so much so that his right hand doesn't know what his left hand has given. We know that this is incorrect. In Bukhari and Muslim it is narrated as his left hand doesn't know what his right hand has given.

71There is no way of knowing for certain which one is the correct sanad. Example, if people see an accident, and someone says it was red and purple car, and another says something else etc. there is no way of knowing which report is correct. Lesson 4, part 4

72Al Muraajm becomes Al Muzaahim. The dot was taken away and goes from being a Jeem, to a Haa. Look at the precision of the Muhaditheen. By saying a different name, it affects the authenticity of the hadith, so they went as far to check the dots in the narrators name. Before they discussed the hadith itself, this is the type of dedication they showed to preserving the Prophet SAW's ahadith.

73What happens when you are reading a book, and you find that there are mistakes in the vowels? You cannot put a line through the text, but can make the changes in a footnote.

It is not permissible to intentionally alter a ḥadīth’s content (matn) by omission or

paraphrase, except for someone knowledgeable of what changes meanings.74

[85]

If the meaning is obscure, explaining odd words and clarifying the problematic is needed.75

[86]

74Example of this is if the Prophet SAW said you're not allowed to have a dog, except a certain type of dog. If you omit the last part of the hadith (after, “except”), you have changed the ruling, and made all dogs prohibited, regardless of the type, or its purpose. That's why the scholars say that it's impermissible. But, if the hadith is lengthy, and the scholars understands that whatever he omits is not dependant on what remains, or vice versa, then that is permissible.

The early scholars, Shu'bah ibn al Hajjaaj were very much against this, that you must narrate the hadith the way the Prophet SAW had narrated it, any other way was not permissible. The

hadith had to be narrated verbatim.

There are many instances w

here they do not narrate the words of the Prophet SAW verbatim and they narrate the meaning of the Prophet SAW words. Also, we find that the Ulema have agreed that it is permissible to teach the shariah to people who do not understand the Arabic language and to explain the Shariah in another language. Then to paraphrase the words of the Prophet SAW must also be permissible, as Ibn Hajar says in Nuzha.

If the Raawi narrates the hadith by meaning, it does sometimes effect the meaning.75 The hadith that to curse another Muslim is a sin, but to fight him is Kufr.” - the Ulama say that

this is a problematic hadith, why? Because this hadith means that by just fighting another Muslim takes you outside the fold of Islam. Yet, Allah swt says in the Qur'an that He forgives every sin, except associating partners with Him. So, if killing takes a person outside the fold of Islam, this hadith contradicts the verse of the Qur'an.

The causes for which a narrator is unknown (jahāla) are:

o The narrator may have many names and he is mentioned with one that is not well–

known, for a purpose. 76Concerning this they compiled the clarifier (al-mūḍiḥ). [87]

o The narrator has few [narrations] and is not frequently taken from. Concerning this

they wrote single–report narrators (alwuḥdān)77 . [88]

o Or he may be left unnamed out of brevity[89]. Concerning this [they

compiled] the anonymous mentions (mubhamāt).78 [90]

o The anonymous narrator (mubham) [91]is not accepted[92], even if he is mentioned

anonymously with a grading of commendation (ta‘dīl), according to the soundest

opinion79

. [93]

o If the narrator is named:

In Mukhtaliful Hadith, 2 authentic hadith which seem to contradict one another. In Mushkilul hadith, these ahadith conflict with verses of the Qur'an, or matters established in the Shariah.

76 Example is Abu Hurairah, not many people know that his name was Abdur Rahman ibn Saqar, so if a hadith was mentioned as being narrated by Abdur Rahman ibn Saqar, people may think that it is an unknown narrator. If the Shaykh is weak, and his name is Abu Muhammad. The Raawi would say that his Shaykh's name is Abu Abdil Malik, so one of the purposes could be of camouflaging a report

77They also have very few students. 78Example, Imam Bukhari reports from Yusuf, who reports from a man, who reports from

Imam Malik. The unnamed man is called a Mubham. Sometimes we see that a man came to the Prophet SAW and asked him a question. Who is this man? He is Mubham, it doesn't affect the actual authenticity of the hadith because it appears in the text of the hadith itself, it doesn't affect the Adaalo of the Dabt. The 2nd thing is we have something called the Muhmal is when the lineage of the person is not mentioned. For example, Shk Tariq is the son of Muhammad, but in the sanad we only have his first name, his lineage is not mentioned. That is called Muhmal, meaning that his lineage has been removed, out of brevity, and this can cause confusion. Example, we have Sufyaan Ath Thawri and Sufyaan ibn uyaynah. If we find in a sanad, the word Sufyaan only, then we are uncertain, which Sufyaan are we speaking about? Here, there is no real problem because both of them are Thiqa, but what happens if we have a one that is Thiqa and one that is Daef? This is going to cause problems. One of the ways of clarifying this is to know who the teachers of every Sufyaan was. In the books of the biographies of the narrators (The books of Rijaal), the teachers of the Raawi are mentioned, as well as their students.

79This means that there is disagreement amongst the scholars. Imam Shafi'i mentions this many times in his books, and says that a Shaykh narrates to me, whom I trust, or a Thiqa mentioned to me, whom I trust. He doesn't mention the soundest

opinion, which is the opinion of the majority of scholars, that if someone says. So the narration of this Raawi is not accepted until we know exactly who he is.

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son related from him, then he is an unidentifiable reporter 80(majhūl al-‘ayn).

If two or more related from him and he is not [explicitly] declared reliable 81, then he is a

reporter of unknown status (majhūl al-ḥāl); and that is the veiled reporter (mastūr).

Innovation82 is of two types:

1.tantamount to apostasy83 [94]

2.or tantamount to moral corruption. 84

As for the first: The vast majority do not accept any narrator thus described. 85

As for the second: Someone who is not inviting people to it is accepted according to the

soundest opinion, unless he related something supporting his innovation[95]: in that case

he is rejected according to the preferred opinion. 86 This is what al-Nasā'ī’s shaykh, al-

Jūzajānī, explicitly said.

Then poor memory:

80Although we know the person's name, their personality is unknown to us 81No-one has made Tawfeeq, which means that no-one has declared him reliable, nor is there any

Tajreeh – no-one has declared himto be unreliable, then he's a reporter of unknown status.

Lesson 5, part 2 Majhul al Haal and Mastoor mean exactly the same thing.

82 83 848586

If it is chronic [96], then it is the anomalous report (shādhdh)87 according to one opinionoor occasional, then the jumbled report (mukhtalaṭ). [97]

Whenever a chronically–forgetful reporter is corraborated by a reporter worthy ofo

consideration, the veiled reporter (mastūr), the expedient reporter (mursil ), and likewise

the camouflager–reporter (mudallis), their ḥadīth becomes the fair (ḥasan) report, not in

itself, but on the whole (lā li-dhātihi bal bil–majmū‘)88 . [98]

87He's always going to contradict the Ruwaat 88If the Raawi has a chronically bad memory, or the hadith that has an unknown person whom only 2

people narrate from, or we have a hadith where the Tabi'i says the Prophet SAW says (Mursal), or a

)Mudallas (where the narrator has made Tadlees of his Shaykh, or someone after his Shaykh; mentioning him by another name that he is not well known for, or giving us the impression that he

heard this hadith from that person, when he did not. If a Raawi who is worthy of consideration; the narrator who is accepted in the Sahih and Hassan hadith, reports something which corroborates any of these 4 ( above), then the hadith becomes Hassan, not in and of itself, but rather because of that Sanad, and because of any other Sanad we might find that supports it – becomes Hassan Lee Ghayrihi

.

To Whom the Report is Attributed

The chain’s ascription (isnād) explicitly or implicitly89 goes to

1. the Prophet : consisting in his statements, or his actions, or his tacit approval 90

2. a Companion . He is whoever encountered 91 [99] the Prophet believing in

him[100] and died as a Muslim 92, even if [his Islam] was interrupted by apostasy

according to the strongest opinion 93

3. or a Successor, namely anyone who met one of the Companions 94. [101]

The first is the raised–chain (Prophetic) report (marfū‘). [102]

The second is the halted–chain (Companion) report (mawqūf). 95

The third is the severed–chain (sub–Companion) report (maqṭū‘) 96. It is the same for

anyone subsequent to the Successor. [103]

The last two are said to be non–Prophetic reports (āthār). [104]

89Explicit – The Prophet SAW did, said, or approved of. Implicit – We were ordered/prohibited to do the following, or we used to do something and the Prophet SAW did not prohibit us.

9091Some scholars defined it as whoever “saw” the Prophet SAW, but that would exclude any blind

companions, like Abdullah ibn ummi Maktum and others. Therefore, they did not see the Prophet SAW, and wouldn't be considered as companions, but there is no one who says that.

92 93 If he apostated after the Prophet SAW's death, but later repented, before his own death,

then according to the strongest opinion, he would be considered to be a companion. 94A Tabi'i had to have met at least one companion, whilst a Muslim, and died as a Tabi'i. 95 . 96 P

How the Report is Attributed

A grounded report (musnad) is a report that a Companion raised to the Prophet with a

chain that has the outward appearance of being connected. [105]If its numbers [of

narrators in the chain] are few 97, either it ends with:

1. the Prophet

2. or an Imām with a distinguished description, like Shu‘ba.

The first is absolute elevation (‘ulūw muṭlaq) [106]

The second is relative elevation (‘ulūw nisbī). It includes:

o concurrent chain (muwāfaqa) which arrives at the shaykh of one of the compilers without

using the compiler’s path;

o convergent chain (badal) which arrives at the shaykh’s shaykh in the same way;

o parity (musāwāt) which is the number of narrator–links in the chain from the narrator to

the end equaling [the length of] the chains of one of the compilers; 98

o and handshaking (muṣāfaḥa) which equals the chain of that compiler’s student. 99

Descent (nuzūl) corresponds to elevation (‘ulūw) in all of its categories.

If the narrator is the same age as someone who narrates from him and they met, then it is

peer narration (aqrān).100

97Uloow – A chain with few narrators, there is lesser chance of mistake, and could be more authentic.

98All of these discussions occurred much later, early scholars were more concerned about achieving an authentic chain of narration. The longest chain of narration in the sunan of Nasa'i is 11 people in the chain from Nasa'i and the Prophet SAW. He had 11 people in his chain, which is why he says it's equal to the length of the chain of one of its compilers.

99 \Ibn Hajar is equal number of the student of An Nasa'i, or any other compiler of hadith, therefore, it's as if he has shaken hands with An nasa'i, like the student of An Nasa'i must have shaken thehand of Nasa'i.

100 Example, Imam Malik and Sufyan ibn uyaaynah, they were the same age, and one narrated from the other. This is called Rawiyat Aqraan. If they both narrated from eachother, then we called that Mudabaj, therefore, every single Mudabaj is an aqran report, but not the other way around.

If each of them related from each other then it is reciprocal narration (mudabbaj).

If he relates from someone inferior [in age, teachers or knowledge] him, then it is seniors–

from–juniors narration (akābir ‘an aṣāghir)101 . It includes: fathers–from–sons narration (al-ābā’

‘an al-abnā’); its opposite is frequent. It includes son–from–father or grandfather narration (‘an

abīhi ‘an jaddihi). 102

If two share the same shaykh and one’s death precedes, then it is predecessor–successor

narration (sābiq wa-lāḥiq).103

If he relates from two shaykhs whose names match and cannot be differentiated, then the fact

that he specializes in narrations from one of them is a sign that the other one is irrelevant.104

101 . Example, Bukhari narrated from Tirmidhi, even though the difference in status between the 2 of them is vast, and also Imam Ahmed narrates a hadith from Abu Dawud. Tamim ad Daari spoke about the Dajaal and the Island that he went to and what he saw there, and the Prophet SAW narrated the story from him, which is an example of a senior narrating from a junior.

102 Example, The full lineage – Amr ibn Shuaib ibn Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn 'amr ibn 'Aas. 103 Khatib al Baghdaadi has a book specifically about that. Example, Imam Bukhari reports from

Kutaybah ibn Saeed, and the last person to narrate from Kutaybah ibn Saeed is An Nisa'i. Imam Bukhari and Nisai'i both narrate from Kutaybah ibn Saeed but Bukhari died before An Nisai, so we call that as Saabiqoo wal Lahiqoo

104 Example, If you have 2 Shaykhs, both of their names are Muhammad ibn Muhammad, and there is no way to differentiate between them based on looking at their Shaykhs and their students. But, we know that our narrator spent 20 years with one of the Muhammads, then we know that we are speaking about Ibn Muhammad al Baghdaadi, and not Muhammad ibn Muhammad al Maki I.e. we know that one that he specialised/spent a lot of time with is the one that is meant.

If he denies what is related from him

categorically, the report is rejected 105

or possibly, then it is accepted according to the soundest opinion. 106

Concerning this is the genre of those–who–narrated–and–forgot ( man ḥ addatha wa

nasiya.(

If the narrators conform in the phrasing used to convey or in some other manner, then it

is pattern–chained narration (musalsal).107

If the student and the Shaykh are both Thiqa, and the student says that he studied with that105Shaykh, but the Shaykh denies it categoricall, then that narration, from that student, on the authority of that Shaykh is rejected. It does not mean that we reject that Raawi, but rather we reject that

particular report. We are not criticising the student, because it is quite possible that the Shaykh

forgot.The Shaykh can't remember if the student studied under him, then in that case we accept the106

student's narration through the Shaykh, because definitely the Shaykh forgot.

107.

Forms of Conveyance

The forms of conveyance are:

“Sami‘tu” (I heard) 1081.

and “ḥaddathanī” (he narrated to me ) 1092.

then “akhbaranī” (he reported to me) 1103.and “qara’tu ‘alayhi” (I read to him)4.

then “quri’a ‘alayhi wa–ana asma‘u” (it was read to him while I heard) 1115.

Ibn Hajar starts from the highest form, then goes down to the lowest form .108 ,and Adaa means to convey it to others in the manner in which

it was conveyed.It's in the singular, so gives the impression that the Raawi was alone when his Shaykh109

narrated to him.110

.Example , would take the book, Bukhari, and read it to his Shaykh, and his Shaykh wouldpoint out mistakes. And, the Shaykh would also talk about the meaning of words etc.

111

6. then “anba’anī” (he informed me) 112

7. then “nāwalanī” (he put into my hands)

8. then “shāfahanī” (he told me verbally)

9. then “kataba ilayya” (he wrote to me) 113

10. then “from” (“‘an”) and the like

The first two are for someone who heard the shaykh verbatim one–on–one. If pluralized then [he

heard] with someone else. The first is the most explicit and is the highest–ranked in ḥadīth

dictation. 114

The third and forth are for someone who read [to the shaykh] while alone. If the plural is used

it is like the fifth. 115

Informing [the sixth] is synonymous with reporting [the third]. However, in the custom of the

later generations of the scholars it is for authorization (ijāza), like ‘an [from]. 116

The indecisive–transmission terminology [‘an‘ana, i.e. “from so–and–so, from so–and–so”] of

contemporaries is understood to be direct audition unless from a camouflaging reporter (mudallis).

117It is said that a condition is that the meeting of the said contemporaries be positively proven,

even if only once; it is the preferred opinion (mukhtār). 118

They used mushāfaha for an oral authorization and mukātaba for a written authorization [with

the late scholars]. 119

112 Gives the impression that the Shaykh taught the Raawi that hadith in private. 113 The Shaykh wrote down hadith and sent it to his student.

(1) and (2) are the first level (3) and (4) are the 2nd level, (5) is the 3rd level, (6) is the 4th level, (7) is the 5th level, (8) is the 6th level, (9) is the 7th level, and (10) is the last level. Anything like it means, “so and so said”

114 This is how the Prophet SAW taught his companions; he would speak, they would listen and memorise, and convey it to others.

115 If it is said “we heard etc” It doesn't mean that they all read to him at the same time, but that one of them read to him, and the others took notes, or followed it in the copies of their book. It is common around the world to sit with a Shaykh and read to him. This is for many reasons, firstly it is easy for the Shaykh, the Shaykh would also hear the reading of the student, and that whatever is read is correct, and that there are no mistakes in what they have read.

116 Scholars like Ibn Hajar, instead of saying “Aqbarani”, they would rather say “Amba'ani” if they receive that particular narration by Ijaaza, it then has the same status as 'An.

117 If a Raawi says, from Shaykh Muhammad and this is understood to have been heard directly from the Shaykh. This is understood to be a Mutassil Ismaad, unless that person who uses 'An is Muddalis, he is known for camouflaging the status of his Shaykhs. This will then be rejected, until the Raawi is explicit and uses any of the forms of conveyance. For instance, in one narration, he says 'An Shaykh Muhammad, and in another narration, he says, “I heard Shaykh Muhammad say.” If that happens, we can accept the narration.

118 It is said by certain scholars that a condition for the hadith to be accepted is that we know that they met at least once.

119 If the word Shafaha is used, then it is for giving an oral authorization, to the exclusion of any other time of authorization, namely written authorization. Example, if the Shaykh says, I give you permission to narrate Bukhari, then we say that this is Mushaafaha, that authorization that has been done verbally.

For the authenticity of munāwala, they stipulated that it be accompanied by permission to

relate; it is the highest type of authorization (ijāza). 120

They also stipulated permission for a report found (wijāda i.e. “something found in a

book”), likewise a book bequeathed (waṣiyya bi-l-kitāb) 121, and in a shaykh’s public

announcement that he narrates something (i‘lām), otherwise it is of no consequence; as is

an authorization that is universal 122or to someone unknown [to us], or to someone

nonexistent123—according to the soundest opinion concerning all of the above.

If he remains quiet and doesn't give me explicit permission, you cannot narrate that. But, if he120says, go and teach it to the people of your Town etc. then that is the Munawala that the scholars ofhadith would accept.

If the Shaykh's books were left to you, then you can only narrate the ahadith that he gave you121explicit permission to narrate.

Example , I give all the people in South Africa to narrate Bukhari. If that is the case , this is an122Ijaaza without meaning, all the people would not have the ability to report Bukhari and Muslim.

Example, all the children that my son will have., I give permission for them to narrate Sahih123Bukhari. This is not acceptable.

Lesson 6 , part 3

Names of Narrators

If the names of the narrators and the names of their fathers and on up match

although they are different individuals, then it is same–name different–identity

narrator (muttafiq wa muftariq).124

If the names match in writing but differ in pronunciation, then it is

homographic– heterophonic (mu’talif wa mukhtalif).125

If the names match but differ in their fathers, or the opposite, it is same–name different–

father–or–son narrators (mutashābih)126, and likewise if the similarity occurred in the

name and the name of the father while there is a difference in the affiliation (nisba).127

This and the previous can form various combinations, including:

similarity or difference occurring except in one or two letters

or transposition

or the like.

124 Example, there are about 6 people who lived at the same time, who's name was Khalil Ibn Ahmed. The first is the Grammarian fromBasra, 2nd Khalil Ibn Ahmed Al Muzani, the 3rd person is Khalil Ibn Ahmed al Asbahaani, 4th is Khalil Ibn Ahmed As Sidzi, and 5th Khalil Ibn Ahmed al Busti and Khalil ibn Ahmed Ash Shaafi'i. Knowing where they came from etc. removes doubt that they are the same person.

1252nd example, 'Umaara, and 'imaara, they are written exactly the same; “Ayn”, “meem”, “alif”, “Raa,” and Tarmabuta, but they are pronounced differently. The difference can only be known by studying with the Ulama and memorisation, a pattern cannot be applied. So, they might say, this person's name is Salaam, with no Shaddah on the “Laam”. Ibn Hajar mentions that many scholars fall into this mistake of placing vowels on them, but the problem is that the ink fades away. So, it's important that you actually state, there is a Fatha on the “seen”, rather than just putting a Fatha on the “seen”

126 Example, Muhammad ibn Akeel and Muhammad ibn Ukayl (the father's name is written the same, but pronounced differently). Example of the 2nd, Suraysh Ibn Nu'maan and Surayj ibn Nu'maan, their father's names are the same, and their names are also similar, except for the dots on the “sheen”.

127 Example, Muhammad Ibraaheem al Bukhaari, and Muhammad Ibraaheem Al Maki. The name is the same, the father's name is the same, but the affiliation is different.

Conclusion

It is also important to know:

1. the synchronous layers (ṭabaqāt)128 of narrators

2. the dates of their birth and death 129

3. their lands and regions 130

128Ibn Hajar divides the Tabaqaat into 12. The first is that of the Sahaba, and he includes all of them. Number 2, he speaks about the senior Ta'bieen, those who narrate solely from the companions of the Prophet SAW, like Saeed ibn Musayb, then a level lower, example, Hassan Al Basri who narrates from many companions, but also narrates from other senior Tabi'een. Then you have a level lower that, like Az Zuhri, and most of his narrations are from the Tabi'een and he only narrates from a few of the companions. Then you have the last level, those who saw some of the Sahaba, but didn't narrate any hadith from them.

129 Knowing their dates of birth closes the door to liars, and those who practise Tadlees..

130 Before Islam, the Arabs would be attributed to their Tribes, so a person would be a Qureshi etc. But, when Islam started to spread, people started to attribute themselves to these places, rather than attributing themselves to their tribes. The way we know whether a narrator comes from a certain place is to know the books of history of certain places, like Tareequl Baghdaad of Kateeb al Baghdaadi etc.

4. and their conditions: commendation (ta‘dīl)131, discreditation (jarḥ), and being

unknown (jahāla). 132

The categories of discreditation (jarḥ) are [from worst to slight]:133

1. To be described with the superlative (af‘al), e.g. “greatest of all liars” “akdhab al-

nās”]) 134

2. “Arch–imposter”, “arch–fabricator”, “arch–liar” (“dajjāl”, “waḍḍā‘”, or “kadhdhāb” )

135

3. The slightest is “malleable”, “chronically forgetful”, and “he leaves something to

be desired” (“layyin”, “sayyi’ al-ḥifẓ”, and “fīhi maqāl”). 136

And the ranks of commendation (ta‘dīl) are [from highest to lowest]:

1. To be described with the superlative (af‘al), e.g. “most trustworthy of people”

(“awthaq al-nās”)

2. What is emphasized with one attribute or two, e.g. “trustworthy–trustworthy”,

“trustworthy and memorizer” (“thiqa thiqa” or “thiqa ḥāfiẓ”) 137

131 Amongst the first scholars to discuss the levels of Jarhe Ta'dil is Abu Muhammad Abdur Rahman ibn abi Haatim Ar Raazi in his introduction to his book Ar Jarhu wa Ta'deelu in which he mentions the biographies of narrators, and he also mentions whether or not they are endorsed, or discredited.

132 The status of the narrators I.e. are they reliable, have they committed any major sins etc. Their status has been divided up into 3 categories, but Jahaala is also included in those narrators who are discredited and we do not accept hadith from him.

133 He mentions the most important levels of discreditation and commendation, as this book is a summarised text.

134 Or, the worst of liars, or a pillar of lies, these are all ways to describe the worst of narrators. 135 The seegah al Mubaalaga is the form of exageration,

A Kadhdhaab is a person who lies profusely, compared to a Kadhib, a person who lies.136 There are levels in-between the worst and the best that Ibn Hajar doesn't cover. 137 To we make Ta'dil of the Sahaba? Can we say that they are Thiqa etc? The answer is that all

of the companions of the Prophet SAW are awdool.

3. Something that suggests proximity to the slightest levels of discreditation, e.g.

“honest layman” (“shaykh”).

Attesting someone’s good record (tazkiya) 138is accepted from someone knowledgeable

in its criteria, even if from a single person according to the soundest opinion (aṣaḥḥ).139

Discreditation (jarḥ) takes precedence over commendation (ta‘dīl) if it comes in detail from

someone knowledgeable in its criteria. 140When lacking commendation, discreditation is

accepted without specifics 141, according to the preferred opinion (mukhtār).

138 . 139 If only one Alim of hadith says this Raawi is Thiqa, is of sound character and has an

excellent memory, that is enough. Jbn Hajar indicates in 2 ways that there is disagreement, he says “even,” and he also says, “according to the soundest opinion.” So, if an Alim of hadith endorses a narrator, we will accept that, but we need to know that he is unbiased towards this particular narrator and that he is not known for being lenient.

140 What happens when a Muhadith says that this person is Thiqa, and another Muhadith says that he has a bad memory, and starts to give examples of his bad memory. In this case, we give precedence to the Jarh over the Ta'dil, because it has been explained. The reason why we have discredited this person have been given by this person who is knowledgeable of the reasons. Having a chronically bad memory is a reason for the rejected of this particular person's narration.

141 In the above example, the person has been both accredited and discredited at the same time, but

the person who discredits them has given the reasons for that. In the 2nd case, we find that the person has not been endorsed whatsoever, rather he has been discredited, but the reason for the discreditation has not been mentioned. In this case the dicreditation is accepted without reasons, according to the preferred opinion, which indicates that some scholars disagreed with this.

Miscellaneous Topics

It is also important to know:

agnomens (kunā, sing. kunya) of the people referred to by [first] name, 142

the names of people referred to by agnomen,

those whose agnomen and name are one and the same, 143

those with multiple agnomens or multiple titles; 144

the one whose agnomen matches his father’s name, 145

142 It was the custom of the Arabs to be known after their first born child. E.g. Umm Muhammad. Sometimes a narrator is well known by his first name, and his father's name, and people do not know what his Kunya was. Example, Qataadah ibn Da'aama As sadoosi, a well-known Tabi'ee. He was well-known by his name and not his Kunya, but his Kunya was Abul Khataab. It's important to know that if he know that Abul Khataab narrated a hadith, we know that it is the same person as Qataadah. It also makes us wary when the narrator calls him Abul Khataab, when he was well-known by his first name.

143 If a person's Kunya is his name, it's important to know that so no confusion takes places. Example Abu Ubaydah ibn Abdillah ibn Masood. Abu Ubaydah is his name, and not his Kunya.

144Ibn Jurayj abdil Malik ibn Abdil Aziz was well known as Ibn Jurayj, he had 2 Kunyas, Abu Waleed and Abu Khalid.

145 Example, Abu Ishaq ibn Ibraaheem ibn Ishaq ibn Madani, so his Kunya resembles his father's name, his Kunya is Abu Ishaq, his father's name is Ishaq.Or, his name matches his father's Kunya. Ishaq ibn Abi Ishaq As Sabi'i

or vice–versa;

or his agnomen [matches] his wife’s agnomen; 146

and whoever is affiliated to someone other than his father or is affiliated to his mother,

or to something that does not immediately come to mind; 147

and whose name matches the name of his father and his grandfather, 148

or his shaykh’s name and the shaykh’s shaykh, and on up; 149

and whose name matches the shaykh’s name and the person narrating from him; 150

and the basic names of narrators;

and the names exclusive to one person (mufrada),

and agnomens and nicknames. 151

146 Example, Abu Ayub Al Ansaari and Umm Ayub Al Ansaaria 147 There is a narrator called Khalid Al Hadtha. The word Al Hadtha means a shoe-maker, but

he was not a shoe-maker. When you read this you assume that he is a shoe-maker, but the reason why he was called Al Hadtha is that he would sit in the company of the shoe-makers,

148 Al Miqdaad ibn al Aswad, Aswad was not his father's name, rather it was the person who adopted him. His father's name was 'Amr. People started calling him after his adopted father..

149 Example, his name is Hassan ibn Hassan, and his Shaykh's name is also Hassan ibn Hassan and his Shaykh's Shaykh is also called Hassan ibn Hassan.

150 Example Ar Rabi ibn anas narrates from the Sahaabi Anas ibn Malik. In this case his father is called Anas, and his Shaykh is also called Anas.

151

[It is also important to know:]

Affiliations, i.e. to tribes 152, homelands, 153 countries 154, localities155, roads and alleys 156, proximity157; to crafts and professions158. It gives rise to similarities (ittifāq) and

confusions (ishtibāh), as with names159; and affiliations sometimes take place as

nicknames

and the reasons for these [because it may be contrary to the obvious].

The mawālī160: topwise [patrons and masters], and bottomwise [clients and freedmen],161

male and female siblings,

the etiquette of the shaykh162 and the student163,

152 Like Al Ju'fee, Al Taymee and Az Zuhree 153 Al Bukhaari (from Bukhaara in Uzbekistan), An Nisaai, (from Kurasaan, Iran), Al Khazweeni

(Khazween, Iran). Many scholars are attributed to their homelands, where they grew up. 154 Example, Al Misri, I.e Egypt, or Al Iraaqi – the entire area of Iraq, and not certain cities. 155 If someone is affiliated to a certain suburb within a city. 156 Example, Daaraqutni, he comes from the house of cotton, and he was ascribed to that, and

his family were ascribed to that because they lived in an area that was well known for that industry in Baghdad.

157 Example, if he lived close to the river Nile. 158 159 Example, a person may have travelled to Damascus, and he was called Al Dimishqui, and

he travelled to Al Baghdad, and he became known as Al Baghdadi, and sometimes a confusion comes in as to which city this person should be attributed to.

160 Comes from the word “Mawlaa” which means Master, but can also have the meaning “slave”. In this case whether or not the person was the Master or the Slave, patrons and Masters meaning, this came about by the Master setting the slave free. The slave would then be the Mawla of Banil Abbass by emancipation.

161 Certain tribes, smaller tribes affiliated themselves to bigger tribes, seeking their protection. When this happens, they also became their Mawaali.

162

(1) Sincerity and correcting intentions.. (2) The Muhaddith should not narrate a hadith in the presence of those who are more entitled to be in his position. Example, Ibraaheem An Naqa'i, when he was in the presence of Ash Sha'bi, then he would not speak at all.. (5) H(6) The Muhadith should be extremely eager to spread (7) Ibn Salah (ra) says when you narrate a hadith, you should follow the sunnah of Imam Malik (ra), (8) The Muhaditheen should face all of his students, and not give attention to some (9) He doesn't go out and just start narrating ahadith one after the other, without giving the students an opportunity to listen and to understand. (10) He should make sure that he has a special session where he dictates to his students, because this is the highest form of narration and it is also one of the best ways of narrating ahadith, and make sure that it is recorded properly. Because when he narrates slowly, the student can check what they have taken down, with the copy of the Shaykh, then this is definitely the best form of narration. (11) If his students become many, then he should take a Mustamli, who is the person who would repeat what the Shaykh has said.

163 (1) The most important one is that they must have sincerity

(2) The student respects the Shaykh, does not disturb the Shaykh with many questions,. (3) He should seek the Shaykh's advise, (4) He should encourage others to do what he's doing. He should not avoid asking his Shaykh any question for 2 reasons, (a) because of shyness, and (b) arrogance. (5) . (6) The student of hadith should start with that which is most important, example, some students start with Ibn Majah, but Bukhari and Muslim are to be given more Student of hadith should study the 40 hadith of Imam An Nawawi, and then Amdatul Ahkaam

(6) Contd. Then he should study Bulugh Al Maram and Wal Muharar lil Abdilhaadi, this book was introduced into the faculty of Hadith in Madinah about 4 years ago. It's about the same size as Bulugh Al Maraam, but the author discuses the hadith in much more detail than Ibn Hajar. Then they should study Almuntaqa limajd ibn Taymiyyah, the grandfather of Ibn Taymiyyah collected a book of 5000 ahadith on Fiqh and the explanation of this book is more famous than the original (Naynul Awtaar by Shawqaani). Then after these books, he should study Bukhari, and Muslim, then the Sunan, then the Sahih of Ibn Quzaymah and Ibn Hibaan, then Sunan Al Kubra Al Bayhaqi, Musnad of Imam Ahmed, then the rest of the Masaanid, then the Muwatta and all of the books like it.

and the age of procurement and conveyance; the manner of writing ḥadīth, reading [the

shaykh’s own narrations] back to the shaykh, audition, recital, and traveling for ḥadīth164;

(8) The minimum age for a person to start studying hadith is Tamheez, the age where the child is able to differentiate...Imam Suyooti said that some scholars say that when the child is able to differentiate between a donkey and a cow etc. then they should be taken to study ahadith. But this is not a very accurate way, and most scholars say that the age of 7 is the minimum age.

The scholars of hadith are in agreement that if a person hears a hadith while being a Kaafir, they can then narrate that hadith when they become a Muslim.

A non-practising Muslim who studies hadith, repents sincerely and becomes known for their upright character can narrate hadith.

When should a person convey ahadith? The Ulama say that when the following conditions are reached: that he is 'Adl and Dhaabit.

164 It is important that a student travels for the sake of knowledge.

.

One should also how ḥadīth is compiled: according to chains of narrators (masānīd)165,

subject matter (abwāb) 166, defects (‘ilal)167, or keywords (aṭrāf)168; and knowing the

historical context for the ḥadīth.169 One of the shaykhs of al-Qaḍi Abū Ya‘lā bin al-Farrā’

wrote about it.170

They have written books in most of these genres. This is a basic list mentioning definitions

without examples. It is difficult to be thorough, so consult the longer books.171

165 .166 Can also arrange it under topic matter, e.g under the headings of Fiqh. Or, he can arrange the

hadith by his shuyookh. If he has 50 shuyookh, he can arrange the hadith that he narrated from them, and places it in alphabetical order. This is called the Mu'jm. The plural is the Ma'aajim. A famous example is the Mu'jmof Tabaraani, he has the Mu'jm Kabeer, and the Mu'jm Sagheer and complied these hadith according to the first name of the teachers.

167 He could do this in alphabetical order, by starting with the first word of every single hadith that he's going to discuss, or he could do so under chapter headings, like all the hadith that are defective in purification, and salah etc. under chapters of Fiqh, which makes it easy for users. Daraqutni has a book like this.

168 He arranges the hadith according to the first word, or the first 2 words, and he does so in alphabetical order.

169 Ma'rifatu Sababil Hadithi – The historical context for hadith. This gives us the opportunity to understand the hadith better. good bidah charity one...

170 It is important to note that what is important is the general context of the hadith, and not the actual reason for the hadith. Allah swt has revealed many verses in the Qur'an for a particular person, or a particular incident. It does not mean that the ruling in that particular verse is specific to the person about whom it was revealed. According to the agreement of the scholars, what is important is the generality of the wording, and not the specifics of the reason.