The Study of Hadith

Kinds of Ahadith According to the Continuity of their Sanad

• Al - Muttasil: a hadith with a continuous chain of narrators (isnad) without any gaps or

missing links. Each narrator heard the hadith directly from the one before them.

• Al- Musnad: a hadith that has a fully connected chain of narrators that leads all the way

back to the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم(. It is also associated with books that collect these types of narrations.

• Al-Mu’an’an: a hadith where the narrators use the term " نع) " meaning "from") in the

isnad, as in "So-and-so narrated from so-and-so." But, it is unclear whether they directly

heard it from the person mentioned or not.

• Al-Muannan: Similar to Al-Mu’an’an, but the narrators use the term "ّ نأ) " meaning "that"), as

in "So-and-so said that the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (said..." Its continuity depends on whether the narrators are known to have met and heard directly.

• Al-Mazid fi Muttasil al-Asanid: a hadith where additional narrators or details were inserted

into a connected chain of narrators. Scholars investigate whether the addition is authentic

or an error by comparing other chains.

Kinds of Ahadith According to Missing Narrators in their Sanad

• Al-Munqati: A hadith where one or more narrators are missing from the chain (but not

consecutively).

• Al-Mursal: A hadith where a Tabi’i (Successor) directly attributes it to the Prophet (saw)

skipping the Sahabi (Companion).

• Al-Muallaq: A hadith where the beginning of the chain is missing, sometimes skipping one

or more narrators up to the compiler.

• Al-Mu’dhal: A hadith where two or more consecutive narrators are missing from the

chain.

• Al-Mudallas: A hadith where a narrator hides a defect in the chain by using vague words

to imply direct hearing when they didn’t actually hear it.

• Al-Mursal al-Khafi: A hadith where a narrator claims to have heard from someone, but in

reality, they did not meet that person.

Kinds of Ahadith in a Single Riwayah (Narration)

• Hadith Al-Gharib: A hadith where only one narrator is found at any stage of the chain of

transmission, either at the beginning, middle, or end.

• Hadith Al-Fard or Ahad: A hadith that is reported by a single narrator at any stage of its

chain and has not reached the level of being widely transmitted.

Key Difference:

• Gharib is often a subset of Fard, emphasizing the singularity of narrators.

• Both focus on a single narrator, but scholars might distinguish based on context or stage

of transmission.

Kinds of Ahadith based one when there are Similar Ahadith in Multiple Riwayah (Narration)

• Hadith Mutawatir: A hadith narrated by a large number of people in every level of the chain, making it impossible for them to have agreed on a lie.

• Hadith Al-Mash’hur: A hadith that was narrated by three or more narrators in every level of the chain but did not reach the level of Mutawatir.

• Hadith Al-Aziz: A hadith narrated by at least two narrators at every level of the chain.

• Hadith At-Tabi: A hadith that supports another narration by reporting the same meaning or wording but comes through a different chain of narrators.

• Hadith Ash-Shahid: A hadith that provides supporting evidence for another hadith by narrating the same meaning but through different words or phrasing.

Kinds of Ahadith based one when there are Contradicting Ahadith in Multiple Riwayah (Narration)

• Ash-Shadh: A hadith that contradicts a stronger narration by a reliable narrator.

• Al-Munkar: A hadith narrated by a weak narrator that contradicts a stronger narration.

• Al-Mudhtarib: A hadith with conflicting narrations that cause confusion and cannot be

reconciled.

• Al-Maqlub: A hadith where parts of the hadith (chain or text) are reversed.

• Al-Mudraj: A hadith where a narrator adds extra words to the hadith text.

• Al-Musahhar: A completely fabricated hadith.

• Al-Mu’allal: A hadith with a hidden defect in the chain or text.