Learn Islam in your language KALEMAH KALEMAH ISLAMIC CENTER is a community center for all. Kalemah was founded in 2007 and is managed by a Board of Emirati Nationals, an Executive Committee and a staff of over a dozen full- time employees. We operate based on charitable donations from philanthropic individuals, organizations and governmental bodies. We are a non profit organization officially registered under the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) Government of Dubai. Our Mission: To propagate the pristine, unadulterated teachings of Islam to Muslims and non-Muslims in Dubai in the most effective and appropriate way. Our Vision: The souls of a nation, connected to their Creator. Ikhtiṣār ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth By Ibn Kathīr (d.774H) All praise be to Allāh and may peace be upon His chosen slave. To proceed: Verily the science of the prophetic narrations, in which a group of scholars – old and new – have taken an interest in speaking about; like al-Hākim, al-Khatīb, those who preceded them from the scholars and those who came after from the Hufāz of this nation. It is from the most complete/important and beneficial sciences which I would love to comment on in a beneficial, comprehensive summarised manner to reach the benefits, and to make easy the obscure matters. The book that I relied upon to abridge is [by] al- Shaykh al-Imām al-Alāmah Abū Amr ibn al- Salāh – May Allāh encompass him with His mercy – from the well-known books amongst the students of this field, and maybe some of the skilful from the young have memorised it – treading behind him, to divide that which has been opened, to summarise that which has been explained, and to organise that which has preceded. He has mentioned sixty-five categories of hadīth, he followed – in this regard – al-Hākim Abā Abdillāh al-Naysābūrī the Shaykh of the scholars of hadīth, and I – with the help of Allāh – will mention all of these whilst mentioning the benefits from the book of al- Hāfiz al-Kabīr Abī Bakr al-Bayhaqī, titled; ‘al- Madkhal ilā Kitāb al-Sunan’ in a summarised manner; without any deficiency or overstepping, and with Allāh I seek aid and upon him I place my reliance. 1 2 Mentioning the categories of Hadīth Sahīh, Hasan, Musnad, Muttasil, Marfū, Mawqūf, Mursal, Munqati’, Mu’dal, Mudallas, Shādh, Munkar, that which has a witness (Shāhid), the addition of a Thiqah, al-Afrād, al-Mu’allal, al-Mudtarib, al-Mudraj, al- Mawdū’, al-Maqlūb, knowing whose narrations are acceptable, knowing how hadīth are narrated and heard, [knowing] the forms they are transmitted in e.g. Ijāza and other than it, knowing about the writing of hadīth and its memorisation, how to narrate hadīth and the conditions for it, the etiquettes of the Muhaddith, the etiquettes of the student, knowing the short and long [chains], al- Mashūr, al-Gharīb, al-‘Azīz, rare words in the hadīth, al- Musalsal (Enchained hadīth), abrogating and abrogated hadīth, al-Musahaf (misreadings) in the Isnād and texts of hadīth, contradictory hadīth, addition to cohesive Isnāds, Khafi al-Mursal, knowing the companions, knowing the Tābi’īn, older people transmitted hadīth from younger ones, al-Mudabbaj, and peers transmitting from one another, brothers and sisters among scholars and transmitters, the transmission by fathers from their sons, its opposite, those from whom two transmitters; one early and one late, both relate, those from whom only a single transmitter related hadīth, those who are referred to by different names of varying epithets, unique names, nicknames and Kunya, those betters known under their name rather than their kunya, knowing nicknames, al-Mu’talif and al-Mukhtalif, al- Mutaffiq and al-Muftariq, a category composed of two previous categories, a category other than this, those whose lineage refers to someone other than their father, lineages which differ according apparent one which first comes to mind, ambiguous references, the dates of transmitters, reliable and weak transmitters of hadith, reliable transmitters who confused their hadith at the end of their life, the levels of transmitters and scholars, transmitters of hadith and other scholars who were Mawaali, and the residences and lands of transmitters. This is the categorisation and organisation of al-Shaykh Abī ‘Amr – May Allāh have mercy upon him – who said: That this the last of the categories but it is not the last of what is possible in that regard. The science of hadīth can be divided into countless categories, since the states and characteristics of hadīth transmitters and the states and characteristics of hadīth texts are endless. I say: And to all of this there is a look, rather the simplification of these categories into this number has a look to it, as it is possible for some to be joined with others, and this would be more appropriate then what has been mentioned, as some matters have been differentiated which are similar, and what would be more appropriate is for each category to be mentioned with that which is most similar. And we will organise what is mentioned according to what is more appropriate, and sometimes we may join one with another, seeking that which is summarised and fitting, and to point out discussions which are necessary, with the will of Allāh – the most high -. 3 4 The first category: al-Sahīh He said: (Know – May Allah teach me and you – that hadith, in the view of the scholars of this disciple, is divided into: Sahīh, Hasan and Da’īf.) I say: This categorisation, if it is in relation to the reality of the matter, then there is none except Sahīh or Da’īf. However, if it is in accordance to the terminology of the scholars of hadith, then hadith are categorised according to them into more than this, as has been mentioned above and other than this as well. He said: (As for the hadith which is sahih, it is the hadith which has a connected chain of which coheres continuously through the transmission of one upright and accurate person from another up to its point of termination, neither anomalous nor defective.) Then he went on to mention the benefits of its restrictions and that which is excluded from al- Mursal, al-Munqati’, al-Mu’dal, al-Shaadh, that which has a hidden defect and the one whose narrator has a criticism. He said: (This is the hadith which is indisputably judged to be sound among the scholars of hadith. Sometimes the scholars of hadith differ over the soundness of certain hadith; either because of their disagreement over whether these characteristics are found in them or because of their disagreement in stipulating the necessity of some of these characteristics, as in the case of al-Mursal) 5 6 I say: In summary, the definition of al-Sahih is that which has a connected chain, transmitted from an upright and accurate person from another, until it reaches the Messenger of or to its end; from the companions (ﷺ) Allāh or one who is lower. It is neither a rejected anomaly or contains a hidden defect, and it may be Mashūr or Gharīb. And it differs according to the observation of the Hufāz, therefore some of them mentioned the most authentic chains out of other chains. According to Ahmad and Ishāq, the most authentic is: al-Zuhri from Sālim, from his father. Alī ibn al-Madīnī and al-Fallās said: Muhammad ibn Sirīn from ‘Abīdah from ‘Alī. According to Yahyā ibn Ma’īn, the most authentic is: al-‘Amash from Ibrāhīm from alqamah from Ibn Mas’ūd. According to al- Bukhārī: Mālik, from al-Nāfi’ from Ibn ‘Umar. Some of them added to this: al-Shāfi’ī from Mālik; as he is from the most honourable of those who narrated from him. Benefit: The first person who compiled a Sahīh (book) was Abū ‘Abdillāh Muhammad ibn Ismaa’eel al-Bukhārī, and following his was his companion and student Abū al-Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj al-Naysābūrī. They are both the most authentic books of Hadīth, however, Bukhārī is superior, because he conditions in his choosing of hadīth in his book that the narrators were in the same time as their teacher, and established that they had heard directly from them, however, Muslim did not stipulate the latter, rather sufficed himself with the same time period alone. From this came the clarification for the dispute of giving superiority to Sahīh al-Bukhārī over Muslim, as is the statement of the majority, in opposition to Abī ‘Alī al-Naysābūrī Shaykh al- Hākim, and a group of scholars from al- Maghrib. Al-Bukhari and Muslim did not condition themselves to gather everything that they ruled to be Sahīh from the aḥādīth, as they have authenticated narrations that are not in their books, as has been transmitted by al- Tirmidhi and other than him from al-Bukharī which are not in his book, but rather in the Sunan and others. 7 8 Ibn Salāh said: (The total in the book of al-Bukhārī is 7,275 hadith, including some repeated hadith. It has been said that with the omission of the duplicates the total is four thousand. And all of what is found in Sahīh Muslim without repetition is four thousand) And al-Hāfiz Abū ‘Abdillāh Muhammad ibn Ya’qub ibn al-Akhram said: Few are the well-established hadith that escape bukhari and Muslim. Ibn Salāh disputed regarding this, as al-Hākim added to this many narrations in his Mustadrak, even if an argument may be made against him regarding some of his hadith, many of his sound hadith remain untainted.