Types of Hadiths: Difference between revisions

'''Types of Ḥadīths''' refers to classifications or categorizations of [[hadiths]] in hadith sciences in order to provide a grasp of their chains of narrations (sanad) or their texts and contents. Here are the classifications:

Classification in terms of the number of chains of narrations a hadith has: al-wahid, al-mustafid, al-gharib, al-'aziz, and [[mutawatir Hadith|al-mutawatir]].

Classification in terms of the reliability of a hadith’s chain of narrators: al-sahih (and its types: al-sahih al-mudaf, muttafaq 'alayh, a'la, awsat, adna), al-hasan, al-mawthuq, al-qawi, al-da'if (and its types: al-mudraj, al-mushtarak, al-musahhaf, al-mu'talif, al-mukhtalif, …).

==Classification of Hadiths in terms of Having a Chain of Narration==

Al-musnad (Arabic: المسند) hadith is a hadith that has a chain of narration in which all the narrators since the time of the [[Infallibles (a)]] until when it was written in well-known and reliable books of hadiths are mentioned. The authenticity of well-known books of hadiths, such as the [[Four Books]], can be historically and bibliographically demonstrated. There are different types of al-musnad hadiths:

* Al-mu'an'an: a mu'an'an (Arabic: المعنعن) hadith is one in the chain of narrators of which the word, “'an” (from), is mentioned, without words such as “akhbarani” (he reported to me), “haddathani” (he let me know) and “sama'tu” (I heard from), such as “[[Ahmad b. Idris]] 'an (from) Muhammad b. Hassan 'an (from) Abi Muhammad al-Razi 'an (from) Sayf b. 'Umayra 'an (from) Ishaq b. 'Ammar qal (who said), qal Abu 'Abd Allah (a) (Abu 'Abd Allah (a) said)…”.  

* Al-'ali and al-nazil: an 'ālī (Arabic: العالی) hadith is one that has the least possible number of narrators between the book and the Imam (a). A nāzil (Arabic: النازل) hadith is one involving many narrators between the Imam (a) and the author of the book in which the hadith appears. Some [[Imamiyya]] scholars of hadiths have written books collecting 'ali hadiths under “qurb al-isnad” (Arabic: قُرب الاسناد), that is, short chains of narrations; for example ''[[Qurb al-isnad]] by [['Abd Allah b. Ja'far al-Himyari]].

* Al-mudmar: a muḍmar (Arabic: المضمر) hadith is one in which the Infallible Imam (a) is not mentioned; instead there is a pronoun that apparently refers to him. For example, a hadith in which the following phrase appears: “sa'altuh 'alayh al-salam” (I asked ''him'', peace be upon him). It implies that the pronoun refers to an Infallible (a), but we do not know which Infallible.  

* Al-mu'allaq: a mu'allaq (Arabic: المعلق) hadith is a hadith that is cited with the whole chain of narrators in one book and is cited with an incomplete chain of narrators in another book.

===Al-mursal hadith===

Al-mursal (Arabic: المرسل) hadith is a hadith without a chain of narrators or one in which the chain of narrators is not mentioned completely. Here are the different types of al-mursal hadith:

* Al-marfu' (Arabic: المرفوع) hadith is one in which some narrators at the beginning of its chain of narration are not mentioned, and the last narrator narrates the hadith from the Infallible (a) without mentioning his chain of narrators in between. For Sunni scholars, al-marfu' hadiths are the ones that are attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (a) without the chain of narrators being mentioned, not the ones attributed to the [[Sahaba]] (which are called al-mawqūf (Arabic: الموقوف) hadiths) or [[Tabi'un]] (which are called al-maqṭū' (Arabic: المقطوع) hadiths).

* Al-mawquf: there are two notions referred to by al-mawqūf (Arabic: الموقوف) hadiths: (i) a hadith whose chain of narrators goes back to the Infallible (a) without the Infallible (a) being mentioned, and the last narrator is known to be a person who never narrates anyone other than an Infallible Imam (a), (ii) a hadith whose chain of narrators goes back to a companion of the Prophet (s) or an Imam (a). For Sunni scholars, a mawquf hadith is reliable because for them, Sahaba are reliable, but Shiite scholars of hadiths take a mawquf hadith to be reliable insofar as we know that it goes back to an Infallible (a).

* Al-maqtu': al-maqṭū' (Arabic: المقطوع) hadith is one some of whose narrators are unknown or it is not known whether its chain of narrators goes back to an Infallible (a). In the terminology of Sunni scholars of hadiths, a maqtu' hadith is one that expresses the words or actions of Tabi'un. Al-maqtu' hadith is for Shiite scholars unreliable, just like al-mawquf hadiths.

==Classification of Hadiths in terms of the Number of its Narrators==

* Al-mutawatir hadith: al-mutawātir (Arabic: المتواتر) hadith is one that has different numerous chains of narrators, such that it is practically impossible for all those chains to collude in giving a false report. Such a hadith gives us an assurance that it was really issued by an Infallible (a). Such hadiths are reliable both with respect to the principles of beliefs and [[fiqh]] or rulings of sharia.

* Al-wahid hadith: al-wāḥid (Arabic: الواحد) hadith is any hadith that is not mutawatir.

* Al-mustafid: al-mustafiḍ (Arabic: المستفیض) hadith is a type of al-wahid hadith involving three chains of narrators.

* Al-'aziz: al-'azīz (Arabic: العزیز) hadith is a type of al-wahid hadith involving at least two chains of narrators.

* Al-gharib: al-gharīb (Arabic: الغریب) hadith is a type of al-wahid hadith involving only one chain of narrators.

==Classification of Hadiths in terms of the Reliability of its Chain of Narrators==

According to Sunni scholars of hadiths, there are three types of hadiths in terms of their reliability: al-ṣaḥīḥ (Arabic: الصحیح), al-ḥasan (Arabic: الحسن) and al-ḍa'īf (Arabic: الضعیف).

Shiite scholars classify hadiths in terms of the reliability of their chains of narrators into 5 categories. The classification was different in the early periods. Shiite scholars of the earlier centuries classified hadiths into al-sahih and not sahih, and required the following conditions for a hadith to count as sahih: it should be narrated from an Infallible (a) by reliable persons or there should be evidence within the content of the hadith or its context that imply its reliability. In later centuries, a fourth type of hadith was introduced as al-muwaththaq (Arabic: الموثق) by [[Sayyid b. Tawus]] (664 AH/1265). [[Al-Shahid al-Thani]] and [[al-Shaykh al-Baha'i]] added a fifth type called al-qawī (Arabic: القوی).

Here are the definitions of these 5 types of hadith in accordance to the common classification:

===Al-sahih hadiths===

Al-sahih hadith is one whose whole chain of narrators leading to the Infallible (a) consists of reliable people from Imamiyya.

===Al-muwaththaq hadiths===

Al-muwaththaq hadith is one whose chain of narrators consists of reliable people in accordance with Shiite sources of [['ilm al-rijal]], though some of its narrators are not from Imamiyya, such as [['Ali b. Faddal]] and [[Aban b. 'Uthman]]. Sometimes al-muqaththaq hadiths are called al-qawi. Words such as “thiqa” (reliable), “'ayn” (trustable and well-known), “wajh” (well-reputed), “mashkur” (acknowledged), “shaykh al-ta'ifa” (head of the tribe) and “hujja” (reliable) in sources of 'ilm al-rijal imply the reliability of a narrator.

===Al-hasan hadiths===

* Al-ḥasan ka l-ṣaḥīḥ (Arabic: الحسن کالصحیح): a hadith whose narrators are so praised that they can approximately count as reliable or one of whose narrators is from [[People of Consensus]].

* Hasan al-isnād (Arabic: حَسَنُ الاسناد): a hadith whose chain of narrators is al-hasan, but its content is suspicious because it is not believed by many or has some flaws in it.

===Al-qawi hadiths===

1. A hadith whose narrators are [[Twelver Shias]], but there is no praise, nor reproof of them in sources of 'ilm al-rijal. Al-qawi hadiths are in this use considered to be da'if (unreliable).

2. Al-muqaththaq hadith.

===Al-da'if hadiths===

Al-da'if hadith is a hadith that has none of the conditions for al-sahih, al-hasan and al-muwaththaq hadiths. That is, even if one of its narrators does not meet these conditions (where there is no body else in his class of narration), that hadith will count as da'if. Sometimes da'if hadiths are called “al-majrūḥ” (Arabic: المجروح). For Sunni scholars, a hadith is da'if when it is not sahih, nor hasan.

Some hadiths that were considered as sahih by early scholars count as da'if in the terminology of later scholars of hadiths (since the 7th century AH/13th century onward), since for early scholars, a hadith counted as sahih when there was assurance and confidence that it was issued from an Infallible (a). Thus some hadiths that are objectionable with respect to their chains of narrators counted as sahih because there was evidence in their contents or their contexts that provided confidence that they were issued from an Infallible (a). Early scholars lived in times that were close to the periods of the Infallible Imams (a), they had more access to hadith collections of the companions of the Imams (a), and had evidence at their disposal that gave them assurance of a hadith being issued by an Infallible (a), but such evidence is lacked by later scholars.

* Al-majhul:  al-majhūl (Arabic: المجهول) hadith is a hadith one or more than one of whose narrators are unknown or there is no comment on them in sources of 'ilm al-rijal implying their reliability or unreliability.

* Al-muhmal: al-muhmal (Arabic: المهمل) hadith is a type of al-majhul hadith involving at least one majhul or unknown narrator who is not mentioned in sources of 'ilm al-rijal or is mentioned without any comments on his beliefs, character and reliability.

* Al-mawdu': a hadith is called al-mawḍū' (Arabic: الموضوع) or al-maj'ūl (Arabic: المجعول) when a narrator makes up words and attributes them to an Infallible (a).

* Al-mushtarak: a hadith is called al-mushtarak (Arabic: المشترک) when at least one of its narrators is ambiguous between a reliable and an unreliable person and there is no evidence to know whether the person is the reliable or the unreliable one. Such hadiths are not relied upon for the deduction of the rulings of sharia.

* Al-shadhdh: a hadith is called al-shādhdh (Arabic: الشاذ) when its narrator is accused of having a poor memory throughout his life.

* Al-mukhtalit: a hadith is called al-mukhtaliṭ (Arabic: المختلط) when its narrator is accused of having a poor memory during a certain period of his life, such as his old age.

* Al-munkar: a hadith is called “al-munkar” (Arabic: المنکر) when one of its narrators is accused of having made a great number of mistakes in reporting other people’s speeches.

* Al-matruk: a hadith is called “al-matrūk” (Arabic: المتروک) when one of its narrators is accused of telling lies or making heresies, whether or not in this specific hadith he told a lie.  

* Al-matruh: a hadith is called “al-maṭrūḥ” (Arabic: المطروح) when its content is contrary to decisive evidence and it cannot be interpreted away.

* Al-mu'allal: a hadith is called “al-mu'allal” (Arabic: المُعَلَّل) when there is a problem with its chain of narrators or its content that questions its accuracy.

* Al-mudtarib: a hadith is called “al-muḍṭarib” (Arabic: المضطرب, that is, confused) when it is narrated in two ways. For example, in one case, the narrator has narrated a hadith directly from a person, and in another case, he has narrated it from that person by narrating from another person in between. This is called iḍṭirāb (Arabic: الاضطراب) or confusion in the chain of narrators. Sometimes a hadith involves a confusion in its content, that is, a narrator has narrated a hadith in two ways with two different meanings. Such hadiths are also called “mukhtalif al-nuskha” (Arabic: مختلف النسخة, that is, involving different transcriptions).

* Al-maqlub: a hadith is called “al-maqlūb” (Arabic: المقلوب) when there is a displacement (qalb) in its chain of narrators or content. An example of displacement in the chain of narrators is to write Muhammad b. al-Husayn as Husayn b. Muhammad, where it is not known which one is the correct one. And displacement in the content is a case in which words are reported in their wrong place.

* Al-musahhaf: a hadith is called “al-muṣaḥḥaf” (Arabic: الـمُصَحَّف) when some dots in Arabic letters are displaced in it, although it does not constitute a problem for the hadith (since such mistakes happen when a hadith is transcribed throughout centuries). For example, “ابن مراجم” (ibn Murajim) where there is a dot in its “ج” (j) is mentioned in some manuscripts as “ابن مزاحم” (ibn Muzahim(, where there is no dot, turining it into “h” sound, and the dot appears instead on “ز”, turning “r” sound into “z” sound. Such hadiths can be trusted if they meet the criteria in 'ilm al-rjal and [[diraya]].

* Al-mu'talif wa l-mukhtalif: a hadith is called “al-mu'talif wa l-mukhtalif” (Arabic: المؤتلف والمختلف) when the name of one of its narrators can be read in two ways, although they are written in the same way in Arabic alphabets. This is a type of al-musahhaf hadith.

* Al-mudallas: a hadith is called “al-mudallas” (Arabic: المدلّس) when a flaw in its chain of narration was attempted to be concealed in order to make it look to be an acceptable hadith.

* Al-mudarraj: a hadith is called “al-mudarraj” (Arabic: المدرّج) when a narrator adds his comments to the content of the hadith where it is not possible to identify which part is the Imam (a)’s word and which one is the narrator’s word.

* Al-mu'dal or al-mushkil: there are two notions of al-mu'ḍal (Arabic: المعضل) or al-mushkil (Arabic: المشکل) hadiths: (i) a hadith which is difficult to understand, or (ii) a hadith two or more narrators of which are eliminated.

==Classification of Hadiths in terms of their Contents==

* Al-nass: a hadith is called “al-naṣṣ” (Arabic: النصّ) when its content has no more than one meaning.

* Al-zahir: a hadith is called “al-ẓāhir” (Arabic: الظاهر) when it admits of different possibilities regarding its meaning, where one of these possible meanings is more probable (that is, is the apparent meaning) and is meant by the speaker.

* Al-mu'awwal: a hadith is called “al-mu'awwal” (Arabic: المؤول) when there are different possibilities for its meaning and one of those possible meanings is more probable in itself, but there is evidence that the speaker has meant something other than the apparent meaning.

* Al-mutashabih or al-mujmal: a hadith is called “al-mutashabih” (Arabic: المتشابه) or “al-mujmal” (Arabic: المجمل) when there are different possibilities for its meaning, but none of them can be preferred to others, and so it is not known at all what the speaker means.

* Al-mashhur: a hadith is called “al-mashhūr” (Arabic: المشهور) when it is well-known by Muslims, such as the hadith according to which actions are evaluated by the intentions.

* Al-shadhdh wa l-nadir: a hadith is called “al-shādhdh wa l-nādir” (Arabic: الشاذّ والنادر) when its content is contrary to a mashhur or well-known hadith. A shaddh hadith also refers to a hadith a narrator of which is accused by having a poor memory throughout his life.

* Al-mukatab: a hadith is called “al-mukatab” (Arabic: المُکاتَب) when the narrator who immediately reports the Imam (s)’s speech reports it from the Imam’s handwriting, whether the Imam (a) had written it initially or in response to a question. According to some scholars, al-mukatab hadiths should be transcribed from the Imam (a)’s handwriting.

* Al-qudsi hadith: a hadith is called “al-qudsī” (Arabic: القدسی) when its content is revealed to the Infallible (a) by God, although its woding is formed by the Infallible (a) himself, unlike the [[Quran]] whose wording and meaning are both revealed by God to the Prophet (s).

==Classification in terms of Acting upon the Hadith==

In order to have religious beliefs, one has to have certainty. Thus if hadiths do not provide certainly with regard to a principle of belief, they will not be acted upon. But with respect to the rulings of [[fiqh]] (Islamic jurisprudence), it is required to act upon al-wahid hadiths, as evidenced by Quranic verses and some certain hadiths and the [[Sunna]]. Scholars of fiqh issue [[fatwas]] in accordance with al-wahid hadiths. So given Quranic verses, certainty-providing hadiths, and the practice of the companions of the [[Infallibles (a)]], we are certain that with respect to the rulings of fiqh, we are obliged to act upon hadiths whose chains of narrators are reliable or which we are confident to be issued by an Infallible (a).

A hadith is called “maqbūl” (Arabic: المقبول, that is, acceptable) when its chain of narrators is not reliable, there is evidence on the basis of which scholars have accepted its content and acted upon it.

A hadith is called “al-mansūkh” (Arabic: المنسوخ, that is, abrogated) when its content is overriden by another hadith, which is called “al-nāsikh” (Arabic: الناسخ, that is, abrogating).

* The material for this article is mainly taken from [http://fa.wikishia.net/حدیث_(اقسام) حدیث (اقسام)] in Farsi WikiShia.