Disclaimer: Ok Like I said these are my notes from when I was in School. So obviously it may not be as clear, so if you do not understand something please ask. Taken from the book
A Text Book of Hadith Studies, Kamali, taught by
Shiekh Isam Rajab.
This is his background :
Shaikh Isam Rajab graduated from Madina University with a BS in Islamic Studies. He has 2 ijazas for memorizing the entire Quran and has an ijaza from the Prophetic Masjid in Madina in The Inheritance System in Islam. He also has a MA in Islamic Studies and is a PhD candidate at Al-Azhar University in Egypt. He has worked as an Imam for 5 years in Kuwait and 2 years in Albuquerque, NM. He is the Founder of Arees Institute and Foundation and is also currently Imam for Masjid Hamza (Mission Bend) in Houston."
Bismillaah hir Rahmaan nir Raheem
February 3, 2006
Divisions of hadith according to the number of narrators " Transmitters"
from this aspect, the hadith is divided into 2 categories:
1. Mutawatir: Multiply narrated (recurrent)
2.Ahad: Singularly narrated. (solitary)
The book P. 169
I. Mutawatir
Linguistically: continues/ continuos
In the mustalah
'Hadith terminology': A hadith narrated by 'large' number of people so much so that its inconceivable that they could have all collaborated in order to perpetuate a lie.
1. Conditions of Mutawatir
In order to give the hadith this criteria 'Mutawatir' it has to meet 4 conditions
1. To be narrated by many people:
- At lest 4, others say 200 people
- But ijma said 10 is the lest
2. This 'many' has to be available in all levels of Isnad.
- we can not accept a hadith narrated only by one companion, even if that was heard by 300 people, there must be number of companions.
- If 4 companion then 4 successors if 10 companion the 10 successors
3. Its impossible for them to lie in this hadith
- Such as if someone from Iraq is saying something, another from India says the same thing then another person from Europe says the same thing. and they don’t know each other, hence its impossible that they conspiracies a lie. [ different age, different knowledge]
- If 4 people came and told u information, however they are all in one house, we can not accept it. Since its 1 group regardless of the number.
4. They relate something with their senses [ something they saw, they heard with their ears they touched] but not they thought or what they concluded
- Must be based on sense perception and not any other ground such as the rationality of its message
2. Its Ruling
Whenever there’s a hadith that is mutawatir then you have to accept it with out checking on its narrators.
3. Its types
its divided into 2 types
Mutawatir lafthey
[literal]: The mutawatir was narrated with the same exact meaning
Mutawatir ma3nawi
[meaning] :The hadith is multiply narrated about the same thing from different narration
Examples
1. For the first category: the hadith of the pool of the Prophet (sallaahu `alahi wasalaam)
- They give literal word for word.
2. For the second category: the hadith of rasing the hand during the dua.
They gave the hadith in different wordings, one said: " He rose his hands in dua." and the other said: " The Prophet (sallaahu `alahi wasalaam) raised his hand in arafa'.
Note: someone who ignores and rejects a mutawatir hadith, has an issue of Aqeedah i.e Shia rejecting the hadith on and wiping over socks even though it has been narrated by over 70 sahabas.
II. Ahad
Linguistically: one
In the mustalah:
'Hadith terminology': Singularly narrated ( solitary) ; what is other then mutawatir; whatever is not.
1. Its verdict
- The difference between ahad and mutawatir is that we don’t need to check on the mutawatir as long as all 4 conditions meet.
- However, when we have a hadith ahad then we have to check on the isnad and the mathn as well, it maybe that its unauthentic.
2. Its divisions
The ahad is divided to 3 types according to this number of the chains or narrators:
1. Mashhour : Famous, what's narrated by at least 3 people in each level.
- Such as the hadith: "Indeed Allah doesn’t take the knowledge away by taking it away from the hearts of people."
- It could be weak or not, of course not the sahaba but others.
2.`Aziz : Dear or rare ; which is narrated by two narrators in each level.
- Such as the hadith: "None of you shall have iman until I become more beloved than himself, his children and all mankind."
3. Ghareeb: ‘The stranger ' the one that’s away from home.
- In hadith terminology the hadith that’s narrated by one person in any level of the isnad.
- It doesn’t have to be in all the Isnad. If there was one narrator in one level then its ghareeb.
- The hadith of Umar (rathi allahu `an) Surely actions are judged by their intention," is a ghareeb hadith because he was the only one who narrated it.
3. What is the verdict of Ahad
Q: If we have an authentic hadith yet its ahad, would that effect the application of it?
A: Yes it can be saheeh, hasan or dhaif.
The Hanafi opinion:
Some people didn’t work according to the ahad in the field of aqeedah, but we accept ahad in the minor issues like the issues of Fiqh.
Major of Scholars said:
1. must not go against this hadith by actions
2. must not go against the conditions of islam
3. He must be a faqi, because he might change the word unknownly.
- If the hadith is authentic, then we have to accept it and work upon it, whether one narrated it or a hundred.
- Hadith of Muath ( rathi allahu `an) when he was sent to yemen, the Prophet (sallaahu`alahi wasalaam) send him to yemen and he was alone! If we cant accept the Aqeedah from a hadith of ahad then the Prophet (sallahu `alahi wasalaam) wouldn’t have sent him to yemen.