BOOKS OF

AHADITH

Written By

SHAIKH MIR ASEDULLAH QUADRI

Sahih Iman Publication

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 Copyright © SAHIH IMAN 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher,
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 PREFACE

‫الرحمن الرحيم‬
ِ ‫بِسم هللا‬

‫ والصالة والسالم على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين‬،‫الحمد هلل رب العالمين‬

A brief account of the historical background, books of Ahadith, classification of

Ahadith and categories of the books of Ahadith have been given in this book. It is an
important book for our youth who are generally unaware of Islamic subjects.

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 CONTENTS

BRIEF HISTORY 1

CLASSIFICATION OF AHADITH 4

CATEGORIES OF BOOKS OF AHADITH 7

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 BRIEF HISTORY

There are two main sources of Islamic Sharia, Quran and Sunnah. Quran is the word of
God, while the Hadith is its translation into pragmatic terms, as exemplified by Prophet
Mohammad (‫)صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬. These two sources are interrelated because it is not
possible to understand Qur’an without reference to Ahadith; and it is not possible to
explain a Hadith without relating it to Qur’an. The words 'Sunnah' and 'Hadith' are
synonymous. Sunnah means 'the way' or conduct of life'. It refers to statements, acts,
approvals and character descriptions attributed to Prophet Mohammad ( ‫صلى هللا عليه و آله‬
‫)وسلم‬.

During the life of Prophet Mohammad (‫)صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬, the emphasis was more on
recording, memorizing and preserving Quran. However, some Sahabah used to write
whatever the Prophet (‫ )صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬said or did in their presence. It is reported
that 1,060 Sahabah have narrated Ahadith from the Prophet (‫)صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬.

After the death of Prophet Muhammad (‫ )صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬Sahabah shared and
collected Ahadith. This continued for a few decades. Later, within the first two
centuries, Hadith scholars conducted a thorough review of these Ahadith, tracing the
origins of each Hadith along with the chain of narrators through whom the Hadith was
related. The Ahadith which were verifiable were deemed authentic (Sahih) and other
were either considered as weak or in some cases, concocted.

During the time of Companions (‫ )رضئ هللا تعالی عنہم اجمعين‬and their Successors (‫)تابعين‬,
Islam spread to a large area in the world. It was this time when it became necessary to
record Ahadith in a systematic way. During the era of the 'Successors of the successors'
(‫)تبه تابعين‬, Ahadith were systematically collected and written in a text format. The first
such book was compiled by Imam Malik bin Anas (‫ )رضئ هللا تعالی عنہ‬titled 'Muatta' (‫)موطأ‬.
The period that followed, witnessed critical research by Hadith scholars. Ahadith were
compiled systematically and were grouped under various headings. The history of
collection of Ahadith can be summed up as follows.

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(i) First period (1st century AH) was the age of companions and their
successor. This is known as the age of 'Saheefah' (‫)صحيفه‬, like the
collections of Hadhrat Abu Bakr, Abu Huraira (‫ )رضئ هللا تعالی عنہما‬and
others. Among the well known manuscripts of Hadith collections of the
first century Hijri are as follows.

(a) 'As-Sahifa as-Sadiqa' of Abdullah Ibn Amr Ibn al-Aas (d

63 H)

(b) 'As-Sahifa as-Sahiha' of Hammam Ibn Munabbih (d 118

H), narrated from Abu Hurairah (‫)رضئ هللا تعالی عنہ‬.

(c) The collection of Aban Ibn Uthman (d 105 H) from whom

Mohammad Ibn Ishaq narrated.

(d) The collection of Urwa bin az-Zubair Ibn al-Awwam.

This collection was burnt during the sack of Madina by
Yazid bin Muawiya in 63 H.

(e) Sira of Mohammad Ibn Shihab az-Zuhri (d 120 H).

(f) 'Munaqib as-Sahabah' by Asim Ibn Umar Ibn Qatada Ibn

al-Numan al-Ansari (d 120 H), etc.

(ii) The second period covers middle of second century AH that witnessed
planned compilation of Ahadith, like Imam Malik (‫)رضئ هللا تعالی عنہ‬
compilation titled 'Muatta' (‫)موطأ‬.

(iii) The third stage began towards the end of second century AH, in
which classified and organized work on Ahadith was carried out, like
Musnad of Imam Ahmad (‫)رضئ هللا تعالی عنہ‬.

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 (iv) The fourth and most important period is known as 'the period of
Sahih'. It began at the beginning of third century AH, in which books like
Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim and others were compiled.

One of the common accusations made by non-Muslims against Islamic sciences and the
study of Hadith is that there is no way of verifying the Hadith and that they should not
be used as a source of Fiqh. This argument is based on a very rudimentary and flawed
understanding of how the Ahadith were collected and the incredible care and effort
Hadith scholars (‫ )محدثين‬have taken in verifying their authenticity.

Hadhrat Umar (‫ )رضئ هللا تعالی عنه‬used to judge the narration of every claimant of the
tradition on the basis of the 'Principle of testimony.' Meaning, he would accept it only if
two men, or one man and two women, would narrate the same thing. Hadhrat Ali ( ‫رضئ‬
‫ )هللا تعالی عنه‬used to ask the narration on oath and considered oath as one witness. All
authentic Ahadith have been collected and published by our Imams of Ahadith in
voluminous books. Every single Hadith has been investigated and it is clearly written
the type of Hadith it is. In the encyclopedia of narrators, particulars and circumstances
are investigated. All these books are elucidated and are pure from weak Ahadith. We
are grateful and indebted to our Hadith scholars for their unparalleled work in the
history of mankind. With the monumental work of our Hadith scholars, we are able to
know what words and actions can truly be attributed to Prophet Muhammad ( ‫صلى هللا‬
‫ )عليه و آله وسلم‬even after 1400 years of his life.

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 CLASSIFICATION OF AHADITH

Hadith is composed of three parts, viz., (i) Text (‫)متن‬, (ii) Chain of narrators (‫)اسناد‬
and (iii) 'Object' (‫ )طرف‬- the text of the Hadith that refers to Prophet's ( ‫صلى هللا عليه و آله‬
‫ )وسلم‬saying, action, or concurrence of others' action.

The primary Hadith terminology (‫طلَ ُح ال َح ِديْث‬

َ ‫ص‬
ْ ‫ ) ُم‬that specifies the acceptability of
Ahadith developed by Hadith scholars, is as follows.

(i) As regards to the authority, there are 4 types of Ahadith, as follows.

(a) Divine (Qudsi - ‫ )قدسي‬Revelation of Allah relayed with

the words of Prophet (‫)صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬.

(b) Elevated (Murfu - ‫ )مرفوع‬Murfu Ahadith are narrated in

the following manner, 'I heard the Prophet ( ‫صلى هللا عليه و آله‬
‫ )وسلم‬saying' -

(c) Stopped (Mauquf - ‫ )موقوف‬A Hadith narrated by the

companion (‫ )صحابي‬- for example, 'we were commanded to -'

(d) Severed (Maqtu - ‫ )مقطوع‬A narration from the 'successors

of Sahabah' (‫)تابعين‬.

(ii) As regards to the Chain of Narrators, there are 6 types of Ahadith, as

follows

(a) Supported (Musnad - ‫ ) ُمسند‬A Hadith which is reported

by a Hadith scholar, based on what he learned from his
teacher at a time of life suitable for learning. In turn his
teacher learned it from his teacher until the chain reaches to
a well known Sahabi and eventually to the Prophet ( ‫صلى هللا‬

4
 ‫)عليه و آله وسلم‬. Also Ahadith that are arranged in alphabetical
order as per Sahaba names as narrators, are also included in
this category.

(b) Continuous (Muttasil - ‫ )متصل‬A Hadith with an

uninterrupted chain of narrators that goes back to a
companion (‫ )صحابي‬or a Successor (‫)تابعي‬.

(c) Missing link (Mursal - ‫ )مرسل‬The link of the Hadith

missing between the 'Successor' (‫)تابعي‬, and the Prophet ( ‫صلى‬
‫)هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬. Like the Successor (‫ )تابعي‬says, 'the Prophet
(‫ )صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬said - .

(d) Broken Link (Munqati - ‫ )منقطع‬A Hadith whose link is

broken before the successor (‫)تابعي‬.

(e) Perplexed Link (Mu'dhal - ‫ )معضل‬A Hadith whose

narrator omits two or more consecutive reporters in his
Chain.

(f) Hanging Link (Mu'allaq - ‫ )معلق‬A Hadith whose narrator

omits the entire chain of reporters and directly quotes the
Prophet (‫)صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬.

(iii) As regards to the number of reporters in the Chain of Narrators, there

are 2 types of Ahadith, as follows.

(a) Continuous (Mutawatir - ‫ )متواتر‬A Hadith which is

reported consecutively by a large number of people in
different chains, and it is not possible that they all will agree
upon a lie. There are two kinds of Ahadith in this category,
(1) Mutawatir in wording, and (2) Mutawatir in meaning.

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 (b) Infrequent (Ahaad - ‫ )اَحاد‬A Hadith which is narrated by
people whose number does not reach to the state of
'Perpetual Narration' (‫ث متواتر‬
ِ ‫)حدي‬.

The 'Infrequent Hadith (‫ث احد‬

ِ ‫ )حدي‬is of three types, as follows.

(1) Famous (Mash'hur - ‫ )مشهور‬A Hadith

reported by more than two reporters.

(2) Strong (Aziz - ‫ )عزيز‬A Hadith reported by

two narrators.

(3) Strange (Gharib - ‫ )غريب‬A Hadith reported

by only one narrator.

(iv) As regards to the nature of text and the chain of narration, there are 2
types of Ahadith, as follows.

(a) Inconceivable (Munkar - ‫ )منكر‬A Hadith reported by a

weak narrator and the text is against an authentic
Hadith.

(b) Interpolated (Mudraj - ‫ )مدرج‬A Hadith in which addition

has been made in the text of Hadith by the narrator.

(v) As regards to the reliability, there are 4 types of Ahadith, as follows.

(a) Sound (Sahih - ‫ )صحيح‬A Hadith whose narrators are

trustworthy in religion. Each narrator in the chain is
truthful and understands how a different expression can
alter the meanings of the Hadith. The narrator reports the
Hadith verbatim, not just in meaning.

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 (b) Good (Hassan - ‫ )حسن‬A Hadith whose source is known
and the reporters are unambiguous.

(c) Weak (Dha'eef - ‫ )ضعيف‬A Hadith that does not reach to

the status of Hassan Hadith.

The weakness could be related in discontinuity in the chain

of narrators or it could be related to one of the narrator
making excessive mistakes, or he is a liar. It could also be
related to ambiguity surrounding the narrator.

(d) Concocted (Maudu - ‫ )موضوع‬A Hadith whose text goes

against the established norms of Prophet's ( ‫صلى هللا عليه و آله‬
‫ )وسلم‬traditions or its reporters include known liars.
Concocted Ahadith are also identified by external evidence
related to a discrepancy found in the date and time of a
particular incident.

CATEGORIES OF BOOKS OF AHADITH

The books of Ahadith are broadly divided into following categories.

(i) Sahifah (‫)صحيفه‬

Initial collections of Ahadith written down during the lifetime of Prophet

Mohammad (‫)صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬, like the Sahifah of Hadhrat Abu Huraira
(‫)رضئ هللا تعالی عنہ‬.

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(ii) Ajza (‫)اجزا‬

These books include Ahadith passed down on the authority of a Sahabi or

a Taba'ee. This category also includes Ahadith concerning a specific
subject which are known as Rasa'il.

(iii) Sunan (‫)سنن‬

Sunan are collections of Ahadith narrated to authors by their teachers;

which were narrated to them by their teachers, and so on; until the chain
reaches to Sahabah, and the Prophet (‫)صلى هللا عليه و آله وسلم‬. In this category,
Ahadith are generally related to specific subjects of laws of Islamic Sharia.

(iv) Musannaf (‫)المصنف‬

In this category, Ahadith are collected on various topics, like Bukhari,

Muslim, etc.

(v) Jami’ (‫)جامع‬

Jami is a comprehensive version of Musannaf. Sahih Muslim is

considered a Musannaf, not a Jami’ like that of Sahih Bukhari.

(vi) Musnad (‫)مسند‬

In this category, Ahadith are collected alphabetically as per Sahaba's

names as narrators. The famous book in this classification is Musnad of
Imam Ahmad. The Hadith scholars of such books, differ in their method
of arrangement. In some, Ahadith are arranged as per theirIsnad (chain of
narrators) in alphabetical order. In others, these are arranged based on the
reliability of the people in Isnad.

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 (vii) Mu’jam (‫)معجم‬

If Musnad is arranged in alphabetical order, it becomes Mu'jam. In

Mu'jam, Ahadith are taken in alphabetical order irrespective of their
content, like at-Tabarani.

(viii) Mustadrak (‫)المستدرك‬

Mustadrak are those books that are written in continuation to the Ahadith
books that were written by Hadith scholars earlier. This happens when
Ahadith that conform to the criteria of an earlier work were missed in the
earlier work. Mustadrak al-Hakim is an example in this context. It is said
that Mustadrak al-Hakim (‫ )المستدرك على الصحيحين للحاكم‬contains Ahadith that
conform to the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim.

(ix) Mustakhraj (‫)المستخرج‬

Mustakhraj is similar to Mustadrak. These books are written when the

Hadith scholar finds new chains to previously recorded Ahadith. Abu
Nu’aym Isfahani's Mustakhraj is an example in this context that contains
fresh isnad (chain of narrations) to Ahadith in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim.

(x) Arba’in (‫)األربعين‬

These books contain 40 Ahadith, the authors consider as important. Book

of Imam Nawawi (‫ )أحاديث األربعين النووية‬is an example in this category.

The famous six major collections of Ahadith, 'Al-Kutub al-Sitta' (‫ )الكتب السته‬are (i) Sahih
al-Bukhari (‫)صحيح البخاري‬, (ii) Sahih Muslim (‫)صحيح مسلم‬, (iii) Sunan an-Nasa'i ( ‫سنن‬
‫)النسائي‬, (iv) Sunan Abi Dawud (‫)سنن أبي داود‬, (v) Jami at-Tirmidhi (‫)جامع الترمذي‬, (vi) Sunan
Ibn Majah (‫)سنن ابن ماجه‬.

Three more Ahadith books, after the above six major collections are (vii) Al-Muwatta
Imam Malik (‫)امام مالك الموطأ‬, (viii) Musnad Imam Ahmad (‫)مسند امام احمد‬, and (ix) Sunan al-
Darimi (‫ )سنن الدارمي‬or Musnad al-Darimi (‫)مسند الدارمي‬.

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Some other important books of Ahadith are (i) Adab al-Mufrad, (ii) Mishkat al-
Masabih, (iii) Sunan al-Kubra al-Bayhaqi, (iv) Sunan ad-Daraqutni, (v) Musannaf of
Abdur Razzaq, (vi) Musannaf Ibn Jurayi, (vii) Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, (viii)
Musannaf Ibn Khuzaymah, (ix) Sahih Ibn Hibban, (x) Mustadrak Al-Hakim, (xi) Mujma
az-Zawa'id, (xii) Sahifah Hammam Ibn Munabbih, (xiii) Al-Mu'jam al-Kabeer, (xiv)
Bulugh al-Maram, (xv) Talkhis al-Mustadrak, (xvi) Tahdhib al-Athar, (xvii) Kitaab-ul-
Aathaar, (xviii) At-Tareeq al-Islam Musnad Imam-ul-Azam, (xix) Musnad al-Shafi'i, (xx)
Musnad al-Siraj, (xxi) Musnad al-Firdous, (xxii) Musnad Abu Ya'la, (xxiii) Musnad al-
Tayalisi, (xxiv) Musnad Abu Awaanah, (xxv) Sunan Sa'id Ibn Mansur, (xxvi) Kanz-ul-
Ummal (‫)كنز العمال‬, etc.

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