Part ofa series on
Hadith
Hadith studies Hadith sciences Terminology Sahih hadith Mutawatir hadith Isnad Types(categories) Biographical evaluation Musannaf Musnad Israʼiliyyat
Collections Sunni1 Kutub Al-Sittah ("The Six Books") Sahih al-Bukhari صحيح البخاري Sahih Muslim صحيح مسلم Sunan Abi Dawud سنن أبي داود Sunan al-Tirmidhi سنن الترمذي Sunan al-Nasa'i سنن النسائي Sunan ibn Majah سنن ابن ماجه Others Al-Adab al-Mufrad Al-Jami al-Kamil Kanz al-Ummal Kitab al-Athar Majma al-Zawa'id Mu'jam al-Awsat Mu'jam al-Kabeer Mu'jam al-Saghir Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah Musnad Abu Awanah Musnad Abu Hanifa Musnad Abu Ya'la Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal Musnad_al-Bazzar Musnad al-Shafi'i Musnad al-Siraj Musnad al-Firdous Musnad al-Tayalisi Musnad Humaidi Musnad Ishaq ibn Rahwayh Mustadrak ala al-Sahihayn Muwatta Imam Malik Sahih Ibn Hibban Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah Sahifah Hammam ibn Munabbih Shama'il al-Muhammadiyya Sunan al-Kubra Bayhaqi Sunan al-Wusta Bayhaqi Sunan al-Daraqutni Sunan al-Darimi Sunan Nasa'i al-Kubra Sunan Sa'id ibn Mansur Shu'ab al-Iman Tahdhib al-Athar Targhib wal Tarhib Shia Al-Kutub Al-Arb'ah ("The Four Books") Kitab al-Kafi الكتاب الكافي Man La Yahduruhu al-Faqih من لا يحضره الفقيه Tahdhib al-Ahkam تهذیب الاحکام Al-Istibsar الاستبصار Others Al-Wafi Wasa'il al-Shia Mustadrak al-wasa'il Bihar al-Anwar Nahj al-Balagha The Book of Sulaym ibn Qays Al-Sahifa al-Sajjadiyya Risalah al-Huquq Sahifah of al-Ridha Al-Risalah al-Dhahabiah Da'a'im al-Islam Uyoun Akhbar Al-Ridha Haqq al-Yaqeen Ain Al-Hayat Al-Ghadir Ibadi Jami Sahih Tartib al-Musnad 1 - Books also revered byAhmadiyya
Related topics Ahl al-Hadith Criticism Sheikh al-Hadith
Islam portal •Category
v t e

Hadith terminology (Arabic:مصطلح الحديث,romanized: muṣṭalaḥu l-ḥadīth) is the body of terminology inIslam which specifies the acceptability of the sayings (hadith) attributed to theIslamic prophetMuhammad by other early Islamic figures of significance such as the companions and followers/successors. Individual terms distinguish between thosehadith considered rightfully attributed to their source or detail the faults of those of dubiousprovenance. Formally, it has been defined byIbn Hajar al-Asqalani as: "knowledge of the principles by which the condition of the narrator and the narrated are determined."^[1] This page comprises the primary terminology used withinhadith sciences.

Different terms are used for the origin of a narration. These terms specify whether a narration is attributed to Prophet Muhammad, a companion, a successor or a latter historical figure.

Ibn al-Salah said: "Marfūʿ (Arabic:مرفوع,Marfūʿ) refers to a narration attributed specifically to the Prophet [Muhammad]. This term does not refer to other than him unless otherwise specified. The category ofmarfuʻ is inclusive of narrations attributed to the Prophet regardless of their beingmuttasil,munqatiʻ ormursal among other categories."^[2]

According to Ibn al-Salah, "Mawquf (Arabic:موقوف,Mawqūf) refers to a narration attributed to a companion, whether a statement of that companion, an action or otherwise."^[2]

Ibn al-Salah definedmaqtu‘ (مقطوع,Maqṭūʿ) as a narration attributed to aTabi‘i (a successor of one of Prophet Muhammad's companions), whether it is a statement of that successor, an action or otherwise. In spite of the linguistic similarity, it is distinct frommunqatiʻ.^[2]

Inhadith terminology, ahadith is divided into two categories based, essentially, upon the number of narrators mentioned at each level in a particularisnād. Consideration is given to the fewest narrators at any level of the chain of narration; thus if ten narrators convey ahadith from two others who have conveyed it from ten, it is consideredʻaziz, notmashhur.^[4]

The first category ismutawatir (متواتر,Mutawātir;meaning: successive) narration. A successive narration is one conveyed by narrators so numerous that it is not conceivable that they have agreed upon an untruth thus being accepted as unquestionable in its veracity. The number of narrators is unspecified in its maximum but in the minimum it is not less than 3 ( or 5 in some scholars opinions).^[4]Ahadith is said to bemutawatir if it was reported by a significant, though unspecified, number of narrators at each level in the chain of narration, thus reaching the succeeding generation through multiple chains of narration leading back to its source. This provides confirmation that thehadith is authentically attributed to its source at a level above reasonable doubt. This is due to its being beyond historical possibility that narrators could have conspired to forge a narration. In contrast, anahaad hadith is a narration the chain of which has not reached a number sufficient to qualify asmutawatir.

Hadiths can bemutawatir in both actual text and meaning:

Mutawatir in wording (Mutawatir al-Lafzi)

Ahadith whose words are narrated by such a large number as is required for amutawatir, in a manner that all the narrators are unanimous in reporting it with the same words without any substantial discrepancy.

For example: "[Muhammad said:] Whoever intentionally attributes a lie against me, should prepare his seat in the Fire." This is amutawatir hadith in its wordings because it has a minimum of seventy-four narrators. In other words, seventy-four companions of Muhammad have reported thishadith at different occasions, all with the same words. The number of those who received thishadith from the Companions is many times greater, because each of the seventy four Companions has conveyed it to a number of his students. Thus the total number of narrators of thishadith has been increasing in each successive generation and has never been less than seventy-four. All these narrators who now are hundreds in number, report it in the same words without even a minor change. Thishadith is therefore mutawatir in its wording, because it cannot be imagined reasonably that such a large number of people have colluded to coin a fallacious sentence in order to attribute it to Muhammad.

Mutwatir in meaning (Mutawatir al-Ma'Nawi)

Ahadith which is not reported bymultiple narrators using the same words. The words of the narrators are different. Sometimes even the reported events are not the same. But all the narrators are unanimous in reporting a basic concept, which is common in all reports. This common concept is also ranked as amutawatir concept.

For example: It is reported by such a large number of narrators that Muhammad enjoined Muslims to perform twora'kat inFajr, four ra'kat inDhuhr,Asr andIsha and three ra'kat in theMaghrib prayer, yet the narrations of all the reporters who reported the number of ra'kat are not in the same words. Their words are different and even the events reported by them are different. But the common feature of all the reports is the same: the exact number of ra'kat. Thehadith is thus said to bemutawatir in meaning.

The second category,ahaad (آحاد,aahaad;meaning: singular) narration, refers to anyhadith not classified asmutawatir. Linguistically,hadith ahad refers to ahadith narrated by only one narrator. Inhadith terminology, it refers to ahadith not fulfilling all of the conditions necessary to be deemedmutawatir.^[4]Hadith ahad consists of three sub-classifications also relating to the number of narrators in the chain or chains of narration:^[4]

The first category ismashhur (مشهور,Mashhūr;meaning: famous). This refers tohadith conveyed by three or more narrators but not consideredmutawatir.^[4]

Anʻaziz (عزيز,‘azīz)hadith is anyhadith conveyed by two narrators at every point in itsisnād (chain of narrators).^[4]

Agharib (غريب,ǧārib;meaning: strange)hadith is one conveyed by only one narrator.^[4]Al-Tirmidhi's understanding of agharib hadith, concurs to a certain extent with that of the other traditionists. According to him ahadith may be classified asgharib for one of the following three reasons:

1. Firstly, ahadith may be classified asgharib since it is narrated from one chain only. Al-Tirmidhi said an example is a tradition fromHammad ibn Salamah from Abu 'Usharai on the authority of his father who asked Muhammad whether the slaughtering of an animal is confined to the gullet and throat. Muhammad said that stabbing the thigh will also suffice.
2. Secondly, a tradition can be classified asgharib due to an addition in the text, though it will be considered a sound tradition, if that addition is reported by a reliable reporter. The example cited by al-Tirmidhi is a tradition narrated through the chain ofMalik (died 179 AH) from Nafi' (died 117 AH) on the authority of Ibn 'Umar (died 73 AH) who stated that Muhammad declared alms-giving at the end ofRamadan obligatory upon everyMuslim, male or female, whether a free person or slave from the Muslims. However, this tradition has also been narrated by Ayyub Sakhtiyani and'Ubaid Allah ibn 'Umar, without the addition "from the Muslims", hence the above-mentioned example due to the addition of "from the Muslims" in the text is classified asgharib.
3. Thirdly, a tradition may be declaredgharib since it is narrated through various chains of transmitters but having within one of its chains an addition in theisnād.

There are differing views as to the level of knowledge achieved by each of the two primary categoriesmutawatir andahaad. One view, expressed byIbn Hajar and others, is that ahadith mutawatir achieves certain knowledge, whileahad hadith, unless otherwise corroborated, yields speculative knowledge upon which action is not mandated.^[4] A second view, held byDawud al-Zahiri,Ibn Hazm and others – and, reportedly, the position ofMalik ibn Anas^{[citation needed]} – is thathadith ahad achieves certain knowledge as well. According to Ibn Hazm,"[t]he narration conveyed by a single, upright narrator conveying from another of a similar description until reaching the Prophet mandates both knowledge and action."^[5]

Ibn al-Salah said,^[6] "Hadith, in the view of scholars of this discipline, fall into the divisions of 'sound' (ṣaḥīḥ), 'fair' (ḥasan), and 'weak' (ḍaʻīf)." While these divisions are further broken down into sub-categories each with their own terminology, the final outcome is essentially to determine whether a particularhadith isṣaḥīḥ orḍaʻīf.

The individual terms are numerous, withIbn al-Salah including sixty-five in hisIntroduction to the Science of Hadith and then commenting: "This is the end of them, but not the end of what is possible, as this is subject to further particularization to an innumerable extent." Al-Bulqini commented on this by saying, "We have added five more categories, making it seventy."^[7] Ibn al-Mulaqqin counted the various types as being "more than eighty"^[8] andal-Suyuti included ninety-three inTadrib al-Rawi. Muḥammad al-Ḥāzimī acknowledged the numerous terms, reaching almost 100 by his own count, saying: "Be aware that the science ofhadith consists of numerous types reaching almost a hundred. Each type is an independent discipline in and of itself and were a student to devote his life to them he would not reach their end."^[1]

Sahih (Arabic:صحيح,Ṣaḥīḥ) may be translated as "authentic"^[9] or "sound."^[6]Ibn Hajar defines ahadith that isṣaḥīḥ lidhātihi ("ṣaḥīḥ in and of itself") as a singular narration (ahaad; seebelow) conveyed by a trustworthy, completely competent person, either in his ability to memorize or to preserve what he wrote, with amuttaṣil ("connected")isnād ("chain of narration") that contains neither a serious concealed flaw (ʻillah, Arabic:علة) nor irregularity (shādhdh). He then defines ahadith that isṣaḥīḥ lighairihi ("ṣaḥīḥ due to external factors") as ahadith "with something, such as numerous chains of narration, strengthening it."^{[10][full citation needed]}

Ibn Hajar's definitions indicate that there are five conditions to be met for a particularhadith to be consideredṣaḥīḥ:

1. Each narrator in thechain of narration^{[broken anchor]} must be trustworthy;
2. Each narrator must be reliable in his ability topreserve that narration, be it in his ability to memorize to the extent that he can recall it as he heard it, or, that he has written it as he heard it and has preserved that written document unchanged;
3. Theisnād must be connected (muttasil) insofar as it is at least possible for each narrator in the chain to have received thehadith from a predecessor;
4. Thehadith, including itsisnād, is free ofʻillah (hidden detrimental flaw or flaws, e.g. the establishment that two narrators, although contemporaries, could not have shared thehadith, thereby breaking theisnād.)
5. Thehadith is free of irregularity, meaning that it does not contradict anotherhadith already established (accepted).

A number of books were authored in which the author stipulated the inclusion ofṣaḥīḥ hadith alone.

According toSunni Islam, which reflects the beliefs followed by 80–90% of adherents of Islam worldwide,^[11] this was only achieved by the first two books in the following list:

1. Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. Considered the most authentic book after the Quran.^[12]
2. Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Considered the next most authentic book after Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.^[12]
3. Ṣaḥīḥ ibn Khuzaymah.Al-Suyuti was of the opinion thatṢaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah was at a higher level of authenticity thanṢaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān.^[13]
4. Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān.Al-Suyuti also concluded thatṢaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān was more authentic thanAl-Mustadrak alaa al-Ṣaḥīḥain.^[13]
5. al-Mustadrak ʻalā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, byHakim al-Nishaburi.^[13]
6. Al-Āhādith al-Jiyād al-Mukhtārah min mā laysa fī Ṣaḥīḥain byḌiyāʼ al-Dīn al-Maqdisī, authenticity considered.^[14]

Different branches of Islam refer to different collections of hadiths or give preference to different ones.

Ḥasan (حَسَن meaning "good") is used to describehadith whose authenticity is not as well-established as that ofṣaḥīḥ hadith, but sufficient for use as supporting evidence.

Ibn Hajar defines ahadith that isḥasan lidhatihi – "ḥasan in and of itself" – with the same definition aṣaḥīḥ hadith except that the competence of one of its narrators is less than complete; while ahadith that isḥasan lighairihi ("ḥasan due to external factors") is determined to beḥasan due to corroborating factors such as numerous chains of narration. He states that it is then comparable to aṣaḥīḥ hadith in its religious authority. Aḥasan hadith may rise to the level of beingṣaḥīḥ if it is supported by numerousisnād (chains of narration); in this case thathadith would beḥasan lidhatihi ("ḥasan in and of itself") but, once coupled with other supporting chains, becomesṣaḥīḥ lighairihi ("ṣaḥīḥ due to external factors").^[15]

The early scholar ofhadith,Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Hakim, defines amusnad (مسند,Musnad;meaning: supported)hadith as:

Ahadith which ascholar ofhadith^{[broken anchor]} reports from hisshaikh whom he has apparently heardhadith from at an age conducive to that, and likewise eachshaikh having heard from hisshaikh until theisnād reaches a well knownCompanion, and then the Messenger of Allah. An example of that is:

Abu 'Amr 'Uthman ibn Ahmad al-Samak narrated to us inBaghdad: al-Ḥasan ibn Mukarram narrated to us: ʻUthman ibn 'Umar narrated to us: Yunus informed us fromal-Zuhri from ʻAbdullah ibn Kaʻb ibn Mālik from his fatherKa'b ibn Malik who sought from ibn Abi Hadrad payment of a debt the latter owed the former while in the mosque. Their voices became raised to the extent that they were heard by the Messenger of Allah. He exited only by lifting the curtain of his apartment and said, "O Kaʻb! Relieve him of his debt," gesturing to him in way indicating by half. So he Kaʻb said, "Yes," and the man paid him.

To clarify this example I have given: my having heard from Ibn al-Samak is apparent, his having heard from al-Ḥasan ibn al-Mukarram is apparent, likewise Hasan having heard from 'Uthman ibn 'Umar and 'Uthman ibn 'Umar from Yunus ibn Yazid – this being anelevated chain for 'Uthman. Yunus was known [for having heard from] al-Zuhri, as was al-Zuhri from the sons of Ka'b ibn Malik, and the sons of Ka'b ibn Malik from their father and Ka'b from the Messenger as he was known for being a Companion. This example I have made applies to thousands ofhadith, citing just this onehadith regarding the generality [of this category].^[16]

Amusnad hadith should not be confused with the type ofhadith collection similarly termedmusannaf, which is arranged according to the name of the companion narrating eachhadith. For example, amusnad might begin by listing a number of thehadith, complete with their respectivesanads, ofAbu Bakr, and then listing a number ofhadith fromUmar, and thenUthman ibn Affan and so on. Individual compilers of this type of collection may vary in their method of arranging those Companions whosehadith they were collecting. An example of this type of book is theMusnad of Ahmad.

Muttasil (متصل,Muttaṣil) refers to acontinuous chain of narration in which each narrator has heard that narration from his teacher.^[17]

Da‘if (ضعيف,Ḍaʻīf) is the categorization of ahadith as "weak". Ibn Hajar described the cause of ahadith being classified as weak as "either due to discontinuity in the chain of narrators or due to somecriticism of a narrator."^[18] This discontinuity refers to the omission of a narrator occurring at different positions within theisnād and is referred to using specific terminology accordingly as discussed below.

Discontinuity in the beginning of theisnād, from the end of the collector of thathadith, is referred to asmuʻallaq (معلق meaning "suspended").Muʻallaq refers to the omission of one or more narrators. It also refers to the omission of the entireisnād, for example, (an author) saying only: "The Prophet said..." In addition, this includes the omission of theisnād except for the companion, or the companion and successor together.^[18]

Mursal (مرسل meaning "sent or transmitted"): if the narrator between theSuccessor and Muhammad is omitted from a givenisnād, thehadith ismursal, e.g., when a Successor says, "The Prophet said ..."^[19] Since Ahlus-Sunnah (Sunnis) believe in theuprightness of allSahaba, they do not view it as a necessary problem if aSuccessor does not mention whatSahaba he received thehadith from. This means that if ahadith has an acceptable chain all the way to a Successor, and the successor attributes it to an unspecifiedcompanion, theisnād is considered acceptable. There are, however, different views in some cases: If the Successor is a young one and it is probable that he omitted an elder Successor who in turn reported from a companion. The opinion held byImam Malik and allMaliki jurists is that themursal of a trustworthy person is valid, just like amusnad hadith. This view has been developed to such an extreme that to some of them, the mursal is even better than the musnad, based on the following reasoning: "The one who reports a musnadhadith leaves you with the names of the reporters for further investigation and scrutiny, whereas the one who narrates by way ofirsal (the absence of the link between the successor and the Prophet), being a knowledgeable and trustworthy person himself, has already done so and found thehadith to be sound. In fact, he saves you from further research."^[20] Others reject themursal of a younger Successor.^[19]Said ibn al-Musayyib is the onlytabi whose all hadith narration are acceptionally trustworthy despite being mursal.

Mu‘dal (معضل,Muʻḍal;meaning: problematic) describes the omission of two or more consecutive narrators from theisnād.^[21]

Ahadith described asmunqaṭiʻ (منقطع;meaning: disconnected) is one in which the chain of people reporting thehadith (theisnād) is disconnected at any point.^[19] Theisnād of ahadith that appears to bemuttaṣil but one of the reporters is known to have never heardhadith from his immediate authority, even though they lived at the same time, ismunqaṭiʻ. It is also applied when someone says "A man told me...".^[19]

Munkar (منكرmeaning: denounced) – According toIbn Hajar, if a narration which goes against another authentichadith is reported by a weak narrator, it is known asmunkar. Traditionists as late as Ahmad used to simply label anyhadith of a weak reporter asmunkar.^[22]

Shādh (شاذ;meaning: anomalous) — According toal-Shafi'i, ashādhdh hadith is one which is reported by a trustworthy person who contradicts the narration of a person more reliable than he is. It does not include ahadith which is unique in itsmatn and is not narrated by someone else.^[22]

Mudtarib (مضطرب,Muḍṭarib;meaning: shaky) – According toIbn Kathir, if reporters disagree about a particular shaikh, or about some other points in theisnād or thematn, in such a way that none of the opinions can be preferred over the others, and thus there is irreconcilable uncertainty, such ahadith is calledmuḍṭarib.^[23]

An example is the followinghadith attributed toAbu Bakr:

"O Messenger of Allah! I see you getting older?" He (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) replied, "What made me old are SurahHud and its sister surahs."

Thehadith scholar Al-Daraqutni commented: "This is an example of amuḍṭarib hadith. It is reported through Abu Ishaq, but as many as ten different opinions are held regarding thisisnād. Some report it asmursal, others asmuttasil; some take it as a narration of Abu Bakr, others as one of Sa'd or ʻA'ishah. Since all these reports are comparable in weight, it is difficult to prefer one above another. Hence, thehadith is termed asmuḍṭarib."^[23]

Ahadith that ismawḍūʻ (موضوع) is one determined to be fabricated and cannot be attributed to its origin.Al-Dhahabi definesmawḍūʻ as ahadith of which the text contradicts established norms of Muhammad's sayings or of which the reporters include a liar.

1. Some of thesehadith were known to be spurious by the confession of their inventors. For example, Muhammad ibn Sa`id al-Maslub used to say, "It is not wrong to fabricate anisnād for a sound statement." Another notorious inventor, ʻAbd al-Karim Abu 'l-Auja, who was killed and crucified by Muhammad ibn Sulaiman ibn ʻAli, governor ofBasra, admitted that he had fabricated four thousandhadith declaring lawful the prohibited and vice versa.
2. Mawḍūʻ narrations are also recognised by external evidence related to a discrepancy found in the dates or times of a particular incident. For example, when the second caliph,Umar ibn al-Khattab decided to expel theJews fromKhaybar, some Jewish dignitaries brought a document to Umar attempting to prove that Muhammad had intended that they stay there by exempting them from thejizya (tax on non-Muslims under the rule of Muslims); the document carried the witness of two companions,Sa'd ibn Mua'dh andMu'awiyah ibn Abi Sufyan. Umar rejected the document outright, knowing that it was fabricated because the conquest ofKhaybar took place in 6 AH, whereasSa'd ibn Mua'dh died in 5 AH just after theBattle of the Trench, andMu'awiyah embracedIslam in 8 AH, after the conquest ofMecca.

A number ofhadith specialists have collected fabricatedhadith separately in order to distinguish them from otherhadith.^{[24][unreliable source?]} Examples include:

• Al-Maudu`at byAbul-Faraj Ibn Al-Jawzi.
• Kitab al-Abatil by al-Jauraqany.
• Al-La'ali al- Masnu'ah fi 'l-Ahadith al-Mawduʻah byal-Suyuti.
• Al-Mawduʻat byAli al-Qari.
• Al-Fawaid al-Majmu'ah fi al-Ahaadeeth al-Mawdu'ah byMuhammad ash-Shawkani.

As in any Islamic discipline, there is a rich history of literature describing the principles and fine points ofhadith sciences. Ibn Hajar provides a summation of this development with the following:

Works authored in the terminology of the people ofhadith have become plentiful from theImams, both old and contemporary:

1. From the first of those who authored a work on this subject is the Judge,Abū Muḥammad al-Rāmahurmuzī in his book,al-Muhaddith al-Faasil, however, it was not comprehensive.
2. Andal-Hakim, Abū Abd Allah an-Naysaburi, authored a book, however, it was neither refined nor well arranged.
3. And following him, Aboo Nu’aym al-Asbahaanee, who wrote amustakhraj upon the book of the later, (compiling the same narrations al-Hakim cited using his ownisnād). However, some things remain in need of correction.
4. And then cameal-Khatib Abu Bakr al-Bagdadi, authoring works in the various disciplines of the science ofhadith a book entitledal-Kifaayah and in its etiquettes a book entitledal-Jamiʻ Li ʻAdab ash-Sheikh wa as-Saamiʻ. Scarce is the discipline from the disciplines of the science ofhadith that he has not written an individual book regarding, as al-Hafith Abu Bakr ibn Nuqtah said: "Every objective person knows that the scholars ofhadith coming after al-Khatib are indebted to his works." After them came others, following al-Khateeb, taking their share from this science.
5. al-Qadi ‘Eyaad compiled a concise book naming ital-ʻIlmaa'.
6. Abū Hafs al-Mayyaanajiyy authored a work giving it the titleMa Laa yasu al-Muhaddith Jahluhu orThat Which a Hadith Scholar is Not Allowed Ignorance Of. There are numerous examples of this which have gained popularity and were expanded upon seeking to make plentiful the knowledge relating to these books and others abridged making easy their understanding.
7. This was prior to the coming of the memorizer and jurist Taqiyy ad-Deen Aboo ‘Amrin ‘Uthmaanibn al-Salah ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ash-Shahruzuuree, who settled inDamascus. He gathered, at the time he had become a teacher ofhadith at the Ashrafiyyah school, hiswell known book, editing the various disciplines mentioned in it. He dictated it piecemeal and, as a result, did not succeed in providing it with an appropriate order. He occupied himself with the various works ofal-Khatib, gathering his assorted studies, adding to them from other sources the essence of their benefits. So he combined in his book what had been spread throughout books other than it. It is due to this that people have focused their attention upon it, following its example. Innumerable are those who rendered his book into poetry, abridged it, sought to complete what had been left out of it or left out any extraneous information; as well as those who opposed him in some aspect of his work or supported him.^[25]

• Biographical evaluation
• Criticism of Hadith
• Hadith
• List of hadith authors and commentators
• Oral Torah
• Prophetic biography

• Hadith studies
• Arabic words and phrases
• Islamic terminology

• CS1 Arabic-language sources (ar)
• All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases
• Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from October 2018
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Arabic-language text
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from February 2014
• All articles with incomplete citations
• Articles with incomplete citations from November 2019
• Pages with broken anchors
• All articles lacking reliable references
• Articles lacking reliable references from August 2017
• Webarchive template wayback links