Muqaddamah Mishkat

The

Introduction

By Ash-Shaykh Abdul-Haqq Ad-Dihliwi,

May The Creator have mercy on him.

*with added preface, translation, and explanatory notes

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The knowledge of Hadeeth is amongst the noblest of knowledges. Its importance is great as well. One can not understand the Quraan without the Hadeeth. From the benefits of spending ones time involved with the study of Hadeeth is that it will enable a person to implement the Sunnah of our beloved prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him in his life more and more. Many of the scholars of this Ummah have spent their time in serving this science of Hadeeth in one way or another. This text serves as a primer to the science of Hadeeth. It introduces some of the terminologies used by the scholars of Hadeeth. The Hadeeth are integral to the Deen. This is true to such an extent that once a group had appeared and labeled themselves as Ahlul-Quraan {The people of Quraan}; claiming to only follow the Quraan and not the Hadeeth, after thorough research the verdict was given, by the scholars of their region, of kufr{disbelief}! Interestingly enough this deviant groups and

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their leaders coming was prophesized by Sayyidunaa Muhammad, prayers and peace be upon him. Al-Imaam At-Tirmidhi narrates in his Al-Jaami a Hadeeth which indicates this. The author of this text happened to be from the Indian subcontinent. Due to this a brief history will be mentioned of the Hadeeth sciences in that region of the world. During the time of the caliphate of Al-Waleed , Muhammad Bin Qaasim Ath-Thaqafi gained victory of the Sind region. At this time the Arabs who had come began teaching Hadeeth. Then the Ghaznawis entered and brought with them fortune telling and poetry. After this many people had come and tried to revive the Hadeeth sciences but were not very successful. Later some scholars from within decided to leave and go to the Arab world and learn. From them was Muhammad Bin Taahir, whose teacher was a big scholar in Hadeeth. He, himself, became an accomplished Hadeeth scholar and authored many works in that field in the Arabic language. From these works are: Ghareebul-Hadeeth and Al-Mughni fee Asmaa irRijaal. ?He was the teacher of Ash-Shaykh Waliyyullah Bin Abdir-Raheem who taught his son Abdul-Azeez, and grandson Ismaaeel. Ash-Shaykh Ismaaeel became the teacher of Abdul-Haqq, the author of this text. Later in this chain of scholars came a scholar by the name of Al-Gangohi who was so strict in regards to innovation that when an annual practice occurred in his city that contravened the Sunnah he would leave the city! This occurred until the last year of his life where he was too sick to travel so he confined himself to his home and isolated himself from the people. From this time one of his contemporaries began founding of Daarul-Uloom Deobund, which was established to defend the prophetic Hadeeth. In regards to starting a book on a Wednesday there is a weak narration that indicates that if a book is started on that day it will be completed. Some Ulema of the past used to act upon it.
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In the name of Allah, the All Merciful, The Compassionate

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An introduction in clarification of some of the terminologies of the science of Hadeeth from what would suffice in explaining the book, without long-windedness or lengthiness.

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Know that Hadeeth in the usage of most of the scholars of Hadeeth applies to the speech of the prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, his actions and his acquiescing.

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Acquiescing means that someone did or said something in his presence, prayers and peace be upon him, and he didnt reject him or prohibit him from that; Nay rather he was silent and acquiesced.

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It applies likewise to the speech of the companion , his action, his acquiescence, and to the speech of the follower, his action, and his acquiescence.
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So that which goes back to the prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, is called Marfoo .

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That which goes back to the companion is called Mawqoof .

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As it is said Ibn Abbaas said, did, acquiesced, or on the authority of Ibn Abbaas, {Mawqoof }, or Mawqoof on Ibn Abbaas.

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That which goes back to a follower is Maqtoo .

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Some of them made Hadeeth specific to the Marfoo and Mawqoof since the Maqtoo is called Athar .

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Also Athar could apply to the Marfoo as it is said the supplications for that which has come from the prophet blessings and peace be upon him.

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At-Tahaawi named his book consisting of clarifying prophetic Ahaadeeth and Aathaar of the companions: Explanation of the meanings of the Aathaar .

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As-Sakhaawi said that At-Tabaraani has a book named Rarefaction of the Aathaar while it specifically mentions that which is Marfoo and that which is mentioned in it of the Mawqoof it is but by way of subordinateness and intrusion.

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Khabar and Hadeeth popularly have one meaning.

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Some of them made Hadeeth specific to what came concerning the prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, the companions, and the followers, and khabar specific to that which came of news of the kings, sultans, and the past days.

Due to this the one who works with the Sunnah is called a Muhaddith and the one who works with the histories an Akhbaari.

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Raf could be plain or in principle.

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As to being plain in speech it is like the companions saying I heard the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, saying such and such or like his or someone elses saying The messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him said or from the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him that he said such and such.

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And in the action like the companions saying I saw the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, did such and such or from the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, that he did such and such; or from the companion or someone else marfoo or he made it marfoo that he did such and such.

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And by acquiescing by the companion or someone else saying Such and such or someone did such and such in the presence of the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, and he doesnt mention that he rejected it.

And as to in principle it is like a companion who was not informed of the previous books telling about something
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which there is no room for reasoning; about the past events like information about the prophets or those to come like the wars, tribulations, the terrors of the day of standing, or about a specific reward or punishment being based on an action because there is no way to find out about it except hearing it from the prophet prayers and peace be upon him.

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Or that the companion does something that there is no room for reasoning in, or the companion informs that they used to do such and such in the time of the prophet, prayers and peace be upon him, because it is apparent that he, prayers and peace be upon him, came to know of that and revelation descended concerning it.

Or they say and it is from the Sunnah such and such because it is apparent that the Sunnah is the Sunnah of the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him.

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And some of them said that it could be the Sunnah of the companions or righteous caliphs, for Sunnah could apply to it.

Section

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The Sanad is the path of the Hadeeth and it is the men who related it.

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Isnaad has the same meaning and it could come with the meaning of mentioning the Sanad and telling the path of the Matn.

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The Matn is what the Isnaad ends up at.

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If no narrator is missing from between the narrators then the Hadeeth is Muttasil, and there being no narrators missing is called Ittisaal.

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If one or more narrators are missing then the Hadeeth is Munqati, and there being missing is called Inqitaa.

Absence of a narrator can either be from the beginning of the Sanad, and it is called Muallaq, and this type of absence Taleeq.

The missing persons could be one or more.

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The whole Sanad could be omitted as is the habit of authors. They say The messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, said

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The Taleeqaat are many in the chapter headings of Al-Bukhaari and they have the ruling of Ittisaal because he adhered to, in this book, only mention what is Saheeh.

However they are not in the level of his Masaaneed except what he mentioned in another place in his book as Musnad.

It could be differentiated between them in that which he mentioned in wordings of resolve and in the active voice like his saying So and so said or So and so mentioned indicates that its Isnaad is established in his view, so it is definitely Saheeh, and what he mentioned in wordings of doubt and in the passive voice like It has been said, It is said and It was mentioned then concerning its authenticity there is some discussion in his view.

But since he narrated it in this book it has a firm foundation, and due to this they said the Taleeqaat of Al-Bukhaari are Muttasil and Saheeh.

So the Hadeeth if it has an omission from the end of the chain then if it is after the the Taabiee is Mursal, and this action Irsaal, like the Taabiee saying The messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him said

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And Mursal and Munqati could come with the same meaning with the Muhadditheen.

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And the first usage is more popular.

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And the ruling concerning the Mursal is suspension according to most of the scholars because its not known if the omitted individual is trustworthy or not, because the Taabiee could narrate from a Taabiee and amongst the Taabieen are trustworthy people and others.

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According to Abu Haneefah and Maalik the Mursal is accepted unconditionally.

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And they say he only did Irsaal due to complete trust and dependence because the speech is in trust and if it wasnt Saheeh according to him he would not have said The messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him said

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According to Ash-Shaafiee if it is supported by another way; Mursal or Musnad, even if weak it is accepted.

There are two opinions from Ahmad

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All of this is if it is known that the habit of that Sahaabi is not to do Irsaal except from reliable people.

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And if his habit is to do Irsaal from reliable people and others then it is agreed upon that his ruling is

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Like this it has been said, and concerning it is a further breakdown mentioned by As-Sakhaawi in the explanation of the Alfiyyah.

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If the missing narrators take place from within the Isnaad then if it be two consecutive people it is called Mudal.
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If it is one or more from different places it is called Munqati.

According to this the Munqati would be a section from that which is not Muttasil, and Munqati could come with the meaning of whatever is not Muttasil including all of the types and with this meaning it is made divided.

Inqitaa and omission of a narrator is known by knowing that the narrator and the person he is narrating from didnt meet either because they didnt live during the same time, didnt meet, or the Shaykh not giving permission {to the person to narrate from them} governed by the knowledge of history which clarifies the birth and death dates of the narrators and their times of study and travel.

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And because of this the knowledge of history became a source and reliance to the Muhadditheen.

From the divisions of the Munqati is the Mudallas, with a Dammah on the meem and a Fathah on the Laam with a Shaddah, this action is termed Tadlees and the one who does it a Mudallis, with a Kasrah on the Laam.

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And its form is that the narrator doesnt name his Shaykh who he heard it from, nay rather he narrates from one above him with a pronouncement that makes one believe that he heard it yet it is not labeled lying; like him saying An {from}such and such, and such and such said.

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Tadlees linguistically is hiding the defect of the product in trade.

It could be said that it comes from Dalas which is the mixture of darkness, and its intensifying.

It was called this because of their having hidden-ness in common.

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The Shaykh said: The ruling of the one who Tadlees is established from is that it is not accepted?? from him except if he explicitly states that he was informed it {directly from the person}.

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The Shaykh said: Tadlees is Haraam according to the Imams.

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It was narrated from Wakee that he said: It is not permissible to do Tadlees of a garment, so how about with a Hadeeth? And Shubah exaggerated in dispraise of it.

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The 'Ulamaa have differed in regards to accepting the narration of the Mudallis.

One group from the people of Hadeeth and Fiqh held that Tadlees was Jarh and that whoever is known for it, his Hadeeth is not accepted under any circumstances.

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And it was said it is accepted.

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The majority held the opinion to accept Tadlees of the one who only does it from someone reliable, like Ibn Uyaynah, and to reject the one that does Tadlees from people who were considered weak and other than them; until that he heard it by saying I heard or He told us or He informed us.

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The motive for Tadlees could be for some people a corrupt aim like hiding hearing from the Shaykh due to his young age or not being famous and of status amongst the people.

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And that which occurred from some of the Akaabir is not because of something like this, nay instead stemming from their trust in the authenticity of the Hadeeth and from lack of need due to the popularity of situation.

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said it could be that he heard the Hadeeth from a group of trustworthy people and from that man so he sufficed with mentioning him from mentioning one of them or all of them due to his assurance in the authenticity of the Hadeeth in it as the Mursil does.

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If a difference occurs between the narrators in the Isnaad or Matn by something preceding and a deferment or an addition and omission or switching one narrator in the place of the other or a text in place of a text or a mispronunciation In the names of the Sanad or parts of the Matn or by a summation or omission or the likes of that then the Hadeeth is Mudtarib.

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If it is possible to join between them that is fine, and if not then

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If the narrator inserts his speech or someone elses speech, a companion or follower for example, with any aim like clarifying the language or explanation of a meaning or restricting the unrestricted or the likes of that then the Hadeeth is Mudraj.

Section

Note

This research leads us to {the discussion of} narrating and transmitting a Hadeeth by the meaning.

In regards to it there is a difference of opinion.

Most hold that it is permissible from he who is knowledgeable of Arabic, proficient in the manners of speech, the special constructions, and understandings of address as to not make error by way of increase or decrease.
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And it was said it is permissible in the vocabulary of the pronouncements without the compounded

And it is said it is permissible for he who remembers the pronouncements so that he will be able to change them

And it is said that it is permissible for he who has memorized the meanings of the Hadeeth and forgotten its pronouncements due to necessity in obtaining rulings, and for the one who remembers the pronouncements it is not permissible for him due to the absence of necessity.

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And this difference of opinion is in regards to permissibility and impermissibility.

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As to the preference of narrating the pronouncement without change in it, it is agreed upon because of his saying, prayers and peace be upon him, May Allah enlighten the face of an individual who has heard my speech took it in then gave it as he heard

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Ananah is narrating the Hadeeth with the pronouncement An such and such An such and such, and The Muanan is a Hadeeth narrated by the method of Ananah.

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And living in the same period is a condition in the Ananah according to Muslim, meeting according to Al-Bukhaari, taking from the person according to another group of people, and Muslim refuted both groups severely and exaggerated in doing so.

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And the Ananah of the Mudallis is unacceptable.

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Each Marfoo Hadeeth whose Isnaad is Muttasil is Musnad.

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This is what is popular and depended upon.

And some of them called every Muttasil Hadeeth Musnad, even if it was Mawqoof or Maqtoo.

And some of them called the Marfoo Musnad, even if it was Mursal, Mudal, or Munqati.

Section

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From the types of Hadeeth are the Shaadhdh, Munkar, and Muallal.

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Shaadhdh linguistically is he who separated from the group and left it.

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In the terminology, that which was narrated contrary to what the trustworthy narrators narrated.

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If the narrators are not reliable it is Mardood.

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If they are reliable then its way is to give preference due to more memory, accuracy or greater number and other reasons.

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The one which is preferred is called Mahfooth and that which was preferred over Shaadh.

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The Munkar is a Hadeeth a weak person narrated opposing he who is weaker than him.

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And opposite of it is Maroof.

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So the Munkar and Maroof both of their narrators are weak and one of them is weaker than the other.

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And in the Shaadhdh and Mahfooth is a strong narrator; one of them stronger than the other.

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Preference is given over the Shaadhdh and the Munkar, and the Mahfooth and the Maroof are preference.

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Some of them did not make it a condition in the Shaadhdh and Munkar that they differ with another narrator, strong or weak, and they said Shaadhdh is that which a reliable person narrated solely not having any foundation in agreement with it and supporting it.

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And this would hold true for the single trustworthy Saheeh and some of them didnt take differing or the reliable narrator into consideration.

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And also the Munkar they didnt make it specific to the way it was mentioned, and they called the Hadeeth of the one discredited by Fisq, excessive heedlessness and frequent mistakes Munkar.

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And these terminologies are indisputable.

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The Mallal with a fathah on the laam is an isnaad with defects and subtle uneasily discernible reasons which hurt the
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authenticity of the Hadeeth, the proficient sagacious ones From this affair are privy to them, like Irsaal in the Mawsool, Waqf in the Maroo, and the likes.

The expression of the Muallil might fall short of establishing evidence for his claim, like the money changer in regards to the Dinaar and Dirham.

And if a narrator narrates a Hadeeth and another narrator narrates a hadeeth in agreement with it, then this Hadeeth is called a Mutaabi{ follower up; conformer}; in the form of the active particle.

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And this is the meaning of what the Muhaddithoon say: And many times Al-Bukhaari says in his Saheeh and they say is has Mutaabiaat.

And Mutaabaah necessitates strengthening and support

And the Mutaabi doesnt have to be equal in ranking to the original (Hadeeth), even if it is lesser it is suitable for Mutaabaah.

Mutaabaah could be in the narrator himself or it could be in a Shaykh above him, and the first (type) is closer to perfection than the second because weakness in the beginning of the Isnaad is more common and more frequent

And the Mutaabi if it agrees with the original (Hadeeth) in words and in meaning Mithlahu is said, and if it agrees in meaning without the (same) words Nahwahu is said.

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It is a condition in Mutaabaah that the two Hadeeth be from one Sahaabi.

And if they are from two (different) Sahaabis it is called a Shaahid like it is said It has a Shaahid from the Hadeeth of Abu Hurairah and It has Shawaahid and The Hadeeth of such and such bares witness to it.

And some of them make Mutaabaah specific to agreement in words and The Shaahid in meaning, whether it came from one Sahaabi or two.

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And Shahid and Mutaabi could apply to one meaning, and the affair in that is clear, and following up the routes of the Hadeeth and their chains with the intention of knowing of a Mutaabi or Shaahid is called Itibaar.

Section

The origins of the divisions of Hadeeth are three: Saheeh, Hasan, and Daeef.

So the Saheeh is the highest level, the Daeef the lowest, and the Hasan in between.

All other divisions which were mentioned are subsumed in these three.

The Saheeh is that which is established by the transmission of Udool complete in precision, which has neither an obscure defect nor discrepancy with a more reliable narrator

If these characteristics are present in the most perfect and complete manner then it is Saheeh lidhaatihi (in and of itself)

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If there is some sort of deficiency and that which repairs the deficiency exists due to multiplicity of narrations, then it is Saheeh lighayrihi (due to other narrations)

If this doesnt exist then it is Hasan lidhaatihi (in and of itself)

And whatever the conditions considered in the Saheeh are missing in, altogether or partially is Daeef

And the Daeef if its routes and its weakness becomes fixed is called Hasan lighayrihi (due to other narrations)

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And the apparent (indication) of their speech is that it is possible that all of the mentioned characteristics for the Saheeh be deficient in the Hasan, but the researched explanation is that the deficiency which is considered in the Hasan is lack of accuracy while the remaining characteristics are as they were.

Adaalah is a faculty in the individual carrying him to adhere to Taqwaa and Murooah

What is intended by Taqwaa is avoiding evil deeds of Shirk, Fisq (Open disobedience to Allah), and Bidah (Innovation)

In avoiding minor sins there is a difference of opinion, the chosen one is it not being a condition due to it escaping the realm of ability; except persistence upon them because of it being a Major sin.

What is intended by Muroo ah is being free from some of the lowly affairs and defects which are contrary to the requisite of high ambition and virtue .
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It should be known that Adl in narrating is more general than Adl in witnessing because Adl in witnessing is specific to the free man while Adl in narrating applies to the free man and the slave.

What is intended by Dabt (precision) is memorizing what was heard and keeping it from wholly and partially slipping away in such a manner that he is able to bring it to mind

And it is of two types Dabt of the chest and Dabt of a book

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Dabt of the chest is by memorization and preservation of the heart, and Dabt of a book is by preserving it with him until the time of delivery.

Section

As to Adaalah the manners of faulting which are associated with it are five:

The first by lying

And by suspicion of lying

The third by Fisq

The fourth by ignorance (of what the narrators identity is)

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The fifth by Bidah

What is intended by the narrators lying is that his lying in regards to the prophetic hadeeth, prayers and peace be upon him, was established either by the forger admitting or other evidences besides that

The Hadeeth of the one accused of lying is called Mawdoo

Whosoever lying in the Hadeeth is established from, even if it be once in a lifetime even if he repents from it his Hadeeth will never be accepted unlike the one who bears false witness if he repents

What is intended by the Mawdoo Hadeeth in the usage of the Muhadditheen is this, not that their lying was established and known in this Hadeeth particularly

The issue is hypothetical and giving the judgement of Wad (forgery) and lying is way of overwhelming suspicion, and there is no way to say it decisively and surely for the liar could speak the truth

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Rejected by this is what has been said concerning knowing Wad (has occurred) by the forger confessing that its possible that hes lying in his confession; for his truthfulness but known through overwhelming suspicion, were it not for this it would not permissible to kill the one who confesses to murder nor stoning the one who admits to fornication, so understand.

As to suspecting a narrator of lying it is by popularly known as a liar in general conversation while it

And in the ruling of it is narrating that which goes against necessarily known rules in the (Islamic) law, like this it has been said

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And this division is called Matrook (abandoned) like it is said his Hadeeth is Matrook (abandoned) and So and sos Hadeeth are Matrook (abandoned).

And this man if he repents, his repentance is correct, and the signs of truthfulness appear from him it is permissible to listen to his Hadeeth

And he who lying occurs from rarely in his (general) speech; not the prophetic Hadeeth, that does not cause his Hadeeth to be called Mawdoo or Matrook even though it is an of disobedience (to Allah)

As to Fisq what is intended by it is Fisq in action not in belief, for indeed that falls under Bidah

Bidah is mostly used in regards to belief and lying though it falls under Fisq they considered it individually due to the fault of it being more severe and extreme

As to unawareness of the narrator it is, as well, a reason for faulting the Hadeeth since once his name and identity are unknown his state is unknown and whether he is trustworthy or untrustworthy like his saying a man told me and a sheikh informed me

And this is called Mubham and the Hadeeth of the Mubham is not accepted unless he is a sahaabi; because they are Udool.

If the Mubhim brings words that indicate Adaalah like saying an upright person informed me or a trustworthy person told me there is a difference of opinion.

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That which is more correct is that it is not accepted because he could be upright in the persons view not in reality, but if a well-versed Imam says it, it is accepted.

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As to Bidah what is intended by it is: believing a new matter which goes against what was known in the Deen and what has come from the messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him, and his companions with a sort of unclairity and interpolation; not by way of obstinance and rejection for that would be Kufr

And the Hadeeth of the Mubtadi is rejected according to many

And according to some is he is attributed with truth in speech, and preservation of the tongue, it is accepted

And some of them said if he rejects a Mutawaatir matter in the religion which is necessarily known that its from the Deen it is rejected and if its not with this description it is excepted even if the opponents may label him an infidel, with the presence of precision, scrupulousness, Taqwaa, carefulness, and chastity

The choice (opinion) is if he is calling to his Bidah and advertising it, it is rejected and its not like that it is accepted; unless he narrated something supporting his Bidah it is definitely rejected

So in general the Imams differ in taking Hadeeth from the people of Bidah and egotistical whims, and those of strayed paths

The author of Jaamiul Usool said A group of the Imams of Hadeeth took from the Khawaarij group, those affiliated with the Qadar, shiism, Rafidi shiism and the remaining groups of Bidah and egotistical whims and another group were careful stayed away from taking any Hadeeth from these groups, and each of them had their intentions {The quote ended}

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And there is no doubt that taking the Hadeeth from these groups is after investigation and approval although precaution is in not taking them because it has been established that these groups used to fabricate Hadeeth to advertise their ways and they would admit to it after repenting and returning, and Allah knows best.

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Section

As to the manners of faulting precision they are also five.

The first is excessive heedlessness

The second frequent mistakes

The third opposing the trustworthy narrators

The fourth error

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And the fifth bad memory

As to excessive heedlessness and frequent mistakes they are close (in meaning)

Heedlessness is in regaurd to hearing and carrying the Hadeeth

And the mistake is in dictation and giving

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Opposing the trustworthy narrators in reguards to the Isnaad or the Matn could be in many ways causing Shudhoodh

And making it from the manners of faulting the accuracy is because the cause of opposing the trustworthy narrators is only due to lack of precision, memory, and preservation from change and alteration

The fault in respect error and forgetfulness which he was mistaken by, and narrated by way of delusion if that can be discovered associated evidences indicating defects and negative causes the Hadeeth is Muallal

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And this is the cloudiest and finest of the sciences of Hadeeth, none can deal with it save those granted with understanding, vast memory,a complete knowledge of the levels of the narrators and the states of the Asaaneed and Mutoon like the early companions of this science until it ended at Ad-Daaraqutni.and it is said that no one similar has come after him in this affair, and Allah knows best.

As to bad memory they said that what is intended by it is that his (the persons) accuracy not overcome his error and his memory and precision (not overcome) his absentmindedness and forgetfullness

Meaning if his error and forgetfulness overcome or is equal to his accuracy and precision he falls under having a bad memory.

So that which is depended upon is accuracy, precision, and their abundance

And bad memory, if it is dominant at all times the span of (the narrators) life his Hadeeth are not taken into consideration and according to some of the Muhadditheen this falls under Shaadhdh

And if bad memory comes suddenly due to an outside matter like a loss of retention due to old age or loss of sight or losing books this is called Mukhtalit

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So what the narrator related before becoming mixed up and effect of lost memory ability, distinguished from what he related after this state is accepted and if it is not distinguished then no action is taken and likewise if it is unclear

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If mutaabiaat and shawaahid exist for this division it raises rom the level of rejection to acceptance and weight and this is the ruling concerning the Hadeeth of the Mastoor, Mudallas, and Marsul

Section

The Saheeh Hadeeth, if its narrators are one is called Ghareeb

If they are two its called Azeez

If they are more its called Mash hoor and Mustafeed

And if its narrators reach an abundance such that typically it would be impossible to conspire together to make up a lie its called Mutawaatir

The Ghareeb is called Fard also

What is meant by its narrators being one is it being like that even in one place of the Isnaad but it is called Fard Nisbi

And if its in every place its called Fard Mutlaq

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What is intended by them being two is that they are in every place like that, so if there is a place one the Hadeeth is not Azeez, nay Ghareeb

And based upon this resoning is the consideration of amount in the Mashhoor that there be in every place more than two, and this is the meaning of their saying that the lesser governs the greater in this field

And it is known from what has been mentioned that Gharaabah does not negate Sihhah and a Hadeeth could be Saheeh (and) Ghareeb by all of the narrators being trustworthy

And Ghareeb could come with the meaning of Shaadhdh that is in the manner that it is from the divisions of faulting a Hadeeth and this is what is intended by the author of Al-Masaabeeh saying this is Hadeeth Ghareeb for that which he mentioned in a way of criticism

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And some people explain Shaadhdh as singularity of the narrator without consideration of opposing trustworthy (narrators) as has preceeded and they say Saheeh (which is) Shaadhdh and Saheeh which is not Shaadhdh, so shudhoodh with this meaning as well does not negate sihhah, like Gharaabah, and that which is mentioned in the context of criticism it is opposing the trustworthy narrators

Section

The Daeef Hadeeth is that which the considered conditions of Sihhah and Husn are absent in; alltogether or partially, and its narrator is criticized with Shudhoodh, Nakaarah, or an illah.

With this consideration the divisions of the Daeef are numerous and plentiful; simple and compounded

And the levels of the Saheeh and Hasan lidhaatihimaa and lighairihimaa are also in accordance with the varying levels
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and ranks in perfection of the qualities taken into consideration in the understanding of them while sharing in the foundation of Sihhah and Husn.

The people defined precisely the levels of Sihhah, Specified them and mentioned their examples from the Asaaneed and said the name Adaalah and Dabt encompasses all of their men; but some them are above others

As to terming a specific Sanad as absolutelty the most authentic sanad there is a difference of opinion

Some o them said the most authentic chain is Zaynul-Aabideen from his father from his grandfather

And it was said Maalik from Naafi from Ibn Umar

And it was said Az-Zuhri from Saalim from Ibn Umar

And the truth is that judging a specific Isnaad as absolutely most authentic is not possible, except that there is in Sihhah high levels and many of the Asaaneed fall into them

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And if it was restricted with a restriction by saying the most authentic Sanad of such and such country or chapter or in such and such issue it is valid, and Allah knows best

Section

It is from the habit of At-Tirmidhi to say in his Jaami Hadeeth Hasan Saheeh, Hadeeth Ghareeb Hasan, Hadeeth Hasan Ghareeb Saheeh

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There is no conusion in the ability to join between Husn and Sihhah by being Hasan lidhaatihi and Saheehan lighayrihi

And likewise in joining between Gharaabah and sihhah as we previously mentioned

As to joining between Gharaabah and Husn they saw it to be problematic because At-Tirmidhi considered mulitiplicity of chains in Husn so how could it be Ghareeb?

And they respond by saying that consideration of the number of routes

And some of them said that he alluded by that to the differing Turuq; that it came in some of them Ghareeb and some of them Hasan

And it was said the waaw is with the meaning of aw that he doubts and is unsure if it is Ghareeb or Hasan due to him not knowing it for sure

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And it was said what is intended by Hasan here is not its terminological meaning, nay the linguistical one meaning that which the natural disposition inclines towards, and this is opinion is very far off.

Section

Using the Saheeh Khabar as a proof in (legal) rulings is agreed upon and also with the Hasan lidhaatihi according to many Ulamaa and it is grouped with the Saheeh in the field of using proofs for legal rulings, even though it may be under it in rank

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And the Daeef Hadeeth which has reached by multiplicity of chains the level of Hasan lighayrihi as well is agreed upon.

And what has become popular that the Daeef Hadeeth is considerd concerning virtues of the actions {not in other than it}, what is intended are its singular narrations not collectively because it falls under the Hasan not the Daeef, the Imams have clearly mentioned it

Some of them said if the weakness is coming from poor memory, confusion, or Tadlees with the presence of truthfulness and piety it can be repaired by multiplicity of chains and if it is coming from suspicion of lying, Shudhoodh or grave error it will not be repaired by multiplicity of chains and the Hadeeth will be given the judgement of Daf and acted upon concerning virtues of the acts

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In a manner like this the saying that a Daeef with a Daeef does not benefit strength should be interpreted, and if not then this statement is obviously incorrect. Reflect (on this point)

Section

Since the levels of the saheeh vary and the some of the Sihaah are more Saheeh than others then know!: That which has been decided by according to most of the Muhadditheen is that Saheehul-Bukhaari put before the remaining authored books, to the extent that they said the most authentic book after the book of Allah is Saheehul-Bukhaari

And some of the westerners gave preference to Saheeh Muslim over Saheehul-Bukhaari

The majority says that this is concerning what goes back to wellness in clarification, good placement, order, caring for minute indications, and good points within the Asaaneed

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However this is outside of the subject, the discussion is concerning Sihhah and strength and what is associated with them.

And there is not a book which is equal to Saheehul-Bukhaari in this regard by the proof of the complete charchteristics which are taken into consideration in Sihhah in its men

And some of them were undecided concerning giving preference to one of them over the other, and the truth is the first (opinion).

And the Hadeeth which Al-Bukhaari and Muslim agree on gathering is called Muttafiq Alayhi

The Shaykh mentioned: with the condition that it be from one sahaabi

They said the amount of the agreed upon Hadeeth is two thousand three hundred and twenty six (2326)

Overall preference is given to what the two Shaykhs agree upon then what Al-Bukhaari only as narrated, then what Muslim only has narrated, then that which is according to the conditions of Bukhaari and Muslim, then what is according to the conditions of Al-Bukhaari, then what is according to the conditions of Muslim, then what is narrated from others amoungst the Imams who stuck to Sihhah and they authenticated it; so the divisions are seven.

And what is intended by the conditions of Al-Bukhaari and Muslim is that the men be attributed with te charachteristics which the men of Al-Bukhaari and Muslim are attributed with: Dabt, Adaalah, absence of Shudhoodh, Nakaarah, and Ghaflah.

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And it has been said that the condition of Al-Bukhaari and Muslim is their men themselves and this is a long discussion which we have mentioned in the introduction to the explanation of Sifrus-saaadah.

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Section

The authentic Hadeeth are not isolated to Al-Bukhaari and Muslim, and they didnt encompass all of the Sihaah, rather their books exclusively include Saheeh narrations

And the authentic Hadeeth which they had and are in accordance with their conditions as well, they did not narrate them in their books

Al-Bukhaari said I have not narrated in this book of mine except what is authentic, and I have left many of the authentic narrations

Muslim said that which I have narrated of Hadeeth in this book are Saheeh and I am not saying that what I have left is Daeef

And there must be in this leaving and bringing (of the narrations) some reason for specifically bringing and leaving (them) either in respect to their Sihhah or for other intentions

Al-Haakim Aboo Abdillahi An-Nishaapoori authored a book he called Al-Mustadrak (The Emendation)

He made right and corrected some of them upon the condition of Al-Bukhaari, some on the condition of Muslim, and some on other than their conditions.

And he said that Al-Bukhaari and Muslim did not decide that there were not any other rigorously authenticated traditions besides what they narrated in their two books

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And he said there occurred in this age of ours a group from the innovators who unleashed their tounges attacking the Imams of the Deen, (saying) that the collection of what is rigorously authenticated with you from the Ahaadeeth didnt reach the amount of ten thousand.

And it is transmitted concerning Al-Bukhaari that he said I have memorized from the Sihaah one hundred thousand Hadeeth and from the others two hundred thousand, and it is appearant and Allah knows best that he intended Saheeh according to his conditions

And the amount of narratons in this book with repetition is seven thousand two hundred and seventy five Hadeeth, and after ommiting the repetition four thousand

Others from amongst the scholars have authored Sihaah like Saheeh Ibn Khuzaymah who is called the Imaam of the Imaams

And he is the Shaykh of Ibn Hibbaan, Ibn Hibbaan said in praise of him I have not seen on the face of the earth anyone better in the art of As-Sunan, memorizing more rigorously authenticated sayings than him!, it is as if all of the Sunan are right before his eyes!

And like the Saheeh of Ibn Hibbaan, the student of Ibn Khuzaymah, a trustworthy virtuous Imam with a penetrating understanding

Al-Haakim said Ibn Hibbaan was from the vessels of knowledge, language, Hadeeth, and preaching, he was amongst the men of intellect

And like the Saheeh of Al-Haakim Abi Abdillaah An-Neeshaapoori, the Haafith, the trustworthy, named Al-Mustadrak

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Leniency made its way into this book of his, and they blamed him for that and said Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibbaan are more able and stronger than Al-Haakim and better and more subtle in the Asaaneed and Mutoon

And like Al-Mukhtaarah by the Haafith Diyaa ud Deen Al-Maqdisi, and he also brought out Sihaah not in the two Saheehs, and they said his book is better than Al-Mustadrak

And like the Saheeh of Ibn Awaanah, Ibn As-Sakan, and Al-Muntaqaa by Ibn Jaarood

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And all of these books are for Sihaah especially but a group criticized without reason or justly, and above every one who possesses knowledge is someone else knowledgeable and Allah knows best

Section

The six well known decided upon books in Al-Islaam which are called As-Sihaahus Sitt are Saheehul Bukhaari, Saheeh Muslim, Al-Jaami by At-Tirmidhi, As-Sunan by Aboo Daawood, An-Nasaa ee, and the Sunan of Ibn Maajah

The author of Jaamiul-Usool chose Al-Muwatta

In these four books are divisions of Ahaadeeth from Sihaah, Hisaan, and Diaaf; and being named As-Sihaahus-Sitt by way of Taghleeb

The author of Al-Masaabeeh called the Ahaadeeth of other than the two Shaykhs Hisaan and it is close in this regard to the linguistical meaning or its a new terminology from him

Some of them said Ad-Daaimis book is more appropriate and fitting to be made the the sixth of the books because its men have less weakness, the presence of munkar and shaadh Hadeeth are rare, it has Asaaneed Aaliyah, and its
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Thulaathiyyaat are moe than the Thulaathiyyaat of Al-Bukhaari

And the mentioned books are the most popular books and other books are many and popular and As-Suyooti narrated in Jam il-Jawaami from many books exceeding fifty consisting of Sihaah, Hisaan, and Diaaf, and he said I have not narrated in it a Hadeeth with forgery the Muhaddithoon have agreed upon leaving it and rejecting it, and Allah knows best.

And the author of Al-Mishkaah mentioned in the introduction of his book a group of the proficient Imams and they are Al-Bukhaari, Muslim, Al-Imaam Maalik, Al-Imaam Ash-Shaafiee, Al-Imaam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, At-Tirmidhi, Aboo Daawood, An-Nasaa ee, Ibn Maajah, Ad-Daarimee, Ad-Daaraqutni, Al-Bayhaqi, Razeen, and others

And we have written about their states in an isolated book named Al-Ikmaal BiDhikri Asmaa ir-Rijaal and success is from Allah and help is sought in him in the beginning and the return. As to Al-Ikmaal fee Asmaa ir Rijaal by the author of Al-Mishkaah, it is attached to the end of this book.

1 He is the eleventh caliph listed in As-Suyootis {History of the Caliphs}. He passed away 96 years after Hijrah. 1 The technical definition for the Sahaabi, which I have termed here companion is: meaning: He who met the prophet, prayers and peace be upon him while believing in him, and died upon belief. Here the word met was used, while merely seeing him is enough, so that the definition may include Abdullah bin Umm Maktoom; the blind man who the verses of Surah Abasa {He Frowned} were revealed concerning. While believing in him would exclude those who did not believe in him at all obviously they would be disbelievers and not included in the Sahaabah, those who believed in him and yet didnt get to see him {like Uwais Al-Qarani}, and those who entered Islaam after his death. In the case of the latter two they would be considered from the Taabieen {Followers}. And died upon belief would exclude those who apostated as a group did after the death of the prophet, prayers and peace be upon him. 1 General moral excellence (Websters Dictionary).

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