According to the number of reporters involved in each stage of the isnad
Depending on the number of the reporters of the hadith in each stage
of the isnad, i.e. in each generation of reporters, it can be classified
into the general categories of mutawatir ("consecutive") or ahad ("single")
hadith. A mutawatir hadith is one which is reported by such a large number
of people that they cannot be expected to agree upon a lie, all of them
together.29
Al-Ghazali (d. 505) stipulates that a mutawatir narration be known by
the sizeable number of its reporters equally in the beginning, in the
middle and at the end.30 He is correct in
this stipulation because some narrations or ideas, although known as mutawatir
among some people, whether Muslims or non-Muslims, originally have no
tawatur. There is no precise definition for a "large number of reporters";
although the numbers four, five, seven, ten, twelve, forty and seventy,
among others, have all been variously suggested as a minimum, the exact
number is irrelevant (some reporters, e.g. Imams of hadeeth, carry more
weight anyway than others who are their contemporaries): the important
condition is that the possibility of coincidence or "organised falsehood"
be obviously negligible.31
Examples of mutawatir practices are the five daily prayers, fasting,
zakat, the Hajj and recitation of the Qur'an. Among the verbal mutawatir
ahadith, the following has been reported by at least sixty-two Companions
from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), and has been
widely-known amongst the Muslims throughout the ages: "Whoever invents
a lie and attributes it to me intentionally, let him prepare his seat
in the Fire."
Ahadith related to the description of the Haud Kauthar (the Basin of
Abundant Goodness) in the Hereafter, raising the hands at certain postures
during prayer, rubbing wet hands on the leather socks during ablution,
revelation of the Qur'an in seven modes, and the prohibition of every
intoxicant are further examples of verbal mutawatir ahadith.32
A hadith ahad or khabar wahid is one which is narrated by people whose
number does not reach that of the mutawatir case. Ahad is further classified
into:
A hadith is termed gharib ("scarce, strange") when only a single reporter
is found relating it at some stage of the isnad. For example, the saying
of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace),
"Travel is a piece of punishment" is gharib; the isnad of this hadith
contains only one reporter in each stage: Malik --- Yahya b. Abi Salih
--- Abu Hurairah --- the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).
With regard to its isnad, this hadith is sahih, although most gharib ahadith
are weak; Ahmad b. Hanbal said, "Do not write these gharib ahadith because
they are unacceptable, and most of them are weak."33
A type of hadith similar to gharib is fard ("solitary"); it is known
in three ways:
- similar to gharib, i.e. a single person is found reporting it from
a well-known Imam;
- the people of one locality only are known to narrate the hadith;
- narrators from one locality report the hadith from narrators of another
locality, such as the people of Makkah reporting from the people of
Madinah.34
If at any stage in the isnad, only two reporters are found to narrate
the hadith, it is termed 'aziz ("rare, strong"). For example, Anas reported
that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)
said, "None of you (truly) believes until I become more beloved to him
than his father, his son, and all the people."
Two reporters, Qatadah and 'Abdul 'Aziz b. Shu'aib, report this hadith
from Anas, and two more reporters narrate from each of them: Shu'bah and
Sa'id report from Qatada, and Isma'il b. Ulayyah and 'Abd al-Warith from
'Abd al-'Aziz; then a group of people report from each of them.35
A hadith which is reported by more than two reporters is known as mashhur
("famous"). According to some scholars, every narrative which comes to
be known widely, whether or not it has an authentic origin, is called
mashhur. A mashhur hadith might be reported by only one or two reporters
in the beginnning but become widely-known later, unlike gharib or 'aziz,
which are reported by one or two reporters in the beginning and continue
to have the same number even in the times of the Successors and those
after them. For example, if only one or two reporters are found narrating
hadith from a reliable authority in hadeeth such as al-Zuhri and Qatadah,
the hadith will remain either gharib or 'aziz. On the other hand, if a
group of people narrate from them, it will be known as mashhur.36
According to al-'Ala'i (Abu Sa'id Khalil Salah al-Din, d. 761), a hadith
may be known as 'aziz and mashhur at the same time. By this he means a
hadith which is left with only two reporters in its isnad at any stage
while it enjoys a host of reporters in other stages, such as the saying
of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), "We are the
last but (will be) the foremost on the Day of Resurrection." This hadith
is 'aziz in its first stage, as it is reported by Hudhaifah b. al-Yaman
and Abu Hurairah only. It later becomes mashhur as seven people report
it from Abu Hurairah.37
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