Glossary

The chain of transmission for a hadith, listing all the narrators who transmitted the saying, action, or approval from the Prophet (peace be upon him) down to the compiler of the hadith collection.

Another term for sanad; the chain of authorities or narrators through which a hadith has been transmitted.

The actual text or content of a hadith, as opposed to its chain of transmission (sanad).

The science of studying the narrators of hadith, including their biographical details, reliability, and trustworthiness. Also refers to the narrators themselves.

A reliable and trustworthy narrator whose reports are accepted. This is the highest grade of narrator reliability in hadith criticism.

A weak narrator or hadith that fails to meet the standards of authenticity due to issues with the chain of transmission or the narrators involved.

An authentic hadith that meets all the criteria for acceptance: continuous chain, reliable narrators, no hidden defects, and no contradiction with established sources.

A good hadith that meets most criteria for authenticity but may have slightly less rigorous transmission standards than sahih hadith.

The science of criticism and authentication of hadith narrators, involving the evaluation of their character, memory, accuracy, and reliability.

A hadith where a successor (tabi'i) reports directly from the Prophet without mentioning the companion who transmitted it to them.

A hadith with an unbroken chain of transmission where each narrator clearly received the report from their immediate predecessor.

A hadith with a broken chain of transmission where one or more narrators are missing from the sequence.

A successor; someone who met and learned from the companions of the Prophet but did not meet the Prophet himself.

A companion of the Prophet; someone who met the Prophet, believed in him, and died as a Muslim.

A narrator whose reports are abandoned or rejected due to severe reliability issues, lying, or gross errors.

An unknown narrator about whom insufficient information is available to determine their reliability.

A practice where a narrator conceals a weakness in their chain by omitting a narrator or using ambiguous language.

An anomalous or irregular report that contradicts more reliable narrations, making it unacceptable despite having a strong chain.

A hidden defect in a hadith that affects its authenticity, discovered through detailed analysis by experts.

The understanding and interpretation of hadith texts to derive legal and religious rulings.