The Sahih
This is the authentic Hadith. It is the first category among the excellent Hadith. Any Hadith under this category is genuine and has passed all tests. The reputation of reporters of Hadith in this category is of high status due to high level of scrutiny before accepting the Hadith. One of such collectors was Muhammad b. Ismail Abu Abd Allah Al-Ju’fi popularly knows as Imam Al Bukhari.
The Hadith in this category are highly rated by Muslims. For instance Al-Bukhari laboured for 16 years on the compilation of his sahih. He also sought the aid of prayer before committing traditions to writing. He was also reported to have interrogated over one thousand scholars living in places so distance as Balkh, Merv, Nisabur, Hijaz, Egypt and Syria.
Another scholar of repute in this category was Abul Hussain Muslim b. Al-Hajjaj who also travelled widely to collect Hadith in Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Muslim had the great opportunity to listen to famous learned men like Ahamad b. Hanbal.
In addition, Hadith under this category have their chains of narration properly retained and unbroken and they cover various aspect of life.
The Hassan
These are the fair traditions although inferior as regards authenticity. In terms of rating it is next to Sahih but not as authentic. Any Hadith under this category is widely accepted because it is next in quality to the first category. The authorities of Hadith in this category are rated very high by scholars of Hadith and this is why the two are regarded as very reliable in the classification of Hadith.
The Hassan contents of Hadith are practically identical with those of Sahih. The only areas of differences are their headings according to subject matters.
Much attention has been paid to the Isnads to the extent that any minor break in them renders such Hadith unacceptable. The Hadith in this category cover topics in the area of Islamic theology like the five pillars of Islam, marriage, law of inheritance, pre-destination, and free will.
The Da’if
This is basically a weak Hadith which makes it unreliable and unacceptable. In the categorization, any Hadith that is termed Da’if is not to be taken as an authentic statement of the Prophet. The Da’if traditions are divided further based on the degree of their weaknesses either in the report (ruwwat) or in the text (matn). These are:
1. Mualaq Tradition: This is tradition in which one of two transmitters are omitted in the beginning of their Isnad . In other words, a broken chain of transmission.
2. Maqtu’ Tradition: These are those traditions or statement of the Prophet singularly reported by a Tabi’i that is a man of second category after the Prophet.
3. Munqatic Tradition: These are generally broken traditions and statements of the Prophet. They are unreliable.
4. Mural Tradition: These are the incomplete traditions in the Isnad of which a companion (sahabi) is omitted e.g. “a tabi’i says the prophet said…”
5. .Musahhaf Tradition: These are the traditions which have mistake in the words or letter of the Isnad or the Matn.
6. Shadh Tradition: These are the traditions with a reliable chain of reporters but their meanings are contrary to other similarly attested traditions narrated by the majority of transmitters.
7. Madu Trandition: These are the out rightly fabricated and untrue traditions
This is the authentic Hadith. It is the first category among the excellent Hadith. Any Hadith under this category is genuine and has passed all tests. The reputation of reporters of Hadith in this category is of high status due to high level of scrutiny before accepting the Hadith. One of such collectors was Muhammad b. Ismail Abu Abd Allah Al-Ju’fi popularly knows as Imam Al Bukhari.
The Hadith in this category are highly rated by Muslims. For instance Al-Bukhari laboured for 16 years on the compilation of his sahih. He also sought the aid of prayer before committing traditions to writing. He was also reported to have interrogated over one thousand scholars living in places so distance as Balkh, Merv, Nisabur, Hijaz, Egypt and Syria.
Another scholar of repute in this category was Abul Hussain Muslim b. Al-Hajjaj who also travelled widely to collect Hadith in Arabia, Egypt, Syria and Iraq. Muslim had the great opportunity to listen to famous learned men like Ahamad b. Hanbal.
In addition, Hadith under this category have their chains of narration properly retained and unbroken and they cover various aspect of life.
The Hassan
These are the fair traditions although inferior as regards authenticity. In terms of rating it is next to Sahih but not as authentic. Any Hadith under this category is widely accepted because it is next in quality to the first category. The authorities of Hadith in this category are rated very high by scholars of Hadith and this is why the two are regarded as very reliable in the classification of Hadith.
The Hassan contents of Hadith are practically identical with those of Sahih. The only areas of differences are their headings according to subject matters.
Much attention has been paid to the Isnads to the extent that any minor break in them renders such Hadith unacceptable. The Hadith in this category cover topics in the area of Islamic theology like the five pillars of Islam, marriage, law of inheritance, pre-destination, and free will.
The Da’if
This is basically a weak Hadith which makes it unreliable and unacceptable. In the categorization, any Hadith that is termed Da’if is not to be taken as an authentic statement of the Prophet. The Da’if traditions are divided further based on the degree of their weaknesses either in the report (ruwwat) or in the text (matn). These are:
1. Mualaq Tradition: This is tradition in which one of two transmitters are omitted in the beginning of their Isnad . In other words, a broken chain of transmission.
2. Maqtu’ Tradition: These are those traditions or statement of the Prophet singularly reported by a Tabi’i that is a man of second category after the Prophet.
3. Munqatic Tradition: These are generally broken traditions and statements of the Prophet. They are unreliable.
4. Mural Tradition: These are the incomplete traditions in the Isnad of which a companion (sahabi) is omitted e.g. “a tabi’i says the prophet said…”
5. .Musahhaf Tradition: These are the traditions which have mistake in the words or letter of the Isnad or the Matn.
6. Shadh Tradition: These are the traditions with a reliable chain of reporters but their meanings are contrary to other similarly attested traditions narrated by the majority of transmitters.
7. Madu Trandition: These are the out rightly fabricated and untrue traditions