ONE HADITH A DAY

Hadith terminology

What the grades and terms on each hadith actually mean, drawn from the classical works of hadith science.

• Hadith grading — A scholar's verdict on how soundly a report reached us — a judgement about its chain of transmission, not about its meaning.
• Sahih (Authentic) — The strongest grade — the chain is unbroken, and every narrator in it was both trustworthy and a reliable memoriser.
• Hasan (Good) — One step below sahih — the chain is sound and the narrators honest, but one of them was a slightly lighter memoriser. Still binding as evidence.
• Daif (Weak) — The chain has a problem — a gap in it, or a narrator whose reliability was questioned. It means "not verified", not "proven false".
• Mawdu' (Fabricated) — Fabricated — words someone invented and falsely placed in the Prophet's mouth. Not a hadith at all.
• Mursal — A Successor quotes the Prophet directly, skipping the Companion who would have heard it. A named link is missing.
• Mawquf — A saying or action of a Companion of the Prophet — not something attributed to the Prophet himself.
• Maqtu' — A saying or action of a Successor — the generation after the Companions.
• Shadh (Anomalous) — A version from an otherwise reliable narrator that clashes with what stronger or more numerous narrators reported. The odd one out.
• Hasan li-ghayrihi — A hadith too weak on its own, but reported through several separate weak chains — and their independent agreement lifts it to an acceptable level.
• Sahih li-ghayrihi — A hadith that was hasan on its own, but which also came through further chains — the extra support raises it to the top grade.