Only the significant terms of Tahqiq’al Hadith are being pointed here.
As a Muslim, everyone should know these terms:
Sanad (سند): The source of the main word of the hadith which has reached the compiler of the book is called sanad. The names of the narrators of the hadith are arranged one after the other. It helps to identify that the hadith is authentic, or man-made.
Matan (متن): Matin is the main word and its word combination in Hadith.
Riwayat (رواية): Narrating a hadith is called Riwayat. Sometimes the original hadith is also called Riwayat. As we say – “There is a riwayat (hadith) in support of this statement.” Being an important term.
Sahabi (صحابى): He who has attained the companionship of Rasulullah (ﷺ) with faith and died with faith is called Sahabi of Prophet(ﷺ).
Tabi’i (تابعى): A person who has learned Hadith from a Companion of Rasulullah(ﷺ) and died as a Muslim is called a Tabi’i.
Tabi-Tabi’i (تابعى تابع): A person who has learned Hadith from a Tabii or at least seen him and died as a Muslim is called Tabi-Tabi’i.
Muhaddis (محدث): He who practices Hadith and has special knowledge about the Sanad (Sahih, Zayef) and Matan (Riwayat) of a large number of Hadith is called Muhaddis. All Muhaddis can be considered as Faqih.
Faqih (فقيه): One who gives masala ‘masayel based on the knowledge of hadith. That is, those who give opinions by ijtihad (research) and documents which are not directly mentioned in the Shari’ah are called faqih.
Shaykh (شيخ): The raabi who teaches Hadith is called Shaykh.
Hujjat (حجة): Similarly, one who has mastered three lakh hadiths is called Hujjat. Such as- Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, Imam Hanbal, Ibn Taymiyyah, Imam Albani (may Allah have mercy on them, Amen!)
Rijal (رجال): – The group of raabis (narrators) of the hadith is called rijal. The scripture which describes the biography of the raabis is called ‘Asmaur-Rizal’. For example, there are books of Imam Allama Nasiruddin Albani (R) with documents in Asmaur Rizal.
These are some of the terms we often hear from scholars, let’s see the details:
Sahih (صحيح): – Every raabi mentioned in the Sanad of hadith was known for his truthfulness, knowledge, correct way of narrations etc. and the hadith is free from all defects, is called Sahih Hadith.
Hasan (حسن): – A hadith in which all the conditions of a saheeh hadith are fulfilled except the quality of the raabi having weak memory is called Hasan Hadith. (The jurists usually determine the provisions of Shariah on the basis of Sahih and Hasan Hadith. That is, this hadith is worthy of action).
Zayef (ضعيف): – The narrator of a hadith who does not have the qualities of the narrator of a hasan hadith is called a Zayef (weak) hadith. That is, the sanad did not reach the Prophet(ﷺ) properly.
Mawju’ (موضوع): – which we know to be false. That is the hadith whose wasabi is proven to have intentionally narrated false narrations in the name of Prophet(ﷺ) is called a Mawju (false) hadith. So, these are man-made hadiths.
Broadly, Islam has five categories of Do’s and Dont’s:
(i) ‘Fardh’: compulsory or obligatory.
(ii) ‘Mustahab’: recommended or encouraged.
(iii) ‘Mubah’: permissible or allowed.
(iv) ‘Makrooh’: not recommended or discouraged.
(v) ‘Haraam’: prohibited or forbidden.