In the art of the principles of Ḥadīth or ‘Ilm-e-Riwāyat,1 two ancillary fields of knowledge are particularly worthy of mention. These two fields are known as ‘Ilm-e-Muṣṭaliḥāt-e- Ḥadīth2, and ‘Ilm-e-Asmā’-ur-Rijāl3. The science mentioned first deals with the phraseology of Ḥadīth, which expounds the basis upon which various Aḥādīth are sorted by category. It mentions the titles under which Aḥādīth are categorized, and outlines the weight of one category over another. According to this science, various categories of Ḥadīth have been established from many perspectives. Among them, the most prominent are:
Mutawātir, Mashhūr, ‘Azīz, Gharīb, Shādh, Munkar, Ṣaḥīḥ, Ḥasan, Ḍa‘īf, Matrūk, Mauḍū‘, Marfū‘, Mauqūf, Maqtū‘, Muttaṣil, Munqaṭi‘, Mursal, Mu‘aḍal, Mu‘allal, Mudallas, Muḍṭarib, Mudarraj, Qaulī, Fi‘lī, Taqrīrī, Qudsī, etc.4
Numerous books have been written about this field of knowledge, however, the most familiar and commonly utilised are as follows:
Nuzhatun-Naẓar fī Tauḍīḥi Nukhbatil-Fikr, by Abul-Faḍl Aḥmad bin Ḥajar ‘Asqalānī, who died in 852 A.H.
Al-Yawāqītu wad-Durar, by Sheikh ‘Abdur-Rau’ūf Al-Munādī, who died in 1031 A.H
1 The Science of Narration (Publishers)
2 The Science of the Phraseology of Ḥadīth (Publishers)
3 The Science of the Names of Prominent Men (Publishers)
4 Refer to the ‘Alphabetical Glossary of Terms’ for details (Publishers)