The Preservation of Hadith by Ibrahim Madani

Many different types of books have been written on the subject of ahadith. The hadīth masters have categorized the different types of books on ahadith. Below, we will mention some of them:

al-Jawami‘: al-Jawami‘ is the plural of Jami‘. Jami‘ denotes the hadīth book which includes eight different subjects: (1) Biographies, (2) Morals, (3) Beliefs, (4) Degeneration [Fitan], )5) Signs of the Day of Judgment, )6) Rulings of the Shari‘a, )7) Virtues of the Sahaba [and others] and (8) Exegesis of the Qur’an.

The first Jami‘ ever written was called Jami‘ Mu‘ammar ibn Rashid. Mu‘ammar ibn Rashid was a close student of Imam Zuhrõ. This book came out in the first century and is now unavailable. The second Jami‘ was written by Sufyan al- Thauri; his book is also unavailable. The third Jómi‘ was titled Jómi‘ ‘Abd al-Razzóq, though it is better known by the name Muhannaf ‘Abd al-Razzaq. Then, of course, the other well- known Jami‘ are Bukhara and Muslim.

Interestingly, some hadīth masters have a difference of opinion about Muslim. Many say it is amongst the Jami‘, while others say it is not, as its section on the exegesis of the Qur’an is too short to be labeled a Jami‘.

al-Sunan: These are hadīth books in which the ahadith are arranged in the order upon which the chapters of the books of fiqh [Islamic jurisprudence] are arranged. This type of book was first called al-Abwab [chapters] but was later changed to al- Sunan. Sunan al-Nisa’i, Sunan Abñ Dówud, Sunan al-Tirmidhi and Sunan Ibn Maja all belong in this category.

al-Masanid: Masanīd is the plural of Musnad. The ahadith in these books are arranged in the order of the names of the Sahaba . The arrangement of these ahadith can be on many different levels. For example, they can be arranged in the order of the greatest of the Sahaba downwards or in alphabetical order of the names of the Sahaba.

al-Mu‘jam: This is a book of hadīth in which the ahadith are arranged in order of the names of the teachers from whom the author narrated his hadīth.

Al-Mustadrak: The books of hadīth that have been compiled according to the conditions [for accepting a hadīth into a úadīth book] laid down in another úadīth book. However, it does not include the hadīth being narrated in the original hadīth book. The Mustadrak of Hakim, for example, compiles ahadith that fulfill the conditions Imam Bukhari laid for accepting a hadīth in his book.

al-Mustakhraj: This compilation takes ahadith of another book and narrates the different chains of transmission for every hadīth that differs from the chain of transmission mentioned in that hadīth book. Though the chains of transmission of one hadīth contain different narrators, they eventually ascend to the same person.

al-‘Ilal: A book of hadīth that reveals the various faults found in the chain of transmission of a hadīth.

al-Arba‘in: A compilation of forty ahadith.

al-Ta‘aliq: The book of ahadith that narrates ahadith with- out mention of the chain of transmission, such as al-Mishkat al-Mashbih Sharh al-Athar: A book of hadīth that narrates apparently conflicting ahadith and offers an explanation that eliminates the contradiction. If the contradiction between the ahadith cannot be removed, then it provides the proofs and reasons for giving preference to one hadīth over another.

al-Jam‘a: The hadīth book that abridges a collection of ahadith from different books and eliminates repetition of ahadith.

al-Adhkór: The book of hadīth that compiles the hadīth that narrate different du‘as [supplications] and forms of dhikr [uttered devotions].

al-Mauðu‘at: The book of hadīth that collects fabricated ahadith that are scattered in various hadīth books.

There are many other types of hadīth books which are not being mentioned here, both for the sake of brevity and because understanding the various other types of compilations requires an expertise in the field of hadīth..