In many books of ahadith, we read the words authentic [Sahih] and weak [Daif]. Many people understand authentic to be the opposite of weak, and when this word does not appear after a hadith, they misinterpret it as weak. This is a common mistake because the words authentic and weak are actually nomenclatures of the hadith masters. Over fifty terms are used by the hadith masters [to define a hadith], authentic being only one of them. When a hadith is not identified as authentic, it may fall under the category of any of the other forty-nine types of hadith and may not necessarily be weak.

Many times, a hadith is authentic, but the hadith masters reject it while another hadith may be weak but the hadith masters say it is okay to act upon. There are many reasons behind this. For example, it is possible that the authentic hadith is abrogated and the weak hadith supported by the practice of the Sahaba.

Below, we will briefly examine some of these different types of Ahadith: Marfñ‘: Any hadith that is attributed to the Blessed Prophet (PBUH). Such a hadith is identified by the words of the narrator when he says, “the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) said,” “the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) did this,” “the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) remained quiet on this occasion,” “when such and such thing was said,” or that “this hadith is attributed to the Blessed Prophet (PBUH)” or that “Ibn ‘Abbas attributed this hadith to the Blessed Prophet (PBUH).” Thus, any hadith attributed to the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) is a marfñ‘ hadith.

Mauqñf: A narration attributed to a Sahaba. A mauqñf narration is recognized by the words of the narrator when he says, “Ibn ‘Abbas said” or “Ibn ‘Abbas did such and such thing” or “it is said that this hadith is narrated as mauqñf.” Maqtñ‘: Any narration that is attributed to the first successors of the Sahaba [Tabiun]. Some hadith masters also call a maqtñ‘ narration athar [trace]. The term athar makes it easy to distinguish hadith of the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) from the narrations of the Sahaba and the first successors. Thus hadith of the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) are known as hadith, while the narrations of the Sahaba and the first successors are called óthór [plural of athar], though the word athar is frequently used for the ahadith of the Blessed Prophet (PBUH) also.