Mustalah al-Hadith yana da alaƙa sosai da Rijal al-Hadith (ilimin masu ruwaito hadisi). Wajen bincike kan masu ruwaito hadisi, maganganun tabbatarwa ko suka daga manyan masana da aka sani, daga cikin Tabi'ai da waɗanda suka zo bayansu, sun taimaka matuƙa. Misalan irin waɗannan maganganu, bisa tsari daga mafi girman tabbatarwa zuwa ƙasa, su ne:

Mustalah al-Hadith is strongly associated with Rijal al-Hadith (the study of the reporters of hadith). In scrutinising the reporters of a hadith, authenticating or disparaging remarks made by recognised experts, from amongst the Successors and those after them, were found to be of great help. Examples of such remarks, in descending order of authentication, are:

"Imam (shugaba), Hafiz (mai kiyayewa)."

• "Imam (leader), Hafiz (preserver).".

"Abin dogaro, amintacce."

• "Reliable, trustworthy.".

Yana yin kuskure.

• "Makes mistakes.".

Mai rauni.

• "Weak.".

An watsa shi (daga masu ruwaya hadisi).

• "Abandoned (by the traditionists).".

"Maƙaryaci, yana ƙirƙirar hadisai."5.

• "Liar, used to fabricate ahadith."5.

Masu ruwaitan da aka siffanta su ta hanyar kalamai irin na farko biyun nan za su iya ba da gudummawa ga isnadi mai sahihi ("sound", duba daga baya). Isnadin da ya ƙunshi ruwaitan da aka siffanta da kalamai biyun ƙarshe zai iya zama da'if jiddan (rauni sosai) ko maudu' (wanda aka ƙirƙira). Ruwaitan da suke batun kalamai irin na tsakiya biyun da ke sama za su sa isnadin ya zama da'if (rauni), kodayake idan da yawa daga cikinsu suka ruwaito hadisi guda da kansu, sau da yawa hakan kan ɗaga darajar hadisin zuwa matakin hasan (mai kyau). Idan maganganun da aka faɗa game da wani ruwaci sun saɓa wa juna, sai a yi cikakken nazari kafin a cimma hukunci mai kyau, misali duba dalilin da aka bayar na sukar, muhimmancin kowane irin suka, da yadda kowane mai suka yake da tsauri ko sassauci, da sauransu.

Reporters who have been unanimously described by statements such as the first two may contribute to a sahih ("sound", see later) isnad. An isnad containing a reporter who is described by the last two statements is likely to be da'if jiddan (very weak) or maudu' (fabricated). Reporters who are the subject of statements such as the middle two above will cause the isnad to be da'if (weak), although several of them relating the same hadith independently will often increase the rank of the hadith to the level of hasan (good). If the remarks about a particular reporter conflict, a careful verdict has to be arrived at after in-depth analysis of e.g. the reason given for any disparagement, the weight of each type of criticism, the relative strictness or leniency of each critic, etc.

Ra'ayoyin farko da aka ambata a cikin littattafan Rijal sun koma ga ɗimbin Tabi'ai, sannan waɗanda suka zo bayansu har zuwa zamanin manyan malaman hadisi shida, wato zamanin farkon ƙarni uku na Musulunci. Marubucin ya kawo jerin irin waɗannan sunaye a cikin takardarsa mai taken Criticism of Hadith among Muslims with reference to Sunan Ibn Majah, a ƙarshen babi na IV, V da VI. Daga cikin littattafai mafi farko da ake da su a wannan fanni akwai Tarikh na Ibn Ma'in (d. 233), Tabaqat na Khalifa b. Khayyat (d. 240), Tarikh na al-Bukhari (d. 256), Kitab al-Jarh wa 'l-Ta'dil na Ibn Abi Hatim (d. 327) da Tabaqat na Muhammad b. Sa'd (d. 320).

The earliest remarks cited in the books of Rijal go back to a host of Successors, followed by those after them until the period of the six canonical traditionists, a period covering the first three centuries of Islam. A list of such names is provided by the author in his thesis, Criticism of Hadith among Muslims with reference to Sunan Ibn Majah, at the end of chapters IV, V and VI. Among the earliest available works in this field are Tarikh of Ibn Ma'in (d. 233), Tabaqat of Khalifa b. Khayyat (d. 240), Tarikh of al- Bukhari (d. 256), Kitab al-Jarh wa 'l-Ta'dil of Ibn Abi Hatim (d. 327) and Tabaqat of Muhammad b. Sa'd (d. 320).

Wasu malamai masu ilimin hadisi sun yi ƙoƙari musamman wajen tattara bayanai game da masu ruwaito hadisai a cikin littattafai biyar shahararru, wato na al-Bukhari (d. 256), Muslim (d. 261), Abu Dawud (d. 275), al-Tirmidhi (d. 279) da al-Nasa'i (d. 303), inda suka bayar da cikakken bayani game da tabbatarwa da kuma sukar masu ruwaitowar. Littafi na farko mai girma da ya haɗa har da masu ruwaitowar Ibn Majah (d. 273) shi ne tarin juzu'i goma na al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (d. 600), wanda aka sani da Al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal. Daga baya, Jamal al-Din Abu 'l-Hajjaj Yusuf b. 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi (d. 742) ya shirya gyararren takaitaccen sigar wannan littafi, yana bayyana wuraren haihuwa da ƙasashen asalin masu ruwaitowar; ya sa masa suna Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal, kuma ya fitar da shi a juzu'i goma sha biyu. Haka kuma, ɗaya daga cikin almajiran al-Mizzi masu basira, Shams al-Din Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Ahmad b. 'Uthman b. Qa'imaz al-Dhahabi (d. 748), ya taƙaita aikin malaminsa, ya kuma fitar da takaitattun littattafai guda biyu: wani mai tsayi mai suna Tadhhib al-Tahdhib, da wani gajere mai suna Al-Kashif fi Asma' Rijal al-Kutub al-Sittah.

A number of traditionists made efforts specifically for the gathering of information about the reporters of the five famous collections of hadith, those of al-Bukhari (d. 256), Muslim (d. 261), Abu Dawud (d. 275), al- Tirmidhi (d. 279) and al-Nasa'i (d. 303), giving authenticating and disparaging remarks in detail. The first major such work to include also the reporters of Ibn Majah (d. 273) is the ten-volume collection of al-Hafiz 'Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (d. 600), known as Al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal. Later, Jamal al-Din Abu 'l-Hajjaj Yusuf b. 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mizzi (d. 742) prepared an edited and abridged version of this work, punctuated by places and countries of origin of the reporters; he named it Tahdhib al- Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal and produced it in twelve volumes. Further, one of al-Mizzi's gifted pupils, Shams al-Din Abu 'Abdullah Muhammad b. Ahmad b. 'Uthman b. Qa'imaz al- Dhahabi (d. 748), summarised his shaikh's work and produced two abridgements: a longer one called Tadhhib al-Tahdhib and a shorter one called Al-Kashif fi Asma' Rijal al-Kutub al- Sittah.

Wani yunƙuri irin wannan da aka yi wa aikin al-Mizzi Ibn Hajar (d. 852) ne ya yi, wanda ya shirya wani bugu mai tsayi amma takaitacce, inda aka bar kusan kashi ɗaya bisa uku na asalin, mai suna Tahdhib al-Tahdhib a cikin littattafai goma sha biyu gajeru. Daga baya ya ƙara takaitawa zuwa wani littafi mai ƙanana biyu mai suna Taqrib al-Tahdhib.

A similar effort with the work of al-Mizzi was made by Ibn Hajar (d. 852), who prepared a lengthy but abridged version, with about one- third of the original omitted, entitled Tahdhib al-Tahdhib in twelve shorter volumes. Later, he abridged this further to a relatively-humble two- volume work called Taqrib al-Tahdhib.

Ba a bar aikin al-Dhahabi ba tare da gyara ba; al-Khazraji (Safi al-Din Ahmad b. 'Abdullah, ya rasu bayan 923) ya taƙaita shi, kuma ya ƙara bayanai masu amfani, har ya samar da littafinsa al-Khulasah. Akwai ayyuka da dama irin wannan da ke magana kan waɗanda aka amince da su kawai, misali Kitab al-Thiqat na al-'Ijli (ya rasu 261) da Tadhkirah al-Huffaz na al-Dhahabi, ko kuma kan waɗanda aka soke kawai, misali Kitab al-Du'afa' wa al-Matrukin na al-Nasa'i da Kitab al-Majruhin na Muhammad b. Hibban al-Busti (ya rasu 354). Wasu ayyuka biyu a wannan fanni waɗanda suka haɗa da mafi yawan masu ruwaito hadisi, duka waɗanda aka tabbatar da su da waɗanda aka soke, su ne Mizan al-I'tidal na al-Dhahabi da Lisan al-Mizan na Ibn Hajar.

The work of al-Dhahabi was not left unedited; al- Khazraji (Safi al-Din Ahmad b. 'Abdullah, d. after 923) summarised it and also made valuable additions, producing his Khulasah. A number of similar works deal with either trustworthy reporters only, e.g. Kitab al-Thiqat by al-'Ijli (d. 261) and Tadhkirah al-Huffaz by al-Dhahabi, or with disparaged authorities only, e.g. Kitab al-Du'afa' wa al-Matrukin by al- Nasa'i and Kitab al-Majruhin by Muhammad b. Hibban al-Busti (d. 354). Two more works in this field which include a large number of reporters, both authenticated and disparaged, are Mizan al-I'tidal of al- Dhahabi and Lisan al-Mizan of Ibn Hajar.