Mustalah al-Hadith 与 Rijal al-Hadith（圣训传述人研究）有着紧密的联系。在考察某段圣训的传述人时，公认的学者（包括再传弟子及其后的学者）所作的肯定或否定的评论，被证明有很大的帮助。下面是这类评论的例子，按照肯定程度从高到低排列：

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(领袖)，Hafiz(背诵者)。

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

"可靠的，值得信赖的。"

• "Reliable, trustworthy.".

"会犯错。"

• "Makes mistakes.".

"弱。"

• "Weak.".

"被（圣训学者）弃置。"

• "Abandoned (by the traditionists).".

"撒谎者，惯于编造圣训。"5.

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

能够被第一、二类评语一致称赞的传述者（如上文所列前两种说法）所传的圣训，其传述链可以成为sahih（“健全”，后文详述）。若传述链中有某位传述者被后两种评语所描述，则该圣训很可能是da'if jiddan（极弱）或maudu'（伪造）。被中间两种评语所描述的传述者，会使传述链成为da'if（弱）；不过，若有数位传述者各自独立传述同一圣训，往往能将圣训的等级提升至hasan（好）的层次。若对某位传述者的评论互相矛盾，则须经过深入分析才能作出审慎的判定，例如分析所给出的贬低理由、各类批评的分量，以及每位批评者的严格或宽松程度等。

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.

最早见于《人物传记学》典籍中的评论，可追溯至一众再传弟子，其后则是更晚一代的学者，直至六部正典圣训学家的时代，这一时期涵盖伊斯兰教最初的三个世纪。作者在其论文《穆斯林对圣训的批评：以伊本·马哲的〈逊南〉为例》第四、第五和第六章末尾，列出了这些人物的名单。该领域现存最早的著作包括：伊本·马因的《历史》（卒于233年）、哈利法·本·海雅特的《层级志》（卒于240年）、布哈里的《历史》（卒于256年）、伊本·阿比·哈提姆的《批评与认可之书》（卒于327年）以及穆罕默德·本·萨德的《层级志》（卒于320年）。

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).

一些圣训学家专门致力于收集五部著名圣训集的传述人信息,这五部圣训集分别是布哈里(卒于256年)、穆斯林(卒于261年)、艾布·达伍德(卒于275年)、提尔米兹(卒于279年)和奈萨仪(卒于303年)的著作,并详细给出了对这些传述人的认可或贬斥的评语。最早将伊本·马哲(卒于273年)的传述人也纳入其中的重要著作,是哈菲兹·阿卜杜勒·戛尼·麦格迪西(卒于600年)的十卷本文集,名为《人名全集》(Al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal)。后来,贾马勒·丁·艾布·哈贾吉·优素福·本·阿卜杜勒·拉哈曼·米兹穆(卒于742年)整理并缩编了这部著作,并依据传述人的所在地和原籍进行了标注;他将其命名为《人名全集修订本》(Tahdhib al-Kamal fi Asma' al-Rijal),共十二卷。此外,米兹穆的一位才华出众的弟子、沙姆斯·丁·艾布·阿卜杜拉·穆罕默德·本·艾哈迈德·本·奥斯曼·本·盖伊马兹·扎哈比(卒于748年)概括了其师的著作,并编写了两部节本:一部较长的名为《修订本的修订》(Tadhhib al-Tahdhib),一部较短的名为《六部圣训集传述人考释》(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.

针对穆扎’奇（al-Mizzi）的著作，伊本·哈哲尔（卒于852年）也做过类似的工作。他编写了一部篇幅较长的节本，省略了原书约三分之一的内容，名为《泰赫ዚ布·泰赫ذيب》（Tahdhib al-Tahdhib），共十二卷，篇幅相对较短。此后，他又将此书进一步删节，成为一部较为简略的两卷本著作，名为《泰格里布·泰赫ذيب》（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.

al-Dhahabi的著作并非未经修订。al-Khazraji（Safi al-Din Ahmad b. 'Abdullah，卒于923年之后）对其作了概括，并做了许多有价值的增补，从而写成了他的《Khulasah》。另有若干类似著作，有的只收录可信的传述人，例如al-'Ijli（卒于261年）的《Kitab al-Thiqat》和al-Dhahabi的《Tadhkirah al-Huffaz》；有的只收录受非议的人物，例如al-Nasa'i的《Kitab al-Du'afa' wa al-Matrukin》和Muhammad b. Hibban al-Busti（卒于354年）的《Kitab al-Majruhin》。在这一领域中，同时收录大量经认可和受非议的传述人的著作还有两部：al-Dhahabi的《Mizan al-I'tidal》和Ibn Hajar的《Lisan al-Mizan》。

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.