How hadith are verified

The five conditions of an authentic (sahih) hadith

1. 1

   Connected chain (Ittisal al-sanad)

   Every narrator heard it directly from the one before, all the way back to the Prophet ﷺ.

2. 2

   Upright narrators ('Adalah)

   Each narrator is a practising Muslim of sound character, known not to lie.

3. 3

   Precise narrators (Dabt)

   Each narrator preserved it accurately — by memory or in writing.

4. 4

   No irregularity ('Adam al-shudhudh)

   It does not contradict narrators more reliable than its own.

5. 5

   No hidden defect ('Adam al-'illah)

   Close study of all its routes reveals no concealed flaw.

The grades — and how many are in this library

Sahih and hasan hadith are accepted as evidence. Da'if hadith are not used to establish rulings; mawdu' reports are rejected entirely. See the rejected hadith →

Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim

Al-Bukhari and Muslim included only hadith meeting their strict conditions, and the scholars of the Muslim world accepted both books as authentic. Their hadith are shown as Sahih. For the other collections (the Sunan and the Muwatta), later scholars graded each hadith individually — and sometimes reached different conclusions. Where they differ, the hadith is marked with a warning and every verdict is listed; the headline grade follows the first of: Al-Albani, Zubair Ali Zai, Shuaib Al Arnaut. 21,077 hadith here carry at least one scholar's grading.

Finer terms you will see

Li-ghayrihi

A chain slightly short of the grade on its own, raised to it by other supporting chains (e.g. “Sahih li-ghayrihi”).

Isnad Sahih / Isnad Hasan

The verdict is on this particular chain. The hadith as a whole may have other routes, stronger or weaker.

Hasan Sahih

Al-Tirmidhi's own term, used for hadith he considered authentic, typically known through more than one route.

Mutawatir

Reported by so many narrators at every stage that error or collusion is impossible — the highest certainty.

Ahad

Any hadith that isn't mutawatir. Most hadith are ahad; sahih ahad hadith are acted upon.

Shadh

Irregular: a reliable narrator contradicts more reliable ones.

Munkar

Denounced: a weak narrator contradicts reliable ones.

Mu'allal

Has a hidden defect ('illah) found only on close study of its routes.

Whose words is it?

Not every report in a hadith collection is the Prophet's ﷺ own words. The collections also preserve the sayings of his Companions and their students. When a scholar notes this, the hadith is labelled.

Marfu'

Attributed to the Prophet ﷺ — his words, actions or approval. Most hadith are marfu’.

Mawquf

The words or actions of a Companion — valuable, but not the Prophet’s own words.

Maqtu'

The words of a Successor (a student of the Companions).

Mursal

A Successor quotes the Prophet ﷺ directly, leaving out the Companion in between — a gap in the chain.

The scholars whose gradings appear here

• Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani (d. 1999) — graded the four Sunan in full.
• Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai (d. 2013) — graded the Sunan for the Urdu Darussalam editions.
• Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut (d. 2016) — graded the Sunan and Musnad Ahmad in his critical editions.
• Ahmad Muhammad Shakir (d. 1958) — Egyptian hadith scholar; graded Jami at-Tirmidhi.
• Bashar 'Awwad Ma'ruf — editor of critical editions of Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah.
• 'Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah (d. 1997) — editor of Sunan an-Nasa'i.
• Muhammad Muhyi al-Din 'Abd al-Hamid (d. 1973) — editor of Sunan Abu Dawud.
• Muhammad Fu'ad 'Abd al-Baqi (d. 1968) — editor and indexer of the Sahihs, Ibn Majah and the Muwatta.
• Salim al-Hilali — contemporary grader of the Muwatta.

Gradings come from the hadith collections dataset this library is built on. The chain-by-chain assessment of individual narrators (rijal) is not yet shown.