The Sunnah and how hadith are graded
Islamic Studies · Key Stage 3 · The School
Two sources, not one
The QURAN is, for Muslims, the revealed word of God. The SUNNAH is the recorded practice of the Prophet ﷺ — what he said, did and approved — preserved in reports called HADITH. They are treated as different in kind: the Quran's text is regarded as fixed and settled, while hadith vary in how well attested they are, which is why the checking discipline exists.
Chain and text
Each hadith has two parts: the ISNAD, the chain of people who passed it on, and the MATN, the text itself. Scholars examined the chain — did these people actually meet, were they reliable, was any link missing — and the text, for internal contradiction or conflict with the Quran. A weak chain weakens the report however appealing its content.
The grades
Reports are graded: SAHIH (sound), HASAN (good), DAIF (weak), and MAWDU (fabricated). The grades are conclusions from evidence, and scholars sometimes graded the same report differently — a real disagreement rather than an error. Quoting a hadith responsibly means knowing its grade and its source, not just repeating an appealing sentence.
Imagine a friend shares a post. It says the Prophet ﷺ said, "Seek knowledge even in China, for seeking knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim." First, where is it recorded? Al-Bayhaqi recorded it and wrote that its words are famous but its chain is weak. Second, who passed it on? One narrator of this saying is Abu Atikah. Al-Bukhari called him munkar al-hadith, a term for a weak narrator whose reports are denounced. Third, what grades were given? Ibn al-Jawzi put the China saying in his book of fabricated reports. Al-Mizzi said the hadith has so many chains that together they reach hasan. But G. F. Haddad writes that this grade fits only the second part, about knowledge being an obligation. So the grades are disputed, and some scholars call the China saying fabricated. A fair reply is, "Famous, but its chain is weak and some scholars call it fabricated, so I will share it only with its grade and source." Whether learning is good is a separate question.