Science of Hadith (7)

Al-Hadith Al-Mu’dal الحديث المعضل In Arabic language it means: weakened or disabled. Definition: It is the hadith which has two or more successive narrators missing from its isnaad. Status of Al-Mu’dal: It is in a worse position than the Mursal. It is very weak.

Al-Hadith Al-Muddalas الحديث المدلّس Tadlees in Arabic is hiding the defects of an item that is for sale. Definition: Tadlees means hiding a defect in the isnaad and making it to appear sound. There are two types of Tadlees: Tadlees of the Isnaad Tadlees Ashuyoukh.

Tadlees of the Isnaad تدليس الإسناد Tadlees of the Isnaad: That the narrator reports from the one whom he has heard from, that which he did not hear from him, using such a wording that will leave an impression that he heard it from him, though not definitely stating so.

Continued Actually, what takes place is that the narrator reports from a shaykh of his, whom he narrated some ahadeeth from, however he has not heard this particular hadith from him, but rather he heard it from another narrator who narrated the hadith from the shaykh, so he drops the name of this mediator and quotes it directly from the shaykh using a wording which implies the idea that he heard it from him, such as “ the Shaykh said” or “from the shaykh” , however he does not use such wording as “ I heard him saying” or “ he narrated to me”. Example: Ali ibn khashram said: we were with Sufian ibn oyayna, he said : Al-Imam azuhri said such and such, so he was asked: have you heard it from him , he said actually Abdurazzaq narrated to me this, from Ma’mar from him.

Tadlees of the Isnaad-Cont Tadlees of Taswiyah: It is a type of Tadlees al-isnaad. It takes a place when a narrator narrates a hadith from his shaykh with his isnaad and then he drops the name of a weak narrator between two reliable narrators who have known each other and met each other.

Tadlees of Taswiyah-Cont How does it happen? He hears a hadith from his shaykh who is reliable (A). His shaykh narrated this particular hadith from a weak narrator (B), who narrated it from a reliable narrator (C). So the correct isnaad is: from (A) reliable from (B) Weak from (C) reliable. So the original narrator drops (B) made it seem like (A) reliable from (C) reliable. The gap is hidden since A and C had met and narration is possible between them.

Tadlees of Taswiyah-Cont This is the worse form of Tadlees and the most difficult one to detect. Those well known for practising tadlees at-Taswiyah are weak narrators whose narrations are rejected, even if they explicitly they correct their mistakes publicly. Among them, are Bakiyah ibn Alwaleed and Alwaleed ibn Muslim Alkurashee.

Tadlees As-Shuyoukh It happens when a narrator narrates a hadith which he heard from his shaykh, but he gives his shaykh a name, kunyah or a title which he is not normally known by, in order to disguise his identity. Examples: Abu bakr ibn Mujahid from Abi bakr ibn Abi Dawoud, he said Abdullah ibn abi Abdullah narrated to us, and he meant Abdullah ibn Abi Dawoud Assigistani the author of the Asunan. He was not famous by Abi Abdullah.

Al-Mursal alkhafee It happens when a narrator narrates from a shaykh whom he lived with him at the same era, and may be he met him, but he never heard anything from him, using a wording such as :” he said”. How is it discovered? By one of three ways: 1) The statement of a scholar that the narrator never met the shaykh. 2) The narrator himself admits that he never met or heard anything from him 3) The isnaad is elsewhere reported with an additional narrator between him and the shaykh. Status: It is Da’eef since the isnaad is disconnected.