The types of books of al-Aḥādīth The types of al-Aḥādīth based on the way in which the books are structured are as follows;
- al-Jāmi’,
- al-Sunan,
- al-Musnad,
- al-Mu’jam,
- al-Juz,
- al-Mufrad,
- al-Gharībah,
- al-Mustadrak,
- al-Mustakhraj,
- al-Risālah,
- al-Arba’īn,
- al-Amālī,
- al-Atrāf,
- al-‘Ilal,
- al-Majma’,
- al-Zawāid,
- al-Musannaf
- al-Muwatta.
al-Jāmi’
This is a type of book of al-Ḥadīth which consists of eight topics; 1) al-‘Aqāid (Beliefs) 2) al-Ahkām (Rulings) 3) al-Tafsīr (Exegesis of the Holy Qur’ān) 4) Siyar and Maghāzī (Biographies and Details of Battles) 5) al-Ādāb (Etiquettes) 6) al-Manāqib (Virtues) 7) al- Fitan (Situations of Tribulations) 8) Ashrāt wa ‘alāmāt al-Qiyāmah (The Signs of the Day of Judgment) Examples of such books are; al-Bukhārī and al-Tirmidhī. Although Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim has eight topics within it, the topic of al-Tafsīr is only dealt with briefly. Therefore, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim is classed as being from al-Sunan rather than al-Jāmi’.
al-Sunan
This is the type of book in which the Aḥādīth pertaining to rulings are set out in accordance with the chapters of Fiqh (jurisprudence). Generally, these books do not consist of narrations dealing with al-‘Aqāid, al-Manāqib, al-Ghazawāt and al-Tafsīr etc. The narrations within this type of book are Marfū’ (attributed to the Prophet À ). Examples of this type of book are; al-Sunan of Abū Dāwūd, al-Sunan of al-Nasaī, al-Sunan of Ibn Mājah and al-Sunan of al-Bayhaqī etc.
al-Musnad
This is the type of book in which, in each chapter, the narrations of each Companion are gathered. The chapters are either set out based on alphabetical order or based on the virtues and excellences of each Companion. There are just over one hundred books of this nature. Examples of them are; al-Musnad al-Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal, al-Musnad al-Humaydī, al-Musnad Abū Dawūd al-Tayālisī and al-Musnad ‘Abd ibn Hamīd. Sometimes the Scholars of al-Ḥadīth describe al-Musnad as the type of book which has al-Marfū’ narrations. An example of this is al-Musnad Baqiyy ibn Makhlad al-Andalūsī.
al-Mu’jam
This is the work in which the narrations of the narrators are set out according to alphabetical order. Sometimes the narrators who are listed are the Companions of Messenger of Allāh whilst at other times the Shuyūkh of the author are considered. At times the Shuyūkh and Scholars are listed according to their cities. al-Imām al-Tabarānī wrote three books of this type. al-Mu’jam al-Kabīr is a book in which the names of the Companions are considered when listing. In al-Mu’jam al-Awsat and al-Mu’jam al-Saghīr, the names of the Shuyūkh are considered. If the names of the Shuyūkh are listed without considering their alphabetical order then instead of al-Mu’jam, the book is called al-Mashyakhah. An example of this is al-Mashyakhah ‘AbdAllah ibn Haydar al-Qazwīnī.
al-Juz
This is a type of book in which all the narrations of a certain narrator are gathered or al-Aḥādīth pertaining to a certain topic are gathered. An example the first type is the work of Abu Ma’shar ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Tabarī (d. 478 AH) entitled, Juz Mā Rawāhu Abū Hanīfah ‘an al-Sahābah. Examples of the second type is Juz Raf’ al-Yadayn fī al-Ṣalāh and Juz al-Qirā’ah Khalf al-Imam.
al-Mufrad
This is a work in which the narrations of one narrator are gathered. An example of this is Kitāb al-Afrād of Dāraqutnī.
al-Gharībah
This is the book in which there are Gharīb narrations from one student. An example of this is Gharāib Mālik.
al-Mustadrak
This is a type of book in which the narrations that fulfil the conditions of a certain author, which were not written in the work of that author, are compiled. An example of this is al-Mustadrak ‘alā al-Ṣaḥīḥayn of al-Hākim Abū ‘AbdAllah Nīshāpūrī.
al-Mustakhraj
This is a type of book in which the narrations of a specific book are verified by mentioning alternative chains of narrations for the Shaykh or Shuyūkh of its author. There are many books of this nature. There are ten books pertaining to al-Ṣaḥīḥayn. Examples of such books are; al-Mustakhraj Ismā’īlī in relation to al-Bukhārī. al-Mustakhraj Isfrāīnī in relation to Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Mustakhraj Abī Nu’aym al-Asbahānī in relation to both al-Bukhārī and Muslim. Mustakhraj Qāsim ibn Asbagh in relation to al-Sunan of Abū Dawūd.
al-Risālah
This is a type of work in which narrations pertaining to a specific subject from the eight subjects of al-Jāmi’ are mentioned. Examples of these are Kitāb al-Zuhd wa al-Adab of al-Imām Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Adab al-Mufrad of al-Imām al-Bukhārī.
al-Arba’īn
This is a book in which forty Aḥādīth are gathered regardless of whether they are connected to a certain topic or various topics. An example of this is al-Arba’īn of al-Imām al-Nawawī.
al-Amālī
This is a type of literary work in which, the dictated narrations and commentaries upon narrations of a certain Shaykh are mentioned. An example of this is al-Amālī of al-Imām Muhammad.
al-Aťrāf
This is a type of book in which parts of al-Aḥādīth are mentioned which point towards their respective meanings, and then the entire chains of narrations are mentioned or the chains of narrations from certain books. Examples of such works are; Aťrāf al-Kutub al-Khamsah of Abul ‘Abbās Ahmad ibn Thābit al-Turuqī and Atrāf al-Mizzī.
al-‘Ilal
This is a type of book of al-Ḥadīth in which only those Aḥādīth are gathered in which there are hidden defects, and those hidden defects are identified and explained. Examples of such works are ‘Ilal ibn Abī Ḥātim and ‘Ilal Daraqutnī.
al-Majma’
This is a type of book in which many books of al-Ḥadīth are gathered. Examples of such works include; 1) Mashāriq al-Anwār al-Nabawiyyah of Ḥasan ibn Muhammad al-San’ānī (d. 650 AH) in which al-Bukhārī and Muslim are gathered. 2) al-Tajrīd lī al-Ṣiḥāḥi wa al-Sunan of Abul Ḥasan Ahmad ibn Razīn al-Andalūsī (d. 535 AH) in which the narrations from the most authentic works of Ahādith i.e. al-Bukhārī, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, Abū Dawūd, al-Nasaī and al-Muatta of al-Imām Mālik are gathered. 3) Jāmi’ al-Usūl min Ahādith al-Rasūl written by Ibn al-Athīr (d. 606 AH) is also like al-Tajrīd lī al-Ṣiḥāḥi wa al-Sunan. 4) Jam’ al-Fawāid min Jāmi’ al-Usūl wa al-Zawāid of Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Sulaymān al-Maghribī (d. 1094 AH) which is a compilation of fourteen important works. 5) Jam’ al-Jawāmi’ of al-Imām Jalāluddīn al-Suyūtī (d. 911 AH). This book is also known as al-Jāmi’ al-Kabīr.
al-Zawāid
This is a type of book in which those Aḥādīth are gathered which are additional to other works. Examples of this type are Misbāh al-Zujājah fī Zawāid ibn Mājah of Abul ‘Abbās Ahmad ibn Abī Bakr al-Bawsīrī (d. 480 AH) and Ithāf al-Sādat al-Mahrat -al-Khayyirah of the same author. In the first book, such narrations of Ibn Mājah are mentioned which are not mentioned in other books of al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sittah. In the other book, the additional narrations to al-Ṣiḥāḥ al-Sittah are mentioned in ten important chapters.
al-Musannaf and al-Muwatta
This is a book which is compiled in conformity to the chapters of Fiqh books and the narrations within it are al-Marfū’, al-Mawqūf and al-Maqtū’. Examples of this are; al-Musannaf ibn Abī Shaybah, al-Musannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq, al-Muwattā al-Imām Mālik and al-Muwatta of ibn Abī Dh’ib.
The categories (al-Tabaqāt) of books of al-Ḥadīth
al-Tabaqat al-Ūlā – The First Category
The most famous and accepted books like Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim and al-Muattā of al-Imām Mālik come under this category.
al-Tabaqat al-Thāniyah – The Second Category
These are books which are close to the high standards of the books in the first category, but which have more weak narrations within them in comparison to the first category. Examples of works that come under this category are; al-Jāmi’ al-Tirmidhī, al-Sunan of Abū Dāwūd and al-Sunan of al-Nasaī.
al-Tabaqat al-Thālithah–The Third Category
This category consists of works written prior to the era of al-Imām al-Bukhārī and al-Imām Muslim, or during their time or close to that time, by the reliable Scholars of al-Ḥadīth. However, there are more Ḍa’īf narrations in this category compared to the second category. Moreover, there are fabricated narrations in this category as well. Examples of books in this category are; al-Musnad of al-Imăm al-Shāfi’ī, al-Sunan of Ibn Mājah, al-Musannaf of ‘Abd al-Razzāq, al-Musannaf ibn Shaybah, al- Sunan al-Dārimī, al-Sunan Dāraqutnī, al-Sunan al-Bayhaqī, al-Tabarānī and the book of Abū Dāwūd al-Tayālisī.
al-Tabaqat al-Rābi’ah – The Fourth Category
This category consists of the works written by Scholars of al-Ḥadīth from the eras after al-Imām al-Bukhārī and al-Imām Muslim whose narrations are not proven from the early generations. Examples of works from this category are; al-Daylamī, Abū Nu’aym, Ibn al-‘Asākir and the works of al-Hākim.
The reason for these narrations not being found in the works from the earlier generations, may be because the earlier Scholars of al-Ḥadīth did not come across these narrations or they did not accept these narrations due to hidden defects.
Important Note – the categorisation does not result in the third and fourth categories being rejected
The categorisation of the Aḥādīth books does not entail that the latter categories are to be rejected and rebutted. Rather the purpose behind the categorisation is to introduce these books in a hierarchy. The fourth category also has many narrations that are al-Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Ḥasan. The Mustadrak of al-Hākim is classified as being from the fourth category, even though many of its narrations are of the highest calibre of al-Ṣaḥīḥ and al-Ḥasan.
The above calssifications are based on the works of al-Shāh WaliyyAllah al-Muḥaddith al-Dihlawī.