A Hadith is a report of the sayings, actions, approvals or descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). Every Hadith is made up of the following components.
Sanad (the chain of transmission): This is the list of narrators who passed the report from one to another, ending with the Prophet (S.A.W.). For example, "A narrated to us from B, from C, that the Prophet said...". The soundness of a Hadith depends largely on the reliability of its sanad.
Matn (the text): This is the actual content or wording of the report, that is, the statement, action or approval of the Prophet that the chain leads to.
Rawi (the narrator): Each individual reporter within the chain is a rawi. The final rawi who records the Hadith in a book (such as al-Bukhari) is called the mudawwin or collector.
Illustration: In the report of 'Umar (R.A.) on intentions, the words "al-Bukhari said, Musaddad narrated to us, from Yahya, from..." form the sanad; the statement "Actions are but by intentions" is the matn; and each person named in the chain is a rawi.
A sound Hadith requires both an unbroken, trustworthy sanad and a matn free from defect and from contradiction with the Qur'an.
A Hadith is a report of the sayings, actions, approvals or descriptions of the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.W.). Every Hadith is made up of the following components.
Sanad (the chain of transmission): This is the list of narrators who passed the report from one to another, ending with the Prophet (S.A.W.). For example, "A narrated to us from B, from C, that the Prophet said...". The soundness of a Hadith depends largely on the reliability of its sanad.
Matn (the text): This is the actual content or wording of the report, that is, the statement, action or approval of the Prophet that the chain leads to.
Rawi (the narrator): Each individual reporter within the chain is a rawi. The final rawi who records the Hadith in a book (such as al-Bukhari) is called the mudawwin or collector.
Illustration: In the report of 'Umar (R.A.) on intentions, the words "al-Bukhari said, Musaddad narrated to us, from Yahya, from..." form the sanad; the statement "Actions are but by intentions" is the matn; and each person named in the chain is a rawi.
A sound Hadith requires both an unbroken, trustworthy sanad and a matn free from defect and from contradiction with the Qur'an.
