Five forms of additional wording
Distinguish the forms through opposition and narrator standing. Read the bilingual lesson for Five forms of additional wording and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. In this lesson
An extra word or sentence transmitted by a narrator in the same report is ziyādat al-maḍmūn—additional wording. We will connect its five forms: does the addition oppose the other report? If so, how do the narrators' standings differ?
2. An addition without opposition
In the vessel-washing example, فَلْيُرِقْهُ means: let him pour out its contents. These words add emptying the vessel; they do not negate washing it. (Sahih Muslim: 279a) An addition by a thiqah—a reliable narrator—that does not oppose a more reliable narrator's report is maqbūl in this classification.
3. When the reports oppose each other
Now consider an addition that opposes the other report. The standing of the narrator transmitting it matters: • Awthaq: more reliable in the comparison. • Thiqah: reliable. • Ḍaʿīf: weak in transmission. These five forms are also described in terms of opposition between narrators' reports.
4. The more reliable narrator's report
When a reliable narrator's report opposes a more reliable narrator's report, the two do not receive the same label: • The more reliable narrator's report is maḥfūẓ. • The opposing reliable narrator's report is shādhdh. Both narrators are reliable here, but one is more reliable than the other.
5. A weak narrator opposing a reliable one
When reliable and weak narrators transmit opposing reports: • The reliable narrator's report is maʿrūf. • The opposing weak narrator's report is munkar. Thus, to identify the label for a reliable narrator's opposing report, also consider whether the other narrator is more reliable or weak.
6. Not every addition is rejected
Extra words alone do not make a report unacceptable. • A reliable narrator's addition that does not oppose the more reliable report is maqbūl. • When there is opposition, the narrators' relative standings matter. 1. Mardūd: not accepted.
7. How do the five forms arise?
• Without opposition: maqbūl, with the stated condition. • In opposition: the more reliable narrator's report is maḥfūẓ. • A reliable narrator has two cases: shādhdh against a more reliable narrator, maʿrūf against a weak one. • The weak narrator's opposing report is munkar. This completes the five forms in this classification, not the total number of all Hadith categories.
8. Summary
Keep two points together when considering additional wording: • Does the addition oppose the other report? • If it does, which narrator is more reliable, reliable or weak? These distinctions separate the taught forms: maqbūl, maḥfūẓ, shādhdh, maʿrūf and munkar.
Practice questions
Question 1
Two reliable narrators have opposing reports; one is more reliable. Which form describes the less reliable narrator's report?
Question 2
An extra sentence in a report makes it unacceptable for that reason alone.
Question 3
Match the opposing reports of reliable and weak narrators to their labels.
Question 4
What does the count of five refer to in this lesson?
- All scholarly classifications of Hadith
- Five people transmitting a report
- The described forms of additional wording
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