The learner can recognize Hadith as a report of the Prophet's ﷺ saying, action, tacit approval, or state. Read the bilingual lesson for Rāwī and Ruwāt: Hadith Narrators and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. What will we learn?
We have learned the difference between sanad and matn. Now we will look at the people who transmit a Hadith.
• Who reported the Hadith?
• From whom did that person hear it?
• How does one person differ from the whole sanad?
Goal: Explain who transmitted from whom in a given example.
2. The saying and the person reporting it
The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ (Sahih al-Bukhari: 1)
Translation: Actions are judged by intentions.
Umar heard this saying from the Prophet ﷺ and reported it to others.
• The saying is the Prophet's ﷺ.
• Umar heard and reported it.
3. What is a rāwī?
A rāwī (راوی), or narrator, is a person who transmits a Hadith.
Here, transmitting means reporting the Hadith to others.
In the previous example, Umar is a rāwī because he heard the Prophet's ﷺ saying and reported it.
A narrator transmits the saying; he does not compose it himself.
4. Who heard from whom?
In this same Hadith, Alqama ibn Waqqas1 heard Umar and reported it.
• Umar heard the Prophet ﷺ.
• Alqama heard Umar.
Alqama is also a narrator. He heard this Hadith from Umar, not directly from the Prophet ﷺ.
This is one part of the sanad of this Hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari. (Sahih al-Bukhari: 1)
1. Ibn (بن): In an Arabic name, it means “son of”; Alqama ibn Waqqas means Alqama, son of Waqqas.
5. What does ruwāt mean?
Ruwāt (رواۃ) is the plural of rāwī: people who transmit a Hadith.
Our example mentions Umar and Alqama. Both are among the narrators of this Hadith because both reported it to others.
• For one person: rāwī (راوی).
• For the people transmitting a Hadith: ruwāt (رواۃ).
6. Rāwī, sanad and matn
The sequence of narrators is called the sanad (سند). It tells us who transmitted the Hadith from whom.
In this example:
• Rāwī: A person transmitting the Hadith, such as Umar or Alqama.
• Part of the sanad: Alqama heard Umar, and Umar heard the Prophet ﷺ.
• Part of the matn: The Prophet's ﷺ words about intentions that we read.
Listing names alone is not enough; we also need to understand who transmitted from whom.
7. Reporting and adding an explanation
Umar reported the Prophet's ﷺ saying, so he is a narrator of this Hadith.
By contrast, when a teacher explains a Hadith in the teacher's own words, that explanation does not become the Prophet's ﷺ original wording.
Keep the reported words of the Hadith separate from the teacher's own explanation.
8. Lesson summary
• Rāwī (راوی): A person who transmits a Hadith.
• Ruwāt (رواۃ): The plural of rāwī; the people transmitting it.
• Sanad (سند): The sequence of narrators—who transmitted from whom.
• Matn (متن): The wording that follows the sanad.
You can now distinguish the person, the transmission sequence and the Hadith's wording in a given example.
Practice questions
Question 1
Umar heard the saying about intentions from the Prophet ﷺ and reported it. Why is he called a rāwī here?
- Because he explained the saying's meaning in his own words.
- Because he passed on the saying he had heard.
- Because the saying about intentions was his own statement.
Question 2
Alqama heard this Hadith from Umar and reported it. What does this tell us about Alqama?
- He is a narrator, but he heard this Hadith from Umar.
- He is a narrator, so he heard this Hadith directly from the Prophet ﷺ.
- He is not a narrator of this Hadith because he heard it from Umar.
Question 3
Match each description to its appropriate term.
Question 4
If we know the names of two narrators of a Hadith, their names alone also tell us who heard from whom.
Question 5
A learner wrote only “Umar, Alqama” from the example. Which addition is most needed to explain this part of the sanad?
- Adding a simple translation of the saying about intentions.
- Writing both people's names fully and clearly.
- Stating that Alqama heard this Hadith from Umar.
Question 6
A teacher reads the Hadith about intentions and then adds an explanation. A learner wants to write the matn separately. What should the learner do?
- Include the teacher's own explanation in the matn along with the Hadith wording.
- Write the reported Hadith wording separately from the teacher's own explanation.
- Label the teacher's own explanation as matn and the Hadith wording as its explanation.
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