Uloom al-Hadith or the science of narrations (usually relating to prophetic narrations but can be applied to any narration as the science is general) looks at three aspects:
The Chain (sanad)
Considering the chain, a hadith can be categorised as mutawatir or ahad.
Mutwatir is a narration transmitted by so many people at each stage whereby mistake or fabrication is impossible. Analytically it can be subdivided into two further types by wording and by meaning depending on whether one or the other is preserved in transmission.
Ahad is where the number of transmitters are less tham mutawatir and can be subdivided into three types.
Connectivity
Then you have categories of chains that are either connected or unconnected.
Before we get to the discussion on transmitters we study the chain.
Then we look for attestation for each chain to cross reference the wording.
And then there’s further classification based on shadh, munkar, mu’allal or mawdu.
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