The ruling on the ṣaḥīḥ and the ḥasan, in both forms, li-dhātihi and li-ghayrihi, is acceptance in every case.1
The ruling on the ḍaʿīf is non-acceptance, except in matters of virtues (faḍāʾil) and exhortation and dissuasion (al-targhīb wa-l-tarhīb), and apart from those who give precedence to the weak ḥadīth over analogy (qiyās).2
Ibn Ḥajar, al-Sakhāwī, and others have distinguished between ḍaʿīf shadīd (severely weak) and ḍaʿīf khafīf (lightly weak). Ibn Ḥajar set out three conditions for accepting a weak ḥadīth in matters of virtue and the like:
Acceptance, however, does not always require acting on the ḥadīth, because of the possibility of conflict or abrogation. The matter at issue may also be one that would normally have circulated widely, while the ḥadīth in question is not in fact widely circulated, and there may be no support for it from the practice of the salaf. An example: what al-Bukhārī (1/116) and Muslim (1/217) narrated from Ibn ʿAbbās: "We used to know the conclusion of the prayer of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ by the takbīr." Al-Nawawī said: Ibn Baṭṭāl and others have transmitted that the adherents of the followed madhāhib and others are agreed that it is not recommended to raise the voice in remembrance (dhikr) and takbīr. I (the author) say: the reason is plain, the matter is one that would normally have circulated widely, while the ḥadīth in question has not, and there is no support for it from the practice of the salaf. And Allāh knows best. Other matters too may prevent action upon a ḥadīth. And Allāh knows best. ↩
Such as Imām Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, and others. ↩
The science of jarḥ and taʿdīl, the two grounds of evaluation, when criticism overrides praise, and who needs tazkiya.
Al-mawḍūʿ is that which has been concocted and fabricated. It is known by four indications, and may not be narrated to one who knows its condition without disclosure.
The Ḥanafīs classify narrators into four (or, on some accounts, five) groups, including the al-mastūr and majhūl categories with their five-case treatment.
Khabar al-wāḥid is categorised, with respect to acceptance and rejection, into al-ṣaḥīḥ, al-ḥasan, and al-ḍaʿīf.
