Ḥadīth Genres
There are many different ḥadīth genres1. Some of the more commonly known genres are listed below.
Ṣaḥīḥ (pl. Ṣiḥāḥ)
A ṣaḥīḥ is a compilation of ḥadīth which is authentic by the conditions of the author. The criterion for ṣaḥīḥ in one book therefore often differs from that of another.
The two most famous works classed as ṣaḥīḥ are Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. Others include Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān and Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah.
Jāmiʿ (pl. Jawāmiʿ)
A jāmiʿ is a collection of ḥadīth which contains narrations on all of the following eight ʿulūm:
- عقائد (ʿAqāʾid): Beliefs
- أحكام (Aḥkām): Rulings
- رقائق (Raqāʾiq): Spirituality
- فتن (Fitan): Tribulations of the Day of Judgement
- شمائل (Shamāʾil): Character Traits
- آداب (Ādāb): Manners
- مناقب (Manāqib): Greatness of the Ṣaḥābah and the Prophet ﷺ
- تفسير (Tafsīr): Exegesis
This can be summarised in the phrase عارف شامت.
Among the best-known collections that also count as a jāmiʿ are Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Sunan al-Tirmidhī. There is ikhtilāf over whether Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim counts as a jāmiʿ, since it carries only a few narrations in tafsīr.
Sunan (sing. Sunnah)
A sunan is a collection of ḥadīth focused on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence). The narrations usually follow a set order, often beginning with chapters on purification and ṣalāh.
Four of the six canonical works of ḥadīth (ṣiḥāḥ sittah) can be classified as sunan: Abū Dāwūd, Ibn Mājah, al-Nasāʾī and al-Tirmidhī.
Musnad (pl. Masānīd)
A musnad is a collection of aḥādīth arranged by primary narrator. The arrangement varies: alphabetical order of the Companion, order of acceptance of Islām, or order of seniority among the Ṣaḥābah.
Musnad Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal is the best-known collection of this type, though there are many others, such as the Musnad of Abī Yaʿlā.
Mustakhraj (pl. Mustakhrajāt)
A mustakhraj is a compilation of ḥadīth which have similar wording (matn) but different chains of narration.
For example, Abū Nuʿaym has two collections which can be classified as mustakhraj: one which includes additional narrations meeting the criterion of Imām al-Bukhārī, and another which meets the criterion of Imām Muslim.
Muṣannaf (pl. Muṣannafāt)
A muṣannaf is a collection that includes aḥādīth alongside the narrations of the Ṣaḥābah and fatāwā of the Tābiʿīn2. It does not contain sayings of the author himself. The narrations are usually divided into chapters and include both ḥadīth mawqūf (ascribed to Companions) and ḥadīth maqṭūʿ (ascribed to the Tābiʿīn).
E.g. Muṣannaf ʿAbd al-Razzāq, Muṣannaf Abī Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah.
Mustadrak
A mustadrak is a collection that adopts the same criteria as another book of ḥadīth, gathering further narrations that meet those conditions.
For example, the Mustadrak of al-Ḥākim uses the criteria of Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim.
Aṭrāf
An aṭrāf is a ḥadīth collection focused on a specific topic or narration, for example ḥadīth about actions being according to intentions, or the ḥadīth of Jibrāʾīl. E.g. Tuḥfat al-Ashrāf bi Maʿrifat al-Aṭrāf by Ḥāfiẓ al-Mizzī (d. 742).
Juzʾ
A juzʾ is a collection of ḥadīth narrated by one person, usually on a single subject, whether or not the named narrator is a Companion.
For example, ḥadīth of Abū Bakr, ḥadīth narrated by Mālik, Juzʾ al-Qirāʾah Khalf al-Imām and Juzʾ Rafʿ al-Yadayn (both by Imām al-Bukhārī).
Muʿjam (pl. Maʿājim)
A muʿjam is a collection of aḥādīth ordered alphabetically by narrator.
A best-known example is al-Muʿjam al-Ṣaghīr by Imām al-Ṭabarānī, in which he selected one ḥadīth from each of his teachers.
Tajrīd
A tajrīd is a collection of aḥādīth in which the chain of narration is omitted, leaving only the matn.
E.g. Imām al-Tabrīzī's Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ.