The definition of mutawātir according to the Aḥnāf has previously been mentioned, namely that which has been narrated by: (1) numerous people, (2) who have relied on their senses and not intellect, (3) such that it is impossible for everyone to collude upon a lie, and (4) the preceding three conditions are found in every generation, from the beginning of the sanad to the end of the sanad.
That which was a khabr wāḥid in the first generation,1 and then became mutawātir in the second2 or third generation.3
According to the Aḥnāf, that which is a khabr wāḥid from the first three generations is considered a khabr wāḥid, even if it became mutawātir later on.
A ḥadīth mutawātir is one narrated by so many at every link of the sanad that collusion on a lie is impossible; it gives self-evident knowledge.
Khabr al-wāḥid is any narration that does not meet the conditions of tawātur. It splits into three sub-categories: gharīb, ʿazīz and mashhūr.
The Aḥnāf recognise three categories of aḥādīth (mutawātir, mashhūr, khabr wāḥid), while the muḥaddithīn recognise only two.
Definitions of majhūl al-ḥāl, majhūl al-ʿayn and mastūr, with the Aḥnāf classification of narrators and the five rulings on aḥādīth from a majhūl narrator.
