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What are the characteristics of the matn (text) in the noble Prophetic Hadiths?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

The texts of the Prophetic hadiths are the sayings, actions, and approvals of the Prophet, peace be upon him. They can be either mutawatir (mass-transmitted) or ahad (singular), which are further categorized as sahih (authentic), hasan (good), or da'if (weak). Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar defined them as the ultimate point to which the isnad (chain of narration) reaches, consisting of speech attributed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, whether explicitly stated or implicitly inferred. This includes sayings, actions, and approvals, whether these matters are explicit (such as a Companion saying: "I heard the Prophet say such-and-such," or "I saw the Prophet do such-and-such," or "I did such-and-such in the presence of the Prophet") or implicit (such as a Companion relating matters of the unseen that leave no room for personal opinion, or a Companion performing an action that leaves no room for personal opinion, or a Companion reporting that they used to do something during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, which indicates his non-prohibition).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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