The Twelve Levels of Narrator Reliability

One of the most important features of Taqrib al-Tahdhib is Ibn Hajar's explicit definition of the grading scale he uses to assess narrators. In his introduction, he describes twelve levels of narrator status, arranged from the highest to the lowest. Understanding this scale is prerequisite to using the work's assessments correctly.

The highest levels of praise correspond to narrators whose reliability is beyond question and whose precision in transmission was extraordinary. Ibn Hajar's first level includes narrators for whom he uses phrases like thiqah thabat hafiz (trustworthy, firm, memorizing-scholar) or thiqah mutqin (trustworthy and precise). These terms are reserved for the most accomplished transmitters.

The second and third levels cover narrators of strong reliability without the superlative qualities of the first level. Phrases like thiqah (trustworthy), thiqah thabat (trustworthy and firm), and thabat (firm, reliable) fall in this range. The vast majority of narrators whose transmissions are accepted without reservation fall in these first three levels.

The fourth and fifth levels introduce intermediate assessments: suduq (truthful), la ba's bihi (no harm in him/her), and salih al-hadith (acceptable in hadith). Narrations from these narrators are generally accepted but carry somewhat less weight than those from the top levels. They may have had limited memories compared to the top-level narrators, or critics may have noted occasional errors without finding systematic problems.

The sixth level covers narrators who were generally accepted but had some age-related memory decline (ikhtilat) or who transmitted incorrectly from certain teachers though reliably from others. Ibn Hajar notes these specific limitations so that the researcher can calibrate how to use the narrator's transmissions.

The seventh through twelfth levels cover narrators of increasing weakness, from those who are merely suduq but have some issues with their hadith, through those who are da'if (weak), to those who are matruk (abandoned), muttaham bi-al-kadhib (accused of lying), and finally kadhdhab (confirmed liar) or wad'dda' (fabricator). Narrations from the last three levels are rejected and, if unique to these narrators, are treated as fabricated.