At a glance
- Region
- Global / Diaspora
Summary
The gharib is the fourth class of report by number of chains for Ibn Hajar: one related by a single person alone at any point in the chain. 2 Together with the mashhur and the 'aziz it is a solitary report (khabar wahid), and solitary reports include accepted and rejected ones. 3
Absolute and relative
- Absolute (fard mutlaq): the singularity lies at the root of the chain, the point on which the chain turns and to which it returns, which is the end where the Companion stands. 4 5 An example is the prohibition of selling or giving away the bond of clientage (wala'), related only by 'Abd Allah ibn Dinar from Ibn 'Umar; singularity can also run on, as in the report of the branches of faith, related only by Abu Salih from Abu Hurayra and only by 'Abd Allah ibn Dinar from Abu Salih; al-Bazzar's Musnad and al-Tabarani's al-Mu'jam al-Awsat hold many reports singular at every link. 5 The editor quotes Muslim: "All people depend on 'Abd Allah ibn Dinar for this report." 5
- Relative (fard nisbi): more than one relate the report from the Companion, then a single person relates it from one of them; the singularity is relative to a particular person, though the report in itself may be well known. 6
Gharib and fard in usage
Ibn Hajar says gharib and fard are synonyms in language and terminology, but specialists distinguish them by frequency of use: fard is mostly used of the absolute kind and gharib of the relative; with the verb they make no distinction, saying in both cases "so-and-so alone related it". 7 He compares their usage of munqati' and mursal: most hadith scholars distinguish the two nouns, but use only the verb arsala for both, which led some to think they did not distinguish them. 7
Singularity and soundness
For Ibn Hajar singularity does not exclude soundness; hence he rejected the claim that a number of narrators is a condition of soundness, pointing out that "actions are by intentions" — the first report in al-Bukhari's Sahih — is singular at several levels. 8 The editor notes that hadith scholars also call the absolute singular "gharib in chain and text". 5
Connections
People and things also explored
Hadith methodology (mustalah al-hadith)· The irregular report (shadhdh)· Corroboration (mutaba'a), supporting report (shahid) and the search for them (i'tibar)· The objectionable report (munkar)· The trustworthy narrator's addition (ziyadat al-thiqa)· Hadith· Shama'il Muhammadiyya· Ghanima (spoils of war)
Sources
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 45-52
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 45
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 46
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 49
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 51
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 51-52
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 52
- Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 44
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The singular report (gharib, fard)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/al-hadith-al-gharib/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-04.
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