The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, may have related it on different occasions, with each of the two hearing it on a separate occasion. Thus, one related what he heard from him on one occasion, and the other what he heard on another. All of it is included in the report containing the additional wording. And Allah knows best.

Section

As for dividing hadith into authentic, good, and weak, the first person known to have made this classification was Abū ‘Īsā al-Tirmidhī. This classification is not known from anyone before him. Abū ‘Īsā explained what he meant by it.

He stated that a good hadith is one transmitted through several routes, none of whose narrators is suspected of lying, and which is not anomalous. It ranks below an authentic hadith, whose transmitters are known for their integrity and accuracy.

He also stated that a weak hadith is one whose transmitter is known to be suspected of lying and to have a poor memory. When an unknown narrator relates a report, there is reason to fear that he may be a liar or have a poor memory. If another narrator agrees with him without having taken the report from him, it is known that he did not deliberately fabricate it. For two narrators to coincide in the same lengthy wording may sometimes be impossible and sometimes improbable. Since such coincidence remains conceivable, however, the report falls below the rank of authentic.

Some people have objected to al-Tirmidhī’s classification, saying that he uses the designation “good and singular.” A singular report is one transmitted by a single narrator, and a hadith may