Categories of Hadith a khabar and, therefore, a hadith can be a true report or a concoction. It is on the basis of this premise that the Muslim scholars hold that a hadith offers a "ẓannī" (inconclusive/probably true) evidence. It is as though a hadith may have many possibilities on the plane of reliability. In one of the major works in the science of hadith, Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi has divided the individual narratives in the following categories, according to their epistemic value: Categories of Hadith Different categories of hadith (sayings attributed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad) have been used by various scholars. Experts in
Introduction to the Science of Hadith chapters, each covering a hadith related issue. The first 33 chapters describe the various technical terms of hadith terminology which describe the conditions of a hadith's authenticity, or acceptability as a basis for Islamic jurisprudence. The following chapters relate to the "isnād", or chain of narration. Next are a series of chapters pertaining to the etiquette to be observed by hadith scholars and manners of transcription. The last chapters describe various issues relating to the narrators of hadith including naming conventions. Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ began the "Introduction" as a series of lectures he dictated to his students in Damascus ending in