Hadith as Sunna, but it is not necessary that a Sunna would have a supporting hadith sanctioning it. Some sources (Khaled Abou El Fadl) limit hadith to verbal reports, with the deeds of Muhammad and reports about his companions being part of the "Sunnah", but not hadith. Joseph Schacht quotes a Hadith by Muhammad that is used "to justify reference" in Islamic law to companions of Muhammad as religious authorities — "My companions are like lodestars." According to Schacht, (and other scholars) in the very first generations after the death of Muhammad, use of hadith from "Sahabah" ("companions" of Muhammad) and
Hadith terminology terminology, it refers to a "hadith" not fulfilling all of the conditions necessary to be deemed "mutawatir". "Hadith ahad" consists of three sub-classifications also relating to the number of narrators in the chain or chains of narration: An "ʻaziz" () "hadith" is any "hadith" conveyed by two narrators at every point in its "isnād" (chain of narrators). A "gharib" () "hadith" is one conveyed by only one narrator. Al-Tirmidhi's understanding of a "gharib hadith", concurs to a certain extent with that of the other traditionists. According to him a "hadith" may be classified as "gharib" for one of the following