These terms classify ahad hadith by how many independent chains carry them at their narrowest link. Mashhur ("well-known") has at least three chains in each layer, 'aziz has at least two, and gharib ("solitary") has only a single narrator at some stage. A famous gharib example is "Actions are but by intentions," which at its origin was reported only by 'Umar ibn al-Khattab and passed through a single narrator in each early link, yet it is fully sahih and placed first in Sahih al-Bukhari. This shows that being gharib does not by itself weaken a hadith — authenticity rests on the reliability of the narrators, not merely their number.
Q&A · Hadith
What do the terms mashhur, 'aziz, and gharib mean in hadith classification?
Evidence — the daleel
Sahih al-Bukhari 1 ṢaḥīḥSahih Muslim 1907 Ṣaḥīḥ
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