بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Al-Ḥadīth al-Gharīb
Al-Ḥadīth al-Gharīb refers to that ḥadīth that has been transmitted by a single narrator in any one of its ṭabaqāt (levels). For example, three ṣaḥābah narrate a ḥadīth to one tābiʿī who thereafter transmits it to four atbāʿ at-tābiʿīn. Since only one tābiʿī is narrating it from the level of the tābiʿūn, the ḥadīth will be considered a Gharīb Ḥadīth. It is also known as الفرد and الغريب المطلق. Scholars sometimes use the terms: تفرّد به فلان or أغرب به to indicate to a scholar who has transmitted a report in this manner.
There is another type of Gharīb Ḥadīth different from the above. Sometimes, the chain of the ḥadīth can have many narrators, but only one of the narrators is alone in narrating the ḥadīth with a specific quality. In this case, the ḥadīth will be known as الغريب النسبي or الفرد النسبي which means: “Gharīb in relation to a specific quality” or “solitary in terms of such and such quality”.
Example
An example of a Gharīb Nisbī ḥadīth would be when the ḥadīth scholars say, “No thiqah (reliable narrator) narrated this ḥadīth except so and so”. Additionally, when the uniqueness is found due to a particular narrator narrating from another narrator, such as, “No imām narrated this ḥadīth from Imām Mālik except Imām Shāfiʿī”, this is also an example for Gharīb Nisbī. Lastly, the ḥadīth regarding the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) entering Makkah while he had a helmet on his head, it has been narrated by many chains, but there is only one chain which has Imām Mālik from Imām Zuhrī (from Anas raḍī Allāhu ʿanh); thus making it a Gharīb ḥadīth.
Gharīb al-Ḥadīth
Gharīb al-Ḥadīth refers to the very difficult words of ḥadīth that are hard to understand due to their rare usage. This is a difficult science that has its own experts in the field who have compiled books of Gharīb al-Ḥadīth in which they explain the meanings of these difficult words. Some examples of these books are the following:
1. غريب الحديث – أبو عبيد القاسم بن سلّام الهروي
The author of the above book spent forty years traveling around asking scholars what the meaning of the difficult words of many aḥadīth were.
2. المجموع المغيث في غريبَي القرآن والحديث – محمد بن عمر الأصبهاني المديني
The above not only explains the difficult words of aḥadīth, but of the Qurʾān as well.
3. النهاية في غريب الحديث والأثر – المبارك بن محمد الجزري بن الاثير
The above is sufficient for anyone who just wants to purchase one comprehensive book.
The Hadith Disciple 