Its plural is RUWAT.

Its plural is RUWAT. The SANAD and MATN together are called one HADITH. A scholar of HADITH is called MUHADDITH (محدّث). Its plural is MUHADDITHUN or MUHADDITHIN. The Status of HADITH. After the QUR'AN, the HADITH of a MA'SUM is the most important binding authority (HUJJAT) IN Islam; and if anyone wants to succeed on the Day of Judgment, then he must follow the QUR'AN and HADITH together. For example Allah says in the QUR'AN; "O You who believe!

Obey Allah and obey the Prophet and those who are Masters of the Affairs among you" (4:63). In this AYAH Allah makes it obligatory for the believers to obey the Holy Prophet and the Masters of the Affairs, i.e. the Twelve Imams. Obviously nobody can follow the Holy Prophet and the Imams unless he knows what the Holy Prophet and Imams had said or done. And that brings us to AHADITH.

MEANING OF OBEDIENCE & FOLLOWING To follow a MA'SUM means to do the same work as has been done by the MA'SUM with the same intention. For example, the Holy Prophet received some money from a Muslim by way of ZAKAH; if now someone usurps some property or money from someone without any religious authority it will not be called following in the foot-steps of the Prophet.

It should be remembered that the AHADITH of the twelve Imams (a.s.) and the Lady FATIMAH AZ-ZAHRA (A.S.) are The AHADITH of the Holy Prophet himself. The Imams themselves have made it quite clear many times.

For example, IMAM MUHAMMAD BAQIR (A.S.) said, "When I narrate a HADITH without mentioning any chain of narrators, then my SANAD is from my father, who narrated it from my grandfather (IMAM HUSAYN) from his father (Imam Ali) from the Messenger of Allah who heard it from JIBRA'IL who was informed of it by Allah". The same declaration was made by IMAM JA'FAR AS-SADIQ (A.S.) about his own AHADITH.

A person who did not see a MA'SUM or did not hear from him, the only way for him to know the religion is through the AHADITH of the Holy Prophet, the 12 Imams and the Lady FATIMAH AZ-ZAHRA (peace be on them all). It is, however, necessary to see that the HADITH is authentic before acting upon it. In the following pages some details about the categories of AHADITH will be given to help the readers in this task. The Categories of HADITH.

The value of a HADITH depends very much on the probity and trustworthiness of its narrators, the RUWAT.