How to tell if a hadith is authentic
A hadith on a nicely designed Instagram slide is not the same as a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari. Here is how scholars grade them, and how you can check one yourself before you share it.
What a hadith is made of
Every hadith has two parts: the isnad, the chain of people who passed it on, and the matn, the text itself. Hadith scholars judged both. A beautiful text with a broken chain is not accepted as the words of the Prophet ﷺ, however good it sounds.
The grades
Sahih (sound): the chain is connected all the way back, every narrator is trustworthy and precise in what they remembered, and the hadith contains no hidden defect and does not contradict more reliable reports. These five conditions are the standard definition.
Hasan (good): it meets the same conditions, but one or more narrators is slightly less precise. Hasan hadith are accepted and acted upon.
Da’if (weak): one or more conditions fail, for example a gap in the chain or a narrator known for mistakes. Scholars differ on whether weak hadith can be used at all, and those who allow it limit it to encouraging good deeds, never to establishing beliefs or rulings.
Mawdu’ (fabricated): invented and falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. These are not to be quoted as hadith at all, except to warn people about them.
Where the collections fit
Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are the two collections scholars regard as the most authentic; a hadith in both is called muttafaq ‘alayh, agreed upon. The Sunan of Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i and Ibn Majah, along with the Musnad of Ahmad and others, contain many sahih hadith but also hasan and weak ones, so a reference to one of them is not a grade by itself.
How to check a hadith in under a minute
First, look for a reference: the collection and the number. A quote with no source at all is the first red flag. Second, look it up on sunnah.com, which shows the Arabic, an English translation and, for most collections, the grading. Third, read the grading line, not just the text. Fourth, if there is no reference and you cannot find it, do not share it as a hadith.
Other warning signs: modern-sounding phrasing, huge rewards promised for a tiny act, or a text that conveniently supports whatever the post is selling.
How ruhly handles it
The daily hadith in ruhly is sahih-grade only, with the reference and grading on the same screen and the context before the quote, so you never have to wonder whether what you are reading is sound.
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