Definition of a ghareeb hadeeth

 

What is a ghareeb hadeeth? Please advise us, may Allah reward you with good.

Praise be to Allaah.

A ghareeb
hadeeth is one in which there is some kind of uniqueness. There are many
kinds of uniqueness, the most important of which are two: 

1 - Absolute
uniqueness, which is where a particular narrator - at any stage of the
isnaad - is the only one who narrated this hadeeth, and no one else narrated
it alongside him. So in this case the ghareeb hadeeth is one which is only
known to be narrated from the Prophet with one isnaad. 

An example of
this is the hadeeth “Actions are but by intentions.” This hadeeth has only
one proper isnaad. It was narrated by Yahya ibn Sa‘eed al-Ansaari, from
Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Taymi, from ‘Ilqimah ibn Waqqaas al-Laythi, from
‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab. 

2 - Relative
uniqueness, which means that one of the narrators of a particular hadeeth
was the only one to narrate it from his shaykh, and no one else narrated it
from his shaykh, even though the hadeeth was narrated via a number of
isnaads, but none of his students narrated the hadeeth from him except one
narrator.  

An example of
this is the hadeeth narrated by ‘Eesa ibn Moosa Ghunjaar, from Abu Hamzah
al-Sukkari, from al-A‘mash, from Abu Ayyoob al-Sakhtiyaani, from
Muhammad ibn Sireen, from Abu Hurayrah, who said: The Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Do not call grapes al-karm.” 

Al-Tabaraani
said: No one narrated this hadeeth from al-A‘mash except Abu Hamzah
al-Sukkari. 

See how Abu
Hamzah al-Sukkari was the only one who narrated this hadeeth from al-A‘mash,
so his uniqueness is in relation to his shaykh al-A‘mash, but it is not
absolute uniqueness, as the hadeeth was narrated via many isnaads from a
number of the Sahaabah. 

And Allah knows best.