Hadith 101

We all read and forward hadith all the time, so here is some basic information on what is a hadith. A great deal of work went into reporting and classifying a hadith; which cannot and must not be discounted at any cost! There is actually a science to the study of hadith, this alone should convince one its intricacies and validity.
I am attending a course on the subject and there will Inshallah be a part 2 to this entry. May Allah forgive me if i make any mistakes in typing this information; not because my source is not credible but because i am human and prone to error.
Hadith comes from the root Ha Da Tha; which means coming into a new situation, or something new which has occurred. Hence, it is used for the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad SAW which were something new for the people of the time (changing their current situation). The word muhdith (from the same root)  is used to define Bid'aa for the same reason; as its an innovation which didnt exist.

A hadith can refer to any:
1) saying of the prophet saw (qawl)
2) action of the prophet saw (F'ayl)
3) His agreement in a matter i.e. he didnt do a particular act/ or say a particular thing himself but agreed with it when someone else performed it (taqreer)

What can entail a hadith:
1) Sunnah - the root of which means creating a way so as to make it easy for the followers. According to the fuqaha (scholars of jurisprudence), sunnah is an act that is highly ranked/rated and preferred but not performing the act, is not a sin. On the other hand, a sunnah which becomes a symbol of Islam has a greater weightage and highly recommended for Muslims to adhere to it. For eg, the minarets on a mosque are not an obligatory part of building a mosque but have increasingly become a sign of a Muslim prayer house; hence its a recommended sunnah. Since we believe the Sahaba were the closest people to the prophet also in practice, their acts too are part of Sunnah. eg: 20 rakahs of tarawih prayer initiated by Hazrat Umar RA.

2) Khabr - any narrative of which news is received to be associated with the Prophet SAW. A more general term than hadith.

3) As (th) ar - of which evidence is found to be associated with the Prophet SAW

4) Wahi - that which was revealed to the Prophet through divine intervention. Wahi is further divided into 2: Jalli  and Khafi

Sciences:
There are 2 types of hadith study/sciences. Please dont take these as official terms, rather as english terms.

1) Rivayah - Hadith which is memorised by muhadditheen and related to us
2) Dirayat - Scholarly  deductions of ahkam (commandments)  or lessons from the hadith.

A hadith has 2 parts:
1) Sanad - the chain of revelation. i.e. who heard it from whom all the way to the Prophet SAW
2) Matan - the actual words of the Prophet SAW

Some Extra Info:
1) one who has memorized over 300,000 hadith - Muhaafizh
2) one who knows more than Muhaafiz - Imam al hujjat (h)
3) one who knows even more than that (close to 600,000) - Ameer ul mo'mineen fil hadith

This post is open to your comments. Please feel free to correct me. May Allah guide me and you.