Definition of a Muhaddith

Question

What is the difference between a muhaddith (a scholar of hadith) and a muhdith (one without wudu; the Arabic spelling of these two words is identical and differs only in vocalization)? Is there at present a single living muhaddith in India, or was Hazrat Mawlana Mahmud Hasan, the prisoner of Malta, Shaykh al-Hind, the khatam al-muhaddithin (the last of the muhaddithun) in India? Some scholars still add “muhaddith” after their names — how correct is this?

Answer

Muhdith is the term for one who lacks wudu. And a person who claims mastery of hadith but is not an expert in fiqh and hadith is likewise called by this term as a form of mockery: he is not a muhaddith (a master of the science of hadith), but a muhdith (one without wudu). A muhaddith is one who has studied and mastered the texts (mutun)

Source: Fatawa Mahmudiyya

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