Ibn al-Akfānī divided the sciences of ḥadīth into two principal categories: riwāyah (transmission) and dirāyah (understanding/analysis). The first focuses on the preservation of the Sunnah through the careful transmission of reports from teacher to student, safeguarded by isnād, which functioned as the criterion of authenticity during the first centuries of Islam. Over time, with the mass compilation of ḥadīth into authoritative works such as al-Muwaṭṭaʾ, al-Musnad, and al-Ṣaḥīḥayn, the isnād shifted from authenticating individual narrations to verifying the transmission of entire books. This led to the rise of practices like samāʿ documentation, careful comparison of manuscripts, and later concern over the authenticity of printed editions, highlighting the continued centrality of isnād in ensuring reliable preservation.

The second category, dirāyah, is the critical science of understanding and analyzing ḥadīth. It examines the conditions of narrators, categories of reports, principles of acceptance and rejection, and the linguistic, historical, and theological tools required for interpretation. Ibn al-Akfānī emphasized that dirāyah is not limited to terminology but requires mastery of disciplines such as grammar, semantics, and uṣūl, since it involves extracting meaning and situating narrations within broader contexts. His framework was adopted by later authorities such as al-Biqāʿī and al-Suyūṭī, who elaborated on the conditions of transmission, the rulings on reports, and the evaluation of narrators’ credibility. Thus, dirāyah provides the intellectual and methodological foundation that complements riwāyah’s role in preservation.

Together, these two dimensions form the basis of ʿulūm al-ḥadīth. The early era witnessed oral preservation and cautious narration, with Companions transmitting carefully and warning against fabrications. As compilation expanded, debates arose over the permissibility of writing ḥadīth, eventually settling into scholarly consensus on its necessity. Within this broader trajectory, ʿilm al-muṣṭalaḥ al-ḥadīth developed as an instrumental science to assess the soundness of isnād and matn, determining what is acceptable (maqbūl) and what is rejectable (mardūd). In sum, Ibn al-Akfānī’s division into riwāyah and dirāyah reflects both the historical evolution and the methodological sophistication of ḥadīth sciences, balancing preservation with critical analysis in the service of safeguarding the Sunnah.