بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

  16 Shawwal , 1444 AH  (Sunday,  07 May , 2023)

أما الحديث الصحيح: فهو الحديث ‌المسند الذي يتصل إسناده. بنقل العدل الضابط عن العدل الضابط إلى منتهاه، ولا يكون شاذا، ولا معللا. (مقدمة ابن الصلاح – ص: 11)

Definition of an Authentic Narration

Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ claimed that Aḥādīth are divided into three types, and we have discussed whether that claim of his was accurate or not. He now goes into detail explaining each of the categories.

He commences with the first which is Ṣaḥīḥ, and says:

أما ‌الحديث ‌الصحيح:

Literally the word Ṣaḥīḥ is used for anything with a body, whether it animate or inanimate. Hence, it will be translated as: well and fine. However, metaphorically, it could be used for that which does not possess a body. ‘Allāmah Suyūṭī explained:

الصحيح: فعيل بمعنى فاعل من الصحة، وهي حقيقة في الأجسام مجاز في غيرها، وجمع الصحيح صحاح بكسر أوله، كظريف وظراف، وكريم وكرام. (البحر الذي زخر في شرح ألفية الأثر – 1 / 310)

In passing, ‘Allāmah Sakhāwī mentioned the literal meaning:

أنه ضد المكسور والسقيم (فتح المغيث – 1 / 23)

Going to the classical lexicographers, ‘Allāmah Farāhīdī explained:

الصحة: ‌ذهاب ‌السقم والبراءة من كل عيب وريب. (العين – 3 / 14)

‘Allāmah Abūl Ḥuṣayn al-Qazwīnī said:

الصاد والحاء أصل يدل على البراءة من المرض والعيب، وعلى الاستواء. من ذلك ‌الصحة: ‌ذهاب ‌السقم، والبراءة من كل عيب. (مقاييس اللغة – 3 / 281)

‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ presents the technical definition of Ṣaḥīḥ:

فهو الحديث المسند الذي يتصل إسناده بنقل العدل الضابط عن العدل الضابط إلى منتهاه، ولا يكون شاذا، ولا معللا

 “The sound hadith is a “supported” ḥadīth (al-ḥadīth al-musnad), the chain of which connects continuously through the transmission of one upright and accurate person from another, up to its point of termination. The sound ḥadīth can be neither anomalous (shādhdh) nor defective (muʿallal).”

We will learn later that this actually refers to what is known as: aṣ-Ṣaḥīḥ li Dhātihi, and when the word Ṣaḥīḥ is used alone, then this is what it actually refers to. ‘Allāmah Sakhāwī said:

أي: لذاته عملا بمقتضى الإطلاق (شرح التقريب والتيسير للسخاوي – ص: 38)

‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ presents this definition.

As this is a Takhaṣṣuṣ course, we will have to analyse and dissect each and every word that ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ used. Likewise, specifically for Muqaddimah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ, it is very important to go to depths of all that the author said, because his statements and conclusions became the basis for the Muḥaddithīn who wrote thereafter. Before him, no one clearly gave the definition like this.

‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ studied the books of earlier Muḥaddithīn and based on their statements and usages, he formulated and concocted this definition. Scholars after him then considered this definition of his, and adjusted the wording to make it more precise. So this statement of ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ plays a huge role in the development of the definition of Ṣaḥīḥ.

Analysis of the Definition

A definition has to Jāmi’ (comprehensive) and it must be Māni’ (preventive and exclusive).

By saying that it must be Jāmi’, when a person is defining something, he is accountable for every word that he used. There must be a reason why he selected to use that word. He cannot add unnecessary words. We could consider each word as a ‘clause’. Therefore, every word will be scrutinized, so that no one gets an incorrect understanding of what is being defined.

From this definition that ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāh is presenting, these eight important terms have to be analyzed

1) Musnad, 2) Yattaṣil 3) Isnādu, 4) ‘Adl 5) Ḍabit 6) Muntahā, 7) Shādh 8) Mu’allall.

As a starting point, we will first explore whether it was necessary or even correct for ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ to use all of these eight words when presenting the definition of Ṣaḥīḥ. Then we need to delve into it further and see from where he got the idea that a Ṣaḥīḥ narration should be defined like this.

Musnad

فهو الحديث ‌المسند

“It is the supported narration.”

There is an objection on the usage of this word. If we go strictly by the linguistic meaning that is Mutabādir iladh Dhahn (the immediate understanding of the listener), Musnad simply means ‘supported’. The meaning of this is not clear! How must a narration be supported?

Therefore, we will have to consider the technical meaning. However, what is the technical meaning?

As a beginning student, we do not know what Musnad means. Thus, ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ is opening his book with a terminology that he is only going to define later. This is the first issue.

The second issue comes when we refer to his definition of al-Musnad. We are all beginners and we do not know what Musnad means. Therefore, to learn what it means, let us take help by going to the chapter of Musnad. For this, we turn to page 42 (of Muqaddimah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ). In this chapter of Musnad, ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ mentions three views.

Of course, we will in shā Allāh, explain the three views in detail when we reach that chapter. For now, the summary of the three views are:

• • 1.Musnad is a fully connected chain / every link connects with the next link. Most of the time it is used for chains that lead to the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), but there are times when it could be used for others. This is the view of ‘Allāmah Khaṭīb. (In this case, it has to do with the chain and it has nothing to do with the text)
  • 2.Musnad refers to what is attributed with a chain to the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), irrespective whether the chain is fully connected or missing links. This is the view of ‘Allāmah Ibn ‘Abdil Barr. (In this case, it has to do with the text and it has nothing to do with the chain.)
  • 3.Musnad is a combination of the two: it is that which is fully connected, and it reaches to the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). This is the view of Imām Ḥākim. (This combines the above two views, and in doing that, it becomes a combination of the chain and the text.)i

Then in our print, ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ simply said:

فهذه أقوال ثلاثة مختلفة، والله أعلم. (مقدمة ابن الصلاح – ص: 43)

Looking at these three meanings, we are still confused, because we do not know what that means by Musnad. Which of the three views does he prefer? Based on our prints, we do not know which of the three views are correct. He is defining Ṣaḥīḥ with Musnad, but there are three different meaning of Musnad. If we do not know which of the three definitions ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ chose, then the very first word of his definition of Ṣaḥīḥ is defective. Shaykh Ḥātim ‘Awnī wrote this objection in his commentary:

لكن الذي يلفت النظر: هو إضافة ابن الصلاح هذا الوصف في تعريفه ل “صحيح”، مما قد يعني إضافة قيد في تعريفه ل (الصحيح)، مما قد يعني إضافة قيد في تعريف الحديث الصحيح، ولا يكون الحديث صحيحا إلا به. (التكميل والإيضاح – ص: 91)

Since we do not know the meaning, we can resort to the commentaries and Nukat, and try to determine if the commentators preferred any of the three views.

In his Nukat, Ḥafiẓ Ibn Ḥajar mentioned that the preferred meaning is that Musnad composes of two things:

• • 1.It reaches to the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam)
  • 2.It is fully linked.

He wrote:

والمختار في وصف المسند على ما سنذكره أنه الحديث الذي يرفعه الصحابي مع ظهور الاتصال. )النكت لابن حجر – 1 / 62)

That would mean that the preferred view is the preferred view of Imām Ḥākim. That is the last view that ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ mentioned:

وحكى أبو عمر عن قوم أن المسند لا يقع إلا على ما اتصل مرفوعا إلى النبي – صلى الله عليه وسلم -. قلت: وبهذا قطع الحاكم أبو عبد الله الحافظ، ولم يذكر في كتابه غيره. (مقدمة ابن الصلاح – ص: 43)

If we accept that ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ preferred this third meaning, then what does that mean? It effectively means that a Musnad narration possesses two essential qualities:

1. The chain has to be fully linked
2. It needs to reach up to the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), meaning it must be an action, statements, approval/disapproval, quality or anything else of the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

A narration will have to have these two qualities to be defined as Ṣaḥīḥ.

The first condition is understandable and acceptable. A narration must be fully linked with no missing links, then it can be graded as Ṣaḥīḥ. However, the second portion of the definition of Marfū’ is not precise. It is not only the words of the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) that can be graded as Ṣaḥīh.

Placing this word in the definition of Ṣaḥīḥ would ultimately mean that an authentic narration has to possess these two qualities. Therefore, if a chain does not link to the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), it cannot be described as Ṣaḥīḥ. We could find a narration with the best Sanad via which a statement of a Ṣaḥābī or Tābi’ī is quoted, it cannot be described as Ṣaḥīḥ. For example, if the greatest scholar quotes the best Muḥaddith who in turn quotes from a leading expert, who cites an Imām quoting a statement of ‘Umar (r.a), for example, we cannot call this Ṣaḥīḥ, because it is not a statement of the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).

Shaykh Ḥātim wrote:

فإن كان قصد ابن الصلاح بالمسند المتصل، فلم كرر بعد ذلك اشتراطه في التعريف ؟ وإن قصد به المرفوع، فالحديث الصحيح قد يكون أثرا موقوفا أو مقطوعا على أحد التابعين. فما وجه إضافة هذا القيد (التكميل والإيضاح – ص: 91)

Responses

• 1.Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar responds to this saying that since the statements of the Prophet (ṣallAllāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) is the main focus of the one delving into Ḥadīth, it could be stipulated. He wrote:

والجواب عن ذلك: أنه إنما أراد ‌وصف ‌الحديث المرفوع،  لأنه الأصل الذي يتكلم عليه. (النكت لابن حجر – 1 / 61)

However, this answer will not be satisfactory, due to the following reasons:

1. When defining Ḥadīth, earlier scholars included the statements of the Ṣaḥābah and Tābi’īn
2. The statements of Ṣaḥābah and Tābi’īn feature very frequently in the books of the earlier Muḥaddithīn wherein they intended to gather Aḥādīth
3. Here are ample examples of Muḥaddithīn grading the statements of Ṣaḥābah and others as Ṣaḥīḥ.

• 2.Although in our prints, the preference of ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ from the three meanings, in the print of ‘Āisha bint Shāṭī, it is written at the end:

والقولُ الأولُ أعدلُ وأوْلى. والله أعلم. (مقدمة ابن الصلاح – طبعة دار المعارف – ص: 191)

In the footnotes, she does mention that this additional statement was in one of the manuscripts that she was using, and not in the others. But the fact remains, there is a reliable manuscript with the preference of ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ. He chose the first view, which was the view of ‘Allāmah Khaṭīb. ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ wrote the first view on the meaning of Musnad saying:

ذكر أبو بكر الخطيب الحافظ رحمه الله أن المسنَد عند أهل  الحديث: هو الذي اتصل إسناده من راويه إلى منتهاه، وأكثر ما يستعمل ذلك فيما جاء عن رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – دون ما جاء عن الصحابة وغيرهم. (مقدمة ابن الصلاح – طبعة دار المعارف – ص: 190)

If we consider this meaning, it will mean that ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāh is simply adding the clause of the chain being fully connected, and this is a valid clause.

• 3.We could say that Musnad in this instance will be according to the apparent meaning after learning the word Sanad. Generally, even a beginner will know that Sanad refers to a chain, so Musnad refers to a narration with a chain. ‘Allāmah Sakāwī mentioned in his commentary of Taqrīb:

أي: الطريق الموصل للمتن……ولذا زاد ابن الصلاح للإيضاح مما حذفه المؤلف هنا وفي أصله: المسند، لحصره فيه وشمول الحكم لما عداه (شرح التقريب – ص: 38)

 

There are two reasons to prefer this response:

1. ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ did not yet define the technical meaning of Musnad, and he will only define it later.
2. The preference of ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāh is only in that one manuscript, and in almost all other reliable manuscripts, the additional words which mentioned the preference of ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ are not mentioned.

In this third instance, it will also refer to no missing links, since mention of Sanad with no restrictions (‘indal Iṭlāq) refers to a fully linked chain.

Summary of second and third answer: By adding the word Musnad, ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ is stipulating the condition that the chain must be fully linked. The conclusion of the second two answers above is the same whilst the difference is in the method of reaching the conclusion.

That solves the problem. But it only solves it for now. We still need to inspect the next words.

Muttaṣil

الذي يتصل إسناده

“the chain of which connects continuously”

There are different ways and various methods of hearing and receiving a narration and then transmitting the Ḥadīth. To pass on a narration, a teacher does not have to actually verbally narrate the Ḥadīth to the student himself. It could be that the student reads the narration to the teacher, or maybe the student is simply present whilst someone else is reading and he hears and receives the narration in that manner. A teacher could even write the narration for a student, and that would be valid.

The meaning of Ittiṣāl is that every Rāwī (narrator) takes the narration from the narrator above him in any of the valid methods of receiving a narration. He could acquire the narration in one of the ways in which it is valid to receive a narration; whether it is through Samāʿ, ʿArḍ, Ijāzah, kitābah etc. These are discussed in detail in the twenty-fourth Naw’ of this Kitāb, which commences on page 132. Ittiṣāl could be in any one of these ways, without any missing links ‘Allāmah Sakhāwī said:

والمعنى بالاتصال كون كل من رواته أخذ عمن فوقه ولو بالإجازة على المعتمد (شرح التقريب والتيسير – ص: 38)

In Fatḥ al-Mugīth, ‘Allāmah Sakhāwī said:

بحيث يكون كل من رواته سمع ذلك المروي من شيخه. [أو أخذه عنه إجازة على المعتمد] وهذا هو ‌الشرط ‌الأول (فتح المغيث – 1 / 23)

This is the meaning of this second clause.

But, when we look at this second clause, what happens with all the explanations that we gave for the first clause? Wouldn’t Musnad and Al-Ladhī yattaṣilu Isnāduhu be the exact same thing? It would then mean that he is saying the same thing twice.

Hence, we are going back to square one: there is an unnecessary word here. Either the word Musnad is unnecessary, or the words aladhī yattaṣilu Isnāduhu is unnecessary. Both cannot be placed next to each other.

It is due to these reasons that many (not all – Ibn Kathīr, for example, is excluded) scholars who worked on this book thereafter deleted the word Musnad. For example, when abridging this book, Imām Nawawī made sure not to add the word Musnad in the definition. He simply said:

وهو ما اتصل سنده بنقل العدل (إرشاد طلاب الحقائق – 1 / 110)

The word Musnad is not added.

وهو ما اتصل سنده بالعدول. (التقريب والتيسير للنووي – ص: 25)

In Tadrīb ar-Rāwī, ‘Allāmah Suyūṭī comments on these words of Imām Nawawī saying:

عدل عن قول ابن الصلاح: “المسند” الذي يتصل إسناده، لأنه أخصر وأشمل للمرفوع والموقوف (تدريب الراوي – 2 /  133)

Once all the above is understood, we can now refer to the text of Shaykh Muḥammad ‘Awwāmah:

وهذا اعتراض وجيه على عبارة ابن الصلاح لو سلم أن المسند خاص بالمرفوع، لكن قدم ابن الصلاح رحمه في كلامه على الحديث المسند –وهو النوع الرابع 3 / 90 – تعريف الخطيب  له بأنه: ‌الذي ‌اتصل إسناده من راويه إلى منتهاه، وأكثر ما يستعمل ذلك فيما جاء عن رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – دون ما جاء عن الصحابة وغيرهم.

وهو معنى ما في الكفاية للخطيب ص: 21 ثم ذكر قول ابن عبد البر، والحاكم، وقال: “فهذه أقوال ثلاثة مختلفة، والقول الأول أعدل وأولى.” وهذه الجملة الأخيرة التي فيها  ترجيحه القول الأول ثبتت في مقدمة ابن الصلاح التي حققتها الدكتورة عائشة عبد الرحمن، وطبعت معها محاسن الاصطلاح للبلقيني ص: 191 ، وأفادت أنها ثبتت في النسخة الخطية المغربية (غ)، وهي أصل قديم جيد تاريخه سنة 661 ، منقول عن أصل قرئ على مؤلفه الإمام ابن الصلاح، وفي ٓاخره خطه. (تعليقاته على تدريب الراوي – 2 / 134)

Likewise, to be precise, when placing this book into poetic form, ‘Allāmah ‘Irāqī did not use this word.

فالأول: المتصل الإسناد … بنقل عدل ضابط الفؤاد. (ألفية العراقي التبصرة والتذكرة – ص: 95)

Fortunately, towards the end of his life, many years after teaching (and writing) the Muqaddimah, ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ started to write his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim. In that commentary, he defined Ṣaḥīlḥ, and he did not repeat the words with the same meaning. He wrote:

شرط مسلم في صحيحه أن يكون الحديث متصل الإسناد بنقل الثقة عن الثقة من أوله إلى منتهاه سالما من الشذوذ ومن العلة وهذا هو حد الحديث ‌الصحيح في نفس الأمر فكل حديث اجتمعت فيه هذه الأوصاف فلا خلاف بين أهل الحديث في صحته (صيانة صحيح مسلم – ص: 72)

In short:

1. Until this point, we have one valid clause, and that is that the chain should be firmly connected.
2. ‘Allāmah Ibn aṣ-Ṣalāḥ mentioned an extra word which was very unnecessary.

Now we will look at the word Isnād separately.

إسناده

Literal Meaning 

Isnād is derived from the word Sanad. There are various different meanings of the word Sanad. ‘Allāmah Ibn Jamā’ah, who was the first known person to officially define the term, identified two meanings that could blend in with the technical meaning:

1. Climbing a mountain

Allāmah Ibn Jamā’ah said:

وهو ما ارتفع وعلا عن سفح الجبل. (المنهل الروي في مختصر علوم الحديث النبوي – ص: 30)

“It is that which ascends and goes up from the bottom of the mountain.”

To prove it as a valid meaning, we quote from one lexicographer: ‘Allāmah Fīrozābādī said:

السند، محركة: ‌ما ‌قابلك ‌من ‌الجبل، وعلا عن السفح (القاموس المحيط – ص: 290)

In this case, it has the meaning of climbing and ascending. Ibn Manḍūr substantiates this meaning from Ḥadīth:

رأيت النساء يسندن في الجبل. (لسان العرب – 3 / 220)

He explained:

أي يصعدن. (لسان العرب (3/ 221)

This is a narration of Sunan Abī Dāwūd where Barā’ explains about the battle of Uḥud:

فأنا والله رأيت النساء ‌يسندن على الجبل. (أخرجه أبو داود في سننه – 3 / 5)

‘Allāmah Ibn Jamā‘ah explained how this will blend in with the technical meaning:

لأن المسند يرفعه إلى قائله. (المنهل الروي في مختصر علوم الحديث النبوي – ص: 30)

ii. It means to rely on something.

‘Allāmah Ibn Jamā‘ah said:

أو من قولهم فلان سند أي معتمد (المنهل الروي في مختصر علوم الحديث النبوي – ص: 30)

‘Allāmah Jawharī mentioned this as a meaning:9

وفلان سند، أي معتمد (الصحاح تاج اللغة وصحاح العربية – 2 / 489)

‘Allāmah Ibn Jamā’ah explains how this blends in with the technical meaning:

فسمي الإخبار عن طريق المتن سندا لاعتماد الحفاظ في صحة الحديث وضعفه عليه. (المنهل الروي في مختصر علوم الحديث النبوي – ص: 30)

Technical Meaning

Ibn Ḥajar explained Isnād saying:

والإسناد ‌حكاية «عن» طريق المتن. (نزهة النظر في توضيح نخبة الفكر – ص: 7)

 “And Isnād: it is transmitting and relating the route of a statement.”

Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) used the word: Ḥikāya. Ḥikāya refers to: the act of relating/transmitting/mentioning/narrating/ascribing.

So according to this definition, the action of saying the names of those who narrated to us, who in turn are quoting from those who narrated to them, and they in turn are taking the names of those who informed them, (this action) is called Isnād.

This is further supported by the fact that Isnād comes from Bāb If’āl, and one of the specialties of Bāb If’āl is that such words have a transitive meaning. Thus, Isnād means: “To relate the pathway”. Many other scholars explained Isnād in this manner.

Shaykh ‘Abdul Fattāḥ Abū Ġuddah (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) quoted:

قال العلماء: الإسناد هو مصدر من قولك: أسندت الحديث الى قائله، إذا رفعت اليه بذكر ناقله  (الإسناد من الدين – ص: 11)     

“The Scholars mention: Isnād is the Maṣdar of your statement: I transmitted the narration with its chain until the one who said it, when you raise it by mentioning its transmitters.” 

He then says:

وعرفوا الإسناد بقولهم: هو حكاية طريق متن الحديث  (الإسناد من الدين – ص: 14)

“And they defined Isnād by saying: it is transmitting and relating the route of a statement of Ḥadīth.”

To emphasise that Isnād refers to the action of narrating, Shaykh ‘Abdul Fattāḥ then says:

وعلى هذا فالإسناد هو قولك أو قول البخاري مثلا: حدثنا فلان قال حدثنا فلان، والسند: هو أولئك الرواة الناقلون المذكورون قبل متن الحديث.

“Based on this, ‘Isnād’ is  your’s or al-Bukhārī’s statement: So and so narrated to us from so and so… And Sanad is the noun: The transmitters that are mentioned before the text of the actual narration.” 

From this, it is very clear that Sanad and Isnād have two different meanings.

However, this creates a huge problem because when grading Aḥadīth, scholars of Ḥadīth frequently say:

هذا إسناد صحيح ،     هذا إسناد ضعيف

“This Isnād is Ṣaḥiḥ and this Isnad is Da’īf.”

Based on aforementioned, the meaning of the statement: ‘Hā Dā Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ’ would be: “This act of narrating is correct / The way in which this was transmitted is weak.” It does not matter who the narrators are, if a person quotes the chain accurately, we could say: Ḥādā Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ

That would mean that the Muḥaddith is not grading the narration but rather, he is informing us whether the person used the correct words when transmitting the narration.

But then we could use these words for a weak or even for a fabricated narration! Because if a liar uses the correct words for Adā (transmitting a Ḥadīth), then it would be accurate to say that the manner in which he narrated is correct. Based on this definition, it will mean that if there was a chain in which all the links were filled with liars and sinners, if they used the correct words when transmitting the narration, it would be accurate to say:

هذا إسناد صحيح

“This chain is authentic.”

However, the issue with this definition is that scholars use these words in books of Takhrīj (books that give the source of a narration) and also when grading narrations. Thus if we are going to adopt this definition, then there would be no benefit to the statement because, because what is the Muḥaddith informing us? Considering this meaning, he will not be informing us of the authenticity of the narration, but rather, he will be commenting on the act of narrating and whether that was done correctly. Clearly, this is not the case!

Thus, Shaykh ‘Abdul Fattāḥ Abū Ġuddah (may Allāh Ta’ālā have mercy on him) clarifies on page 15 that the Muḥaddithīn use the terms Isnād and Sanad interchangeably:

المحدثون يستعملون كلا من السند والإسناد في موضع الآخر.

“The Muḥaddithūn use Sanad and Isnād in place of the other (i.e. each other)”

Shaykh ‘Abdul Fattāḥ Abū Ġuddah acquires this from the explanation of ‘Allāmah ibn Jamā’ah, who, as we said, is the first known person to provide definitions for these terms. He mentioned in Al-Manhal ar-Rawī:

المحدثون يستعملون السند والإسناد لشيء واحد (المنهل الروي – 30)

“The Muḥaddithūn use Sanad and Isnād for one thing (i.e. the same thing)”

‘Allāmah Badr ad-Dīn himself used the words interchangeably. He defined Sanad saying:

وأما السند فهو الإخبار عن طريق المتن وهو مأخوذ إما من السند. (المنهل الروي – ص: 29)

This is the exact definition that we were giving for Isnād. But he is presenting that definition of Isnād for the word Sanad.

Two lines after defining Sanad like that, ‘Allāmah Ibn al-Jamā’ah wrote:

وأما الإسناد فهو رفع الحديث إلى قائله. (المنهل الروي في مختصر علوم الحديث النبوي – ص: 30)

It was after that, that he said:

المحدثون يستعملون السند والإسناد لشيء واحد (المنهل الروي – 30 – 29)

Thus, ‘Allāmah Sakhāwī mentioned:

الإسناد أو السند هو الطريق الموصل للمتن (التوضيح الأبهر – ص: 30)

Because these two words are used interchangeably, we will find scholars using them in the opposite way too. Meaning, they sometimes use Sanad in the meaning of the act of narrating.

For example, ‘Allāmah Ṭībī wrote:

والسند: إخبار عن طريق المتن، من قولهم فلان سند أي معتمد، فسمي سندا، لاعتماد الحفاظ في صحة الحديث وضعفه عليه. والإسناد: هو رفع الحديث إلى قائله. (الخلاصة في معرفة الحديث – ص: 28)

“Sanad is the act of informing of the partway of the text.”

What is he doing here? He is defining Sanad with the definition of Isnād.

Likewise, ‘Allāmah Suyūṭī mentioned in his Alfiyyah:

والسند: ‌الإخبار عن طريق … متن كالاسناد لدى فريق. (ألفية السيوطي نظم الدرر في علم الأثر – ص: 3)

in Mawsū’ah ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth wa Funūnihi, Sayyid ‘Abd alok-Mājid al-Ġawrī also explains Sanad with the definition of Isnād. He wrote:

هو الإخبار عن طريق المتن

“(Sanad) is the act of mentioning the partway of the text.”

The Summary is:

• Isnād and Sanad originally have different meaning:
• Sanad refers to the chain
• Isnād refers to the action of narrating
• Muḥaddithīn then started to use both words interchangeably.

May Allāh Taʿālā have mercy on them all.

سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك ، أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت ، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك