Mustalah Al-Hadith | Lesson 6 | Mu‘allaq and Mursal Ahadith (Missing Links in a Chain of Narrators)

HOW A ḤADÎTH is judged when links in the transmission chain are missing? What are the seven technical categories? Here the first two are discussed. Can any such a ḥadîth be taken as reliable? One of the possible defects in a  ḥadîth narration is a break, or missing link, in its chain of narration. Previously (see Part 5 of this series), we discussed which Arabic conjunctions convey an actual meeting between one narrator and the next. Having established this, we can discuss the terms pertaining to missing links. There are seven different types of narrations when it comes to missing links: Muʿallaq (hanging), mursal (detached, or hastened), muʿḍal (disconcerting), mudallas isnâdan (concealed in its chain), mudallas taswîyatan (concealed by way of equalizing), mursal khafi (concealed mursal-narration), and munqa ṭiʿ (broken). Here, we look at the first two.

First: Al-Hadith Al-Mu ‘allaq (The Hanging Hadith)

Meaning in Language and in the Science of Hadith

Linguistic meaning: The Arabic word ‘muʿallaq’ refers to something that is ‘hanging,’ or ‘suspended’ in the air. Terminological definition: A narration that has one or more successive narrators omitted from the beginning of its chain (the part closest to Bukhâri for example—it is called the beginning because the reader begins tracing backwards the ḥadîth from this point).

Connection between Linguistic and Terminological Meanings

The Ḥadîth compiler (such as Bukhâri) tries to connect reports attributed to the Prophet ﷺ through a chain of successive narrators back to the Prophet ﷺ. We can analogize this to a person in a room trying to grasp a chain connected to the ceiling. Each link represents a narrator. If, however, there are one or more successive narrators missing from the lowest portion of the chain, then that chain would be hanging, or suspended, with a space between it (its lower links) and the person standing trying to take hold of it. It is for this reason that this type of narration is called muʿallaq (hanging).

The Forms of Al-Hadith Al-Mu ‘allaq

Al-Ḥadîth al-Muʿallaq can be a  ḥadîth in which the entire chain of narrators is omitted. The compiler simply states: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said such and such.” Or, the mu͑ alliq (the one who is “hanging” the narration) might mention only the last narrator in the chain, which would necessarily be one or more of the  ṣa ḥâba (Companions of the Prophet ﷺ).

An Example of Al-Hadith Al-Mu ‘allaq

Bukhâri narrated a  ḥadîth saying: “Abû Mûsa said: ‘The Prophet ﷺ covered his knees when ʿUthmân entered.’” This  ḥadîth is muʿallaq because Bukhâri omitted all of the narrators except the  ṣa ḥâbî; Abu Mûsa Al-Ashʿari.

Ruling on Al-Hadith Al-Mu ‘allaq

Taʿlîq (hanging) is a defect in a narration. If the muʿallaq ḥadîth is not supported by the presence of another reliable narration of the same  ḥadîth, then the muʿallaq ḥadîth is classified as weak.

The Mu‘allaqat of Bukhari and Muslim

There are many a ḥadîth that are muʿallaq in Bukhâri; however, they only occur in his subtitles and the introductions to his chapters. He intentionally “hung” these narrations so that they would not be confused with the authentic collection that was the aim of his book. Thus he would cite these a ḥâdîth only to make points or add some strength to an opinion. The majority of these muʿallaq a ḥâdîth are authentic. Yet there are some that have slight weakness, and these Bukhâri makes known. In Ṣaḥîḥ Muslim, there is only one  ḥadîth that is muʿallaq and not connected elsewhere. Muslim did not consider this  ḥadîth to be part of his collection, in the sense that it did not meet his criteria.

Second: Al-Hadith Al-Mursal

The muʿallaq ḥadîth is cut off from its narrators at the beginning of the chain (meaning its narrations later in time) and the mursal  ḥadîth is cut off from its narrators at the end (meaning near to the time of the Prophet □).

Meaning in Language and in the Science of Hadith

Linguistic meaning: Something set loose, or let go freely. Terminological definition: A chain of narrators in which the final link at the end of the chain—the  ṣa ḥâbi (Companion of the Prophet ﷺ)—is missing.

Connection between Linguistic and Terminological Meanings

The chain of narrators, those transmitting the report from one person to the next, is like a line of people with a haltered horse (which represents the report). Each one hands the horse to the person next in line, but there is one person missing at the end of the line (who represents the Ṣa ḥâbi, or Companion of the Prophet ﷺ), before the final receiver (who represents the Prophet ﷺ). Hence, the last person in the line (who represents the Successor, that is, the narrator from the generation following that of the Companions) points the horse toward the final receiver, covering the final human link in the line, thereby setting it free to run to the final receiver; namely, the Prophet ﷺ. Thus a mursal  ḥadîth is a  ḥadîth that has been sent from the Tâbiʿi (the Successor) directly to the Prophet ﷺ, omitting the Companion Ṣa ḥâbi who was necessarily the report’s intermediary between the Successor and the Prophet ﷺ.

Ruling on Al-Hadith Al-Mursal

Technically, the mursal ḥadîth is missing one of the conditions of an authentic ḥadîth. However, there is a difference of opinion regarding the authenticity of the mursal report because it is assumed that the missing link is the  ṣa ḥâbi, and all the Companions (Ṣa ḥâbah) are unquestionably worthy of narration. This is because Allah □ and his Messenger ﷺ deemed them to be upright and the best of humanity. In addition, the Tâbiʿûn, the Successors or the Followers (the Muslims of the generation that directly followed or succeeded the Ṣa ḥâbah) were praised by the Prophet ﷺ. For this reason, there is not as great a necessity when it comes to investigating their affairs in relation to the veracity of their religious commitment and thus their character in terms of reliability. Moreover, the Tâbiʿûn, due to their chronological closeness to the Prophet ﷺ and the fact that  ḥadîth had not yet proliferated much, had no chains of narrators to memorize and only a small number of Texts each. These realities are coupled with clear evidence that this generation had retained the great memorizing abilities that characterized the Arabs, more so than the latter generations. So for these reasons, according to the majority of  ḥadîth scholars, if the Tâbiʿi is a reliable narrator, such as Saʿîd ibn Al-Musayyab, then his a ḥadîth are accepted and authentic. There is a great deal of scholarly discussion on the mursal ḥadîth, which we will discuss in coming writings, inshâ’Allâh.

Allah knows best.