«ثُمَّ الْإِسْنَادُ: وَهُوَ الطَّرِيقُ الْمُوصِلَةُ إِلَى الْمَتْنِ»
The isnād is the route leading to the matn.
Its links are the named transmitters and the relationships by which the report passed between them. Terms such as “ḥaddathanā,” “akhbaranā,” and “ʿan” provide clues about how the report is being attributed and transmitted.
Illustration: In “Aḥmad narrated from Khālid, from Zayd, who said …,” the sequence of Aḥmad, Khālid, and Zayd and their reporting links belong to the isnād. A list of names does not automatically prove continuity; audition, meetings, and the form of transmission may still require examination.