«أَوْ يَنْتَهِي غَايَةُ الْإِسْنَادِ إِلَى الصَّحَابِيِّ»
“Or the final attribution of the chain ends at a Companion.”
When the reported statement, action, or approval is attributed to a Companion and is not explicitly or constructively ascribed to the Prophet ﷺ, it is classified as mawqūf.
Example: “Ibn ʿUmar said …” ordinarily reports Ibn ʿUmar’s own statement. Other evidence showing that he received the point from the Prophet may alter its technical attribution. Mawqūf does not itself mean weak: an attributed Companion report can have either a strong or a deficient isnād.