Maqṭūʿ Reports: Attribution to a Successor
The learner can recognize Hadith as a report of the Prophet's ﷺ saying, action, tacit approval, or state. Read the bilingual lesson for Maqṭūʿ Reports: Attribution to a Successor and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. What will we learn?
We will learn to recognize a maqṭūʿ (مقطوع) report: is a Successor speaking for himself, or transmitting someone else's words? Reminder — tābiʿī (تابعی): a Muslim who is not himself a Companion but met a Companion as a believer.
2. Ḥasan al-Baṣrī's own statement
Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, may Allah have mercy on him, is a Successor. About praying behind an imam associated with bidʿah, he said:1 صَلِّ وَعَلَيْهِ بِدْعَتُهُ (Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Adhan, chapter on the imamate of one affected by turmoil or innovation) Translation: Pray; the sin of his innovation rests upon him. These are Ḥasan's own words; that is why this is an example of a maqṭūʿ report. 1. Bidʿah (بدعت): a belief or practice introduced or adopted in the name of religion after the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions and the Successors. The detailed prayer ruling is not our topic here.
3. What is a maqṭūʿ report?
A maqṭūʿ (مقطوع) report conveys a Successor's own saying or action. • Qawl (قول): the Successor's own words. • Fiʿl (فعل): an action performed by the Successor himself. Maqṭūʿ is not limited to quoted words; describing a Successor's action also fits.
4. His own words, or someone else's?
A Successor can also transmit someone else's words. Notice the distinction: • The Successor's own saying or action: a maqṭūʿ report. • He transmits a Companion's own saying: the words belong to the Companion, not the Successor; this is mawqūf (موقوف). • He transmits a saying of the Prophet ﷺ: the saying belongs to the Prophet ﷺ, not to the Successor himself. Knowing that a narrator is a Successor is not enough. First establish whose words or action are reported.
5. The label and acceptance
The label maqṭūʿ (مقطوع) identifies attribution to a Successor; it does not decide whether a report is acceptable. • If the conditions for acceptance are met, the report is accepted. • If they are not met, it is not accepted. Do not accept or reject every maqṭūʿ report merely because of its name.
6. Lesson summary
• Maqṭūʿ (مقطوع): a report of a Successor's own saying or action. • Example: Ḥasan al-Baṣrī's own statement. • Key distinction: transmitting someone else's words is not speaking for oneself. • Acceptance: decided according to the conditions for acceptance.
Practice questions
Question 1
Ḥasan al-Baṣrī is a Successor. His own statement about prayer is reported. Why is it called maqṭūʿ?
- The statement concerns prayer.
- It reports the Successor's own words.
- The statement is in Arabic.
Question 2
Can a report be maqṭūʿ if it describes a Successor's own action without quoting his words?
- No; it must contain a saying by the Successor.
- No; an action is always attributed to someone else.
- Yes; the Successor's own action also fits the definition.
Question 3
Match each description to its appropriate conclusion.
Question 4
Every maqṭūʿ report is rejected merely because it is maqṭūʿ.
Question 5
A Successor transmits a Companion's own saying. To whom is the saying attributed?
- To the Companion; the Successor is the transmitter here.
- To the Successor, because he transmitted it.
- To both; it becomes each person's own saying.
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