Consecutive and separate omissions Read the bilingual lesson for Muʿḍal and Munqaṭiʿ and test your understanding with a focused quiz.
Lesson
1. In this lesson
When two narrators are omitted, their number alone is not enough: are the omissions consecutive or at separate places? • Muʿḍal involves at least two consecutive omitted narrators. • In this discussion, munqaṭiʿ involves one omitted narrator or several at separate places. Actual examples will explain the distinction and the stated rulings.
2. Muʿḍal: definition
A muʿḍal report has two or more narrators omitted consecutively from its chain. • “Two or more” specifies the number. • “Consecutively” means the omitted narrators followed one another. In the next example, two intermediaries between Mālik and Abū Hurayrah are unstated.
3. The muʿḍal example
عَنْ مَالِكٍ أَنَّهُ بَلَغَهُ أَنَّ أَبَا هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰهِ صَلَّى اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِلْمَمْلُوكِ طَعَامُهُ وَكِسْوَتُهُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَلَا يُكَلَّفُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ إِلَّا مَا يُطِيقُ (Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik) Translation: An enslaved person is to receive suitable food and clothing and must not be assigned work beyond his ability. 1. Mamlūk: An enslaved person in the historical setting, not an ordinary employee.
4. Which two intermediaries?
Mālik's report uses أَنَّهُ بَلَغَهُ: “it reached him.” The narrators who conveyed it to him are not named here. The two omitted intermediaries between Mālik and Abū Hurayrah are: • Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān; • his father, ʿAjlān. Their consecutive omission makes this the muʿḍal example.
5. How was the omission identified?
The phrase “it reached him” alone does not establish the full number of omitted narrators. In this example, the two intermediaries are identified through another chain. Thus: • Names being absent from a shortened report is one matter. • Identifying those names and their number through another chain is another. That other chain explains the identification here.
6. The ruling on muʿḍal
A muʿḍal chain is weak; this incomplete chain is not sufficient evidence for practice. With two or more consecutive omissions, it is counted as more severely weak than mursal and munqaṭiʿ. This concerns the chain in this form.
7. Munqaṭiʿ: definition
In munqaṭiʿ, one narrator is omitted, or two or more are omitted at separate places rather than consecutively. • One omitted narrator can fall within this definition. • With several omissions, their being at separate places matters. Two consecutive omissions fall within the definition of muʿḍal.
8. The munqaṭiʿ example
عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ يُثَيْعٍ عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ مَرْفُوعًا إِنْ وَلَّيْتُمُوهَا فَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ Translation: If you entrust this responsibility to him, he is capable and trustworthy. 1. Marfūʿan: The report is attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. 2. “Him” refers to Abū Bakr; his name appears in the longer wording.
9. The intermediary Sharīk
In the longer chain of this report, Sharīk is omitted between Sufyān al-Thawrī and Abū Isḥāq. • Sufyān al-Thawrī received this report from Sharīk. • Sharīk received it from Abū Isḥāq. • This single omitted intermediary makes it the munqaṭiʿ example. 1. The preceding slide showed only the portion from Abū Isḥāq onward; the omission occurs before that portion.
10. The ruling on munqaṭiʿ
A munqaṭiʿ chain is weak because the omitted narrator's circumstances are unknown; the incomplete form is not sufficient evidence for practice. Reason: An intermediary is unstated, so that narrator's circumstances are not supplied by the chain.
11. “Two narrators” is not enough
Do not identify muʿḍal merely from hearing that two narrators are omitted: • If both are omitted consecutively, the muʿḍal condition is met. • If they are omitted at separate places, this is the stated munqaṭiʿ form. Consider both the number and whether omissions are consecutive or separate.
12. Summary
• Muʿḍal: Two or more narrators are omitted consecutively. • Another chain identifies Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān and his father as the omissions in Mālik's example. • Munqaṭiʿ: One narrator, or several at separate places, is omitted. • In the second example, Sharīk is omitted between al-Thawrī and Abū Isḥāq. • Both incomplete forms are weak; consecutive omission makes muʿḍal more severely weak.
Practice questions
Question 1
What is the full muʿḍal condition?
- Two or more narrators are omitted consecutively.
- Two narrators are omitted anywhere.
- Only one narrator is omitted.
Question 2
How were the two omitted intermediaries in Mālik's example identified?
- From the text's subject alone.
- Through another chain.
- From the wording's length alone.
Question 3
Which two intermediaries are omitted in the muʿḍal example?
- Sufyān al-Thawrī and Sharīk.
- Abū Isḥāq and Ḥudhayfah.
- Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān and his father ʿAjlān.
Question 4
Which definition applies to two omissions at separate places?
- Munqaṭiʿ.
- Muʿḍal, because there are two.
- Muttaṣil, because the omissions are separate.
Question 5
Between which narrators is Sharīk omitted?
- Between Mālik and Abū Hurayrah.
- Between Sufyān al-Thawrī and Abū Isḥāq.
- Between Zayd ibn Yuthayʿ and Ḥudhayfah.
Question 6
Consecutive omissions make muʿḍal more severely weak than mursal and munqaṭiʿ.
Question 7
What reason is given for the weakness of munqaṭiʿ?
- The omitted narrator's circumstances are unknown.
- The text contains a difficult word.
- The translation is short.
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