In defining musnad, al-Ḥākim emphasizes a transmitter relating from a teacher from whom hearing is apparent, with the transmission proceeding through a Companion to the Messenger ﷺ.
The issue is not merely listing names in sequence. The relationship between narrators must exhibit a credible appearance of transmission.
Example: A bare list “A, B, C” is not decisive if their meetings and transmission links remain unestablished. Evidence about their actual hearing may support apparent continuity.
When reliable evidence of a hidden break appears, the claim that the report was initially musnad cannot override the resulting critical assessment.