LessonsRejected Reports and Categories of Interrupted ChainsQuiz

A mu‘dal report has two or more consecutive narrators omitted at one point in the chain. It is not enough for two names to be absent somewhere; their omission must be consecutive.

«إِنْ كَانَ بِاثْنَيْنِ فَصَاعِدًا مَعَ التَّوَالِي، فَهُوَ الْمُعْضَلُ»
When two or more successive narrators are omitted, the report is mu‘dal.

For example, if the complete chain is “compiler ← A ← B ← C ← Companion,” omitting both B and C together creates a mu‘dal gap. Omitting B alone does not. This interruption is generally more substantial than a single missing link, though evaluation always takes the available routes into account.

Source illustration: Mālik’s direct attribution to Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal is cited in discussing i‘dal: the chronological gap indicates multiple missing intermediaries.

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Mu‘dal: two or more consecutive omitted narrators

Rejected Reports and Categories of Interrupted Chains

A mu‘dal report has two or more consecutive narrators omitted at one point in the chain. It is not enough for two names to be absent somewhere; their omission must be consecutive.

«إِنْ كَانَ بِاثْنَيْنِ فَصَاعِدًا مَعَ التَّوَالِي، فَهُوَ الْمُعْضَلُ»
When two or more successive narrators are omitted, the report is mu‘dal.

For example, if the complete chain is “compiler ← A ← B ← C ← Companion,” omitting both B and C together creates a mu‘dal gap. Omitting B alone does not. This interruption is generally more substantial than a single missing link, though evaluation always takes the available routes into account.

Source illustration: Mālik’s direct attribution to Mu‘ādh ibn Jabal is cited in discussing i‘dal: the chronological gap indicates multiple missing intermediaries.