Two basic causes of rejection

A missing narrator and a defect in a narrator are distinct. Read the bilingual lesson for Two basic causes of rejection and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. In this lesson

A narrator being omitted from a chain differs from a defect in a narrator. This lesson distinguishes these two basic causes of rejection. 1. Sanad: the transmission chain showing who narrated from whom.

2. A rejected report

Mardūd means a report not fit to be acted upon. Its two basic causes are: • Saqṭ al-rāwī: omission of a narrator from the chain. • Ṭaʿn al-rāwī: a narrator-related defect affecting acceptance of the report.

3. Omission of a narrator

Saqṭ al-rāwī is omission of a narrator from the chain. It concerns a missing person in the sequence of transmission. It does not mean a word omitted from the matn; it concerns an omitted narrator.

4. Criticism of a narrator

Ṭaʿn al-rāwī concerns a defect in the narrator that affects whether the report can be accepted. The issue is not merely whether the narrator is named in the chain; it is the defect affecting acceptance of that narrator's transmission.

5. A name being present is not enough

Names being present in a chain does not establish that the narrators are free of defects. • A narrator omitted: the issue of saqṭ. • A narrator-related defect: the issue of ṭaʿn. Answering one question does not automatically settle the other.

6. Summary

• A mardūd report is not fit to be acted upon. • Two basic causes: a narrator omitted from the chain, or a relevant defect in a narrator. • The first is saqṭ al-rāwī; the second is ṭaʿn al-rāwī. This is the basic distinction; their detailed forms will be treated separately.

Practice questions

Question 1

Which question concerns saqṭ al-rāwī?

  • Was a word omitted from the matn?
  • Was a narrator omitted from the chain?
  • Does the narrator have a relevant defect?

Question 2

If a narrator is named in the chain, no question of ṭaʿn remains concerning the transmission.

  • True
  • False

Question 3

Match each description with its term.

Question 4

Why distinguish saqṭ al-rāwī from ṭaʿn al-rāwī?

  • One concerns an omitted narrator; the other a defect in a narrator.
  • One concerns a word omitted from the chain; the other from the matn.
  • One names an actionable report; the other a non-actionable report.

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