the Prophet ﷺ say, “Actions are only by intentions, and each person will have only what he intended….” 1 This ḥadith, throughout three successive tiers of its chain, was narrated by a single transmitter in each tier, which proves that a report need not be related by two or more narrators to be classified as ṣaḥīḥ (sound).
His statement: “A mashhūr report is one narrated by more than three narrators.”
This is the author’s view. According to the stronger opinion, however, a mashhūr is what is narrated by more than two. Thus, in the author’s reckoning a mashhūr would be any report transmitted by four or more narrators, whereas the correct view is that it is the report conveyed by three or more, yet without reaching the level of tawātur (mass transmission).
The term mashhūr is used in two senses:
- Whatever has become widely known among people.
- Whatever the scholars have conventionally designated as mashhūr.
What is widely known among people is itself of two kinds:
a) What is famous among the general public.
b) What is famous among the scholars.
As for what is famous among the laity, it carries no authoritative weight, for fabricated ḥadiths may become popular among them. Such popularity is of no consequence because the general public are not qualified to accept or reject reports; we cannot therefore claim that whatever is well-known among them is automatically acceptable. This is why many scholars have authored works on the subject, such as Tamyīz al-ṭayyib min al-khabīth fīmā yadūr ʿalā alsinat al-nās min al-ḥadīth (Distinguishing the Sound from the Spurious in the Hadiths Circulating on People’s Tongues).