[The Mursal]
The second category—namely, that in which the final link (1) after the Successor (2) has been omitted—is the mursal. Its typical form is that a Successor, whether of the senior (3) or junior (4) generation, says: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said (5) such-and-such,” or: “He did (6) such-and-such,” or: “Such-and-such was done (7) in his presence,” and the like (8).
It is placed among the rejected types because the status of the missing narrator is unknown: he may be a Companion, or he may be a Successor; in the latter case he could be weak or he could be trustworthy. If the second applies, he may have taken the report (9) from a Companion (10) or from another Successor (11); and in that latter scenario the earlier uncertainty returns and multiplies. From the standpoint of sheer logical possibility (12) the chain could extend without limit, whereas inductive investigation (13) shows it to reach six or seven (14) links at most—and that is the greatest number ever found among (15)
(1) MS J reads: “fi.”
(2) MS Ṭ has: “baʿdahu” (“after it”).
(3) MS L reads: “akan.”
(4) MSS B, H, W, Z, and L read: “am” (“or”).
(5) In MS H the word “qala” (“he said”) appears twice.
(6) MS Y has: “wa faʿala” (“and he did”).
(7) MS J reads: “wa fuʿila” (“and it was done”).
(8) MSS A and Ṭ read: “aw nahw” (“or something similar”); MS B has: “wa nahwi” (with the noun in the genitive). The present edition follows MSS A and D.
(9) MS K reads: “tuhammal.”
(10) MS Ṭ has: “al-sahabi” (“the Companion”).
(11) The word “akhar” (“another”) is missing from MS H.
(12) MS Ṭ reads: “imma” (“either”).
(13) MS Ṭ has: “wa imma” (“and either”). Al-Laqani notes in Qada al-Watar, p. 963, that the particle “amma,” with a fat-ha on the initial hamza, serves for specification.
(14) Al-Biqai explains: “Here the particle ‘aw’ (‘or’) denotes uncertainty, because the isnad mentioned consists of seven individuals, and scholars differ about one of them: is he a Companion or a Successor? If his companionship is confirmed, the Successors in the chain are six; otherwise, seven.” See al-Laqani, Qada al-Watar, p. 964.
(15) MS H reads: “mimma.”