The safest formulation when transmitting by this mode is to say, “I read to So-and-so,” or, “It was read to him while I was listening and he acknowledged it.” After that, all expressions of audition must be qualified, for example: ḥaddathanā or akhbaranā “by reading to him,” and, in the case of poetry, anshadanā “by reading to him.” Ibn al-Mubārak, Yaḥyā ibn Yaḥyā, Aḥmad, al-Nasāʾī, and others prohibited the unqualified use of ḥaddathanā and akhbaranā, whereas another group allowed it. It is said that this is the position of al-Zuhrī, Mālik, Ibn ʿUyaynah, Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān, al-Bukhārī, many ḥadith authorities, and most scholars of the Hijaz and Kufa, and that some of them even permit the formula samiʿtu. A different group forbade ḥaddathanā yet allowed akhbaranā; this is the school of al-Shāfiʿī and his companions, Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj, and the majority of Eastern scholars. It is said to be the view of most ḥadith scholars; it is narrated from Ibn Jurayj, al-Awzāʿī, Ibn Wahb, and likewise from al-Nasāʾī, and has become the prevailing practice among the people of ḥadith.

First: If, during the reading, the shaykh’s master copy is in the hand of a trustworthy person who oversees what is being read and is qualified for the task, then, should the shaykh have the text committed to memory, this is tantamount to his holding the master copy himself—indeed, preferable. If he has not memorized it, some have declared the audition invalid, but the correct and operative view is that it remains valid. Should the master copy be in the hand of the reader himself, provided the reader is trustworthy in religion and competence, the case for validity is even stronger. Whenever the master copy is in the hand of someone unreliable, however, the audition is not valid unless the shaykh has the text memorized.

Second: If the reader says to the shaykh, “So-and-so informs you,” or the like, and the shaykh listens attentively, understands what is being said, and raises no objection, the audition is sound and transmission on its basis is permissible; the shaykh’s verbal response is not a prerequisite.