If he were instead to say, “I authorize so-and-so for such-and-such, should he wish to transmit it from me; or I authorize you, if you so wish, prefer, or desire,” the sounder opinion is that this is permissible.

Fifth category: authorization granted to someone who does not yet exist, as in the formula, “I authorize whoever will be born to so-and-so.” Later scholars differed as to its validity. Should the unborn person be coupled with someone already living—such as, “I authorize so-and-so and whoever will be born to him,” or, “I authorize you and your descendants, generation after generation”—it is even more worthy of acceptance. The latter wording was actually employed by the hadith scholar Abu Bakr ibn Abi Dawud; al-Khatib deemed the former valid and related that view from Ibn al-Farraʾ and Ibn ʿAmrūs. Qadi Abu al-Tayyib and Ibn al-Sabbagh, both Shafiʿis, rejected it, and that is the correct ruling to which one ought to adhere. As for an authorization granted to a child who has not yet reached the age of discernment, the sound position—affirmed categorically by Qadi Abu al-Tayyib and al-Khatib, contrary to some—holds it to be valid.

Sixth category: authorizing the transmission of material that the shaykh himself has not yet received in any fashion, with the understanding that the recipient may narrate it once the shaykh does receive it. Qadi ʿIyad said, “I have not seen anyone address this issue, though I have observed some later scholars practicing it.” He then reported that the judge of Cordoba, Abu al-Walid, forbade it, and ʿIyad added, “That is the correct view, and it is indeed the right ruling.” Accordingly, whoever wishes to narrate by virtue of a shaykh’s blanket authorization for all his auditions must make sure that the material in question had actually reached the shaykh before the authorization was issued. As for the statement, “I authorize you for whatever of my auditions has been—or will be—verified as sound in your estimation,” it is valid, and one may narrate whatever he has confirmed the shaykh heard prior to the authorization. This was the practice of al-Daraqutni and others.

Seventh category: authorizing material that one has received only by authorization, as in, “I authorize you for my authorizations.” Some scholars whose opinions carry little weight have disallowed this