while the sound ruling on which practice has always rested is that it is permissible. This conclusion was decisively upheld by the ḥadīth masters al-Daraqutnī, Ibn ʿAqda, Abū Nuʿaym, and Abū al-Fatḥ Naṣr al-Maqdisī. Abū al-Fatḥ himself would transmit an ijāza on the basis of another ijāza and would sometimes string together as many as three. Anyone who narrates by virtue of such an authorization must scrutinize it carefully, lest he relate material that does not fall under its scope. Thus, if the ijāza concerns his teacher’s teacher—“I authorize you for whatever of my auditions you have verified”—and he then consults the auditions of that elder teacher, he may not narrate them from his own teacher on that elder’s authority until he knows for certain that his teacher has verified them as part of the elder’s auditions.

Sub-issue
Abū al-Ḥusayn Ibn Fāris said: The term ijāza is derived from jawāz al-māʾ, the water that is given to livestock or crops. One says istajaztuhu fa-ajāzani when someone waters your animals or your land; likewise, a seeker of knowledge receives knowledge from a scholar who “lets it flow” to him. On this basis one may say, “I granted so-and-so my auditions.” Those who regard ijāza as mere permission—which is the prevalent view—would phrase it, “I granted him permission to transmit my auditions.” If someone says, “I granted him my auditions,” the wording is understood as elliptical, like similar expressions. They further stated that an ijāza is only praiseworthy when the grantor knows exactly what he is authorizing and the recipient is a qualified scholar; some required this outright, and it is related from Mālik. Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr affirmed that the correct view is that it is valid only for one proficient in the discipline and with respect to a specific corpus whose chain of transmission is unambiguous. When the ijāza is issued in writing, it is recommended that the grantor also pronounce it orally; nevertheless, if he confines himself to writing while intending an ijāza, it remains valid. Allah knows best.

Section Four:
Munāwala (Hand-to-Hand Transmission)
This is of two kinds: one that is coupled with an ijāza and one that stands alone. The coupled form is, without qualification, the highest type of ijāza. One instance is when the shaykh hands the student his original audition or a verified copy and says, “This is my audition,” or, “my narration from so-and-so.”