ṣād, ṭāʾ, and ʿayn, adding above them the dot found on their dotted counterparts. Others said the mark should be placed above them, shaped like a fingernail clipping laid on its back; still others held that it should be set beneath them as a small letter of the same shape. In some early manuscripts a short stroke is written above, while in others a hamzah is placed beneath. One ought not to invent private symbols that other people do not understand; if he does, he must explain their meaning at the beginning or end of the book.
He should likewise be meticulous in recording and distinguishing the variant transmissions. Let him base his copy on a single narration; then, whatever addition appears in another narration he should insert in the margin, whatever omission he should flag, and whatever discrepancy he should note—always citing in full, not by cryptic initials, the name of the transmitter concerned, unless he has already clarified his symbols at the beginning or end of the work. Many scholars found it sufficient to mark the variants with red ink: additions are entered in red, omissions are circled in red, and the name of the authority is indicated at the beginning or end of the manuscript.
Third:
He should place a circle between every two ḥadīths; this practice is reported from several of the early scholars. Al-Khaṭīb preferred that the circle be left blank, and that, once the copy is collated, a dot be placed in its center. It is disliked, in names such as ʿAbd Allāh or ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn So-and-So, to write the word ʿAbd at the end of a line and the divine Name together with “ibn So-and-So” at the beginning of the next; similarly, it is disliked to end a line with the word Rasūl and to begin the next with Allāh—peace and blessings be upon him—or anything comparable.
He must diligently write the full formula of blessing and peace upon the Messenger of Allāh, peace and blessings be upon him, and never tire of repeating it; whoever neglects it is deprived of great benefit. He is not bound by the exemplar if it is deficient in this respect. The same applies to phrases of praise for Allāh—such as “Mighty and Majestic,” “Glorified and Exalted,” and the like—and likewise to prayers for the Companions, the scholars, and all the righteous. If the narration itself includes any of these, even greater care is required. It is objectionable to abbreviate the blessing or the greeting or to indicate them merely by symbols; they should always be written out in full.
Fourth:
He must collate his copy with his teacher’s master copy, even when it has been received by written authorization (ijāzah), and the best arrangement for the two of them is that