so plainly that it could not be missed. From the word ḥaddathanā they would retain only the letters thāʾ, nūn, and alif, sometimes dropping the thāʾ altogether. From akhbaranā they would write anā; it is poor form to add a bāʾ before the nūn, even though al-Bayhaqī once did so. Some scribes also add a rāʾ after the final alif and a dāl at the beginning of the abbreviation for ḥaddathanā. I have seen that dāl in the handwriting of al-Ḥākim, Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī, and al-Bayhaqī. Allah knows best.

When a report carries two or more isnāds, the copyists place—at the point of moving from one chain to the next—the letter ḥāʾ, yet none of the earlier authorities explained its purpose. A group of ḥuffāẓ replaced it with the word ṣaḥḥ, which suggests that it may in fact stand for ṣaḥḥ. Others say it is taken from taḥwīl (shifting), while still others hold that it merely serves as a divider between the two isnāds and therefore nothing is to be pronounced over it. Another view is that it abbreviates our phrase “al-ḥadīth.” Throughout the Maghrib they always recite, upon reaching it, “al-ḥadīth,” whereas the preferred pronunciation is “ḥā wa yamurr.” Allah knows best.

Ninth
After the basmala one should write the shaykh’s personal name, lineage, and kunyah, and then set down the material that was heard. Above the basmala he should list the names of the listeners and the date of the audition, or else place that information in the margin of the first folio, at the end of the book, or wherever it will not be overlooked. The notation must be in the hand of a trustworthy person whose script is recognisable, and in that case the shaykh’s own authentication is not required. It is likewise permissible for a reliable student to record his own audition, as many trustworthy scholars have done.

The clerk responsible for documenting the session must be meticulous: he must identify, in clear and concise language, the listener, the reader, and the text that was read, avoiding ambiguity, shunning laxity in confirming attendance, and taking care not to omit anyone for some improper motive. If he was not himself present, he may rely on the testimony of a trustworthy attendee.

Once a person’s audition has been entered in his book, it is reprehensible for him to conceal it or to prevent others from citing his hearing or copying the book. Should he lend the manuscript, he must not delay its return; and if he refuses to lend it, then—provided his own audition was recorded with the owner’s consent—he is obliged to lend it, otherwise he is not. This was the ruling given by the leading jurists of their respective schools in their times: Qāḍī Ḥafṣ ibn Ghiyāth the Ḥanafī, Ismāʿīl al-Qāḍī the Mālikī, and Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Zubayrī the Shāfiʿī; the two judges even issued formal judgments to that effect. Some have dissented, but the correct view is the first.