The Thirty-Seventh Category
Identifying Additions within Connected Chains of Transmission

An example is what Ibn al-Mubarak narrated: “Sufyan related to us, from ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn Yazid—he told me: Bishr ibn ʿUbayd Allah said: I heard Abu Idris say: I heard Wathila say: I heard Abu Marthad say: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, lā tajlisū ʿalā al-qubūr (Do not sit on graves).”

The mention of Sufyan and of Abu Idris is an unwarranted addition and a mistake. The error concerning Sufyan comes from someone below Ibn al-Mubarak, for reliable transmitters narrated the report from Ibn al-Mubarak on the authority of Ibn Yazid, and some of them even made the wording “he informed us” explicit. As for Abu Idris, the slip originates with Ibn al-Mubarak himself, for trustworthy narrators reported it from Ibn Yazid without mentioning Abu Idris, and some of them clearly stated that Bishr had heard it directly from Wathila.

Al-Khatib composed a separate book on this subject, but much of it requires reassessment. When the version that omits the two added names is linked only by the preposition ʿan, it should be deemed munqatiʿ (disconnected). Even if “I heard” or “he informed us” is explicitly stated, it remains possible that the narrator first heard it from a man reporting on another’s authority and later heard it from that very narrator himself—unless some contextual indicator proves the addition to be erroneous. One might say that the usual practice of someone in such a position would be to mention both sessions of hearing; if he omits them, the default is to regard the extra name as an addition. Allah knows best.

The Thirty-Eighth Category
Reports Whose Disconnection Is Hidden

This is an important discipline of great benefit. It is mastered only through extensive study of narrations, collating their various chains, and possessing thorough expertise. Al-Khatib also authored a work on this topic.