The ruling on suspended reports when introduced with explicit versus anonymous wording

When al-Bukhārī cites a suspended report with firm, explicit language—such as, “So-and-so said,” or “So-and-so reported”—this, in his estimation, signals that its chain of transmission is firmly established and that the report is unquestionably authentic. By contrast, if he prefaces it with tentative or impersonal expressions like, “It is said,” “It is reported,” or “It was mentioned,” then, in his own judgment, its authenticity is open to discussion. Nevertheless, because he chose to include it in this book, it must rest upon a sound basis; hence the scholars affirm that al-Bukhārī’s suspended reports are effectively connected and reliable.

The mursal report

If the omission occurs at the end of the chain—after a Successor (tābiʿī)—the ḥadīth is called mursal, and the act is termed irsāl, as when a Successor says, “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said….” At times the words mursal and munqaṭiʿ (interrupted) are used interchangeably, yet the former nomenclature is the more familiar.

The ruling on the mursal

According to the great majority of scholars, the stance toward a mursal report is one of suspension, because it is not known whe—