Muslim, for his part, censured both camps with the severest criticism and pursued the matter at length.

The anʿana of a mudallis (a narrator who conceals his immediate source) is therefore not admissible.

The Musnad
Every marfūʿ report whose chain is uninterrupted is classed as a musnad; this is the well-known and widely accepted definition. Some scholars, however, call every uninterrupted report a musnad, even when it is mawqūf (ending with a Companion) or maqtūʿ (ending with a Successor). Others, by contrast, label every marfūʿ report a musnad even if its chain is mursal (missing the Companion), muʿḍal (missing two or more consecutive narrators), or munqaṭiʿ (broken at any point).