Next, as for the isnād, it may terminate with the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—explicitly or implicitly (1), by attributing to him a statement (2), an action, or a tacit approval. Or it may stop with a Companion in the same manner. A Companion is one who met the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him— (3) while believing in him and died upon Islam—even if apostasy intervened in the meantime, according to the sounder opinion (4)(5). Alternatively, the chain may end with a Successor, who is someone that met a Companion under the same conditions.
The first category (6) is called marfūʿ (7, “traced back to the Prophet”); the second, mawqūf (8, “halting at the Companion”); and the third, maqtūʿ. Anyone (9) whose chain terminates with someone below a Successor (10) is classified in the same way. The last two categories are also referred to as athar (11).
(1) MS H reads “kinaya” (allusive wording). The author notes in Nuzhat al-Nazar: “This is an example of a statement regarded as marfu (attributed to the Prophet) by judgment rather than by explicit wording.”
(2) The blessing formula “salla Allahu alayhi wa-sallam” appears in MSS A and Z, while the words “min qawlihi” are omitted in MS H.
(3) The phrase “the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa-sallam,” is absent from MS Z.
(4) MSS W and H read “ala.”
(5) The phrase “fi al-asahh” (according to the sounder view) is missing in MS H.
(6) MS B adds “wa-al-awwal,” and MS Z omits “fa-al-awwal.”
(7) MS H has “marfu.”
(8) MS H has “mawquf.”
(9) In MS H the preposition “min” is vocalized with a kasra on the mim; this is an error.
(10) MS J reads “the Companion.” The author states in Nuzhat al-Nazar: “and whoever is below the tabiʿi—that is, from the followers of the tabiʿin and those after them.”
(11) The clause “and the last two are called athar” is omitted from MS Z.