Shaykh al-Islām—may Allah have mercy on him—said:

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As for the number of mass-transmitted hadiths in the two Sahīh collections, the term “mass-transmitted” is used in several senses. What is intended by mass transmission is that which yields certainty. Some, however, apply this term only to reports transmitted by so many narrators that certainty results from their number alone. They say that any number sufficient to yield certainty in one matter must likewise yield certainty in every matter. This is a weak view.

The correct view, held by the majority, is that certainty sometimes results from the large number of transmitters. It may also result from their qualities—their religious integrity and accuracy—or from corroborating circumstances surrounding the report, with these factors together yielding certainty. Certainty may also be attained by one group but not another.

Furthermore, a report that the leading scholars have accepted, either by affirming its truth or by acting upon its implications, yields certainty according to the overwhelming majority of earlier and later scholars. This falls within the meaning of mass transmission. Some, however, call it mashhūr (well-known) and mustafīd (widely circulated), and divide reports into mass-transmitted