its transmitters or because its subject-matter is unacceptable. Thus Ibn Ḥajar says that among the reasons for which a Ḥadīth may be rejected is its subject-matter. For example if a report contradicts a verse of the Holy Qur’ān or a recognized ḥadīth or the unanimous verdict of the Muslim community or common-sense, it is not accepted.

As regards defects in transmission, a ḥadīth is said to be marfū‘ when it is traced back to the Holy Prophet without any defect in transmission, muttaṣal when its isnād is uninterrupted, mauqūf when it does not go back to the Holy Prophet, mu‘an‘an when it is linked by a word which does not show personal contact between two narrators, and mu‘allaq when the name of one or more transmitters is missing (being munqaṭa‘ if the name is missing from the middle, and mursal if it is from the end).