Itibar
A single isnad is a witness. The critic lays a second road beside it — same companion (mutabi) or another companion with the same meaning (shahid). Shared names are the trunk. Names that appear on only one side are the test.
طَلَبُ الْعِلْمِ فَرِيضَةٌ عَلَى كُلِّ مُسْلِمٍ
Isolation — no equal second road
The isnad Ibn Majah wrote.
رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ
أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِك
Anas ibn Malikthis road only
مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِيرِين
Muhammad ibn Sirinthis road only
كَثِيرُ بْنُ شِنْظِير
Kathir ibn Shinzhirthis road only
حَفْصُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَان
Hafs ibn Sulaymanthis road only
هِشَامُ بْنُ عَمَّار
Hisham ibn Ammarthis road only
مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ ابْنُ مَاجَه
Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn Majahthis road only
No equal road of this wording.
No second first-rank road of this exact wording sits in the books Nur loads. Meaning can still be supported elsewhere. This printed isnad is not.
Names on both roads0
Lay the printed chain down and ask for a first-rank mutabi of this wording. The later critics named on this number (Albani, Arnaut, Abd al-Baqi) leave it very daif. Comparison here does not lift the file. The first clause is often quoted as hasan from other light routes — that is a different claim than “this isnad is sound.”