• Two types of chains with respect to proximity to the Prophet:

1. Elevated chains (al-isnād al-ʻālī): fewest links to the Prophet, vertical transmission only
2. Descended chains (al-isnād al-nāzil): multiple links, often with horizontal transmission (between individuals in the same level or generation ṭabaqah)

• Best chains of Abū Hurayrah:
  • Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī → Saʻīd b. al-Musayyib → Abū Hurayrah [considered the best isnād of Abū Hurayra]
  • Abūʼl-Zanād → al-Aʻraj→ Abū Hurayrah
  • Yaḥyā b. Abī Kathīr → Abū Salama → Abū Hurayrah
• Best chain of Abū Bakr: Ismaʻīl b. Abī Khālid → Qays b. Abī Ḥāzim → Abū Bakr
• Best isnād of ʻUmar: al-Zuhrī → Sālim → his father Ibn ʻUmar → his father ʻUmar
• Best chain of ‘Ali: al-Zuhri → ‘Ali b. al-Husayn → al-Husayn → Ali

• Best isnād of ʻĀʼisha: ʻUbaydullah b. ʻUmar → al-Qāsim b. Muḥammad b. Abū Bakr → his aunt ʻĀʼisha
• The Golden Chain: Imām Aḥmad → Imām al-Shāfiʻī → Imām Mālik
• Other strong chains:
  • Muḥammad b. Sīrīn → ʻUbaydah b. ʻAmr → ʻAlī b. Abī Ṭālib
  • Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʻī → ʻAlqamah b. Qays → Ibn Masʻūd
  • Imām Mālik → Nāfiʻ → Ibn ʻUmar

compiled from . . .

• Mohammad Hashim Kamali, A Textbook of Ḥadīth Studies. The Islamic Foundation, United Kingdom. 2005.

• Muhammad Mustafa Azami, Studies in Hadith Methodology and Literature. American Trust Publications, Indiana. 1992.