The status of the sanad; ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb ‘an abihi ‘an jaddihi

‘Amr bin Shu’ayb’s full name was ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb ibn Muhammad ibn ‘Abdillah ibn ‘Amr ibnul ‘Aas (rahimahumullah).

The Muhaddithun have mentioned that there are two possible ways to understand the chain in question; both possibilities stem from the one being referred to and designated as the grandfather. It can either be referring to Muhammad, ‘Amr’s grandfather (rahimahullah), or ‘Abdullah bin ‘Amr, Shu’ayb’s grandfather (radiyallahu ‘anhu). Majority of the Muhaddithun have given preference to the latter as he was living during the era of Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) contrary to Muhammad who was a Tabi’i. Accordingly, any Hadith reported through this chain to Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alayhi wasallam) would be considered Muttasil (and complete without any omissions in the chain).

A further difference of opinion, however, existed as to whether or not Shu’ayb (rahimahullah) heard Hadiths directly from his grandfather or merely reported them from a book containing his grandfather’s Hadiths. Majority of the Muhaddithun have opined that he did in fact acquire Hadiths directly from his grandfather. That being said, majority of the Hadiths he quoted were still via his grandfather’s book (i.e through wijadah and ijazah, not through hearing it directly – sama’).

Nonetheless, majority of the Muhaddithun such as Imams: Malik, ‘Ali ibnul Madini, Ahmad, and others (rahimahumullah) have ultimately relied on this sanad and have considered Hadiths containing it to be sound (hasan) if not authentic (sahih).

(References for all of the above: Al-Kashif, no. 4173 along with Shaykh Muhammad ‘Awwamah’s footnotes, Tahdhibut Tahdhib, vol. 8 pgs. 48-55, and Tadribur Rawi vol. 5 pgs. 300-307)

Note: The above is merely an answer to the question provided. One who is unqualified, should not seek to apply this and/or draw conclusions on related issues independently.

And Allah Ta’ala knows best.

Approved by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar