The Three Levels
Marfu’ (raised): The chain reaches the Prophet — the highest authority in hadith.
Mawquf (suspended): The chain stops at a Companion — “Ibn Mas’ud said…” or “Umar did this…”
Maqtu’ (cut): The chain stops at a Tabi’i (the generation after the Companions).
Legal Authority of the Mawquf
The mawquf carries significant legal authority because the Companions were eyewitnesses to the Prophet’s practice, recipients of revelation’s context, and the first generation to apply Islam in governance. Their statements represent:
- In some cases, a transmission of prophetic practice they witnessed but did not explicitly attribute to the Prophet
- Their own interpretation and ijtihad of prophetic texts
The Hanafi school gives particularly strong weight to the statements of the major Companions (the khulafa’ and senior Companions) — sometimes preferring them over weak marfu’ hadith. The famous principle: “A fatwa of a Companion is better than a hadith from a lesser chain.”
Companion Opinion as Source
A mawquf on a matter where Companions are unlikely to have had independent opinions (matters of ghayb, ritual specifications, future events) is treated as effectively marfu’ — the scholars assume the Companion must have received it from the Prophet. This category is called mawquf hukmuhu al-raf’ (suspended in form but raised in ruling).
Example: If a Companion says “the Day of Judgment will be described by…” this is treated as equivalent to the Prophet saying it, because the Companion had no other source for such information.
See also: Ilm Al Usul, Quran Compilation History, Seerah Abdallah Ibn Masud, Seerah Imran Ibn Husayn, Seerah Miqdam Ibn Madikarib