Definition: When a narrator conveys the content of a Prophetic hadith in his own words rather than the Prophet's exact wording, provided he understands the meaning and masters the language.
Scholarly disagreement:
- Those who prohibit it: Ibn Sirin and others — every word is intentional; they cite the hadith: "May Allah brighten the man who hears my words and conveys them as he heard them."
- Those who permit it with conditions: The majority — allow narration by meaning for scholars fluent in Arabic who ensure no alteration of meaning.
Conditions for permissibility:
- Narrator must know the meanings of the words and their implications.
- The wording must not relate to acts of worship requiring exact text (like dhikr or supplications).
- Narrator must indicate he is narrating by meaning, e.g., "or words to that effect."
Effect on the Quran: Narration by meaning applies only to hadith —
the Quran may never be narrated by its meaning, as it is the word of Allah in both letter and meaning.
Question: What is narration by meaning? Is it permitted for the Quran? What are its conditions in hadith?
Answer: Conveying hadith in the narrator's own words. Never permitted for the Quran. Conditions in hadith: language competence, not in acts of worship, and noting "or words to that effect."