Riwāyat al-akābir ʿan al-aṣāghir (elders narrating from juniors): when the narrator is older, of an earlier generation, of greater standing than the one narrated from, or greater in both respects, this is riwāyat al-akābir ʿan al-aṣāghir.1
It includes: fathers narrating from sons, Companions narrating from their tābiʿūn, and a teacher narrating from his pupil.2
When the narrators' names are the same but their fathers' names differ, or vice versa, this is al-mutashābih; from it and the preceding categories various sub-types are formed.
When narrators share the same name and the same father's name (and possibly further up the line), but are different persons, this is al-muttafiq wa-l-muftariq.
When the disagreement is the addition of a narrator within the chain, and the one who did not include the addition is more proficient, the report is al-mazīd fī muttaṣil al-asānīd.
When narrators' names are identical in writing but differ in pronunciation, this is al-muʾtalif wa-l-mukhtalif.
