There are eight ways of narrating:
| Method | Ruling |
| 1. Hearing the words of the teacher directly. | Permissible according to all. |
| 2. Reading to the shaykh, either by oneself or others reading. | |
| 3. Ijāzah.[1] | Permissible according to the majority.[2] |
| 4. Munāwalah, where the shaykh hands over his book to the students, either to make him the owner, or temporarily, even if he reclaims it immediately. | Permission to narrate is required according to the majority.[3] |
| 5. Mukātabah, where the shaykh writes some aḥādīth to the student, or sends his book to the student. | Permission to narrate is not required according to the majority. |
| 6. Wijādah, where the student finds writing in which the shaykh’s writing is recognised, such that he can say “I found the writing of so and so”. | This is considered munqaṭi’ where there is no ittiṣāl found, and words such as حدثناand أخبرنا are not allowed to be used. Allowed if permission to narrate is given. |
| 7. Waṣṣiyah, where the shaykh bequests at the time of his death or travel, to a specific person. | Permission to narrate must be found according to the majority. |
| 8. I’lām, where the shaykh is informed by a student “I have permission to narrate the book of so and so”. |
[1] Permission to narrate the ḥadīth
[2] Not permitted according to Abū Ṭāhir al-Dabbās
[3] Ibn Ḥājar and others hold that permission to narrate is not required for munāwalah, similar to mukātabah.
