If a narrator relates a report from a person with whom two people hold the same name, without clarifying which one of the two he is reporting from, then this is termed muhmal.[1]
If the narrator only narrates from one of the two, or he only narrates from one of the two of whom which only one narrates from the teacher,[2] then the muhmal is clarified. If the muhmal is not clarified then if both are thiqah, there is no harm. However, if one of them is not thiqah there is harm.
[1] Muhmal is a form of majhūl, however in the terminology of muḥaddithīn they use the term muhmal. Literally; neglected, overlooked, abandoned. For example, if Imām Bukhāri narrates from Aḥmad or Muḥammad, without clarification, as Imām Bukhāri narrates from many teachers called Aḥmad and Muḥammad.
[2] I.e. one of the two narrators does not narrate from the teacher, so we can dismiss him. For example If there are two Yunus’s and one narrates from Shaykh Zakariyya, then we know it is Shaykh Yūnus Jonpūrī and not Shaykh Yūnus Pālanpūrī narrating from Shaykh Zakariyya. As Shaykh Yūnus Pālanpūrī does not relate aḥādīth directly from Shaykh Zakariyya.
