“My teachers revealed to me how traditional Islamic scholarship rests upon unbroken chains of transmission called Isnad (Literally, “to lean back on for support”—an unbroken transmission of religious authority similar to the Rabbinic concept of Semikhah) that link each student back in time through the generations to Muhammad himself. To bring my own Isnad to life, my teachers would occasionally gift me books written by ancestors in my chain, like Imam Ad-Dani who lived in eleventh-century Spain.” Prophet Muhammad PbuhProphet Muhammad ﷺChains Of TransmissionIsnad Book:The Life of the Qur'an: From Eternal Roots to Enduring Legacy Source: The Life of the Qur'an: From Eternal Roots to Enduring Legacy