Before concluding the present book, a last chapter is dedicated to the three remaining composite isnāds (Isn 2–4) of the Kitāb al-futūḥ. While their study leads well beyond the main chronological unit selected for analysis, as I have argued in Chapter 5, no correct interpretation of Isn 1 was possible without considering the parallel attestations of certain names in the three other collective isnāds. This drove me to prepare the first critical edition of these sections of the work, which are also accompanied in the present chapter by my interpretative English translations. It also became quite clear at an early stage of this work that due to the presence of several corrupted name forms, a proper edition would require identification of the authorities mentioned by the isnāds. The results of the detailed scrutiny of Isn 1 and the recurrence of a few key names in more than one collective isnāds suggest that a closer comparative look at all four chains of transmitters may provide further clues to understand both Isn 1 and the general roles that these elements play in the Kitāb al-futūḥ. As we shall see at the end of this chapter, the conclusions yielded by the following analysis neatly confirm what we have found in the previous chapters of this book, and thus, I consider it appropriate to present the following results in the framework of the present volume.

Due to the main aim and the nature of the present survey, the study of Isn 2–4 does not strive for completeness. Instead, it restricts itself to providing the reader with the critical texts in Arabic, their English translations, a set of explanatory commentaries, the identifications of the quoted authorities, and the graphic representations of the isnāds in different renderings. Finally, I summarise the major insights gained from the study of all four chains.

1 The Kitāb al-futūḥ's Second and Third Collective Isnād

Isn 2 and Isn 3 are quite similar to each other. In fact, the two isnāds might be the same once, given that all their present differences can easily be the results of copyists’ mistakes. Therefore, these two collective isnāds will be dealt with together.