Ishma in Arabic means, "the acceptance of the community", used particularly in validating Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 hadith

Hadith

The term Hadīth is used to denote a saying or an act or tacit approval or criticism ascribed either validly or invalidly to the Islamic prophet Muhammad....

. Ishma is regional; what is considered accepted by the community varies across communities. It is determined by community leaders. For instance, the authority of Bukhari and Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

, the two most respected transmitters of hadith, is reinforced by Ishma.

Related terms

• Al-rijal The personal qualities of the transmitter. Literally, "the men".
• Marifat al-rijal The process of wounding (jar h) or validating a transmitter's reputation. Literally, "to know the man/the transmitter". This process is more subjective than the science of isnad criticism.