What is the difference between isnad and matn?

The two definitions

Ibn Jama'a (d. 733 AH) gives both:

Translations: ConveyVerse, from the Arabic of the Ramadan edition.

He also records that the two words for the chain are used for the same thing:

Translation: ConveyVerse, from the Arabic of the Ramadan edition.

So a book may use either word, and it means the chain either way.

What it looks like in a real report

Here is one, from the introduction to Sahih Muslim. Muslim himself is speaking:

Translation: ConveyVerse, from the Arabic of the Istanbul edition.

Two things about this example matter as much as the example itself.

It is not a Prophetic hadith. The words are 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak's, an early scholar, not the Prophet ﷺ. A chain ending at an early scholar and a chain ending at the Prophet ﷺ are different objects, and they should not be described as though they were the same.

Where it sits in the book matters. This report is in Muslim's introduction, not in the main body of the collection, and introduction material should not be presented as carrying the same status as the collection proper.

Where a fault can lie

Naming the two parts does not tell you which part a fault will be in. Ibn al-Salah addresses this directly:

Translations: ConveyVerse, from the Arabic of the 'Itr edition. Ibn al-Salah explains the mursal and the mawquf in their own chapters of the same book.

So a damaged chain does not automatically condemn the wording.

Key takeaways

• Isnad = the chain of transmitters. Matn = the wording transmitted. Sanad and isnad are used for the same thing.
• Naming the two parts does not by itself tell you where a fault lies.
• By Ibn al-Salah's statement, a defect falls in the chain more often than in the wording, and a damaged chain can accompany a sound text.
• A chain ending at an early scholar is not a chain ending at the Prophet ﷺ.
• Where a report sits inside a collection affects how it should be described.

Sources

1. Work: Badr al-Din Ibn Jama'a, al-Manhal al-Rawi fi Mukhtasar 'Ulum al-Hadith al-Nabawi. Reference: ed. Muhyi al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman Ramadan, Dar al-Fikr, Damascus, 2nd edn 1406, matn p. 29; isnad and the interchangeability of sanad and isnad p. 30. Wording used: as printed above. Translation: ConveyVerse, from the Arabic of this edition. Grade / grader: not applicable: definitions. Context: both in the book's introduction, in the discussion of the terms. Verify: p. 29 · p. 30, al-Maktaba al-Shamila's reproduction of this edition. Does not settle: whether either part of a given report passes any test.
2. Collection: Muslim b. al-Hajjaj, al-Jami' al-Sahih (Sahih Muslim). Reference: Dar al-Tiba'a al-'Amira, Istanbul, 1334 AH, vol. 1, p. 12, in Muslim's introduction; numbered Introduction 32 (in-book: Introduction, Narration 31). Wording used: the chain and text as printed above. Translation: ConveyVerse, from the Arabic of this edition. Grade / grader: none: the edition gives no grading label. Context: Muslim's introduction, not the main body of the collection. Verify: vol. 1, p. 12, al-Maktaba al-Shamila's reproduction of this edition · sunnah.com (the address ends in 31, the in-book number, while the displayed reference is Introduction 32). Does not settle: anything Prophetic: the statement is 'Abd Allah ibn al-Mubarak's; and introduction material does not carry main-body status.
3. Work: Ibn al-Salah al-Shahrazuri, Ma'rifat Anwa' 'Ulum al-Hadith. Reference: ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Dar al-Fikr, Damascus / Dar al-Fikr al-Mu'asir, Beirut, 1406/1986, p. 91. Wording used: as printed above. Translation: ConveyVerse, from the Arabic of this edition. Grade / grader: not applicable. Context: al-Naw' al-Thamin 'Ashar, on the defective report. Verify: p. 91. Does not settle: how the wording is examined.