The editor’s note that he collated nine copies and did not find this phrase established from the Shaykh of Islam, which is

Question:
I say, Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, or rather, I object to one of the editors of the book *Al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyyah* regarding a phrase of the Shaykh. Even if this phrase, when it comes from some scholars, may carry a correct meaning, he commented on it, saying that it is not from the words of the Shaykh of Islam, for several reasons: that he collated nine copies and did not find it except in only one copy; that the student of the Shaykh of Islam, Ibn 'Abd al-Hadi, quoted a portion of the Shaykh of Islam’s words in *Al-Fatwa al-Hamawiyyah* in his book *Al-'Uqud*, and did not mention this phrase; and that this phrase is invalid. Is this statement correct?

Answer:
The matter of the phrase is simple; you do not need to [do anything]. But if this researcher looked at many copies and did not find it in them, his statement is not correct. This phrase, whether it is mentioned or not, does no harm. I say, whether it is mentioned or not, it does no harm. But if he looked at many manuscript copies and it is not in them, then that is correct: that this phrase is doubtful. As for saying that its meaning is invalid, no, its meaning is not invalid.