The ruling on spreading weak hadiths via mobile phones
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
And may Allah bless you, Honorable Shaykh. This person asks and says: Spreading weak hadiths happens a lot in our time, via mobile phones, via mobile phone messages. If one spreads them, does he get reward? We hear this after every Friday prayer. What is your view on that?
Answer:
One should not take what is spread on mobile phones; because sorcerers, liars, and misguiders hide behind them, and one does not know. If a hadith is mentioned on a mobile phone, its source from which it was transmitted from the books of hadith must be mentioned. This is necessary so that one knows its grade from the source itself. Unless the source of the hadith and the grade of the hadith are mentioned, it is not to be heeded. The second thing: a weak hadith, if it has supporting chains that reinforce it, it is acted upon. It may become authentic through other chains or good through other chains. But if it has no corroborating narrations, it is acted upon only in encouraging good and warning against evil. It is not used to establish legal rulings of prohibition or obligation. It is acted upon only in encouraging good and warning against evil, as the scholars mentioned. And one does not assert that it is a hadith. It is not said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said," but rather, "It is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)" or "It is reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) such and such." And on the condition that its weakness is not extreme, or that it is known to be a lie. It is not permissible to act upon a fabricated hadith, nor a weak hadith whose weakness is severe and close to being fabricated. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
And may Allah bless you, Honorable Shaykh. This person asks and says: Spreading weak hadiths happens a lot in our time, via mobile phones, via mobile phone messages. If one spreads them, does he get reward? We hear this after every Friday prayer. What is your view on that?
Answer:
One should not take what is spread on mobile phones; because sorcerers, liars, and misguiders hide behind them, and one does not know. If a hadith is mentioned on a mobile phone, its source from which it was transmitted from the books of hadith must be mentioned. This is necessary so that one knows its grade from the source itself. Unless the source of the hadith and the grade of the hadith are mentioned, it is not to be heeded. The second thing: a weak hadith, if it has supporting chains that reinforce it, it is acted upon. It may become authentic through other chains or good through other chains. But if it has no corroborating narrations, it is acted upon only in encouraging good and warning against evil. It is not used to establish legal rulings of prohibition or obligation. It is acted upon only in encouraging good and warning against evil, as the scholars mentioned. And one does not assert that it is a hadith. It is not said, "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said," but rather, "It is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)" or "It is reported from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) such and such." And on the condition that its weakness is not extreme, or that it is known to be a lie. It is not permissible to act upon a fabricated hadith, nor a weak hadith whose weakness is severe and close to being fabricated. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you.
Source
نور على الدرب - الفوزان - 03/022 — archive.org (2:09)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.