Is the judgment of al-Hafiz in al-Taqrib relied upon in al-jarh wa al-ta'dil, or is it necessary to refer to other books?

The questioner : May Allah reward you. Regarding the judgment of al-Hafiz.

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : Is the judgment of al-Hafiz ibn Hajar in "al-Taqrib" suitable to be relied upon in al-jarh wa al-ta'dil, or is it necessary to refer to other books? And is the hadith of one whom al-Hafiz described as "trustworthy but with errors" or "trustworthy but makes mistakes" considered hasan or not? And what is the meaning of his statement: "the hadith is weak" or ... that?

The Shaykh : The matter differs regarding al-Hafiz ibn Hajar's biographies of narrators in his book "al-Taqrib" between beginner students of knowledge and established researchers. As for students of knowledge, in my opinion, it is obligatory for them to rely on al-Hafiz ibn Hajar's authentication or criticism of narrators in the aforementioned book, because he is a scholar in this field whose like is rare. As for one who is knowledgeable about the methods of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil and capable of reconciling the differing statements of the early scholars—statements that differ regarding the same narrator—and who can apply the science of hadith terminology in this, he often finds himself compelled not to rely on al-Hafiz ibn Hajar's judgment on some narrators in the aforementioned book "al-Taqrib." For example, we want him to say of some narrators that they are "acceptable," but when we refer to some sources, and sometimes these sources are not the original source that al-Hafiz ibn Hajar himself relied upon, which is his book "Tahdhib al-Tahdhib," we find there authentication by some of the imams that is not mentioned in al-Hafiz's primary reference, which is al-Tahdhib. In this case, we do not act on his statement that the aforementioned narrator is "acceptable." Perhaps you know that his statement "acceptable" means that he is not acceptable; I think you know this terminology. In that case, in this situation, we rely on the authentication we have come across that al-Hafiz himself did not mention in al-Tahdhib, and thus his judgment on the narrator ends with him being "acceptable." Likewise, we say this about some of those he judged as unknown. Conversely, sometimes we find that he authenticates some narrators, but when we refer to al-Tahdhib, we find that those who criticized them have a clear argument, and that the criticism in this case takes precedence over the authentication and improvement of al-Hafiz ibn Hajar. In summary, al-Hafiz ibn Hajar's judgments in this book, in terms of hadith terminology, are exactly like the legal rulings issued by the imams. For those who are not scholars, it is necessary for students of knowledge to follow them until it becomes clear to them that they contradict the evidence. As for one who is at the level of independent researchers, he must exert his own ijtihad and not follow others who are at his level or higher in knowledge. This is also the case in the science of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil, whether the research is about al-Taqrib or about "al-Kashif" by al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi or "al-Du'afa wa al-Matrukin" by him, and so on. The important thing is that these books open the path of research and verification for students of knowledge, and they must rely on them until they are prepared to conduct their own research and verification.