If Shaykh al-Islam, for example, says of a certain hadith: "Al-Tirmidhi graded it hasan, but there is a problem in its chain," does he mean that it is weak?
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The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. If Shaykh al-Islam, for example, says of a certain hadith: "Al-Tirmidhi graded it hasan, but there is a problem in its chain," does he mean that it is weak?
The Shaykh : Yes, that is the intended meaning without a doubt, and that is for two reasons:
The first reason is that al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) is known for his leniency and tolerance in what he attributes to many of the hadiths in his book, either authenticating them or weakening them.
The second thing is that when a scholar says of a certain chain, a certain hadith, or a certain narrator: "there is a problem in it," there is no doubt that this phrase indicates weakness in the thing about which it is said: "there is a problem in it." In fact, it is well known among those who engage in the science of hadith that al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) had a stricter convention in using this word for criticism: "So-and-so has a problem in him", where they placed those about whom al-Bukhari said "there is a problem in him" in the most severe degrees of weakness, not meaning only that he is weak. Therefore, if Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says of a chain that al-Tirmidhi graded as hasan: "there is a problem in it," he is referring to the principle we mentioned earlier: that al-Tirmidhi is generally lenient, and that this leniency of his in this specific chain has also been realized. A student of knowledge should not rely on this grading as hasan because it came from a lenient scholar, and he must review the chain to verify what Ibn Taymiyyah drew attention to.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good. If Shaykh al-Islam, for example, says of a certain hadith: "Al-Tirmidhi graded it hasan, but there is a problem in its chain," does he mean that it is weak?
The Shaykh : Yes, that is the intended meaning without a doubt, and that is for two reasons:
The first reason is that al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) is known for his leniency and tolerance in what he attributes to many of the hadiths in his book, either authenticating them or weakening them.
The second thing is that when a scholar says of a certain chain, a certain hadith, or a certain narrator: "there is a problem in it," there is no doubt that this phrase indicates weakness in the thing about which it is said: "there is a problem in it." In fact, it is well known among those who engage in the science of hadith that al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) had a stricter convention in using this word for criticism: "So-and-so has a problem in him", where they placed those about whom al-Bukhari said "there is a problem in him" in the most severe degrees of weakness, not meaning only that he is weak. Therefore, if Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) says of a chain that al-Tirmidhi graded as hasan: "there is a problem in it," he is referring to the principle we mentioned earlier: that al-Tirmidhi is generally lenient, and that this leniency of his in this specific chain has also been realized. A student of knowledge should not rely on this grading as hasan because it came from a lenient scholar, and he must review the chain to verify what Ibn Taymiyyah drew attention to.