Is the hadith of a narrator whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar described as "truthful but prone to error" or "having errors" considered hasan?
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The questioner : Ibn Hajar's (may Allah have mercy on him) statement regarding one described as "truthful but occasionally errs," "truthful with errors," or "truthful" at this level: is his hadith hasan absolutely?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : How?
The Shaykh : If we stop at the statement of al-Hafiz, it means that his hadith is below the level of hasan, but it is not severely weak; rather, it is what is cited as evidence. One described simply as "truthful" is the one whose hadith is hasan. However, if one is described as "truthful but poor in memory," "truthful but occasionally errs," or "truthful with errors," then his hadith falls below the level of hasan, but it is likely to be hasan if it comes through another route, such as this route. I say: if we stop at this statement of al-Hafiz, because al-Hafiz's statement in his book *al-Taqrib*, whether this statement or another, is generally an ijtihad that is correct, but sometimes it misses the mark, because as we always say: a person errs and hits the mark. Therefore, one who stops at al-Hafiz's statement that a certain narrator is "truthful but prone to error" should not grade his hadith as hasan, let alone sahih.
However, sometimes the opinion of researchers differs from Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's statement that a certain narrator is "truthful but prone to error," or that he is, for example, "concealed" or "unknown," or something similar. The opinion may differ; sometimes "truthful but prone to error"—the word "prone to error"—is more likely to be deleted, in which case his hadith would be hasan. And sometimes his statement that a certain narrator is "concealed" may be corrected to say he is "truthful," and so on. The point is that if al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar says of a certain narrator: "truthful but prone to error" and this matches the stronger opinion of the other imams, then his hadith is below the level of hasan, but it accepts strengthening by similar narrations, and his hadith may rise to the level of hasan with similar narrations, and it may rise to the level of sahih hadith if there are many similar narrations in the chains of transmission. This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : How?
The Shaykh : If we stop at the statement of al-Hafiz, it means that his hadith is below the level of hasan, but it is not severely weak; rather, it is what is cited as evidence. One described simply as "truthful" is the one whose hadith is hasan. However, if one is described as "truthful but poor in memory," "truthful but occasionally errs," or "truthful with errors," then his hadith falls below the level of hasan, but it is likely to be hasan if it comes through another route, such as this route. I say: if we stop at this statement of al-Hafiz, because al-Hafiz's statement in his book *al-Taqrib*, whether this statement or another, is generally an ijtihad that is correct, but sometimes it misses the mark, because as we always say: a person errs and hits the mark. Therefore, one who stops at al-Hafiz's statement that a certain narrator is "truthful but prone to error" should not grade his hadith as hasan, let alone sahih.
However, sometimes the opinion of researchers differs from Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani's statement that a certain narrator is "truthful but prone to error," or that he is, for example, "concealed" or "unknown," or something similar. The opinion may differ; sometimes "truthful but prone to error"—the word "prone to error"—is more likely to be deleted, in which case his hadith would be hasan. And sometimes his statement that a certain narrator is "concealed" may be corrected to say he is "truthful," and so on. The point is that if al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar says of a certain narrator: "truthful but prone to error" and this matches the stronger opinion of the other imams, then his hadith is below the level of hasan, but it accepts strengthening by similar narrations, and his hadith may rise to the level of hasan with similar narrations, and it may rise to the level of sahih hadith if there are many similar narrations in the chains of transmission. This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.