We request clarification of al-Hakim's meaning when he says: "Authentic according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs or one of them," given that among al-Hakim's shaykhs in the chain of narration are those from a later generation whom al-Bukhari did not narrate from, nor did he meet them.
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The questioner : What al-Hakim did in his book *Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn* has been difficult for us to understand. Al-Hakim says in *Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn*: "Authentic according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs or according to the conditions of one of them". He lists the hadiths with their chains of narration up to al-Bukhari's shaykh, and then from al-Bukhari's shaykh to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). How can this be according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs? What is the point of difficulty here?
The Shaykh : We have spoken about this extensively in our books. He means according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs: from al-Bukhari's shaykh and above, and it does not mean from below al-Bukhari's shaykh. For example,
Among the shaykhs of Imam al-Bukhari is Ahmad ibn Hanbal. So when a hadith is in *Al-Musnad* and Imam Ahmad says in it: "So-and-so narrated to me," and the entire chain is according to the conditions of al-Bukhari, and Ahmad is one of al-Bukhari's shaykhs, the hadith scholars usually do not look at the narrator of Imam Ahmad's book because its authenticity from him is accepted. So they say: "Its chain of narration is authentic according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs," meaning starting from Ahmad and above, and not meaning descending from below Imam Ahmad. Similarly, when al-Hakim narrates from Ahmad, for example, from Imam Ahmad with his authentic chain of narration, he says: "This is an authentic chain of narration according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs," meaning starting from Ahmad and above. But here, the student of knowledge should scrutinize carefully whether al-Hakim's shaykh and his shaykh's shaykh, and there may be a third when it reaches al-Bukhari's shaykh or Muslim's shaykh or both of their shaykhs together, is this chain of narration authentic or not?
If it is authentic, it is said that its chain of narration is according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs or one of them, meaning by that from al-Bukhari's shaykh and Muslim's shaykh, not what is below that.
And I personally have found many hadiths that al-Hakim authenticates according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs, where the one below the shaykh, and it may be al-Hakim's own shaykh, is spoken about critically. In this case, it is not permissible to authenticate the chain of narration absolutely, let alone to authenticate it according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs.
And glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You.
The Shaykh : We have spoken about this extensively in our books. He means according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs: from al-Bukhari's shaykh and above, and it does not mean from below al-Bukhari's shaykh. For example,
Among the shaykhs of Imam al-Bukhari is Ahmad ibn Hanbal. So when a hadith is in *Al-Musnad* and Imam Ahmad says in it: "So-and-so narrated to me," and the entire chain is according to the conditions of al-Bukhari, and Ahmad is one of al-Bukhari's shaykhs, the hadith scholars usually do not look at the narrator of Imam Ahmad's book because its authenticity from him is accepted. So they say: "Its chain of narration is authentic according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs," meaning starting from Ahmad and above, and not meaning descending from below Imam Ahmad. Similarly, when al-Hakim narrates from Ahmad, for example, from Imam Ahmad with his authentic chain of narration, he says: "This is an authentic chain of narration according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs," meaning starting from Ahmad and above. But here, the student of knowledge should scrutinize carefully whether al-Hakim's shaykh and his shaykh's shaykh, and there may be a third when it reaches al-Bukhari's shaykh or Muslim's shaykh or both of their shaykhs together, is this chain of narration authentic or not?
If it is authentic, it is said that its chain of narration is according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs or one of them, meaning by that from al-Bukhari's shaykh and Muslim's shaykh, not what is below that.
And I personally have found many hadiths that al-Hakim authenticates according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs, where the one below the shaykh, and it may be al-Hakim's own shaykh, is spoken about critically. In this case, it is not permissible to authenticate the chain of narration absolutely, let alone to authenticate it according to the conditions of the two Shaykhs.
And glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You.