Clarification of the ruling on the issue of acting upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions, and that this is permissible in specific cases, and among those hadiths is:

The Shaykh : This is a very delicate and sensitive point that those who claim the permissibility of acting upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions overlook. In reality, if by this phrase—“it is permissible to act upon a weak hadith in the virtues of actions”—they mean that it is permissible to establish the Shari'ah legitimacy of an act and the virtue of that act through a weak hadith, then no scholar would say this, because it amounts to legislating through a weak hadith. The scholars are in agreement on this, except for a few outliers among some of the later scholars, such as some of the Ghumariyyah and their like, who claimed that it is permissible to establish Shari'ah rulings through weak hadiths. They also claimed that the Imams—this is a lie and a fabrication against them—established rulings through weak hadiths. This person either overlooked it or feigned ignorance—Allah knows his intention—because some of the Imams may establish rulings without any hadith at all, relying instead on analogical reasoning (qiyas). Whether that qiyas is correct or not is a separate matter. Therefore, it is not permissible for us to say that they establish Shari'ah rulings through weak hadiths. If those who say it is permissible to act upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions mean that it is permissible to legislate acts that have a Shari'ah virtue through a weak hadith, then they are not knowledgeable about what they are saying. However, if they mean that it is permissible to act upon a weak hadith regarding virtues of actions whose Shari'ah legitimacy has already been established by evidence that is acceptable for argumentation in the Shari'ah, and then a weak hadith comes along to establish a virtue for that which was established by an authentic hadith, then there is no harm in that. Here is an example that came to mind: , . So, when he met them, he greeted them and then shook their hands. There is no harm in shaking hands as a completion of the greeting. But we do not establish this through the weak hadith; rather, we establish it from the collection of hadiths regarding the obligation of giving the greeting. I mean what I am saying: the obligation of giving the greeting, not the recommended practice (sunnah) of giving the greeting, because the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . Therefore, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) must have greeted his Companions when he met them. Then, this hadith we mentioned: . So, it is established from the combination of these two hadiths at least that handshaking is part of the prescribed completion of the greeting. If a hadith like this comes and we mention it while clarifying its weakness, there is no harm in that. It is a valid example of the permissibility of acting upon a weak hadith in the virtues of actions that were established not by the weak hadith, but by an authentic hadith. This is what comes to mind as an answer to the previous question.