We face a problem while reading the books of some scholars, such as Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him), where he quotes a statement that is interwoven with the statement preceding it.
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The questioner : Well, you face, may Allah reward you, problems while reading the books of some scholars, such as Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him), regarding the discussion of some hadiths. This problem is as follows: Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says, for example, about a person, "So-and-so said," or he quotes the statement of so-and-so, saying, "She said," and then Ibn Hajar says, "And so-and-so did not hear from so-and-so." This phrase, "And so-and-so did not hear from so-and-so," is interwoven with the statement preceding it, which he quoted from one of the scholars. So how does the reader distinguish whether this is Ibn Hajar’s own word and personal commentary, or whether it follows the word of the person from whom he quoted? Let me give a real example here.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes, in *Al-Isabah*, in the biography of al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr ibn Turayf ibn al-'As ibn Tha'labah, Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "I say: Al-Baghawi has narrated from the route of Isma'il ibn 'Iyadh: 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Sulayman narrated to me from al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr al-Dusi, who said: 'My father taught me the Qur'an from Ibn 'Abbas, so I gifted him a bow.' The hadith is strange (gharib). And 'Abd al-Rahman is called Ibn Zaytun, and he did not hear from al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr. And al-Tabari narrated from the route of al-Kalbi." So is the phrase "and he did not hear from al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr" included in the statement "The hadith is strange (gharib), and 'Abd al-Rahman is called Ibn Zaytun, and he did not hear from al-Tufayl," or is "and 'Abd al-Rahman is called Ibn Zaytun, and he did not hear from al-Tufayl" from the words of Ibn Hajar?
The Shaykh : No, this is the statement of al-Baghawi.
The questioner : Well, so what is it, I mean, how do we distinguish? Is there a specific rule, or is it by experience?
The Shaykh : It depends on the context. If, for example, we have an explicit phrase like "He said: The hadith is strange (gharib), I say," or "He said: The hadith is strange (gharib), end of statement," and then "So-and-so did not hear from so-and-so," that is one thing. But when the phrase is presented in a single context after the aforementioned statement has been attributed to the aforementioned person, there is no doubt that this entire statement is the saying of that speaker, and Ibn Hajar has no part in it.
The questioner : So, unless there is a clear separation by "I say" or "end of statement" or similar, the statement is attributed to the person from whom it was quoted?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes, in *Al-Isabah*, in the biography of al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr ibn Turayf ibn al-'As ibn Tha'labah, Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "I say: Al-Baghawi has narrated from the route of Isma'il ibn 'Iyadh: 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Sulayman narrated to me from al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr al-Dusi, who said: 'My father taught me the Qur'an from Ibn 'Abbas, so I gifted him a bow.' The hadith is strange (gharib). And 'Abd al-Rahman is called Ibn Zaytun, and he did not hear from al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr. And al-Tabari narrated from the route of al-Kalbi." So is the phrase "and he did not hear from al-Tufayl ibn 'Amr" included in the statement "The hadith is strange (gharib), and 'Abd al-Rahman is called Ibn Zaytun, and he did not hear from al-Tufayl," or is "and 'Abd al-Rahman is called Ibn Zaytun, and he did not hear from al-Tufayl" from the words of Ibn Hajar?
The Shaykh : No, this is the statement of al-Baghawi.
The questioner : Well, so what is it, I mean, how do we distinguish? Is there a specific rule, or is it by experience?
The Shaykh : It depends on the context. If, for example, we have an explicit phrase like "He said: The hadith is strange (gharib), I say," or "He said: The hadith is strange (gharib), end of statement," and then "So-and-so did not hear from so-and-so," that is one thing. But when the phrase is presented in a single context after the aforementioned statement has been attributed to the aforementioned person, there is no doubt that this entire statement is the saying of that speaker, and Ibn Hajar has no part in it.
The questioner : So, unless there is a clear separation by "I say" or "end of statement" or similar, the statement is attributed to the person from whom it was quoted?
The Shaykh : Yes.