The Shaykh noted that this hadith has reports that support it and indicators that strengthen it
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The Shaykh : The second point I drew your attention to is that there are reports from the Salaf regarding the practice of responding to one who said, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," by adding "and His forgiveness." The practice of the Salaf is among the indicators mentioned in the corroborating evidence; if a hadith is weak and there is nothing else, but then the practice of the Salaf in accordance with that hadith appears, that is evidence that the hadith has a sound foundation.
So I mentioned there a response to those who weakened this hadith, perhaps relying on the fact that I am far removed from the era, or on another man. And you also say that you are far removed from my response to them. But the point is that I mentioned there that there are some reports from Ibn 'Umar and others that when a Muslim greeted him with the complete greeting, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," he would add, "and His forgiveness." So I understood from that that the man about whom Imam Abu Hatim said he is "salih" (sound) here must be interpreted as "salih" specifically with regard to this hadith, not according to Abu Hatim's technical term, but according to the general term that equates to the ruling that the hadith's chain is good. If this hadith were stripped of the corroboration from the Qur'an and the corroboration from the report, then the discussion would be as you mentioned earlier.
As for me, when I write a hadith, I use my mind and intellect and search left and right, front and back, hoping to find a corroborating piece of evidence that strengthens it. In that case, even if there is some weakness in it, I consider that chain to be sound. It does not harm me that I spoke about one of its narrators and cited Abu Hatim's statement that he is "salih," meaning that he is weak but can be cited as evidence. Here I found the verse. Therefore, when some of them discuss me and ask what is intended by this hadith—does it contain a ruling in addition to the Qur'anic text? The answer is: No. Rather, this hadith is a detail of the Qur'an and a reminder to the general Muslim public who did not know this addition from the Qur'an, because the Sunnah clarifies the Qur'an. Who among you knew that the Qur'an was understood in light of this hadith? No one. Rather, they believed that one who gave the complete greeting with its blessings was not permitted to say "and His forgiveness" in the response. But this hadith is what opened minds and directed them to the fact that the verse means[An-Nisa 4:86] If my Muslim brother greets me with the most complete greeting, what is my response to him? They closed the door on me and said, "You have nothing to do but respond in kind." Well, did the verse abrogate it? The answer is: No. So what is the method of applying this clear verse? It is what came in this hadith.
So I noticed another thing that some of them perhaps do not notice, which is that this hadith is corroborated by the Noble Qur'an and by the practice of some of the Salaf, and this is mentioned in the response, so you can refer back to it.
This is my viewpoint, and therefore opinions may differ in the treatment of some texts, and the reason is that what may occur to the mind of some may not occur to the minds of others.
The questioner : O Shaykh, my question is about the chain. The chain, O Shaykh, is it called good? The chain that contains this man?
The Shaykh : What does "good" mean?
The questioner : I mean that "sahih" (authentic) is a lower rank, as far as I know, that it is higher than "hasan" (good) and lower than "sahih" (authentic).
The Shaykh : No, the good, sound, and established chain is not like the authentic chain. These terms include what is below the authentic, which is the good. So I mean here "good" in the sense that it is a good chain, and the good may have come with the note of the tracing that I read earlier. Read the tracing to me again.
The questioner : I said: "And this is a good chain, its men are all trustworthy from the men of al-Tahdhib. Ibrahim ibn al-Mukhtar, who is al-Razi, narrated from a group of trustworthy men, whom Ibn Abu Hatim mentioned."
The Shaykh : Narrated?
The questioner : He narrated from him.
The Shaykh : From him.
The questioner :"A group of trustworthy men, whom Ibn Abu Hatim mentioned, then he said, 'I asked my father about them.'"
The Shaykh : To the end of it.
The questioner : To the end of it.
The Shaykh : To the end of it. So you, especially after the previous explanation regarding the unknown man from whom a group of trustworthy men narrated, especially after the previous explanation, should note why I said about him, "A group of trustworthy men narrated from him," as an indication that the narration of these trustworthy men from him elevates his status. So this, along with the verse and the report, is what inspired me in my heart that it raised the value of this narrator in this hadith. So I said that its chain is good. It does not mean, by the scholars of hadith, that "good" means an authentic chain, but rather they mean that it is below the authentic and above the weak, and that is nothing but the good hadith. So this, and we ask Allah for success for us and for you.
So I mentioned there a response to those who weakened this hadith, perhaps relying on the fact that I am far removed from the era, or on another man. And you also say that you are far removed from my response to them. But the point is that I mentioned there that there are some reports from Ibn 'Umar and others that when a Muslim greeted him with the complete greeting, "Peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings," he would add, "and His forgiveness." So I understood from that that the man about whom Imam Abu Hatim said he is "salih" (sound) here must be interpreted as "salih" specifically with regard to this hadith, not according to Abu Hatim's technical term, but according to the general term that equates to the ruling that the hadith's chain is good. If this hadith were stripped of the corroboration from the Qur'an and the corroboration from the report, then the discussion would be as you mentioned earlier.
As for me, when I write a hadith, I use my mind and intellect and search left and right, front and back, hoping to find a corroborating piece of evidence that strengthens it. In that case, even if there is some weakness in it, I consider that chain to be sound. It does not harm me that I spoke about one of its narrators and cited Abu Hatim's statement that he is "salih," meaning that he is weak but can be cited as evidence. Here I found the verse. Therefore, when some of them discuss me and ask what is intended by this hadith—does it contain a ruling in addition to the Qur'anic text? The answer is: No. Rather, this hadith is a detail of the Qur'an and a reminder to the general Muslim public who did not know this addition from the Qur'an, because the Sunnah clarifies the Qur'an. Who among you knew that the Qur'an was understood in light of this hadith? No one. Rather, they believed that one who gave the complete greeting with its blessings was not permitted to say "and His forgiveness" in the response. But this hadith is what opened minds and directed them to the fact that the verse means
And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet [in return] with one better than it or [at least] return it
وإذا حييتم بتحية فحيوا بأحسن منها أو ردوهاSo I noticed another thing that some of them perhaps do not notice, which is that this hadith is corroborated by the Noble Qur'an and by the practice of some of the Salaf, and this is mentioned in the response, so you can refer back to it.
This is my viewpoint, and therefore opinions may differ in the treatment of some texts, and the reason is that what may occur to the mind of some may not occur to the minds of others.
The questioner : O Shaykh, my question is about the chain. The chain, O Shaykh, is it called good? The chain that contains this man?
The Shaykh : What does "good" mean?
The questioner : I mean that "sahih" (authentic) is a lower rank, as far as I know, that it is higher than "hasan" (good) and lower than "sahih" (authentic).
The Shaykh : No, the good, sound, and established chain is not like the authentic chain. These terms include what is below the authentic, which is the good. So I mean here "good" in the sense that it is a good chain, and the good may have come with the note of the tracing that I read earlier. Read the tracing to me again.
The questioner : I said: "And this is a good chain, its men are all trustworthy from the men of al-Tahdhib. Ibrahim ibn al-Mukhtar, who is al-Razi, narrated from a group of trustworthy men, whom Ibn Abu Hatim mentioned."
The Shaykh : Narrated?
The questioner : He narrated from him.
The Shaykh : From him.
The questioner :"A group of trustworthy men, whom Ibn Abu Hatim mentioned, then he said, 'I asked my father about them.'"
The Shaykh : To the end of it.
The questioner : To the end of it.
The Shaykh : To the end of it. So you, especially after the previous explanation regarding the unknown man from whom a group of trustworthy men narrated, especially after the previous explanation, should note why I said about him, "A group of trustworthy men narrated from him," as an indication that the narration of these trustworthy men from him elevates his status. So this, along with the verse and the report, is what inspired me in my heart that it raised the value of this narrator in this hadith. So I said that its chain is good. It does not mean, by the scholars of hadith, that "good" means an authentic chain, but rather they mean that it is below the authentic and above the weak, and that is nothing but the good hadith. So this, and we ask Allah for success for us and for you.