What is your opinion regarding what al-Nawawi mentions regarding the ranks of authentic hadiths: "The highest is what al-Bukhari and Muslim agreed upon, then..."
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Here, the Shaykh, al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) says regarding the ranks of authentic hadiths: "The highest is what al-Bukhari and Muslim agreed upon, then what al-Bukhari narrated alone, then what Muslim narrated alone, then what is according to the conditions of both, then what is according to the condition of al-Bukhari, then what is according to the condition of Muslim, then what is authentic according to others". Here, al-Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) says in *al-Tadrib*: "Two notes. The first: He listed categories, one of which is Mutawatir. Then he said: The second is Mashhur. The Shaykh al-Islam said: This is certainly valid, and I am hesitant regarding its rank; is it before what is agreed upon or after it?" So, is this second category, Mashhur, a category that is considered, or is it a discarded category?
The Shaykh : In my opinion, it is so, if we recall a scientific fact, which is that the Ummah accepted what is in the two Sahihs with acceptance. This yielded knowledge, as the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, except for what was criticized among their hadiths. In this category, it is possible that the Mashhur hadith is stronger than it. As for the first category, which is the majority of what al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated and the Ummah accepted with acceptance, it is stronger than the Mashhur hadith. This is my answer.
The questioner : Here, a questioner asks, "Shaykh, on a paper, he asks: Is combining prayers in the city like combining prayers while traveling, in that it is not..."
The Shaykh : Excuse me, here is something before we move to a fiqh issue. What is your opinion of this entire classification?
The questioner : The first question, of course.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Do you mean the first question?
The Shaykh : What he read from *al-Tadrib*.
The student: In general terms, it is said that this is the case in general terms.
The Shaykh : And in terms of detail?
The student: As for in terms of detail, regarding specific hadiths, a specific hadith, it is possible that a hadith in one of the two Sahihs, or a hadith in other than the two Sahihs, is preferred over a hadith in Muslim, for example.
The Shaykh : And why did you specify Muslim to the exclusion of his companion al-Bukhari?
The questioner : I am saying, for example.
The Shaykh : No, a person starts with the higher one and then descends, because if the higher one is mentioned, what is below it is included a fortiori.
The questioner : Al-Bukhari, yes.
The Shaykh : Al-Bukhari.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Good. This is what students of knowledge must know: that this ordering is not scientifically established. Yes, indeed.
The Shaykh : In my opinion, it is so, if we recall a scientific fact, which is that the Ummah accepted what is in the two Sahihs with acceptance. This yielded knowledge, as the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said, except for what was criticized among their hadiths. In this category, it is possible that the Mashhur hadith is stronger than it. As for the first category, which is the majority of what al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated and the Ummah accepted with acceptance, it is stronger than the Mashhur hadith. This is my answer.
The questioner : Here, a questioner asks, "Shaykh, on a paper, he asks: Is combining prayers in the city like combining prayers while traveling, in that it is not..."
The Shaykh : Excuse me, here is something before we move to a fiqh issue. What is your opinion of this entire classification?
The questioner : The first question, of course.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Do you mean the first question?
The Shaykh : What he read from *al-Tadrib*.
The student: In general terms, it is said that this is the case in general terms.
The Shaykh : And in terms of detail?
The student: As for in terms of detail, regarding specific hadiths, a specific hadith, it is possible that a hadith in one of the two Sahihs, or a hadith in other than the two Sahihs, is preferred over a hadith in Muslim, for example.
The Shaykh : And why did you specify Muslim to the exclusion of his companion al-Bukhari?
The questioner : I am saying, for example.
The Shaykh : No, a person starts with the higher one and then descends, because if the higher one is mentioned, what is below it is included a fortiori.
The questioner : Al-Bukhari, yes.
The Shaykh : Al-Bukhari.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Good. This is what students of knowledge must know: that this ordering is not scientifically established. Yes, indeed.