We request clarification and explanation of the intended meaning of some of the terms used by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, such as "truthful but makes mistakes" and "truthful but errs."
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The questioner : If the brothers permit, may Allah reward you for the continuation.
The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
The questioner : We find in the words of Ibn Hajar, specifically in his book *al-Taqrib*, which is the main reference for the later scholars.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The questioner : We find in it many narrators about whom he says: "truthful but makes slight mistakes", or "perhaps errs slightly", for example. The critics of his narration say: "his hadith is hasan", for example. But there should be caution in how we classify all his hadiths as hasan when he has erred in some of them. It is necessary for us to follow the principle that he erred in this specific hadith. This is a very significant doubt in my mind: as long as it has not been specified for us in which hadith he may have erred or made a mistake, all his hadiths, according to the method of the hadith scholars, should be subject to doubt and investigation until it is proven to us that he erred in a specific hadith, as has been specified for us in some narrations, or that he concealed a defect in a specific narration, as has been specified for us in some narrations. And all narrations other than those specific ones are hasan or sahih, for example. So when we see Ibn Hajar say: "truthful but makes slight mistakes" or "perhaps errs", the later scholars say his hadith is hasan, for example, generally hasan, while we are in doubt about which narration he may have erred in and which he may have gotten right. This seems to be a slippery slope. What is your opinion on this issue?
The Shaykh : This is a good question:
When they say that phrase: "truthful but errs", or "perhaps makes a mistake", or "truthful but makes mistakes", or something similar, they are establishing a rule, as is clear. The fact that they established a rule means that they examined the hadiths of this person and it became clear to them that most of his hadiths are established, and some of them are weak. Is this not the explanation of that term?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, we say: For one who is in this position, is his entire narration discarded out of fear that some of those hadiths are of the type in which he erred, or is the original principle that we accept his hadiths until his error becomes clear to us?!
That is to say, there are two paths, and there is no third:
Either we reject the hadith of the truthful one who errs absolutely until its authenticity is clarified to us by a supporting chain.
Or, conversely, we accept his hadith until his error is clarified to us by its contradiction with someone more reliable than him. There is no doubt that this path is preferable to the first, because the first rejects hadiths merely on the possibility that he made a mistake. Yes, he made mistakes in some hadiths, but it has not become clear to us that he made a mistake in this hadith or that one, and so on.
So the benefit of this precise statement: "truthful but errs," and so on, is: Be careful that this person is not a narrator of sahih hadith, so pay attention, for perhaps one of his hadiths is among those hadiths for which he was criticized and his rank was lowered from thiqah to truthful but errs.
The questioner : But our experience with the hadith scholars is that at the slightest doubt, they leave the narration of the narrator. For example, a thiqah was a thiqah his whole life, but he became confused in the last of his life and could not distinguish, for example, or a narrator among the narrators could not distinguish, so they discard all his narrations until it becomes clear that he narrated before the confusion, for example. Based on this doubt, since they left it, why is the narration of the truthful one who errs slightly accepted before it becomes clear to us? It is necessary to place it in the category of supporting chains and corroborating narrations, unless it is specified for us that he erred in this hadith only, and the rest are all clean and he did not err in them. In that case, there is no room for doubt. So "truthful but makes slight mistakes" or "truthful but makes many mistakes" or "poor in memory," meaning there are some people—Abu Hatim himself places him in the rank of supporting chains and corroborating narrations, as far as we know. He says: "his hadith is written down".
The Shaykh : Who?
The questioner : For example, Abu Hatim.
The Shaykh : Who places him in the rank of one whose hadith is used as corroboration? What did he say about him?
The questioner : The one who said: "his hadith is written down," the truthful one about whom it is said: "truthful, his hadith is written down."
The Shaykh : There is no doubt about this. They all say this. Why did you mention this example or this phrase?
The questioner : We say, as if I am citing the words of Abu Hatim, that he places: "truthful but perhaps errs" or "truthful" absolutely in the category of supporting chains and corroborating narrations, and does not accept it absolutely. As for the others, especially the later scholars, and specifically Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) and those who followed him, they make the "truthful" absolutely, or the "truthful who makes slight mistakes," acceptable in general, without separating the hadith in which he erred from those in which he did not err.
The Shaykh : This is correct, but I find it difficult that you left the topic of: "truthful but errs" to "truthful"!
The questioner : Absolutely.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because Abu Hatim, for example, since he places "truthful" in the category of research and seeking supporting chains and corroborating narrations for him, then by a greater degree, "truthful but errs slightly" in his view, or one who is similar to him, should be in the category of research for supporting chains and corroborating narrations for him. My intention is to cite this from the statement of Abu Hatim.
The Shaykh : But may Allah reward you, do you think that when Abu Hatim says about a narrator "truthful," he means what Ibn Hajar means, or do they differ?
The questioner : This is what we want to inquire about, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : This is it, because the matter differs. So it is not correct to include in those about whom it is said: "truthful but errs," those about whom it is said: "truthful" absolutely. There is a difference.
And therefore, I find it useful that we stay with the first example, which is the one about whom it is said: "truthful but errs," yes, and so on, and not "truthful" absolutely. Because "truthful" absolutely in the terminology of Abu Hatim is the "truthful who errs" in the terminology of Ibn Hajar. But the issue you raised is a strong issue indeed regarding the confused narrator. However, the example, or this issue you raised, does not confirm your claim that you see the hadith scholars rejecting the narration of a thiqah for the slightest error. No, because you know that they say: Who among the narrators has not made a mistake or erred?! So?
The questioner : This is expressed by al-Dhahabi often.
The Shaykh : Yes, so it is not permissible to use their rejection of the hadith of the confused narrator, when they do not know whether he narrated before or after the confusion, to support the idea that they reject the narration of a thiqah for the slightest error. Is this clear?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But in fact, we return to the issue you raised, which is an issue that has strength. And I do not know now what the way out of it is, what the resolution is. Perhaps Allah will open it for us. Do you have anything?
The questioner : No, I have been wishing for a while that you, and may Allah prolong your life, have spent your lives in this vast ocean, which is indeed vast for us. And if Allah wills, it is easy for you to write in such places. We follow these places in your books. Sometimes we find in some narrators what truly comforts the heart. Sometimes we find what makes us ask you to write for us in such a matter, if Allah wills, a general rule or rules, so that such a difficulty is clarified to the students.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills, you will be the best successors to the best predecessors. We are done, our role is finished, and your role will come, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : Please go ahead.
The questioner : We find in the words of Ibn Hajar, specifically in his book *al-Taqrib*, which is the main reference for the later scholars.
The Shaykh : Correct.
The questioner : We find in it many narrators about whom he says: "truthful but makes slight mistakes", or "perhaps errs slightly", for example. The critics of his narration say: "his hadith is hasan", for example. But there should be caution in how we classify all his hadiths as hasan when he has erred in some of them. It is necessary for us to follow the principle that he erred in this specific hadith. This is a very significant doubt in my mind: as long as it has not been specified for us in which hadith he may have erred or made a mistake, all his hadiths, according to the method of the hadith scholars, should be subject to doubt and investigation until it is proven to us that he erred in a specific hadith, as has been specified for us in some narrations, or that he concealed a defect in a specific narration, as has been specified for us in some narrations. And all narrations other than those specific ones are hasan or sahih, for example. So when we see Ibn Hajar say: "truthful but makes slight mistakes" or "perhaps errs", the later scholars say his hadith is hasan, for example, generally hasan, while we are in doubt about which narration he may have erred in and which he may have gotten right. This seems to be a slippery slope. What is your opinion on this issue?
The Shaykh : This is a good question:
When they say that phrase: "truthful but errs", or "perhaps makes a mistake", or "truthful but makes mistakes", or something similar, they are establishing a rule, as is clear. The fact that they established a rule means that they examined the hadiths of this person and it became clear to them that most of his hadiths are established, and some of them are weak. Is this not the explanation of that term?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : In that case, we say: For one who is in this position, is his entire narration discarded out of fear that some of those hadiths are of the type in which he erred, or is the original principle that we accept his hadiths until his error becomes clear to us?!
That is to say, there are two paths, and there is no third:
Either we reject the hadith of the truthful one who errs absolutely until its authenticity is clarified to us by a supporting chain.
Or, conversely, we accept his hadith until his error is clarified to us by its contradiction with someone more reliable than him. There is no doubt that this path is preferable to the first, because the first rejects hadiths merely on the possibility that he made a mistake. Yes, he made mistakes in some hadiths, but it has not become clear to us that he made a mistake in this hadith or that one, and so on.
So the benefit of this precise statement: "truthful but errs," and so on, is: Be careful that this person is not a narrator of sahih hadith, so pay attention, for perhaps one of his hadiths is among those hadiths for which he was criticized and his rank was lowered from thiqah to truthful but errs.
The questioner : But our experience with the hadith scholars is that at the slightest doubt, they leave the narration of the narrator. For example, a thiqah was a thiqah his whole life, but he became confused in the last of his life and could not distinguish, for example, or a narrator among the narrators could not distinguish, so they discard all his narrations until it becomes clear that he narrated before the confusion, for example. Based on this doubt, since they left it, why is the narration of the truthful one who errs slightly accepted before it becomes clear to us? It is necessary to place it in the category of supporting chains and corroborating narrations, unless it is specified for us that he erred in this hadith only, and the rest are all clean and he did not err in them. In that case, there is no room for doubt. So "truthful but makes slight mistakes" or "truthful but makes many mistakes" or "poor in memory," meaning there are some people—Abu Hatim himself places him in the rank of supporting chains and corroborating narrations, as far as we know. He says: "his hadith is written down".
The Shaykh : Who?
The questioner : For example, Abu Hatim.
The Shaykh : Who places him in the rank of one whose hadith is used as corroboration? What did he say about him?
The questioner : The one who said: "his hadith is written down," the truthful one about whom it is said: "truthful, his hadith is written down."
The Shaykh : There is no doubt about this. They all say this. Why did you mention this example or this phrase?
The questioner : We say, as if I am citing the words of Abu Hatim, that he places: "truthful but perhaps errs" or "truthful" absolutely in the category of supporting chains and corroborating narrations, and does not accept it absolutely. As for the others, especially the later scholars, and specifically Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) and those who followed him, they make the "truthful" absolutely, or the "truthful who makes slight mistakes," acceptable in general, without separating the hadith in which he erred from those in which he did not err.
The Shaykh : This is correct, but I find it difficult that you left the topic of: "truthful but errs" to "truthful"!
The questioner : Absolutely.
The Shaykh : Why?
The questioner : Because Abu Hatim, for example, since he places "truthful" in the category of research and seeking supporting chains and corroborating narrations for him, then by a greater degree, "truthful but errs slightly" in his view, or one who is similar to him, should be in the category of research for supporting chains and corroborating narrations for him. My intention is to cite this from the statement of Abu Hatim.
The Shaykh : But may Allah reward you, do you think that when Abu Hatim says about a narrator "truthful," he means what Ibn Hajar means, or do they differ?
The questioner : This is what we want to inquire about, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : This is it, because the matter differs. So it is not correct to include in those about whom it is said: "truthful but errs," those about whom it is said: "truthful" absolutely. There is a difference.
And therefore, I find it useful that we stay with the first example, which is the one about whom it is said: "truthful but errs," yes, and so on, and not "truthful" absolutely. Because "truthful" absolutely in the terminology of Abu Hatim is the "truthful who errs" in the terminology of Ibn Hajar. But the issue you raised is a strong issue indeed regarding the confused narrator. However, the example, or this issue you raised, does not confirm your claim that you see the hadith scholars rejecting the narration of a thiqah for the slightest error. No, because you know that they say: Who among the narrators has not made a mistake or erred?! So?
The questioner : This is expressed by al-Dhahabi often.
The Shaykh : Yes, so it is not permissible to use their rejection of the hadith of the confused narrator, when they do not know whether he narrated before or after the confusion, to support the idea that they reject the narration of a thiqah for the slightest error. Is this clear?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But in fact, we return to the issue you raised, which is an issue that has strength. And I do not know now what the way out of it is, what the resolution is. Perhaps Allah will open it for us. Do you have anything?
The questioner : No, I have been wishing for a while that you, and may Allah prolong your life, have spent your lives in this vast ocean, which is indeed vast for us. And if Allah wills, it is easy for you to write in such places. We follow these places in your books. Sometimes we find in some narrators what truly comforts the heart. Sometimes we find what makes us ask you to write for us in such a matter, if Allah wills, a general rule or rules, so that such a difficulty is clarified to the students.
The Shaykh : If Allah wills, you will be the best successors to the best predecessors. We are done, our role is finished, and your role will come, if Allah wills.