The Ruling on the Hadith of Ibn Asakir, al-Dailami, and Others, When Each of Them Narrates a Hadith Uniquely, in Terms of Authenticity and Weakness
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The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... al-Dailami narrated it uniquely, so it is weak ...?
The Shaykh : The rule regarding what al-Dailami narrated uniquely, and what Ibn Asakir and their like narrated uniquely, from those whose rank is lower—meaning: there are many intermediaries between them and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)—is that what their like narrate uniquely is weak. However, this does not mean that there are no exceptions to such a rule; every rule has exceptions. For this reason, some scholars of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence) say, "There is no general statement that has not been specified." This is a well-known generality, and the first person we know who explicitly stated this text was al-Hafiz al-Suyuti in the introduction of his book, al-Jami' al-Kabir. He mentioned there that the indicator of a hadith's weakness is the unique narration of Ibn Asakir, al-Dailami, and their like. But as I told you, this is the rule, yet every rule has exceptions. Therefore, if it is possible for a researcher to examine the isnad (chain of narration) of Ibn Asakir or the isnad of al-Dailami in any hadith, he should not declare it weak as long as he has examined its chain; rather, he must judge the hadith based on that. However, if it is not possible for him to examine the isnad of such a hadith narrated by Ibn Asakir and al-Dailami, then the original rule—as we mentioned—is that it is weak. This is because al-Hafiz Ibn Asakir and al-Dailami... the scholars who preceded them in rank and elevation would not miss such hadiths that al-Dailami or Ibn Asakir narrate uniquely. From this, some scholars of knowledge said that their unique narration of a hadith means that it is weak, but every rule has exceptions.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : ... al-Dailami narrated it uniquely, so it is weak ...?
The Shaykh : The rule regarding what al-Dailami narrated uniquely, and what Ibn Asakir and their like narrated uniquely, from those whose rank is lower—meaning: there are many intermediaries between them and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)—is that what their like narrate uniquely is weak. However, this does not mean that there are no exceptions to such a rule; every rule has exceptions. For this reason, some scholars of usul al-fiqh (the principles of jurisprudence) say, "There is no general statement that has not been specified." This is a well-known generality, and the first person we know who explicitly stated this text was al-Hafiz al-Suyuti in the introduction of his book, al-Jami' al-Kabir. He mentioned there that the indicator of a hadith's weakness is the unique narration of Ibn Asakir, al-Dailami, and their like. But as I told you, this is the rule, yet every rule has exceptions. Therefore, if it is possible for a researcher to examine the isnad (chain of narration) of Ibn Asakir or the isnad of al-Dailami in any hadith, he should not declare it weak as long as he has examined its chain; rather, he must judge the hadith based on that. However, if it is not possible for him to examine the isnad of such a hadith narrated by Ibn Asakir and al-Dailami, then the original rule—as we mentioned—is that it is weak. This is because al-Hafiz Ibn Asakir and al-Dailami... the scholars who preceded them in rank and elevation would not miss such hadiths that al-Dailami or Ibn Asakir narrate uniquely. From this, some scholars of knowledge said that their unique narration of a hadith means that it is weak, but every rule has exceptions.
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