Regarding listening to the books of Sunnah and not being content with reading from the books; what is your opinion on this matter?
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The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Regarding listening to the books of Sunnah and not being content with reading from the books; what is your opinion on this topic?
The Shaykh : What do you mean by the books?
The questioner : The foundational books.
The Shaykh : Other than the books of the Sunnah?
The questioner : The books of the Sunnah, al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The Shaykh : What corresponds to that in your question?
The questioner : Listening to these books, meaning that we do not... it does not stop. It should be listened to from those who have a chain of narration or who have an ijazah (permission to narrate) in this subject, and one should not be content with just looking through the books or reading them.
The Shaykh : Personal reading.
The questioner : With a chain of narration, and the disappearance of this matter in this age; what is your opinion on this topic?
The Shaykh : This is the reality. The narration of hadiths with chains of narration has disappeared, and reading the books of hadith remains only through the way of ijazah. Therefore, the scholars of hadith said that narrating a hadith through the way of ijazah is the only way for later generations to narrate the books of hadith, with the known conditions in the books of terminology. As for with a chain of narration, there are now only very rare cases, and on models with certificates that they called ijazah. Some scholars used to focus on having the one who granted the ijazah listen to the hadith with the chain. He would say:The Shaykh : So-and-so narrated to me from so-and-so, and the chain is very long. Personally, one of the shaykhs in Aleppo granted me an ijazah. I think you know his name because he is a famous historian.The Shaykh : Raghib al-Tabbakh. Yes, that is right. But the ijazah I have is actually formal, or for the sake of seeking blessing; meaning it does not have a major impact on narrating the books through all the chains of narration. He would say that the one granting the ijazah: "I heard such-and-such a book from so-and-so, from so-and-so, from so-and-so to the author, to the author, to al-Bukhari, to Muslim." But in reality, those who were granted ijazah—and I am among them—did not benefit from this ijazah except in a purely formal way. Yes, that is right. As for narrating hadiths with connected chains of narration, there is no way to do that at all. And on this basis, the scholars of hadith have mentioned from old times that the correct ijazah is the way to rely on for narrating... that is it.
The questioner : And even regarding the Noble Qur'an, many of those who read the Qur'an rely on listening to it without a chain of narration.
The Shaykh : Yes, that was the case until recently. As for in the past, as they said, like the hadith...
The questioner : Do you not lean toward reviving this matter?
The Shaykh : We see it... it is finished, because for every person it is broken... it becomes broken, and this sequence no longer continues except perhaps... among the geniuses of the readers as we know them. As for them, to this day, they have connected chains of narration for all the recitations they received from their shaykhs, relying only on the books. Yes, that is right.
The questioner : And can it not be that some of the great scholars have, for example, a listening session for the six books of Sunnah, for example, or the nine, and can they be listened to from them?
The Shaykh : As for... no... it is possible, yes, and it is possible that the matter is as it was said: "In the corners are hidden treasures." But who can reveal these people? It means it needs people who specialize in traveling around the Islamic world, perhaps they will find some individuals.
The questioner : And do you not see the great importance?
The Shaykh : I do not see it as important, it is only formal; because the books of Sunnah have made us rich enough without that.
The Shaykh : What do you mean by the books?
The questioner : The foundational books.
The Shaykh : Other than the books of the Sunnah?
The questioner : The books of the Sunnah, al-Bukhari and Muslim.
The Shaykh : What corresponds to that in your question?
The questioner : Listening to these books, meaning that we do not... it does not stop. It should be listened to from those who have a chain of narration or who have an ijazah (permission to narrate) in this subject, and one should not be content with just looking through the books or reading them.
The Shaykh : Personal reading.
The questioner : With a chain of narration, and the disappearance of this matter in this age; what is your opinion on this topic?
The Shaykh : This is the reality. The narration of hadiths with chains of narration has disappeared, and reading the books of hadith remains only through the way of ijazah. Therefore, the scholars of hadith said that narrating a hadith through the way of ijazah is the only way for later generations to narrate the books of hadith, with the known conditions in the books of terminology. As for with a chain of narration, there are now only very rare cases, and on models with certificates that they called ijazah. Some scholars used to focus on having the one who granted the ijazah listen to the hadith with the chain. He would say:The Shaykh : So-and-so narrated to me from so-and-so, and the chain is very long. Personally, one of the shaykhs in Aleppo granted me an ijazah. I think you know his name because he is a famous historian.The Shaykh : Raghib al-Tabbakh. Yes, that is right. But the ijazah I have is actually formal, or for the sake of seeking blessing; meaning it does not have a major impact on narrating the books through all the chains of narration. He would say that the one granting the ijazah: "I heard such-and-such a book from so-and-so, from so-and-so, from so-and-so to the author, to the author, to al-Bukhari, to Muslim." But in reality, those who were granted ijazah—and I am among them—did not benefit from this ijazah except in a purely formal way. Yes, that is right. As for narrating hadiths with connected chains of narration, there is no way to do that at all. And on this basis, the scholars of hadith have mentioned from old times that the correct ijazah is the way to rely on for narrating... that is it.
The questioner : And even regarding the Noble Qur'an, many of those who read the Qur'an rely on listening to it without a chain of narration.
The Shaykh : Yes, that was the case until recently. As for in the past, as they said, like the hadith...
The questioner : Do you not lean toward reviving this matter?
The Shaykh : We see it... it is finished, because for every person it is broken... it becomes broken, and this sequence no longer continues except perhaps... among the geniuses of the readers as we know them. As for them, to this day, they have connected chains of narration for all the recitations they received from their shaykhs, relying only on the books. Yes, that is right.
The questioner : And can it not be that some of the great scholars have, for example, a listening session for the six books of Sunnah, for example, or the nine, and can they be listened to from them?
The Shaykh : As for... no... it is possible, yes, and it is possible that the matter is as it was said: "In the corners are hidden treasures." But who can reveal these people? It means it needs people who specialize in traveling around the Islamic world, perhaps they will find some individuals.
The questioner : And do you not see the great importance?
The Shaykh : I do not see it as important, it is only formal; because the books of Sunnah have made us rich enough without that.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.