Ibn Hajar's statement regarding a certain narrator: "Trustworthy, but prone to errors"; is the hadith considered good (hasan) absolutely?
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The questioner: The statement of Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him).
The Shaykh : Who?
The questioner: The statement of Ibn Hajar... "Trustworthy, but prone to errors." In this issue, meaning: is the hadith considered good (hasan) absolutely?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : Why?
The Shaykh: If we stop at the statement of the Hafiz, it means that his hadith is below the level of hasan, but it is not severely weak; it is what is used as evidence. One who is described as merely "trustworthy" is the one whose hadith is hasan. However, if one says "trustworthy with poor memory," or "trustworthy, sometimes errs," or "trustworthy, prone to errors"... he is correct, but sometimes he is not, because we often say that a person makes mistakes and hits the mark. And one who stops at the statement of the Hafiz regarding a certain narrator that "he is trustworthy but errs"; it is not permissible for us to grade his hadith as hasan, let alone sahih. But sometimes the researchers' view differs from the statement of Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani regarding a certain narrator that he is trustworthy but errs, or that he is, for example, hidden (mustawar) or unknown, or... the opinion differs. Sometimes he may be trustworthy but errs; the word "errs" is most likely to be understood, in which case his hadith is hasan. And sometimes his statement regarding a certain narrator that "he is hidden" may be correctly described as trustworthy, and so on. The point is that if the Hafiz Ibn Hajar says of a certain narrator: "Trustworthy but errs," this would correspond to the stronger opinion of the other Imams, and his hadith would be... hasan, but it is acceptable for it to be elevated by similar chains, and his hadith may be elevated by similar chains to the level of hasan, and it may be elevated, if there are many similar chains, to the level of sahih hadith.
And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The Shaykh : Who?
The questioner: The statement of Ibn Hajar... "Trustworthy, but prone to errors." In this issue, meaning: is the hadith considered good (hasan) absolutely?
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : Why?
The Shaykh: If we stop at the statement of the Hafiz, it means that his hadith is below the level of hasan, but it is not severely weak; it is what is used as evidence. One who is described as merely "trustworthy" is the one whose hadith is hasan. However, if one says "trustworthy with poor memory," or "trustworthy, sometimes errs," or "trustworthy, prone to errors"... he is correct, but sometimes he is not, because we often say that a person makes mistakes and hits the mark. And one who stops at the statement of the Hafiz regarding a certain narrator that "he is trustworthy but errs"; it is not permissible for us to grade his hadith as hasan, let alone sahih. But sometimes the researchers' view differs from the statement of Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani regarding a certain narrator that he is trustworthy but errs, or that he is, for example, hidden (mustawar) or unknown, or... the opinion differs. Sometimes he may be trustworthy but errs; the word "errs" is most likely to be understood, in which case his hadith is hasan. And sometimes his statement regarding a certain narrator that "he is hidden" may be correctly described as trustworthy, and so on. The point is that if the Hafiz Ibn Hajar says of a certain narrator: "Trustworthy but errs," this would correspond to the stronger opinion of the other Imams, and his hadith would be... hasan, but it is acceptable for it to be elevated by similar chains, and his hadith may be elevated by similar chains to the level of hasan, and it may be elevated, if there are many similar chains, to the level of sahih hadith.
And this is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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