What is the intent of al-Hakim in his statement

The questioner : What is the intent of al-Hakim in his statement: "On the condition of al-Bukhari and Muslim"?

The Shaykh : His intent is strange and unusual. It is clear that he means that there are many hadiths that the two Shaykhs did not include in their "Sahihayn" outside of the "Sahihayn," and which meet the conditionsThe Shaykh : of the two, and it is known thatThe Shaykh : the conditions of the two, or some of their conditions, differ. However, al-Hakim was lenient in applying the conditions of the two Shaykhs. For example, he would authenticate a hadith from Muhammad ibn Ishaq, or Muhammad ibn 'Ajlan, or their like, from those whose hadiths are not authenticated but only graded as good if one of them narrates it alone, and authenticated if it is supported by another. We find al-Hakim saying in a hadith he narrates with a valid chain, hypothetically, from Muhammad ibn 'Ajlan from Suhayl ibn Abi Salih from his father from Abu Hurayrah, "This is a valid chain on the condition of Muslim." It is not on the condition of Muslim regarding Muhammad ibn Ishaq, Muhammad ibn 'Ajlan, and others like them. For example, he did not mention a supporting narration for them, so he is lenient when he applies his aforementioned statement "on the condition of Muslim." Many examples can be cited from this. But the wonder is that it would have been valid for him if he had adhered to the conditions of the two Shaykhs with extreme precision, had he been of the same generation as the two Shaykhs, meaning he narrated directly from the Shaykhs of the two Shaykhs. But in reality, he is later than them by a generation or more. He narrates the hadith in his "Mustadrak" with a chain to a Shaykh of one of the two Shaykhs, and there are two or more intermediaries between him and this Shaykh. It is self-evident that these two intermediaries are not on the condition of eitherThe Shaykh : of the two. So how did he judge the hadith to be on the condition ofThe Shaykh : the two? We say, for example, regarding what Imam Ahmad narrates in his "Musnad," that it is on the condition of al-Bukhari, or on the condition of Muslim, or on the condition of both. That is because Ahmad is among the Shaykhs of the two Shaykhs, so he is of the generation of the Shaykhs. As for al-Hakim, there are two intermediaries between him and a Shaykh of al-Bukhari or Muslim. This is a specific convention of his. But this knowledge obligates us, when we want to follow al-Hakim in authenticating a hadith on the condition of al-Bukhari or Muslim or both together, to be cautious in two ways. First: to remember this observation regarding "on the condition of both" in relation to his convention, meaning regardless of the two intermediaries between him and the Shaykh of one of the two Shaykhs. As for the other observation, which is much more important, it is that sometimes his chain is not valid up to the Shaykh of the two Shaykhs or one of them. So it is not valid to say that that hadith is good, and of course we say "on the condition of Muslim," because the chain to Muslim's Shaykh is not valid because it contains weakness, and perhaps more than that. This is something we have touched with our hands in no few hadiths of the "Mustadrak." This is also the answer to what you asked.