The Shaykh's comment on the discussion that took place between one of his students and a student in the College of Hadith regarding the latter's grading of every narrator about whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: "Accepted"
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The questioner : Our Shaykh, a discussion took place between me and the Master's students in Hadith, and the topic concerned... the first point... everyone about whom Ibn Hajar said "acceptable," I naturally... this is a technical term... he said if I say "acceptable," then the hadith is weak, unless it is supported by another chain. He says, but the word "acceptable" means acceptable...
The Shaykh: Yes, by Allah.
The questioner : The statement is by Ibn Hajar, so I said, Glory be to Allah... I hope you will comment on this.
The Shaykh : Your statement is actually good and convincing if it is free from personal bias, but who is this man, the person about whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar says "acceptable"? Ask him: Is he the trustworthy and just one? He will say, if he has any knowledge, "No." Is he the truthful one who makes few or many mistakes? He will also say "No," because all these... all these attributes, al-Hafiz gave each attribute the rank befitting its holder. And so we will say to him: Then who is the one about whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar says "acceptable"? If he has knowledge, he will be forced to say it is the man who was not authenticated with an acceptable authentication, and that means the unknown man, the one from whom only one or two narrated, and who was not authenticated. So we say to him: You are the one who decided to grade every hadith containing a narrator whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar called "acceptable" as good. What is your opinion of the one about whom al-Hafiz said "concealed"? Perhaps you will also decide that it is good.
The questioner : Perhaps it would be acceptable.
The Shaykh: Hehehe.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, a good example.
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : By Allah, this is not something in which you should waste your time discussing...
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah reward him with good. Ha ha. There is no power nor strength except by Allah. My brother, the statement he makes is taken from the statement of al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi, for it is he who says at the end of his book *Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal*: "And I did not know of a woman who was accused." This does not mean that the word "I did not know" implies that she, for example, is trustworthy, that she is a memorizer, and that... meaning, this class of women, like many of the men about whom al-Hafiz says "acceptable" or "concealed," means he cites them as evidence. But to consider that one about whom we do not know of an accusation is a proof, that is the height of ignorance. Allah is the Greatest!
The Shaykh: Yes, by Allah.
The questioner : The statement is by Ibn Hajar, so I said, Glory be to Allah... I hope you will comment on this.
The Shaykh : Your statement is actually good and convincing if it is free from personal bias, but who is this man, the person about whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar says "acceptable"? Ask him: Is he the trustworthy and just one? He will say, if he has any knowledge, "No." Is he the truthful one who makes few or many mistakes? He will also say "No," because all these... all these attributes, al-Hafiz gave each attribute the rank befitting its holder. And so we will say to him: Then who is the one about whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar says "acceptable"? If he has knowledge, he will be forced to say it is the man who was not authenticated with an acceptable authentication, and that means the unknown man, the one from whom only one or two narrated, and who was not authenticated. So we say to him: You are the one who decided to grade every hadith containing a narrator whom al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar called "acceptable" as good. What is your opinion of the one about whom al-Hafiz said "concealed"? Perhaps you will also decide that it is good.
The questioner : Perhaps it would be acceptable.
The Shaykh: Hehehe.
The questioner : Our Shaykh, a good example.
Another questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : By Allah, this is not something in which you should waste your time discussing...
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah reward him with good. Ha ha. There is no power nor strength except by Allah. My brother, the statement he makes is taken from the statement of al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi, for it is he who says at the end of his book *Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal*: "And I did not know of a woman who was accused." This does not mean that the word "I did not know" implies that she, for example, is trustworthy, that she is a memorizer, and that... meaning, this class of women, like many of the men about whom al-Hafiz says "acceptable" or "concealed," means he cites them as evidence. But to consider that one about whom we do not know of an accusation is a proof, that is the height of ignorance. Allah is the Greatest!
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.