A hadith has confused me: (When one of you prostrates, he should not kneel like a camel...), where al-Bukhari criticized it due to the solitary narration of a trustworthy narrator. What is the answer to this confusion?

The questioner : Here, Shaykh, what has confused me is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . This hadith was transmitted through the route of Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn al-Hasan from Abu al-Zinad from al-A'raj from Abu Hurayrah. So al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) criticized this hadith, as did al-Daraqutni and al-Tirmidhi. I do not know what this defect is.

The Shaykh : By what did they criticize it? By what did they criticize it? You started your question by asking: if a trustworthy narrator narrates a hadith alone, is this hadith a suitable example for the criticism by solitary narration that you mentioned?

The questioner : Because al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him), as mentioned in *al-Tarikh al-Kabir*, when he wrote the biography of this narrator, mentioned that among his teachers was Abu al-Zinad. And Abu al-Zinad (may Allah have mercy on him) is known for having many students in Madinah, but this man narrated from him only this hadith, approximately; because he inclined toward seclusion in the desert. He remained silent, meaning he did not state the defect as some writers mentioned. You have recently seen the book of Dr. Hamzah al-Milbari, who traced the early and late scholars in verifying the pillars of the hadith and mentioned this hadith. He considers it one of the things that distinguishes the early scholars from the later scholars in the issue of solitary narration, meaning these obligatory matters in this case.

The Shaykh : You may have answered part of the question but not the question itself. You mixed up the imams with al-Bukhari, and I asked you: did these imams criticize this hadith due to solitary narration?

The questioner : This report was reported by al-Shawkani in *Nayl al-Awtar*.

The Shaykh : From whom, my brother, may Allah bless you?

The questioner : From al-Daraqutni, of course, and al-Bukhari. I have seen his statement, because I did not return to al-Daraqutni's book of defects, but as for al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him), I returned to his statement in his book *al-Tarikh al-Kabir* in the biography of this man, and he did not state the defect of the hadith, meaning he remained silent.

The Shaykh : So, is it correct to say that al-Bukhari and so-and-so and so-and-so criticized the hadith due to solitary narration?

The questioner : This is what some writers mentioned. I do not know what your opinion is on this?

The Shaykh : No, no, this should not be said. As for al-Bukhari criticizing it with this, I actually do not recall this. What I recall regarding this hadith is that it is not known that so-and-so heard from so-and-so, and this is a consistent criticism, its chapters being from Imam al-Bukhari, because it aligns with his school in requiring contemporaneity, in not being satisfied with contemporaneity and requiring meeting, so we see it in many authentic hadiths in the books of others that he counts for such a defect that aligns with his rule of requiring meeting and not being satisfied with contemporaneity. This is first. Second, what you pointed out regarding al-Milbari, this is actually, in what I have seen of his statement, raises a problem now among students of knowledge, and especially among the hadith scholars, it raises a problem, if not a fitnah, because it raises some statements that the hadith scholars, the preservers among them, and those who have seen the conflicting statements regarding what was issued by some of the early imams, did not follow. So he takes a statement and relies on it and depends on it, and if he does not make it a principle, he at least whispers it to the people today who start from the rule of Imam al-Shafi'i, which I began my answer with earlier, and he brings another statement, for example, that contradicts it. But we say, in the end, which of the two statements is more comfortable for the hadith scholars, the preservers among them, and those who have seen this and that and conducted a review between this and that and finally settled on one of the statements? This is an example, exactly an example of one who raises problems in the inherited fiqh, which is not free of many issues of disagreement, either affirmatively or negatively for affirmation, or prohibition or dislike or permissibility, etc. He says the issue has two statements, but what is the relied-upon statement from these two in fiqh? Similarly, we say in the science of hadith, and now, since the issue is not agreed upon by hadith scholars, neither regarding what I mentioned earlier about Imam al-Shafi'i, nor what you mentioned about al-Milbari, but the issue has a type of disagreement, but what did the preservers of hadith and its critics rely on? No researcher in the science of hadith doubts that criticism by mere solitary narration of a trustworthy narrator is not a decisive defect, but it may be a decisive defect if it is opposed by another narration from a more trustworthy trustworthy narrator, or from a group of trustworthy narrators. There is no doubt that in that case, the defect is established for that trustworthy narrator who narrated alone what contradicted the more trustworthy one or the trustworthy ones. Then we say, regarding the doubt you quoted attributed to Imam al-Bukhari, assuming that the attribution to al-Bukhari is correct, because as I told you earlier, I do not recall this as a defect in the hadith mentioned earlier , and let him place his hands before his feet, if this is correct from Imam al-Shafi'i, from Imam al-Bukhari.
The student : Excuse me, you said he may place his hands before his feet.

The Shaykh : How?
The student : You said he may place his hands before his feet.

The Shaykh : , may Allah reward you with good. What I want to say on this occasion: perhaps you know that many of the preservers have authenticated or graded this hadith as good. I say, perhaps you know.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : Fine, do these people not know the statement of Imam al-Bukhari if it is narrated from him and is correct? No doubt. So what is the meaning of their authentication or grading of the hadith as good? It means, and it necessarily implies, that that criticism is a personal opinion of the imam to whom this criticism is attributed, and there is no harm in that for him, so the issue is like the fiqh issues where an imam says one statement and another contradicts him, and the reference in that is to the stronger opinion.