What is meant by al-Hakim's statement in al-Mustadrak

The questioner : May Allah preserve you, O Shaykh. What is meant by al-Hakim's statement in al-Mustadrak: "on the condition of the two Shaykhs"? Does it mean that the narrators of the hadith are like the narrators of the two Shaykhs, or that they are exactly equal to them, or like them?

The Shaykh : Neither this nor that. The intention is that the narrators of the hadith that al-Hakim authenticated in his book are on the condition of the two Shaykhs, meaning that every narrator in the chain of that hadith has been narrated from by the two Shaykhs in their "Sahihayn." It does not mean that these narrators are in trustworthiness and integrity like the narrators of the "Sahihayn." No, rather, it is by their specific persons, identities, and names that al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from them in their "Sahihayn." However, there is an important observation that students of knowledge should pay close attention to, which is: It is not hidden from beginners in the pursuit of this blessed knowledge that al-Hakim's generation and the time in which he lived were about a century lower than the generation of Imam al-Bukhari and Muslim. Such that between him in the chains he mentions for his hadiths in "al-Mustadrak" and the Shaykh of Imam al-Bukhari or Muslim in such a chain, there are two or more intermediaries between al-Hakim and that Shaykh. So when al-Hakim says of such a hadith, "authentic on the condition of Muslim," he does not mean every narrator, including his Shaykh and his Shaykh's Shaykh, but rather he means the Shaykh of Imam al-Bukhari or Muslim, excluding those below him. And if that is the case, it is necessary to verify and confirm the trustworthiness of the one who narrated the hadith from the Shaykh of the two Shaykhs, and the one who narrated this hadith from that Shaykh, so that the chain is authentic at that point. And even then, it will not be authentic on the condition of the two Shaykhs in an absolute sense, because those below the Shaykh of the two Shaykhs in that chain are not on the condition of al-Bukhari and Muslim. This is one point. Another is: When al-Hakim says, "authentic on the condition of the two Shaykhs," he does not mean that every individual in that chain is on the condition of the two Shaykhs, with the detail mentioned previously that each of them is on the condition of the two Shaykhs, but rather some are on the condition of al-Bukhari and some are on the condition of Muslim. This group is what he calls "on the condition of the two Shaykhs." And it is undoubtedly, as is not hidden, a leniency in expression and a misleading implication that every one of those narrators is on the condition of the two Shaykhs. So both this and that should be noted when we want to authenticate a hadith that al-Hakim authenticated on the condition of the two Shaykhs.