I read a book on the punishment of the people of major sins by its author Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi; among what I read were the last four pages of the book, which dealt with the description of Paradise and the terrors of the Day of Resurrection.

The questioner : I read a book on the punishment of the people of major sins by its author Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi. Among what I read were the last four pages of the book, which dealt with the description of Paradise and the terrors of the Day of Resurrection, which made me cry from the intensity of what I heard. I cannot explain what I read because it is long, but perhaps this book has passed by you and you have read it. What is your opinion of this book, and is what is reported in it authentic? Please inform us, may Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : This book contains many things that are not authentic. Therefore, I do not advise my brothers to read it except a man who has Islamic knowledge that distinguishes the authentic from the weak and the defective from the sound. In that case, there is no harm, and it is good if he reads it to annotate the weak and defective parts and clarify their weakness and defect so that people are not deceived by it. Likewise, we say regarding every book that contains both authentic and weak material: we do not advise anyone to read it except a man who has prior knowledge, Islamic knowledge. There is no harm in his reading it, but he should annotate the weak and defective parts so that people are not deceived by it. By saying this, I am not restricting people from reading books, but I am telling my brothers that in the authentic, reliable books, there is sufficiency and no need for these books that contain these weak matters. Let it be known that many books of admonition contain many weak hadiths, based on a view held by some scholars, which is leniency in weak hadiths in the chapter of virtues or deterrents, considering that if they are in virtues, they increase a person in good, and if they are in deterrents, they increase his fear of evil.
And yet, those scholars who permit weak hadiths impose conditions on them, which are:
That the weakness not be severe, that a person not believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said it, and that it have a sound basis in the Shari'ah. An example of this: if a hadith comes in warning against zina (unlawful sexual intercourse) and it is a weak hadith, then according to these scholars, there is no harm in mentioning it, provided that you do not believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said it. This is because the warning against zina is established in the Book of Allah and the authentic Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So mentioning this threat increases a person's aversion to it, and aversion to zina is a matter required by the Shari'ah. Then, if this punishment for the adulterer is established, he has committed this sin with full awareness. And if it is not established, he has only increased in aversion to this forbidden act, which does not harm him. Similarly, if a weak hadith comes encouraging congregational prayer, the reward for congregational prayer is established by the authentic Sunnah from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and the command for congregational prayer is in the Book of Allah. And success is from Allah.

The questioner : At the end of this session, we thank Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymeen, professor at the College of Sharia in al-Qasim and preacher at the Grand Mosque in Unayzah...