The Shaykh’s remarks on the ruling regarding the adhan in the ear of the newborn and on the scholarly stages he went through to reach that ruling.
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The Shaykh : And examples of this type are numerous. Perhaps you have heard that I, and all praise belongs to Allah first and last, spread throughout the Levant—and you and I are now in the Levant—many of the Sunnahs, including the adhan in the ear of the newborn.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Other than the 'aqiqah, which had been forgotten, this small part relates to the 'aqiqah and the adhan in the ear of the newborn. I spread this Sunnah; half of the proof for this Sunnah was through my knowledge, and the other half through the knowledge of others.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : I combined the two halves to form a complete whole. That complete whole was that the hadith regarding the adhan in the ear of the newborn is a confirmed Sunnah, at the level of hasan, after thirty or forty years, perhaps more. As for the details of the two halves: the first half is in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, available to students of knowledge, from the hadith of Abu Rafi' with a weak chain of narration.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : This does not constitute a proof. Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned it in al-Tuhfah and supported it with the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, attributing it to al-Bayhaqi, and said its chain is weak. I said it is weak, and weak equals strong, as that poet said: "Do not fight my heart with your eyes, for two weak ones overcome a strong one." So I inclined to the view that the hadith is hasan and spread this. Ibn al-Qayyim attributed the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, which he used to strengthen the first hadith, to al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu'ab. Well, let us look at the chain of al-Shu'ab, and it is extremely weak and does not serve to strengthen the first hadith. So, using the Syrian expression, I demolished your article; I demolished the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas and showed that it is fabricated or close to fabrication, and that it does not serve as a corroborating narration for the hadith of Abu Rafi' which is in Sunan al-Tirmidhi. On this basis, I came to say that there is no authentic or confirmed hadith, at least at the level of hasan. So your situation now is exactly like this: we have not found the chain that I used to strengthen this hadith. And if we want to benefit from the knowledge of the predecessors merely because they make mistakes, well, I am the first one to make a mistake. So there is no knowledge in the world; no one says that.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Other than the 'aqiqah, which had been forgotten, this small part relates to the 'aqiqah and the adhan in the ear of the newborn. I spread this Sunnah; half of the proof for this Sunnah was through my knowledge, and the other half through the knowledge of others.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : I combined the two halves to form a complete whole. That complete whole was that the hadith regarding the adhan in the ear of the newborn is a confirmed Sunnah, at the level of hasan, after thirty or forty years, perhaps more. As for the details of the two halves: the first half is in Sunan al-Tirmidhi, available to students of knowledge, from the hadith of Abu Rafi' with a weak chain of narration.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : This does not constitute a proof. Ibn al-Qayyim mentioned it in al-Tuhfah and supported it with the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, attributing it to al-Bayhaqi, and said its chain is weak. I said it is weak, and weak equals strong, as that poet said: "Do not fight my heart with your eyes, for two weak ones overcome a strong one." So I inclined to the view that the hadith is hasan and spread this. Ibn al-Qayyim attributed the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas, which he used to strengthen the first hadith, to al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu'ab. Well, let us look at the chain of al-Shu'ab, and it is extremely weak and does not serve to strengthen the first hadith. So, using the Syrian expression, I demolished your article; I demolished the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas and showed that it is fabricated or close to fabrication, and that it does not serve as a corroborating narration for the hadith of Abu Rafi' which is in Sunan al-Tirmidhi. On this basis, I came to say that there is no authentic or confirmed hadith, at least at the level of hasan. So your situation now is exactly like this: we have not found the chain that I used to strengthen this hadith. And if we want to benefit from the knowledge of the predecessors merely because they make mistakes, well, I am the first one to make a mistake. So there is no knowledge in the world; no one says that.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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