What is meant by the phrase "a hadith on the condition of the two Shaykhs" or "on the condition of one of them"?
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The questioner : We have questions for you now, O Shaykh, regarding the terminology of hadith.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : What is meant by the phrase "a hadith on the condition of the two Shaykhs" or "on the condition of one of them"? Is the intention that the two Shaykhs narrated the same chain of narration, or that the two Shaykhs relied on the narrators of the chain individually?
The Shaykh : There are two levels. The first level is what was mentioned in the question: that al-Bukhari or Muslim, or both together, narrated from the same chain. However, this is very rare and very uncommon. Therefore, the general meaning of "on the condition of the two Shaykhs" or "on the condition of one of them" is that the narrators of that hadith meet the condition of the two Shaykhs, not that the entire chain does. This is noted as an answer to that question. But there is another observation that a student of knowledge should be aware of: there is also leniency in using this phrase for some chains of narration where the chain of narrators is long or the number of narrators in the chain of that hadith is large. One of the most famous people known for using this phrase for the hadiths he narrates in his book is Abu 'Abd al-Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi. As you know, he says "authentic on the condition of the two Shaykhs," "on the condition of al-Bukhari," or "on the condition of Muslim," while he means up to the Shaykh of his Shaykh, or up to before that. If a student of knowledge does not keep this observation in mind, it is not correct to say that it is on the condition of the two Shaykhs or on the condition of one of them. It is not correct, because al-Hakim's Shaykh came after the death of the two Shaykhs, and perhaps the Shaykh of his Shaykh as well. And every chain of narration described as "on the condition of Muslim" or "al-Bukhari" or "both together," where the author came after al-Bukhari and there is an intermediary between him and al-Bukhari, if it is said that its chain is authentic as we mentioned earlier, there is leniency in the expression. For example, a higher level than al-Hakim is Abu Hatim ibn Hibban. He narrates many hadiths whose chains are on the condition of the two Shaykhs, excluding his own Shaykh, because his Shaykh is not one of the Shaykhs of the two Shaykhs. Therefore, this detail must be observed when we encounter the expression that a chain is authentic on the condition of the two Shaykhs. When is such an expression correct without this leniency? If it is said of a chain like the chain in Ahmad's Musnad, because Ahmad is one of the Shaykhs of the two Shaykhs. If it is said of a hadith that it is on the condition of the two Shaykhs, and the one saying it is correct, then there is absolutely no leniency in the expression. The result of this observation is very important for Ibn Hibban, and especially for al-Hakim, because we observe that sometimes there is some weakness in al-Hakim's Shaykhs, so the chain is not valid at all, let alone that it is said to be on the condition of one of the two Shaykhs.
Please proceed.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : What is meant by the phrase "a hadith on the condition of the two Shaykhs" or "on the condition of one of them"? Is the intention that the two Shaykhs narrated the same chain of narration, or that the two Shaykhs relied on the narrators of the chain individually?
The Shaykh : There are two levels. The first level is what was mentioned in the question: that al-Bukhari or Muslim, or both together, narrated from the same chain. However, this is very rare and very uncommon. Therefore, the general meaning of "on the condition of the two Shaykhs" or "on the condition of one of them" is that the narrators of that hadith meet the condition of the two Shaykhs, not that the entire chain does. This is noted as an answer to that question. But there is another observation that a student of knowledge should be aware of: there is also leniency in using this phrase for some chains of narration where the chain of narrators is long or the number of narrators in the chain of that hadith is large. One of the most famous people known for using this phrase for the hadiths he narrates in his book is Abu 'Abd al-Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi. As you know, he says "authentic on the condition of the two Shaykhs," "on the condition of al-Bukhari," or "on the condition of Muslim," while he means up to the Shaykh of his Shaykh, or up to before that. If a student of knowledge does not keep this observation in mind, it is not correct to say that it is on the condition of the two Shaykhs or on the condition of one of them. It is not correct, because al-Hakim's Shaykh came after the death of the two Shaykhs, and perhaps the Shaykh of his Shaykh as well. And every chain of narration described as "on the condition of Muslim" or "al-Bukhari" or "both together," where the author came after al-Bukhari and there is an intermediary between him and al-Bukhari, if it is said that its chain is authentic as we mentioned earlier, there is leniency in the expression. For example, a higher level than al-Hakim is Abu Hatim ibn Hibban. He narrates many hadiths whose chains are on the condition of the two Shaykhs, excluding his own Shaykh, because his Shaykh is not one of the Shaykhs of the two Shaykhs. Therefore, this detail must be observed when we encounter the expression that a chain is authentic on the condition of the two Shaykhs. When is such an expression correct without this leniency? If it is said of a chain like the chain in Ahmad's Musnad, because Ahmad is one of the Shaykhs of the two Shaykhs. If it is said of a hadith that it is on the condition of the two Shaykhs, and the one saying it is correct, then there is absolutely no leniency in the expression. The result of this observation is very important for Ibn Hibban, and especially for al-Hakim, because we observe that sometimes there is some weakness in al-Hakim's Shaykhs, so the chain is not valid at all, let alone that it is said to be on the condition of one of the two Shaykhs.
Please proceed.
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