“Choose well for your offspring, for the bloodline is a powerful force.” What is its authenticity and its jurisprudential implications?

The questioner : The authenticity and jurisprudential implications of the hadith , may Allah reward you?

The Shaykh : As for the hadith , the hadith in its entirety is weak and not authentic. However, the first part of it, , is established and strong through the totality of its chains. When we say that a certain hadith is established, strong, or authentic through the totality of its chains, we mean that there is no single chain that suffices for proof, but rather the sum of these chains is what gives the hadith its strength. We found chains for the first part of the hadith, but for the other part, “for the bloodline is a powerful force,” we did not find chains that strengthen it, so we left it in its original state, which is weakness. We say this regarding the narration. As for the meaning, the reality is that the first part confirms the meaning of the other part. If it is established by narration and understanding that the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is , then the explanation is what came in the second part, . That is, if a Muslim marries, for example, from a family that is not noble, from a family whose people are known to have morals that do not align with ease and leniency, and the like, then the offspring resulting from this marriage may revert to their origin, meaning the bloodline is a powerful force. Here it is appropriate to mention a hadith in "Sahih Muslim" that a man from the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was blessed with a son from his wife who was black. This troubled him, and he came to complain to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as if he was considering accusing his wife. Where did this black boy come from? He was not black, nor was his wife black. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) clarified the matter for him with a matter well-known among the Arabs, who are people of camels and she-camels. He said to him, . He said, “Yes.” He said, . He said, “I think so.” He said, “Is it a light brown color?” He said, “Yes.” He said, . He said, “A bloodline took it from him.” He said, . This is the meaning of “the bloodline is a powerful force.”
In summary, regarding the second part of the hadith, it is to alert our brothers, the students of knowledge, not to assume that the correctness of the meaning of a sentence implies the correctness of its attribution, i.e., its attribution to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Also, pay attention to what I am saying: it is not necessary that the correctness of a hadith implies the correctness of ruling by it. I do not say the correctness of its meaning. I hope all those present understand: it is not necessary that the incorrectness of a hadith or a part of a hadith means that its meaning is not correct and in accordance with the Shari'ah. In fact, its meaning may be correct, or it may not be correct. And because the matter is religion, and it is not permissible for a Muslim to judge by assumption, the way to take religion is not that you see a sentence attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and you like the meaning of this sentence, so you say, “The Messenger of Allah said,” when the sentence has not been established as attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Rather, you must verify, in the manner of the scholars of hadith, whether this sentence has been established as attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) or not. If it is established, say, “The Messenger of Allah said.” If it is not established, do not say, “The Messenger of Allah said,” even if the meaning has something that supports it, as we said in the second part of this hadith. This corresponds to what I said earlier: it is also not necessary that the correctness of a hadith means that its ruling is correct in the Shari'ah, or that taking its ruling is correct in the Shari'ah. I do not want to say, as you may hear from some of those engaged in this science in the present era, relying on some citations in terminology, that it is not necessary. It is said, “It is not necessary that the correctness of the chain implies the correctness of the text.” Beware, I warn you, do not say this statement. That it is said, “It is not necessary that the correctness of the chain implies the correctness of the text,” is an error. But those who said it, like Ibn al-Salah and others who said this saying, said it with leniency, because they mean that the chain may be correct on the surface, but upon investigation, a defect is found in it. And this defect may be a hidden defect. So we say its chain is correct, but in reality, it becomes clear that its chain is not correct because it has a defect. But if it becomes clear that it has a defect, it is not correct to say at that time, “It is not necessary that the correctness of the chain implies the correctness of the text.” No, we worship Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, with the correctness of every text whose chain is correct, as long as no defect is found in it. If the defect is found in it, then it is not said that its chain is correct. For example, the anomalous hadith, which is one of the most famous examples mentioned on this occasion. The anomalous hadith is one where, if you look at its chain from beginning to end, and between each narrator and his teacher, you do not find a defect, so you say its chain is correct. But if you continue the research and investigate and continue and continue, you end up saying the chain is correct, but the text is anomalous.