Is there any benefit in compiling authentic hadiths and distinguishing the weak ones?
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The Shaykh : As for authentic hadiths and distinguishing them from weak hadiths, this undoubtedly falls within the scope of the general remarks I made earlier. We have words and lectures in which we state, as an explanation of the previous point, that the Book and the Sunnah must be understood according to the methodology of the righteous Salaf. And I said earlier that the way to know the righteous Salaf and what they were upon is the Sunnah, but the Sunnah contains what is authentic, what is weak, and what is fabricated.
What is the way to distinguish this from that from that? Our usual answer is the science of hadith. The science of hadith is one of the problems of Islamic groups today; you hardly find among them one who concerns himself with the science of hadith. Therefore, you find that the writings of today’s Islamic writers are full of weak and fabricated hadiths, with no one among them being an exception.
This is one of the problems that requires detailed research in a context other than this one. In any case, with the knowledge and time we have, we do what we can to fulfill this desire. Perhaps you are aware of two series: "The Series of Authentic Hadiths and Some of Their Jurisprudence and Benefits", of which two volumes have been printed, each containing five hundred hadiths. The other series is "The Series of Weak and Fabricated Hadiths and Their Bad Effect on the Ummah", of which five hundred hadiths have been printed in one volume, and we are now printing another five hundred in a second volume. I have the complete five thousand weak and fabricated hadiths ready for printing, but we ask Allah to facilitate their publication. The point is that this is an obligatory matter, but one person cannot undertake it all.
The questioner : Yes, my teacher, I mean that, for example, the weak hadiths could be published in a small booklet that both the old and the young can obtain at a low price, or that this person can obtain, or that it can be distributed for free, explaining two or three weak hadiths, for example, and ... and the authentic ones among them, and the explanation of the authentic ones, and some of the differences.
The Shaykh : In any case, your request seems to require a committee, and perhaps Allah will provide such a committee, because one person cannot fulfill all the obligations.
The questioner : ... weak and fabricated hadiths.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : There is an explanation of weak and fabricated hadiths for those who ask about them, and ... .
The Shaykh : In old books ... .
The questioner : But when hands take them as they take small newspapers, a person can ...
The Shaykh : I mean, the teacher’s intention is to make access to them easy, yes, that is right.
The questioner : I can, for example, take a book today, but it is possible that another person cannot afford to acquire this book, whereas ...
Another questioner: Correct, K.
The questioner : ... small, he can buy it.
Another questioner: Correct, the Islamic preachers who have knowledge and understanding of this matter should explain it to him and clarify it for him.
What is the way to distinguish this from that from that? Our usual answer is the science of hadith. The science of hadith is one of the problems of Islamic groups today; you hardly find among them one who concerns himself with the science of hadith. Therefore, you find that the writings of today’s Islamic writers are full of weak and fabricated hadiths, with no one among them being an exception.
This is one of the problems that requires detailed research in a context other than this one. In any case, with the knowledge and time we have, we do what we can to fulfill this desire. Perhaps you are aware of two series: "The Series of Authentic Hadiths and Some of Their Jurisprudence and Benefits", of which two volumes have been printed, each containing five hundred hadiths. The other series is "The Series of Weak and Fabricated Hadiths and Their Bad Effect on the Ummah", of which five hundred hadiths have been printed in one volume, and we are now printing another five hundred in a second volume. I have the complete five thousand weak and fabricated hadiths ready for printing, but we ask Allah to facilitate their publication. The point is that this is an obligatory matter, but one person cannot undertake it all.
The questioner : Yes, my teacher, I mean that, for example, the weak hadiths could be published in a small booklet that both the old and the young can obtain at a low price, or that this person can obtain, or that it can be distributed for free, explaining two or three weak hadiths, for example, and ... and the authentic ones among them, and the explanation of the authentic ones, and some of the differences.
The Shaykh : In any case, your request seems to require a committee, and perhaps Allah will provide such a committee, because one person cannot fulfill all the obligations.
The questioner : ... weak and fabricated hadiths.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : There is an explanation of weak and fabricated hadiths for those who ask about them, and ... .
The Shaykh : In old books ... .
The questioner : But when hands take them as they take small newspapers, a person can ...
The Shaykh : I mean, the teacher’s intention is to make access to them easy, yes, that is right.
The questioner : I can, for example, take a book today, but it is possible that another person cannot afford to acquire this book, whereas ...
Another questioner: Correct, K.
The questioner : ... small, he can buy it.
Another questioner: Correct, the Islamic preachers who have knowledge and understanding of this matter should explain it to him and clarify it for him.