What is the ruling on acting upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions?

The questioner : How do we act upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions, and what is an example of such a hadith?

The Shaykh : I think you made a mistake in directing this question to me, because we prohibit acting upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions. So you can direct your question to someone else!

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Or perhaps you made a mistake in the question, and that would be better for you. You want to say, for example, is it permissible to act upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions? This is, of course, a patch I am offering you if you accept it, hehe. I answered you: Are you convinced that it is permissible to act upon weak hadiths in the virtues of actions?

The questioner : I read it in a book.

The Shaykh : I did not ask you what you read in a book so that you would answer me by saying you read it in a book. Are you convinced? We tell our brothers who are afflicted with our companionship, and we are also afflicted with their companionship, that a good question is half the answer. A good question is one that is clear so that one is not forcedThe questioner : to repeat the question again. I asked you: Are you convinced?

The questioner : I am not convinced.

The Shaykh : Huh?

The questioner : I am not convinced.

The Shaykh : That is the answer. Your previous statement was not an answer.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : Correct?

The questioner : Correct.

The Shaykh : Okay, so now that you know, adhere to it. Since you are not convinced, this is the correct position. Why? I am telling you, the hadith that serves as proof according to the scholars is divided into hasan and sahih, and then there are degrees, but we do not concern ourselves with the details. The hasan hadith is beneficial like the sahih hadith, providing the preponderant opinion regarding its authenticity. As for what provides certainty, it is what is called in the terminology of hadith scholars the mutawatir hadith. So let us say hasan, sahih, mutawatir. The mutawatir hadith provides certainty and definitive proof of the authenticity of the mutawatir hadith. The sahih and hasan provide the preponderant opinion that this is a hadith established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Below the hasan, what comes is the weak hadith. The weak hadith does not provide the preponderant opinion; rather, it gives you an opinion that is, in most cases, less than the preponderant opinion. In that case, if you act upon it, you will be struck by the saying of He Blessed and Exalted is He in His condemnation of the polytheists: and you will be struck by his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): So how is it permissible for us to act upon the most false of hadiths? This is a slip that many of the later scholars made, and then the majority followed them, so you hardly hear any mention of the weak hadith, especially when you confront one of them by saying, "My brother, this is a weak hadith," and he says, "No problem, my brother, the weak hadith is acted upon in the virtues of actions." They forgot that, by their consensus, the weak hadith does not provide anything but the weaker opinion, and the weaker opinion is not permissible to act upon in Islam. This is from one aspect. From another aspect, my brother, I hope that those who act upon weak hadiths, even in the virtues of actions, would act upon half of the sahih hadiths. But unfortunately, as was reported from some of the Salaf: "No innovation was introduced except that a sunnah was killed." No weak hadith was acted upon except that a sahih hadith corresponding to it was killed. The reason is that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, by His wisdom, tasked His servants with what they are capable of and reassured them by His saying, the Exalted: So if we assume that the virtues of actions are a thousand virtues, and Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, knows from His servants that they are not able to perform a thousand virtues, He inspired His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to speak of five hundred virtues. But the people, intentionally with bad intent or by mistake, connected the five hundred to the thousand with narrations that have no backbone and no reins. So if you take from this addition a portion of it, you have lost what corresponds to that portion of the five hundred that are prescribed and reported in the authentic Sunnah. This is an example of one who acts upon weak hadiths and thereby loses the corresponding authentic hadiths of action. And this is what I quoted from the athar I mentioned earlier: "No innovation was introduced except that a sunnah was killed." Because the sunnahs, and I say on this occasion, it was reported in Sahih al-Bukhari that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: If David (peace be upon him) had been an individual from the Ummah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he would not have been able to encompass the worship and action of the authentic Sunnah, except that something of it would be missed. So what need do we have for the weak sunnah and weak hadiths? But when ignorance prevailed over the people, they opened for them a path to justify their ignorance. If you say, "My brother, this hadith is weak," he immediately says, "The weak hadith is acted upon in the virtues of actions." Whereas we say: Know and learn, distinguish between the sahih hadith. And this is a long matter, yes, we want to bring things from the nearest what? The nearest path. So the nearest path is ignorance, comfort, and laziness. Therefore, it is not permissible to act upon the weak hadith in the virtues of actions absolutely, and the sahih is sufficient in place of the weak, and other than that.