Is it true that in "Sahih al-Jami' al-Saghir" you judge some hadiths as authentic when you do not find chains for them that were authenticated by al-Suyuti and al-Minawi, who are both lenient as you know?

The questioner : The questioner says here: Is it true that in the book "Sahih al-Jami' al-Saghir" you judge a hadith for which you do not find a chain based on the ruling of al-Suyuti or al-Minawi, despite the fact that they are lenient, as is not hidden from you? I ask for clarification of this.

The Shaykh : This is a matter of the principles of jurisprudence, but the questioner did not ask well; rather, he made a mistake. He says: Is it true that you say about a hadith for which I do not find a basis, according to the words of al-Suyuti or al-Minawi? I say, and this is advice to our brothers who are pleased with their own opinions, some of whom were mentioned earlier, who issue rulings without studying the issue with a broad scientific study, merely because they have come across a hadith. I say: By the grace of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), I have spent more than half a century studying the science of hadith and the Sunnah and deriving rulings from them, and yet I feel that some hadiths and some of their chains are missed by me. So I found that out of my respect for those who preceded us in knowledge, and as a means of removing arrogance from the self that commands evil, it is necessary to rely on those who preceded us in a matter of knowledge that our knowledge has not encompassed, and to say: Al-Suyuti said: This is a good hadith, or al-Suyuti said: This is an authentic hadith, or al-Suyuti said: This is a weak hadith. And we say the same for others, such as al-Minawi. When do I say this? When I do not find the hadith with the chain that such-and-such or such-and-such would grade as good or weak. So in that case, I follow this rule: Every hadith in "Sahih al-Jami'" or in "Da'if al-Jami'" that al-Suyuti attributed and strengthened, either he or al-Minawi, I rely on them; because this is their specific effort. And I do not contradict them except when I come across the chain that they intended to be weak or authentic. And this is knowledge in my belief.
Therefore, we find the great imams, with whom it is not permissible for us to be compared, following the Companions in much of the rulings whose evidence they missed from the Book and the Sunnah, especially Imam Ahmad; we find him frequently relying on the rulings of the Companions. Likewise, the Tabi'i follows the Companions and adheres to them. And this is the path of the believers: that a person should not be deluded by his knowledge, but rather that he should give weight to one who is more knowledgeable than him. And this is part of the meaning of the saying of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He): .