Discussion of the tadlis of 'Ali ibn 'Umar al-Maqdami. And what Ibn Sa'd said about him.

The questioner : Regarding the virtue of sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), you stated on page 49 about 'Ali ibn 'Umar al-Maqdami.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : That he commits a type of tadlis that is vile, as he previously said, "It was narrated to us," and then he remains silent.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct.

The questioner : So you stated that you see it necessary to reject all the narrations of this narrator, then you said: "I do not know the basis of Ibn Sa'd's statement, if he explicitly states the narration, we accept his hadith..." Are you still of the opinion that...?

The Shaykh : This is what we hold; if any knowledge emerges, we are behind the knowledge.

The questioner : Well, it has become clear to me the basis, or more than one basis, and I want to present it.

The Shaykh : Please, give it to us.

The questioner : The answer to Ibn Sa'd's statement can be addressed through three matters: The first is that al-Bukhari and Muslim relied on a hadith of al-Maqdami. The second is that the last phrase of Ibn Sa'd negates the first, because he says, "It was narrated to us," and remains silent, "if he explicitly states the narration, we accept his hadith," so this last phrase negates the first. The third is that Ibn Sa'd is the only one who singled out such a statement. Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, in al-Fath, refutes many of the men of al-Bukhari, saying, "Ibn Sa'd singled this out, and it is not a reliable proof if he singled it out," because most of his material is from al-Waqidi. Is this an acceptable answer?

The Shaykh : This expression is very important; his material in the critique of men is from al-Waqidi?

The questioner : Yes, he repeated it in three places in the introduction of al-Fath, saying: "If he singled it out from all the imams..."

The Shaykh : I understood the statement, but it is not reasonable that...

The questioner : He says "the majority."

The Shaykh : That it be said that Ibn Sa'd's criticism of men was received from his teacher al-Waqidi.

The questioner : No, he says the majority of his material is from al-Waqidi.

The Shaykh : No problem, but is it the material of critique or the material of biography?

The questioner: Cash.

The Shaykh : This is the point of surprise, because at least I do not know that al-Waqidi was a scholar of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil like al-Azdi, for example. And al-Azdi, as you know, was spoken about, but he is one of the imams of al-jarh. But we do not know of al-Waqidi that he weakens or criticizes, or the like. Even if he were known for such things, it could be said that the material of his student Ibn Sa'd might be from him. But did you know that al-Waqidi authenticates and weakens?

The questioner : No, but...

The Shaykh : It might be the statement of al-Hafiz...

The questioner : But our Shaykh, meaning, refuting the statement of Ibn Sa'd is perhaps better than refuting the hadiths of 'Ali ibn 'Umar, especially since Ibn Ma'in, Ahmad, and a group ruled on him with absolute tadlis without specifying the type of tadlis. So in this regard, do we take the absolute ruling, or do we do that, instead of rejecting all the narrations of a narrator and thus wronging him, because he did not appear on the stage of hadith or the like, for the sake of the statement of Ibn Sa'd alone? Is this considered an answer?

The Shaykh : By Allah, within the limits of what you know, if there is no one agreeing with Ibn Sa'd in this critique, then it is possible at that time... this statement is the weaker position regarding the reliance onThe Shaykh : those who explicitly stated the narration. And it is also possible to expand the investigation, perhaps you did so. Did you find the statement of Ibn Sa'd in al-Tabaqat, or only what was transmitted from him?

The questioner : No, I did not research al-Tabaqat, but al-Hafiz repeated the phrase of Ibn Sa'd in two places in al-Fath.

The Shaykh : Yes, he naturally relies on the book al-Tahdhib in what he transmits, so it is possible that we might find another version.

The questioner : Of al-Tabaqat itself.

The Shaykh : Yes, it needs to... yes.
The student: I say, meaning, complete it if there is something...

The Shaykh : No, I am satisfied with what I said just now. Meaning, to complete the clarification of this matter, we should return to the primary source that transmitted this statement of Ibn Sa'd, in which al-Maqdami was described as committing that strange tadlis.