Continuation of the previous tape regarding the acceptance of weak hadiths in the virtues of deeds and the discussion of al-Nawawi’s book al-Majmu'.

The Shaykh : What distinguishes everyone who has written in this field—that is, in comparative jurisprudence—is that he combines two excellent qualities. The first is that when he addresses the mention and explanation of an issue from the perspective of the school of thought—specifically the Shafi'i school—he devotes a special section titled "The Views of the Scholars," where he lists the views of other scholars and their evidence. Often, he chooses evidence that contradicts his own school. The other merit is that he extracts the hadiths and distinguishes the authentic ones from the weak ones. In this book, which is al-Majmu' Sharh al-Muhadhdhab, he mentions in its introduction chapters of benefits and preliminaries for those who wish to benefit from reading this great book. There, he also mentions the consensus of scholars on the permissibility of acting upon weak hadiths. However, if one understands this consensus to mean that there are no dissenters, the answer is: dissenters were found. This is established in the books of hadith principles—hadith terminology. Imam Muslim, in the introduction to his Sahih, categorically denies narrating weak hadiths, let alone acting upon them. And Imam Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi—and on this occasion, we must be alert when we read in a book by the scholars: "Ibn al-Arabi said" or "Ibn 'Arabi said." One is with the definite article (al) and the other is indefinite. They are two different men. If we find the author saying "Ibn al-Arabi said," he means Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi al-Maghribi al-Maliki, the jurist and exegete who has the book Ahkam al-Qur'an. He is earlier than Imam al-Qurtubi in his book al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Qur'an, from which al-Qurtubi derives his rulings from his fellow countryman, Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi al-Maghribi al-Maliki. So, if "Ibn al-Arabi" is mentioned, it refers to the Imam, the jurist and exegete. But if "Ibn 'Arabi" is mentioned with the indefinite article, he is indeed an unknown figure among the scholars, because he is the Imam of those among the extreme Sufis who advocate the Unity of Existence. We are not here to discuss the Unity of Existence, though we have also spoken about it in some sessions, and the brother here may have some tapes on it.
The Shaykh: The point is: Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi is among the dissenters on this issue, and he is earlier than Imam al-Nawawi. But look, the problem is that al-Nawawi was Eastern and the other was Maghrebi, and there were no means of transport or printing to facilitate the difficult and bring the distant close. That was not available in that era. Then, after Imam al-Nawawi, came Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him), who wrote concise words on the impermissibility of acting upon weak hadiths. Indeed, Imam al-Hafiz Amir al-Mu'minin Ahmad ibn Hajar al-Asqalani explicitly stated this. He has a very beneficial treatise from the hadith perspective titled "Tabayyun al-'Ajab fi ma Warada fi Fadl Rajab." It is a good treatise, and its summary, as al-Hafiz Ibn Rajab said, is: "Nothing authentic exists regarding the virtue of Rajab." He addresses this specific point in detail from a hadith perspective. He says there: "Acting upon a weak hadith implies recommendation, and recommendation is a legal ruling that is not established except by what is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)."
The Shaykh: And I recall that I explained this issue in some of my writings. Now, the third volume of the series "Weak and Fabricated Hadiths and Their Bad Effect on the Ummah" is being printed. It contains an introduction of about forty to fifty pages where I also addressed this issue. I clarified that the Muslim community is in no need of having to act upon a hadith attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) whose attribution to him is not authentic. Islam is not built on what resembles illusions. By the consensus of scholars, a weak hadith only yields a weak suspicion (doubt), and the scholars of the Muslims, without exception, agree that a legal ruling cannot be established by a weak suspicion. As for a strong suspicion, yes, that is acceptable. But a weak hadith only yields a weak suspicion. And if the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned his community against narrating and attributing to him what is not authentic, then it is even more necessary and obligatory that they not act upon what is not authentic. Because the reality is: why do scholars narrate authentic hadiths? So that Muslims may act upon them.
The Shaykh: So, narration—perhaps we can say—regarding the narrated matter is like the means to the end. An example is light and prayer. One performs wudu but does not pray. What is the benefit of this? Purity from purity? It is a means, this is it. Similarly, we narrate the hadith but do not act upon it. No. The end of it is action, as the Exalted said: I say, "The Messenger of Allah said such and such," but I do not act upon what the Messenger of Allah said.
The Shaykh: So, narration is a means. If the means is commanded, what will the end be? It is commanded even more so. If the means is forbidden, what will the end be? It is forbidden even more so.
The Shaykh: Therefore, the stronger opinion among the scholars' views is that, first: there is no consensus on the permissibility of acting upon weak hadiths; rather, there is disagreement in it, as I mentioned.
The Shaykh: And second: the stronger opinion among the scholars' views on this issue is that it is not permissible to act upon a weak hadith.
The Shaykh: Take the adhkar (remembrances) that came from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); there are many, and very many. Among them are authentic ones and weak ones. I challenge any person on the face of the earth—not in this time, but in the past, in the time of obedience and devotion to worship—to be able to act upon everything authentic from the Messenger of Allah in adhkar, daily recitations, and supplications. It is impossible. It is a great good and a vast blessing. So what about our time? A time in which ambitions have weakened and people have turned to materialism and earning money, and so on.
The Shaykh: So, the authentic hadiths we have are sufficient for us, making the weak hadiths unnecessary. This is a reality we touch with our hands. This is the answer to the first part of the question. As for the second part:

The questioner : I spoke about this in the introduction of your book "Bulugh al-Maram fi Takhrij Ahadith al-Halal wa al-Haram."

The Shaykh : "Ghayat al-Maram"—we say and speak about it.