Discussion of the Book of the Trustworthy (by Ibn Hbban) and what has been said regarding its authentication.
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Al-Halabi : Our Shaykh, the book of the narrators of hadith about whom the masters of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (the critique and vindication of narrators) remained silent... in the refutation of Abu Ghuddah, in one of the chapters, the issue of the Imam Ibn Hbban and his book al-Thiqat is his master's thesis on Ibn Hbban.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Al-Halabi : He says, "The ranks of the narrators profiled in the Book of the Trustworthy. He says, he said:The Shaykh : The hadith scholar 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mu'allimi al-Yamani, speaking about the ranks of the profiled narrators in the Book of the Trustworthy, says: "The truth is that his authentication is on different levels. The first is that he explicitly states the authentication, such as saying he was precise, or his hadith was sound, or something similar. The second is that the man is one of his shaykhs whom he sat with and knew. The third is that he is known for a large amount of hadith, such that it is known that Ibn Hbban found many hadiths from him. The fourth is that it appears from the context of his speech that he knew that man well. The fifth is anything less than that. The first is not less than the authentication of other imams, and perhaps it is more established than the authentication of many of them. The second is close to it. The third is acceptable. The fourth is good. The fifth is one in which error is to be feared. And Allah knows best." And he said:The Shaykh : Nasir al-Din al-Albani, commenting on the words ofThe Shaykh : al-Mu'allimi: "This is a precise detail that indicates the author al-Mu'allimi (may Allah have mercy on him) and his mastery of the science of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (the critique and vindication of narrators). It is something I have not seen from anyone else, so may Allah reward him with good. However, it has become established for me through practice that those among them who are of the fifth rank are, in most cases, unknown and not recognized. This is attested to by the practice of the preservers of hadith, such as al-Dhahabi, al-'Asqalani, and other researchers, for they rarely rely on the authentication of Ibn Hbban alone for those in this rank, or even the rank before it at times. After all this speech, he says...
The Shaykh: Yes.
Al-Halabi : I said: This statement, in its generality, fromThe Shaykh : him is subject to consideration. The narrators profiled in the Book of the Trustworthy are of two categories. The first category is those for whom Ibn Hbban alone provided a profile, or whose reliance upon them was based on those who profiled them after him. These number more than two thousand profiles in the book. The second category is the narrators in whose profiles he shared with others. These are of two types. First, the narrators to whom he applied the terms of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (critique and vindication). These number close to three thousand narrators. The terms of criticism varied and their meanings differed, as I have presented some of this previously. While you find him describing a man as a preserver, precise, trustworthy, truthful, or having sound hadith, you find him describing a man as one who may err, or errs sometimes, or errs often, or errs and contradicts, or errs and deviates, and practices tadlis (concealment of a defect in a chain) and contradicts. The narrators in whom he explicitly states authentication are not of one level in reality in all the terms of authentication. I found that he described fifty-five men as precise (mutqin), but I did not find speech from others regarding eight of them. Those for whom I found profiles were all preservers or trustworthy. As for the term "sound hadith" (mustaqim al-hadith) and what revolves around it, Ibn Hbban applied it to fifty-six narrators and two hundred narrators. His terms indicating soundness were varied. Sometimes he describes the narrator as having very sound hadith, sometimes as having sound matters in hadith, sometimes he qualifies the soundness with conditions, saying for example, "his hadith is sound if he narrates from the trustworthy," or "if the trustworthy narrate from him." Sometimes he says, "he narrated sound hadith," and that "his hadith is sound, he deviates," and "his hadith is sound, he may err." He also used the phrase "he clarified to us his intention regarding soundness," but he most often used the term "sound hadith" in its bare form, and he has other similar terms, but they are few. I found among those Ibn Hbban described as having sound hadith preservers, trustworthy men, and truthful men. I also found among them those who are criticized (mujrah), weak, and unknown according to the terminology of the later scholars. The terms of criticism that Ibn Hbban used in the Book of the Trustworthy and al-Majruhin were one hundred and ninety-nine terms, which I studied all of them critically in the aforementioned thesis and prepared special appendices for their terms. Therefore, I see these generalizations from the virtue ofThe Shaykh : al-Yamani (may Allah have mercy on him) to be general and floating. And what the virtue ofThe Shaykh : al-Albani mentioned, that the speech ofThe Shaykh : al-Mu'allimi is a precise detail, is not precise and is not useful in scientific research. Second, the second type is the narrators about whom Ibn Hbban remained silent, and they number more than ten thousand narrators. These are of varying levels, and it is not possible to give a precise or approximate ruling about them. Among them are the trustworthy preserver, the truthful one, the concealed one (mustawr), the unknown one, the one of unknown status, the weak one, and the one whose hadith is denounced, and so on. Yes, Ibn Hbban's profile of a man may benefit us in identifying his person. Ibn Hbban may have unique information about a man that removes the ignorance of his identity, and even the ignorance of his status at times. However, his silence about a man does not mean that he is trustworthy in his view. It is not a valid objection to my statement that Ibn Hbban mentioned in the introduction of his book that everyone he included in the Book of the Trustworthy is truthful and can be relied upon if the five conditions he mentioned are met, because this statement is theoretical and has been refuted, and he explicitly stated its refutation in various places. We found him explicitly stating in many topics in al-Thiqat that so-and-so was not mentioned for reliance, but only for recognition. And he stated in his book al-Majruhin that every shaykh from whom no one narrated except a weak narrator or weak narrators, or who did not narrate except from a weak narrator or weak narrators, is unknown in his view. And yet, we found him including in al-Thiqat a hundred profiles of men whose owners are not known except through an unknown or weak narrator, or who did not narrate except from an unknown or weak or ambiguous source. The decisive factor regarding the narrators about whom Ibn Hbban remained silent is to examine them against other books of criticism. If we find speech in them, we take what we see as correct from what the authors of the books of criticism said. If we do not find sufficient speech in them, we apply the rules of the critics and the rules of Ibn Hbban himself to them. Most of the narrators about whom Ibn Hbban remains silent, and one of whom a trustworthy man narrated and who narrated from a trustworthy man, are concealed (mustawr) and acceptable in supporting chains and corroborating narrations. Therefore, I said in my thesis on Ibn Hbban regarding the narrators he profiled while remaining silent about them that they are of three levels: first, those who are among the people of trust and truthfulness; second, narrators of the level of consideration (i'tibar); third, narrators to whom the conditions of Ibn Hbban's critical acceptance do not apply, and these are those he mentioned for recognition. And Allah knows best. We want, our Shaykh, a general comment on this?
The Shaykh : This cannot be commented upon because this requires
Al-Halabi : generally, meaning.
The Shaykh : the composition of a thesis. But I wonder, what is the relevance of reciting or reading this comment by this author regarding our previous topic?
Al-Halabi: Yes.
The Shaykh : Because our previous topic was very limited, as I believe it was a duet regardingThe Shaykh : al-Mu'allimi (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is also within a limited scope.
Al-Halabi: Yes.
The Shaykh : Our discussion was regarding the cases where Ibn Hibban uniquely authenticated a narrator, with no other evidence supporting or contradicting that authentication. Now, the conversation has shifted to a matter different from what we were originally addressing. We know that Ibn Hibban, on many occasions, lists a narrator in his book of trustworthy narrators and also lists him in his book of weak narrators. This is a well-known fact, especially in recent times. A few years ago, I directed my efforts toward compiling a specific index for myself, to assist in my research and verification of hadiths. I began creating an index of Ibn Hibban's trustworthy narrators, because anyone familiar with and studying Ibn Hibban's style in his book of trustworthy narrators would find it very difficult to obtain the biography of the narrator they are looking for to determine whether Ibn Hibban listed him among his trustworthy narrators or not. At that time, it occurred to me to create an index that would make it easier and simpler for me to reach the man whose biography is sought by the shortest and easiest path. Then, Allah the Exalted and Majestic willed for me an increase in good by opening up a path of research and verification regarding many of these narrators. Initially, the project was intended to be an index to facilitate obtaining the biographies, but over time it transformed into a verification of many of the narrators whom Ibn Hibban mentioned in his book of trustworthy narrators. Among the things I mentioned earlier is that he lists the same narrator in two contradictory books: he lists him in the trustworthy narrators and also in the weak narrators. I also clarified the situation I spoke of earlier, where he lists a narrator in his book and says, "So-and-so narrated from him," naming only one narrator. However, through tracking, I found that the narrator whom Ibn Hibban biographed in his book of trustworthy narrators, with a narration from a single trustworthy narrator, had other narrators found in works such as al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil and Ibn Hajar's Tahdhib, and similar works. Consequently, I found that I had to comment on such narrators, noting that So-and-so, So-and-so, and So-and-so also narrated from him, in addition to the narrator Ibn Hibban mentioned in his trustworthy narrators. What I want to say is a general comment on this matter: we know that there are many criticisms of Ibn Hibban in his book of trustworthy narrators. However, our research focused on what Ibn Hibban uniquely authenticated without being contradicted by someone more knowledgeable than him regarding the critique and vindication of narrators. We do not have anything other than the fact that Ibn Hibban authenticated him; so what is the value of this authentication? Our original research was to say that what Ibn Hibban uniquely authenticated is unknown. However, we found, as I mentioned last, that many narrators had narrations from a group of trustworthy narrators. For this reason, al-Dhahabi and al-'Asqalani, in such cases, supported Ibn Hibban's authentication, either by saying he is trustworthy or by saying he is truthful. My research did not have this comprehensiveness and generalization that the author addressed. What is his name?
Al-Halabi : 'Adab.
The Shaykh : is it
Al-Halabi : 'Adab.
The Shaykh : 'Adhab, we ask Allah to save us from any punishment.
Al-Halabi : 'Adab with a silent dal.
The Shaykh : 'Adab with the dal.
Al-Halabi : 'Adab.
The Shaykh : 'Adab.
Another questioner : A question, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Yes.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Al-Halabi : He says, "The ranks of the narrators profiled in the Book of the Trustworthy. He says, he said:The Shaykh : The hadith scholar 'Abd al-Rahman al-Mu'allimi al-Yamani, speaking about the ranks of the profiled narrators in the Book of the Trustworthy, says: "The truth is that his authentication is on different levels. The first is that he explicitly states the authentication, such as saying he was precise, or his hadith was sound, or something similar. The second is that the man is one of his shaykhs whom he sat with and knew. The third is that he is known for a large amount of hadith, such that it is known that Ibn Hbban found many hadiths from him. The fourth is that it appears from the context of his speech that he knew that man well. The fifth is anything less than that. The first is not less than the authentication of other imams, and perhaps it is more established than the authentication of many of them. The second is close to it. The third is acceptable. The fourth is good. The fifth is one in which error is to be feared. And Allah knows best." And he said:The Shaykh : Nasir al-Din al-Albani, commenting on the words ofThe Shaykh : al-Mu'allimi: "This is a precise detail that indicates the author al-Mu'allimi (may Allah have mercy on him) and his mastery of the science of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (the critique and vindication of narrators). It is something I have not seen from anyone else, so may Allah reward him with good. However, it has become established for me through practice that those among them who are of the fifth rank are, in most cases, unknown and not recognized. This is attested to by the practice of the preservers of hadith, such as al-Dhahabi, al-'Asqalani, and other researchers, for they rarely rely on the authentication of Ibn Hbban alone for those in this rank, or even the rank before it at times. After all this speech, he says...
The Shaykh: Yes.
Al-Halabi : I said: This statement, in its generality, fromThe Shaykh : him is subject to consideration. The narrators profiled in the Book of the Trustworthy are of two categories. The first category is those for whom Ibn Hbban alone provided a profile, or whose reliance upon them was based on those who profiled them after him. These number more than two thousand profiles in the book. The second category is the narrators in whose profiles he shared with others. These are of two types. First, the narrators to whom he applied the terms of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (critique and vindication). These number close to three thousand narrators. The terms of criticism varied and their meanings differed, as I have presented some of this previously. While you find him describing a man as a preserver, precise, trustworthy, truthful, or having sound hadith, you find him describing a man as one who may err, or errs sometimes, or errs often, or errs and contradicts, or errs and deviates, and practices tadlis (concealment of a defect in a chain) and contradicts. The narrators in whom he explicitly states authentication are not of one level in reality in all the terms of authentication. I found that he described fifty-five men as precise (mutqin), but I did not find speech from others regarding eight of them. Those for whom I found profiles were all preservers or trustworthy. As for the term "sound hadith" (mustaqim al-hadith) and what revolves around it, Ibn Hbban applied it to fifty-six narrators and two hundred narrators. His terms indicating soundness were varied. Sometimes he describes the narrator as having very sound hadith, sometimes as having sound matters in hadith, sometimes he qualifies the soundness with conditions, saying for example, "his hadith is sound if he narrates from the trustworthy," or "if the trustworthy narrate from him." Sometimes he says, "he narrated sound hadith," and that "his hadith is sound, he deviates," and "his hadith is sound, he may err." He also used the phrase "he clarified to us his intention regarding soundness," but he most often used the term "sound hadith" in its bare form, and he has other similar terms, but they are few. I found among those Ibn Hbban described as having sound hadith preservers, trustworthy men, and truthful men. I also found among them those who are criticized (mujrah), weak, and unknown according to the terminology of the later scholars. The terms of criticism that Ibn Hbban used in the Book of the Trustworthy and al-Majruhin were one hundred and ninety-nine terms, which I studied all of them critically in the aforementioned thesis and prepared special appendices for their terms. Therefore, I see these generalizations from the virtue ofThe Shaykh : al-Yamani (may Allah have mercy on him) to be general and floating. And what the virtue ofThe Shaykh : al-Albani mentioned, that the speech ofThe Shaykh : al-Mu'allimi is a precise detail, is not precise and is not useful in scientific research. Second, the second type is the narrators about whom Ibn Hbban remained silent, and they number more than ten thousand narrators. These are of varying levels, and it is not possible to give a precise or approximate ruling about them. Among them are the trustworthy preserver, the truthful one, the concealed one (mustawr), the unknown one, the one of unknown status, the weak one, and the one whose hadith is denounced, and so on. Yes, Ibn Hbban's profile of a man may benefit us in identifying his person. Ibn Hbban may have unique information about a man that removes the ignorance of his identity, and even the ignorance of his status at times. However, his silence about a man does not mean that he is trustworthy in his view. It is not a valid objection to my statement that Ibn Hbban mentioned in the introduction of his book that everyone he included in the Book of the Trustworthy is truthful and can be relied upon if the five conditions he mentioned are met, because this statement is theoretical and has been refuted, and he explicitly stated its refutation in various places. We found him explicitly stating in many topics in al-Thiqat that so-and-so was not mentioned for reliance, but only for recognition. And he stated in his book al-Majruhin that every shaykh from whom no one narrated except a weak narrator or weak narrators, or who did not narrate except from a weak narrator or weak narrators, is unknown in his view. And yet, we found him including in al-Thiqat a hundred profiles of men whose owners are not known except through an unknown or weak narrator, or who did not narrate except from an unknown or weak or ambiguous source. The decisive factor regarding the narrators about whom Ibn Hbban remained silent is to examine them against other books of criticism. If we find speech in them, we take what we see as correct from what the authors of the books of criticism said. If we do not find sufficient speech in them, we apply the rules of the critics and the rules of Ibn Hbban himself to them. Most of the narrators about whom Ibn Hbban remains silent, and one of whom a trustworthy man narrated and who narrated from a trustworthy man, are concealed (mustawr) and acceptable in supporting chains and corroborating narrations. Therefore, I said in my thesis on Ibn Hbban regarding the narrators he profiled while remaining silent about them that they are of three levels: first, those who are among the people of trust and truthfulness; second, narrators of the level of consideration (i'tibar); third, narrators to whom the conditions of Ibn Hbban's critical acceptance do not apply, and these are those he mentioned for recognition. And Allah knows best. We want, our Shaykh, a general comment on this?
The Shaykh : This cannot be commented upon because this requires
Al-Halabi : generally, meaning.
The Shaykh : the composition of a thesis. But I wonder, what is the relevance of reciting or reading this comment by this author regarding our previous topic?
Al-Halabi: Yes.
The Shaykh : Because our previous topic was very limited, as I believe it was a duet regardingThe Shaykh : al-Mu'allimi (may Allah have mercy on him), and it is also within a limited scope.
Al-Halabi: Yes.
The Shaykh : Our discussion was regarding the cases where Ibn Hibban uniquely authenticated a narrator, with no other evidence supporting or contradicting that authentication. Now, the conversation has shifted to a matter different from what we were originally addressing. We know that Ibn Hibban, on many occasions, lists a narrator in his book of trustworthy narrators and also lists him in his book of weak narrators. This is a well-known fact, especially in recent times. A few years ago, I directed my efforts toward compiling a specific index for myself, to assist in my research and verification of hadiths. I began creating an index of Ibn Hibban's trustworthy narrators, because anyone familiar with and studying Ibn Hibban's style in his book of trustworthy narrators would find it very difficult to obtain the biography of the narrator they are looking for to determine whether Ibn Hibban listed him among his trustworthy narrators or not. At that time, it occurred to me to create an index that would make it easier and simpler for me to reach the man whose biography is sought by the shortest and easiest path. Then, Allah the Exalted and Majestic willed for me an increase in good by opening up a path of research and verification regarding many of these narrators. Initially, the project was intended to be an index to facilitate obtaining the biographies, but over time it transformed into a verification of many of the narrators whom Ibn Hibban mentioned in his book of trustworthy narrators. Among the things I mentioned earlier is that he lists the same narrator in two contradictory books: he lists him in the trustworthy narrators and also in the weak narrators. I also clarified the situation I spoke of earlier, where he lists a narrator in his book and says, "So-and-so narrated from him," naming only one narrator. However, through tracking, I found that the narrator whom Ibn Hibban biographed in his book of trustworthy narrators, with a narration from a single trustworthy narrator, had other narrators found in works such as al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil and Ibn Hajar's Tahdhib, and similar works. Consequently, I found that I had to comment on such narrators, noting that So-and-so, So-and-so, and So-and-so also narrated from him, in addition to the narrator Ibn Hibban mentioned in his trustworthy narrators. What I want to say is a general comment on this matter: we know that there are many criticisms of Ibn Hibban in his book of trustworthy narrators. However, our research focused on what Ibn Hibban uniquely authenticated without being contradicted by someone more knowledgeable than him regarding the critique and vindication of narrators. We do not have anything other than the fact that Ibn Hibban authenticated him; so what is the value of this authentication? Our original research was to say that what Ibn Hibban uniquely authenticated is unknown. However, we found, as I mentioned last, that many narrators had narrations from a group of trustworthy narrators. For this reason, al-Dhahabi and al-'Asqalani, in such cases, supported Ibn Hibban's authentication, either by saying he is trustworthy or by saying he is truthful. My research did not have this comprehensiveness and generalization that the author addressed. What is his name?
Al-Halabi : 'Adab.
The Shaykh : is it
Al-Halabi : 'Adab.
The Shaykh : 'Adhab, we ask Allah to save us from any punishment.
Al-Halabi : 'Adab with a silent dal.
The Shaykh : 'Adab with the dal.
Al-Halabi : 'Adab.
The Shaykh : 'Adab.
Another questioner : A question, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh: Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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