The Shaykh’s response to the claim of some writers: that not all the hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari are authentic.

The Shaykh : This group of writers in the Arabi magazine, which is published in Kuwait, conducted a study with a very dangerous title: “Not every hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari is authentic.” They wrote pages under this dangerous title. I ask you to remember with me that publishing such a study in the Arabi magazine—and I am not exaggerating if I say it is a non-religious magazine—if it were a religious magazine, a Shari’ah magazine like some others, for example, al-Wa’i al-Islami, and this article were published in it, we would say, by Allah, the intention is to educate the devout Muslim community. But this article is published in a magazine that combats Islam in many of its articles, and its title is “Not every hadith in al-Bukhari is authentic.” Then the writer speaks at length. Part of the writer’s ignorance is that he came to the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: This foolish, ignorant writer understood from the word “yubashiruni” (he has physical contact with me) that it means “he has sexual intercourse with me.” Consequently, he set up a contradiction between the hadith and the consensus of the Ummah and between the saying of Allah the Exalted: The Ummah has agreed that having physical contact with one’s wife, meaning sexual intercourse, during Ramadan is first, forbidden and not permissible, and second, it invalidates the fast. This commentator—and in Syrian expression, a “mulla’ik” (one who chews gum, meaning one who speaks empty, useless words)—says, how can it be valid for a hadith attributed to the Messenger that he had sexual intercourse with Aisha while fasting in Ramadan? This is due to his ignorance, for “mubasharah” (physical contact) can mean sexual intercourse, in which case it is a matter of metaphor and euphemism in expression, as came from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) when he interpreted the saying of Allah the Exalted: He said, “The Qur’an is delicate in expression, so it used ‘lams’ (touching) as a euphemism for intercourse.” This is a wonderful Qur’anic style. So he interpreted “mubasharah” in the hadith as intercourse. In that case, if that were the meaning of the hadith, it would be an invalid hadith, even if the scholars had agreed upon it. Then he brought other hadiths, which is also more astonishing than the first, because they are not in the two Sahihs, and I am the most knowledgeable person about them because I had traced some of them in the Series of Weak Hadiths. It is the hadith that says Abu Talhah al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) was seen in Ramadan eating the coldness descending from the sky. They said to him, “Are you eating coldness while you are fasting?” He said, “This is not food; it is a blessing from the sky; he eats and cools off.” And he says, in the claim of the narration, “This is not food; it is a blessing from the sky.” The hadith came from the perspective of narration in two forms: one, which is the stronger, is that it is mawquf (stopping at a Companion), and the other is that it is marfu’ (traced to the Prophet). The marfu’ version came that Anas went to the Messenger to say, “Abu Talhah did such and such,” and said that it is not food but a blessing from the sky. He said to him, peace and blessings be upon him, in the claim of the weak narration: This ignorant writer attributed this hadith to the Sahih, and it has no relation to the Sahih specifically, meaning Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim, nor does it have any relation to the Sahih at all, because it is weak and not authentic. Therefore, I had traced it in the first part of the Series of Weak Hadiths. The point is that he struck a random blow in the dark night, as they used to say in old times. Some individuals from some Islamic associations in Kuwait became enthusiastic about this article and published a printed paper titled “Everything in Sahih al-Bukhari is authentic.” Did he study anything of the science of hadith? Did he study the critique of al-Daraqutni and what was accepted from him and what was not? No, it was only emotional enthusiasm, and it is common among the general people that what is in the two Sahihs is authentic, so he went and wrote a paper with the exact opposite title: “Everything in Sahih al-Bukhari is authentic.” The scholars truly know, first, that the marfu’ hadiths in Sahih al-Bukhari are with him in two categories: a category that is musnad (with a complete chain), and this category is the majority, and it is authentic according to the author, and it is from this that what was criticized was criticized, and what was accepted from this critic was accepted by Imam al-Daraqutni. The second category is the hadiths known in the science of terminology as mu’allaq hadiths. These mu’allaq hadiths, according to al-Bukhari himself, some are not authentic. So how can a Muslim challenge the misguided sinner with a paper titled “Everything in Sahih al-Bukhari is authentic”? And al-Bukhari himself does not believe in this statement, because often he suspends a hadith and then refutes it, saying, “The first is more authentic,” meaning what he mentioned with a complete chain is more authentic than what he mentioned suspended, because it contradicts the authentic hadith. So it is necessary that we speak with knowledge. Here the lesson is that we do not speak with boiling, overflowing emotion in the path of caring for the safety of the two Sahihs from what we call unscientific criticism, which means random, in the path of not speaking in the critique of the two Sahihs with random criticism that closes the door to scientific criticism. No, the matter is a middle ground between these and those. Whoever speaks, he must speak with the words of the people of knowledge, otherwise let him be silent, as he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: And now, Professor, allow us to leave so that we can prepare for the prayer, if Allah wills. And had we not been at this time, we would have continued with you as long as Allah wills. And Glory be to You, O Allah, and with Your praise, I testify that there is no god but You, I seek Your forgiveness and I repent to You.

The Shaykh : And do you seeThe Shaykh : Maqbul?

The questioner : Often.

The Shaykh : What is the distance between you and him?

The questioner : I mean, if I leave by car in the morning, I will pray Asr with him or before Asr.

The Shaykh : What Allah willed, meaning about 700 km or 800 km?

The questioner : About 400 kilometers, and he is well, praise be to Allah.

The Shaykh : How is he doing?

The questioner : Very good.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, we hear, praise be to Allah, that he is active and has many students of knowledge, is that not so?

The questioner : He has 300 students of knowledge, of whom about 100 are with their families, and they have separate houses, and those who are without families sleep in the mosque and the library, and so on. Praise be to Allah, He has benefited many through him.

The Shaykh : Are there strangers among the families?

The questioner : Most of them are strangers to his region, and they are Yemenis.

The Shaykh : I mean from outside Yemen?

The questioner : They are Yemenis.

The Shaykh : Yemenis.

The questioner : And as for those who do not have families, they are many.

The Shaykh : And you are perhaps one of those few?

The questioner : I reside in Marib.

The Shaykh : Meaning his goodness does not extend to Marib?

The questioner : He comesThe Shaykh : to Marib, and we go to him, and students go from us to him, and he comes for da’wah in Marib as well.

The Shaykh : If you meet him, greet him.

The questioner : If Allah wills.

The Shaykh : If Allah wills, and also to anyone else for whom it is easy for you.

The questioner : I requested some people here, and I met two of them here yesterday in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), meaning about forty or fifty students came.

The Shaykh : May Allah make you good from the goodness of Paradise.

The questioner : We received many reports that you will come to Yemen to visit the Shaykh and call to Allah, Mighty and Majestic?

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. By Allah, the invitations are many, but the response is few, because my academic conditions first, and health conditions second, do not allow me to bring joy and happiness to myself in such a visit.

The questioner : We were so happy with this to the extent thatThe Shaykh : when he was informed of some things, tears came to his face, and he was mentioned in his presence.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward him with good. He was one of the most generous students in the university when I was teaching there, and what a good student, and what a goodThe Shaykh : now, if Allah wills.