What is your opinion of one who denies to you a statement narrated by al-Bukhari or Muslim, which is authentic?
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The questioner : There are those who say that your statement regarding the al-Tahawi creed, "narrated by Muslim, and it is authentic," or "narrated by al-Bukhari, and it is authentic," casts doubt upon the two Sahihs. What is the response?
The Shaykh : This is a style we know from Akhzam. We have spoken about this shubhah (doubtful matter) raised by one of the enemies of the Sunnah, who did not limit himself to establishing his intense enmity toward the people of the Sunnah and the followers of the Sunnah in practice, but also claimed a lineage to those who preceded him in such enmity by claiming that lineage. He spoke of himself, though he is not of that lineage, but out of pride in his Shaykh, he said he is so-and-so al-Kawthari, meaning he takes pride in his Shaykh, al-Kawthari, who is known for his intense enmity toward the people of the Sunnah. This man has tried for many years to emerge through the channel of one who published the hadiths of al-Tahawi in this style referred to by the questioner. Even if there is some transposition and reordering, this transposition and reordering is actually acceptable to... that young al-Kawthari. The young al-Kawthari criticized my concise style in tracing the hadiths of al-Tahawi to their sources. I followed the following style: "Authentic, narrated by al-Bukhari," and so on; "Authentic, narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i," and so on; "Good, narrated by Ahmad in the Musnad"; "Weak, narrated by..." So he misled and spread throughout the Islamic world his false and slanderous claim that a hadith narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim does not become authentic in the view of this publisher unless he authenticates it himself. Therefore, he says, "Authentic, narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim," and so on, without mentioning it. The reality is that this style was not invented by me. I have established the proof against him and silenced him with quotes from a manuscript book that is now printed and known among students of knowledge, let alone scholars. I mean the book Sharh al-Sunnah by Imam al-Baghawi. This noble man narrates the hadith with its chain to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and sometimes narrates it through the path of Imam al-Bukhari, and sometimes through the path of Imam Muslim. After narrating the text, he says, "This is a hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim," or "This is an authentic hadith narrated by al-Bukhari." If he accuses me of this accusation, does that mean Imam al-Baghawi did not authenticate a hadith narrated by the two Shaykhs unless he authenticated it himself? No. Rather, this... in clear terms, this is authentic, or good, or weak, and so on, and then he narrates the assessment afterwards. We have said in our response to this man, which indicates that he is a person of bias and not a well-wisher: Why did the young al-Kawthari not criticize the great al-Kawthari when he explicitly weakened many hadiths from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim? I cited some examples in that introduction. Why does he not criticize his Shaykh who explicitly weakens them, but criticizes us for following this style of saying, "Authentic, narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim"? And finally, we said, "People have different tastes in what they love." We... this style, and we do not mean that a hadith is not authentic unless we authenticate it. Therefore, I say it clearly: Some students of knowledge ask me, "Are there hadiths in the two Sahihs that are subject to criticism?" I say, "Yes." They say to me, "Why do you not alert us to them?" I say, "We have thousands of hadiths that need more clarification than those, and what Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim have published. As al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi said... they have crossed the bridge, meaning they are safe from criticism. So we are not the ones who should criticize these two Imams. And this is in reality a very great task, and what is in us is sufficient for us, meaning the hadiths that we need to clarify and distinguish the authentic from the weak. That is... knowledge. But to pursue al-Bukhari and Muslim, this is not our category and not our methodology. And Allah the Exalted is the one responsible to guide the Muslims to follow the ways of the Master of the Messengers, upon him be the best of peace and the most complete of submission.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good
The Shaykh : This is a style we know from Akhzam. We have spoken about this shubhah (doubtful matter) raised by one of the enemies of the Sunnah, who did not limit himself to establishing his intense enmity toward the people of the Sunnah and the followers of the Sunnah in practice, but also claimed a lineage to those who preceded him in such enmity by claiming that lineage. He spoke of himself, though he is not of that lineage, but out of pride in his Shaykh, he said he is so-and-so al-Kawthari, meaning he takes pride in his Shaykh, al-Kawthari, who is known for his intense enmity toward the people of the Sunnah. This man has tried for many years to emerge through the channel of one who published the hadiths of al-Tahawi in this style referred to by the questioner. Even if there is some transposition and reordering, this transposition and reordering is actually acceptable to... that young al-Kawthari. The young al-Kawthari criticized my concise style in tracing the hadiths of al-Tahawi to their sources. I followed the following style: "Authentic, narrated by al-Bukhari," and so on; "Authentic, narrated by Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i," and so on; "Good, narrated by Ahmad in the Musnad"; "Weak, narrated by..." So he misled and spread throughout the Islamic world his false and slanderous claim that a hadith narrated in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim does not become authentic in the view of this publisher unless he authenticates it himself. Therefore, he says, "Authentic, narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim," and so on, without mentioning it. The reality is that this style was not invented by me. I have established the proof against him and silenced him with quotes from a manuscript book that is now printed and known among students of knowledge, let alone scholars. I mean the book Sharh al-Sunnah by Imam al-Baghawi. This noble man narrates the hadith with its chain to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and sometimes narrates it through the path of Imam al-Bukhari, and sometimes through the path of Imam Muslim. After narrating the text, he says, "This is a hadith agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim," or "This is an authentic hadith narrated by al-Bukhari." If he accuses me of this accusation, does that mean Imam al-Baghawi did not authenticate a hadith narrated by the two Shaykhs unless he authenticated it himself? No. Rather, this... in clear terms, this is authentic, or good, or weak, and so on, and then he narrates the assessment afterwards. We have said in our response to this man, which indicates that he is a person of bias and not a well-wisher: Why did the young al-Kawthari not criticize the great al-Kawthari when he explicitly weakened many hadiths from Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim? I cited some examples in that introduction. Why does he not criticize his Shaykh who explicitly weakens them, but criticizes us for following this style of saying, "Authentic, narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim"? And finally, we said, "People have different tastes in what they love." We... this style, and we do not mean that a hadith is not authentic unless we authenticate it. Therefore, I say it clearly: Some students of knowledge ask me, "Are there hadiths in the two Sahihs that are subject to criticism?" I say, "Yes." They say to me, "Why do you not alert us to them?" I say, "We have thousands of hadiths that need more clarification than those, and what Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim have published. As al-Hafiz al-Dhahabi said... they have crossed the bridge, meaning they are safe from criticism. So we are not the ones who should criticize these two Imams. And this is in reality a very great task, and what is in us is sufficient for us, meaning the hadiths that we need to clarify and distinguish the authentic from the weak. That is... knowledge. But to pursue al-Bukhari and Muslim, this is not our category and not our methodology. And Allah the Exalted is the one responsible to guide the Muslims to follow the ways of the Master of the Messengers, upon him be the best of peace and the most complete of submission.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good