Is it required for a narrator known for tadlis al-taswiyyah to explicitly state that he heard the report in every layer of the chain, or is it sufficient for him to do so only between himself and his shaykh?

The questioner : Praise is to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our own souls and the badness of our deeds. Whoever is guided by Allah, no one can misguide him, and whoever is led astray, no one can guide him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger. As for what follows, at the beginning of my talk with our shaykh and with you, I have with me a number of questions, most of which are hadith-related questions that students and seekers of knowledge need. There are also da'wah-related questions in which the youth differ, and there are other questions concerning the tribes, given that I live among them and they bring many cases to me for judgment, so I also need to know the Shari'ah ruling in them. I will start with the hadith questions, which are currently the most important to me. The question is about tadlis al-taswiyyah: for a narrator who is known to commit tadlis al-taswiyyah, is it required that he narrate the chain with an explicit statement of hearing in every layer of the chain up to the Companion, or is it sufficient for him to do so only between himself and his shaykh, and between his shaykh and his shaykh’s shaykh? And it would be wonderful if you could refer me to a scholar who has explicitly stated something of this. May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : To the extent of my knowledge, I do not recall a shaykh among our early scholars to whom I can refer you. Rather, what I see, and Allah knows best, is that if a person’s tadlis is tadlis al-taswiyyah, our position regarding him is twofold. The first is a position we are certain of and assert with conviction: if his tadlis is tadlis al-taswiyyah, and the meaning of that is, as is known to most of those present, that he omits his shaykh’s shaykh, then if we find a chain of this type where his shaykh’s shaykh did not explicitly state that he heard it, or where he did not explicitly state that he heard it from his shaykh, then we must avoid this chain unless there is another chain that strengthens the text of that chain. This is the position that is necessary. The other position is a precautionary one, and I recall what I said: what has been imprinted on my mind during this long journey of study is to avoid any chain that is connected by 'an'anah in every layer of its chain, as a precaution. However, this is with the exception of a hadith that is supported by a chain narrated by that mudallis in one of the two Sahihs. In that case, we do not adhere to the precaution I mentioned, unlike the first matter, which is clear.

The questioner : Clear, my Shaykh.