Is there a difference between "this hadith is invalid" and "this hadith is fabricated"?
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The questioner : Is there a difference between saying "this hadith is invalid" and "this hadith is fabricated"?
The Shaykh : Yes, there is a difference. It is generally required that the hadith described as fabricated contains a narrator in its chain who has been accused of fabrication. This condition is not required for a hadith described as invalid, because they generally mean its invalidity from two aspects. The first aspect is the meaning of the hadith; it is invalid in its text. They may also mean, from the aspect of the chain, that the one who narrated this hadith with this wording narrated it from an imam of the hadith, let us say Imam al-Zuhri for example. Imam al-Zuhri has an uncountable number of students, and none of them narrated this hadith from this Imam al-Zuhri, so a person narrates it exclusively from him. He is not a fabricator or a liar, but rather weak, or he has denunciations as they say, let alone if he is one who narrates denounced hadiths, and so on. So here too, they use the term "weakness."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because it is highly unlikely that such a hadith with this text would be hidden from al-Zuhri, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, or al-Musayyib from Abu Hurayrah. It is highly denounceable that it would be hidden from al-Zuhri's students who were constantly with him and who narrated extensively from him, and then a person of no standing in knowledge, in connection to the imams of hadith, and in closeness or specialization with Imam al-Zuhri, would narrate it exclusively. So in such a case, they say this hadith is invalid.
The questioner : May Allah will it, even if the text does not contain anything contradictory.
The Shaykh : That is correct.
The questioner : What Allah willed.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : If a weak hadith were brought from al-Zuhri himself in the same example you mentioned, if a weak supporter also came from another supporter for the same text and the same chain, is it accepted?
The Shaykh : The support is accepted for the hadith.
The questioner : Meaning the hadith is accepted in this case, so the weak one is supported by another weak one from al-Zuhri.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : It is not accepted.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : For the same first reason, yes.
The Shaykh : No, in this case it is not. But if the one from whom it is narrated is not of such fame and with so many students, meaning the observations of the imams of hadith and jurists are needed, not the opinions of scholars of hadith, because they have a precision of insight, may Allah will it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner: Our Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, there is a difference. It is generally required that the hadith described as fabricated contains a narrator in its chain who has been accused of fabrication. This condition is not required for a hadith described as invalid, because they generally mean its invalidity from two aspects. The first aspect is the meaning of the hadith; it is invalid in its text. They may also mean, from the aspect of the chain, that the one who narrated this hadith with this wording narrated it from an imam of the hadith, let us say Imam al-Zuhri for example. Imam al-Zuhri has an uncountable number of students, and none of them narrated this hadith from this Imam al-Zuhri, so a person narrates it exclusively from him. He is not a fabricator or a liar, but rather weak, or he has denunciations as they say, let alone if he is one who narrates denounced hadiths, and so on. So here too, they use the term "weakness."
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Because it is highly unlikely that such a hadith with this text would be hidden from al-Zuhri, Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib, or al-Musayyib from Abu Hurayrah. It is highly denounceable that it would be hidden from al-Zuhri's students who were constantly with him and who narrated extensively from him, and then a person of no standing in knowledge, in connection to the imams of hadith, and in closeness or specialization with Imam al-Zuhri, would narrate it exclusively. So in such a case, they say this hadith is invalid.
The questioner : May Allah will it, even if the text does not contain anything contradictory.
The Shaykh : That is correct.
The questioner : What Allah willed.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner : If a weak hadith were brought from al-Zuhri himself in the same example you mentioned, if a weak supporter also came from another supporter for the same text and the same chain, is it accepted?
The Shaykh : The support is accepted for the hadith.
The questioner : Meaning the hadith is accepted in this case, so the weak one is supported by another weak one from al-Zuhri.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : It is not accepted.
The Shaykh : No.
The questioner : For the same first reason, yes.
The Shaykh : No, in this case it is not. But if the one from whom it is narrated is not of such fame and with so many students, meaning the observations of the imams of hadith and jurists are needed, not the opinions of scholars of hadith, because they have a precision of insight, may Allah will it.
The questioner : May Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : Yes, indeed.
The questioner: Our Shaykh.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.