What is the ruling on a narrator who has no biographical entry, but whose narrations were included by Abu 'Uwanah in al-Mustakhraj, al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, and their like, who are not known for strictness?
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The questioner : Likewise, regarding a narrator who has no biographical entry except that Abu 'Uwanah included him in al-Mustakhraj, the authors of the Mustakhrajat, and al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak, and Ibn Khuzaymah, and it is known that he is not strict or does not meet the condition of authenticity, as happened with the authors of the two Sahihs, where there is no authentication for him, but he is among the narrators of Abu 'Uwanah in al-Mustakhraj or among the narrators of Abu Nu'aym?
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that we must distinguish between someone like Abu 'Uwanah and someone like al-Hakim. Because in our study of Abu 'Uwanah's al-Mustakhraj and our study of al-Mustadrak, we find first that the first group's level is higher than al-Hakim's level. And we find secondly that al-Hakim narrates from some sheikhs who are not authenticated and whose narrations are not relied upon. And in what is in my mind at this moment, I do not find a trace of such a thing in what I have studied of the chains of Abu 'Uwanah's al-Mustakhraj. I want from all of this that we elevate the status of Abu 'Uwanah and do not compare him with al-Hakim in his al-Mustadrak. The third person I mentioned is among those with al-Hakim.
The questioner : Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban.
The Shaykh : Ibn Khuzaymah, yes.
The questioner : And similarly al-Diya' in al-Mukhtarat, everyone knows, and Ibn al-Jarud, everyone knows that he has some selection, even if he did not fulfill it.
The Shaykh : Yes, but not all of them are the same.
The questioner : I want to know, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : If you want to know, you have the right to that, and we are with you, but the question should be specified. What exactly do you want to know?
The questioner : ... Abu 'Uwanah, one of them, we count them ... .
The Shaykh : This is one by one to make the topic clearer. I say that regarding Abu 'Uwanah, I do not hesitate to accept what he narrates from his sheikhs. That is the case entirely, just as we say regarding Muslim and al-Bukhari, meaning the authors of the Sahihs, about whom we do not know of any laxity that would make us not rely on their inclusion of some of their sheikhs. No, we rely on them because we have not known of any laxity from them. And on this occasion, and I hope I do not forget to ... in the answer, I want to mention that some of the hadith scholars today, those involved in this science, often say that a narrator is unknown because they do not find an authentication for him except from someone like Ibn Hibban, for example, while they know that he is included in al-Bukhari or Muslim. They do not consider the inclusion of these two Imams for this narrator, for whom they do not find explicit authentication, as an authentication. This is a mistake, without doubt. But we do not treat others with this treatment if we know of laxity from them. So Abu 'Uwanah, half of his book is with those who are lax, and half is with the strict ones. And he composed his book as an extraction from the Sahih. No, I do not have this meaning in my mind at all; rather, I describe him with Imam Muslim himself. And just as we deal with Muslim himself, the rule is to rely on him and on those he included, unless something explicit is established for us that prevents us from relying on him regarding those he included in his Sahih. Similarly, I deal with Abu 'Uwanah.
The questioner : And similarly al-Isma'ili, al-Barqani, and Abu Nu'aym.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that we must distinguish between someone like Abu 'Uwanah and someone like al-Hakim. Because in our study of Abu 'Uwanah's al-Mustakhraj and our study of al-Mustadrak, we find first that the first group's level is higher than al-Hakim's level. And we find secondly that al-Hakim narrates from some sheikhs who are not authenticated and whose narrations are not relied upon. And in what is in my mind at this moment, I do not find a trace of such a thing in what I have studied of the chains of Abu 'Uwanah's al-Mustakhraj. I want from all of this that we elevate the status of Abu 'Uwanah and do not compare him with al-Hakim in his al-Mustadrak. The third person I mentioned is among those with al-Hakim.
The questioner : Ibn Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibban.
The Shaykh : Ibn Khuzaymah, yes.
The questioner : And similarly al-Diya' in al-Mukhtarat, everyone knows, and Ibn al-Jarud, everyone knows that he has some selection, even if he did not fulfill it.
The Shaykh : Yes, but not all of them are the same.
The questioner : I want to know, may Allah reward you.
The Shaykh : If you want to know, you have the right to that, and we are with you, but the question should be specified. What exactly do you want to know?
The questioner : ... Abu 'Uwanah, one of them, we count them ... .
The Shaykh : This is one by one to make the topic clearer. I say that regarding Abu 'Uwanah, I do not hesitate to accept what he narrates from his sheikhs. That is the case entirely, just as we say regarding Muslim and al-Bukhari, meaning the authors of the Sahihs, about whom we do not know of any laxity that would make us not rely on their inclusion of some of their sheikhs. No, we rely on them because we have not known of any laxity from them. And on this occasion, and I hope I do not forget to ... in the answer, I want to mention that some of the hadith scholars today, those involved in this science, often say that a narrator is unknown because they do not find an authentication for him except from someone like Ibn Hibban, for example, while they know that he is included in al-Bukhari or Muslim. They do not consider the inclusion of these two Imams for this narrator, for whom they do not find explicit authentication, as an authentication. This is a mistake, without doubt. But we do not treat others with this treatment if we know of laxity from them. So Abu 'Uwanah, half of his book is with those who are lax, and half is with the strict ones. And he composed his book as an extraction from the Sahih. No, I do not have this meaning in my mind at all; rather, I describe him with Imam Muslim himself. And just as we deal with Muslim himself, the rule is to rely on him and on those he included, unless something explicit is established for us that prevents us from relying on him regarding those he included in his Sahih. Similarly, I deal with Abu 'Uwanah.
The questioner : And similarly al-Isma'ili, al-Barqani, and Abu Nu'aym.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
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