Does Ibn Hbban's statement in *Al-Thiqat* that "the people of his town narrated from him" or "the Kufans narrated from him" or "the Basrans narrated from him" remove the specific obscurity of the narrator, or do we remain with what we have found?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Here, may Allah reward you. The question concerns what Ibn Hbban sometimes mentions in his book *Al-Thiqat* regarding some narrators. He mentions a narrator and says, "The people of his town narrated from him," or "The Kufans narrated from him," or "The Basrans narrated from him," if he was a Kufan or a Basran. The student of knowledge searches in the books of the early scholars and finds only one narrator. Does Ibn Hbban's statement remove the specific obscurity of the narrator, or do we remain with the narrators we have found in the books, where only one narrator is mentioned from him?
The Shaykh : We do not remain with that alone; rather, we add to it. We benefit from the statement of al-Hafiz Ibn Hbban that he mentioned a group of Kufans, or Wasitans, or Baghdadans, or similar. This is added to the narrator whom some of the early scholars, such as al-Bukhari and Ibn Abi Hatim, explicitly mentioned. However, the soul is not reassured of his trustworthiness, because this narrator is trustworthy in himself, as implied by Ibn Hbban's inclusion of him in *Al-Thiqat*. Undoubtedly, he is better than the one about whom Ibn Hbban or others say that so-and-so narrated from him.
The questioner : Yes, and the ambiguity of this group does not harm.
The questioner : It does not harm, because we do not use them as proof to establish trustworthiness, but only to remove specific obscurity.
The questioner : All right, our Shaykh, may Allah reward you. Also, regarding Ibn Hbban's conditions for including trustworthy narrators in his book, he said it is required that he narrate from a trustworthy person, and that a trustworthy person narrate from him, and that he not narrate a denounced narration?
The Shaykh : This is a condition he wrote down but did not implement.
The questioner : All right, our Shaykh, even if he had implemented it, what does it benefit that a narrator who does not narrate except from a trustworthy person narrates from a trustworthy person? It is possible that a liar claims to have a trustworthy teacher!
The Shaykh : Yes, not in every case. He set the condition but did not implement it, but this is also a possibility.
The questioner : Yes, likewise, when he says "and a trustworthy person narrates from him," this is not sufficient either. Merely that a trustworthy person narrates from him.
The Shaykh : It is not sufficient.
The questioner : And the third thing, that he does not narrate a denounced narration, does not mean it is impossible for the one who narrates little to narrate only one hadith and for it not to be denounced.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He did not require a large number. Thus, there is an objection to all his conditions.
The Shaykh : A discussion, yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
The Shaykh : We do not remain with that alone; rather, we add to it. We benefit from the statement of al-Hafiz Ibn Hbban that he mentioned a group of Kufans, or Wasitans, or Baghdadans, or similar. This is added to the narrator whom some of the early scholars, such as al-Bukhari and Ibn Abi Hatim, explicitly mentioned. However, the soul is not reassured of his trustworthiness, because this narrator is trustworthy in himself, as implied by Ibn Hbban's inclusion of him in *Al-Thiqat*. Undoubtedly, he is better than the one about whom Ibn Hbban or others say that so-and-so narrated from him.
The questioner : Yes, and the ambiguity of this group does not harm.
The questioner : It does not harm, because we do not use them as proof to establish trustworthiness, but only to remove specific obscurity.
The questioner : All right, our Shaykh, may Allah reward you. Also, regarding Ibn Hbban's conditions for including trustworthy narrators in his book, he said it is required that he narrate from a trustworthy person, and that a trustworthy person narrate from him, and that he not narrate a denounced narration?
The Shaykh : This is a condition he wrote down but did not implement.
The questioner : All right, our Shaykh, even if he had implemented it, what does it benefit that a narrator who does not narrate except from a trustworthy person narrates from a trustworthy person? It is possible that a liar claims to have a trustworthy teacher!
The Shaykh : Yes, not in every case. He set the condition but did not implement it, but this is also a possibility.
The questioner : Yes, likewise, when he says "and a trustworthy person narrates from him," this is not sufficient either. Merely that a trustworthy person narrates from him.
The Shaykh : It is not sufficient.
The questioner : And the third thing, that he does not narrate a denounced narration, does not mean it is impossible for the one who narrates little to narrate only one hadith and for it not to be denounced.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : He did not require a large number. Thus, there is an objection to all his conditions.
The Shaykh : A discussion, yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you.
Source
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The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.