Is the number of scholars who graded a narrator as trustworthy one of the criteria for preference? And is it possible for the one graded by fewer scholars to be more famous than the one graded by many?

The questioner : May Allah preserve you. In the matter of criteria for preference, you have mentioned and indicated that there are many criteria, and some have listed more than one hundred in this field. Here is another issue that the researcher encounters.

The Shaykh : The residue of a drink is a cure, as in the weak hadith.

The questioner : The issue the researcher encounters is when two men differ, each of whom is described in *al-Taqrib* as trustworthy.

The Shaykh : Okay.

The questioner : But if we refer to *al-Tahdhib*, we see that one of them is more trustworthy.

The Shaykh : More trustworthy than the other.

The questioner : But we see that one of them was graded as trustworthy only by Ahmad.

The Shaykh : Okay.

The questioner : And we see that the second was graded as trustworthy by Ahmad along with a large group; perhaps five graded him. So, do you prefer the narration of the trustworthy narrator who was graded by five, each saying "trustworthy, trustworthy, trustworthy, trustworthy," until the Hafiz finally said "trustworthy"? Whereas the first was graded only by, for example, Ahmad, or Ibn Ma'in, or Abu Hatim, who said "trustworthy"? So, *al-Taqrib* carries the description of "trustworthy" without indicating the number, while *al-Tahdhib* clearly shows the number. It is possible that the one who was graded by one person was mistaken, or that he did not review all of his hadiths, or other possibilities mentioned. Unlike the one who is graded by more than one person. So, in the case of preference, is it possible to take this as one of the criteria for preference among narrators? This is the situation I described.

The Shaykh : Yes, and yes.

The questioner : Okay, please proceed.

The Shaykh : Yes, and yes, because this is indeed a criterion for preference. However, there may be other criteria that conflict with this one. So I say this is a criterion if the two trustworthy narrators are equal in fame and in the number of narrators who narrated from them. Then this distinction remains. I agree with what you hinted at, but the opposite may be the case. The trustworthy narrator who was graded by many may not have the fame of the one who was graded by a single Imam.

The questioner : It can happen, O our Shaykh. It is possible that one is graded by many.The Shaykh : It is possible.

The questioner : And does not have the fame of the one who was graded by one.

The Shaykh : This is possible, at least for us. As we have mentioned more than once, our knowledge and the path of our knowledge is such that we refer, for example, to the book *al-Tahdhib* that you mentioned. We find that this person who was graded by a group of Hafiz may have narrators who are not as numerous as those of the other person who was graded by a single Hafiz. And, as we said earlier, the one who was graded by a single Imam may be from the men of...The Shaykh : ...the Sunnah, while the other may not be so. Therefore, a balance must be struck between one criterion and another. If there are no such other criteria, then what you hinted at earlier is a criterion that prefers the one graded by a group over the narrator who was graded by an individual.

The questioner : O our Shaykh, and paying attention to such circumstances and criteria, in fact, all of us, or most of us, the researchers, these young ones or beginners like me, the second and third, in reality, these things do not easily come to our minds. I ask Allah to bless you.

The Shaykh : May Allah preserve you.

The questioner : In fact, there is a big difference between practice and experience and the knowledge of beginners. You spoke and said, "Perhaps, and perhaps." I was surprised and said, "Who...The Shaykh : ...brings the second 'qad'? The second 'qad' that I am saying. But where, O Shaykh, does this second 'qad' come from? What Allah willed.

The Shaykh : It is this practice.

The questioner : I ask Allah to bless you and preserve you. The brother Abu Hatim says, "No one reveals the secret of the profession except the scholars. They are the ones who reveal the secret of the profession to the young students and others of other trades, while they are stingy with it."

The Shaykh : This is obligatory.

The questioner : I ask Allah to preserve you.