And whether a later scholar may identify an unknown narrator from the earlier generations and classify him as reliable or defective.

The questioner : And this too, my Shaykh, if we count the discussion from the chapter on concealment (tadlis) to the chapter on the critique and vindication of narrators, likewise, regarding the men whom the Imams have judged to be unknown, do we have the right in this time to judge him as known for his reliability or for his defect?

The Shaykh : No.

The questioner : And looking into his hadith.

The Shaykh : What is to be added.

The questioner : And the matter is as my Shaykh said, may Allah preserve you.The Shaykh : Al-Mu'allimi also mentioned this phrase in *Al-Tamkin*. He said to us that we should say: if the Imams say so-and-so narrated uniquely from so-and-so, we say he did not narrate uniquely from him; rather, so-and-so else narrated from him.

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : As al-Bazzar and al-Tabarani often do in their books, and Abu Nu'aym and others.

The Shaykh : Meaning.

The questioner : Meaning they use the term "unique narration" while there is a supporting chain, but he said: as for judging him as reliable or defective, that is not known. This is not possible for us regarding the earlier generations.

The Shaykh: Correct.