Is the word "hasan" in "hasan hadith" not a description of the chain of narration, but rather a qualification for acting upon the hadith? We request details on this.

The Shaykh: Is it clear?

The questioner : Yes, exactly.

The Shaykh : We have only five minutes left with us, if Allah wills.

The questioner : We will be delayed, if Allah wills, by ten minutes, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Only five minutes.

The questioner : The third question is about the issue of "tahsin" (improvement/grading as hasan).

The Shaykh : The issue?

The questioner : Regarding "tahsin," some hold that it is not a judgment on the chain of narration in terms of examining the reliability of the narrators and its continuity, but rather it means its suitability for action or that action is carried out based on it, while it is lower in rank than "sahih" (authentic) and falls into "da'if" (weak) with a probable weakness. Perhaps "tahsin" was intended to mean "gharabah" (strangeness) and "tawarrud" (singularity). There are also those who hold that "hasan li-ghayrihi" (hasan due to other supporting chains) and the acceptance of a hadith by the sum of its chains originated among the later scholars. We request details on this.

The Shaykh : There is no room for details now, but I say that this person who says this—and I do not know who the speaker is—is merely spouting nonsense without knowing.
The "hasan hadith" is known among the scholars of hadith to be one in which all the conditions of the "sahih hadith" are met, except that one of its narrators has a slight weakness in memorization. This is the "hasan hadith." It is a mix from the mix you referred to, where "hasan" may be applied to a "gharib" (strange) hadith. It is the other way around; that is the correct view. "Gharib" may be applied to a "hasan hadith," and even to a "sahih hadith," because the scholars of hadith say, "Strangeness may coexist with authenticity." This is because the intended meaning of "gharabah" is singularity. So there is no difference between one who says, "This is a strange hadith," and one who explains by saying, "So-and-so narrated this hadith alone." When we look at the one who narrated it alone, is he trustworthy? We say his hadith is "sahih." Is he less precise in memorization than a trustworthy narrator? We say his hadith is "hasan." We say he is weak in memorization, so the hadith is then "da'if." Strangeness coexists with "hasan" and "sahih." So it is not the case that "hasan" is used to mean "gharib"; that is an error. The important point is that this hadith—this entire statement—stems from a single source, a murky source, meaning he does not know the terminology. The "sahih hadith" is divided into "sahih li-dhatihi" (sahih in itself) and "sahih li-ghayrihi" (sahih due to other supporting chains), and "hasan" is also divided into "hasan li-dhatihi" and "hasan li-ghayrihi." Sometimes they may mean "hasan" by the sum of its chains. But when "hasan hadith" is used in a general sense, the intended meaning is "hasan li-dhatihi." Therefore, Imam al-Tirmidhi—and he is likely from the generations who refer to the first generation of hadith scholars, as he was a student of Imam al-Bukhari and did not go beyond the third century—agreed on dividing the hadith into "sahih" and "hasan." In fact, I may have spoken too broadly in saying he agreed on this, because the truth is that his teacher, al-Bukhari, agreed on this terminology, and the student, al-Tirmidhi, popularized this usage in his book *Sunan*. However, he distinguished between "hasan li-dhatihi" and "hasan li-ghayrihi." He mentioned this at the end of his book *Sunan*, in the section on defects known as *al-'Ilal al-Sughra* (Minor Defects). He distinguished between when a hadith is "hasan li-dhatihi" and when it is "hasan li-ghayrihi." In his view, for a "hasan li-dhatihi" hadith, he says, "A hasan, strange hadith." But if it is "hasan li-ghayrihi," he does not say "strange"; he says, "A hasan hadith," meaning it is strengthened by the sum of its chains. He explicitly stated that in his view, it is required that none of those chains contain a person accused of lying. This is sufficient, and praise be to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.

The questioner : One last question, Shaykh.

Another questioner : ... If he says "hasan," it means "hasan li-ghayrihi" ... .

The Shaykh : This is al-Tirmidhi's statement.

The questioner : He distinguishes between ... ah, he distinguishes ... .

The Shaykh : What does "sahih gharib hadith" mean? What does "gharib" mean?

The questioner : It means it is singular.

The Shaykh : This is what I said earlier.
Al-Halabi : "Hasan li-dhatihi."

The Shaykh : Okay, and "hasan gharib"?

The questioner : Its meaning is that it is singular.

The Shaykh : Okay, and "hasan"?

The questioner : In al-Tirmidhi's view, it is strengthened.
Abu Malik: ...

The Shaykh : ... By Allah, may He have mercy on them, did the news of the passing of ... reach you? We are all on this path; we ask Allah for death upon faith.
Abu Malik: ...

The Shaykh : May Allah have mercy on him. We, of course, had met with him at the university.
Abu Malik: Yes, exactly.
Abu Layla : ... He invited you to dinner.

The Shaykh : But I say, when I was at the university, he was teaching there. And, Glory be to You, O Allah, and praise be to You, I bear witness that there is no god but You. I seek Your forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.