Clarification that the presence of a narrator about whom there is criticism in the chain of a hadith does not indicate the weakness of the hadith.

The Shaykh : A questioner asked me while I was leaving the mosque after the Fajr prayer. He mentioned to me a narrator in the chain of the hadith of Umm Salama . He said to me, "In its chain, so-and-so named him, and I did not intend to memorize it." And regarding this, Ibn Sa'd said, "He is not to be relied upon as a source of evidence," and so-and-so also said a word to this effect regarding his weakness. I said, "Yes, and after that, meaning, did they agree on weakening him?" He said, "No." I said, "Then what is the benefit of this question, when the hadith is in Sahih Muslim? It may have a supporting chain, or it may have a corroborating narration." He fell silent. The point is that the mere presence of a person in the chain of a hadith who has some degree of weakness does not necessitate the weakness of the hadith, even if it were outside the authentic collections. How much more so when it is in the authentic collections? Its presence in the authentic collections may help in that the closer to the truth is that it is authentic. However, if it is outside the authentic collections, and there is a man in it about whom some people have spoken, then here one should look to see if others have graded him as trustworthy, and whether this grading as trustworthy is the stronger position, or whether the criticism is the stronger position. That is, you need a process of balancing and filtering, and that is necessary. Therefore, I believe, and I have written much of this in some places in my books, that some of the young people today are too hasty when they give themselves the right of criticism, the right of authenticating and weakening, while they have not yet matured, as they say in some Arab countries: "It becomes raisins before it ripens". Do you say this word, or do you not know it?

The questioner : We have it in the villages.

The Shaykh : It is known to you: it ripens before it becomes raisins. "Hasram" is the grape before it ripens; it is very sour. So some of them press it because of its sourness. As for raisins, you all know them; they are mentioned in the books of jurisprudence as one of the types for which zakah is obligatory. So they say of some of those who are hasty that "it becomes raisins before it ripens." This example, unfortunately, applies to many of our young people today who feel that they have begun to know something of the science of terminology and the biographies of the men, but they dare to authenticate and weaken at the slightest opportunity without any verification, because they cannot do this verification except after a long time has passed. This is what can be mentioned now regarding the methodology of beginning the study of this science. But in conclusion, I want to mention something. What I fear most is that the seeking of the knowledge of hadith becomes a passion and a desire, and a diversion from the other sciences of the Shari'ah. For example, we need people who first concern themselves with memorizing the Qur'an, and we need people who concern themselves with the interpretation of the Qur'an, not like those well-known reciters in Egypt and other countries who specialized in tajwid and perhaps engaged in matters during their recitation that the Shari'ah does not approve of, such as adhering to musical laws and melodies in which they rise and fall, from which the speech of the Lord of the Worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He) is elevated. So I see it obligatory that there be memorizers who combine memorization with the interpretation of the Noble Qur'an and the understanding of the meanings of the Qur'an and the rulings of the Qur'an. Why do we not find now an acceptance of such a specialization in memorizing the Qur'an and knowing the rulings that are derived from the Qur'an? And without a doubt, that will also be a cause for the study of the Sunnah. But I do not find among the young people today an acceptance of the kind we see in the study of the Sunnah; we do not find such acceptance in the study of the Noble Qur'an and the study of its interpretation, and relying on the words of the early exegetes, especially like Ibn Jarir al-Tabari and those who followed his path of interpreting the transmitted with the transmitted, and the like. Also, the other sciences: we need to have scholars of language who take language as a means to help them understand the Qur'an and understand the Sunnah. We know that in Egypt, for example, and also in Syria, there are linguistic academies, but these specialists in language have no inclination to study the Shari'ah. They have not taken their knowledge of the Arabic language as a means to specialize in Islamic jurisprudence. So we want now young people who learn the Arabic language as a means, not as an end, as I said about those who specialized in language, but we have not seen from them a praiseworthy effort in using their specialization to interpret the Book or interpret the Sunnah. This is a reminder, and the reminder benefits the believers. And I apologize now, for the time has run late for me. So until another meeting, if Allah wills.
Al-Halabi: Umm Salama, and from her are two narrators.

The Shaykh : Two narrators, are they named and mentioned?
Al-Halabi: They are mentioned, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : We heard this. Are they the ones you mentioned?
Al-Halabi: O Shaykh, he says the hadith is authentic, and it is the narration of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib from her, meaning from Umm Salama. And from him there are two paths. The first is from Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamid from Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, who heard Sa'id ibn al-Musayib with it. Muslim narrated it, and so on. The second is from Amr ibn Muslim from Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib with it, with the wording , and so on. Muslim also narrated it. And I brought to my Shaykh a third path from Umm Salama, stopped at her, in al-Hakim.

The Shaykh : I think this is Amr ibn ...?
Al-Halabi: Amr ibn Muslim.

The Shaykh : Yes, this is the one about whom there is criticism.
Al-Halabi: Abd al-Rahman ibn Hamid.