What is the authenticity of the hadith: "If you were to lower a rope to the lower earth, it would reach Allah"?

The questioner : Ibn Kathir mentioned in his tafsir of Surat al-Hadid, regarding His saying - the Exalted - : , Ibn Kathir mentioned a hadith narrated by al-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah - may Allah be pleased with him - that the Prophet - peace and blessings be upon him - said at the end of a long hadith: "By Him in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad; if you were to lower a rope to the lower earth, it would reach Allah," then he recited: ; what is the authenticity of this hadith?

The Shaykh : This is a weak hadith; because it is from the narration of al-Hasan al-Basri from Abu Hurayrah, and the scholars of hadith have differed regarding the biography of al-Hasan al-Basri; did he hear from Abu Hurayrah or not? They also differed greatly regarding his hearing from Samurah ibn Jundub, and the correct view is that Samurah heard from al-Hasan some hadiths, including the hadith of the 'aqiqah: , but the fact that al-Hasan al-Basri heard from Samurah ibn Jundub does not mean that everything he narrated from Samurah is considered connected; that is because al-Hasan al-Basri, despite his high status, was described as practicing tadlis, and based on this, some people of hadith hesitate in accepting his hadiths where he uses the 'an' (from) form, saying: if he explicitly states hearing from Samurah; then his hadith is valid, and if he uses the 'an' form, we hesitate to accept his hadith; so it is the same with what he narrated from Abu Hurayrah; because his hearing from Abu Hurayrah is not established with the strength of his hearing from Samurah, and yet, regarding his narration from Abu Hurayrah, what was said earlier regarding his narration from Samurah applies: if he explicitly states hearing from Abu Hurayrah - and this is very, very rare - his hadith is accepted, otherwise it is not accepted; because we fear that he may have narrated it from a person who is unknown or weak or similar to that of the possibilities.
In summary: this hadith that al-Tirmidhi narrated and Ibn Kathir mentioned in his narration is a hadith that does not serve as proof due to this defect, and there may be another defect in it, but now I am not certain of that; so the 'an' form of al-Hasan from Samurah is sufficient for you. This is the answer.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And beware of that.

The questioner : The narration from Abu Hurayrah?

The Shaykh : Yes?

The questioner : From Samurah or from Abu Hurayrah?

The Shaykh: Who?

The questioner : The hadith.

The Shaykh : This hadith?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : From Abu Hurayrah, this is from the narration of al-Hasan from Abu Hurayrah, but I mentioned his narration from Samurah; because it is established from him that he heard from him some hadiths, yet if he narrates from Samurah with the 'an' form, it is not accepted, so a fortiori if he narrates from Abu Hurayrah with the 'an' form; his hadith is not accepted; because the one who says he heard from Abu Hurayrah, his proof is not as strong as the one who said he heard from Samurah.

Another questioner : ... The Hafiz - also - means only on ... .

The Shaykh : How?

The questioner : ... mentioned ... .

The Shaykh : This is ta'wil - may Allah bless you - , it has no relation to the narration of the hadith.

The questioner : Meaning ... ta'wil?

The Shaykh : This is ta'wil, yes.

The questioner : Do you consider ...?

The Shaykh : Ta'wil - we must remember this rule - ; and ta'wil is a branch of validation, if ta'wil is permissible in a certain hadith, it is a branch of validation, if it is not valid, then we have no need at that time to interpret it; because the reality of what was said is: this dead person does not deserve that condolence; because he has no value.
Yes.