Is there a difference between "this hadith is hasan" and "this hadith is hasan sahih"? And what are the implications of that?

The questioner : Excuse me for the interruption,

The Shaykh : Please, there is no interruption.

The questioner : I mean, what is the difference between saying that this hadith is hasan and saying that this hadith is hasan sahih? As it appears in al-Tirmidhi, or what does it mean when the word hasan is added? I believe al-Tirmidhi is the one who introduced these terms?

The Shaykh : The terminology is specific to al-Tirmidhi, yes.

The questioner : So when we say this is a hasan hadith, do we mean hasan for that reason or in itself? And when we say this is a hasan sahih hadith, are the two in the same rank?

The Shaykh : The matter is as I said, that al-Tirmidhi introduced this terminology; but before we mention what the scholars said about this terminology, we must mention—and remembrance benefits the believers—the correct expression is to say that al-Tirmidhi popularized this terminology, not that he introduced it, because he was preceded to it, and he was preceded by his master, al-Bukhari, the author of al-Sahih. So in many of his books other than al-Sahih, he says of some hadiths, "a hasan sahih hadith"; but the one who popularized it was indeed Imam al-Tirmidhi. What does he intend? I answer with a brief answer, which is my opinion, and Allah knows best, for two reasons: The first is that al-Tirmidhi himself did not express his own terminology which he reported and popularized; and the second and final reason is that the scholars did not provide a sufficient and adequate answer that reassures the soul and opens the chest. Some said hasan means its chain is sahih; some said hasan in the final result, but the meaning is slightly different: hasan in ruling, meaning it is acted upon, and sahih in its chain, unlike when he says a hadith is sahih, which indicates that its chain is sahih but it was not acted upon; some said hasan with regard to the chain, meaning it has two chains... so considering one is hasan and considering the other is sahih; so based on this they built the argument that what al-Tirmidhi said in a hasan sahih hadith is stronger than what he said in a sahih hadith; because if he says sahih, it means its chain is sahih; but if he says hasan sahih, it means it has two chains, one is sahih but he added another hasan chain; so it is more authentic than what he said was sahih; because the sahih has one chain and this has a sahih chain and another hasan chain, so it is stronger; but this was refuted by the fact that al-Tirmidhi often combines three expressions or three terms and says hasan sahih gharib, and the meaning of gharib is that it has only one chain, while this was refuted by the aforementioned interpretation; some finally said hasan considering the view of some imams regarding one of the narrators, so they did not raise his hadith to the rank of sahih, while others raised his hadith to the rank of sahih, so it is hasan according to the view of some imams and sahih according to the view of other imams; and all of this, the researcher is not reassured by it; because often he does not find the evidence that makes him reassured by it, and sometimes, as you saw, he finds evidence contradicting this interpretation; this is the answer we know regarding this question, so my purpose from my previous speech was that the science of hadith requires tremendous efforts.

The questioner : To know this science and diligence...

The Shaykh : And diligence and diligence, yes, that is it, that is it.

The questioner : Okay, Your Excellency, you know this hadith has a narration where I heard 'Umar ibn al-Khattab on the pulpit, the phrase "on the pulpit" is present, this is 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir, this is the narrator of the hadith, and 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir, is there a narration of the hadith where I heard 'Umar ibn al-Khattab say, I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on the pulpit say, only ?

The Shaykh : The truth is that this narration exists without a doubt, but I do not recall that its chain is sahih, unlike the hadith, which is sahih without a doubt and no ambiguity, and it is sufficient for its authenticity that it was narrated byThe Shaykh : and that al-Bukhari opened his book al-Sahih with this hadith; as for this addition, it actually requires a special study, and in reality, my methodology in tracing hadiths starts in two circumstances: The first circumstance is when I feel the need to research an addition or a hadith, so I research it and write the conclusion either in al-Silsilah al-Sahihah or al-Silsilah al-Da'ifah; and the other thing is that I may be asked about it, and answering it entails an important scientific benefit; so then I start and research to be able to answer after research and ijtihad; and for the first time such a question is presented to me, and I hope to be successful in researching this phrase... if Allah wills.

The questioner: May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And to you.

The questioner : We wasted your time, but we were happy, and this is the happiest time of my life to meet hadith scholars specifically, because it was reported that they will be the successors of the prophets on the Day of Resurrection.

The Shaykh : This is on the responsibility of the narrator, ...

The questioner : The successors of the prophets...

The Shaykh : The successors of the prophets, this is correct, so we ask Allah to make us and you among them.

The questioner : And that other scholars will be in the company of the people, if they are more pious, they will have more lights...

The Shaykh : Without a doubt.

The questioner : And if they are not more pious, they are like the rest of the people.

The Shaykh : We ask Allah to make us among the scholars and people of hadith, the successors of the Messenger (peace be upon him), if Allah wills.

The questioner : Regarding this hadith, "on the pulpit," does that mean there is something here that caught my attention?

The Shaykh : I tell you what...

Another questioner : Did you know that only 'Umar transmitted it?

The Shaykh : Since you know it, please proceed.

Another questioner : It is that the Companions heard it, but only 'Umar transmitted it.

The questioner : For this objection, the objection to what was said on the pulpit, why was the hadith gharib? Because 'Uqbah and Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Taymi, then Yahya ibn Sa'id the third, he is the one who popularized and spread it, it is sahih from this side, but how can it be said "on the pulpit" when only 'Umar transmitted it from the Companions?

The Shaykh : This problem has no problem; because gharib, like sahih, hasan, and da'if, these are all relative matters. The one who says of a hadith, "this is a da'if hadith," as we said earlier, this is relative to what he reached, and another may come and say, "this is a hasan hadith"; why? Because he found a corroborating narration, and a third may come and say, "this is a sahih hadith"; why? Because he found corroborating narrations; so each is truthful in what he says relative to himself, and the most successful is the one who hit the truth; so here, his saying (peace be upon him) known to you , likewise when one of them says, "this is a gharib hadith," it is relative to his standing on this chain, and for that reason, perhaps you remember with me that the scholars of terminology divided gharib into two categories: ... absolute gharib, and relative gharib, meaning the intended relative gharib is that this is gharib relative to thisThe Shaykh : meaning a shaykh like Imam al-Zuhri, for example, has many students who are trustworthy and famous for narrating from him, one of these trustworthy narrators comes and narrates a hadith from al-Zuhri, and he is trustworthy, there is no room for criticism or attack on his memory, he is a trustworthy memorizer, but he is unique among the other students of al-Zuhri in narrating...