Is there a rank between the mujtahid and the muqallid?

The questioner : Shaykh, the second question: As we know, there is a level of following (ittiba') that we can say is a level between taqlid (following a scholar without knowing his evidence) and ijtihad (independent legal reasoning). Some have claimed that this rank does not exist. In addition, no one from the Salaf (the earliest generations) up to the recent centuries has mentioned this rank.

The Shaykh : Did any of the Salaf say that a hadith is sahih (valid), hasan (a good hadith), or da'if (a weak hadith)? Did the Companions know this?

The questioner : They did not say that.

The Shaykh : Okay. That is the first point. Second, regarding those people you are referring to, I judge them, without knowing their specific identities, to be not scholars. So tell me, are they scholars?

The questioner : I say they are not scholars; they claim to be scholars.

The Shaykh : They claim to be scholars. Do they claim to have knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah?

The questioner : Yes, they claim to have knowledge of the Book and the Sunnah.

The Shaykh : And do they claim to know what is authentic and what is weak without a scholar guiding them?

The questioner : He does not claim that.

The Shaykh : Then he is not a scholar. He is not a scholar because he is speaking now about a science related to the science of hadith. So when he says there is no difference between a scholar, a follower, and a muqallid, what I understand from what you are quoting is that, in his view, people are either scholars or muqallids, is that not so?

The questioner : Yes, he says either a scholar.

The Shaykh : Or a muqallid.

The questioner : Or he says either a mujtahid, using the same wording.

The Shaykh : Yes, the scholar is the mujtahid.

The questioner : But his intent is the same, which is to eliminate this rank.

The Shaykh : No problem, his speech is understood: either a scholar or a muqallid. A scholar does not become a muqallid; rather, he is a mujtahid. And so we said, in his expression, either a scholar or a muqallid, either a mujtahid or a muqallid. Well, the one who says this is either being stubborn in reality or does not know the reality. And the sweetest of them, as they say, is bitter.
The Shaykh: Now, after I asked you whether he is a scholar in hadith, in terms of authenticating and weakening, you said he does not claim that. Please, go ahead.