What is the reason for the presence of weak and fabricated hadiths in the books of eminent scholars such as the books of al-Dhahabi and Ibn al-Jawzi?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Another question, our professor.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I mean, how do the early scholars, such as al-Dhahabi or Ibn al-Jawzi, explain this? It is well known that they are among the strictest in matters of narrators and hadith. When you find al-Dhahabi including hadiths in his book *Al-Kaba’ir* (The Major Sins), or Ibn al-Jawzi in some of his writings, you find that they frequently include weak, and sometimes fabricated, hadiths, even though they are known for their extensive reach. So, what is the reason?
The Shaykh : The reason, my brother, is very simple. Imagine with me the formation of a scholar. Was he born a scholar?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh : You say no. Well, did he jump straight to becoming a scholar?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh : You say no. So, every person passes through stages in knowledge, or advances in knowledge, and dies. This reminds us of the saying of al-Zamakhshari (may Allah have mercy on him): “What is the use of dust and knowledge? One strives only to know that he does not know.”
One strives only to know that he does not know. Nevertheless, the student of knowledge at the beginning of his pursuit is not like he is at the end of his pursuit, which is his death, because this pursuit has no end. This is something we know about ourselves. Therefore, al-Dhahabi, Ibn al-Jawzi, or others reached a stage in knowledge where they would take whatever came their way, or accept a popular opinion without digesting it, without the scientific certainty based on clear proofs. Then, with time, he rises and rises, and his later works differ from his first and second works and those that follow. For this reason, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, who is one of those about whom we can rightly say that women have not given birth to his like in the science of hadith, said: “I am not satisfied with any book I have authored except *Fath al-Bari*. Why? Because he used to correct himself, let alone the corrections of others. And this is the Sunnah of Allah in His creation, and you will not find any change in the Sunnah of Allah. Personally, as a man known for his pursuit of this knowledge, I have a book, and many of our brothers present know it personally, and some know it by hearing, namely *Al-Rawd al-Nadhir fi Tartib wa Takhrij Mu'jam al-Tabarani al-Saghir*. It is two volumes, containing a thousand hadiths and more. This was the first thing I engaged in regarding takhrij (tracing hadiths to their sources). This book, I am now in a state where I benefit from it, but I do not allow it to be printed because of the many things I have corrected in it myself. This is the answer to that question, and I hope it is clear, if Allah wills?The Shaykh : I am now in a state where I benefit from this book, but I do not allow it to be printed because of the many things I have corrected in it myself. This is the answer to that question, and I hope it is clear, if Allah wills?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : I mean, how do the early scholars, such as al-Dhahabi or Ibn al-Jawzi, explain this? It is well known that they are among the strictest in matters of narrators and hadith. When you find al-Dhahabi including hadiths in his book *Al-Kaba’ir* (The Major Sins), or Ibn al-Jawzi in some of his writings, you find that they frequently include weak, and sometimes fabricated, hadiths, even though they are known for their extensive reach. So, what is the reason?
The Shaykh : The reason, my brother, is very simple. Imagine with me the formation of a scholar. Was he born a scholar?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh : You say no. Well, did he jump straight to becoming a scholar?
The questioner : No
The Shaykh : You say no. So, every person passes through stages in knowledge, or advances in knowledge, and dies. This reminds us of the saying of al-Zamakhshari (may Allah have mercy on him): “What is the use of dust and knowledge? One strives only to know that he does not know.”
One strives only to know that he does not know. Nevertheless, the student of knowledge at the beginning of his pursuit is not like he is at the end of his pursuit, which is his death, because this pursuit has no end. This is something we know about ourselves. Therefore, al-Dhahabi, Ibn al-Jawzi, or others reached a stage in knowledge where they would take whatever came their way, or accept a popular opinion without digesting it, without the scientific certainty based on clear proofs. Then, with time, he rises and rises, and his later works differ from his first and second works and those that follow. For this reason, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, who is one of those about whom we can rightly say that women have not given birth to his like in the science of hadith, said: “I am not satisfied with any book I have authored except *Fath al-Bari*. Why? Because he used to correct himself, let alone the corrections of others. And this is the Sunnah of Allah in His creation, and you will not find any change in the Sunnah of Allah. Personally, as a man known for his pursuit of this knowledge, I have a book, and many of our brothers present know it personally, and some know it by hearing, namely *Al-Rawd al-Nadhir fi Tartib wa Takhrij Mu'jam al-Tabarani al-Saghir*. It is two volumes, containing a thousand hadiths and more. This was the first thing I engaged in regarding takhrij (tracing hadiths to their sources). This book, I am now in a state where I benefit from it, but I do not allow it to be printed because of the many things I have corrected in it myself. This is the answer to that question, and I hope it is clear, if Allah wills?The Shaykh : I am now in a state where I benefit from this book, but I do not allow it to be printed because of the many things I have corrected in it myself. This is the answer to that question, and I hope it is clear, if Allah wills?
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.