Discussion on the Critique of Hadith Texts.
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The questioner : When we look at the authenticity of a hadith, do we look only at its meaning and not at its chain of narration?
The Shaykh : No, no, we must look at the meaning. How could we not?
The questioner : Well, regarding the hadith that says the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to come with water to drink from it, hoping for the blessing of the hands of the Muslims. This miller cited it as evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought blessing from the ablution water of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he cited the fact thatThe Shaykh : So-and-so authenticated it, andThe Shaykh : So-and-so. Well, look at the meaning. The Companions used to seek blessing from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), whereas he sought blessing from them. Why did they authenticate this hadith without looking at its meaning?
The Shaykh : Because, as I have mentioned more than once, if the door were opened to weakening hadiths by looking at their texts, the Sunnah would suffer the same distortion that the Torah and the Gospel suffered. For the one who wants to critique the texts must be one of the vast repositories of knowledge, well-versed in the Book and the Sunnah, so that he is as Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said when he was asked whether it is possible to know a hadith.
The questioner : The meaning is more important because the practice depends on it.
The Shaykh : I ask you to walk with me in this research and not put a wedge between us. I am saying that Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked whether it is possible to judge a hadith as fabricated without referring to its chain of narration? He said, yes, one whose study of the Sunnah has flowed in his veins like blood can know a fabricated hadith without referring to its chain of narration. So, among the scholars of the past who engaged with hadith, who can we describe as being like what Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah described, so that we make room for those below them to critique hadiths by their texts? This is very rare, and the rare, may Allah bless you, is not built upon as a ruling, as you know, but the standard is the majority. Therefore, the critique of hadiths that the scholars of the Muslims as a whole have passed through is in terms of transmission, not in terms of understanding, because understanding and jurisprudence in it require very extensive knowledge, especially in the authentic Sunnah.
The questioner : But this meaning is explicit that the seeking of blessing is from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and not that the Prophet seeks blessing from his Companions. So how do we authenticate this hadith when it contradicts the creed and contradicts what the Salaf were upon?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you, you are hovering around what I am warning against.
The questioner : This is what happened to me with the miller when he said, "I seek blessing with the righteous."
The Shaykh : What is the meaning of the seeking of blessing that he intends, and what is the seeking of blessing that you intend?
The questioner : He cites this hadith.
The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah, I am asking you a question. What is the meaning of the seeking of blessing that he intends, and what is the meaning of the seeking of blessing that you intend? Often, one of the causes of disagreement is the difference in understanding a word. And the difference, as the poet said, "She went east and I went west, *** How great is the difference between east and west." If you interpret blessing as seeking good from the Muslims and not being at odds with them or being arrogant toward them, there is nothing wrong with that, O Professor. But if you interpret blessing as he interprets it, and the Sufis do, which is seeking nearness to Allah through a means and the like of those reprehensible meanings that you are hovering around, then in that case, there is indeed a problem with the hadith. So, for this and that reason, the scholars of hadith did not open the door of critiquing texts wide open, because it is very dangerous. And you know, in the present age, how many authentic hadiths, which had no problem in the view of the scholars of the Muslims in the past, are now denied? By what are they denied? By a particular observation that sparks in the mind of the denier, and he imagines that there is absolutely no disagreement on this. Do you think those who deny the hadiths of the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) from the sky, the emergence of the Dajjal, the emergence of the Mahdi, and so on, do they deny them just like that, casually? Or does it mean that it has come to their minds and they are certain that this meaning makes them reject these hadiths? You know, for example, that those who deny the hadiths of the Mahdi have observed that one of the causes of the weakness and humiliation that has settled upon the Muslim community is their reliance on waiting for the emergence of the Mahdi and the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him). They said, if this is one of the causes of the Muslims' lagging behind, then if we throw away the cause and say these hadiths are not authentic, this is a dangerous door, O Professor Zayd. A very dangerous door, because it is not possible to establish principles and rules on which all those who want to deny hadiths by their texts can agree. And it is not so for those who deny and weaken hadiths by their chains of narration; there are rules and controls, and it has become a science inherited by the later generations from the earlier ones. As for critiquing texts, there are no controls or rules, and therefore many have attacked the authentic Sunnah. Not only today, for today the matter has become worse, but from old times, the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij who deny many of the authentic hadiths.
The questioner : The hadith about seeking blessing, you used to authenticate it and then you returned to weakening it.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, he used to cite it and make it an argument against us.
The Shaykh : These are, O Shaykh Zayn.
The questioner : Did you return to its chain of narration?
The Shaykh : Of course, by the chain of narration.
The questioner : By the chain of narration and not the meaning?
The Shaykh : No, if I deny a hadith in terms of its meaning, I do not burden others with what I have denied for the reason I mentioned to you just now. I have a hadith today that I have finished tracing to its sources.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good for Islam and the Muslims. May Allah will that you were the cause of my guidance to the Salafi call.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : I always mention that and pray for you with good.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good and accept from you.
The questioner: May Allah will it.
The Shaykh : No, no, we must look at the meaning. How could we not?
The questioner : Well, regarding the hadith that says the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to come with water to drink from it, hoping for the blessing of the hands of the Muslims. This miller cited it as evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sought blessing from the ablution water of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he cited the fact thatThe Shaykh : So-and-so authenticated it, andThe Shaykh : So-and-so. Well, look at the meaning. The Companions used to seek blessing from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), whereas he sought blessing from them. Why did they authenticate this hadith without looking at its meaning?
The Shaykh : Because, as I have mentioned more than once, if the door were opened to weakening hadiths by looking at their texts, the Sunnah would suffer the same distortion that the Torah and the Gospel suffered. For the one who wants to critique the texts must be one of the vast repositories of knowledge, well-versed in the Book and the Sunnah, so that he is as Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said when he was asked whether it is possible to know a hadith.
The questioner : The meaning is more important because the practice depends on it.
The Shaykh : I ask you to walk with me in this research and not put a wedge between us. I am saying that Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked whether it is possible to judge a hadith as fabricated without referring to its chain of narration? He said, yes, one whose study of the Sunnah has flowed in his veins like blood can know a fabricated hadith without referring to its chain of narration. So, among the scholars of the past who engaged with hadith, who can we describe as being like what Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah described, so that we make room for those below them to critique hadiths by their texts? This is very rare, and the rare, may Allah bless you, is not built upon as a ruling, as you know, but the standard is the majority. Therefore, the critique of hadiths that the scholars of the Muslims as a whole have passed through is in terms of transmission, not in terms of understanding, because understanding and jurisprudence in it require very extensive knowledge, especially in the authentic Sunnah.
The questioner : But this meaning is explicit that the seeking of blessing is from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and not that the Prophet seeks blessing from his Companions. So how do we authenticate this hadith when it contradicts the creed and contradicts what the Salaf were upon?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you, you are hovering around what I am warning against.
The questioner : This is what happened to me with the miller when he said, "I seek blessing with the righteous."
The Shaykh : What is the meaning of the seeking of blessing that he intends, and what is the seeking of blessing that you intend?
The questioner : He cites this hadith.
The Shaykh : Glory be to Allah, I am asking you a question. What is the meaning of the seeking of blessing that he intends, and what is the meaning of the seeking of blessing that you intend? Often, one of the causes of disagreement is the difference in understanding a word. And the difference, as the poet said, "She went east and I went west, *** How great is the difference between east and west." If you interpret blessing as seeking good from the Muslims and not being at odds with them or being arrogant toward them, there is nothing wrong with that, O Professor. But if you interpret blessing as he interprets it, and the Sufis do, which is seeking nearness to Allah through a means and the like of those reprehensible meanings that you are hovering around, then in that case, there is indeed a problem with the hadith. So, for this and that reason, the scholars of hadith did not open the door of critiquing texts wide open, because it is very dangerous. And you know, in the present age, how many authentic hadiths, which had no problem in the view of the scholars of the Muslims in the past, are now denied? By what are they denied? By a particular observation that sparks in the mind of the denier, and he imagines that there is absolutely no disagreement on this. Do you think those who deny the hadiths of the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) from the sky, the emergence of the Dajjal, the emergence of the Mahdi, and so on, do they deny them just like that, casually? Or does it mean that it has come to their minds and they are certain that this meaning makes them reject these hadiths? You know, for example, that those who deny the hadiths of the Mahdi have observed that one of the causes of the weakness and humiliation that has settled upon the Muslim community is their reliance on waiting for the emergence of the Mahdi and the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him). They said, if this is one of the causes of the Muslims' lagging behind, then if we throw away the cause and say these hadiths are not authentic, this is a dangerous door, O Professor Zayd. A very dangerous door, because it is not possible to establish principles and rules on which all those who want to deny hadiths by their texts can agree. And it is not so for those who deny and weaken hadiths by their chains of narration; there are rules and controls, and it has become a science inherited by the later generations from the earlier ones. As for critiquing texts, there are no controls or rules, and therefore many have attacked the authentic Sunnah. Not only today, for today the matter has become worse, but from old times, the Mu'tazilah and the Khawarij who deny many of the authentic hadiths.
The questioner : The hadith about seeking blessing, you used to authenticate it and then you returned to weakening it.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Praise be to Allah, he used to cite it and make it an argument against us.
The Shaykh : These are, O Shaykh Zayn.
The questioner : Did you return to its chain of narration?
The Shaykh : Of course, by the chain of narration.
The questioner : By the chain of narration and not the meaning?
The Shaykh : No, if I deny a hadith in terms of its meaning, I do not burden others with what I have denied for the reason I mentioned to you just now. I have a hadith today that I have finished tracing to its sources.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good for Islam and the Muslims. May Allah will that you were the cause of my guidance to the Salafi call.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : I always mention that and pray for you with good.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good and accept from you.
The questioner: May Allah will it.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.