Is the verification and weakening of hadith by contemporary scholars to be accepted if it contradicts the earlier scholars?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. Is the weakening and verification of hadith by later scholars to be accepted, even though those who came before them were more knowledgeable and more scrupulous?
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Is the weakening and verification of hadith by later scholars to be accepted, even though those who came before them were more memorizing, more knowledgeable, and more scrupulous than they are?
The Shaykh : That means there is a contradiction between the verification of the earlier scholars and the later scholars, right?
If there is a contradiction in a hadith between the verification of the earlier scholars and the later scholars, meaning the former verified it and the latter weakened it, or vice versa, then the person who has the ability and discernment to distinguish between the two should use his ability and look at which is more correct and which is more deserving of being adopted. It will become clear to him because he has knowledge.
As for the one who is not like that, let him adopt the verification of the former or the weakening of the former, because they are closer to the truth than the later scholars. The well-known principle among the people of knowledge is that the further people are from the Sunnah in time or in practice, the weaker their knowledge of it becomes.
This is the detail: whoever knows how to prefer one over the other should prefer what he sees as stronger, and whoever does not know should adopt the statements of the former. Yes.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Is the weakening and verification of hadith by later scholars to be accepted, even though those who came before them were more memorizing, more knowledgeable, and more scrupulous than they are?
The Shaykh : That means there is a contradiction between the verification of the earlier scholars and the later scholars, right?
If there is a contradiction in a hadith between the verification of the earlier scholars and the later scholars, meaning the former verified it and the latter weakened it, or vice versa, then the person who has the ability and discernment to distinguish between the two should use his ability and look at which is more correct and which is more deserving of being adopted. It will become clear to him because he has knowledge.
As for the one who is not like that, let him adopt the verification of the former or the weakening of the former, because they are closer to the truth than the later scholars. The well-known principle among the people of knowledge is that the further people are from the Sunnah in time or in practice, the weaker their knowledge of it becomes.
This is the detail: whoever knows how to prefer one over the other should prefer what he sees as stronger, and whoever does not know should adopt the statements of the former. Yes.