If a student of knowledge wants to study the six books, should he read them alone or with their commentaries?
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The questioner : May Allah reward you, O Shaykh. Regarding the study of the six books—al-Bukhari, Muslim, and the Sunan—should it be reading only, or should he read from the book along with the commentary, or should he read one book, for example, with the commentary and read the other books alone, or how should he do it?
The Shaykh : Reading the books of hadith, may Allah bless you, falls into two categories:
One type of reading leads a person to determine the authenticity or inauthenticity of a hadith. This relies on knowing the conditions of the narrators and the history of their lives. Knowing their conditions is to determine who is accepted and who is not, and knowing their history is to determine whether the chain of narration is broken or unbroken. For example, if a person says, "from so-and-so," and we know that the one from whom he narrated was born after the other died, we know that the chain is broken. Therefore, it is necessary to know the history of the narrators. It is also necessary to know whether their meeting with the one from whom they narrated is established or not, because a narrator may conceal a defect by narrating from someone he lived with whom he did not actually hear from.
So, the one who seeks the knowledge of hadith in this manner must read the six books with their chains of narration and investigate their men. We know that scholars differ greatly regarding the narrators. You will find, for example, that the hadith scholar says that Imam Ahmad described this man as trustworthy, while Yahya ibn Ma'in said, for example, that he is a denouncer of hadith, and a third said that he is one whose narrations are abandoned.
This issue may confuse the student of knowledge. What is his position if he sees the memorizers and imams speaking about this man in differing terms?
We look at the text of the hadith. The text may be anomalous, contradicting the authentic hadiths. Then we know that those who spoke about this man with criticism are more correct than those who spoke about him with vindication, because his hadith is denounced. In fact, a hadith may have a sound chain in terms of its men and its continuity, but the text may be denounced or anomalous. It may be anomalous because it contradicts the authentic hadiths, in which case it is rejected.
So, the bottom line is that the one who seeks the knowledge of hadith for the purpose of establishing the hadith must pay attention to the narrators, the history of their lives, and what people have said about them.
As for the one who seeks hadith for the purpose of the jurisprudence of hadith, he has another path. He is not required to do what is required of the first group. In fact, he may suffice with the text of the hadith. If it is in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the soul is reassured by it. If it is in other books, it suffices for him to say, for example, "So-and-so authenticated it" or "So-and-so, one of the reliable memorizers, authenticated it," even if he does not review the chain of narration.
The most important thing in the Noble Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah is the jurisprudence of the text, knowing it, what is derived from it, and what follows from it. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): and Sahih Muslim 1037a.
The questioner : So, must the student of hadith knowledge begin first with studying the books of terminology and narrators? Is this the first category?
The Shaykh : Yes, he must have knowledge of terminology if he wants to pursue the first approach.
The questioner : And the second approach?
The Shaykh : The second approach is not obligatory, because he may suffice, for example, by saying, "Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar authenticated it," or "So-and-so, one of the trusted scholars and hadith scholars, authenticated it." That is sufficient. He does not go to look, for example, at the chain of narration or the men of the chain.
The questioner : And what about the derivations from hadith and the benefits?
The Shaykh : A person may be weak in derivations despite being strong in tracing hadiths to their sources. Therefore, you will find a difference between the jurists and their derivation of rulings from hadith, and the hadith scholars.
The Shaykh : Reading the books of hadith, may Allah bless you, falls into two categories:
One type of reading leads a person to determine the authenticity or inauthenticity of a hadith. This relies on knowing the conditions of the narrators and the history of their lives. Knowing their conditions is to determine who is accepted and who is not, and knowing their history is to determine whether the chain of narration is broken or unbroken. For example, if a person says, "from so-and-so," and we know that the one from whom he narrated was born after the other died, we know that the chain is broken. Therefore, it is necessary to know the history of the narrators. It is also necessary to know whether their meeting with the one from whom they narrated is established or not, because a narrator may conceal a defect by narrating from someone he lived with whom he did not actually hear from.
So, the one who seeks the knowledge of hadith in this manner must read the six books with their chains of narration and investigate their men. We know that scholars differ greatly regarding the narrators. You will find, for example, that the hadith scholar says that Imam Ahmad described this man as trustworthy, while Yahya ibn Ma'in said, for example, that he is a denouncer of hadith, and a third said that he is one whose narrations are abandoned.
This issue may confuse the student of knowledge. What is his position if he sees the memorizers and imams speaking about this man in differing terms?
We look at the text of the hadith. The text may be anomalous, contradicting the authentic hadiths. Then we know that those who spoke about this man with criticism are more correct than those who spoke about him with vindication, because his hadith is denounced. In fact, a hadith may have a sound chain in terms of its men and its continuity, but the text may be denounced or anomalous. It may be anomalous because it contradicts the authentic hadiths, in which case it is rejected.
So, the bottom line is that the one who seeks the knowledge of hadith for the purpose of establishing the hadith must pay attention to the narrators, the history of their lives, and what people have said about them.
As for the one who seeks hadith for the purpose of the jurisprudence of hadith, he has another path. He is not required to do what is required of the first group. In fact, he may suffice with the text of the hadith. If it is in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, the soul is reassured by it. If it is in other books, it suffices for him to say, for example, "So-and-so authenticated it" or "So-and-so, one of the reliable memorizers, authenticated it," even if he does not review the chain of narration.
The most important thing in the Noble Qur'an and the Prophetic Sunnah is the jurisprudence of the text, knowing it, what is derived from it, and what follows from it. This is based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
Many a transmitter is more understanding than a listener, and many a bearer of jurisprudence is not a jurist.
رُبَّ مبلَّغ أوعى من سامع، ورُبَّ حامل فقه غير فقيهHe upon whom Allah intends to bestow goodness, He confers upon him an insight in religion
من يرد الله به خيراً يفقهه في الدينThe questioner : So, must the student of hadith knowledge begin first with studying the books of terminology and narrators? Is this the first category?
The Shaykh : Yes, he must have knowledge of terminology if he wants to pursue the first approach.
The questioner : And the second approach?
The Shaykh : The second approach is not obligatory, because he may suffice, for example, by saying, "Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar authenticated it," or "So-and-so, one of the trusted scholars and hadith scholars, authenticated it." That is sufficient. He does not go to look, for example, at the chain of narration or the men of the chain.
The questioner : And what about the derivations from hadith and the benefits?
The Shaykh : A person may be weak in derivations despite being strong in tracing hadiths to their sources. Therefore, you will find a difference between the jurists and their derivation of rulings from hadith, and the hadith scholars.