Some Benefits in the Science of Hadith Terminology

The Shaykh : This is a benefit in the science of hadith terminology that a student of knowledge should pay attention to. For this reason, you sometimes find some scholars who are cautious saying that a hadith is authentic in its chain of narration, but not saying it is authentic, because there may be a defect in its text, in which case it would not be authentic. Sometimes they say it is an authentic hadith, even if there is something in the chain, because it has corroborating narrations that support it; its chain is good, reaching the level of authenticity, but due to its corroborating narrations, it becomes authentic for other reasons. This is a point that a student of knowledge should pay attention to. The scholars call this the defects of hadith, or the defects of a hadith, which is when a hadith appears authentic upon investigation and scrutiny, yet it contains a defect. As Ibn Hajar said in his commentary on al-Nukhba, it is one of the most precise and difficult of the sciences of hadith, and only the experts in the science of men and the science of jurisprudence are aware of it.