Explaining the Ruling on Acting on the Report of a Single Narrator
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The Shaykh : We begin today’s lesson, but we are addressing an important issue, which is the issue of acting on the report of a single narrator (ahad). Do we act on the report of a single narrator, meaning the authentic (sahih) and good (hasan) ones? As for the weak (da'if) ones, we do not act on them; we will mention this, if Allah wills. The position of the people of the Sunnah and the community (Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama'ah) is that one acts on the report of a single narrator in matters of creed, worship, morals, and transactions between people, and in every branch of the Shari'ah, without distinction, as long as it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). In fact, as long as it is good, one acts on it. The people of Kalam, such as the Mu'tazilah, the Asha'irah, and others, held that one does not act on it in matters of creed. They justified this by saying that reports of a single narrator provide only probable knowledge (zann), whereas creed requires certainty (qat'). It is said that if it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then a person must believe in its meaning, as long as he considers it authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), because the objective is knowledge that the report reached the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). In that case, there is no difference between a report of a single narrator and a mass-transmitted report (mutawatir). And we say that even in actions that you do not consider creed, they must be accompanied by creed. When a person prays the regular voluntary prayers (rawatib), is his prayer accompanied by creed or not?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : What is the creed?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : That it is from the legislation of Allah; that it is from the legislation of Allah. And the creed regarding the legislation of Allah is like the creed regarding the attributes of Allah and the actions of Allah, and there is no difference, because the Shari'ah is the Shari'ah of Allah, established by His word and His revelation. So there is no difference except a formal difference, where they say that this is an action of the heart and that is an action of the limbs. So the correct view is that the report of a single narrator is a proof (hujjah) by which one argues in creed, worship, morals, transactions, and the entire Shari'ah. As for the weak one, it is not used as proof, nor is one to act on it, nor believe in its meaning, because it is weak. But is it mentioned and attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) or not? There is a detailed ruling on this. As for mentioning it to clarify its weakness, that is permissible, indeed obligatory, because the objective is for people to avoid acting on it, so it is mentioned and clarified that there is no action based on it. As for mentioning it in order to act on it, that is not permissible, not permissible at all, because if you mention it and do not follow it with an explanation of its weakness, the listener will believe that it is what? Established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is an error, because if you believe that it is established and then you affirm its meaning, when it is not so, meaning it is not established, then you have fabricated a lie against the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or you have said what you have no knowledge of. That is, if we concede and say he did not fabricate a lie, we say he said what he has no knowledge of. Now, is it mentioned in encouraging the virtues of actions and warning against the vices of actions, or not? Some scholars held that it is not mentioned even in encouragement and warning, and said that what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for encouragement and warning. And as long as it is weak, let it be discarded, and they did not make any exception, saying that it is not permissible to act on the weak, nor is it permissible to mention it except accompanied by an explanation of its weakness, absolutely. And some scholars said it is permissible to act on the weak in virtues or vices, but with conditions, with three conditions:
The first condition is that the weakness not be severe to the point of approaching fabrication and lying. If the weakness is severe, it is not permissible to mention it even in virtues.
The second condition is that the basis of what is reported in it be established by authentic evidence. For example, a hadith regarding the virtue of congregational prayer is weak, but it contains a graded reward, a great reward, and the hadith is weak. Here, we can say that this hadith is mentioned because it encourages congregational prayer. If it is established, the reward for the one who prays is confirmed; if it is not established, one benefits from what? The enthusiasm, the enthusiasm and desire to act, so it does no harm.
The third condition is that one does not believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said it, because one cannot believe that he said it unless it is authentic. Rather, one says "it is narrated" or "it is mentioned" or the like. So the scholars have two positions regarding mentioning the weak hadith and acting on it: The first is that it is not mentioned except accompanied by an explanation of its weakness, and as for acting on it? One does not act on it at all, not in encouragement, not in warning, and not in rulings. They justified this by saying that what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is sufficient.
And the second is that there is no harm in mentioning it for encouragement and warning, provided, indeed with three conditions, which are: that the weakness not be severe, that it have a basis, and that one does not believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said it.
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : What is the creed?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : That it is from the legislation of Allah; that it is from the legislation of Allah. And the creed regarding the legislation of Allah is like the creed regarding the attributes of Allah and the actions of Allah, and there is no difference, because the Shari'ah is the Shari'ah of Allah, established by His word and His revelation. So there is no difference except a formal difference, where they say that this is an action of the heart and that is an action of the limbs. So the correct view is that the report of a single narrator is a proof (hujjah) by which one argues in creed, worship, morals, transactions, and the entire Shari'ah. As for the weak one, it is not used as proof, nor is one to act on it, nor believe in its meaning, because it is weak. But is it mentioned and attributed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) or not? There is a detailed ruling on this. As for mentioning it to clarify its weakness, that is permissible, indeed obligatory, because the objective is for people to avoid acting on it, so it is mentioned and clarified that there is no action based on it. As for mentioning it in order to act on it, that is not permissible, not permissible at all, because if you mention it and do not follow it with an explanation of its weakness, the listener will believe that it is what? Established from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And this is an error, because if you believe that it is established and then you affirm its meaning, when it is not so, meaning it is not established, then you have fabricated a lie against the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), or you have said what you have no knowledge of. That is, if we concede and say he did not fabricate a lie, we say he said what he has no knowledge of. Now, is it mentioned in encouraging the virtues of actions and warning against the vices of actions, or not? Some scholars held that it is not mentioned even in encouragement and warning, and said that what is authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is sufficient for encouragement and warning. And as long as it is weak, let it be discarded, and they did not make any exception, saying that it is not permissible to act on the weak, nor is it permissible to mention it except accompanied by an explanation of its weakness, absolutely. And some scholars said it is permissible to act on the weak in virtues or vices, but with conditions, with three conditions:
The first condition is that the weakness not be severe to the point of approaching fabrication and lying. If the weakness is severe, it is not permissible to mention it even in virtues.
The second condition is that the basis of what is reported in it be established by authentic evidence. For example, a hadith regarding the virtue of congregational prayer is weak, but it contains a graded reward, a great reward, and the hadith is weak. Here, we can say that this hadith is mentioned because it encourages congregational prayer. If it is established, the reward for the one who prays is confirmed; if it is not established, one benefits from what? The enthusiasm, the enthusiasm and desire to act, so it does no harm.
The third condition is that one does not believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said it, because one cannot believe that he said it unless it is authentic. Rather, one says "it is narrated" or "it is mentioned" or the like. So the scholars have two positions regarding mentioning the weak hadith and acting on it: The first is that it is not mentioned except accompanied by an explanation of its weakness, and as for acting on it? One does not act on it at all, not in encouragement, not in warning, and not in rulings. They justified this by saying that what is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is sufficient.
And the second is that there is no harm in mentioning it for encouragement and warning, provided, indeed with three conditions, which are: that the weakness not be severe, that it have a basis, and that one does not believe that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said it.