Reading a research paper on the verification of the meeting between Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) and Abu al-Jawza, with the Shaykh’s commentary on it.
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The student: And after that: Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) would begin the prayer with the takbir and begin the recitation with 'Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds'". Ibn Hajar said in al-Bulugh: "Muslim narrated it, and it has a defect". And he said in al-Talkhis: "It is from the narration of Abu al-Jawza from her". And Ibn Abd al-Barr said: "It is a mursal report; Abu al-Jawza did not hear it from her". And Ibn Abd al-Barr said in al-Istidhkar: "The men in the chain of this hadith are all trustworthy, except that they say that Abu al-Jawza is not known to have heard from Aisha, and his hadith from her is mursal". End of quote. And Ibn al-Muqin pointed out its defect in "al-I'lam bi-Fawa'id 'Umdat al-Ahkam". The discussion of this hadith is in several issues:
The first issue: I did not find anyone among the scholars who pointed out its defect except Ibn Abd al-Barr, Ibn al-Muqin, and Ibn Hajar. Al-Daraqutni did not point out its defect in his book "al-Tatabbu'", nor did Ibn al-Shahid in his book: "Al-Ilal al-Ahadith fi Kitab al-Sahih li-Muslim al-Hajjaj". However, al-Daraqutni mentioned the discrepancy regarding ... ibn Maysara, who is the narrator from Abu al-Jawza, in the manuscript of al-Ilal, and he said: "The correct opinion is that of the one who narrated from Abu al-Jawza".
The second issue: On what basis did these memorizers rely to deny that Abu al-Jawza heard from Aisha? They relied on what al-Bukhari narrated in: "al-Tarikh al-Kabir", where he said: "Musa'd told us, from Ja'far ibn Sulayman, from Amr ibn Malik al-Nakari, from Abu al-Jawza, who said: I stayed with Ibn Abbas and Aisha for twenty years, and there is no verse in the Qur'an that I did not ask them about. Muhammad, meaning al-Bukhari, said: There is a consideration regarding its chain". End of quote.
Ibn Adi said in al-Kamil: "Al-Bukhari’s statement that there is a consideration regarding its chain means that he did not hear from people like Ibn Mas'ud and Aisha and others, not that he considered him weak in his opinion, and his hadiths are sound". End of quote.
Ibn Hajar transmitted this in al-Tahdhib and said: "I say: His hadith from Aisha regarding the opening of the prayer with the takbir is with Muslim. Ibn Abd al-Barr mentioned in al-Tamhid that he did not hear from her". End of quote.
The third issue: How did they respond to this defect? Ibn Hajar said: "Abu Ja'far al-Faryabi said in his book on Prayer: Muzahim ibn Sa'id told us, he said: Ibn al-Mubarak told us, he said: Ibrahim ibn Tuhman told us, he said: ... al-Aqili told us, from Abu al-Jawza, who said: I sent a messenger to Aisha to ask her about ... this hadith. This is clear..."
The Shaykh : What, what? Did he send?
The student: "I sent a messenger to Aisha to ask her, and he mentioned the hadith. This is clear that he did not meet her in person, but there is no barrier to the possibility that he went to her after that and met her in person, according to Muslim’s view on the possibility of meeting, and Allah knows best". End of quote.
The fourth issue: The response of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar is subject to consideration. This is because we cannot accept this intermediary except with corroborating circumstances, even though the original ruling is that it is not valid, because the majority do not mention it. And even if we concede its validity, the hadith would be weak due to the obscurity of the intermediary. And if we reject it, the hadith would be weak due to the break in the chain.
The fifth issue: A discussion of Ibn Hajar’s reliance on al-Bukhari’s statement. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) ...
The Shaykh : This reasoning is also subject to consideration, because it is possible that ... is someone he trusts. And accepting the narrator’s statement "I was told by someone I trust" or similar, would be valid. That is, if we do not know the man who was sent, but we know that this person did not send anyone to ask him about matters of religion unless he was confident in him, then this is like the narrator’s authentication in his statement "I was told by someone I trust" or similar. Yes.
The student: The fifth issue: A discussion of Ibn Hajar’s reliance on al-Bukhari’s statement. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed in their understanding of this statement of al-Bukhari, with several opinions:
The first is the one who understood that al-Bukhari weakens Abu al-Jawza ...
The Shaykh : The first?
The student: The first is the one who understood that al-Bukhari weakens Abu al-Jawza.
The second is the one who interpreted al-Bukhari’s statement to mean that Abu al-Jawza did not hear from people like Ibn Mas'ud and Aisha.
The third is the one who said that al-Bukhari intended by his statement "there is a consideration regarding its chain" that report which he cited through the route of Amr ibn Malik al-Nakari, which is weak in his opinion, as mentioned by Ibn Hajar. And Ja'far ibn Sulayman is weak in his opinion. Accordingly, the pronoun refers to the report. And this last opinion is the most apparent, for the following reasons:
First, al-Bukhari’s criticism was of the chain due to the defects in it, in addition to the fact that the mention of Aisha in it is anomalous. Ahmad narrated it in al-Ilal through the route of Hammad ibn Zayd from Amr ibn Malik, who said: "I heard Abu al-Jawza say: I was a neighbor of Ibn Abbas for twelve years, and there is no verse in the Qur'an that I did not ask him about". And Ibn Sa'd also narrated it in al-Tabaqat through the route of Hammad ibn Zayd similarly. And this is what al-Bukhari intended by his statement "there is a consideration regarding its chain"; his meaning is the discussion of Amr ibn Malik. And this is indicated by his statement in some manuscripts, as in al-Tahdhib: "There is a consideration regarding its chain, and they differ regarding it." And in al-Tarikh without it, and it is omitted from it, which indicates al-Bukhari’s intention.
The Shaykh : ...
The student: And it is omitted from it, which indicates al-Bukhari’s intention. And Ibn Adi did not mention it in al-Kamil according to the available edition, nor did he address it in his statement, which indicates that he was not aware of it. And interpreting al-Bukhari’s statement to mean that he intended to deny the hearing is very far-fetched.
Second, the imams authenticated Abu al-Jawza, and no one accused him of mursal narration.
Third, if that were true, it would follow that he is a tadlis narrator, so his hadith would not be accepted unless he explicitly stated the narration, and no one holds this view. If you say that Ibn Hajar only accused him of frequent mursal narration and did not accuse him of tadlis, and there is a difference between them, the answer is as al-Allamah al-Mu'allimi said: "And it is refuted by the fact that the precise scholars of knowledge have transmitted that mursal is hidden tadlis, among them Ibn al-Salah, al-Nawawi, and al-Iraqi. And he said that it is well-known among the scholars of hadith that there is an accusation in hidden mursal. So accusing the narrator that he sends mursal hiddenly, even if ... with him, necessitates that you accuse the narrator that he does tadlis". End of quote.
The sixth issue: The hadith of Abu al-Jawza from Aisha is established without doubt. And this is indicated by several aspects:
First, Abu al-Jawza, who is Aws ibn Abdullah ... lived in the same era as Aisha and was her contemporary. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) passed away in the year fifty-seven or fifty-eight of the Hijra, and he passed away in eighty-three, so his contemporaneity with her was twenty-six or twenty-five years. And he heard from a group of the Companions, such as Ibn Abbas with al-Bukhari and others. And this indicates his connection to knowledge and his hearing from the Companions whom he met. And this is a circumstance that indicates the shortening of the chain, and it is sufficient unless ... appears in it.
Second, the publication of the authors of the Sahih, such as Imam Muslim, Abu Awana, and Ibn Hibban, who stipulated continuity in the hadiths they publish. So this Imam Muslim named his Sahih "The Sound, Authentic, Concise Musnad of the Sunan, transmitted by the just from the just from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)". And Ibn Hibban named his Sahih the Musnad ...
The Shaykh : But Muslim did not stipulate continuity, as is well known; he is satisfied with contemporaneity. Yes.
The student: And Ibn Hibban named his Sahih: "The Sound, Authentic Musnad according to the categories and types, without the presence of a break in its chain or the establishment of a defect in its transmitters". So if they had not established in their opinion that he heard from Aisha, they would not have taken it. And I ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to grant us beneficial knowledge and righteous action, and to guide our Shaykh al-Allamah to all good.
The Shaykh : Remove "al-Allamah" from your research. What is "al-Allamah"? There are many sciences that are hidden from us. Say "if Allah wills."
The student: If Allah wills, and to guide our Shaykh to what He guides him to and is pleased with. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions.
The Shaykh : (peace and blessings be upon him) May Allah reward you, good, this is a good research project, if Allah wills, and perhaps we will continue and assign some of the students to practice in tracing hadiths to their sources. Yes.
The student: We want a copy of the tracing of the hadiths to their sources.
The Shaykh : Yes, he will make a copy, if Allah wills; whoever wants one, he will make a copy for him, if Allah wills.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. I think we have finished the exegesis of Surat al-Fatihah?
The student: We have finished... the benefits.
The Shaykh : The entire hadith?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And all of its benefits?
The student: The benefits are still remaining.
The first issue: I did not find anyone among the scholars who pointed out its defect except Ibn Abd al-Barr, Ibn al-Muqin, and Ibn Hajar. Al-Daraqutni did not point out its defect in his book "al-Tatabbu'", nor did Ibn al-Shahid in his book: "Al-Ilal al-Ahadith fi Kitab al-Sahih li-Muslim al-Hajjaj". However, al-Daraqutni mentioned the discrepancy regarding ... ibn Maysara, who is the narrator from Abu al-Jawza, in the manuscript of al-Ilal, and he said: "The correct opinion is that of the one who narrated from Abu al-Jawza".
The second issue: On what basis did these memorizers rely to deny that Abu al-Jawza heard from Aisha? They relied on what al-Bukhari narrated in: "al-Tarikh al-Kabir", where he said: "Musa'd told us, from Ja'far ibn Sulayman, from Amr ibn Malik al-Nakari, from Abu al-Jawza, who said: I stayed with Ibn Abbas and Aisha for twenty years, and there is no verse in the Qur'an that I did not ask them about. Muhammad, meaning al-Bukhari, said: There is a consideration regarding its chain". End of quote.
Ibn Adi said in al-Kamil: "Al-Bukhari’s statement that there is a consideration regarding its chain means that he did not hear from people like Ibn Mas'ud and Aisha and others, not that he considered him weak in his opinion, and his hadiths are sound". End of quote.
Ibn Hajar transmitted this in al-Tahdhib and said: "I say: His hadith from Aisha regarding the opening of the prayer with the takbir is with Muslim. Ibn Abd al-Barr mentioned in al-Tamhid that he did not hear from her". End of quote.
The third issue: How did they respond to this defect? Ibn Hajar said: "Abu Ja'far al-Faryabi said in his book on Prayer: Muzahim ibn Sa'id told us, he said: Ibn al-Mubarak told us, he said: Ibrahim ibn Tuhman told us, he said: ... al-Aqili told us, from Abu al-Jawza, who said: I sent a messenger to Aisha to ask her about ... this hadith. This is clear..."
The Shaykh : What, what? Did he send?
The student: "I sent a messenger to Aisha to ask her, and he mentioned the hadith. This is clear that he did not meet her in person, but there is no barrier to the possibility that he went to her after that and met her in person, according to Muslim’s view on the possibility of meeting, and Allah knows best". End of quote.
The fourth issue: The response of al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar is subject to consideration. This is because we cannot accept this intermediary except with corroborating circumstances, even though the original ruling is that it is not valid, because the majority do not mention it. And even if we concede its validity, the hadith would be weak due to the obscurity of the intermediary. And if we reject it, the hadith would be weak due to the break in the chain.
The fifth issue: A discussion of Ibn Hajar’s reliance on al-Bukhari’s statement. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) ...
The Shaykh : This reasoning is also subject to consideration, because it is possible that ... is someone he trusts. And accepting the narrator’s statement "I was told by someone I trust" or similar, would be valid. That is, if we do not know the man who was sent, but we know that this person did not send anyone to ask him about matters of religion unless he was confident in him, then this is like the narrator’s authentication in his statement "I was told by someone I trust" or similar. Yes.
The student: The fifth issue: A discussion of Ibn Hajar’s reliance on al-Bukhari’s statement. The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) differed in their understanding of this statement of al-Bukhari, with several opinions:
The first is the one who understood that al-Bukhari weakens Abu al-Jawza ...
The Shaykh : The first?
The student: The first is the one who understood that al-Bukhari weakens Abu al-Jawza.
The second is the one who interpreted al-Bukhari’s statement to mean that Abu al-Jawza did not hear from people like Ibn Mas'ud and Aisha.
The third is the one who said that al-Bukhari intended by his statement "there is a consideration regarding its chain" that report which he cited through the route of Amr ibn Malik al-Nakari, which is weak in his opinion, as mentioned by Ibn Hajar. And Ja'far ibn Sulayman is weak in his opinion. Accordingly, the pronoun refers to the report. And this last opinion is the most apparent, for the following reasons:
First, al-Bukhari’s criticism was of the chain due to the defects in it, in addition to the fact that the mention of Aisha in it is anomalous. Ahmad narrated it in al-Ilal through the route of Hammad ibn Zayd from Amr ibn Malik, who said: "I heard Abu al-Jawza say: I was a neighbor of Ibn Abbas for twelve years, and there is no verse in the Qur'an that I did not ask him about". And Ibn Sa'd also narrated it in al-Tabaqat through the route of Hammad ibn Zayd similarly. And this is what al-Bukhari intended by his statement "there is a consideration regarding its chain"; his meaning is the discussion of Amr ibn Malik. And this is indicated by his statement in some manuscripts, as in al-Tahdhib: "There is a consideration regarding its chain, and they differ regarding it." And in al-Tarikh without it, and it is omitted from it, which indicates al-Bukhari’s intention.
The Shaykh : ...
The student: And it is omitted from it, which indicates al-Bukhari’s intention. And Ibn Adi did not mention it in al-Kamil according to the available edition, nor did he address it in his statement, which indicates that he was not aware of it. And interpreting al-Bukhari’s statement to mean that he intended to deny the hearing is very far-fetched.
Second, the imams authenticated Abu al-Jawza, and no one accused him of mursal narration.
Third, if that were true, it would follow that he is a tadlis narrator, so his hadith would not be accepted unless he explicitly stated the narration, and no one holds this view. If you say that Ibn Hajar only accused him of frequent mursal narration and did not accuse him of tadlis, and there is a difference between them, the answer is as al-Allamah al-Mu'allimi said: "And it is refuted by the fact that the precise scholars of knowledge have transmitted that mursal is hidden tadlis, among them Ibn al-Salah, al-Nawawi, and al-Iraqi. And he said that it is well-known among the scholars of hadith that there is an accusation in hidden mursal. So accusing the narrator that he sends mursal hiddenly, even if ... with him, necessitates that you accuse the narrator that he does tadlis". End of quote.
The sixth issue: The hadith of Abu al-Jawza from Aisha is established without doubt. And this is indicated by several aspects:
First, Abu al-Jawza, who is Aws ibn Abdullah ... lived in the same era as Aisha and was her contemporary. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) passed away in the year fifty-seven or fifty-eight of the Hijra, and he passed away in eighty-three, so his contemporaneity with her was twenty-six or twenty-five years. And he heard from a group of the Companions, such as Ibn Abbas with al-Bukhari and others. And this indicates his connection to knowledge and his hearing from the Companions whom he met. And this is a circumstance that indicates the shortening of the chain, and it is sufficient unless ... appears in it.
Second, the publication of the authors of the Sahih, such as Imam Muslim, Abu Awana, and Ibn Hibban, who stipulated continuity in the hadiths they publish. So this Imam Muslim named his Sahih "The Sound, Authentic, Concise Musnad of the Sunan, transmitted by the just from the just from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)". And Ibn Hibban named his Sahih the Musnad ...
The Shaykh : But Muslim did not stipulate continuity, as is well known; he is satisfied with contemporaneity. Yes.
The student: And Ibn Hibban named his Sahih: "The Sound, Authentic Musnad according to the categories and types, without the presence of a break in its chain or the establishment of a defect in its transmitters". So if they had not established in their opinion that he heard from Aisha, they would not have taken it. And I ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to grant us beneficial knowledge and righteous action, and to guide our Shaykh al-Allamah to all good.
The Shaykh : Remove "al-Allamah" from your research. What is "al-Allamah"? There are many sciences that are hidden from us. Say "if Allah wills."
The student: If Allah wills, and to guide our Shaykh to what He guides him to and is pleased with. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and all his Companions.
The Shaykh : (peace and blessings be upon him) May Allah reward you, good, this is a good research project, if Allah wills, and perhaps we will continue and assign some of the students to practice in tracing hadiths to their sources. Yes.
The student: We want a copy of the tracing of the hadiths to their sources.
The Shaykh : Yes, he will make a copy, if Allah wills; whoever wants one, he will make a copy for him, if Allah wills.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. I think we have finished the exegesis of Surat al-Fatihah?
The student: We have finished... the benefits.
The Shaykh : The entire hadith?
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : And all of its benefits?
The student: The benefits are still remaining.