Denying Tadlis (Concealment of a Defect in a Chain) from al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him)

The Shaykh : The important point is the hadith. I said, you mentioned that al-Bukhari narrated it as a suspended hadith. Here, it is necessary to remind you that, in the opinion of some scholars, this is a suspended hadith. However, upon investigation, one should not say that this hadith, which is in Sahih al-Bukhari, is among al-Bukhari’s suspended hadiths, because that would imply attributing tadlis (concealment of a defect in a chain) to al-Bukhari. Al-Bukhari has never been known to have practiced tadlis. I do not know if this somewhat general statement needs clarification or not?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Well, I say that, as is known, al-Bukhari narrates this hadith from his shaykh (scholar or teacher), Hisham ibn 'Ammar. However, when he narrated it, he did not use the wording of direct narration (tadhaduth) as he did for other hadiths from this shaykh. Usually, when he narrates from Hisham ibn 'Ammar, he says, "Hisham ibn 'Ammar narrated to me." But here, he only said, "Hisham ibn 'Ammar said." And because he did not say "narrated to me" but rather "said Hisham," some scholars erred... and at their head was Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi, thinking that this is a suspended hadith. Why? Because al-Bukhari did not say "narrated to me" in it. This does not necessarily mean it is suspended. Why? Because for a trustworthy narrator who is not known for tadlis, there is no difference among hadith scholars whether he narrates from his shaykh using the explicit wording of direct narration or hearing, or using another wording that is not explicit regarding hearing. If the trustworthy narrator says, "So-and-so narrated to me," or "I heard so-and-so," or "he narrated from so-and-so," or "so-and-so said," all of that is equivalent among hadith scholars. And Imam al-Bukhari is at the head of these hadith scholars. So if he says, "Hisham said," and Hisham is his shaykh, it should not be said that it is suspended, because that would mean there is a narrator between al-Bukhari and Hisham whom he omitted. And that is the practice of the one who practices tadlis. Al-Bukhari is not known, praise be to Allah, for tadlis. Therefore, if it is said that al-Bukhari narrated it as suspended, there is some laxity or leniency in the expression. I wanted to mention this, for the reminder benefits the believers.