The ruling on a hadith whose chain of narration is not strong in the virtues of deeds
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
Question:
If al-Tirmidhi narrates a hadith and says, "Its chain of narration is not strong," and the hadith is about the virtues of deeds, what is your opinion, Your Eminence?
The mobile phone:
Al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) is generally good in his authentication and grading of hadiths as good, but he may weaken some hadiths that are strong according to others, though their chains are weak in his view. He may also grade some hadiths as good or authentic, while they are not so according to other masters of hadith. For example, the hadith of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb from his father from his grandfather regarding the woman who entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with two bracelets of gold on her daughter's hand, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her: This hadith is in the chapter on zakah, and it is weak according to al-Tirmidhi because it is narrated through al-Muthanna ibn al-Sabah from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb, and al-Muthanna is weak. However, it is good according to Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i because it is narrated by some of the trustworthy narrators from 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb. Al-Hafiz ruled in *al-Bulugh* that its chain is strong. The point is that it is good according to Abu Dawud and al-Nasa'i, but weak according to al-Tirmidhi because it is narrated by al-Muthanna ibn al-Sabah, as mentioned. He (may Allah have mercy on him) has other hadiths that he authenticated or graded as good, which are actually weak.
The point of this is that his authentication or grading as good is not sufficient; one must review the chains of narration and the words of the scholars on the matter so that the student is fully informed. This applies to the narrations of Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, al-Darimi, and Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them all). All of these narrate both weak and authentic hadiths. If Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, al-Darimi, or others who did not commit to narrating only authentic hadiths remain silent on a hadith, review the chains and reflect on them if you have knowledge and understanding. Otherwise, refer to the words of scholars such as al-Hafiz in *al-Talkhis*, *Nasb al-Ra'yah* by al-Zayla'i, *Fath al-Bari*, and others. Do not rush to authenticate or weaken a hadith until you have the qualification to do so, because these are serious matters. This is unlike the two Sahihs (al-Bukhari and Muslim), whose hadiths are accepted by the scholars. Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) explicitly stated that if he remains silent on something, it is valid for citation in his view. Al-Hafiz al-'Iraqi said about him (may Allah have mercy on him) in his *Alfiyyah*, and the exact wording is:
And I have mentioned what has severe weakness
And what I have not mentioned, I have extracted as valid
Meaning that he points out what has severe weakness, and what he remains silent on is valid. However, this is not absolute; it may be weak according to others, even if it is valid in his view, as scholars like al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar and others have clarified.
If al-Tirmidhi narrates a hadith and says, "Its chain of narration is not strong," and the hadith is about the virtues of deeds, what is your opinion, Your Eminence?
The mobile phone:
Al-Tirmidhi (may Allah have mercy on him) is generally good in his authentication and grading of hadiths as good, but he may weaken some hadiths that are strong according to others, though their chains are weak in his view. He may also grade some hadiths as good or authentic, while they are not so according to other masters of hadith. For example, the hadith of 'Amr ibn Shu'ayb from his father from his grandfather regarding the woman who entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with two bracelets of gold on her daughter's hand, and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her:
Do you give the zakah of this?
أتعطين زكاة هذا؟The point of this is that his authentication or grading as good is not sufficient; one must review the chains of narration and the words of the scholars on the matter so that the student is fully informed. This applies to the narrations of Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, al-Darimi, and Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on them all). All of these narrate both weak and authentic hadiths. If Abu Dawud, al-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah, al-Darimi, or others who did not commit to narrating only authentic hadiths remain silent on a hadith, review the chains and reflect on them if you have knowledge and understanding. Otherwise, refer to the words of scholars such as al-Hafiz in *al-Talkhis*, *Nasb al-Ra'yah* by al-Zayla'i, *Fath al-Bari*, and others. Do not rush to authenticate or weaken a hadith until you have the qualification to do so, because these are serious matters. This is unlike the two Sahihs (al-Bukhari and Muslim), whose hadiths are accepted by the scholars. Abu Dawud (may Allah have mercy on him) explicitly stated that if he remains silent on something, it is valid for citation in his view. Al-Hafiz al-'Iraqi said about him (may Allah have mercy on him) in his *Alfiyyah*, and the exact wording is:
And I have mentioned what has severe weakness
And what I have not mentioned, I have extracted as valid
Meaning that he points out what has severe weakness, and what he remains silent on is valid. However, this is not absolute; it may be weak according to others, even if it is valid in his view, as scholars like al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar and others have clarified.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.
