The Science of Men and the Examination of Hadiths: It Remains

Question:
Regarding the tracing of hadiths to their sources, O His Eminence the Shaykh, and the vindication and critique of narrators. Some people believe that the chapter on the Science of Men is closed or that it ended long ago. How do you view this, O His Eminence the Shaykh?

Answer:
No. This is not correct. Rather, the Science of Men and the examination of hadiths remain, and they have not passed away; indeed, they continue. The people of hadith must take care of this, review the hadiths, distinguish between their authentic and defective ones, and guide people to this. They should not stop at merely mentioning so-and-so or so-and-so, but they should follow up, such as in *Al-Muntaqa*, *Bulugh al-Maram*, the Four Sunan, and *Musnad Ahmad*. They should review the chains of narration and take care of them, and know which are authentic and which are defective, so that they benefit from this and benefit others. This is the affair of the student of knowledge whom Allah has guided to know the hadiths, know their chains, know the conditions of the men, and engage in this matter. There is great benefit in this for him and for others.