Is narrating hadith by meaning considered a problem in the science of hadith?
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The questioner : Is the problem significant, meaning, narrating hadith by meaning in the science of hadith?
The Shaykh : Do you mean you are asserting that it is a problem, or are you asking whether it is a problem?
The questioner : Is it a problem?
The Shaykh : There is a vast difference between the two.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Give me this packet; there is no issue with it, with Allah’s permission. This is because narrating hadith by meaning is something in which the scholars of hadith have explicitly stated its permissibility, but not absolutely; rather, it is with a condition. And in my opinion, if you know or recall this condition, the issue collapses and disappears. The condition is that the one who wants to narrate the hadith by meaning should have its wording present in his mind. If he has the wording present in his mind, then the issue disappears and the matter becomes easy. And I think it is not hidden from you, nor from any student of knowledge, that the scholars of tafsir (exegesis) all agreed that it is permissible to interpret the Noble Qur’an into non-Arabic languages, but interpretation by meaning, not by wording. This is because interpreting the Qur’an into a non-Arabic language with a literal, word-for-word interpretation is an impossible matter. This is because there are words in the Arabic language where a single word gives two contradictory meanings, and there is much of this. Some treatises were written in the past on words of contradiction. For example, it is said, “A noble man,” meaning great, or “a lowly man,” meaning insignificant. These are words of contradiction. It is also said, “The sun has appeared,” meaning it rose, or “The sun has set.” These are words of contradiction. Likewise, it is said, “The night has darkened,” meaning it approached, or “The night has departed.” Therefore, there are no synonymous words for such words in non-Arabic languages. And this is a little from a lot of examples.
The Shaykh : Do you mean you are asserting that it is a problem, or are you asking whether it is a problem?
The questioner : Is it a problem?
The Shaykh : There is a vast difference between the two.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Give me this packet; there is no issue with it, with Allah’s permission. This is because narrating hadith by meaning is something in which the scholars of hadith have explicitly stated its permissibility, but not absolutely; rather, it is with a condition. And in my opinion, if you know or recall this condition, the issue collapses and disappears. The condition is that the one who wants to narrate the hadith by meaning should have its wording present in his mind. If he has the wording present in his mind, then the issue disappears and the matter becomes easy. And I think it is not hidden from you, nor from any student of knowledge, that the scholars of tafsir (exegesis) all agreed that it is permissible to interpret the Noble Qur’an into non-Arabic languages, but interpretation by meaning, not by wording. This is because interpreting the Qur’an into a non-Arabic language with a literal, word-for-word interpretation is an impossible matter. This is because there are words in the Arabic language where a single word gives two contradictory meanings, and there is much of this. Some treatises were written in the past on words of contradiction. For example, it is said, “A noble man,” meaning great, or “a lowly man,” meaning insignificant. These are words of contradiction. It is also said, “The sun has appeared,” meaning it rose, or “The sun has set.” These are words of contradiction. Likewise, it is said, “The night has darkened,” meaning it approached, or “The night has departed.” Therefore, there are no synonymous words for such words in non-Arabic languages. And this is a little from a lot of examples.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.