Caution Against Judging Authentic Hadiths by the Intellect

My colleague Muhammad Sa'id al-Saffar from Riyadh sent a message saying: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. May Allah preserve you, His Eminence Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz. A question to Your Eminence in this program, *Nur 'ala al-Darb* (Light on the Path), which is as follows: From time to time, we hear and read that some well-known shaykhs deny the authenticity of certain hadiths found in the two *Sahih*s of al-Bukhari and Muslim, and in some of the other *Sahih* books. Their denial of their authenticity comes after they have examined them with their intellects, as they claim. That is, the basis for them in the authenticity of hadiths is their intellects alone. Among what we have read is the denial of the hadiths regarding the Mahdi, the Dajjal, and the descent of Isa ibn Maryam. The question is, O His Eminence the Shaykh! Is it permissible for any of the scholars of the Muslims, whatever his status, to deny the authenticity of some of the hadiths found in the *Sahih*s, which the scholars of the Ummah have agreed upon as authentic and whose narrators they have preferred, especially the two *Sahih*s of al-Bukhari and Muslim, using his intellect alone? And is it possible, O His Eminence the Shaykh! that you investigate this topic in the Fiqh Council of the Muslim World League due to its importance? Since, with the large number of scholars and each of them denying what he does not like from the hadiths, doubt may seep into the hearts of the common Muslims regarding the authenticity of most of the hadiths of the pure Sunnah. Then, if one of the honorable scholars rejects a hadith in al-Bukhari and Muslim, what makes us believe the rest of the hadiths, especially those that came through the chain of this rejected hadith? I ask for detail, O His Eminence the Shaykh! May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: The hadiths that came in the two *Sahih*s with their known chains are all, in the view of the scholars of knowledge, received with acceptance, and their authenticity is established. It is not permissible for anyone to reject them; rather, it is obligatory to accept them just as the scholars before us accepted them. Those who rejected the hadiths of the Dajjal, or the hadiths of the Messiah Isa ibn Maryam, or the hadiths of Ya'juj and Ma'juj, have erred in this with a great error and spoken a false statement. It is not permissible to follow them in this or to imitate them in it. Rather, it is obligatory upon them to repent from that and return to what the scholars of knowledge said in affirming them and their authenticity. Likewise, whoever rejects other hadiths established in the two *Sahih*s, his statement should not be heeded. The intellects are not judges in the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). Rather, the hadiths are received from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) through the authentic chains that the scholars of knowledge have explained. If a hadith comes through the path of the trustworthy in the two *Sahih*s or elsewhere, free from defects, it must be accepted. It is not permissible to judge by opinion to reject it without a legal proof. Rather, it is obligatory upon the people of knowledge and faith to accept the authentic hadiths, argue with them, and rely on them, whether they are mass-transmitted or come through the path of individual reports. It is never permissible to say: "This is from the path of individual reports, so it is not accepted." All of this is false and contrary to what the scholars of knowledge have agreed upon. Rather, what is established by the reports from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) must be accepted and acted upon, according to what the scholars of knowledge have explained. It is not permissible to object to that with what the theologians (*mutakallimun*) have seen regarding judging by the intellects, and what some of the later scholars have taken in this matter by imitating the people of theology and following their methodology in judging the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with their dull intellects. What is necessary will be written on this, if Allah wills. Perhaps it will also be facilitated to investigate that in the Fiqh Council, for the sake of further benefit and further clarification for the people, so that no one is deceived by those who delve into the hadiths with their opinions. And Allah is the Helper.
The presenter: Allah is the One to be sought for help, may Allah reward you with good.