The Meaning of Al-Tirmidhi’s Statement: (Hasan Gharib)
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His second question says: In some of the hadiths narrated by Al-Tirmidhi, he says at the end of the hadith: (A hasan gharib hadith). What does he mean by this term, and is this hadith, described with this description, considered weak? May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: His description of it as gharib is sometimes because it revolves around one person, it revolves around one narrator, so he calls it gharib because the gharib is what is narrated by only one person, a Companion or someone below the level of the Companions. The gharib, according to the scholars of hadith, is what is narrated by only one person. This is called gharib absolutely, and it is called fard. Sometimes a hadith is called gharib in a relative sense, even if it is famous through many routes, but he says it is gharib relative to the fact that it was not narrated in this route except by Malik, and it is known from a route other than Malik’s—for example, Ibn Anas, or, for example, it came from the route of Al-Zuhri and it is known from a route other than his. It is called gharib from the route of Al-Zuhri or from the route of Malik, for example, or it is gharib because it was not narrated from this route except, for example, Yahya ibn Sa’id al-Ansari or Ibn al-Musayyib, and all the other routes are from a route other than his.
So it is called gharib from this perspective, from the side that this route was unique to so-and-so, while the other routes are known from others. This is called relative gharib.
As for whether it is sahih or weak, this varies: If its men are known for trustworthiness and integrity, and the chain is connected, it is called sahih. If the narrators have a deficiency in their memorization, it is called hasan. If the narrator’s memorization is not complete, it is called hasan, and if his memorization is complete, it is called sahih.
And if it is from two routes or more, it is called hasan sahih. It is hasan because of the multiplicity of its routes, and sahih because of the trustworthiness of its men. Or it is hasan from the side that one of the routes has a weakness in the memorization of its narrators, and the narrators of the second route are trustworthy and complete, so it is said: It is hasan from one route, and sahih from another route.
All of this has been explained by the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. Yes. This indicates, Your Eminence, that the concern for the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is ancient.
The Shaykh: Yes, from the time of the Companions to this day, and the scholars are concerned, the Companions and those after them.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. Do you guide us to a specific book that benefits from the concern of the Salaf for the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?
The Shaykh: Yes, all the books of terminology benefit from this matter. The book of Ibn al-Salah, the Introduction of Ibn al-Salah, the Alfiah of Al-‘Iraqi, the Alfiah of Al-Suyuti, Nukhbat al-Fikr by Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, all of them mention this meaning, indicating the concern of the imams and scholars for the Sunnah. Yes. And there are other books besides these. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Answer: His description of it as gharib is sometimes because it revolves around one person, it revolves around one narrator, so he calls it gharib because the gharib is what is narrated by only one person, a Companion or someone below the level of the Companions. The gharib, according to the scholars of hadith, is what is narrated by only one person. This is called gharib absolutely, and it is called fard. Sometimes a hadith is called gharib in a relative sense, even if it is famous through many routes, but he says it is gharib relative to the fact that it was not narrated in this route except by Malik, and it is known from a route other than Malik’s—for example, Ibn Anas, or, for example, it came from the route of Al-Zuhri and it is known from a route other than his. It is called gharib from the route of Al-Zuhri or from the route of Malik, for example, or it is gharib because it was not narrated from this route except, for example, Yahya ibn Sa’id al-Ansari or Ibn al-Musayyib, and all the other routes are from a route other than his.
So it is called gharib from this perspective, from the side that this route was unique to so-and-so, while the other routes are known from others. This is called relative gharib.
As for whether it is sahih or weak, this varies: If its men are known for trustworthiness and integrity, and the chain is connected, it is called sahih. If the narrators have a deficiency in their memorization, it is called hasan. If the narrator’s memorization is not complete, it is called hasan, and if his memorization is complete, it is called sahih.
And if it is from two routes or more, it is called hasan sahih. It is hasan because of the multiplicity of its routes, and sahih because of the trustworthiness of its men. Or it is hasan from the side that one of the routes has a weakness in the memorization of its narrators, and the narrators of the second route are trustworthy and complete, so it is said: It is hasan from one route, and sahih from another route.
All of this has been explained by the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. Yes. This indicates, Your Eminence, that the concern for the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) is ancient.
The Shaykh: Yes, from the time of the Companions to this day, and the scholars are concerned, the Companions and those after them.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good. Do you guide us to a specific book that benefits from the concern of the Salaf for the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?
The Shaykh: Yes, all the books of terminology benefit from this matter. The book of Ibn al-Salah, the Introduction of Ibn al-Salah, the Alfiah of Al-‘Iraqi, the Alfiah of Al-Suyuti, Nukhbat al-Fikr by Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, all of them mention this meaning, indicating the concern of the imams and scholars for the Sunnah. Yes. And there are other books besides these. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.