What is the ruling on the chain of narration of the hadith of Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) in which he said

The questioner: That they said: He said.

The Shaykh: Al-Tirmidhi narrated it, then ... he said it is authentic. Then I read this hadith in the book *Mistakes of the Prayers* by Shaykh Mushahhir Hasan Salman, and he said it is weak, and its defect is al-Walid ibn Muslim. We know about al-Walid ibn Muslim that he engages in tadlis of leveling (tadlis al-taswiyyah). So I presented the hadith to one of my sheikhs, and he said: Rather, Al-Albani authenticated it, and we follow Al-Albani. Then I presented it to another sheikh, and he said it is weak due to the presence of al-Walid ibn Muslim, because he engages in tadlis, and this is the worst type of tadlis. So I said to him, "A sheikh of one of the scholars told me that Al-Albani authenticated it." He said to me, "Even if Al-Albani authenticated it, we do not follow scholars blindly (taqlid)."

The questioner: That they said: He said.

The Shaykh: Al-Tirmidhi narrated it, then ... he said it is authentic. Then I read this hadith in the book *Mistakes of the Prayers* by Shaykh Mushahhir Hasan al-Salman, and he said it is weak, and its defect is al-Walid ibn Muslim. We know about al-Walid ibn Muslim that he engages in tadlis of leveling (tadlis al-taswiyyah). So I presented the hadith to one of my sheikhs, and he said: Rather, Al-Albani authenticated it, and we follow Al-Albani. Then I presented it to another sheikh, and he said it is weak due to the presence of al-Walid ibn Muslim, because he engages in tadlis, and this is the worst type of tadlis. So I said to him, "A sheikh of one of the scholars told me that Al-Albani authenticated it." He said to me, "Even if Al-Albani authenticated it, we do not follow scholars blindly (taqlid)."

The Shaykh: What Allah wills, define your question.

The questioner: The hadith, the one that is, the one that is.

The Shaykh : The Shaykh : No, I am not telling you to read it again. Define your question. What did you understand from this written text about this hadith?

The questioner: I mean, there is a disagreement regarding the hadith; one of the scholars authenticated it, and one of the scholars weakened it.

The Shaykh: What is in my mind is that the hadith is authentic, and the reasoning based on al-Walid ibn Muslim and that he engages in tadlis of leveling (tadlis al-taswiyyah) is a valid reasoning, meaning al-Walid ibn Muslim is known for this tadlis, unfortunately. But this does not negate one of two things, or both together. And the detail of this matter requires referring to the source in which I authenticated the hadith.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: It is not free from the possibility of one of two things, and they may sometimes coincide. Often, the narrator, like al-Walid ibn Muslim, in a source of this hadith, like al-Tirmidhi for example, actually uses the term "an'anah" (indirect narration). Where is the water?
Al-Halabi: Cold, it is still cold, this one.
The student: I will get you water, it is fine.
Al-Halabi: I will get you regular water quickly.

The Shaykh: The point is that the hadith in al-Tirmidhi may be from the narration of al-Walid ibn Muslim using "an'anah" (indirect narration), which makes the hadith actually weak in its chain. But it is possible that al-Walid ibn Muslim, in a source other than al-Tirmidhi where the hadith was narrated, explicitly stated the narration (tadhrib). This happens often in many hadiths. In that case, the defect of tadlis is removed, and consequently the weakening, which is a result of the tadlis, is removed. Is this clear up to here?

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: In the name of Allah, the second possibility, and I said it may sometimes coincide with the first. It is possible that this hadith has another chain, another chain.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh: Even if it is weak, but not severely weak, the hadith of al-Walid ibn Muslim is strengthened by this other chain, even if it is weak and it is possible that it is good. And the conclusion that we should reach regarding this hadith first, and regarding some of the young students second, who say "we do not follow scholars blindly (taqlid)," is that it is not necessary that if a hadith comes with a weak chain, one should say "the hadith is weak." Rather, the correct and precise expression is to say "its chain is weak," its chain is weak. This is also stated in the terminology with this detail, but some people are lenient and say "the hadith is weak," meaning with this chain, meaning it is implied in their mind with this chain, and there is no harm in that. But the clarification, by expelling the Shaytan, if one says "its chain is weak," if someone comes to him with an authentic chain, he does not object to it with that. Why? Because he did not say "the hadith is weak," but rather he said "its chain is weak." But if he said "the hadith is weak" and he was presented with an authentic chain, that would be a great error on his part.