✦ Position of the Early Scholars and Ibn Hajar on the ‘ʿAnʿanah’ Narrations of a Mudallis Narrator ✦
By: Qari Usama bin Abdus-Salam (حفظه الله)
❖ Ibn Hajar’s Viewpoint
Ibn Hajar (رحمه الله), in his renowned work
“تعريف أهل التقديس بمراتب الموصوفين بالتدليس“,
divided Mudalliseen (those who practice tadlīs) into five categories.
According to his classification:
✔ The narrations that use “ʿan” from narrators in the first two categories are considered acceptable,
✔ Because these individuals either engage in tadlīs very rarely,
✔ Or they perform tadlīs only from trustworthy (thiqqah) narrators.
❖ Viewpoint of the Imams of Hadith and Contrast with Ibn Hajar
Strict Principle of the Early Hadith Scholars (Mutakaddimīn)
The early scholars of Hadith, such as:
◄ Imām al-Bukhārī
◄ Imām Muslim
◄ Imām al-Shāfiʿī
◄ Imām Aḥmad
◄ Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn
held a far stricter standard.
They rejected the “ʿanʿanah” narration of any Mudallis narrator,
unless the narrator explicitly mentioned hearing (سماع), regardless of how frequent or infrequent the tadlīs was.
❖ Rejection by Imām al-Bukhārī (رحمه الله)
Imām al-Bukhārī did not accept a Mudallis narrator’s ʿanʿanah narration unless the hearing was clearly stated.
Example:
He rejected the ʿanʿanah narration of Sufyān al-Thawrī,
even though Sufyān is classified by Ibn Hajar in the second tier of Mudalliseen.
❖ Rejection by Imām Muslim (رحمه الله)
Imām Muslim stated:
A narration from a Mudallis narrator is not acceptable unless he explicitly states hearing (سماع).
He excluded ʿanʿanah narrations of famous Mudalliseen from his Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim,
unless the connected chain (ittiṣāl) was firmly established.
❖ Rigid Position of Imām al-Shāfiʿī (رحمه الله)
Imām al-Shāfiʿī said:
“We do not accept the narration of a Mudallis unless he says: ‘ḥaddathanā’ or ‘samiʿtu’.”
This principle differs from Ibn Hajar’s classification,
as Ibn Hajar accepted the ʿanʿanah of the first two categories,
while the early scholars rejected all such narrations without clear hearing.
❖ Firm Rejection by Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn & Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal
- Imām Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn:
“The ʿanʿanah narration of a Mudallis is not reliable unless he confirms hearing.”
- Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal:
“A Mudallis’s ‘ʿan’ narration is unacceptable without explicit hearing.”
❖ Strongest Rejection by Imām Shuʿbah ibn al-Ḥajjāj (رحمه الله)
Known as “Amīr al-Muʾminīn fī al-Ḥadīth”, Imām Shuʿbah stated:
“التدليس أخو الكذب“
(Tadlīs is the brother of lying)
Thus, in his view, rejecting the ʿanʿanah narration of a Mudallis is essential.
❖ Summary: The Divergence Between Early Scholars and Ibn Hajar
◈ The early Hadith scholars (Bukhārī, Muslim, Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, Ibn al-Madīnī, Dāraquṭnī, etc.)
did not accept the ʿanʿanah of a Mudallis unless explicit hearing (تصريحِ سماع) was mentioned.
◈ Ibn Hajar, however, categorized Mudalliseen into levels and considered the ʿanʿanah of the first two tiers acceptable — a view contrary to that of the Mutakaddimīn.
◈ The stricter principle of the early scholars is viewed as more reliable,
as it embodies caution and ensures the elimination of any possibility of tadlīs in the chain of narration.
