Is It Permissible to Act Upon Weak Hadith? Truth About the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah and Fabricated Narrations

Source: Fatāwā Rāshidiyyah, Page 109

❖ Question​

Is it permissible to act upon a weak (ḍaʿīf) ḥadīth? Are all aḥādīth in the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah (the six major collections) reliable and actionable? Do these books contain any fabricated (mawḍūʿ) aḥādīth?

❖ Answer​

Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾAmma baʿd!

✿ Conditions for Acting Upon Weak Ḥadīth​

① The weakness in the ḥadīth must be very mild, such as a narrator having a weak memory, or other reasons mentioned in the books of uṣūl al-ḥadīth.


② The narration must pertain to the virtues of deeds (faḍāʾil al-aʿmāl).


✿ In other words, if authentic aḥādīth already establish the virtue of a particular deed, and there exists a weak narration on the same topic with slight weakness, it may be accepted — but should not be attributed to the Prophet ﷺ with certainty.


Example:
The virtues and significance of ṣalāh (prayer) are well-established through numerous authentic aḥādīth. If a slightly weak narration on the same topic appears, it may be accepted for encouragement, but not with the certainty that it was directly said by the Prophet ﷺ.

❖ Weak Ḥadīth in Legal Rulings and Beliefs​

① In matters of legal rulings (aḥkām) and beliefs (ʿaqāʾid), the muḥaddithīn and scholars of ḥadīth have laid strict conditions.


② Weak aḥādīth are not accepted for establishing rulings or matters of creed.

❖ Reality of the Aḥādīth in the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah​

① Apart from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the other four books of Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah contain aḥādīth that are:

• Authentic (ṣaḥīḥ)
• Weak (ḍaʿīf)
• Severely weak (shadīd al-ḍaʿf)

② Recognition of these variations is only possible for experts in ḥadīth.


③ Some people mistakenly believe that all aḥādīth in the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah are authentic — this is ignorance.


④ In reality, these books contain narrations that have been classified as weak, and the authors themselves — such as Abū Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhī, al-Nasāʾī, etc. — have explicitly declared certain narrations as weak.


✦ فَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمُشْتَكَى — To Allah alone we turn for help.

❖ Why Are These Books Called “Ṣiḥāḥ”?​

① These books are called “Ṣiḥāḥ” because most of the narrations in them are authentic and actionable.


② There is a principle:


✿ “al-aqall ka-al-maʿdūm” — The minority is considered insignificant or negligible.


③ Since the majority of the aḥādīth in these collections are authentic, and the Ummah has always acted upon them, they are titled Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah.


④ This does not mean that all aḥādīth in them are authentic.

❖ Why Did the Muḥaddithīn Include Weak Aḥādīth?​

① To Clarify Contradictory Narrations

• Sometimes, an issue may have both a sound and a weak narration.
• The muḥaddithīn mention both, and clarify that one is weak, so that it is not used as evidence.

✿ Example: Regarding reciting al-Fātiḥah behind the imām, there are both authentic and weak narrations. Scholars mention both to clarify the weakness of the latter.


② To Strengthen Authentic Narrations

• Weak aḥādīth are sometimes mentioned alongside authentic ones to reinforce the original narration.

③ To Support Statements or Actions of Companions

• If no authentic ḥadīth is available for an issue, but a Companion’s statement or action exists, a weak narration may be cited to strengthen that view.

④ To Protect the Public from Misguidance

• At times, a severely weak narration is mentioned not for evidence, but to expose it, so that people are aware of its falsehood and do not transmit it.

❖ A Warning from the Prophet ﷺ​

((من حدث عنى حديثا وهو يرى انه كذب فهواحد الكاذبين))
Sunan al-Tirmidhī, Book of Knowledge, Chapter: Whoever Narrates a Fabrication, Ḥadīth No: 2662


Meaning:
“Whoever narrates from me a ḥadīth which he knows to be false, he is one of the two liars — the one who fabricated it and the one who transmits it.”

❖ Harms of Weak and Fabricated Narrations​

① It is due to weak and fabricated aḥādīth that innovations (bidʿāt) and acts of shirk have spread among Muslims.


② The muḥaddithīn warned the Ummah against them to prevent ignorance-based misguidance.

❖ Why Don’t Scholars Always Clarify the Weakness?​

① Some narrators are notoriously weak, such as Jābir al-Juʿfī, so their weakness is widely known.


② Thus, scholars often only mention the chain, trusting that knowledgeable readers will recognize the narrator and discard the report.


③ This also encourages students of knowledge to research and gain expertise in the science of ḥadīth, rather than blindly imitating others.

❖ The Example of Imām al-Bukhārī (رحمه الله)​

① Imām al-Bukhārī exhibited exceptional expertise in crafting chapter headings and arranging content in his Ṣaḥīḥ.


② His method stimulated the analytical skills of students, helping them to extract rulings from the ḥadīth.


③ For this reason, it is said:


✦ Imām al-Bukhārī was not just a mujtahid, but also one who trained others to become mujtahids.

❖ Summary​

✔ The muḥaddithīn included weak aḥādīth in their books for various scholarly purposes.
✔ They should not be blamed for this.
✔ Weak ḥadīth may only be used in faḍāʾil al-aʿmāl under strict conditions, not in legal rulings or beliefs.
✔ Not all aḥādīth in the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah are authentic, but since most are, the collections were named Ṣiḥāḥ.


ھٰذَا مَا عِنْدِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ