Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What does Imam Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn’s statement “lā aʿrifuhu” (I do not know him) mean?
When Imam Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn رحمه الله says “lā aʿrifuhu”, it means that the narrator is unknown (majhūl). His reliability (thiqah) or weakness (ḍaʿf) is not established.
✔ Imam ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim رحمه الله:
“It means: I do not know the reality of his condition.”
(الجرح والتعديل: 5/311)
He also said:
“It means: he is unknown (majhūl).”
(الجرح والتعديل: 8/15)
✔ Imam Ibn ʿAdī رحمه الله:
“When someone like Ibn Maʿīn says lā aʿrifuhu, then the narrator is majhūl and not well-known. And if another scholar claims to know him, his recognition is not relied upon, because the conditions of narrators are examined through Ibn Maʿīn.”
(الكامل في ضعفاء الرجال: 5/485)
Conclusion:
Imam Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn’s statement “lā aʿrifuhu” signifies that the narrator is majhūl (unknown), with neither reliability nor weakness confirmed. Such a narrator’s reports are not relied upon in Hadith sciences.
◈ Question:
What does Imam Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn’s statement “lā aʿrifuhu” (I do not know him) mean?
◈ Answer:
When Imam Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn رحمه الله says “lā aʿrifuhu”, it means that the narrator is unknown (majhūl). His reliability (thiqah) or weakness (ḍaʿf) is not established.
❀ Statements of the Scholars
✔ Imam ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Ḥātim رحمه الله:
“It means: I do not know the reality of his condition.”
(الجرح والتعديل: 5/311)
He also said:
“It means: he is unknown (majhūl).”
(الجرح والتعديل: 8/15)
✔ Imam Ibn ʿAdī رحمه الله:
“When someone like Ibn Maʿīn says lā aʿrifuhu, then the narrator is majhūl and not well-known. And if another scholar claims to know him, his recognition is not relied upon, because the conditions of narrators are examined through Ibn Maʿīn.”
(الكامل في ضعفاء الرجال: 5/485)
Conclusion:Imam Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn’s statement “lā aʿrifuhu” signifies that the narrator is majhūl (unknown), with neither reliability nor weakness confirmed. Such a narrator’s reports are not relied upon in Hadith sciences.
