Ruling on Acting Upon Ṣaḥīḥ, Ḥasan, and Ḍa‘īf Hadith, and Clarification on Hadith Collections
Source: Aḥkām wa Masā’il fī Ḍaw’ al-Qur’ān wa al-Ḥadīth, Vol. 01, p. 565
Question
① Upon which kinds of aḥādīth should one act? Is it permissible to act upon ṣaḥīḥ, ḥasan, ḍa‘īf, or other categories as well? At times, it happens that the aḥādīth which Ahl-e-Ḥadīth follow are declared weak by Ahl-e-Sunnat Barelvi, and those which the Barelvis act upon are considered weak by Ahl-e-Ḥadīth. In the end, ḥadīth is ḥadīth. Some people say: “Act upon every ḥadīth whether ṣaḥīḥ or ḍa‘īf.” Kindly clarify this matter.
② Apart from the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah, there are many other collections of ḥadīth such as Ṭabarānī, Ṭaḥāwī, Nayl al-Awṭār, Bulūgh al-Marām, Kanz al-‘Ummāl, etc. What is the status of these books? Since Ahl-e-Sunnat Barelvi generally quote from Ṭaḥāwī, and Ahl-e-Ḥadīth mostly quote from Bulūgh al-Marām, please explain this matter.
Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa as-salāmu ‘alā Rasūlillāh, ammā ba‘d!
① Every ḥadīth that is mutawātir, ṣaḥīḥ, or ḥasan, and not abrogated, must be acted upon.
◈ If there is disagreement among scholars on a matter, then research should be conducted on the basis of evidence, not bias.
◈ Whether presented by Ahl-e-Ḥadīth, Deobandi, or Barelvi — whichever ḥadīth is proven to be ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan, it is obligatory to act upon it.
② The number of ḥadīth collections reaches into the hundreds.
◈ If a ḥadīth is found in these books and it is ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan, then it must be acted upon.
◈ It is not necessary to restrict oneself only to the Ṣiḥāḥ Sittah. Rather, acting upon authentic and sound narrations found in other reliable collections is also obligatory.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
