Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the ruling on the hadith of a narrator who accepts prompting (talqīn)?
Accepting talqīn (prompting) is a sign of weakness in memory.
✔ Imam Abū Ḥātim رحمه الله:
“A narrator who is prompted and accepts prompting—his hadith in which he was prompted is rejected, but his hadith in which his memory was firm is accepted, if it is known that this prompting occurred later in his life and that earlier he was not known for it. However, if he was known for accepting prompting from the beginning in all his hadith, then his hadith is not accepted, because it cannot be determined which hadith he preserved firmly and which he was prompted in.”
(الجرح والتعديل لابن أبي حاتم: 2/34)
Conclusion:
The narrations of a narrator who accepts prompting are accepted only if they are from the period before his memory became affected. Once he became known for accepting prompting, his later narrations are rejected unless clearly distinguished.
◈ Question:
What is the ruling on the hadith of a narrator who accepts prompting (talqīn)?
◈ Answer:
Accepting talqīn (prompting) is a sign of weakness in memory.
- The narrations transmitted from such a narrator before he began accepting prompting are accepted.
- The narrations transmitted by students after the narrator started accepting prompting are not accepted.
- If a student heard from him both before and after he began accepting prompting, and it is not possible to distinguish between the two sets of narrations, then all of his narrations will be considered weak, due to the element of doubt.
- However, if it is possible to differentiate between the pre- and post-talqīn narrations, or a clear indicator is found, then the narrations before talqīn are accepted, and those after are rejected.
❀ Statement of the Scholars
✔ Imam Abū Ḥātim رحمه الله:
“A narrator who is prompted and accepts prompting—his hadith in which he was prompted is rejected, but his hadith in which his memory was firm is accepted, if it is known that this prompting occurred later in his life and that earlier he was not known for it. However, if he was known for accepting prompting from the beginning in all his hadith, then his hadith is not accepted, because it cannot be determined which hadith he preserved firmly and which he was prompted in.”
(الجرح والتعديل لابن أبي حاتم: 2/34)
Conclusion:The narrations of a narrator who accepts prompting are accepted only if they are from the period before his memory became affected. Once he became known for accepting prompting, his later narrations are rejected unless clearly distinguished.
