Source: Fatāwā Amunpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amunpuri
What is the ruling on using weak hadith in matters of faḍāʾil (virtues) and targhīb wa tarhīb (encouragement and warnings)?
Since faḍāʾil also belong to religion, it is not permissible to use weak narrations as proof in them. None of the Salaf ever held such a view. The Salaf would show leniency in verifying narrations of virtues compared to legal rulings, but this does not mean they accepted clearly weak or fabricated reports in virtues.
✔ Imam ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī رحمه الله:
“When we narrate from the Prophet ﷺ regarding ḥalāl, ḥarām, and rulings, we are strict in isnād, scrutinizing narrators. But when narrating in virtues of deeds, reward and punishment, permissibles, and supplications, we are lenient in isnād.”
(المستدرك: 1/490, دلائل النبوة للبيهقي: 1/34, with authentic chain)
✔ Imam al-Ḥākim رحمه الله:
“In the Book of Supplications, I follow the approach of Ibn Mahdī in accepting reports according to the will of Allah.”
(المستدرك: 1/490)
✔ Imam Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān رحمه الله:
“They showed leniency in tafsīr narrations from those whom they did not consider reliable in hadith.”
(دلائل النبوة للبيهقي: 1/35, with authentic chain)
✔ Hafiz al-Sakhāwī رحمه الله (902 AH):
“Ibn al-ʿArabī opposed this view, saying that weak hadith must never be acted upon. I heard my teacher (Ibn Ḥajar) often say, and he even wrote it for me, that acting on weak hadith requires three conditions:
① The weakness is not severe (thus excluding liars, accused narrators, and grossly mistaken ones).
② It falls under an established general principle (excluding fabricated reports).
③ It must not be believed as established fact, lest something not said by the Prophet ﷺ be attributed to him.
The last two conditions are from ʿIzz ibn ʿAbd al-Salām and Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd, and the first condition was reported as agreed upon by al-ʿAllāʾī.”
(القول البديع: 255, تدريب الراوي: 1/298)
✔ Imam al-Nawawī رحمه الله (676 AH):
“The scholars of hadith and others have agreed upon leniency in narrations of virtues, encouragement, and warning.”
(المجموع: 5/257-258)
✔ Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله (1420 AH):
“The claim of acting upon weak hadith in virtues cannot be applied unrestrictedly. It only applies where the practice is already established by Qur’an or authentic Sunnah. As for what is not established, it is not permissible to act upon it with weak hadith, since this would amount to legislation, and legislation cannot be based on weak hadith.”
(سلسلة الأحاديث الضعيفة: 2/65)
✔ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (728 AH):
“None of the Imams ever said that it is permissible to make something obligatory or recommended on the basis of a weak hadith. Whoever claims this has opposed consensus.”
(مجموع الفتاوى: 1/251)
✔ Imam Ibn Ḥibbān رحمه الله (354 AH):
“I do not consider weak narrators reliable, for narrating from the feeble is equal to narrating nothing at all.”
(الثقات: 9/159)
“It is as if what a weak narrator narrates and what he does not narrate are the same in ruling.”
(المجروحين: 1/328)
✔ Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله (852 AH):
“There is no difference between acting on hadith in rulings and in virtues — for both are part of Sharīʿah.”
(تبيين العجب: 2)
Conclusion:
Weak hadith are not proof in faḍāʾil any more than they are in rulings. While the Salaf were sometimes less strict in verifying isnād in virtues compared to rulings, they never accepted manifestly weak or fabricated reports. Religion is built only on authentic narrations.
◈ Question:
What is the ruling on using weak hadith in matters of faḍāʾil (virtues) and targhīb wa tarhīb (encouragement and warnings)?
◈ Answer:
Since faḍāʾil also belong to religion, it is not permissible to use weak narrations as proof in them. None of the Salaf ever held such a view. The Salaf would show leniency in verifying narrations of virtues compared to legal rulings, but this does not mean they accepted clearly weak or fabricated reports in virtues.
❀ Statements of the Scholars
✔ Imam ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī رحمه الله:
“When we narrate from the Prophet ﷺ regarding ḥalāl, ḥarām, and rulings, we are strict in isnād, scrutinizing narrators. But when narrating in virtues of deeds, reward and punishment, permissibles, and supplications, we are lenient in isnād.”
(المستدرك: 1/490, دلائل النبوة للبيهقي: 1/34, with authentic chain)
✔ Imam al-Ḥākim رحمه الله:
“In the Book of Supplications, I follow the approach of Ibn Mahdī in accepting reports according to the will of Allah.”
(المستدرك: 1/490)
✔ Imam Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān رحمه الله:
“They showed leniency in tafsīr narrations from those whom they did not consider reliable in hadith.”
(دلائل النبوة للبيهقي: 1/35, with authentic chain)
✔ Hafiz al-Sakhāwī رحمه الله (902 AH):
“Ibn al-ʿArabī opposed this view, saying that weak hadith must never be acted upon. I heard my teacher (Ibn Ḥajar) often say, and he even wrote it for me, that acting on weak hadith requires three conditions:
① The weakness is not severe (thus excluding liars, accused narrators, and grossly mistaken ones).
② It falls under an established general principle (excluding fabricated reports).
③ It must not be believed as established fact, lest something not said by the Prophet ﷺ be attributed to him.
The last two conditions are from ʿIzz ibn ʿAbd al-Salām and Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd, and the first condition was reported as agreed upon by al-ʿAllāʾī.”
(القول البديع: 255, تدريب الراوي: 1/298)
✔ Imam al-Nawawī رحمه الله (676 AH):
“The scholars of hadith and others have agreed upon leniency in narrations of virtues, encouragement, and warning.”
(المجموع: 5/257-258)
✔ Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله (1420 AH):
“The claim of acting upon weak hadith in virtues cannot be applied unrestrictedly. It only applies where the practice is already established by Qur’an or authentic Sunnah. As for what is not established, it is not permissible to act upon it with weak hadith, since this would amount to legislation, and legislation cannot be based on weak hadith.”
(سلسلة الأحاديث الضعيفة: 2/65)
✔ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله (728 AH):
“None of the Imams ever said that it is permissible to make something obligatory or recommended on the basis of a weak hadith. Whoever claims this has opposed consensus.”
(مجموع الفتاوى: 1/251)
✔ Imam Ibn Ḥibbān رحمه الله (354 AH):
“I do not consider weak narrators reliable, for narrating from the feeble is equal to narrating nothing at all.”
(الثقات: 9/159)
“It is as if what a weak narrator narrates and what he does not narrate are the same in ruling.”
(المجروحين: 1/328)
✔ Hafiz Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله (852 AH):
“There is no difference between acting on hadith in rulings and in virtues — for both are part of Sharīʿah.”
(تبيين العجب: 2)
Conclusion:Weak hadith are not proof in faḍāʾil any more than they are in rulings. While the Salaf were sometimes less strict in verifying isnād in virtues compared to rulings, they never accepted manifestly weak or fabricated reports. Religion is built only on authentic narrations.
