Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah – Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, vol. 2, p. 298
Why did the scholars of ḥadīth include weak and fabricated narrations in books other than the Ṣaḥīḥayn? Please explain.
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
“Rather, most of the Muḥaddithīn from the year 200 AH onwards — whenever they narrated a ḥadīth along with its chain — believed that they had thereby freed themselves from responsibility regarding it.”
(Lisān al-Mīzān, 3/75 — biography of Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ibn Ayyūb al-Ṭabarānī; also 3/353; al-Laʾālī al-Maṣnūʿah of al-Suyūṭī, 1/19 and 25; Tadhkirat al-Mawḍūʿāt of al-Fattanī, p. 7)
“(Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī) narrated reports just as other Muḥaddithīn would compile all narrations related to a specific topic — so that people would be aware of them — even though some of those narrations were not to be used as proof.”
(Minhāj al-Sunnah, 4/15)
“Most Muḥaddithīn — especially al-Ṭabarānī, Abū Nuʿaym, and Ibn Mandah — when they narrated a ḥadīth with its chain, believed they had discharged their responsibility regarding it.”
(Fatḥ al-Mughīth, 1/254 — al-Mawḍūʿ)
❀ Outside of the Ṣaḥīḥayn (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī & Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), other ḥadīth works — such as:
◈ al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī
◈ Musnad Aḥmad
◈ and many others
— also contain weak narrations.
❀ When the Muḥaddithīn recorded a narration with its complete chain, their intention was not necessarily to present it as binding proof (ḥujjah) or as a legal argument. Rather:
◈ Their aim was pure transmission of the report and preservation of knowledge.
◈ By providing the full chain, they considered themselves absolved of responsibility, leaving it to later scholars to assess its strength.
From any ḥadīth book outside the Ṣaḥīḥayn, a narration can only be used as proof if:
◈ The principles of ḥadīth criticism are applied.
◈ The status of all narrators (asmāʾ al-rijāl) is verified.
Without following these principles:
❀ It is not permissible to treat every narration from such books as decisive proof or to present it as binding authority.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ Question
Why did the scholars of ḥadīth include weak and fabricated narrations in books other than the Ṣaḥīḥayn? Please explain.
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Statement of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله
“Rather, most of the Muḥaddithīn from the year 200 AH onwards — whenever they narrated a ḥadīth along with its chain — believed that they had thereby freed themselves from responsibility regarding it.”
(Lisān al-Mīzān, 3/75 — biography of Sulaymān ibn Aḥmad ibn Ayyūb al-Ṭabarānī; also 3/353; al-Laʾālī al-Maṣnūʿah of al-Suyūṭī, 1/19 and 25; Tadhkirat al-Mawḍūʿāt of al-Fattanī, p. 7)
View of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله
“(Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī) narrated reports just as other Muḥaddithīn would compile all narrations related to a specific topic — so that people would be aware of them — even though some of those narrations were not to be used as proof.”
(Minhāj al-Sunnah, 4/15)
Statement of Imām al-Sakhāwī رحمه الله
“Most Muḥaddithīn — especially al-Ṭabarānī, Abū Nuʿaym, and Ibn Mandah — when they narrated a ḥadīth with its chain, believed they had discharged their responsibility regarding it.”
(Fatḥ al-Mughīth, 1/254 — al-Mawḍūʿ)
Conclusion from the Above Statements
❀ Outside of the Ṣaḥīḥayn (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī & Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim), other ḥadīth works — such as:
◈ al-Adab al-Mufrad by al-Bukhārī
◈ Musnad Aḥmad
◈ and many others
— also contain weak narrations.
❀ When the Muḥaddithīn recorded a narration with its complete chain, their intention was not necessarily to present it as binding proof (ḥujjah) or as a legal argument. Rather:
◈ Their aim was pure transmission of the report and preservation of knowledge.
◈ By providing the full chain, they considered themselves absolved of responsibility, leaving it to later scholars to assess its strength.
Principle
From any ḥadīth book outside the Ṣaḥīḥayn, a narration can only be used as proof if:
◈ The principles of ḥadīth criticism are applied.
◈ The status of all narrators (asmāʾ al-rijāl) is verified.
Without following these principles:
❀ It is not permissible to treat every narration from such books as decisive proof or to present it as binding authority.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
