Chapter on Who to Trust in Narration

Muhammad bin Abdullah Al-Hafidh informed us; Muhammad bin Yaqub informed us; Rabee' informed us; Shafi'i said (may Allah have mercy on him):

'The Argument is not Valid with any Exclusive News unless it Complies with the Following Criteria'

• A trustable person in his religion is the one who has narrated it, a person known for being truthful in his narration and an intellectual in what he narrates from.
• He knows what converts the meanings of the hadith (the sayings of Prophet Muhammad) from the text.
• He must be the one to deliver the Hadith, preserving its exact words as he heard them, and not interpreting them, since, if he narrates it based on its meaning without knowing the implications, there is a likelihood that he may misconstrue the lawful as the unlawful.
• If he conveys the text verbatim, then there remains no possibility that he might twist or distort the original message.
• If he narrates from his memorization, he must remember accurately; if he narrates from his book, he must be well aware of his book.
• The narration must conform to what other memorizers have narrated.

• Shafi’i mentioned this in "The Message" on page 370 and what follows it.
• In the original, it is said that he represented it precisely.
• The additional text is from "The Message" on page 371, where the narration was referred to.

The Intricacies of the Hadith Narration

An innocent individual can sometimes inadvertenly become a perpetrator of narration. This can happen when they share what they've heard from someone else, even if they've not heard it directly from them - or when they narrate something about the Prophet, peace be upon him, which deviates from the authentic narrations established by the trustworthy narrators. This is often a chain reaction, where the person above them continues the narration until it finally links back to the Prophet, peace be upon him, or a person he trusted, bypassing the inaccurately narrated version. This is because each link in the chain affirms the one who narrated to them, and is affirmed by the one they narrate for in return.

The Authenticity of Narrators

[78]: If a narrator is frequently mistaken and does not have a solid foundation of accurate texts, their narration will not be accepted. The same applies to witnesses whose testimony is often erroneous and therefore, unacceptable. The Shaykh stated that the names of those who meet these conditions, those who fall short, and those who have been accused of fabricating Hadiths or lying, are documented in historical records and are well-known among scholars.

The Shafi'i Observation

Al-Shafi'i opined that one cannot discern the truth or falsehood of most Hadiths except by the credibility of the informant themselves. There are rare exceptions to this rule. However, this exception that Al-Shafi'i alludes to can only be addressed by the discerning and knowledgeable people of Hadith preservation. A credible person may inadvertently include a false narration while compiling his work, transforming a weaken narration (Hadith) into a composite of an authentic chain of narration. Erroneous writings, hearing errors, and lapses of memory can cause unusual Hadiths to be narrated unintentionally.

Preservation of the Prophet's Traditions (Sunnah)

However, the experts in the field, who Allah Almighty has appointed to preserve the traditions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, are skilled at recognizing these cases. This skill is honed by their constant exposure to Hadith narrations as well as their extensive interactions with scholars and discourses.

[78]: This statement is by Imam Shafi'i in "The Epistle" (Page 382).

The Excellence of Knowledge In Determining Prophetic Narrations

As we were informed by Abu Abdullah Al-Hafiz, he said: "Dalaj bin Ahmad told me, Ahmed bin Ali Al-Abaar told us, Ahmed bin Al-Hasan Al-Tirmidhi told us, 'Nuaym bin Hammad' said: I asked 'Abd al-Rahman bin Mahdi': How do you distinguish the authentically narrated Hadith from the erroneous ones? He replied: A doctor recognizes the insane."

Abu Saad reported to us: "Ahmad bin Muhammad Al-Malinui said: Abu Ahmad bin Adiy Al-Hafiz reported to us, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Junaid reported to us, Muhammad bin Ismail Al-Bukhari said: I heard Ali bin Abdullah say: A man came to 'Abd Al-Rahman bin Mahdi' and said: 'O Abu Sa`id, indeed you say this is authentic, and this has not been established, how do you say that?'

Abd al-Rahman said: 'Suppose you went to an assayer and showed him your dirhams, and he said this is good, this is weak, this is counterfeit, would you question why? Or would you submit to the matter?'

The man replied: 'Indeed, I would leave the matter to him.'

Abd al-Rahman said: 'So it is, due to lengthy discussions or debates and experience.'"

To conclude, ِAbd Al-Rahman bin Mahdi, an influential scholar of Islamic traditions (135-198 AH) once tweeted, "If it weren’t for the scholars, the weak and counterfeit hadith would overflow in the narration of Sharia. Whenever you want, call me and I will isolate for you a critique of the treasury. Do you not remember the saying of Shuraih: 'Indeed, the narrations have scholars like paper makers.'" Imam Shafi'i said about him: "I don't think he has a match in the world."

Ali bin Abdullah Al-Madini (161-234 AH), master of Al-Bukhari and a solid and well-versed scholar, also contributed to the understanding of the knowledge of hadith sciences as revealed by Al-Hakim (page 113).