Book: Siyar A'lam An-Nubala by Ad-Dhahabi - سير أعلام النبلاء ـ الإمام الذهبي

Evaluation of Narrators

He is seen comparing between narrators of memorization, stating in "Al-Siyar" [7/107]: Hamad bin Salamah was an ocean of knowledge, yet he had mistakes due to the vast amount he narrated. He was trustworthy and a reliable authority, God willing, but not as precise as Hamad bin Zayd. Al-Bukhari avoided including his narrations except for one narration in "Al-Raqaq." He said: Abu al-Walid told me: Hamad bin Salamah narrated to us from Thabit, from Anas, from Abu. His narration did not descend from the rank of Hasan. Muslim included his narrations in the main collections, from Thabit and Humayd, as he was familiar with them.

Then the Hafiz Al-Dhahabi established a section in "Al-Siyar" [7/118] of utmost importance for all hadith scholars and their students in distinguishing between the two Hamads: Hamad bin Zayd and Hamad bin Salamah, and in distinguishing between the two Sufyans: Sufyan al-Thawri and Sufyan ibn 'Uyaynah. This demonstrates his vast knowledge and his high standing in the sciences of hadith.

Critique of Scholars

Hafiz Al-Dhahabi also criticized some scholars of Jarh wa Ta'dil in their authentication and criticism of narrators, saying in "Al-Siyar" [7/583]: Yahya bin Sa'id al-Qattan was overly rigorous in his critique of narrators. If you see him authenticating a sheikh, you can rely on it. But if he criticizes someone, then wait before judging until you see what others have said about him. He criticized people like Israel, Hammam, and a group trusted by the two sheikhs (i.e., Al-Bukhari and Muslim).

In "Al-Mizan" [1/61], he said:

Do not pay attention to what Al-Azdi says, as he has an excessive tendency to criticize.

He further stated in "Al-Siyar" [7/599]:

Abu Hatim erred when he reported that Al-Bukhari spoke against Abu Tamila, which Abu al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzi followed. I did not see any mention of Abu Tamila in Al-Bukhari's "Ad-Du'afa" neither in the large nor the small collection. Furthermore, Al-Bukhari had relied on Abu Tamila, who was a narrator in Marw alongside Al-Fadl ibn Musa al-Sanani.

On Accepting Altered Narratives

Hafiz Al-Dhahabi clarified a text about narratives from those who became confused, saying, may God have mercy on him, in "Al-Siyar" [8/365]: All changes observed during the illness of death do not undermine trustworthiness, for most people experience something like that during severe illness and more so before and at the time of their death. The concern is when confusion occurs with a trustworthy person, leading them to narrate during their confusion what causes disorder in the chain of transmission or the text, leading to inconsistency.