Can we use and act upon weak ahadith?

Posted by Hamza Isa | Posted in Hadith | Posted on 02-06-2007

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had2 Can we use and act upon weak ahadith?

This question has been a cause of great fitna in the ummah over recent years for many reasons so I thought about posting the position of the Ullema regarding it.

We van see above that hadith can be categorized with regards to its authenticity into basically 4 types, 1. Sahih (authentic), 2. Hasan (sound), 3. Dha’eef (weak), 4. Dha’eef Jiddan (very weak), and 5. Mawdhoo (fabricated)

The famous Shafi’ scholar, Imam Nawawi says in his introduction to the ‘arbain’ (40 ahadith) that the scholars have agreed on the permissibility of using weak Ahadith for describing the virtues of actions. Hafiz ibn Hajar has further fixed three conditions for using weak ahadith. One is that the hadith must not be very weak, i.e. at least one chain of narrators of this hadith must be free from a narrator who is a liar, is accused of lying, or is known for making great mistakes. The second condition is that it should fit under a general principle, which is established and acted upon. Finally, the third condition is that the person acting upon this hadith should not believe it to be established, but he should exercise caution in this regard

Allaamah Sakhawi (ra has mentioned in his book ‘al-Qawlul Badee’ (pg.473), ‘There are 3 views regarding weak narrations, a) It cannot be accepted at all, b) It will be accepted if there are no other Ahaadith to substantiate that particular chapter / topic, and c) It will be accepted for virtues of deeds and not for the various laws in Shari’ah.’ Allaamah Sakhawi further states, ‘And this (third view) is the view of the majority.’

Moulana Abdul-Hayy Laknawi (ra) further comments regarding the credibility of these 3 views in his book, ‘al-Ajwibatul Faadhilah’ (pg.53). He says regarding the first view, ‘It is a weak view.’ And regarding the second view, ‘It is an absurd exploitation’. And regarding the third view, ‘It is the straight path.’