A Letter On "What Should a Beholder Maintain?"

A Letter On "What Should a Beholder Maintain?"[1]

By Shah `Abdul-`Aziz ibn Waly Allah Ad-Dahlawy (1239 AH) (may Allah show mercy to him)

A beholder should maintain the following concerning Hadith: A beholder should know the classes[2] of Hadith.

They are classified into five classes:

First: The books which contain authentic Hadiths and do not contain any weak or fabricated Hadith[3], such as: Al Muwatta', Sahih Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sahih Ibn Hibban, Al Hakim, Al Mukhtar by Ad-Diya' Al Maqdisy, Sahih ibn Khuzaymah, Musnad Abu `Uwanah, Sahih Ibn As-Sakan, and Al Muntaqa by Ibn Al Jarud.

Second: The books which contain good Hadiths include: Sunan Abu Dawud, Jami` At-Tirmidhy, and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal because the weak Hadiths that are written therein are near to be good Hadiths as stated by Sheikh Waly Allah Ad-Dahlawy (the grand scholar of Hadith) as well as the statements of many scholars who affirmed that Sunan An-Nasa'y is of this classification.

Third: The books which contain all kinds of Hadiths: the good, the proper, and the deniable, such as: Sunan Ibn Majah, and and At-Tialisy, the additions of the son of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad[4] `Abdur-Razzaq, Musnad Sa`id ibn Mansur, Musannaf Abu Bakr ibn Abu Shaybah, Musnad Abu Ya`la Al Mawsily, Musnad Al Bazzar, Musnad Ibn Jarir, Tahdhib Al Athar, the interpretation of the Qur'an and Tarikh of Ibn Jarir, and the interpretation of the Qur'an of Ibn Mardwayh as well as all books of Qur'anic interpretations and the three books of At-Tabarany: Al-Kabir, Al Awsat, and Al Saghir, Sunan Ad-Daraqatny and Ghara'ib Ad-Daraqutny, Al Hilyah of Abu Nu`aym, Sunan Al Bayhaqy, and Shu`ab Al Iman (branches of faith).

Fourth: The books which contain weak Hadiths, such as: Nawadir Al Usul of Al Hakim At-Tirmidhy, Tarikh Al Khulafa', Tarikh Ibn An-Najjar, Musnad Al Firdaws of Ad-Daylamy, the book of the weak narrator by Al `Uqayly, Al Kamel of Ibn `Uday, Tarikh Al Khatib Al Baghdady, and Tarikh Ibn `Asakir.

Fifth: The books which contain fabricated Hadiths, such as: Al Mawdu`at of Ibn Al Jawzy, Tanzih Al-Shari`ah, and Al Mawdu`at of Sheikh Muhammad Tahir An-Nahrwaly and others.

[1] It was named as such by Muhammad Zakariya Al Kandahlawy in the introduction of Lami` Ad-Darary and he said: "In fact, it should be memorized for those who peruse in the Hadith books. I mention it first in full length because of its importance, then I mention it in short because it is printed in India. He said: "…" then he mentioned it (128/ 1-130).

It was named by `Abdul-Hay in the biography of Shah `Abdul-`Aziz in Nuzhat Al Khawatir (303/7): a letter to the students of Hadith concerning the things which should be maintained.

[2] Al Kandahlawy said: It was mentioned as such in the original text, but the correct is: "classes of the books which was written for compiling Hadiths."

[3] I said: This is how its compilers or whose who spoke about and wrote about its authenticity, but the conditions of its narrators are ranging between weakness and strength. Moreover, some of these Hadiths are weak, especially Mustadrak Al Hakim which contain some fabricated Hadiths.

Therefore, Shah `Abdul-`Aziz Ad-Dahlawy mentioned in Bustan Al Muhaddithin (p. 103-107 by the translation of Muhammad Akram An-Nadawy) that Mustadrak Al Hakim of the books which contain weak and fabricated Hadiths and transmitted by Adh-Dhahaby.

[4]- It seems he means "Al Musannaf" and I think Musnad Sa`id ibn Mansur is Sunan Sa`id ibn Mansur. They were called as such in Bustan Al Muhaddithin (taking into consideration that it was translated). As for Musnad Ibn Jarir, I did not know what is meant of it. Allah knows the best.