Difference In Classifying A Given Hadeeth

5-12-2019 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamu Aleikum. In fatwa 7230 you have quoted a hadith by At-Tirmithi which Al-Albaani classified as hasan. But on sunnah.com the same hadith from At-Tirmidhi is classified da'if (please see Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2641 or Vol. 5, Book 38, Hadith 2641). Please clarify why it is classified as da'if on sunnah.com. (https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi/40/36)
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The scholars differed in opinion in regard to the classification of this Hadeeth whether it is authentic or inauthentic. Some of them classified it as inauthentic, such as At-Tirmithi, Al-Eshbeeli and others. However, some of them classified it as Hasan, such as Al-Albaani.

What you should know so that you will not be confused, is that the difference in classifying the Ahadeeth (authentic and inauthentic) is something that can happen, and this is not strange. This has happened among the scholars from very long ago. So, if a person finds a contradiction between one scholar classifying a Hadeeth as authentic (Saheeh) and another classifying it as inauthentic (Dha'eef); then he should follow the scholar who is more trustworthy in his view.

For more benefit on Hadeeth classification, please refer to Fatwa 388900.

Allah Knows best.

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