Is it alright to quote a Hadith, as long as you know that this Hadith is in a reliable Hadith collection, for example Tirmidhi or Ibn Majah?
As far as I can understand, there is sometimes ikhtilaf (different of opinion) in Hadith authentication.
So, even if for example Imam Suyuti (rahimahullah) or Ibn Hajar (rahimahullah) declared a particular Hadith in Tirmidhi or Nasai as da’if, it does not mean that this is absolutely correct, because if Imam Tirmidhi (rahimahullah) or Imam Nasai (rahimahullah) collected this particular Hadith in their collections, it automatically means that this Hadith is at least considered hasan by Imam Tirmidhi or Imam Nasai.
Is this correct?
Answer
Unfortunately, your understanding is incorrect.
Not every Hadith in the books mentioned in your question is authentic.
As a general rule, if an author has not preconditioned the authenticity of the narrations contained in his book, there will always be a possibility of unauthentic one’s being found therein.
Sadly, many individuals are ignorant of this fact.
In the case in question, there are several examples of these authors themselves pointing out weaknesses of some Hadiths that they cited. How then can one assert that the mere existence of a Hadith in these books is sufficient authentication?
Quotations that support the above
1. Hafiz Ibnus Salah (rahimahullah) writes: ‘
‘It is not sufficient for the Hadith to merely be found in the books of Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasai and every such author who has included authentic and non authentic Hadiths in their books.
It is only good enough if the Hadith appears in a book whose author has preconditioned to only include authentic (sahih) Hadiths…’
(Muqaddimah ibnus Salah, pg.20)
2. The following question was posed to Moulana ‘Abdul Hay Laknawi (rahimahullah):
‘What is the status of those Hadiths that are found in the famous collections of Hadith [besides Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim] like the Sunan Arba’ah [which are the four famous sunan: Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasai and Ibn Majah], the works of Imam Al-Bayhaqi, Imam Daraqutni, Imam Al-Hakim, Imam Ibn-Abi Shaybah (rahimahumullah) etc.?’
Moulana ‘Abdul Hay (rahimahullah) commenced his detailed reply with the following:
‘Not every Hadith found in these books are Sahih or even Hasan (sound). Rather such books contain Hadiths that vary from being Sahih, to Hasan, Da’if (weak) and even Mawdu’ (fabricated).’
After substantiating this reality with a vast amount of quotations from several illustrious Muhaddithun, Shaykh ‘Abdul Hay (rahimahullah) states:
‘Perhaps when one ponders over these quotations he would understand the fallacy in the minds of the masses that: every Hadith found in these books is reliable!’
(Al-Ajwibatul-Fadilah, pg. 66-117).
Many more such quotes can be found in the above source.
And Allah Ta’ala Knows best,
Answered by: Moulana Muhammad Abasoomar
Checked by: Moulana Haroon Abasoomar