Fatwa ID: 08719
Answered by: Maulana Yusuf Badshah
Question:
Someone asked me what proof is there from Quran and hadith for using weak hadith for fadail, they also said it is a bidah to do so and impermissible, what is the correct reply?
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Answer:
To act on a weak hadith for Fadilah means to act upon those aspects which do not contradict the Qur’an, authentic Hadith or Ijma’, seeking the pleasure of Allah s.w.t and to emulate the Prophet s.a.w more closely. Provided these conditions are met, one can be confident that even if the weak hadith turns out to be inaccurate, they have not gone against any of the fundamental teachings of Islam in following it.
No evidence is required to prove this is permissible. A Hadith being graded weak does not mean it is false, nor that it is fabricated. The authenticity of a Hadith merely tells us the strength of the chain of narration, not its veracity. Rather, we find many instances where one particular version or chain of a Hadith is deemed weak despite a near identical Hadith being graded authentic.
A weak grading simply means the Hadith’s chain of narration is weak or contains issues. The various factors that can lead to a Hadith being graded weak, such as the scarcity of chains or missing narrators, mean that we cannot say for certain how authentic it is, making it less reliable. Thus, one cannot use them as primary evidence to establish an action or belief as Fardh or Haraam.
However, whilst the veracity of a weak Hadith is uncertain, we equally cannot ascertain for certain that it has been falsely attributed or fabricated. These are Da’eef Hadith, not Mawdu’, and there are multiple legitimate reasons why an authentic Hadith might be found to only be transmitted with a weak chain.
Thus, as long as the possibility of their veracity remains, there is no logical reason or textual basis to claim that one cannot act upon the contents of a weak Hadith when it does not contradict the Qur’an or established Hadith, nor is there evidence to prevent using them as secondary evidence to support an Islamic ruling or belief, provided one’s primary evidence is from the Qur’an or authentic Hadith. Hasan hadith suffer from similar uncertainty, just to a much smaller extent, yet none have deemed them impermissible to act upon because of this. Rather, evidence must be brought to demonstrate that doing so is impermissible.
This is without considering the fact that Hadith gradings such as Da’eef are subjective and will often differ from one Hadith expert to another.
Nevertheless, if one seeks evidence to demonstrate the permissibility of using weak Hadith, then they may use verses such as:
{ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِن جَاءَكُمْ فَاسِقٌ بِنَبَإٍ فَتَبَيَّنُوا أَن تُصِيبُوا قَوْمًا بِجَهَالَةٍ فَتُصْبِحُوا عَلَىٰ مَا فَعَلْتُمْ نَادِمِينَ ۞}
“O you who believe, if a disobedient person comes to you with news, then verify it, lest you harm a people out of ignorance and become regretful over what you have done.” (Surah Al-Hujurat 6)
Thus, when weak narrations come to us from unreliable sources, we are instructed to investigate their veracity, not reject them outright.
One can also use Hadith such as:
حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الزُّبَيْرِ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ ، قَالَ : أَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ التَّيْمِيُّ ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ عَلْقَمَةَ بْنَ وَقَّاصٍ اللَّيْثِيَّ ، يَقُولُ : سَمِعْتُ عُمَرَ بْنَ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ، قَالَ : سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، يَقُولُ : ” إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا لِكُلِّ امْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى “
Narrated Umar Ibn Al-Khattab: I heard Allah’s messenger s.a.w saying: “The reward of deeds depends on their intentions, and every person will be rewarded according to what they intend.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari 1)
Thus, while weak Hadith cannot be established with certainty and cannot be used as primary evidence, it is perfectly valid to act upon them with the intention of seeking to emulate the Prophet s.a.w more closely on the possibility that the Hadith is accurate. Thus, as per the Hadith above, it is hoped that one will be rewarded for their intention, regardless of the veracity of the Hadith itself.
Similarly:
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ يَزِيدَ، حَدَّثَنَا حَيْوَةُ، حَدَّثَنِي يَزِيدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْهَادِ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ، عَنْ بُسْرِ بْنِ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ أَبِي قَيْسٍ، مَوْلَى عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ عَنْ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ، أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ “ إِذَا حَكَمَ الْحَاكِمُ فَاجْتَهَدَ ثُمَّ أَصَابَ فَلَهُ أَجْرَانِ، وَإِذَا حَكَمَ فَاجْتَهَدَ ثُمَّ أَخْطَأَ فَلَهُ أَجْرٌ ”
Narrated Amr Ibn Al-Aas that he heard Allah’s messenger say: “When a judge passes judgement and strives in doing so and then he is correct, then for him is two rewards, and when he passes judgement and strives in doing so and then he is mistaken, then for him is one reward.” (Sahih Al-Bukhari 7352)
From this we see that for one who strives to follow that which is correct, then even when he is mistaken, he is rewarded for his efforts and intention.
We can similarly see this in the actions of the Sahabah who would seek to emulate the Prophet s.a.w, even in those actions and mannerisms of his which are unrelated to Ibadah and hold no stipulated reward, hoping that their intention would please Allah s.w.t, bring them closer to the Prophet s.a.w, and fulfil the command of Allah s.w.t to emulate him.
As Allah s.w.t says in the Qur’an:
{ لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا ۞}
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example for anyone who hopes in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah often.” (Surah Al-Ahzab 21)
To suggest that following a Hadith regarding the words and actions of the Prophet s.a.w is a Bid’ah, regardless of the strength the narration, demonstrates a complete lack of understanding regarding what Bid’ah means and a careless and casual use of the term.
A Bid’ah is the introduction of a fabrication to the obligatory and prohibited beliefs and actions of Islam [1]. It does not mean to follow weak evidence, to do something the Prophet s.a.w may or may not have done, to have a difference of opinion, to try to emulate the Prophet s.a.w more closely or to seek to encompass more Hadith through one’s actions.
Rather, to claim utilising weak Hadith is impermissible may itself be considered a Bid’ah. No such prohibition can be found in the Qur’an or authentic Hadith, nor is such a claim found amongst the early scholars of Islam [2].
The only point of contention would be if one were to implement a weak Hadith when it contradicts stronger evidence such as the Qur’an, authentic Hadith or Ijma’, or if one were to claim that a ruling derived primarily from weak narrations is Fardh or Haraam. But with regards to using weak Hadith for Fadilah, the scholars agree that doing so is not only allowed but, if done within the limitations and with a good intention, praiseworthy.
References:
[1] Raddul Muhtar, vol. 1, pg. 560, Darul Fikr:
(وَمُبْتَدِعٌ) أَيْ صَاحِبُ بِدْعَةٍ وَهِيَ اعْتِقَادُ خِلَافِ الْمَعْرُوفِ عَنْ الرَّسُولِ
Raddul Muhtar, vol. 1, pg. 560-561, Darul Fikr:
وَحِينَئِذٍ فَيُسَاوِي تَعْرِيفَ الشُّمُنِّيِّ لَهَا بِأَنَّهَا مَا أُحْدِثَ عَلَى خِلَافِ الْحَقِّ الْمُتَلَقَّى عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ – مِنْ عِلْمٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ أَوْ حَالٍ بِنَوْعِ شُبْهَةٍ وَاسْتِحْسَانٍ، وَجُعِلَ دَيْنًا قَوِيمًا وَصِرَاطًا مُسْتَقِيمًا اهـ فَافْهَمْ
Raddul Muhtar, vol. 1, pg. 561, Darul Fikr:
وَأُجِيبَ إذَا كَانَ عَنْ مُكَابَرَةٍ وَعَدَمِ دَلِيلٍ، بِخِلَافِ مَا عَنْ دَلِيلٍ شَرْعِيٍّ، وَالْمُبْتَدِعُ مُخْطِئٌ فِي تَمَسُّكِهِ لَا مُكَابِرٌ، وَاَللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِسَرَائِرِ عِبَادِهِ … ثُمَّ قَالَ: وَالْحَاصِلُ أَنَّ الْمَذْهَبَ عَدَمُ تَكْفِيرِ أَحَدٍ مِنْ الْمُخَالِفِينَ فِيمَا لَيْسَ مِنْ الْأُصُولِ الْمَعْلُومَةِ مِنْ الدِّينِ ضَرُورَةً إلَخْ فَافْهَمْ
Only Allah s.w.t knows best.
Written by Maulana Yusuf Badshah
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham
