Benefit:
(19) Al-Mudhtarib and Al-Mu’all
What’s narrated upon conflicting routes/wordings so the Hadith becomes defectious.
So if the defect has no affect, like for someone trustworthy to narrate it one way, and someone weak opposes him: Then it’s not defectious. And Daarqutni relayed numerous of this type in his book ‘Al-‘Illal’ and so didn’t reach what is correct, because the ruling is for the trustworthy. So if the trustworthy one made the Hadith Mursal for example and the weak one connected it, then there is no consideration given to the connection due to two affairs: The weakness of its narrator, and because it’s defectious with the declaring of it being Mursal by the trustworthy one.
Then know that the majority of those spoken against them were not declared weak except due to their opposing the trustworthy ones. Even if the Hadith was narrated by a trustworthy with another chain, or declaring it Mawqoof (https://t.me/ShaykhYahyaEn/947), or Mursal (https://t.me/ShaykhYahyaEn/945), or his trustworthy companions opposed him: So then the consideration is given to what the majority of the trustworthy ones are upon, for indeed one person could make a mistake. And here it could become apparent the correctness of his mistake, so there’s no defect, and the consideration is with the majority.
And if the numbers are equal, and two Haafidhs (strong memorisers) opposed each other, and the correct ruling cannot be deemed to one over the other: Then this is the type that Al-Bukhaari and Muslim relayed in their books with both chains. And what takes more precedence is what they (Bukhaari and Muslim) differed over its wording if it was possible to combine between the two meanings.
And from the examples of two Haafidhs differing: That one of them mentions a trustworthy narrator in the chain, and the other mentions a different trustworthy person in his place. Or one of them says ‘From a man’, and the other says ‘From so and so’, and so mentions that unnamed man. So this doesn’t affect the authenticity.
As for if a group differ over it, and they come to numerous opinions: Then this weakens the Hadith, and points towards that the narrator didn’t have precision in it. Yes, if it was narrated upon three different routes which all go back to one route, then this isn’t defectious. Like for Maalik to say: ‘From Az-Zuhree, from Ibn Al-Musayyib, from Abi Hurairah’. And Uqail says: ‘From Az-Zuhree, from Abi Salamah.’ And Ibn ‘Uyainah relays it: ‘From Az-Zuhree, from Sa’eed and Abi Salamah’ both.
Benefited from: Shaykh, the Allamah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abu Abdirrahman Yahya bin Ali Al-Hajuri – may Allah preserve him.
Source: https://t.me/sh_yahia_duroos/10229
Translated by: Abū ‘Abdillāh ‘Omar bin Yahya Al-‘Akawi