Hadith No: 1
Al-Albani - Irwa' al-Ghalil fi Takhrij Ahadith Manar al-Sabeel
The Book of Prayer - Chapter on Congregational Prayer - 500: He said (peace be upon him): "Whoever has an imam, his recitation is considered a recitation for him."
Volume: (2) - Page Number: (277 > 279)
Secondly:
It has previously been mentioned that al-Daraqutni weakened Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah be pleased with him) for narrating the hadith of Abdullah ibn Shaddad about Jabr being a connected narration.Firstly:
Al-Daraqutni was not alone in weakening him; he was preceded by major imams, and there is no room for someone biased to object to their criticisms due to their grandeur and status in leadership. Among them are:
- Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak, who narrated from him that Ibn Abi Hatim reported: (2/1/450) with a sound chain
that he used to say: "Abu Hanifa was a poor man in hadith."- Ibn Abi Hatim also said:
"Ibn al-Mubarak narrated from him but then abandoned him towards the end," and I heard my father say that.
- Among them is Imam Ahmad, who al-Aqili narrated in (al-Du'afa) (434) with a sound chain
from him saying: "The hadith of Abu Hanifa is weak."- Among them is Imam Muslim, the author of the Sahih, who said in (al-Kun', al-Sahih 57/1):
"His narrations are inconsistent, and he does not have much authentic hadith."- Among them is Imam al-Nasa'i, who said in (al-Du'afa wa al-Matrukin) (p. 29):
"He is not strong in hadith."Secondly: Even if we assume that al-Daraqutni's criticism was vague, it does not mean that the criticism is, in fact, imprecise. For Imam Ahmad's statement that "his hadith is weak" hints at the reason for the criticism, which is his knowledge of the proper narration of hadith. Imam Muslim made this explicit when he said: "His narrations are inconsistent."
- Likewise, al-Nasa'i hinted at the reason for the weakness in a manner similar to Ahmad's indication when he said:
"He is not strong in hadith."- Al-Dhahabi clarified his intent,
saying: "Al-Nasa'i weakened him regarding his memory, as did Ibn Adi and others."The indicated Hanafi admitted that the Imam's criticism from some of them is explanatory (without naming them), but he dismissed it by saying: "Those who criticized the Imam in this way did not see him, nor did they witness anything from him that would warrant rejecting his hadith." I say:
There is some consideration in this from two angles:
First:
Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak saw him and narrated from him, then abandoned his hadith, as previously stated, from Ibn Abi Hatim. If he had not seen something that warranted rejecting his hadith, he would not have left narrating from him.Second: His statement suggests - through the implication of its meaning - that if the critic had seen the Imam, his criticism would have been acceptable. Thus, it would be incumbent upon him to accept Ibn al-Mubarak's criticism of him since he had seen him, as previously mentioned, although this condition has no basis among scholars.
Rather, we know that the imams of criticism and analysis have criticized hundreds of narrators whom they have not seen, due to their apparent lack of proper narration of hadith when compared to the narrations of trustworthy individuals known to them. This is something well-known among those engaged in the science of Sunnah, although I believe that the biased will not be satisfied with any form of criticism from their peers in the narration of hadith from sincere imams of hadith who do not fear blame in the path of Allah. So you see them refuting clear criticisms with a justification that did not arise among scholars, namely, that the critic did not see the Imam. If he had seen him, do you think they would have accepted his criticism, or would they have said: "The words of the biased towards one another are not acceptable"? Moreover, the weakening of Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him, in hadith does not diminish his status and grandeur in knowledge and jurisprudence, in which he became renowned. Perhaps his exceptional talent and focus in this area are what led to his weakened retention in hadith, for it is known that a scholar's engagement in a particular science and specialization in it often weakens their memory in other fields of knowledge. And Allah, the Exalted, knows best.