Shaykh 'Abdul-Baari Al-Ansaaree on the Science of Hadeeth

     Shaykh Abdul-Baari Al-Ansaari in his explanation of his father's book Yaani' al-thamar mentions. "Some of the foundations of this science are found in the book of Allaah, and the sunnah of His messenger sallallaahu alaihi wa sallam, of them are the statement of Allaah :O you who believe! If a rebellious evil person comes to you with a news, verify it, lest you harm people in ignorance, and afterwards you become regretful to what you have done. (Al-Hujurat 49:6) and in his statement :And take for witness two just persons from among you (Muslims). And establish the witness for Allâh.  (At-Talaq 65:2), we derive from these two verses  tremendous principle of the principles of the people of hadeeth which is knowing the 'adaalah (trustworthiness) of the narrator, and that if a narrator's 'adaalah is not known his narrations are not to be accepted nor used as evidence. It is necessary in this case to find if a corroborating narrator has narrated this same narration or not, or to find if this narrator is the sole narrator of this khabar (narration) or not. 
    Also in the prophetic sunnah are some of the principles of this science, of those are his -  sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam - statement in the hadeeth of Zayd ibn Thaabit - radiyallaahu 'anhu - "I heard the Messenger of Allaah -  sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam - ((May Allah brighten the face of His servants who hears my words, remembers [or preserves] them, guards them, until he hands them on. Many a transmitter of knowledge does not himself understand it, and many may transmit knowledge to others who are more versed in it than they.))the point taken from the hadeeth being his statement)) ((who hears my words, and remembers [or preserves] them)), the scholars have derived from this statment that it is a prerequisite for the narrator to be precise, and that he must maintain his memorization of his narration until the point of conveying it to others and it being taken from him.

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