“And do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight and the heart – about all those [one] will be questioned.” (Qur’an 17:36)
“He it is Who has sent down the Book upon you; therein are verses determined; they are the Mother of the Book, and others symbolic. As for those whose hearts are given to swerving, they follow that of it which is symbolic, seeking temptation and seeking its interpretation. And none know its interpretation save Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord.” And none remember, save those who possess intellect.” (Qur’an 3:7)
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For the Muslims who follow the Ibadi school. The ahad hadith or lone narrator reports, are not proofs in theology.
This is the view of the majority of the Muslim Ummah.
However, that being said, we do take ahad hadith or lone narrator reports for jurisprudence.
The teacher in the video below is Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali (h). May Allah continue to benefit the Ummah by him
Here is the transcription of the above into English. This is a recounting of a debate that Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali had when he flew to Egypt to debate some of the claimaints of Salafiyya there.
“As for the solitary report (khabar al-wāḥid), we do not build a belief upon it. I will not prolong the discussion on this issue. The issue of not establishing belief on the basis of solitary reports. For it is a matter that is settled from the very first encounter and requires no lengthy exertion.” -Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali
“With a sharp tongue, and the speech of those who argue for its authority, they become entrenched. For when I debated a certain scholar among them during a journey to Egypt on this very issue, I said to him: “O Shaykh it is astonishing that you do not build a creed upon a ḥadīth whose authenticity you affirm.”
We replied: “Yes, a ḥadīth may be authentic, and yet we do not build a belief upon it. Just as a Qur’anic verse is for us is certain in its transmission, but we do not build a belief upon it because it belongs to the ambiguous (mutashābih). Regarding the ambiguous, our Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, said: ‘As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow what is ambiguous in it’ even though it is the Qur’an, yet those who follow it are described as having deviation. So what about ḥadīths and narrations? A ḥadīth may be authentic, with a sound chain of transmission, but no belief is built upon it. Why? Because you yourselves, O noble Shaykh, unanimously hold that the authentication and weakening of a solitary report is a matter of probability (ẓann), not certainty. Is it not so?” -Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali
“He said, “Indeed.” I said: “If authentication is a matter of probability, and one builds upon probability then I rest my case.” The Shaykh’s donkey stopped at the door of the impasse. He thought and reflected how he reflected! Then he frowned and scowled. Then he returned with another principle to escape this grip, saying: “Yes, except what is narrated by Bukhārī and Muslim that is because the ummah has received them with acceptance.” -Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali
“I said to him: “This issue requires a separate debate. But you have conceded that the authentic solitary ḥadīth, its authenticity is based on probability, therefore no belief is built upon it. We have agreed on this much, praise be to Allah. As for what remains meaning what the two Shaykhs (Bukhārī and Muslim) narrated we will come to that later in the debate.” -Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali
“When the debate took place, and I confronted the Shaykh with the texts of his own predecessors and imams, that the majority of jurists and ḥadīth scholars had criticized. Indeed, they did not equate, they did not distinguish between Bukhārī, Muslim, and others. He said: “Do not bring me al-Nawawī, nor Ibn ‘Abd al-Shakūr, nor these others. Bring me imams whom I regard as authorities.” -Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali
“I said: “Do you regard Ibn Taymiyyah as an authority?” He said, “Yes.” I said: “Ibn Taymiyyah weakened ḥadīths of Bukhārī in Majmū‘ al-Fatāwā. He weakened more than one authentic ḥadīth. Is this true or not, O our Shaykh?” He said, “It is true.” I said, “Praise be to Allah, you are trapped.” Every preacher says: “This is an imam you regard as an authority. He weakens ḥadīths of Bukhārī.” Is it lawful for you, but forbidden for others? It is forbidden for the birds of every kind, but permissible for you? He says: “Weakened ḥadīths in Bukhārī and Muslim.” -Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali
“Then the Shaykh said: “This is an issue I will investigate seriously. I will leave you now and close the dialogue to examine the matter thoroughly. Then we will meet again—a serious investigation. A creedal issue requires reconsideration and serious research. This is not strange, because one of the fruits of adopting solitary reports is that some will establish a belief based on a ḥadīth they consider authentic, while another comes, based on the weakness of that same ḥadīth, and demolishes that belief. Therefore, do not be surprised if you find in the books of these people their statement that on this issue. A creedal issue. There are up to thirty opinions. And this is a creedal issue! They say: ‘There is disagreement on the matter’ Can you imagine?! Disagreement over creed!” -Shaykh Massoud bin Mohammed Al Miqbali
Prima Qur’an Comments:
What Shaykh Massoud (h) said is one of our founding principles for establishing a clear belief is to base our faith upon that which is certain.
“Yes, a ḥadīth may be authentic, and yet we do not build a belief upon it. Just as a Qur’anic verse is for us is certain in its transmission, but we do not build a belief upon it because it belongs to the ambiguous (mutashābih).”
“He it is Who has sent down the Book upon you; therein are verses determined; they are the Mother of the Book, and others symbolic. As for those whose hearts are given to swerving, they follow that of it which is symbolic, seeking temptation and seeking its interpretation. And none know its interpretation save Allah and those firmly rooted in knowledge. They say, “We believe in it; all is from our Lord.” And none remember, save those who possess intellect.” (Qur’an 3:7)
We have certainty in the transmission of the Qur’an. Yet, Allah (swt) is telling us that the Qur’an has verses that are symbolic (ambiguous). That is to say they are not fixed upon one understanding.
As Shaykh Maassoud (h) mentioned above: The reliance on solitary reports has led to up to thirty different opinions on creedal matters among those who accept them, which is problematic for matters that should be certain.
Many misunderstand our rejection of an understanding of a hadith as a rejection of the hadith itself. This is an error.
The Distinction Between Transmission and Meaning
A crucial insight in the argument is the distinction between:
- Certainty of transmission (qat’ī al-thubūt) – the text is definitely from the source
- Certainty of meaning (qat’ī al-dalālah) – the meaning is unambiguous
A text may be certain in transmission but ambiguous in meaning (like mutashābih verses), and therefore cannot establish definitive doctrine.
An example: a hadith which is sound in its transmission, but we do not build a belief upon it because it belongs to the ambiguous (mutashābih).
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said, “Allah said, ‘I will declare war against him who shows hostility to a pious worshipper of Mine. And the most beloved things with which My slave comes nearer to Me, is what I have enjoined upon him; and My slave keeps on coming closer to Me through performing Nawafil (praying or doing extra deeds besides what is obligatory) till I love him, so I become his sense of hearing with which he hears, and his sense of sight with which he sees, and his hand with which he grips, and his leg with which he walks; and if he asks Me, I will give him, and if he asks My protection (Refuge), I will protect him; (i.e. give him My Refuge) and I do not hesitate to do anything as I hesitate to take the soul of the believer, for he hates death, and I hate to disappoint him.”
Source: (https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6502)
It is clear that anyone who were to take the apparent meaning of the text as something definite in regard to Allah (swt) then we would be upon something other than Islam.
Taking the apparent meaning (ẓāhir) would imply Allah literally becomes human faculties, which contradicts Islamic theology. Therefore, even though the hadith is authentic, its meaning requires interpretation and cannot be used to establish beliefs about Allah’s nature definitively.
You may wish to read more about our views here:
May Allah (swt) Guide the Ummah.
May Allah (swt) Forgive the Ummah.
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