The usage of dhaeef hadeeth
in Ahkaam
As far as using
dhaeef hadceth in ahkaam shariah goes, from the practice of the majority of
Fuqahaa and Muhaditheen, it is clear that it can be used. This is on condition
that it is not extremely dhaeef. i.e. the chain has no narrator who was accused
of lying.
1) If no other proof is found except a dhaeef hadeeth:
The Hanafi school of
thought
a) Imaam Abu Hanifa R
A has said "A dhaeef hadeeth narrated from Rasulullaah sallallahu alaihi
wasallam is better then qiyaas-Shaari
anology. Qiyaas is not permissible when a dhaeef hadeeth IS present." (
'AI-Muhalaa' of ibn" Hazum vol3 p161)
This means that if when only a dhaeef hadeeth is present,
then instead of making qiyaas one will practice directly on the dhaeef hadeeth.
i) The hadeeth where
it is mentioned that laughing aloud in salaat nullifies wudhu is dhaeef
according to all Muhaditheen, still Imaam Abu Hanifa placed it before qiyaas.
(So laughing aloud in salaat nullifies wudhu)
ii) The hadecth 'the
maximum number of days for haidh is ten days" is also dhaeef according to
all Muhaditheen, yet it is placed before qiyaas.
iii) The hadeeth
'There is no mehr less than ten dirhams" is also dhaeef. nevertheless it
is practiced upon instead of making qiyaas. ('A 'alaamul muwaqi'een' vol I
p31-32)
b) Muhaqiq Ibnul
Humaam says "Istihbaabdesirable- can be substantiated from dhaeef but not
from maudhoo" ('Fathull Qadeer' baabun nawaafil vol2 p139)
i) In 'Haashiyatut Tahtawi alal Maraaqiyul Falaah' etc six
raqaats after Salaatul Maghrib (Salaatul awaabeen) has been written to be
mustahab. The proof given is the hadeeth of Hadhrat Abu Hurairah R A
"Whoever performs six raqaats after Maghrib without talking of any evil in
between he will receive a reward equivalent to twelve years of i-baadat."
Imaarn Tirmidhi narrated this from the chain of Umar bin Abi Khath'am saying
this hadeeth of Abu Hurairah R A is ghareeb-rare, I only know it from zaid bin
AI-Habbaab from Urnar bin Abi Kath'am. 1maam Bukhaari R A says that Umar is
munkarul hadeeth-rejecter of hadith- and extremely dhaeef. Hafiz Dhahabi said
in 'Meezaan', "He narrated a munkar hadeeth, "Whoever performs six
raqaats after maghrib..... Abu Zur'ah said he is waahin-imaginative.
ii) When burying a
Muslim, while throwing sand to say on the first handful "minha khalaqna
kum", " wa fieha nu eidukum" on the second and "wa minha
nukhriju kum taaratan ukhraa" on the third was said to be mustahab (tahtawi
p21O). The proof given, is the hadeeth of Haakim and Ahmed from Abu Umaamah R A
when Nabi sallallahu alaihi wasallam
placed Hadhrat Ume Kulsoom R A in the qabar-gravethereafter Nabi sallallahu alaihi wasallam; read "minha
khalaq ... " and at the end read "bismiIlah, wa fie sabielillah ...
". This hadeeth is extremely dhaeef. Imaam Dhahabi said "it is
waahin, because Ali bin zaid is matrook-Ieaves of narrators.
The Maaliki school of
thought
According to Imaam Maalik R A mursal i.e. munqat
ahaadeeth-hadith when narrator is left out can be used as proof, which
according to majority of muhaditheen is dhaeef. In one of the most reliable
maaliki kitaabs 'Nashrul banood ala marrqus su'ood' it is written
"One learns from
Imaam Maalik's substantiation from mursal ahaadeeth that every munqat'ia and
mu'adhal hadeeth is proof according to them, because these also fall under the
category of mursal. ('At-Ta'areef bi owhaami min qasamas suna" ilas sahee
wa dhaeef of Doctor Mahmood Saeed Mamdooh vol2 p63)
The Shaafie school of thought
a) According to Imaarn Shaafie R A a mursal hadeeth is
dhaeef but if only that mursal hadeeth is found , it can be cited as proof.
Hafiz Sakhaawi R A narrated this in 'Fathul Mugheeth' (vol I p270) on the
authority of Maawardi.
b) Hafiz ibn Qayim R A has stated that according to Imaam
Shaafie R A a dhaeef hadeeth will be considered before qiyaas.
i) Even though the hadeeth of 'Saydooj' is dhaeef he
considered it before making qiyaas.
ii) The hadeeth on
the permissibility of performing salaat,
in the haram of Makkah,
during the makruh times is dhaeef yet it was given
preference over qiyaas.
iii) According to one narration, Imaam Shaafie R A gave
preference to the hadeeth "Whoever vomits or his nose bleeds, then perform
wudhu and continue with your salat" over qiyaas, even though it is dhaeef.
The Hambali school of
thought
a) Iboul Najaar Hambali ~,; in 'Koukabul Muneer' narrated
the viewpoint of Imaam Ahmed bin Hambal ~,; "I will not discard a dhaeef
hadeeth if there is no proof to oppose it"
b) Hafiz Harwie R A
narraled from Abdullaah bin Ahmed in 'Dhamul kalaam' "I enquired from my
father, a certain person has a mas'ala, in the city there is a muhadith who is
dhaeef (in one narration it comes, who cannot distinguish between dhaeef and
strong ahaadeeth) and a faqeeh, who has a sound opinion and makes qiyaas. Who
should he ask? He replied "Do not ask the one who rules on his opinion because
a dhaeef hadeeth is better then a strong opinion" ('Dhamul kalalaam' vol2
p I79-180)
c) Ibn Qudaamah has
written in 'Ar-Mughni', a reputable kitaab in hambali fiqh, "it is not a
condition for the hadeeth to be sahee in nawaafil and fazaail". He has
also written under the mas' ala of silting with 'ihtibaa' during the khutbah
that is permissible. as it is nanated from a few sahabah R A but it is better
not to do it as it is narrated that Rasulullaah sallallahu alaihi wasallam forbade
sitting like this in the khutbah. Even though the hadeeth is dhaeef it is
better not to sit in this position.