and scholars of legal theory (1) have held that an āhād report cannot establish a matter of creed; rather, it can be established only by definitive evidence, whether a Quranic verse or a hadith from the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

This view is to be rejected. If a hadith is authenticated through reliable transmitters and has reached us by a sound chain, it must be believed and accepted as true, whether it is mass-transmitted or āhād. It yields certain knowledge. This is the position of the scholars among our righteous predecessors, based on Allah’s command to the believers in His words:

“It is not for a believing man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter, to have any choice in their affair. Whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error (36).” [al-Ahzāb: 36].

And His words:

“Obey Allah and the Messenger (32).” [Āl Imrān: 32]:

Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “The Companions and Successors widely and consistently acted upon individual reports without any objection, thereby establishing their consensus on accepting them” (2).

Ibn Abī al-Izz said: “When the Ummah receives an individual report with acceptance—acting upon it and affirming its truth—it yields certain knowledge according to the overwhelming majority of the Ummah. It constitutes one of the two categories of mass-transmitted reports, and there was no disagreement concerning this among the early generations of the Ummah” (3).