The same observation applies to the next ḥadith in Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfah (4/328–329), no. 2304. It had once appeared in Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah under no. 195, but the Shaykh removed it from there in the new edition and inserted it into Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfah, new edition, for the very same reason.
There are many other examples (1), all of which prove that the Shaykh kept reading and researching until the very end of his life.
After all this, know—by my Lord—that to label such actions (and the like) as contradiction is sheer injustice.
- The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, would elaborate at length and proceed deliberately in documenting the chains of transmission when the book was his own composition, in contrast to his critical editions of other authors’ works.
This characteristic is one of the most prominent features that deserves careful attention.
The Shaykh clearly distinguished between books he authored and manuscripts he was editing and supplying with ḥadith documentation. If the work was his own, he would expand on the takhrīj of its ḥadiths, outline their various routes, and discuss their chains in detail—so much so that at times you would find a ḥadith traced in no other source with such completeness.
It is enough to note that for decades the Shaykh has been citing books that had not yet been printed.
Examples of this approach include:
(a) Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl fī Takhrīj Aḥādīth Manār al-Sabīl;
(b) Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ṣaḥīḥah wa Shayʾ min Fiqhihā wa Fawāʾidihā;
(c) Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfah wa Atharuhā al-Sayyiʾ ʿala al-Ummah;
(d) Ghayat al-Marām fī Takhrīj al-Ḥalāl wa al-Ḥarām.
The situation is entirely different in the Shaykh’s critical editions: he does not dwell at length; at times he is content with brief indications and then refers the reader to his more extensive works—in which his knowledge and juristic insight are fully displayed.