Majmu' al-Fatawa - Ibn Taimiya - (18/69)

He was also asked about a group of people who had come together in various forms of wrongdoing, some of whom said: “Not a single hadith from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has been established through mass transmission, since mass transmission means transmission by a vast multitude from another vast multitude.”

He replied:

As for anyone who denies that even a single hadith is established through mass transmission, he should be told: Mass transmission is of two kinds: transmission through the general public, and transmission through specialists, namely, scholars of hadith.

It is also divided into two categories: mass transmission of wording and mass transmission of meaning. The hadiths concerning intercession, the Bridge, the Balance, seeing Allah, the virtues of the Companions, and similar matters are established through mass transmission among scholars. Their meaning is mass-transmitted, even if no particular wording is mass-transmitted. Likewise, the miracles of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, other than the Quran are also established through mass transmission. Prostration for forgetfulness is likewise established through mass transmission among scholars, as are judicial rulings on the right of pre-emption and similar matters.

Hadith scholars receive through mass transmission reports that do not reach others through mass transmission, because they

وَسُئِلَ: عَنْ قَوْمٍ اجْتَمَعُوا عَلَى أُمُورٍ مُتَنَوِّعَةٍ فِي الْفَسَادِ؛ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ: لَمْ يَثْبُتْ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ حَدِيثٌ وَاحِدٌ بِالتَّوَاتُرِ؛ إذْ التَّوَاتُرُ نَقْلُ الْجَمِّ الْغَفِيرِ عَنْ الْجَمِّ الْغَفِيرِ؟ فَأَجَابَ: أَمَّا مَنْ أَنْكَرَ تَوَاتُرَ حَدِيثٍ وَاحِدٍ فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: التَّوَاتُرُ نَوْعَانِ: تَوَاتُرٌ عَنْ الْعَامَّةِ؛ وَتَوَاتُرٌ عَنْ الْخَاصَّةِ وَهُمْ أَهْلُ عِلْمِ الْحَدِيثِ. وَهُوَ أَيْضًا قِسْمَانِ: مَا تَوَاتَرَ لَفْظُهُ؛ وَمَا تَوَاتَرَ مَعْنَاهُ. فَأَحَادِيثُ الشَّفَاعَةِ وَالصِّرَاطِ وَالْمِيزَانِ وَالرُّؤْيَةِ وَفَضَائِلِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ مُتَوَاتِرٌ عِنْدَ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ وَهِيَ مُتَوَاتِرَةُ الْمَعْنَى وَإِنْ لَمْ يَتَوَاتَرْ لَفْظٌ بِعَيْنِهِ وَكَذَلِكَ مُعْجِزَاتُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْخَارِجَةُ عَنْ الْقُرْآنِ مُتَوَاتِرَةٌ أَيْضًا وَكَذَلِكَ سُجُودُ السَّهْوِ مُتَوَاتِرٌ أَيْضًا عِنْدَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَكَذَلِكَ الْقَضَاءُ بِالشُّفْعَةِ وَنَحْوُ ذَلِكَ. وَعُلَمَاءُ الْحَدِيثِ يَتَوَاتَرُ عِنْدَهُمْ مَا لَا يَتَوَاتَرُ عِنْدَ غَيْرِهِمْ؛ لِكَوْنِهِمْ