Source: Sahab website / Ḥadith and Its Sciences / Shaykh al-Albānī’s (may Allah have mercy on him) retractions regarding the grading of certain reports
Muhammad al-Ḥasan al-ʿIdlī’s Addenda to the work of Muhammad Abū ʿUmar
Muhammad al-Ḥasan al-ʿIdlī then added the following remarks to what Muhammad Abū ʿUmar had written:
“May Allah reward our brother Muhammad with goodness. I have a few observations and corrections to what he has cited:
• Ḥadith no. 6: ‘Do not impose hardships upon yourselves …’
There is clear cause to question the Shaykh’s alleged retraction from declaring it weak, for he listed the report in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah with the additional Qur’anic phrase, ‘But monasticism they invented—we did not prescribe it for them’ (57:27). With that addition the narration is weak, whereas the original wording is not. The Shaykh explained this in his documentation of the report in vol. 7 of al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah, where it appears as no. 3467.
• Ḥadith no. 13: ‘O Allah, You are Pardoning, You love to pardon, so pardon me.’
The report the Shaykh deemed defective on account of a broken chain is not this one. Rather, it is another narration—the story of the young woman who came to the Prophet ﷺ complaining that her father had married her to his nephew while she disliked him. The Prophet ﷺ left the matter to her, and she said, ‘I ratify what my father has done, but I wished women to know that fathers have no authority in such matters.’ See al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (7/1/1009), footnote.
• Ḥadith no. 23: ‘The collector of unlawful levies is in the Fire.’
It is not found in Ḍaʿīf al-Targhīb under the number our brother cited (279); rather, it is in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb as no. 787.
• Ḥadith no. 27: ‘Two categories of my community will not approach the Pond …’
Our brother stated that this report occurs in al-Ḍaʿīfah under no. 3785, yet the narration recorded there is a different one. Consult al-Ṣaḥīḥah (6/1/565). Note: the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, included this narration in Ẓilāl al-Jannah as no. 949 and judged it weak there, which should be corrected here.
• Ḥadith no. 35: ‘Indeed I see what you do not see and hear what you do not hear. The heavens creak, and they have every right to creak; there is not a span of four fingers within them but an angel has placed his forehead in prostration to Allah. By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would laugh little and weep much; you would not delight in women on your beds, and you would go out to the high places crying out to Allah.’
The Shaykh said in al-Naṣīḥah (p. 246) concerning the wording, ‘and you would not delight in women on your beds’: ‘To date I have not found anything that strengthens it.’
Allah, exalted is He, knows best.
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Muhammad Abū ʿUmar replied:
“May Allah bless you, noble brother, and increase your diligence and success.
With regard to Ḥadith no. 6: ‘Do not impose hardships upon yourselves …’, the Shaykh cited it in vol. 7 of al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah under no. 3467. The correct number is 3468. See also the Shaykh’s words in al-Ṣaḥīḥah, vol. 7, under ḥadith no. 3124.
• Ḥadith no. 13: ‘O Allah, You are Pardoning …’ — You are right; the narration the Shaykh criticized for a broken chain is a different one, the story of the girl just mentioned. This was a serious slip on my part, the result of following the compiler of this material—may Allah pardon us and him by His grace.
• Ḥadith no. 23: ‘The collector of unlawful levies is in the Fire.’
I merely reproduced the reference indicated by the Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book Ḍaʿīf al-Jāmiʿ (third edition). You know, dear brother, that Ḍaʿīf al-Targhīb has an earlier printing.
• Ḥadith no. 27: ‘Two categories of my community will not approach the Pond …’
You mentioned that this narration appears in al-Ḍaʿīfah under no. 3785, while in fact a different ḥadith is listed there. Refer to al-Ṣaḥīḥah (6/1/565).
The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him, said: ‘After carefully examining the chain of Anas’s report and establishing that it is sound, it had to be included in this series (al-Ṣaḥīḥah) and transferred from Ḍaʿīf al-Jāmiʿ, where it had been ascribed to al-Ḍaʿīfah under no. 3785. That entry actually contains another report which curses the Murjiʾah. Thus the clarification was necessary. We ask Allah Most High to guide our steps and inspire us to speak and act in a manner that pleases Him.’ (al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah 6/1/565)
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Muhammad al-Ḥasan al-ʿIdlī then continued his corrections, saying:
‘As for ḥadith no. 6, I made the mistake already corrected above. Nonetheless, let me quote Shaykh al-Albānī, may Allah have mercy on him, once more. He said in al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (7/1/334):
“Abū Shurayḥ al-Iskandarānī is reliable—both Ṣaḥīḥ collections employ his narrations. Opposing him, in both chain and wording, is Saʿīd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-ʿAmiāʾ, who reported from Sahl ibn Abī Umāmah that he was told by Anas ibn Mālik that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to say …” — he then mentioned the report in a similar form and added, ‘But monasticism they invented—we did not prescribe it for them.’ The following morning they said, ‘Let us mount and go out so that we may observe and take admonition …’ — the ḥadith continues at length. I cited it in the other work (3468) because of this extra wording, transmitted solely by Saʿīd, whom no one besides Ibn Ḥibbān declared trustworthy.” End of quotation.’