studying his biographical entry and critically examining what it contains, as is evident and will not escape the student of knowledge, if Allah Most High wills.
- I say: Al-Dhahabi’s statement, “Yahya, though trustworthy, has been declared weak,” does not mean that he himself was weak. Rather, it plainly indicates that al-Dhahabi regarded him as trustworthy, though possessing some weakness. Thus, this does not conflict with his agreement with al-Hakim in authenticating the hadith that we are defending, nor with his statement following the other hadith, “It is not sound in any way,” for before that he had mentioned another hidden defect, which the distinguished writer ought to have mentioned. The text of al-Dhahabi’s statement is: “I say: Ahmad’s narrations are rejected, and he is among those whose inclusion by Muslim in the Sahih was censured. Yahya, though trustworthy, has been declared weak.”
This Ahmad is Ibn Abd al-Rahman ibn Wahb. Much criticism has been made of him; indeed, al-Dhahabi included him in al-Du'afa' (2/2) and said: “Ibn Adi said: ‘I saw the shaykhs of Egypt unanimous in declaring him weak. He narrated reports that have no basis.’” In al-Mizan, he cited a hadith that Ahmad narrated from his uncle, Abd Allah ibn Wahb, through his sound chain from Ibn Umar, attributed to the Prophet, and said: “This, then, was fabricated against Ibn Wahb.”
He also cited another hadith from his uncle, through his sound chain from Anas, attributed to the Prophet: “He would recite ‘In the Name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful’ aloud in prayer.” No hadith concerning reciting aloud is sound; rather, it resulted from his confusion. Therefore, al-Hafiz said: “Truthful, but he changed in his later years.”
I say: He, then, is the flaw in the hadith of which al-Dhahabi said, “It is not sound in any way,” not Yahya ibn Ayyub.
In conclusion, al-Dhahabi’s statement, “Though trustworthy, he has been declared weak,” means only that he was trustworthy