Al-Albani’s Critique of Sayyid Sabiq’s use of Weak Hadiths in Fiqh Al-Sunnah

This study examines Shaykh Nasir al-Din al-Albāni’s critique of the use of weak hadiths (hadith daif) in Sayyid Sabiq’s renowned work Fiqh al-Sunnah. Al-Albāni identified several weaknesses, including citing weak hadiths without evaluation, using hadiths with no traceable origin in major Sunnah sources, and incorrectly attributing certain hadiths to al-Sahihain (al-Bukhari and Muslim). Therefore, this research aims to assess the accuracy of al-Albāni’s criticism by analysing six selected hadiths discussed in the chapters on purification (taharah) and etiquettes of relieving oneself (adab qada’ al-hajah).This qualitative study adopts inductive, deductive, and critical analytical methods focused on sanad (chain of transmission) and matan (textual content) analysis, including takhrij (hadith verification) and iʿtibar (cross-verification of supporting chains). The findings show that some of the hadiths criticised by al-Albāni are indeed weak and cannot be used as evidence in legal rulings, while others, though weak in isolation, have supporting reports (syawahid or mutabaʿah) that elevate them to the level of hasan li ghayrih (sound due to corroboration). The study also finds that Sayyid Sabiq did not explicitly explain his methodological principles regarding the use of weak hadiths, which led to possible misunderstandings in his legal reasoning. Consequently, this study recommends that scholarly use of hadith in legal arguments must be accompanied by critical evaluation of both sanad and matan to ensure accuracy and reliability in conveying Islamic rulings.

Weak hadith (daif), Sayyid Sabiq

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