Hadith 42

Sahih Muslim

Book 0: Introduction

Chapter 5

That Which is Related to the Statements ‘The Chain of Narration is from the Religion’; ‘Transmissions are not Taken Except from Trustworthy Narrators’; and ‘Criticism of the Narrators With What is Permissible Regarding Them, Even Obligatory and That It is not the Prohibited Kind of Backbiting, Rather it is the Defense of the Noble Sharī’ah’

باب فِي أَنَّ الإِسْنَادَ مِنَ الدِّينِ وَأَنَّ الرِّوَايَةَ لَا تَكُونُ إِلَّا عَنْ الثِّقَاتِ وَأَنَّ جَرْحَ الرُّوَاةِ بِمَا هُوَ فِيهِمْ جَائِزٌ بَلْ وَاجِبٌ وَأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ الْغِيبَةِ الْمُحَرَّمَةِ بَلْ مِنْ الذَّبِّ عَنْ الشَّرِيعَةِ الْمُكَرَّمَةِ

Sahih Muslim Introduction 43
حَدَّثَنِي ابْنُ قُهْزَاذَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ وَهْبًا، يَقُولُ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ، عَنِ ابْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ، قَالَ بَقِيَّةُ صَدُوقُ اللِّسَانِ وَلَكِنَّهُ يَأْخُذُ عَمَّنْ أَقْبَلَ وَأَدْبَرَ ‏.‏
Ibn Quhzādh narrated to me, he said, I heard Wahb [bin Zam’ah] saying, on authority of Sufyān [bin Abd il-Mālik], on authority of Ibn al-Mubārak, he said:

‘Baqiyyah [bin al-Walīd] is truthful of tongue however he transmits [Ḥadīth] from those who approach [the Muhaddithīn, i.e. are trustworthy] and from those who turn their backs on [the Muhaddithīn, i.e. and are weak]’.