Hadith 83

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 84
حَدَّثَنِي عَمْرُو بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، وَحَسَنٌ الْحُلْوَانِيُّ، كِلاَهُمَا عَنْ عَفَّانَ بْنِ مُسْلِمٍ، قَالَ كُنَّا عِنْدَ إِسْمَاعِيلَ ابْنِ عُلَيَّةَ فَحَدَّثَ رَجُلٌ، عَنْ رَجُلٍ، فَقُلْتُ إِنَّ هَذَا لَيْسَ بِثَبْتٍ ‏.‏ قَالَ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ اغْتَبْتَهُ ‏.‏ قَالَ إِسْمَاعِيلُ مَا اغْتَابَهُ ‏.‏ وَلَكِنَّهُ حَكَمَ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِثَبْتٍ ‏.‏
Amr bin Alī and Hasan al-Hulwānī narrated to me, both of them on authority of Affān bin Muslim, he said:

‘We were near Ismā’īl bin Ulayyah, and a man narrated on authority of another man, so I said: ‘Indeed this is not reliable (Thabt)’. So the man said: ‘Are you backbiting him?’ Ismā’īl said: ‘He is not backbiting him; rather he is judging him unreliable’.