I have read somewhere that some hadith has very weak authenticity, what does it mean? like drinking urine of cows and camels?

A Brief Description of the Question: 

I have read somewhere that some hadith has very weak authenticity, what does it mean? like drinking urine of cows and camels?

The Answer: 

ANSWER 1

Not everyone can decide whether Hadiths are weak or not. The classification of hadiths are made by the scholars of Hadith. The people who haven't received education cannot understand this.

CLASSIFICATION OF HADITHS THROUGH DIFFERENT ASPECTS

In terms of their soundness:

Sahih: A hadith that has the following three criteria is called sahih (sound):

- It does not have any breaks in the chain of narrators

- All of the narrators are reliable

- It has no illah (a defect that cannot be seen easily) and it is not shazz (reported by one reliable person).

It is very difficult to search the last criterion; only great hadith specialists like Bukhari have profound knowledge about this criterion.The state of illah and being shazz means a hadith seems sound in terms of the chain and narrators at first glance but there is a defect in the text or the chain. If the hadith has an illah or if it is shazz, it is reduced to the degree of weak hadiths.

Hasan: The criteria for sahih hadiths are also valid here. The only difference is this: one of the narrators is all right but he is not at the level of reliance due to an aspect like the power of his memory; then, this hadith is called hasan. Hasan hadiths are lower than sahih hadiths but close to them; they are higher than weak hadiths.

Weak: A hadith that does not meet the criteria necessary for the sahih and hasan hadiths because of a break in the chain of narrators, because one or a few of the narrators are weak, because of illah and some other reasons.

Mutawatir: It is a hadith that is narrated by a group of people who are impossible to agree on a lie. This criterion is necessary in all levels. A mutawatir hadith is regarded as definite; therefore, it is regarded risky to deny it. However, the number of mutawatir hadiths is a few. 

Mawdu: They are fabricated hadiths. According to some hadith scholars, mawdu hadiths are at the lowest level among weak hadiths. According to another view, mutawatir and mawdu hadiths are not included among hadith researches since the former is definite and the latter is fabricated.

In terms of their owners:

Marfu: It is a hadith that belongs to the Prophet (pbuh).

Mawquf: It is a hadith whose words or deeds belong to the Companions.

Maqtu:It is a hadith whose words or deeds belong to the Tabiin.

If a hadith is marfu, it does not mean that it is definitely sound. A marfu hadith can be sound, hasan or weak.

In terms of the length of the chain:

Ali: It means the chain has no breaks but it consists of few narrators.

Nazil: It means there are a lot of narrators in the chain.

It is definitely preferred for a hadith to reach the muhaddith through a small number of people. However, it is possible for a nazil hadith to be sounder than an ali hadith.

The decree based on the soundness of hadiths:

Sahih and hasan hadiths are regarded to be suitable for ijtihad. Weak hadiths are either accepted or refused based on the method of the mujtahid, the degree of the weakness of the hadith and whether there are other hadiths supporting that hadith. Weak hadiths are not generally deemed to be suitable for ijtihads but they can be used in order to encourage people to do good deeds. For, weak hadiths are not fabricated like mawdu hadiths; they are hadiths that are not so strong as to be usedfor ijtihad regarding important issues like halal and haram. This difference between mawdu hadiths and weak hadiths should be remembered.

As for mawdu hadiths, hadith scholars say it is haram to write or print them without stating that they are fabricated. For, a person who sees such a hadith will think that it comes from the Prophet. Mawzu hadiths can be written and printed by stating that they are fabricated in order to warn people against them.  

Critique of the text and chain of hadiths:

The investigation whether a hadith is acceptable or not is carried out through two stages: 

- Critique of the text
- Critique of the chain (of narrators)

Critique of the text is involved in the examination of the text of the hadith, whether it includes any discrepancies and whether it contradicts with sounder and more common hadiths.

Critique of the chain is involved in the examination of the structure of the chain, determining whether there is a break between the narrators by checking historical data and the life spans of the narrators and whether the narrators are authorized to report hadiths or not.

By the way, it should be known that a hadith consists of a text and narrators in the eye of muhaddiths in order to eliminate some doubts. When great muhaddiths are mentioned, it is sometimes stated that one muhaddith wrote seven hundred thousand hadiths, one million hadiths, etc. they are approximate figures but might seem exaggerative to readers. In fact, when the number of the years of the prophethood and especially the number of the days after the Migration are considered, those figures are large. However, if it is known that each hadith is regarded as a whole by muhaddiths with its text and narrators, it will be understood better. For instance, Ahmed Naim states the following in the translation of Tajrid Sarih:

Hafiz Abu İsmail al- Ansari al-Harawi recorded the hadith "Actions are dependent upon their intentions" through seven hundred different chains that reach Yahya b. Said al-Ansari only."

That is, only this hadith has more than seven hundred chains; since a hadith is regarded as a whole with its chain and text, it means this text has more than seven hundred hadiths. When the other hadiths are also considered, the large number of the hadiths can be imagined. Another issue that increase those numbers is the fact that the words and deeds of the Companions and Tabiun are also called hadiths (The mawquf and marfu hadiths mentioned above). Thus, it becomes clear that the numbers like one million, several hundred thousand are not exaggerative.

ANSWER 2

"Hz. Anas narrates: A group of eight people from the tribe of Ukl or Urayna came to Madinah, paid allegiance to the Prophet (pbuh) and became Muslims. After a while, the climate of Madinah did not suit them and they became ill. Upon their complaint, the Prophet (pbuh) advised them to go outside Madinah with shepherds and to drink camel's milk and urine. They drank camel's milk and urine for a while and got well. (The hadith continues…)

Bukhari and Muslim mention this story in a few places like the other sources of kutub as-sittah: (see Bukhari, Wudu, 66; Tibb,5- 6; Diyat, 22; Muslim, Qasama, 9-11; Ahmad b. Hanbal III/107,163; Abu Dawud, Hudud,3; Tirmidhi, Taharah, 55, Nasai, Tahrimu’d-Dam, 8-9).

Hadith resources draw attention to the fact that the narrators reporting this story from Anas use various expressions (see Nasai, ibid). This fact makes the soundness of the expression doubtful since some words in the reports are extra or missing though the sources of the narration are sound. Especially the expressions like “only the milk of camel is advised to drink not the urine,.. these murderers were left to die in the sun not hanged...”violate the soundness of at least some of the narrations.

It is understood from these narrations that Arabs used to use camel's milk maybe also camel's urine as medicine for some illnesses. (see Bukhari, Tibb, 57) As a matter of fact, the same advice was given in an incidents reported by Hz. Abu Dharr:

“The climate of Madinah made me ill. Hz. Prophet (pbuh) said to me, ‘Go and drink some camel's milk and goat-sheep's milk (Hammad, one of the narrators of the hadiths said, 'and I think he also said urine').”(see Abu Dawud, Taharah, 125)

Abu Dawud says the phrase "drinking camel's urine" in the hadith is not true and that it exists only in the narration reported from Anas by the hadith scholars of Basra. (see ibid.)

In a narration of Nasai (reported by Humayd from Anas) drinking only milk is advised. (see Ibn Hanbal; III/107; Nasai, Tahrimu’d-Dam, 8)

However, there are some scientific studies about the existence of some properties in camel's milk and urine that can heal certain illnesses. Doctors say it is understood through experience that they are useful for some dermatological and internal diseases. (see Majallatu’d-Dawa, April, 1425/2004; issue:1938)

According to Ibn Sina, who accepts that animal urines contain some useful elements, the animal whose urine is the most useful is the camel that grazes in Arabian deserts with wonderful air. (see Ibn Qayyim, Zadu’l-Maad, IV/47-48)

Camel's urine is dirty. However, as the rule "necessities render harams permissible" states, if it is hoped that it will be useful and if there is not any other permissible thing to use, it can be used in treatment. Today, the science of medicine has improved. If a person drinks camel's urine because it is mentioned in a hadith, it is not permissible; if he does so, he will suffer the consequences of his ignorance.

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