Chain Of Hadeeth
السلام عليكم We probably can’t. That is probably why these اخبار are called ظنی and not قطعی. I am not sure, so Irfan Bhai can correct me on this. We have to rely on the trustworthiness of the narrator which is sometimes also suspect because, as Maulana Ishaq admits, a narrator which some Muhadditheen call ثقہ, some others call دجال.
السلام عليكم Sorry, Ali Bhai, I did not read your links completely, but I did skim and scan them and, if I was able to understand their view in my hurry, they were confusing Hadith with Sunnah (assuming it to be the source of the Sunnah, which it is not). Once again, the raw collection of these historical reports can only be made reliable after the criteria of the Muhaddithoon is applied rigorously. A Hadith which is موضوع is still a Hadith. So, no “Ahadith” in themselves are not reliable at all. By definition, these are reports of people who ascribe a saying or event to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. That is why work on them began in the first place. Religion is not to be taken from them because they are the application and not the commandment as they are historical reports. I will ان شاء الله read that article more fully (even though I can’t stand people confusing Hadith and Sunnah). Meanwhile, if you disagree with something I said and you want to point it out and clarify for me, please feel free to do so. 🙂