A ‘Hasan’ Hadith May Be Used as Evidence

9-11-2025 | IslamWeb

Question:

Hadith "The one who repents from sin is like one who did not sin" sahih or hasan ? Are hasan graded hadiths able to used in a fatwa. Hadith regarding concealing sins apply to any major or minor sin ? Also if one follows a fatwa that differs between two high level scholars what to do in regards to this situation.

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.

The mentioned Hadith is “Hasan li-ghayrihi” (i.e. Good not in itself but due to other Hadiths reinforcing it), because its origin is weak, as its chain has been questioned by scholars, but some of them have graded it as “Hasan” when taking into account all its own chains of narration and also the Hadiths that reinforce its meaning but were narrated by other Companions. As-Sakhawi said in Al-Maqasid: “Our Shaykh (referring to his Shaykh Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar ) graded it as ‘Hasan’, meaning due to the narrations that reinforce it.”

The Hadith was also reported by Ibn Majah, Al-Tabarani in Al-Kabir, and Al-Bayhaqi in Ash-Shu'ab and was graded as "Hasan" by Al-Albani.

A ‘Hasan’ Hadith may be cited in Fatwas similar to a ‘Sahih’ Hadith, although it ranks below it in terms of validity (the evidentiary strength). But if there is a stronger Hadith - whether ‘Hasan’ or ‘Sahih’ - it takes precedence over it.

Ibn Hajar said in An-Nukat: “The compiler Ibn as-Salah and others quoted the consensus that a "Hasan" Hadith may be used as evidence just like a ‘Sahih’ Hadith, even though it is lower in rank.”

As for the Hadiths concerning concealing a Muslim’s faults - if by this you mean the Hadiths encouraging a Muslim to cover his fellow Muslim’s sins - these apply to both minor and major sins. Ahmad and Abu Dawud reported that the Prophet said to Hazzal when he advised Ma‘iz to inform the Messenger of Allah of his adultery: “By Allah, O Hazzal, if you had covered him with your garment, it would have been better than what you did to him.”

Al-Arna’ut said: “It is Sahih li-ghayrihi” (i.e. Sound not in itself but due to other Hadiths reinforcing it).

Allah knows best.