Question Summary:
What was the status of ‘Allamah Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūtī amongst the scholars of Hadīth?

Question Detail:

I want to know about the Muhaddithisana Status of Imam Jalaluddin Siyuti r.a,
that whether he was good Muhaddith or weak Muhaddith and narrated
un-researched and Dhaif Ahahadiths ?

There are some people in our region i.e Panjpiris (Ishaat o Tauheed o Sunnat),
they say that Imam Jalaluddin Siyuti collected mainly Dhaif Ahadiths ?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
‘Allāmah Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūtī (849-911 AH 1445–1505 AD) was an expert in most Islamic sciences and in particular the field of Hadīth. He studied Hadīth and its sciences under great Muhaddithīn of his time, such as Taqi ad-Dīn as-Shumunnī and Sharaf ad-Dīn al-Munāwī. Because of his expertise in Hadīth he was appointed as a teacher of Hadīth in al-Madrasah as-Shaykhūniyyah. Moreover, he authored many books, articles and commentaries in the field of Hadīth and Usool al-Hadīth each of which itself is sufficient to prove his caliber in the field such as Tanwīr al-Hālik, Alfiyatul Hadīth and Tadrīb ar-Rāwī.
‘Allāmah Ibn Iyās al-Hanafī mentions, “Allāmah Suyūtī was a brilliant scholar in the field of Hadīth among other fields.”[1]
‘Allāmah Najm ad-Dīn Ghazzī writes, “Allāmah Suyūtī was the most learned of his time in the field of Hadīth and its sciences.”[2]
You refer to the criticism levelled against ‘Allāmah Suyūtī regarding Dha’eef Ahādīth. The classification of a Hadīth as Dha’eef is a technical term and requires insight in the various branches of Usool al-Hadīth. Primarily, you would have to understand what are the conditions for a Hadith to be termed as Sahīh and what happens if one or many of these conditions are not fulfilled. Furthermore, when will the concept of al-I’tibār come into play. As you can see, there are many technical terms involved in this discussion. As such, for us to discuss this issue, we require information pertaining to your knowledge of Hadīth and its sciences. Moreover, which organization is “Ishat o Tauheed o Sunnat” and what is their background?
 
 
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best 
Muntasir Zaman
Student Darul Iftaa
USA
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.