Hakim Nishaburi's Method of Rectifying the Traditions of Virtues

Hakim Nishaburi was one of the great Sunni scholars and leading traditionists of his age. He reported numerous traditions on the virtues of the family of the prophet (s) in his books. Many Sunni scholars¡ however¡ accuse him of being too lenient in his classification and evaluation of traditions and the transmitters of traditions. The possible reasons behind such an accusation against Hakim Nishaburi include the following: his traditions do not comply with the conditions of Bukhari and Muslim (Shaykhain)¡ his approbation of weak traditions¡ reporting the virtues of the family of the Prophet (s)¡ his [negative] views about Muawiyah and his inclination towards the Shia school of thought. Though Hakim Nishaburi remained extremely loyal to the Sunni foundations in approving and disapproving of the transmitters of traditions¡ his views about Muawiyah and his tendency towards the Shia school of law won him Sunni scholars’ accusations that he was overly tolerant. Though the Tradition of Ghadir and its chain of transmission has been deemed authentic by many of the great Sunni scholars¡ and some have even claimed that there is a general consensus among the Muslims in this respect; yet when Hakim just reports this tradition¡ they accuse him of lacking diligence and being too lenient.