these people limited themselves to listening not acting upon it. then they did not make it a ruling even though there is no benefit in limiting themselves to it. in this age children are taught the hadith while they are ignorant and heedless. the sheikh who is taught it may be so heedless that if he distorts or changes the hadith he does not know. he may sleep and the hadith is narrated from him without him knowing. all of that is deception. the basic principle in listening to the hadith is that one hears it from the messenger of allah or from the companions or from the followers . his hearing from the companions becomes like his hearing it from the messenger of allah . he listens and memorizes it and narrates it as he memorized it so that he does not doubt a single letter of it. if he doubts it it is not permissible for him to narrate it. memorizing the hadith is done in two ways one of them by heart with continuity through repetition and remembrance.
وهؤلاء اقتصروا على السماع لا عمل.. ثم لم يحكموه.. وإن كان لا فائدة فى الاقتصار عليه والحديث فى هذا الزمان يقرئونه الصبيان وهم غرة غافلون.. والشيخ الذى يقرأ عليه ربما كان غافلا بحيث لو صحف وغير الحديث لا يعلم.. وربما ينام ويروى عنه الحديث وهو لا يعلم.. وكل ذلك غرور.. وإنما الأصل فى استماع الحديث أن يسمعه من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.. أو من الصحابة.. أو من التابعين رضوان الله عليهم أجمعين.. ويصير سماعه من الصحابة كسماعه من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم.. وهو يصغى ويحفظ.. ويرويه كما حفظه حتى لا يشك فى حرف واحد منه.. وإن شك فيه لم يجز له أن يرويه.. وحفظ الحديث يكون بطريقتين إحداهما بالقلب مع الاستدامة بالتكرار والذكر.