Science of Hadeeth
Question:
What is the ruling on mutawaatir hadeeth in Islam?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. Mutawaatir is an Arabic word that
is derived from the word tawaatur, which means
succession, one after the other. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"Then We sent Our Messengers in succession"
[al-Mu'minoon 23:44]
What this means in sharee'ah terminology is a
report which was narrated by a group who could not
possibly have agreed upon a lie, from a similar group, and
which is based on what they saw or heard.
The scholars have mentioned four conditions for a
hadeeth to be regarded as mutawaatir:
1 _ It should have been narrated by a large number
2 _ The number should be so large that it is
impossible that they could have agreed upon a lie.
3 _ There should be a large number of narrators at
every stage of the chain of narration (isnaad), so it should
have been narrated by a large number from a large number,
all the way back to the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him).
4 _ It should be based on what they saw or heard, so
they should say, "We heard" or "We saw", because if it is
not like that it is possible for error to creep in, so it is
not mutawaatir.
With regard to the types of mutawaatir, these are:
1 _ Mutawaatir in the wording _
For example:
"Whoever tells a lie against me deliberately, let him
take his place in Hell."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 107; Muslim, 3; Abu
Dawood, 3651; al-Tirmidhi, 2661; Ibn Maajah, 30, 37; and
Ahmad, 2/159.
This hadeeth was narrated by more than
seventy-two Sahaabah, and was narrated from them by a huge
number of narrators whom it is impossible to list.
2 _ Mutawaatir in the meaning _ this is where the
same meaning is narrated in mutawaatir hadeeth, but
not necessarily in the same wording each time.
For example: the ahaadeeth about raising the hands
when making du'aa'. Nearly one hundred ahaadeeth are
narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) in each of which it says that he (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) raised his hands when
making du'aa'. Al-Suyooti compiled them in a chapter which
he entitled Fadd al-Wi'aa' fi Ahaadeeth Raf' al-Yadayn
fi'l-Du'aa'.
With regard to the ruling on mutawaatir reports:
a mutawaatir report must be accepted, because it
is definitive and certain, even if there is no
other corroborating evidence. And there is no need to
examine the biographies of its narrators. This is a matter
concerning which no wise man will have any doubts.
References:
- Nuzhat al-Nazr by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar
- Al-Hadeeth al-Mutawaatir by Dr, Khaleel Mulla Khaatir
- Al-Hadeeth al-Da'eef wa Hukm al-Ihtijaaj
bihi by Shaykh Dr `Abd al-Kareem ibn `Abd-Allaah al-Khudayr
Mu'jam Mustalahaat al-Hadeeth wa Lataa'if
al-Asaaneed by Dr. Muhammad Diya' al-Rahmaan
al-A'zami. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
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Question:
I have been trying to find the hadeeth where it says
that when the Prophet was migrating to Madeenah and he
hid in the cave, an angel or angels covered with their
wings the opening of the cave from the view of the
searching party of the kuffaar.
The common version that is well known amongst
Muslims is that a spider spun a web around the opening thus
hiding the Prophet, but I found out that this narration is weak
or fabricated, and that the report of angels covering
the opening is an authentic version, can you tell me who
the narrator was and in which book of hadeeth or seerah
I can find this (with chains) ?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The overnight stay of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr in the cave of
Thawr is mentioned in the Book of Allaah and in the Sunnah
of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). There follow some details:
1 _ In the Book of Allaah:
The story of this overnight stay is mentioned in
the Qur'aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"If you help him (Muhammad) not (it does not
matter), for Allaah did indeed help him when the disbelievers
drove him out, the second of the two; when they
(Muhammad and Abu Bakr) were in the cave, he said to his
companion (Abu Bakr): "Be not sad (or afraid), surely, Allaah is
with us." Then Allaah sent down His Sakeenah
(calmness, tranquillity, peace) upon him, and strengthened him
with forces (angels) which you saw not, and made the word
of those who disbelieved the lowermost, while the Word
of Allaah that became the uppermost; and Allaah is
All-Mighty, All-Wise"
[al-Tawbah 9:40]
This verse clearly states that the mushrikeen
were conspiring to kill him, and that they [i.e., the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
Abu Bakr] stayed overnight in the cave.
2 _ The Sunnah
With regard to the reports in the saheeh Sunnah
which speak of the overnight stay in the cave:
-i-
It was narrated that `Aa'ishah, the wife of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), said:
"… then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr headed towards a
cave on the mountain of Thawr, and they hid in it for
three nights, during which `Abd-Allaah ibn Abi Bakr _
who was a smart young lad _ stayed with them at night
then left just before dawn (at the end of the night) so that
he would be among Quraysh in Makkah when morning
came, as if he had spent the night among them. He used to
listen out to see what they were planning, then he would
bring news of that [to the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr] when darkness came…"
This was narrated by al-Bukhaari (3905) in a lengthy
story to which he gave the title "The migration (hijrah) of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and his companions to Madeenah."
-ii-
It was narrated that Abu Bakr (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said: I said to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), when I was with him in the
cave: "If one of them looks down at his feet he will see us."
He said, "What do you think, O Abu Bakr, of two the third
of whom is Allaah?" Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3653.
The story of the spider's web was narrated by
Imam Ahmad (3241) from Ibn `Abbaas (may Allaah be
pleased with him), with regard to the verse (interpretation of
the meaning): "And (remember) when the disbelievers
plotted against you (O Muhammad) to imprison you"
[al-Anfaal 8:30]. He said: Quraysh met together one night
in Makkah. Some of them said: When morning comes, imprison him in chains _ meaning the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Some said, No,
kill him; and others said, No, drive him out. Allaah
informed His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) of that, so `Ali slept in the bed of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) that night, and
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
went out and hid in the cave. The mushrikoon spent the
night lying in wait for `Ali, thinking that he was the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
When morning came, they pounced on him, and when they
saw `Ali, Allaah thwarted their plot. They said, Where is
that friend of yours? He said, I do not know. So they set
out after him and when they reached the mountain, they
were confounded. They climbed up the mountain and
passed by the cave, and saw a spider's web over its
entrance. They said, If anyone had entered here, the spider
would not have spun a web over the entrance. And he
stayed there for three nights.
The scholars differed concerning this hadeeth. Its
isnaad was classed as hasan by al-Haafiz ibn Hajar in
Fath al-Baari and by Ibn Katheer in al-Bidaayah
wa'l-Nihaayah (3/222). It was classed as da'eef by al-Albaani in
al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah. Ahmad Shaakir said in
Tahqeeq al-Musnad (3251): there is some dispute concerning
its isnaad. The commentators on al-Musnad said (3251):
its isnaad is da'eef. And Allaah knows best.
With regard to the story of the two doves or pigeons,
this was mentioned by Ibn Katheer in al-Bidaayah
wa'l-Nihaayah (3/223). He said, it was narrated by Ibn
`Asaakir, then he said: This hadeeth is ghareeb jiddan with
this isnaad. It was similarly classed as da'eef by
the commentators on al-Musnad in the same place
referred to above.
Al-Albaani said in al-Silsilah
al-Da'eefah (3/339): Note that there is no saheeh hadeeth concerning the spider
and doves at the cave, despite the fact that this is
widely mentioned in some books and lectures which are
given on the anniversary of the migration of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to Madeenah.
So this should be borne in mind.
With regard to the angels concealing the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Abu Bakr,
this was narrated by al-Tabaraani in
al-Kabeer (24/106-108) from the hadeeth of Asma' bint Abi Bakr. It is a
lengthy hadeeth in which it says: "Then Abu Bakr said of a
man whom he could see opposite the cave, `O Messenger
of Allaah, he is looking at us.' He said, `No, the angels
are concealing us with their wings.'…"
The isnaad of this hadeeth includes Ya'qoob ibn
Humayd ibn Kaasib al-Madani, concerning whom the
scholars differed. See Tahdheeb al-Kamaal by al-Mazzi,
32/318-323.
He was regarded as da'eef (weak) by Ibn Ma'een,
Abu Haatim, al-Nasaa'i and Abu Zar'ah al-Raazi.
Abu Dawood al-Sijistaani said: we have seen in
his Musnad ahaadeeth which we regard as munkar. We
asked him for their sources and he refused to tell us, then
he narrated them after that. We found ahaadeeth in
some books that had been recently altered, and these
ahaadeeth are mursal but he added isnaads to them and
added something to the texts.
Ibn `Adiyy said: There is nothing wrong with him and
his reports. He narrated many ahaadeeth and many
ghareeb reports.
Al-Dhahabi said: He was one of the scholars of
hadeeth but he reports munkar and ghareeb reports.
Ibn Hibbaan classed him as thiqah (trustworthy).
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said, he is sadooq (truthful) but he
is confused sometimes.
Al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) classed
his hadeeth as hasan but he did not class this hadeeth as hasan.
He said in al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah (3/263):
What is established concerning this Ya'qoob is that
his hadeeth is hasan… If there is no other fault in the
isnaad then it is hasan… Then he said: Shaykh
al-Tabaraani Ahmad ibn `Amr al-Khallaal al-Makki did not
find anything about his background. He narrated approximately 16 hadeeth from him in
al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, which indicates that he was one of his
well-known shaykhs. If the hadeeth is known or there are
corroborating reports, then the hadeeth is hasan.
And Allaah knows best.
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Question:
What is the number of ahaadeeth as compared to
the number of narrators? Is it true that there are no
weak (da'eef) reports although there are many weak narrators?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It is difficult to compare the number of reports and
the number of narrators, because one hadeeth may have
been transmitted by a number of narrators, just as one
narrator may have transmitted a number of ahaadeeth.
The view that there are no da'eef (weak) reports is
not correct, because the position of the narrator and his
status with regard to his character, precision and memory, has
a great impact on the ruling on his reports.
We will give you some examples of that.
1 _ The hadeeth "Recite Ya-Seen over your dead."
This was narrated by Abu Dawood and Ibn Maajah,
via Sulaymaan al-Taymi from Abu `Uthmaan from his
father from Ma'qil ibn Yassaar.
This hadeeth is da'eef because the identity of
Abu `Uthmaan and his father are not known. See Irwa'
al-Ghaleel, 3/150, no. 688.
2 _ The hadeeth "No child should be separated from
his mother." This was narrated by al-Bayhaqi, from
the hadeeth of Husayn ibn `Abd-Allaah ibn Damrah from
his father from his grandfather. Al-Nawawi (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: "This is a da'eef hadeeth, and
there is consensus that Husayn ibn `Abd-Allaah is da'eef."
(al-Majmoo', 9/445).
These ahaadeeth are da'eef because their narrators
are da'eef.
It may also be the case that the isnaad is da'eef but
the hadeeth itself is saheeh because it is narrated
through another chain which is saheeh.
Or the isnaad may be saheeh, but the text is da'eef,
because of some fault in it.
This is a vast field of knowledge which requires
study and experience.
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Question:
My Shia friend have posed a question to me as to how
we can claim Sahih Bkhari to be Authentic when
Imam Bukhari (May Allah Mercy be upon him) was present
400 years after the death of the Prophet.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Imam al-Bukhaari (may Allaah have mercy on him)
died in 256 AH, i.e., 245 years after the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) died, not as your
Shi'i friend claims. But these people are natural liars so
this claim comes as no surprise. That does not mean that
al-Bukhaari could have narrated directly from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him); this is
not what is meant at all. Rather we mention this here for
the purpose of making things clear.
But how can we depend upon Saheeh
al-Bukhaari when al-Bukhaari never met the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) in person?
The answer is that in his Saheeh, al-Bukhaari did
not narrate anything directly from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), rather he narrated
from trustworthy shaykhs, who attained the highest degree
of memorization, precision and trustworthiness, who in
turn had narrated from equally reliable shaykhs, all the
way back to the Sahaabah who narrated from the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). The smallest number of narrators between
al-Bukhaari and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) is three. So we rely upon Saheeh
al-Bukhaari because he chose the narrators from whom he
transmitted hadeeth with the utmost care, and they are the
most trustworthy. Moreover, he would not write down
any hadeeth in his Saheeh until he had done ghusl, then
prayed two rak'ahs and prayed istikhaarah, asking Allaah to
guide him with regard to writing down this hadeeth; then
he would write it down. It took him sixteen years to
write this book, which the ummah accepted and
unanimously agreed that what is narrated in it is saheeh; and
Allaah has protected this ummah from agreeing upon misguidance.
Imam al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said in his introduction to Sharh Muslim (1/14): "The
scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them) are agreed that the
most sound of books after the Qur'aan are the two
Saheehs of al-Bukhaari and Muslim, which were accepted by
the ummah. The book of al-Bukhaari is the more sound
and the more beneficial of the two."
If you ask this Shi'i (or Raafidi) about the sayings of
`Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) that their leaders
have transmitted, and the sayings of al-Baaqir and Ja'far
al-Saadiq, and others of Ahl al-Bayt (may Allaah have
mercy on them), whether they heard them from them
or transmitted them with isnaads (chains of narrators),
the answer will be clear. There is a great difference
between the isnaads of al-Bukhaari and the isnaads of
these misguided people who cannot find the names of
their chain of narrators in the reports except in the books
of the weak narrators, liars and deficient narrators.
The claim made by this Raafidi (Shi'i) is simply the
first step in attacking the Sunnah which demonstrates that
their madhhab is false and their beliefs are corrupt. They
cannot help but try to stir up trouble with these misguided
notions. But they can never succeed, for the truth is clear
and falsehood is confused.
Moreover we advise you _ may Allaah help you _ to
look for Sunni friends from whose company you can
benefit, and to avoid making friends with followers of
bid'ah. The scholars have warned against making friends
with them because they will keep on trying until they take
a person far away from the truth by using all kinds of
wiles and causing confusion.
We ask Allaah to help us and you to follow the
Sunnah and to keep away from bid'ah and those who follow it.
And Allaah knows best.
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Question:
Who are the authors of the Six Books, and are there
any da'eef (weak) ahaadeeth in their books?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The authors of the Six Books are:
1- Imam al-Bukhaari
2- Imam Muslim
3- Imam Abu Dawood
4- Imam al-Tirmidhi
5- Imam al-Nasaa'i
6- Imaam Ibn Maajah
There follow brief details about each of them.
1 _ Imam al-Bukhaari
His full name was Abu `Abd-Allaah Muhammad ibn Ismaa'eel ibn Ibraaheem ibn al-Mugheerah ibn
Bardizbah al-Ja'fi al-Bukhaari. His grandfather al-Mugheerah
was a freed slave of al-Yamaan al-Ja'fi, the governor
of Bukhaarah, so he took his name after he became
Muslim. Imam al-Bukhaari was born in Bukhaara in 194 AH.
He grew up an orphan and started to memorize
ahaadeeth before he was ten years old. When he was a young
man he set out to travel to Makkah and perform the
obligation of Hajj. He stayed in Makkah for a while, studying
under the imams of fiqh, usool and hadeeth. Then he began
to travel around, going from one Islamic region to
another, for sixteen years in all. He visited many centers
of knowledge where he collected ahaadeeth of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) until he
had compiled more than 600,000 ahaadeeth. He referred
to one thousand scholars of hadeeth and discussed
these reports with them. These scholars were people who
were known for their sincerity, piety and sound belief.
From this huge number of ahaadeeth he compiled his book
al-Saheeh, following the most precise scientific
guidelines in his research as to their authenticity and in
distinguishing the saheeh (sound) from the weak, and in finding out
about the narrators, until he recorded in his book the most
sound of the sound, although it does not contain all the
saheeh ahaadeeth. The book's full title is al-Jaami'
al-Saheeh al-Musnad min Hadeeth Rasool-Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wa Sunanihi
wa Ayaamihi.
The governor of Bukhaara wanted al-Bukhaari to
come to his house to teach his children and read ahaadeeth
to them. But al-Bukhaari refused and wrote to him: "Knowledge is to be sought in its own house,"
meaning that knowledge is to be sought not summoned.
Whoever wanted to learn from the scholars should go to them
in the mosque or in their houses. So the governor bore
a grudge against him and ordered that he be expelled
from Bukhaara. So he went to the village of Khartank which
is near Samarqand, where he had relatives, and he
settled there until he died in 256 AH at the age of 62. May
Allaah have mercy upon him.
2 _ Imam Muslim
His full name was Muslim ibn al-Hajjaaj ibn Muslim
al-Qushayri al-Nisapoori Abu'l-Husayn. He is one of
the leading scholars of hadeeth and one of the
most knowledgeable. He was born in Nisapoor on the day
that Imam al-Shaafa'i died in 204 AH. He studied in
Nisapoor, and when he grew up he traveled to Iraq and the Hijaaz
to learn hadeeth. He heard ahaadeeth from many
shaykhs, and many scholars of hadeeth narrated from him.
The most famous of his books is his Saheeh which is
known as Saheeh Muslim. This is one of the six reliable books
of hadeeth. He spent nearly fifteen years compiling this
book, which is second only to Saheeh
al-Bukhaari in status and in the strength of its ahaadeeth. Many scholars
have written commentaries on his Saheeh.
His books also include Kitaab
al-Tabaqaat, Kitaab al-Jaami' and Kitaab
al-Asma', and others which exist in printed and manuscript form. He died in the city
of Nasarabad, near Nisapoor, in 261 AH, at the age of
57. May Allaah have mercy on him.
3 _ Imam Abu Dawood
His full name was Sulaymaan ibn al-Ash'ath ibn Shaddaad ibn `Amr ibn Ishaaq ibn Basheer al-Azdi
al-Sajistani, from Sajistan. Abu Dawood was the
leading hadeeth scholar of his age. He is the author of
al-Sunan, which is one of the six reliable books of hadeeth. He
was born in 202 AH. He traveled to Baghdad where he
met Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal and stayed with him; he
also looked like him. He also traveled to the Hijaz,
Iraq, Khurasaan, Syria, Egypt and the borders of the
Islamic world. Al-Nasaa'i, al-Tirmidhi and others
narrated hadeeth from him. He attained the highest degree of
piety and righteousness. His book al-Sunan includes more
than 5300 ahaadeeth.
The caliph Abu Ahmad Talhah (al-Muwaffaq
al-`Abbaasi) asked three things of him: the first was that he
should move to Basrah and settle there, so that seekers
of knowledge could come to him, thus bringing more
people to settle there. The second was that he should teach
al-Sunan to his children. The third was that he should
give exclusive classes to his children, for the children of
the caliph should not sit with the common people.
Abu Dawood said to him: As for the first, yes; as for the
second, yes; as for the third, no way, because all people are
equal when it comes to knowledge. So the sons of
al-Muwaffaq al-`Abbaasi used to attend his lessons, and they would
sit with a screen between them and the people. He
remained in Basrah until he died in 275 AH. May Allaah have
mercy on him.
4 _ Imam al-Tirmidhi
His full name was Muhammad ibn `Eesa ibn Soorah
ibn Moosa ibn al-Dahhaak al-Salami al-Tirmidhi, Abu
Eesa. He came from Tirmidh, once of the cities of
Transoxiana, after which he was named. He was one of the
leading scholars of hadeeth and memorization of hadeeth. He
was born in 209 AH and studied under al-Bukhaari; they
had some of the same teachers. He began to seek
ahaadeeth by travelling to Khurasaan, Iraq and the Hijaz. He
became famous for his memorization of hadeeth,
trustworthiness and knowledge. His shaykhs included Ahmad ibn
Hanbal and Abu Dawood al-Sajistani. He compiled
al-Jaami' which is counted as one of the six reliable books
of hadeeth. In this book he examined the ahaadeeth in
detail, which is of benefit to students of fiqh, because he
mentions the ahaadeeth and most of his ahaadeeth deal with
rulings of fiqh. He mentions the isnaads and lists the
Sahaabah who narrated the hadeeth, so what he believes is
saheeh he says is saheeh, and what he believes is da'eef he
says is da'eef. He explains who among the fuqaha'
accepted the hadeeth and who did not. His
Jaami' is the most comprehensive of the books of
al-Sunan, and is the most useful to the muhaddith (hadeeth scholar) and faqeeh.
His other works include Kitaab al-Shamaa'il
al-Nabawiyyah and al-`Ilal fi'l-Hadeeth. He was blind for the latter
part of his life, after he had travelled around and
compiled saheeh reports from prominent and well-versed
scholars. He died in 279 AH at the age of 70. May Allaah
have mercy on him.
5 _ Imam al-Nasaa'i
His full name was Ahmad ibn Shu'ayb ibn `Ali ibn
Sinaan ibn Bahr ibn Dinar al-Nasaa'i, Abu `Abd
al-Rahmaan. He came from the city of Nasa in Khurasaan, after
which he was named (Nasawi or Nasaa'i). He was born in
215 AH, and he was one of the leading scholars and muhaddiths of his time. His comments on
al-jarh wa'l-ta'deel (the study of the soundness or otherwise
of narrators of hadeeth) are highly esteemed by the
scholars. Al-Haakim said: I heard Abu'l-Hasan al-Daaraqutni
say more than once, "Abu `Abd al-Rahmaan is the
foremost among all scholars of hadeeth, and he is the best
evaluator of narrators of his time."
He was extremely pious and righteous, and he used
to regularly observe the best kind of fasting (the fasting
of Dawood), he used to fast on alternate days. He lived
in Egypt, where his books became famous and people learned from him. Then he moved to Damascus,
where he died on Monday 13 Safar 300 AH, at the age of
85. May Allaah have mercy on him.
6 _ Imam Ibn Maajah
His full name was Muhammad ibn Yazeed al-Rab'i
al-Qazwayni, Abu `Abd-Allaah. His father Yazeed
was known as Maajah, so he was known as Ibn Maajah.
The name al-Rab'i refers to Rabee'ah, after whom he
was named because his father was a freed slave of Rabee'ah
. He was a famous hafiz and the author of the book
of hadeeth called al-Sunan. He was born in Qazwayn,
after which he was named, in 209 AH. He travelled to
Iraq, Basrah, Kufa, Baghdad, Makkah, Syria, Egypt and
al-Rai to write down hadeeth. He wrote three books during
his travels: a book on Tafseer; a book on history, in which
he compiled the reports of men who had written down
reports of the Sunnah from the time of the Sahaabah until
his own time; and his book al-Sunan. Ibn Maajah died
on Monday 22 Ramadaan 273 AH, at the age of 64.
May Allaah have mercy on him.
Ruling on the ahaadeeth in these books:
With regard to Saheeh al-Bukhaari and
Saheeh Muslim, the ummah accepts the ahaadeeth that are contained
in these books, and they are agreed that everything in
them is saheeh apart from a very few phrases which
al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated in order to explain why they are
not sound, either explicitly or implicitly, as the scholars
who wrote commentaries on these two books, such as
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on
him), have explained. With regard to the other books of
Sunan, they are not free of some da'eef (weak) ahaadeeth
here and there. Some of them are noted as such by the
authors themselves, and others have been pointed out by
other scholars. They did not point out all the weak
ahaadeeth, because they narrated the ahaadeeth with their
isnaads, so it is easy for the scholars to tell the saheeh
ahaadeeth from the da'eef by checking the chain of narrators
and knowing who is reliable and who is weak.
Among the famous scholars in this field were Ahmad,
al-Daraqutni, Yahya ibn Ma'een, Ibn Hajar, al-Dhahabi,
al-Waaqi and al-Sakhaawi. Among the contemporary scholars in this field are al-Albaani, Ahmad Shaakir
and others. May Allaah have mercy on them all.
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
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Question:
How sound is the hadeeth, "If I am someone's
mawla (friend) then `Ali is his mawla too", and what does
it mean?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. This hadeeth was narrated by
al-Tirmidhi, 3713; Ibn Maajah, 121. There is some
difference of opinion as to its authenticity. Al-Zayla'i said
in Taareekh al-Hidaayah 1/189: "How many ahaadeeth
there are which have many narrators and many isnaads,
but they are da'eef (weak), such as the hadeeth "If I
am someone's mawla then `Ali is his mawla too"."
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said: "As for his
saying "If I am someone's mawla then `Ali is his mawla
too", this is not in the books of
Saheeh, but it is one of the reports which were narrated by the scholars
and concerning whose authenticity the people disputed. It
was narrated that al-Bukhaari, Ibraaheem al-Harbi and a
group of scholars of hadeeth stated that it is not saheeh…
As for the additional material, which is the phrase `O
Allaah, take as friends those who take him as a friend, and
take as enemies those who take him as an enemy,' etc., this
is undoubtedly false." Manhaaj
al-Sunnah, 7/319. Al-Dhahabi said: "As for the hadeeth, "If I am
someone's mawla then `Ali is his mawla too", it has jayyid
isnaads." It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in
al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1750, and he criticized those who said that
it is da'eef (weak).
The fact that this sentence has a saheeh isnaad going
back to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) _ if it is saheeh _ cannot under any
circumstances be taken as evidence to support what the extremists
added to the hadeeth to prove that `Ali (may Allaah be
pleased with him) takes precedence over all the other
Sahaabah, or to slander the Sahaabah and accuse them of
usurping his rights. Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] referred
to some of these additions and proved them to be
da'eef (weak) in ten places in Manhaaj
al-Sunnah.
There is some difference of opinion as to the meaning
of the hadeeth. Whatever the meaning, it does not
contradict that which is proven and well-known from the
saheeh ahaadeeth which state that the best of this ummah is
Abu Bakr and that he was the most deserving of being
the khaleefah; then he was followed by `Umar, then
`Uthmaan _ may Allaah be pleased with them all. Proof of the
virtue of a specific Sahaabi does not means that he is the best
of them, and that does not contradict the fact that Abu
Bakr is the best of them as is affirmed in the chapters
on `aqeedah.
One of the meanings that have been suggested for
this hadeeth is as follows:
"It was said that its meaning is, `whomever I took as
a friend, `Ali will also take him as a friend as opposed
to an enemy, and whomever I used to love, `Ali will
also love him.' And it was said that its meaning is,
`whoever took me as a friend, `Ali will also take him as a
friend.' This was quoted by al-Qaari' from some of his
scholars. Al-Jazari said in al-Nihaayah: `The word mawla
is frequently mentioned in the hadeeth, and this is a
name that is applied to many. It may refer to a lord, to an
owner, to a master, to a benefactor, to one who frees a slave, to
a supporter, to one who loves another, to a follower, to
a neighbour, to a cousin (son of paternal uncle), to an
ally, to an in-law, to a slave, to a freed slave, to one to
whom one has done a favour. Most of these meanings are
referred to in various ahaadeeth, so it is to be understand in
the manner implied by the context of the hadeeth in which
it is mentioned. Everyone who is in charge of some
matter or is taking care of it is the mawla of that thing. The
word mawla mentioned in this hadeeth may refer to most
of the meanings indicated above. Al-Shaafa'i (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said: What is meant by that is
the bonds of Islam, as in the aayah (interpretation of
the meaning):
`That is because Allaah is the Mawlaa (Lord,
Master, Helper, Protector) of those who believe, and
the disbelievers have no Mawlaa (lord, master,
helper, protector)'
[Muhammad 47:11]
Al-Teebi said: it is incorrect to interpret the mawla
as referring to the imam who conducts the affairs of
the believers, because the only person who was in charge
of the Muslims' affairs during the lifetime of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was
the Prophet himself and no one else, so the word mawla
must be interpreted as referring to love, the bonds of Islam
and so on."
Adapted from Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi Sharh
al-Tirmidhi, Hadeeth 3713..
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Question:
How sound is the hadeeth narrated from Salmaan
al-Faarisi (may Allaah be pleased with him) in which he
is reported to have said: "The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) addressed us on
the last day of Sha'baan and said: `O People, there has
come to you a great and blessed month, a month in which
there is a night that is better than a thousand months.
Allaah has made fasting (this month) an obligation and
spending its nights in prayer an act of voluntary worship.
Whoever draws near to Allaah during this month by doing
some good deeds is like one who does an obligatory action
at any other time, and the one who does an obligatory
action during this month is like one who does seventy
obligatory actions at any other times. It is a month whose
beginning is mercy, its middle is forgiveness and its end is
ransom from the Fire…'"??
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth was narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah in
his Saheeh, 3/191, no. 1887. He said, "If the report is
saheeh …" but the word `if' was omitted in some references
such as al-Targheeb wa'l-Tarheeb by al-Mundhiri (2/95),
so they thought that Ibn Khuzaymah said, "The report
is saheeh," although he did not state that.
It was also narrated by al-Mahaamili in
al-Amaali (293); by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab
al-Eemaan (7/216); Fadaa'il al-Awqaat, p. 146, no. 37; by Abu'l-Shaykh Ibn Hibbaan
in Kitaab al-Thawaab; it was attributed to him by
al-Saa'aati in al-Fath al-Rabbaani (9/233); it was mentioned by
al-Suyooti in al-Durr al-Manthoor, and he said, it
was narrated by al-`Aqeeli and he classed it as da'eef
(weak); it was mentioned by al-Isbahaani in
al-Targheeb, and by al-Munaqqi in Kanz
al-`Ummaal (8/477). All of them narrated it via Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib from Salmaan
al-Faarisi. The isnaad of the hadeeth is da'eef (weak)
for two reasons, which are:
1 _ There is a break in the chain of narrators,
because Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib did not hear it from Salmaan
al-Faarisi (may Allaah be pleased with him).
2 _ Its isnaad includes `Ali ibn Zayd ibn Jad'aan, of
whom Ibn Sa'd said: "There is some weakness in him and
he cannot be quoted as evidence. He was classed as
da'eef (weak) by Ahmad, Ibn Ma'een, al-Nasaa'i,
Ibn Khuzaymah, al-Jawzjaani and others, as it says in
Siyar A'laam al-Nubala', 5/207.
Abu Haatim al-Raazi judged the hadeeth to be munkar
(a kind of weak hadeeth). Al-`Ayni said likewise in
`Umdat al-Qaari', 9/20, as did Shaykh al-Albaani in
Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah
wa'l-Mawdoo'ah, vol. 2/262. no. 871. So it becomes clear that the isnaad of this
hadeeth and similar reports are all da'eef (weak), and that
the muhadditheen (scholars of hadeeth) judged it to
be munkar, in addition to the fact that it contains
some phrases whose authenticity is subject to
further examination, such as its dividing the month into
three parts, saying that the first ten days are mercy,
then forgiveness, then ransom from the Fire. There is
no evidence for this, rather the bounty of Allaah is
immense, all of Ramadaan is mercy and forgiveness, and there
are those whom Allaah ransoms from the Fire every
night and at the time of breaking the fast, as is proven by
the ahaadeeth.
Moreover, in this hadeeth it says, "Whoever draws
near to Allaah during this month by doing some good deeds
is like one who does an obligatory action." There is
no evidence for this, rather naafil actions are naafil
and obligatory actions are obligatory in Ramadaan and at
other times. This hadeeth also says, "and the one who does
an obligatory action during this month is like one who
does seventy obligatory actions at any other times."
This number is subject to further examination, because a
good deed earns a reward between ten and seven hundred
times in Ramadaan and at other times, and nothing is
exempted from that apart from fasting, for its reward is
immense and unlimited, because of the hadeeth qudsi: "Every
deed of the son of Adam is for him, except for fasting,
which is for Me and I shall reward for it." (Agreed upon;
narrated from Abu Hurayrah, may Allaah be pleased with him).
We must beware of da'eef (weak) hadeeth and make
sure of their status before we speak of them. We must strive
to find out the saheeh ahaadeeth about the virtues
of Ramadaan. May Allaah grant us all strength and
accept our fasting, night prayers and all our good deeds.
And Allaah knows best.
Dr. Ahmad ibn `Abd-Allaah al-Baatili.
(www.islam-qa.com)
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Question:
What is the status of the hadeeth: "My Lord taught
me good manners and He taught me well"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Taymiyah said: No proven isnaad is known for this.
See Ahaadeeth al-Qisaas, 78. It was narrated by
al-Shawkaani in al-Fawaa'id al-Majmoo'ah, 1020 and
by al-Fitni in Tadhkirah al-Mawdoo'aat, 87.
But its meaning is correct.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
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Question:
What is the status of the hadeeth, "Whoever sleeps
after `Asr and loses his mind has no one to blame
except himself"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth is da'eef jiddan (very weak).
See al-Maqdoo'aat by Ibn al-Jawzi, 3/69;
al-La'aali' al-Masnoo'ah by al-Suyooti, 2/279;
Tarteeb al-Mawdoo'aat by al-Dhahabi, 839
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
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Question:
Is this hadeeth which is mentioned by the Sufis saheeh
_ "My heaven and my earth could not contain Me, but
the heart of My believing slave contains Me"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah
was asked about the words which were narrated from
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
"My heaven and my earth could not contain Me, but the
heart of My believing slave contains Me"?
He replied:
Praise be to Allaah.
What they mentioned is from the
Israa'eeliyyaat [reports narrated from Jewish sources], no isnaad is known for
it from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). What it means is that Allaah puts love
and knowledge of Himself in the heart of His slave.
The report, "The heart is the house of the Lord" is
like the first report. The heart is the home or seat of faith
in Allaah and of knowledge and love of Him.
They reported the words, "I was an unknown
treasure and I wanted to be known, so I created mankind and
taught them about Myself so that they would know Me."
These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), and I know of no isnaad for
this, either saheeh (sound) or da'eef (weak).
They reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah created reason,
and said to it, `Come here,' and it came. He said to it,
`Go there,' and it went. He said, `By My Glory and Majesty,
I have not created anything more noble than you. I
shall reward and punish because of you.'" This hadeeth is
baatil (false) and mawdoo' (fabricated) according to
the consensus of hadeeth scholars.
They narrate the words, "Love of this world is the root
of all evil." This is known from Jundub ibn `Abd-Allaah
al-Bajali, but there is no known isnaad from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
They report the words, "This world is merely a step
for the believing man." This is not known from the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or from
the salaf of this ummah or its imams.
They report the words, "Whoever is blessed with a
thing, let him stick with it" and, "Whoever commits himself
to something, let him stick with it." The first report
was narrated from one of the salaf. The second report is
baatil (false), for whoever commits himself to something
may have to stick to it or he may not, according to what
Allaah and His Messenger have commanded.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, "Do favours for the poor, for
tomorrow they will have authority, and what authority!"
and, "Poverty is my pride and I boast of it." Both of these
are lies and are not known in any way in the well
known books of the Muslims.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "I am the city of knowledge and
`Ali is its gate." This hadeeth is da'eef (weak); indeed it
is mawdoo' (fabricated) according to the scholars of
hadeeth. It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi and others, but it is a lie.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, "The poor will sit down on the Day
of Resurrection, and [Allaah] will say, `By My Glory
and Majesty, I did not deprive you of worldly things
because you are insignificant. Rather I wanted to raise your
status on this Day. Go to the place where the people are
standing, and whoever gave you a piece of bread, or water to
drink, or clothes to wear, take him to Paradise.'" The
shaykh said: this report is a lie which was not narrated by any
of the scholars of hadeeth. It is baatil (false) and goes
against the Qur'aan and Sunnah and scholarly consensus (ijmaa').
They report that when the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah, the
daughters of al-Najjaar came out with daffs (hand-drums) and
sang "Tala'a al-Badru `alayna min thaniyyat
al-Widaa", and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said to them, "Shake your tambourines,
may Allaah bless you." The hadeeth about women beating
the daff on joyous occasions is saheeh, and this was done
at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), but it is not known that he
said, "Shake your tambourines."
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, "O Allaah, You have brought me
out of the place which is most beloved to me, so cause me
to dwell in the place which is most beloved to You."
This hadeeth is also baatil (false), although it was narrated
by al-Tirmidhi and others. Rather he said to Makkah,
"You are the most beloved part of Allaah's land to me." And
he said, "You are the most beloved land to Allaah."
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever visits me and my
father Ibraaheem in one year will enter Paradise." This is
a fabricated lie which was not narrated by any of the
scholars of hadeeth.
They report that a Bedouin prayed (quickly), pecking
(like a bird) in his prayer. `Ali (may Allaah be pleased
with him) said, "Do not peck in your prayer." The
Bedouin said, "O `Ali, if your father had pecked in prayer he
would not have entered Hell." This is a lie.
They report that `Umar killed his father. This is a lie,
for his father died before the mission of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) began.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, "I was a Prophet when Adam
was between the water and the clay. I was a Prophet
when Adam was neither water nor clay." This wording is false.
They report the words, "The bed of a single man is
fire. Poor is the man who has no woman and the woman
who has no man." These are not the words of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
It was narrated that when Ibraaheem (peace be upon
him) built the Ka'bah, he prayed one thousand rak'ahs in
each corner, then Allaah revealed to him, "O Ibraaheem,
this is not like feeding a hungry man or clothing a man
who cannot cover his `awrah." This is obviously a lie, and it
is not known in the books of the Muslims.
They narrate the words, "Do not despise tribulation,
for it will reap the hypocrites." These words are not
known from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).
They narrate the words, "Whoever teaches his brother
an aayah from the Book of Allaah becomes his master."
This is a lie which is not known at all in the books of
the scholars.
They narrate that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, "I looked at the sins of
my ummah and I did not find any greater sin than that of
one who learns an aayah then forgets it." If this hadeeth
is saheeh, what is meant is forgetting in the sense of
not reciting. The wording of the hadeeth is: "Among the
sins of my ummah is that of a man to whom Allaah gave
an aayah of the Qur'aan, but he neglected it until he
forgot it." This forgetting means turning away from the
Qur'aan and not believing in it or acting upon it. With regard
to neglecting to study it until one forgets it, this is a sin.
They report the words, "One aayah of the Qur'aan is
better than Muhammad and the family of Muhammad.
The Qur'aan is the word of Allaah, revealed not created,
and there is nothing like it." This wording was not
reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever learns something
beneficial and conceals it from the Muslims, Allaah will bridle
him with reins of fire on the Day of Resurrection." A
similar meaning is to be found in al-Sunan: the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "Whoever
is asked about a matter of [Islamic] knowledge which
he knows but he conceals it, Allaah will bridle him with
reins of fire on the Day of Resurrection."
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, "When you come to talk about
disputes which took place among my companions, be quiet.
When you come to talk about the Divine will and decree
(al-qadaa' wa'l-qadar), keep quiet." This was reported
with munqati' (broken or interrupted) isnaads.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said to Salmaan al-Farsi when he was
eating grapes, "Du, du," meaning eat them two by two.
These are not the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him); this is baatil (false).
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, "Whoever commits zina
(fornication) with a woman and she gives birth to a girl, the
fornicator may marry his daughter who was born as a result of
zina." This was said by those who were not among
the companions of al-Shaafa'i. Some of them attributed it
to al-Shaafa'i, and some of the companions of
al-Shaafa'i denied that he said that. They said, he did not state
that this is permitted, but he did state that this is
permissible in the case of radaa'ah (breastfeeding), if he
breastfed from the milk of a woman who got pregnant as a result
of zina. Most of the scholars, such as Ahmad, Abu
Haneefah and others, are agreed that this is haraam, and this is
the stronger of the two opinions narrated in the madhhab
of Maalik.
They report the words, "the most deserving thing
for which you take payment is the Book of Allaah." Yes, it
is proven that [the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him)] said, "The most deserving thing for
which you take payment is the Book of Allaah," but that was
in the hadeeth about ruqyah (reciting Qur'aan and
du'aa's for the purpose of healing), and the reward was for
the recovery of that sick person, not for the recitation.
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said, "Whoever mistreats a dhimmi (a
Jew or Christian living under Islamic rule), Allaah will be
his opponent on the Day of Resurrection" or "I will be
his opponent on the Day of Resurrection." This is
da'eef (weak). What is known from him is that he said:
"Whoever kills a mu'aahid (member of a kaafir nation which has
a peace treaty with the Muslims) for no lawful reason
will not smell the fragrance of Paradise."
They report that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever lights a lamp in the
mosque, the angels and the bearers of the Throne will not cease
to pray for forgiveness for him so long as the light of
that lamp is shining in the mosque." I know of no isnaad
for this from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him).
Al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/88-93 (www.islam-qa.com)
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Question:
What is the status of the hadeeth, "Seek to draw closer
to Allaah by virtue of my status, for my status with
Allaah is great"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth has no basis.
Ibn Taymiyah and al-Albaani said: it has no basis.
See Iqtidaa' al-Siraat al-Mustaqeem by Ibn Taymiyah,
2/415; al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah, 22
Islam Q&A
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