The Hadeeth (Hadith) and its Sciences
Science of Hadeeth
34651: Mutawaatir 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)
27224: Overnight stay of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and Abu Bakr in the cave of Thawr
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.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
32638: Is it true that there
are no da'eef reports?
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.
And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A
(www.islam-qa.com)
20153: Refutation of one who
casts aspersions upon Saheeh al-Bukhaari
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.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
21523: The authors of the Six
Books
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)
26794: The status of the
hadeeth, "If I am someone's mawla then `Ali is
his mawla too" and its meaning
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..
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
21364: Weakness of a hadeeth
about the virtues of Ramadaan
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)
21635: Is this hadeeth
saheeh: "My Lord taught me good manners and He
taught me well"?
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)
21728: Ruling on sleeping
after `Asr
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)
14017: Weak and fabricated
ahaadeeth narrated by the Sufis
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)
12692: How sound is the
hadeeth, "Seek to draw closer to Allaah by
virtue of my status"?
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
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
13623: Is the hadeeth
"Differences of opinion among my ummah is a
mercy" saheeh?
Question:
What is the status of the hadeeth
"Differences of opinion among my ummah are a
mercy"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth is mawdoo' (fabricated).
See al-Asraar al-Marfoo'ah, 506;
Tanzeeh al-Sharee'ah, 2/402;
al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah, 11.
Islam Q&A. Sheikh Muhammed Salih
Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
14003: What is the status of
the hadeeth "Whoever performs Hajj to the House
(the Ka'bah) but does not visit me has shunned
me"?
Question:
What is the status of the hadeeth "Whoever
performs Hajj to the House (the Ka'bah) but does
not visit me has shunned me"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth is mawdoo' (fabricated).
See Tarteeb al-Mawdoo'aat by
al-Dhahabi, 600; al-Mawdoo'aat by
al-Saghaani, 52; al-Fawaa'id al-Majmoo'ah
by al-Shawkaani, 326
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
21942: The hadeeth which
says "there is no siyaahah in Islam" is not
saheeh
Question:
How sound is the hadeeth "There is no
siyaahah (travel by wandering ascetics) in
Islam"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It says in the hadeeth narrated by `Abd
al-Razzaaq in his Musannaf from Layth
from Taawoos that the Messenger of Allaah SAWS
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "… there is no travel by wandering
ascetics, no hermitage and no monasticism in
Islam." Al-Albaani said in Da'eef
al-Jaami', "(It is) da'eef." (no. 6287)
What is saheeh is that which was narrated by
Abu Dawood in his Sunan from the hadeeth
of Abu Umaamah, that the Prophet SAWS (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The
siyaahah (travel of wandering ascetics) of my
ummah is jihaad for the sake of Allaah."
(Classed as saheeh in Saheeh
al-Jaami', no. 2093)
The word saa'ihaat (translated as
"emigrants") in the aayah:
"Muslims (who submit to Allaah), believers,
obedient (to Allaah), turning to Allaah in
repentance, worshipping Allaah sincerely, given
to fasting or emigrants [saa'ihaat] (for
Allaah's sake), previously married and virgins"
[al-Tahreem 66:5 _ interpretation of the
meaning]
may also mean women who fast, because the
word siyaahah has two meanings in the shar'i
texts: it may mean jihad or it may mean fasting.
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
9786: Soundness of the
hadeeth, "Whoever recites Aayat al-Kursiy after
every prayer
Question:
What do you say about the hadeeth of Abu
Umaamah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever recites
Aayat al-Kursiy after every prescribed prayer is
not prevented from entering Paradise by anything
except death"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. This hadeeth was
narrated by al-Nasaa'i in `Aml al-Yawm
wa'l-Laylah, by Ibn al-`Sunni in `Aml
al-Yawm wa'l-Laylah, by al-Tabaraani in
al-Kabeer and by others, via Muhammad ibn
Humayr from Muhammad ibn Ziyaad al-Alhaani from
Abu Umaamah (may Allaah be pleased with him)
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him). There is nothing wrong with its
isnaad, and it was classed as saheeh by Ibn
Hibbaan in Kitaab al-Salaah and by
al-Mundhiri, Ibn `Abd al-Haadi and Ibn Katheer.
It was extreme on the part of Ibn al-Jaawzi
to include it in his book al-Mawdoo'aat
("fabricated reports"), and this is not to be
accepted.
The hadeeth was narrated only by Muhammad ibn
Humayr from al-Alhaani.
This hadeeth may be classified as ma'lool
(defective), especially as al-Qasawi (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said: Muhammad ibn Humayr is
not qawiy (strong).
Ibn al-Ma'een disagreed with him and said
that he [Muhammad ibn Humayr] was thiqah
(trustworthy). Imaam Ahmad said, I do not know
anything but good about him. Al-Nasaa'i said:
there is nothing wrong with him.
The isnaad of this hadeeth is jayyid, but it
is not saheeh. But reports of this kind may be
accepted for a number of reasons:
1. Imaam al-Nasaa'i (may Allaah have mercy on
him) narrated it and did not regard it is
ma'lool (defective); he narrated it in his
Mukhtaarah and classed it as saheeh.
2. The hadeeth does not deal with any major
ruling of sharee'ah.
3. If a sadooq (truthful narrator) is
the only one to narrate a hadeeth, it may be
accepted if there is evidence that his narration
was of good quality. The fact that Muhammad ibn
Humayr was the only one to narrate it is a case
in point, but there is corroborating evidence in
the ahaadeeth of al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah, Abu
Mas'ood and `Ali ibn Abi Taalib, even though
none of those reports are saheeh. And Allaah
knows best.
Shaykh Sulaymaan ibn Naasir al-`Alwaan
(www.islam-qa.com)
10163: Three fabricated
ahaadeeth
Question:
How sound are these ahaadeeth which are often
repeated?
"Love of one's homeland is part of faith"
"Allaah created forty people in one image"
"Whoever saves a woman from drowning, she is
his sister"
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Nowadays mawdoo' (fabricated) ahaadeeth,
false reports and made-up stories have become
widespread. Many people have become used to
repeating these reports without checking whether
they are saheeh and without examining their real
nature.
This is haraam according to sharee'ah and is
an insult to common sense.
These three ahaadeeth are falsely attributed
to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). It is not permissible to
narrate them or quote them without clearly
stating that they are false.
Al-Bukhaari narrated in his Saheeh
(3509) from `Ali ibn `Ayyaash, Hareez told us,
he said, `Abd al-Waahid ibn `Abd-Allaah
al-Nasari told me, he said, I heard Waathilah
ibn al-Asqa' saying: "The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: `Among the greatest of lies is for a man
to claim to belong to someone other than his
father, or to claim that he has seen something
which he did not see, or to attribute words to
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) that he did not say.'"
And it was narrated by al-Bukhaari (110), and
by Muslim in his introduction to his
Saheeh (3) via Abu Haseen from Abu Saalih
from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him), who said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
`Whoever tells lies about me deliberately, let
him take his place in Hell.'"
Everyone who narrates fabricated ahaadeeth
and stories about the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and does
not point out which are saheeh and which are
false is exposing himself to sin and the warning
(of Allaah). Al-Suyooti mentioned in his book
Tahdheer al-Khawaas min Akaadheeb
al-Qussaas, p. 167, that whoever narrated
false ahaadeeth deserves to be whipped and
threatened with worse, and to be rebuked and
boycotted; he should not be greeted, he may be
talked about behind his back for the sake of
Allaah, he should be referred to the ruler (to
stop him doing this), judgement should be passed
to prevent him from narrating such reports, and
testimony should be given against him.
This is in order to defend the Sunnah of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and to eliminate false reports, and to
protect individuals and societies against these
fables and lies. We ask Allaah to keep us safe
and sound.
Shaykh Sulaymaan ibn Naasir al-`Alwaan
(www.islam-qa.com)
12949: How sound is the
hadeeth, "Every time the Qur'aan is completed
there is a du'aa' that is answered"?
Question:
How sound is the hadeeth, "Every time the
Qur'aan is completed there is a du'aa' that is
answered"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth is mawdoo' (fabricated). It was
narrated by Abu Na'eem in al-Hilyah and
by others. Its isnaad includes Yahyaa ibn
Haashim al-Simsaar.
Imaam al-Nasaa'i said concerning him: "His
hadeeth is to be rejected."
Yahyaa ibn Ma'een said: "He is a liar."
Ibn `Adiyy said: "He used to fabricate and
plagiarize hadeeth."
Du'aa' upon completing the Qur'aan may be
said in either of two situations:
1. During prayer, which is bid'ah (a
reprehensible innovation). Acts of worship are
based on what is prescribed in Islam
(shar') and on following (the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)). No
one has the right to worship Allaah except in
the manner that He has prescribed or according
to the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him).
Anything other than that is an innovation in
the religion. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Whoever innovates
anything in this matter of ours (Islam) that is
not a part of it will have it rejected." (Agreed
upon, from the hadeeth of `Aa'ishah).
Al-Shaatibi mentioned in al-I'tisaam
and Shaykh al-Islam [Ibn Taymiyah] mentioned in
al-Iqtidaa' an important guideline for
telling bid'ah from other things. This is: if
the reason and motive for doing a thing existed
at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and the time of the
Sahaabah, and they did not do it, although there
was nothing to stop them from doing it, then it
is bid'ah _ such as giving the adhaan for Eid
prayers and for prayers for rain (salaat
al-istisqaa'), and so on.
Making du'aa' for completing the Qur'aan
during prayer comes under this heading. In
Ramadaan, the Sahaabah would stand in prayer for
a long time, leaning on sticks because it was so
long. In this manner they would complete the
Qur'aan more than once, but it was not narrated
that any of them made du'aa' after completing
it.
Imaam Maalik (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said: I did not hear that he made du'aa' upon
completing the Qur'aan, or any of the other
things that people do. This was quoted from him
by Ibn al-Haaj in al-Madkhal.
2. The second case is when du'aa' is made
straight after completing the Qur'aan, not
during prayer. This was narrated from Anas ibn
Maalik with a saheeh isnaad, and it is narrated
from a group of scholars, but I do not know of
any proven marfoo' report [i.e., one
which goes back to the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him)] concerning
that. And Allaah knows best.
Shaykh Sulaymaan ibn Naasir al-`Alwaan
(www.islam-qa.com)
11802: Who compiled saheeh
ahaadeeth apart from al-Bukhaari and Muslim?
Question:
who all have reported saheeh hadeedh except
bukhari and muslim? (which is considered to be
saheeh)
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
There are others who compiled saheeh haadeeth
besides al-Bukhaari and Muslim, such as Ibn
Khuzaymah and Ibn Hibbaan in their
Saheehs, Ibn al-Sakan in his
Saheeh, al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak
and al-Diyaa' al-Maqdisi in
al-Mukhtaarah, but none of them reached
the level of the two Saheehs (of
al-Bukhaari and Muslim).
Shaykh Sa'd al-Humayd (www.islam-qa.com)
4135: "Satanic verses"
Question:
In setanic verses by salman rushdi, he talks
about some ayat of Quran those were revealed in
order to accept three of the most popular gods
of the that time in mecca as to be superior or
heavenly beings like angels or the god. Later
on, those ayat were cancelled and it was said
that those were not revealed through gibrail
rather it was iblis(satan) who made up those
ayat and the prophet(peace be upon him) at that
time was not aware of it. How true is this? If
there is some truth in this then please specify
how much and I would appreciate a real story as
to what really happened.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This is based on a false report. Ibn Katheer
and others said:
There is no saheeh isnaad from the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
concerning this report, which says that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) "recited Soorat al-Najm to the
mushrikeen until he reached the verses
(interpretation of the meaning) `Have you
then considered AlLaat, and Al`Uzzaa (two idols
of the pagan Arabs), And Manaat (another
idol of the pagan Arabs), the other third?'
[al-Najm 53:19-20 _ interpretation of the
meaning]. Then the Shaytaan put words into
the mouth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and he said: `they are the
exalted gharaneeq, whose intercession is
to be hoped for.' The kuffaar were pleased with
this praise of their three idols, so they
prostrated."
This report is undoubtedly false on a number
of counts.
1. Its isnaad is very weak and is not saheeh.
2. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) was infallible with regard to the
conveying of his Message.
3. Even if this report was saheeh, for
argument's sake, the scholars have stated that
it is to be understood as meaning that the
Shaytaan caused the kuffaar to hear these words,
not that he put them in the mouth of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), so
they heard them from him.
See Ibn Katheer's refutation of this in
his tafseer of Soorat al-Hajj 22:52. And Allaah
knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
6981: How can we tell the
saheeh ahaadeeth from the fabricated ones?
Question:
I have a question regarding hadith. I know we
should follow Muhammad's( ) example but how sure
are we that some of the hadith we have today are
not corrupt and changed. I am by no means
judging the hadith and saying they are wrong.
please understand that. it's just that some
muslims have told me alot of hadith is changed
and bogus. I follow the hadith to the best of my
ability. Please help me with any knowledge.
thank you.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Allaah has guaranteed to protect His
religion, which includes preserving His
miraculous Book, and preserving the Sunnah of
His Prophet which helps us to understand the
Qur'aan. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"Verily, We, it is We Who have sent down the
Dhikr (i.e. the Qur'ân) and surely, We will
guard it (from corruption)." [al-Hijr 15:9]
The word Dhikr here includes both the
Qur'aan and the Sunnah.
Many people _ in the past and at present _
have tried to insert weak and fabricated
ahaadeeth into the pure sharee'ah and the
Prophetic Sunnah. But Allaah has thrown their
plots back in their faces and has provided means
of protecting His religion. Among these means
are the trustworthy and reliable scholars who
sifted through the reports and checked their
sources, examining the biographies of the
narrators and even describing the point at which
a narrator began to be confused in his
narration, and stating who narrated from him
before he became confused and who narrated from
him afterwards. They described the journeys of
the narrator, which cities he visited and from
whom in each city he took reports. They checked
many details about each narrator, more than can
be listed here. All of this indicates that the
religion of this Ummah is protected, no matter
how hard our enemies try to plot and play about
with the religion and distort it.
Sufyaan al-Thawri said: the angels are the
guardians of the heavens and the scholars of
hadeeth are the guardians of this world.
Al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi mentioned that Haaroon
al-Rasheed was about to execute a zindeeq
(heretic), and the zindeeq said: "What
are you going to do about the one thousand
ahaadeeth I have fabricated?" Al-Rasheed said:
"What are you going to do, O enemy of Allaah,
about Abu Ishaaq al-Fazaari and `Abd-Allaah ibn
al-Mubaarak, who will sift through those
ahaadeeth and examine them letter by letter?"
The seeker of knowledge can find out about
the fabricated (mawdoo') and weak
(da'eef) ahaadeeth very easily, by
looking at the isnaads or chains of
narrators, and finding out about the people
mentioned there in the "books of men" i.e.,
narrators (kutub al-rijaal) and the books
which state which narrators are sound or
otherwise (kutab al-jarh wa'l-ta'deel).
Many scholars have compiled these fabricated
and weak ahaadeeth in books devoted solely to
these type of reports, so that it is easy to
find out about them _ then one can beware of
them and warn others about them. These books
include al-`Ilal al-Mutanaahiyah by Ibn
al-Jawzi, al-Manaar al-Muneef by Ibn
al-Qayyim, al-La'aali' al-Masnoo'ah
fi'l-Ahaadeeth al-Mawdoo'ah by al-Suyooti,
al-Fawaa'id al-Majmoo'ah by al-Shawkaani,
al-Asraar al-Marfoo'ah fi'l-Ahaadeeth
al-Mawdoo'ah by Ibn `Arraaq, and Da'eef
al-Jaami' al-Sagheer and Silsilat
al-Ahaadeeth al-Da'eefah wa'l-Mawdoo'ah,
both by Shaykh al-Albaani, may Allaah have mercy
on him.
The fact that the brother has heard about
weak and fabricated ahaadeeth indicates that he
is making the distinction _ praise be to Allaah
_ between what is saheeh and what is not. This
is by the grace of Allaah, and is a sign that
Allaah is protecting this sharee'ah, as we
mentioned above.
We advise our brother to read the "books of
men" i.e., narrators (kutub al-rijaal),
the books which state which narrators are sound
or otherwise (kutab al-jarh wa'l-ta'deel)
and the books of the science of hadeeth
(kutub mustalah al-hadeeth), so
that he can learn the extent of the efforts made
by the scholars in the service of the Sunnah.
And Allaah is the source of strength.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
2988: The report which says
one should say " Wa ana `ala dhaalika min
al-shaahideen (And I am one of those who testify
to that)" after reciting Soorat al-Teen is
da'eef (weak)
Question:
Assalaamu `alaykum wa rahmatu `Llahi wa
barakatuh
Is there a hadith that mentions
after reciting the last ayah of surah At-Tin
(#95) that one should say what means,"No doubt
and I testify to it." Is that hadith authentic
and where can I find it ?
Jazzakallahu Khayrun
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Tirmidhi, may Allaah have mercy on him,
said in his Sunan: "Ibn Abi `Umar told
us, Sufyaan told us from Ismaa'eel ibn Umayyah
who said: `I heard a Bedouin Arab man say, "I
heard Abu Hurayrah say, narrating this, `Whoever
recites "Wa'l-teeni wa'l-zaytoon (By the fig,
and the olive)" [al-Teen 95:1 _ interpretation
of the meaning] then recites "Alaysa
Allaahu bi ahkam il haakimeen (Is not Allaah the
Best of judges?)" [al-Teen 95:8 _ interpretation
of the meaning], let him say, "Balaa wa
ana `ala dhaalika min al-shaahideen (Yes
indeed, and I am one of those who testify to
that)."'"'" Abu `Eesa said: "This hadeeth was
narrated with this isnaad from this Bedouin from
Abu Hurayrah, but his name is not given." Thus
al-Tirmidhi (may Allaah have mercy on him)
explained the fault in this isnaad, which is the
fact that this Bedouin is not known
(jahaalah). On this basis, the isnaad is
da'eef (weak), and the hadeeth is not saheeh.
Abu Dawood (may Allaah have mercy on him) also
narrated this report (753) from the same
Bedouin. Al-`Allaamah al-Albaani also classed
the hadeeth as da'eef in his book Da'eef
al-Jaami', no. 5784. As the hadeeth is not
proven, we cannot follow it. And Allaah knows
best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
(www.islam-qa.com)
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Introduction