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TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING HADITHS

‫ َوأَ ْﺷ َﻬ ُﺪ أَ ْن ﻻ إﻟﻪ إﻻ اﻟﻠﻪ َو ْﺣ َﺪﻩُ ﻻ َﺷ ِﺮَك ﻟَﻪُ َوأَ ْﺷ َﻬ ُﺪ‬,‫ب اﻟ َْﻌﺎﻟَ ِﻤْﻴ َﻦ َواﻟ َْﻌﺎﻗِﺒَﺔُ ﻟِﻠْ ُﻤﺘ ِﱠﻘْﻴ َﻦ َوﻻَ ُﻋ ْﺪ َوا َن إِﻻَ َﻋﻠَﻰ اﻟﻈﱠﺎﻟِ ِﻤْﻴ َﻦ‬
ِ ِ
ّ ‫ْﺤ ْﻤ ُﺪِ ﻟﻠﻪ َر‬
َ ‫اﻟ‬
ِِ ِ ِ ِ
ِّ ‫ﺻﻔﻴﱡﻪُ ِﻣ ْﻦ َﺧ ْﻠﻘ ِﻪ َو َﺧﻠْﻴـﻠُﻪُ ﺑَـﻠﱠ َﻎ‬
ُ‫ﺻﻠﱠﻰ اﻟﻠﻪ‬ َ َ‫ﻒ اﻟﻠﻪُ ﺑﻪ اﻟﻐُ ﱠﻤﺔ‬ َ ‫ﺼ َﺢ اﻷُﱠﻣﺔَ َوَﻛ َﺸ‬
َ َ‫اﻟﺮ َﺳﺎﻟَﺔَ َوأَدﱠى اﻷ ََﻣﺎﻧَﺔَ َوﻧ‬ َ ‫أَ ﱠن ُﻣ َﺤ ﱠﻤ ًﺪا َﻋﺒْ ُﺪﻩُ َوَر ُﺳ ْﻮﻟُﻪُ َو‬
‫ﺻ ْﺤﺒِ ِﻪ َو َﺳﻠﱠ َﻢ‬ ِِ ِ
َ ‫َﻋﻠَْﻴﻪ َو َﻋﻠَﻰ آﻟﻪ َو‬

INTRODUCTION
This is a collection of articles, which are still going on, originally written for
our group of WhatsApp titled Ahlu al-Istiqama. It was designed with the
object of providing response to the request made to me by one of our brothers
who wanted to know the methodology of Ibadhis in dealing with the
Prophetic traditions. Unhesitatingly, I yielded to his request and granted his
demand.
It is a brief research, not exhaustive as it does not tackle every problem
underlying the science of hadith, but hopefully, a methodological work with
scholarly characteristics in that it shows the readers the basic problems
concerning the issues of receiving and narrating hadiths, and it gives them
the methods of how to deal with those problems in an educated way.
Juma Muhammad al-Mazrui
Al-Udhaiba, Muscat Oman.
27/8/2020

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 TOWARDS UNDERSTANDING HADITHS
PART ONE
SECTION ONE
STANDARDS OF HADITH
The standards and criteria for accepting and rejecting a hadith in the Ibadhi
School are not different from those laid down by the four schools commonly
known as the Sunni Schools – they are the same and common. But the fact
that a little attention has been paid to the implantation of those principles,
explains why we sometimes come into a strong clash of opinions as to
whether a particular hadith is authentic or not. We, in the Ibadhi School,
though regard the genuineness of sanad (chain of narrators) of a hadith as
one basic condition for its acceptability, yet do not strictly authenticate it on
the basis of appealing and sound sanad only, an extensive study of its matn
(text) must be run to avoid four major contradictions in the following areas:

1) The contradiction between the hadith and the Quran.

2) The contradiction between two hadiths, one of which is authentic or
more authentic.
3) The contradiction between the hadith and the consensus held by all
Islamic denominations.
4) The contradiction between the hadith and the human logic.

But, again, for a hadith to be regarded as contradictory or contrary to one of

these things, it is further stipulated that it must be impossible to reconcile it
with any of the above-stated criteria. In case it is possible to do so by either
giving them one common interpretation or by giving to each of them a
meaning suitable to it, here the defect of contradiction is considered to be
non-existent. This is because in this case it means that what we have thought
to be a contradiction is not really a contradiction: it is rather a misconception
which has resulted from the inability of giving each of them its proper
interpretation. Generally speaking, we have five major conditions, related to
the sanad, for a hadith to be acceptable as authentic, and four conditions

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pertaining to its matn (text) as explained before. The sanad-related
conditions are:
1) Itisalu al-sanad (The connectedness of the chain of transmitters).
That is the chain of the narrators must be coherent in that every
narrator must receive it directly from the narrator before him without
the existence of a gap between any of them.

2) ‘Adalatu al-Ruwat. The word Ruwat is a plural form of the word

Rawi which means a narrator, whereas, the word‘Adalatu literally
means: justice, fairness, equitability, equitableness, impartiality,
unbiasedness, straightness, straightforwardness, uprightness,
honesty. However, in this technical sense, it is used with a particular
reference to four qualities:

a) Being a Muslim. No account by a non-Muslim is accepted.

b) Attaining the age of puberty (Baligh). The narration by children
under the age of puberty is rejected.
c) Mental healthiness. Any narrative related by the crazy and all
those who suffer from a mental disorder, is regarded as null and
void.
d) Reliability in terms of being religious and pious. People who are
engaged in the commitment of major sins, consistently
practicing minor ones, or doing trivial, silly things which render
them unrespectable, are disqualified.

3) Al-Dhabtu al-Taam. That is a narrator should be reliable in that he

must have enough knowledge in the Arabic language to understand
the hadith properly when receiving it and must have a strong
memorizing capability to recall it when handing it down to another
narrator as correctly as related to him. The quality of al-Dhabtu al-
Taam falls into two categories:
a) Dhabtu sadri. Literally, means: “hearty apprehension”, which is
the memorization by heart where a narrator can store a hadith in
his brain and tell it whenever he wants to do so without any
difficulty or hardship in recalling it.
b) Dhabtu al-Kitab. This refers to the documentation of a hadith.
That is a narrator writes it down from the time he hears it from

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 the narrator before him, and when handing it down to another he
should read it from the book which he wrote it in.

4) Adamu al-shudhudh. Literally, the Arabic word ‘adamu, means the

absence, while the word shudhudh means: abnormality, deviation,
irregularity, or perversity. In its technical concept, the word al-
shudhudh is taken to refer to a hadith narrated by a reliable narrator
but has gone contrary to the narration by another narrator who is
more reliable than he. In this, the former is referred to as hadith
shaadh (a kind of inauthentic hadith), whereas the latter is referred
to as hadith mahfudh being classified with the authentic ones. In a
nutshell, being free from the contradiction of narration between the
less reliable and the more reliable is another necessary condition for
a hadith to be accepted. Otherwise, in a situation like this, only the
narration of the more reliable will be regarded.

5) Adamu al-‘illa. The meaning of the word ‘Adamu, has been

previously explained. As for the word illa, literally means blemish,
stain, defect, flaw, fault, shortcoming, imperfection. A hadith is said
to have ‘illa when it is seemingly authentic, but it contains a certain
hidden defect or a flaw that becomes clear later only after deep
research and consideration. The illa might be in the sanad or in the
matn of a hadith or both. Only the men of high knowledge, often
the specialists, are capable of detecting the illa.

These are basic conditions that all Islamic schools, including the Ibadhi
School, generally agree on. The question that arises here is that: if people
hold a unanimous consensus on the validity of these principles why then they
disagree on accepting and rejecting some accounts and traditions – why not
apply these principles to the hadiths when studying them, whichever goes
parallel with the principles is accepted and whichever contradicts them or
one of them is refuted? Why not take this position? Instead, you will often
find that while there are those who accept a certain tradition, for example,
there are many others who reject the same tradition on the grounds that it is
not authentic. It seems a more analytical survey is needed to discover the
reasons behind that.

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 PART TWO

Four types of hadith

Before providing an answer to the question of why people sometimes
disagree on accepting and rejecting some of the traditions in spite of the fact
that they have laid down the generally accepted principles on which they are
supposed to base their arguments and found their analyses and
interpretations, it is equally important that we have a look at the division of
hadith. Generally, the rule, as seen in the previous section, holds that a
tradition is treated as weak if narrated by a weak narrator and sound if
narrated by a reliable one. But when we come to the world of practice and
reality, we find that there is a lot of traditions which have been related by
reliable narrators but do not make sense. Reversely, there is a considerable
amount of other accounts told by weak narrators but sound a voice of reason.
The reason is simple and clear:
1) A narration by a weak narrator whose weakness has resulted from
his poor memory is considered to be weak. But a forgetful narrator
does not always forget: occasionally he remembers a lot of things
and narrates them correctly.
2) A narration by a liar is classified with the fabricated hadith, but a liar
does not always speak a lie.
3) A narration by a narrator with a strong memory is accepted with the
observance and consideration of other necessary conditions of
acceptability. But a man of strong memory might sometimes forget
things and relate them wrongly.
4) A narration by a pious one is equally accepted on the condition that
other stipulations of acceptability have been met. But a pious
narrator may speak the untruth, though not purposely but as a result
of an illusion or absent-mindedness at the time of narrating a hadith,
and because of his fame as religious, people take his narration for
granted.

It is for this reason that when you read books by Muslim scholars, especially
those authored on expounding upon the subject of hadith of the Prophet, you
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find statements such as: “The sanad of this hadith is weak but its matn (text)
or its meaning is sound”, or conversely: “The sanad of this hadith is
acceptable but its meaning is illogical or unacceptable”.
It is clear, hitherto, that, unlike the Quran, when we deal with the Prophetic
hadith we deal with one of the most sophisticated but complicated subjects.1
As such, in order to reach reality, accounts must undergo scholarly analytical
criticism or preferably, academic critical analysis not only in terms of their
sanads but also in terms of their matns (texts). The latter (The analysis of a
text) is more important because finally, it provides you with the reality of a
hadith. Whereas the former (the analysis of sanads) is merely a probable
explanation very much like a theoretical approximation of a natural
phenomenon. In other words, a hadith may have a weak sanad though has
been truly uttered by the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). This means that the problem
occurred during the process of transmitting it from one narrator to another
where one or more of the transmitters lost one or more qualities for
acceptability. It is logical, therefore, to claim, as scholars do, that the sanad
of a particular hadith is genuine but the meaning of its text is wrong. While,
on the other hand, it is logically unacceptable to say that the matn of a certain
hadith is sound and acceptable but its meaning is unsound and incorrect! In
this sense, we can divide hadiths into four parts:
1) A hadith whose sanad is weak but its matn is acceptable.
2) A hadith whose sanad is strong but its matn is unsound: not
compatible with one or more principles.
3) A hadith which is authentic in terms of both its sanad and matn.
4) A hadith which is weak in terms of both its sanad and matn.

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- Unlike the Quran, because there is no verse of the Quran that has ever been
controversial as to whether it is authentic or not. No Muslim has ever claimed that
there is a verse of the Quran whose sanad is strong but its meaning is weak. Plus the
fact that hadiths have many thousands of sanads, the knowledge of which is
necessary in order to be able to conclude that a particular hadith is authentic or
unauthentic in terms of its sanad. This and other similar things make the subject of
hadith fraught with some difficulties.
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This is one of the most important things to know for those who study the
authenticity or the inauthenticity of any hadith. If not taking this fact into
consideration, a researcher into the Prophetic traditions will always be faced
with the risk of coming up with wrong conclusion because instead of
searching for the reality he will go for theories and base his analysis thereon.
It remains to be seen, which methodology are we to undertake in surveying
the texts of the hadith in order to know the really authentic from the
unauthentic ones? Before doing so, let us advance a few illustrations of:

1) A hadith whose sanad is weak but its matn is acceptable.

2) A hadith which is weak in terms of both its sanad and matn.
3) A hadith which is authentic in terms of both its sanad and matn.
4) A hadith whose sanad is strong but its matn is unsound: not
compatible with one or more principles.

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 PART THREE
A hadith whose sanad is weak but its matn is acceptable

Al-Tirmidhi in his al-Sunan,2 al-Bayhaqi in his Shu’abu al-Iman,3 al-Darimi

in his al-Sunan,4 al-Bazzar in his al-Bahru al-Zakhar,5 and Ibn Abi Shaiba
in his al-Musannaf,6 have received a hadith which says thus:
‫ﻟ ﱠﻠ ِﻪ ﻓِﻴ ِﻪ َﻧ َﺒﺄ ُ َﻣﺎ‬ ‫ " ِﻛﺘَﺎﺏُ ﺍ‬:َ‫ﻟ ﱠﻠﻪِ؟ َﻗﺎﻝ‬ ‫ﺳﻮ َﻝ ﺍ‬ ُ ‫ﻟ َﻤ ْﺨ َﺮ ُﺝ ﻣِ ْﻨ َﻬﺎ َﻳﺎ َﺭ‬ ‫ َﻣﺎ ﺍ‬:ُ ‫ﺳﺘ َ ُﻜــــﻮﻥُ ِﻓﺘْﻨَﺔٌ َﻓﻘُ ْﻠﺘـــ‬ َ ‫ﺃ َ َﻻ ﺇِ ﱠﻧــ َﻬﺎ‬
ُ‫ﺼ َﻤﻪ‬ َ َ‫ﱠﺎﺭ ﻗ‬ ٍ ‫ َﻣ ْﻦ ﺗ ََﺮ َﻛﻪُ ﻣِ ْﻦ َﺟﺒ‬،‫ﻟ َﻬ ْﺰ ِﻝ‬ ‫ْﺲ ِﺑﺎ‬َ ‫ﺼ ُﻞﻟَﻴ‬ ْ ‫ﻟ َﻔ‬ ‫ َﻭﻫ َُﻮ ﺍ‬،‫ َﻭ ُﺣ ْﻜ ُﻢ َﻣﺎ َﺑ ْﻴ َﻨ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬،‫َﻗ ْﺒ َﻠ ُﻜ ْﻢ َﻭ َﺧ َﺒ ُﺮ َﻣﺎ َﺑ ْﻌﺪَ ُﻛ ْﻢ‬
،‫ﻟ َﺤﻜِﻴ ُﻢ‬ ‫ﻟ ِﺬّ ْﻛ ُﺮ ﺍ‬ ‫ َﻭﻫ َُﻮ ﺍ‬، ُ‫ﻟﻤـــ َ ِﺘﻴﻦ‬ ‫ﻟ ﱠﻠ ِﻪ ﺍ‬ ‫ َﻭﻫ َُﻮ َﺣــــ ْﺒ ُﻞ ﺍ‬،ُ‫ﻟ ﱠﻠﻪ‬ ‫ﺿ ﱠﻠﻪُ ﺍ‬ َ َ ‫ﻏﻴ ِْﺮ ِﻩ ﺃ‬َ ‫ﻟ ُﻬﺪَﻯ ﻓِﻲ‬ ‫ َﻭ َﻣ ْﻦ ﺍ ْﺑﺘَﻐَﻰ ﺍ‬،ُ‫ﻟ ﱠﻠﻪ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ َﻭ َﻻ َﻳ ْﺸ َﺒ ُﻊ‬،ُ‫ﻟ ِﺴ َﻨﺔ‬ ْ َ ‫ﺲ ِﺑ ِﻪ ﺍﻷ‬ ُ ِ ‫ﺒ‬َ ‫ﺘ‬ ْ
‫َﻠ‬ ‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﻻ‬ َ ‫ﻭ‬ ،
َ ُ َ ‫ء‬ ‫ﺍ‬‫ﻮ‬ ْ
‫ﻫ‬ َ ‫ﻷ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻪ‬ ‫ﺑ‬
ِِ ُِ
‫ﻎ‬ ‫ﻳ‬ ‫َﺰ‬ ‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﻻ‬َ ‫ِﻱ‬ ‫ﺬ‬ ‫ﱠ‬ ‫ﻟ‬
‫ﺍ‬ ‫ُﻮ‬ ‫ﻫ‬
َ ُ ، ‫ﻢ‬ ‫ــ‬‫ِﻴ‬
‫ﻘ‬ َ ‫ﺘ‬‫ﺴ‬ْ ‫ﻤ‬
ُ ‫ﻟ‬
‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻁ‬ ُ ‫ﺍ‬‫ﺮ‬ ‫ــ‬ ‫ﺼ‬ ‫ﻟ‬
َ ِّ َ َ‫ﺍ‬ ‫ُﻮ‬‫ﻫ‬ ‫ﻭ‬
‫ﻟﺠ ﱡﻦ ﺇِ ْﺫ‬ ِ ‫ﻟﱠﺬِﻱﻟَ ْﻢ ﺗ َ ْﻨﺘ َ ِﻪ ﺍ‬ ‫ ﻫُﻮـــ َ ﺍ‬،ُ‫ﻋ َﺠﺎ ِﺋﺒُﻪ‬ َ ‫ﻀﻲ‬ ِ ‫ َﻭ َﻻ ﺗ َ ْﻨ َﻘ‬،ِّ‫ﻟﺮﺩ‬ ‫ﻋ َﻠﻰ ﻛَﺜْـــ َﺮﺓِ ﺍ ﱠ‬ َ ‫ َﻭ َﻻ َﻳ ْﺨ َﻠ ُﻖ‬،‫ﻟﻌُ َﻠ َﻤﺎ ُء‬ ‫ﻣِ ْﻨﻪُ ﺍ‬
‫ﻋﻤِ َﻞ‬ َ ‫ َﻭ َﻣ ْﻦ‬، َ‫ﺻﺪَﻕ‬ َ ‫ﻟﺮ ْﺷﺪِ{ َﻣ ْﻦ َﻗﺎ َﻝ ِﺑ ِﻪ‬ ‫ﻟﻰ ﺍ ﱡ‬ َ ِ‫ﻋ َﺠﺒًﺎ َﻳ ْﻬﺪِﻱ ﺇ‬ ُ
َ ‫ﺳﻤِ ْﻌﻨَﺎ ﻗ ْﺮﺁ ًﻧﺎ‬ َ ‫ }ﺇِ ﱠﻧﺎ‬:‫ﻟﻮﺍ‬ ُ ‫ﱠ‬ ْ
‫ﺳﻤِ َﻌﺘﻪُ َﺣﺘﻰ َﻗﺎ‬ َ
‫ﺻ َﺮﺍﻁٍ ُﻣ ْﺴﺘَﻘ ٍِﻴﻢ‬ ِ ‫ﻟَﻰ‬ ِ‫ﻟَ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﻫﺪَﻯ ﺇ‬ ِ‫ﻋﺎ ﺇ‬ َ َ‫ َﻭ َﻣ ْﻦ ﺩ‬،َ‫ﻋﺪَﻝ‬ َ ‫ َﻭ َﻣ ْﻦ َﺣﻜ ََﻢ ﺑِ ِﻪ‬،‫ِﺑ ِﻪ ﺃ ُ ِﺟ َﺮ‬

Behold! There will be a fitna (temptation, test, trial, unrest,

disorder)! I said: ‘How to escape therefrom, oh the Messenger of
Allah?’ He said: ‘(The only way to escape from the fitna is to adhere
to) The Book of Allah. In it are tidings about those who were before
you and the tidings which will be after you; and it is a judgment
among you; and it is a word that distinguishes (Right from wrong
and good from evil): not a thing for amusement; whoever neglects it
among the arrogant, the insolent, Allah will crush him; and whoever
looks for guidance elsewhere rather than its guidance, Allah will let
him go astray. It is the strong rope of Allah; and it is the message of
wisdom, and it is The Straight Path; desires are never deviated by it;
tongues never get confused with it (It can be recited by all people,
be they Arabs or non-Arabs); Scholars are never tired of it; It does

2
- P. 774, account no. 2906.
3
- Vol. 2, p. 325-26, account no. 1935.
4
- P.1010-1016 accounts no. 3332-3333.
5
- Vol. 3, p. 71-2, account no. 836.
6
- Vol 7, p. 164, account no 2.
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 not wear out because of being repeated (Its beauty never fades away
and its sweetness is never lost for those who repeatedly recite it); Its
wonders and miracles are endless; It is the one about which the Jins,
when they heard it, confessed that: ‘Certainly, we have heard a
wonderful recital! Whoever speaks of it, will speak the truth;
whoever follows it will get good rewards; whoever judge by it, will
do justice, and he who invites people to it, will be guided to the Right
Path.
Many scholars, who deal with the sanads of hadith, have disqualified this
account on the grounds that there are some unreliable narrators in its sanad.
But, as you see, every word recorded in this account has hundreds of
evidences, either in the Quran, another Prophetic tradition or both, which
support and strengthen it. In short, the meaning of this hadith is irrefutable
and its message is undebatable. It is for this reason that Samahat al-Sheikh
al-Khalili, after quoting it, in his Jawahiru al-Tafsir, said the following:
‫ﻟﻘﻪ ﻣﻦ‬‫ﻟﻴﻞ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺄ‬ ‫ﻟﺬﻱ ﻳﻠﻤﻊ ﻣﻦ ﻋﺒﺎﺭﺍﺗﻪ ﺩ‬ ‫ﻟﺒــﺮﻳﻖ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺤـــﺪﻳﺚ ﻓﺈﻥ ﺍ‬‫ﻭﻣﻬــﻤﺎ ﻗﻴﻞ ﻓﻲ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩ ﺍ‬
،‫ﻟﻴﻪ‬ ‫ﻟﻘﺮﺁﻥ ﻻ ﺗﻜﻮﻥ ﺇﻻ ﻣﻤﻦ ﺃﻧﺰﻝ ﺇ‬ ‫ﻟﺪﻗﻴﻘﺔ ﺑﺼﻔﺎﺕ ﺍ‬ ‫ ﻓﺈﻥ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍﻹﺣﺎﻁﺔ ﺍ‬،‫ﻟﻨﺒﻮﺓ‬ ‫ﻣﺸﻜﺎﺓ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻜﺮﻳﻢ‬ ‫ﻟﺠﺎﻣﻊﻟﻠﻘﺮﺁﻥ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻮﺻـــﻒ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻴﻪ ﻓﻬـــﻤﻨﺎ ﻣﻦ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍ‬‫ﻭﻗﺼﺎﺭﻯ ﻣﺎ ﻳﻤﻜﻦ ﺃﻥ ﻳﺼــﻞ ﺇ‬
…..‫ﻟﻴﻪ ﺍﻹﻧﺴﺎﻥ ﻣﻦ ﻋِﺒﺮ‬ ‫ﻟﻘﺮﺁﻥ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻛﻞ ﻣﺎ ﻳﺤﺘﺎﺝ ﺇ‬ ‫ﺍﺣﺘﻮﺍء ﺍ‬
Whatever has been said concerning the sanad of this tradition, the
brightness which shines from its composition is a clear sign that it
glitters from the lantern of prophethood. Indeed, this precise
information about the characteristics of the Quran cannot emanate
except from the one to whom it was revealed. The maximum we can
understand from this comprehensive description of the Quran is that
the Quran consists of every lesson human a being needs…..7

The hadith on the throwing of pebbles

Another example is the tradition that has been received by Ibn Majah in his
al-Sunan,8 al-Tabarani in his al-Kabir,9 and other collectors of the prophetic

7
- Badru al-Din al-Khalili Jawahiru al-Tafsir vol. 1, p. 4.
8
- P 13, account no. 17.
9
- Vol. 18, p. 227, account no. 566.
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traditions including al-Bukhari and Muslim, each with a slightly different
wording. It says:
ْ‫ﺊ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟ َﻌﺪ ﱠُﻭ‬ ْ ‫ َﻭﺗ َ ْﻔ َﻘﺄ ُ ﺍ‬،‫ﺴ ﱠِﻦ‬
ُ ‫ َﻭ َﻻ ﺗ َ ْﻨ ِﻜ‬، َ‫ﻟ َﻌﻴْﻦ‬ ّ ‫ﻟ‬ َ ‫ َﻓﺈ ِ ﱠﻧ َﻬﺎ ﺗ َ ْﻜ‬،‫ﻑ‬
‫ﺴ ُﺮ ﺍ‬ ْ ‫ِﺇﻳﱠﺎ ُﻛ ْﻢ َﻭﺍ‬
َ ‫ﻟ َﺨ ْﺬ‬

Be careful not to throw a pebble (carelessly), for it breaks the tooth

and tears out the eye, and does not defeat the enemy.
After quoting this account, al-Munawi, in his al-Taysir bi-Sharhi al-Jami’i
al-Saghir says:
‫ﻭﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ ﺿﻌﻴﻒﻟﻜﻦ ﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ‬

Its sanad is weak, but the meaning is sound.10

Al-Munawi has come up with this interpretation because though this hadith
has been related through a weak chain of narrators, it holds the message that
is supported by the Quran, other authentic hadith and by human logic. The
basic message in the hadith is to avoid throwing stones carelessly lest we hit
people and injure them unintentionally, which is one of the fundamental
elements constituting the teachings of Islam – to establish peace in its various
aspects. In one of his authentic hadiths, as al-Albani and Ahmad Shakir
described it, the Prophet said: ‫ﺍﺭ‬ ِ ‫ﺿ َﺮ َﺭ َﻭ َﻻ‬
َ ‫ﺿ َﺮ‬ َ ‫“ َﻻ‬There is neither harm nor
there is a reciprocal harming”. That is: “Do neither harm others, nor do you
harm one another”. The Prophet also insisted that when a man passes through
a crowded area such as a market place, if he bears a weapon like a spear or
an arrow, he should cover its point with his hands in order to avoid injuring
others. When you consider the implication held by traditions like these, you
will know for sure that they are in constant harmony with the meaning of the
hadith: “Be careful not to throw a pebble (carelessly), for it breaks the tooth
and tears out the eye, and does not defeat the enemy”. As such, the existence
of such hadiths, provides us with clear evidence that, though the respective
hadith is weak in terms of its sanad, yet it is acceptable in terms of its matn.

10
- Al-Munawi al-Taysir bi-Sharhi al-Jami’i al-Saghir vol. 1, p. 824.
10
Other short examples are:
The hadith concerning the imprint of menstruation blood on the cloth after
the blood has been washed away. Khola, a woman Sahaba, asked the Prophet
thus:

‫ﻟﻤﺎء ﻭﻻ ﻳﻀﺮﻙ ﺃﺛﺮﻩ‬

‫ﻟﺪﻡ ﻗﺎﻝ ﻳﻜﻔﻴﻚ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻓﺈﻥﻟﻢ ﻳﺬﻫﺐ ﺍ‬
‫ﻳﺎ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬

Oh the Messenger of Allah! What are we to do if the blood has not

been completely rubbed out? He replied: ‘To wash with water is
enough even if a mark remains’.

Elaborating it, an anonymous commentator of the book Mukhtasar Sharhi

Bulughi al-Maram said:

‫ﻟﻒ ﺿﻌﻴﻒﻟﻜﻦ ﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ‬

‫ﻟﻤﺆ‬
‫ﻗﺎﻝ ﺍ‬

The author said: ‘It is weak’, but its meaning is accurate (logical and
acceptable).11

The hadith that says:

‫ﻟﻨﺴﻴﺎﻥ ﻭﻣﺎ ﺍﺳﺘﻜﺮﻫﻮﺍ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ‬

‫ﻟﺨﻄﺄ ﻭﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﺗﺠﺎﻭﺯ ﻋﻦ ﺃﻣﺘﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﺇﻥ ﺍ‬

Verily, Allah has pardoned my umma what they do by mistake;

when they forget, or if they are forced to do a thing not for their own
will.

Ali bin Naif, in his al-Mufassalu Fii Sharhi Hadithi Man Baddala Dnahu,
says the following:

Abu Bakr, Ibn Al‘arabi says: ‘This account, though its sanad is not
authentic, scholars have unanimously agreed that its meaning is
authentic’. Al-Shatibi, on his part, says: ‘Generally, there has been a
consensus on its authenticity: no disagreement on it at all’. Ibn Hajar

11
- Mukhtasar Sharhi Bulughi al-Maram vol. 2, p. 43.
11
 says: ‘This hadith is of great importance to the extent some Muslim
scholars say that it is worthy of being regarded as a half of
religion’.12

The hadith that says:

‫ﻟﻴﻤﻨﻰ‬
‫ﻟﻴﺴﺮﻯ ﻭﻧﻨﺼﺐ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺨﻼء ﺃﻥ ﻧﻘﻌﺪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
‫ﻋﻠﻤﻨﺎ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬

The Messenger of Allah taught us when we go to toilet that we sit

on our left legs and have our right legs stood upright.

In his comment on the book Bulughu al-Maram, Sheikh Atiyya Muhammad

Salim says:
‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ﻭﺇﻥ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺳﻨﺪﻩ ﺿﻌﻴﻔﺎ ً ﺇﻻ ﺃﻥ ﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ‬
‫ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍ‬

Though has a weak sanad, the meaning of this hadith is correct

(acceptable).13
In Sharhu al-Tirmidhi, Al-Shanqitwi imposed a question thus:

‫ﻟﻮ ﻛﻨﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻧﻬﺮ ﺟﺎﺭ؟‬

‫ﻣﺎ ﺻﺤﺔ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻻ ﺗﺴﺮﻑ ﻭ‬

Is the following hadith authentic? “Do not squander (water or waste

water lavishly) even if you are at the river with running waters”.14

Then, in response, he said:

‫ﻟﻜﻦ ﻣﻌﻨﺎﻩ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ‬

‫ ﻭ‬،‫ ﻭﺍﻷﻗﻮﻯ ﺿﻌﻔﻪ‬،‫ﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء ﻓﻲ ﺳﻨﺪﻩ‬
‫ﻟﺘﺮﻣﺬﻱ ﻭﻫﻮ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺗﻜﻠﻢ ﺍ‬
‫ﻫﺬﺍ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺍ‬

This hadith has been narrated by al-Tirmidhi. Muslim scholars have

disqualified its sanad. Indeed the strongest idea has been put forward

12
- Ali bin Naif al-Mufassalu Fii Sharhi Hadithi Man Baddala Dnahu vol. 3, p. 12.
13
- Atiyya Muhammad Salim Bulughu al-Maram p. 8.
14
- Al-Shanqiti Sharhu al-Tirmidhi vol. 26, p. 21.
12
 in the suggestion that it is weak, but (even so) its meaning is correct
(acceptable).

These are a few examples out of many hundreds which illustrate that a hadith
can sometimes be regarded and used especially in our practical matters, even
if its sanad (chain of transmitters) has one or more weak narrators. It is
insisted, therefore, that those who do research into the hadith should have
more standards with which to expand the horizons of their insight into the
science of hadith.

13
 PART FOUR

A hadith which is weak in terms of both its sanad and matn

Having seen a few examples of hadiths whose sanads are weak but with a
very strong matns (texts), let us now have a look at a few instances of the
second category – the hadiths that are weak in terms of both their sanads and
their matns. The object of mentioning this category here is to make sure that
we have fully surveyed all areas of the subject in order that the research may
look complete, otherwise, our need to know about such hadiths is almost
limited to those hadiths which have to do with our practical and creedal
matters. This is because all Muslims, be they scholars or ordinary people,
know very well that if a hadith has a weak sanad or a weak matn it cannot
be reliable. The only thing which the ordinary people are devoid of is the
knowledge of these technical terms – sanad, matn, mursal, munqati’u etc.

The hadith on the creation of man in the image of Allah!

In his al-Dhaifa,15 al-Albani, has quoted al-Ajurri in his al-Shari’a,16 Ibn
Khuzaima in his al-Tawhid,17 al-Tabarani in his al-Kabir,18 al-Daraqutni in
his al-Sifat, al-Bayhaqi in his al-Asmaau wa al-Sifat,19 as narrating the
tradition thus:
‫ﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ‬
‫ﻟﻮﺟﻪ ﻓﺈﻥ ﺍﺑﻦ ﺁﺩﻡ ﺧﻠﻖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮﺭﺓ ﺍ‬
‫ﻻ ﺗﻘﺒﺤﻮﺍ ﺍ‬
Do not uglify the face, for man has been created in the image of
(Allah) the Most Gracious
For many centuries, up to the present day, there have been heard some voices
appeling for a belief in anthropomorphic attributes of Allah. That is the belief
that Allah has hands, legs, eyes ect. The exponents of this idea believe that,

15
- Vol. 3, p. 316 account no. 1176.
16
- P. 315.
17
- P. 27.
18
- Vol. 3, account no. 206.
19
- P. 291.
14
though Allah has organs, His organs are ulike anything we can think of! The
basis for their belief is not exclusively their method of taking literal meaning
of the Quran and hadiths, it extends to include such a hadith in which
anthropomorphism is almost a clearly stated phenomenon!
This hadith means that Allah resembles man, so we, human beings, must also
look like him because we have been created in his image! The acceptance of
such a hadith is a clear sign of how poor intellectualy some Muslims are! It
reflects not only our shallowness and superficiality in thinking and analysing,
it also shows that those Sheikhs who have accepted it, have failed even to
understand the meaning of the chapter Qul Huwa Allahu Ahad, in which
Allah says: “No one like unto Him”, as they have failed to know the
meaning of laysa ka-mithlihi shayun: “Nothing like unto him”.
Notable with the acceptance of this hadith among the early scholars are: al-
Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal and his son, Abdullah, and later Abu Ya’ala and
Ibn Taymiyya. Contemporarily, the proponents and advocates of the hadith
are persons like Humud al-Tuwejri, Sheikh al-Ansari, Abu Butain, Abdullah
al-Ghunaiman and others, obviously Sheikh Bin Baz is included, as will be
raised later on. All these Sheikhs who adhere to this vicious narrative belong
to the Wahabi school.
In short, this baseless hadith has been passed and circulated in the domain of
Islam by either hypocrites or Jews, generally anti-Islamic movements, for
the unthinking minds to succumb to it. Logic, for those bestowed with
understanding minds, is enough to decide that this hadith should be thrown
in the dump bin or burried and forgotten long ago. Considering this fact, al-
Albani, in his al-Dhaifa, has this to say about this hadith:
:‫ﻟﻪ ﺃﺭﺑﻊ ﻋﻠﻞ‬......‫ﺿﻌﻴﻒ‬
." ‫ " ﻋﻦ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻋﻤﺮ‬: ‫ﻟﻢ ﻳﻘﻞ‬
‫ﻟﺜﻮﺭﻱ ﻭ‬ ‫ﻟﻒ ﺍﻷﻋﻤﺶ ﻓﻲ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ ﻓﺄﺭﺳﻠﻪ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺜﻮﺭﻱ ﻗﺪ ﺧﺎ‬ ‫ ﺃﻥ ﺍ‬: ‫ﺇﺣﺪﺍﻫﺎ‬
.‫ﻟﺲﻟﻢ ﻳﺬﻛﺮ ﺃﻧﻪ ﺳﻤﻌﻪ ﻣﻦ ﺣﺒﻴﺐ ﺑﻦ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺛﺎﺑﺖ‬ ‫ ﺃﻥ ﺍﻷﻋﻤﺶ ﻣﺪ‬: ‫ﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴﺔ‬ ‫ﻭﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺲﻟﻢ ﻳﻌﻠﻢ ﺃﻧﻪ ﺳﻤﻌﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻋﻄﺎء‬ ‫ ﺃﻥ ﺣﺒﻴﺐ ﺑﻦ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺛﺎﺑﺖ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻣﺪ‬: ‫ﻟﺜﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﺜﺎ‬
‫ﻭﺍ‬
." ‫ﻟﺤﻔﻆ‬
‫ﻟﻰ ﺳﻮء ﺍ‬‫ﻟﺤﻤﻴﺪ …" ﻗﺪ ﻧﺴﺐ ﻓﻲ ﺁﺧﺮ ﻋﻤﺮﻩ ﺇ‬ ‫ ﻫﻲ ﺟﺮﻳﺮ ﺑﻦ ﻋﺒﺪ ﺍ‬: ‫ﻟﺮﺍﺑﻌﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﻌﻠﺔ ﺍ‬‫ﻭﺍ‬

It is unauthentic…..it has four disqualifying defects:

15
 1) That al-Thauri, in his sanad, has gone contrary to al-A’amash in that
he (Al-Thauri) did not mention Ibn Omar (he did not say that this
hadith was narrated by Ibn Omar).
2) Al-A’amash is a deceitful narrator, and he did not clearly state that
he heard Habib bin Abi Thabit say so.
3) Habib bin Abi Thabit is a deceitful narrator too, and he was not
known to have received accounts from ‘Ataa.
4) The fourth defect is Jariru bin ‘Abdil-Hamid……It was said that his
memory became weak by the end of his life.20

These are four defects pertaining to the sanad of this hadith that have been
taken to disqualify it. The first three of which have been quoted from the
book by Ibn Khuzaima on the Prophetic traditions, the last being an analysis
by al-Albani. But, obviously, there is one more defect. That is the narrator
that ascribed it to Ibn Omar is Ata bin Abi Rabah about whom Ibn Hajar, in
his Tahdhibu al-Tahdhib, says: “Al-Athram has related from Ahmad things
that indicate that he used to cheat”.21 This can be further substantiated by the
fact that while Ataa has attributed this tradition to Ibn Omar, al-Imamu
Ahamd says: ‘He did not hear any hadith from Ibn Omar”, and Ali bin
Almadini says: “He saw Ibn Omar, but did not receive anything from him”.
Another defect that can be taken to disqualify Ata bin Abi Rabah is that when
he got old he also suffered from the problem of poor memory, as Ibn Hajar
says in his al-Taqrib.22 As such, almost all narrators found in the sanad of
this hadith are not reliable.

Finally, after a long explanation concerning this hadith, al-Albani concludes:

‫ ﻭﻣﺘﻨﻪ‬،‫ ﻭﻫﻮ ﺿﻌﻴﻒ ﻣﻦ ﻁﺮﻳﻘﻴﻪ‬،‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ﻟﻬﺬﺍ ﻛﻨﺖ ﺃﻭﺩﻟﻠﺸﻴﺦ ﺍﻷﻧﺼﺎﺭﻱ ﺃﻥ ﻻ ﻳﺼﺤﺢ ﺍ‬
‫ﻭ‬
‫ﻟﺼﺤﻴﺤﺔ‬‫ﻟﻔﺘﻪﻟﻸﺣﺎﺩﻳﺚ ﺍ‬‫ﻣﻨﻜﺮﻟﻤﺨﺎ‬

20
- Al-Albani al-Dhaifa vol. 3, p. 316-17.
21
- Ibn Hajar Tahdhibu al-Tahdhib vol. 7, p. 179-183.
22
- P. 391, biography no. 4591.
16
 It is for this reason that I ask Sheikh al-Ansari not to authenticate
this hadith because it is weak in its both sanads, plus the fact that its
matn is refutable due to its being contrary to the authentic hadiths.23

For more benefits

Certainly, the above hadith is unacceptable. But there is another version of
the hadith which some Muslims, including al-Albani, have accepted it as
authentic. Even then, there has been a severe clash of ideas as to whom the
possessive pronoun found in the hadith refers. The hadith says:
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﺧﻠﻖ ﺃﺩﻡ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮﺭﺗﻪ‬
‫ﺇﻥ ﺍ‬
Verily, Allah has created Adam in his image
Unlike the previous version, this version does not clearly state that the
mentioned image in the hadith is the image of Allah. Those who have
accepted this hadith, have had different ideas as to whom refers the
possessive pronoun “his” as found in the words “his image”. Some of them
believe that the said pronoun refers to Allah! This is tantamount to saying
that Adam has been created in the image of Allah, and so Allah resembles
man! These people, to whom we send our cable of condolence, are known as
al-Mujassima or anthropomorphists. Contemporarily, as we said, the
Mujassima’s doctrines are represented by the Wahabi school. This is why
one of them named Al-Tuwaijri wrote a book entitled: ‘Aqidatu Ahli al-Iman
fii Khalqi Adam ‘Alaa Surati al-Rahman, which literally means: “The creed
of the faithful ones concerning the creation of Adam in the Image of (Allah)
the Most Gracious”. In this book, he says:
،‫ﻟﻰ ﺁﺩﻡ‬‫ﻟﻪ )ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮﺭﺗﻪ( ﺇ‬ ‫ﻟﻀﻤﻴﺮ ﻓﻲ ﻗﻮ‬ ‫ﻟﻮﺟﻮﻩ ﻛﻠﻬﺎ ﻣﻊ ﺃﻧﻬﺎ ﻣﺒﻄﻠﺔﻟﻘﻮﻝ ﻣﻦ ﻳﻌﻴﺪ ﺍ‬
‫ﻭﻫﺬﻩ ﺍ‬
‫ ))ﻭﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻓﻬﺬﺍ‬..…((‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﺧﻠﻖ ﺁﺩﻡ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮﺭﺓ ﻧﻔﺴﻪ‬ ‫ﻟﺔ ﻣﺴﺘﻘﻠﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺍﻹﺧﺒﺎﺭ ﺑﺄﻥ ﺍ‬
‫ﻓﻬﻲ ﺃﺩ‬
‫ﻟﺴﻔﺮ ﺍﻷﻭﻝ‬ ‫ﻟﻤﺆﺛﻮﺭﺓ ﻋﻦ ﺍﻷﻧﺒﻴﺎء ﻓﺈﻥ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻜﺘﺐ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻜﺘﺎﺏ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻤﻌﻨﻰ )ﻣﻮﺟﻮﺩ( ﻋﻨﺪ ﺃﻫﻞ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
((‫ﻣﻨــــــﻬﺎ ))ﺳﻨﺨﻠﻖ ﺑﺸﺮﺍ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﻮﺭﺗﻨﺎ ﻳﺸﺒﻬﻬﺎ‬

23
- Al-Albani al-Dhaifa vol. 3, p. 322.

17
 And all these probabilities, though they prove wrong the idea of
reffering the pronoun in the words (In his image) to Adam, they
produce independent evendence providing that Allah created Adam
in the image of himself…..likewise, in the scriptures of the people
of the Book (Jews and Christians) there is the same meaning in the
books received from the Prophets. In the first book of the Old
Testament, for example, we read thus: ‘We shall create a man in our
image resembling us’! 24
This is one article of beliefs held by some of the Wahabis. Surprisingly, the
book by al-Tuwaijry was revised and recommended by Sheikh Ibn Baz!
Indeed, al-Tuwajri was one of the nearest personalities to Sh. Ibn Baz, as the
author of Jawaanibu Min Siirati Ibn Baaz, says:
‫ﻟﺸﻴﺦ ﺣﻤﻮﺩ‬
‫ﻟﻌﻼﻣﺔ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻔﻀﻴﻠﺔ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺔ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺳﻤﺎﺣﺘﻪ؛ ﺻﺎﺣﺐ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺬﻳﻦﻟﻬﻢ ﻣﻨﺰ‬‫ﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء ﺍ‬‫ﻭﻣﻦ ﺍ‬
‫ ﻭﻳﻜﺘﺐ‬،‫ ﻭﻛﺎﻥ ﻳﻘﺮﺿﻬﺎ‬،‫ ﻗﺎﺭﺋﺎ ًﻟﻜﺘﺒﻪ‬،‫ﻟﻌﺰﻳﺰ ﻣﺤﺒﺎ ًﻟﻪ‬
‫ﻟﺸﻴﺦ ﻋﺒﺪﺍ‬‫ﻟﺘﻮﻳﺠﺮﻱ ﺣﻴﺚ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻤﻘﺪﻣﺎﺕ‬ ‫ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ﺍ‬
Among the scholars who had a special position to his Eminence
(Sheikh Ibn Baz) was a noble scholar, Sheikh Humud al-Tuwaijuri,
who was a beloved one to Sheikh Abdul Aziz (Bin Baz). He used to
read his books, recommend them, and write introductory notes to
them.25
This aqida of likening Allah to His creation as advocated by al-Tuwaijri,
obviously also by Ibn Baz, was developed and explained many centuries ago
by Abu Ya’ala as Ibn Athir says in his al-Kamil fii al-Tarikh, and later
strongly defended by Ibn Manda, Ibn Taymiyya and Ibn al-Qayyim.
Concerning the fist of the three, Abu Mu’adh, a follower of the Wahabi
school, in his al-Muntaqa, says:
‫ﻟﺘﻮﺣﻴﺪ‬
‫ﻭﻋﻠﻰ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻣﻨﺪﻩ ﻓﻲ ﻛﺘﺎﺏ ﺍ‬

24
- Al-Tuwaijuri Aqidatu Ahli al-Iman p. 75.
25
- Jawaanibu Min Siirati Ibn Baaz p. 164.
18
 This is what is followed by Ibn Manda in his book entitled al-
Tawhid.26
Meaning the idea that man has been created in the like of Allah is the aqida
of Ibn Manda! As for Ibn Taymiyya, Abu Mu’adh, in his al-Muntaqa, has
quoted him as saying:
‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬
‫ﻟﻰ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻀــــﻤﻴﺮ ﻋﺎﺋﺪ ﺇ‬
‫ﻟﺜﻼﺛﺔ ﻧـﺰﺍﻉ ﻓﻲ ﺃﻥ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻘﺮﻭﻥ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺴﻠـــــــــﻒ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬
‫ﻭﺃﻧﻪﻟﻢ ﻳﻜﻦ ﺑﻴﻦ ﺍ‬
‫ ﺍﻫـ‬.‫ﻟﻚ‬‫ﻟـــــــــﻰ ﻭﺃﻥ ﺳﻴﺎﻕ ﺍﻷﺣﺎﺩﻳﺚ ﻛﻠﻬﺎ ﺗﺪﻝ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺫ‬‫ﺗﻌﺎ‬
Verily, there was no one of the forerunners during (the first) three
centuries who disputed that the pronoun refers to Allah the
Almighty. Indeed, all context of the hadith shows so.27
He added:
‫ﻟﺜﺔ ﺟﻌﻞ‬
‫ﻟﺜﺎ‬
‫ﻟﻤﺎﺋﺔ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺠﻬﻤﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻜﻦﻟﻤﺎ ﺍﻧﺘﺸﺮﺕ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺇﻥ ﺍﻷﻣﺔ ﺍﺗﻔﻘﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺒﻠﻴﻐﻪ ﻭﺗﺼﺪﻳﻘﻪ ﻭ‬
....‫ﻟﻰ‬‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﺗﻌﺎ‬
‫ﻟﻰ ﻏﻴﺮ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻀﻤﻴﺮ ﻓﻴﻪ ﻋﺎﺋﺪﺍ ﺇ‬
‫ﻁﺎﺋـــــــﻔﺔ ﺍ‬
Surely, there has been a general agreement by the umma on
accepting it and conveying it (The hadith on the creation of man in
the image of Allah). But when al-Jahmiyya (school) spread in the
third century, some said that the pronoun refers to other than Allah,
the Most Exalted.28
Such is the false propaganda by Ibn Taymiyya! In his Muwafaqatu Sarihi al-
Ma’aqul claims falsely that most of the scholars in the Prophetic traditions
have agreed on the aqida of qidamu al-alami bi-naw’i ‫ﻟﻨﻮﻉ‬ ‫ﻟﻢ ﺑﺎ‬
‫ﻟﻌﺎ‬
‫ ﻗﺪﻡ ﺍ‬. That is
the kind of world has no beginning as Allah Himself has no beginning! This
means, as he himself claimed in his another book titled Naqdu Maratibi al-
Ijma’a, that in the universe, there is a chain of creation, meaning every
element in nature comes from another without one particular element having
the beginning point! Imamu al-Sunna wa al-Usul, Sheikh al-Qannubi, for
more than twenty years, has been challenging his followers to mention the

26
- Abu Mu’adh al-Muntaqa Min Sharhi Usuli I’itiqadi Ahli Al-Sunna Wa Al-
Jama’a p. 413.
27
- Abu Mu’adh al-Muntaqa Min Sharhi Usuli I’itiqadi Ahli Al-Sunna Wa Al-
Jama’a p. 416.
28
- Op.cit.
19
names of those scholars who said so, but none of them has been able to
respond. Here again, Ibn Taymiyya claims:
1) No one of the forerunners during (the first) three centuries was
known to dispute that the pronoun in the account: “Verily, Allah has
created Adam in his image”, refers to Allah the Almighty. This is
not true, because this will necessarily imply that Allah has a shape
like that of a human being.
2) The umma as a whole has unanimously accepted that hadith, which
is also untrue.

Finally, it is important to know that even those who authenticated the said
hadith, most of them have referred the pronoun to Adam: not to Allah. And
so, they say that the meaning of the clause: “Allah has created Adam in his
image”, is that Adam was created as he was: he did not grow gradually stage
by stage as other humans do. He was not created as a baby, then a boy, then
a young man then an old man. This is the meaning of Adam being created in
his image – the image of Adam: not of Allah: the possessive pronoun his
refers to Adam: not to Allah. Ibn Abbas was one of those who interpreted the
hadith this way.

Back to the topic

Let us, after this digression, go back to our original topic. Another instance
of a hadith with a weak sanad and a weak matn is the hadith that:
،‫ﺳ ﱠﻠ َﻢ ﻛﺎﻥ ﻳًﻘﺒ ًﻠﻬﺎ ﻭﻫﻮ ﺻﺎ ِﺋ ٌﻢ‬ َ ُ‫ﻟ ﱠﻠﻪ‬
َ ‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﻭ‬ ‫ﺻ ﱠﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
َ ‫ﻟﻨﺒﻲ‬
‫ ﺃﻥ ﺍ‬:‫ﺼﺪﻉ ﺃﺑﻲ ﻳﺤﻴﻰ ﻋﻦ ﻋﺎﺋﺸﺔ‬ْ ِ‫ﻋﻦ ﻣ‬
‫ﻭﻳ ًﻤﺺﻟِﺴﺎﻧﻬﺎ‬

From Misda’u, Abu Yahya, from ‘Aisha said: ‘The Prophet (pbuh)
used to kiss her while he was fasting and he sucked her tongue..!

This hadith is incompatible with the Quran and other hadith, and so it is
unacceptable. It is for this reason that al-Albani, in his Dhaifu Abi Daud,
says:

20
 "‫ﻟﺔ ﻭﻻ ﺟﺮﺡ‬
‫ "ﻻ ﺃﻋﺮﻓﻪ ﺑﻌﺪﺍ‬:‫ ﻗﺎﻝ ﺍﺑﻦ ﺧﺰﻳﻤﺔ‬،‫ﺼﺪﻉ ﻫﺬﺍ‬
ْ ‫ﻟﺔ ﺣﺎﻝ ِﻣ‬
‫ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ ﺿﻌﻴﻒﻟﺠﻬﺎ‬:‫ﻗﻠﺖ‬
‫ﻭﻣﺘﻨﻪ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ‬

I say: ‘Its sanad is weak because the biography of (one of its

narrators named) Misda’a is unknown. Ibn Khuzaima said: ‘I have
never known him for being reliable or being unreliable’. And its text
is detestable, abominable.29

These are just two instances out of an innumerable amount of hadiths of this
calibre. Some of them are obvious to everyone, others need profound
knowledge and extensive research to detect their weakness.

Another example
Another example of such hadiths, is the hadith that has been collected by al-
Imamu Ahmad and postulated as a basis for reasoning by many scholars who
believe in the visibility of Allah in the hereafter. The hadith says:

‫ "ﺇِ ﱠﻥ‬:‫ﺳ ﱠﻠ َﻢ‬ َ ُ ‫ﻟ ﱠﻠﻪ‬

َ ‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﻭ‬ ‫ﺻ ﱠﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ َ ‫ﻟ ﱠﻠ ِﻪ‬ ‫ﺳﻮ ُﻝ ﺍ‬ ُ ‫ َﻗﺎ َﻝ َﺭ‬:َ‫ﻋ َﻤ َﺮ َﻗﺎﻝ‬ ُ ‫ﻋ ِﻦ ﺍﺑ ِْﻦ‬ َ ،َ‫َﺣﺪﱠﺛَﻨَﺎ ﺛ ُ َﻮﻳﺮ ﺑ ِْﻦ ﺃ َ ِﺑﻲ َﻓﺎﺧِ ﺘَﺔ‬
ُ‫ َﻳ ْﻨﻈ ُﺮ‬،ُ‫ﺼﺎﻩُ َﻛ َﻤﺎ َﻳ َﺮﻯ ﺃَﺩْﻧَﺎﻩ‬ ْ َ
َ ‫ َﻳ َﺮﻯ ﺃﻗ‬،ٍ‫ﺳ َﻨﺔ‬ َ ‫ﻟ َﻔ ْﻲ‬ ْ َ ْ
‫ﻈ ُﺮ ﻓِﻲ ُﻣﻠ ِﻜ ِﻪ ﺃ‬ ُ ‫ﻟَﺔًﻟَ َﻴ ْﻨ‬ ْ ‫ﺃ َ ْﺩﻧَﻰ ﺃ َ ْﻫ ِﻞ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟ َﺠ ﱠﻨ ِﺔ َﻣ ْﻨ ِﺰ‬
‫ﱠ‬
‫ﻟﻠ ِﻪ ُﻛ ﱠﻞ َﻳ ْﻮ ٍﻡ َﻣ ﱠﺮﺗَﻴ ِْﻦ‬ ‫ﻟَﻰ َﻭ ْﺟ ِﻪ ﺍ‬ ُ ً
ِ‫ﻟَﺔﻟَ َﻴ ْﻨﻈ ُﺮ ﺇ‬ َ
َ ‫ َﻭﺇِ ﱠﻥ ﺃ ْﻓ‬.ِ‫ﺍﺟ ِﻪ َﻭ َﺧﺪَﻣِ ﻪ‬
‫ﻀ َﻠ ُﻬ ْﻢ َﻣ ْﻨ ِﺰ‬ ِ ‫ﻟَﻰ ﺃ َ ْﺯ َﻭ‬ ِ‫ﺇ‬

We were told by Thuwair bin Abi Fakhitah from Ibn Omar said: ‘The
Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Verily, the lowest-grade inhabitant of Paradise
will look at his kingdom extending to a distance of two thousand
years, he will see its farthest point as (clearly) as he sees the nearest
one. He will look at his spouses and his servants. And the highest of
all in grade will look at the face of Allah two times every day.

This hadith is inauthentic in terms of both its sanad and its matn. Basically,
this hadith is meant to explain the meaning of the verses 22-23 of the Chapter
75 which say:

ٌ‫ﺎﺿ َﺮﺓ‬
ِ ‫ُﻭ ُﺟﻮﻩٌ َﻳ ْﻮ َﻣ ِﺌ ٍﺬ َﻧ‬
29
- Al-Albani Dhaifu Abi Daud vol. 2, p. 270, account no. 411.
21
 There are faces which will shine on that day.
ٌ‫ﺎﻅ َﺮﺓ‬
ِ ‫ِﺇ َﻟﻰ َﺭ ِّﺑﻬَﺎ َﻧ‬
Looking towards their Lord.

Then this hadith was fabricated to show that the meaning of looking towards
Allah is to see Him. The aim behind that is to create false evidence with
which to support a particular theological issue. Unfortunately, this
interpretation has been shown to be erroneous in many ways, most important
of all is the fact that it is contrary to the rules of the Arabic language which
should be primarily applied to the context in general and to each one of the
words found in the verses at large. We shall have more explanation of this
hadith in the section dedicated to expounding upon the correct methods of
studying the matns of hadiths on the light of the Arabic language.

As for the sanad of the hadith, it is also one of the weakest sanads ever to be
known because Thuwair bin Abi Fakhitah who reported it from Ibn Omar,
has been strongly disqualified by specialists in biographies of narrators.
Sufyaan al-Thauri, for instance, puts in him in the term of the greatest liars
as he says: “Thuwair was among the pillars of lie”. Other erudite scholars
such as Ibn Ma’in, al-Juzajani, Abu Zur’a, Abu Hatim, al-Nasai, al-
Daraqutni and others have described him as: “He is nothing…he is weak, he
is not strong, his narrative are to be left….”.30

30
- Ibn Hajar Tahdhibu al-Tahdhib vol. 2, p. 32, biography no. 58.
22
 PART FIVE

A hadith which is authentic both in terms of its sanad and

its matn
Most of the authentic hadiths are of this nature, meaning that often, not
necessary always, a hadith with a genuine sanad is also with acceptable matn.
Books such as al-Jami’u al-Sahih by al-Imamu al-Rabi’u, Sahihu al-
Bukhari, Sahihu Muslim and other reliable works on hadiths contain many
or most hadiths with fine sanads and acceptable matns. One example of such
hadiths, is the hadith that has been collected by al-Imamu al-Rabi’u (may
Allah be pleased with him) in his al-Jami’u al-Sahih vol. 1, p. 24, account
no. 5 that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
ْ َ ‫ َﻭﺇِ ْﻥ ﺃ‬،‫ﺴ َﻜ َﻬﺎ‬
ْ‫ﻁ َﻠ َﻘ َﻬﺎ ﺫَ َﻫ َﺒﺖ‬ َ ‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ َﻬﺎ ﺃ َ ْﻣ‬
َ َ‫ﻋﺎ َﻫﺪ‬ ْ ‫ﺍﻹ ِﺑ ِﻞ ﺍ‬
َ ‫ ﺇِ ْﻥ‬،ِ‫ﻟ ُﻤ َﻌ ﱠﻘ َﻠﺔ‬ ِ ‫ﺐ‬ َ ‫ﺁﻥ َﻛ َﻤﺜ َ ِﻞ‬
ِ ِ‫ﺻﺎﺣ‬ ْ‫ﺐ ﺍ‬
ِ ‫ﻟﻘُ ْﺮ‬ َ ‫َﻣﺜ َ ُﻞ‬
ِ ِ‫ﺻﺎﺣ‬

An example of he who has memorized the Quran is like a man who

has camel whose legs have been tied, if he frequently attends it, he
will hold it; and if he releases it, it will flee.
This hadith has been collected by many collectors of the Prophetic traditions
including al-Bukhari and Muslim, and has been handed down by reliable
narrators. Equally, its meaning is logically acceptable as proved true by our
own experience of memorizing the Quran where we find that the Quran is
one of the easiest thing to memorize but simultaneously to sustain what one
has memorized is also one of the most difficult thing to do. This is to say that
it does not last long to become weaker and weaker and finally the negligence
thereof leads to the total forgetting of it. All that bears witness on the
accuracy of its meaning.
Concerning its sanad, al-Imamu al-Rabi’u has related it from Abu ‘Ubaida
from Jabir bin Zaid from Abu Said al-Khudri. Others have related it through
other chains of transmitters, all are fine and reliable.

23
 PART SIX
A hadith whose sanad is strong but its matn is unsound
This category is the core of the subject and the most important of all and the
most dangerous kind because one can be allured by the genuineness of the
sanad thinking that the hadith has really emanated from the Prophet. In fact,
although there have been other reasons, the act of adhering to this kind of
hadith has always been central to the reasons which explain why heretic
groups and misled factions in Islam have gone astray. It is because they have
been beguiled by the glittering of the sanads without noticing the weakness
of the texts. It is for this reason that the emphasis is put again and again on
the importance of exploring the matns (texts) of a hadith to make sure that it
is primarily safe from all ills and subsequently compatible with all the
principles – nothing is to be ruled out.
Before we mention some examples of the hadiths belonging to this category,
let us, in this section, look at statements by some Muslim scholars concerning
hadiths of this type. Imamu al-Sunna wa al-Usul wa al-Furu’i, Sheikh Said
bin Mabruk al-Qannubi, in his al-Saifu al-Had,31 has quoted a number of
Ulamaa emphasizing the urgent necessity not to confine our judgment of a
hadith to the scale of sanad only. They suggest the importance of
investigating its texts as a one essential distinctive criterion which helps us
know the accuracy or the inaccuracy of a hadith. Following are those quotes:
1) A hadith can be disqualified in different ways, all have nothing to do
with the disqualification of its narrators (all those ways are not
related to the sanad of a hadith). (Indeed) there is a plenty of defects
in the accounts narrated by the thiqat (reliable narrators)…..32

2) It is possible that all narrators in a sanad are reliable, but the hadith
itself is fabricated or has been inverted…..33

31
- P. 134-37.
32
- Al-Hakim ‘Ulumu al-Hadith p. 112-13.
33
- Ibn Aljawzi al-Mawdhu’aat vol. 1, p. 99-100.
24
 3) It can be said: ‘This hadith is authentic’, while it is not, because it is
shaadh (it is contrary to a more authentic one) or because it has illa
(a hidden defect).34

4) Scholars can say: ‘(This) hadith is authentic or good’. But a sanad

may be authentic or good without its matn (being authentic or good),
because it is shaadh (contrary to a more authentic one) or because it
has an illa (a hidden defect).35

5) Because a sanad may be authentic or good, while the hadith itself is

neither authentic nor good, due to its condition of being shaadh
(contrary to a more authentic one) or because it has an illa (a hidden
defect).36

6) A hadith related by a reliable narrator can be sometimes discarded if

it is known that he has made mistake therein. The unknowing might
think that everything narrated by a reliable narrator is to be regarded
and taken for proof. That is not right…….How many hadiths are
authentic in terms of having a connected sanad, while they have
undergone addition or deletion. May be the addition of a word
changes the meaning or prevents it (from being understood).
Typically, the deletion of a word (can cause the same problem)......A
sanad of a hadith is seemingly very good, but it has been known
through another sanad that the narrator has made a mistake.37

7) Surely, it is known that the authenticity of a sanad is merely one

condition among the conditions for authenticity, but it is not the only
one with which to prove the authenticity of a hadith. For there is a

34
- Ibn al-Salah al-Muqaddima p. 113.
35
- Al-Twayyibi al-Khulasa.
36
- Al-Nawawi al-Irshad p. 69.
37
- Ibn Taymiyya Majmu’u al-Fatawa vol. 18, p. 42…..p. 47…..p. 19.

25
 number of things such as the genuineness of a sanad, the absence of
an illa (defect), the absence of a shudhudh (Not to be contrary to a
more reliable narrator), and it should also be free of nakara
(abominable words).38

8) When they say: ‘(This) hadith has a good or genuine sanad without
stating that it is an authentic hadith, is because a sanad can be
authentic or fine without its matn (text).39

9) The same words have been repeated by Ibn Almulaqqin.40

10) Almost the same words have also been repeated by al-San’ani.41

These statements by some erudite scholars have been quoted by Imamu al-
Sunna, al-Qannubi, in his al-Saifu al-Had.42 They do not represent individual
opinions; they rather reflect the law held in common by all Muslim scholars
belonging to various schools.
But it is also important to know that the ability of running a textual analysis
on hadiths depends mainly or totally on how profound of the Quran and the
Arabic language one is. The more knowledgeable of them a scholar is, the
more able he is to detect disqualifying flaws in hadiths. Whereas a mere
specialization in the knowledge of sanads, without being able to study the
texts, might eventually lead to the adherence to fabricated hadiths.
Accordingly, it has been said that the best expert at the Prophetic hadiths is
he who has enough knowledge of the Quran. Because the authenticity of a
hadith has sometimes to be investigated and examined through the medium

38
- Ibn al-Qayyim al-Furusiyya p. 64. He also has the same words in his comments
on Sunanu Abi Daud vol. 1, p. 112.
39
- Ibn Jama’a al-Manhalu al-Rawiy p. 37.
40
- In his Al-Muqni’u vol. 1, p. 89
41
- In his Tawdhihu al-Afkaar vol. 1, p. 234.
42
- P. 134-37
26
of the Quran: not vice versa. It remains to see a few examples of this category
– hadiths with rich sanads but with poor matns.

27
 PART SEVEN
Some illustrations of hadiths whose sanad is strong but its
matn is unsound
In the previous section, we cited statements by some Muslim scholars in
which they stated that the genuineness of a sanad is merely one condition for
a hadith to be regarded as authentic, meaning other conditions must also be
available. All those statements were quoted from a book by, Imamu al-
Sunna, al-Qannubi, titled al-Saifu al-Had. Today, we shall go on quoting
from him in the same book some examples of hadiths with fine sanads but
with unacceptable meaning – the texts are not correct. But, again, it is
important to know that those who rendered a judgment on those hadiths as
having fine sanads, must not always be right in their judgment. There are
some of those hadiths which are inauthentic with regard to both their sanads
and their matns, but those scholars did not realize. Whatever the case may
be, the position of those scholars on those hadiths is a clear indication that
the idea of disregarding such type of hadiths is a generally excepted
principle. The question of whether a certain scholar is right or wrong in the
implementation of the principle to a particular hadith is secondary and must
be treated as of less im7portance – the attention should be paid to the
principles.
In this article no. 6-A, we shall exclusively mention instances quoted from
al-Dhahabi in his three works, al-Talkhis, al-Mizan an al-Siyar. Following
are the quotes:
َ‫ َﻓﺈ ِ ﱠﻥ ﺫ‬، ِ‫ﻋ َﻠﻰ َﺣﻤِ ﻴﻤِ ﻚ‬
َ ‫ﻟِﻚَ ﻣِ ْﻦ َﺣ‬
‫ﺴﻨَﺎ ِﺗ ِﻪ‬ َ ‫َﻻ ﺗ َ ْﺒﺘ َ ِﺌﺴِﻲ‬
Don’t be sad for your intimate friend, for, verily, that is part of his
good deeds.
This hadith has been related by Ibn Majah in his al-Sunan.43 The reason as
to why the Prophet allegedly said these words, was that he came in where
Sayyida Aisha was and before her was one of her beloved ones suffering

43
- P. 245, hadith no. 1451.
28
from the agony of death. She was very sad to see him in this state. When the
Prophet realized that she was grieved, he said to her so.
But al-Dhahabi in his Tadhkiratu al-Huffaadh says the following about this
hadith:
‫ﺭﻭﺍﺗﻪ ﺛﻘﺎﺕﻟﻜﻨﻪ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ‬

Its narrators are reliable (the sanad is fine), but the hadith is
refutable, abominable.

In his al-Mizan, al-Dhahabi mentioned a story about al-Imamu Ahmad that

he once came to someone named Isma’il bin Is-haq al-Saraj where he heard
Alharith al-Muhasibi speak to his followers. Then he (Al-Dhahabi) said:

‫ ﺃﺳﺘﺒﻌﺪ ﻭﻗﻮﻉ ﻫﺬﺍ ﻣﻦ ﻣﺜﻞ ﺃﺣﻤﺪ‬، ‫ﻟﺴﻨﺪ ﻣﻨﻜﺮﺓ ﻻ ﺗﻘﻊ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻗﻠﺒﻲ‬
‫ﻭﻫﺬﻩ ﺣﻜﺎﻳﺔ ﺻﺤﻴﺤﺔ ﺍ‬

The sanad of this story is authentic, (but) the story itself is refutable,
abominable: my heart is not convinced of it, it is unlikely that such
a thing happens from a man like Ahmad.

،‫ﻟﻘﻮﻝ‬
‫ ﻭﻣﻊ ﺻﺤﺔ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ ﻫﻮ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬:‫ﻟﻨﺒﻼء" ﺑﻌﺪ ﺃﻥ ﺫﻛﺮ ﺣﺪﻳﺜﺎ‬‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻲ "ﺳﻴﺮ ﺃﻋﻼﻡ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻬﺠﺮﺓ ﻭﻫﻮﻟﻴﺲ ﺑﺸﺊ‬ ‫ﻟﻰ ﻣﺎ ﺑﻌﺪ ﺳﻨﺔ ﺳﺒﻊ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬
‫ﻭﻫﻮ ﻳﻘﺘﻀﻲ ﺃﻥ ﺍﺳﻢ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻋﻤﺮ ﻣﺎ ﻏﻴﺮ ﺇ‬

In his Siyaru al-A’alam, after he mentioned a certain hadith, he said:

‘Despite of the accuracy of its sanad, it is a refutable statement, for
it means that the name of Ibn Omar was not changed until after the
seventh year hijri, and this is nothing.44

‫ "ﺍﻏﺴﻠﻮﺍ‬:‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﻗﺎﻝ‬

‫ﻟﻠﻪ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻋﻤﺮ ﺃﻥ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻐﻠﻂ ﻓﻴﻪ‬
‫ﻟﻌﻞ ﺍ‬‫ ﻭ‬،‫ﻟﻘﺘﺎﻝ‬
‫ ﻭﻫﺬﺍ ﻣﺤﻤﻮﻝ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﻦ ﻗﺘﻞ ﻓﻲ ﻏﻴﺮ ﻣﺼﺎﻑ ﺍ‬،‫ ﻏﺮﻳﺐ ﺟﺪﺍ‬:"‫ﻣﻮﺗﺎﻛﻢ‬
.‫ﻟﺜﻘﺔ ﻗﺪ ﻳﻬﻢ‬
‫ ﻭﺍ‬، ‫ﻣﻦ ﺷﻴﺦ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻋﺪﻱ‬

In the same book, he says about a hadith from Ibn Omar that the
Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: ‘Wash you dead’, (he says about

44
- Al-Dhahabi Siyaru al-A’alami vol. 3, p. 209.
29
 this hadith): ‘It is very strange, (Suppose it is authentic, then), it
should concern those who died out a war field. Maybe, it was the
Sheikh of Ibn Adey who made mistake, and a reliable narrator
sometime makes mistakes.45

‫ﻟﻜﻼﻡ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ )ﻟﻤﺎ ﻛﺎﻥ ﻳﻮﻡ ﺃﺣﺪ ﺍﻧﻜﻔﺄ‬ ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻲ ﺗﻠﺨﻴﺼﻪﻟﻠﻤﺴﺘﺪﺭﻙﻟﻠﺤﺎﻛﻢ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺍ‬
... ‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﺍﺳﺘﻮﻭﺍ ﺣﺘﻰ ﺃﺛﻨﻲ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺭﺑﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻪ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻤﺸﺮﻛﻮﻥ ﻓﻘﺎﻝ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ﻣﻊ ﻧﻈﺎﻓﺔ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ‬‫ ﻭﺍ‬،‫ﻟﻢ ﻳﺨﺮﺟﺎﻟﻌﺒﻴﺪ ﻭﻫﻮ ﺛﻘﺔ‬:‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ‬ ‫ ﺍ‬- ‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬: ( ‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ﺍ‬
‫ﺃﺧﺎﻑ ﺃﻥ ﻳﻜﻮﻥ ﻣﻮﺿﻮﻋﺎ‬

In his Talkhis li-Mustardaki al-Hakim, when he was speaking on the

hadith that: ‘On the day of Uhud, the Mushrikin retreated. The
Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘Stand in straight rows so that I may praise my
Lord……..(Al-Dhahabi said about this hadith): I say: ‘Al-Bukhari
and Muslim did not narrate it because there is in its chain of
transmitters a narrator named ‘Ubaid, but he is reliable. And the
hadith in spite of the cleanness of its sanad, it is abominable one, I
am afraid it has been fabricated.46

‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ﺣﺘﻰ ﺃﺗﻰ‬

‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ ‫ ﺍﻧﻄﻠﻖ ﺑﻲ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬:‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻋﻠﻲ‬
‫ﻟﻤﺘﻦ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ‬
‫ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ ﻧﻈﻴﻒ ﻭﺍ‬: - ‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ‬ ‫ ﺍ‬- ‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬: ‫ ﻗﺎﻝ‬،‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ ( ﺍ‬... ‫ ﺍﺟﻠﺲ‬:‫ﻟﻜﻌﺒﺔ ﻓﻘﺎﻝﻟﻲ‬
‫ﺍ‬

In the same book, he says about a hadith from Ali which says: “The
Prophet set out with me up to the Ka’aba where he told me: ‘Sit
down…….”. He (Al-Dhahabi) says (about this hadith): ‘Its sanad is
clean but its matn is detestable’.47

: ‫ﻟﻰ ﻋﻠﻲ ﻓﻘﺎﻝ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﻧﻈﺮ ﺇ‬‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻋﺒﺎﺱ ﺃﻧﻪ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
‫ ﻫﺬﺍ ﻭﺇﻥ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺭﻭﺍﺗﻪ ﺛﻘﺎﺕ ﻓﻬﻮ‬: - ‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻘﺎﺋﻞ ﺍ‬‫ ﻭﺍ‬- ‫ﻟﺪﻧﻴﺎ ﻭﺍﻵﺧﺮﺓ(( ﻗﻠﺖ‬‫)) ﺃﻧﺖ ﺳﻴﺪ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻢ ﻳﺠﺴﺮ ﺃﻥ‬ ‫ﻟﺮﺯﺍﻕ ﺳﺮﺍ ﻭ‬ ‫ ﻭﺇﻻ ﻷﻱ ﺷﻲء ﺣﺪﺙ ﺑﻪ ﻋﺒﺪﺍ‬،‫ﻟﻮﺿﻊ‬ ‫ﻟﻴﺲ ﺑﺒﻌﻴﺪ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﻭ‬
‫ﻟﻴﻪ ؟‬‫ﻟﺬﻳﻦ ﺭﺣﻠﻮﺍ ﺇ‬‫ﻟﺨﻠﻖ ﺍ‬‫ﻳﺘﻔﻮﻩ ﻷﺣﻤﺪ ﻭﺍﺑﻦ ﻣﻌﻴﻦ ﻭﺍ‬

In the same book, he says about a hadith from Ibn Abbaas which
says that the Prophet (pbuh) looked at Ali and said: ‘You are the lord

45
- Vol. 6 p. 337-8.
46
- Al-Dhahabi Talkhis li-Mustardaki al-Hakim vol 1, p. 506-7.
47
- Vol. 2, p. 366-7.
30
 in this world and in the next world’. Al-Dhahabi says: ‘This hadith,
though the narrators in its sanad are reliable, is abominable and it is
strongly possible that it has been fabricated, otherwise, why ‘Abdul-
Rzzaq narrated it secretly: he dared not utter it to Ahmad, Ibn Ma’ain
and a big number (of scholars) who went to him?48

‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ‬
‫ﻟﻘﺎﺋﻞ ﺍ‬
‫ ﻭﺍ‬- ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺃﺳﻤﺎء ﺑﻨﺖ ﻋﻤﻴﺲ ﻛﻨﺖ ﻓﻲ ﺯﻓﺎﻑ ﻓﺎﻁﻤﺔ ﻗﻠﺖ‬
‫ﻟﺢ ﻣﻦ ﺷﻴﻮﺥ‬ ‫ﻟﺸﻴﺨﻴﻦ – ﻭﺻﺎ‬ ‫ ﻳﻌﻨﻲ ﺍ‬- ‫ ﻭﺣﺎﺗﻢ ﺧﺮﺟﺎﻟﻪ‬،‫ﻟﺢ ﺑﻦ ﺣﺎﺗﻢ ﻋﻦ ﺃﺑﻴﻪ‬
‫ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺻﺎ‬: -
‫ﻟﺤﺒﺸﺔ‬‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ﻏﻠﻂ ﻓﺈﻥ ﺃﺳﻤﺎء ﻛﺎﻧﺖﻟﻴﻠﺔ ﺯﻓﺎﻑ ﻓﺎﻁﻤﺔ ﺑﺎ‬ ‫ﻣﺴﻠﻢﻟﻜﻦ ﺍ‬

In the same book, concerning a hadith from Asmaa bint ‘Umais in

which she said: ‘I attended the wedding ceremony of Fatima’. Al-
Dhahabi says: ‘In its sanad, there is Salih bin Hatim from his father
(Hatim). Both (al-Bukhari and Muslim) have received hadiths from
Hatim. As for Salih, he is among the Sheikhs of Muslim. But the
hadith is wrong, for at the night Fatma’s wedding ceremony, Asmaa
was in Abyssinia (Ethiopia).49

‫ ﻭﺭﻭﻯ‬:- ‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ‬ ‫ ﺍ‬- ‫ﻟﺤﺎﻛﻢﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ﻫﻨﺎﻙ ﻗﻠﺖ‬ ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻘﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺼﺤﻴﺢ ﺍ‬
،‫ ﻭﻗﺪ ﻭﺛﻘﻪ ﻳﺤﻴﻰ ﺑﻦ ﻣﻌﻴﻦ‬:‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬،‫ﻋﻦ ﻳﻮﺳﻒ ﻧﻮﺡ ﺑﻦ ﻗﻴﺲ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻭﻣﺎ ﻋﻠﻤﺖ ﺃﺣﺪﺍ ﺗﻜﻠﻢ ﻓﻴﻪ‬
‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬ ‫ ﻭﻣﺎ ﺃﺩﺭﻱ ﺃﻳﻦ ﺁﻓﺔ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍ‬... ‫ﻟﻘﺎﺳﻢ ﻭﺛﻘﻮﻩ‬
‫ﻭﺍ‬

In the same book, while he was commenting on the act of al-Hakim

to authenticate a certain hadith, he said: ‘From Yusuf, it was also
narrated by Nooh bin Qais about whom I don’t know anyone that
has ever accused him of (weakness or any flaw). ‘Indeed, he has been
regarded as trustworthy by Ibn Ma’in. And Alqasim (another
narrator in the sanad) has equally been regarded as reliable…... I do
not know where this flaw of the hadith has come from.’50

‫ ﺃﻧﻬﺎ ﺟﺎءﺕ ﻫﻲ ﻭﺃﺑﻮﻫﺎ‬: ‫ﻟﻤﺴﺘﺪﺭﻙ" ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻋﺎﺋﺸﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ ﻓﻲ "ﺗﻠﺨﻴﺺ ﺍ‬‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻬﻢ ﺍﻏﻔﺮﻟﻌﺎﺋﺸﺔ ﺑﻨﺖ ﺃﺑﻲ‬
‫ ﺍ‬: ‫ ﻓﻘﺎﻝ‬، ‫ﻓﻘﺎﻻ ﺇﻧﺎ ﻧﺤﺐ ﺃﻥ ﺗﺪﻋﻮﻟﻌﺎﺋﺸﺔ ﺑﺪﻋﻮﺓ ﻭﻧﺤﻦ ﻧﺴﻤﻊ‬
‫ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺟﻮﺩﺓ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ‬:‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬:‫ﻟﺦ ﻗﺎﻝ‬ ‫ ﺇ‬... ‫ﻟﺼﺪﻳﻖ ﻣﻐﻔﺮﺓ ﻭﺍﺟﺒﺔ ﻅﺎﻫﺮﺓ ﻭﺑﺎﻁﻨﺔ‬‫ﺑﻜﺮ ﺍ‬

48
- Vol. 3, p. 127-8
49
- Vol. 3, p. 159.
50
- Vol. 3, p. 170-1.
31
 In his al-Talkhis, Al-Dhahabi also says about a hadith related on the
authority of Aisha that she and her father came (to the Prophet). Her
father said to him: ‘We like to hear you pray for Aisha in our
presence’. He said: ‘O Allah! Grant to Aisha a due, inner and outer
forgiveness’. Al-Dhahabi says about this hadith: ‘It is abominable,
though excellent in terms of its sanad’. 51

‫ﻟﺤﻤﺎ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﻋﻦ ﺻﻔﻴﺔ ﺧﺒﺰﺍ ﻭ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
‫ ﺃﻁﻌﻢ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬:‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ ﺇﻧﻤﺎ ﺫﻱ ﺯﻳﻨﺐ‬،‫ ﺑﻞ ﻏﻠﻂ‬: ‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬،‫ﻟﺤﺎﻛﻢ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ‬ ‫ﻋﻨﺪ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻘﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻗﻮﻝ ﺍ‬

Concerning the hadith that says: ‘The Prophet gave bread and meat
in compensation on behalf of Safiyya’. When al-Dhahabi
commented on the authentication of this hadith by al-Hakim, he said
thus: ‘But it there is a mistake: this was Zainab (not Safiyya)’.

‫ ﻓﺈﻥ ﺭﻗﻴﺔ ﻣﺎﺗﺖ ﻭﻗﺖ ﺑﺪﺭ ﻭﺃﺑﻮ‬،‫ﻟﻤﺘﻦ‬

‫ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﺍ‬: ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻫﻨﺎﻙ‬
‫ﻫﺮﻳﺮﺓ ﺃﺳﻠﻢ ﻭﻗﺖ ﺧﻴﺒﺮ‬

In the same book vol. 4, p. 48, he also says about a certain hadith:
‘Its accurate (in terms of the sanad, but), its matn is refutable, for
Ruqayya died at the time the of war of Badr, while Abu Huraira
embraced Islam at the time of the war of Khaibar.

‫ﻟﻢ ﻳﺼﺤﺤﻪ‬:‫ ) ﻻ ﺗﺠﻮﺯ ﺷﻬﺎﺩﺓ ﺑﺪﻭﻱ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﺎﺣﺐ ﻗﺮﻳﺔ ( ﻗﻠﺖ‬: ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ ﻭﻫﻮ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻧﻈﺎﻓﺔ ﺳﻨﺪﻩ‬- ‫ﻟﺤﺎﻛﻢ‬
‫ﻟﻒ – ﻳﻌﻨﻲ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻤﺆ‬‫ﺍ‬

Again, in the same book, he says about the hadith that: ‘A testimony
of a bedouin (a nomad) against a villager (or townsman) is not
permissible’. Al-Dhahabi says: ‘The author (Al-Hakim) did not
prove it authentic. In fact, it is a rejected hadith, though its sanad is
clean’.52

‫ ﻭﺭﻭﻯ ﻋﻦ‬- ‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ‬ ‫ ﺍ‬- ‫ﻟﺤﺎﻛﻢﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ﻫﻨﺎﻙ ﻗﻠﺖ‬ ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻨﺪ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻘﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺼﺤﻴﺢ ﺍ‬
،‫ ﻭﻗﺪ ﻭﺛﻘﻪ ﻳﺤﻴﻰ ﺑﻦ ﻣﻌﻴﻦ‬:‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬،‫ﻳﻮﺳﻒ ﻧﻮﺡ ﺑﻦ ﻗﻴﺲ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻭﻣﺎ ﻋﻠﻤﺖ ﺃﺣﺪﺍ ﺗﻜﻠﻢ ﻓﻴﻪ‬

51
- Vol. 4, p. 11-12.
52
- Vol. 4, p. 99.
32
 ‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ ﻭﻣﺎ ﺃﺩﺭﻱ ﺃﻳﻦ ﺁﻓﺔ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍ‬... ‫ﻟﻘﺎﺳﻢ ﻭﺛﻘﻮﻩ‬
‫ﻭﺍ‬

In the same book, while he was commenting on the act of al-Hakim

to authenticate a certain hadith, he said: ‘From Yusuf, it was also
narrated by Nooh bin Qais about whom I don’t know anyone that
has ever accused him of (weakness or any flaw). ‘Indeed, he has been
regarded as trustworthy by Ibn Ma’in. And Alqasim (another
narrator in the sanad) has equally been regarded as reliable…... I do
not know where this flaw of the hadith has come from.’53

‫ ﺃﻧﻬﺎ ﺟﺎءﺕ ﻫﻲ ﻭﺃﺑﻮﻫﺎ‬: ‫ﻟﻤﺴﺘﺪﺭﻙ" ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻋﺎﺋﺸﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﺬﻫﺒﻲ ﻓﻲ "ﺗﻠﺨﻴﺺ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻬﻢ ﺍﻏﻔﺮﻟﻌﺎﺋﺸﺔ ﺑﻨﺖ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺑﻜﺮ‬
‫ ﺍ‬: ‫ ﻓﻘﺎﻝ‬،‫ﻓﻘﺎﻻ ﺇﻧﺎ ﻧﺤﺐ ﺃﻥ ﺗﺪﻋﻮﻟﻌﺎﺋﺸﺔ ﺑﺪﻋﻮﺓ ﻭﻧﺤﻦ ﻧﺴﻤﻊ‬
‫ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺟﻮﺩﺓ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩﻩ‬:‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬:‫ﻟﺦ ﻗﺎﻝ‬‫ ﺇ‬... ‫ﻟﺼﺪﻳﻖ ﻣﻐﻔﺮﺓ ﻭﺍﺟﺒﺔ ﻅﺎﻫﺮﺓ ﻭﺑﺎﻁﻨﺔ‬ ‫ﺍ‬

In his al-Talkhis, Al-Dhahabi also says about a hadith related on the

authority of Aisha that she and her father came (to the Prophet). Her
father said to him: ‘We like to hear you pray for Aisha in our
presence’. He said: ‘O Allah! Grant to Aisha a due, inner and outer
forgiveness’. Al-Dhahabi says about this hadith: ‘It is abominable,
though excellent in terms of its sanad’.54

‫ﻟﺤﻤﺎ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻢ( ﻋﻦ ﺻﻔﻴﺔ ﺧﺒﺰﺍ ﻭ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬‫ ﺃﻁﻌﻢ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬: ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ ﺇﻧﻤﺎ ﺫﻱ ﺯﻳﻨﺐ‬،‫ ﺑﻞ ﻏﻠﻂ‬: ‫ ﻗﻠﺖ‬،‫ﻟﺤﺎﻛﻢ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ‬ ‫ﻋﻨﺪ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻘﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻗﻮﻝ ﺍ‬

Concerning the hadith that says: ‘The Prophet gave bread and meat
in compensation on behalf of Safiyya’. When al-Dhahabi
commented on the authentication of this hadith by al-Hakim, he said
thus: ‘But there is a mistake: this was Zainab (not Safiyya)’.

‫ ﻓﺈﻥ ﺭﻗﻴﺔ ﻣﺎﺗﺖ ﻭﻗﺖ ﺑﺪﺭ ﻭﺃﺑﻮ‬،‫ﻟﻤﺘﻦ‬

‫ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﺍ‬: ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻫﻨﺎﻙ‬
‫ﻫﺮﻳﺮﺓ ﺃﺳﻠﻢ ﻭﻗﺖ ﺧﻴﺒﺮ‬

In the same book, he also says about a certain hadith: ‘Its accurate
(in terms of the sanad, but), its matn is refutable, for Ruqayya died

53
- Vol. 3, p. 170-1.
54
- Vol. 4, p. 11-12.
33
 ‫‪at the time the of war of Badr, while Abu Huraira embraced Islam at‬‬
‫‪the time of the war of Khaibar.55‬‬

‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ‪ ) :‬ﻻ ﺗﺠﻮﺯ ﺷﻬﺎﺩﺓ ﺑﺪﻭﻱ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺻﺎﺣﺐ ﻗﺮﻳﺔ ( ﻗﻠﺖ‪:‬ﻟﻢ ﻳﺼﺤﺤﻪ‬
‫ﻟﺤﺎﻛﻢ ‪ -‬ﻭﻫﻮ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻣﻨﻜﺮ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻧﻈﺎﻓﺔ ﺳﻨﺪﻩ‬
‫ﻟﻒ – ﻳﻌﻨﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻤﺆ‬ ‫ﺍ‬

‫‪Again, in the same book, he says about the hadith that: ‘A testimony‬‬
‫‪of a bedouin (a nomad) against a villager (or townsman) is not‬‬
‫‪permissible’. Al-Dhahabi says: ‘The author (Al-Hakim) did not‬‬
‫‪prove it authentic. In fact, it is a rejected hadith, though its sanad is‬‬
‫‪clean’.56‬‬

‫ﻟﺒﺴﻤﻠﺔ ﻛﻤﺎ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺤﺎﺳﻦ ﺍﻻﺻﻄﻼﺡ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻨﻪ ( ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬

‫ﻗﺎﻝ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻁﺎﻫﺮ ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺃﻧﺲ ) ﺭﺿﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺰﻳﺎﺩﺓ ﻓﻲ ﻣﺘﻨﻪ ﻣﻨﻜﺮﺓ ﻣﻮﺿﻮﻋﺔ‬‫ﻟﺒﻠﻘﻴﻨﻲ‪ :‬ﻫﺬﺍ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩ ﺻﺤﻴﺢ ﻣﺘﺼﻞﻟﻜﻦ ﻫﺬﻩ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻺﻣﺎﻡ ﺍ‬

‫‪In his Mahasinu al-Istilah, Ibn Tahir says about a hadith related from‬‬
‫‪Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) on bismilah: ‘This sanad is‬‬
‫‪genuine and connected, but this addition to the matn is refutable and‬‬
‫‪fabricated.‬‬

‫ﻟﺘﺮﻣﺬﻱ ﺑﻌﺪ ﺃﻥ‬ ‫ﻟﻨﺎﺱ ﻓﻲ "ﻋﻴﻮﻥ ﺍﻷﺛﺮ" ﻋﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﺫﻛﺮﻩ ﻫﻨﺎﻙ ﻣﻦ ﺭﻭﺍﻳﺔ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻗﺎﻝ ﺍﺑﻦ ﺳﻴﺪ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﺑﻦ‬ ‫ﻟﺼﺤﻴﺢ ﻭﻋﺒﺪﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ﺇﻻ ﻣﻦ ﺧﺮﺝﻟﻪ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺫﻛﺮﻩ ‪:‬ﻗﻠﺖ‪:‬ﻟﻴﺲ ﻓﻲ ﺇﺳﻨﺎﺩ ﻫﺬﺍ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺒﺨﺎﺭﻱ ﻭﻳﻮﻧﺲ ﺑﻦ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺇﺳﺤﺎﻕ ﺍﻧﻔﺮﺩ ﺑﻪ ﻣﺴﻠﻢ‪،‬‬ ‫ﻏﺰﻭﺍﻥ ﺃﺑﻮ ﻧﻮﺡﻟﻘﺒﻪ ﻗﺮﺍﺩ ‪ ،‬ﻭﺍﻧﻔﺮﺩ ﺑﻪ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺴﻼﻡ ﺑﻼﻻ‪،‬‬ ‫ﻟﺼﻼﺓ ﻭﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻨﺒﻲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻚ ﻓﻔﻲ ﻣﺘﻨﻪ ﻧﻜﺎﺭﺓ ‪ ،‬ﻭﻫﻲ ﺇﺭﺳﺎﻝ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺑﻜﺮ ﻣﻊ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻭﻣﻊ ﺫ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﺃﺳﻦ ﻣﻦ ﺃﺑﻲ‬ ‫ﻟﻨﺒﻲ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻌﺸﺮ ﺳﻨﻴﻦ ﻓﺈﻥ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻓﻜﻴﻒ ﻭﺃﺑﻮ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺣﻴﻨﺌﺬﻟﻢ ﻳﺒﻠﻎ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻪ ﺃﺑﻮ‬‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﺗﺴﻌﺔ ﺃﻋﻮﺍﻡ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺎ ﻗﺎ‬ ‫ﺑﻜﺮ ﺑﺄﺯﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ ﻋﺎﻣﻴﻦ‪ ،‬ﻭﻛﺎﻧﺖﻟﻠﻨﺒﻲ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻪ ﺁﺧﺮﻭﻥ‪ ،‬ﻭﺃﻳﻀﺎ ﻓﺈﻥ‬ ‫ﻟﻄﺒﺮﻱ ﻭﻏﻴﺮﻩ ﺃﻭ ﺍﺛﻨﺎ ﻋﺸﺮ ﻋﺎﻣﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺎ ﻗﺎ‬ ‫ﺟﻌﻔﺮ ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺑﻦ ﺟﺮﻳﺮ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺠﻤﺤﻴﻴﻦ‬ ‫ﻟﻚ ﺑﺄﻛﺜﺮ ﻣﻦ ﺛﻼﺛﻴﻦ ﻋﺎﻣﺎ ‪ ،‬ﻓﺈﻧﻪ ﻛﺎﻥﻟﺒﻨﻲ ﺧﻠﻒ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺑﻼﻻﻟﻢ ﻳﻨﺘﻘﻞ ﻷﺑﻲ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺇﻻ ﺑﻌﺪ ﺫ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻨﻪ ( ﺭﺣﻤﺔﻟﻪ ﻭﺍﺳﺘﻨﻘﺎﺫﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻡ ﺍﺷﺘﺮﺍﻩ ﺃﺑﻮ ﺑﻜﺮ ) ﺭﺿﻲ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻭﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﻋﺬﺏ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻚ ﻣﺸﻬﻮﺭﺍ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ ﺃﻳﺪﻳﻬﻢ ﻭﺧﺒﺮﻩ ﺑﺬ‬

‫‪Ibn Sayyidi al-Nas says, in his Uyunu al-Athar, about a hadith he‬‬
‫‪mentioned therein which was originally related by al-Tirmidhi:‬‬
‫‪‘None of the narrators found in this sanad but has one’s hadith‬‬
‫‪incorporated in the Sahih (Either in the Sahihu al-Bukhari or Sahihu‬‬

‫‪55‬‬
‫‪- Vol. 4, p. 48.‬‬
‫‪56‬‬
‫‪- Vol. 4, p. 99.‬‬
‫‪34‬‬
 Muslim)……….Yet its matn is abominable. The statement that Abu
Bakr and the Prophet (pbuh) released Bilal (is wrong). How was that
possible, while meantime Abu Bakr was less than ten years old? It
should be born in mind that the Prophet was older than Abu Bakr for
more than two years, and the Prophet (pbuh) by then was nine years
old according to the narration by al-Tabari and others. Another
version holds that the Prophet (pbuh) by then was twelve years old.
Furthermore, Bilal come into the possession of Abu Bakr after more
than thirty years, before that he was possessed by Bani Khalif al-
Jamhiyyin. When he was tortured in the cause of Allah, Abu Bakr
(my Allah be pleased with him), out of his mercy and in order to
save him from their hands, bought him, indeed his story is widely
known.57

‫ﻟﺼﺤﺎﺑﺔ" ﻓﻲ ﺗﻌﻠﻴﻖ ﻋﻠﻰ‬ ‫ﻟﺰﺭﻛﺸﻲ ﻓﻲ "ﺍﻹﺟﺎﺑﺔ ﻹﻳﺮﺍﺩ ﻣﺎ ﺍﺳﺘﺪﺭﻛﺘﻪ ﻋﺎﺋﺸﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ ) ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻪ ﻓﻴﻪ ﻓﺪﻋﺎ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍ‬ ‫ ﻗﻮ‬: ‫ﻟﺒﺨﺎﺭﻱﻟﺤﺎﺩﺛﺔ ﺍﻹﻓﻚ ﻗﺎﻝ‬ ‫ﻭﻫﻢ ﻭﻗﻊ ﻓﻲ ﺭﻭﺍﻳﺔ ﺍ‬
‫ ﺇﻥ‬:‫ﻟﻰ ﺃﻥ ﻗﺎﻝ‬ ‫ ﺇ‬... ‫ﻟﻚ‬
‫ ﻭﺑﺮﻳﺮﺓ ﺇﻧﻤﺎ ﺍﺷﺘﺮﺗﻬﺎ ﻋﺎﺋﺸﺔ ﻓﺄﻋﺘﻘﺘﻬﺎ ﺑﻌﺪ ﺫ‬،‫ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ ( ﺑﺮﻳﺮﺓ‬
،‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬ ‫ ﻓﻴﻈﻦ ﺃﻧﻪ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬،‫ﻟﺮﻭﺍﺓ‬ ‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ ﻣﻦ ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ ﺑﻌﺾ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺠﺎﺭﻳﺔ ﺑﺒﺮﻳﺮﺓ ﻣﺪﺭﺝ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺗﻔﺴﻴﺮ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺤﺬﺍﻕ‬ ‫ﻭﻫﻮ ﻧﻮﻉ ﻏﺎﻣﺾ ﻻ ﻳﺘﻨﺒﻪﻟﻪ ﺇﻻ ﺍ‬

‫ﻟﺘﺮﻣﺬﻱ ﻭﻏﻴﺮﻩ ﻣﻦ ﺣﺪﻳﺚ ﻳﻮﻧﺲ ﺑﻦ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺇﺳﺤﺎﻕ ﻋﻦ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺑﻜﺮ‬ ‫ﻭﻣﻦ ﻧﻈﺎﺋﺮﺓ ﻣﺎ ﻭﻗﻊ ﻓﻲ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺼﻼﺓ‬ ‫ﻟﻨﺒﻲ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺸﺎﻡ ﻭﺧﺮﺝ ﻣﻌﻪ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻰ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺐ ﺇ‬ ‫ ﺧﺮﺝ ﺃﺑﻮ ﻁﺎ‬: ‫ﺍﺑﻦ ﺃﺑﻲ ﻣﻮﺳﻰ ﻋﻦ ﺃﺑﻴﻪ ﻗﺎﻝ‬
‫ﻟﺐ ﻭﺑﻌﺚ ﻣﻌﻪ ﺃﺑﻮ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺑﻼﻻ‬ ‫ﻓﺮﺩﻩ ﺃﺑﻮ ﻁﺎ‬: ‫ ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﻓﻲ ﺁﺧﺮﻩ‬،‫ﻟﺮﺍﻫﺐ‬ ‫ﻟﺴﻼﻡ ﻓﺬﻛﺮ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻭﺍ‬
‫ ﻷﻥ ﺑﻼﻻ ﺇﻧﻤﺎ ﺍﺷﺘﺮﺍﻩ‬، ‫ﻟﻈﺎﻫﺮﺓ‬ ‫ ﻓﻬﺬﻩ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻷﻭﻫﺎﻡ ﺍ‬، ( ‫ﻟﺰﻳﺖ‬ ‫ﻟﻜﻌﻚ ﻭﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺮﺍﻫﺐ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻭﺯﻭﺩﻩ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻤﺎ‬، ‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﻭﺑﻌﺪ ﺃﻥ ﺃﺳﻠﻢ ﺑﻼﻝ ﻭﻋﺬﺑﻪ ﻗﻮﻣﻪ‬ ‫ﻟﻨﺒﻲ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺃﺑﻮ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺑﻌﺪ ﻣﺒﻌﺚ ﺍ‬
،‫ﻟﻌﻤﺮ ﺍﺛﻨﺘﺎ ﻋﺸﺮﺓ ﺳﻨﺔ ﻭﺷﻬﺮﺍﻥ ﻭﺃﻳﺎﻡ‬‫ﻟﻠﻪ ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﻛﺎﻥﻟﻪ ﻣﻦ ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﻨﺒﻲ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺧﺮﺝ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻛﺎﻥﻟﻪ ﻗﺮﻳﺐ ﻣﻦ ﺧﻤﺲ ﻭﻋﺸﺮﻳﻦ‬ ‫ﻟﻤﺮﺓ ﺍ‬‫ﻟﻤﺎ ﺧﺮﺝ ﺍ‬‫ ﻭ‬، ‫ﻟﺪ‬
‫ﻟﻌﻞ ﺑﻼﻻﻟﻢ ﻳﻜﻦ ﺑﻌﺪ ﻭ‬ ‫ﻭ‬
‫ﻟﺐ ﺇﻧﻤﺎ ﻛﺎﻥ ﻣﻊ ﻣﻴﺴﺮﺓ‬ ‫ﻟﻢ ﻳﻜﻦ ﻣﻊ ﺃﺑﻲ ﻁﺎ‬ ‫ ﻭ‬،‫ﺳﻨﺔ‬

Al-Zarkashi, in his al-Ijaba li-Iradi Ma stadrakat-hu Aisha Alaa al-

Sahaba, when he was commenting on an error found in the narration
by al-Bukhari concerning the event of slandering (against Aisha),
said: ‘His statement therein that the Prophet (pbuh) called Barira,
while Barira was bought and freed by Aisha after that……..indeed,
the explanation that the maid (mentioned therein) was Barira, was

57
- Vol. 1, p. 55-6.
35
 interpolated in the hadith by some narrators when they were
elucidating it. Therefore, it was deemed (by some people) a part of
the account. This type is subtle and obscure, none can perceive it
except the skillful ones.

The similar error has also been found in the narration by al-Tirmidhi
and others of a hadith told by Yunus from Abi Is-haq from Abi Bakr
bin Abi Musa from his father said: ‘Abu Talib and the Prophet set
out for Sham (Syria). He mentioned (the story of) Rahib (the monk).
Finally, he said: ‘Abu Talib retuned him (the Prophet when was
young, to Makka) in company with Bilal, and the monk gave him
cake and oil. These are obvious errors stemming from their illusion,
because Bilal was bought by Abu Bakr after the rise of the Prophet
(pbuh) and after Bilal had embraced Islam and his people tortured
him for that. When the Prophet (pbuh) set out (for Sham), he aged
twelve years, two months and some days. It is mostly likely that Bilal
by then was not born yet. When he journeyed the second time, he
was not accompanied by Abi Talib: he was with Maysara. 58

‫ ﻳﻌﻨﻲ ﻗﺮﺍﺩﺍ ﺃﺣﺪ ﺭﻭﺍﺓ ﻫﺬﺍ‬- ‫ ﻭﺛﻘﻪ‬: ... ‫ﻟﻨﻬﺎﻳﺔ" ﺑﻌﺪ ﻛﻼﻡ‬
‫ﻟﺒﺪﺍﻳﺔ ﻭﺍ‬
‫ﻭﻗﺎﻝ ﺍﺑﻦ ﻛﺜﻴﺮ ﻓﻲ "ﺍ‬
.. ‫ﻟﻢ ﺃﺭ ﺃﺣﺪﺍ ﺟﺮﺣﻪ ﻭﻣﻊ ﻫﺬﺍ ﻓﻔﻲ ﺣﺪﻳﺜﻪ ﻏﺮﺍﺑﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﺤﻔﺎﻅ ﻭ‬ ‫ ﺟﻤﺎﻋﺔ ﻣﻦ ﺍﻷﺋﻤﺔ ﻭﺍ‬- ‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬‫ )ﻭﺑﻌﺚ ﻣﻌﻪ ﺃﺑﻮ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺑﻼﻻ( ﺇﻥ ﻛﺎﻥ ﻋﻤﺮﻩ )ﺻﻠﻰ ﺍ‬:‫ﻟﻪ‬ ‫ﻟﺚ ﺃﻥ ﻗﻮ‬ ‫ﻟﺜﺎ‬
‫ ﺍ‬:‫ﻟﻰ ﺃﻥ ﻗﺎﻝ‬
‫ ﺇ‬...
‫ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﻭﺳﻠﻢ( ﺇﺫ ﺫﺍﻙ ﺍﺛﻨﺘﻲ ﻋﺸﺮﺓ ﺳﻨﺔ ﻓﻘﺪ ﻛﺎﻥ ﻋﻤﺮ ﺃﺑﻲ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺇﺫ ﺫﺍﻙ ﺗﺴﻊ ﺳﻨﻴﻦ ﺃﻭ ﻋﺸﺮ‬
‫ﻟﻚ ﻓﺄﻳﻦ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺃﺑﻮ ﺑﻜﺮ ﺇﺫ ﺫﺍﻙ ؟ ﺛﻢ ﺃﻳﻦ ﻛﺎﻥ ﺑﻼﻝ ؟! ﻛﻼﻫﻤﺎ ﻏﺮﻳﺒﺎ‬ ‫ﻭﻋﻤﺮ ﺑﻼﻝ ﺃﻗﻞ ﻣﻦ ﺫ‬

In al-Bidaya wa al-Nihaya, after some explanation, Ibn Kathir says:

‘He (Qurad), one of the narrators of this hadith, has been qualified
by a number of imams, indeed I do not know anyone of them that
has ever disqualified him, yet there is a strangeness in the
hadith……thirdly, his statement that Abu Bakr sent Bilal along with
him, for if the Prophet (pbuh) by then aged twelve, this meant that
Abu Bank was nine or ten years old, and Bilal was even younger.
Where was Abu Bakr then, and where was Bilal? Both are strange!59

The same words have been repeated by:

58
- P. 41.
59
- Vol. 2, p. 267.
36
 1) Ibn Aljawzi as quoted by Almubarfuri in his Tuhafatu al-Ahwadhi.60
2) Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani in his al-Isaba.61

60
- Vol 4, p. 297.
61
- Vol. 1, p. 183.
37
 PART EIGHT
Summary
This part of the article is aimed at summarizing what we have previously
written so as to remind the readers the subject under discussion. At first, I
intended, and indeed pointed out that I would continue to bring more quotes
from the book al-Saifu al-Had by al-Qannubi on the hadiths with fine sanads
but with mistaken texts as cited by some of the most learned scholars. But
then, with a complete change of mind, I felt that what preceded was enough
to present a clear picture of the subject. Thus, I think it will be more advisable
if we now undertake a slightly different course to sum up what we have
detailed in different parts of the article. This will be followed by the section
two in which an answer will be provided to the question as to what methods
are we to undertake so as to be able to distinguish between the authentic from
the inauthentic hadiths especially when confusion is likely to take place due
to the fact that the soundness and the unsoundness of sanads are not always
categorically normative?
In a nutshell, the overall objective of this article is to outline the basic
fundamentals and principles which the Ibadhis, like other Muslims, rely on
for their analysis and criticism of the accounts attributed to the Prophet,
Sahaba and those who came after them who were held in high respect as
predecessors and forerunners of the Islamic Nation. Accordingly, it provides
a response to the question: “What are the standards and criteria for accepting
and rejecting hadiths in the Ibadhi School?” Through the passage of this
humble demonstration of guidelines and principles, the readers have been
able to get a clear answer to the aforesaid question, a brief of which is as
follows:
1) The standards and criteria for accepting and rejecting hadith in the Ibadhi
School are not different from those laid down by the four schools
commonly known as the Sunni Schools.
2) Generally, the Ibadhis accept a hadith if it is safe from any flaw both in its
sanad and its matn.
3) But, again, hadiths fall into three major types:

38
a) The hadith that is weak in terms of both its sanad and its matn. This is
unacceptable anyway. One example of such a hadith is the hadith that:
“Do not uglify the face, for man has been created in the image of
(Allah) the Most Gracious”.
b) The hadith that has been related by one or more weak narrators, but its
matn is very strong, quite acceptable as it is compatible with other
principles and standerds. This can be accepted, but if a man rejects it
on the basis that it has no clean sanad, he is not to be blamed. The
example of this category, is the hadith which says:

Behold! There will be a fitna (temptation, test, trial, unrest,

disorder)! I said: ‘How to escape therefrom, oh the Messenger of
Allah?’ He said: ‘(The only way to escape from the fitna is to
adhere to) The Book of Allah. In it are tidings about those who
were before you and the tidings which will be after you; and it is
a judgment among you; and it is a word that distinguishes (Right
from wrong and good from evil): not a thing for amusement;
whoever neglects it among the arrogant, the insolent......

c) The hadiths with fine sanad but with unacceptable texts. This type, as
we said, is the most dangerous, because one can be beguiled by the
sheen and shine of the sanad thinking that the text is also as healthy as
the sanad is. The last three segments of the article are composed of this
type. It remains to be seen, which method we should implement in oder
to avoid errors and which will enable us to draw a sharp distiction of
these various types of hadiths. The following section will tackle that
propblem.

39
 PART NINE
SECTION TWO
Different parts of this article have spotlighted four major things which
constitute a framework for understanding hadiths. One is made up of a set of
stipulations for accepting and rejecting hadiths; the other three being
different types of hadiths. However, one of these three types of hadiths – the
hadiths with fine sanads but with refutable matns, is somewhat perplexing
and so needs to be clarified by illustrations in order the readers may be fully
convinced. As the first step towards understanding this issue properly, we
must divide that type of hadith into three parts:
1) A hadith with genuine sanad but contradicts the Quran.
2) A hadith with genuine sanad but contradicts human logic.
3) A hadith with genuine sanad but contradicts ijma’a (Muslim
consensus).
Each of these parts is not acceptable any way. It will be observed here that
the issue of a hadith with genuine sanad contradicting another hadith also
with genuine sanad has not been listed here as being the forth part of this
type. The reason behind this is that the issue of two reliable sanads being
contradictory to each other, one of which is more reliable, primarily has to
do with the problem of the sanad: not the matn, while our concern in this
section is about how we can study the weak matns that have been fetched in
the medium of strong sanads. Let us now look at two illustration of such
type, though one of them is little bit controversial.

A hadith with genuine sanad but contradicts the Quran

The contradiction between hadiths and the Quran may be direct or indirect.
The direct contradiction between them is where the Quran states clearly
about a certain thing, then comes a hadith to gainsay it. This type of
contradiction is not much difficult to discover because everyone sees it
clearly. Even those with a smattering of the Quran may notice it. Other types

40
represent more sophisticated intricacies whose solution depends totally on
how proficient one is in the Arabic language and all other types of studies
necessary for analysis and interpretation such as Usulu al-Fiqh
(fundamentals of Islamic Jurisprudence). In this section 2-A, let us advance
a few illustrations of the hadiths that directly contradict the Quran though
they have healthy sanads.

Examples of the direct contradiction between the Quran and

hadith: The hadith on the creation of the universe
The book of Muslim on the Prophetic Traditions is held by many Muslims
as one of the most authentic authoritative work on the subject. There are
those who believe that any tradition collected by either al-Bukhari or
Muslim, that tradition has safely crossed the archway – it is unquestionable.
But this is not a generally accepted idea, for researches have revealed the
existence of more than two hundred and fifty hadiths in the two books which
have been rejected, either entirely or partially (some of their words being
criticized), by specialists in the science of traditions. One example of those
hadiths collected by Muslim and which directly contradict the Book of Allah,
is the hadith that says:
‫ﻋ ﱠﺰ َﻭ َﺟ ﱠﻞ‬ َ ُ‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬ ‫ » َﺧ َﻠﻖَ ﺍ‬:َ‫ﺳ ﱠﻠ َﻢ ِﺑ َﻴﺪِﻱ َﻓ َﻘﺎﻝ‬ َ ‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﻭ‬
َ ُ‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬ ‫ﺻ ﱠﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ َ ‫ﻟﻠ ِﻪ‬ ‫ﺳﻮ ُﻝ ﺍ‬ ُ ‫ ﺃ َ َﺧﺬَ َﺭ‬:َ‫ َﻗﺎﻝ‬،َ ‫ﻋ ْﻦ ﺃ َ ِﺑﻲ ﻫ َُﺮﻳ َْﺮﺓ‬ َ
َ‫ﻟ َﻤ ْﻜ ُﺮﻭﻩ‬ ْ ْ
‫ َﻭ َﺧ َﻠﻖَ ﺍ‬،‫ﺸ َﺠ َﺮ َﻳ ْﻮ َﻡ ِﺍﻻﺛ َﻨﻴ ِْﻦ‬ ‫ﻟ ﱠ‬ َ
‫ َﻭ َﺧﻠَﻖَ ﺍ‬،ِ‫ﻟ ِﺠ َﺒﺎ َﻝ َﻳ ْﻮ َﻡ ْﺍﻷ َﺣﺪ‬ ْ ‫ َﻭ َﺧ َﻠﻖَ ﻓِﻴ َﻬﺎ ﺍ‬،ِ‫ﺴ ْﺒﺖ‬ ‫ﻟ ﱠ‬ ‫ﻟﺘ ﱡ ْﺮ َﺑﺔَ َﻳ ْﻮ َﻡ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ‬ َ ‫ َﻭ َﺧﻠَﻖَ ﺁﺩَ َﻡ‬،‫َﻤِﻴﺲ‬ ِ ‫ﻟﺨ‬ ْ ‫ﻟﺪ َﱠﻭﺍﺏﱠ َﻳ ْﻮ َﻡ ﺍ‬ ‫ﺚ ﻓِﻴ َﻬﺎ ﺍ‬ ‫ َﻭ َﺑ ﱠ‬، ِ‫ﻮﺭ َﻳ ْﻮ َﻡ ْﺍﻷ َ ْﺭ ِﺑ َﻌﺎء‬ َ ‫ﱡ‬
‫ﻨ‬ ‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ َ‫ﻖ‬ َ
‫ﻠ‬ ‫ﺧ‬ َ ‫ﻭ‬
َ ، ِ‫ﺎء‬ َ ‫ﺛ‬‫ﻼ‬ َ ‫ﱡ‬ ‫ﺜ‬‫ﻟ‬‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻡ‬
َ ‫َﻳ‬
‫ﻮ‬ ْ
،ِ‫ﻟ ُﺠ ُﻤ َﻌﺔ‬ ْ‫ﺕ ﺍ‬ ِ ‫ﻋﺎ‬ ‫ﺎ‬
َ َ‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﻦ‬ ْ ِ‫ﻣ‬ ‫ﺔ‬
ٍ ‫ﻋ‬ ‫ﺎ‬
َ َ ِ‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ِ‫ﺁﺧ‬ ‫ِﻲ‬ ‫ﻓ‬ ، ‫ﻖ‬
ِ ْ
‫َﻠ‬‫ﺨ‬ ْ
‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ِ ِ‫ﺁﺧ‬ ‫ِﻲ‬ ‫ﻓ‬ ،ِ‫ﺔ‬ ‫ﻌ‬ ‫ﻤ‬
َ ُ ‫ﺠ‬ُ ْ
‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻡ‬ ‫ﻮ‬
ِ َْ ‫ﻳ‬ ‫ﻦ‬ْ ِ‫ﻣ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ِ َ ْ َ ُ ‫ﻟﺴ‬
‫ﺼ‬
ْ ‫ﻌ‬‫ﻟ‬ْ ‫ﺍ‬ َ ‫ﺪ‬ ‫ﻌ‬ ‫ﺑ‬ ‫ﻡ‬ ‫ﱠﻼ‬َ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ﱠ‬
«‫ﻟﻠ ْﻴ ِﻞ‬ ‫ﻟﻰ ﺍ‬ َ ِ‫ﺼ ِﺮ ﺇ‬ ْ ‫ﻟ َﻌ‬ ْ ‫ﻓِﻴ َﻤﺎ َﺑﻴْﻦَ ﺍ‬

From Abi Huraira said: ‘The Prophet took by my hand and said:
‘Allah, the Most Exalted, created soil on Saturday, and created
mountains on Sunday, and created trees on Monday, and created
misfortunes on Tuesday, and created light on Wednesday, and
created and disseminated animals therein on Thursday, and created
Adam (pbuh) on Friday at late afternoon, as the final creation, at the
last hour of Friday’s hours, between afternoon and night.

41
The contradiction between the Quran and this tradition is very clear, one does
not need to be a man of high knowledge in order to perceive it. As seen,
according to this tradition, it took seven days for Allah to complete the
creation of the universe, beginning from Saturday and ending on Friday. This
is a wrong information and contradicts a number of the Quranic verses which
state clearly that the creation of the heavens, the Earth and all those which
are between them (the universe as a whole) took place within a period of six
days. Allah says:

‫ﺳﺘﱠ ِﺔ ﺃَ ﱠﻳ ٍﺎﻡ‬ َ ‫ﺕ َﻭﺍﻷَ ْﺭ‬

ِ ‫ﺽ َﻭ َﻣﺎ َﺑ ْﻴ َﻨ ُﻬ َﻤﺎ ِﻓﻲ‬ ‫ﺍ ﱠﻟﺬِﻱ َﺧ َﻠﻖَ ﺍﻟ ﱠ‬
ِ ‫ﺴ َﻤ َﻮﺍ‬
Who created the heavens, the Earth and what is between
them for six days.62

This is why a lot of Muslim scholars have, unhesitatingly, rejected this

account. In his al-Tufan al-Jarif, Imamu al-Sunna, al-Qannubi (may Allah
safeguard him), has mentioned a number of Muslim scholars who rejected
this hadith on the basis that it contradictory to the Quran. They have also
stated that this hadith has resulted from Jewish narration by one named
Ka’abu al-Ahbar, a Jew convert to Islam who brought into Islam a lot of
interpolated Jewish accounts. In his Tafsir vol. 1, p. 66, Ibn Kathir, for
instance, says the following about the hadith:
This hadith is one of the strange accounts in Sahihu Muslim. Many
scholars including Ali bin Almadini and al-Bukhari have criticized
it and ascribed it to Ka’abu as his own words and that Abu Huraira
heard it from him and that some narrators were confused in that they
attributed it to the Prophet (pbuh).
Another scholar who rejected that hadith, as quoted by al-Qannubi in his al-
Tufan vol. 3, part 2, p. 204, is Ibn Taymiyya. In more than one book, he has

62
- Chapter 25, verse 59. Chapter 32, verse 4. Chapter 50, verse 38.
42
put this hadith in a term of error. In his al-Jawabu al-Sahih vol, 2, p. 443 for
example, he says:
The example of which is an account collected by Muslim which
holds that Allah created soil on Saturday, and so (wrongly) asserted
that the creation of the whole universe took seven days. Imams, such
as Yahya bin Ma’in, ‘Abdul-Rahman bin Mahdi, al-Bukhari and
others, have stated that this hadith is erroneous and that it is not a
word of the Prophet (pbuh)……indeed, the Quran shows that this is
an error, for it states that the creation was completed within six days.
The like statement by Ibn Taymiyya can be also found in his
another work, Majmu’u al-Fatawa, vol. 17, p. 235-6, vol. 1,
p. 256-7, vol. 18, p. 18-9.
Another scholar who has spoken on this hadith is al-Zarkashi. In his al-Nukat
Alaa Muqadimati Ibn Alsalah vol. 2, p. 268-9, he says:
And they have stated that one of the signs showing that a hadith has
been fabricated, is where it contradicts the Quran as Ali bin
Almadini said about the hadith that was narrated by Isma’il bin
Umayya…from Abu Huraira, ascribing it to the Prophet, that: ‘Allah
created soil on Saturday….they said that this hadith is contrary to
the Quran that the creation of the heavens and the Earth took place
within six days…..
In short, this hadith is null and void. It represents one example out of many
other examples of the hadiths whose sanads are acceptable but with incorrect
texts because of its contents being incompatible with the Book of Allah
which is the first criterion with which to examine the accuracy and
inaccuracy of all other texts and statements.

43
 PART TEN
Another example:
There is a hadith which has been interpreted as permitting Muslims to
proceed to drink after lfajr adhan (a call to the dawn prayer) in the month of
Ramadhan if the drinks are in their hands while a call is being proclaimed.
My emphasis on the word interpreted here is precise and very important
because it is aimed at showing that the hadith does not literally say so. The
idea of associating the hadith with a particular incident of calling people to
dawn prayer during the month of Ramadhan is likely to come from an
individual opinion of some narrators of this hadith who added some words
from which people deduced that meaning. The words added to the original
texts are:
‫ﻟﻤﺆﺫﻥ ﻳ َُﺆ ِﺫّﻥُ ﺇﺫﺍ ﺑﺰﻍ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻔﺠﺮ‬ ‫ﻭﻛﺎﻥ ﺍ‬
And the muadhin (caller to prayer) used to call after dawn.
The literal meaning of the hadith, before those words had not been added
thereto, was as follows:
‫ﻋ َﻠﻰ َﻳ ِﺪ ِﻩ َﻓ َﻼ‬
َ ‫ﺍﻹﻧَﺎ ُء‬ ‫ﺳﻤِ َﻊ ﺃ َ َﺣﺪُ ُﻛ ُﻢ ﺍ‬
ِ ْ ‫ﻟ ِّﻨﺪَﺍ َء َﻭ‬ َ ‫ ِﺇﺫَﺍ‬:‫ﺳ ﱠﻠ َﻢ‬
َ ‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﻭ‬ ‫ﺻ ﱠﻠﻰ ﺍ‬
َ ُ‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬ َ ‫ﻟﻠﱠ ِﻪ‬
‫ﺳﻮ ُﻝ ﺍ‬ ُ ‫ َﻗﺎ َﻝ َﺭ‬:َ‫ َﻗﺎﻝ‬, َ ‫ﻋ ْﻦ ﺃ َ ِﺑﻲ ﻫ َُﺮﻳ َْﺮﺓ‬
َ
ُ ‫ﻲ َﺣﺎ َﺟﺘَﻪُ ﻣِ ْﻨﻪ‬ ْ
َ ِ َ َ ْ َ ‫َﻳ‬
‫ﻀ‬ ‫ﻘ‬ ‫ﻳ‬ ‫ﻰ‬ ‫ﱠ‬ ‫ﺘ‬‫ﺣ‬ ُ ‫ﻪ‬ ‫ﻌ‬‫ﻀ‬
From Abu Huraira said: ‘The Prophet (pbuh) said: ‘When one of you
hears a call to prayer and the cup is in his hands, he must not put it
down until he has satisfied his need of it.
Overwhelming majority of Muslim scholars have rejected this hadith on the
grounds that it is contrary to the Quran. In his Vituko na Vitakuro p. 142,
Sheikh Khalfan al-Tiwani has quoted al-Hazimi as saying, in his al-Nasikhu
wa al-Mansukh p. 145, the following words:
‫ﻟﺤﺪﻳﺚ‬
‫ﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﺑﻬﺬﺍ ﺍ‬
‫ﻟﻌﻠﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺮﻙ ﺍ‬
‫ﺃﺟﻤﻊ ﺃﻫﻞ ﺍ‬
Muslim scholars have unanimously agreed on not acting on this
hadith.

44
The basis for their rejection of this hadith is, as said before, its contradiction
of the Quran. The Quran clearly states that the period that the Muslims are
obliged to observe fast starts from the time when the call to fajr prayer is
proclaimed and extends right to sunset. In chapter two verse 187, we read:

ّ ِ ‫ﺳ َﻮ ِﺩ ﻣِ ﻦَ ﺍ ْﻟ َﻔﺠ ِْﺮ ﺛ ُ ﱠﻢ ﺃ َ ِﺗ ﱡﻤﻮﺍْ ﺍﻟ‬

‫ﺼﻴَﺎ َﻡ ﺇِ َﻟﻰ ﺍﻟﱠﻠ ْﻴ ِﻞ‬ ْ َ ‫ﺾ ِﻣﻦَ ﺍ ْﻟ َﺨﻴْﻂِ ﺍﻷ‬
ُ ‫ﻂ ﺍﻷ َ ْﺑ َﻴ‬
ُ ‫ُﻛﻠُﻮﺍْ َﻭﺍﺷ َْﺮﺑُﻮﺍْ َﺣﺘ ﱠﻰ َﻳﺘ َ َﺒﻴﱠﻦَ َﻟ ُﻜ ُﻢ ﺍ ْﻟ َﺨ ْﻴ‬

You may eat and drink until the white thread of light becomes
distinguishable from the dark thread of night at dawn. Then,
you shall fast until sunset.
As such, the permission to eat, drink and perform a sexual intercourse, for
those who observe the ritual of fasting, ends immediately with the rise of fajr
(dawn). Any hadith that contradicts this reality must be rejected and treated
as a fabricated hadith. It is on this basis that there has almost been a
consensus of Muslim scholars on discarding that hadith.
But when we go back one step or two to what al-Hazimi has said, as quoted
by al-Tiwani, that Muslim scholars have unanimously rejected this hadith,
probably his words have been based on the law of not regarding any
statement that has gone contrary to a position held in common by a majority
on an issue if the statement is wanting in evidence or preferably if it
contradicts the evidence. Otherwise, few scholars, including al-Albani in
some of his works such al-Sahiha vol. 3, p. 381, account no. 1394, have
wrongly authenticated the said hadith.
Simultaneously, there are other scholars who have also accepted it but not as
loosely and literally as al-Albani and his predecessors did. They have placed
it in its proper perspective, giving to it a suitable interpretation. Al-Bayhaqi,
for instance, in his al-Kubra vol. 6, p. 228, accounts no. 8111 and 8112
respectively, says the following about the hadith:
‫ِﻱ‬
َ ‫ﻟ ُﻤﻨَﺎﺩ‬ ْ ‫ﻋﻠ َِﻢ ﺃ َ ﱠﻥ ﺍ‬
َ ‫ﺳ ﱠﻠ َﻢ‬
َ ‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﻭ‬ َ ُ‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬ ‫ﺻ ﱠﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ َ ُ‫ﻋ َﻠﻰ ﺃ َ ﱠﻧﻪ‬ َ ‫ﻟﻌ ِْﻠ ِﻢ‬ ْ ‫ﻋ َﻮﺍ ِ ّﻡ ﺃ َ ْﻫ ِﻞ ﺍ‬ َ َ‫ﺻ ﱠﺢ َﻓ ُﻬ َﻮ َﻣﺤْ ُﻤﻮ ٌﻝ ِﻋ ْﻨﺪ‬ َ ‫َﻭ َﻫﺬَﺍ ِﺇ ْﻥ‬
ُ ‫ﻧ‬ّ ‫ﺫ‬ ‫ﺆ‬
َ‫َ ﺎﻥَ ُ َ ِ ﻮﻥ‬ ‫ﻤ‬ ْ
‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ َ
‫ﻛ‬ ‫ﻭ‬ :‫ﻱ‬ ‫ﻭ‬
ِ ‫ﱠ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻟﺮ‬‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻝ‬ُ ‫ﻮ‬ َ
‫ﻗ‬ ‫ﻭ‬ ,
ْ َ ِ ْ‫ِ ﺠ‬‫ﺮ‬ َ ‫ﻔ‬ ْ
‫ﻟ‬ ‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻮﻉ‬ ُ ‫ﻠ‬‫ﻁ‬ُ ‫ﻞ‬ ‫ﻴ‬
ْ ‫ﺒ‬ُ ‫ﻗ‬ ُ
َ َ ُ ْ ُ َ ‫ﻪ‬ ‫ﺑ‬‫ﺮ‬ ُ
‫ﺷ‬ ‫ﻊ‬ َ
‫ﻘ‬ ‫ﻳ‬ ُ
‫ْﺚ‬ ‫ﻴ‬‫ﺤ‬ ‫ﺑ‬
َ ِ ِ ‫َﺠْﺮ‬ ‫ﻔ‬‫ﻟ‬ْ ‫ﺍ‬ ‫ﻮﻉ‬ ُ ‫ﻠ‬ ُ
‫ﻁ‬ ‫ﻞ‬ ‫ﺒ‬
ْ َ
َ ‫َﻛﺎﻥَ ﻳُﻨَﺎﺩِﻱ‬
‫ﻗ‬
ِ
‫ﺍﻥ‬ َ
ِ ‫ﻋ ِﻦ ﺍﻷﺫ‬ َ ْ َ َ
َ ‫ﻳ َُﺆ ِﺫّﻧُﻮﻥَ ﺇِﺫَﺍ َﺑﺰَ ﻍ َﻳﺤْ ﺘَﻤِ ُﻞ ﺃﻥ َﻳﻜﻮﻥَ َﺧ َﺒ ًﺮﺍ ُﻣﻨﻘﻄِ ًﻌﺎ ﻣِ ﱠﻤﻦ ﺩُﻭﻥَ ﺃ ِﺑﻲ ﻫ َُﺮﻳ َْﺮﺓ َ ﺃ ْﻭ َﻳﻜﻮﻥُ َﺧ َﺒ ًﺮﺍ‬
ُ ْ َ ْ ُ ْ َ َ
‫ﻋ ِﻦ‬ َ ‫ﻋ َﻠﻰ َﻳ ِﺪ ِﻩ " َﺧ َﺒ ًﺮﺍ‬ َ ‫ﺍﻹﻧَﺎ ُء‬ ‫ﺳﻤِ َﻊ ﺃ َ َﺣﺪُ ُﻛ ُﻢ ﺍ‬
ِ ْ ‫ﻟ ِّﻨﺪَﺍ َء َﻭ‬ َ ‫ﺳ ﱠﻠ َﻢ " ﺇِﺫَﺍ‬ َ ‫ﻋ َﻠ ْﻴ ِﻪ َﻭ‬
َ ُ‫ﻟﻠﻪ‬ ‫ﺻ ﱠﻠﻰ ﺍ‬ َ ِ‫ﻲ‬ ّ ‫ﻟ ﱠﻨ ِﺒ‬ ‫ َﻭ َﻗ ْﻮ ُﻝ ﺍ‬،‫ﻟﺜﱠﺎﻧِﻲ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
،ِ‫ﻮﺭﻩ‬ِ ‫ﺳ ُﺤ‬ َ َ
ُ ‫ َﻻ َﻳ ْﻤ َﻨ َﻌ ﱠﻦ ﺃ َﺣﺪًﺍ ﻣِ ْﻨ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﺃﺫَﺍﻥُ ِﺑ َﻼ ٍﻝ ﻣِ ْﻦ‬.................‫ﻟ َﻤﺎ‬ ِ ‫ﻟ َﻴ ُﻜﻮﻥَ ُﻣ َﻮﺍ ِﻓ ًﻘﺎ‬ ِ ‫ﻟ ِّﻨﺪَﺍءِ ْﺍﻷ َ ﱠﻭ ِﻝ‬ ‫ﺍ‬
‫ َﻭ َﻳ ْﺮ ِﺟ َﻊ َﻗﺎ ِﺋ ُﻤ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬،‫ﻆ ﻧَﺎ ِﺋ َﻤ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫ﻟﻴُﻮ ِﻗ‬ ِ ‫َﻓﺈ ِ ﱠﻧ َﻤﺎ ﻳُﻨَﺎﺩِﻱ‬
45
 If this hadith is accurate, all scholars interpret it that the caller to
prayer used to call before it dawned where the act of drinking takes
place before dawn. With regard to the statement of the narrator when
he said: ‘Those who called people to prayer used to do so after it had
dawned’. This was probably reported by narrators other than Abu
Huraira, or otherwise it is about the second call (the second adhan).
Whereas Prophet’s statement that: ‘When one of you hears a call to
prayer and the cup is in his hands”, concerns the first call (the first
adhan). (This hadith has been interpreted this way) so that it may
agree with (another hadith which says): ‘The call (adhan) by Bilal
should not stop any of you to continue eating one’s suhur (last meal
usually taken before daybreak by those intending to fast), because
he calls in order to waken the sleeping ones and also those who are
standing in prayer at night may return.

In a nutshell, there are three opinions pertaining this hadith:

1) Since t is incompatible with the Quran, it should be discarded
altogether. This is the idea held by the overwhelming majority.
2) In case it is authentic, it must be placed in its proper perspective to
make sure that it does not contradict the Quran, and also in order to
reconcile it with another hadith. The former is to be regarded as an
unexplained hadith and the latter as being an explained one or the
latter has explained the meaning of the former. Notable with this idea
is al-Bayhaqi.
3) It is authentic and should be worked out. This is the opinion of the
minority including al-Albani.
Finally, my discussion of this hadith has been basically founded upon the
concession to the position of the minority. In other words, let us suppose that
this hadith is authentic in terms of its sanad as some claim it to be, then the
problem of its matn being contrary to the Quran is still a flaw disqualifying
it. Otherwise, the attempt to authenticate its sanad is equally unfounded and
debatable, for Hammad bin Salama, one of its narrators has been disqualified

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by many early scholars. Al-Suyuti, in his al-Hawi li-lfatawa vol. 2, p. 114,
says the following about Hammad bin Salama:
Indeed Hammad has been badly spoken of because of his poor
memory, and as a result, a lot of his hadiths have been abominable,
refutable. It is believed that his stepson inserted (false hadiths) into
his books, and because Hammad could not memorize, when he
narrated them he made errors therein. It is for this reason that al-
Bukhari did not relate anything from him, and Muslim did not
narrate from him in the basics of his book except those accounts
Hammad narrated from Thabit al-Bunani, all he has narrated from
him are subsidiary narratives (those which are usually taken only if
supported by another evidence or themselves to be used to
strengthen other narratives belonging to the same level).
Whatever the case may be, if the sanad of this hadith is safe, its matn is not,
and that is more important. Finally, care should be taken not to entirely
depend upon the authentication of hadiths by al-Albani without knowing
what other scholars say about a particular hadith. The man has made
unaccountable number of grave errors and has extremely contradicted
himself.
Whatever the case may be, if the sanad of this hadith is safe, its matn is not,
and that is more important. Finally, care should be taken not to entirely
depend upon the authentication of hadiths by al-Albani without knowing
what other scholars say about a particular hadith. The man has made
unaccountable number of grave errors and has extremely contradicted
himself.

To be continued in part 11.

Juma al-Mazrui

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