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(A Treatise On Importance Of

Chain Of Narration Of Hadeeth)

By: Wajahat Hussain Al-Hanafi)

Translated by: Sarah Firdouse

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CONTENTS

Section 1: The Purpose of writing this Treatise: ......................................................... 3

Section 2: Narrating a Hadeeth without verifying its authenticity: ............................... 6

Section 3: The disapproval of being negligent in narrating Ahadeeth: ....................... 9

Chapter: : .............................................. 9

Chapter: The Reason behind such harsh punishment for attributing lie on the Holy

Prophet : ............................................................................................................ 10

Section 4: The Importance of a Chain: ..................................................................... 11

Section 5: No Hadeeth is acceptable without its chain of narrators: ......................... 12

Chapter: ................................................................................................. 12

Chapter: Without a chain/Sanad, the Hadeeth stands Fabricated: ....................... 13

Section 6: A Hadeeth should only be narrated from a primary source of Hadeeth: .. 15

Section 7: Those Ahadeeth narrated without a chain by someone who is not a

Muhaddis (expert in Hadeeth sciences): .................................................................. 18

Chapter: Relying upon a Jurist who is not a Hadeeth expert in matters of Hadeeth:

.............................................................................................................................. 19

Chapter: Relying upon a Hadeeth of a commentator of Quran (Mufassir) who is not

an expert of Hadeeth: ........................................................................................... 22

Chapter: Relying upon the Hadeeth of a Sufi who is not an expert in Hadeeth: ... 23

Chapter: An Hadeeth expert narrating a Hadeeth is not enough; the first condition

for authentication of a Hadeeth depends upon its chain: ...................................... 26

Section 8: The Khutaba (religious speakers) saying We have heard this Hadeeth from so and so scholar. ........................................................................................... 27

Section 9: The saying that these Ahadeeth are Mashhoor (famous): ....................... 28

Chapter: Those Ahadeeth which are famous among public: ................................. 28

Chapter: Those Ahadeeth which are Mashoor near Muhadditheen: ..................... 29

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. ,

: All praise is for ALLAH alone who is the Lord of all worlds, who has

blessed humans with intellect and consciousness, who gives glad tidings

of guidance to those who are intellectual and warns the disbelievers in

Quran with the news of misguidance for not using their intellects. Millions

of blessings and salutations be upon the Arabi, Quraishi, Hashmi, Makki,

Madani, RasoolAllah and on his Family and on his Companions. By

the grace of Allah, I have discussed the significance of a Sanad/chain of

Hadeeth and also the ruling upon baseless Ahadeeth in this Treatise, and

named it .There are a lot of beneficial things in this

Treatise for people of knowledge and intellect. Verily guidance is from

Allah alone.

SECTION 1: THE PURPOSE OF WRITING THIS TREATISE:

It is unfortunate that our community shows absolutely no passion towards

knowledge. There were times when scholars always followed the discipline

of proving their stance from Quran and Hadith with proper research,

hence the people of intellect used to trust them. But nowadays, people

have shut their brains. The ocean of research is dry whereas the well of

blind following is full and everyone is solely concerned about defending

their own Peer, Mosque or sect even if they have to go against Quran and

Hadith for accomplishing this purpose.

Allama Muhammad Iqbal Rahimahullah Taala says:

The forest of learning and research is devoid of lion-hearted men.

Only the blind followers of the Mullahs and Sufis have now been left

behind, O Saqi

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People are showing extreme negligence when narrating Ahadeeth because

they have now befriended blind following and have completely rebuffed

research and study. We have many a time heard religious

speakers/preachers mostly narrating Ahadeeth which are either fabricated

(self-made) or baseless. Noble scholars of the past had always put efforts

to distinguish fabrications from the narrations of our beloved Prophet ,

May Allah increase their ranks. With Allahs guidance, even I have made

this humble effort by following those truthful Scholars. I pray that

Almighty Allah includes my name in the list of those who have made

utmost efforts to discern lies and fabrications attributed to the Holy

Prophet and I hope the same from HIM. Ameen

The objective of compiling this Treatise is not to hurt the sentiments of

anyone but Haqq is that, Haqq must be followed.

Allah says in Quran, Al Maidah-Verse 8:

O believers! Holding fast to the cause of Allah, bear witness based on

justice. And let not (even) the extreme hostility against a people provoke

you into abstaining from justice (in their case). Always do justice, (for) it

is closer to piousness. And fear Allah. Indeed, Allah is Well Aware of your

works.

Imam Ahmad in Musnad under Musnad Abu Saeed Khudri, Tirmidhi,

Ibn e Majah and Tabrani report and below are the words from Musnad

Ahmad that the Prophet said:

Fear of people should not stop anyone of you from telling a truth when

he has himself seen it, witnessed it or has heard it.

Imam Hakim narrates from his chain in Madkhal, Ibn e Salah, Ibn e

Mulaqqin, Ibn e Jumaa, Ali Qari al Hanafi, Jalaluddin Suyuti and many

others report:

.

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Imam Abu Bakr Khalad narrates: I said to Yahya bin Saeed: Wouldnt

those people stand against you in front of Allah on the Day of Judgement

if you reject their Ahadeeth? He said: Those people standing against me

is much preferable to me than Prophet of Allah standing against me and

saying Why did you narrate that Hadeeth attributed to Me which

according to you was fabricated?

Imam Khateeb Baghdadi in Al Kifaya, Ibn e Jauzi in al Maudhooat, Ibn

e Rajab, Ali Qari Hanafi, Jalaluddin Suyuti and many other scholars

report that:

: , :

: , ,

Muhammad bin Bundar Jurjani narrates: I said to Imam Ahmed bin

Hambal: Abu Abdullah, it is really hard for me to say So and so (narrator

of Hadeeth) is Kazzab(liar) and so and so is Dhaeef. So he said: If you

are silent and I too observe silence (on this) then (how) and when would

the ignorant recognize (the difference between) Sahih (authentic) and

Saqeem (unauthentic)?

Imam Jurqani narrates from his chain the quote of Imam Shafai in his

book :

It does not befit a person to remain silent when he knows that so and so

Hadeeth is a lie (attributed to Prophet ) and (to comment on it) is not

slandering.

Imam Ibn e Iraq says in that Imam Ghazali said:

And this (fabricating a narration in sermons or narrating it without

verification) is from the whisperings of Satan, there is no need of

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lies/fabrications when authentic (narrations) already exist. And that which

is revealed by Allah and His Prophet is sufficient which makes it

needless for one to fabricate narrations in sermons.

SECTION 2: NARRATING A HADEETH WITHOUT VERIFYING

ITS AUTHENTICITY:

Allah says in Quran, Al Isra-36:

And, (O man,) do not follow that of which you have no (authentic)

knowledge. Indeed the ear, the eye and the hearteach of them will be

questioned.

All Fuqaha and Muhadditheen agree upon the fact that attributing lies to

the Beloved Prophet is Haraam/forbidden. Few from the Shafai and

Maliki school are of the opinion of disbelieving (Takfeer) for the person

who fabricates a Hadeeth.

In my view, a person who fabricates a narration which makes Halal as

Haram and Haram as Halal is a Kaafir while the one who narrates it to

others without verifying its authenticity is committing a Major sin.

Earlier, scholars used to acquire knowledge of Quran and Hadeeth for the

sake of Allah and His Prophet and they used to give preference to

those Rules in which they found Truth. Today, because people have

turned towards blind following, the situation has become completely

opposite. Nowadays, most of the people who acquire knowledge of Quran

and Hadeeth do so with the sole intention of strengthening the belief of

their own sect. Dont you observe the topics of sermons in mosques these

days are mostly related to Ikhtelafi issues (issues related to difference of

opinions)? Dont you see that people remember Ahadeeth related to Rafa

Yadain (raising of hands in salaah) but they do not remember even one

single Hadeeth about all other sections of Namaz!

Due to this trend of blind following, anyone who gives lectures on the

hottest topics is being given the status of a Scholar or Researcher by

common public these days- doesnt matter if he narrates fabricated

stories. Because of such attitude shown towards knowledge, many of the

Preachers narrate Ahadeeth which were already been graded as

fabricated or baseless by scholars and researchers of past. When

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these preachers of Islamic Knowledge are warned about this mistake,

they say we have heard this narration from so and so scholar of ours,

how can he commit a mistake? Unknowingly, these people are

considering the Rules (Usool) of narrating a Hadeeth and designating to it

a status, not more than an imaginary notion or story. Undoubtedly, we

are in that very era about which the Beloved Prophet had predicted.

Imam Ahmed, Bukhari, Muslim, Nasai, Tirmidhi, Ibn e Majah and

others narrate that the Prophet said:

: One sign from amongst the signs of the Last hour is that Knowledge will

be taken away and ignorance will prevail.

Imam Bayhaqi and Ibn e Abi al Dunya report that the Holy Prophet

said:

Surely a time shall come upon people when nothing will remain of Islam

except its name and (recitation of) Quran will only be regarded as a

custom. Their mosques will be full (of people) but devoid of guidance;

their scholars will be the worst of creation on earth.

By the grace of Allah, I say, these days, Quran is only about Khatam or

for the purpose of Dum Durood.

Imam Ahmed, Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasai, Ibn e Majah and

others report that the Prophet said:

Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it away from

(the hearts of) people but He takes away knowledge by taking away the

scholars, so that when there is no learned person left, people will turn to

the ignorant as their leaders; then they will be asked about religious

matters who will then give verdicts without (complete) knowledge (and

study). So they will themselves go astray, and will lead others astray.

By the Grace of Allah, I say, Religious speakers and preachers these days

have chosen fabricated stories as their topics of discussion. That is the

very reason why people prefer listening to stories than the Quran. Such

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orators are themselves misguided while they ruin the beliefs and views of

others.

Imam Tabrani in Mujam al Kabeer and Ibn e Wada in narrate with a Hasan/fair chain that the Prophet said:

When Bani Israeel was nearing its destruction, they had started to

narrate stories.

We have seen many times that a speaker/preacher lays the foundation of

his discussion on a self-made narration and he speaks on it for hours and

hours together discussing its commentaries in detail which results in

much applause from the audience.

Imam Ibn e Jaad and Ibn e Abi Al-Dunya report that the Prophet

said:

On the day of resurrection, among the biggest sinners will (also) be

those people who spend a lot of efforts on wrong things.

Hence, one should properly research and verify before narrating a

Hadeeth or any other kind of knowledge forward so that we do not

become one of those whose behavior is condemned by the Beloved

Prophet .

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SECTION 3: THE DISAPPROVAL OF BEING NEGLIGENT IN

NARRATING AHADEETH:

CHAPTER: :

The Messenger of Allah said: 'Whoever tells lies about me

deliberately let him take his place in Hell.

This is a Mutwatir (mass transmitted) Narration. This narration has been

reported by (exact) words and by meaning by a large group of

Companions (May Allah be pleased with them all). The names of few of

them are below:

Abu Bakr Siddiq, Umar Farooq, Usman Ghani, Maula Ali al Murtuda, Umm

ul Momineen Aisha, Talha bin Ubaidullah, Zubair bin Awam, Saad bin Abi

Waqas, Saeed bin Zaid, Abu Ubaidah bin al Jarah, Abdullah bin Masood,

Ammar bin Yaser, Abdullah bin Umar, Abdullah bin Abbas, Abdullah bin

Zubair, Abu Moosa Ashari, Abdullah bin Amr, Usama bin Zaid, Abu

Hurairah, Abu Saeed Khudri, Huzaifa bin Yaman, Jabir bin Abdullah, Abu

Qatadah Ansari, Bara bin al Azib, Zaid bin Arqam, Anas bin Malik,

Mugheera bin Shuba. Samrah bin Jandab, Suhaib bin Sinan, Saib bin

Yazeed, Umar bin Hareeth, Abu Umama, Rafe bin Khadeej, Aus bin Aus,

Muawiyah bin Abu Sufyan and many other companions (May Allah be

pleased with them all) have narrated it.

Few of the scholars who have recorded this Hadeeth are mentioned

below:

Imam Abu Yusuf have recorded it in Kitaab al Aathar citing the chain of

Imam Azam Abu Hanifa. Mamar bin Rashid, Ibn e Wahb, Ahmad, Ishaq

bin Rahwiya, Darimi, Humaidi, Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawood, Tirmidhi,

Nasai, Ibn e Majah, Ibn e Abi Shayba, Tahawi, Abu Dawood Tiyalsi,

Shashi, Ibn e Hibban, Abu Yaala, Hakim, Darqutni, Tabrani, Bayhaqi,

Bazzar, Hannad, Harith bin Abi Usama, Uqaili, Ibn e Adi, Abu Nuaym,

Ismaili, Tamam bin Muhammad, Ibn e Bishran, Muhammad

Ramahurmazi, Ibn e Sad, Ibn e Abdul Barr, Ibn e Asakir, Khateeb, Ibn e

Saaid, Ibn e Jauzi, Ibn e Qane, Jauzqani, Ibn e Khaleeel and many

others have recorded it with many chains.

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CHAPTER: THE REASON BEHIND SUCH HARSH

PUNISHMENT FOR ATTRIBUTING LIE ON THE HOLY

PROPHET :

Imam Ahmed, Bukhari, Muslim and Tabrani report that the Prophet of

Allah said:

Indeed attributing a lie to me is not like attributing a lie on anyone else.

The words of the Holy Prophet form the basis of this Deen.

Allah says in Quran, Surah Najm Verse 3

. . And he does not speak out of his (own) desire. His speech is nothing but

Revelation, which is sent to him.

That is why, fabricating a lie against the Prophet is like fabricating a

lie against Allah and doing so implies that one is corrupting the Deen that

was (revealed) complete in itself and adding ones own beliefs in the

message of Allah and His Prophet becomes the cause of admitting one

to Hell-fire.

Allah says in Surah Nakhl, Verse 11

And do not tell a lie which your tongues utter: This is lawful and that is

forbidden, thus fabricating a lie against Allah. Indeed, those who

fabricate lies against Allah will (never) be delivered.

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SECTION 4: THE IMPORTANCE OF A CHAIN:

Imam Muslim, Khateeb, Qadhi Iyadh, Ibn e Salah, Shaykh ul Islam in

Khutba al Sadeedah and many other Scholars of Usool record the

words of Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak that he said:

Isnad (chain of authority) is a necessary part of Deen, if there was no

chain of authority then everyone would have said whatever he wanted to

say.

Imam Hakim, Khateeb, Ibn e Rajab, Shaykh Ul Islam in Khutba al

Sadeedah and many other Scholars of Usool narrate that Imam Sufyan

al Thauri said:

The isnad is the weapon of a Muslim (who is the receiver of the

knowledge). If he is not equipped with the arms, how is he going to fight

(and defend himself)?

Imam Ibn e Rajab Hanbali reports in Sharah al Ilal that Imam Auzai

said:

Knowledge being taken away is the disappearance of Isnad/chains.

Imam Ibn e Rajab Hanbali reports in Sharah al Ilal that Imam Shubah

bin Hujaj said:

Verily, we test the authenticity of Hadeeth by the chain of that Hadeeth.

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SECTION 5: NO HADEETH IS ACCEPTABLE WITHOUT ITS

CHAIN OF NARRATORS:

The previous chapter contained a very brief discussion about the

importance of Chain. Insha Allah, each of the following chapters will

elaborate the previous ones.

CHAPTER:

Allah says in Quranm Al Ahqaf verse 4:

Bring me any Book (revealed) before this (Quran), or some remnant of

knowledge, if you are truthful.

Imam Hakim, Khateeb, Ramahurmuzi, Suyuti, Ali Qari, Jamaluddin

Qasmi and many other scholars report that Imam Matr al Waraq said

in the Tafseer of the above verse:

} : }

Remnant of knowledge means the chain of transmission of Hadeeth.

Our Teacher, Shaykh ul Islam, has also taken the above verse in the

same sense. He has translated the above verse in Irfan ul Quran as

follows:

Bring me (as a proof) any Book (revealed) before this (Quran) or some

remnant of knowledge (transmitted from the bygone people), if you are

truthful.

Shaykh ul Islam writes in Khutba al Sadeeda, his exceptional book on

Usool e Hadeeth:

( : ( ) 46 :4 )

The words of Almighty Allah: meaning (bring me as a proof) remnant of knowledge (if you are truthful). This verse signals towards

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the narration of Hadeeth and its chain of transmission. Such is the

important status of Sanad/chain in the transmission of Deen.

By the grace of Allah I say: Narrating Ahadeeth or other such reports with

its proper chain of narrators is one of the special and unique

characteristics of this Deen which are well described in books of Usool.

Dont you see all other religions of this world including Jews and

Christians do not possess any (concept of) Chain of Transmission. Due to

the absence of Chain, their books and beliefs have become so gibberish

that there is no way to differentiate between original and fake and they

believe a Prophet to be the son of God (Maaz Allah). Because they do not

hold the Sanad/chain, neither Jews can prove any narration of Moosa

(Peace be Upon Him) nor the Christians can prove any narration of Isa

(Peace be Upon Him). How can we be so foolish that on one hand we

criticize Jews and Christians (for narrating Books and sayings without

their chain of narrators) and on other hand we ourselves keep narrating

Ahadeeth without its chain of narrators? There already exists a few people

who are always hell-bent on stating every other act to be unlawful

because according to them it resembles the actions of Jews and

Christians. Doesnt this practice (of reporting Ahadeeth without a chain)

resemble that same religious approach? Allah alone may save us from this

Fitna which has mixed right with wrong and truth with falsehood.

CHAPTER: WITHOUT A CHAIN/SANAD, THE HADEETH STANDS

FABRICATED:

Intellectually and naturally, how is it possible for a person to believe a

Hadeeth which has been narrated without its chain of narrators by a

person who does not hold any expertise in the field of Hadeeth, which was

never narrated by any known scholar of Hadeeth before and which

remained unproven for hundreds of years in history? Doesnt it mean

blind following? Is it not the same attitude as that of Jews and

Christians? If this same approach is chosen for narration of Ahadeeth,

then the status of Usool e Hadeeth which strongly adheres to the rule that

a Hadeeth without its chain can never be accepted remains nothing more

than a fictional concept.

Do you not know that the scholars of past were so strict concerning the

transmission of Ahadeeth that they even rejected Ahadeeth of Tabaeen

and Taba Tabaeen if they would report it without its chain, although the

Prophet had stated that their era (of Tabaeen and Taba Tabaeen) will

be the best era after the era of Companions(Sahaba).

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Imam Ali Qari states in :

. Imam Abu Bakr bin Khayr has reported the consensus of scholars that it

is unlawful for a Muslim to say Holy Prophet said so and so until and

unless that report was narrated to him (with its chain of narrators).

Imam Khateeb Baghdadi in Al Kifaya and Shaykh ul Islam in Khutbah

al Sadeedah report that Imam Saleh bin Ahmed said:

, , Without its chain, a Hadeeth has no status. The chain of any Hadeeth is

the ladder to reach the text of that Hadeeth.

Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal states in Al Ilal:

Imam Zuhri used to be very strict towards that person who narrated

Ahadeeth without their chain of narrators.

Imam Ibn e Iraq in his book states:

If these Huffaz (like Ahmed, Ali bin Madeeni, Yahya bin Maeen, Bukhari,

Nasai, Abu Hatim, Abu Zura, Darqutni, Tahawi, Ibn e Hajr, Suyuti, Ali

Qari) or any other scholar who is at par with the above mentioned

scholars says that I do not know this (Hadeeth) or This Hadeeth has no

basis about any narration then it is enough a proof for that Hadeeth to

be graded as Fabricated.

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SECTION 6: A HADEETH SHOULD ONLY BE NARRATED

FROM A PRIMARY SOURCE OF HADEETH:

By the Grace of Allah, I say, from amongst the many Fitnas of this time,

one of the greatest Fitna is that majority of religious speakers, scholars

and common people have mixed up the primary and secondary sources of

various subjects. Ahadeeth are being taken from the books of Tasawwuf,

Fiqh from books of Hadeeth, Aqeeda from books of Fiqh etc. Neither do

they bother to see in which area a book has been written nor do they care

to find whether the writer of that book is an expert in this field or not.

Imam Ali Qari al Hanafi states in :

One of the basic rules (of transmitting knowledge) is that it is unlawful to

report the Narrations of the Holy Prophet , issues related to Fiqh, and

the Tafseer of Quran etc from any source other than the (respective)

primary sources.

But due to this mixing up of various subjects, people have started

narrating Ahadeeth from books of Imam Ghazali and his likes although

the researchers agree upon the fact that his books cannot be counted

amongst Hadeeth books and most of the Ahadeeth present in his books

are either baseless or fabricated. When we try to warn people about this,

they think that we are criticizing Imam Ghazali. Allah is well aware that

we are not criticizing him, but on other hand it also doesnt mean that we

are blind followers. The Prophet of Allah is much more dearer to us

than any other scholar of this world.

Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti states in :

" : - - :

".

If it is said that the Holy Prophet used to comb his blessed beard

twice every day, then I say that this is not narrated through any Chain

and it is not found in any book except Ihya uloom ud Deen of Imam

Ghazali. This fact is well established (near researchers) that it also

contains Ahadeeth which are baseless.

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I have mentioned Imam Ghazali as an example whereas there are

innumerous books of the same kind which circulate among public that are

full of self-made narrations.

The grand Mufti of Egypt Imam Shaykh Ali Juma states in his book

:

:

. The Mutakhireen (late Hanafis) say: (Fiqh) is not to be obtained from

each and every book (of Fiqh). The text supersedes (its) commentaries,

and commentaries are given precedence over the Fatwas.

Imam Abdul Hayi Lakhnawi has rejected those people who narrate

Ahadeeth without its Sanad/Chain in his book . It is necessary for a student of knowledge to study and understand all

works of Imam Abdul Hayi Lakhnawi. Undoubtedly, I have found him

to be most truthful in narrating Ahadeeth among all his

contemporaries. Imam Abdul Hayi Lakhnawi has done an in depth

discussion about narrating Fatwas from unreliable books of Fiqh and he

has given many proofs for it from books of Hanafi scholars. One of

them is about Imam Ibn e Nujaym Misris saying which he has written

in his Risail:

It is unlawful to narrate a Fatwa from a book that is not well

known/famous in Fiqh.

Imam Abdul Hayi Lakhnawi has also proved that it is not lawful to give

a Fatwa from a book of someone whose status is not well known.

By the grace of Allah, I say that when there is such strictness being

observed in narrating a Subsidiary (Furui) issues related to Fiqh which is

totally based on Zann(uncertain thought), then a Hadeeth are the words

of the Holy Prophet which deserves a lot more care and strictness in

its transmission. It should be narrated from well-known books which are

transmitted with proper chains.

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Shaykh Muri bin Yousuf Hanbali states in his book

:

Books which have been primarily written for the purpose of recording

Ahadeeth are the ones which are relied upon, and any Hadeeth which is

not present in these books is rejected (means, it cannot be accepted).

Imam Ibn e Iraq states in his book

:

And one indication of a narration being fabricated has been mentioned by

Imam Fakhruddin Razi; that is, if the narrator narrates a Hadeeth of an

era when the Ahadeeth were already drafted and recorded such that when

one keenly studies that particular narration, it is found to be neither

preserved in the memory of people (meaning the Huffaz of Hadeeth) nor

in the books (of Hadeeth). And as far as the era of the blessed

Companions is concerned, then it was possible in their time for a person

to narrate a Hadeeth which has not been narrated by any other person.

With Allahs guidance, I have made it clear from various arguments that a

Hadeeth should only be narrated from a Hadeeth book which is

transmitted by a proper chain and not from books of History, Tasawwuf,

Tafseer, Fiqh, Sarf, Nahw, Lughat, Qasas etc. And guidance is from Allah

alone.

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SECTION 7: THOSE AHADEETH NARRATED WITHOUT A

CHAIN BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A MUHADDIS (EXPERT

IN HADEETH SCIENCES):

It should be clear from the previous chapters that any Hadeeth without its

chain is unacceptable no matter whether the one who is narrating it is a

trustworthy scholar or a Jurist or a pious devout. Earlier nations had

shown similar behavior, they used to believe anything to everything their

scholars used to say, with sealed eyes and brains.

Allah states in Quran, Surah Taubah Verse no. 31:

They took their priests and monks for lords besides Allah and (also) the

Messiah, the son of Maryam (Mary), whilst in truth they had not been

given (any) command except to worship (only) the One God besides

Whom there is no God. Holy is He, far above those that they associate

with Him as partners.

Imam Tirmidhi, Tabrani, Bayhaqi, Ibn e Saad, Ibn e Abi Hatim and

Suyuti narrate from a fair chain that Adi bin Hatim (May Allah be

pleased with him) said:

{ :

[ } :31 ] :

I went in the blessed court of the Holy Prophet and he was

reciting this verse of Surah Taubah, then he said: Know that they

(Jews and Christians) did not worship their scholars (and pious/priests)

but they (blindly) believed everything their scholars stated to be lawful as

lawful and whatever their scholars stated to be unlawful as unlawful (due

to blind following).

By the grace of Allah I ask everyone to introspect! Do you not act in same

way (as mentioned above)? Do you not follow your Shaykh when he says

something to be lawful or unlawful, although you have the ability to study

such matters and find the truth still you chose not to confirm it and in

case if a strong opinion is found against the view of your Shaykh, then

instead of going with the truth, you prefer the opinion of your Shaykh!

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The excellence of somebodys knowledge doesnt make them safe from

committing mistakes. Allah has created various categories among people

of knowledge. Few of them are experts in the field of Fiqh but they are

not skilled in the Narration of Hadeeth hence due to this fact, there is a

chance of them committing errors in narrating Ahadeeth. Likewise, there

are many Muhadditheen who do not have command in the subject of Fiqh

hence their opinions in Fiqh do not hold any weight. Few people have this

misconception that anyone who has knowledge of Fiqh is also

knowledgeable about Hadeeth. If a scholar of Hadeeth can excel in his

subject of narrating Ahadeeth and he need not be a Faqeeh then it is

quite possible for a scholar of Fiqh to not have an in depth knowledge of

Ahadeeth. If I were to study mathematics, I would study it from a teacher

of Mathematics, not from a teacher of Urdu. Everybody is skilled in their

own fields and it is not befitting for anyone to comment about anything

which is not their area of study.

CHAPTER: RELYING UPON A JURIST WHO IS NOT A HADEETH

EXPERT IN MATTERS OF HADEETH:

Imam Jalaluddin Suyuti says in :

:

Imam Zarkashi states: And concerning the Fuqaha, those of them who

have memorized the texts of Ahadeeth and have knowledge of (the

complete rules of) Jarah and Tadeel for narrators of Hadeeth are said to

be Muhadditheen.

Imam Ali Qari al Hanafi in his book mentions the Hadeeth of Qaza-e-Umri which is narrated in few books

of Fiqh and states:

It doesnt matter because this comes in (the book of Fiqh) al Nihaya and

many of the commentators of Al Hidaya (which is a book of Fiqh) have

recorded it; since those people were not from Muhadditheen and neither

this Hadeeth is found in any published book (having its chain of

transmission) nor does any other book contain this Hadeeth.

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Imam Abdul Hayi Lakhnawi writes on the above statement of Imam Ali

Qari in the Muqaddima of his book :

There are many beneficial points in this statement of Imam Ali Qari. That

is to say, if the books of Fiqh are reliable on matters of Furu, and their

writers are also reliable in matters of Fiqh, even then the Ahadeeth they

narrate in those books cannot be completely relied upon. There are

numerous such Ahadeeth which are found in books of Fiqh but they are

fabricated.

Imam Abdul Hayi Lakhnawi states in his book :

:

If a Faqeeh who is expert in Fiqh but has no knowledge about checking

authenticity of Hadeeth on the basis of Chain and narrators of Hadeeth

then those narrations of him which he narrates without a chain cannot be

accepted. Such Ahadeeth can only be believed to be authentic after

proper research (on its chain) by Muhadditheen.

Imam Jamaluddin Zaylai in various places has commented on mistakes committed in Hadeeth by his teachers and other scholars in

his book

I will mention few of them here: Imam states in ,

, :

....

. Our Shaykh has followed other scholars (in this regard) and has

committed a mistake by attributing this Hadeeth to Abu Dawood (He

further discusses this error and states) because it is the duty of a

Muhaddith to comment on the Asl of a Hadeeth and to find out who

(which Imam of Hadeeth) has recorded (so and so Hadeeth). That is why,

a slight change in the words do not cause any harm to him. As far as a

Faqeeh is concerned then (showing carelessness while narrating) doesnt

21

befit him because the Faqeeh aims at deriving laws from the text of

Hadeeth which is only possible when the text of Hadeeth complies with his

aim.

Imam Jamaluddin Zaylai states in , ,

,

Our Shaykh Alauddin has committed an error by attributing this Hadeeth

to Talha (May Allah be pleased with him) through the chain of Muslim

because he has followed others (and did not himself check the Hadeeth).

This Hadeeth has been narrated by Imam Muslim from Abu Hurairah (and

not from Talha)

Imam states in , , :

: Our Shaykh Alauddin has followed others (and did not himself check) in

narrating this Hadeeth and has committed a mistake by mentioning the

words of Imam Tirmidhi as Abu Ubaidah has not seen his father

whereas Imam Tirmidhi has never stated this in any of his books, in fact

Imam Tirmidhi has said that Abu Ubaidah did not hear any Hadeeth from

his father.

Imam states in , :

" " .

Qadhi Shamsuddin has made an error by attributing this Hadeeth to

Bukhari and Muslim in his book Al Ghaya whereas Imam Muslim did not

narrate this Hadeeth while Imam Bukhari has narrated it in his Taleeq.

By the grace of Allah, I say, do you not see how these scholars preferred

truth over anything? They did not blindly follow anyone and never did

they abandon truth just because their teacher or some scholar said

22

something against it. This issue will be discussed in detail in the coming

chapters.

CHAPTER: RELYING UPON A HADEETH OF A COMMENTATOR OF

QURAN (MUFASSIR) WHO IS NOT AN EXPERT OF HADEETH:

Majority of Mufassireen have narrated many fabricated and baseless

Ahadeeth in their books. The most famous narration these days of all is

the Hadeeth about the age of Jibraeel Alayhi Salam. The Hadeeth says

that once the Holy Prophet asked Jibraeel about his age.then there

is a long narration which says that the Prophet said: Oh Jibraeel! I

am that star which you have seen seventy thousand times after every

seventy thousand years. This Hadeeth has been narrated by Ismail Haqq

in his Tafseer Rooh ul Bayan. He passed away in 1127 Hijri, implying

towards the fact that no one had ever narrated this Hadeeth in the

previous thousand years, it is neither found in any other book nor does it

has any chain. Is any other proof is required to prove this Hadeeth as

fabricated?

May ALLAH save us from such negligence!

Allama Ibn e Taymiyyah writes in Minhaj as Sunnah:

People of knowledge agree upon the fact that Thalabi has recorded

many fabricated narrations (in his Tafseer) for example, the narrations

(attributed to) Abu Umama (May Allah be pleased with him) at the

beginning of every Surah about their (fabricated) virtues and many other

such (fabricated) narrations.

Imam Nawawi states in :

.

And among the fabricated narrations is the Hadeeth of Ubayi bin Ka'ab

which is regarding the virtues of each Surah of Quran. Any Mufassir who

has narrated this Hadeeth has committed a mistake.

Imam Suyuti states in in the commentary of this statement of Imam Nawawi:

23

( ) . Any Mufassir who has narrated this in their books has erred like Tha'labi,

Wahidi, Zamakhshari, Baidwi etc.

Shaykh Mur'i bin Yusuf Hanbali states in

:

: . :

Imam Shafai' has said: Not more than around a hundred narrations are

proved to be narrated from Ibn e Abbas on (the subject of) Tafseer.

Imam Ahmed said: Tafseer Kalbi is fabricated from beginning to end.

CHAPTER: RELYING UPON THE HADEETH OF A SUFI WHO IS NOT AN

EXPERT IN HADEETH:

Narrating Ahadeeth from the books of Sufis and relying upon them is a

major mistake. When people are warned about it, they argue saying Sufis

were people of Kashf and all realities were disclosed to them, how can

they err in narrating Hadeeth?

By the grace of Allah, I say, such opinion is rooted from nothing but

ignorance and emotional reactions. If there is no chain of a particular

Hadeeth and the one who is narrating it is a big Sufi, even then it cannot

be accepted. First of all, the authenticity of a Hadeeth depends only and

only upon its chain as we have discussed it in detail in the previous

chapters.

Imam Jamaluddin Qasmi makes a chapter in his and states:

Those Ahadeeth which are recorded in books of Fiqh and Tasawwuf

cannot be relied upon if they have no chain of narration,it doesnt o

matter if the author of that book is a celebrated (scholar of his own

field).

Imam Jamaluddin Qasmi makes another chapter in and states:

24

Reply to those people who believe in authenticating Ahadeeth by means

of Kashf, (know that) the authenticity of a Hadeeth depends only upon its

Sanad.

Imam Jamaluddin Qasmi mentions a long statement of Allama Ulaysh in

this same chapter which states:

. ...

This is one of the (agreed upon) rule of knowledge that Ahadeeth can

only be proven (to be authentic) by means of its Sanad and not by means

of any illuminations of heart (or spiritual state). Wilayat and Karamaat

cannot intervene in this matter (of narration of Ahadeeth).

By the grace of Allah, I say, if anyone objects that Allama Jamaluddin

Qasmi opposed the Sufis, then I implore you to get rid of this

misconception and read his section of Hadeeth e Qudsi from his book

. Your heart will get illuminated and you will know his Aqeeda.

Imam Muslim narrates in his Muqaddima (of Sahih Muslim) that Imam

Abu Zinad said:

: I have seen hundred such people in Madina who were pious, but they

were not regarded to be capable of narrating Ahadeeth that is why

Ahadeeth were not narrated from them.

Imam Muslim narrates in Muqaddima:

:

" : : Imam Yahya bin Saeed al Qittan said: We have not found anyone who

lied more (or erred) in narrating Hadeeth than the pious.

Imam Muslim states that Imam Yahyas son has said in interpretation of

above statement that they (pious) did not lie intentionally but they did so

unintentionally.

25

Imam Ibn e Rajab mentions the statement of Imam Abu Abdullah Ibn

e Mandah in Sharah Ilal Tirmidhi that he said:

( ) Whenever you find a Hadeeth which has (the narrator in the chain

saying) the words I have heard this Hadeeth from so and so Zahid

(pious) then take your hands off that Hadeeth (i.e., do not accept it

without properly verifying that chain).

Imam Ibn e Rajab states in Sharah al Ilal Tirmidhi:

: .

Imam Ali bin Madeeni narrates: I asked Imam Yahya bin Saeed

regarding Malik bin Deenar, Muhammad bin Wasi and Hassan bin Abi

Sinaan, he said: I have not seen anyone lying in Hadeeth more than the

pious because they use to narrate Ahadeeth from anyone they met

without distinguishing (between reliable and liar narrators because of

their good opinion of everyone).

Imam Ibn e Rajab states in Sharah al Ilal Tirmidhi:

:

( )

.

: .

. There are two types of people among those who are busy in worship and

their Ahadeeth are rejected: One group among them consists of those

people who are prevented from memorizing Ahadeeth due to worship.

There are greater chances of unintentional mistake (waham) in their

narrations so they might narrate Mauqoof narration as Mursal or Mursal

narration as Mauqoof like Aban bin Abi Ayash and Yazeed al Raqashi.

Imam Shubah used to tell about each of them that I prefer committing

an act of fornication to be better than narrating Hadeeth from them.

26

And few of those people used to deliberately fabricate Ahadeeth and they

regarded this act to be equivalent to worship. Ahmed bin Muhammad bin

Ghalib, Ghulam Khaleel, Zakarya bin Yahya al Waqar Misri were few who

showed such behavior.

CHAPTER: AN HADEETH EXPERT NARRATING A HADEETH IS NOT

ENOUGH; THE FIRST CONDITION FOR AUTHENTICATION OF A

HADEETH DEPENDS UPON ITS CHAIN:

Imam Hafiz Ibn e Hajr mentions in under the biography of Imam Sulaiman bin Ahmed Tabrani:

... a

Ismail bin Muhammad Taimi has objected (on Imam Tabrani) that he

has recorded many Munkar and Fabricated narrations in his books. (Imam

Ibn e Hajr replies to him saying) Not only Imam Tabrani but many

Muhadditheen after the first two centuries have done this act (of reporting

a fabricated Hadeeth with a Sanad in their books). Because they have

mentioned the Sanad, they are free from that accusation (hence their

successors can distinguish such Ahadeeth after analyzing it and they do

distinguish it).

It proves that even if a Muhaddis narrates a Hadeeth without a chain then

it cannot be accepted after first three generations i.e. Companions,

Tabieen and Taba Tabieen.

27

SECTION 8: THE KHUTABA (RELIGIOUS SPEAKERS)

SAYING WE HAVE HEARD THIS HADEETH FROM SO AND SO SCHOLAR.

Whenever those speakers who carelessly narrate Ahadeeth are made to

realize that the Hadeeth which they have narrated is baseless and

fabricated near researchers and Muhadditheen and when it is said to them

to avoid narrating such Ahadeeth for the sake of Allah and his Prophet

, they say: We have heard this Hadeeth from many scholars, how

can it be baseless?

By the grace of Allah, I say, Hasnt your Lord blessed you with intellect?

Did He give you the blessing of acquiring knowledge so that you can shut

the doors of your brain and throw away its keys?

Imam Muslim, Hakim, Ibn e Jad and Bazzar etc narrate that the

Prophet said:

. It is enough of a lie for a man to narrate (without verifying) whatever he

hears.

Imam Muslim narrates in his Muqaddima that Imam Malik said:

. Know that a man who narrates whatever he hears is not safe from

erring, and he can never become an Imam (or Muqtada) as long as he

narrates everything he hears.

The words of the Holy Prophet can as well be applicable to you if you

narrate anything and everything without verifying its authenticity

although you have the ability to verify (its authenticity). If you are not

capable of verifying its authenticity, then you are not at all qualified to

narrate Ahadeeth. Hence, it will still remain unlawful for you to narrate

Ahadeeth.

Imam Zaylai wonderfully says:

The one who is being followed is himself erring (or is confused) and the

one who is following him is unaware of it.

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SECTION 9: THE SAYING THAT THESE AHADEETH ARE

MASHHOOR (FAMOUS):

CHAPTER: THOSE AHADEETH WHICH ARE FAMOUS AMONG PUBLIC:

Imam Ibn e Hajr Asqalani states in :

And in those narrations which are famous among people, there exists

such Ahadeeth which are narrated from only one chain; also, there exist

such Ahadeeth which has no chain at all.

Imam Sakhawi repeats the statement of Imam Ibn e Hajr in Fath ul

Mughees and says:

; ( :

And in those narrations which are famous among people, there exists

such Ahadeeth which are narrated from only one chain; also, there exist

such Ahadeeth which has no chain at all. For example, (the Hadeeth

saying) the scholars of my Nation are like the Prophets of Bani Israel.

With Allahs guidance, I say, there are many such Ahadeeth which are

famous among the people but they are baseless. Few such examples are

mentioned below:

1. The story of Owais Qarni (May Allah be pleased with him)

breaking his teeth.

2. Allahs love for His servants is greater than the love of seventy

mothers.

3. About performing special prayers on the last Friday of Ramzan.

4. Offering Qaza e Umri.

5. Bad omens being sent down in Safar.

6. Deeds getting invalidated because of having a talk in the Mosque.

7. Offering Namaz with a cap/head cover is better than offering

27/70 prayers.

8. The time of drinking water during meals.

9. Punishment on drinking water while standing.

10. The one who speaks during Azan wont be allowed to recite

the Kalima at time of death.

11. Loving ones country is Iman.

12. Satan offers Namaz if the prayer rug is unfolded.

29

13. Whoever has found himself has indeed found his Lord.

14. The scholars of my Nation are like the Prophets of Bani

Israeel.

15. Fajr Salah illuminates the face, Zohr Salah increases

provision, Asr Salah gives strength and so on.

16. There is no Namaz without a cap.

All of these are either baseless or fabricated which has no root at all. If

you go through the books of Imam Ibn e Jauzi, Suyuti, Ali Qari and other

scholars of Hadeeth who has done excellent work in collecting these

fabrications, it will be much clearer to you that a Hadeeth being famous

among people is in no way a proof of its authenticity.

CHAPTER: THOSE AHADEETH WHICH ARE MASHOOR NEAR

MUHADDITHEEN:

By Mash-hoor if one means being Mash-hoor near Muhadditheen, even

then it depends entirely upon its chain.

Imam Ibn e Hajr Asqalani states in under the definition of Mash-hoor:

A Hadeeth that has more than two chains is Mash-hoor near

Muhadditheen.

By the grace of Allah I say, for Ahnaaf, That Hadeeth is said to be Mash-

hoor which has been narrated by one or more than one companion and

then such a large number of people narrate from these companions that it

attains the level of Mutwatir (mass transmission) in the era of Tabaeen

and Taba Tabaeen.

The above definition of Hadeeth e Mashhoor has been mentioned by these

Hanafi scholars: Imam al Daboosi, Bazdawi, Sarakhsi, Samarqandi

Akhsikati, Bukhari, Nasafi, Fanari, Ibn e Humam, Ibn e Ameer Haaj,

Ameer Badshah, Bihari, Qasim Ibn e Qutloobgha, Ali Qari and Lakhnawi

etc (Rahimahum Allah)

Hence it is proven that the authenticity of Hadeeth depends upon its chain

even in this area. The very first step to be taken is to check the

Sanad/chain, if the chain is worthy of acceptance, then the Hadeeth is

tested for other conditions which are related to the text of Hadeeth.

If I discuss this further, then this Treatise will get elongated.

30

Allama Muhammad Iqbal was also fed up of this attitude of blind following

and he regarded this to be the reason behind the decline of Muslims. He

says:

There is no place in India where from to learn, the tenets that the Muslim

Faith concern.

They are devoid of zeal for godly acts, and are not wont to seek its basic

facts.

The mystics, who were keen their faith to spread, are silent now and

thought for them a dread.

Alas! the state of bondage deprives of zest, slaves tread the beaten path

and relinquish quest.

The jurists are helpless to such extent cant change themselves but would

change Qurans content.

How sad, the jurists cant shift their outlook, but would prefer to change

the Holy Book!

These abject slaves opine and cling to creed that Holy Book is full of flaws

indeed.

They think it incomplete for this fact because it fails to teach the slavish

tact.

This Treatise got completed on Sunday, 29th Rajab 1436 Hijri (17th May

2015). Guidance is only from Allah alone and this work is solely for Allah

and His Prophet . I hope to be rewarded from Allah and His Prophet

only for this humble attempt of mine. I testify that there is no God but

Allah and Muhammad is Allahs beloved and chosen Messenger . And I

express extreme disgust on all kinds of lies attributed to the Holy Prophet.

Servant of sacred knowledge of Hadeeth

Wajahat Hussain Al-Hanafi