16) The Sahabah And The Ahl Al-Bayt: The Betrayal Was Predicted

The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, named Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, ‘alaihi al-salam, as the first khalifah after him. He also indicated that all the other khalifahs will be from his offspring. In particular, he declared that all the khalifahs after him will be twelve in number, that they all would be royal Imams, and that their reign would continue uninterrupted till the Day of al-Qiyamah.

He further declared them the guides of this Ummah after him till the Hour, and that they never ever separate from the Qur’an - not even for one second. However, he equally prophesied that the Ummah would betray ‘Ali (and, by extension, all the other khalifahs) once he was gone! Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (d. 852 H) copies:

حدثنا الفضل هو أبو نعيم ، ثنا فطر بن خليفة ، أخبرني حبيب بن أبي ثابت، قال: سمعت ثعلبة بن يزيد، قال :سمعت عليا رضي الله عنه، يقول : والله إنه لعهد النبي الأمي صلى الله عليه وسلم: سيغدرونك من بعدي

Al-Fadhl, Abu Na’im - Fitr b. Khalifah - Habib b. Abi Thabit - Tha’labah b. Yazid:

I heard ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, saying: “I swear by Allah, verily, the Ummi Prophet, peace be upon him, told me: “They will soon betray you after me.”1

The Salafi annotator, ‘Abd Allah al-Shahri, comments:

ضعيف بهذا الإسناد لحال فطر بن خليفة، و ثعلبة بن يزيد فإنهما صدوقان متشيعان، و هذا الحديث يُؤيد بدعتهما فهو ضعيف

It is dha’if with this chain, due to the status of Fitr b. Khalifah and Tha’labah b. Yazid, for both of them were very truthful and Shi’is and this hadith supports their bid’ah. Therefore, it is dha’if.2

So, al-Shahri’s only problem with the sanad is the Shi’ism of Fitr and Tha’labah. Even though both were “very truthful”, this hadith of theirs cannot be accepted only because it supports their Shi’ism. A “scientific” way of discrediting reports, isn’t it?! Before examining the legitimacy of al-Shahri’s methodology, let us first look at the narrators of hadith, in order to have a clearer view of the whole picture.

As an initial observation, a key merit of this sanad is that it is perfectly connected. There is no break whatsoever among its narrators, and each of them explicitly declared that he literally heard the hadith from the mouth of his shaykh. Moreover, all the narrators are completely reliable without question.

Al-Hafiz states about the first narrator:

الفضل بن دكين الكوفي واسم دكين عمرو بن حماد بن زهير التيمي مولاهم الأحول أبو نعيم الملائي بضم الميم مشهور بكنيته ثقة ثبت

Al-Fadhl b. Dukayn al-Kufi - and the name of Dukayn was ‘Amr b. Hammad b. Zuhayr - al-Tamimi, their freed slave, al-Ahwal, Abu Na’im al-Mulai, well-known with his kunya: Thiqah (trustworthy), accurate.3

Concerning the second narrator, he further declares:

فطر بن خليفة المخزومي مولاهم أبو بكر الحناط بالمهملة والنون صدوق رمي بالتشيع

Fitr b. Khalifah al-Makhzumi, their freed slave, Abu Bakr al-Hanat: Saduq (very truthful), accused of Shi’ism.4

What of the third narrator? Al-Hafiz says:

حبيب بن أبي ثابت قيس ويقال هند بن دينار الأسدي مولاهم أبو يحيى الكوفي ثقة فقيه جليل وكان كثير الإرسال والتدليس

Habib b. Abi Thabit Qays - and it is said Hind - b. Dinar al-Asadi, their freed slave, al-Kufi: Thiqah (trustworthy), a meritorious jurist. He used to do a lot of irsal and tadlis.5

Meanwhile, he has narrated with explicit sima’ above. So, his irsal and tadlis are inapplicable and inconsequential here.

Finally, this is what al-Hafiz states about the last narrator:

ثعلبة بن يزيد الحماني بكسر المهملة وتشديد الميم كوفي صدوق شيعي

Tha’labah b. Yazid al-Himmani, a Kufan: Saduq (very truthful), a Shi’i.6

This chain, therefore, is absolutely hasan without a doubt! It is simply faultless and unassailable.

As for al-Shahri’s rejection of the hadith on account of the Shi’ism of two of its narrators, we will let another Salafi hadith scientist, al-Mua’lami (d. 1386 H) reply him:

وقد وثق أئمة الحديث جماعة من المبتدعة واحتجوا بأحاديثهم وأخرجوها في الصحاح، ومن تتبع رواياتهم وجد فيها كثيراً مما يوافق ظاهرة بدعهم، وأهل العلم يتأولون تلك الأحاديث غير طاعنين فيها ببدعة راويها ولا في راويها بروايته لها

The Imams in the hadith sciences have declared as trustworthy a lot of the heretics, and have taken their (i.e. the heretics’) ahadith as hujjah, and have recorded them (i.e. those reports) in their Sahih books. And whoever researches their (the heretics’) narrations finds that a lot of them apparently agree with their heresies. The scholars give alternative interpretations for those ahadith without attacking them (i.e. the ahadith) on account of the heresy of their narrators, nor do they attack the narrators for narrating them.7

‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) too seconds him:

فإن قال قائل: راوي هذا الشاهد شيعي، وكذلك في سند المشهود له شيعي آخر، وهو جعفر بن سليمان، أفلا يعتبر ذلك طعنا في الحديث وعلة فيه؟ !

فأقول: كلا لأن العبرة في رواية الحديث إنما هو الصدق والحفظ، وأما المذهب فهو بينه وبين ربه، فهو حسيبه

If someone says: “The narrator of this corroborative hadith (i.e. that of Ajlah) was a Shi’i, and also in the chain of the main hadith, there is another Shi’i, and he is Ja’far b. Sulayman. Does this not justify attack on the hadith and constitute a fault in it?”

So, I answer: “Not at all, because the requirements in the transmission of hadith are ONLY truthfulness and sound memory. As for the madhhab (of the narrator), that is between him and his Lord, and He is sufficient for him.8

A third Salafi hadith scientist, al-Turayfi, also traces the practice to the Sunni Imams:

والأصل في رواية المبتدع إذا كان ضابطاً ثقة القبول، سواء روى فيما يوافق بدعته أم لا، ما لم يكن قد كفر ببدعته، فحينئذ يرد لكفره، وعلى هذا الأئمة الحفاظ، فهم يخرجون للمبتدع إذا كان ثقة ثبتاً، ويصححون خبره

The default position concerning the report of a heretic, if he was accurate and trustworthy, is to accept it, regardless of whether he narrated concerning what agrees with his bid’ah (heresy) or not, as long as he had not apostatized through his heresy. In such a case, it will be rejected due to his kufr (disbelief). This was the practice of the Imams who were hadith scientists, for they used to narrate from the heretic if he was trustworthy and accurate, and used to declare his report to be sahih.9

The bottomline is that al-Shahri’s methodology of weakening the hadith is both unprofessional and crude.

Meanwhile, al-Hafiz copies a second, different chain for the hadith:

وقال الحارث: ثنا عبد الرحمن بن زياد مولى بني هاشم، ثنا هشيم، عن إسماعيل بن سالم، عن أبي إدريس الأودي، عن علي، قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم :إن هذه الأمة ستغدر بك من بعدي

Al-Harith - ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Ziyad, freed slave of Banu Hashim - Hushaym - Isma’il b. Salim - Abu Idris al-Awdi - ‘Ali:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Verily, this Ummah will soon betray you after me.”10

Al-Shahri again comments:

ضعيف بهذا الإسناد لأن أبا إدريس الأودي مجهول الحال

It is dha’if with this chain because Abu Idris al-Awdi is majhul al-hal.11

This time, he is unable to accuse any of the narrators of Shi’ism, or to find any other defect - real or imagined - in the chain other than Abu Idris. But then, is Abu Idris really majhul al-hal? ‘Ali Shiri, in his tahqiq of Tarikh Madinah Dimashq - while commenting under the above riwayah - identifies who Abu Idris was for us:

وهو أبو إدريس يزيد بن عبد الرحمن الأودي

He was Abu Idris Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Awdi.12

Who then was he? Al-Hafiz has the answer:

يزيد بن عبد الرحمن بن الأسود الأودي بواو ساكنة بعدها مهملة، أبو داود مقبول

Yazid b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. al-Aswad al-Awdi, Abu Dawud: Maqbul (accepted when seconded).13

Obviously, he is NOT majhul al-hal, but maqbul. This means that whenever he is seconded in his report, it is established from his shaykh. However, if he is alone in narrating a riwayah, then it is dha’if. We know already that he was seconded by Tha’labah b. Yazid. Therefore, this second sanad of the hadith is also sahih or hasan.

Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H) has included the report of al-Awdi in his Mustadrak too:

حدثنا أبو حفص عمر بن أحمد الجمحي بمكة ثنا علي بن عبد العزيز ثنا عمرو بن عون ثنا هشيم عن إسماعيل بن سالم عن أبي إدريس الأودي عن علي رضي الله عنه قال إن مما عهد إلي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أن الأمة ستغدر بي بعده

Abu Hafs ‘Umar b. Ahmad al-Jamhi - ‘Ali b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz - ‘Amr b. ‘Awn - Hushaym - Isma’il b. Salim - Abu Idris al-Awdi - ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him:

“Verily, part of what the Prophet, peace be upon him, told me is that the Ummah would soon betray me after him.”14

Then, he declares:

هذا حديث صحيح الإسناد

This hadith has a sahih chain.15

And Imam al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) concurs:

صحيح

Sahih16

Al-Hakim has documented a further shahid:

عن حيان الأسدي سمعت عليا يقول قال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الأمة ستغدر بك بعدي وأنت تعيش على ملتي وتقتل على سنتي من أحبك أحبني ومن أبغضك أبغضني وإن هذه ستخضب من هذا يعني لحيته من رأسه

Narrated Hayyan al-Asadi:

I heard ‘Ali saying: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to me: “Verily, the Ummah will soon betray you after me; and you will live upon my religion, and you will be killed upon my Sunnah. Whoever loves you loves me, and whoever hates you hates me. Verily, this will soon be painted from this”, he meant: his beard (will be drained with blood) from his head.17

Al-Hakim declares:

صحيح

Sahih18

Al-Dhahabi has the same verdict too:

صحيح

Sahih19

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani has provided details of the sanad of this riwayah in his Itihaf:

ثنا أبو علي الحافظ ، ثنا الهيثم بن خلف، ثنا محمد بن عمر بن هياج، ثنا يحيى بن عبد الرحمن، ثنا يونس بن أبي يعفور، عن أبيه، عنه ، به

Abu ‘Ali al-Hafiz - al-Haytham b. Khalaf - Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. Hayyaj - Yahya b. ‘Abd al-Rahman - Yunus b. Abi Yafur - his father - from him (Hayyan al-Asadi) with it.20

As we have seen, both al-Hakim and al-Dhahabi declared it sahih. Obviously, it provides additional strength to the other chains of the riwayah. It is our firm belief, anyway, that the combined force of the three asanid leaves absolutely no doubt about the authenticity of the report. Even al-Shahri, despite his extreme bias, is unable to escape the fact in his final conclusion about the hadith:

و مع أن الحديث ضعيف بالنظر إلي كل طريق علي حدة لكن بالنظر إلي الطريقين معا فالحديث حسن لغيره

That the hadith is dha’if by looking at each chain individually; however, by looking at the two chains together (i.e. those of Tha’labah b. Yazid and Abu Idris al-Awdi), then the hadith is hasan li ghayrihi.21

The Messenger of Allah prophesied that “the Ummah” would betray Amir al-Muminin ‘Ali b. Abi Talib after him. The word “Ummah” was generalized by him. So, he was referring to the generality of the Ummah, and not just a small section of it. They would “betray” his chosen khalifah after his death. Of course, as history confirms, the generality of the Ummah - including the Sahabah - truly did betray Amir al-Muminin after the death of the Rasul.

Despite that he had explicitly named ‘Ali as his khalifah after him, they became traitors against the latter and installed a rebel leader in his place. Interestingly, Imam ‘Ali identified both Abu Bakr and ‘Umar as two among the traitors mentioned in the hadith of the Prophet of Allah. Imam Muslim (d. 261 H) quotes ‘Umar saying to him and ‘Abbas:

فلما توفي رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال أبو بكر أنا ولي رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم فرأيتماه كاذبا آثما غادرا خائنا والله يعلم إنه لصادق بار راشد تابع للحق ثم توفي أبو بكر وأنا ولي رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وولي أبا بكر فرأيتماني كاذبا آثما غادرا خائنا

When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, died, Abu Bakr said: “I am the wali of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.”.... So both of you (‘Ali and ‘Abbas) thought him (i.e. Abu Bakr) to be a liar, sinful, A TRAITOR and dishonest. And Allah knows that he was really truthful, pious, rightly-guided and a follower of the truth. Abu Bakr died and I became the wali of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and the wali of Abu Bakr. So both of you thought me to be a liar, sinful, A TRAITOR and dishonest.22

Notes

1. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliyah bi Zawaid al-Masanid al-Thamaniyyah (Riyadh: Dar al-‘Asimah; 1st edition, 1420 H) [annotator: ‘Abd Allah b. Ẓafir b. ‘Abd Allah al-Shahri], vol. 16, p. 64, # 3919

2. Ibid

3. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 2, p. 11, # 5418

4. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 16, # 5458

5. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 183, # 1087

6. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 149, # 849

7. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Yahya b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad al-Mu’alami al-‘Atmi al-Yamani, al-Tankil bi ma fi Ta-anib al-Kawthari min al-Abatil (al-Maktab al-Islami; 2nd edition, 1406 H) [annotators: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani, Zuhayr al-Shawish and ‘Abd al-Razzaq Hamzah], vol. 1, p. 237

8. Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh b. Tajati b. Adam al-Ashqudri al-Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Sahihah wa Shayhun min Fiqhihah wa Fawaidihah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma’arif li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’; 1st edition, 1415 H), vol. 5, p. 262, # 2223

9. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Marzuq al-Turayfi, al-Tahjil fi Takhrij ma lam Yukhraj min al-Ahadith wa al-Athar fi Irwa al-Ghalil (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Rushd li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’; 1st edition, 1422 H), p. 546

10. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliyah bi Zawaid al-Masanid al-Thamaniyyah (Riyadh: Dar al-‘Asimah; 1st edition, 1420 H) [annotator: ‘Abd Allah b. Ẓafir b. ‘Abd Allah al-Shahri], vol. 16, p. 65, # 3920

11. Ibid

12. Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali b. al-Hasan b. Habat Allah b. ‘Abd Allah, Ibn Asakir al-Shafi’i, Tarikh Madinah Dimashq (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr; 1st edition, 1417 H) [annotator: ‘Ali Shiri], vol. 42, p. 447, footnote # 7

13. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 2, p. 328, # 7774

14. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 3, p. 150, # 4676

15. Ibid

16. Ibid

17. Ibid, vol. 3, p. 153, # 4686

18. Ibid

19. Ibid

20. Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad b. Ahmad b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Itihaf al-Maharat (Madinah al-Munawwarah: Markaz Khidmah al-Sunnah wa al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah; 1st edition, 1415 H), vol. 11, p. 296, # 14043. Al-Hafiz has cited Mustadrak of al-Hakim as his source for the chain, immediately after quoting the hadith, verbatim as above. In modern editions of Mustadrak, the sanad is missing. It is most likely that al-Hafiz had access to a extinct manuscript of Mustadrak which contained the full chain. Al-Hafiz too made a scribal error in copying the name of Hayyan al-Asadi. He has misspelt his name as Aban al-Asadi.

21. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-‘Aliyah bi Zawaid al-Masanid al-Thamaniyyah (Riyadh: Dar al-‘Asimah; 1st edition, 1420 H) [annotator: ‘Abd Allah b. Ẓafir b. ‘Abd Allah al-Shahri], vol. 16, p. 67, # 3921

22. Abu al-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi], vol. 3, p. 1376, #1757

17) The Sahabah And The Ahl Al-Bayt: Hadith Al-Hawdh (Part 1)

The Qur’an informs us that we will be in three different categories on the Day of al-Qiyamah:

وكنتم أزواجا ثلاثة فأصحاب الميمنة ما أصحاب الميمنة وأصحاب المشأمة ما أصحاب المشأمة والسابقون السابقون

And you will be three kinds. So, Companions of the Right Hand, who will be Companions of the Right Hand? And Companions of the Left Hand, who will be Companions of the Left Hand? And those foremost will be foremost.1

Those who will be in the “foremost” group will be the nearest people to Allah in al-Jannah2 . All the other members of Paradise will be from the Right Hand group3 . Our concern in this research are those who will be on the Left Hand. Everyone who will enter Hellfire will be from the Companions of the Left Hand:

وأصحاب الشمال ما أصحاب الشمال في سموم وحميم وظل من يحموم لا بارد ولا كريم

And Companions of the Left Hand, who will be Companions of the Left Hand? In fierce hot wind and boiling water, and shadow of black smoke, neither cool, nor good.4

And:

والذين كفروا بآياتنا هم أصحاب المشأمة عليهم نار مؤصدة

And those who disbelieved in Our Verses, they will be Companions of the Left Hand. The Fire will be shut over them.5

May Allah protect us from ever being among the Companions of the Left Hand.

The question here is about the Sahabah: will any of them be from the Companions of the Left Hand? We ask this because they generally failed to accept the offspring of the Messenger, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, as khalifahs and supreme guides after him.

So, what exactly will the consequence of their flouting of Hadith al-Thaqalayn and Hadith al-Khalifatayn be? Are they really going to suffer any punishment from Allah for their disobedience?

Furthermore, the Prophet had warned that his Ummah must follow his offspring after him in order to remain upon the true guidance. Well, the Sahabah did not heed his warning. So, did they derail from the Right Path?

Imam al-Bukhari (d. 256 H) records the answer:

حدثنا أحمد بن صالح حدثنا ابن وهب قال أخبرني يونس عن ابن شهاب عن ابن المسيب أنه كان يحدث عن أصحاب النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم :أن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال يرد علي الحوض رجال من أصحابي فيحلؤون عنه فأقول يا رب أصحابي ؟ فيقول إنك لا علم لك بما أحدثوا بعدك إنهم ارتدوا على أدبارهم القهقرى

Ahmad b. Salih - Ibn Wahb - Yunus - Ibn Shihab - Ibn al-Musayyab, who used to narrate from the Sahabah of the Prophet, peace be upon him, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

Some men from my Sahabah will come to my Lake-Fount and they will be driven away from it. So, I will say, “O my Lord, my Sahabah!” It will be said, “You have no knowledge of what they INNOVATED after you: they turned APOSTATES.”6

This hadith was transmitted by the Sahabah themselves, and it reflects the true Islamic position on the matter. Many of the Sahabah became “innovators” and “apostates” after the death of the Messenger of Allah. As a result, they will be Companions of the Left Hand on the Day of al-Qiyamah, and will thereby be thrown into Hellfire.

One of the Sahabah who spread this bad news about his kind was Anas. Imam Muslim (d. 261 H) has his report:

وحدثني محمد بن حاتم حدثنا عفان بن مسلم الصفار حدثنا وهيب قال سمعت عبدالعزيز بن صهيب يحدث قال حدثنا أنس بن مالك أن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال ليردن علي الحوض رجال ممن صاحبني حتى إذا رأيتهم ورفعوا إلي اختلجوا دوني فلأقولن أي رب أصيحابي أصيحابي فليقالن لي إنك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك

Muhammad b. Hatim - ‘Affan b. Muslim al-Saffar - Wuhayb - ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Suhayb - Anas b. Malik:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Some persons from amongst those who kept me company will meet me at the Lake-Fount. I will see them, and they will be presented to me. Then, they will be forced away from me. I will say: ‘O my Lord, my Sahabah! My Sahabah’. It will be said to me: ‘You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.’”7

We will, in the last chapter of this book, identify some of these innovators among the Sahabah, through sahih Sunni riwayat. Some of these names may severely bother some of our brothers from the Ahl al-Sunnah.

Imam al-Bukhari has documented the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas too, on this matter:

حدثنا محمد بن يوسف حدثنا سفيان عن المغيرة بن النعمان عن سعيد بن جبير عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم :تحشرون حفاة عراة غرلا ثم قرأ{ كما بدأنا أول خلق نعيده وعدا علينا إنا كنا فاعلين .}فأول من يكسى إبراهيم ثم يؤخذ برجال من أصحابي ذات اليمين وذات الشمال فأقول أصحابي فيقال إنهم لم يزالوا مرتدين على أعقابهم منذ فارقتهم فأقول كما قال العبد الصالح عيسى بن مريم{ وكنت عليهم شهيدا ما دمت فيهم فلما توفيتني كنت أنت الرقيب عليهم وأنت على كل شيء شهيد .إن تعذبهم فإنهم عبادك وإن تغفر لهم فإنك أنت العزيز الحكيم {

قال محمد بن يوسف ذكر عن أبي عبد الله عن قبيصة قال هم المرتدون الذين ارتدوا على عهد أبي بكر فقاتلهم أبي بكر رضي الله عنه

Muhammad b. Yusuf - Sufyan - al-Mughirah b. al-Nu’man - Sa’id b. Jubayr - Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “You will be resurrected bare-footed, naked and uncircumcised.” Then he recited: {As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it: a promise We have undertaken. Truly, We shall do it} [21:104]. He continued: “The first to be dressed will be Ibrahim. Then, some of my Sahabah will be taken towards the right side AND TOWARDS THE LEFT SIDE. So, I will say: ‘My Sahabah!’ It will be said, ‘THEY HAD BEEN APOSTATES SINCE YOU LEFT THEM.’ I will then say as the Righetous Servant, ‘Isa b. Maryam, said: {And I was a witness over them whilst I lived amongst them. But, when You caused me to die, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your slaves, and if You forgive them, You, only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise} [5:117-118].”

Muhammad b. Yusuf narrated from Abu ‘Abd Allah that Qubaysah said: “They were those who apostatized during the time of Abu Bakr. So, Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, fought them.”8

Qubaysah, one of the Sunni Imams, identified the apostates among the Sahabah as only those of them who renounced Islam during the rule of Abu Bakr. Our contention is that the apostates truly included, but were far more than just the Ahl al-Riddah. More details will be provided.

Imam Ahmad (d. 241 H) records the testimony of yet another Sahabi:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا عفان ثنا حماد بن سلمة أنا علي بن زيد عن الحسن عن أبي بكرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال ليردن على الحوض رجال ممن صحبني ورآني حتى إذا رفعوا إلى ورأيتهم اختلجوا دوني فلأقولن رب أصحابي أصحابي فيقال إنك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) - my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) - ‘Affan - Hammad b. Salamah - ‘Ali b. Zayd - al-Hasan - Abu Bakrah:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

Some persons from amongst those who kept me company AND SAW ME will meet me at the Lake-Fount. They will be presented to me and I will see them. But then, they will be forced away from me. So, I will say, “O my Lord! My Sahabah! My Sahabah!” It will be said, “You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.”9

Shaykh al-Arnaut comments:

صحيح لغيره

Sahih li ghayrihi10

Al-Bukhari returns again with the riwayah of Abu Hurayrah:

وقال أحمد بن شبيب بن سعيد الحبطي حدثنا أبي عن يونس عن ابن شهاب عن سعيد بن المسيب عن أبي هريرة أنه كان يحدث :أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال يرد علي يوم القيامة رهط من أصحابي فيجلون عن الحوض فأقول يا رب أصحابي فيقول إنك لا علم لك بما أحدثوا بعدك إنهم ارتدوا على أدبارهم القهقرى

Ahmad b. Shabib b. Sa’id al-Hinti - my father - Yunus - Ibn Shihab - Sa’id b. al-Musayyab - Abu Hurayrah, that he used to say:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: On the Day of al-Qiyamah, a group from my Sahabah will meet me. But, they will be driven away from the Lake-Fount. So, I will say, “O my Lord! My Sahabah!” Then, He will say, “You have no knowledge of what they INNOVATED after you: they turned APOSTATES.”11

Ahmad b. Hanbal has the testimony of yet another Sahabi:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا سليمان بن داود ثنا عبد الرحمن بن عبد الله بن دينار عن أبي حازم عن النعمان بن أبي عياش الزرقي عن أبي سعيد الخدري ان النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال فأقول أصحابي أصحابي فقيل انك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك قال فأقول بعدا بعدا أو قال سحقا سحقا لمن بدل بعدي

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) - my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) - Sulayman b. Dawud - ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Abd Allah b. Dinar - Abu Hazim - al-Nu’man b. Abi ‘Ayyash al-Zarqi - Abu Sa’id al-Khudri:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “So, I will say, ‘My Sahabah! My Sahabah!’ It will be said, ‘You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.’ Then I will say, ‘Woe, woe to whoever changed after me.’”12

Al-Arnaut says:

صحيح

Sahih13

Imam al-Bukhari also documents that of Ibn Mas’ud:

وحدثني عمرو بن علي حدثنا محمد بن جعفر حدثنا شعبة عن المغيرة قال سمعت أبا وائل عن عبد الله رضي الله عنه :عن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال أنا فرطكم على الحوض وليرفعن رجال منكم ثم ليختلجن دوني فأقول يا رب أصحابي فيقال إنك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك

‘Amr b. ‘Ali - Muhammad b. Ja’far - Shu’bah - al-Mughirah - Abu Wail - ‘Abd Allah, may Allah be pleased with him:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: I will be your predecessor at the Lake-Fount. Some persons from amongst you will be presented to me. Then they will be forced away from me. Therefore, I will say, “O my Lord! My Sahabah!” It will be said, “You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.”14

He was addressing his Sahabah, and clearly stated that the innovators would be “from amongst” them.

Imam Ahmad documents the report of Hudhayfah as well:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا سريج بن النعمان حدثنا هشيم عن المغيرة عن أبي وائل عن بن مسعود وحصين عن أبي وائل عن حذيفة قالا قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم أنا فرطكم على الحوض أنظركم ليرفع لي رجال منكم حتى إذا عرفتهم اختلجوا دوني فأقول رب أصحابي أصحابي فيقال إنك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) - my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) - Shurayh b. al-Nu’man - Hushaym - al-Mughirah - Abu Wail - Ibn Mas’ud AND Husayn - Abu Wail - Hudhayfah, both of them (Ibn Mas’ud and Hudhayfah) said:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “I will be your predecessor at the Lake-Fount, expecting you. Some persons from amongst you will be presented to me, and I will recognize them. Then, they will be forced away from me. So, I will say, ‘O my Lord! My Sahabah! My Sahabah!’ It will be said, ‘You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.’”15

Al-Arnaut comments:

هذا الحديث له إسنادان: الأول إسناده صحيح والإسناد الثاني رجاله ثقات رجال الصحيح

This hadith has two chains. The first chain is sahih, and the narrators of the second chain are thiqah (trustworthy) narrators of the Sahih.16

Ahmad also records:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا عبد الصمد ثنا عبد العزيز بن مسلم حدثنا حصين عن أبي وائل عن حذيفة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال ليردن على الحوض أقوام فيختلجون دوني فأقول رب أصحابي رب أصحابي فيقال لي إنك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) - my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) - ‘Abd al-Samad - ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Muslim - Husayn - Abu Wail - Hudhayfah:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Groups of people will meet me at the Lake-Fount. But, they will be forced away from me. So, I will say, ‘O my Lord, my Sahabah! O my Lord, my Sahabah!’ It will be said to me, ‘You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.’”17

Al-Arnaut comments:

حديث صحيح

A sahih hadith18

Imam al-Haythami (d. 807 H) copies the hadith of another prominent Sahabi:

وعن أبي مسعود عن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم قال : " ليرفعن لي رجال من أصحابي حتى إذا رأيتهم اختلجوا دوني فأقول : أصحابي فيقال : إنك لا تدري ما أحدثوا بعدك "

Narrated Abu Mas’ud, from the Prophet, peace be upon him:

Some persons from my Sahabah will be presented to me. When I see them, they will be forced away from me. So, I will say, “My Sahabah!” Then it will be said, “You do not know what they INNOVATED after you.”19

Al-Haythami says:

رواه الطبراني ورجاله رجال الصحيح

Al-Tabarani recorded it and its narrators are narrators of the Sahih.20

Imam Ahmad has not relented yet:

حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا قتيبة بن سعيد ثنا يعقوب بن عبد الرحمن عن أبي حازم قال سمعت سهلا يقول سمعت النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم يقول أنا فرطكم على الحوض من ورد شرب ومن شرب لم يظمأ بعده أبدا وليردن على أقوام أعرفهم ويعرفونني ثم يحال بيني وبينهم قال أبو حازم فسمعني النعمان بن أبي عياش وأنا أحدثهم هذا الحديث فقال هكذا سمعت سهلا يقول قال فقلت نعم قال وأنا أشهد على أبي سعيد الخدري لسمعت يزيد فيقول أنهم مني فيقال إنك لا تدري ما عملوا بعدك فأقول سحقا سحقا لمن بدل بعدي

‘Abd Allah (b. Ahmad) - my father (Ahmad b. Hanbal) - Qutaybah b. Sa’id - Ya’qub b. ‘Abd al-Rahman - Abu Hazim - Sahl:

I heard the Prophet, peace be upon him, saying: “I will be your predecessor at the Lake-Fount, and whoever will pass by there, he will drink from it and whoever will drink from it, he will never again be thirsty. Groups of people will meet me. I will recognize them and they will recognize me.Then, a barrier will be placed between me and them.”

Abu Hazim said: al-Nu’man b. Abi ‘Ayyash heard me while I was narrating this hadith to them and said. “Did you hear this from Sahl?” I said, “Yes.” He said, “I bear witness that I heard Abu Sa’id al-Khudri adding (as part of the hadith): “I will say: ‘They are from me’. It will be said, ‘You do not know what they did after you.’ I will say, ‘Woe to those who changed after me.’”21

Al-Arnaut declares:

إسناده صحيح على شرط الشيخين

Its chain is sahih upon the standard of the two Shaykhs.22

Imam Muslim returns again:

وحدثنا ابن أبي عمر حدثنا يحيى بن سليم عن ابن خثيم عن عبدالله بن عبيدالله بن أبي مليكة أنه سمع عائشة تقول سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يقول وهو بين ظهراني أصحابه إني على الحوض أنتظر من يرد علي منكم والله ليقتطعن دوني رجال فلأقولن أي رب مني ومن أمتي فيقول إنك لا تدري ما عملوا بعدك ما زالوا يرجعون على أعقابهم

Ibn Abi ‘Umar - Yahya b. Salim - Ibn Khaytham - ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Ubayd Allah b. Abi Mulaykah - ‘Aishah:

I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, saying while he was in front of his Sahabah: “I will be at the Lake-Fount, expecting whosoever from amongst you will meet me. By Allah, some persons will be cut away from me, and I will, as a result say ‘O my Lord! From me, and from my Ummah.’ He will say, ‘You do not know what they did after you. They did not cease to turn back upon their heels.’”23

And al-Bukhari caps it with the report of her sister:

حدثنا سعيد بن أبي مريم عن نافع بن عمر قال حدثني ابن أبي مليكة عن أسماء بنت أبي بكر رضي الله عنهما قالت :قال النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم إني على الحوضحتى أنظر من يرد علي منكم وسيؤخذ ناسدوني فأقول يا رب مني ومن أمتي فيقال هل شعرت ما عملوا بعدك والله ما برحوا يرجعون على أعقابهم

فكان ابن أبي مليكة يقول اللهم إنا نعوذ بك أن نرجع على أعقابنا أو نفتن عن ديننا

Sa’id b. Abi Maryam - Nafi’ b. ‘Umar - Ibn Abi Mulaykah - Asma b. Abi Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them both:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “I will be at the Lake-Fount expecting whoever will meet me from amongst you. Some people will be taken away from me. So, I will say, “They are from me, and from my Ummah.” It will be said, “Do you know what they did after you? By Allah! They did not cease to turn back upon their heels.”

As a result (of this hadith) Ibn Abi Mulaykah used to say: “O Allah, we seeks refuge with You from turning back on our heels or facing trials in our religion”.24

With this, the ahadith have been narrated by, at least, the following Sahabah:

1. Anas b. Malik

2. Ibn ‘Abbas

3. Abu Bakrah

4. Abu Hurayrah

5. Abu Sa’id al-Khudri

6. ‘Abd Allah b. Mas’ud

7. Hudhayfah

8. Abu Mas’ud

9. Sahl

10. Umm al-Muminin ‘Aishah

11. Asma b. Abi Bakr

So, the tawattur of this matter is beyond question.

Notes

1. Qur’an 56:7-10

2. Qur’an 56:10-12

3. Qur’an 56:27-40

4. Qur’an 56:41-44

5. Qur’an 90:19-20

6. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 5, p. 2407, # 6214

7. Abu al-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi], vol. 4, p. 1800, # 2304 (40)

8. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 3, p. 1271, # 3263

9. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 5, p. 48, # 20512

10. Ibid

11. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 5, p. 2407, # 6213

12. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 3, p. 28, # 11236

13. Ibid

14. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 5, p. 2404, # 6205

15. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 5, p. 393, # 23385

16. Ibid

17. Ibid, vol. 5, p. 388, # 23338

18. Ibid

19. Nur al-Din ‘Ali b. Abi Bakr al-Haythami, Majma’ al-Zawaid (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr; 1412 H), vol. 10, pp. 662-663, # 18471

20. Ibid

21. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 5, p. 333, # 22873

22. Ibid

23. Abu al-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi], vol. 4, p. 1794, # 2294 (28)

24. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. Isma’il b. Ibrahim b. Mughirah al-Bukhari al-Ju’fi, al-Jami’ al-Sahih al-Mukhtasar (Beirut: Dar Ibn Kathir; 3rd edition, 1407 H) [annotator: Dr. Mustafa Dib al-Bagha], vol. 5, p. 2409, # 6220

2) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn: The Prophet At ‘Arafat (Part 2)

As we have established, it is without doubt that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, said these words to the people at ‘Arafat during his last Hajj:

يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي

O mankind! I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and my offspring, my Ahl al-Bayt.

So, what exactly was he trying to tell the world? Imam al-Mubarakfuri (d. 1282 H) quotes this under his commentary of the hadith:

قال القاري والمراد بالأخذ بهم التمسك بمحبتهم ومحافظة حرمتهم والعمل بروايتهم والاعتماد على مقالتهم وهو لا ينافي أخذ السنة من غيرهم لقوله صلى الله عليه وسلم أصحابي كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم ولقوله تعالى فاسألوا أهل الذكر إن كنتم لا تعلمون

Al-Qari said: “The meaning of holding fast to them is to adhere to their love, to protect their honour, to follow their narrations, and to rely upon their opinions. This does not negate the taking of the Sunnah from other than them, due to his statement, peace be upon him “My Sahabah are like the stars. Whichever of them you follow, you will be rightly guided” and due to His Statement, Exalted be He: “Ask the people of al-Dhikr if you do not know.”1

Al-Qari apparently admits that Hadith al-Thaqalayn commands the Ummah to follow the offspring of the Prophet, ‘alaihim al-salam, after him. His argument, however, is that we should also follow the Sahabah in addition to the Ahl al-Bayt. There are two fatal problems with his submission. First, the hadith he is relying upon is unreliable.

It is graded mawdhu (fabricated) by ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H)2 . Secondly, Hadith al-Thaqalayn is addressed to all “mankind” - and that naturally included all the Sahabah, the Tabi’in, the Tabi’ al-Tabi’in, the Four Imams, al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ibn Taymiyyah, Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Wahhab, Ibn Baz, Ibn al-‘Uthaymin and others. All of them, without a single exception, were under a strict divine obligation to follow the offspring of Muhammad in everything. The hadith has a general wording, and nothing has been excluded under its order.

Therefore, all humanity from the moment our Prophet left this world till the Last Hour must follow his Ahl al-Bayt in absolutely everything. So, basically, the Sahabah are not supposed to be followed. Rather, they were ordered too to be followers of the Ahl al-Bayt. Meanwhile, in case someone insists that he must still follow the Sahabah, then obedience in Islam is only in al-ma’ruf - in obedience to Allah. In that case, only those Sahabah who complied with the Decree of Allah in Hadith al-Thaqalayn can be followed.

But, al-Mubarakfuri still has one more quote:

وقال ابن الملك التمسك بالكتاب العمل بما فيه وهو الائتمار بأوامر الله والانتهاء عن نواهيه ومعنى التمسك بالعترة محبتهم والاهتداء بهديهم وسيرتهم زاد السيد جمال الدين إذا لم يكن مخالفا للدين

Ibn al-Malik said: “Adherence to the Book of Allah is to follow whatever is in it - and that is to follow the Orders of Allah and desist from His Prohibitions. The meaning of adherence to the offspring (of the Prophet) is to love them, and to seek guidance through their guidance and their way of life.” Sayyid Jamal al-Din added, “if it does not contradict the religion.”3

Ibn al-Malik too concedes that the offspring of Muhammad must be followed, under Hadith al-Thaqalayn. He makes no attempts to explain it away or fix artificial conditions. But, Sayyid Jamal al-Din moves a step forward: he could only follow the Ahl al-Bayt if their guidance or way of life did not contradict the religion! So, he believes that the designated offspring of the Prophet intended in the hadith can go astray too and oppose Islam. This weird opinion of Sayyid Jamal al-Din however directly contradicts the explicit text of the riwayah:

يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي

O mankind! I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will NEVER go astray: the Book of Allah and my offspring, my Ahl al-Bayt.

You will “never” go astray while following the Ahl al-Bayt. It is a clear guarantee from Allah and His Messenger. This, in turn, means that the offspring of the Messenger - those meant in the hadith among them - are never misguided, and they never misguide. They are always upon the true teachings of the Qur’an and the correct Sunnah of Muhammad, in all their thoughts, sayings, deeds, actions and omissions. Whosoever follows them in absolutely everything will never miss the way.

There is however an opinion within the Ahl al-Sunnah, especially the young Salafiyyah, which insists that the hadith commands to follow the Qur’an only, and nothing else. They cite the use of “it” in it - which is nominally singular - in support of their submission:

إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به

I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to IT

To them, if the Messenger had intended that both the Book and his offspring must be followed, he would have said: “that which if you hold fast to THEM.” But, there are explicit signs of ignorance in this argument. The “it”( ه ) in the hadith is a reference to the “which”( ما ) before it. In Arabic, a combination of both is possible even if the allusion is to billions of items. For instance, Allah says:

إن الذين كفروا لو أن لهم ما في الأرض جميعا ومثله معه ليفتدوا به من عذاب يوم القيامة ما تقبل منهم ولهم عذاب أليم

As for those who disbelieve, lo! If all that WHICH is in the earth were theirs, and the likeness of IT with IT, to ransom them with IT from the torment of the Day of al-Qiyamah, it would not be accepted from them. Theirs will be a painful torment.4

We see that “it” here refers to everything in the earth - all the animals, all the constructions, all the minerals, all the lands and so on. Let us see another example:

إن تجتنبوا كبائر ما تنهون عنه نكفر عنكم سيئاتكم وندخلكم مدخلا كريما

If you avoid major sins, that WHICH you have been forbidden from IT, We shall remit from you your sins and admit you to a noble entrance.5

“It” is a direct reference to the “major sins”. With these, obviously, nothing stops the same expression from working for both the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt in Hadith al-Thaqalayn! How do these people reason?!

Interestingly, the alternative hadith which our brothers from the Ahl al-Sunnah love to quote has the same wording too. Imam al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 H) records:

أخبرنا أبو عبد الله الحافظ أخبرني إسماعيل بن محمد بن الفضل الشعراني ثنا جدي ثنا بن أبي أويس ثنا أبي عن ثور بن زيد الديلي عن عكرمة عن بن عباس رضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم خطب الناس في حجة الوداع فقال يا أيها الناس أني قد تركت فيكم ما إن اعتصمتم به فلن تضلوا أبدا كتاب الله وسنة نبيه

Abu ‘Abd Allah al-Hafiz - Isma’il b. Muhammad b. al-Fadhl al-Sha’rani - my grandfather - Ibn Abi Uways - my father - Thawr b. Zayd al-Dayli - ‘Ikrimah - Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, delivered a sermon to mankind during the Farewell Hajj, and said: “O mankind! I have left behind over you that WHICH if you hold fast to IT, you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet.”6

Without a doubt, every single Sunni Muslim - including every single Salafi - understands the “it” in the riwayah to be a reference to both the Qur’an and the Sunnah together! So, why the double standards against Hadith al-Thaqalayn?!

Unfortunately for Sunnis though, this hadith of al-Bayhaqi has a dha’if chain, due to Ibn Abi Uways. He had a poor memory, as al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) states:

إسماعيل بن عبد الله بن عبد الله بن أويس بن مالك بن أبي عامر الأصبحي أبو عبد الله بن أبي أويس المدني صدوق أخطأ في أحاديث من حفظه

Isma’il b. ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abd Allah b. Uways b. Malik b. Abi ‘Amir al-Asbahi, Abu ‘Abd Allah b. Abi Uways al-Madani: Saduq (very truthful), he made mistakes in ahadith due to his memory.7

His memory crisis was, of course, very critical. Al-Hafiz provides further details:

إسماعيل بن أبي أويس عبد الله بن عبد الله بن أويس بن مالك بن أبي عامر الأصبحي … قلت وروينا في مناقب البخاري بسند صحيح أن إسماعيل أخرج له أصوله وأذن له أن ينتقى منها … ما أخرجه البخاري عنه هو من صحيح حديثه لأنه كتب من أصوله وعلى هذا لا يحتج بشئ من حديثه غير ما في الصحيح من أجل ما قدح فيه النسائي وغيره إلا أن شاركه فيه غيره فيعتبر فيه

Isma’il b. Abi Uways ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Abd Allah b. Uways b. Malik b. Abi Amir al-Asbahi … I say: We recorded in Manaqib al-Bukhari (Merits of al-Bukhari) with a sahih chain that Isma’il gave his manuscript to him (i.e. al-Bukhari) and allowed him to select from it … Whatever al-Bukhari narrated from him was from the sahih among his ahadith, because he (al-Bukhari) wrote (them) from his (i.e. Ibn Uways’) manuscripts. As such, nothing from his ahadith is accepted as a hujjah except what is in the Sahih (of al-Bukhari), due to the criticisms of al-Nasai and others against him - unless he has been seconded in it, in which case he is accepted as a support in it.8

So, his mistakes in ahadith were severe. As such, whatsoever he narrated from memory - unless he was seconded in it by another person - is dha’if. Interestingly, in the hadith of al-Bayhaqi above, he is not seconded in its reporting from his father, Abu Uways. Moreover, all his (i.e. Isma’il’s) ahadith were transmitted by him from memory, except those in Sahih al-Bukhari. Since the hadith of al-Bayhaqi is not from Sahih al-Bukhari, and Isma’il is not seconded in it, then it is dha’if without a doubt.

Shaykh Ibn Baz (d. 1420 H) also copies the hadith:

اني تارك فيكم ما لن تضلوا إن اعتصمتم به :كتاب الله و سنتي

I am leaving behind over you that WHICH you will never go astray if you hold fast to IT: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.9

Then, in a rather weird move, he says about it:

أخرجها الحاكم بسند جيد

Al-Hakim recorded it with a good (jayyid) chain.10

Really? In that case, let us check the report as documented by Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H) himself:

حدثنا أبو بكر أحمد بن إسحاق الفقيه أنبأ العباس بن الفضل الأسفاطي ثنا إسماعيل عن أبي أويس وأخبرني إسماعيل بن محمد بن الفضل الشعراني ثنا جدي عن ثور بن زيد الديلي عن عكرمة عن ابن عباس أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم خطب الناس في حجة الوداع فقال : قد يئس الشيطان بأن يعبد بأرضكم ولكنه رضي أن يطاع فيما سوى ذلك مما تحاقرون من أعمالكم فاحذروا يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن اعتصمتم به فلن تضلوا أبدا : كتاب الله وسنة نبيه صلى الله عليه وسلم

Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Ishaq al-Faqih - al-‘Abbas b. al-Fadhl al-Asfati - Isma’il - Abu Uways:

and Isma’il b. Muhammad b. al-Fadhl al-Sha’rani - my grandfather -Isma’il - Abu Uways:

Thawr b. Zayd al-Dayli - ‘Ikrimah - Ibn ‘Abbas:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, delivered a sermon to mankind during the Farewell Hajj, and said: “Verily, Shaytan has lost hope of being worshipped in your land. However, he is pleased to be obeyed in other than that from your despicable deeds. So, beware! O mankind! Verily, I have left behind over you that WHICH if you hold fast to IT you will never go astray: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him.11

The Salafi scholar, Shaykh Muqbil, states concerning this hadith in his tahqiq of al-Mustadrak:

حديث ضعيف لأنه من طريق إسماعيل بن أبي أويس عن أبيه وفيهما كلام .وشاهده من طريق صالح بن موسى الطالحي وهو متروك

It is a dha’if hadith, because it is narrated through the route of Isma’il b. Abi Uways from his father, and there is criticism against both of them. Its shahid is narrated through the route of Salih b. Musa al-Talihi, and he is matruk (rejected).12

Unfortunately, Sunni ‘ulama never cease to substitute the genuine hadith with the fake one. In their sermons and publications, they never tell their followers about the true decree of the Prophet to his Ummah. Instead, they frequently quote the counterfeit riwayah as his parting command to us. A well-known contemporary Sunni hadith scientist who is deeply troubled by this ugly situation is Sayyid Hasan al-Saqqaf. He expresses his grave unhappiness about the situation in these sharp words:

وأما حديث] تركت فيكم ما إن تمسكتم بهما لن تضلوا بعدي أبدا كتاب وسنتي [الذي يردده الناس فيما بينهم ويقوله الخطباء على المنابر فحديث موضوع مكذوب وضعه الأمويون وأتباعهم ليصرفوا الناس عن هذا الحديث الصحيح في العترة، فانتبه لذلك جد !!وقد ذكرت جميع طرقه وبينت ما في أسانيده من الكذابين والوضاعين في آخر كتابي} صحيح صفة صلاة النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم {ص (289 )

As for the hadith [I have left over you that which if you adhere to them both you will never go astray after me: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah] which people repeat among themselves, and which the lecturers quote on the pulpits, it is a fabricated, false hadith. It was fabricated by the Umayyads and their followers to turn people away from this sahih hadith about the offspring of the Prophet. So, be very careful due to that!! I have mentioned all its chains and exposed the liars and fabricators in its chains at the end of my book Sahih Sifat Salat al-Nabi, peace be upon him and his family, page 289.13

In any case, what matters most to our research here is the Sunni understanding of the dha’if hadith. To them - and to everyone who understands at least some Arabic - it directs all humanity to unconditionally obey the Qur’an and the Sunnah together in all situations and circumstances, as the only way to remain upon the true guidance. In the same manner, the genuine hadith - with an almost identical wording to the fake one - obviously orders us all to obey the Qur’an and the offspring of Muhammad, his Ahl al-Bayt, together, at all times, in all cases and under all circumstances. Whoever fails to do this loses his way, and becomes a heretic.

Notes

1. Abu al-‘Ala Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi bi Sharh Jami’ al-Tirmidhi (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1410 H), vol. 10, p. 196

2. Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh al-Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Dha’ifah wa al-Mawdhu’ah wa Atharihah al-Sayyiah fi al-Ummah (Riyadh: Dar al-Ma’arif; 1st edition, 1412 H), vol. 1, p. 144, # 58

3. Abu al-‘Ala Muhammad b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Abd al-Rahim al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfat al-Ahwazi bi Sharh Jami’ al-Tirmidhi (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1410 H), vol. 10, p. 196

4. Qur’an 5:36

5. Qur’an 4:31

6. Abu Bakr Ahmad b. al-Husayn b. ‘Ali b. Musa al-Bayhaqi, Sunan al-Kubra (Makkah: Maktabah Dar al-Baz; 1414 H) [annotator: Muhammad ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 10, p. 114, # 20123

7. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 96, # 461

8. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Muhammad b. Muhammad b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani al-Shafi’i, Hadi al-Sari Muqaddimah Fath al-Bari (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi; 1st edition, 1408 H), p. 388

9. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. ‘Abd Allah b. Baz, Majmu’ Fatawa al-‘Allamah ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Baz, vol. 24, p. 182

10. Ibid

11. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 171, # 318

12. Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn (Dar al-Haramayn li Taba’ah wa al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’; 1st edition, 1417 H) [annotator: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muqbil b. Hadi al-Wadi’i], vol. 1, p. 161, # 318

13. Hasan b. ‘Ali al-Saqqaf al-Qurashi al-Hashimi al-Husayni, Sahih Sharh al-‘Aqidah al-Tahawiyyah (Amman: Dar Imam al-Nawawi; 1st edition, 1416 H), p. 654, footnote # 385

3) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn: The Prophet At Ghadir Khumm (Part 1)

Immediately after his last Hajj, on his way back to Madinah - his capital city, at a place called Ghadir Khumm, the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, repeated his instruction at ‘Arafat to mankind. Imam Ibn Abi ‘Asim (d. 287 H) documents:

حدثنا سليمان بن عبيد الله الغيلاني، حدثنا أبو عامر، حدثنا كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي، عن أبيه، عن علي رضي الله عنه أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال :إني تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا :كتاب الله، سببه بيد الله، وسببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي

Sulayman b. ‘Ubayd Allah al-Ghilani - Abu ‘Amir - Kathir b. Zayd - Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali - his father - ‘Ali, may Allah be pleased with him:

The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in the Hand of Allah and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”1

Concerning the first narrator, al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) states:

سليمان بن عبيد الله بن عمرو بن جابر الغيلاني المازني أبو أيوب البصري صدوق

Sulayman b. ‘Ubayd Allah b. ‘Amr b. Jabir al-Ghilani al-Mazini, Abu Ayub al-Basri: Saduq (very truthful).2

As for the second narrator, this is what al-Hafiz has to say:

عبد الملك بن عمرو القيسي أبو عامر العقدي بفتح المهملة والقاف ثقة

‘Abd al-Malik b. ‘Amr al-Qaysi, Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi: Thiqah (trustworthy).3

The third narrator is reliable too, as declared by al-Hafiz:

كثير بن زيد الأسلمي أبو محمد المدني بن مافنه بفتح الفاء وتشديد النون صدوق يخطئ

Kathir b. Zayd al-Aslami, Abu Muhammad al-Madani b. Mafannah: Saduq (very truthful), made mistakes.4

He did not make “a lot” of mistakes. Therefore, his mistakes were not serious, were minimal and did not affect the quality of his ahadith.

Al-Hafiz tells us about the fourth narrator as well:

محمد بن عمر بن علي بن أبي طالب صدوق

Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib: Saduq (very truthful).5

And this is the status of the fifth narrator, according to al-Hafiz:

عمر بن علي بن أبي طالب الهاشمي ثقة

‘Umar b. ‘Ali b. Abi Talib al-Hashimi: Thiqah (trustworthy).6

So, all the narrators are fully reliable, and the sanad is well-connected. As such, it is a hasan chain, at the least. This is what Shaykh al-Arnaut concludes as well:

وثالث من حديث علي عند ابن أبي عاصم في "السنة" (1558) ، والطحاوي في "شرح مشكل الآثار" (1760) من طريقين عن أبي عامر العقدي، عن كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي، عن أبيه، عنه، مرفوعاً، بلفظ: "إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا: كتاب الله، سببه بيد الله، وسببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي"، وإسناده حسن

The third is the hadith of ‘Ali, recorded by Ibn Abi ‘Asim in al-Sunnah (1558), and by al-Tahawi in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (1760) from two routes from Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi, from Kathir b. Zayd, from Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali, from his father, from him (i.e. ‘Ali) from the Prophet, with the wording: “I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in the Hand of Allah and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.” And its chain is hasan.7

The above riwayah is only an abridged version of a more detailed hadith. Imam Ishaq b. Rahwayh (d. 238 H) and some other classical Sunni scholars recorded the full version. For instance, Imam al-Tahawi (d. 321 H) documents:

حدثنا إبراهيم بن مرزوق قال : حدثنا أبو عامر العقدي قال : حدثنا كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي ، عن أبيه ، عن علي ، أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حضر الشجرة بخم فخرج آخذا بيد علي فقال :يا أيها الناس، ألستم تشهدون أن الله عز وجل ربكم؟ قالوا: بلى، قال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم، وأن الله عز وجل ورسوله مولياكم؟ قالوا: بلى، قال: فمن كنت مولاه فإن هذا مولاه، أو قال: فإن عليا مولاه - شك ابن مرزوق - إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا :كتاب الله سببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي

Ibrahim b. Marzuq - Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi - Kathir b. Zayd - Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali - his father - ‘Ali:

Verily, the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “O mankind! Do you not testify that Allah the Almighty is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah the Almighty and His Messenger are your Mawla?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one - or ‘Ali - is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”8

Shaykh al-Arnaut comments:

إسناده حسن

Its chain is hasan.9

Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani also copies the riwayah of Ishaq b. Rahwayh:

وقال إسحاق: أنا أبو عامر العقدي، عن كثير بن زيد، عن محمد بن عمر بن علي، عن أبيه، عن علي، قال: إن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حضر الشجرة بخم، ثم خرج آخذا بيد علي قال :ألستم تشهدون أن الله ربكم؟ قالوا: بلى، قال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم، وأن الله ورسوله أولياؤكم؟ فقالوا: بلى، قال: فمن كان الله ورسوله مولاه، فإن هذا مولاه، وقد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا: كتاب الله سببه بيده، وسببه بأيديكم، وأهل بيتي

Ishaq said: Abu ‘Amir al-‘Aqadi - Kathir b. Zayd - Muhammad b. ‘Umar b. ‘Ali - his father - ‘Ali:

Verily, the Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allah is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah and His Messenger are your Awliya?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one (i.e. ‘Ali) is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”10

Then, al-Hafiz comments:

هذا إسناد صحيح

This chain is sahih.11

Imam Ahmad al-Busiri (d. 840 H) as well documents:

عن علي بن أبي طالب، رضي الله عنه: أن النبي صَلَّى الله عَلَيه وسَلَّم حضر الشجرة بخم ثم خرج آخذًا بيد علي فقال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ربكم؟ قالوا: بلى قال: ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم وأن الله ورسوله مولاكم؟ قالوا: بلى قال: فمن كان الله ورسوله مولاه فإن هذا مولاه وقد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله سببه بيده وسببه بأيديكم وأهل بيتي

Narrated ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allah is your Lord?” They said, “Yes, we do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah and His Messenger are your Mawla?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one (i.e. ‘Ali) is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”12

And al-Busiri has this simple verdict about it:

رواه إسحاق بسند صحيح

Ishaq recorded it with a sahih chain.13

‘Allamah al-Muttaqi al-Hindi (d. 975 H) too records the hadith:

عن علي أن النبي صلى الله عليه و سلم حضر الشجرة بخم ثم خرج آخذا بيد علي فقال : أيها الناس ألستم تشهدون أن الله ربكم ؟ قالوا : بلى قال : ألستم تشهدون أن الله ورسوله أولى بكم من أنفسكم وأن الله ورسوله مولاكم ؟ قالوا : بلى قال : فمن كان الله ورسوله مولاه فإن هذا مولاه وقد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا بعده : كتاب الله سببه بيده وسببه بأيديكم وأهل بيتي

Narrated ‘Ali b. Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him:

The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to a tree at (Ghadir) Khumm. Then he came out, holding the hand of ‘Ali, and saying: “Do you not testify that Allah is your Lord?” They said, “We do.” He said, “Do you not testify that Allah and His Messenger are more entitled to you than yourselves and that Allah and His Messenger are your Mawla?” They said, “Yes, we do”. He said, “So, whosoever Allah and His Messenger are his Mawla, verily this one (i.e. ‘Ali) is his mawla. I have left behind over you that which if you hold fast to it you will never go astray while following it: the Book of Allah - one end of which is in His Hand and the other in your hands - and my Ahl al-Bayt.”

Then al-Hindi says about it:

ابن راهويه وابن جرير وابن أبي عاصم والمحاملي في أماليه وصححه

Narrated by (Ishaq) Ibn Rahwayh, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi ‘Asim, and by al-Muhamali in his Amali, and he (al-Muhamali) declared it sahih.14

The messages in these reports are very powerfully conveyed:

Muslims can acquire true guidance after their Prophet only by holding fast to both the Qur’an and his Ahl al-Bayt together.

Muslims can remain upon true guidance after their Prophet only by holding fast to both the Qur’an and his Ahl al-Bayt together.

Muslims automatically lose the true guidance after their Prophet any moment they fail to hold fast to the Qur’an and his Ahl al-Bayt together.

Notes

1. Abu Bakr b. Abi ‘Asim, Ahmad b. ‘Amr b. al-Dhahhak b. Mukhlid al-Shaybani, Kitab al-Sunnah (al-Maktab al-Islami; 1st edition, 1400 H) [annotator: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani], vol. 2, pp. 644-645, # 1558

2. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 389, # 2598

3. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 617, # 4213

4. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 38, # 5628

5. Ibid, vol. 2, p. 117, # 6190

6. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 724, # 4967

7. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Hanbal b. Hilal b. Asad al-Shaybani, Musnad (Muasassat al-Risalah; 1st edition, 1421 H) [annotators: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut, ‘Adil Murshid and others], vol. 17, p. 172, # 11104

8. Abu Ja’far Ahmad b. Muhammad b. Salamah b. ‘Abd al-Malik b. Salmah al-Azdi al-Hajari al-Misri al-Tahawi, Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (Muasassat al-Risalah; 1st edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 5, p. 13, # 1760

9. Ibid

10. Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, al-Matalib al-Aliyah bi Zawaid al-Masanid al-Thamaniyyah (Beirut: Dar al-Ma’rifah; 1414 H) [annotator: Prof. Shaykh Habib al-Rahman al-A’zami], vol., 4, p. 65, # 3972

11. Ibid

12. Ahmad b. Abi Bakr b. Isma’il al-Busiri, Itihaf al-Khiyarah al-Maharah bi Zawaid al-Masanid al-‘Ashra (Riyadh: Dar al-Watan; 1st edition, 1420 H), vol. 7, p. 210, # 6683

13. Ibid

14. ‘Ali b. Husam al-Din al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal fi Sunan al-Aqwal wa Af’al (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1989 H), vol. 13, p. 121, # 36441

4) Hadith Al-Thaqalayn: The Prophet At Ghadir Khumm (Part 2)

In order to ensure that his followers never missed his messages, the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alaihi wa alihi, further repeated his instruction in some other words, at the same Ghadir Khumm. Imam Muslim (d. 261 H) records what he did:

حدثني زهير بن حرب وشجاع بن مخلد جميعا عن ابن علية قال زهير حدثنا إسماعيل بن إبراهيم حدثني أبو حيان حدثني يزيد بن حيان قال انطلقت أنا وحصين بن سبرة وعمر بن مسلم إلى زيد بن أرقم فلما جلسنا إليه قال له حصين لقد لقيت يا زيد خيرا كثيرا رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم وسمعت حديثه وغزوت معه وصليت خلفه لقد لقيت يا زيد خيرا كثيرا حدثنا يا زيد ما سمعت من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم قال يا ابن أخي والله لقد كبرت سني وقدم عهدي ونسيت بعض الذي كنت أعي من رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم فما حدثتكم فاقبلوا وما لا فلا تكلفونيه ثم قال قام رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم يوما فينا خطيبا بماء يدعى خما بين مكة والمدينة فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ووعظ وذكر ثم قال أما بعد ألا أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب الله واستمسكوا به فحث على كتاب الله ورغب فيه ثم قال وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي فقال له حصين ومن أهل بيته؟ يا زيد أليس نساؤه من أهل بيته ؟ قال نساؤه من أهل بيته ولكن أهل بيته من حرم الصدقة بعده قال وهم؟ قال هم آل علي وآل عقيل وآل جعفر وآل عباس قال كل هؤلاء حرم الصدقة؟ قال نعم

Zuhayr b. Harb and Shuja’ b. Mukhlid - Ibn ‘Ulayyah: Zuhayr - Isma’il b. Ibrahim - Abu Hayyan - Yazid b. Hayyan:

I went along with Hasin b. Sabra and ‘Umar b. Muslim to Zayd b. Arqam. When we sat with him, Hasin said to him:

“You have earned, O Zayd, a lot of good. You saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and you heard his hadith, and you fought by his side, and you offered Salat behind him. You have earned, O Zayd, a lot of good. Narrate to us, O Zayd, what you heard from the Messenger of Allah.”

He replied, “O son of my brother, I swear by Allah, I have grown old and my time has passed, and I have forgotten some of that which I remembered from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. So, whatever hadith I narrate to you, accept (it). And whatever I do not narrate, do not compel me to do that.”

He then said:

“One day, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, stood up to deliver a sermon at a watering place known as (Ghadir) Khumm situated between Makkah and Madinah. He praised Allah and extolled Him, and advised (us), and reminded us (of Allah and His revelations). Then, he said:

‘Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.” So, he exhorted (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and encouraged concerning it. Then, he said: “and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”

So, Hasin said to him, “So, who are his Ahl al-Bayt? O Zayd, are his wives not from his Ahl al-Bayt?” He (Zayd) replied, “His wives are from his Ahl al-Bayt. But, his Ahl al-Bayt are (also) those to whom sadaqah is forbidden apart from him.” He (Hasin) asked, “And who are those?” He (Zayd) replied, “They are the family of ‘Ali, the family of ‘Aqil, the family of Ja’far, and the family of ‘Abbas”. He (Hasin) said, “Sadaqah is forbidden for all these people?” He (Zayd) answered, “Yes”.1

Imam Ahmad (d. 241 H) has recorded this same exact report2 , and Shaykh al-Arnaut has this comment about it:

إسناده صحيح على شرط مسلم

Its chain is sahih upon the standard of Muslim.3

So, there is no doubt about the authenticity of the riwayah.

There is however a crucial fact about it that must be taken into consideration in understanding its meaning. There is an interpolation by Yazid b. Hayyan into the text of the Prophet’s words in the hadith:

أما بعد ألا أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب الله واستمسكوا به فحث على كتاب الله ورغب فيه ثم قال وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it.” So, he exhorted (to hold fast) to the Book of Allah and encouraged concerning it. Then, he said: “and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”

The highlighted parts are NOT part of the words of the Messenger of Allah. Rather, they are commentaries upon the actual hadith. Since what matters to us are the instructions of our Prophet, then we must remove these interpolations in order to reach the real Sunnah. So, after deleting the foreign words, this is what we have:

أما بعد ألا أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب الله واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”

The Sunni mufassir, Mulla Huwaysh Al Ghazi ‘Abd al-Qadir, confirms this as well:

وروى مسلم عن زيد بن أرقم أن رسول اللّه صلّى اللّه عليه وسلم قال إني تارك فيكم ثقلين أولها كتاب اللّه فيه الهدى والنور فخذوا بكتاب اللّه واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي، أذكركم اللّه في أهل بيتي، أذكركم في أهل بيتي

(Imam) Muslim recorded from Zayd b. Arqam that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:

“I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. So hold fast to the Book of Allah and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”4

The message here is unmistakable: all mankind - including all the Sahabah, Tabi’in and Tabi’ al-Tabi’in - are ordered to “adhere” to both the Qur’an and the Ahl al-Bayt.

What further solidifies this submission, is that the same hadith has been narrated from Zayd - in the book of Imam ‘Abd b. Humayd (d. 249 H) - without the commentaries, and it is straightforward. ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) records that the Prophet said at Ghadir Khumm:

" أما بعد ألا أيها الناس! فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتيني رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور من استمسك به وأخذ به كان على الهدى ومن أخطأه ضل فخذوا بكتاب الله تعالى واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي ".

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. Whoever adheres to it and holds fast to it, he will be upon guidance; and whosoever belittles it, he will go astray. So hold fast to the Book of Allah the Most High and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt! I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”5

Commenting on it, the ‘Allamah states:

(صحيح) [حم عبد بن حميد م] عن زيد بن أرقم

(Sahih) … [recorded by ‘Abd b. Hamid] from Zayd b. Arqam.6

‘Allamah al-Hindi (d. 975 H) too has copied the same report:

أما بعد أيها الناس فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتي رسول ربي فأجيب وأنا تارك فيكم ثقلين أولهما كتاب الله فيه الهدى والنور من استمسك به وأخذ به كان على الهدى ومن أخطأه ضل فخذوا بكتاب الله تعالى واستمسكوا به وأهل بيتي أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي

“Then, verily, O mankind! I am only a human being. The messenger of my Lord (i.e. the angel of death) will soon reach me and I will answer (the call of death). But, I am leaving behind over you Two Weighty Things (thaqalayn). The first of them is the Book of Allah. In it there is guidance and light. Whoever adheres to it and holds fast to it, he will be upon guidance; and whosoever belittles it, he will go astray. So hold fast to the Book of Allah the Most High and adhere to it and my Ahl al-Bayt. I remind you, with Allah, of my Ahl al-Bayt!”7

Giving the source, he too says:

حم وعبد بن حميد م عن زيد بن أرقم

Recorded by ‘Abd b. Humayd, from Zayd b. Arqam8

This was the report of Zayd from the Messenger of Allah without the interpolations of Yazid b. Hayyan. This took place at Ghadir Khumm, after the first declaration at ‘Arafat. The message is explicit, clear and unambiguous. It leaves no room for manipulation or distortion. We all must “adhere” to the Book of Allah and the Ahl al-Bayt of his Prophet after him. Strangely though, Zayd defines the “Ahl al-Bayt” meant in the hadith as the wives of the Prophet, and the families of ‘Ali, ‘Aqil, Ja’far, and al-‘Abbas. Yet, it is the same Zayd who narrated - as we shall examine in the next chapter - that the Messenger specifically named the “Ahl al-Bayt” intended in Hadith al-Thaqalayn as being only his “offspring”.

Notes

1. Abu al-Husayn Muslim b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naysaburi, Sahih Muslim (Beirut: Dar Ihya al-Turath al-‘Arabi) [annotator: Muhammad Fuad ‘Abd al-Baqi], vol. 4, p. 1873, # 2408 (36)

2. Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 4, p. 366, # 19285

3. Ibid

4. Mulla Huwaysh Al Ghazi ‘Abd al-Qadir, Bayan al-Ma’ani (Damascus: Matbu’at al-Turki; 1382 H), vol. 4, p. 37

5. Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh b. Tajati b. Adam al-Ashqudri al-Albani, Sahih al-Jami’ al-Saghir wa Ziyadatuhu (Al-Maktab al-Islami), vol. 1, pp. 286-287, # 1351

6. Ibid, vol. 1, p. 287, # 1351

7. ‘Ali b. Husam al-Din al-Muttaqi al-Hindi, Kanz al-‘Ummal fi Sunan al-Aqwal wa Af’al (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1989 H), vol. 1, p. 315, # 898

8. Ibid