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Weakness in the Hadith of “…Whoever imitates a people, he is one of them” February 23, 2012

Posted by Admin in Takhrij, Ulum ul Hadeeth, Weak & Fabricated Hadeeth.
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‘Authubillaahi min ash-Shaytaani rajeem

Bismillaahi ar-Rahmaan ar-Raheem, as-Salaatu was-Salaam ‘ala Rasulullaah

Weakness in the Hadith of “…Whoever imitates a people, he is one of them”

by al-Kindi

http://www.zahereyah.com/vb/index.php

Prophet sallAllahu alayhi wasallam said: “ i was sent with the sword just before the Last Hour, so that Allah is worshipped, my sustenance was provided for me from under the shadow of my spear and made inferior, and whoever imitates a people, he is one of them.”

This Hadith is well known and always quoted in talks and articles, particularly the first part of the Hadith which is always used by  some group when another group focus on the last part of the Hadith which quoted and narrated in Sunnan Abu Dawad when the full Maten (text) of the Hadith is narrated by Al-Imam Ahmad and others by the same Isnaad (chain).

I understand clearly how the authenticity of this Hadith is sort of undebatable to some Muslims and it all most a sin to indicate the defects in the narration, however, this does not surprise me as this Hadith is repeated by many speakers and some scholars have even authenticated it, such as Shaykh Al-Albani (r). As for the follower (Muqalideen) of those scholars is unacceptable in any way to doubt the credibility of this Hadith, as they are hold behind the barriers of the superiority of those scholars and that it is unlike to make a mistake and what’s more hard to accept is the mistake to be hinted by some not well known.

The Hadith has few chains where each one of them not single Isnaad (chain) that is Saheeh with no defects. For these different Isnaad narrating the same Maten, some scholars authenticated this Hadith i.e. the method of Shawahid which means weak+ weak+weak= Saheeh. It is mostly accepted the late Muhaditheen in different level and circumstances in which some of them are more strict than others in regard the type of defect, the condition of the narrators and if they have narrated from the same Shaykh which called Mutaba’at, if they are from same country or different land etc, however others might be very  relax, authenticating many Hadiths for some different weak Isnaad that this Maten of Hadith is narrated by.

However, for many of the early Muhaditheen the way of authenticating Hadiths by Shawahid is not acceptable to make a Hadith Saheeh Hujjah in the Deen, and this what i accept to be the Haq in this matter. inshAllah if you read the details below with an open heart and mind from a per-conclusion, you will understand my argument whether you agree or disagree.

The first Isnaad

 

   حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النَّضْرِ ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ ، حَدَّثَنَا حَسَّانُ بْنُ عَطِيَّةَ ، عَنْ أَبِي مُنِيبٍ الْجُرَشِيِّ ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ ” .

 

أبو داود في السنن

 

حَدَّثَنَا هَاشِمُ بْنُ الْقَاسِمِ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ ، قَالَ : حَدَّثَنَا حَسَّانُ بْنُ عَطِيَّةَ ، عَنْ أَبِي مُنِيبٍ الْجُرَشِيِّ ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” إنَّ اللَّهَ جَعَلَ رِزْقِي تَحْتَ رُمْحِي وَجَعَلَ الذِّلَّةَ وَالصَّغَارَ عَلَى مَنْ خَالَفَ أَمْرِي , مَنْ تشبه بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ ” .

 

عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ في المصنف

 

 

حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو النَّضْرِ ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ ثَابِتِ بْنِ ثَوْبَانَ ، حَدَّثَنَا حَسَّانُ بْنُ عَطِيَّةَ ، عَنْ أَبِي مُنِيبٍ الْجُرَشِيِّ ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” بُعِثْتُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ السَّاعَةِ بِالسَّيْفِ حَتَّى يُعْبَدَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ ، وَجُعِلَ رِزْقِي تَحْتَ ظِلِّ رُمْحِي ، وَجُعِلَ الذُّلُّ وَالصَّغَارُ عَلَى مَنْ خَالَفَ أَمْرِي ، وَمَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ ” .

 

أحمد في المسند

As you can see Abu Dawod narrated from Ibn Abi Shaybah from Abu Al-Nadhr whos name is Hisham ibn Al-Qasam, both of Imam Ahmad and Ibn Abi Shaybah narrated from Abu Al-Nadhr the full Maten in their book, yet Abu Dawad brought the last part of the Maten.

The same Maten has been narrated by other then Abu Al-Nadhr such as:

محمد بن يزيد ، وسليمان بن داود ، والفريابي ، وعلي بن عياش ، وغسان بن الربيع

However they all narrated from the same Shaykh

عبد الرحمن بن ثابت بن ثوبان ، حدّثنا حَسان بن عطية ، عن أبي مُنيب الجرشي

So this Isnaad is depend on the reliability of those narrators.

The first defect:

عبد الرحمن بن ثابت بن ثوبان

This narrator is not Thiqah, has been weaken by many scholars thou they accept him as a religious good person but is not reliable in his narration.

Imam Ahmad said  أحاديثه مناكير

Yahya ibn Ma’een said    لا شىء  ضعيف صالح

The second defect:

أبي مُنيب الجرشي

This is the Tabe’ee who but narrated from Ibn Umar yet he did not clear say that he has heard it from Ibn Umar rather he used the word  A’n which does not mean necessary that he has heard it from Ibn Umar and there is no evidence to prove  that he heard from Ibn Umar, as he might has heard it through another person.

أَبِي مُنِيبٍ الْجُرَشِيِّ ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ

Although he has been mentioned in the book of Ibn Heebban Ath-Thiqaat but the fact is that he is Majhool Hall although Ibn Heebban listed his name following his ruling of including any Tabe’ee how has been Majrooh, and those who did Tawthiq to this Tabe’ee followed Inb Heeban. Also it should known that no Hadith has been narrated through this Tabe’ee in both of Bukhari and Muslim and the four books of Sunnan other than this narration and he know by his Konyah only Abu Moneeb not by his name and his father name.

The second Isnaad:

 

حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ ، ثَنَا أَبِي ، ثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ الْحَارِثِ ، ثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ سَالِمٍ ، عَنِ الزُّبَيْدِيِّ ، ثَنَا نُمَيْرُ بْنُ أَوْسٍ ، أَنَّ حُذَيْفَةَ بْنَ الْيَمَانِ ، كَانَ يَرُدُّهُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : ” مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ ” .

 

مسند الشاميين للطبراني

The first defect

The narrators عَمْرُو بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ and his father are not Thiqa, yet the the son is better than the father but the best can be said about him that he is Sadooq. However, the father is described to be Nothing by Abu Dawad and Not Thiqa by An-Nisaee.

The second defect

The narrator is  عَمْرُو بْنُ الْحَارِثِ Majhool Hall

The third defect

The narrator نُمَيْرُ بْنُ أَوْسٍ did not hear anything from the Sahabee Hudayfah, so the Isnaad is Munqat’a i.e there is a gap between the Sahabee and this narrator (Nomaar Ben Awa), which means Nomaar heard from another narrator we don’t know his credibility, that if the first three narrators mentioned above narrated the correctly which is unlikely.

The third Isnaad

 

حَدَّثَنَا مُوسَى بْنُ زَكَرِيَّا ، ثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَرْزُوقٍ ، نا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ، ثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ غُرَابٍ ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ حَسَّانٍ ، عَنِ ابْنِ سِيرِينَ ، عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ بْنِ حُذَيْفَةَ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ ، أَنّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ : ” مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ ”

لَمْ يَرْوِ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ حَسَّانٍ ، إلا عَلِيُّ بْنُ غُرَابٍ ، وَلا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ ، إلا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ ، تَفَرَّدَ بِهِ : مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مزوقٍ

   المعجم الأوسط للطبراني

حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مَرْزُوقٍ ، قَالَ : أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الْعَزِيزِ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ، قَالَ : أَخْبَرَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ غُرَابٍ ، قَالَ : أَخْبَرَنَا هِشَامُ بْنُ حَسَّانَ ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ سِيرِينَ ، عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ بْنِ حُذَيْفَةَ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ ، أَنّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، قَالَ : ” مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ ” ،

 وَهَذَا الْحَدِيثُ لا نَعْلَمُهُ يُرْوَى عَنْ حُذَيْفَةَ مُسْنَدًا إِلا مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ ، وَقَدْ رَوَاهُ غَيْرُ عَلِيِّ بْنِ غُرَابٍ ، عَنْ هِشَامٍ ، عَنْ مُحَمَّدٍ ، عَنْ أَبِي عُبَيْدَةَ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ مَوْقُوفًا .

البحر الزخار بمسند البزار

If you read Arabic then you must understand that At-Tabari highlighted the Tafarrod of Ali Ben Ghoraab from Hisham Ibn Hassaan  from Ibn Syreen from Abu U’baydah Ben Hudayfah

The first defect

The narrator عَلِيُّ بْنُ غُرَابٍ is not Theqah, Abu Dawad caaled him weak, An-Nasaee and Abu Hatem said: he is not bad and Ibn Hebbaan criticised him very harshly. However, the best can be said about him that he is Sadooq yet he was Mudalles known by Taddlees and in this Isnaad he has narrated using the word A’n which make this Isnaad weak.

The second defect

The Tabe’ee whose name is not known yet his known by his Konyah Abu U’baydah, he is a son of the great Sahabee Hudayfah Ibn Al-Yaman, in general his state in Hadith like the Tabe’ee in the first Isnaad Abu Muneeb. Abu Hatem said: about him he is not named, Ad-Daraqtni considered him to be Majhool and Ibn Hajer said he has no biography, yet Ibn Hebbaan listed him in his book of Ath-thiqaat

 

 

The fourth Isnaad

This Mursal Isnaad has been narrated by some scholar all of them from Al-Awza’ee

الْأَوْزَاعِيِّ ، عَنْ سَعِيدِ بْنِ جَبَلَةَ ، عَنْ طَاوُسٍ ، أَنّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، قَالَ : ” إنَّ اللَّهَ بَعَثَنِي بِالسَّيْفِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ السَّاعَةِ , وَجَعَلَ رِزْقِي تَحْتَ ظِلِّ رُمْحِي , وَجَعَلَ الذُّلَّ وَالصَّغَارَ عَلَى مَنْ خَالَفَنِي , وَمَنْ تشبه بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ “

The first defect:

The narrator سَعِيدِ بْنِ جَبَلَةَ Majhool Hall not known at all with no disagreement  e.i. we don’t know if he is trustworthy or not if had a good memory of not etc.

The second defect:

This Isnaad is Mursal i.e a Tabe’ee says the prophet said without saying whos told him, in this Isnaad Tawoss narrated from the prophet directly

عَنْ طَاوُسٍ ، أَنّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ، قَالَ : ” إنَّ اللَّهَ بَعَثَنِي

The fifth Isnaad

This is another Mursul Isnaad full of defects.

إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍ ، عَنْ أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ الصُّورِيِّ ، عَنِ الْحَسَنِ ، قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ” إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَعَثَنِي بِسَيْفِي بَيْنَ يَدَيِ السَّاعَةِ ، وَجَعَلَ رِزْقِي تَحْتَ ظِلِّ رُمْحِي ، وَجَعَلَ الذُّلَّ وَالصَّغَارَ عَلَى مَنْ خَالَفَنِي ، وَمَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ ” .

سنن سعيد بن منصور

The first defect

The author of the book Sa’eed Ben Mansoor has narrated this Hadith from  إِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ عَيَّاشٍwho is not a Thiqa. Al-Imam Muslim said: don’t write from him whether he narrated from those who know or from others, Ibn Khzaymah said: he is  not Hojjah, Ad-Daraqoteni said: weak, the best been said about his that he is okay if he narrated from narrators from his land (Ash-sham) weak if he narrated from others.

The second defect

The narrator أَبِي عُمَيْرٍ الصُّورِيِّ  whose name is Abban Ben Sulayman nothing is known about him other than that he was a religious man so he is Majhool Hall i.e. Not Thiqah.

The third defect

Al-Hasan Al-Basri is quoting this Maten from the prophet without saying who has heard it from as he is a Tabe’ee never met the prophet, therefore this Hadith is Mursal.

To be continued…