Hadith 35: The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam dispatched us to Yemen with Khalid ibn al Walid and ‘Ali with another army…
Hadith 34: We were in the streets of Madinah while the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was holding my hands…
September 14, 2018Hadith 36: Whoever obeys ‘Ali has surely obeyed me. And whoever disobeys me has surely disobeyed Allah…
September 14, 2018BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents
Hadith 35
بعثنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلى اليمن، مع خالد بن الوليد، وبعث عليا على جيش آخر، وقال: إن التقيتما فعلي على الناس، وإن تفرقتما فكل واحد منكما على حدته. فلقينا بني زبيد من أهل اليمن، وظهر المسلمون على المشركين، فقتلنا المقاتلة، وسبينا الذرية. فاصطفى علي جارية لنفسه من السبي، فكتب بذلك خالد بن الوليد إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، وأمرني أن أنال منه. فقال: فدفعت الكتاب إليه، ونلت من علي، فتغير وجه رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم. فقلت: هذا مكان العائذ، بعثتني مع رجل، وأمرتني بطاعته، فبلغتُ ما أرسلت به. فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: لا تقعن يا بريدة في علي، فإن عليا مني وأنا منه، وهذا وليكم بعدي.
The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam dispatched us to Yemen with Khalid ibn al Walid and ‘Ali with another army. He said, “If the two armies combine forces, ‘Ali is to be in charge. If the two armies remain separate from one another, then to each group his own (leader). We (eventually) met with Bani Zabid (in battle) from the inhabitants of Yemen. The Muslims were triumphant over the polytheists. We killed many of their fighters and captured many of their women and children. ‘Ali chose a slave-girl from the captives for himself. Khalid ibn al Walid wrote to Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam informing him about what ‘Ali did. He (i.e. Khalid) ordered me to speak of ‘Ali in a denigrating manner. He (i.e. Buraydah) said, “I handed the letter to him and spoke of ‘Ali in the way I had been ordered.” The Messenger of Allah’s face changed colour. I said, “This is the place where I seek refuge; you have sent me with a commander and ordered me to obey him, and I have done just that.” The Messenger of Allah said, “Do not act hostile towards ‘Ali; for he is of me and I am of him, and he is your wali after me.”
The hadith is narrated by Buraydah, Wahb ibn Hamzah, ‘Imran ibn Hussain, and Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhum.
The Hadith of Buraydah
Imam al Nasa’i, Imam Ahmed and others narrate from — al Ajlah, from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah, from his father.[1]
This hadith is munkar (unacceptable).
Al Ajlah is a saduq (sincere). However, he has weakness. He narrates manakir (unacceptable reports) and this is surely one of them, especially his statement at the end of the hadith (‘and this (referring to ‘Ali) is your wali after me’). His bid’ah (innovation) overcame him in this hadith.
It has also been said that ‘Abdullah ibn Burydah did not hear (hadith) from his father.[2]
There are other versions of Ibn ‘Asakir — from Abu al ‘Abbas ibn ‘Uqdah — Yahya ibn Zakariyya ibn Shayban al Kindi narrated to us — Ibrahim ibn al Hakam ibn Zahir narrated to us — my father narrated to me — from Mansur ibn Muslim ibn Sabur — from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Ata’ — from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah, from his father.[3]
Ibrahim ibn al Hakam ibn Zahir and his father are both matruk (suspected of forgery).
Mansur ibn Sabur could not be traced.
Ibn ‘Asakir narrates from Abu al ‘Abbas ibn ‘Uqdah — al Hassan ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Affan narrated to us — from Hassan (i.e. ibn ‘Attiyah) — Su’ad narrated to us — from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Ata’ — from ‘Abdullah ibn Buraydah — from his father.”[4] And then he mentioned a long hadith.
Su’ad ibn Sulaiman al Ju’fi is da’if (weak).
The Hadith of Wahb ibn Hamzah
Ibn ‘Asakir and al Tabarani narrate with a chain of transmission that contains the narrator Wahb ibn Hamzah.[5] Nobody has regarded him as a thiqah (reliable).
The Hadith of ‘Imran ibn Hussain
Imam al Tirmidhi and others narrate — from Jafar ibn Sulaiman al Duba’i — from Yazid al Rishk — from Mutarrif ibn ‘Abdullah — from ‘Imran ibn Hussain who said, “The Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam dispatched an army and placed ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib in charge…” At the end of the hadith, Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “What do you want from ‘Ali? What do you want from ‘Ali? Verily, ‘Ali is from me and I am from him; and he is the wali of every believer after me.”[6]
As mentioned previously, this hadith is da’if (weak).
The Hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas
Imam Ahmed, al Hakim and others narrate this hadith as mentioned previously.[7]
As mentioned previously, this hadith is da’if (weak).
Ibn Taymiyyah writes:
Similarly, his statement, “He is the wali of every believer after me,” is a lie against the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. In fact, he is the wali (friend) of every believer during his life, and after his death. And every believer is his wali in this life and after death. Accordingly, (the term) wilayah (friendship) is, linguistically, the opposite of ‘adawah (enmity) and it is not restricted to a particular time (therefore the words in the hadith ‘after me’ is unnecessary and redundant). As for (the term) wilayah in the sense of leadership, then the wording should have been wali kull mu’min ba’di (he is the ruler/leader of every believer after me); just as it is said—according to most people—in Salat al Janazah ‘idha ijtama’ al wali wa al wali quddima al wali (when the legal guardian and the ruler gather are both present in a Salat of Janazah, then the leader/ruler should be brought forth (to lead the salah).’ And, according to others, the wali (legal guardian) is brought forward (to lead the salah). Therefore, the saying, “‘Ali is the wali of every believer after me.” is a statement that cannot be attributed to Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam; if he intended friendship (with the word wali), the words “after me” are not necessary. If, on the other hand, he intended leadership (with the word wali) then he should have said wali ‘ala kull mu’min (the leader/ruler of every believer).[8]
In short, the hadith is da’if (weak) in all its different versions. It contains unacceptable elements.
[1] Imam al Nasa’i: Sunan al Kubra, hadith no. 8421 and Khasa’is ‘Ali , hadith no. 90; Imam Ahmed: Musnad Ahmed, hadith no. 5/356 and Fada’il al Sahabah, hadith no. 1175.
[2] Ibn Hajar: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, 5/138.
[3] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 42/189.
[4] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 42/191.
[5][5] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 42/199; al Tabarani: al Mujam al Kabir, 22/360.
[6] Imam al Tirmidhi: Sunan al Tirmidhi, hadith no. 3712.
[7] Imam Ahmed: Musnad Ahmed, hadith no. 1/330 and Fada’il al Sahabah, hadith no. 1168; al Hakim: Mustadrak al Hakim, hadith no. 4652.
[8] Ibn Taymiyyah: Minhaj al Sunnah al Nabawiyyah, 7/391.