Hadith 58: O ‘Ali, you are a sayed in the Dunya, a sayed in the Akhirah. Your beloved is my beloved, and my beloved is Allah’s beloved. Your enemy is my enemy, and my enemy is Allah’s enemy. Woe unto that person who hates you after me.
Hadith 57: O ‘Ali, if you are in charge after me, expel the people of Najran from the Arabian Peninsula.
September 19, 2018Imam Mahdi radiya Llahu ‘anhu: The Awaited Reformer
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Hadith 58
يا علي أنت سيد في الدنيا، سيد في الآخرة، حبيبك حبيبي، وحبيبي حبيب الله، وعدوك عدوي، وعدوي عدو الله، والويل لمن أبغضك بعدي.
O ‘Ali, you are a sayed in the Dunya, a sayed in the Akhirah. Your beloved is my beloved, and my beloved is Allah’s beloved. Your enemy is my enemy, and my enemy is Allah’s enemy. Woe unto that person who hates you after me.
This hadith is narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas and ‘Imran ibn Hussain radiya Llahu ‘anhuma.
The Hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas
Al Hakim and others narrate — from Abu al Azhar al Naysaburi who said — ‘Abdul Razzaq narrated to us — Ma’mar informed us — from al Zuhri — from ‘Ubaidullah ibn ‘Abdullah — from Ibn ‘Abbas who said, “Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam looked at me and said (the hadith).”[1]
Al Khatib added the following: Abu al Fadl said — I heard Abu Hatim say — I heard Abu al Azhar saying, “ I went with ‘Abdul Razzaq to his hometown. While I was with him on the way, he said to me, “O Abu al Azhar, I will inform you of a hadith that I have not informed anyone else about.’ He said, ‘He narrated this hadith to me.’”[2]
Al Hakim says the hadith is sahih (authentic) according to the conditions of the Sheikhayn (al Bukhari and Muslim). Abu al Azhar is, according to a consensus of the hadith critics, a thiqah (reliable). When a thiqah (reliable narrator) narrates a hadith in isolation, it is (still) fundamentally sahih (authentic).
Al Dhahabi disagreed and said, “Even though the narrators of this hadith are thiqat (reliable), it is (still) munkar (unacceptable) and not far from being mawdu’ (fabricated). If not, then why did ‘Abdul Razzaq surreptitiously transmit the hadith? He did not have the courage to mention it to Imam Ahmed, Ibn Ma’in, and other such people whom people travel to (for seeking knowledge of hadith).”[3]
Ibn al Jawzi was adamant that the hadith was inauthentic.[4]
Ibn ‘Iraq and al Suyuti mention this hadith in their respective works on mawdu’at (fabrications).[5]
The hadith contains the following ‘ilal (hidden impairing defects):
- Abu al Azhar
Although he is thiqah (reliable), a number of huffaz (hadith masters) probed him. Ibn Hajar narrates, “When Yahya ibn Ma’in heard the hadith, he said, ‘Who is this Naysaburi (someone from Nishapur) kadhdhab (liar) that narrates this hadith from ‘Abdul Razzaq?’ Abu al Azhar stood up and said, ‘It is me (who narrated the hadith).’ Yahya smiled and said, ‘As for you, you are not a kadhdhab (liar).’ Yahya was amazed by his integrity and said, ‘The sin/problem in this hadith is from someone else other than you.’”[6]
Ibn Ma’in implied that the hadith is a lie; irrespective of whether or not the blame is upon Abu al Azhar or someone else.
Al Dhahabi states, “The hadith critics did not criticize him (i.e. Abu al Azhar) except for his narration on the virtues of ‘Ali from ‘Abdul Razzaq, from Ma’mar. The heart testifies that the hadith is batil (false).”[7]
However, al Khatib mentions that Abu al Azhar enjoys a tabi’ (parallel narration). He states, “Muhammad ibn Hamdun narrates the hadith from Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn Sufyan al Najjar — from ‘Abdul Razzaq. Therefore, Abu al Azhar is free of blame since his narration enjoys a tabi’ (parallel narration). And Allah knows best.[8]”
Al Dhahabi mentions the narrator al Najjar without any reference to his status (i.e. he does not mention any jarh (statement of disparagement) or ta’dil (statement of approval verifying his integrity)).[9] Therefore, he is majhul (unknown) and Abu al Azhar is no longer guilt-free because the tabi’ (parallel narration) is no longer valid.
- ‘Abdul Razzaq
He is a thiqah (reliable); however, he commits mistakes and has unacceptable elements in his narrations. In fact, some, such as al ‘Anbari and Zaid ibn al Mubarak, have gone to the extent of regarding him as a kadhdhab (liar). A number of huffaz (hadith masters) have criticised some of his narrations. I have mentioned them in the original work. I will restrict myself to the following statements of Imam al Bukhari and Imam Ahmed: “Whatever he (i.e. ‘Abdul Razzaq) narrates from his books is the most authentic.”[10] They are pointing out the fact that whatever he narrates from his memory is da’if (weak), like this hadith.
Al Daraqutni says about him, “He is a thiqah (reliable) that commits errors from Ma’mar in ahadith which were not in the book (i.e. Ma’mar’s book).”[11]
Al Dhahabi says about this hadith, “It resembles a fabricated hadith.”[12]
- Ma’mar ibn Rashid
He is one of the reliable hadith masters; however, particular teachers commit mistakes when transmitting from him, and he commits mistakes when transmitting from particular teachers. Even more problematic than this is the fact that he used to have a nephew who would insert hadiths into his books.[13] Al Dhahabi had reservations regarding this.[14] I have explained his error in this regard in the original work.
Al Albani said this hadith is mawdu’ (fabricated).[15]
The Hadith of ‘Imran ibn Hussain
This version has two different chains of transmission:
- Ibn al Maghazili narrates — from ‘Abdullah ibn Dahir — from ‘Amr ibn Jumay’ — from ‘Urwah ibn ‘Ubaid — from Hassan ibn Abi al Hassan — from ‘Imran ibn Hussain.[16] Then he mentioned a long hadith. It contains the following words, “Then he tapped her shoulders with his hand and said, ‘O my beloved daughter, By He who sent me with the truth as a Nabi, I have married you off to a sayed in the Dunya, and a sayed in the Akhirah.’”
This hadith is munkar (unacceptable). ‘Abdullah ibn Dahir is da’if (weak). In fact, ibn ‘Adi says: he is suspected of lying in most of his narrations regarding the virtues of ‘Ali.
‘Amr ibn Jumay’ is a kadhdhab (liar).[17]
Al Tahawi and others narrate — from Layth ibn Dawood al Baghdadi — Mubarak ibn Fudalah said, “It was narrated to us from Hassan that ‘Imran said…”[18] And then he mentioned a long hadith, the end of which contained the following words, “By He who sent me with the truth, I have married you off to a sayed in the Dunya, and a sayed in the Akhirah. Only a munafiq (hypocrite) hates you.”
Ibn Hajar and al Dhahabi mention that Layth ibn Dawood al Qaisi brought forth a hadith that appears in Mujam Ibn al A’rabi with a chain of transmission from Mubarak ibn Fudalah that is very munkar (unacceptable).[19] They were referring to this hadith.
Al Khatib says, “Yusuf ibn Muhammad ibn Sa’id, Muqatil ibn Salih, and Ahmed ibn ‘Ali al Kharraz all narrate mustaqim (decent) hadiths from him.”[20]
Mubarak ibn Fudalah is a mudallis (obfuscates when he narrates) and is guilty of tadlis al taswiyah. He narrates this hadith in an ambiguous manner (i.e. with the words huddithna (it was narrated to us)).
Hassan is a mudallis (obfuscates when he narrates). It has been said that he did not hear (hadith) from ‘Imran.
- Abu Nuaim narrates — Abu Hamid ibn Jabalah narrated to us — Muhammad ibn Ishaq narrated to us — Muhammad ibn al Sabbah narrated to us — ‘Ali ibn Hashim narrated to us — from Kathir al Nawwa’, from ‘Imran.[21]
Al Dhahabi says, “Kathir is wah (feeble). There is a missing link between him and ‘Imran.”[22]
Ibn ‘Asakir has the same narration and he mentions the missing narrator. He narrates from al Hakim — Abu Muhammad al Madani narrated to us — Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah al Hadrami narrated to us — Sa’if ibn ‘Amr al Ash’athi narrated to us — ‘Ali ibn Hashim narrated to us — from Kathir al Nawwa’ — from Sa’id ibn Jubayr — from ‘Imran ibn Hussain.”[23]
There is a mawdu’ (fabricated) hadith from Ibn Mas’ud forthcoming about ‘Ali’s marriage to Fatimah. It contains the following words, “O Fatimah, I have married you off to a sayed in the Dunya, and in the Akhirah he is of the Salihin (righteous servants of Allah).”
In short, all the different chains of transmission are wahiyah (feeble); except for the first, it is da’if (weak).
[1] Al Hakim: Mustadrak al Hakim, hadith no. 4640.
[2] Al Khatib: Tarikh Baghdad, 4/41.
[3] Al Dhahabi: Mukhtasar Talkhis al Mustadrak, 3/1414 and Mizan al I’tidal, 2/613.
[4] Ibn al Jawzi: al ‘Ilal al Mutanahiyah, 1/222.
[5] Ibn ‘Iraq: Tanzih al Shari’ah al Marfu’ah ‘an al Akhbar al Shani’ah al Mawdu’ah, 1/398; al Suyuti: al Ziyadat ‘ala al Mawdu’at (this work is an appendix for ibn al Jawzi’s work Kitab al Mawdu’at), 1/257.
[6] Ibn Hajar: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, 1/10.
[7] Al Dhahabi: Mizan al I’tidal, 1/82.
[8] Al Khatib:Tarikh Baghdad, 4/42.
[9] Al Dhahabi: Tarikh al Islam, 20/455.
[10] Imam al Bukhari: al Tarikh al Kabir, 6/130; ibn Hajar: Tahdhib al Tahdhib, 6/279.
[11] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 36/182.
[12] Al Dhahabi: Siyar A’alam al Nubala’, 9/574.
[13] Al Khatib: Tarikh Baghdad, 4/42.
[14] Al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 9/576.
[15] Al Albani: Silsilat Ahadith al Da’ifah, hadith no. 4894.
[16] Ibn al Maghazili: Manaqib ‘Ali, hadith no. 452.
[17] Ibn Hajar: Lisan al Mizan, 4/358.
[18] Al Tahawi: Sharh Mushkil al Athar, hadith no. 149.
[19] Al Dhahabi: Mizan al I’tidal, 3/420; ibn Hajar: Lisan al Mizan, 4/493.
[20] Al Khatib: Tarikh Baghdad, 13/14.
[21] Abu Nuaim: Hilyat al Awliya’, 2/42.
[22] Al Dhahabi: Siyar A’lam al Nubala’, 2/126.
[23] Ibn ‘Asakir: Tarikh Dimashq, 42/134.