I have left you with something, if you adhere to, you will not go astray viz. the Book of Allah and my Sunnah

تركت فيكم ما إن تمسكتم به لن تضلوا كتاب الله و سنتي

I have left you with something, if you adhere to, you will not go astray viz. the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.

This hadith has commenced Doomsday for the Rawafid. They assert that the hadith is mursal which Malik narrated in al Muwatta’.[1] It is classified as mu’dal[2] for it is one of the balaghat[3] of Malik. The Rawafid hold on to this flaw and challenge it with the hadith: The book of Allah and my family, my Ahlul Bayt.

Al Suyuti has graded it sahih in Miftah al Jannat[4] and followed it up with the hadith of Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhuma which serves as its shahid to add strength to it.

Al Albani graded the hadith Hassan with the support its shawahid.[5] Arna’ut―the muhaqqiq of Jami’ al Usul of Ibn al Athir―also classified it as Hassan due to its shawahid. This is the narration of Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhuma.

Not everything that it not documented in the al Sihah is da’if. There are a large number of ahadith that are sahih but not documented in al Sihah. The hadith: The Book of Allah and my Sunnah is sahih and established. Al Hakim reports it in al Mustadrak[6]. Al Albani classified its isnad as sahih in Sahih al Jami’[7]. Similarly from Sayyidina Abu Hurairah[8]. Ibn Hazm in al Ahkam[9] and al Suyuti in al Jami’[10] graded it sahih.

My Sunnah according to the Rawafid

They are ignorant of the encouragement their books emphasise over the Sunnah. They report from Abu Jafar from Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam who said:

فإذا أتاكم الحديث عني فأعرضوه على كتاب الله و سنتي فما وافق كتاب الله و سنتي فخذوا به و ما خالف كتاب الله و سنتي فلا تأخذوا به

When a hadith reaches you from me, then evaluate it in front of the Book of Allah and my Sunnah. Whatever conforms to the Book of Allah and my Sunnah, observe it. And whatever contradicts the Book of Allah and my Sunnah, discard it.[11]

It appears in al Kafi that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam declared:

إني مسئول عن تبليغ هذه الرسالة و أما أنتم فتسألون عما حملتم من كتاب الله و سنتي

Certainly, I will be questioned about conveying this message. And you will be questioned to what extent you observed the Book of Allah and my Sunnah.[12]

Al Hakim narrated it via two sanads. One sanad is Hassan from Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhuma:

حدثنا أبو بكر أحمد بن إسحاق الفقيه أنبأ العباس بن الفضل الأسفاطي ثنا إسماعيل بن أبي أويس و أخبرني إسماعيل بن محمد بن الفضل الشعراني ثنا جدي ثنا بن أبي أويس حدثني أبي عن ثور بن زيد الديلي عن عكرمة عن بن عباس أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم خطب الناس في حجة الوداع فقال قد يئس الشيطان بأن يعبد بأرضكم و لكنه 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 و سنة نبيه صلى الله عليه و سلم إن كل مسلم أخ المسلم و المسلمون أخوة لا يحل لأمرئ من مال أخيه إلا ما أعطاه عن طيب نفس و لا تظلموا و لا ترجعوا من بعدي كفارا يضرب بعضكم رقاب بعض

Abu Bakr Ahmed ibn Ishaq al Faqih narrated to us―’Abbas ibn al Fadl al Asfati informed us―Ismail ibn Abi Uways narrated to us and Ismail ibn Muhammad ibn al Fadl al Sha’rani informed me―my grandfather narrated to us―Ibn Abi Uways narrated to us―my father narrated to me from―Thawr ibn Zaid al Dayli from―’Ikrimah from―Ibn ‘Abbas:

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam addressed the people at Hajjat al Wada’ saying, “Shaitan has become despondent from being worshipped in your land. However, he is pleased to be obeyed in other actions besides this which you regard as trivial. So be wary, O people! I have left you with something, if you adhere to, you will never ever go astray, viz. the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Nabi salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Indeed, every Muslim is a brother of a Muslim. The Muslims are brothers. The wealth of his brother is not permissible for a man except what the former gives him with happiness. Do not oppress and do not turn disbelievers after me, slaying each other’s necks.”

Al Bukhari cites the ahadith of ‘Ikrimah as proof while Muslim cites the ahadith of Abu Uways. All his narrators are unanimously accepted as reliable. The hadith that contains the khutbah of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has been documented in both the Sahih compilations:

يا أيها الناس إني قد تركت فيكم ما لن تضلوا بعده إن اعتصمتم به كتاب الله و أنتم مسؤولون عني فما أنتم قائلون

O people! Indeed I have left you with something, you will never go astray after it if you adhere to it: The Book of Allah. And you will be questioned about me so what will you say?

Mention of adhering to the Sunnah in this khutbah is gharib and needs corroboration. I have found the hadith of Sayyidina Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu as a shahid for it:

أخبرنا أبو بكر بن إسحاق الفقيه أنبأ محمد بن عيسى بن السكن الواسطي ثنا داود بن عمرو الضبي ثنا صالح بن موسى الطلحي عن عبد العزيز بن رفيع عن أبي صالح عن أبي هريرة رضي الله تعالى عنه قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم إني قد تركت فيكم شيئين لن تضلوا بعدهما كتاب الله و سنتي و لن يتفرقا حتى يردا علي الحوض

Abu Bakr ibn Ishaq al Faqih informed us―Muhammad ibn ‘Isa ibn al Sakan al Wasiti informed us―Dawood ibn ‘Amr al Dabbi narrated to us―Salih ibn Musa al Talhi narrated to us from―’Abdul ‘Aziz ibn Rafi’ from―Abu Salih from―Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu who reports that Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam announced:

I have indeed left two things with you, you will never go astray after them viz. the Book of Allah and my Sunnah. They will never separate until they come to me at the Pond.[13]

Al Hakim supposed that the narration of Sayyidina Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhuma was da’if so he supported it with the narration of Sayyidina Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu whereas the latter is da’if due to the presence of Salih ibn Musa al Talhi. Before this, he was forceful about the tawatur of the narration that Sayyidina ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu was born in the Ka’bah whereas it is utterly baseless, which indicates his weakness in the science of hadith.

Next⇒ You are asking me about a man, I do not know anyone who was more beloved to Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam than him

[1] Al Muwatta’ 3.

[2] Mu’dal: The isnad of a narration which has two or more links missing in succession. (Sharh Nukhbat al Fikr pg. 86.)

[3] A narration wherein Imam Malik uses the term Balaghni (i.e. it has been reported to me).

[4] Miftah al Jannat vol. 1 pg. 12.

[5] Hidayat al Ruwat ila Takhrij Ahadith al Masabih wa al Mishkat vol. 1 pg. 140.

[6] Al Mustadrak vol. 1 pg. 93.

[7] Sahih al Jami’ Hadith: 3232.

[8] Sahih al Jami’ Hadith: 2937.

[9] Al Ahkam vol. 6 pg. 810.

[10] Al Jami’ Hadith: 3932.

[11] Al Tabarsi: al Ihtijaj vol. 2 pg. 246; Bihar al Anwar vol. 2 pg. 225; al Sirat al Mustaqim vol. 3 pg. 156.

[12] Al Kafi vol. 2 pg. 606; Tafsir al Safi vol. 1 pg. 17, vol. 3 pg. 443.

[13] Al Mustadrak Hadith: 319.

BACK⇒ Return to Table of contents