The Fifth Narration

The Sixth Narration
January 20, 2016
The Fourth Narration
January 20, 2016

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The Fifth Narration

 

The narration of ‘Ubadah ibn al Samit from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:

 

There will take charge of your affairs after me men who will introduce to you that which you disapprove, and they will disapprove of you that which you are acquainted with; hence there is no obedience to those who disobey Allah, and do not present excuses before your Rabb [for your disobedience in these matters].[1]

‘Ubadah said: “By Allah, Muawiyah is from among them.”

 

I say that this narration with the addition, “by Allah, Muawiyah is from among them,” appears in al Mustadrak of al Hakim (4/432)(5584) by way of Muslim ibn Khalid — from Ismail ibn ‘Ubaid ibn Rifa’ah — from his father that ‘Ubadah was standing in the middle of the home of Amir al Mu’minin ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan radiya Llahu ‘anhu and said:

 

Verily I have heard the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam saying, “there will take charge of your affairs after me men who will introduce to you that which you disapprove, and they will disapprove of you that which you are acquainted with; hence there is no obedience to those who disobey Allah, so do not rebuke yourselves,” then ‘Ubadah said, “by Allah, Muawiyah is from among them, and ‘Uthman did not rebuke him with even an utterance.”

 

I say that this narration has three defects:

 

The First Defect

In the chain is Muslim ibn Khalid, Abu Khalid, al Zanji. They great scholars of hadith are agreed upon him being weak: ‘Ali ibn al Madini, Ibn Ma’in in one narration, Ahmed, al Bukhari, Abu Hatim, al Nasa’i, and he has narrations which have been disclaimed; Ibn Hajar mentioned them in al Tahdhib[2] and he quoted al Dhahabi saying:

 

Such narrations retract the strength of a narrator and he would be considered weak on account of them.

 

However, Muslim ibn Khalid has been corroborated by Zuhayr ibn Muawiyah as is in al Mustadrak (4/431)(5583) and Zuhayr ibn Muawiyah is from the narrators of the group, a reliable narrator and his narration from Abu Ishaq al Sabi’i at the end. He has also been corroborated by a narration from Muhammad ibn ‘Abbad in the Musnad of al Shashi (1196).

He has also been corroborated by Yahya ibn Sulaim[3], without the addition, “by Allah, Muawiyah is from among them,” as in the Musnad of Ahmed (37/449) (22786).

 

As for Yahya ibn Sulaim ibn Balj, Abu Balj, al Fazari al Wasiti:

 
  • He has been verified by al Nasa’i, Ibn Sa’d and al Daraqutni.[4]
  • Abu Hatim said: “He is acceptable in hadith, no harm in him.”[5]
  • Ahmed said: “He narrated a disclaimed narration.”[6]
  • Ibn Hibban said of him: “There were some errors, but they were not severe to the extent that he deserved to be abandoned; neither did he come with that which man could not do without him so one treads with him the path of those who are upright, however I view that he should not be taken as a proof for what he narrates solely and he is from those whom one does Istikharah [seeking guidance from Allah] regarding his narrations.”[7]
  • Al Bukhari said: “There were some objectionable views regarding him.”[8]
 

Yes, Muslim ibn Khalid has also been corroborated by Ismail ibn ‘Ayyash as in Musnad Ahmed (22821) and in it there is an incident. However, Ismail ibn ‘Ayyash is considered weak in those which he narrates from other than the Shamis and this is one of those [which he narrates from other than a Shami]. Al Haythami in al Majma’ (5/408) states:

Ismail ibn ‘Ayyash has narrated this from the Hijazis, and his narrations from them are weak.[9]

 

He has also been corroborated by ‘Abdullah ibn Waqid as it appears in al Mustadrak (4/431) (5582), and ‘Abdullah ibn Waqid is weak in hadith.

 

The Second Defect

There are irreconcilable differences and inconsistencies in the chain. The narration in Musnad Ahmed (37/430) is narrated by way of Ismail ibn ‘Ayyash — from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Uthman ibn Khuthaym — from Ismail ibn ‘Ubaid ibn Rifa’ah — from ‘Ubadah — he narrated it from ‘Ubadah without mentioning his father.

The narration in Musnad Ahmed (37/450) is narrated by way of Suwaid ibn Sa’id — from Yahya ibn Sulaim — from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Uthman ibn Khuthaym — from Ismail ibn ‘Ubaid ibn Rifa’ah — from his father — from ‘Ubadah; but this narration is weak on account of the weakness of Suwaid ibn Sa’id al Harawi.

Al Haythami, in al Majma’ (5/408), says:

 

Ahmed narrates it in its entirety but he did not say: from Ismail, from his father. When ‘Abdullah narrates it he adds — from his father — and it is like that in al Tabarani, and its narrators are reliable.

 

The Third Defect

Ismail ibn ‘Ubaid is unknown. Some say he is Ibn ‘Ubaidillah ibn -Rifa’ah al Zuraqi. Al Tirmidhi has authenticated a narration of his,[10] and Ibn Hibban has included him in al Thiqat (6/28).

Al Dhahabi has said: “I do not know of anyone narrating from him besides from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Uthman ibn Khuthaym.”[11]

In his Taqrib, Ibn Hajar has said: “Acceptable i.e. if he is corroborated, otherwise he is lenient.”

And this narration of his has not been corroborated.

Al ‘Uqayli has narrated this narration in al Du’afa’ (3/784) by way of Shahr ibn Howshab — from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al ‘As a similar narration and said:

 

As for the expression, “do not find excuses except by your better judgement,” it is not recorded except from this hadith; and there have been similar meanings with alternate wordings found in narrations better than this.

 

Al Muhibb al Tabari has said in his book al Riyad al Nadirah fi Manaqib al ‘Asharah (233):

 

… a baseless claim, and fabricated lie, neither did ‘Ubadah complain against Muawiyah, nor did ‘Uthman send him back, the matter is contrary to that according to what the most reliable and trustworthy reporters relate about their being in mutual agreement and returning each other to the truth in all affairs.

 

Assuming the validity of the narration then all it amounts to is the ijtihad of ‘Ubadah radiya Llahu ‘anhu by applying the hadith to Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, as for ‘Umar and ‘Uthman they had both appointed him as governor of al Sham and none of them ever accused him during his period in office.

Many Sahabah and senior Tabi’in witnessed the monarchy of Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhu and none of them resisted his obedience – may Allah be pleased with them all.[12]

 
 

NEXT⇒ The Sixth Narration


[1]  This is how it appears in Musnad Ahmed (37/449) and Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn ‘Asakir (26/198)

[2]al Tahdhib (4/68)

[3]  See also al Awsat by al Tabarani (3/190), and Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn ‘Asakir (26/197)

[4]al Tahdhib (4/498), al Tabaqat (7/311), ‘Su’alat al Barqani’ (546)

[5]al Jarh wa al Ta’dil (9/152)

[6] al Tahdhib (4/498), al Tabaqat (7/311)

[7] al Majruhin (3/113)

[8]al Tahdhib (4/498), this expression of al Bukhari “Fihi nazar” [about him there are some objectionable views] is sometimes used for a narrator who is seriously flawed, and sometimes it is used for a narrator with whom there is no major problem however there are some objectionable narrations which have been narrated by this particular narrator without the narrator necessarily being disclaimed. For more details on this discussion see Ikhtisar ‘Ulum al Hadith (1/320), Sharh Alfiyyat al Hadith (2/3), al Taqyid wa al Idah (139), Fath al Mughith (2/122), Tadrib al Rawi (1/410), al Raf’ wa al Takmil (388), al Tankil (1/204), Qawa’id fi ‘Ulum al Hadith (254).

[9]  See also Sharh al ‘ilal (2/773).

[10] al Jami’ (Hadith no.1210)

[11] al Mizan (1/283)

[12]  See Tarikh Abi Zur’ah (1/189)