Why do we trust a Sahabi’s narration?

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Why do we trust a Sahabi’s narration?

 

The Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum were in great numbers. Amongst them were the seniors, the ten promised Jannat, and those who met the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam only once or saw him from far. So how do we trust their narrations? How do we know that they were truthful in what they narrated from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam?

To answer this, we need details on two aspects:

1. Were the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum men of integrity? What is the meaning of ‘adalah (integrity)?
2. Were the Companions accurate in their memorisation of the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam ahadith?

 

1. The Integrity of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum

The issue of the integrity of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum has taken on an important and widespread space in Islamic ideology, as the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum are the transmitters of the Shari’ah and the Sunnah, and thus questioning their integrity is questioning a part of Islam. Proving their integrity is one of the most important issues in proving the authenticity of the narrations from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, because historical establishment of ahadith is easy till the followers of the Successors and the Successors in the days when writing, literature, and scrutiny became widespread. However, proving this historically in the era of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum requires additional clarification wherein religious evidence may be separated from historical evidence. This is the issue I am discussing here.

Discussing integrity is better and more important than talking about accuracy here, as it is not possible to ascertain accuracy except by comparing narrations and collecting texts, whereas many of the ahadith of the Companions were narrated by individuals, with no other Companion joining them. We, other Companions, the Successors, and those after them accepted them (the Companions) based on the theory of their integrity. Therefore, proving this is amongst the important matters in the sciences of narration.

It is well known among some Muhaddithin that integrity is an established faculty in the heart that prevents committing major sins, insisting on minor ones, and committing breaches of masculinity.^[1] However, I see that this definition includes matters we do not need to prove and it may lead to some objections. What is intended by integrity in these discussions is their integrity in the science of Hadith, which is related to the issue of narration. Hence, I stop at some issues:

The first issue: If the object is to prove the authenticity of their narrations from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then what is required is proving their integrity in the sense that they do not lie and whatever ensues from that, nothing else. Prolonging the discussion into proving their integrity according to the popular general meaning is of no use in the science of Hadith narration.

Hence, Imam al Laknawi (d. 1304 AH) stated in Zafar al Amani, after reviewing the meanings of integrity, that what the Muhaddithin meant when they determined, ‘All of the Companions are reliable,’ is:

 

التجنب عن تعمد الكذب في الرواية وانحراف فيها بارتكاب ما يوجب عدم قبولها

To abstain from intentionally lying in the narration and deviating from it by committing that which would necessitate its unacceptability.

 

He cited the text of al Abyari (d. 616 AH) for this, who states:

 

ليس المراد بعدالتهم ثبوت العصمة لهم واستحالة المعصية منهم وإنما المراد قبول رواياتهم من غير تكلف البحث عن أسباب العدالة وطلب التزكية إلا من يثبت عليه ارتكاب قادح ولم يثبت ذلك والحمد لله

What is meant by their integrity is not to establish their infallibility and the impossibility of disobedience from them. Rather, what is meant is accepting their narrations without bothering to search for reasons of integrity and seeking purification, except for the one who is proven to have committed some evil; and this has not been proven—and all praise is for Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala.^[2]

 

Then al Laknawi quoted from the scholar al Dehlawi (d. 1239 AH)—the author of al Tuhfah al Ithna ‘Ashariyyah (Twelvers) and other books—his view found in some of his advices:

 

إن ما تقرر في عقائد أهل السنة أن الصحابة كلهم عدول قد تكرر ذكره غير مرة ووقع البحث والتفتيش عن معناه من حضرة الوالد المرحوم فتنقح بعد البحث أن المراد بالعدالة في هذه الجملة ليس معناها المتعارف بل العدالة في رواية الحديث لا غير وحقيقتها التجنب عن تعمد الكذب في الرواية وانحراف فيها ولقد تتبعنا سيرة الصحابة كلهم حتى من دخل منهم في الفتنة والمشاجرات فوجدناهم يعتقدون أن الكذب على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أشدّ الذنوب ويحترزون عنه غاية الاحتراز كما لا يخفى على أهل السير والدليل على ذلك أن هذه العقيدة لا يوجد منها أثر في كتب العقائد القديمة ولا كتب الكلام وإنما ذكرها المحدثون في أصول الحديث في بيان تعديل طبقات الرواة وإنما نقلوا هذه العقيدة من تلك الكتب في كتب العقائد وإنما فعل ذلك من خلط منهم بين الحديث والكلام من غير تعمق ولا شبهة في أن العدالة التي يتعلق غرض الأصولي بها هي العدالة في الرواية بمعنى التجنب عن تعمد الكذب وانحراف في النقل لا غيرُ وعلى هذا فلا إشكال في هذه الكلية أصلا

What is established in the beliefs of the Ahlus Sunnah of all the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum being reliable has been mentioned more than once. Discussions and research of its meaning took place in the presence of our deceased father. After research, he corrected that the meaning of integrity in this sentence is not its conventional meaning, but rather integrity in narrating Hadith and nothing else. Its reality is to avoid intentionally lying in the narration and deviating in it.

We traced the biographies of all the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, even those who got involved in trials and controversies, and found that they all believed that lying upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is the worst of sins and they would completely refrain from it, as is well known to biographers.

The evidence for this is that there is no trace of this belief^[3] in the former books of beliefs or the books of theology. Rather, only the Muhaddithin have mentioned it in Usul al Hadith (principles of Hadith) when explaining the integrity of the classes of narrators. They have merely transferred this belief from those books into the books of beliefs.

Only those of them who mixed Hadith with theology did this, without insight. There is no doubt that the integrity to which the Usuliyyin’s motive relate to, is integrity in narration, which means avoiding intentional lying and deviating in transmission, and nothing else. Therefore, there is no objection with this faculty at all.

 

Al Laknawi states:

 

ولعلك تفطنت من ههنا دفع الشبهات الواردة على هذه القاعدة بإيراد الأحاديث الدالة على صدور الكبائر من أجلة الصحابة فضلا عن غيرهم وبطلان ظن البعض أن الصحابة كلهم معصومون مع أنه صرح التفتازاني في شرح المقاصد وغيره ممن صنف في الكلام بأنه ليس كل صحابي معصوما

Perhaps you have realised from here that the doubts regarding this rule—by citing ahadith that indicate to the occurrence of major sins by eminent Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, let alone others, and the invalidity of some people’s belief that all the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum were infallible—have been refuted, despite the fact that al Taftazani stated in Sharh al Maqasid as well as others who wrote on theology, that all of the Companions were not infallible.^[4]

 

It is an important text that is consistent with the object of the sciences of Hadith and narration and the theory of the integrity of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum in it. Al Laknawi confirms here, what has been established in the Sunni ideology, that the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum are not infallible and that the intended meaning of the integrity of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum in Usul al Hadith (principles of Hadith) is their integrity in narration and that they avoided intentionally lying upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Otherwise, it has been proven that some sins were committed by some of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum; however, it has never been proven that any of them intentionally lied in a single hadith, as will become clear shortly.

The Second Issue: Which Companion is meant to be discussed?

When the objective in the sciences of Hadith is to prove the authenticity of their narrations from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then the requirement is to study the Companions who narrate, not all the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum in general, while acknowledging that the general meaning of integrity includes all the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, for the honour of meeting the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and sitting in his company cannot be equalled by any other honour. ‘Umar’s radiya Llahu ‘anhu statement has passed regarding this. The discussion to prove integrity, in the meaning of not lying, to everyone who met the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, even if he did not narrate any hadith, is nothing more than a theoretical research, and the reliance here is on the reality of the narration, not the theory. Imam al Dhahabi (d. 748 AH) mentioned that the number of Companions who narrated Hadith were about one thousand five hundred.^[5] Ibn al Jawzi (d. 597 AH)—in his book Talqih Fuhum Ahl al Athar—counted them as 1858 male and female Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum.^[6] Dr. Akram Diya’ al ‘Umari stated that their number was within the range of what al Dhahabi mentioned. He compiled the number of the Companions for whom Imam Ahmed (d. 241 AH) referenced Hadith in his Musnad, which is 904, along with the number of Companions added by Baqi ibn Makhlad (d. 276 AH) in his Musnad who were not mentioned by Imam Ahmed, and their number is 568, then those added by Abu Bakr al Barqi (d. 270 AH) to the two lists, which is 87, and those added by Ibn al Jawzi which is 6. Thus, there were 1565 male and female Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum. Among them were a number of those whose companionship is disputed.^[7]

Accordingly, it is necessary to discuss only the integrity of these Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum who narrate, not all of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, since what is intended is narration in the sciences of Hadith, not the theory of the integrity of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum in the general sense. Upon scrutiny, we find that most of these narrating Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum narrated only one hadith. We find that most of the ahadith of Muslims were narrated by a small number of Companions, not exceeding dozens. Dr. Akram Diya’ al ‘Umari showed in a table he drew up that more than two-thirds of the total ahadith of Musnad Baqi ibn Makhlad were narrated by only 17 companions.^[8] Occupation with these Companions and investigating and establishing their integrity is the fundamental goal, without getting too occupied with those Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum who narrated a single narration which at times may not be authentic, or for which we may find a testament from the Qur’an or the Sunnah, or it may be regarding minor subsidiary issues, let alone being occupied with those who did not narrate any narration at all.

This can be represented by the ahadith of Wuhdan Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum i.e. those who narrated only one hadith. It is rare to find a hadith regarding fundamental religious issues which came through that of only a single Companion.

I investigated fifty Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum who have one narration in Musnad Ahmed and did not find a single hadith from all their ahadith that did not have a testament from the other Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum. The ahadith of all fifty Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum had testaments, in addition to the fact that in nearly two thirds of them, the attribution to that Companion was not authentic. Moreover, the authentic ahadith among them that contain rulings do not exceed 8 ahadith, all of which are such that other ahadith sufficed for it in that chapter itself.^[9]

The purpose of all of the above is not to prove the unreliability of those Companions who narrated a single hadith. They were declared reliable by Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala. The objective is to prove that religious issues were not based on those ahadith. Thus, there is no need to discuss the integrity of each Companion among them in detail, and the matter remains regarding those who narrated many ahadith among the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum. I can claim that proving their integrity radiya Llahu ‘anhum—by integrity here I mean not lying upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, as I mentioned—is easy and obtainable, for their narrations are clear, well-known, and widespread, and their relationships with other Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum and the Successors can be scrutinised and verified, to gather their histories, journeys, righteousness, and information. Dr ‘Abdul Mu’min Salih al ‘Ali carefully investigated the transmissions and narrations of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu and came up with distinguished results which demonstrates the evidence of his integrity radiya Llahu ‘anhu.^[10]

The Third Issue: How can we be assured of the integrity of these Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum?

If integrity means that they do not intentionally lie upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and the target is the Companions who narrated Hadith, not the majority of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, in fact with focus on the frequent narrators, then it can be affirmed that we are assured that they did not lie upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam from two angles:

Angle 1: Historical angle

What I mean by this is that we can discern their integrity from historical incidents regardless of any religious texts which were transmitted regarding them. Among these are a number of incidents:

1. The wars that took place between them. Perhaps, they were the most important of these incidents. There were two great wars that took place between the senior Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum: The war between ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha in the Battle of the Camel in the year 35 AH, wherein a number of those who were given the glad tidings of Jannat participated, and the war between ‘Ali and Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhuma at Siffin in the year 36 AH, wherein eminent Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum also participated.

With the outbreak of these wars and the occurrence of great strife between the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, we do not find any texts transmitted from them which they narrate from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in disparagement of each other. This was possible for ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu in his war with Aisha or with Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhuma and it was easy and more convenient, as Muawiyah was among those whose conversion to Islam was late. Likewise, it was possible for Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha, who was the favourite of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, to claim—may Allah forbid—that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said such-and-such to her about ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his war with her, and ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu could also—may Allah forbid—fabricate texts from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam regarding his war with her and alienate people from her, which would be easier than arranging a war. Any leader could resort to that religious authority and lie to them in that situation to justify his actions, causing weakness to creep into the souls of the opposing armies. All this did not happen.

The matter was not confined to ‘Ali, Aisha, and Muawiyah radiya Llahu ‘anhum. In fact, we did not find any of that among the ranks of their followers, neither among the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum nor the Successors.

Rather, it is astonishing that I found a Tabi’i participating in the army of Aisha in her war against ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu in the Battle of the Camel, but despite that, he narrated a hadith from ‘Ali.^[11] As if he was saying, “I do not, for a moment, doubt his trustworthiness, integrity, and transmission from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, even though I fought against him.”

Thus, the strife among them and the war which took place is evidence of their integrity in narration, and that they would never lie upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

Another positive aspect of this strife is that the war that broke out between the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum was, according to the Ahlus Sunnah, based on Ijtihad, whether regarding the fate of the killers of ‘Uthman radiya Llahu ‘anhu or anything else, which means that they did not fear, for the sake of their ideology and their Ijtihad, the greatest of disasters, which are wars, and this implies that they were not complimentary to each other religiously, and sometimes the solution was by the sword. Accordingly, they will not be complimentary to each other when they hear a false ideology or a forged hadith that someone attributes to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha will not hesitate to denounce any hadith she hears from any Companion that she considers to be false. In fact, her falsifying that Companion openly is easier than starting the Battle of the Camel, yet we do not see any of this from her. She used to criticise some of the Companions’ memorisation of the hadith without criticising his integrity and his truthfulness in attributing to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Perhaps, the clearest example is her criticism of the memorisation of the esteemed Khalifah ‘Umar ibn al Khattab and the memory of his son ‘Abdullah when she heard of their hadith from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:

 

إن الميت ليعذب ببكاء أهله عليه

The dead person is tormented by the crying of his family over him.

 

She said:

 

إنكم لتحدثوني عن غير كذابين ولا مكذَّبين ولكن السمع يخطئ

You are narrating hadith to me from neither liars nor ones accused of lying, but sometimes errors occur in hearing.^[12]

 

She is scrutinising their memory and believes that mistakes are possible. But she does not at all doubt their integrity and believes that they would not lie upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. There is no courtesy in this regard, as Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha, who fought on the basis of Ijtihad, would never remain silent about a false hadith she sees spreading among the Muslims, and neither will ‘Ali, Talhah, Zubair, Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, Ibn ‘Abbas, and others.

2. The many incidents that occurred demonstrate that their relationship with the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was an exceptional relationship, that their reverence for him was of the highest degree, and that the revolution that occurred in their lives after the days of ignorance and entry into Islam was an important transformation. Therefore, they would sacrifice their lives for the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, obey his orders in both minor and major matters—and were precise about that, and fought against their fathers and clan for him. It is not imaginable that they would begin lying upon him as soon as he passed away. Al Khatib al Baghdadi explained this by saying:

 

على أنه لو لم يرد من الله عز وجل ورسوله فيهم شيء مما ذكرناه لأوجبت الحال التي كانوا عليها من الهجرة والجهاد والنصرة وبذل المهج والأموال وقتل الآباء والأولاد والمناصحة في الدين وقوة الإيمان واليقين القطعَ على عدالتهم والاعتقادَ لنزاهتهم وأنهم أفضل من جميع المعدَّلين والمزكَّين الذين يجيئون من بعدهم أبد الآبدين هذا مذهب كافة العلماء ومن يعتد بقوله من الققهاء

If nothing of what we mentioned had been reported from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala and His Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam about them, the state they were in, in terms of their emigration, Jihad, assistance, sacrificing their lives and money, fighting against their fathers and children, advising one another in religion, and their strength of faith and conviction would necessitate certainty in their integrity, belief in their honesty, and them being superior to all the reliable and verified people who will come after them till the end of time. This is the belief of all scholars and reliable jurists.^[13]

 

Angle 2: Religious angle

This angle confirms that they do not lie, firstly, because of their obvious righteousness and piety, secondly, because of the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam trust in them, and thirdly, because of their praise and complements narrated in the emphatic texts of revelation.

As for the first, which is they do not lie due to their righteousness and piety. Their strict adherence to the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam orders is well known. Examples of this are so many that it is difficult to encompass them. The incident of all of them abstaining from talking to the three, who failed to participate in the Battle of Tabuk, after the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam ordered them to do so is an indication to this righteousness and intense adherence.^[14] Thus, it would be unnatural for them to adhere to his orders in abstaining from talking to the people closest to them, but then lie upon him in other than that.

This is despite the fact that they heard severe ahadith forbidding lying in general, and they heard more severe ahadith forbidding lying upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in particular, such as the hadith:

 

إن‏ كذبا عَلي ليس ككذب على أحد فمن كذب علي متعمدا فليتبوأ مقعده من النار

Indeed lying upon me is not the same as lying upon anyone else. Whoever lies in my name intentionally, should assume his abode in Hell.^[15]

 

And the hadith:

 

من يقل علي ما لم أقل فليتبوأ مقعده من النار

Whoever attributes to me what I did not say should prepare his abode in Hell.^[16]

 

These are Mutawatir (consecutively narrated) ahadith that were heard by numerous Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, narrated by dozens or hundreds of them^[17], and spread widely among them. Their narration of these ahadith with dedication and their widespread dissemination indicates the intensity of special attention to the issue of lying. In fact, Muhaddithin have explained that the hadith forbidding lying upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is the most narrated and disseminated hadith by the Companions. There is no hadith in the world whereupon the ten Companions given glad tidings of Jannat agreed upon narrating other than this^[18], and no hadith is known to be narrated from more than sixty of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam except this one hadith.^[19]

This is in addition to the fact that their basic morals did not permit them to lie even during the time of ignorance. Lying was a heinous habit during the pre-Islamic days of ignorance. The Arabs resented it to a degree that Abu Sufyan said in the famous hadith of Heraclius:

 

فوالله لولا الحياء من أن يَأثِروا عليّ كذبا لكذبت عنه

By Allah, were it not for the shame of them dubbing me a liar, I would have lied about him.^[20]

 

What will be their condition after embracing Islam and hearing all the prohibitions of lying specifically and generally?

As for the second reason, which is the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam trust in them, this becomes apparent through two examples:

1. The Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam instruction to them:

 

بلغوا‏ عني ولو آية

Propagate from me even if it is a single verse.^[21]

 

And his statement:

 

نضر الله امرأ سمع منا شيئا فبلغه كما سمعه فرب مبلغ أوعى من سامع

May Allah keep that person radiant who hears something from us and conveys it as he heard it. Many a times the person to whom it is conveyed retains more than the listener.^[22]

 

(These statements) indicate his trust in them. Otherwise, he would not have ordered them to convey and narrate.

2. The Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sending some Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum to distant cities to teach the people there. He sent Muaz ibn Jabal radiya Llahu ‘anhu and Abu Musa al Ash’ari radiya Llahu ‘anhu to Yemen just before the Farewell Hajj.^[23] If he did not trust them to propagate the orders of Allah and his Sunnah, he would not have sent them. What is the difference between the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam sending Abu Musa to Yemen during his lifetime to propagate and ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu sending him years later to Basrah, in terms of trusting him, for the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was not with him in both instances?

As for the third reason, which is the text from revelations that has praised them, I will concentrate here on some verses that were revealed at a later stage, which proves their integrity, virtue, and the excellence of their Islam. I have specifically selected those verses which were revealed at the later stages, to include those who embraced Islam during the Conquest of Makkah as well as others. Perhaps the clearest verse regarding this is:

 

لَّقَد تَّابَ اللّٰهُ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ وَالْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْهُ فِي سَاعَةِ الْعُسْرَةِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا كَادَ يَزِيْغُ قُلُوْبُ فَرِيْقٍ مِّنْهُمْ

Allah has certainly turned in mercy to the Prophet as well as the Emigrants and the Helpers who stood by him in the time of hardship, after the hearts of a group of them had almost faltered.^[24]

 

All the known Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum are included in this verse. This was the last battle and there were thirty thousand Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum with the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam according to many historians. Some narrate that there were forty thousand Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum.^[25] This was the largest number (of Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum) that went to fight alongside the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Despite this, they were all praised in this verse. It was a special praise for each Companion radiya Llahu ‘anhu individually as it was linked to their obedience to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam at the hour of difficulty and combined with his compassion to the three who were left behind, which means affirming all of them and the repentance including all of them, even the three. I do not know of any Companion who narrates from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam who is not included in this verse. Thus, it includes Abu Bakr and ‘Umar as well as Abu Sufyan, Muawiyah, ‘Amr ibn al ‘As, and others.

It is a well-established fact that the integrity of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum is not proven from this verse only. Other verses were also revealed regarding them, such as:

 

كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ

You are the best community ever raised for humanity.^[26]

 

لَّقَدْ رَضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ إِذْ يُبَايِعُوْنَكَ تَحْتَ الشَّجَرَةِ فَعَلِمَ مَا فِيْ قُلُوْبِهِمْ فَأَنْزَلَ السَّكِيْنَةَ عَلَيْهِمْ

Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you (O Prophet) under the tree. He knew what was in their hearts, so He sent down serenity upon them.^[27]

 

مُّحَمَّدٌ رَّسُوْلُ اللّٰهِ وَالَّذِيْنَ مَعَهُ أَشِدَّآءُ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ رُحَمَآءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرَاهُمْ رُكَّعًا سُجَّدًا يَّبْتَغُوْنَ فَضْلًا مِّنَ اللّٰهِ وَرِضْوَانًا

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. And those with him are firm with the disbelievers and compassionate with one another. You see them bowing and prostrating (in prayer), seeking Allah’s bounty and pleasure.^[28]

 

وَالسَّابِقُوْنَ الْأَوَّلُوْنَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ وَالْأَنْصَارِ وَالَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللّٰهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوْا عَنْهُ

And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajirin and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct – Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him.^[29]

 

It has been narrated in a Marfu’ hadith^[30] from Abu Sa’id al Khudri radiya Llahu ‘anhu:

 

لا‏ تسبوا أصحابي فوالذي نفسي بيده لو أن أحدكم أنفق مثل أحد ذهبا ما بلغ مد أحدهم ولا نصيفه

Do not swear my Companions. By the Being in whose hands is my life, if anyone of you spends gold equivalent to Mount Uhud, it will not reach (in reward) one mudd^[31] of theirs, not even half of it.^[32]

 

And the hadith:

 

خيركم قرني ثم الذين يلونه

The best of you are those of my era, then those after them.^[33]

 

However, I quoted that verse first due to it being very clear in meaning as it included a great number of Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum contrary to what is discussed in the other verses as they are pertaining to some of the Companions, not each one of them. Through these virtues, scholars have proven the Companions’ radiya Llahu ‘anhum integrity.^[34]

 

2. The Companions’ capturing of Hadith

The discussion about the Companions’ radiya Llahu ‘anhum integrity and what is meant by it is that they never lied upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, has passed. Now a question remains: Is it possible for a Sahabi to err or forget a hadith? How do we trust their memory while acknowledging the fact they are humans and all that which afflicts humans, such as mistakes and forgetfulness, can afflict them also?

The details of this boil down to a few factors. Amongst them is the nature of the preserver (that is the Companion radiya Llahu ‘anhu), the nature of the relationship with the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (from whom it was preserved), and the nature of the matter preserved—which is the noble Hadith.

 

a. The nature of the preserver

Anyone who studies the era of ignorance and the beginning of Islam will soon discover the power of memorisation that the Arabs enjoyed at the time, which was due to a number of natural things, including: purity of mind, ease of life, and strength of concentration. There were some among them who would memorise poems spoken in front of them only once. It is narrated regarding Ibn ‘Abbas radiya Llahu ‘anhu that he memorised the poem of ‘Umar ibn Abi Rabi’ah by hearing it just once. It begins with:

 

أمِن‏ آل نعم أنت غاد فمُبكرُ …

Is it from the family of Nu’m that you are leaving tomorrow, so early … ^[35]

 

Close to this is the memorisation of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He was very famous for his memory and narrated abundantly, which prompted some people to test his memory. Abu al Zu’ayzi’ah, the scribe of Marwan ibn al Hakam, said:

 

إن مروان دعا أبا هريرة فأقعدني خلف السرير وجعل يسأله وجعلت أكتب حتى إذا كان عند رأس الحول دعا به فأقعده وراء الحجاب فجعل يسأله عن ذلك فما زاد ولا نقص ولا قدّم ولا أخّر

Marwan called Abu Hurairah and made me sit behind the bed. He started asking him and I started writing. At the end of the year, he called for him again and made him sit behind the veil and started asking him about the same. He neither added nor deleted nor misplaced anything.^[36]

 

Incidents pertaining to the strength of their memory are plenty. This has remained among the Arabs for a long time. Indeed, some of those who have not immersed themselves into inventions of modern life in our time have great memory and retention power. We have seen some whose mastery of memorisation is astonishing.^[37]

This reliance on memory does not mean that they never wrote. It is reported in some narrations that the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum would write from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam ordered some of them to write. Details will come in due course.

 

b. The nature of the relationship with the person from whom it is being preserved

By ‘preserved from’ I mean the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. The interest and longing to learn from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is apparent in the lives of the Companions salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. It is due to their belief that whatever comes from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is revelation from Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala that they are commanded to follow and imitate, and this drove them to the following:

1. Keenness to memorise, monitor, observe, and research all his words, actions, and approvals. When they counted the number of grey hairs in his honourable beard, memorised and transmitted it, then it is more likely and more worthy that they preserve his words and actions, for he was the exalted Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in their midst. There is a difference between a person hearing something said by one passing by on the road and hearing something which he knows contains an important test for his whole life. In the second case, he is dedicated, focused, and interested in every sentence and detail. For all these reasons, the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum paid attention to discussing ahadith among themselves. Anas ibn Malik radiya Llahu ‘anhu stated:

 

كنا نكون عند النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فنسمع الحديث فإذا قمنا تذاكرناه فيما بيننا حتى نحفظه

We would be with the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and listen to Hadith. When we got up, we would discuss it among ourselves until we memorised it.^[38]

 

Abu Sa’id radiya Llahu ‘anhu stated:

 

تذاكروا الحديث فإن الحديث يهيج الحديث

Revise Hadith, for the Hadith stirs up conversation.^[39]

 

2. Keenness in verification and consolidation when narrating. Their belief that their narration of Hadith from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam has an input in the entirety of the Shari’ah which they are commanded to follow led them to adopt three methods:

I. Utmost precaution in narration: Many transmissions have been narrated regarding Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu and his fear and caution when narrating from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

‘Amr ibn Maymun states:

 

كنت لا تفوتني عشيةُ خميس إلا وآتي فيها عبد لله بن مسعود رضي الله عنه فما سمعته يقول لشيء قط قال رسول الله حتى كانت ذات عشية فقال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال فاغرورقت عيناه وانتفخت أوداجه فانا رأيته محلولة أزراره وقال أو مثله أو نحوه أو شبيه به

I would not miss a Thursday evening except I would come to Ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu. I never heard him say regarding anything, “The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said.” Until one evening he said, “The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said.” His eyes filled up with tears and his veins swelled. I saw him with his buttons unbuttoned, submitting, “Or something like it, or something close to it, or something similar to it.”^[40]

 

A similar subject matter was narrated about Abu al Darda’ radiya Llahu ‘anhu when narrating.^[41] It has been mentioned that Abu Umamah radiya Llahu ‘anhu would narrate Hadith like a man who is conveying what he heard i.e.^[42] he would not add or delete anything.

II. Minimizing narrating from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam: Sa’ib ibn Yazid states:

 

صحبت عبد الرحمن بن عوف وطلحة بن عبيد الله والمقداد وسعدا رضي الله عنهم فما‎ أحدا منهم يحدث عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم إلا أني سمعت طلحة يحدث عن يوم أحد

I accompanied ‘Abdul Rahman ibn ‘Awf, Talhah ibn ‘Ubayd Allah, Miqdad, and Sa’d radiya Llahu ‘anhum. None of them narrated from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam except that I heard Talhah narrate about the Day of Uhud.^[43]

 

Mujahid states:

 

صحبت ابن عمر إلى المدينة فلم أسمعه يحدث عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إلا حديثا واحدا

I accompanied Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma to Madinah. I did not hear him narrate from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam except one hadith.^[44]

 

Tawbah al ‘Anbari states:

 

قال لي الشعبي أرأيت‎ حديث الحسن عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وقاعدت ابن عمر قريبا من سنتين أو سنة ونصف‎ فلم أسمعه يحدث عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم غير هذا

Al Sha’bi said to me “Have you seen Hassan’s Hadith from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? I stayed with Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhu for about two years or a year and a half and did not hear him narrate anything other than this from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.”^[45]

 

Thabit ibn Qutbah al Ansari states:

 

كان عبد الله (يعني ابن مسعود) يحدثنا في الشهر بالحديثين أو الثلاثة

‘Abdullah i.e. Ibn Mas’ud would narrate only two or three ahadith to us every month.^[46]

 

Ibn Abi Layla states:

 

قلنا لزيد بن أرقم رضي الله عنه حدثنا عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال كبرنا ونسينا والحديث عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم شديد

We said to Zaid ibn Arqam radiya Llahu ‘anhu, “Narrate Hadith to us from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.”

He replied, “We have aged and forgotten, and the Hadith of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is severe.”^[47]

 

III. The fear of referring Hadith to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam:

What I mean by this is that some of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum preferred to mention the hadith from their own side, without referring it to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam out of awe and fear for referencing itself. It has been narrated that some of the Tabi’in would ask some of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum and they would answer without referring the hadith to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Thereafter, the Tabi’i would come to know that the hadith was originally Marfu’. An example of this is what Ahmed, Abu Dawood, and Ibn Majah narrate on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn al Daylami—a Tabi’i—who met Ubayy ibn Ka’b radiya Llahu ‘anhu and asked him about what his heart contains regarding the issue of belief in destiny. Ubayy answered with a rather long answer before advising him to ask ‘Abdullah ibn Mas’ud radiya Llahu ‘anhu. Accordingly, he went to him and asked him and Ibn Mas’ud gave the same answer. He advised him to ask Hudhayfah ibn al Yaman radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He asked him and Hudhayfah also gave the same answer. Thereafter, he asked Zaid ibn Thabit radiya Llahu ‘anhu. He narrated from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam with the same sentences and the same answer.^[48] This means that according to these three senior Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, the hadith was Marfu’ from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, but they did not attribute it to him initially. Thus, it seemed as if it was one their views, then Zaid radiya Llahu ‘anhu explained in his narration that the hadith was Marfu’.

Some of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum were afraid to attribute Hadith (to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) for fear of making a mistake. Among them were some of those who narrate frequently. Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu acknowledges:

 

لولا أني أخشى أن أخطئ لحدثتكم بأشياء سمعتها من رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أو قالها رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وذاك أني سمعته صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول من كذب عَليّ متعمدا فليتبوأ مقعده من النار

Had I not been afraid of making mistakes, I would have narrated to you things I heard from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam or that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said. That is because I heard him say, “Whoever falsely attributes to me intentionally, should make his abode in Hell.”^[49]

 

The matter remains about those who came after i.e. the Tabi’in. Salih al Dahhan states:

 

ما سمعت جابر بن زيد يقول قط قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إعظاما واتقاء أن يكذب عليه

I never heard Jabir ibn Zaid say, “The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said,” out of respect and fear that he would lie in his name.^[50]

 

‘Asim states:

 

سألت الشعبي عن حديث فحدثنيه فقلت إنه يرفع إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال لا على مَن دون النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم أحب إلينا فإن كان فيه زيادة أو نقصان كان على مَن دون النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم

I asked al Sha’bi about a hadith. He narrated it to me. I asked him, “Is it attributed to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam?”

He said, “No, to (attribute it to) other than the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam is more beloved to us. If there be any addition or decrease in it, it is attributed to someone besides the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.”^[51]

 

Ibrahim al Nakha’i said:

 

نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن المحاقلة والمزابنة فقيل له أما تحفظ عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم حديثا غير هذا قال بلى ولكن أقول قال عبد الله قال علقمة أحب إليّ

The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam forbade muhaqalah and muzabanah.^[52] He was asked, “Have you not preserved from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam any hadith other than this?”

He said, “Yes, but for me to say, ‘‘Abdullah said and ‘Alqamah said’ is more beloved.”^[53]

 

c. The nature of the preserved

By preserved here, I mean the Hadith itself. Most of what the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum memorised was part of his actions and mannerisms. Many of those ahadith were linked to a story or situation that they witnessed or that happened to them or in their presence. Moreover, most of them were Shar’i laws they sought to apply in their practical lives. Thus, it entered into their intellectual formation as well as their practical and moral behaviour. All of this was more likely to remain constant in their memory and lives and distanced from negligence or forgetfulness, in addition to the fact that the ahadith of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam enjoyed eloquence, rhetoric, and clarity, to a degree that many contained inspired imagery and descriptive simile, which are more conducive to understanding, impact, and memorisation.^[54]

Verbal ahadith are distinguished by that which enables the listener to fully comprehend, understand, and memorise them. Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha states:

 

أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يحدث حديثا لو عدّه العادُّ لأحصاه

The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam would narrate Hadith (in such a manner) that if anyone wished to count it, he would be able to do so.^[55]

 

Likewise, she states:

 

أنه كان يتكلم بكلام يبينه فصلٍ يحفظه من جلس إليه

He used to speak words that were clear and decisive. Those who sat with him could memorise them.^[56]

 

He would repeat sentences many of the times. Anas radiya Llahu ‘anhu states:

 

أنه كان إذا سلّم سلم ثلاثا وإذا تكلم بكلمة أعادها ثلاثا

When he greeted, he would repeat the salam thrice, and when he spoke a word, he would repeat it thrice.^[57]

 

He would not narrate Hadith in a speedy manner, but would take his time in delivering the speech so that it could settle in the mind. Aisha radiya Llahu ‘anha states:

 

ألا يعجبك أبو فلان جاء فجلس إلى جانب حُجرتي يحدث عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يُسمعني ذلك وكنت أسبح فقام قبل أن أقضي سُبحتي ولو أدركته لرددتُ عليه إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لم يكن يسرد الحديث كسردكم

Does it not amaze you that so and so comes and sits next to my room, narrating Hadith from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and making me hear it while I was busy praying. He got up before I completed my prayer. Had I caught up with him, I would have disproved him. The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam did not narrate Hadith quickly as you do.^[58],[59]

 

Together, these factors had a great impact on the Companions’ radiya Llahu ‘anhum ability to capture Hadith and impart it to the Tabi’in, as details will follow.

But does this mean that all the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum were at the pinnacle of capturing and could not miss or forget a hadith?

Forgetting, oversight, and making mistakes are natural to every person. Therefore, it is natural that the memory and capturing of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum varied, that some of them forgot, and that others made mistakes. For this reason, some of them criticised others at times, as will be discussed shortly.

The scholars of Hadith themselves realised this variance in memorisation and the possibility of a Companion forgetting his narrations, so they declared this. This means that they were just in dealing with those errors and were careful as well, but they put them in their general context, without focusing on them and making the small partial error the judge on the overall view. From amongst this is the statement of Imam al Dhahabi:

 

وأما‏ الصحابة رضي الله عنهم فبساطُهم مطويّ وإن جرى ما جري وإن غلِطوا كما غلط غيرُهم من الثقات فما يكاد يسلم أحد من الغلط لكنه غلط نادر لا يضر أبدا إذ على عدالتهم وقبول ما نقلوه العملُ وبه نَدين الله تعالى

As for the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, their matter is sealed, despite what transpired and even though they made mistakes as other trustworthy people made. Hardly anyone is safe from mistakes, but it is a rare mistake that does no harm at all, as the practice is on accepting their integrity and what they narrated, and we worship Allah through it.^[60]

 

Hafiz Ibn Taymiyyah states:

 

وأما الغلط فلا يسلم منه أكثر الناس بل في الصحابة ممن قد يغلط أحيانا وفي من بعدهم

As for error, most people are not safe from it. In fact, among the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, and among those after them, were those who made mistakes at times.^[61]

 

Likewise, Hafiz Ibn Hajar states in Fath al Bari while discussing a mistake made by the great Companion Ibn ‘Umar radiya Llahu ‘anhuma:

 

وفي هذا الحديث أن الصحابي الجليلَ المكثرَ الشديدَ الملازمة للنبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قد يخفى عليه بعض أحواله وقد يدخله الوهم والنسيان لكونه غير معصوم

This hadith shows that the eminent Companion who was prolific and very devoted to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was unaware of some of his conditions, and he may err and forget because he is not infallible.^[62]

 

NEXT⇒ Natural aspects of narration in the era of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum after the demise of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

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^[1]  Sheikh ‘Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah quoted this view from all the Muhaddithin and Jurists in the concluding comments on Zafar al Amani, pg. 582.

^[2]  Al Zarkashi: al Bahr al Muhit, 3/358 from al Abyari; Tadrib al Rawi, 5/171 onwards.

^[3]  The belief that is established by the Ahlus Sunnah of the integrity of the Companions, which he mentioned at the beginning of his discussion.

^[4]  Al Laknawi: Zafar al Amani, pg. 541-542. This is the view that I hold and incline towards, even though Sheikh ‘Abdul Fattah Abu Ghuddah did not agree with it in his concluding comments on Zafar al Amani. See his opinion on pg. 582.

^[5]  Al Dhahabi: Tajrid Asma’ al Sahabah, vol. 1, introduction.

^[6]  Ibn al Jawzi: Talqih Fuhum Ahl al Athar, pg. 205 – 227.

^[7]  Akram Diya’ al ‘Umari: Buhuth fi Tarikh al Sunnah al Musharrafah, pg. 384–385.

^[8]  Buhuth fi Tarikh al Sunnah al Musharrafah, pg. 390.

^[9]  These are some of the results of an extensive study of mine regarding those Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum who narrated only one hadith and Imam Ahmed documented them. This study will be published soon, Allah willing.

^[10]  Dr ‘Abdul Mun’im Salih al ‘Ali: Difa’ ‘an Abi Hurairah, chapter on the ratification of Abu Hurairah by the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, his Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, and those after them, pg. 95–129; Ahmed Snubar: Madinat Riwayah la Madinat Fiqh, study on the Hadith and Fiqhi influence of Anas ibn Malik in Basrah, published in the magazine Tasawwur, volume 6, edition 2, pg. 1492–1544.

^[11]  He is ‘Abdur Rahman ibn al Harith ibn Hisham, the great Tabi’i. See his biography by al Mizzi in Tahdhib al Kamal, ‎17/39. The hadith he narrated from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib radiya Llahu ‘anhu is reported in Sunan al Tirmidhi, chapters on supplications from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, chapter on the Witr supplications, Hadith: 3566 and Sunan Abi Dawood, book on Salah, chapter on Qunut in the Witr, Hadith: 1427 and others:

أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يقول في وتره اللهم إني أعوذ برضاك من سخطك وأعوذ بمعافاتك من عقوبتك وأعوذ بك منك لا أحصي ثناء عليك أنت كما أثنيت على نفسك

The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam used to say in his Witr Salah: O Allah, I seek refuge in Your pleasure from Your wrath, I seek refuge in Your forgiveness from Your punishment, and I seek refuge in You from You. I cannot enumerate Your praise. You are as You have praised Yourself.

The text of his participation in the Battle of the Camel War in Aisha’s radiya Llahu ‘anha army is mentioned by Ibn Sa’d in al Tabaqat, 5/6.

^[12]  Sahih Muslim, book on funerals, chapter on the dead person is punished by the crying of his family over him, Hadith: 928; Sahih al Bukhari, book on funerals, chapter on the Prophet’s salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam saying that the dead person is punished by some of his family’s crying over him, Hadith: 1288.

^[13]  Al Khatib al Baghdadi: al Kifayah fi ‘Ilm al Riwayah, pg. 48-49.

^[14]  See the story in Sahih al Bukhari, book on the battles, chapter on the hadith of Ka’b ibn Malik and the saying of Allah subhanahu wa ta ‘ala And Allah has also turned in mercy to the three who had remained behind, Hadith: 4418; Sahih Muslim, book on repentance, chapter on the hadith of the repentance of Ka’b ibn Malik and his two companions, Hadith: 2769.

^[15]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on funerals, chapter on what is disliked about wailing over the dead, Hadith: 1291; Sahih Muslim, introduction, chapter on warning against lying upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 4.

^[16]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on knowledge, chapter on the sin of whoever lies in the name of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 109, which is one of his Thulathiyyat (narrations with only three narrators in the chain).

^[17]  This hadith was narrated by sixty-two Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum, as determined by Ibn al Salah. Others say that it was narrated by more than a hundred people. Al Nawawi narrated from some of them that it was narrated by around 200 people. Al ‘Iraqi believes that the number mentioned by al Nawawi was pertaining to lying in general. As for lying upon the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, they were over seventy in number. (Tadrib al Rawi, ‎5/30 onwards; al Kattani: Nazm al Mutanathir min al Hadith al Mutawatir, pg. 82, Hadith: 2.) Our teacher, Sheikh Muhammad ‘Awwamah, stated in his comments on al Tadrib: 5/30:

كان هذا الحديث والحمد لله أشد أحاديث السنة المطهرة تواترا عنوانا على سلامتها وطهارتها من الكذب والدخيل

This hadith—praise be to Allah—was the most frequent hadith of the pure Sunnah, emphasising its safety and purity from lies and infiltration.

^[18]  See the referencing of their ahadith by our teacher Sheikh Muhammad ‘Awwamah in his comments on al Tadrib, 5/31 onwards.

^[19]  Ibn al Salah transmitted it from of some of the Huffaz (scholars of Hadith). (Ibn al Salah: al Muqaddamah, pg. 269.) See Hafiz al ‘Iraqi’s naming of the speaker and his disagreement with him in al Taqyid wa al Idah Sharh Muqaddamah Ibn al Salah, pg. 270.

^[20]  Sahih al Bukhari, beginning of revelation, chapter on how revelation began on the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 7; Sahih Muslim, book on Jihad, book on the epistle of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam to Heraclius inviting him to Islam, Hadith: 1773. The wording is al Bukhari’s.

^[21]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on the prophets, chapter on what is mentioned about the Bani Isra’il, Hadith: 3461.

^[22]  Sunan al Tirmidhi, chapters on knowledge from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, chapter on what is narrated about conveying what is heard, Hadith: 2657. He labelled it hassan, sahih.

^[23]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on the battles, chapter on sending Abu Musa and Muaz to Yemen before the Farewell Hajj, Hadith: 4341, 4342; Sahih Muslim, book on Jihad and travels, chapter on the command to facilitate and avoiding repulsion, Hadith: 1733.

^[24]  Surah al Tawbah: 117.

^[25]  Ibn Hajar: Fath al Bari, 8/117-118; al Qurtubi: Tafsir al Qurtubi, 3/231.

^[26]  Surah Al ‘Imran: 110.

^[27]  Surah al Fath: 18.

^[28]  Surah al Tawbah: 100.

^[29]  Surah al Fath: 29.

^[30]  A Marfu’ hadith is a hadith which a Companion quotes directly from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

^[31]  One mudd is equivalent to 544 grams.

^[32]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on the virtues of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhu, Hadith: 3673; Sahih Muslim, book on the virtues of the Companions, chapter on the prohibition of swearing the Companions, Hadith: 2540. Refer to Hafiz’s discussion on this hadith in Fath al Bari, 7/34.

^[33]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on testimonies, chapter on a person should not give false testimony, Hadith: 2651; Sahih Muslim, book on the virtues of the Companions, chapter on the virtues of the Companions then those after them then those after them, Hadith: 2535.

^[34]  Ibn ‘Abdul Barr: al Isti’ab fi Ma’rifat al Ashab, 1/19; Ibn al Salah: al Muqaddamah, recognising the various type of Hadith sciences, pg. 295.

^[35]  Abu ‘Ali al Qali: Dhayl al Amali wa al Nawadir, pg. 686; Ibn ‘Abdul Barr: Jami’ Bayan al ‘Ilm wa Fadlihi, 1/296.

^[36]  Al Hakim: al Mustadrak, according to the standard of Sahihayn, book on knowledge of the Companions, mention of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, Hadith: 6240. He commented, “This is a hadith with an authentic chain, but they did not narrate it.”

^[37]  I am still amazed at the memory of our eminent teacher, Sheikh Muhammad ‘Awwamah; be it the texts of the Sunnah or the Imams or the statements of his teachers and Sheikhs. It is common for us to be in a private council and for him to talk to us about incidents that happened to him 40 years ago with one of his Sheikhs, and he narrates the words of his Sheikh verbatim. I heard about the father of our brother, Dr. Sa’id ibn Muhammad al Marri al Budaywi, professor of Hadith at Qatar University—which he narrated to me—that his father who lives in a simple Bedouin village far from the inventions of modern life, memorises most of the Friday sermons that he hears, which is a natural thing consistent with the nature of a quiet, simple life that is devoid of television, telephones, and the internet. He has no means of learning din and knowledge except the Masjid and the Friday sermon is the most important religious event of the week, so paying attention to it and memorising it was natural at that time.

Contemporary examples of the power of memory is recorded in the Guinness Book of Records about people with lofty strong memories, which means that some people can reach this amazing memorisation. It is not possible that this could be plausible in the modern era and was far-fetched before that. In fact, some studies show that one of the most important techniques for improving memory performance is getting rid of anything that prevents remembering. They recommend focusing, linking the mental image, and constantly using that which is memorised.

(Refer to Kevin Horsley: Unlimited memory, how to use advanced learning strategies to learn faster, remember more and be more productive, TCK Publishing, second edition, January 26, 2014; Dominic O’Brien: How to develop a brilliant memory week by week: 50 proven ways to enhance your memory skills, Watkins Publishing, January 28, 2014.)

This is what people were like in the era of the Companions radiya Llahu ‘anhum in general, as there were no multiple tasks and most of what they experienced with the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was linked to a mental image. Their use and recollection of what they had memorised and known from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was a lot, and this is still the case until now in some countries that have not been affected by modern inventions. Perhaps the scholars who memorise texts of the sciences in the land of Chinguetti are clear examples of this.

^[38]  Al Khatib al Baghdadi: al Jami’ li Akhlaq al Rawi wa Adab al Sami’, chapter on students’ discussing Hadith after memorising it to preserve it, 1/236; al Bayhaqi: al Madkhal ila Kitab al Sunan, chapter on studying knowledge and sitting with its people, 2/705-719.

^[39]  Al Ramahurmuzi: al Muhaddith al Fasil, chapter on mutual discussions, pg. 546.

^[40]  Sunan al Darimi, chapter on whoever fears issuing verdicts for fear of faltering, Hadith: 278; Sunan Ibn Majah, chapter on caution in narrating from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 23.

^[41]  Sunan al Darimi, chapter on whoever fears issuing verdicts for fear of faltering, Hadith: 276-277.

^[42]  Abu Zur’ah al Dimashqi: al Tarikh, pg. 543; al Bayhaqi: al Madkhal ila Kitab al Sunan, chapter on caution in narrating until it is established and authentic, 1/318–331.

^[43]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on the battles, chapter on Remember when two groups among you (believers) were about to cower then Allah reassured them so in Allah let the believers put their trust, Hadith: 4062.

^[44]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on knowledge, chapter on understanding in knowledge, Hadith; 72; Sahih Muslim, book on the characteristics of the hypocrites and laws pertaining to them, chapter on the example of a believer is like that of a palm tree, Hadith: 2811.

^[45]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on information of a solitary person, chapter on information of a solitary woman, Hadith: 7267; Sahih Muslim, book on hunting and slaughter, chapter on the permissibility of lizard, Hadith: 1944.

^[46]  Sunan al Darimi, chapter on whoever fears issuing verdicts for fear of faltering, Hadith: 282. Al Dhahabi states in Tadhkirat al Huffaz, pg. 16:

ابن‏ مسعود الإمام الرباني رضي الله عنه أبو عبد الرحمن عبد الله بن أم عبد الهذلي صاحب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وخادمه وأحد السابقين الأولين ومن كبار البدريين ومن نبلاء الفقهاء والمقرئين كان ممن يتحرى في الأداء ويشدد في الرواية ويزجر تلامذته عن التهاون في ضبط الألفاظ وكان يقل من الرواية للحديث ويتورع في الألفاظ

Ibn Mas’ud, the Imam, Abu ‘Abdur Rahman, ‘Abdullah ibn Umm ‘Abdul Hudhali, the Companion of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and his servant, one of the first predecessors, one of the senior Badris (those who participated in the Battle of Badr), and one of the noble jurists and teachers of the Qur’an. He was careful in transmission and strict in narration. He would reproach his students from being negligent in capturing words. He narrated hadith rarely and was cautious with words.

^[47]  Sunan Ibn Majah, chapter on caution in the Hadith from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 25.

^[48]  Sunan Abu Dawood, book on Sunnah, chapter on destiny, Hadith: 4699; Sunan Ibn Majah, chapters on the Sunnah, chapter on destiny, Hadith: 77; Musnad Ahmed, Hadith: 21589. Its chain (of transmission) is strong. Study what can be learnt from the Hadith on the issue of the difference in Marfu’ and Mawquf narrations in the science of defects in Hadith by our teacher Sheikh Muhammad ‘Awwamah in his comments on Tadrib al Rawi, 3/236-238.

^[49]  Sunan al Darimi, chapter on caution regarding Hadith from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and verifying them. Hadith: 241. Its origin is in Sahihayn with the wording:

إنه‏ ليمنعني أن أحدثكم حديثا كثيرا أن رسول الله قال من تعمد عليّ كذبا فليتبوأ مقعده من النار

What prevents me from narrating plenty ahadith to you is that the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said, “Whoever deliberately lies against me, should make his abode in Hell.” (Sahih al Bukhari, book on knowledge, chapter on the sin of one who lies in the name of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 108; Sahih Muslim, introduction, chapter on the warning of lying in the name of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 2.)

^[50]  Sunan al Darimi, chapter on whoever fears issuing verdicts for fear of faltering, Hadith: 291.

^[51]  Sunan al Darimi, chapter on whoever fears issuing verdicts for fear of faltering, Hadith: 274; Ibn Abi Shaybah: al Musannaf, book on etiquettes, chapter on the caution regarding Hadith from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ‎13/371-374.

^[52]  Muhaqalah: selling fresh dates in lieu of dry dates. Muzabanah: selling grapes in lieu of raisins.

^[53]  Sunan al Darimi, chapter on whoever fears issuing verdicts for fear of faltering, Hadith: 275.

^[54]  Refer to Nur al Din ‘Itr: Manhaj al Naqd fi ‘Ulum al Hadith, pg. 45–47.

^[55]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on virtues, chapter on the characteristics of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 3567; Sahih Muslim, book on asceticism and softness, chapter on verification in Hadith and the ruling on writing knowledge, Hadith: 2493.

^[56]  Sunan al Tirmidhi, chapters on virtues from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, chapter on the speech of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 3639. He remarked, “It is a hassan, sahih hadith.

^[57]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on knowledge, chapter on whoever repeats a hadith three times so that others understand it, Hadith: 94.

^[58]  Sahih al Bukhari, book on virtues, chapter on the characteristics of the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 3567; Sahih Muslim, book on the virtues of the Companions, chapter on some of the virtues of Abu Hurairah, Hadith:  2493.

^[59]  Refer to Dr. Sultan Sanad al ‘Akayalah and Dr. Muhammad ‘Id Mahmud al Sahib: Asbab Tafawwuq al Sahabah fi Dabt al Hadith, pg. 25-35; Nur al Din ‘Itr: Manhaj al Naqd, pg. 45 – 47.

^[60]  Al Dhahabi: al Ruwat al Thiqat al Mutakallam Fihim bi ma la Yujib Radduhum, pg. 24.

^[61]  Ibn Taymiyyah: Majmu’ al Fatawa, 1/250.

^[62]  Ibn Hajar: Fath al Bari, 3/602. See the discussion on this issue in Ibn al Jawzi: Kashf al Mushkil, 4/347 and Ibn Battal: Sharh al Bukhari, 4/437.