أخبرنا أبو حنيفة قال حدثنا أبو الحسن موسي بن أبى عائشة عن عبدالله بن شداد بن الهاد عن جابر بن عبدالله عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال من صلى خلف الإمام . . . حديث من كان له امام . . .
It is narrated from Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The prayer of the one who is an Imam is considered to be the prayer of the one who follows him (the follower).”
Please provide a complete research regarding this narration. I would be very grateful. May Allah be your protector and helper, Ameen.
Answer:
The hadith: من كان له إمام فقرأه الإمام له قرأة is narrated with similar wording and meaning through various chains of transmission. These chains are of two types:
First: Those chains which include liars, abandoned narrators, and severely criticized narrators.
Second: Those which include unknown narrators. Examples are as follows:
➊ حديث جابر الجعفي عن أبى الزبير عن جابر بن عبدالله رضى الله عنه . . etc.
Jabir Al-Jaafi: He is abandoned, see Kitab Al-Kunya wal Asma by Imam Muslim
and Kitab Al-Du’afa wal Matrukin by Imam An-Nasa’i
And Al-Zaili said: وكذبه أيضاأ يوب وزائدة
And Ayoub (As-Sakhtiyani) and Zaida have called him a liar.
➋ حديث أبى هارون العبدي عن أبى سعيد الخدري رضى الله عنه إلخ . .
Regarding Abu Haroon, Al-Zaili Hanafi quoted the statement of Hammad bin Zaid that: كان كذابا “meaning he was a liar (a big fabricator),” see Nasb Ar-Rayah
➌ حديث سهل بن عباس الترمذي بسنده إلخ Narrated by Ad-Daraqutni
وقال : هذا حديث منكر، وسهل بن العباس : متروك
In the principles of hadith, it is established that narrations of abandoned and severely criticized narrators are rejected. For example,
Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
لأن الضعف يتفاوت فمنه مالا يزول بالمتا بعات يعني لا يؤثر كونه تابعا أ و متبوعا كرواية الكذابين و المتروكين
“Because there are types of weakness, some weaknesses are not removed even by corroborations, such as narrations of liars and abandoned narrators; these cannot be supported nor do they benefit in support.”
After this introduction, a comprehensive discussion is presented on the chains of this narration من كان له إمام ألخ on which opponents rely to support the recitation of Al-Fatiha behind the Imam. And Allah is the Grantor of success.
First Chain of Narration:
Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Shaybani, may Allah have mercy on him: أخبرنا أبو حنيفة قال : حدثنا أبو الحسن موسي بن أ بي عائشة عن عبدالله بن شداد بن الهاد عن جابر بن عبدالله etc.
Commentary
In this narration, there is a connection of “Abu al-Walid” between Abdullah bin Shaddad and Jabir رضي الله عنه. See the book Al-Athar Al-Mansub ila Qadi Abi Yusuf
, Sunan al-Dar Qutni
.
It is understood that this narration is very weak due to Abu al-Walid (unknown). Some narrators did not mention this unknown narrator in the chain; however, it is known that the narration of the one who mentioned him takes precedence over the one who did not mention him.
The second defect in this narration is that Imam Abu Hanifa رحمه الله himself considered this narrated report invalid. Abu Abdul Rahman Al-Muqri رحمه الله says:
كان أبو حنيفة يحدثنا، فإذا فرغ من الحديث قال : هذا الزي سمعتم كله ريح و باطل
“Abu Hanifa used to narrate hadiths to us. When he finished narrating, he would say: All that you have heard is false and invalid.”
In another narration, Imam Abu Hanifa said:
عامة ما أحدثكم خطأ
“The general hadiths that I narrate to you are incorrect.”
In another narration, Imam Abu Hanifa said about his books:
والله ما أدري لعله الباطل الذى لاشك فيه
“By Allah, I cannot be certain whether they are false or not, those which have no doubt in their falsehood.”
And ordinary people can well understand that Imam Abu Hanifa knew best about the hadiths and books he narrated compared to later people. It is quite possible that due to Abu al-Walid (unknown), the Imam declared his narration invalid, والله أعلم و علمه أتم
Second Chain:
Ahmad bin Hanbal: حدثنا أسود بن عامر : أخبرنا حسن بن صالح عن أبى الزبير عن جابر etc.
Commentary
This narration is weak for two reasons.
First: Abu al-Zubair al-Makki is a mudallis (one who practices tadlis), rather he is “famous for tadlis”.
This narration is ‘an’ (transmitted) from him. It is established in the first hadith that a narration with ‘an’ from a mudallis (among the non-Sahihain) is weak.
Second: Between Hasan bin Salih and Abu al-Zubair, there is an intermediary named Jabir al-Ju’fi (abandoned). See Musnad Ahmad
and Al-Tahqiq fi Ikhtilaf al-Hadith by Ibn al-Jawzi
Note: It is extremely surprising that Ibn al-Turkumani Hanafi, disregarding Abu al-Zubair’s tadlis, wrote this weak and rejected narration as “and this chain is authentic”. See Al-Jawhar al-Naqi
citing Ibn Abi Shaybah
. Shaykh al-Nasir al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, strongly refuted Ibn al-Turkumani with evidence. See Arwa’ al-Ghalil
Third Chain:
Ahmad bin Mani’: ثنا إسحاق الأزرق : ثنا سفيان و شريك عن موسي بن أبى عائشة عن عبدالله بن شداد عن جابر رضي الله عنه etc.
Commentary
This narration is weak for two reasons.
First: Sufyan Thawri is a mudallis
Also see
and this narration is from ‘an. Shareek Al-Qadhi is also a mudallis
and this narration is from ‘an.
Second: It has passed that between Abdullah bin Shaddad and Jabir رضي الله عنه there is an intermediary Abu al-Walid (unknown).
Result of the Research:
This narration along with all its chains is weak, therefore Sheikh Al-Albani رحمه الله calling it “Hasan”
and the commentator of Al-Mawsu’ah al-Hadithiyyah saying حسن بطرقه و شواهده is not correct. This hadith was declared defective (Mal’ul) by Hafiz Ibn Hajar رحمه الله
and Al-Qurtubi declared the hadith weak.
Benefit: Our Sheikh, Imam Abu Muhammad Badi’ ad-Din Al-Rashidi رحمه الله wrote a dedicated book on the weakness of this hadith اظهار البرأة عن حديث : من كان له إمام فقرأة الإمام له قرأة والحمد لله
