Ali bin Zayd is a weak narrator according to the hadith scholars:
Imam Yahya bin Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) said about him: “علي بن زيد ليس بشيء في الحديث” Ali bin Zayd is nothing in the matter of hadith.
That is, he has no standing in the narration of hadith. And in another place he said: “Weak”
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Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said “Laysa bil-qawi” — he is not strong.
And he said: “Laysa bishay'” — he is nothing.
Imam Sufyan bin Uyaynah (may Allah have mercy on him) also declared him weak.
Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) said about him: “ليس بقوي” he is not strong, and he said: “يكتب حديثه ولا يحتج به” that is, his hadith is written down but he is not to be used as evidence.
Imam Abu Zur’ah al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “ليس بقوي“.
Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Weak”
Imam Ibn Sa’d (may Allah have mercy on him) also called him weak and said: “لا يحتج به“.
Imam Ya’qub bin Sufyan al-Fasawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “اختلط في كبره” he suffered from confusion (ikhtilat) in his old age.
Imam Ibrahim bin Ya’qub al-Juzajani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “واهي الحديث، ضعيف“.
Imam Abu Ahmad Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him weak, and said: “وكان يغالي في التشيع” that is, he was an extremist Shi’i.
Imam al-Nasa’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Ali bin Zayd is weak.”
Imam Ibn Khuzaymah (may Allah have mercy on him) did not use him as evidence in his book and said about him:
“فَإِنَّ فِي الْقَلْبِ مِنْ عَلِيِّ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ جُدْعَانَ” because I have some (difficulty) in my heart regarding Ali bin Zayd bin Jud’an.
Also, Imam al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) in al-Mizan reported (without a chain) this statement of Imam Ibn Khuzaymah: “لا أحتج به لسوء حفظه” I do not use this narrator as evidence because of his poor memory.
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Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him), mentioning Ali bin Zayd in his book comprising weak narrators, said that he committed a great deal of delusion and error in narrating, so he should not be used as evidence.
Imam Abu Ja’far al-Uqayli (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him weak.
Imam Abu Bakr al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Laysa bil-qawi” and said: “لا يحتج بحديثه“.
Imam Abu Ahmad al-Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “ليس بالمتين عندهم” he is not solid according to the hadith scholars.
Imam Ibn al-Jarud (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “ليس بشيء، ليس بحجة“.
Imam Ibn Hazm (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Weak”
Imam al-Jawraqani (may Allah have mercy on him) declared a narration weak, indeed false, because of him, and then reported his weakening from Imam Ibn Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him).
Imam Abu al-Fadl Ibn al-Qaysarani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Weak” and declared him “لَيْسَ بِشَيْءٍ فِي الْحَدِيثِ”
Imam Abd al-Haqq al-Ishbili (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “لَا يُحْتَجُّ بِحَدِيثِهِ” that is, his hadith is not used as evidence.
Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him weak.
Imam Ibn al-Qattan al-Fasi (may Allah have mercy on him), criticising his narration, said that Ali bin Zayd is weak.
Imam Ibn al-Mulaqqin (may Allah have mercy on him) also called him weak.
Imam Abd al-Azim al-Mundhiri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “لَا يُحْتَجُّ بِحَدِيثِهِ“.
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “ضَعِيفُ الْحَدِيثِ لَا يُحْتَجُّ بِحَدِيثِهِ“.
Imam Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him weak and in one place said: “لَهُ مُنْكَرَاتٌ كَثِيرَةٌ“.
Imam Abu al-Abbas al-Busiri (may Allah have mercy on him) called him weak.
And he said: “والجمهور على تضعيفه” and the majority of the hadith scholars have declared him weak.
Imam Nur al-Din al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) has written him as weak in many places, but in one place, giving an explained criticism (jarh mufassar), he said: “وَفِيهِ ضَعْفٌ لِسُوءِ حِفْظِهِ” there is weakness in him because of his poor memory.
And after quoting the narration under discussion, he says: “وَفِيهِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ زَيْدٍ وَهُوَ ضَعِيفٌ” in it is Ali bin Zayd, who is weak.
Allamah Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) has also written him as weak.
Allamah al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) has declared this narrator weak in various places in his book “سلسلة الاحاديث الضعيفة“, and so in one place he said: “وهذا إسناد ضعيف، رجاله ثقات؛ غير علي بن زيد، وهو ابن جدعان، وهو ضعيف كما تقدم مرارا“, this chain is weak; its narrators are reliable except Ali bin Zayd, who is Ibn Jud’an, and he is weak, as has been stated many times before.
And Maulana Zubayr Ali Za’i (may Allah have mercy on him) has also declared this narrator weak several times.
So the Engineer sahib is giving the public a wrong impression on the basis of such a weak narration, and under cover of this weak narration he is making a mockery of an authentic narration by declaring it fabricated and a historical report. For your information, this is not some chainless historical report that Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) wished for Mu’awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah add my lifespan to Mu’awiyah’s (may Allah be pleased with him) as well, but rather it is transmitted with an authentic chain.
