Scientific Analysis of Three Weak Narrations Regarding: “The Imam’s Recitation is His Follower’s Recitation”
Taken from: Fatawa Ilmiyyah – Volume 1, Kitab al-Salah, Page 326
Comprehensive Research on the Hadith:
“مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ إِمَامٌ فَقِرَاءَةُ الْإِمَامِ لَهُ قِرَاءَةٌ“
Introductory Preface
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, and blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
The Hadith “مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ إِمَامٌ فَقِرَاءَةُ الْإِمَامِ لَهُ قِرَاءَةٌ“ is narrated through different wordings and chains of transmission. However, these chains fall into the following two categories:
Categories of Chains of Transmission
◈ Chains with fabricators, abandoned narrators, severely criticized, or unknown narrators
◈ Chains that appear reliable at first glance but are found weak upon critical scholarly examination
Category One: Severely Criticized and Unreliable Narrators
➊ Narration: Jābir al-Ju‘fī from Abū al-Zubayr from Jābir ibn ‘Abd Allāh (رضي الله عنه)
Source: Sunan Ibn Mājah: 850
Jābir al-Ju‘fī: Abandoned narrator
References:
- Al-Kunā wal-Asmā’ by Imam Muslim (p. 96)
- Al-Ḍu‘afā’ wal-Matrūkīn by al-Nasā’ī (98)
Comment:
Zayla‘ī mentioned: “كَذَبَهُ أَيُّوب وَزَائِدَة“ (Naṣb al-Rāyah 1/345)
➋ Narration: Abū Hārūn al-‘Abdī from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī (رضي الله عنه)
Source: Al-Kāmil by Ibn ‘Adī (1/524)
Abū Hārūn al-‘Abdī: Abandoned narrator
Reference:
- Al-Ḍu‘afā’ wal-Matrūkīn by al-Nasā’ī (746)
Comment:
Zayla‘ī al-Ḥanafī quoted Ḥammād ibn Zayd: “كَانَ كَذَّابًا“ (Naṣb al-Rāyah 4/201)
➌ Narration: Sahl ibn al-‘Abbās from Jābir
Source: Dārquṭnī (1/325)
Sahl ibn al-‘Abbās: Abandoned narrator
Comment:
Dārquṭnī stated: “هَذَا حَدِيثٌ مُنْكَر“
Foundational Principle
Narrations of fabricators, abandoned, and severely criticized narrators are rejected.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr:
“Because weakness varies… like the narrations of liars and abandoned ones”
(Ikhtiṣār ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth, p. 38)
Category Two: Chains Considered Authentic by Some Scholars
➊ Narration of Imam Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Shaybānī
Source: Muwaṭṭa’ al-Shaybānī, p. 98, ḥadīth 117
Chain Details:
Imam Muḥammad ← Imam Abū Ḥanīfah ← Mūsā ibn Abī ‘Ā’ishah ← ‘Abd Allāh ibn Shaddād ← Jābir ibn ‘Abd Allāh
First Defect:
There is an intermediary, Abū al-Walīd (unknown), between ‘Abd Allāh ibn Shaddād and Jābir.
References:
- Kitāb al-Āthār (113)
- Sunan Dārquṭnī (1/325, ḥadīth 1223)
- al-Qirā’ah by al-Bayhaqī (pp. 125–127)
Second Defect:
Imam Abū Ḥanīfah himself reportedly declared his narrations as “false”.
References:
- al-Jarḥ wa al-Ta‘dīl by Ibn Abī Ḥātim (8/450)
- al-‘Ilal al-Kabīr by al-Tirmidhī (2/966)
- al-Kāmil by Ibn ‘Adī (7/2473)
- Tārīkh Baghdād (13/425)
- al-Ma‘rifah wa al-Tārīkh (2/782)
➋ Narration of Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal
Source: Musnad Aḥmad, al-Mawsū‘ah al-Ḥadīthiyyah (23/12, ḥadīth 14643)
Chain: Aswad ibn ‘Āmir ← Ḥasan ibn Ṣāliḥ ← Abū al-Zubayr ← Jābir
Defects:
- Abū al-Zubayr: Well-known Mudallis (concealer of defects) (Ṭabaqāt al-Mudallissīn 3/101)
- The narration is through “‘an” (ambiguous transmission) – hence weak
- Jābir al-Ju‘fī: Abandoned narrator
- This intermediary exists (Musnad Aḥmad 3/339, ḥadīth 14698)
Comment:
Ibn al-Turkumānī labeled this chain as “Ṣaḥīḥ”
Rebuttal:
Shaykh Nāṣir al-Dīn al-Albānī refuted this in detail (Irwā’ al-Ghalīl 2/270, ḥadīth 500)
➌ Narration of Aḥmad ibn Manī‘
Source: Ittiḥāf al-Khiyarah al-Mahrah by al-Būṣīrī (2/225, ḥadīth 1567)
Chain: Isḥāq al-Azraq ← Sufyān and Sharīk ← Mūsā ibn Abī ‘Ā’ishah ← ‘Abd Allāh ibn Shaddād ← Jābir
Defects:
- Sufyān al-Thawrī and Sharīk al-Qāḍī: Both are Mudallis, and narration is via “‘an”
References:
- ‘Umdat al-Qārī (3/112)
- al-Mudallissīn by al-Ḥalabī (p. 33)
- Intermediary Abū al-Walīd (unknown) exists between ‘Abd Allāh ibn Shaddād and Jābir
Conclusion of the Research
All existing chains of transmission for the Hadith: “مَنْ كَانَ لَهُ إِمَامٌ فَقِرَاءَةُ الْإِمَامِ لَهُ قِرَاءَةٌ“ are weak.
Therefore, opposing the recitation behind the Imam solely based on this Hadith is not academically justified.
Shaykh al-Albānī’s grading of this Hadith as “Ḥasan” (Irwā’ al-Ghalīl 2/268) is incorrect.
Ibn Ḥajar considered it defective (al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr 2/232, ḥadīth 345)
Qurṭubī also categorized it as weak (Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī 1/122)
Additional Benefit
Shaykh Abū Muḥammad Badī‘ al-Dīn Rāshidī (رحمه الله) authored a dedicated treatise on this Hadith:
“Iẓhār al-Barā’ah ‘an Ḥadīth: ‘كَانَ لَهُ إِمَامٌ فَقِرَاءَةُ الْإِمَامِ لَهُ قِرَاءَةٌ‘”
Date: 6th Muḥarram, 1426 AH
This is what I have. And Allah knows best what is correct.
