Narration Number 1
Abu Harb Hilali says that a villager performed the obligatory Hajj, then he came to the door of the Prophet’s Mosque, sat his she-camel down and tied it, then entered the mosque until he reached near the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ and stood facing his blessed feet and said: السلام عليك يا رسول الله! Then he greeted Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, then he moved towards the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah! May my parents be sacrificed for you, I am a sinner, so I have come to use you as an intercessor before Allah, because Allah Almighty has said in His Book, the Noble Qur’an: ﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذ ظَّلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ جَاءُوكَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا اللَّـهَ وَاسْتَغْفَرَ لَهُمُ الرَّسُولُ لَوَجَدُوا اللَّـهَ تَوَّابًا رَّحِيمًا﴾
“(O Prophet!) And if they had come to you when they wronged themselves and asked Allah’s forgiveness and the Messenger asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah Accepting of Repentance and Merciful.”
Commentary:
This is a severely “weak” narration because:
(1) The conditions of the narrator Muhammad bin Ruh bin Yazid Al-Masri are not found.
(2) Who is Abu Harb Hilali? Unknown.
(3) The conditions and authentication of Amr bin Muhammad bin Amr bin Al-Husayn are neither found nor verified.
This is the work of some “unknown” narrators. Taking evidence from such a narration is not the practice of the Ahl al-Haqq.
Hafiz Ibn Abdul Hadi, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 705/744 AH), states: with a dark chain.
“This incident is narrated through a severely unknown chain.”
Narration Number 2
Abu al-Jawza Aws bin Abdullah Tabi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, narrates:
قحط أهل المدينة قحطا شديدا، فشكوا إلى عاشة، فقالت : انظروا قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، فاجعلوا منه كوى إلى السما، حتى لا يكون بينه وبين السما سقف، قال : ففعلوا، فمطرنا مطرا حتى نبت العشب، وسمنت الإبل، حتى تفتقت من الشحم، فسمي عام الفتق
“Once the people of Medina were afflicted by a severe famine, and they complained about this condition to Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: Go to the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) grave and open a window towards the sky in such a way that no barrier remains between the grave and the sky. The narrator says that the people did so, and then there was heavy rainfall to the extent that lush greenery grew, and the camels became so fat that it seemed as if they would burst from the fat. Therefore, that year was named ‘Aam al-Qaq’ (the year of bursting stomachs).”
Commentary:
The chain of narration of this hadith is “weak.”
Its narrator Amr ibn Malik Nakri (reliable and good in hadith) narrates from Abu al-Jawzaa, which is not reliable; this hadith is similar in this regard.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
Ibn Adi said: Amr ibn Malik narrated from him about ten weak (not authentic) hadiths.
Imam Ibn Adi, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that Amr ibn Malik narrated approximately ten weak hadiths from Abu al-Jawzaa.
This criticism is explanatory; this narration was also transmitted by Amr ibn Malik al-Nakri from his teacher Abu al-Jawzaa, therefore it is weak.
Its negation is also indicated by the matter to which Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 661-728 AH) refers:
وما روي عن عائشة رضي الله عنها من فتح الكوة من قبره إلى السماء، لينزل المطر فليس بصحيح، ولا يثبت إسناده، ومما يبين كذب هذا : أنه في مدة حياة عائشة لم يكن للبيت كوة، بل كان باقيا كما كان على عهد النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم، بعضه مسقوف، وبعضهم مكشوف، وكانت الشمس تنزل فيه، كما ثبت في الصحيحين عن عائشة أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يصلي العصر والشمس في حجرتها، لم يظهر الفيء بعد، ولم تزل الحجرة النبوية كذلك في مسجد الرسول۔۔ صلى الله عليه وسلم . . . ومن حينئذ دخلت الحجرة النبوية في المسجد، ثم إنه بنى حول حجرة عائشة التي فيها القبر جداراً عال، وبعد ذلك جعلت الكوة لينزل منها من ينزل إذا احتيج إلى ذلك لأجل كنس أو تنظيف . وأما وجود الكوة في حياة عائشة، فكذب بَيِّن۔
“The narration from Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) about opening a skylight over the Prophet’s grave for rain is not authentic. Its chain of transmission is weak. One evidence against this event is that during the blessed life of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), there was no skylight in the blessed chamber. That chamber was exactly as it was during the time of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), with some parts having a roof and some parts open. Sunlight would enter it, as is established in Sahih Bukhari and Muslim. Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) herself narrates that when the Prophet (peace be upon him) performed the Asr prayer, there was still sunlight in the blessed chamber and the shade had not yet come. This chamber adjacent to the Prophet’s Mosque remained exactly the same… (Then when the mosque was expanded) at that time the chamber became part of the mosque. Then a high wall was built around the chamber of Aisha, in which the blessed grave of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is located. After that, a window was placed in this wall so that it could be entered for cleaning and other needs. As for the existence of any window during the blessed life of Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), this is clearly false.”
Even if this narration is accepted as authentic, it does not prove the form of intercession that some people affirm from it. Rather, it proves that the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ did not seek intercession through the person of the Prophet ﷺ.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
لو صح ذلك لكان حجة ودليلاً على أن القوم لم يكونوا يقسمون على الله بمخلوق، ولا يتوسلون في دعائهم بميت، ولا يسألون الله به، وإنما فتحوا على القبر لتنزل الرحمة عليه، ولم يكن هناك دعاء يقسمون به عليه، فأين هذا من هذا۔
“If this narration is authentic, it will still serve as evidence that the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, neither swore by creation to Allah Almighty, nor sought intercession through the deceased in their supplications, nor asked Allah Almighty through such intercession. They only opened a window from that blessed grave for Allah Almighty’s mercy to descend. They did not make any supplication there. What relation does this have with the issue of intercession?”
That is, this narration does not benefit those who seek intercession through the deceased.
A Mandatory Response
One mandatory response to this narration is that Sayyida Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) states:
ومن حدثك أنه يعلم الغيب، فقد كذب، وھو يقول : لا يعلم الغيب الا الله۔
Whoever tells you that Muhammad (peace be upon him) knows the unseen, he is a liar. Allah Almighty says that no one knows the matters of the unseen except Him.‘‘
Since Sayyida Aisha’s statement was strongly against the Qaburi sect’s beliefs, in response to this, “some people” have written:
“Your statement is your own opinion; you have not presented any Marfu’ Hadith on this, rather you argue from the Qur’anic verses.”
We ask, if Sayyida Aisha’s statement about knowledge of the unseen is not accepted, then why is her statement about the grave of the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) accepted? Especially when she does not present any verse or hadith on that either. Moreover, this statement is not even established.
Narration Number 3
Qadi Iyaz bin Musa (d. 544 AH) writes:
حدثنا القاضي أبو عبد الله محمد بن عبد الرحمن الأشعري وأبو القاسم أحمد بن بقى الحاكم وغير واحد فيما أجازونيه، قالو : أخبرنا أبو العباس أحمد بن عمر بن دلهاث، قال : حدثنا أبو الحسن على بن فهر، حدثنا أبو بكر محمد بن أحمد بن الفرج، حدثنا أبو الحسن عبد الله بن المنتاب، حدثنا يعقوب بن إسحاق بن أبى إسرائيل، حدثنا ابن حميد، قال : ناظرا أبو جعفر أمير المؤمنين مالكا في مسجد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال له مالك : O Commander of the Faithful! لا ترفع صوتك في هذا المسجد، فإن الله تعالى أدب قوما, he said: ﴿Do not raise your voices above the voice of the Prophet﴾ the verse, and praised some people, he said: ﴿إن الذين يغضون أصواتهم عند رسول الله﴾ الآية، وذم قوما, he said: ﴿إن الذين ينادونك﴾ الآية، وإن حرمته ميتا كحرمته حيا، فاستكان لها Abu Ja’far, and said: O Abu Abdullah! أستقبل القبلة وأدعو، أم أستقبل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ؟ he said: ولم تصرف وجهك عنه وهو وسيلتك ووسيلة أبيك آدم عيه السلام إلى الله تعالى يوم القيامة ؟ بل استقبله واستشفع به، فيشفعه الله، قال الله تعالى: ﴿ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم﴾ الآية
Muhammad bin Humayd narrates that in the Prophet’s Mosque, the Commander of the Faithful Abu Ja’far had a debate with Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him. Imam Malik said: O Commander of the Faithful! Do not raise your voice in this mosque because Allah Almighty taught the Companions the respect of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, by saying: ﴿لا ترفعوا أصواتكم فوق صوت النبي﴾ “Do not raise your voices above the voice of My Prophet.” Also, while praising some people, He said: ﴿إن الذين يغضون أصواتهم عند رسول الله۔۔۔﴾ “Those who keep their voices low before the Messenger of Allah (are beloved by Allah).” In condemnation of some people, He said: ﴿إن الذين ينادونك﴾ “Those who call you from behind the chambers (most of them are foolish).” The honor and respect of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, remains the same after death as it was during his life. Hearing this, Abu Ja’far was left speechless and said: Abu Abdullah! Should I turn towards the Qiblah and pray to Allah Almighty or turn towards the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him? Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Why would you turn your face away from the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him? It is he who will be your intercessor on the Day of Judgment, as well as for your father Adam, peace be upon him. Turn towards the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and seek his intercession; Allah Almighty will accept his intercession for you. Allah Almighty says: ﴿ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم﴾ “If they come to you after having wronged themselves and ask forgiveness of Allah, and the Messenger also asks forgiveness for them, then indeed Allah will forgive them.”
Commentary:
This narration is the transmission of the following unknown and obscure narrators:
(1) Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Fahr.
(2) Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Ahmad bin Faraj.
(3) Abu al-Hasan Abdullah bin Muntab.
The authentication of these three narrators has not been established.
Allama Subki
and Samhudi
declaring its chain as “good” and some people trusting their statement is baseless.
Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah says:
وكذلك من نقل عن مالك أنه جوّز سؤال الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم أو غيره بعد موتهم أو نقل ذلك عن إمام من أئمة المسلمين۔ غير مالك۔ كـالشافعي وأحمد وغيرهما، فقد كذب عليهم، ولكن بعض الجهال ينقل هذا عن مالك، ويستند إلى حكاية مكذوبة عن مالك رحمه الله، ولو كانت صحيحة لم يكن التوسل الذي فيها هو هذا، بل هو التوسل بشفاعته يوم القيامة، ولكن من الناس من يحرف نقلها، وأصلها ضعيف۔
“Similarly, whoever narrates from Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, or other Imams of the Muslims, such as Imam Shafi’i, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on them, that they permitted asking the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, or any other righteous person after their death, is lying about these noble Imams. Some ignorant people narrate this from Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, relying on a fabricated hadith in this regard. Even if this hadith were authentic, the means mentioned in it is not the disputed one, rather it refers to the intercession of the Prophet, peace be upon him, on the Day of Judgment. However, some people distort its meaning. In any case, the chain of this hadith is weak.”
Allama Ibn Abdul Hadi, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 707/744 AH), says about this chain:
إسنادھا إسناد ليس بجيد، بل ھو إسناد مظلم منقطع۔
“Its chain is not sound but rather full of ignorance and disconnected.”
Hadith Number 4
Another narration in this series is as follows:
It was narrated by Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Ibrahim ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Rahman al-Karkhi from Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Ali, who said: Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Haytham al-Tai said: My father narrated to me from his father, from Salamah ibn Kuhail, from Abu Sadiq, from Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: قدم علينا أعرابي بعد ما دفنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بثلاثة أيام، فرمى بنفسه على قبر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وحثا على رأسه من ترابه, and he said: قلت يا رسول الله ! فسمعنا قولك، ووعيت عن الله عز وجل فوعينا عنك، وكان فيما أنزل الله عليك: ﴿ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم﴾ الاية، وقد ظلمت نفسي، و جئتك تستغفر لي، فنودي من القبر: إنه غفر لك
“It is narrated from our master Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, that three days after the burial of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, a Bedouin came to us. He lay down on the blessed grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and placed its soil on his head. Then he said: O Messenger of Allah! You said, so we listened carefully to your words. You preserved the revelation from Allah, so we have preserved it from you. Allah Almighty also revealed this verse upon you: ﴿ولو أنهم إذ ظلموا أنفسهم﴾ ‘When they have wronged themselves, then come to you asking forgiveness from Allah, and you forgive them, then Allah will surely forgive them.’ I have wronged myself and have come to you. Please ask Allah for forgiveness for me.” At that moment, a voice came from the blessed grave saying, “You have been forgiven.”
Comment:
This is a false and fabricated narration.
After mentioning it, Allama Ibn Abdul Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
أن هذا الخبر منكر موضوع، وأثر مختلق مصنوع، لا يصلح الاعتماد عليه، ولا يحسن المصير إليه، وإسناده ظلمات بعضها فوق بعض، والهيثم جد أحمد بن الهيثم، أظنه ابن عدي الطائي، فإن يكن هو، فھو متروك كذاب، وإلا فهو مجهول.
“This narration is rejected, fabricated, concocted, and self-invented. It is not correct to rely on it or form beliefs based on it. Its chain of transmission is full of obscurities. Haitham, who is the grandfather of Ahmad ibn Haitham, in my opinion, is the son of Uday Ta’i. If he is indeed the same person, then he is abandoned and a liar; otherwise, he is unknown.”
The narrator of this narration, Haitham ibn Uday, is “a liar” and “abandoned.” About him:
Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Laysa bithiqah, kana yakdhib. “He was not a trustworthy narrator; rather, he used to lie.”
Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Saktuu ‘anhu “He is an abandoned narrator.”
Imam Nasai (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him “an abandoned narrator.”
Imam Ajli (may Allah have mercy on him) says: Kadhdhab, wa qad ra’aytuhu. “He was a severe liar. I have seen him myself.”
Imam Abu Zur’ah, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “ليس بشيء.” “He is not a reliable narrator.”
Imam Abu Hatim Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, states: “متروك الحديث، محله محل الواقدي.” “He is a narrator whose hadith is abandoned. He is on the same level as Al-Waqidi (a liar).”
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah have mercy on him, declared his hadith to be false.
Allama Jawzjani, may Allah have mercy on him, says: “ساقط، قد كشف قناعه” “He is an abandoned narrator. His veil has been lifted.”
Imam Ya’qub ibn Shaybah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
والھيثم بن عدي كانت له معرفة بأمور الناس وأخبارھم، ولم يكن في الحديث بالقوي، ولا كانت له به معرفة، وبعض الناس يحمل عليه في صدقه۔
“Haitham ibn ‘Adi had some knowledge of people’s stories and events, but he was not strong in hadith, nor did he have any knowledge of hadith. Some muhaddithin even doubted his truthfulness.”
Imam Darqutni, may Allah have mercy on him, mentioned him among the “weak” and “abandoned” narrators.
Imam Ibn Hibban, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
روی عن الثقات أشیاء، کأنھا موضوعۃ، بسبق إلی القلب أنہ کان یدلسھا، فالتزق تلک المعضلات بہ، ووجب مجانبۃ حدیثہ علی علمہ بالتاریخ ومعرفتہ بالرجال۔
“He narrated many fabricated types of narrations from trustworthy narrators. It seems that he used to practice tadlees (deception) in their narration. These disconnected narrations proved harmful for him, and despite being a scholar of history and rijal, it became necessary to avoid his hadith.”
Hafiz Al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, says: أجمعوا علی ضعف الھیثم. “The scholars of hadith have unanimously agreed on the weakness of Al-Haytham.”
The second point is that Abu Sadiq Muslim bin Yazid / Abdullah bin Najd’s narration from Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is “Mursal” (disconnected). Imam Abu Hatim, may Allah have mercy on him, called their narration from Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, “Mursal.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says: حديثه عن علي مرسل. “Abu Sadiq’s narration from Sayyiduna Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, is Mursal.”
The former Mufti of Darul Uloom Deoband, Muhammad Shafi Deobandi Hayati Karachi Sahib (d. 1396 AH), basing his belief on this false narration, writes:
And just as attendance in the presence of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was possible during his worldly life, similarly today also, visiting the sacred shrine is included in this command. Hazrat Ali, may Allah honor his face, said that when we finished burying the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, three days later a villager came and fell near the noble grave, weeping profusely, and referring to the mentioned verse, he said that Allah Almighty has promised in this verse that if a sinner comes in the presence of the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet prays for his forgiveness, then he will be forgiven. Therefore, I have come to your presence so that you may pray for my forgiveness. Those who were present at that time narrate that in response, a voice came from inside the sacred shrine قدغفرلك (بحر محيط), meaning forgiveness was granted
None of the Companions, the Followers (Tabi‘un), or the Pious Predecessors (Salaf al-Salih) believed that after the passing of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, one should request him to pray for forgiveness. If there had been any evidence for this in the Quran and Hadith, the predecessors of the Ummah would certainly have accepted and practiced it. It is not the custom of the people of truth to fabricate an innovative belief against the pious predecessors and to support it with weak and worthless false narrations. The narrations narrated by false and unreliable narrators are considered ineffective by the great scholars of Hadith and are discarded into the basket of rejected narrations. What kind of religiosity is it to dust off these narrations and adorn them as a jewel on one’s forehead?
Narration Number 5
Muhammad bin Harb Hilali narrates:
دخلت المدينة فأتيت قبر النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فزرته, وجلست بحذائه، فجاء أعرابي فزاره، ثم قال: يا خير الرسل ! إن الله أنزل عليك كتابًا صادقًا، قال فيه: ﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ﴾إلي قوله ﴿رَحِيمًا﴾ واني جئتك مستغفرًا ربك من ذنوبي، متشفعابك۔۔۔
I entered Madinah Munawwarah, went to the blessed grave of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, visited it, and sat in front of it. A Bedouin man came, and after visiting the blessed grave, he said: O Best of Messengers! Indeed, Allah Almighty has revealed a truthful book upon you. In it, Allah has said: ﴿وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ إِذْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ۔۔۔﴾ If they wrong themselves and then come to you seeking forgiveness from Allah, and you also ask forgiveness for them, then Allah will surely forgive them)…
Reflection:
This is also a false story. Regarding this narration, Allama Ibn Abdul Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him, died 744 AH) states:
وهذه الحكاية التي ذكرها بعضهم يرويها عن العتبي, without chain of narration, وبعضهم يرويها from Muhammad bin Harb al-Hilali, وبعضهم يرويها from Muhammad bin Harb, without chain of narration, from Abu al-Hasan al-Za’farani from the Bedouin. وقد ذكرها البيهقي في كتاب “Shu’ab al-Iman” with a dark chain from Muhammad bin Ruh bin Yazid al-Basri, Abu Harb al-Hilali narrated to me, he said: A Bedouin performed Hajj, فلما جاء إلى باب مسجد رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أناخ راحلته فعقلها، ثم دخل المسجد حتى أتى القبر، ثم ذكر نحو ما تقدم. وقد وضع لها بعض الكذابين إسناداً إلى علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه، كما سيأتي ذكره۔ وفي الجملة؛ ليست ھذه الحكاية المذكورة عن الأعرابي مما تقوم به الحجة، وإسنادها مظلم، ولفظها مختلف “أيضاً”، ولو كانت ثابتة لم يكن فيها حجة على مطلوب المعترض، ولا يصلح الاحتجاج بمثل هذه الحكاية، ولا الاعتماد على مثلها عند أهل العلم
Some people have narrated this story from Utbi, and some have mentioned it without chain of narration. While some have narrated it from Muhammad bin Harb Hilali. Some people have described its chain as follows: Muhammad bin Harb narrates from Abu al-Hasan al-Za’farani who narrates from a Bedouin . Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this incident in his book Shu’ab al-Iman with a very weak chain. The chain is as follows: Muhammad bin Ruh bin Yazid al-Basri says that Abu Harb al-Hilali narrated to us that a Bedouin performed Hajj, then came near the Prophet’s Mosque, tied his camel, entered the mosque and came to the blessed grave of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)… Some false people have fabricated a chain up to Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), so the Bedouin narration cannot be used as evidence for this fabricated story. Its chain is very weak and there are discrepancies in both the chain and the text… Taking evidence from such a narration and relying on it is not permissible according to the scholars.
Now observe the condition of its narrators:
(1) Ibn Fadheel Nahwi
(2) Muhammad bin Ruh
(3) Muhammad bin Harb Hilali
None of the three have been authenticated. How can one accept the narrations of someone whose religious knowledge is not known as their own religion? This story seems to be the action of one of these three.
Narration Number 6: The Story of Utbi
The story of Utbi has been mentioned without a chain of narration by Hafiz Nawawi
, Allama Qurtubi
, Hafiz Ibn Kathir
, and Ibn Qudamah (
.
Its chain of narration is also present in Mu’jam al-Shuyukh by Ibn Asakir (p. 600), but it should be noted that this is also a fabricated chain because:
(1) The narrator Ibn Fudail Nahwi has not been authenticated.
(2) The identification and authentication of the narrator Abdul Karim bin Ali have not been found.
(3) Who is the narrator Muhammad bin Muhammad bin Nu’man? If he is Ibn Shibl, then he is “accused of fabrication,” and if he is someone else, then he is “unknown.”
(4) The authentication of Muhammad bin Harb Hilali has also not been found.
How can a narration with such a weak chain be used as evidence in matters of creed?
Hafiz Ibn Abdul Hadi, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 704-744 AH), says about this narration:
وأما حكاية العتبي التي أشار إليها، فانھا حكاية ذكرها بعض الفقهاء والمحدثين، وليست بصحيحة ولا ثابتة إلى العتبي، وقد رويت عن غيره بإسناد مظلم كما بينا ذلك فيما تقدم، وهي في الجملة حكاية لا يثبت بها حكم شرعي، لا سيما في مثل هذا الأمر الذي لو كان مشروعاً مندوباً، لكان الصحابة والتابعون أعلمَ به وأعملَ به من غيرهم
The narration of Atbi, which Sabki has referred to, has been mentioned by some jurists and hadith scholars, but it is not authentic and established up to Atbi. Besides Atbi, it is also mentioned from other people with an anonymous chain, as we have mentioned earlier. In short, no legal ruling can be established from this narration, especially in a matter which, if it were lawful or recommended, the Companions and the Followers would have known it better and acted upon it more than later generations.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
فمثل هذا الإمام كيف يشرع دينا لم ينقل عن أحد السلف، ويأمر الأمة أن يطلبوا الدعاء والشفاعة والاستغفار، بعد موت الأنبياء والصالحين، منهم عند قبورهم، وهو أمر لم يفعله أحد من سلف الأمة؟
“How can an imam like Atbi declare as religion something that is not transmitted from any of the pious predecessors? How is it possible that Atbi would command going to the graves of the Prophets and the righteous after their death to ask them for supplication, intercession, and forgiveness, while this is a practice that none of the predecessors of the Ummah did?”
Hazrat Ashraf Ali Thanvi Deobandi Sahib (d. 1280-1362 AH) writes:
“Muhammad bin Harb passed away in 228 AH. In short, it was the era of the best of centuries, and at that time no one transmitted any denial, so the matter was settled.”
There is a famous Arabic proverb: “Build the throne first, then engrave,” meaning first construct the structure, then do the decoration. Thanvi Sahib has started the decoration work before even building the structure. First, the chain of narration of the incident should be established, then reasoning and deduction can be done from it. Would the great hadith scholars and Imams of the religion adopt as their religion a narration in which unknown, obscure, and defective narrators have taken shelter? How could the righteous predecessors of the best of centuries accept an incident that was first mentioned by Hafiz Abu al-Yaman Abdul Samad bin Abdul Wahhab bin Asakir (618-686 AH) in his book, and that too with a very weak chain of narration?
Warning:
Sufyan Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, also narrated an incident of a Bedouin who came to the blessed grave of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ…..
But this is a clear falsehood against Imam Sufyan Thawri, because:
(1) The biography of Ibn Bint Yazid bin Harun is not found.
(2) Who is Hasan bin Yusuf Katib? It could not be identified.
(3) The authentication of Abu al-Hasan Muhammad bin Ishaq Tammar was not found.
(4) The authentication of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Yazdad Razi was not found.
(5) The biography of Abu Ali Hussein bin Ibrahim Qantri is not found.
How can a chain containing many unknown individuals be proven? This is a reprehensible attempt by some unknown liar.
Warning:
Saeed bin Abi Maryam, may Allah have mercy on him, also narrates an incident of a villager related to the Prophet’s grave.
This is also a severely false narration, because:
(1) Hafiz Al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, says about Abu al-Qasim Abdul Rahman bin Umar bin Nasr bin Muhammad Shaybani:
وقال ابن عساكر : اتھم في القاء أبي إسحاق بن أبي ثابت۔
“Imam Ibn Asakir, may Allah have mercy on him, says that due to the claim of meeting with Abu Ishaq bin Abu Thabit, he was accused of lying.”
The same was said by Allama Abdul Aziz Katani, may Allah have mercy on him.
Regarding Abu al-Hasan Ali bin Khidr bin Sulayman bin Saeed Salmi, Hafiz Ibn Asakir, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
سمع الكثير، وجمع مالو لم يجمعه، كان خيراله۔
“He heard from many people and collected such narrations that it would have been better for him not to collect them.”
He also says:
وسمع من شيخنا أبي الحسن بن قيس، ولم يقع إلينا من حديثه عنه شيء إلا بعد موت ابن قيس، وكان جدي أبو المفضل يذكر أنه سمع منه، ولم يجر سماعه منه۔
“He had heard from our Sheikh Abu al-Hasan bin Qais. We only received the hadiths of Abu al-Hasan bin Qais after the death of Ali bin Khidran. My grandfather Abu Mufaddal used to say that he had heard from Ali bin Khidr, but he did not transmit the narrations he heard from him.”
Allama Abdul Aziz Katani, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
صنف کتبا کثیرۃ، لم یکن ھذا الشأن من صنعتہ، وخلط تخلیطا عظیما، کان یروی أشیاء لیست لہ سماع ولا إجازۃ۔
“He had authored many books, but this task was beyond his capability. His memory had deteriorated greatly. He used to narrate such traditions which he had neither heard nor been permitted to narrate.”
Conclusion:
Dear readers! You have observed that wherever the means (wasilah) is mentioned in the Holy Quran, it refers to attaining nearness to Allah Almighty through personal righteous deeds. The word wasilah is used in only two verses of the Quran. Regarding these two verses, the statements and interpretations of the scholars of Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah are presented here for your service. The third verse, which mentions sinners coming to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and asking him to pray for them, some people have tried to prove intercession through the Prophet’s grave and his person, and have presented some narrations. Regarding these, a detailed and investigative discussion has been entrusted to the pen in the light of the principles of the scholars of hadith and the understanding of the pious predecessors here. Decide for yourself whether the Holy Quran proves intercession through the deceased?
