Dear readers! The unanimous view of the noble companions, the followers, and Muslims to this day has been that when the Noble Messenger صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم came to Madinah Munawwarah, he prayed facing Bayt al-Maqdis for about sixteen or seventeen months. His companions, may Allah be pleased with them, also prayed in congregation following him in the same manner. However, the longstanding desire of the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم was that his Qiblah should be the Masjid al-Haram. Then Allah Almighty changed the Qiblah for him صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم according to this wish.
This event is mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah, verse
. The companions, the followers, and the eminent scholars of the Ummah have also adopted this unanimous position in the exegesis of this verse. Although going into detail on this subject here would cause lengthiness and is beyond our topic, we will present its details in response to the so-called Tafsir “Miftah al-Quran” by Shabbir Ahmad Meerthi, God willing!
Briefly, until today no Muslim exegete, hadith scholar, or scholar has denied this fact. Hafiz Ibn Abdul Barr, may Allah have mercy on him, states regarding this:
“There is consensus and agreement among the scholars of the Ummah that the first matter to be abrogated in the Qur’an was the Qiblah, and they also agree that the change of Qiblah occurred in Medina, and the command to pray facing the Ka’bah instead of Bayt al-Maqdis was given in Medina.”
Furthermore, he wrote:
“There is no disagreement (rather consensus) among the scholars of the Ummah that when the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم came to Medina, he prayed facing Bayt al-Maqdis for (at least) sixteen months.”
However, the deniers of hadith, while maintaining their narrations, have rejected this unanimous view of the Muslim Ummah. Their claim is:
صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم
“You صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم and the emigrants praying behind you have never performed any obligatory prayer facing Bayt al-Maqdis, and your Qibla has always been the Kaaba.”
Review of the objections of the Hadith deniers regarding the narration of Sayyiduna Bara bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) about the change of Qibla
Objection Number 1
This hadith from Hazrat Bara bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with them) was narrated only by Abu Ishaq Hamdani Kufi. He was a venerable and trustworthy muhaddith, who had heard hadiths from the companions Hazrat Bara bin Azib, Jabir bin Samrah, and Harithah bin Wahb Khuzai (may Allah be pleased with them). Many muhaddithin benefited academically from him and narrated hadiths, but in his old age, his intellect and memory weakened, and occasionally he would narrate something else. Zuhair bin Muawiyah, Shu’bah, Zakariya bin Abi Za’idah, Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah, and Ismail bin Abi Khalid heard hadiths from him in his later years. There is consensus among all scholars on this. His grandson Isra’il bin Yunus also heard some hadiths from him during his lucid period and even after his confusion. Therefore, although Zuhair bin Muawiyah, Shu’bah, Zakariya, and Ibn ‘Uyaynah were reliable and trustworthy muhaddithin, countless errors and fabrications are found in the hadiths they heard from Abu Ishaq, and the same applies to Isra’il’s hadiths. However, Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) heard hadiths from Abu Ishaq during the period when he was of sound mind.
Answer
In this one statement, Mirathi Sahib has made several incorrect claims. The details are as follows:
False statements about Imam Shu’bah, may Allah have mercy on him:
Firstly: Contrary to Mirathi Sahib’s statement, the hadith scholars agree that Imam Shu’bah, may Allah have mercy on him, heard hadiths from Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i, may Allah have mercy on him, before the decline of his intellect. It is an accepted fact that Shu’bah did not take hadiths from Abu Ishaq after his mental decline. Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
“Hadiths of Zakariya ibn Abi Za’idah, Zuhair ibn Mu’awiyah, and Isra’il from Abu Ishaq are almost equal. Abu Ishaq’s (most steadfast) students are Sufyan and Shu’bah.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
“I have not seen any narration of his (Abu Ishaq, may Allah have mercy on him) in Sahih al-Bukhari except those narrated by his students (before his mental decline), such as Imam Sufyan al-Thawri and Shu’bah.”
The statement of Muhaddith al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, is:
“He (Abu Ishaq) had become confused, except for the narration of Sufyan Thawri and Shu’bah, as they narrated before the confusion, therefore their hadiths are authoritative over his.”
Explanation of Imam Tirmidhi, may Allah have mercy on him:
“Imam Shu’bah and Imam Sufyan Thawri heard this hadith from Imam Abu Ishaq in the same gathering.”
“I heard Sufyan Thawri asking Imam Abu Ishaq, ‘Did you hear from Abu Burdah, may Allah be pleased with him?'”
This makes it clear that the claim of Mirathi Sahib that “Sufyan bin Sa’id Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, heard hadiths from Abu Ishaq before the confusion, and Imam Shu’bah heard them afterwards,” is completely incorrect.
False claim about Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah:
It is not established that Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, heard from Abu Ishaq after the confusion, let alone that there is consensus among scholars on this. Hafiz Ibn al-Salah wrote:
“It is said that Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, may Allah have mercy on him, heard from him (Abu Ishaq) after mixing with him.”
Hafiz Zain al-Din Abdul Rahim ibn Hussain al-Iraqi commented on this, saying:
“The author (Hafiz Ibn al-Salah) mentioned Sufyan ibn Uyaynah’s hearing after mixing with (Abu Ishaq) with words indicating doubt, and this is correct, because some scholars have derived this from Sufyan ibn Uyaynah’s speech, which is not explicit on this matter.”
Clarification about Isra’il ibn Yunus:
Imam Abdul Rahman ibn Mahdi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“The hadith of Abu Ishaq that has reached me through Sufyan al-Thawri remained only as long as I trusted Isra’il regarding it, because he narrates it completely.”
If Isra’il had heard hadiths from Abu Ishaq after mixing with him, then a scholar of the caliber of Abdul Rahman ibn Mahdi would never have trusted Isra’il.
Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, accepted the addition of Isra’il in the narration of Abu Ishaq as an increase in trustworthiness compared to Sufyan Thawri and Shu’bah.
This is evidence that according to Imam Bukhari, Isra’il had heard hadiths from Abu Ishaq before the mixing.
Statement of Hajjaj bin Muhammad:
“We asked Imam Shu’bah, may Allah have mercy on him, to narrate the hadith of Abu Ishaq, may Allah have mercy on him, so he said: ‘For those hadiths, ask Isra’il, he is more trustworthy than me in them.'”
Hafiz Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, considered Isra’il bin Yunus more “thabit” (firm) than Imam Shu’bah in the hadiths of Abu Ishaq:
“Yes! Shu’bah is more firm than him, except in the hadiths of Abu Ishaq, in which Isra’il is more firm than Shu’bah.”
Imam Abu Hatim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
“Isra’il is among the most steadfast students of Abu Ishaq.”
“Zuheir is better than Isra’il in everything except the hadith of Abu Ishaq. Zuheir is reliable and a person of the Sunnah, but his hearing (sama’) occurred after mixing with Abu Ishaq.”
Imam Abu Zur’ah, may Allah have mercy on him, said that Zuheir heard from Abu Ishaq after mixing, while regarding Isra’il he said:
“Among the students of Abu Ishaq, the most reliable are Sufyan Thawri, Shu’bah, and Isra’il.”
Imam Tirmidhi, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
“Isra’il is trustworthy and firm in narrating from Abu Ishaq.”
The statement of ‘Isa ibn Yunus about Isra’il ibn Yunus’s memory
‘Isa ibn Yunus says:
“Isra’il remembers the hadith of Imam Abu Ishaq in the same way a person remembers a Surah of the Qur’an.”
Similarly, when Shubah ibn Suwar demanded ‘Isa ibn Yunus to write down the hadith of his father (Abu Ishaq), he replied:
“Write this hadith from Isra’il, because my father (Abu Ishaq) had it written from Isra’il.”
Statement of Imam Ibn ‘Adi, may Allah have mercy on him
Imam Ibn ‘Adi, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
“Isra’il bin Yunus bin Abu Ishaq is a frequent narrator of hadith; he is a direct narrator from Abu Ishaq and other sheikhs. The noble imams have narrated hadiths from him, and no one has refrained from narrating from him.”
Regarding the hadith “No marriage except with a guardian,” he further states:
“Some noble imams have considered only Isra’il’s hadith on this issue as authentic, because Isra’il had a good memory of Abu Ishaq’s hadith.”
Commentary of Imam Darqutni, may Allah have mercy on him
Imam Darqutni, may Allah have mercy on him, while declaring Isra’il’s hadith narrated from Abu Ishaq as authentic, says:
“Isra’il was among the memorizers who narrated from Abu Ishaq.”
Also, regarding another hadith, he writes:
“It seems that Isra’il’s narration is reliable, because he was among those who memorized the hadiths from Abu Ishaq very well.”
Statement of Imam Hakim, may Allah have mercy on him
Imam Hakim, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
“Isra’il ibn Yunus ibn Abu Ishaq is trustworthy and authoritative in narrating hadith from his grandfather Abu Ishaq.”
Time of the mixing and Isra’il’s age
While narrating the incident of Ubaidullah ibn Amr al-Raqi, it is said that he went to Abu Ishaq with Muhammad ibn Suwaqah and asked Isra’il to request permission to meet his sheikh. Isra’il said:
“The sheikh (Abu Ishaq) prayed with us last night, then he suffered from mixing.”
This is clear evidence that Isra’il heard hadiths from Abu Ishaq before his mixing, because Isra’il was of an age at that time to seek permission from his grandfather and to distinguish between mixing and non-mixing.
Ubaidullah bin Amr al-Raqi, who came to hear hadiths from Abu Ishaq, was one year younger than Isra’il. Isra’il was born in 100 AH, and Ubaidullah bin Amr in 101 AH. If at that time Ubaidullah bin Amr was capable of hearing hadiths, then why was Isra’il not, who was also the grandson of Abu Ishaq?
Arguments for the authenticity of Isra’il’s narration
Imam Shu’bah, may Allah have mercy on him, said that Isra’il is more trustworthy than Abu Ishaq in narrating from him, and Imam Abu Hatim’s designation of Isra’il as “more reliable” in narrating from Abu Ishaq is completely correct and authentic. Besides this:
Imams like Ali bin Madini and Muhammad bin Yahya have declared the hadiths narrated by Isra’il from Abu Ishaq as “authentic”.
Hafiz Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him, states:
“Isra’il narrated many hadiths from his grandfather (Abu Ishaq), and he is reliable (thiqah) in narrating from him.”
And he further says:
“He heard from his grandfather, narrated his hadiths very well and firmly.”
Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
“Isra’il’s narration from his grandfather (Abu Ishaq) is extremely authentic because, being his grandfather, he held him firmly and was one of his very special students.”
Imam Bukhari’s Caution and Acceptance of Hadith
Looking at the narrations of Imam Bukhari, the muhaddithin exercised great caution regarding narrations from narrators affected by confusion. Allama Sakhawi, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
“And the narrations of narrators affected by confusion in Sahihayn or in either of them, which are narrated by their students who only heard from their teachers after the confusion occurred, we know all of these to be established in the author’s view as being from his earlier (before the confusion) narrations.”
That is, if a hadith in Sahih Bukhari or Sahih Muslim is narrated by a student who heard it after confusion, the authors know that this hadith also exists from before the confusion.
The Status of Narrations of Isra’il bin Yunus
It is proven from this that the hadiths heard by Isra’il from Abu Ishaq are “authentic.” Even those narrators who heard from Abu Ishaq after the confusion, such as Zuhair bin Muawiyah and Abu al-Ahwas, their hadiths are also “authentic” due to their agreement. Hafiz Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, writes:
“Zuhair’s hearing from him (Abu Ishaq al-Sab’i, may Allah have mercy on him) is after the apparent deterioration of his memory according to Imam Ahmad, but the author (Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him) has had his following by his grandson Isra’il bin Yunus, etc., in Sahih Bukhari itself, (thus the suspicion of confusion is removed).”
Similarly, Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik رضي الله عنه also narrated that the Messenger of Allah صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم used to pray facing Bayt al-Maqdis in Medina until the command for changing the Qibla was revealed:
“Indeed, the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم used to pray facing Bayt al-Maqdis, then this verse was revealed:
, then a man from Banu Salamah came and, seeing the Companions in the bowing position of the morning prayer, called out that ‘the Qibla has been changed,’ so they turned towards the Qibla while still in the state of prayer.”
Objection Number 2
“Regarding the hadith of Hazrat Bara bin Azib رضي الله عنه, which has been discussed in research debates before the viewers, it should also be kept in mind that at the time of the arrival of the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم in Medina, Bara bin Azib was a minor and approximately nine years old. This hadith is not narrated from any of the senior Companions.”
Answer:
The “research” presented by Mr. Merathi is actually based on many false claims. He has tried to prove his point by citing the “consensus of scholars,” whereas the reality is quite the opposite. If such work is called research, then it must be said respectfully that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani also did not fall short in such research. The investigation of the remaining points will be presented to the readers one by one, InshaAllah Al-Aziz!
Basic Knowledge of Hadith Principles:
Mr. Merathi is so unfamiliar with the principles of Hadith that calling him an “utterly ignorant person” would not be an exaggeration. Does hearing a Hadith at the age of nine and narrating it after becoming an adult weaken the Hadith, especially when the narrator is a Companion of the Prophet?
Statement of Hafiz Ibn al-Salah, may Allah have mercy on him:
Hafiz Ibn al-Salah, may Allah have mercy on him, says:
“The narration of a person who heard a tradition before embracing Islam and then narrated it after embracing Islam will be accepted. Similarly, the narration of one who heard a tradition before reaching puberty and narrated it after becoming an adult will also be accepted. Some people have prohibited this, but they were mistaken, because (all the people of the early generations) accepted the hadiths of young companions such as Hasan ibn Ali, Ibn Abbas, Ibn Zubair, Nu’man ibn Bashir, and other companions like them without differentiating whether they heard them before or after puberty. Furthermore, in both ancient and recent times, hadith scholars have included children in the gatherings where hadiths are heard and have given importance to their narrations.”
Statement of Allama Sakhawi, may Allah have mercy on him:
Allama Sakhawi, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 902 AH), writes:
The rejection of those who do not accept the child’s (heard in childhood and narrated after reaching adulthood) hadith has been addressed in such a way that there is consensus in the Ummah on taking narration from many such narrators who heard hadiths in childhood (from the Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم), such as Sayyiduna Hasan, Husain, Abdullah bin Ja’far, Abdullah bin Zubair, Abdullah bin Abbas, Nu’man bin Bashir, Saib bin Yazid, Mas’oor bin Mukhramah, Anas bin Malik, and others. The Ummah has accepted their hadiths absolutely, without differentiating whether they heard those hadiths before or after reaching maturity.
Hearing Hadith in Childhood is Acceptable According to the Principles of Hadith
There is consensus among the Companions, Tabi‘in, and Muhaddithin that if a child hears a hadith at the age of five and memorizes it, then his narration will be accepted. Imam Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, established a chapter on this issue in his “Sahih Bukhari”:
“When is it correct for a child to hear hadith?”
In this chapter, he presents the hadith of Sayyiduna Mahmood bin Rabi‘, may Allah be pleased with him:
“I remember the Holy Prophet صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم taking water from the bowl and pouring it from his blessed mouth onto my face, even though I was five years old at that time.”
Statement of Qadi Iyad bin Musa Yahsubi, may Allah have mercy on him:
Qadi Iyad, may Allah have mercy on him (d. 476-544 AH), writes:
“The condition for a child’s hearing (sama’) to be valid is that when he begins to preserve what he has heard, then his hearing of the hadith will be valid, and there is no disagreement on this. The hadith scholars have used the age of Sayyiduna Mahmood bin Rabi’ رضي الله عنه as the benchmark for the minimum age of hearing.”
The same principle has been mentioned and confirmed by Ibn al-Salah, Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id, Khateeb Baghdadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Hajar, and other hadith scholars in their books.
Consensus on Hadiths Heard in Childhood by the Companions
It is understood that for the authenticity of a hadith, it is not a condition that the companion heard the hadith after reaching puberty. This is the unanimous and consensus decision of the hadith scholars, and only someone ignorant of the principles of hadith can oppose it.
The Conspiracy of the Hadith Deniers
Readers are requested to avoid those individuals who are unfamiliar with the principles of Hadith and who have raised objections against Sahih Bukhari, a book unanimously accepted by the entire Ummah. These objections are essentially conspiracies to deny the explanation and clarification of the Quran. Objecting to the Ahadith heard by the Companions at a young age means denying thousands of Ahadith. Can such people be sincere to Islam?
Acceptance of Hadith According to the Chain of Transmission of Sahih Bukhari
When the Hadith with the chain of transmission in Sahih Bukhari is completely authentic, then intellectual objections to it have no scholarly validity. Such objections have also been made by the deniers of the Quran. In the next installment, scholarly answers to these objections will be presented, InshaAllah!
Summary of the Article:
This article examines the event of the change of Qibla, the authenticity of the Ahadith, and the objections raised against them. It clarifies, based on the Hadith of Sayyiduna Bara bin Azib (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) initially prayed facing Bayt al-Maqdis in Medina, and then, by the command of Allah, the Qibla was changed to the Kaaba. Objections have been raised by the deniers of the Hadith regarding this narration, claiming that Bara bin Azib was a minor and that his narration is not reliable. The article proves, with reference to the principles of Hadith, that Ahadith heard at a young age are also acceptable, citing examples of many Sahabah. Additionally, it mentions the arguments of Muhaddithin regarding the authenticity of the narration of Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i, detailing the reliability of the narrations of his student Israel bin Yunus. The purpose of the article is to provide a scholarly response to the misunderstandings and objections of the Hadith deniers.
