Authentication of the Ḥadīth About Hatred Towards ʿUthmān (RA)
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 276
Question:
Some preachers narrate the following report:
“Once a funeral was brought to the Prophet ﷺ, and he said: ‘I will not pray over this person.’ When asked why, he replied: ‘This man harbored hatred against ʿUthmān (RA), and Muḥammad ﷺ does not lead the funeral prayer of someone who hates ʿUthmān.’”
It is said that this narration is found in Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī. Please provide its authentication and source.
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
Loving ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān (RA) is indeed part of īmān, and hating him is ḥarām.
(See: Māhnāmah al-Ḥadīth, Issue 16, pp. 46–48)
Sources of the Narration
This report is mentioned by:
❀ Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī (ḥadīth no. 3709)
❀ Ibn ʿAdī (al-Kāmil, 6/2143)
❀ Ḥamzah ibn Yūsuf al-Sahmī (Tārīkh Jurjān, p. 100, no. 77)
Chain:
ʿUthmān ibn Zafar → Muḥammad ibn Ziyād → Muḥammad ibn ʿAjlān → Abū al-Zubayr → Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (RA)
Criticism by the Scholars
Imām al-Tirmidhī:
- Graded the ḥadīth as gharīb.
- Said: “We know this ḥadīth only through this chain, and in it is Muḥammad ibn Ziyād, the student of Maymūn ibn Mihrān, who is severely weak.”
Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī:
- Said: “This ḥadīth is munkar.” (ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth, no. 1087)
Statements Regarding Muḥammad ibn Ziyād al-Ṭaḥḥān
Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal:
“كَانَ أَعْوَرَ كَذَّابًا خَبِيثًا يَضَعُ الْأَحَادِيثَ”
“He was one-eyed, a liar, an evil man, and used to fabricate ḥadīth.”
(al-Jarḥ wa’l-Taʿdīl, 7/258 – authentic chain)
ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī al-Fallās:
“He was a liar and abandoned in ḥadīth.” (al-Jarḥ wa’l-Taʿdīl, p. 258 – authentic chain)
Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī:
“كَانَ يَكْذِبُ” — “He used to lie.” (Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ by Abū Zurʿah, 2/447)
Conclusion of Authentication
This narration is mawḍūʿ (fabricated).
It is not permissible to narrate it without clarifying its falsehood.
ھذا ما عندي واللہ أعلم بالصواب
