Abu Dawud

Benefit: The majority of scholars have declared az-Zubair bin Khuraik to be weak (in narration).
For an authentic hadith of this meaning, see the hadith in Mishkat al-Masabih [532], but in that narration, there is no addition that “it would have sufficed for him to perform tayammum (dry ablution), bandage his wound, then wipe (masah) over it, and wash the rest of his body.” Apart from these words, the rest of the hadith is established.
From this, the following points are understood:
➊ It is not permissible to issue a fatwa (legal verdict) without knowledge.
➋ The burden of a fatwa given without knowledge falls upon the one issuing it.
➌ If one does not know about a matter, one should ask the people of knowledge, as Allah the Exalted says:
«فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ» [16-النحل:43]
“If you do not know, then ask the people of remembrance (the people of knowledge).”
➍ The darkness of ignorance is dispelled only by the light of knowledge.

336. Commentary:
According to Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah, the last part of this narration, “For the person who... till the end,” is weak, while the rest of the narration is hasan (good). The following narration supports this.

Lexical Explanation:
«شُجَّ» is derived from «اَلشَّجَ» and this is a passive verb form. A wound that occurs on the head is called «شج».
Imam Abu Dawud rahimahullah narrated this incident from Sayyiduna Jabir bin Abdullah radi Allahu anhuma: We set out on a journey. One of us was struck on the head by a stone and was wounded. In this state, he experienced a wet dream (i.e., became junub). He asked his companions whether there was any allowance or concession for him to perform tayammum. They replied, “Since you are able to use water, we do not find any concession for you.” Acting on his companions’ advice, he performed a ritual bath (ghusl) and died. When we returned, we presented ourselves before the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and informed him of his death (and narrated the entire incident). The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: “They killed him. May Allah curse them. Why did they not ask when they did not know the ruling? The cure for ignorance and lack of knowledge is to ask and inquire.” Then the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam stated the above-mentioned instruction: “It would have been sufficient for him to perform tayammum and then...” etc.
«يُعَصِّبُ» is derived from «تعصيب», meaning to tie a bandage firmly. Performing tayammum before tying a bandage or dressing on the wounded area is to remove the state of major ritual impurity (janabah), just as washing the feet before putting on leather socks (khuffayn) is for purification, so that the socks are worn in a state of purity and then wiping (masah) over them is permissible.
«وَفِيهِ اخْتِلَافٌ عَلٰي رَاوِيهِ» — regarding its narrator, i.e., Ata’, there is a difference of opinion as to whether he narrates from Sayyiduna Jabir radi Allahu anhu or from Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas radi Allahu anhuma. In one manuscript, «عَلٰي رُوَاتِهِ» is also present. This means that regarding Ata’ who narrates from Sayyiduna Jabir radi Allahu anhu, there is a difference among his students and transmitters below him, i.e., among those who narrate from Ata’.

Benefit:
Our esteemed researcher has declared the complete aforementioned narration to be weak, whereas Shaykh al-Albani rahimahullah has declared only the last part of the hadith, «إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَكْفِيهِ . . . إلخ», to be weak, and has graded the rest of the narration as hasan (good). This is supported by the narration of Sunan Abu Dawud [337].