Fath al-Rabbani

Benefits: … The meaning of lying upon the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is to attribute to him such a statement or action which he sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not say or do. The view of those people is false who say that they fabricate false ahadith in order to encourage people towards obedience to Allah and to deter them from disobedience, as Abu Asimah Nuh ibn Abi Maryam began to fabricate ahadith regarding the virtues of every surah of the Noble Qur’an through the chain of ‘Ikrimah from Ibn Abbas. When he was asked about the reality of these ahadith, he said: When I saw that people were turning away from the Noble Qur’an, being preoccupied with the jurisprudence of Abu Hanifah and the Maghazi of Abu Ishaq, I began this practice so that they would return to the Noble Qur’an.

Hafiz Ibn Hajar said: The statement of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, “Do not lie upon me,” is a general ruling for every liar and includes every type of lie, because its meaning is that a lie should not be attributed to me. Here, in “alayya” (upon me), this type of meaning is not found, because the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has absolutely prohibited this lie. Some ignorant people were deceived and fabricated ahadith in the chapters of encouragement and deterrence (targhib wa tarhib), and said: We are not lying against the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, rather we are doing this to support and aid his shari‘ah. These poor souls did not realize that attributing a lie to the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam necessitates that a lie is being told upon Allah, because through this lie a legal ruling is being established, whether it pertains to what is obligatory and recommended, or to what is forbidden and disliked. At this point, one should not be deceived by the view of the Karramiyyah, who declared it permissible to narrate fabricated ahadith in the chapters of encouragement and deterrence, saying: We are lying for the sake of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, not against him, i.e., our lie is “for him” (lahu), not “upon him” (alayhi). In reality, those who present this argument are ignorant of the Arabic language. Similarly, some people have sought to justify narrating fabricated ahadith by citing the hadith reported by Musnad al-Bazzar from our master Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud radi Allahu anhu: ((مَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَيَّ لِيُضِلَّ بِهِ النَّاسَ)) … Whoever lies upon me with the intention of leading people astray. In response, it is said: Firstly, there is a difference of opinion regarding whether this hadith is mursal or musnad; Imam Daraqutni and Imam Hakim have considered it to be mursal, and Imam Darimi has narrated it from the hadith of Ya‘la ibn Murrah with a weak chain. Secondly, even if this hadith is accepted as authentic, the “lam” here is not for causation (‘illat), but for consequence (sababiyyah), as in the statement of Allah Most High: {فَمَنْ اَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ افْتَرٰی عَلَی اللّٰہِ کَذِبًا لِّیُضِلَّ النَّاسَ} … Who is more unjust than one who fabricates a lie against Allah so that he may mislead people? The meaning of this verse is that the outcome of his lie is the misguidance of people. (And the third answer is that) such a restriction relates to specifying some individuals from a general category, which has no real implication in practice, as Allah Most High has said: {لَاتَأْکُلُوْا الرِّبَا اَضْعَافًا مُّضَاعَفَۃً} (Surah Al ‘Imran: 130) … Do not consume usury, doubled and multiplied. {وَلَاتَقْتُلُوْا اَوْلَادَکُمْ مِّنْ اِمْلَاقٍ} (Surah Al-An‘am: 151) … And do not kill your children for fear of poverty. Now, it is said that killing children out of fear of hunger, consuming usury multiplied many times, and lying upon Allah to misguide people—these all are restrictions not meant to specify the ruling, but rather to emphasize the matter. (Fath al-Bari: 1/266)

In summary, only that statement should be attributed to the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam for which there is certainty or a strong presumption of the authenticity of its chain of transmission.