Ibn Majah

Hadith Authentication
[سنن ابن ماجه: 1553], [المعجم الكبير للطبراني 4 1309], [السنن الكبري للبيهقي: 55/4]

Commentary:
This is an extremely “weak” narration, because:

➊ Its narrator, Hammad bin Abdur Rahman al-Kalbi, is “weak.” [تقريب التهذيب : 1502]

◈ Hafiz Busayri (d. 840 AH) says:
«هذا إسناد فيه حماد بن عبد الرحمن، هو متفق على تضعيفه .»
“In this chain, there is the narrator Hammad bin Abdur Rahman, whom all hadith scholars unanimously declare to be weak.” [مصباح الزجاجة فى زوائد ابن ماجه : 505/1]

➋ The narrator Idris bin Sabih al-Awdi is “unknown” (majhool).

◈ Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi declared him “unknown.” [الجرح و التعديل لابن أبى حاتم : 264/2]

◈ Imam Ibn Hibban rahimahullah said:
«يغرب ويخطيء على قلته.»
“Despite narrating very few hadiths, his narrations contain objectionable content and errors.” [الثقات : 78/6]

◈ Imam Ibn ‘Adi considered him to be Idris bin Yazid al-Awdi.
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah says:
«وقول ابن عدي أصوب.» “The statement of Imam Ibn ‘Adi rahimahullah is more correct.” [تهذيب التهذيب : 171/1، وفي نسخة : 195/1]
↰ This is not correct due to lack of evidence.

This weak narration has absolutely no connection to the prevalent innovative practice of talqin (prompting the deceased). It is clear that those who keep repeating the claim of supporting evidence have nothing to stand on.

Benefit No. ① Halabi, quoting from Allamah Subki, writes:
«حديث تلقين النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم لابنه، ليس له أصل، أى صحيح أو حسن.»
“There is no authentic (sahih) or good (hasan) chain for the narration about the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam prompting his own son.” [السيرة الحلبية : 437/3]

Benefit No. ② Hafiz Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah (691–751 AH) writes:
«فهذا الحديث، وإن لم يثبت، فاتصال العمل به فى سائر الأمصار والأعصار من غير إنكاره كاف فى العمل به.»
“Although this hadith is not authentically established, it has been acted upon in all regions and in every era without objection. This alone is sufficient to establish the permissibility of acting upon it.” [الروح، ص : 16]

◈ Regarding the book “al-Ruh,” the hadith scholar of our era, Allamah Nasir al-Din al-Albani rahimahullah, says:
«فاني فى شك كبير من صحة نسبة (الروح) إليه، أو لعله ألفه فى أول طلبه للعلم، والله أعلم.»
“I am in considerable doubt and uncertainty regarding the attribution of the book al-Ruh to Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim. (Either it is not his work at all) or he authored it in the early days of his pursuit of knowledge. «والله اعلم !»” [تحقيق الأيات البينات فى عدم سماع الأموت : 39]

↰ It is possible that this statement is an addition, i.e., it was inserted by mistake by a copyist, because Allamah Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah himself, while describing the biography of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, says:
«ولم يكن يجلس يقرا عند القبر، ولا يلقن الميت، كما يفعله الناس اليوم.»
“The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam did not sit by the grave to recite (Qur’an), nor did he prompt the deceased at the grave, as people do nowadays.” [زاد المعاد فى هدي خير العباد : 522/1]

↰ If some people act upon the ruling of a weak narration, it does not become authentic. The authenticity of a chain is not established by people’s practice; this is not the methodology of the hadith scholars. Even if consensus of the Ummah is established on the ruling derived from a narration, the chain itself remains “weak.”

Benefit:
When the deceased is lowered into the grave,
those who are lowering should recite the aforementioned supplication.

Benefit:
It is established from this hadith that reciting this supplication while placing the deceased in the grave is Sunnah. Like Imam Darqutni rahimahullah, Imam Nasa’i rahimahullah has also considered this narration to be mawquf (attributed to a Companion rather than the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), but this is not correct. This is also supported by the narration in Al-Mustadrak, whose chain of transmission is hasan (good). [المستدرك للحاكم : 3661]