Reports on storytellers and preachers

Al-Qasim bin Kathir narrates from one of his companions that Ka'b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him) used to give people sermons and narrate stories. Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) (seeing him) said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) saying: "None gives sermons (or tells stories) except one who is himself a ruler (amir), or one whom the ruler has formally ordered to do so, or else a person who is arrogant and self-admiring." The narrator says: Then (people) said to Ka'b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him): "Thakilatka ummuk" (May your mother lose you, that is, alas!): this is Sayyiduna Abd al-Rahman bin Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) saying such-and-such (on the authority of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)). So Ka'b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him) (out of fear of Allah) gave up preaching. Then, later, when Sayyiduna Mu'awiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) formally ordered him to preach, he considered it permissible for himself again because of that ruler's order (as the condition of being ordered was now fulfilled).
In the chain of this report one narrator is unnamed (mubham); however, its text is narrated in other reliable books of hadith, such as Sunan Abi Dawud (3665) and Musnad Ahmad, and Allamah al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) declared it sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Sa'id bin Abi Hind (may Allah have mercy on him) that the Commander of the Believers, Sayyiduna Ali bin Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), passed by a storyteller (one who narrates sermons and tales) and asked: "What is this man saying?" The people replied: "He is telling stories." At this Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) (criticising his manner of speaking) said: "No (he is not giving advice); rather, he is saying (by the state of his tongue): 'O people, recognise me!' (that is, instead of giving advice, he is seeking fame, name and show)."
[Its chain is sahih (authentic); Musaddad recorded it in his Musnad, as in al-Matalib al-'Aliyah: 3201]

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Hurayrah and Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon to us in which he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave us such an admonition that eyes overflowed with tears, hearts trembled, the hair on our bodies stood on end and our insides were shaken. Then he (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered Sayyiduna Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him), and he called out: "Al-salatu jami'ah" (Gather for the prayer). Then the narrator mentioned the long hadith, in which there is also: "Whoever prefers this world over the Hereafter, his abode is the Fire. Whoever honours a worldly person and praises him merely out of greed for his worldly wealth, Allah Almighty will be angry with him, and he will be at the level of Qarun in the lowest depth of Hell. Whoever constructs a building for show and fame, on the Day of Resurrection the burden of the seven earths will be placed around his neck in the form of a collar of fire and loaded upon him, blazing in his neck, and then he will be thrown into the Fire." It was asked: What is a building of show and fame? He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "He builds beyond his need and constructs it merely out of pride and boasting. Whoever learns the Qur'an but does not act upon it, and prefers over it the wealth, goods and adornment of the world, becomes deserving of the anger of Allah Almighty, and he will be at the level of those Jews and Christians who cast the Book of Allah behind them: 'they cast it behind their backs and purchased with it a small price' [Surah Al Imran: 187]. Whoever is displeased with his provision and spreads his complaints, no good deed of his will be raised to the court of Allah Almighty, and he will meet Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, while He is angry with him. Whoever marries a woman in a lawful manner with lawful wealth, but his aim is merely pride and show, Allah Almighty will only increase him in disgrace and humiliation through it, and Allah Almighty will make him stand on the edge of Hell in proportion to the pleasure he took from that woman, and then he will keep falling into it for seventy years. Whoever humiliates a poor Muslim because of his poverty and need, or looks down on him, has in reality disregarded the right of Allah Almighty, and he will remain continually under the aversion and anger of Allah Almighty until he pleases that poor man. Whoever honours and respects a poor Muslim will meet Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection in such a state that He will be smiling upon seeing him. Whoever has this world and the Hereafter presented to him and chooses this world instead of the Hereafter will meet Allah Almighty in such a state that he will have no good deed that could save him from the Fire; and if he prefers the Hereafter over this world, he will meet Allah Almighty while He is pleased with him. And whoever's eyes shed tears out of the fear of Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, for every drop of his tears there will be in his scale of deeds a weight equal to the mountain of Uhud, and for every drop he will receive, on the edges of Paradise, such cities and palaces as no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and the idea of which has never occurred to the heart of anyone who describes."
This report is severely weak; in its chain Dawud bin al-Muhabbar and Maysarah bin Abd Rabbih are liars and fabricators of hadith.

It is narrated from Muhammad bin Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) that he said: "Indeed, storytelling (unauthentic tales in the name of preaching and admonition) is an innovation (bid'ah)."
The chain of this athar is sahih (authentic); Imam Musaddad bin Musarhad recorded it in his Musnad, as transmitted in al-Matalib al-'Aliyah (3203), and all its narrators are thiqat (trustworthy).

It is narrated from Imam al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) that when Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) fell ill with the illness in which he died, Sayyiduna Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas (may Allah be pleased with him) came to visit him, and he was at that time the governor of Kufah. Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) (on seeing him) began to weep. Then the narrator related the complete hadith, after which (Sayyiduna Salman (may Allah be pleased with him), giving advice,) said: "O man, fear Allah Almighty when you firmly resolve upon some matter, and with regard to your hand when you distribute (wealth and rights), and with regard to your tongue when you pass a judgement."
There is a break (inqita') in the chain of this report because al-Hasan al-Basri's hearing from Sayyiduna Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) is not established; however, the basis of this incident is also found in other books of hadith.

It is narrated from Sayyiduna Khabbab bin al-Aratt (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, when the Children of Israel were ruined (religiously and morally), they made storytelling (that is, abandoning knowledge and practice in favour of mere sermons and tales) their hallmark."
Imam Abu Ya'la recorded it in his Musnad. Concerning its chain, the scholars say that its narrator al-Ajlah bin Abdullah al-Kindi is saduq (truthful) according to the majority, and Allamah al-Albani declared this hadith sahih (authentic).

It is narrated from Yazid al-Raqashi that a group of people disagreed among themselves about storytelling (relying on tales for preaching and admonition): some considered it good and some disliked it. Then they came to Sayyiduna Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), mentioned the matter to him and asked him, and he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent with fighting (striving for the supremacy of the truth), and he (peace and blessings be upon him) was not sent for storytelling (narrating tales)."
The narrator Yazid bin Aban al-Raqashi in the chain of this report is da'if (weak); moreover, there is also a break in the chain because of an unnamed narrator ("from some of his companions"). However, this statement points to the importance of the true aims of the religion as opposed to storytelling.