Muslim

Al-Hulwānī narrated to us, he said, I heard Affān [bin Muslim] say: ‘I narrated to Hammād bin Salamah [bin Dīnār al-Basrī], on authority of Sālih al-Murrī , a Ḥadīth on authority of Thābit [bin Aslam al-Banānī], then [Hammād] said: ‘[Sālih] lied’. I also narrated to Hammām on authority of Sālih al-Murrī a Ḥadīth then [Hammām] said: ‘[Sālih] lied’.

Mahmūd bin Ghaylān narrated to us, Abū Dāwud narrated to us, he said, Shu’bah said to me: ‘Go to Jarīr bin Hāzim and say to him, ‘It is not allowed for you to transmit from al-Hasan bin Umārah for indeed he lies’.’ Abū Dāwud said, I said to Shu’bah: ‘And how do you know that?’ So [Shu’bah] said: ‘He narrated to us on authority of al-Hakam things that were not found to have any basis’. [Abū Dāwud] said: ‘What things?’ [Shu’bah] said, I said to al-Hakam: ‘Did the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, pray over the martyrs of Uhud?’ [al-Hakam] said: ‘He did not pray over them’. Al-Hasan bin Umārah said, on authority of al-Hakam, on authority of Miqsam, on authority of Ibn Abbās: ‘Indeed the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, prayed over them and buried them ’. I [Shu’bah] said to al-Hakam: ‘What do you say about the children born from fornication?’ [Al-Hakam] said: ‘Pray over them ’. I [Shu’bah] said: ‘From whose Ḥadīth is it transmitted?’ [Al-Hakam] said: ‘It is transmitted on authority of al-Hasan al-Basrī’.’ Al-Hasan bin Umārah said: ‘Al-Hakam narrated to us, on authority of Yahyā bin al-Jazzār, on authority of Alī.

Al-Hasan al-Hulwānī narrated to us, he said, I heard Yazīd bin Hārūn mention Ziyād bin Maymūn, and he said: ‘I swore that I would not transmit anything from him or Khālid bin Mahdūj’. [Yazīd] said: ‘I met Ziyād bin Maymūn and asked him about a Ḥadīth, so he narrated it to me on authority of Bakr al-Muzanī, then I returned to him and he narrated [the same Ḥadīth] to me on authority of Muwarriq; then I returned to him and he narrated it to me on authority of al-Hasan.’ [Al-Hulwānī said]: ‘He [Yazīd] would charge both of them with lying [i.e. Ziyād bin Maymūn and Khālid bin Mahdūj].’ Al-Hulwānī said: ‘I heard [Ḥadīth] from Abd as-Samad and I mentioned Ziyād bin Maymūn near him and he charged him with lying’.

Mahmūd bin Ghaylān narrated to us, he said, I said to Abū Dāwud at-Tayālisī: ‘You transmit a great deal on authority of Abbād bin Mansūr - so how is it that you did not hear the Ḥadīth of ‘the lady perfume seller’ from him which an-Naḍr bin Shumayl transmitted to us?’ [Abū Dāwud] said to me: ‘Be quiet, for Abd ar-Rahma bin Mahdī and I met Ziyād bin Maymūn and asked him, saying to him, ‘Are these Ḥadīth you transmit on authority of Anas?’ [Ziyād] said: ‘Have you seen a man sin and then repent- does Allah not turn to him?’ [Abū Dāwud] said: ‘We said, ‘Yes’.’ [Ziyād] said: ‘I did not hear from Anas whether a little or a lot; if the people did not know, then you two would not know that I did not meet Anas’. Abū Dāwud said: ‘So it reached us afterwards that he was transmitting [from Anas], then Abd ar-Rahman and I went to him and he said: ‘I repented’. Then afterwards he was narrating [again in the same fashion] so we abandoned him ’.

Hasan al-Hulwānī narrated to us, he said, I heard Shabābah say: ‘Abd ul-Quddūs was narrating to us saying,‘Suwayd bin Aqalah said…’ [when it should be ‘bin Ghafalah’] Shabābah said: ‘And I heard Abd ul-Quddūs saying, ‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, prohibited taking a Rawḥ by accident’. [Shabābah] said: ‘So it was said to him, ‘What does this mean?’ [Abd ul-Quddūs] said: ‘It means to make an opening in a wall [thus letting] a breeze enter [by accident]’.’ [He changed the original Ḥadīth, switching ‘Rūḥ’ meaning ‘soul’ to ‘Rawḥ’ or ‘breeze’, and he switched ‘Gharaḍān’ meaning ‘as a target’ to ‘Arḍān’ or ‘accidentally’. All simply by changing a few letters in the words]Muslim said, I heard Ubayd Allah bin Umar al-Qawārīrī saying, I heard Hammād bin Zayd saying to a man after he sat with Mahdī bin Hilāl for days: ‘What is this salty well [i.e. useless or harmful] which has sprung up in your direction?’ He said: ‘Yes, oh Abā Ismā’īl [in agreement]’.

Al-Hasan al-Hulwānī narrated to us, he said, I heard Affān say, I heard Abū Awānah say: ‘A Ḥadīth did not reach me on authority of al-Hasan except I presented it to Abān bin Abī Ayyāsh , then he read it to me ’.

Suwayd bin Sa’īd narrated to us, Alī bin Mus’hir narrated to us, he said: ‘Hamzah az-Zayyāt and I heard from Abān bin Abī Ayyāsh something like one thousand Ḥadīth’. Alī said: ‘So I met Hamzah then he informed me that he saw the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, [in a dream], and he produced for him what he heard from Abān. However he [the Prophet] didn’t recognize any except a small amount [like] five or six [Ḥadīth]’.

Abd Allah bin Abd ar-Rahman ad-Dārimī narrated to us, Zakariyyā’ bin Adī informed us, he said, Abū Ishāq al-Fazarī said to me: ‘Write from Baqiyyah what he transmits on authority of those who are well-known, and do not write from him what he transmits on authority of those who are not; do not write from Ismā’īl bin Ayyāsh what he transmits on authority of those who are well-known or otherwise ’.

Ishāq bin Ibrāhīm al-Hanthalī [bin Rāhwayh] narrated to us, he said, I heard one of the companions of Abd Allah [bin al-Mubārak] say, Ibn al-Mubārak said: ‘What an excellent man is Baqiyyah, if it were not for the fact that he would provide a nickname for [those who were better-known by] the birth name, and he would provide the birth name for [those who were better-known by] a nickname. For a long time he would narrated to us on authority of Abī Sa’īd al-Wuhāthī, then when we investigated [we were surprised that] he was Abd ul-Quddūs ’.

Ahmad bin Yūsuf al-Azdī narrated to me, he said, I heard Abd ar-Razzāq saying: ‘I did not see Ibn al-Mubārak express so plainly the charge of ‘lying’ except towards Abd ul-Quddūs; for indeed I heard him saying to him ‘[You are] a liar’.’

Abd Allah bin Abd ar-Rahman ad-Dārimī narrated to me, he said: ‘I heard Abū Nu’aym and he mentioned al-Mu’allā bin Urfān, so [Abū Nu’aym] said, [al-Mu’allā] said: ‘Abū Wā’il narrated to us, he said ‘Ibn Mas’ūd attacked us on the day of Siffīn’. So Abū Nu’aym said: ‘Do you think he was raised after death? [Ibn Mas’ūd passed away in 32 or 33H, several years before the day in question]

Amr bin Alī and Hasan al-Hulwānī narrated to me, both of them on authority of Affān bin Muslim, he said: ‘We were near Ismā’īl bin Ulayyah, and a man narrated on authority of another man, so I said: ‘Indeed this is not reliable (Thabt)’. So the man said: ‘Are you backbiting him?’ Ismā’īl said: ‘He is not backbiting him; rather he is judging him unreliable’.

Abū Ja’far ad-Dārimī narrated to us, Bishr bin Umar narrated to us, he said: ‘I asked Mālik bin Anas about Muhammad bin Abd ar-Rahman who transmits on authority of Sa’īd bin al-Musayyib, so he said: ‘He is not trustworthy ‘. I asked him about Sālih, a freed slave of at-Taw’amah, then he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Abūl-Huwayrith , and he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Shu’bah on whose authority Ibn Abī Dhi’b transmitted, and he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Harām bin Uthmān , and he said ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked Mālik about these five and he said: ‘They are not trustworthy in terms of their Ḥadīth’. I asked him about another man whose name I forget just now, and he said: ‘Did you see him in my book?’ I said: ‘No’. [Then] he said: ‘If he was trustworthy you would see him in my book’.

Al-Faḍl bin Sahl narrated to me, he said: ‘Yahyā bin Ma’īn narrated to me, Hajjāj narrated to us, Ibn Abī Dhi’b narrated to us on authority of Shurahbīl bin Sa’d , and he was imputed [with lying regarding Ḥadīth near the end of his life]’.

Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Quhzādh narrated to me, he said, I heard Abū Ishāq at-Tālqānī saying, I heard Ibn al-Mubārak saying: ‘If I had to choose between entering Paradise and meeting Abd Allah bin Muharrar, I would have chosen to meet him, then enter Paradise. Then when I saw him, dung was more preferred to me than him’.

Al-Faḍl bin Sahl narrated to me, Walīd bin Sālih narrated to us, he said, Ubayd Allah bin Amr said, Zayd- meaning Ibn Abī Unaysah – said: ‘Do not take [Ḥadīth] from my brother ’.

Ahmad bin Ibrāhīm ad-Dawraqī narrated to me, he said, Abd us-Salām al-Wābisī narrated to me, he said, Abd Allah bin Ja’far ar-Raqqī narrated to me, on authority of Ubayd Allah bin Amr, he said: ‘Yahyā bin Abī Unaysah was a liar’.

Ahmad bin Ibrāhīm narrated to me, he said, Sulaymān bin Harb narrated to me, on authority of Hammād bin Zayd, he said, Farqad was mentioned near Ayyūb, so he said: ‘Indeed Farqad is not a companion of Ḥadīth’.

Abd ur-Rahman bin Bishr al-Abdī narrated to me, he said, I heard Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Ubayd bin Umayr al-Laythī was mentioned near Yahyā bin Sa’īd al-Qattān, so he weakened him severely. Then it was said to Yahyā: ‘More weak than Ya’qūb bin Atā ’?’ He said: ‘Yes’. Then he said: ‘I did not see anyone transmitting on authority of Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Ubayd bin Umayr’.

Bishr bin al-Hakam narrated to me, he said, I heard Yahyā bin Sa’īd al-Qattān weaken Hakīm bin Jubayr and Abd al-A’lā; and he weakened Yahyā Mūsā bin Dīnār [there is no ‘bin’ between ‘Yahyā’ and ‘Mūsā’]; [Yahyā] said: ‘His Ḥadīth are Rīh or ‘wind’ [i.e., not established and weak]. [Yahyā] weakened Mūsā bin Dihqān and Īsā bin Abī Īsā al-Madanī. [Muslim] said, ‘I heard al-Hasan bin Īsā saying ‘Ibn al-Mubārak said to me: ‘When you go to Jarīr then write down all of his knowledge except the Ḥadīth of 3 [people] - do not write the Ḥadīth of Ubaydah bin Mu’attib, as-Sarī bin Ismā’īl, or Muhammad bin Sālim’.’

He said: And I heard al-Hasan ibn Isa say: Ibn al-Mubarak said to me: If you arrive at Jarir, then write down all his knowledge, except for the hadith of three—do not write: the hadith of Ubaydah ibn Mu'attib, and al-Sariyy ibn Isma'il, and Muhammad ibn Salim.

Muslim and those like him said: What we have mentioned from the words of the people of knowledge regarding the accused narrators of hadith and their reports about their defects is much, and the book would become lengthy by mentioning it in detail. And in what we have mentioned there is sufficiency for whoever understands and comprehends the method of the people in what they have said about that and clarified.

Indeed, they only obligated themselves to expose the faults of the narrators of hadith and the transmitters of reports, and they issued fatwas regarding that when they were asked, due to the great danger involved. For the reports concerning religious matters only come with rulings of permissibility or prohibition, or commands, or prohibitions, or encouragement, or warning. So if the narrator of these reports is not a source of truthfulness and trustworthiness, and then someone who knows him proceeds to narrate from him, without clarifying his condition to others who are unaware of his status, he is sinful for doing so, deceiving the general Muslims. For it cannot be guaranteed that some of those who hear these reports will not act upon them, or act upon some of them, and perhaps they—or most of them—are lies with no basis. While the authentic reports from trustworthy narrators and people of integrity are more than enough to make it unnecessary to transmit from one who is not trustworthy or reliable.

And I do not think that many of those among the people who turn to what we have described of these weak hadiths and unknown chains, and rely on narrating them after knowing what they contain of weakness and frailty, do so except that what drives them to narrate and rely on them is the desire to increase their number before the common people, and so that it may be said: How much so-and-so has collected of hadith and compiled of numbers. And whoever takes this approach in knowledge and follows this path, he has no share in it, and it is more fitting for him to be called ignorant than to be attributed to knowledge.