Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid (May Allah preserve him)
Below is a brief overview of the life and character of the Hadith narrator Abu Haroon Al-Abdi. His full name is ‘Amarah bin Juwain.
Scholarly Opinions on Abu Haroon Al-Abdi
◈ Al-Dhahabi: Classified him as weak (ضعیف).
◈ Hammad bin Zayd: Declared him a liar (کذاب).
◈ Shu‘bah: Stated:
“If I were given the choice to either be killed or narrate from Abu Haroon Al-Abdi, I would prefer being killed rather than narrating his traditions.”
◈ Imam Ahmad: Said:
“ليس بشيء” (He is nothing).
◈ Yahya bin Ma‘in:
He is weak (ضعیف), and his narrations are unreliable.
◈ Al-Nasa’i:
Categorized him as “abandoned in Hadith” (متروك الحديث).
◈ Al-Daraqutni:
He was unstable in his beliefs, sometimes appearing as a Kharijite and at other times as a Rafidhi.
◈ Ibn Hibban:
All the narrations he attributes to Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri are lies.
◈ Shu‘bah:
He possessed a book in which he documented slander against Ali (رضي الله عنه). When I asked him about it, he replied, “This is the truth.”
Additional Critiques
◈ Al-Juzjani:
He was a liar (کذاب) and falsely accused the Companions (صحابہ) of untruths.
◈ Shu‘bah:
I once visited him and asked to see the book he had compiled based on narrations from Abu Sa‘id Al-Khudri. When he showed it to me, it contained an absurd statement that Uthman (رضي الله عنه) denied Allah in his grave. I handed the book back to him and walked away.
◈ Yahya bin Ma‘in:
He owned a document he called Sahifat Al-Wasiyyah.
◈ Salih bin Muhammad:
He was more dishonest than Pharaoh himself.
Fabrications and False Narrations
Imam Al-Dhahabi also documented some of his fabricated narrations. For more details, refer to:
- Tahdhib Al-Kamal 2/1000
- Khilasat Tahdhib Al-Kamal 2/162
- Tahdhib Al-Tahdhib 7/412
- Taqrib Al-Tahdhib 2/49
- Al-Kashif 2/301
- Tarikh Al-Bukhari Al-Kabir 6/499
- Al-Jarh wa Al-Ta‘dil 6/2005
- Al-Bidayah wa Al-Nihayah 10/57
- Tabaqat Ibn Sa‘d 7/246
- ‘Ilal Ahmad 1/137
- Tabaqat Khalifah 217
- Ma‘rifah wa Al-Tarikh 2/174
- Sunan Al-Tirmidhi 4/337
- Tarikh Abu Zur‘ah Al-Dimashqi 482
- Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah 13/15782
- Tarikh Al-Duri 2/424
- Ibn Tahman 145, Ibn Mahraz 43, Ibn Al-Junaid 1, and Ahwal Al-Rijal (T 142).
Conclusion
The critical evaluations from renowned scholars make it clear that Abu Haroon Al-Abdi was a discredited narrator. His narrations are unreliable and often fabricated, leading to a unanimous rejection of his works in Hadith scholarship.
