Question:
Some people recite ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“ at the time of meeting on Eid day. Does it have any Shariah status? Please explain in the light of the Quran and Hadith.
Answer:
On the occasion of Eid, when Muslim brothers meet and say ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“, there are both Marfoo‘ and Mauqoof narrations reported regarding this. As narrated from Waṣilah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
كنت مع النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم يوم العيد فقلت يا رسول الله تقبل الله منا ومنك قال نعم تقبل الله منا ومنك
On the day of Eid, I was with the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), I said: “O Messenger of Allah! May Allah accept from us and from you.” He (peace be upon him) said: “Yes! May Allah accept from us and from you.”
This narration has been reported by Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shami Abu Abdullah from Baqiyah ibn al-Walid, from Thawr ibn Yazid, from Khalid ibn Ma‘dan, from Wa’ilah ibn Asqa‘. There are several defects in it, one of which is that Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn al-‘Ala’ al-Shami Abu Abdullah is a denier of hadith. Imam Ibn ‘Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) says about him:
منكر الحديث وأكثر أحاديثه غير محفوظة
“He is a denier of hadith and most of his narrations are not reliable.”
Imam Dar Qutni (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “He is a liar.”
Hafiz Abu Nu‘aym al-Asbahani said:
محمد بن إبراهيم الشامي عن الوليد بن مسلم وشعيب بن إسحاق وبقية وسويد بن عبد العزيز موضوعات
“The narrations of Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shami from Walid ibn Muslim, Shu‘ayb ibn Ishaq, Baqiyah, and Suwayd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz are fabricated.”
Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) states:
يضع الحديث على الشاميين لا تحل الرواية عنه إلا عند الاعتبار
“He used to fabricate narrations under the name of the Shamiyun (people of Sham), therefore it is not permissible to take narrations from him except for following.”
Imam Abu Ahmad al-Hakim said:
بس بالميين عندهم وقال الحاكم والنقاش روى أحاديث موضوعة
“This narrator is not reliable according to the hadith scholars, and Imam Abu Abdullah al-Hakim and Naqqash said: He narrates fabricated hadiths.”
Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him) says: منكر الحديث
“He is a denier of hadith.”
In summary, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Shami is a denier of hadith and a liar narrator; his narrations from Walid ibn Muslim, Shu‘ayb ibn Ishaq, Baqiyah ibn al-Walid, and Suwayd ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz are fabricated and rejected. The mentioned narration is also from Baqiyah.
The second defect in this narration is that Baqiyah ibn al-Walid is a mudallis narrator and this narration is mu‘annan (with a concealed chain). Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وكان كثير التدليس عن الضعفاء والمجهولين
“He frequently practices tadlis (concealing defects) from weak and unknown narrators.”
Imam adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وقال غير واحد كان مدلسا فإذا قال عن فليس بحجة
Many hadith scholars have said that he is a mudallis, therefore when he says ”عن“ while narrating, it is not reliable.
He further says:
وقال أبو الحسن ابن القطان بقية يدلس عن الضعفاء ويستبيح ذلك وهذا إن صح مفسد لعدالته قلت نعم والله صح هذا عنه أنه يفعله
Abu al-Hasan Ibn al-Qattan said: “He practices tadlis on weak narrators and considers it permissible; if this is true, it damages his ‘adala (integrity).” I (adh-Dhahabi) say: “Yes! By Allah! This is proven from Baqiyah, he does so.”
When a narrator practices tadlis on weak and unknown narrators, his ”عن عن“ narrations are not reliable.
Imam Ibn al-Salah (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لا يقبل من المدلس حتى يبين
“Narrations from a mudallis are not accepted until he explicitly clarifies the hearing.”
Imam Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
إلا أن يكون الرجل معروفا بالتدليس فلا يقبل حديثه حتى يقول حدثنا أو سمعت فهذا ما لا أعلم فيه أيضا خلافا
“A narrator whose tadlis is well-known, his narration will not be accepted until he says حدثنا or سمعت. This is an issue on which I know no disagreement.”
Abu Mushir al-Nafsani says:
بقية لست أحاديثه نغية فكن منها على تقية
“Baqiyah’s narrations are not clear, so keep away from them.”
Therefore, due to Baqiyah’s tadlis, this narration is also not authentic.
This narration has also been reported by ‘Abd al-Khaliq ibn Zayd ibn Waqi‘ from his father ‘Amman Makhul, from ‘Ubada ibn al-Samit with the chain. ‘Ubada (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
سألت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن قول الناس فى العيد تقبل الله منا ومنكم فقال ذلك فعل أهل الكتابين وكرهه
I asked the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) about the people’s saying ”تقبل الله منا ومنكم“ on the days of the two Eids, and he said: “This is the practice of the Jews and Christians.” And he disliked it.
In its chain is ‘Abd al-Khaliq ibn Zayd, about whom Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “He is a denier of hadith.”
Imam an-Nasa’i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “He is not trustworthy.” Abu Hatim ar-Razi said: “He is weak in hadith.” Once he said: “This narrator is a denier of hadith and not strong.” Abu Nu‘aym al-Asbahani said: “He has no standing.” Imam ‘Aqili counted him among the weak. Ibn Hibban said: “It is not permissible to rely on him.”
The second defect in this is that Imam Kamal al-Shami’s narration from ‘Ubada ibn al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) is mursal (missing the companion).
Imam al-Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says: “لا يصح” This narration is not authentic.
From this discussion, it becomes clear that this narration is not proven authentic as Marfoo‘, but it is narrated as Mauqoof with a Hasan chain. Jabir ibn Nufayr (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
كان أصحاب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا التقوا يوم العيد يقول بعضهم لبعض تقبل الله منا ومنكم
The companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used to say to each other on the day of Eid ”تقبل الله منا ومنكم“ meaning: May Allah accept from us and from you.
Allama Al-Suyuti and Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-‘Asqalani (may Allah have mercy on them) have declared its chain Hasan.
Sheikh Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ورواه المحاملي فى كتاب صلاة العيدين 2829/2 بإسناد رجاله كلهم ثقات رجال التهذيب غير شعيب المهني بن يحيى وهو ثقة رنبل كما قال الدارقطني وهو مترجم فى تاريخ بغداد 266/31-268 فالإسناد صحيح
This narration has been reported by Qadi Abu Abdullah al-Muhamili in “Kitab Salat al-Eidain” with a chain whose narrators are all trustworthy and well-known, except Shu‘ayb al-Muhanni ibn Yahya, who is also trustworthy and noble, as Imam Dar Qutni said, and his biography is found in Tarikh Baghdad
, so this chain is authentic.
It is further supported by Allama Ibn al-Turkumani who mentioned in his book the narration of Muhammad ibn Ziyad who said:
كنت مع أبى أمامة الباهلي وغيره من أصحاب النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فكانوا إذا رجعوا يقول بعضهم لبعض تقبل الله منا ومنك قال أحمد بن حنبل إسناده إسناد جيد
I was with Abu Imamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) and other companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). When they returned, some of them would say to others ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said its chain is good.
Allama Al-Suyuti (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وأخرج زاهر أيضا بسند حسن عن محمد بن زياد الألهاني قال رأيت أبا أمامة الباهلي يقول فى العيد لأصحابه تقبل الله منا ومنكم
Allama Zahir ibn Tahir similarly narrated with a Hasan chain from Muhammad ibn Ziyad al-Hilani who said: I saw Abu Imamah al-Bahili (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of Eid saying to his companions: ”تقبل الله منا ومنكم“
Rashid ibn Sa‘d says:
أن أبا أمامة ووابلة بن الأسقع رضي الله عنهما لقيا فى يوم عيد فقالا تقبل الله منا ومنك
Abu Imamah al-Bahili and Wasilah ibn al-Asqa‘ (may Allah be pleased with them) both met on the day of Eid and both said: ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“
In its chain, Ahwas ibn Hakim is a weak narrator.
Shu‘bah ibn al-Hajjaj says:
لقيني يونس بن عبيد فى يوم عيد فقال تقبل الله منا ومنك
I met Yunus ibn Ubayd on the day of Eid and he said: ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“
‘Ali ibn Thabit says:
سألت مالكا عن قول الناس فى العيد تقبل الله منا ومنك فقال ما زال الأمر عندنا كذلك
I asked Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) about the people’s saying ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“ on the day of Eid, and he said: “This has always been the practice among us.” (Meaning people in Madinah used to act upon it).
Hushayb ibn ‘Aqil says:
لقيت الحسن فى يوم عيد فقلت تقبل الله منا ومنك فقال نعم تقبل الله منا ومنك
I met Hasan al-Basri (may Allah be pleased with him) on the day of Eid and said ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“ He replied: “Yes! تقبل الله منا ومنك”
In its chain, Miskin Abu Fatimah has been declared weak by Imam Dar Qutni.
Adham Suti ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz says: “On the two Eids, we used to say to ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ”تقبل الله منا ومنك يا أمير المؤمنين“ and he would respond and did not deny it.”
From these reports, it becomes clear that this was the custom among the companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and the Tabi‘in also acted upon it. Therefore, it is permissible and correct to say ”تقبل الله منا ومنك“ when meeting your brothers on the day of Eid.
