A Rāfiḍī raised an objection claiming that the Ahl al-Sunnah Imām, Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ (رحمه الله), burned a ḥadīth compilation containing the narrations of al-Aʿmash. Through this objection, an attempt was made to create the impression that Ahl al-Sunnah used to destroy “authentic ḥadīths that were against them.”
In this article, we will establish that:
① Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ (رحمه الله) was a trustworthy and righteous Imām whose action was approved by Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (رحمه الله).
② The book that was burned contained “defects of the Companions” and calamities — meaning innovated and fabricated narrations.
③ The specific narration “أنا قسيم النار” (I am the distributor of Hellfire) has been declared fabricated by the scholars of ḥadīth, and al-Aʿmash himself rejected it as false.
④ The methodology of Ahl al-Sunnah was to record various narrations, then scrutinize them and discard fabricated material. This was preservation of the religion, not betrayal.
The Original Reports (Chains of Abū Bakr al-Khallāl)
◈ Report 1
قال الخلّال:
أَخْبَرَنِي مُوسَى بْنُ حَمْدُونَ، قَالَ: ثَنَا حَنْبَلٌ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، يَقُولُ: كَانَ سَلَّامُ بْنُ أَبِي مُطِيعٍ أَخَذَ كِتَابَ أَبِي عَوَانَةَ الَّذِي فِيهِ ذِكْرُ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَأَحْرَقَ أَحَادِيثَ الْأَعْمَشِ تِلْكَ.
Translation:
Ḥanbal said: I heard Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal saying: “Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ took the book of Abū ʿAwānah, which contained mention of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, and he burned those narrations of al-Aʿmash that were in it.”
◈ Report 2
قال الخلّال:
وَأَخْبَرَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ، قَالَ: ثَنَا مُهَنَّى، قَالَ: سَأَلْتُ أَحْمَدَ، قُلْتُ: حَدَّثَنِي خَالِدُ بْنُ خِدَاشٍ، قَالَ: جَاءَ سَلَّامُ بْنُ أَبِي مُطِيعٍ إِلَى أَبِي عَوَانَةَ، فَقَالَ: هَاتِ هَذِهِ الْبِدَعَ الَّتِي قَدْ جِئْتَنَا بِهَا مِنَ الْكُوفَةِ، قَالَ: فَأَخْرَجَ إِلَيْهِ أَبُو عَوَانَةَ كُتُبَهُ، فَأَلْقَاهَا فِي التَّنُّورِ.
Khālid ibn Khidāsh said: I asked, what was in those books?
قَالَ: حَدِيثُ الْأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ أَبِي الْجَعْدِ، عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ: «اسْتَقِيمُوا لِقُرَيْشٍ» وأشباهه.
I asked: And what else?
قَالَ: حَدِيثُ عَلِيٍّ: «أَنَا قَسِيمُ النَّارِ».
I asked: Did Abū ʿAwānah narrate this himself from al-Aʿmash?
قَالَ: نَعَمْ.
Translation:
Muhannā said: I asked Imām Aḥmad; I said: Khālid ibn Khidāsh narrated to me that Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ came to Abū ʿAwānah and said: “Bring those innovations which you brought to us from Kūfah.” Abū ʿAwānah brought out his books, and Salām threw them into the oven.
Khālid was asked: What did they contain?
He said: The narration of al-Aʿmash from Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd from Thawbān that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Follow Quraysh,” and similar narrations.
He was asked: What else?
He said: The narration of ʿAlī: “أنا قسيم النار” (I am the distributor of Hellfire).
It was asked: Did Abū ʿAwānah narrate it directly from al-Aʿmash?
He replied: Yes.
◈ Report 3
قال الخلّال:
أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ أَبِي يَقُولُ: سَلامُ بْنُ أَبِي مُطِيعٍ مِنَ الثِّقَاتِ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ أَيُّوبَ، وَكَانَ رَجُلا صَالِحًا… ثُمَّ قَالَ: كَانَ أَبُو عَوَانَةَ وَضَعَ كِتَابًا فِيهِ مَعَايِبُ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَفِيهِ بَلايَا، فَجَاءَ إِلَيْهِ سَلامُ بْنُ أَبِي مُطِيعٍ، فَقَالَ: يَا أَبَا عَوَانَةَ أَعْطِنِي ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابَ، فَأَعْطَاهُ، فَأَخَذَهُ سَلامٌ فَأَحْرَقَهُ.
Translation:
ʿAbdullāh ibn Aḥmad said: I heard my father (Imām Aḥmad) say: “Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ was trustworthy, from the companions of Ayyūb, and was a righteous man…” Then he said: “Abū ʿAwānah compiled a book containing the defects of the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ and calamities. Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ came to him, took that book, and burned it.”
◈ Report 4
قال الخلّال:
أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو بَكْرٍ الْمَرُّوذِيُّ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِأَبِي عَبْدِ اللَّهِ: اسْتَعَرْتُ مِنْ صَاحِبِ حَدِيثٍ كِتَابًا، فِيهِ الْأَحَادِيثُ الرَّدِيئَةُ، تَرَى أَنْ أُحَرِّقَهُ أَوْ أُخَرِّقُهُ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ. لَقَدِ اسْتَعَارَ سَلامُ بْنُ أَبِي مُطِيعٍ مِنْ أَبِي عَوَانَةَ كِتَابًا، فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْأَحَادِيثُ، فَأَحْرَقَ سَلامٌ الْكِتَابَ. قُلْتُ: فَأُحَرِّقُهُ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ.
Translation:
Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī said: I said to Imām Aḥmad, “I borrowed a book from a ḥadīth scholar containing objectionable (radīʾ) narrations. Should I burn it or tear it?” He replied: “Yes.” Then he said: “Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ borrowed such a book from Abū ʿAwānah and burned it.” I asked: “Shall I burn it?” He replied: “Yes.”
📌 Established Points
✔ The book contained defects of the Companions and fabricated narrations.
✔ Imām Aḥmad approved the action of Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ.
✔ In particular, it contained the narration “أنا قسيم النار”, on which a detailed discussion is presented below.
1️⃣ The Fabricated Narration: “أنا قسيم النار”
Text of the Narration
«حديث علي: أنا قسيم النار يوم القيامة، أقول: خذي ذا وذري ذا»
Chain:
al-Aʿmash → Mūsā ibn Ṭarīf → ʿAbāyah ibn Ribʿī → ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه
Scholarly Ruling
◈ Imām al-ʿUqaylī mentioned it in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr (p. 406).
◈ Ibn ʿAdī mentioned it in al-Kāmil fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ (2/383).
◈ Ibn ʿAsākir mentioned it in Tārīkh Dimashq (12/136).
◈ Shaykh al-Albānī declared it:
«موضوع»
“Fabricated.”
2️⃣ The Defect: Mūsā ibn Ṭarīf
Statements of the Scholars
◈ Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh: “Liar.”
◈ Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn: “Weak.”
◈ Imām al-Dāraquṭnī: “Abandoned.”
◈ al-Jawzajānī: “Deviant.”
◈ Imām al-ʿUqaylī: “Extremist and heretical.”
Conclusion:
Mūsā ibn Ṭarīf was an extremist Shīʿī, a liar, and abandoned narrator. The fabricated narration originated from him.
3️⃣ al-Aʿmash Himself Rejected It
ʿAbdullāh ibn Dāwūd al-Khuraybī said:
«كنّا عند الأعمش فجاء مغضباً فقال: ألا تعجبون من موسى بن طريف يحدث عن عباية عن علي: أنا قسيم النار؟!»
Translation:
“We were with al-Aʿmash when he came angrily and said: ‘Are you not amazed that Mūsā ibn Ṭarīf narrates from ʿAlī: I am the distributor of Hellfire?’”
The Report of Ibn ʿAdī
Sufyān al-Thawrī asked al-Aʿmash: Why did you narrate this narration?
قال: إنما رويته على الاستهزاء.
Translation:
“I only narrated it in mockery.”
4️⃣ Verdict of Ibn al-Jawzī
«هذا حديث موضوع… المتهم به موسى بن طريف»
Translation:
“This ḥadīth is fabricated… and the one accused of fabricating it is Mūsā ibn Ṭarīf.”
5️⃣ The Principle of the Scholars — Burning Books of Innovation
Statements of the Imāms
◈ Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī:
«إذا كتبت فقمّش، وإذا حدّثت ففتّش»
“When you write, gather everything; but when you narrate, scrutinize.”
◈ Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn:
«كتبنا عن الكذابين، وسجرنا به التنور»
“We wrote from liars, then used it to fuel the oven.”
Confirmation of Imām Aḥmad
Abū Bakr al-Marrūdhī said: I asked Imām Aḥmad: If a book contains objectionable narrations, should I burn it?
He said: نعم، كما فعل سلام بن أبي مطيع. “Yes, just as Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ did.”
6️⃣ Conclusion
✔ Salām ibn Abī Muṭīʿ (رحمه الله) did not burn authentic ḥadīths. He destroyed a book containing defects of the Companions and fabricated narrations.
✔ The most prominent narration in it was “أنا قسيم النار,” which is fabricated.
✔ Its fabricator was Mūsā ibn Ṭarīf, declared a liar and abandoned narrator by the scholars.
✔ al-Aʿmash himself disassociated from this narration.
✔ Imām Aḥmad and other scholars considered destroying such material permissible and commendable to prevent the spread of innovation and fabricated reports within the Ummah.
