Some narrations concerning the Prophet ﷺ are commonly heard and repeated. Their verification is presented here:
Narration No. ➊
It is narrated from Ammar ibn Yasir (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إن الله وكل بقبري ملكا أعطاه أسماع الخلائق، فلا يصلي على أحد إلى يوم القيامة، إلا بلغني باسمه واسم أبيه ؛ هذا فلان بن فلان، قد صلى عليك.
“Allah the Exalted will appoint over my grave an angel who has been given the ability to hear the voices of all creatures. Until the Day of Resurrection, whoever sends blessings upon me, that angel will convey to me the name of the one sending blessings and the name of his father, and will say: O Messenger of Allah! So-and-so, son of so-and-so, has sent blessings upon you.”
The words reported by Abu al-Shaykh Ibn Hayyan al-Asbahani
and Imam al-Tabarani
are as follows:
إن لله ملكا أعطاه أسماع الخلائق كلها، وهو قائم على قبري إذا مت إلى يوم القيامة، فليس أحد من أمتي يصلي على صلاة، إلا سماه باسمه واسم أبيه، قال : يا محمد ! صلى عليك فلان بن فلان كذا وكذا، فيصلي الرب عز وجل على ذلك الرجل بكل واحدة عشرا.
There is an angel of Allah the Exalted who has been given the ability to hear the voices of all creatures. After my death, he will stand at my grave until the Day of Resurrection. Whichever of my followers sends blessings upon me once, that angel will convey that blessing to me together with the name of the one sending it and the name of his father, and will say: O Muhammad (ﷺ): so-and-so, son of so-and-so, has sent such-and-such blessings upon you. Allah, the Lord of Majesty, will send down ten mercies upon that person in return for each blessing he sends.”
Comment:
This narration is very weak (da’if), because:
➊ Its narrator Imran ibn Humayri al-Ju’fi is “majhul al-hal” (of unknown condition). No one has declared him trustworthy except Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him)
.
Regarding him:
◈ Imam al-Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
لا يتابع عليه. “He narrates rejected (munkar) narrations.”
◈ Imam Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) did not mention any criticism or praise regarding him.
◈ Allamah al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says about him:
لا یعرف . “He is an unknown narrator.”
◈ Hafiz al-Mundhiri (may Allah have mercy on him) also said the same.
◈ Hafiz al-Haythami, relying on Hafiz al-Dhahabi, says:
وقال صاحب الميزان : لا يعرف .
“The author of Mizan al-I’tidal (Allamah al-Dhahabi, may Allah have mercy on him) says that this narrator is unknown.”
Allamah Abd al-Ra’uf al-Munawi, quoting from Allamah al-Haythami, writes:
لم اعرفهٔ. “I was not able to identify him.”
➋ Its narrator Nu’aym ibn Damdam is weak. Regarding him:
◈ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says that he is a narrator weak in hadith.
◈ Allamah al-Haythami writes: نعيم بن ضمضم ضعيفك . Nu’aym ibn Damdam is a weak narrator.
Not even the slightest word of declaring him trustworthy is established about him.
Narration No. ➋
قال (شيرويه بن شهردار) الديلمي : أنبأنا والدي (شهردار بن شيرويه) : أنبأنا أبو الفضل الكرابيسي (محمد بن عبد الله بن حمدويه) : أنبأنا ابو العباس بن تركان (الفرضي) حدثنا موسي بن سعيد ( لعله ابن موسى بن سعيد أبو عمران الهمدانى) : حدثنا أحمد بن حماد بن سفيان : حدثني محمد بن عبدالله بن صالح المروزي : حدثنا بكر بن خراس عن فطر بن خليفة، عن أبى الطفيل، عن أبى بكر الصديق، قال : قال رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وسلم) : أكثروا الصلاة على، فإن الله وكل بي ملكا عند قبري، فإذا صلى على رجل من أمتي، قال لي ذلك الملك : يا محمد ! إن فلان ابن فلان صلى عليك الساعة .
“It is narrated from Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Send blessings upon me abundantly. Allah the Exalted will appoint an angel near my grave. When any person from my ummah sends blessings upon me, this angel will say to me: O Muhammad (ﷺ)! So-and-so, son of so-and-so, has just now sent blessings upon you.”
Comment:
Its chain of narration is weak (da’if), because:
➊ Its narrator Bakr ibn Khidash is “majhul al-hal” (of unknown condition). No one has declared him trustworthy except Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him)
.
➋ The biographical details of Muhammad ibn Abdillah ibn Salih al-Marwazi could not be found.
➌ Neither the details nor any declaration of trustworthiness could be found for Abu al-Fadl al-Karabisi.
◈ Hafiz al-Sakhawi writes:
وفي سند ضغف. “There is weakness in its chain of narration.”
Thus both of these narrations are weak (da’if) in terms of their chains of narration.
Narration No. ➌
It is narrated from Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
إن لله ملائكة سياحين، يبلغوني عن أمتي السلام، قال : وقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : حياتي خير لكم، تحدثون ونحدث لكم، ووفاتي خير لكم، تعرض على اعمالكم، فما رايت من خير حمدت الله عليه، وما رأيت من شر استغفرت الله لكم .
“Allah’s angels are roaming the earth, conveying to me the greeting presented from my ummah. My life is also good for you, in that we speak with one another, and my death will also be good for you, in that your deeds will keep being presented to me. Whatever good I see, I will praise Allah for it, and whatever evil I see, I will seek Allah’s forgiveness for you.”
Comment:
Its chain of narration is weak (da’if), because:
➊ Imam Sufyan al-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on him) is narrating it with the wording عن. It is an accepted principle that when a trustworthy mudallis (one who practices tadlis, concealing a defect in the chain) narrates a hadith with ambiguous wording, other than in Bukhari and Muslim, then unless an explicit statement of direct hearing is found, it remains weak.
➋ Abd al-Majid ibn Abi Rawwad is also a “mudallis” in it. No explicit statement of direct hearing is present.
Moreover, Abd al-Majid ibn Abi Rawwad is “weak” (da’if) and also criticised according to the majority of the hadith scholars. Severe criticism of him has been made by Imam al-Humaydi
, Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi
, Imam Ibn Hibban
, Imam al-Daraqutni
, Imam Muhammad ibn Yahya ibn Abi Umar
, Imam Ibn Sa’d
, Imam Ibn Adi
, Imam Abu Zur’ah
and others.
◈ Hafiz al-Iraqi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
فقد ضعفهٔ كثيرون. “Indeed, the majority of the hadith scholars have declared him weak.”
Therefore Hafiz al-Busiri’s statement about him, وثقه الجمهور, is not “correct”.
Narration No. ➍
Dawud ibn Abi Salih al-Hijazi narrates:
أقبل مروان يوما، فوجد رجلا واضعا وجهه على القبر، فقال : أتدري ما تصنع ؟ فأقبل عليه، فإذا هو أبو أيوب، فقال : نعم، جئت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ولم آت الحجر، سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : لا تبكوا على الدين اذا وليه اهله، ولكن ابكوا عليه اذا وليه غير اهله .
“One day Marwan came and saw a man with his face placed on the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ. Marwan said: Do you know what you are doing? The man turned his face toward Marwan, and it was Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him). He said: Yes, I know very well. Today I did not come to the Black Stone; rather, I have come to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I heard him ﷺ say: Do not weep over the religion when a person of religion takes charge of it. Weep over it when unfit people take charge of it.”
Commentary:
The chain of this narration is “da’if (weak)”. Regarding its narrator Dawud ibn Salih al-Hijazi:
◈ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes:
لا يعرف . “This is an unknown narrator.”
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says about him:
مقبول . “This is a person of unknown condition.”
Therefore, Imam al-Hakim’s (may Allah have mercy on him) declaring the chain of this narration reported by him “sahih (authentic)”, and Hafiz al-Dhahabi’s (may Allah have mercy on him) agreeing with him, is not correct.
Matters of religion are to be accepted from trustworthy people, not from unknown and untraceable persons.
Benefit:
This narration, without the mention of the grave, is also found in Mu’jam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani
and Mu’jam al-Awsat of al-Tabarani
,
but its chain is weak for the following reasons:
➊ The narrator Sufyan ibn Bishr al-Kufi is unidentified and unknown.
◈ Hafiz al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) says about him: ولم أعرفه. “I do not know him.”
➋ The narrator al-Muttalib ibn Abdillah ibn Hantab is a “mudallis (one who practises concealment in narration)” and he narrates with the wording “an (from)”. No explicit statement of his hearing has been found.
➌ Al-Muttalib ibn Abdillah’s hearing from Abu Ayyub (may Allah be pleased with him) is also not established.
➍ In this narration there are two teachers of Imam al-Tabarani (may Allah have mercy on him). One is Harun ibn Sulayman Abu Dharr, and he is unknown, while the other is Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajjaj ibn Rishdin, and he is “da’if (weak)”. Regarding him:
◈ Imam Ibn Abi Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
سمعت منه بمصر، ولم أحدث عنه، لما تكلموا فيه.
“I heard hadiths from him in Egypt, but I do not narrate those hadiths because the hadith scholars criticised him.”
◈ Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
صاحب حديث كثير، أنكرت عليه أشياء، وهو ممن يكتب حديثهٔ مع ضعفه.
“He had many hadiths. The hadith scholars declared several of his narrations munkar (rejected). Despite his weakness, his hadith will be written down (in corroborations and supporting reports).”
Hafiz al-Haythami also declared Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Hajjaj ibn Rishdin “da’if (weak)”.
Narration No. ➎
قال ابن عساكر : انبأنا أبو محمد بن الأكفاني : نا عبد العزيز بن احمد : أنا تمام بن محمد : نا محمد بن سليمان : نا محمد بن الفيض : نا ابو اسحاق ابراهيم بن محمد بن سليمان بن بلال بن ابي الدرداء : حدثني أبى محمد ابن سليمان عن أبيه سليمان بن بلال، عن ام الدرداء،عن ابي الدرداء، قال : ان بلالا راي فى منامه النبى (صلى الله عليه وسلم)، وهو يقول له : ”ما هذه الجفوة يا بلال ! أما أن لك أن تزورني يا بلال ؟“ فانتبه حزينا و جلا خائفا، فركب راحلتهٔ وقصد المدينة، فاتي قبر النبى (صلى الله عليه وسلم)، فجعل يبكي عندهٔ، ويمرغ وجهه عليه، وأقبل الحسن والحسين، فجعل يضمهما ويقبلهما، فقالا له : يا بلال ! نشتهي نسمع أذانك الذى كنت تؤذنه لرسول الله (صلى الله عليه وسلم) فى السحر، ففعل، فعلا سطح المسجد، فوقف مؤقفة الذى كان يقف فيه، فلما أن قال : الله أكبر، الله أكبر، ارتجت المدينة، فلما أن قال : اشهد ان لا اله الا
الله، زاد تعاجيجها، فلما أن قال : أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله، خرج العواتق من خدورهن، فقالوا : أبعث رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وسلم)، فما رئي يوم أكثر باكيا ولا باكية بعد رسول الله (صلى الله عليه وسلم) من ذلك اليوم.
Abu al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) met the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in a dream. He ﷺ said to him: O Bilal! What is this harshness? Has the time not come for you to visit me? Upon this Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) woke up alarmed. He turned his mount toward Madinah. He reached the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ and began to weep beside it. He began rubbing his face upon it. When Hasan and Husayn (may Allah be pleased with them both) came there, Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) embraced them and kissed them. The two said to Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him): We wish to hear that adhan of yours which you used to call for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the mosque. He agreed. He climbed onto the roof of the mosque and stood in that place where he used to stand in the Prophetic era. When he said الله اكبر، الله اكبر, Madinah resounded (with the sound of weeping). Then when he said اشهد ان لا إله إلا الله, the voices increased even more. When he reached أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله, the young women came out from behind their curtains, and people began asking one another: Has the Messenger ﷺ been brought back to life? After the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, no one saw in Madinah a day on which more men and women wept than that day.
Commentary:
This is a fabrication.
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وهي قصة بينه الوضع
“This story is clearly someone’s fabrication.”
◈ Allamah Ibn Abd al-Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
هذا الاثر المذكور عن بلال ليس بصحيح
“The aforementioned narration attributed to Bilal (may Allah be pleased with him) is not established.”
◈ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
اسنادۂ لين، وهو منكر.
“Its chain is weak and this narration is munkar (rejected).”
◈ Ibn Iraq al-Kinani says:
وهي قصة بينة الوضع
“This story is evidently fabricated.”
There are several defects in the chain of this narration. The details are as follows:
➊ Regarding Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Sulayman ibn Bilal, Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that he is unknown.
◈ He also says:
فيه جهالة. “This is an unidentified narrator.”
◈ Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
هذا شيخ لم يعرف بثقة وامانة، ولا ضبط وعدالة، بل هو مجهول غير معروف بالنقل، ولا مشهور بالرواية، ولم يرو عنه غير محمد بن الفيض، روى عنه هذا الاثر المنكر.
“This is a narrator whose trustworthiness and integrity, and whose precision and probity, are not known. He is unknown and not recognised in the transmission of narrations. No one narrated from him except Muhammad ibn al-Fayd, and he too narrated this munkar (rejected) story from him.”
➋ Regarding the second narrator of this report, Sulayman bin Bilal bin Abi al-Darda, Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
بل هو مجهول الحال، ولم يوثقه أحد من العلماء، فيما علمناه .
“He is a person of unknown condition. As far as we know, not even a single scholar has declared him reliable.”
➌ Sulayman bin Bilal’s hearing from Sayyida Umm al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with her) is also not established, so this report is also munqati’ (broken chain).
◈ Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ولا يعرف له سماع من أم الدرداء.
“His hearing from Sayyida Umm al-Darda (may Allah be pleased with her) could not be known either.”
Giving his final verdict on this report, Hafiz Ibn Abd al-Hadi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وهو اثر غريب منكر، واسنادهٔ مجهول، وفيه انقطاع .
“This report is gharib (isolated) and munkar (rejected). Its chain is unknown and it also has a break.”
Note:
Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
اسنادهٔ جيد، ما فيه ضعيف، لكن ابراهيم هذا مجهول.
“Its chain is excellent. There is no weak narrator in it, but this narrator named Ibrahim is unknown.”
This is a scholarly oversight on the part of Allamah al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him). How can a report be excellent when two narrators in its chain are “unknown” and it also has a break? Moreover, in his other book
he himself has declared its chain weak and the report “munkar”, as we have already stated.
On this matter, the statement of Hafiz Ibn Hajar and others is correct, that this story is false and fabricated. It is the doing of one of these “unknown” narrators. And Allah knows best!
Narration No. ➏
Muhammad bin al-Munkadir narrates:
رأيت جابرا رضى الله عنه، وهو يبكي عند قبر رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وهو يقول : ههنا تسكب العبرات، سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول : ”ما بين قبري ومنبري روضة من رياض الجنة .
“I saw Sayyidna Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) weeping at the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ, and he was saying: This is the place for shedding tears. I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say: The space between my grave and my pulpit is one of the gardens of Paradise.”
Comment: Its chain is extremely da’if (weak), because:
➊ Imam al-Bayhaqi’s (may Allah have mercy on him) teacher, Muhammad bin Husayn Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, is da’if (weak).
◈ Regarding him, Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
تكلموا فيه، وليس بعمدة .
“The scholars of hadith have criticised him; he was not a reliable person.”
He has also called him “da’if” (weak).
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) has also criticised him.
◈ Muhammad bin Yusuf al-Qattan al-Naysaburi says:
غير ثقة، وكان يضع للصوفية الأحاديث .
“He was not a trustworthy person… He used to fabricate narrations for the Sufis.”
➋ Regarding its central narrator, Muhammad bin Yunus bin Musa al-Kudaymi:
◈ Imam Ibn Adi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
أتهم بوضع الحديث وبسرقته.
“He is accused of fabricating and stealing hadiths.”
◈ Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وكان يضع على الثقات الحديث وضعا، ولعله قد وضع أكثر من ألف حديث.
“This man used to fabricate hadiths himself and attribute them to reliable narrators. Perhaps he fabricated more than a thousand hadiths.”
◈ Imam al-Daraqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) has declared him “matruk” (abandoned).
In one place he says:
كان الكديمي يتهم بوضع الحديث.
“Al-Kudaymi was accused of fabricating hadiths:”
◈ When one of his narrations was presented to Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him), he said:
ليس هذا حديث من أهل الصدق .
“This is not a hadith from the truthful.”
◈ Hafiz al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
أحد المتروكين. “He is one of the matruk (abandoned) narrators.”
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) has also declared him “da’if” (weak).
Benefit: Nafi’ the Tabi’i (may Allah have mercy on him) narrates about his teacher, the great Companion:
إن ابن عمر كان يكره مس قبر النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم.
“Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) used to dislike touching the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ.”
◈ Abu Hamid Muhammad bin Muhammad al-Tusi, known as Allama al-Ghazali (450-505 AH), says about touching graves and kissing them:
انه عادة النصاري واليهود. “Doing this is the habit of the Jews and Christians.”
◈ Hafiz al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) (631-676 AH) says about kissing the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ and pressing the forehead and the like against it:
لا يجوز أن يطاف بقبر النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، ويكره إلصاق البطن والظهر بجدار القبر، قاله الحليمي وغيره، ويكره مسحه باليد وتقبيله، بل الأدب أن يبعد منه كما يبعد منه لو حضر فى حياته صلى الله عليه وسلم، هذا هو الصواب، وهو الذى قاله العلماء وأطبقوا عليه، وينبغي أن لا يغتر بكثير من العوام فى مخالفتهم ذلك فإن الاقتداء والعمل إنما يكون بأقوال العلماء، ولا يلتفت إلى محدثات العوام وجهالاتهم، ولقد أحسن السيد الجليل أبو على الفضيل بن عياض رحمه الله تعالى فى قوله ما معناه : أتبع طرق الهدى ولا يضرك قلة السالكين، وإياك وطرق الضلالة، ولا تغتر بكثرة الهالكين، ومن خطر بباله أن المسح باليد ونحوہ أبلغ فى البركة، فهو من جهالته وغفلته، لأن البركة إنما هي فيما وافق الشرع وأقوال العلماء، وكيف يبتغي الفضل فى مخالفة الصواب.
“It is not permissible to circumambulate the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ. Likewise, pressing one’s stomach and one’s back against the wall of the blessed grave is also disliked. Allama al-Halimi and others have said this. Touching the grave with the hand (with the intention of seeking blessing) and kissing it are also disliked acts. The true etiquette regarding the blessed grave is to keep away from it, just as the etiquette for one who came into the presence of the Prophet ﷺ during his blessed life was to keep at a distance. This is what is correct, and the noble scholars have stated this explicitly and have agreed upon it. No Muslim should be deceived by the ordinary people acting contrary to these instructions, because it is the (agreed) statements of the noble scholars that are to be followed, not the innovations and ignorance of the common people. The noble master Abu Ali al-Fudayl bin Iyad (may Allah have mercy on him) said well: (Follow the paths of guidance; the fewness of those who walk them will not harm you. Beware of the paths of misguidance, and do not be deceived by the large number of those who perish.) (We have not been able to find the chain of narration of this statement.) Whoever thinks that touching the blessed grave with the hand and other such innovated acts brings more blessing thinks so because of his ignorance and lack of practice, because blessing is only found in agreement with the Shariah and in the light of the statements of the people of knowledge. How can blessing be obtained in acts contrary to the Shariah?”
◈ Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) (661-728 AH) says:
وأما التمسح بالقبر أو الصلاة عنده، أو قصده لأجل الدعاء عنده، معتقدا أن الدعاء هناك أفضل من الدعاء فى غيره، أو النذر له ونحو ذلك، فليس هذا من دين المسلمين، بل هو مما أحدث من البدع القبيحة التى هي من شعب الشرك، والله أعلم وأحكم.
“Touching the grave (with the intention of seeking blessing), praying near it, going to the grave in order to make supplication, believing that supplication there is better than in ordinary places, and making vows and offerings at the grave and the like are acts that have no connection with the religion of Islam. These acts are among the ugly innovations that belong to the various branches of shirk. And Allah knows best and is the Wisest!”
He also says:
واما التمسح بالقبر، أى قبر كان، و تقبيلهٔ وتمريغ الخد عليه، فمنهي عنه باتفاق المسلمين، ولو كان ذلك من قبور الأنبياء، ولم يفعل هذا أحد من سلف الأمة وأئمتها، بل هذا من الشرك، قال الله تعالى : وَقَالُوا لَا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا ٭ وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَالًا [71-نوح:23] وقد تقدم أن هؤلاء أسماء قوم صالحين، كانوا من قوم نوح، وأنهم عكفوا على قبورهم مدة، ثم طال عليهم الأمد، فصوروا تماثيلهم، لاسيما إذا اقترن بذلك دعاء الميت والاستغاثة به…
“Whosever grave it may be, touching it (with the intention of seeking blessing), kissing it and rubbing one’s cheeks on it is forbidden, and all the Muslims are agreed on this. If this is done even with the blessed graves of the Prophets, the ruling is the same. None of the predecessors of the Ummah and the Imams of the religion did this; rather, this act is shirk, as the statement of Allah, the Exalted, says: وَقَالُوا لَا تَذَرُنَّ آلِهَتَكُمْ وَلَا تَذَرُنَّ وَدًّا وَلَا سُوَاعًا وَلَا يَغُوثَ وَيَعُوقَ وَنَسْرًا ٭ وَقَدْ أَضَلُّوا كَثِيرًا وَلَا تَزِدِ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا ضَلَالًا
‘They (the polytheists of the people of Nuh) said: We will never abandon Wadd, Suwa’, Yaghuth, Ya’uq and Nasr. (Thus) they led countless people astray.’ It has already been mentioned that these were all names of righteous men among the people of Nuh. For a period they kept bowing their foreheads at their graves; then, when centuries passed, they fashioned statues of these righteous persons. This veneration of graves becomes shirk especially when the dead person is also called upon and help is sought from him…”
◈ The same Shaykh says in another place:
اتفق السلف على أنه لا يستلم قبرا من قبور الأنبياء وغيرهم، ولا يتمسح به، ولا يستحب الصلاة عنده، ولا قصده للدعاء عنده أو به؛ لأن هذه الأمور كانت من أسباب الشرك وعبادة الأوثان.
“The righteous predecessors are agreed that, whether the graves are those of the Prophets or of ordinary people, it is not permissible to kiss them, nor to touch them (with the intention of seeking blessing). Praying near graves, going to graves for the sake of having supplication accepted, or making supplication through those graves is not recommended. All these acts become a cause of shirk and idol worship.”
◈ Allama Ibn al-Hajj (d. 737 AH), speaking about the Prophet’s grave, says:
فترى من لا علم عنده يطوف بالقبر الشريف، كما يطوف بالكعبة الحرام، ويتمسح به ويقبله، ويلقون عليه مناديلهم وثيابهم، يقصدون به التبرك، وذلك كله من البدع، لان التبرك إنما يكون بالاتباع لهٔ – عليه الصلاة والسلام – وما كان سبب عبادة الجاهلية للأصنام إلا من هذا الباب.
“You will see the ignorant circumambulating the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ as they circumambulate the Ka’bah, touching it with the intention of seeking blessing, kissing it, and throwing their handkerchiefs and clothes upon it. All these acts are innovation, because blessing is obtained only and solely by following him (peace be upon him). The idols of the Jahiliyyah came to be worshipped for the very reason of such things.
”
◈ Ahmad al-Wansharisi (d. 914 AH) writes:
ومنها تقبيل قبر الرجل الصالح أو العالم، فإن هذا كله بدعة
“Among these acts is also kissing the grave of a righteous man or a scholar. All these acts are innovation.”
Narration No. ➐
Hatim bin Wardan says:
كان عمر بن عبدالعزيز يوجه بالبريد قاصدا إلى المدينة، ليقرى عنه النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم.
“Imam Umar bin Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) used to send a messenger to Madinah Munawwarah with the mail, to convey greetings to the Prophet ﷺ on his behalf.”
Comment:
The chain of this narration is da’if (weak) and false, because:
➊ No tawthiq (declaration of reliability) has been found for its narrator Ibrahim bin Firas.
➋ His teacher Ahmad bin Salih al-Razi is also “majhul” (unknown).
Narration No. ➑
Yazid ibn Abi Sa’id al-Maqburi narrates:
قدمت على عمر بن عبدالعزيز، إذ كان خليفة، بالشام، فلما ودعته قال : إن لي إليك حاجة، إذا أتيت المدينة فترى قبر النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم، فأقرئه مني السلام.
“I went to Imam Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) in Sham during the time of his caliphate. When I was about to return, he said: I have a request of you: when you go to Madinah and visit the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ, convey my greetings of peace to him ﷺ.”
Comment:
The chain of narration of this statement is da’if (weak).
Its narrator Rabah ibn Bashir is “majhul (unknown)”.
Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) declared him “majhul”.
No one except Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) (Al-Thiqat: 242/8) has declared him reliable.
Narration No. ➒
Abu Ishaq al-Qurashi says:
كان عندنا رجل بالمدينة، إذ رأى منكرا لا يمكنه أن يغيره، أتى القبر، فقال : أيا قبر النبى وصاحبيه ……… ألا يا غوثنا، لو تعلمونا.
“There was a man living near us in Madinah. Whenever he saw an evil that he had no power to remove, he would present himself at the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ and say: O grave of the Prophet ﷺ and of his two companions (Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both)! If you know us, then help us!”
Comment:
Who is Abu Ishaq al-Qurashi in the chain of narration of this narration? His identity needs to be determined, and his reliability also needs to be established.
Narration No. ➓
Sulayman ibn Suhaym narrates:
رأيت النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم فى النوم، قلت : يا رسول الله ! هؤلاء الذين يأتونك، فيسلمون عليك، أتفقہ سلامهم ؟ قال : ”نعم، وارد عليهم“ .
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ in a dream and said to him: O Messenger of Allah! These people who come to your blessed grave and recite the greeting of peace, do you understand their greeting? He said: Yes, and I also reply to them.”
Comment:
Its chain of narration is da’if (weak).
Ibn Abi Rijal’s hearing from Sulayman ibn Suhaym could not be established.
Narration No. ⓫
It is narrated from Nubayh ibn Wahb that Ka’b al-Ahbar (may Allah have mercy on him) came to Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her). Sayyidah Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) mentioned the Prophet ﷺ. Ka’b said: Whenever the day dawns, seventy thousand angels descend. They surround the blessed grave of the Prophet ﷺ, place their wings on the grave, and send blessings upon him ﷺ.”
Comment:
In this narration, Nubayh ibn Wahb is narrating from Ka’b al-Ahbar, whereas his hearing from Ka’b al-Ahbar and meeting with him are not established. Thus this chain is “munqati’ (broken)”.
◈ Imam al-Tahawi al-Hanafi (may Allah have mercy on him) (238-321 AH) writes about a “munqati'” narration:
فدخل هذا الحديث فى الأحاديث المنقطعة التى لا يحتج أهل الاسناد بمثلها
“This hadith is among the munqati’ narrations, which the hadith scholars do not regard as valid proof.”
The religion is the name for the teachings established by the Noble Qur’an and authentic hadiths. The chain of narration is a distinguishing characteristic and special mark of the Ummah of Muhammad. The entire religion of the Muslims is contained in authentic hadiths. The religion of Islam has no need of “da’if” and fabricated narrations. It does not befit any Muslim to adopt such narrations. For the people of truth, only those hadiths are sufficient that are authentic according to the agreed principles of the hadith scholars.
My prayer is that Allah the Exalted grant us the ability to act upon authentic hadiths alone. آمين!
