❖ Verification of the Hadith of Seventy Thousand Angels – A Weak Narration ❖
Source: Fatāwā al-Dīn al-Khāliṣ, Volume 1, Page 225
❖ Question:
What is the authenticity of the Hadith which states:
“Whoever says: ‘May Allah reward Muhammad ﷺ on our behalf in a manner befitting him,’ seventy thousand angels will be exhausted for seventy mornings [recording its reward]”?
(Questioner: Abū ʿUmar Dhīr Aḥmad – 28 Shawwāl 1413 AH)
❖ Answer:
All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
❖ Source of the Hadith:
This Hadith has been narrated by Imām al-Ṭabarānī in al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr and al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ on the authority of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما).
The narration mentions:
“Whoever says: ‘May Allah reward Muhammad ﷺ on our behalf with what he is worthy of,’ he will exhaust seventy scribes for a thousand mornings.”
It is also cited in al-Targhīb wa al-Tarhīb (2/504).
❖ Criticism on the Narrators:
➊ Hāniʾ ibn al-Mutawakkil al-Iskandarānī:
- Imām al-Dhahabī included him in Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl.
- Ibn Ḥibbān said:
“He narrates many rejected (munkar) reports; it is not permissible to use him as evidence.”
➡ This Hadith is considered among those rejected narrations (munkar).
➋ Imām al-Suyūṭī:
- He also mentioned this Hadith in al-Ḥāwī (2/53) with the same chain, including the weak narrator mentioned above.
➌ Imām al-Haythamī:
- In Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (10/163), after citing the Hadith, he commented:
“Ṭabarānī narrated it in al-Kabīr and al-Awsaṭ. In its chain is Hāniʾ ibn al-Mutawakkil, who is weak.”
❖ Citation in Other Works:
- Mawlānā Zakariyyā mentioned this narration in his book Faḍāʾil-e-Durūd.
- Imām al-Sakhāwī discussed this Hadith with its various chains and analyzed them in detail.
- Imām al-Albānī included it in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah (3/206).
❖ Ruling on the Hadith:
❌ This Hadith is very weak (ḍaʿīf jiddan).
It cannot be used as evidence nor should it be publicized.
❖ Clarification:
The virtues of sending blessings (durūd) upon the Prophet ﷺ are well established in numerous authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) narrations, eliminating any need for relying on weak or fabricated reports.
❖ Conclusion:
✅ This Hadith is very weak,
❌ It should not be used as a basis for practice or encouragement.
✔ One should rely on authentic Hadiths to understand the merits of sending salawat upon the Prophet ﷺ.
هذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
