Some people are heard stating that during the incident of Harrah (63 AH), the call to prayer (Adhan) was heard from the blessed grave of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. The authenticity or falsehood of any event, accident, or tragedy can be determined by its chain of narration (Isnad). The honorable Muhaddithin, may Allah have mercy on them, established fair rules for examining chains of narration in the light of the Quran and Sunnah, and they also recorded the biographies of narrators. This method of verifying the treasure of narrations is a distinctive feature of the Islamic heritage. There is no example of this in other religions.
Whether in books of Hadith or in Seerah and history, scholars have fulfilled their responsibility by mentioning their chains of narration. Now it is up to later generations to consider these principles, rules, and the biographies of narrators when assessing authenticity or falsehood, or to blindly present every narration that suits their interests.
Below is the narration regarding the Adhan from the Prophet’s grave during the incident of Harrah, presented with all its chains of transmission and commentary. Judge for yourself!
Narration number: ➊
Saeed bin Abdul Aziz Tanukhi, may Allah have mercy on him (died 90 AH), states:
لما كان أيام الحرة لم يؤذن فى مسجد النبى صلى اللہ عليه وسلم ثلاثا، ولم يقم، ولم يبرح سعيد بن المسيب المسجد، وكان لا يعرف وقت الصلاة، إلا بهمهمة، يسمعها من قبر النبى صلى اللہ عليه وسلم .
“During the incident of Harrah, for three days there was no Adhan or Iqamah in the Prophet’s Mosque. During those days, Imam Saeed bin Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him, was residing in the Prophet’s Mosque. He would know the time of prayer from the sound that was heard from the blessed grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him.”
Comment:
Its chain of narration is “weak” due to “discontinuity.”
The incident of Harrah occurred long before the birth of the narrator Saeed bin Abdul Aziz al-Tanukhi, may Allah have mercy on him. Moreover, Saeed bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, never met Imam Saeed bin Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him. The event of Harrah took place in 63 AH, and Imam Saeed bin Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him, passed away in 94 AH, while Saeed bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, was born in 90 AH.
Furthermore, Imam Saeed bin Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him, died in Madinah Munawwarah, whereas Saeed bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, was born in Sham. How then is it possible that Saeed bin Abdul Aziz, may Allah have mercy on him, heard this narration directly from Saeed bin Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him? It is unknown from whom he heard this. Therefore, this narration is “weak” due to “discontinuity.”
Narration number: ➋
Imam Ibn Saad, may Allah have mercy on him, has narrated this incident as follows:
أخبرنا محمد بن عمر، قال : حدثني طلحة بن محمد بن سعيد، عن أبيه، قال : كان سعيد بن المسيب أيام الحرة فى المسجد،…، قال : فكنت إذا حانت الصلاة أسمع أذانا يخرج من قبل القبر، حتٰي أمن الناس .
“Imam Saeed bin Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him, was residing in the Prophet’s Mosque during the days of the Harrah incident… He narrates that whenever it was time for the call to prayer, I would hear the call to prayer from the Prophet’s grave. This continued until peace was restored.”
Comment:
This is a fabricated story because in its chain of narration:
➊ Muhammad bin Umar Waqidi is considered “weak” and “abandoned” by the majority of the great hadith scholars.
➋ The second narrator Talha bin Muhammad bin Saeed is “unknown.”
◈ Regarding him, Imam Abu Hatim (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لا اعرف “I do not know him.”
➌ The third narrator Muhammad bin Saeed bin Musayyib has been classified as “acceptable” (unknown status) by Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him).
Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned him in his book
, but no reliable Imam has authenticated him.
➌
,
,
, and
contain the mentioned chain. Its narrator Abdul Hamid bin Sulayman al-Madani is considered “weak” by the majority of the great hadith scholars. Regarding him:
◈ Imam Yahya bin Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس بشيئ . “He is a frivolous narrator.”
◈ Imam Ali bin Madini (may Allah have mercy on him) classified him as “weak.”
◈ Imam Abu Zur’ah al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ضعيف الحديث . “The hadith he narrates is weak.”
◈ Imam Abu Hatim al-Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس بقوي . “He is not strong at all.”
◈ Imam Darqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned him in
.
◈ Imam Ya’qub bin Sufyan al-Fasawi (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned him among narrators whose narration is not worthy of attention, then said that he heard from his fellow hadith scholars that they call him “weak.”
◈ Imam Nasai (may Allah have mercy on him) also classified him as “weak.”
◈ Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
لا شيئ . “He is of no use.”
◈ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) also classified him as “weak.”
In opposition to this weakening by the majority of the great hadith scholars, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal’s (may Allah have mercy on him) statement مَا أَرٰي بِهٖ بَأْسًا
and Imam Ibn ‘Adi’s (may Allah have mercy on him) statement وهو ممن يكتب حديثه
cannot prove him trustworthy.
Narration Number: 4
Hafiz, Abu Abdullah, Muhammad bin Mahmood, Ibn Najjar, may Allah have mercy on him (643-578 AH) narrates:
أنبأنا ذاكر بن كامل بن أبي غالب الخفاف، فيما أذن لي فى روايته عنه، قال : كتب إلى أبو على الحداد، عن أبي نعيم الـأصبهاني، قال : أنبأنا جعفر بن محمد بن نصير : أخبرنا أبو يزيد المخزومي : أخبرنا الزبير بن بكار : حدثنا محمد بن الحسن (بن زبالة) : حدثني غير واحد منهم، عن عبد العزيز بن أبي حازم، عن عمر بن محمد، أنه لما كان أيام الحرة ترك الـأذان فى مسجد رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه وسلم ثلاثة أيام، وخرج الناس إلى الحرة، وجلس سعيد بن المسيب فى مسجد رسول اللہ صلى اللہ عليه وسلم، قال : فاستوحشت، فدنوت من قبر النبى صلى اللہ عليه وسلم، فلما حضرت الصلاة، سمعت الـأذان فى قبر النبى صلى اللہ عليه وسلم .
“On the days when the incident of Harrah occurred, the Adhan was not called in the Prophet’s Mosque for three days. People had gone out towards Harrah, but Saeed bin Musayyib, may Allah have mercy on him, was sitting in the Prophet’s Mosque. He narrates that when I began to feel lonely in solitude, I went near the blessed grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him. When the time for prayer came, I heard the Adhan being called from the blessed grave of the Prophet, peace be upon him.”
Comment:
This is a white lie. Its narrator Muhammad bin Hasan bin Zabbalah Makhzumi was a “liar” and an enthusiast of fabricating false hadiths.
About him:
➊ Imam Yahya bin Ma’in (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
ليس بثقة، كان يسرق الحديث، كان كذابا، ولم يكن بشيئ .?
“He was not reliable, he plagiarized hadiths, he was a liar and a frivolous person.”
➋ Imam Abu Hatim Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
واهي الحديث، ضعيف الحديث، منكر الحديث، عنده مناكير، وليس بمتروك الحديث .
“The hadith he narrated is weak, feeble, and rejected. He has strange types of narrations, however, he is not a hadith abandoner.”
➌ Imam Nasai (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
متروك الحديث .
“The muhaddithin have abandoned his narrations.”
➍ Imam Abu Zur’ah Razi (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
وهو واهي الحديث .
“The hadith he narrates is weak.”
➎ Imam Darqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) also declared him “abandoned.”
➏ Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
كان يسرق الحديث، ويروي عن الثقات ما لم يسمع منهم، من غير تدليس منهم .
“He plagiarized hadiths and narrated from trustworthy narrators without tadlis those narrations which he had not heard from them.”
➐ Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
كذبوه . “According to the muhaddithin, this person was a liar.”
◈ He also says:
متفق علٰي ضعفه .
“There is consensus among all muhaddithin about his weakness.”
↰ This narrator is overwhelmed with criticisms, and even the slightest word of authentication is not established about him. Regarding the call to prayer (Adhan) being heard from the Prophet’s grave, these are the only four chains in the entire world, whose condition you have observed. The foundation of religion is the chain of narration; when the chains of a story or narration are false and unreliable, narrating it is an attempt to promote falsehood. Some people derive their beliefs from narrations based on false chains. Please observe:
◈ The famous philosopher, Mr. Zafar Ahmad Usmani, Deobandi (d. 1369 AH) writes:
إن النبى صلى اللہ عليه وسلم حي،…، وإنه يصلي فى قبره بأذان وإقامة .
“Undoubtedly, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is alive… and he performs prayer in his blessed grave with the call to prayer (Adhan) and Iqamah.”
The theory of performing prayer with Adhan and Iqamah in the blessed grave is not conclusively proven.
You have already observed the reality of the traditions about Adhan from the Prophet’s grave. An exaggerated belief has been fabricated unnecessarily regarding the Holy Prophet ﷺ.
◈ Sheikh al-Hadith of Darul Uloom Deoband, Mr. Anwar Shah Kashmiri, Deobandi (1292-1352 AH) says:
إن كثيرا من الـأعمال قد تثبت فى القبور كأذان والإقامة عند الدارمي، وقرائ ة القرآن عند الترمذي .
“Many actions are established in graves, such as Adhan and Iqamah in Sunan al-Darimi and recitation of the Qur’an in Sunan al-Tirmidhi.”
The status of the narration from Darimi has already been clarified; now observe the narration from Tirmidhi as well:
◈ This statement is attributed to Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both):
ضرب بعض أصحاب النبى صلى اللہ عليه وسلم خبائ ه علٰي قبر، وهو لا يحسب أنه قبر، فإذا فيه إنسان يقرأ سورة ﴿تبارك الذى بيده الملك﴾ Until he finished it, the Prophet (peace be upon him) came and said: O Messenger of Allah! I pitched my tent unknowingly on a grave, and there was a person inside reciting Surah Tabarak Al-Mulk until he finished it. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: It is the protector, it is the savior, it saves him from the punishment of the grave.
“A companion unknowingly pitched his tent on a grave. Inside it, a person was reciting Surah Al-Mulk. He completed the entire Surah. The companion came to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah! I unknowingly pitched my tent on a grave, and there was a person inside reciting Surah Al-Mulk, and he completed the entire Surah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Surah Al-Mulk prevents punishment for its reciter and saves him from the torment of the grave.”
Comment:
Its chain of narration is extremely weak because:
➊ Its narrator Yahya ibn Amr ibn Malik Nakri is “weak”. About him:
◈ Imam Ibn Hibban (may Allah have mercy on him) says:
كان منكر الرواية عن أبيه .
“He used to narrate traditions that contradicted those of his father.”
The above narration is also narrated by Yahya ibn Amr from his own father, so this criticism is explanatory. This narrator has also been declared “weak” by Imam Yahya ibn Ma’in, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Imam Abu Zur’ah al-Razi, Imam Nasai, Imam Darqutni
and others.
Imam Darqutni’s (may Allah have mercy on him) statement about him صويلح يعتبر به is not established.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) also declared him “weak”.
➋ The father of Yahya ibn Amr, Amr ibn Malik Nakri (considered Hasan al-Hadith), narrates this tradition from Abu al-Jawzaa, and his narration from Abu al-Jawzaa is “not reliable”.
This was Kashmiri Sahib’s argument, whose outcome you have seen. How is it permissible to base one’s belief on an unestablished narration? Counterfeit coins are of no use. The foundation of religion and belief is only built on authentic hadiths.
Conclusion: It is not established that the call to prayer (Adhan) was heard from the Prophet’s grave at the time of the Battle of Harrah. There is no authentic narration to support this. Therefore, narrating this story and deriving legal rulings from it is not based on goodwill towards the religion of Islam.
