Ḥadīth and Chain Analysis of the Verse ﴿اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ﴾
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Volume 3 – Issues of Tawḥīd and Sunnah, Page 82The Qur’ānic Verse:
﴿اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ﴾
The Marfū‘ Ḥadīth:
From ‘Adiyy ibn Ḥātim (رضي الله عنه):
"I came to the Prophet ﷺ with a gold cross on my neck. He said: ‘O ‘Adiyy! Remove this idol from yourself.’
Then I heard him recite the verse ﴿اتَّخَذُوا أَحْبَارَهُمْ وَرُهْبَانَهُمْ أَرْبَابًا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ﴾ and he said: ‘They did not worship them, but when these (scholars/monks) declared something ḥalāl, they took it as ḥalāl; and when they declared something ḥarām, they took it as ḥarām.’"
References:
- Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 3095
- al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 10/116
- al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr (al-Bukhārī): 7/106
- al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr (al-Ṭabarānī): 17/92 (218–219)
- Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr: 5/864 (16640–16641)
- al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (al-Albānī): 3293
Chain Examination:
Narrator in Question: Ghuṭayf ibn A‘yan – declared ḍa‘īf by:
- al-Dāraqutnī – al-Ḍu‘afā’ wa al-Matrūkīn p. 430
- Ibn al-Jawzī – al-Ḍu‘afā’ wa al-Matrūkīn 2/247 (#2686)
- al-Dhahabī – Dīwān al-Ḍu‘afā’ wa al-Matrūkīn 2/230 (#3333)
- Ibn Ḥajar – Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb (#5364): "Ḍa‘īf"
Opposing View:
- Ibn Ḥibbān listed him in al-Thiqāt (7/311)
- In some Tirmidhī manuscripts the grading "ḥasan gharīb" is mentioned — but this is outweighed by the majority criticism of the narrator.
Supporting Narrations:
Two cited by Ibn Ḥajar:
- From ‘Āmir ibn Sa‘d → ‘Adiyy ibn Ḥātim – found in al-Kāfī al-Shāf 2/264
- Contains al-Wāqidī – a kadhdhāb (liar)
- Chain up to al-Wāqidī is also unknown.
- From ‘Aṭā’ ibn Yasār → ‘Adiyy ibn Ḥātim
- Chain is entirely missing.
Thus, these shawaahid are rejected due to lack of isnād.
Note: Shaykh al-Albānī graded the ḥadīth "ḥasan in shā’ Allāh" — but this is open to objection given the weakness of Ghuṭayf and absence of strong supporting chains.
The Mawqūf Report:
From Ḥudhayfah (رضي الله عنه):
When asked if the People of the Book worshipped their scholars and monks, he replied: "No, but when they declared something ḥalāl, people took it as ḥalāl; when they declared something ḥarām, people took it as ḥarām — and that was their form of lordship."
References:
- Tafsīr ‘Abd al-Razzāq: 1073
- Tafsīr Ibn Jarīr: 5/865 (16643)
- al-Sunan al-Kubrā lil-Bayhaqī: 10/116
- Shu‘ab al-Īmān: 9394 (8948 in another edition)
- Jāmi‘ Bayān al-‘Ilm wa Faḍlihi: 2/219 (949)
- al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (al-Albānī): 7/865
Isnād Issue:
- Abū al-Bakhtarī (Sa‘īd ibn Fayrūz al-Ṭā’ī) did not meet Ḥudhayfah.
- al-‘Alā’ī (Jāmi‘ al-Taḥṣīl p. 183): "He often narrated mursal from ‘Umar, ‘Alī, Ibn Mas‘ūd, and Ḥudhayfah…"
- al-Albānī also declared the chain mursal (munqaṭi‘).
Another Version:
In Tafsīr Sa‘īd ibn Manṣūr (5/245–246):
"Ḥudhayfah said to me…"
- Chain is ṣaḥīḥ up to Abū al-Bakhtarī, but the phrase "qāla lī" may be a scribal error.
- Other sources have "qīla li-Ḥudhayfah" — making it mursal.
Statement of Abū al-Bakhtarī:
Found in Jāmi‘ Bayān al-‘Ilm wa Faḍlihi (2/219, 948):
- Chain: Abū al-Aḥwaṣ → ‘Aṭā’ ibn al-Sā’ib → Abū al-Bakhtarī
- Weak because Abū al-Aḥwaṣ was not an early student of ‘Aṭā’ ibn al-Sā’ib — making this maqṭū‘.
Conclusion:
- The marfū‘ ḥadīth in Tirmidhī 3095 is ḍa‘īf due to Ghuṭayf ibn A‘yan.
- All shawaahid are either weak or without chain.
- Shaykh al-Albānī’s "ḥasan in shā’ Allāh" grading is contrary to the stronger evidence from the majority of critics.
- The narration in Jāmi‘ Bayān al-‘Ilm from Abū al-Bakhtarī is also ḍa‘īf.
- The meaning of the verse is that the Jews and Christians obeyed their religious leaders in making things ḥalāl or ḥarām, even if it went against Allah’s revelation — thus making them arbaab besides Allah.
