A Baseless Narrative Against Raf’ul-Yadain and Tahir ul-Qadri

Author: Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai

Question:​

Mr. Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai, I regularly read your publication "Al-Hadith." Alhamdulillah, you work tirelessly on its issuance, may Allah keep it ongoing. Ameen. Recently, a benefactor of ours, Dr. Tahir Hussain, who is a lecturer at a nearby Textile University, mentioned that Tahir ul-Qadri has published a book on the internet named Minhaj-us-Sawi. In this book, he has mentioned the Hadiths of Raf’ul-Yadain by distorting their meanings as found in Sahih Bukhari and other books. He requested a response from me, and Alhamdulillah, after some effort, I found your book Noor-ul-Ainain, which provided the necessary answers. However, one argument he mentioned at number 114 reads:

عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما أنه قول: إن العشرة الذين بشر لهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالجنة ما كانوا يرفعون أيديهم إلا لإفتتاح الصلاة، قال السَّمر قندي: وخلاف هٰؤلاء الصحابة قبيح

He referenced it as:

أخرجه السمر قندي في تحفة الفقهاء [۱/۱۳۲، ۱۳۳]، والكاساني في بدائع الصنائع [۱/۲۰۷]، والعيني في عمدة القاري شرح صحيح البخاري [۵/۲۷۲]

I couldn't find the answer in Noor-ul-Ainain. Hence, I apologize for bothering you to provide a thorough investigation of this narration. An envelope is included for your reply. If you haven't seen this before, please include it in Al-Hadith for the benefit of other readers as well. May Allah reward you with goodness in this world and the hereafter.

Sincerely,Syed Abdul Haleem, Chak Number 203 R.B. Mananwala Faisalabad

Answer:​

Alhamdulillah Rabbil Alameen, and peace and blessings upon His trustworthy Messenger,

The renowned trustworthy Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak Al-Marwazi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

الإسناد من الدين ولولا الإسناد لقال من شاء ما شاء

“Isnad (chain of narration) is part of the religion. If it were not for the isnad, anyone could say whatever they wished.”

[Sahih Muslim, Darussalam numbering: 32, Monthly Minhaj-ul-Quran Lahore, Volume 20, Issue 11, November 2006, p. 22]

This golden saying implies that any statement without a chain of narration is rejected. Muhammad Tahir ul-Qadri, the founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran, explains this saying as:

“Thus, the narration of Hadith, the knowledge of Hadith, the knowledge of Tafsir, and the entire religion depend on Isnad. Without a chain, nothing is accepted.”

[Monthly Minhaj-ul-Quran, Volume 20, Issue 11, p. 23]


Following this preamble, it is stated that Alaa'uddin Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Abi Ahmed Al-Samarkandi wrote in his book Tuhfatul Fuqaha:

"والصحيح مذهبنا لما روي عن ابن عباس أنه قول: إن العشرة الذين بشر لهم رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم بالجنة ما كانوا يرفعون أيديهم إلا لإفتتاح الصلوٰة. قال السمر قندي: وخلاف هٰؤلاء الصحابة قبيح"

"And our (Hanafi) madhab is correct because it is narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: The ten who were given glad tidings of Paradise by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) did not raise their hands except at the beginning of the prayer. Samarkandi said: Opposing these Companions is a bad act."

[Volume 1, pp. 132-133, another copy pp. 66-67]

Almost the same phrase was later cited by Alaa'uddin Abu Bakr bin Masood Al-Kasani (died 587 AH) in Bada'i al-Sana'i and by Badruddin Al-Ayni in Umdatul Qari (Volume 5, p. 272). Kasanai noted at the beginning of Bada'i al-Sana'i that he compiled his book based on what he took from his teacher Muhammad bin Ahmed bin Abi Ahmed Al-Samarkandi.

[Volume 1, p. 2]

Thus, it is evident that this narration depends on the aforementioned Samarkandi. Samarkandi passed away in 553 AH. See:

[Mu’jam al-Muallifin, Volume 3, p. 67, Entry 11750]

This means he was born in the fifth or sixth century AH. Faqeer Muhammad Jehlami mentioned him in the sixth century scholars' list.

[Hadaiq al-Hanafiya, p. 267]

From Samarkandi to Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), who passed away in 68 AH, there is no chain or reference. Therefore, this narration is rejected due to the lack of chain and reference.

A Serious Warning:​

It is not appropriate to deceive the simple public by saying

“أخرجه السمرقندي في تحفة الفقهاء… إلخ”

(Samarkandi has referenced it in Tuhfatul Fuqaha, etc.). People may think Samarkandi was a great Muhaddith who mentioned this narration with his chain in his book. However, Samarkandi's status as a Muhaddith is not proven. Rather, he was a taqlidi faqih who recorded this narration without any chain or reference using ambiguous wording. Now, who among the public has the time to open the original book and research?

Generally, phrases like “رُوِيَ” (it is narrated) are used for weak or unsubstantiated narrations. See:

[Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salah with Sharh of Iraqi, p. 136, Type 22]

Hence, any narration without a chain, even if presented with phrases like “رُوِيَ”, is fabricated, baseless, and rejected. This narration presented by Samarkandi and Kasani is rejected both in terms of text and the principles of narration and reasoning.

First Evidence:​

Imam Abu Bakr bin Abi Shaybah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

"حدثنا هشيم قال: أخبرنا أبوجمرة قال: رأيت ابن عباس يرفع يديه إذا افتتح الصلوٰة وإذا ركع وإذا رفع"

“We were narrated by Hushaym, who said: We were informed by Abu Jamrah, who said: I saw Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) raise his hands at the beginning of the prayer, when bowing, and when rising.”

[Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah, Volume 1, p. 235, Hadith 2431]

This narration's chain is Hasan Lidhatihi (good in itself) or Sahih. It is evident that Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) himself performed Raf’ul-Yadain before and after bowing. Thus, it is impossible that he narrated anything against Raf’ul-Yadain.

Second Evidence:​

The first of the ten blessed Companions, Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), performed Raf’ul-Yadain before and after bowing. See Imam Bayhaqi's book As-Sunan al-Kubra:

[Volume 2, p. 73]

"وقال: رواته ثقات"

“Its narrators are trustworthy.”

This narration’s chain is entirely authentic, and any criticism against it by some people is rejected. See my book Noor-ul-Ainain fi Mas'alat Raf'ul-Yadain:

[pp. 119-121]

Third Evidence:​

Raf’ul-Yadain before and after bowing is also narrated from Umar bin Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him). See:

[Nasb al-Raya, Volume 1, p. 416][Musnad al-Faruq by Ibn Kathir, Volume 1, pp. 165-166][Sharh Sunan al-Tirmidhi by Ibn Sayyid al-Nas (Manuscript), Volume 2, p. 217]

[Noor-ul-Ainain, pp. 195-204]


This narration's chain is Hasan (good), and this narration is Sahih lighayrihi (authentic due to corroborating evidence).

Fourth Evidence:​

From Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and other Companions from the ten blessed ones, no instance of abandoning Raf’ul-Yadain before and after bowing, nor any prohibition or abrogation, is proven.

Warning:

Tahir ul-Qadri has written three narrations about the abandonment of Raf’ul-Yadain from Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and Ali (may Allah be pleased with him).

[Minhaj-us-Sawi, Fourth Edition, pp. 228-229, Hadith 258, 260, 261]

All three narrations are weak according to the principles of Hadith. See:

[Noor-ul-Ainain, pp. 231, 234, 236]

The first narration's narrator, Muhammad bin Jaber, has been criticized by Imam Darqutni (may Allah have mercy on him) and Imam Bayhaqi (may Allah have mercy on him). The great Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah, Ahmad bin Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him), said about this narration:

"هٰذا حديث منكر"

“This is a rejected narration.”

[Al-Masa’il: Narrated by Abdullah bin Ahmad, Volume 1, p. 242, Hadith 327]

Until now, there has been no response to the critique and criticism mentioned in the Monthly Al-Hadith Hazro and Noor-ul-Ainain. Alhamdulillah.

Summary of the Research:​

The narration mentioned by Tahir ul-Qadri is baseless, false, and rejected due to its lack of chain and reference. And our duty is only to convey.

(February 9, 2007)
 
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