By: Waqar Akbar Cheema
Topic: Addressing Hadith Rejection and Clarifying Misconceptions
Hadith rejecters and atheists frequently object to a narration found in Sunan Abī Dāwūd in which it is stated that the sun sets in a muddy spring. This narration is as follows:
Chain of Narrators:
Yazīd ibn Hārūn → Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn → al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah → Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Taymī → Yazīd al-Taymī → Abū Dharr (RA)
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Ḥadīth no. 3991)
The same narration appears with extended wording in Musnad Aḥmad, where it reports that the Prophet ﷺ said to Abū Dharr:
“O Abū Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets?”
He replied: “Allāh and His Messenger know best.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “It sets in a spring of warm/muddy water.”
(Musnad Aḥmad, Ḥadīth no. 21459)
However, in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the narration is reported without the phrase about the sun setting in a muddy spring.
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Abū Dharr (RA) reports:
“The sun goes and prostrates under the Throne of Allah and seeks permission to rise again. A time will come when its prostration will not be accepted, and it will be told: ‘Return from where you came’—thus it will rise from the West.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Volume 4, Book 54, Ḥadīth 421)
There is no mention of a muddy spring or hot water in this authentic version.
Multiple narrators have reported the same narration from Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Taymī, but:
Let’s compare how this narration has been transmitted:
✔ Al-Aʿmash → Narrated by five chains (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
✔ ʿĪsā ibn ʿUbayd → Narrated by three chains (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
✔ Mūsā ibn al-Musayyib al-Thaqafī → ʿAbdah ibn Sulaymān (al-ʿUẓmā 4/1186)
✔ ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Taymī → Masʿar (Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 5/89)
✔ Hārūn ibn Saʿd → ʿAbd al-Ghaffār ibn al-Qāsim (al-ʿUẓmā 4/1191; al-Muʿjam al-Ṭabarānī Ḥadīth 4470)
✘ al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah → Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn → Only this chain includes the phrase “muddy spring.”
Conclusion:
Out of eleven known transmitters, only one—Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn—mentions the phrase about the muddy spring, indicating an anomaly in his version.
According to the principles of hadith criticism:
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ (d. 643 AH) states:
“A shādh report is one in which a trustworthy narrator contradicts other more reliable narrators.”
(Maʿrifah ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth, p. 57)
A Muʿallal (defective) narration appears sound outwardly, but contains a hidden flaw in its chain.
While Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn is generally a reliable narrator, some scholars have pointed out errors in his narrations.
◈ Muḥammad ibn Saʿd writes:
“Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn is trustworthy, but he made some mistakes in his narrations.”
(Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, Vol. 7, p. 227)
Thus, relying solely on his anomalous version is not justified, especially when eleven other reliable versions do not contain the same words.
Some refer to Surah al-Kahf (18:86) where Dhul-Qarnayn saw the sun “setting in a muddy spring.”
The correct understanding here is visual and metaphorical—it describes how it appeared to him from his viewpoint, not that the sun literally sets in a spring.
✔ The objection regarding the sun setting in a muddy or hot spring is based on a weak and anomalous narration.
✔ This phrase is not found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, or the majority of narrations.
✔ The narration in Musnad Aḥmad that includes the phrase comes only from one route, which is contradicted by multiple stronger routes.
✔ Hence, this narration does not meet the standard of authenticity, and the objection is based on a misreading and misuse of a flawed version.
Topic: Addressing Hadith Rejection and Clarifying Misconceptions
❖ The Basis of the Objection
Hadith rejecters and atheists frequently object to a narration found in Sunan Abī Dāwūd in which it is stated that the sun sets in a muddy spring. This narration is as follows:
Chain of Narrators:
Yazīd ibn Hārūn → Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn → al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah → Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Taymī → Yazīd al-Taymī → Abū Dharr (RA)
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Ḥadīth no. 3991)
❖ Related Versions in Other Sources
The same narration appears with extended wording in Musnad Aḥmad, where it reports that the Prophet ﷺ said to Abū Dharr:
“O Abū Dharr! Do you know where the sun sets?”
He replied: “Allāh and His Messenger know best.”
The Prophet ﷺ said: “It sets in a spring of warm/muddy water.”
(Musnad Aḥmad, Ḥadīth no. 21459)
However, in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, the narration is reported without the phrase about the sun setting in a muddy spring.
❖ The Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī Version
In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Abū Dharr (RA) reports:
“The sun goes and prostrates under the Throne of Allah and seeks permission to rise again. A time will come when its prostration will not be accepted, and it will be told: ‘Return from where you came’—thus it will rise from the West.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Volume 4, Book 54, Ḥadīth 421)
There is no mention of a muddy spring or hot water in this authentic version.
❖ Analysis of the Chain (Isnād)
Multiple narrators have reported the same narration from Ibrāhīm ibn Yazīd al-Taymī, but:
- Only al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah reports it with the added phrase about the sun setting in a muddy spring.
- Furthermore, this phrase is found only through Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn, one of the transmitters from al-Ḥakam.
❖ Comparison of Narrators
Let’s compare how this narration has been transmitted:
✔ Al-Aʿmash → Narrated by five chains (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī)
✔ ʿĪsā ibn ʿUbayd → Narrated by three chains (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim)
✔ Mūsā ibn al-Musayyib al-Thaqafī → ʿAbdah ibn Sulaymān (al-ʿUẓmā 4/1186)
✔ ʿAbd al-Aʿlā al-Taymī → Masʿar (Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ 5/89)
✔ Hārūn ibn Saʿd → ʿAbd al-Ghaffār ibn al-Qāsim (al-ʿUẓmā 4/1191; al-Muʿjam al-Ṭabarānī Ḥadīth 4470)
✘ al-Ḥakam ibn ʿUtaybah → Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn → Only this chain includes the phrase “muddy spring.”
Conclusion:
Out of eleven known transmitters, only one—Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn—mentions the phrase about the muddy spring, indicating an anomaly in his version.
❖ Shudhūdh and ʿIllah in Ḥadīth Sciences
According to the principles of hadith criticism:
- A Shādh (anomalous) narration is when a trustworthy narrator reports something that contradicts more reliable narrators.
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Ṣalāḥ (d. 643 AH) states:
“A shādh report is one in which a trustworthy narrator contradicts other more reliable narrators.”
(Maʿrifah ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth, p. 57)
A Muʿallal (defective) narration appears sound outwardly, but contains a hidden flaw in its chain.
❖ Criticism of Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn
While Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn is generally a reliable narrator, some scholars have pointed out errors in his narrations.
◈ Muḥammad ibn Saʿd writes:
“Sufyān ibn Ḥusayn is trustworthy, but he made some mistakes in his narrations.”
(Ṭabaqāt al-Kubrā, Vol. 7, p. 227)
Thus, relying solely on his anomalous version is not justified, especially when eleven other reliable versions do not contain the same words.
❖ Qur’anic Context: A Visual Description
Some refer to Surah al-Kahf (18:86) where Dhul-Qarnayn saw the sun “setting in a muddy spring.”
The correct understanding here is visual and metaphorical—it describes how it appeared to him from his viewpoint, not that the sun literally sets in a spring.
❖ Final Summary
✔ The objection regarding the sun setting in a muddy or hot spring is based on a weak and anomalous narration.
✔ This phrase is not found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, or the majority of narrations.
✔ The narration in Musnad Aḥmad that includes the phrase comes only from one route, which is contradicted by multiple stronger routes.
✔ Hence, this narration does not meet the standard of authenticity, and the objection is based on a misreading and misuse of a flawed version.
