❖ The Story of the Jewish Scholar and His Claim About ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib
Authored by: Hafiz Muhammad Anwar Zahid حفظه الله
✿ The Narration:
Imam al-Bayhaqī narrates:
Abu ʿAbdullah al-Ḥāfiẓ reported to us through dictation, who narrated from Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Baghdādī, from Hāshim ibn Murthid al-Ṭabarānī, from Yaʿqūb ibn Muḥammad al-Zuhrī, from ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿImrān, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar, from Ibn ʿAwn, from Miswar ibn Makhramah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who narrated from his father:
ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib said:
"I once traveled to Yemen during winter and stayed with a Jewish scholar who was a follower of the Zabūr (Psalms).
This man requested to examine my body. I permitted him, except for my private parts.
He looked into one of my nostrils, then the other, and said:
‘In one of your nostrils, I see kingship, and in the other, prophethood. I can see it clearly—how will this come to pass?’
I replied: ‘I do not know.’
He asked: ‘Are you married (شاعتة)?’
I asked: ‘What do you mean by شاعتة?’
He said: ‘A wife.’
I replied: ‘At the moment, no.’
He said: ‘When you return, marry into Banū Zuhrah.
So ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib returned to Makkah and married Hālah bint Wahb ibn ʿAbd Manāf, and from her were born Ḥamzah and Ṣafiyyah.
Later, his son ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib married Āminah bint Wahb, who gave birth to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
When this marriage took place, the Quraysh said:
‘ʿAbdullāh is following in his father's footsteps—what he seeks, he attains.’
It is also mentioned in some versions that the Jewish woman may have been from the tribe of Khatʿam."
❖ Authentication of the Narration:
Status of the Chain: Its chain is fabricated (موضوع).
✿ Sources and Analysis:
- al-Bayhaqī in Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah (1/98, Hadith no. 24)
- al-Ḥākim in al-Mustadrak (2/606, Hadith no. 4176)
- al-Ṭabarānī in al-Kabīr (3/137, Hadith no. 2917)
- Abū Nuʿaym in Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah (1/85, Hadith no. 71)
- Ibn Saʿd, Ibn Sayyid al-Nās, Ibn al-Jawzī, and others in various historical works
✿ Reason for Rejection:
① The narration contains ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn ʿImrān, who is a rejected narrator (matrūk) according to hadith scholars.
② The narration has been transmitted through multiple disconnected and unreliable chains.
③ Al-Haythamī in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (8/231) states:
“It has been reported by al-Ṭabarānī, and in its chain is a narrator who is unknown.”
④ Some versions contain excessive details and exaggerations, which are typical features of fabricated narrations.
❖ Conclusion:
The story of a Jewish scholar discovering signs of kingship and prophethood in the nostrils of ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib is a fabricated report.
Its chain includes rejected narrators and disconnected links, and it is not reliable for use in historical or religious discussions.
Such stories, despite their appeal in storytelling, should be avoided in preaching and religious instruction unless explicitly clarified as fabricated.
