Verification of Narrators and Text of Du‘ā al-Qunūt in al-Mustadrak of al-Ḥākim
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 507
What do the scholars of Dīn say regarding the narration of al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed Ḥaṣṣān رضي الله عنه to recite Du‘ā al-Qunūt after Rukūʿ in the Witr prayer? What is the status of the narrators of this narration?
(Reference: al-Mustadrak, Volume 3, Page 172)
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد:
Chain of Transmission (Isnād):
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ صَالِحِ بْنِ هَانِئٍ، وَأَبُو سَعِيدٍ عَمْرُو بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مَنْصُورٍ قَالَا:
ثنا الْفَضْلُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيِّبِ الشَّعْرَانِيُّ،
ثنا أَبُو بَكْرٍ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ بْنِ شَيْبَةَ الْحِزَامِيُّ،
ثنا ابْنُ أَبِي فُدَيْكٍ، عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عُقْبَةَ،
عَنْ عَمِّهِ مُوسَى بْنِ عُقْبَةَ،
عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ،
عَنْ أَبِيهِ،
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ،
عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ:
"عَلَّمَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي وِتْرِي إِذَا رَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي وَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلَّا السُّجُودُ:
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَعَافِنِي فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ، وَتَوَلَّنِي فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ،
وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ،
إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ، إِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ،
تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ"
—
Al-Ḥākim states:
"This ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, except that Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Kathīr disagreed with Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUqbah in its chain."
Chain of Transmission (Isnād):
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الزَّاهِدُ الصَّفَّارُ،
ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ السُّلَمِيُّ،
وَحَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ حَمْشَاذٍ الْعَدْلُ،
ثنا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ الْبَزَّارُ،
وَالْفَضْلُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ قَالُوا:
ثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ،
وَثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ،
حَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى بْنُ عُقْبَةَ،
ثنا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ،
عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ،
عَنْ أَبِي الْحَوْرَاءِ،
عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ:
"عَلَّمَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ هَؤُلَاءِ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِي الْوِتْرِ:
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ،
وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ،
فَإِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ،
وَإِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ،
تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ"
(Reference: al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim, Book: Maʿrifat al-Ṣaḥābah, Chapter: The Virtues of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, Page 122)
After discussing numerous narrations supporting pre-Rukūʿ Qunūt, he writes:
"However, al-Ḥākim (3/172) and al-Bayhaqī (3/38–39) narrated it through two different chains from al-Faḍl ibn Muḥammad al-Shaʿrānī with the wording: 'When I raise my head and only prostration remains'."
✦ This wording differs from the earlier versions.
✦ Isnād is ḥasan. All narrators are trustworthy and from the narrators of al-Bukhārī except al-Shaʿrānī.
✦ Al-Ḥākim said: "He is trustworthy and no valid criticism exists against him."
Due to this, al-Ḥākim commented:
"Ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, except that Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Kathīr disagreed with Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUqbah in the chain."
Then al-Ḥākim also narrated it from the route of:
Mūsá ibn ʿUqbah → Abū Isḥāq → Yazīd ibn Abī Maryam → Abū al-Ḥawrā’ → al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī
In al-Talkhīṣ (Page 94), he states:
"It is worth pondering over the wording in this narration:
'When I raise my head and only prostration remains'.
I saw in the second volume of the benefits collected by Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Mihrān al-Aṣbahānī, the takhrīj of al-Ḥākim of this narration..."
He then mentions Ibn Manda’s narration with the same additional wording.
✦ Ibn Yūnus al-Muqri is graded thiqqah by al-Khaṭīb in Tārīkh Baghdad (3/446).
✦ Based on this, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar states:
"My inclination is to give preference to the version with the additional wording due to confirmed corroboration (mutābaʿah)."
(Reference: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Vol. 2, Pages 168–169)
✦ However, Shaykh al-Albānī also noted:
"There is some consideration in affirming this narration."
(Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Vol. 2, Page 177)
Shaykh al-Albānī states:
"This isnād is ṣaḥīḥ, all its narrators are trustworthy. Abū Isḥāq and al-Bayhaqī corroborated it from Yazīd ibn Abī Maryam."
◈ Both chains of narration are individually authentic and reliable.
◈ Some scholars preferred the version with the words:
"When I raise my head and only prostration remains".
◈ Overall, this narration is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) and practically applicable.
وما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Volume 1, Page 507❖ Question:
What do the scholars of Dīn say regarding the narration of al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim in which the Messenger of Allah ﷺ instructed Ḥaṣṣān رضي الله عنه to recite Du‘ā al-Qunūt after Rukūʿ in the Witr prayer? What is the status of the narrators of this narration?
(Reference: al-Mustadrak, Volume 3, Page 172)
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد:
① First Narration
Chain of Transmission (Isnād):
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ صَالِحِ بْنِ هَانِئٍ، وَأَبُو سَعِيدٍ عَمْرُو بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ مَنْصُورٍ قَالَا:
ثنا الْفَضْلُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ الْمُسَيِّبِ الشَّعْرَانِيُّ،
ثنا أَبُو بَكْرٍ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ بْنِ شَيْبَةَ الْحِزَامِيُّ،
ثنا ابْنُ أَبِي فُدَيْكٍ، عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ عُقْبَةَ،
عَنْ عَمِّهِ مُوسَى بْنِ عُقْبَةَ،
عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُرْوَةَ،
عَنْ أَبِيهِ،
عَنْ عَائِشَةَ،
عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ:
"عَلَّمَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي وِتْرِي إِذَا رَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي وَلَمْ يَبْقَ إِلَّا السُّجُودُ:
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَعَافِنِي فِيمَنْ عَافَيْتَ، وَتَوَلَّنِي فِيمَنْ تَوَلَّيْتَ،
وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ، وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ،
إِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ، إِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ،
تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ"
—
Al-Ḥākim states:
"This ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, except that Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Kathīr disagreed with Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUqbah in its chain."
② Second Narration
Chain of Transmission (Isnād):
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الزَّاهِدُ الصَّفَّارُ،
ثنا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْمَاعِيلَ السُّلَمِيُّ،
وَحَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ حَمْشَاذٍ الْعَدْلُ،
ثنا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْوَاحِدِ الْبَزَّارُ،
وَالْفَضْلُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْبَيْهَقِيُّ قَالُوا:
ثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ،
وَثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ أَبِي كَثِيرٍ،
حَدَّثَنِي مُوسَى بْنُ عُقْبَةَ،
ثنا أَبُو إِسْحَاقَ،
عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ أَبِي مَرْيَمَ،
عَنْ أَبِي الْحَوْرَاءِ،
عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ قَالَ:
"عَلَّمَنِي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ هَؤُلَاءِ الْكَلِمَاتِ فِي الْوِتْرِ:
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِنِي فِيمَنْ هَدَيْتَ، وَبَارِكْ لِي فِيمَا أَعْطَيْتَ،
وَقِنِي شَرَّ مَا قَضَيْتَ،
فَإِنَّكَ تَقْضِي وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَيْكَ،
وَإِنَّهُ لَا يَذِلُّ مَنْ وَالَيْتَ،
تَبَارَكْتَ رَبَّنَا وَتَعَالَيْتَ"
(Reference: al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim, Book: Maʿrifat al-Ṣaḥābah, Chapter: The Virtues of al-Ḥasan and al-Ḥusayn, Page 122)
❖ Commentary of Shaykh al-Albānī رحمه الله:
After discussing numerous narrations supporting pre-Rukūʿ Qunūt, he writes:
"However, al-Ḥākim (3/172) and al-Bayhaqī (3/38–39) narrated it through two different chains from al-Faḍl ibn Muḥammad al-Shaʿrānī with the wording: 'When I raise my head and only prostration remains'."
✦ This wording differs from the earlier versions.
✦ Isnād is ḥasan. All narrators are trustworthy and from the narrators of al-Bukhārī except al-Shaʿrānī.
✦ Al-Ḥākim said: "He is trustworthy and no valid criticism exists against him."
Due to this, al-Ḥākim commented:
"Ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim, except that Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Abī Kathīr disagreed with Ismāʿīl ibn Ibrāhīm ibn ʿUqbah in the chain."
Then al-Ḥākim also narrated it from the route of:
Mūsá ibn ʿUqbah → Abū Isḥāq → Yazīd ibn Abī Maryam → Abū al-Ḥawrā’ → al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī
❖ Opinion of Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله:
In al-Talkhīṣ (Page 94), he states:
"It is worth pondering over the wording in this narration:
'When I raise my head and only prostration remains'.
I saw in the second volume of the benefits collected by Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Mihrān al-Aṣbahānī, the takhrīj of al-Ḥākim of this narration..."
He then mentions Ibn Manda’s narration with the same additional wording.
✦ Ibn Yūnus al-Muqri is graded thiqqah by al-Khaṭīb in Tārīkh Baghdad (3/446).
✦ Based on this, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar states:
"My inclination is to give preference to the version with the additional wording due to confirmed corroboration (mutābaʿah)."
(Reference: Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Vol. 2, Pages 168–169)
✦ However, Shaykh al-Albānī also noted:
"There is some consideration in affirming this narration."
(Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Vol. 2, Page 177)
❖ Regarding the Second Chain of Narration:
Shaykh al-Albānī states:
"This isnād is ṣaḥīḥ, all its narrators are trustworthy. Abū Isḥāq and al-Bayhaqī corroborated it from Yazīd ibn Abī Maryam."
Summary:
◈ Both chains of narration are individually authentic and reliable.
◈ Some scholars preferred the version with the words:
"When I raise my head and only prostration remains".
◈ Overall, this narration is authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) and practically applicable.
وما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
