❀ Ruling on the Hadith About the Prophet ﷺ Removing His Ring When Entering the Toilet ❀
Derived from: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 198
Is it authentic that the Prophet ﷺ used to remove his ring, on which "Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh" was inscribed, before entering the toilet?
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Amma baʿd:
This narration is transmitted through the following chain:
"From Hammām, from Ibn Jurayj, from al-Zuhrī, from Anas رضي الله عنه"
— Referenced in:
✔ Sunan Abī Dāwūd (Ḥadīth: 19) – "This is a munkar ḥadīth."
✔ Sunan al-Tirmidhī (Ḥadīth: 1746) – "This ḥadīth is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb."
✔ Shamāʾil al-Tirmidhī: 93
✔ Sunan al-Nasāʾī (8/178, Ḥadīth: 5616)
✔ Sunan Ibn Mājah (Ḥadīth: 303)
✔ Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī (1/95) – "This is a weak supporting narration."
● Ibn Jurayj’s tadlīs (ambiguous reporting) is well established.
● He frequently uses the term "ʿan" (from) in his chains, which is a sign of tadlīs.
● A mudallis’s narration outside of Ṣaḥīḥayn using “ʿan” is considered weak, unless explicit evidence of hearing (samaʿ) is available.
Referenced in:
✔ Ṭabaqāt al-Mudallissīn (3/83)
✔ Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb (entry 4193)
✔ Jāmiʿ al-Taḥṣīl (p. 108)
✔ Kitāb al-Mudallissīn by Abū Zurʿah ibn al-ʿIrāqī (p. 40)
✔ Al-Mudallissīn by al-Suyūṭī (p. 36)
✔ Suʾālāt al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī lil-Dāraqutnī (p. 265)
✔ ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth by Ibn Abī Ḥātim (Ḥadīth: 2078)
✔ Suʾālāt al-Barzīʿī (p. 743 – statement of Abū Masʿūd Aḥmad ibn al-Furāt)
● Until an explicit statement of samaʿ from Ibn Jurayj is proven, this narration remains weak.
● If such evidence is brought forth, then authentication may be possible — but as of now, it is not.
● Al-Tirmidhī declaring the hadith ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb is problematic due to Ibn Jurayj’s tadlīs.
● Al-Mundhirī also declared it authentic by saying “its narrators are reliable and trustworthy”, which is difficult to accept in the absence of samaʿ.
◉ This narration is weak, because it includes a mudallis narrator (Ibn Jurayj) who reports with ʿan and no evidence of hearing is present.
◉ Until explicit proof of samaʿ is provided, it is incorrect to use this narration as evidence.
◉ There is no authentic hadith proving that the Prophet ﷺ removed his ring inscribed with “Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh” before entering the toilet.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
Derived from: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 198
❖ Question:
Is it authentic that the Prophet ﷺ used to remove his ring, on which "Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh" was inscribed, before entering the toilet?
❖ Answer:
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Amma baʿd:
✿ Chain of Narration and Ruling
This narration is transmitted through the following chain:
"From Hammām, from Ibn Jurayj, from al-Zuhrī, from Anas رضي الله عنه"
— Referenced in:
✔ Sunan Abī Dāwūd (Ḥadīth: 19) – "This is a munkar ḥadīth."
✔ Sunan al-Tirmidhī (Ḥadīth: 1746) – "This ḥadīth is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb."
✔ Shamāʾil al-Tirmidhī: 93
✔ Sunan al-Nasāʾī (8/178, Ḥadīth: 5616)
✔ Sunan Ibn Mājah (Ḥadīth: 303)
✔ Al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī (1/95) – "This is a weak supporting narration."
✿ Reasons for Declaring the Narration Weak
➊ Ibn Jurayj Is a Known Mudallis (One Who Uses Ambiguous Transmission)
● Ibn Jurayj’s tadlīs (ambiguous reporting) is well established.
● He frequently uses the term "ʿan" (from) in his chains, which is a sign of tadlīs.
● A mudallis’s narration outside of Ṣaḥīḥayn using “ʿan” is considered weak, unless explicit evidence of hearing (samaʿ) is available.
➋ Scholarly Citations on Ibn Jurayj’s Tadlīs:
Referenced in:
✔ Ṭabaqāt al-Mudallissīn (3/83)
✔ Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb (entry 4193)
✔ Jāmiʿ al-Taḥṣīl (p. 108)
✔ Kitāb al-Mudallissīn by Abū Zurʿah ibn al-ʿIrāqī (p. 40)
✔ Al-Mudallissīn by al-Suyūṭī (p. 36)
✔ Suʾālāt al-Ḥākim al-Naysābūrī lil-Dāraqutnī (p. 265)
✔ ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth by Ibn Abī Ḥātim (Ḥadīth: 2078)
✔ Suʾālāt al-Barzīʿī (p. 743 – statement of Abū Masʿūd Aḥmad ibn al-Furāt)
➌ No Explicit Statement of Hearing (Samaʿ) from Ibn Jurayj
● Until an explicit statement of samaʿ from Ibn Jurayj is proven, this narration remains weak.
● If such evidence is brought forth, then authentication may be possible — but as of now, it is not.
➍ Critique of Al-Tirmidhī and Al-Mundhirī’s Authentication
● Al-Tirmidhī declaring the hadith ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb is problematic due to Ibn Jurayj’s tadlīs.
● Al-Mundhirī also declared it authentic by saying “its narrators are reliable and trustworthy”, which is difficult to accept in the absence of samaʿ.
✿ Conclusion:
◉ This narration is weak, because it includes a mudallis narrator (Ibn Jurayj) who reports with ʿan and no evidence of hearing is present.
◉ Until explicit proof of samaʿ is provided, it is incorrect to use this narration as evidence.
◉ There is no authentic hadith proving that the Prophet ﷺ removed his ring inscribed with “Muḥammad Rasūl Allāh” before entering the toilet.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
