❀ Verification of the Hadith: A Person in Need of Ghusl Teaching the Qur’an ❀
Derived from: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 199
Is the following ḥadīth authentic:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not teach us the Qur’an unless he was in a state of ritual purity (i.e., not in a state requiring ghusl)?"
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Amma baʿd:
This ḥadīth is reported by:
✔ Abū Dāwūd (Ḥadīth: 229)
✔ Al-Nasāʾī (Ḥadīth: 267)
✔ Ibn Mājah (Ḥadīth: 594) – all from Shuʿbah
✔ Al-Tirmidhī (Ḥadīth: 146) – from al-Aʿmash and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā
All narrate it through the chain of ʿAmr ibn Murrah → ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah → ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه.
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Declared it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
✔ Ibn Khuzaymah (Ḥadīth: 208), Ibn Ḥibbān (al-Mawrid: 192–193), Ibn al-Jārūd (Ḥadīth: 94), al-Ḥākim (4/107), and al-Dhahabī: All graded it ṣaḥīḥ.
✔ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī said:
"Al-ḥaqq annahu min qabīl al-ḥasan, yaṣluḥu lil-ḥujjah"
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, 1/408, Ḥadīth 305)
“The correct view is that it is ḥasan and suitable as evidence.”
➤ Some have criticized the ḥadīth due to ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah’s solitary narration.
➤ However, major scholars such as Yaʿqūb ibn Shaybah, al-ʿAjlī, Ibn ʿAdī, and the majority of hadith scholars have declared him thiqqah (trustworthy) and ṣadūq.
➤ Thus, the criticisms by Abū Ḥātim and al-Ḥākim al-Kabīr are unfounded and rejected.
➤ While it is true that ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah experienced memory confusion in later life, this particular narration was transmitted by ʿAmr ibn Murrah, a reliable and precise narrator, who heard it before the ikhtilāṭ.
➤ Furthermore, the ḥadīth’s classification as ḥasan or ṣaḥīḥ by several hadith masters proves it was preserved accurately.
➤ Ibn ʿAdī in al-Kāmil (4/1487) quotes that Shuʿbah reportedly said:
“ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah narrated this ḥadīth after growing old.”
➤ This statement is unsourced and unverified, and even if attributed to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal via Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, it would require clear proof of hearing.
➤ On the contrary, Shuʿbah’s own words are reported with sound chains, showing confidence in the ḥadīth:
✔ Ibn Khuzaymah (1/104):
“This ḥadīth is one-third of my collection.”
✔ Al-Dāraqutnī (Ḥadīth: 423):
“I do not narrate anything more excellent than this ḥadīth.”
✔ Al-Dāraqutnī (1/118, Ḥadīth: 419) and Al-Bayhaqī in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (1/89) narrated a mawqūf report:
“A person in the state of janābah should not recite even a single letter of the Qur’an.”
— from Abū al-Gharīf ʿUbaydullāh ibn Khalīfah al-Hamadānī from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه.
✔ Al-Dāraqutnī said:
“It is authentically narrated from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه.”
✔ Abū al-Gharīf has been declared trustworthy by Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Dāraqutnī, thus this mawqūf report strengthens the main narration.
✔ The narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah is ḥasan li-dhātih (in and of itself).
✔ Due to supporting reports from Abū al-Gharīf and others, it reaches the level of ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrih (sound due to external evidence).
✔ Therefore, the ḥadīth is authentic and suitable as evidence in rulings.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
Derived from: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p. 199
❖ Question:
Is the following ḥadīth authentic:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ would not teach us the Qur’an unless he was in a state of ritual purity (i.e., not in a state requiring ghusl)?"
❖ Answer:
Alḥamdulillāh, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. Amma baʿd:
✿ 1. Chain of Transmission (Isnād) of the Ḥadīth
This ḥadīth is reported by:
✔ Abū Dāwūd (Ḥadīth: 229)
✔ Al-Nasāʾī (Ḥadīth: 267)
✔ Ibn Mājah (Ḥadīth: 594) – all from Shuʿbah
✔ Al-Tirmidhī (Ḥadīth: 146) – from al-Aʿmash and Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Laylā
All narrate it through the chain of ʿAmr ibn Murrah → ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah → ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه.
✿ 2. Scholarly Opinions on the Ḥadīth
✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: Declared it ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ.
✔ Ibn Khuzaymah (Ḥadīth: 208), Ibn Ḥibbān (al-Mawrid: 192–193), Ibn al-Jārūd (Ḥadīth: 94), al-Ḥākim (4/107), and al-Dhahabī: All graded it ṣaḥīḥ.
✔ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī said:
"Al-ḥaqq annahu min qabīl al-ḥasan, yaṣluḥu lil-ḥujjah"
(Fatḥ al-Bārī, 1/408, Ḥadīth 305)
“The correct view is that it is ḥasan and suitable as evidence.”
✿ 3. Objections to the Ḥadīth and Responses
❖ Objection 1:
➤ Some have criticized the ḥadīth due to ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah’s solitary narration.
➤ However, major scholars such as Yaʿqūb ibn Shaybah, al-ʿAjlī, Ibn ʿAdī, and the majority of hadith scholars have declared him thiqqah (trustworthy) and ṣadūq.
➤ Thus, the criticisms by Abū Ḥātim and al-Ḥākim al-Kabīr are unfounded and rejected.
❖ Objection 2:
➤ While it is true that ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah experienced memory confusion in later life, this particular narration was transmitted by ʿAmr ibn Murrah, a reliable and precise narrator, who heard it before the ikhtilāṭ.
➤ Furthermore, the ḥadīth’s classification as ḥasan or ṣaḥīḥ by several hadith masters proves it was preserved accurately.
❖ Objection 3:
➤ Ibn ʿAdī in al-Kāmil (4/1487) quotes that Shuʿbah reportedly said:
“ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah narrated this ḥadīth after growing old.”
➤ This statement is unsourced and unverified, and even if attributed to Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal via Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, it would require clear proof of hearing.
➤ On the contrary, Shuʿbah’s own words are reported with sound chains, showing confidence in the ḥadīth:
✔ Ibn Khuzaymah (1/104):
“This ḥadīth is one-third of my collection.”
✔ Al-Dāraqutnī (Ḥadīth: 423):
“I do not narrate anything more excellent than this ḥadīth.”
✿ 4. Supporting (Mawqūf) Report from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه
✔ Al-Dāraqutnī (1/118, Ḥadīth: 419) and Al-Bayhaqī in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (1/89) narrated a mawqūf report:
“A person in the state of janābah should not recite even a single letter of the Qur’an.”
— from Abū al-Gharīf ʿUbaydullāh ibn Khalīfah al-Hamadānī from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه.
✔ Al-Dāraqutnī said:
“It is authentically narrated from ʿAlī رضي الله عنه.”
✔ Abū al-Gharīf has been declared trustworthy by Ibn Ḥibbān and al-Dāraqutnī, thus this mawqūf report strengthens the main narration.
❖ Summary and Conclusion
✔ The narration of ʿAbdullāh ibn Salamah is ḥasan li-dhātih (in and of itself).
✔ Due to supporting reports from Abū al-Gharīf and others, it reaches the level of ṣaḥīḥ li-ghayrih (sound due to external evidence).
✔ Therefore, the ḥadīth is authentic and suitable as evidence in rulings.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
