Investigation of the Ḥadīth on Expanding Provision for One’s Family on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ
Compiled by: Tauheed.com
The Ḥadīth Text:
"من وسع على عياله يوم عاشوراء وسع الله عليه سائر سنته"
"Whoever expands (provision) for his family on the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, Allah will expand for him (his provision) throughout the year."
This narration has been attributed to several Companions رضي الله عنهم:
➤ ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd
➤ Jābir ibn ʿAbdillāh
➤ Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī
➤ Abū Hurayrah
➤ Ibn ʿUmar
But is this ḥadīth authentic? Can it be reliably traced to the Prophet ﷺ? Below is a detailed analysis of its chains.
Analysis of the Various Narrations
Narration 1 – From Ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه
- Reported by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr.
- Includes al-Hayṣam ibn Shaddād, who is weak.
Ibn Ḥibbān: “He narrates calamities from al-Aʿmash; he cannot be relied upon.” (al-Majrūḥīn 3/97)
Ibn Ḥajar: “This ḥadīth is strange, and all scholars agree al-Hayṣam is weak.”
Result: Not reliable. Narration 2 – From Jābir رضي الله عنه
- Reported by al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-Īmān.
- Includes Muḥammad ibn Yūnus al-Kadīmī, accused of fabricating aḥādīth.
Ibn Ḥibbān: “He fabricates ḥadīth upon trustworthy narrators.” (al-Majrūḥīn 2/303)
Al-Dhahabī: “Destroyed; accused of fabrication.” (al-Mughnī fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ 2/646)
Another narrator, ʿAbdullāh ibn Ibrāhīm al-Ghifārī, is also accused of fabricating.
Result: Extremely weak and unreliable. Narration 3 – From Jābir رضي الله عنه (another chain)
- Reported by Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr in al-Istidhkār.
- Includes al-Faḍl ibn al-Ḥabāb.
Ibn Ḥajar: “This ḥadīth is very munkar (rejected).” (al-Amālī al-Muṭlaqa, p. 28–29)
Al-Suyūṭī: Though the chain seems sound, al-Faḍl’s memory collapsed after his books were burnt, leading him to narrate munkar aḥādīth. (al-Laʾālī al-Maṣnūʿah 2/63)
Also includes Abū al-Zubayr, known for tadlīs and narrating ʿanʿanah.
Result: Unacceptable. Narration 4 – From Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī رضي الله عنه
- Reported by Ibn Abī al-Dunyā in al-ʿIyāl and al-Ṭabarānī in al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ.
- Contains several weak or unknown narrators, including Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Jaʿfarī, who is matrūk (abandoned).
Al-Haythamī: “In the chain is Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Jaʿfarī, who is matrūk.” (Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 3/189)
Al-Albānī: “He is abandoned; his narrations are munkar.” (al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah 14/741)
Result: Weak. Narration 5 – From Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه
- Includes weak and unknown narrators: Ḥajjāj ibn Naṣīr, Muḥammad ibn Dhakwān, Sulaymān ibn Abī ʿAbdillāh.
Al-ʿUqaylī: “Sulaymān ibn Abī ʿAbdillāh is unknown; the ḥadīth is not preserved.” (al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr 2/201)
Result: Filled with defects; rejected. Narration 6 – From Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما
- Reported by al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī and Ibn al-Jawzī.
- Chains include majhūl narrators and are not authentically from Imām Mālik.
Al-Suyūṭī: “In its isnād are several unknowns; it is not established from Mālik.” (al-Laʾālī al-Maṣnūʿah 2/96)
Al-Dāraqutnī: “Munkar; narrator Yaʿqūb ibn Khurrah is weak.” (al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah ḥadīth 909)
Al-Dhahabī: “His report is false; likely an error.” (Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl)
Result: Unreliable.Opinions of the Scholars
- Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal: “Lā aṣl lahu” (It has no basis). (Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 25/300)
- Ibn Taymiyyah: This report was fabricated as a reaction when the Rāfiḍah made ʿĀshūrāʾ a day of mourning, so their opponents fabricated a narration to make it a day of festivity. Both are wrong. (Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm 2/132)
- Al-ʿUqaylī: “No ṣaḥīḥ ḥadīth is established from the Prophet ﷺ in this regard.” (al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr 3/252)
- Al-Albānī: This ḥadīth is not established by any chain; acting upon it is a bidʿah. (al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah 14/743)
Summary and Warning
The ḥadīth “Whoever expands provision for his family on the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, Allah will expand for him throughout the year” is:- Reported through numerous chains,
- But all chains are weak, containing fabricators, unknown narrators, and abandoned narrators,
- No ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan chain exists for it.
Scholarly consensus:- This narration is baseless,
- Acting upon it is not permissible,
- Promoting it misleads people towards bidʿah.
⚠ Important Note:
Although the statement appears soft and appealing, when the isnād is fabricated, acting upon it is innovation (bidʿah), which is a sin, not a virtue.
Only that which is authentically proven from the Qurʾān and Sunnah can be part of Dīn. Anything else, regardless of how attractive, cannot be.
