Authenticity of the Book "Sharḥ al-Sunnah" Attributed to Imām al-Barbahārī
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p.149
Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf al-Barbahārī (d. 329 AH) was a distinguished scholar among the Ḥanbalī Imams.
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī describes him as:
“Shaykh of the Ḥanbalīs, a role model and leader... outspoken in truth, a follower of ḥadīth, and fearless in the path of Allah.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ: 15/90)
The well-known printed book titled "Sharḥ al-Sunnah" is commonly attributed to Imām al-Barbahārī — however, this attribution is not valid.
The original manuscript upon which the printed version is based clearly states on its title page:
"Kitāb Sharḥ al-Sunnah by Abū ʿAbdillāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ghālib al-Bāhilī (known as Ghulām Khalīl), narrated by Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Kāmil ibn Khalaf ibn Shajarah al-Qāḍī."
On the first page, the chain reads:
"Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq ibn ʿAbd al-Khāliq narrated to us... who said:
Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Furāt (رحمه الله) wrote in his book...
He handed over this book to Abū ʿAbdillāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ghālib al-Bāhilī (Ghulām Khalīl) and said:
‘Narrate this entire book from me.’”
Furthermore, on the last page of the manuscript, it is written:
“Qāla Abū ʿAbdillāh Ghulām Khalīl...”
This confirms that the book is by Ghulām Khalīl, not al-Barbahārī.
Although early criticism exists:
Later scholars authenticated him:
However, due to the severe weakness and proven fabrication of Ghulām Khalīl, the chain of this book remains unreliable.
✔ Established Facts:
◈ The printed book titled Sharḥ al-Sunnah cannot be reliably attributed to Imām al-Barbahārī.
◈ Manuscript evidence shows it is the work of Ghulām Khalīl, a known liar and fabricator.
◈ Its narration chain is unreliable, and its attribution is invalid.
✔ Anyone claiming otherwise must present a manuscript with a sound and authentic chain linking it to Imām al-Barbahārī.
"Idh laysa fa-laysa, wa mā ʿalaynā illā al-balāgh"
"If it is not there, then it is not there. Our duty is only to convey."
(al-Ḥadīth: 2)
Waṣallallāhu ʿalā Nabiyyinā Muḥammad wa ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn.
واللہ أعلم بالصواب۔
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-ʿAqāʾid, p.149
❖ Introduction:
Al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf al-Barbahārī (d. 329 AH) was a distinguished scholar among the Ḥanbalī Imams.
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī describes him as:“Shaykh of the Ḥanbalīs, a role model and leader... outspoken in truth, a follower of ḥadīth, and fearless in the path of Allah.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ: 15/90)
❖ Attribution of
The well-known printed book titled "Sharḥ al-Sunnah" is commonly attributed to Imām al-Barbahārī — however, this attribution is not valid.
✦ Manuscript Evidence:
The original manuscript upon which the printed version is based clearly states on its title page:
"Kitāb Sharḥ al-Sunnah by Abū ʿAbdillāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ghālib al-Bāhilī (known as Ghulām Khalīl), narrated by Abū Bakr Aḥmad ibn Kāmil ibn Khalaf ibn Shajarah al-Qāḍī."
❖ Chain of Narration (Isnād) in the Manuscript:
On the first page, the chain reads:
"Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq ibn ʿAbd al-Khāliq narrated to us... who said:
Abū al-Ḥasan Muḥammad ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Furāt (رحمه الله) wrote in his book...
He handed over this book to Abū ʿAbdillāh Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ghālib al-Bāhilī (Ghulām Khalīl) and said:
‘Narrate this entire book from me.’”
Furthermore, on the last page of the manuscript, it is written:“Qāla Abū ʿAbdillāh Ghulām Khalīl...”
This confirms that the book is by Ghulām Khalīl, not al-Barbahārī.
❖ Evaluation of the Narrators
➊ Ghulām Khalīl (Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn Ghālib al-Bāhilī)
- Imām al-Dāraqutnī: “Matrūk (abandoned).”
(Kitāb al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn: 58) - Ibn ʿAdī: “His narrations are full of munkar (rejected) reports, beyond count. He falls between weak and extremely weak.”
(al-Kāmil fī al-Ḍuʿafāʾ: 1/199) - Ismāʿīl ibn Isḥāq al-Qāḍī: “You lie, even if only a little.”
(al-Majrūḥīn by Ibn Ḥibbān: 1/151 – ḥasan sanad) - Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī: “Well-known for fabricating (maʿrūf bi al-waḍʿ).”
(Dīwān al-Ḍuʿafāʾ: 92) - Shaykh Khālid al-Raddādī: “He was a liar and fabricator.”
(Introduction to Sharḥ al-Sunnah, p. 42)
➋ Qāḍī Aḥmad ibn Kāmil
Although early criticism exists:
- al-Dāraqutnī said: “He was lenient and narrated from memory things not found in his books; self-conceit destroyed him.”
(Suʾālāt al-Sahmī: 176)
Later scholars authenticated him:
- He is considered ṣadūq, ḥasan al-ḥadīth by the majority.
(Mahnāmah al-Ḥadīth, Hazro, Issue 55, p. 30)
However, due to the severe weakness and proven fabrication of Ghulām Khalīl, the chain of this book remains unreliable.❖ Summary of the Findings
✔ Established Facts:
◈ The printed book titled Sharḥ al-Sunnah cannot be reliably attributed to Imām al-Barbahārī.
◈ Manuscript evidence shows it is the work of Ghulām Khalīl, a known liar and fabricator.
◈ Its narration chain is unreliable, and its attribution is invalid.
✔ Anyone claiming otherwise must present a manuscript with a sound and authentic chain linking it to Imām al-Barbahārī.
"Idh laysa fa-laysa, wa mā ʿalaynā illā al-balāgh""If it is not there, then it is not there. Our duty is only to convey."
(al-Ḥadīth: 2)
Waṣallallāhu ʿalā Nabiyyinā Muḥammad wa ālihi wa ṣaḥbihi ajmaʿīn.واللہ أعلم بالصواب۔
