The Story of Imām Maʿmar and His Nephew – Chain Analysis
(Excerpt: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah – Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, Vol. 2, p. 474)
Some scholars have narrated the incident that:
“Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar mentioned that Imām Maʿmar رحمه الله had a nephew who was a Rāfiḍī. Maʿmar used to give him his books, and on one occasion this nephew inserted a ḥadīth into Maʿmar’s book. Maʿmar then narrated it to Imām ʿAbd al-Razzāq, who further transmitted it. The details of this story are found in al-Tahdhīb (Vol. 1, p. 12).”
Is this narration authentic and established by a reliable chain?
Alḥamdulillāh, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Several other scholars have also mentioned the story, all without a complete chain:
All of them took it from Abū Ḥāmid ibn al-Sharqī without an isnād.
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī narrated it in more detail:
It is possible this report was also in al-Ḥākim’s Tārīkh Naysābūr, but that cannot be confirmed.
This means the story is historically disconnected (munqaṭiʿ).
It is not known who told Abū Ḥāmid this incident.
“This is a disconnected story, and Maʿmar was not a heedless shaykh that something like this could escape him. He was a ḥāfiẓ and insightful regarding the ḥadīth of al-Zuhrī.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, Vol. 9, p. 576)
This further confirms the story’s weakness and unreliability.
Allah knows best.
(Excerpt: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah – Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, Vol. 2, p. 474)
Question:
Some scholars have narrated the incident that:
“Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar mentioned that Imām Maʿmar رحمه الله had a nephew who was a Rāfiḍī. Maʿmar used to give him his books, and on one occasion this nephew inserted a ḥadīth into Maʿmar’s book. Maʿmar then narrated it to Imām ʿAbd al-Razzāq, who further transmitted it. The details of this story are found in al-Tahdhīb (Vol. 1, p. 12).”
Is this narration authentic and established by a reliable chain?
Answer:
Alḥamdulillāh, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
Earliest Source of the Story:
- Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī رحمه الله (d. 852 AH) narrated it from Abū Ḥāmid ibn al-Sharqī without any chain or reference.
- Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb, Vol. 1, p. 12, biography of Aḥmad ibn al-Azhar.
Transmission by Other Ḥadīth Scholars:
Several other scholars have also mentioned the story, all without a complete chain:
- Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī – Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (Vol. 9, p. 133)
- Imām al-Suyūṭī – Tadrīb al-Rāwī (Vol. 1, p. 286)
- Abū al-Ḥajjāj al-Mizzī – Tahdhīb al-Kamāl (Vol. 1, p. 106)
- Al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī – Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (Vol. 9, pp. 575–576; Vol. 12, p. 367)
All of them took it from Abū Ḥāmid ibn al-Sharqī without an isnād.
Strongest Available Chain:
Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī narrated it in more detail:
- Al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī ←
- Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb ←
- Muḥammad ibn Naʿīm al-Ḍabbī (author of al-Mustadrak and Tārīkh Naysābūr) ←
- Abū Aḥmad al-Ḥāfiẓ ←
- Abū Ḥāmid ibn al-Sharqī
- Tārīkh Baghdād (Vol. 4, p. 42, biography no. 1647)
It is possible this report was also in al-Ḥākim’s Tārīkh Naysābūr, but that cannot be confirmed.
Problem in the Chain:
- Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Yaʿqūb has no known authentication in the books of rijāl.
- Abū Ḥāmid ibn al-Sharqī (b. 240 AH – d. 325 AH) was born 86 years after the death of Imām Maʿmar ibn Rāshid (d. 154 AH).
This means the story is historically disconnected (munqaṭiʿ).It is not known who told Abū Ḥāmid this incident.
Conclusion:
- The story is munqaṭiʿ and the isnād is not continuous.
- Therefore, it is invalid and rejected.
Comment of Al-Dhahabī:
“This is a disconnected story, and Maʿmar was not a heedless shaykh that something like this could escape him. He was a ḥāfiẓ and insightful regarding the ḥadīth of al-Zuhrī.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, Vol. 9, p. 576)
This further confirms the story’s weakness and unreliability.
Allah knows best.
