✿ Research-Based Rejection of 6 Chains of the Ḥadīth: "My Companions Are Like Stars" ✿
Derived from: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mubārakpūrī, Volume 1, Page 111
Subject of Research: Verification of the Ḥadīth: "أصحابي كالنجوم، بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم"
(A detailed analysis of the sanad and content-based credibility of this ḥadīth)
Alḥamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The ḥadīth under review — "أصحابي كالنجوم، بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم" — has been reported in various ḥadīth collections with different wordings and from different Companions. However, upon scrutiny, it becomes evident that none of these narrations are supported by authentic chains. All of them range from severely weak to fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
Sources:
Text of the Ḥadīth:
"كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم"
Scholarly Commentary:
Sources:
Chain:
"Sulaimān ibn Abī Karīmah → Juwaybir → al-Ḍaḥḥāk → Ibn ʿAbbās"
Scholarly Commentary:
Position of al-Suyūṭī:
Interpreting this ḥadīth as an endorsement of differing legal schools is invalid, as the ḥadīth itself is unauthenticated.
Sources:
Chain:
"Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād → ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Zayd al-ʿAmī → his father → Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib → ʿUmar"
Text of the Ḥadīth:
"Indeed, my Companions are like the stars in the sky… Whoever holds to any of their differing views is upon guidance with me."
Scholarly Commentary:
Sources:
Chain:
"Abī Shihāb al-Ḥannāṭ → Ḥamzah al-Jazarī → Nāfiʿ → Ibn ʿUmar"
Scholarly Commentary:
Source:
Chain:
"Ibn Nabīṭ → his grandfather Nabīṭ ibn Sharīṭ"
Scholarly Commentary:
Source:
Chain:
"Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid → Wahb ibn Jarīr → his father → al-Aʿmash → Abū Ṣāliḥ → Abū Hurayrah"
Scholarly Commentary:
Sources:
Statements of Ibn Ḥazm:
This narration is in no way authentic due to the following points:
① The speech of the Prophet ﷺ is revelation (al-Najm: 3–4)
② There is no contradiction in the speech of Allāh (al-Nisāʾ: 82)
③ The Qurʾān prohibits disputes (al-Anfāl: 46)
④ Accepting the differing opinions of all Companions as truth leads to contradictory rulings
⑤ The Prophet ﷺ himself corrected the fatāwā of some Companions
Conclusion of Ibn Ḥazm:
"This ḥadīth is false, fabricated, and absolutely unauthentic."
Based on the detailed research above:
✔ The ḥadīth "أصحابي كالنجوم، بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم" is weak, fabricated, and baseless in all its chains of narration.
✔ The content of the ḥadīth contradicts core Islamic principles, as it promotes acceptance of contradictory views and falsely legitimizes difference as divine guidance.
✔ Scholars such as Ibn Ḥazm, Shaykh al-Albānī, and others have thoroughly critiqued and rejected this ḥadīth.
Derived from: Fatāwā Shaykh al-Ḥadīth Mubārakpūrī, Volume 1, Page 111
Subject of Research: Verification of the Ḥadīth: "أصحابي كالنجوم، بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم"
(A detailed analysis of the sanad and content-based credibility of this ḥadīth)
❀ Introduction
Alḥamdulillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The ḥadīth under review — "أصحابي كالنجوم، بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم" — has been reported in various ḥadīth collections with different wordings and from different Companions. However, upon scrutiny, it becomes evident that none of these narrations are supported by authentic chains. All of them range from severely weak to fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
◈ First Narration
Sources:
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Jāmiʿ al-ʿIlm (2/91)
- Ibn Ḥazm, al-Aḥkām fī Uṣūl al-Aḥkām (6/82)
Text of the Ḥadīth:
"كالنجوم بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم"
Scholarly Commentary:
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr: "This isnād does not constitute valid proof," due to the narrator al-Ḥārith ibn Ghuṣayn being majhūl (unknown).
- Ibn Ḥazm: "This narration is discarded," because Abū Sufyān is weak, and Salām ibn Sulaymān fabricated narrations.
- Shaykh al-Albānī: "Salām ibn Sulaym is extremely weak, some have called him a liar; Abū Sufyān is truthful but weak, and al-Ḥārith ibn Ghuḍayn is unknown."
- Imām Aḥmad: "This ḥadīth is not authentic." (al-Muntaqā li Ibn Qudāmah, 10/199/2)
- Any claim of authenticity based on Shaʿrānī's Kashf has also been refuted.
◈ Second Narration
Sources:
- Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī, al-Kifāyah fī ʿIlm ar-Riwāyah (p. 48)
- Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Aṣamm, Ḥadīth No. 142
- Ibn ʿAsākir (7/115/2)
Chain:
"Sulaimān ibn Abī Karīmah → Juwaybir → al-Ḍaḥḥāk → Ibn ʿAbbās"
Scholarly Commentary:
- Sulaimān ibn Abī Karīmah: Weak
- Juwaybir: Abandoned (matrūk)
- al-Ḍaḥḥāk: Narrates mursal traditions
- Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī, al-Suyūṭī, al-Albānī: Declared the narration extremely weak or fabricated.
Position of al-Suyūṭī:
Interpreting this ḥadīth as an endorsement of differing legal schools is invalid, as the ḥadīth itself is unauthenticated.
◈ Third Narration
Sources:
- Ibn Baṭṭah, al-Ibānah (4/11/2)
- Khaṭīb, Niẓām al-Mulk, al-Ḍiyāʾ, Ibn ʿAsākir
- Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfah (1/80–81)
Chain:
"Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād → ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Zayd al-ʿAmī → his father → Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib → ʿUmar"
Text of the Ḥadīth:
"Indeed, my Companions are like the stars in the sky… Whoever holds to any of their differing views is upon guidance with me."
Scholarly Commentary:
- ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn Zayd al-ʿAmī: Liar
- Nuʿaym ibn Ḥammād: Weak
- Imām al-Bukhārī, Ibn Maʿīn, Abū Ḥātim: Rejected this narration and the narrators
- Ibn Ḥazm: Declared the ḥadīth false and fabricated
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, al-Bayhaqī, al-Dhahabī, al-Suyūṭī: All rejected its authenticity
- al-Munāwī, Fayḍ al-Qadīr: "The ḥadīth is bāṭil, not authentic"
◈ Fourth Narration
Sources:
- Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Ibn Ḥazm
- ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, al-Muntaqab min al-Musnad (67/1)
- Ibn Baṭṭah, al-Ibānah (4/11/2)
Chain:
"Abī Shihāb al-Ḥannāṭ → Ḥamzah al-Jazarī → Nāfiʿ → Ibn ʿUmar"
Scholarly Commentary:
- Ḥamzah ibn Abī Ḥamzah: Abandoned (matrūk); known for transmitting fabricated narrations
- Ibn ʿAdī, Ibn Ḥibbān, al-Dhahabī: All issued severe criticism
- Shaykh al-Albānī: Declared this ḥadīth fabricated
◈ Fifth Narration
Source:
- Abū Nuʿaym (Q 158/2)
Chain:
"Ibn Nabīṭ → his grandfather Nabīṭ ibn Sharīṭ"
Scholarly Commentary:
- Aḥmad ibn Nabīṭ: Liar
- Aḥmad ibn al-Qāsim al-Lakkī: Weak
- al-Suyūṭī, al-Shawkānī: Declared the ḥadīth fabricated
◈ Sixth Narration
Source:
- al-Quḍāʿī (109/2)
Chain:
"Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid → Wahb ibn Jarīr → his father → al-Aʿmash → Abū Ṣāliḥ → Abū Hurayrah"
Scholarly Commentary:
- Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid: Known for fabricating ḥadīths
- al-Dāraqutnī, Abū Zurʿah, al-Dhahabī: Labeled the ḥadīth fabricated and forged
❀ Analysis by Ibn Ḥazm
Sources:
- al-Aḥkām fī Uṣūl al-Aḥkām (5/64), (6/83–86)
Statements of Ibn Ḥazm:
This narration is in no way authentic due to the following points:
① The speech of the Prophet ﷺ is revelation (al-Najm: 3–4)
② There is no contradiction in the speech of Allāh (al-Nisāʾ: 82)
③ The Qurʾān prohibits disputes (al-Anfāl: 46)
④ Accepting the differing opinions of all Companions as truth leads to contradictory rulings
⑤ The Prophet ﷺ himself corrected the fatāwā of some Companions
Conclusion of Ibn Ḥazm:
"This ḥadīth is false, fabricated, and absolutely unauthentic."
❀ Conclusion
Based on the detailed research above:
✔ The ḥadīth "أصحابي كالنجوم، بأيهم اقتديتم اهتديتم" is weak, fabricated, and baseless in all its chains of narration.
✔ The content of the ḥadīth contradicts core Islamic principles, as it promotes acceptance of contradictory views and falsely legitimizes difference as divine guidance.
✔ Scholars such as Ibn Ḥazm, Shaykh al-Albānī, and others have thoroughly critiqued and rejected this ḥadīth.
