➤ Investigative Analysis of the Narration Regarding Yazid’s Drinking and Abandonment of Salah
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Vol. 3 – Principles, Verification of Narrations, and Their Rulings, Page 212
According to a narration:
When the people of Madinah returned from Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah, ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ and his companions came to Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah and expressed their desire to break allegiance (bay‘ah) with Yazid. But Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah refused their request.
Then ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ said: “Yazid drinks wine, abandons prayer, and violates the commands of Allah’s Book.”
To this, Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah responded: “I have not seen in him what you are saying, for I have visited him and stayed with him. I found him observant of prayer, seeking goodness, a student of religious knowledge, and a follower of the Sunnah.”
The people replied: “He did all of that to deceive you.”
(al-Bidāyah wa’n-Nihāyah 8/233, Tārīkh al-Islām by adh-Dhahabī 5/274)
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
Both Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) and Ḥāfiẓ adh-Dhahabī (رحمه الله) have reported this narration from Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Abī Sayf al-Madā’inī (d. 224 AH), without any chain of narration (isnād).
These massive generational gaps, with no isnād mentioned, make the narration:
✔ Severely disconnected (منقطع)
✔ Unattributed (بِلا سند)
✔ Rejected (مردود) due to lack of transmission chain
Shaykh Kifāyatullāh Sanāblī stated that:
"This narration has been cited with a chain by Ibn Kathīr and adh-Dhahabī from the book of al-Madā’inī."
This claim is strange and baseless.
Questions that arise:
Without such verification, the narration remains unauthenticated.
Even if, hypothetically, the narration is assumed to be authentic, it would imply:
✔ Yazid ibn Mu‘āwiyah was a wine drinker
✔ He abandoned prayer
Ibn Ḥajar also wrote in Taqrīb at-Tahdhīb:
"Lahu ru’yah" — He saw the Prophet ﷺ
(Ḥadīth No. 3626)
Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) wrote:
"He was born during the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who gave him tahnīk (chewing date and placing it in his mouth) and prayed for his blessing."
(al-Bidāyah wa’n-Nihāyah 9/126 – Deaths of 73 AH)
When a Ṣaḥābī like ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ (رضي الله عنه) states that:
"Yazid drinks wine and abandons prayer"
While a Tābiʿī like Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah (رحمه الله) negates it, then the companion’s statement is given precedence.
✔ Affirmation (إثبات) is given priority over Negation (نفي).
The statement of ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ (رضي الله عنه) is affirmative, while that of Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah is negational.
The narration in question is not established due to the absence of an authentic chain of narration.
Therefore, there is no proven evidence that Yazid ibn Mu‘āwiyah was a wine drinker or someone who abandoned prayer.
Date: 26 March 2013
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Vol. 3 – Principles, Verification of Narrations, and Their Rulings, Page 212
❖ The Narration: Return of the People of Madinah and the Stance of Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah
According to a narration:
When the people of Madinah returned from Yazid ibn Mu‘awiyah, ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ and his companions came to Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah and expressed their desire to break allegiance (bay‘ah) with Yazid. But Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah refused their request.
Then ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ said: “Yazid drinks wine, abandons prayer, and violates the commands of Allah’s Book.”
To this, Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah responded: “I have not seen in him what you are saying, for I have visited him and stayed with him. I found him observant of prayer, seeking goodness, a student of religious knowledge, and a follower of the Sunnah.”
The people replied: “He did all of that to deceive you.”
(al-Bidāyah wa’n-Nihāyah 8/233, Tārīkh al-Islām by adh-Dhahabī 5/274)
❖ Scholarly Analysis:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
✦ Chain of Transmission (Isnād) Issue:
Both Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) and Ḥāfiẓ adh-Dhahabī (رحمه الله) have reported this narration from Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī ibn ʿAbdillāh ibn Abī Sayf al-Madā’inī (d. 224 AH), without any chain of narration (isnād).
- Al-Madā’inī died in 224 AH
- Ibn Kathīr was born in 701 AH
- Adh-Dhahabī was born in 673 AH
These massive generational gaps, with no isnād mentioned, make the narration:
✔ Severely disconnected (منقطع)
✔ Unattributed (بِلا سند)
✔ Rejected (مردود) due to lack of transmission chain
✦ Claim of Shaykh Kifāyatullāh Sanāblī:
Shaykh Kifāyatullāh Sanāblī stated that:
"This narration has been cited with a chain by Ibn Kathīr and adh-Dhahabī from the book of al-Madā’inī."
This claim is strange and baseless.
Questions that arise:
- What source did Shaykh Sanāblī rely on for this assertion?
- Can he name the specific book of al-Madā’inī and provide a full reference?
- Without an identified book or source, how can this claim be substantiated?
Without such verification, the narration remains unauthenticated.
❖ If the Narration Were Accepted as Authentic?
Even if, hypothetically, the narration is assumed to be authentic, it would imply:
✔ Yazid ibn Mu‘āwiyah was a wine drinker
✔ He abandoned prayer
❖ Status of ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ (رضي الله عنه)
- He saw the Prophet ﷺ, and thus he is classified as a Ṣaḥābī.
Cited by scholars of rijāl as a companion:
- Ibn Ḥibbān (رحمه الله) – Kitāb ath-Thiqāt (3/219)
- Ibn al-Athīr (رحمه الله) – Usd al-Ghābah (3/262)
- Adh-Dhahabī (رحمه الله) – Tajrīd Asmā’ aṣ-Ṣaḥābah (1/335)
- Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) – Fatḥ al-Bārī (6/615, under Ḥadīth 3602)
Ibn Ḥajar also wrote in Taqrīb at-Tahdhīb:
"Lahu ru’yah" — He saw the Prophet ﷺ
(Ḥadīth No. 3626)
Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) wrote:
"He was born during the life of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, who gave him tahnīk (chewing date and placing it in his mouth) and prayed for his blessing."
(al-Bidāyah wa’n-Nihāyah 9/126 – Deaths of 73 AH)
❖ Whose Statement Takes Precedence?
When a Ṣaḥābī like ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ (رضي الله عنه) states that:
"Yazid drinks wine and abandons prayer"
While a Tābiʿī like Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah (رحمه الله) negates it, then the companion’s statement is given precedence.
✦ Principle of Ḥadīth:
✔ Affirmation (إثبات) is given priority over Negation (نفي).
The statement of ‘Abdullāh ibn Muṭī‘ (رضي الله عنه) is affirmative, while that of Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah is negational.
❖ Final Conclusion:
The narration in question is not established due to the absence of an authentic chain of narration.
Therefore, there is no proven evidence that Yazid ibn Mu‘āwiyah was a wine drinker or someone who abandoned prayer.
Date: 26 March 2013ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
