❖ Examination of the Authenticity of the Hadith of Abu Dharr (RA)
Source: Fatāwā Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
What is the authenticity of the narration:
“May Allah have mercy on Abu Dharr. He will walk alone, die alone, and be raised alone.”
❖ Answer:
This narration is found in the following sources:
◈ Sīrah Ibn Hishām (4/228)
◈ Al-Mustadrak by al-Ḥākim (3/50)
◈ Dalā’il al-Nubuwwah by al-Bayhaqī (5/221)
However, the chain of transmission is severely weak.
❖ Reasons for Weakness in the Chain:
① Buraidah ibn Sufyān is a severely criticized narrator.
Major Hadith scholars have spoken strongly against him:
- Imam al-Bukhārī (رحمه الله) said:
“Fīhi naẓar” (There is objection to him)
(Al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr: 2/141)
- Imam al-Jawzajānī (رحمه الله) said:
“Raddī al-madhhab” (His school of thought is rejected)
(Aḥwāl al-Rijāl: 205)
- Imam al-Nasā’ī (رحمه الله) said:
“Laysa bi’l-qawī” (He is not strong)
(Al-Ḍuʿafā’ wa’l-Matrūkūn: 89)
- Imam al-Dāraqutnī (رحمه الله) said:
“Matrūk” (Abandoned)
(Al-Ḍuʿafā’ wa’l-Matrūkūn: 134)
❀ Imam Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (رحمه الله) said:
“Lahu balīyyah tuḥkā ʿanhu”
“He has problematic narrations narrated from him.”
(ʿIlal Aḥmad narrated by ʿAbdullāh: 1500)❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) states:
“Muḍaʿʿaf ʿindahum”
“He is regarded as weak by the Hadith scholars.”
(Al-Iṣābah: 1/479)② Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurazī did not meet ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (RA), indicating a disconnection (inqiṭāʿ) in the chain.
Conclusion:
The narration:
“May Allah have mercy on Abu Dharr. He will walk alone, die alone, and be raised alone,”
has been transmitted through a severely weak chain.
Due to the major weakness of Buraidah ibn Sufyān and the disconnection in the chain between Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Qurazī and ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd (RA), this narration cannot be considered authentic in the science of Hadith.
It is thus not suitable for establishing belief or practice.
