Source: Monthly Al-Hadith Hazro
Question:
Dr. Bashar Awwad and Dr. Shu‘ayb Arna’oot have described Darraj bin Sam‘ān as weak in their commentary on Tahrir Taqreeb at-Tahdheeb (1824). Is he indeed a weak narrator?
Answer:
Darraj bin Sam‘ān has been declared weak by some scholars of Hadith, such as:
① Imam Ahmad (رحمه الله) said:
"هذا روى مناكير كثيرة"
(Su’alaat Abi Dawood lil-Imam Ahmad: 259)
② Imam al-Nasā’ī (رحمه الله) stated:
"ليس بالقوي"
(Al-Du‘afā’ wa al-Matrūkūn: 187)
③ Imam al-Dāraqutnī (رحمه الله) said:
"ضعيف"
(Su’alaat al-Hākim li al-Dāraqutnī: 261)
④ Imam Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (رحمه الله) remarked:
"دراج في حديثه صنعة"
(‘Ilal al-Hadīth by Ibn Abī Ḥātim 3/674)
✿ In contrast, the majority of the Hadith scholars have authenticated Darraj bin Sam‘ān. A summary of their affirmations is as follows:
① Imam Yaḥyā bin Ma‘īn said:
"ثقة"
(Tārīkh Ibn Ma‘īn, narration of al-Dāramī: 315)
② Imam ‘Uthmān bin Sa‘īd described him as:
"صدوق"
(Al-Jarḥ wa al-Ta‘dīl 3/442)
③ Imam Ibn Ḥibbān included him in Kitāb al-Thiqāt (5/114) and declared him thiqah.
④ Imam Ibn Shāhīn also declared him thiqah.
(Tārīkh Asmā’ al-Thiqāt: 349)
⑤ Imam al-Tirmidhī
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2033)
⑥ Imam Ibn al-Jārūd
(Al-Muntaqā: 336, 1035)
⑦ Imam Ibn Khuzaymah
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 653, 1502)
⑧ Imam al-Ḥākim
(Al-Mustadrak 2/232)
⑨ Abū al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Qaṭṭān
(Bayān al-Wahm wa al-Iyhām fī Kitāb al-Aḥkām: 4/273, 378)
⑩ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī
(Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak: 2/426, 2/534)
⑪ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar
(Al-Amālī al-Muṭlaqa p.223, Al-Taqrīb: 1824 - he stated: "Ṣadūq").
All these authorities affirmed Darraj bin Sam‘ān’s reliability either through taṣḥīḥ (declaring sound) or taḥsīn (declaring good) of his narrations.
⑫ Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī stated:
"ثقة"
(Majma‘ al-Zawā’id: 1/187)
Note:
All the above scholars also considered the chain “Darraj from Abū al-Haytham” as sound. Imam Ibn Shāhīn transmitted from Imam Ibn Ma‘īn:
"ما كان بهذا الإسناد فليس به"
(Tārīkh Asmā’ al-Thiqāt: 34)
According to our research, this indicates that none of the early scholars (mutaqaddimīn), except a few latecomers (muta’akhkhirīn), criticized the chain “Darraj from Abū al-Haytham.” The few who did, criticized Darraj individually (which is a weaker view), not this specific chain. Conversely, a group of scholars regarded the chain as sound.
✿ For further details, refer to:
“Aḍwā’ al-Maṣābīḥ fī Taḥqīq Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ” by Ustādh Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ‘Alī Zai (رحمه الله) – Volume 1, Page 288.
⟹ Summary of Research:
Darraj bin Sam‘ān is a truthful and fair narrator (Ṣadūq and Ḥasan al-Ḥadīth), as the majority of Hadith scholars have authenticated him. The few who criticized him are outweighed by the consensus of the majority, rendering such criticism negligible. It is important to note that even Dr. Shu‘ayb Arna’oot and others have ultimately classified Darraj as Ṣadūq and Ḥasan al-Ḥadīth.
See: Musnad Aḥmad, al-Mawsū‘ah al-Ḥadīthiyyah (1/444)
Thus, the statement labeling him as weak in Tahrir Taqreeb al-Tahdheeb is not accurate.
Question:
Dr. Bashar Awwad and Dr. Shu‘ayb Arna’oot have described Darraj bin Sam‘ān as weak in their commentary on Tahrir Taqreeb at-Tahdheeb (1824). Is he indeed a weak narrator?
Answer:
Darraj bin Sam‘ān has been declared weak by some scholars of Hadith, such as:
① Imam Ahmad (رحمه الله) said:
"هذا روى مناكير كثيرة"
(Su’alaat Abi Dawood lil-Imam Ahmad: 259)
② Imam al-Nasā’ī (رحمه الله) stated:
"ليس بالقوي"
(Al-Du‘afā’ wa al-Matrūkūn: 187)
③ Imam al-Dāraqutnī (رحمه الله) said:
"ضعيف"
(Su’alaat al-Hākim li al-Dāraqutnī: 261)
④ Imam Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī (رحمه الله) remarked:
"دراج في حديثه صنعة"
(‘Ilal al-Hadīth by Ibn Abī Ḥātim 3/674)
✿ In contrast, the majority of the Hadith scholars have authenticated Darraj bin Sam‘ān. A summary of their affirmations is as follows:
① Imam Yaḥyā bin Ma‘īn said:
"ثقة"
(Tārīkh Ibn Ma‘īn, narration of al-Dāramī: 315)
② Imam ‘Uthmān bin Sa‘īd described him as:
"صدوق"
(Al-Jarḥ wa al-Ta‘dīl 3/442)
③ Imam Ibn Ḥibbān included him in Kitāb al-Thiqāt (5/114) and declared him thiqah.
④ Imam Ibn Shāhīn also declared him thiqah.
(Tārīkh Asmā’ al-Thiqāt: 349)
⑤ Imam al-Tirmidhī
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 2033)
⑥ Imam Ibn al-Jārūd
(Al-Muntaqā: 336, 1035)
⑦ Imam Ibn Khuzaymah
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah: 653, 1502)
⑧ Imam al-Ḥākim
(Al-Mustadrak 2/232)
⑨ Abū al-Ḥasan Ibn al-Qaṭṭān
(Bayān al-Wahm wa al-Iyhām fī Kitāb al-Aḥkām: 4/273, 378)
⑩ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī
(Talkhīṣ al-Mustadrak: 2/426, 2/534)
⑪ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar
(Al-Amālī al-Muṭlaqa p.223, Al-Taqrīb: 1824 - he stated: "Ṣadūq").
All these authorities affirmed Darraj bin Sam‘ān’s reliability either through taṣḥīḥ (declaring sound) or taḥsīn (declaring good) of his narrations.
⑫ Ḥāfiẓ al-Haythamī stated:
"ثقة"
(Majma‘ al-Zawā’id: 1/187)
Note:
All the above scholars also considered the chain “Darraj from Abū al-Haytham” as sound. Imam Ibn Shāhīn transmitted from Imam Ibn Ma‘īn:
"ما كان بهذا الإسناد فليس به"
(Tārīkh Asmā’ al-Thiqāt: 34)
According to our research, this indicates that none of the early scholars (mutaqaddimīn), except a few latecomers (muta’akhkhirīn), criticized the chain “Darraj from Abū al-Haytham.” The few who did, criticized Darraj individually (which is a weaker view), not this specific chain. Conversely, a group of scholars regarded the chain as sound.
✿ For further details, refer to:
“Aḍwā’ al-Maṣābīḥ fī Taḥqīq Mishkāt al-Maṣābīḥ” by Ustādh Ḥāfiẓ Zubair ‘Alī Zai (رحمه الله) – Volume 1, Page 288.
⟹ Summary of Research:
Darraj bin Sam‘ān is a truthful and fair narrator (Ṣadūq and Ḥasan al-Ḥadīth), as the majority of Hadith scholars have authenticated him. The few who criticized him are outweighed by the consensus of the majority, rendering such criticism negligible. It is important to note that even Dr. Shu‘ayb Arna’oot and others have ultimately classified Darraj as Ṣadūq and Ḥasan al-Ḥadīth.
See: Musnad Aḥmad, al-Mawsū‘ah al-Ḥadīthiyyah (1/444)
Thus, the statement labeling him as weak in Tahrir Taqreeb al-Tahdheeb is not accurate.
