Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Vol. 3 – Principles, Verification of Narrations, and Their Rulings, Page 208
"إن الله عز وجل قد رفع لي الدنيا ، فأنا أنظر إليها وإلى ما هو كائن فيها إلى يوم القيامة كأنما أنظر إلى كفي هذه ، جليانا من أمر الله عز وجل جلاه لنبيه كما جلاه للنبيين قبله."
"Indeed, Allah the Exalted raised the world before me, so I am looking at it and at what is to occur in it until the Day of Judgment as if I am looking at the palm of my hand. This is a manifestation from Allah which He has shown to His Prophet, just as He showed it to the prophets before him."
Reported in:
Is this narration authentic?
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
The narration is reported with the following isnād:
Baqiyyah → Sa‘īd ibn Sinān → Abū az-Zuhariyyah → Kathīr ibn Murrah → Ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه), Marfū‘
This narrator is severely weak and has been harshly criticized by leading scholars of hadith:
A narration from Ṣadaqah ibn Khālid claims:
"He was thiqah (trustworthy) and acceptable."
(al-Jarḥ wa’t-Ta‘dīl 4/28)
However, this report contains an anonymous narrator ("ṣāḥib lī min Banī Tamīm"), which makes the chain unreliable, and such a majhūl (unknown) narrator cannot validate another’s trustworthiness according to Hadith sciences.
(See: Ikhtiṣār ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth by Ibn Kathīr, Urdu trans., pp. 61–62, Category 23)
According to the principles of Hadith criticism, especially outside Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim, narrations with ‘an‘ana by a known mudallis are considered weak and rejected, unless explicitly clarified (e.g., ḥaddathanā, samiʿtu, etc.).
◈ This narration is severely weak (ḍa‘īf jiddan) and rejected (mardūd) due to:
① The presence of Sa‘īd ibn Sinān — a discredited and accused narrator
② Tadlīs by Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd through an ambiguous chain
Hence, no shar‘i (legal or theological) point may be derived from this narration.
Date: 2 February 2013
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ The Narration:
"إن الله عز وجل قد رفع لي الدنيا ، فأنا أنظر إليها وإلى ما هو كائن فيها إلى يوم القيامة كأنما أنظر إلى كفي هذه ، جليانا من أمر الله عز وجل جلاه لنبيه كما جلاه للنبيين قبله."
"Indeed, Allah the Exalted raised the world before me, so I am looking at it and at what is to occur in it until the Day of Judgment as if I am looking at the palm of my hand. This is a manifestation from Allah which He has shown to His Prophet, just as He showed it to the prophets before him."
Reported in:
- Kanz al-‘Ummāl 11/420, Ḥadīth 3197
- al-Mu‘jam al-Kabīr by Ṭabarānī
- Majma‘ az-Zawā’id 8/287
- Ḥilyat al-Awliyā’ 6/101
❖ Question:
Is this narration authentic?
❖ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
✦ Chain of Transmission:
The narration is reported with the following isnād:
Baqiyyah → Sa‘īd ibn Sinān → Abū az-Zuhariyyah → Kathīr ibn Murrah → Ibn ‘Umar (رضي الله عنه), Marfū‘
✦ Analysis of Narrators:
① Sa‘īd ibn Sinān ash-Shāmī al-Ḥanafī (Abū al-Mahdī)
This narrator is severely weak and has been harshly criticized by leading scholars of hadith:
- Imām al-Bukhārī (رحمه الله):
"Munkar al-ḥadīth"
(Kitāb aḍ-Ḍu‘afā’, p. 48)
- Imām an-Nasā’ī (رحمه الله):
"Matrūk al-ḥadīth"
(al-Ḍu‘afā’: 268)
- Imām ad-Dāraqutnī (رحمه الله):
Mentioned him in al-Ḍu‘afā’ wa’l-Matrūkūn (270)
- Abū Ḥātim ar-Rāzī (رحمه الله):
"Ḍa‘īf al-ḥadīth, munkar al-ḥadīth"
He added that Sa‘īd narrated 30 munkar reports through this chain from Ibn ‘Umar.
(al-Jarḥ wa’t-Ta‘dīl 4/114)
- Imām Muslim (رحمه الله):
"Munkar al-ḥadīth"
(Kitāb al-Kunā, p. 109, 185, manuscript)
- al-Ḥāfiẓ adh-Dhahabī (رحمه الله):
"Matrūk, muttaham (abandoned and accused of fabrication)"
(al-Mughnī fī al-Ḍu‘afā’ 1/406, No. 241)
- Ibn Ḥajar al-‘Asqalānī (رحمه الله):
"Matrūk, accused of fabrication by ad-Dāraqutnī and others"
(Taqrīb at-Tahdhīb, No. 2333)
❖ Contrasting View:
A narration from Ṣadaqah ibn Khālid claims:
"He was thiqah (trustworthy) and acceptable."
(al-Jarḥ wa’t-Ta‘dīl 4/28)
However, this report contains an anonymous narrator ("ṣāḥib lī min Banī Tamīm"), which makes the chain unreliable, and such a majhūl (unknown) narrator cannot validate another’s trustworthiness according to Hadith sciences.
(See: Ikhtiṣār ‘Ulūm al-Ḥadīth by Ibn Kathīr, Urdu trans., pp. 61–62, Category 23)
② Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd – Another flaw in the chain:
- Though ṣadūq (truthful), he is known for tadlīs (concealing weaknesses in transmission).
- This narration is reported using ‘an (عن), a form susceptible to tadlīs.
According to the principles of Hadith criticism, especially outside Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim, narrations with ‘an‘ana by a known mudallis are considered weak and rejected, unless explicitly clarified (e.g., ḥaddathanā, samiʿtu, etc.).
✦ Final Summary of Research:
◈ This narration is severely weak (ḍa‘īf jiddan) and rejected (mardūd) due to:
① The presence of Sa‘īd ibn Sinān — a discredited and accused narrator
② Tadlīs by Baqiyyah ibn al-Walīd through an ambiguous chain
Hence, no shar‘i (legal or theological) point may be derived from this narration.
Date: 2 February 2013وما علينا إلا البلاغ
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
