Sufyān al-Thawrī’s Narrations in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: Evidence of Explicit Hearing and Corroboration
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 315
In works such as Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn, it has been clarified that abandonment of rafʿ al-yadayn before and after rukūʿ is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ or the Companions.
The Ḥanafīs often cite as their strongest proof the narration:
Sufyān al-Thawrī → ʿĀṣim ibn Kulayb → ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad → ʿAlqamah → ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd
It has been noted that although Sufyān al-Thawrī was trustworthy, pious, and a jurist, he was also a mudallis.
When a mudallis uses “ʿan,” according to ḥadīth principles, his narration is considered weak unless there is explicit hearing (taṣrīḥ bi al-samāʿ).
Abū Bilāl Muḥammad Ismāʿīl Jhangvī (Deobandi) attempted to answer this by presenting ten examples from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī where Sufyān al-Thawrī narrated using “ʿan.”
The question:
Do these examples lack taṣrīḥ al-samāʿ or mutābaʿāt?
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، أما بعد:
All ten narrations cited by Jhangvī contain either explicit hearing or corroboration (mutābaʿah) from trustworthy narrators.
A letter was sent by Abū Thāqib Muḥammad Ṣafdar ibn Ghulām Sarwar Ḥazrawī to Ismāʿīl Jhangvī, stating:
“You listed ten narrations on page 155 of your book. Do you claim that none of them contain explicit hearing or corroboration? If so, please put this in writing and have it signed by your prominent scholars (e.g., Sarfaraz Khan Safdar, Amin Okarvi, Taqi Usmani), and send it to me. I will, in shāʾ Allāh, prove explicit hearing or corroboration in all of them.”
No reply was ever received.
Bukhārī, Bāb ʿAlāmat al-Munāfiq (1/10, Hadith 34)
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Ghaḍab fī al-Mawʿiẓah (1/19, Hadith 90)
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Wuḍūʾ Marratan Marratan (1/27, Hadith 157)
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Buzāq wa al-Mukhāṭ (1/38, Hadith 241)
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Wuḍūʾ Qabla al-Ghusl (1/39, Hadith 249)
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Tasattur fī al-Ghusl (1/42, Hadith 281)
Bukhārī, Bāb Mubāsharat al-Ḥāʾiḍ (1/44, Hadith 299)
Bukhārī, Bāb Mā Yustar min al-ʿAwrah (p. 53, Hadith 368)
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Adhān li al-Musāfir (1/88, Hadith 630)
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Sujūd ʿalā Saʿat Aʿẓum (1/113, Hadith 809)
Every narration cited has either explicit hearing from Sufyān al-Thawrī or corroboration by trustworthy narrators.
The claim that these narrations lack such evidence is false.
Thus, the Deobandi allegation that Ahl al-Ḥadīth undermine Ahl al-Sunnah through this criticism is baseless and unfounded.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 315
Question
In works such as Nūr al-ʿAynayn fī Ithbāt Rafʿ al-Yadayn, it has been clarified that abandonment of rafʿ al-yadayn before and after rukūʿ is not proven from the Prophet ﷺ or the Companions.
The Ḥanafīs often cite as their strongest proof the narration:
Sufyān al-Thawrī → ʿĀṣim ibn Kulayb → ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Aswad → ʿAlqamah → ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd
It has been noted that although Sufyān al-Thawrī was trustworthy, pious, and a jurist, he was also a mudallis.
When a mudallis uses “ʿan,” according to ḥadīth principles, his narration is considered weak unless there is explicit hearing (taṣrīḥ bi al-samāʿ).
Abū Bilāl Muḥammad Ismāʿīl Jhangvī (Deobandi) attempted to answer this by presenting ten examples from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī where Sufyān al-Thawrī narrated using “ʿan.”
The question:
Do these examples lack taṣrīḥ al-samāʿ or mutābaʿāt?
Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله، أما بعد:
All ten narrations cited by Jhangvī contain either explicit hearing or corroboration (mutābaʿah) from trustworthy narrators.
Background
A letter was sent by Abū Thāqib Muḥammad Ṣafdar ibn Ghulām Sarwar Ḥazrawī to Ismāʿīl Jhangvī, stating:
“You listed ten narrations on page 155 of your book. Do you claim that none of them contain explicit hearing or corroboration? If so, please put this in writing and have it signed by your prominent scholars (e.g., Sarfaraz Khan Safdar, Amin Okarvi, Taqi Usmani), and send it to me. I will, in shāʾ Allāh, prove explicit hearing or corroboration in all of them.”
No reply was ever received.
Analysis of the Ten Narrations
Bukhārī, Bāb ʿAlāmat al-Munāfiq (1/10, Hadith 34)- Shuʿbah corroborates Sufyān.
- Also in Kitāb al-Maẓālim (Hadith 2459).
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Ghaḍab fī al-Mawʿiẓah (1/19, Hadith 90)- Zuhayr and others corroborate Sufyān.
- Also in Kitāb al-Adhān (Hadith 1702).
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Wuḍūʾ Marratan Marratan (1/27, Hadith 157)- In Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Sufyān explicitly states hearing. (Abū Dāwūd, Hadith 138).
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Buzāq wa al-Mukhāṭ (1/38, Hadith 241)- Ismāʿīl ibn Jaʿfar corroborates Sufyān.
- Also in Kitāb al-Ṣalāh (Hadith 405).
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Wuḍūʾ Qabla al-Ghusl (1/39, Hadith 249)- ʿAbd al-Wāḥid corroborates Sufyān.
- Also in Kitāb al-Ghusl (Hadith 257).
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Tasattur fī al-Ghusl (1/42, Hadith 281)- Corroborated by ʿAbd al-Wāḥid (same as Hadith 257).
Bukhārī, Bāb Mubāsharat al-Ḥāʾiḍ (1/44, Hadith 299)- Explicit hearing from Sufyān in Sunan Abī Dāwūd (Hadith 77).
Bukhārī, Bāb Mā Yustar min al-ʿAwrah (p. 53, Hadith 368)- Muḥammad ibn Yaḥyā ibn Ḥabbān corroborates Sufyān.
- Also in Kitāb al-Buyūʿ (Hadith 2146).
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Adhān li al-Musāfir (1/88, Hadith 630)- Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ corroborates Sufyān.
- Also in Kitāb al-Adhān (Hadith 658).
Bukhārī, Bāb al-Sujūd ʿalā Saʿat Aʿẓum (1/113, Hadith 809)- Shuʿbah and others corroborate Sufyān (Hadith 810).
Conclusion
Every narration cited has either explicit hearing from Sufyān al-Thawrī or corroboration by trustworthy narrators.
The claim that these narrations lack such evidence is false.
Thus, the Deobandi allegation that Ahl al-Ḥadīth undermine Ahl al-Sunnah through this criticism is baseless and unfounded.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
