Critical Analysis of the Narration on the Three Who Preceded
Source: Fatāwā Amanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri
Question:
What is the authenticity of the following narration?
It is reported from Sayyiduna ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
السبق ثلاثة، فالسابق إلى موسى يوشع بن نون، والسابق إلى عيسى صاحب ياسين، والسابق إلى محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم على بن أبى طالب رضي الله عنه.
"The ones who preceded are three: the one who preceded to Mūsā عليه السلام was Yūshaʿ ibn Nūn, the one who preceded to ʿĪsā عليه السلام was the companion of Yāsīn, and the one who preceded to Muḥammad ﷺ was ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه."
(Al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr by al-ʿUqaylī: 1/249, Al-Muʿjam al-Kabīr by al-Ṭabarānī: 11/93)
Answer:
This narration is bāṭil (false) and munkar (rejected).
Defects in the chain:
① Ḥusayn ibn Ḥasan al-Ashṭar – weak and munkar al-ḥadīth.
② Ḥusayn ibn Abī al-Sarī al-ʿAsqalānī – criticized narrator.
③ Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah رحمه الله – reports here with ʿanʿanah.
Statements of Scholars:
❀ Imām al-ʿUqaylī رحمه الله said:
لا أصل له عن ابن عيينة.
"This narration has no basis from Ibn ʿUyaynah."
(Al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr: 1/249)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr رحمه الله said:
إنه حديث منكر، لا يعرف إلا من طريق حسين الأشقر، وهو شيعي متروك.
"This is a munkar ḥadīth, known only through Ḥusayn al-Ashqar, who was a Shīʿī and abandoned."
(Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr: 6/574)
❀ Ḥāfiẓ al-Suyūṭī رحمه الله said:
سنده ضعيف.
"Its chain is weak."
(Al-Durr al-Manthūr: 7/52)
