❖ Ruling on the Chain of the Hadith Regarding Sea Travel
Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
What is the status of the chain of narration (sanad) for the following Hadith?
❀ Narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"لا يركب البحر إلا حاج، أو معتمر، أو غازٍ فى سبيل الله، فإن تحت البحر نارا، وتحت النار بحرا."
"No one should travel by sea except a pilgrim, one performing ʿUmrah, or a warrior in the path of Allah — for beneath the sea is fire, and beneath the fire is sea."
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 2489)
❖ Ruling on the Chain (Sanad):
The chain of narration is severely weak and inconsistent (shadīd al-ḍuʿf wa muḍṭarib) due to multiple critical flaws:
❖ Reasons for Weakness:
① Bishr Abū ʿAbdillāh al-Kindī — Majhūl (unknown).
② Bashīr ibn Muslim al-Kindī — Majhūl al-ḥāl (unknown reliability).
③ There is no evidence of Bashīr ibn Muslim having heard from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar, which raises further questions of authenticity.
❖ Scholars’ Criticism:
❀ Imam al-Bukhārī رحمه الله said:
"لم يصح حديثه."
"His (Bashīr ibn Muslim’s) ḥadīth is not authentic."
(Al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr: 2/105)
—
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله commented:
"هو حديث ضعيف مظلم الإسناد لا يصرحه أهل العلم بالحديث، لأن رواته مجهولون لا يعرفون."
"This ḥadīth is weak with a dark and obscure chain. Hadith scholars do not authenticate it because its narrators are unknown and not recognized."
(Al-Tamhīd: 1/240)
—
❀ Ḥāfiẓ al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله stated:
"قد ضعفوا إسناد هذا الحديث."
"The scholars have declared the chain of this hadith to be weak."
(Maʿālim al-Sunan: 2/238)
—
❀ ʿAllāmah Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd رحمه الله:
Declared the hadith as "ضعيف" (weak).
(Sharḥ al-Ilmām bi Aḥādīth al-Aḥkām: 1/85)
—
❀ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Mulaqqin رحمه الله:
"هو ضعيف باتفاق الأئمة."
"It is weak by agreement of the leading Imams."
(Khilāṣat al-Badr al-Munīr: 1/344)
—
❀ ʿAllāmah al-ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī رحمه الله:
Also classified it as weak.
(ʿUmdah al-Qārī: 14/87)
❖ Additional Notes:
This narration has other weak supporting chains (shawāhid), but none are strong enough to elevate the status of the hadith from ḍaʿīf (weak) to ḥasan (acceptable).
✔ Summary:
The hadith is weak (ḍaʿīf) due to unknown and unreliable narrators. Declared weak by multiple leading ḥadīth scholars, including Imam al-Bukhārī, Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr, Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd, Ibn al-Mulaqqin, al-Khaṭṭābī, and al-ʿAynī. Consensus among scholars on the weakness of the chain. Not suitable for deriving rulings without stronger corroboration.
