This excerpt is taken from the book Aḥkām wa Masāʾil in the Light of the Qur’an and Sunnah by Shaykh Mubashshir Aḥmad Rabbānī.
The narration mentioned by the respected khatīb in the context of jihād is absolutely fabricated and forged. There exists no authentic ḥadīth with this wording. Imām Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله mentioned a narration with this meaning from ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما in his book al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah and clearly stated that this narration is not authentically established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
This narration is also found in:
«وضعه محمد بن الحسن العسكري»
“This narration was fabricated by Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī.”
In Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, he states:
«حدث عن العباس البحراني بخبر موضوع متنه يوزن جبر العلماء قال الخطيب نراه من وضعه»
“He narrated a fabricated report from al-ʿAbbās al-Baḥrānī, whose text states: ‘The ink of the scholars will be weighed.’ Al-Khaṭīb said: We consider this narration to be his fabrication.”
This narration is also reported through al-Daylamī with the chain:
«يحيى بن محمد بن حبيش الأفريقي حدثنا إسحاق بن القاسم حدثني أبي حدثنا عبد العزيز بن أبي داود عن نافع عن ابن عمر»
Regarding this chain, ʿAllāmah al-Albānī رحمه الله said:
«إسحاق بن القاسم وأبوه لم أعرفهما»
“I do not recognize Isḥāq bin al-Qāsim nor his father.”
«صاحب مناكير»
“He narrates munkar (rejected) reports.”
❀ Likewise, in the biography of Saʿīd bin Maʿn, he is described as:
«مختلق»
“A fabricator of narrations.”
❀ Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī رحمه الله said:
«وفي حديثه غرائب ومناكير»
“In his narrations are oddities and rejected reports.”
❀ ʿAllāmah Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī bin Muḥammad al-Kinānī رحمه الله said:
«اتهمه أبو سعيد النقاش بالوضع»
“Abū Saʿīd al-Naqqāsh accused him of fabricating narrations.”
See also: al-Kashf al-Ḥathīth ʿamman Rumiya bi-Waḍʿ al-Ḥadīth (no.842, p.281)
Question:
A certain khatīb stated, attributing it to Imām Ibn al-Jawzī, that the ink of the scholars’ pens is superior to the blood of the martyrs. Is this statement really correct—that the rank of martyrdom is lower than the ink of the scholars? Please inform us of the correct reality.Answer:
The rank of martyrdom (shahādah) is such an exalted status that it is not in need of any proof for its virtue. The books of ḥadīth are filled with the virtues and merits of martyrdom.The narration mentioned by the respected khatīb in the context of jihād is absolutely fabricated and forged. There exists no authentic ḥadīth with this wording. Imām Ibn al-Jawzī رحمه الله mentioned a narration with this meaning from ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما in his book al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah and clearly stated that this narration is not authentically established from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
This narration is also found in:
- Tārīkh Baghdād (2/193)
- Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (3/517)
- al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr by al-Suyūṭī (2/195)
Statements of the Scholars Regarding This Narration
❀ Imām al-Dhahabī رحمه الله said:«وضعه محمد بن الحسن العسكري»
“This narration was fabricated by Muḥammad bin al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī.”
Reference: al-Talkhīṣ al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah, no.31, p.34
In Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, he states:
«حدث عن العباس البحراني بخبر موضوع متنه يوزن جبر العلماء قال الخطيب نراه من وضعه»
“He narrated a fabricated report from al-ʿAbbās al-Baḥrānī, whose text states: ‘The ink of the scholars will be weighed.’ Al-Khaṭīb said: We consider this narration to be his fabrication.”
This narration is also reported through al-Daylamī with the chain:
«يحيى بن محمد بن حبيش الأفريقي حدثنا إسحاق بن القاسم حدثني أبي حدثنا عبد العزيز بن أبي داود عن نافع عن ابن عمر»
Reference: al-Firdaws 5/485
Regarding this chain, ʿAllāmah al-Albānī رحمه الله said:
«إسحاق بن القاسم وأبوه لم أعرفهما»
“I do not recognize Isḥāq bin al-Qāsim nor his father.”
Reference: al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah 10/383 (first section)
Further Jarḥ (Criticism) of the Narrators
❀ Regarding Yaḥyā bin Muḥammad, Imām al-Dhahabī رحمه الله said:«صاحب مناكير»
“He narrates munkar (rejected) reports.”
Reference: Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 4/408
❀ Likewise, in the biography of Saʿīd bin Maʿn, he is described as:
«مختلق»
“A fabricator of narrations.”
Reference: Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl 2/109
❀ Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī رحمه الله said:
«وفي حديثه غرائب ومناكير»
“In his narrations are oddities and rejected reports.”
Reference: Tārīkh Baghdād 17/223
❀ ʿAllāmah Abū al-Ḥasan ʿAlī bin Muḥammad al-Kinānī رحمه الله said:
«اتهمه أبو سعيد النقاش بالوضع»
“Abū Saʿīd al-Naqqāsh accused him of fabricating narrations.”
Reference: Tanzīh al-Sharīʿah al-Marfūʿah 1/128, no.38
See also: al-Kashf al-Ḥathīth ʿamman Rumiya bi-Waḍʿ al-Ḥadīth (no.842, p.281)
