Written by: Maulana Abul Hassan Mubashir Ahmad Rabbani (May Allah Protect Him)
Question:
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) once asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "May my parents be sacrificed for you. Please tell me, what did Allah create first?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "O Jabir! Before all things, Allah created the light of your Prophet from His own light, and then this light moved wherever Allah willed... (to the end)." Can you confirm whether this hadith is authentic?
Answer:
The honorable scholars of hadith (may Allah have mercy on them) have made great efforts to collect the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with their chains of transmission (isnads), ensuring that no statement is attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he did not actually say. This is because:
❀ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"Whoever intentionally lies about me, let him take his seat in the Fire."
[Sahih Bukhari, Book of Knowledge: Chapter on Whoever Lies About the Prophet: 107]
❀ In another narration, it is stated:
"Whoever attributes to me something that I did not say, let him take his seat in the Fire."
[Musnad Ahmad: 1/65]
For this reason, anyone who narrates a statement attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) must present its chain of transmission. Moreover, strict conditions have been set for the authenticity of these chains, and any narration without a proper chain is not accepted under any circumstances.
◈ Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"The isnad (chain of transmission) is part of the religion. If it were not for the isnad, anyone could say whatever they wanted. But when someone is asked, 'Who narrated this to you?' they remain silent."
[Tareekh Baghdad: 6/166, Introduction to Sahih Muslim: 32, Ma’rifat Uloom al-Hadith by Al-Hakim: p. 6]
The student of Ibn Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him), Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him), reports:
"Ibn Mubarak made this statement in the context of discussing heretics and fabricators of narrations."
◈ Imam Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) addressed the weak and abandoned narrator Ishaq bin Abdullah bin Abi Furwah, saying:
"May Allah destroy you, O Ibn Abi Furwah! How daring you are against Allah! You do not provide the isnad for your narrations. You narrate to us reports that have neither reins nor control."
[Ma’rifat Uloom al-Hadith by Al-Hakim: p. 6, New Edition: p. 42]
In conclusion, for a narration to be acceptable to the scholars of hadith, it is essential that the chain of transmission is sound. The narration attributed to Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) has been included by several biographers without a chain of transmission, and some have ascribed it to Imam Abdul Razzaq. However, we have access to Imam Abdul Razzaq's "Al-Musannaf" in eleven large volumes and his Tafsir in three volumes, and we have not found this narration in either of them. Whoever claims the authenticity of this narration should provide at least one sound chain of transmission according to the principles of hadith scholars. To date, no one has been able to present a single authentic chain for this narration.
May Allah protect us from all kinds of falsehood, fabricated narrations, and corrupt beliefs, and may He guide us to follow the footsteps of the righteous predecessors, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), the Tabi’een, and the esteemed scholars of hadith. (Ameen!)
Question:
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) once asked the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), "May my parents be sacrificed for you. Please tell me, what did Allah create first?" The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied: "O Jabir! Before all things, Allah created the light of your Prophet from His own light, and then this light moved wherever Allah willed... (to the end)." Can you confirm whether this hadith is authentic?
Answer:
The honorable scholars of hadith (may Allah have mercy on them) have made great efforts to collect the sayings of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with their chains of transmission (isnads), ensuring that no statement is attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he did not actually say. This is because:
❀ The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
"Whoever intentionally lies about me, let him take his seat in the Fire."
[Sahih Bukhari, Book of Knowledge: Chapter on Whoever Lies About the Prophet: 107]
❀ In another narration, it is stated:
"Whoever attributes to me something that I did not say, let him take his seat in the Fire."
[Musnad Ahmad: 1/65]
For this reason, anyone who narrates a statement attributed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) must present its chain of transmission. Moreover, strict conditions have been set for the authenticity of these chains, and any narration without a proper chain is not accepted under any circumstances.
◈ Imam Abdullah bin Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"The isnad (chain of transmission) is part of the religion. If it were not for the isnad, anyone could say whatever they wanted. But when someone is asked, 'Who narrated this to you?' they remain silent."
[Tareekh Baghdad: 6/166, Introduction to Sahih Muslim: 32, Ma’rifat Uloom al-Hadith by Al-Hakim: p. 6]
The student of Ibn Mubarak (may Allah have mercy on him), Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on him), reports:
"Ibn Mubarak made this statement in the context of discussing heretics and fabricators of narrations."
◈ Imam Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) addressed the weak and abandoned narrator Ishaq bin Abdullah bin Abi Furwah, saying:
"May Allah destroy you, O Ibn Abi Furwah! How daring you are against Allah! You do not provide the isnad for your narrations. You narrate to us reports that have neither reins nor control."
[Ma’rifat Uloom al-Hadith by Al-Hakim: p. 6, New Edition: p. 42]
In conclusion, for a narration to be acceptable to the scholars of hadith, it is essential that the chain of transmission is sound. The narration attributed to Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) has been included by several biographers without a chain of transmission, and some have ascribed it to Imam Abdul Razzaq. However, we have access to Imam Abdul Razzaq's "Al-Musannaf" in eleven large volumes and his Tafsir in three volumes, and we have not found this narration in either of them. Whoever claims the authenticity of this narration should provide at least one sound chain of transmission according to the principles of hadith scholars. To date, no one has been able to present a single authentic chain for this narration.
May Allah protect us from all kinds of falsehood, fabricated narrations, and corrupt beliefs, and may He guide us to follow the footsteps of the righteous predecessors, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), the Tabi’een, and the esteemed scholars of hadith. (Ameen!)