Written by: Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai (رحمه الله)
Imam Ibn Khuzaymah commented:
“There is a reservation in my heart about this chain, as I do not recognize Yahya ibn Abi Sulayman as being declared trustworthy or criticized.”
In addition to Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, this narration appears in:
In my own marginal notes on Abi Dawood titled Nayl al-Maqsud fi al-Ta‘liq ‘ala Sunan Abi Dawood (Vol. 1, p. 288, manuscript), I have shown that Yahya mentioned here is considered weak by the majority of Hadith scholars.
Imam al-Bukhari labeled him as “Munkar al-Hadith”, a severe form of criticism.
(Juz' al-Qira'ah by al-Bukhari, p. 57, Hadith 157)
All supporting narrations of this Hadith are weak in terms of isnad (chain).
Shaykh Nasiruddin al-Albani referenced a supporting narration in Masā’il Ahmad wa Ishaq by Ishaq ibn Mansur al-Marwazi and considered it authentic:
“This isnad is sahih, and its narrators are trustworthy—narrators of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim).”
(Silsilat al-Ahadeeth al-Saheehah 3/185, Hadith 1188)
However, the identity of Ibn Mughafal al-Muzani in this chain is questionable.
Neither Tahdhib al-Kamal nor Tahdhib al-Tahdhib lists ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Rafi‘ as a student of ‘Abdullah ibn Mughafal al-Muzani (the Companion). Rather, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz is listed as a student of Shaddad ibn Miq‘al al-Kufi.
It is possible that in the original manuscript, the word was “Ibn Ma‘ṣal” (non-diacritic), which Shaykh al-Albani might have read as “Ibn Mughafal”—whereas it could actually be “Ibn Ma‘qil”.
If it is Ibn Ma‘qil, the narration becomes mursal and therefore weak.
وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ
❖ Question:
It is said that in the book of Ibn Khuzaymah, a narration from Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) states that if someone catches the ruku‘ in a congregational prayer, the rak‘ah is counted for him. What is the reality of this narration? Will the rak‘ah be counted even without qiyam and recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah?❖ Answer:
This narration is found in Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah (Vol. 3, p. 58, Hadith 1622) through the chain: Yahya ibn Abi Sulayman → Zayd ibn Abi al-‘Atab and Ibn al-Muqbari → Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه).Imam Ibn Khuzaymah commented:
“There is a reservation in my heart about this chain, as I do not recognize Yahya ibn Abi Sulayman as being declared trustworthy or criticized.”
In addition to Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, this narration appears in:
- Sunan Abi Dawood (Hadith 893)
- Sunan al-Daraqutni
- Sunan al-Bayhaqi
- al-Mustadrak al-Hakim (Vol. 1, pp. 216, 273, 274)
Where al-Hakim authenticated it and al-Dhahabi concurred in one instance but disagreed in another.
In my own marginal notes on Abi Dawood titled Nayl al-Maqsud fi al-Ta‘liq ‘ala Sunan Abi Dawood (Vol. 1, p. 288, manuscript), I have shown that Yahya mentioned here is considered weak by the majority of Hadith scholars.Imam al-Bukhari labeled him as “Munkar al-Hadith”, a severe form of criticism.
(Juz' al-Qira'ah by al-Bukhari, p. 57, Hadith 157)All supporting narrations of this Hadith are weak in terms of isnad (chain).
Shaykh Nasiruddin al-Albani referenced a supporting narration in Masā’il Ahmad wa Ishaq by Ishaq ibn Mansur al-Marwazi and considered it authentic:
“This isnad is sahih, and its narrators are trustworthy—narrators of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim).”
(Silsilat al-Ahadeeth al-Saheehah 3/185, Hadith 1188)However, the identity of Ibn Mughafal al-Muzani in this chain is questionable.
Neither Tahdhib al-Kamal nor Tahdhib al-Tahdhib lists ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Rafi‘ as a student of ‘Abdullah ibn Mughafal al-Muzani (the Companion). Rather, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz is listed as a student of Shaddad ibn Miq‘al al-Kufi.
It is possible that in the original manuscript, the word was “Ibn Ma‘ṣal” (non-diacritic), which Shaykh al-Albani might have read as “Ibn Mughafal”—whereas it could actually be “Ibn Ma‘qil”.
If it is Ibn Ma‘qil, the narration becomes mursal and therefore weak.
❖ Conclusion:
Therefore, counting a rak‘ah without qiyam and Surah Al-Fatihah based on this narration is not sound, due to the weakness in its chains and the unreliable status of Yahya ibn Abi Sulayman.وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ
