❖ Is the Ḥadīth About Marriage as a Solution to Poverty Authentic? ❖
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 3, Issues of Nikāḥ and Ṭalāq, Page 161
It is narrated from Sayyidunā Jābir رضي الله عنه:
"جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يشكو إليه الفاقة، فأمره أن يتزوج"
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and complained of poverty, so the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to marry.
Abū Muḥammad Khurram Shehzād from Sheikhupura asks:
Is this narration authentic?
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
This narration is found in Tārīkh Baghdād (Vol. 1, p. 365), under the biography of Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Naṣr al-Tirmidhī, with the following chain:
"أخبرنا محمد بن الحسين القطان، قال نبأنا عبد الباقي بن قانع، قال نبأنا محمد بن أحمد بن نصر الترمذي، قال نبأنا إبراهيم بن المنذر، قال نبأنا سعيد بن محمد مولى بني هاشم، قال نبأنا محمد بن المنكدر عن جابر"
➊ Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī رحمه الله said:
"حديث ليس بشيء" – His ḥadīth is of no value.
al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (Vol. 4, p. 58, Entry 257)
➋ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥibbān al-Bustī concluded after detailed discussion:
"لا يجوز الاحتجاج بخبره إذا انفرد" – It is impermissible to rely on his reports if he narrates alone.
Kitāb al-Majrūḥīn (Vol. 1, p. 326 | Alternate version: Vol. 1, p. 410)
➌ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī included him in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn.
(Vol. 1, p. 325, Entry 1435)
➍ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله listed him in Dīwān al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn.
(Vol. 1, p. 332, Entry 1647)
He also classified this narration under:
"ليس حديثه بشيء" – His ḥadīth is not worth consideration, which in al-Dhahabī’s classification signifies the narration is munkar (rejected).
Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (Vol. 2, p. 156, Entry 3262)
➎ Lisān al-Mīzān also records severe criticism on this narrator.
(Vol. 3, p. 41 | Alternate version: Vol. 3, p. 290)
Summary: There is no known scholar who has authenticated this narrator. All of the above authorities declare him extremely weak and unreliable.
According to the stronger view, this narrator suffered from memory confusion (ikhtilāṭ) in his later life and is therefore deemed weak.
The narration is severely weak and mardūd (rejected).
◈ The majority of ḥadīth scholars have accepted the criticisms against its narrators.
◈ Any tawthīq (validation) from unknown teachers of al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī is not reliable in this context.
Many public speakers and storytellers narrate the following dramatic tale:
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ complaining of poverty. The Prophet ﷺ advised him to marry.
He married but remained poor. The Prophet ﷺ then advised him to marry again.
This continued until he married four women. After the fourth marriage, he became wealthy and his poverty vanished.
This story is widely circulated among orators, but according to all reliable ḥadīth sources and scholarly research:
It is completely baseless.
There is:
(Dated: 14 May 2012)
هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Volume 3, Issues of Nikāḥ and Ṭalāq, Page 161
❀ Question:
It is narrated from Sayyidunā Jābir رضي الله عنه:
"جاء رجل إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يشكو إليه الفاقة، فأمره أن يتزوج"
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ and complained of poverty, so the Prophet ﷺ instructed him to marry.
Abū Muḥammad Khurram Shehzād from Sheikhupura asks:
Is this narration authentic?
✔ Answer:
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
This narration is found in Tārīkh Baghdād (Vol. 1, p. 365), under the biography of Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn Naṣr al-Tirmidhī, with the following chain:
"أخبرنا محمد بن الحسين القطان، قال نبأنا عبد الباقي بن قانع، قال نبأنا محمد بن أحمد بن نصر الترمذي، قال نبأنا إبراهيم بن المنذر، قال نبأنا سعيد بن محمد مولى بني هاشم، قال نبأنا محمد بن المنكدر عن جابر"
❀ Criticism of the Narrator
➊ Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī رحمه الله said:
"حديث ليس بشيء" – His ḥadīth is of no value.
al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (Vol. 4, p. 58, Entry 257)➋ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥibbān al-Bustī concluded after detailed discussion:
"لا يجوز الاحتجاج بخبره إذا انفرد" – It is impermissible to rely on his reports if he narrates alone.
Kitāb al-Majrūḥīn (Vol. 1, p. 326 | Alternate version: Vol. 1, p. 410)➌ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn al-Jawzī included him in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn.
(Vol. 1, p. 325, Entry 1435)➍ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله listed him in Dīwān al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wa al-Matrūkīn.
(Vol. 1, p. 332, Entry 1647)He also classified this narration under:
"ليس حديثه بشيء" – His ḥadīth is not worth consideration, which in al-Dhahabī’s classification signifies the narration is munkar (rejected).
Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl (Vol. 2, p. 156, Entry 3262)➎ Lisān al-Mīzān also records severe criticism on this narrator.
(Vol. 3, p. 41 | Alternate version: Vol. 3, p. 290) Summary: There is no known scholar who has authenticated this narrator. All of the above authorities declare him extremely weak and unreliable.❀ About Another Narrator –
According to the stronger view, this narrator suffered from memory confusion (ikhtilāṭ) in his later life and is therefore deemed weak.
❖ Final Analysis:
The narration is severely weak and mardūd (rejected).◈ The majority of ḥadīth scholars have accepted the criticisms against its narrators.
◈ Any tawthīq (validation) from unknown teachers of al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī is not reliable in this context.
Important Clarification:
Many public speakers and storytellers narrate the following dramatic tale:
A man came to the Prophet ﷺ complaining of poverty. The Prophet ﷺ advised him to marry.
He married but remained poor. The Prophet ﷺ then advised him to marry again.
This continued until he married four women. After the fourth marriage, he became wealthy and his poverty vanished.
This story is widely circulated among orators, but according to all reliable ḥadīth sources and scholarly research:It is completely baseless.
There is:- No authentic chain,
- No valid source,
- And it is most likely a fabricated tale from storytellers or unreliable preachers.
(Dated: 14 May 2012)هٰذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
