Detailed Research: Is the “Rajul min Fāris” Hadith Referring to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah?
Source: Fatāwā ‘Ilmiyyah, Volume 3, Chapter: Usūl, Takhrīj al-Riwāyāt and Their Rulings, Page 246✦ Ḥadīth Text and Translation
Narrated by Sayyidunā Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه, the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
"(لَوْ كَانَ الدِّينُ عِنْدَ الثُّرَيَّا لَذَهَبَ بِهِ رَجُلٌ مِنْ فَارِسَ – أَوْ قَالَ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ فَارِسَ – حَتَّى يَتَنَاوَلَهُ)"
Translation: If the religion were at the Pleiades (stars), even then a man from Persia—or he said, from the sons of Persia—would reach it.
(Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: 2546, Dār al-Salām numbering: 6497)
✦ Variations in Wordings from Other Narrations
① Muṣannaf ‘Abd al-Razzāq:
"لَذَهَبَ إِلَيْهِ رَجُلٌ: لَذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ فَارِسَ حَتَّى يَتَنَاوَلُوهُ"
(Vol 11, Pg 65, Ḥadīth 19923; Alternate vol: 10, Pg 114, Ḥadīth 20092)
② Akhbār Iṣfahān by Abū Nu‘aym al-Iṣfahānī
(Vol 1, Pg 4)
③ Musnad Aḥmad:
"لَذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ مِنْ فَارِسَ: لَذَهَبَ رِجَالٌ مِنْ أَبْنَاءِ فَارِسَ حَتَّى يَتَنَاوَلُوهُ"
(Vol 2, Pg 309, Ḥadīth 8081; Ḥadīth Encyclopedia: Vol 13, Pg 444–445)
④ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (4898) and Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (2546 / Dār al-Salām: 6498):
"لَنَالَهُ رِجَالٌ هَؤُلَاءِ"
⑤ Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (4897):
"لَنَالَهُ رِجَالٌ أَوْ رَجُلٌ مِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ"
✦ Two Interpretations of the Ḥadīth
➊ "Rajul" — A Single Man from Fāris
This refers specifically to Sayyidunā Salmān al-Fārisī رضي الله عنه, based on:
- Context of the Ḥadīth: The Prophet ﷺ made this statement while placing his hand on Salmān al-Fārisī رضي الله عنه
(Ref: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī: 4897) - Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr mentioned this narration in the virtues of Salmān al-Fārisī
(Al-Istī‘āb: Vol 1, Pg 382, Entry 1013)
➋ "Rijāl" — Multiple Men from Fāris
Refers to noble Persian scholars and ḥadīth preservers who excelled in religious knowledge.
- Ibn Ḥajar quoting al-Qurṭubī:
Among the Persians are renowned ḥuffāẓ of ḥadīth, unmatched by others.
(Fatḥ al-Bārī: Vol 8, Pg 643, under Ḥadīth 4898) - Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah states:
"ومصداق ذلك ما وجد في التابعين ومن بعدهم من أبناء فارس الأحرار والموالي مثل الحسن وابن سيرين وعكرمة مولى ابن عباس وغيرهم…"
(Iqtiḍāʾ al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm, Pg 145)
Notable examples include:
✔ Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
✔ Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn
✔ ‘Ikrimah, the freed slave of Ibn ‘Abbās رضي الله عنه
✔ And others...
Later Persian ḥadīth authorities include:
◈ Imām al-Bukhārī رحمه الله
◈ Imām Muslim رحمه الله
◈ Imām Abū Dāwūd رحمه الله
◈ Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله
◈ Imām Ibn Mājah رحمه الله
◈ Imām Ya‘qūb ibn Sufyān al-Fārisī رحمه الله
(May Allāh have mercy on them all)
✦ Is Imām Abū Ḥanīfah the Intended "Rajul" in This Ḥadīth?
The attribution of this ḥadīth to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله by Ibn Ḥajar al-Makkī al-Haythamī (d. 974 AH) is invalid for two key reasons:
① No Authentic Evidence That Imām Abū Ḥanīfah Was Persian
- No ṣaḥīḥ sanad (authentic chain) proves that Imām Abū Ḥanīfah was Persian.
- Arguments presented by Ḥanafī scholars such as al-Suyūṭī and Ibn Ḥajar al-Makkī are weak and baseless.
(See: Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām, Vol 2, Pgs 401–402)
② Imām Abū Ḥanīfah Was from
- Imām Abū Nu‘aym al-Kūfī (d. 218 AH) said:
“Abū Ḥanīfah al-Nu‘mān ibn Thābit ibn Zūṭī was originally from Kābul.”
(Tārīkh Baghdād: Vol 13, Pgs 324–325, Authentic Chain) - Kābul and Fāris are two distinct lands.
(Mu‘jam al-Buldān: Vol 3, Pg 426; Vol 4, Pg 226)
(Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām: Vol 2, Pg 402)
Therefore, equating a Kābulī with a Fārisī is historical distortion and deception.✦ Claim of Ghulām Rasūl Sa‘īdī and Its Refutation
‘Aynī al-Ḥanafī did not interpret this ḥadīth as referring to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah.
However, Ghulām Rasūl Sa‘īdī, in defense of the Barelwī school, quotes:
“This indicates towards Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله.”
He further claims:
“Al-Suyūṭī’s student al-‘Allāmah al-Shāmī said: Our teacher’s (al-Suyūṭī’s) statement is absolutely correct. This ḥadīth refers to Imām Abū Ḥanīfah, as none among the children of Fāris reached his level of knowledge and virtue.”
(Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim: Vol 6, Pg 1243)
This claim is invalid for four reasons:
➊ Chronological Impossibility
Al-Suyūṭī died in 911 AH, while Ibn ‘Ābidīn al-Shāmī was born in 1198 AH.
A gap of 287 years!
(Mu‘jam al-Mu’allifīn: Vol 3, Pg 145, Entry 12274)
Did al-Shāmī study in al-Suyūṭī’s grave?➋ Al-Suyūṭī was a Non-Muqallid
See his work: “Al-Radd ‘ala Man Akhlada ilā al-Arḍ”
➌ Imām Abū Ḥanīfah was not Persian
➍ He was from Kābul
✦ Who Is the True Referent of This Ḥadīth?
✔ Sayyidunā Salmān al-Fārisī رضي الله عنه
✔ Renowned Persian ḥadīth scholars who authored works in ḥadīth, tafsīr, and ‘ilm al-rijāl
⚠ Challenge to Ḥanafīs, Barelwīs, and Deobandīs:
If the following is not offensive, then answer:
Where is the Ṣaḥīḥ of Abū Ḥanīfah? Where is his Tafsīr? Where is his work on Uṣūl al-Fiqh or Uṣūl al-Ḥadīth? Where is his book on Asmā’ al-Rijāl?🕊 Final Advice
❀ Do not exaggerate in religious matters.
❀ Maintain justice and fairness.
❀ And remember:
"Is the morning not near?"
(13 August 2011)
ھٰذَا مَا عِنْدِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
