❖ Authored by: Ḥāfiẓ Muḥammad Anwar Zāhid ḥafiẓahullāh
❖ The Narration of Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها
Imām al-Dhahabī reports in Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl through the chain of Ḥammād ibn Salamah → from Abān → from Shahr ibn Ḥawshab → from Sayyidah Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها that she said:
Jibrīl (عليه السلام) was sitting with the Prophet ﷺ, and Ḥusayn رضي الله عنه was with me. He began to cry, and I let him go. He went to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Jibrīl عليه السلام said:
“O Muḥammad ﷺ, do you love him?”
The Prophet ﷺ replied, “Yes.”
Jibrīl عليه السلام then said:
“Your nation will kill him. And if you wish, I will show you the soil of the land where he will be martyred.”
Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها states: “I saw that soil, and it was the soil of Karbala.”
❖ Ḥadīth Verification
⟹ The chain is weak (إسناده ضعيف).
This narration’s chain is weak.
[Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, vol. 1, p. 123; Aḥmad in Faḍāʾil al-Ṣaḥābah, vol. 2, p. 782]
❖ Analytical Commentary
It is claimed in this narration that Sayyidah Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها recognized the soil of Karbala, despite never having traveled to the land of Iraq. This claim assumes she possessed knowledge akin to a geologist (ṭabāqat al-arḍ), identifying soil merely by seeing it, which is highly implausible.
Moreover, we know from Islamic theology that:
- No one besides a prophet can see an angel in its original form.
- Even if an angel comes in human form, only a prophet can recognize that it is an angel—unless the angel explicitly informs the person.
So how could Sayyidah Umm Salamah رضي الله عنها have known that Jibrīl عليه السلام was present and heard his conversation with the Prophet ﷺ? The very wording of the narration suggests it is describing an eyewitness account from her, which contradicts established principles and thus indicates fabrication.
❖ The Chain and Its Defects
1. Abān ibn Abī ʿAyyāsh:
Imām al-Dhahabī included this narration in his biographical entry on Abān ibn Abī ʿAyyāsh, whose name is Abū Ismāʿīl, a resident of Baṣrah, also known as al-Ṣawnī al-Dīnār al-Zāhid. Despite being considered a minor tābiʿī, his narrations are critically rejected:
- Ibn ʿAdī: Counts him among weak narrators.
- Imām Shuʿbah: Said narrating from him is worse than drinking donkey’s urine or committing fornication.
- Aḥmad and Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn: Declared him matrūk al-ḥadīth (abandoned in ḥadīth).
- Abū ʿAwnah: Initially transmitted from him but later forbade himself from doing so.
- Al-Jawzajānī: Said he is discarded.
- Al-Nasāʾī: Declared him matrūk.
- Ibn ʿAdī: Stated that all his reports are munkar (rejected), and this narration is one of those.
- Imām Shuʿbah: Swore that if Abān were not a liar, then he (Shuʿbah) would donate his home and mount to the poor.
In dreams, prominent scholars like Ḥamzah al-Zayyāt and Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī al-Abār claimed to have seen the Prophet ﷺ denying the authenticity of Abān's narrations—accepting only a handful out of hundreds.
Despite being pious and ascetic, Ibn Ḥibbān stated that Abān would mix up Ḥasan al-Baṣrī’s opinions with ḥadīth from Anas رضي الله عنه and attribute them incorrectly.
2. Shahr ibn Ḥawshab:
Although he narrates from Umm Salamah, Abū Hurayrah, and Asmāʾ bint Yazīd رضي الله عنهم, he is also criticized:
- Aḥmad: Said his narrations from Asmāʾ are good; others not so.
- Abū Ḥātim: Not a ḥujjah.
- Al-Nasāʾī & Ibn ʿAdī: Not strong.
- Abū Bakr al-Karnī: Accused him of embezzling from Bayt al-Māl.
- Al-Dūlābī: Criticized his embellished narration style.
- Fallas: Refused to transmit from him.
- Shuʿbah: Abandoned his narrations.
- ʿAbbād ibn Manṣūr: Accused him of stealing.
- Ibn ʿAdī: Said his narrations cannot be used in matters of dīn.
❖ Chain Discrepancy
Moreover, Abān was from Baṣrah, and Shahr ibn Ḥawshab was from Damascus. There is no proven encounter between them, and Abān’s attribution to Shahr is likely fabricated.
❖ Conclusion
Even if this narration were solely from Shahr ibn Ḥawshab, it would still be unacceptable due to his weak status. But with the addition of Abān ibn Abī ʿAyyāsh, a known fabricator, this narration is clearly rejected.
Thus, the story of the Prophet ﷺ being shown the soil of Karbala and being informed of the martyrdom of Ḥusayn رضي الله عنه through this specific chain is unreliable and fabricated.
وَاللهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
