Refutation of a Fabricated Statement Attributed to ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما
Source: Fatāwā Amanpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri
Question:
What is the authenticity of the following narration?
It is reported from Sayyiduna ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما regarding the tafsīr of ﴿وَالسَّابِقُونَ السَّابِقُونَ﴾:
نزلت فى حزيل مؤمن آل فرعون، وحبيب النجار الذى ذكر فى يس، وعلي بن أبى طالب رضي الله عنه، وكل رجل منهم سابق أمته، وعلي أفضلهم سبقا.
"This verse was revealed about Ḥizqīl, the believer from the family of Pharaoh; Ḥabīb al-Najjār, who is mentioned in Sūrah Yāsīn; and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه. Each of them preceded his nation, and ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the foremost among them."
(Tafsīr Ibn Mardawayh: 1/243, Ḥadīth 487)
Answer:
This narration is fabricated (mawḍūʿ).
Defects in the chain:
① Muqātil ibn Sulaymān – a known liar (kadhdhāb).
② Saʿd ibn Ṣalt – weak narrator.
③ Al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim – did not hear directly from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما.
(See: Natāʾij al-Afkār by Ibn Ḥajar: 1/153)
Hence, the narration is baseless and cannot be attributed to Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما.
