Reward of Reviving a Dead Sunnah: Truth About the Weak Narration
Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadiyyah, Vol. 1, Page 294
❖ Question
Why should we not act upon a dead Sunnah if it promises the reward of a hundred martyrs?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd!
The narration often quoted: “Whoever revives a dead Sunnah will receive the reward of one hundred martyrs” is weak.
Weakness in the Chain
This ḥadīth contains Ḥasan bin Qaytbah al-Khuzāʿī al-Madā’inī:
- Ibn ʿAdī said: lā ba’sa bihi (there is no harm in him).
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar called him: hālik (ruined).
- Dāraquṭnī: matrūk al-ḥadīth (abandoned in ḥadīth).
- Abū Ḥātim: ḍaʿīf (weak).
- Rāzī: wāhī al-ḥadīth (very weak).
- ʿUqaylī: kathīr al-wahm (full of errors).
A Stronger Version
Imām Ṭabarānī narrated a ḥadīth from Abū Hurayrah (RA) with a chain that is lā ba’sa bihi (acceptable). But the wording is different:
“فله أجر شهيد”
“Whoever revives a dead Sunnah will receive the reward of one martyr, not one hundred.”
❖ Conclusion
- The version mentioning a hundred martyrs is weak and unreliable.
- The stronger narration only states the reward of one martyr for reviving a dead Sunnah.
Hādhā mā ʿindī, wallāhu aʿlam biṣ-ṣawāb.
