❖ Ruling on the Chain of the Hadith Regarding Invalidating Wudū in the Final Tashahhud
Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
What is the status of the chain of the following hadith?
❀ Narrated from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما:
“If a man becomes invalidated (i.e., loses his wudū) while sitting in the last tashahhud before giving salām, his prayer is valid.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 617; Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 408; Sunan al-Dāraquṭnī: 1/379; al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 2/176; Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār by al-Ṭaḥāwī: 1/274)
❖ Answer:
This hadith is weak, disconnected, and severely inconsistent (muḍṭarib wa munqaṭiʿ).
It cannot be relied upon for deriving legal rulings.
Below are the detailed reasons and scholarly criticisms:
❖ Issues in the Chain of Narration:
① ʿAbdur-Raḥmān ibn Ziyād ibn Anʿum al-Ifriqī — Weak narrator.
② ʿAbdur-Raḥmān ibn Rāfiʿ al-Tanūkhī — Also weak.
③ Though Bakr ibn Sawādah is thiqah (reliable), there is no known evidence of his hearing from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, making the sanad disconnected (munqaṭiʿ).
❀ Imām Nawawī رحمه الله:
"بكر بن سوادة لم يسمع من عبد الله بن عمرو."
"Bakr ibn Sawādah did not hear from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr."
(Al-Majmūʿ: 3/463)
❖ Scholarly Verdicts on This Hadith:
Imām Nawawī رحمه الله:"اتفق الحفاظ على ضعفه لأنه مضطرب ومنقطع."
"The hadith is unanimously declared weak by the ḥuffāẓ due to its inconsistencies and broken chain."
(Khilāṣat al-Aḥkām: 1/449)
"Weak by consensus... its weakness is well-known in hadith literature."
(Al-Majmūʿ: 3/481, 3/425)
—
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar رحمه الله:"قد ضعفه الحفاظ."
"The hadith has been graded weak by the hadith masters."
(Fatḥ al-Bārī: 2/323)
—
Imām Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī رحمه الله:Declared it "munkar" (unacceptable).
(Al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl: 5/232)
—
Imām al-Tirmidhī رحمه الله:"إسناده ليس بذاك القوي، وقد اضطربوا فى إسناده."
"Its chain is not strong, and there is confusion in the isnād."
(Sunan al-Tirmidhī under 408)
—
Imām al-Ḥākim رحمه الله:"يقال للمحتج بهذا الخبر: إنه خبر مضطرب المتن والإسناد."
"Anyone who tries to use this hadith as evidence should be told: this report is inconsistent in both wording and chain."
(Al-Khilāfiyāt by al-Bayhaqī: 3/225)
—
Ḥāfiẓ al-Bayhaqī رحمه الله:"لا يصح."
"This hadith is not authentic."
(Al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 2/176)
—
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr رحمه الله:"لا يصح لضعف إسناده واختلافهم فى لفظه."
"It is not authentic due to the weakness of its chain and variations in its wording."
(Al-Tamhīd: 10/214)
"لا يصح أصلا."
"It is absolutely not proven."
(Al-Istidhkār: 1/524)
—
Ḥāfiẓ al-Khaṭṭābī رحمه الله:"حديث ضعيف... وعارضته الأحاديث التى فيها إيجاب التشهد والتسليم."
"The hadith is weak, and it contradicts authentic reports which emphasize the obligation of tashahhud and salām."
(Maʿālim al-Sunan: 1/140)
—
Imām Ibn al-ʿArabī رحمه الله:"لم يصح."
"It is not authentic."
(Al-Qabas fī Sharḥ Muwaṭṭaʾ Mālik: 224)
—
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī رحمه الله:Classified the hadith as "munkar" (rejected).
(Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl: 2/560)
—
Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Rajab al-Ḥanbalī رحمه الله:"رفعه منكر جدا."
"Narrating it as a marfūʿ hadith (directly from the Prophet ﷺ) is severely rejected."
(Fatḥ al-Bārī: 5/218)
✔ Summary:
The hadith is weak (ḍaʿīf), disconnected (munqaṭiʿ), and inconsistent (muḍṭarib). Not acceptable for use in deriving Islamic rulings. Contradicts stronger authentic narrations which establish the obligation of complete tashahhud and salām in ṣalāh. Unanimous agreement among hadith masters on its weakness.