By: Hafiz Abu Yahya Noorpuri
The chain of transmission is integral to the religion of Islam. The foundation and reliance of Islam rest upon it. The chain is the only way to reach the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and it is the sole means to understand the Shariah rulings. The chain is a unique characteristic of the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, with Ahl-e-Hadith being its inheritors and protectors.
People of falsehood have always distanced themselves from the chain of transmission; their books are devoid of it. The demand for a chain from them strikes like lightning. Therefore, whenever a heretic or atheist presents a narration to you, immediately ask for its chain from credible Hadith books, along with the verification of narrators, the continuity of the chain, and assurance that the chain is free from tadlis (concealment of defects) and ikhtilat (mixing). They will be dumbfounded as in the verse:
The Chain and the Scholars of Hadith
Imam Yazid bin Zari’ (d. 182 AH) said:
"Every religion has its knights, and the knights of this religion are the people of the chains."
(Al-Madkhal li al-Hakim: 12, Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith: 82, and its chain is Hasan)
Explaining this statement, Imam Ibn Hibban (d. 354 AH) writes:
"The knights of this knowledge are those who preserved the religion for Muslims, guiding them to the straight path. They traversed deserts and remote areas in pursuit of the Sunnah, moving from city to city, collecting Hadiths with diligence and travel, circling all regions so that no one could introduce anything misleading into the Sunnah. If anyone tried, they were the ones who defended the Prophet ﷺ from such fabrications and upheld the religion."
(Al-Majroohin li Ibn Hibban: 1/27)
Imam Shafi’i (150-204 AH) said:
"The one who seeks knowledge without proof (chain) is like a wood gatherer at night, who carries a bundle of wood with a snake in it, and he doesn’t know that it will bite him."
(Al-Madkhal li al-Hakim: 4, and its chain is Hasan)
Imam Muhammad bin Sirin (d. 110 AH) said:
"This Hadith is religion, so be careful about whom you take your religion from."
(Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil by Ibn Abi Hatim: 2/15, and its chain is Sahih)
Shaykh Imam Abdullah bin al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH) said:
"The chain of transmission is part of the religion. If there was no chain, anyone could say whatever they wanted."
(Introduction to Sahih Muslim: 1/9, no. 32, and its chain is Sahih)
Imam Hakim (d. 405 AH) said:
"If it were not for the chain and the efforts of this group to preserve it, the minaret of Islam would have been demolished, and the heretics and innovators would have dominated by fabricating Hadiths and altering chains. When the reports lack chains, they are incomplete and ineffective."
(Ma’rifat ‘Uloom al-Hadith li al-Hakim: p. 6)
Furthermore, he stated:
"I heard Shaykh Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Ishaq al-Faqih debating with a man. The Shaykh mentioned a chain, and the man said, 'Leave the chains. To what extent will you keep mentioning chains?' The Shaykh said, 'Stand up, you disbeliever! You are not allowed to enter my house after this.' Then he turned to us and said, 'I have never told anyone not to enter my house except for this man.'"
(Ma’rifat ‘Uloom al-Hadith li al-Hakim: p. 4)
Abu Nasr Ahmad bin Salam al-Faqih said:
"There is nothing heavier and more detested by the heretics than hearing Hadiths and narrating them with chains."
(Ma’rifat ‘Uloom al-Hadith li al-Hakim: p. 4, Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith by al-Khatib: 152, and its chain is Sahih)
Moreover, Imam Abdullah bin al-Mubarak said:
"The example of one who seeks his religion without a chain is like one who tries to climb a roof without a ladder."
(Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith by al-Khatib: 75, and its chain is Sahih)
Abu Saeed al-Haddad said:
"The chain is like the steps of a ladder. If your foot slips from the step, you will fall. Opinions are like the swamp."
(Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith by al-Khatib: 74, and its chain is Sahih)
Hafiz Ibn al-Salah (d. 643 AH) wrote:
"The foundation of the chain is a distinguished characteristic of this Ummah, and a firmly established Sunnah."
(Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salah: p. 231)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said:
"The chain is a unique feature of this Ummah, a unique feature of Islam, and within Islam, a unique feature of Ahl al-Sunnah. Among all people, the Rafidis pay the least attention to it because they only accept what aligns with their desires. Their indication of a false chain is that it contradicts their desires."
(Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah: 1/4)
Allama Ibn Hazm (d. 654 AH) wrote:
"The trustworthiness of the transmitters, up to the Prophet ﷺ, is one of the exclusive features given by Allah to the Muslims. Despite ancient times, it remains fresh and lively. People travel far and wide to achieve it, a number that only their Creator can count. Allah has taken the responsibility of preserving it. Hence, if any error occurs in transmission, it does not escape scrutiny, and no evildoer can insert a fabricated word into it. Praise be to Allah!"
The Jews:
"The chain of transmission with discontinuity is very common among the Jews, but even with it, they cannot reach Prophet Musa. They stop far from Musa, with more than thirty generations and over fifteen hundred years between them. They only reach individuals like Shimon and others."
The Christians:
"As for the Christians, they have only the prohibition of divorce as a decree, and even this is narrated by a known liar. Chains with liars and unknown narrators are plentiful among the Jews and Christians."
Regarding the statements of the Companions and the Followers, the Jews cannot reach any Companion or Follower of their Prophet through a chain. For the Christians, they can barely go beyond Shimon and Paul.
(Al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal: 2/82-85)
The chain of transmission is integral to the religion of Islam. The foundation and reliance of Islam rest upon it. The chain is the only way to reach the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and it is the sole means to understand the Shariah rulings. The chain is a unique characteristic of the Ummah of Muhammad ﷺ, with Ahl-e-Hadith being its inheritors and protectors.
People of falsehood have always distanced themselves from the chain of transmission; their books are devoid of it. The demand for a chain from them strikes like lightning. Therefore, whenever a heretic or atheist presents a narration to you, immediately ask for its chain from credible Hadith books, along with the verification of narrators, the continuity of the chain, and assurance that the chain is free from tadlis (concealment of defects) and ikhtilat (mixing). They will be dumbfounded as in the verse:
فَبُھِتَ الَّذِی کَفَرَ
The Chain and the Scholars of Hadith
Imam Yazid bin Zari’ (d. 182 AH) said:
"Every religion has its knights, and the knights of this religion are the people of the chains."
(Al-Madkhal li al-Hakim: 12, Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith: 82, and its chain is Hasan)
Explaining this statement, Imam Ibn Hibban (d. 354 AH) writes:
"The knights of this knowledge are those who preserved the religion for Muslims, guiding them to the straight path. They traversed deserts and remote areas in pursuit of the Sunnah, moving from city to city, collecting Hadiths with diligence and travel, circling all regions so that no one could introduce anything misleading into the Sunnah. If anyone tried, they were the ones who defended the Prophet ﷺ from such fabrications and upheld the religion."
(Al-Majroohin li Ibn Hibban: 1/27)
Imam Shafi’i (150-204 AH) said:
"The one who seeks knowledge without proof (chain) is like a wood gatherer at night, who carries a bundle of wood with a snake in it, and he doesn’t know that it will bite him."
(Al-Madkhal li al-Hakim: 4, and its chain is Hasan)
Imam Muhammad bin Sirin (d. 110 AH) said:
"This Hadith is religion, so be careful about whom you take your religion from."
(Al-Jarh wa al-Ta'dil by Ibn Abi Hatim: 2/15, and its chain is Sahih)
Shaykh Imam Abdullah bin al-Mubarak (d. 181 AH) said:
"The chain of transmission is part of the religion. If there was no chain, anyone could say whatever they wanted."
(Introduction to Sahih Muslim: 1/9, no. 32, and its chain is Sahih)
Imam Hakim (d. 405 AH) said:
"If it were not for the chain and the efforts of this group to preserve it, the minaret of Islam would have been demolished, and the heretics and innovators would have dominated by fabricating Hadiths and altering chains. When the reports lack chains, they are incomplete and ineffective."
(Ma’rifat ‘Uloom al-Hadith li al-Hakim: p. 6)
Furthermore, he stated:
"I heard Shaykh Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Ishaq al-Faqih debating with a man. The Shaykh mentioned a chain, and the man said, 'Leave the chains. To what extent will you keep mentioning chains?' The Shaykh said, 'Stand up, you disbeliever! You are not allowed to enter my house after this.' Then he turned to us and said, 'I have never told anyone not to enter my house except for this man.'"
(Ma’rifat ‘Uloom al-Hadith li al-Hakim: p. 4)
Abu Nasr Ahmad bin Salam al-Faqih said:
"There is nothing heavier and more detested by the heretics than hearing Hadiths and narrating them with chains."
(Ma’rifat ‘Uloom al-Hadith li al-Hakim: p. 4, Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith by al-Khatib: 152, and its chain is Sahih)
Moreover, Imam Abdullah bin al-Mubarak said:
"The example of one who seeks his religion without a chain is like one who tries to climb a roof without a ladder."
(Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith by al-Khatib: 75, and its chain is Sahih)
Abu Saeed al-Haddad said:
"The chain is like the steps of a ladder. If your foot slips from the step, you will fall. Opinions are like the swamp."
(Sharaf As’hab al-Hadith by al-Khatib: 74, and its chain is Sahih)
Hafiz Ibn al-Salah (d. 643 AH) wrote:
"The foundation of the chain is a distinguished characteristic of this Ummah, and a firmly established Sunnah."
(Muqaddimah Ibn al-Salah: p. 231)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 AH) said:
"The chain is a unique feature of this Ummah, a unique feature of Islam, and within Islam, a unique feature of Ahl al-Sunnah. Among all people, the Rafidis pay the least attention to it because they only accept what aligns with their desires. Their indication of a false chain is that it contradicts their desires."
(Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah: 1/4)
Allama Ibn Hazm (d. 654 AH) wrote:
"The trustworthiness of the transmitters, up to the Prophet ﷺ, is one of the exclusive features given by Allah to the Muslims. Despite ancient times, it remains fresh and lively. People travel far and wide to achieve it, a number that only their Creator can count. Allah has taken the responsibility of preserving it. Hence, if any error occurs in transmission, it does not escape scrutiny, and no evildoer can insert a fabricated word into it. Praise be to Allah!"
The Jews:
"The chain of transmission with discontinuity is very common among the Jews, but even with it, they cannot reach Prophet Musa. They stop far from Musa, with more than thirty generations and over fifteen hundred years between them. They only reach individuals like Shimon and others."
The Christians:
"As for the Christians, they have only the prohibition of divorce as a decree, and even this is narrated by a known liar. Chains with liars and unknown narrators are plentiful among the Jews and Christians."
Regarding the statements of the Companions and the Followers, the Jews cannot reach any Companion or Follower of their Prophet through a chain. For the Christians, they can barely go beyond Shimon and Paul.
(Al-Fasl fi al-Milal wa al-Ahwa' wa al-Nihal: 2/82-85)