Source: Fatāwā Rāshidiyyah, Page 115
It is often heard and read that there is only one fabricated (mawḍūʿ) ḥadīth in Sunan Ibn Mājah. Which ḥadīth is this?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾAmma baʿd!
The common notion that Sunan Ibn Mājah contains only one fabricated ḥadīth is inaccurate.
In reality, it includes more than one fabricated (mawḍūʿ) narration.
However, the narration that is most commonly referred to as the fabricated ḥadīth in this book is the one that speaks about the virtue of the city of Qazwīn.
In al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿah, page 150, ʿAllāmah al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله) states:
حديث ستفتح عليكم الآفاق ويفتح عليكم مدينة يقال لها قزوين...
“The ḥadīth: ‘The horizons will be opened for you and a city called Qazwīn will be conquered... whoever guards it for forty nights will have a pillar of gold in Paradise…’ has been included by Ibn al-Jawzī in his book of fabricated narrations (al-Mawḍūʿāt), and he was right in doing so. Perhaps this is the ḥadīth which people refer to when they say that Sunan Ibn Mājah contains a fabricated ḥadīth.”
– End quote.
Below is the text and chain of the ḥadīth mentioned, for reference:
حدثنا إسماعيل بن سَمُرَة، حدثنا محمد بن يعلى السلمي، ثنا عمر بن صبيح، عن عبد الرحمن بن عمرو، عن مكحول، عن أبي بن كعب رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ...
“Guarding the frontier for a day in the path of Allah, behind the vulnerable borders of the Muslims, with sincere intention — outside the month of Ramaḍān — is more rewarding than one hundred years of worship (fasting by day and praying by night). Guarding the frontier for one day during Ramaḍān is even greater in reward with Allah...”
This narration is reported by Ibn Mājah in:
Kitāb al-Jihād, Chapter: The Virtue of Guarding in the Path of Allah
Ḥadīth No: 2768 – Edition: Dār al-Salām
✔ The widely-known fabricated ḥadīth in Sunan Ibn Mājah is the one regarding the virtue of Qazwīn.
✔ However, the reality is that Sunan Ibn Mājah contains more than one fabricated narration.
ھٰذَا مَا عِنْدِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
❖ Question
It is often heard and read that there is only one fabricated (mawḍūʿ) ḥadīth in Sunan Ibn Mājah. Which ḥadīth is this?
❖ Answer
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu was-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ʾAmma baʿd!
❖ Fabricated Narrations in Sunan Ibn Mājah
The common notion that Sunan Ibn Mājah contains only one fabricated ḥadīth is inaccurate.
In reality, it includes more than one fabricated (mawḍūʿ) narration.
However, the narration that is most commonly referred to as the fabricated ḥadīth in this book is the one that speaks about the virtue of the city of Qazwīn.
❖ Statement of ʿAllāmah al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله)
In al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿah, page 150, ʿAllāmah al-Shawkānī (رحمه الله) states:
حديث ستفتح عليكم الآفاق ويفتح عليكم مدينة يقال لها قزوين...
“The ḥadīth: ‘The horizons will be opened for you and a city called Qazwīn will be conquered... whoever guards it for forty nights will have a pillar of gold in Paradise…’ has been included by Ibn al-Jawzī in his book of fabricated narrations (al-Mawḍūʿāt), and he was right in doing so. Perhaps this is the ḥadīth which people refer to when they say that Sunan Ibn Mājah contains a fabricated ḥadīth.”
– End quote.
❖ Text and Chain of the Ḥadīth
Below is the text and chain of the ḥadīth mentioned, for reference:
حدثنا إسماعيل بن سَمُرَة، حدثنا محمد بن يعلى السلمي، ثنا عمر بن صبيح، عن عبد الرحمن بن عمرو، عن مكحول، عن أبي بن كعب رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله ﷺ...
“Guarding the frontier for a day in the path of Allah, behind the vulnerable borders of the Muslims, with sincere intention — outside the month of Ramaḍān — is more rewarding than one hundred years of worship (fasting by day and praying by night). Guarding the frontier for one day during Ramaḍān is even greater in reward with Allah...”
This narration is reported by Ibn Mājah in:
Kitāb al-Jihād, Chapter: The Virtue of Guarding in the Path of Allah
Ḥadīth No: 2768 – Edition: Dār al-Salām
❖ Summary
✔ The widely-known fabricated ḥadīth in Sunan Ibn Mājah is the one regarding the virtue of Qazwīn.
✔ However, the reality is that Sunan Ibn Mājah contains more than one fabricated narration.
ھٰذَا مَا عِنْدِي، وَاللّٰهُ أَعْلَمُ بِالصَّوَابِ
