This excerpt is taken from A Research Review of Mirza Muhammad Ali Engineer's Objections and Issues, authored by Haroon bin Shabbir Ahmad, may Allah preserve him, and revised by Fazilat al-Sheikh Maulana Muhammad Rafiq Tahir, may Allah preserve him.
The Statement of Imam Nasai, may Allah have mercy on him, and the Incident of His Martyrdom:
Our respected Mirza Engineer often discusses an incident attributed to Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) in an attempt to cast doubt and disprove the virtues of Sayyiduna Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). He has stated in several of his lectures that: Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) went to Damascus where, even after three hundred years, people were cursing Hazrat Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)! (In one lecture he said: on the pulpits, people used to speak ill of Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)). Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) became very angry and resolved to write a book on the virtues of Ali, so he wrote a book titled "Khasais Ali (may Allah be pleased with him)". Then the people there asked him to also narrate some hadith in favor of Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him)! He first said, "Let my tongue remain silent on my own matter," but the people insisted that he should tell. Imam said, "Is it not enough for you that Allah leaves Muawiyah as a companion (Sahabi)?" Then he said that he only knows one authentic hadith about Muawiyah which is in Sahih Muslim: that Allah may not fill Muawiyah’s stomach. That was all, after which the Nawasib (enemies) attacked him and beat him so severely that they struck his private parts until he was near death. Then, as per his wish, he was taken to Mecca where he died and was buried.
IMAAM NISAAI’s MARTYRDOM
Mirza Sahib has narrated this incident several times with similar words, so it has been summarized here in one statement! Even after narrating this incident, Mirza Sahib tries to give the impression that "according to Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him), there is no virtue narrated for Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him)." But it is regrettable that Mirza Sahib rejects authentic hadiths with weak and unauthentic statements and incidents! Even though he is the type of person who chants slogans like: "There is no one like my Prophet, no one like the elders!" Now we ask Mirza Sahib and his followers: if all the narrations are weak, then why are references from these chapters being given instead of explaining the reason for the weakness? And the statements you present are themselves weak! And the amusing thing is that Mirza Sahib himself does not declare such incidents authentic or correct, nor has he ever said that their chain is authentic! Why not? Because he also knows that their chain is not authentic!
Now, since the incident is narrated with a weak chain and the weakness is such that Mirza Sahib calls such narrations fabricated or false, he had to prove it true somehow. Then he chose another path, which is to declare this incident as mutawatir (mass-transmitted). Mirza Sahib’s habit is that when an incident is false and without chain, he falsely claims consensus or mutawatir. So when someone asked him about the evidence of this incident, he said:
"It has been transmitted mutawatir, sir! Tell me, has any muhaddith in the world denied Imam Nisai’s martyrdom incident? In the books of Asma al-Rijal, this incident has been transmitted mutawatirly, there is no need to examine the chains..."
Evidence for the Incident of Violence on Imam Nisai
Here is the evidence for the affirmation of this incident! How easy it is to prove any unauthentic matter as true by claiming mutawatir! And Engineer Sahib often makes such false claims! See, here a big claim of mutawatir has been made but on what basis? Neither was the evidence of the incident presented, nor was any proof given for the claim. SubhanAllah! It is like someone asking:
Question: Where is your house?
Answer: In front of the mosque!
Question: Then where is the mosque?
Answer: In front of my house!
Question: And where are both?
Answer: Facing each other!
Now, no one knows where the house is and where the mosque is. Similarly, Engineer Sahib’s answer is giving evidence for a baseless thing, and the evidence itself is baseless. So Mirza Sahib’s claim is entirely based on lies; this incident is by no means mutawatir! If it is, then the burden is on Mirza Sahib to prove it mutawatir and to state which muhaddith declared it mutawatir.
Sir! Do you even know the definition and conditions of mutawatir? Something is called mutawatir only when a large number of muhaddithin narrate it in every era. Now keeping this in mind, present references that from our era to Imam Nisai’s era, a large number of narrators transmitted this story.
Also, your demand that some muhaddith called this incident weak is strange. First prove it mutawatir! Whether someone called it weak or not is a separate matter. And is the criterion for weakness that some muhaddith must have called it weak? Please present this principle from somewhere! That only those historical incidents are weak and unreliable which some muhaddith calls weak, otherwise all history is authentic! You cannot demand from us to present that someone called it weak because you are the claimant, you are narrating the incident, so the burden of proof is on you to prove it with an authentic chain. And when we have the chain and know that it is weak due to some defect, is there still a need that someone must have called it weak? Moreover, you are not a layman but a scholar, so this demand is not valid. The muhaddithin themselves set the principles and rules regarding chains, and they have stated that if there is such and such defect in the chain, it will be called weak. Here their responsibility ends, and demanding whether they called this or that incident weak is futile and pointless.
For further reassurance, Engineer Sahib considers the great and scholarly personality Sheikh Zubair Ali Zai (may Allah have mercy on him) as a highly authentic muhaddith, and he calls him a muhaddith everywhere, even considering him Pakistan’s greatest muhaddith. Yet, Sheikh Zubair Ali Zai also declares this incident weak and unproven. In his research article, he clarifies:
"(Imam) Hakim Nishapuri (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
فَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِسْحَاقَ الْأَصْبَهَانِيُّ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ مَشَايِخَنَا بِمِصْرَ يَذْكُرُونَ أَنَّ أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ فَارَقَ مِصْرَ فِي آخِرِ عُمُرِهِ، وَخَرَجَ إِلَى دِمَشْقَ، فَسُئِلَ بِهَا عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، وَمَا رُوِيَ مِنْ فَضَائِلِهِ، فَقَالَ: لَا يَرْضَى مُعَاوِيَةُ رَأْسًا بِرَأْسٍ حَتَّى يُفَضَّلَ، قَالَ: فَمَا زَالُوا يَدْفَعُونَ فِي حِضْنَيْهِ حَتَّى أُخْرِجَ مِنَ الْمَسْجِدِ، ثُمَّ حُمِلَ إِلَى الرَّمْلَةِ، وَمَاتَ بِهَا سَنَةَ ثَلَاثٍ وَثَلَاثِ مِائَةٍ، وَهُوَ مَدْفُونٌ بِمَكَّةَ۔
‘Then Muhammad bin Ishaq (bin Muhammad bin Yahya bin Manda) al-Asbahi narrated to me: I heard my teachers in Egypt saying that Abu Abdur-Rahman (An-Nisai) bid farewell to Egypt in his last days and went towards Damascus. There, he was asked about Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with him) and the narrations of his virtues. He said: Is Muawiyah not content that his matter be equalized? Why should he be given virtue?! People kept beating him on the chest (or private parts) until he was expelled from the mosque, then he was taken to Mecca where he died in 303 AH and was buried in Mecca.’"
Reference: (Ma’rifat ‘Ulum al-Hadith lil-Hakim, p.83, h.182)
The chain of this narration contains "Mashaikhuna" (our teachers), all of whom are unknown, so this chain is weak, and the marginal note of Hafiz Ibn Asakir
Reference: (Tahdhib al-Kamal:45/1)
is of no benefit.Hafiz Dhahabi narrated this narration without any chain from Ibn Manda on Hamzah al-Uqbi al-Masri, etc.
Reference: (Siyar A’lam al-Nubala:132/14)
.This narration is rejected due to being without chain.
Muhaddith Zubair Ali Zai further said: These are the narrations that some scholars and preachers enjoy narrating, for example, Shah Abdul Aziz Dehlawi wrote about Imam Nisai:
‘The incident of his death is that...’
So this entire narration is a tale and is never proven with an authentic chain! And he (may Allah have mercy on him) further wrote: If someone says that it is not necessary for these stories to have authentic or good chains, then this principle is wrong, and for a brief refutation see my article: What was the cause of Imam Muslim’s death?
Reference: (Maqalat: vol.6, p.269)
The summary of this research is that the story of Imam Nisai in Bustan al-Muhaddithin, etc., is by the principle of muhaddithin not proven with an authentic chain, nor is it proven anywhere that Imam Nisai was Shi’a; rather, he was among the great Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah. May Allah have mercy on him."
Reference: (Tahqiqi Maqalat: vol.6, pp.272-275)
See, Muhaddith Zubair (may Allah have mercy on him) not only declared it weak and unproven with evidence but also criticized those who narrate it! And your attempt to publicize this incident by naming the people of Dar al-Salam is also invalid because according to you they are great muhaddithin, and according to you they are the greatest researchers and scholars of Ahl al-Hadith. So using their rejection and correction to justify Dar al-Salam’s mistake that they narrated this incident under Imam Nisai’s death is of no benefit. And Sheikh Zubair’s clarification, which you mentioned at the end of your writing, also refutes your claim that discussing the chain of this incident is unnecessary.
Maulana Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Amanpuri (may Allah preserve him) also declared this incident weak and unproven, stating that it contains unknown and unreliable narrators:
Reference: (Difa’ al-Sahaba:484)
.Then Mirza Sahib’s claim that this incident has been transmitted mutawatirly in all books of Asma al-Rijal is an extremely filthy lie. Sir, please have the courage to name all these books and the places where this incident is narrated, and then present proof from Asma al-Rijal books of every era! Because your claim "all books" and "proven mutawatirly" demands this.
In one video, Engineer Sahib says: "The incident of Imam Nisai’s martyrdom has been transmitted mutawatirly by all Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah, whether Imam Dhahabi or other Imams!"
IMAAM NISAAI’s MARTYRDOM (may Allah have mercy on him)
Mirza Sahib has not made this claim in one place only but repeatedly says that all Imams have narrated this incident! And he only names Dhahabi.
Imam Nisai R.T.A’s Martyrdom Incident: Why is there disagreement among Ahl al-Hadith and Engineer? - 6:25
In various videos, the same claim is made at different places that all Imams narrated this incident, but how many Imams are referenced? Only one! Does "all Imams" mean only Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him)? Our point is that Mirza Sahib’s claim is completely baseless and false. If all Imams narrated it, then why does only one name come out of Mirza Sahib’s mouth every time? And remember, whether Imam Dhahabi or any other historians, none of them ever claimed in their books that they will only narrate authentic and reliable history and incidents! Therefore, mentioning an incident in a few historical books is not proof of its authenticity and verification, and our Engineer Sahib is no exception! Hence, the reference to Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) is also useless.
And an important point is that this incident states that Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) died in Mecca and was buried there! But in Engineer Sahib’s very first mentioned video, it is said that his martyrdom occurred in Damascus. On the other hand, Imam Nisai’s student Imam Abdur-Rahman bin Ahmad bin Yunus al-Masri (may Allah have mercy on him) also mentions the death of his teacher Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him). Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him), after narrating the incident under discussion, writes:
قَالَ أَبُو سَعِيْدِ بنُ يُوْنُسَ فِي تَارِيْخِهِ: كَانَ أَبُو عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ النَّسَائِيُّ إِمَامًا حَافِظًا ثَبْتًا، خَرَجَ مِنْ مِصْرَ فِي شَهْرِ ذِي القَعْدَةِ مِنْ سَنَةِ اثْنَتَيْنِ وَثَلاَثِ مائَةٍ، وَتُوُفِّيَ بِفِلَسْطِيْنَ فِي يَوْمِ الاثْنَيْنِ لِثَلاَثَ عَشْرَةَ خَلَتْ مِنْ صَفَرٍ، سَنَةَ ثَلاَثٍ۔ قُلْتُ: هَذَا أَصَحُّ، فَإِنَّ ابْنَ يُوْنُسَ حَافِظٌ يَقِظٌ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ عَنِ النَّسَائِيِّ، وَهُوَ بِهِ عَارِفٌ۔
"Abu Saeed bin Yunus says in his history book: Imam Abu Abdur-Rahman An-Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) was a Hafiz, reliable, and an Imam! He left Egypt in the month of Dhu al-Qi’dah in 302 AH, and died on Monday, 13th Safar 303 AH in Palestine.
I (Hafiz Dhahabi) say this narration is more correct because Ibn Yunus was a Hafiz, cautious and alert in this field, and he was also a student of Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him), and he knew Imam Nisai better!"
Reference: (Siyar A’lam al-Nubala:133/14)
Now Imam Nisai’s own student is narrating the death of his teacher, and according to him, Imam Nisai died in Palestine! Decide whose statement is more reliable: the one narrated by unknown people or the one narrated by Imam Nisai’s own student?
Furthermore, Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) also narrated a similar statement from Imam al-Tahawi (may Allah have mercy on him):
Reference: (Tahdhib Tahdhib al-Kamal:153/1)
. This proves the falsehood of the incident narrated by Mirza Sahib.Also noteworthy is that Imam Ibn Yunus al-Masri mentioned Imam Nisai’s death but did not mention the weak story that Mirza Sahib presents at all! This further strengthens our claim that the incident is weak and not proven! And it clearly refutes Engineer Sahib’s false claim that all Imams narrated this incident. Forget all Imams, even Imam Nisai’s own student does not mention that story when narrating his teacher’s death, which Imam Dhahabi said he knew better, etc.!
That is not all, let us continue! Mirza Sahib enjoys narrating this weak statement and incident of Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him), but has he ever narrated the statement attributed to Imam Nisai in favor of the Sahabah (may Allah be pleased with them), especially Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him)? No, never! Because your curriculum does not contain such things; your job is only to give negative impressions about the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and make people suspicious of them, especially Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him), even if you have to tear apart qualities like honesty and truthfulness. Well, observe the statement attributed to Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) in favor of the Sahabah and especially Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him). Imam Ibn Asakir (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
روى عن أبي عبد الرحمٰن النسائي أنه سئل عن معاوية بن أبي سفيان صاحب رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: إنما الإسلام كدار لها باب. فباب الإسلام الصحابة. فمن آذى الصحابة إنما أراد الإسلام، كمن نقر الباب إنما يريد دخول الباب. قال: فمن أراد معاوية فإنما أراد الصحابة۔
"It is narrated from Imam Abu Abdur-Rahman An-Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) that when he was asked about Hazrat Muawiyah bin Abi Sufyan (may Allah be pleased with them), he replied: Islam is like a house with a door, and the door of Islam is the Sahabah. Whoever harms the Sahabah has dared to harm Islam, like someone knocking on the door trying to enter forcibly. And he said: Whoever belittles or criticizes Hazrat Muawiyah (may Allah be pleased with him) is actually criticizing all the Sahabah!"
Reference: (Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn Asakir: vol.71, pp.175-176)
Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) also mentioned this statement of Imam Nisai (may Allah have mercy on him) after the weak story of his death:
Reference: (Tahdhib Tahdhib al-Kamal:153/1)
. What impression are they trying to give, and what impression are you trying to give by running around like this?Shame on Mirza Sahib! First, you reject authentic narrations with weak statements and incidents, then to prove it, you stage a drama of mutawatir, and you say the presence or absence of chains is unnecessary (even though you yourself encourage people to follow authentic chains and completely disassociate from historical weak and unauthentic narrations). Then the claim of mutawatir is nowhere to be found, and to fulfill your purpose, you had to make the false claim that "all Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah" have narrated this incident of Imam Nisai’s martyrdom in all books of Asma al-Rijal, and when naming any, you only name Dhahabi. Then you oppose Imam Dhahabi’s style and approach regarding this incident and misuse this weak story by taking Dhahabi’s name. We are at a loss for words on this, but we leave the matter to the public and Engineer Sahib’s followers to decide on which position Mirza Muhammad Ali Engineer Sahib stands regarding justice, fairness, and truthfulness!
