Detailed Verification of Four Popular Narrations, Including the Scorpion Sting Incident in Prayer
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 448
Text:
The Prophet ﷺ was stung by a scorpion during prayer. After finishing, he asked for water and salt, applied it to the sting, and recited:
Source:
Narrator under discussion:
ʿAbbād ibn Yaʿqūb al-Rawājīnī — detailed criticism and praise exist.
Criticism:
Praise:
Conclusion:
Considering all evidence, the narration is ḥasan and acceptable.
Additional Notes:
Summary:
He was advised not to listen to the Prophet ﷺ, put cotton in his ears, but upon hearing the Qurʾān removed it and accepted Islam.
Sources:
Weaknesses in chains:
Conclusion:
The incident is not established with a sound chain.
Summary:
A woman used to throw garbage daily; one day she didn’t, the Prophet ﷺ visited her, served her, and she accepted Islam.
Source:
Common in educational texts, without any reference to ḥadīth sources.
Conclusion:
Baseless and fabricated; no chain exists in reliable ḥadīth books.
Summary:
A woman warned about the Prophet ﷺ unknowingly asks him to carry her goods; after he delivers them and identifies himself, she accepts Islam.
Conclusion:
Also fabricated; appears to be an invention of preachers and storytellers.
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 448Narration 1 – Scorpion Sting During Prayer
Text:
The Prophet ﷺ was stung by a scorpion during prayer. After finishing, he asked for water and salt, applied it to the sting, and recited:
- قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ
- قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ
- قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ النَّاسِ
Source:
- al-Ṭabarānī al-Ṣaghīr (cited in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid, 5/111 — al-Haythamī: isnād is ḥasan).
Narrator under discussion:
ʿAbbād ibn Yaʿqūb al-Rawājīnī — detailed criticism and praise exist.
Criticism:
- Ibn Ḥibbān: Rāfiḍī caller to his sect, narrated munkar reports from famous narrators, deserves to be abandoned (al-Majrūḥīn, 2/172).
- Ibn ʿAdī: extreme in Shīʿī tendencies, narrated objectionable reports (al-Kāmil, 4/1653).
- Al-Dhahabī: truthful in ḥadīth, extreme Shīʿī.
- Al-Albānī: among the extremist Rāfiḍah, narrating munkar from well-known narrators (al-Ḍaʿīfah, 3/383, no. 1237).
Praise:
- Al-Dāraquṭnī: Shīʿī but truthful.
- Ibn Khuzaymah: Thiqah in ḥadīth, though accused in his views.
- Al-Ḥākim: declared the narration authentic.
- Al-Ḍiyāʾ al-Maqdisī: included his reports in al-Mukhtārah.
- Al-Bukhārī: included his reports for corroboration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī.
Conclusion:
Considering all evidence, the narration is ḥasan and acceptable.
Additional Notes:
- Another related narration in Sunan Ibn Mājah (1468) about Bīr Gharas water — graded ḥasan on investigation despite al-Būṣayrī and al-Albānī’s weakening.
- Accusation of insulting ʿUthmān رضي الله عنه against ʿAbbād ibn Yaʿqūb is unsupported by a valid chain.
Narration 2 – Story of Ṭufayl ibn ʿAmr al-Dawsī رضي الله عنه
Summary:
He was advised not to listen to the Prophet ﷺ, put cotton in his ears, but upon hearing the Qurʾān removed it and accepted Islam.
Sources:
- al-Istīʿāb (2/232), Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ (1/345), al-Iṣābah (2/225), Sīrat Ibn Hishām, Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah, Tārīkh Dimashq, al-Bidāyah wa al-Nihāyah.
Weaknesses in chains:
- Ibn Isḥāq: mudallis, narrates with ʿanʿanah.
- ʿUthmān ibn al-Ḥuwairith: unknown.
- Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān: tābiʿī — making the chain mursal.
- Some chains contain liars: Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar al-Wāqidī, al-Kalbī.
Conclusion:
The incident is not established with a sound chain.
Narration 3 – Woman Who Threw Garbage on the Prophet ﷺ
Summary:
A woman used to throw garbage daily; one day she didn’t, the Prophet ﷺ visited her, served her, and she accepted Islam.
Source:
Common in educational texts, without any reference to ḥadīth sources.
Conclusion:
Baseless and fabricated; no chain exists in reliable ḥadīth books.
Narration 4 – The Woman with a Bundle (Story in Makkah)
Summary:
A woman warned about the Prophet ﷺ unknowingly asks him to carry her goods; after he delivers them and identifies himself, she accepts Islam.
Conclusion:
Also fabricated; appears to be an invention of preachers and storytellers.
Final Results Table:
| Narration | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 1. Scorpion sting in prayer | Ḥasan (acceptable) |
| 2. Ṭufayl ibn ʿAmr’s cotton-in-ears story | Not established |
| 3. Garbage-throwing woman | Baseless |
| 4. Woman with bundle | Baseless |
ھذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
