Written by: Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai (may Allah have mercy on him)
Question:
Once, the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them all) were frustrated with Abdullah bin Ubay and said to one another, "Let's seek help from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." Upon hearing this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
Translation:
"Indeed, it is not sought from me, but rather it is sought from Allah." [Tabarani and Musnad Ahmad]
Respected Sheikh Zubair Ali Zai, please verify this Hadith. (Abdullah Tahir, Islamabad)
Answer:
This narration, “Indeed, it is not sought from me, but rather it is sought from Allah,” was reported by Tabarani with the following chain and text:
Translation:
`Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Abu Bakr (as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Stand up and seek help from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) against this hypocrite." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Help is not sought from me, but rather from Allah Almighty."
This narration is also mentioned in:
[Jami' al-Masanid wa al-Sunan by Ibn Kathir 7/140, Hadith 4904]
Hafiz Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) commented on this narration:
Translation:
"It was narrated by Tabarani, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih except for Ibn Lahi'ah, who is considered Hasan al-Hadith." [Majma' al-Zawa'id 10/159]
My research indicates that this narration is weak due to three reasons:
First:
Ibn Lahi'ah was a Mudallis (one who commits tadlis, a form of deceptive narration). [See Tabaqat al-Mudallisin 5/140, al-Fath al-Mubin p. 77]
And this narration is with "an'anah" (narrated by saying "from" without clear indication of direct hearing). It is well known among students of Hadith that a Mudallis's narration with "an'anah" is weak.
Second:
Ibn Lahi'ah suffered from memory confusion in his later years. He is considered Hasan al-Hadith only when he explicitly mentions his hearing and when the narration is from before his confusion. The following narrators heard from him before his confusion:
Third:
There is a narrator ( رجل - a man) between Ali bin Rabah and `Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) in this Hadith. See: [Musnad Ahmad 5/317, Hadith 22706], [Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 1/387], and [Jami' al-Masanid by Ibn Kathir 7/140].
This man is unknown. Also see: [Majma' al-Zawa'id 8/40, it is said: Ahmad narrated it and there is a narrator who is not named and Ibn Lahi'ah.]
Summary of the Research:
It is absolutely correct that help should be sought only from Allah, as is evident from the Quran [Surah Al-Anfal: 10, 9], but the narration "Indeed, it is not sought from me, but rather it is sought from Allah" is weak in terms of its chain of transmission. The researcher Jasim al-Dosari also declared this narration weak in his work "An-Nahj as-Sadid" (p. 88, Hadith 161).
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
(24 Rabi' al-Thani 1427 AH)
Question:
Once, the Companions of the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with them all) were frustrated with Abdullah bin Ubay and said to one another, "Let's seek help from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)." Upon hearing this, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"إِنَّهٗ لَا يُسْتَغَاتُ بِيْ وَإِنَّمَا يُسْتَغَاتُ بِاللّٰهِ"
Translation:
"Indeed, it is not sought from me, but rather it is sought from Allah." [Tabarani and Musnad Ahmad]
Respected Sheikh Zubair Ali Zai, please verify this Hadith. (Abdullah Tahir, Islamabad)
Answer:
This narration, “Indeed, it is not sought from me, but rather it is sought from Allah,” was reported by Tabarani with the following chain and text:
حدثنا أحمد بن حماد بن زغبة المصري : حدثنا سعيد بن عفير : حدثنا ابن لهيعة عن الحارث ابن يزيد عن على بن رباح عن عبادة قال قال أبوبكر : قوموا نستغيث برسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من هٰذا المنافق فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : أنا لا يستغاث بي، إنما يستغاث بالله عزوجل
Translation:
`Ubadah bin al-Samit (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that Abu Bakr (as-Siddiq, may Allah be pleased with him) said: "Stand up and seek help from the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) against this hypocrite." The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Help is not sought from me, but rather from Allah Almighty."
This narration is also mentioned in:
[Jami' al-Masanid wa al-Sunan by Ibn Kathir 7/140, Hadith 4904]
Hafiz Haythami (may Allah have mercy on him) commented on this narration:
رواه الطبراني و رجالہ رجال الصحیح غیر ابن لھیعۃ وھو حسن الحدیث
Translation:
"It was narrated by Tabarani, and its narrators are the narrators of the Sahih except for Ibn Lahi'ah, who is considered Hasan al-Hadith." [Majma' al-Zawa'id 10/159]
My research indicates that this narration is weak due to three reasons:
First:
Ibn Lahi'ah was a Mudallis (one who commits tadlis, a form of deceptive narration). [See Tabaqat al-Mudallisin 5/140, al-Fath al-Mubin p. 77]
And this narration is with "an'anah" (narrated by saying "from" without clear indication of direct hearing). It is well known among students of Hadith that a Mudallis's narration with "an'anah" is weak.
Second:
Ibn Lahi'ah suffered from memory confusion in his later years. He is considered Hasan al-Hadith only when he explicitly mentions his hearing and when the narration is from before his confusion. The following narrators heard from him before his confusion:
- Abdullah bin Mubarak
- Abdullah bin Wahb
- Abdullah bin Yazid al-Muqri'
- Abdullah bin Muslimah al-Qanabi [Mizan al-I'tidal 2/282]
- Yahya bin Ishaq al-Saylihini [Tahdhib al-Tahdhib 2/420]
- Waleed bin Mazid [al-Mu'jam al-Saghir by Tabarani 1/231]
- Abdul Rahman bin Mahdi [Lisan al-Mizan 10/11]
- Ishaq bin Isa [Mizan al-I'tidal 2/477]
- Sufyan al-Thawri
- Shu'bah
- Awza'i
- Amr bin al-Harith al-Masri [Dhayl al-Kawakib al-Nayyirat p. 483]
- Laith bin Sa'd [Fath al-Bari 4/345 under 2127]
- Bishr bin Bakr [al-Du'afa by al-Aqili 2/294]
Third:
There is a narrator ( رجل - a man) between Ali bin Rabah and `Ubadah (may Allah be pleased with him) in this Hadith. See: [Musnad Ahmad 5/317, Hadith 22706], [Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd 1/387], and [Jami' al-Masanid by Ibn Kathir 7/140].
This man is unknown. Also see: [Majma' al-Zawa'id 8/40, it is said: Ahmad narrated it and there is a narrator who is not named and Ibn Lahi'ah.]
Summary of the Research:
It is absolutely correct that help should be sought only from Allah, as is evident from the Quran [Surah Al-Anfal: 10, 9], but the narration "Indeed, it is not sought from me, but rather it is sought from Allah" is weak in terms of its chain of transmission. The researcher Jasim al-Dosari also declared this narration weak in his work "An-Nahj as-Sadid" (p. 88, Hadith 161).
وما علينا إلا البلاغ
(24 Rabi' al-Thani 1427 AH)
