Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah (Tawḍīḥ al-Aḥkām), Vol. 2, p. 424
Is Zāhid al-Kawtharī’s claim valid that Ḥāfiẓ Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl considered Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī to be weak?
Al-Kawtharī commented on a narration in Tārīkh Baghdād:
“In this narration, there are many suspicious narrators. Abū Muḥammad ibn Ḥayyān is actually Abū al-Shaykh, author of Kitāb al-ʿAẓamah and Kitāb al-Sunnah, in which there are fabricated incidents unlike those found elsewhere. He was considered weak by his fellow townsman, Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿAssāl.”
(Ta’nīb al-Khaṭīb, p. 49; Urdu translation Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ, p. 53)
◈ Ta’nīb al-Khaṭīb was authored by Zāhid al-Kawtharī in response to Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī.
◈ The book was translated into Urdu by Deobandi scholar ʿAbd al-Quddūs Qārin (son of Sarfarāz Khān Ṣafdar Deobandi) under the title: Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ.
◈ Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā al-Muʿallimī al-Yamānī (d. 1386 AH) authored a two-volume refutation of Kawtharī’s work titled al-Tankīl bimā fī Ta’nīb al-Kawtharī min al-Abāṭīl, to which no Kawtharī supporter has responded to date. Al-ḥamdu lillāh.
Original Kawtharī Arabic Text:
“Al-Qasrī is the one who built a church for his mother to worship in. He is also the one who is said to have slaughtered Jaʿd ibn Dirham on Eid al-Aḍḥā as a sacrificial substitute for himself, though this account, despite its popularity, is not proven.”
(p. 62)
Qārin’s Urdu Translation:
“It is said that on Eid al-Aḍḥā, Jaʿd ibn Dirham slaughtered the sacrificial animal on behalf of al-Qasrī.”
(Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ, p. 178)
This translation is laughably incorrect. Kawtharī’s statement means:
“Khalid al-Qasrī himself slaughtered Jaʿd ibn Dirham as his sacrificial animal on Eid.”
But Qārin reversed the roles completely.
Correct Incident According to Historians:
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī wrote:
“Offer your sacrifices, may Allāh accept them. I am sacrificing Jaʿd ibn Dirham, for he claimed that Allāh did not take Ibrāhīm as a close friend.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 5/432)
In Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl:
“He was executed in Iraq on the Day of Sacrifice due to this belief.”
(Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, Vol. 1, p. 399, Entry 1482)
Clarification:
Qārin wrote:
“Did only Ḥanafīs participate in the funeral of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah? Were there not people from other madhāhib (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, etc.) present?”
(Majdhūbānah Wāwailā, p. 289, 1st edition, June 1995, Maktabah Ṣafdariyyah)
Clarification:
Status of Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī:
He was a renowned, trustworthy, and credible Imām of Ahl al-Sunnah.
Scholarly Testimonies:
He objected to this falsehood in:
al-Tankīl, Vol. 1, pp. 318–319, Entry 129
Shaykh Sulaymān al-Ṣanīʿ (Member of the Consultative Council of Makkah) stated:
“I met al-Kawtharī multiple times in Egypt regarding this issue and asked for clarification, but he failed to provide any concrete evidence. If he were truthful, he would have shown me explicit proof of al-ʿAssāl’s criticism. It became clear to me that he fabricated and misrepresented facts.”
(Ṭalīʿat al-Tankīl, p. 29)
◈ Provide an authentic reference showing that Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl weakened Abū al-Shaykh.
◈ Until then, they remain equal participants in Kawtharī’s falsehood.
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
❖ Question:
Is Zāhid al-Kawtharī’s claim valid that Ḥāfiẓ Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl considered Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī to be weak?
Al-Kawtharī commented on a narration in Tārīkh Baghdād:
“In this narration, there are many suspicious narrators. Abū Muḥammad ibn Ḥayyān is actually Abū al-Shaykh, author of Kitāb al-ʿAẓamah and Kitāb al-Sunnah, in which there are fabricated incidents unlike those found elsewhere. He was considered weak by his fellow townsman, Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿAssāl.”
(Ta’nīb al-Khaṭīb, p. 49; Urdu translation Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ, p. 53)
❖ Reality Behind the Claim: A Detailed Investigation
✦ Kawtharī’s Book
◈ Ta’nīb al-Khaṭīb was authored by Zāhid al-Kawtharī in response to Imām al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī.
◈ The book was translated into Urdu by Deobandi scholar ʿAbd al-Quddūs Qārin (son of Sarfarāz Khān Ṣafdar Deobandi) under the title: Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ.
◈ Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yaḥyā al-Muʿallimī al-Yamānī (d. 1386 AH) authored a two-volume refutation of Kawtharī’s work titled al-Tankīl bimā fī Ta’nīb al-Kawtharī min al-Abāṭīl, to which no Kawtharī supporter has responded to date. Al-ḥamdu lillāh.
✦ Academic Errors of ʿAbd al-Quddūs Qārin
Original Kawtharī Arabic Text:
“Al-Qasrī is the one who built a church for his mother to worship in. He is also the one who is said to have slaughtered Jaʿd ibn Dirham on Eid al-Aḍḥā as a sacrificial substitute for himself, though this account, despite its popularity, is not proven.”
(p. 62)
Qārin’s Urdu Translation:
“It is said that on Eid al-Aḍḥā, Jaʿd ibn Dirham slaughtered the sacrificial animal on behalf of al-Qasrī.”
(Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ, p. 178)
This translation is laughably incorrect. Kawtharī’s statement means:
“Khalid al-Qasrī himself slaughtered Jaʿd ibn Dirham as his sacrificial animal on Eid.”
But Qārin reversed the roles completely.
Correct Incident According to Historians:
Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī wrote:
“Offer your sacrifices, may Allāh accept them. I am sacrificing Jaʿd ibn Dirham, for he claimed that Allāh did not take Ibrāhīm as a close friend.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 5/432)
In Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl:
“He was executed in Iraq on the Day of Sacrifice due to this belief.”
(Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, Vol. 1, p. 399, Entry 1482)
Clarification:
- The claim that Khalid built a church for his mother is historically unsubstantiated.
- Qārin’s translation is a prime example of academic dishonesty.
Qārin wrote:
“Did only Ḥanafīs participate in the funeral of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah? Were there not people from other madhāhib (Mālikī, Shāfiʿī, Ḥanbalī, etc.) present?”
(Majdhūbānah Wāwailā, p. 289, 1st edition, June 1995, Maktabah Ṣafdariyyah)
Clarification:
- These parenthetical notes are Qārin’s own additions.
- Imām Abū Ḥanīfah passed away in 150 AH.
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī was born in the same year, and Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal was born in 164 AH.
- Therefore, their followers couldn’t have attended his funeral.
- This highlights academic negligence and ignorance.
✦ The Truth About Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī and Kawtharī’s Falsehood
Status of Abū al-Shaykh al-Aṣbahānī:
He was a renowned, trustworthy, and credible Imām of Ahl al-Sunnah.
Scholarly Testimonies:
- Imām Ibn Mardawayh: “Thiqah Maʾmūn”
- Abū al-Qāsim al-Sūdhrajānī:
“He is one of the righteous servants of Allāh, trustworthy and reliable.”
(Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ, 16/278)
❖ The Core Issue
- Zāhid al-Kawtharī falsely claimed that Imām Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl declared Abū al-Shaykh to be weak.
- No such criticism exists in any reliable scholarly source.
❖ Where This False Claim Appears:
- Ta’nīb al-Khaṭīb: pp. 69, 141
- Urdu translation Abū Ḥanīfah kā ʿĀdilānah Difāʿ: pp. 192, 322
❖ Refutation by Shaykh al-Muʿallimī:
He objected to this falsehood in:
al-Tankīl, Vol. 1, pp. 318–319, Entry 129
❖ Additional Testimony:
Shaykh Sulaymān al-Ṣanīʿ (Member of the Consultative Council of Makkah) stated:
“I met al-Kawtharī multiple times in Egypt regarding this issue and asked for clarification, but he failed to provide any concrete evidence. If he were truthful, he would have shown me explicit proof of al-ʿAssāl’s criticism. It became clear to me that he fabricated and misrepresented facts.”
(Ṭalīʿat al-Tankīl, p. 29)
❖ Final Challenge:
To all Kawtharī supporters, especially ʿAbd al-Quddūs Qārin:◈ Provide an authentic reference showing that Abū Aḥmad al-ʿAssāl weakened Abū al-Shaykh.
◈ Until then, they remain equal participants in Kawtharī’s falsehood.
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
