❀ Claim of the Deobandi Circle and the Referenced Report
These days, some individuals from the Deobandi school assert that under the order of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه, the noble companion Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه led twenty rakʿahs of Tarawih in congregation during the month of Ramaḍān. To support this claim, a post from the Deobandi circle is in circulation in which a narration from the book “Al-Aḥādīth al-Mukhtārah” by Imām Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn al-Maqdisī رحمه الله is presented. Presenting this narration as evidence, it is claimed that Imām al-Maqdisī classified it as ṣaḥīḥ (authentic) or ḥasan (sound).
However, our position is as follows:
① The central narrator of this narration is Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī (ʿĪsā ibn Māhān), who is weak in ḥadīth.
② Several eminent scholars of ḥadīth have made strong criticisms of him, which renders the narration unacceptable.
③ The book “Al-Mukhtārah” by Imām al-Maqdisī رحمه الله contains some weak, rejected, and even fabricated narrations, hence merely citing a narration from this book does not imply it is authentic.
Let us now examine this matter in detail to uncover the reality.
❀ The Narration Presented by the Deobandi School
Narrated by: Imām Ḍiyāʾ al-Dīn Abū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Wāḥid al-Maqdisī رحمه الله (d. 643 AH)
Source: Al-Aḥādīth al-Mukhtārah, Vol. 3, Pg. 367, Ḥadīth No. 1161
Translation of the Narration:
Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه said:
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه ordered me to lead the people in prayer (Tarawih) during Ramaḍān. ʿUmar said: “People fast during the day but are not good at reciting (Qur’an); if you recite to them at night, it would be better.” I said, “O Commander of the Believers! This way (completing the Qur’an during Tarawih) was not practiced before.” ʿUmar replied: “I know, but it is good.” So Ubayy ibn Kaʿb led the people in twenty rakʿahs of Tarawih prayer.
Some individuals from the Deobandi school and researcher ʿAbdullāh ibn Duhaysh have declared this narration to be ḥasan (sound).
❀ Scholarly Evaluation of the Chain (Isnād)
This narration contains a narrator named:
Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī (ʿĪsā ibn Māhān al-Rāzī)
He has been severely criticized by the majority of scholars, and described as:
- Weak
- Poor memory
- Error-prone
Hence, narrations from him are not reliable.
❖ Selected Scholarly Criticisms on Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī
Below are some important criticisms (jarḥ) of him:
① Imām al-Nasāʾī (d. 303 AH):
أبو جعفر الرازي ليس بالقوي في الحديث
“Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī is not strong in ḥadīth.”
[Ref: Al-Sunan al-Ṣughrā li-Nasāʾī, Ḥadīth No. 1786]
② Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar al-ʿAsqalānī (d. 852 AH):
صدوق سيئ الحفظ خصوصاً عن مغيرة
“He is truthful but has poor memory, especially when narrating from Mughīrah.”
[Ref: Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb: 8019]
③ Imām Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī (d. 264 AH):
شيخ يهم كثيرًا
“A shaykh who frequently errs.”
[Ref: Suʾālāt al-Bardhaʿī li-Abī Zurʿah, No. 268]
④ Imām al-ʿAjlī (d. 261 AH):
ضعيف الحديث
“Weak in ḥadīth.”
[Ref: Maʿrifat al-Thiqāt, No. 2108]
⑤ Imām al-Sājī (d. 307 AH):
صدوق ليس بمتقن
“Truthful but not precise.”
[Ref: Tārīkh Baghdād]
⑥ Imām Ibn Khirāsh (d. 283 AH):
سيئ الحفظ صدوق
“Truthful but very poor in memory.”
[Ref: Tārīkh Baghdād]
⑦ Imām ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī al-Fallās (d. 249 AH):
فيه ضعف، وهو من أهل الصدق، سيئ الحفظ
“There is weakness in him; he is among the people of truthfulness, (but) of poor memory.”
[Ref: Tārīkh Baghdād]
⑧ Imām Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (d. 241 AH):
أبو جعفر الرازي ليس بقوي في الحديث، مضطرب الحديث
“Not strong in ḥadīth, his narrations are confused.”
[Ref: Al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifat al-Rijāl]
⑨ Imām Ibn Ḥibbān (d. 354 AH):
كان ممن ينفرد بالمناكير عن المشاهير، لا يعجبني الاحتجاج بخبره إلا فيما وافق الثقات
“He was among those who narrate munkar (rejected) reports alone from well-known narrators; I do not approve of using his report as proof except where it agrees with the trustworthy (thiqāt) narrators.”
[Ref: Al-Majrūḥīn, No. 706]
⑩ Ibn al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH):
أبو جعفر الرازي مضطرب الحديث، وينفرد بالمناكير
“Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī is muḍṭarib al-ḥadīth (confused in ḥadīth), and he is alone in narrating munkar reports.”
[Ref: Al-ʿIlal al-Mutanāhiyah, No. 1338]
⑪ Imām al-Jawraqānī (d. 543 AH):
كان يتفرد بالمناكير عن المشاهير، لا يعجبني الاحتجاج بحديثه إلا فيما وافق الثقات
“He used to narrate munkar reports alone from well-known narrators; I do not approve of using his ḥadīth as proof except where it agrees with the trustworthy (thiqāt) narrators.”
[Ref: Al-Abāṭīl wal-Manākīr]
⑫ Imām al-ʿAqīlī (d. 322 AH):
ليس بالقوي في الحديث
“Not strong in ḥadīth.”
[Ref: Al-Ḍuʿafāʾ al-Kabīr, No. 1428]
⑬ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī (d. 748 AH):
أبو جعفر الرازي ليس بالقوي، وهو منفرد بالمناكير عن المشاهير، والحديث الذي ينفرد به منكر.
“Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī is not strong; he is alone in narrating munkar reports from well-known narrators, and the ḥadīth he narrates alone is munkar.”
[Ref: Mīzān al-Iʿtidāl, Al-Mughnī]
⑭ Ibn Kathīr (d. 774 AH):
الأظهر أنه سيئ الحفظ، ففيما تفرد به نظر، وحديثه فيه غرابة ونكارة شديدة.
“What is most apparent is that he has poor memory, so what he narrates alone is questionable, and his ḥadīth contains strangeness and severe nakārah (objectionableness).”
[Ref: Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr]
⑮ Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī al-Maqdisī (d. 744 AH):
هذه الأحاديث ضعاف، أبو جعفر الرازي كان يخلط ويخطئ.
“These narrations are weak; Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī would confuse and err.”
[Ref: Tanqīḥ al-Taḥqīq]
⑯ Nūr al-Dīn al-Haythamī (d. 807 AH):
أبو جعفر الرازي ثقة وفيه ضعف.
“Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī is thiqah (trustworthy), and there is some weakness in him.”
[Ref: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid]
⑰ Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (d. 852 AH) again:
صدوق سيئ الحفظ.
“Truthful but with poor memory.”
[Ref: Taqrīb al-Tahdhīb]
⑱ ʿAllāmah ʿAynī al-Ḥanafī (d. 855 AH):
في أبي جعفر الرازي مقال.
“There is criticism on Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī.”
[Ref: Al-Bināyah Sharḥ al-Hidāyah]
⑲ ʿAllāmah Zaylaʿī al-Ḥanafī (d. 762 AH):
أبو جعفر الرازي فيه ضعف وليس بالقوي، مضطرب الحديث.
“He is weak, not strong, and confused in narrations.”
[Ref: Naṣb al-Rāyah]
⑳ Ibn Turkumānī al-Ḥanafī (d. 750 AH):
أبو جعفر الرازي يهم كثيرًا وسيئ الحفظ، وليس بالقوي.
“He errs often, has poor memory, and is not strong.”
[Ref: Al-Jawhar al-Naqī]
㉑ Ibn al-Jawzī (repeated):
أبو جعفر الرازي مضطرب الحديث وينفرد بالمناكير.
“He is confused in ḥadīth and narrates munkar reports.”
[Ref: Al-Ḍuʿafāʾ wal-Matrūkūn]
✅ Conclusion
It is abundantly clear from the above scholarly analysis that Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī has been harshly criticized by the leading scholars of ḥadīth, and is described as:
- Poor memory
- Error-prone
- Confused in narrations
- Narrator of munkar (rejected) reports
Thus, the narration attributed to Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه about leading twenty rakʿahs of Tarawih in congregation under the command of ʿUmar رضي الله عنه is not reliable, but weak (ḍaʿīf) and munkar.
Screenshots of Important References
