Warning Against Weak Hadeeth

ayman

La Ilaha Illa Allah
Staff member
Warning against Weak and Fabricated Hadeeths






Imaam al-Albaanee said in as-Silsilah ad-Da'eefah (1/47-51):



Among the calamities that befell the Muslims since the early times was the spreading of weak and fabricated hadeeths among them. And I do not exclude anyone among them, even their scholars; except for those whom Allah willed among the Imaams of Hadeeth like al-Bukhaaree, Ahmad, Ibn Mu'een, Abu Haatim ar-Raazee, and others.



The spreading of these hadeeths led to much blight; some of them are related to the unseen matters of the 'aqeedah, and others are related to the legislative matters; and the dear reader shall see lots of examples of what we claim on lots of the following hadeeths if it is God's Will.



And it is out of Allah's Wisdom not to let these hadeeths spread among Muslims without sending some people who would unveil the hidden truth and make clear their nature to other people; these people are the scholars of hadeeth and the holders of the Sunnah whom the Prophet—may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him—invoked his Lord for them saying: "May Allah make bright a man who hears my saying, understands it, memorizes it, and transmits it to others. Perhaps one will transmit fiqh to who is more knowledgeable than him.[1]



Thus, those scholars—may Allah reward them for the good—clarified the state of most of these hadeeths regarding their being authentic, weak, or fabricated. They also established the foundations of the science of principles of hadeeth, by which one can know the degree of any hadeeth.



And some later authors among them wrote special books to show the state of the Hadeeths, the most famous and larger of which is al-Maqasidul-Hasanah fee Baiani Katheerin minal-Ahaadeethil-Mushtahirati 'alal-Alsinah of al-Haafidh as-Sakhaawee. Likewise, the books of takhreej (i.e. verification) show the state of the hadeeths which are included in the books of whom are not among the people of hadeeth; and they also show the state of that which has no origins among those hadeeths like Nasbur-Raayah li Ahaadeethil-Hidaayah of al-Haafidh az-Zayla'ee, al-Mughnee 'an Hamlil-Asfaar fil-Asfaar fee takhreeji maa fil-Ihyaa'i minal-Akhbaar of al-Haafidh al-'Iraaqee, at-Talkheesul-Habeer fee Takhreeji Ahaadeethir-Raafi'il-Kabeer and Takhreeju Ahaadeethil-Kashaaf of al-Haafidh Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalaanee, and Takhreeju Ahaadeethish-Shifaa of Sheikh as-Suyootee. And all of them are printed.



Although these scholars—may Allah reward them for the good—had made the way easier for the next scholars and students of knowledge so that they can know the degree of the hadeeths in these books and the like, we can see that those later scholars and students of knowledge—unfortunately—turned away from reading those aforementioned books, and so they failed to know the state of the hadeeths which they took from their scholars; or they may read such hadeeths in some books that did not pay much attention to the degree of hadeeths. Accordingly, we rarely listen to a preaching, lecture, or sermon that does not contain some weak or fabricated hadeeths, because of which the speakers may come under the Prophet's saying: "And whoever tells a lie against me intentionally [2], then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire." An authentic, Mutawaatir hadeeth [3]



Thus, they lied against the Prophet—peace be upon him—even though they did not do it directly as they transmitted all the hadeeths that they read, while they knew that such hadeeths may contain that which is weak and completely lied ones. The Prophet—peace be upon him—had made reference to that meaning in his saying:



"It is going to be considered lying when the man tells about everything he hears (without verification) ". (Reported by Muslim in the introduction of his Saheeh (1/8) and others from Abu Huraira.)



And it was reported from Imaam Maalik that he said:

"You should know that a man who told about everything he heard will not be free from participating in lying and/or taking his share of punishment, and that he could never be an Imaam as he speaks of all that he hears without verification ".



Ibn Hibbaan said also in his Saheeh, p. 27, "Section: mentioning the ordainment of entering the Hellfire for who ascribes something to the Prophet—peace be upon him—that which he does not know its authenticity". Then he narrated from Abu Huraira marfoo'an (i.e. traceable in ascending order of hadeeth up to the Prophet):



"Who tells from me that which I did not say, then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire". Its chain is Hasan and its origin is in the two Saheehs in a similar wording.



Then he said: "mentioning the narration that approves of the authenticity of what we referred to in the previous section". After that he narrated from Samurah Ibn Jundub that The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:



"Who tells from me that which seems to be lying, then he is one of the Liars". And this is an authentic hadeeth that Muslim reported along with its chain of narrators in the introduction of his Saheeh (1/7) from the narration of Samurah and al-Mugheerah bin Shu'bah, and he said: "This is a famous Hadeeth".



Ibn Hibbaan also said: "mentioning another narration that approves of what we referred to". Then he narrated the first hadeeth of Abu Huraira.



Thus, it goes without saying that one should not spread any hadeeth, unless he makes sure of the degree of authenticity of it, because doing so would be lying against the Prophet—peace be upon him—who said:

"Lying against me is not in any way like lying against anyone else, because whosoever lies against me intentionally, then let him occupy his seat in the Hellfire", reported by Muslim and others.



And because of the importance of such matter, we thought that we can contribute in bringing close the hadeeths that we hear or read nowadays among those hadeeths that may be fabricated or of no true origins, and we hope that this will be a sort of advice or warning for those who may remember or fear Allah. And we will not follow a certain ordering in mentioning these hadeeths; rather we will just mention them anyway.









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[1]Narrated along with its chain of narrators by Abu dawood and at-Tirmidhee who authenticated it—and the wording is his--. Ibn Hibbaan also narrated it in his Saheeh from Ibn Mas'ood. And It was transmitted from a group of the Companions likewise. See at-Ta'leequr-Ragheeb (1/63) and as-Saheehah (404).



[2] The word "intentionally" is surely authentic in this hadeeth…



[3]reported by a significant number of narrators at each chain in the narration, and therefore through multiple chains of narration leading back to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
 

ayman

La Ilaha Illa Allah
Staff member
Giving up the application of weak hadeeths

Giving up the Application of Weak Hadeeths

in Softening One's Heart for Praiseworthy Deeds

(fadaa'il Al-a'maal)









Taken from "Tamamul Minnah"

By Imam Al-Albanee

{Rahimahullaah}





Translated by: www.asaala.com







It is widely spread among the people of knowledge and its students that weak hadeeth can be acted upon with reference to fadaa'il Al-a'maal (softening one's heart to do the praiseworthy deeds). Moreover, they believe that this matter is settled and beyond dispute, because an-Nawawee—may Allah have mercy on him—transmitted the unanimity over it in more than one book. However, there is a debate over this unanimity, because the variance over this matter is well-known; rather some examiner scholars believe that the weak hadeeth is not to be acted upon neither in rulings nor in softening one's heart to do the praiseworthy deeds. Sheikh al-Qaasimee said in Qawaa'idut-Tahdeeth, p. 94: 'This variance over the matter has been ascribed by Ibn Sayidin-Naas in 'Uyoonil-Athar to Yahyaa Ibn Ma'een, and As-Sakhaawee ascribed it to Abu Bakr Ibn al-'Arabee in Fatḥ al-Mugheeth. Moreover, it seems that this very opinion is also adopted by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim…it is also adopted by Ibn Hazm…'

I said: the previous opinion is the true one for sure in my opinion because of some matters:



The first: the weak hadeeth denotes an uncertain belief which is unanimously not permissible to be acted upon. Thus, who wants to exclude acting upon the weak hadeeth in praiseworthy deeds from the previous rule, then let him come with a proof for his claim, and I wish it would!



The second: I can understand from their saying: '…in fadaa'il Al-a'maal ' which refer to the deeds that have been proved valid with reference to the Sharee'ah, and that the weak hadeeth only mentions a particular reward for the doer. So, it is where such hadeeth can be acted upon in terms of fadaa'il Al-a'maal, because this week hadeeth does not legitimize the deed as it has been already legitimized by authentic means, rather it indicates a certain merit for the doer

And I believe that some scholars understood it this way like Sheikh 'Alee al-Qaaree—may Allah have mercy on him—who said in al-Mirqaah (2/381): 'His saying, that the weak hadeeth can be applied in fadaa'il Al-a'maal though its weakness is still unsupported. This was agreed upon unanimously as said by an-Nawawee, but it means the deeds that have been proved valid in the Book and the Sunnah'.



Thus, it is allowed to act upon it (i.e. the weak hadeeth) on the condition that the deed itself is proven valid by another saheeh hadeeth, but I believe that those who adopt this opinion do not really denote this clear meaning, because we find that they allow this application of the weak hadeeth to deeds which are not proved valid in other authentic hadeeths. An example on that would be saying Aqamaha Allahu wa Adaamaha (i.e. may Allah establish it (i.e. the prayer) and eternize it) right after hearing the words of Iqaamah. This was considered desirable by an-Nawawee along with the Author (Sayyid Saabiq) although the hadeeth that supports this deed is weak. Thus, this deed (i.e. the previous invocation after the words of Iqaamah) was not proved valid with reference to Sharee'ah by another saheeh hadeeth, and yet they desired it in spite of the fact that considering it desirable is one of the five rulings that must be proved valid by another saheeh hadeeth. Accordingly, many deeds have been legislated and classified "desirable" on the basis of weak hadeeths though such deeds are not proved valid in the authentic Sunnah. Hopefully, this example should be enough as we are going to deal with many other examples later on. However, what really matters herein is that the opponents know that the application of weak hadeeths regarding the heart's softening to do the good deeds is not absolutely allowed by those who opt for it. In this respect, al-Haafidh Ibn Hajar, in Tabyeenil-'Ajab pp. 3-4, said: 'It became widely spread that the people of knowledge are lenient with citing (weak) hadeeths—but not fabricated ones—with reference to fadaa'il Al-a'maal on the condition that the doer believes that such hadeeth is weak and that he must not spread it lest others apply it where it should never be acted upon, legitimize what is not legitimate, or that some ignorant thinks that it is an authentic hadeeth. And this meaning has been declared by Ustaadh (i.e. master) Abu Muhammad bin 'Abdis-Salaam and others. And one should be careful lest he comes under the Prophet's saying: "Whosoever narrated from me that which seems to be lying, then he is one of the Liars"; so how about the one who acts upon it?! And there is no difference in acting upon a hadeeth with reference to rulings or fadaa'il Al-a'maal, because both of them are considered (religious) legislation".



Hence, these are three crucial conditions upon which the weak hadeeth can be acted upon:

1. The hadeeth must not be fabricated.

2. The doer must know that it is weak.

3. The doer must not spread this action among people.



Unfortunately, we find that many scholars, not to mention the laymen, who are lenient with applying the aforementioned conditions as they act upon the hadeeth without any knowledge whether it is authentic or not; and yet if they know its weakness, they will not know its degree, whether it is slight or strong to the extent that it should not be acted upon. Moreover, they spread the action as if it was done upon an authentic hadeeth! As a result, the void acts of worship became widely spread among the Muslims and turned them away from the proper acts of worship which are proved to be valid in conformity with the Book and the authentic Sunnah.



Besides, the conditions that we have mentioned confirms that the majority of the scholars do not denote the meaning that we stood by previously, because it does not require any of these conditions as can obviously be seen.



And it seems to me that al-Haafidh sides with not acting upon the weak hadeeth where the deed itself is not proved valid with reference to Sharee'ah by another saheeh hadeeth for he said: "…and there is no difference between acting upon the (weak) hadeeth in terms of rulings or softening the hearts to do good deeds, because both of them are (religious) legislation". And this is the truth, because the weak hadeeth, which nothing supports it, may be of lying; rather it is in most cases no more than fabricated lying, and some scholars asserted this meaning on the basis that it comes under the Prophet's—peace be upon him—saying: "…which seems to be lying…" Thus, al-Haafidh followed it up saying: "so, how about the one who acts upon it?", and this opinion is also supported by Ibn Hibbaan in (adh-dhu'afaa' vo.1 pp.7-8 ): "Accordingly, every one who doubts about what he narrates whether it is authentic or not comes under this hadeeth". And we just say like what al-Haafidh said: "so, how about who acts upon it?!"



Thus, that was an explanation for what al-Haafidh said, and as for interpreting it (i.e. al-Haafidh's saying) with reference to the fabricated hadeeth and that it is what al-Haafidh meant by saying: "there is no difference between acting upon it regarding the rulings or fadaa'il Al-a'maal …", like what some contemporary Mashaayikh of Aleppo did, then this is very far from what al-Haafidh meant, because it is about the weak not the fabricated hadeeth as can obviously be seen!



And that al-Haafidh mentioned some conditions to act upon the weak hadeeth does not contradict what we have mentioned earlier, because we say that al-Haafidh mentioned them for those who are lenient with acting upon the weak hadeeth regarding fadaa'il Al-a'maal on condition that these hadeeths are not fabricated. Thus, it seems as if al-Haafidh says to them: "If you are to act upon the weak hadeeths, then you should abide by these conditions", and this is like what I did in this book. However, al-Haafidh did not declare that he is in their side regarding the permission upon these conditions, especially when he denoted that he is against that as we just mentioned.



In a nutshell, acting upon the weak hadeeths with reference to fadaa'il Al-a'maal (softening one's heart to do praiseworthy deeds) is not allowed where the deed itself is not proved valid with reference to Sharee'ah by another saheeh hadeeth. Moreover, those who side with it should observe the aforementioned conditions, and Allah is the Supporter.



And among the calamities of acting upon the weak hadeeths is that it leads the doers to exceed the limits of fadaa'il Al-a'maal into acting upon them regarding the rulings, or even the creed, and I have many examples on that, but I shall mention only one of them. There is a hadeeth that commands the one who offers the prayer to draw a line in front of him in case he could not find a Sutrah (i.e. screen), and in spite of the fact that al-Bayhaqee and an-Nawawee were among those who declared its weakness, they permitted the acting upon it unlike their Imaam ash-Shaafi'ee.



As for those who want to get more details on the matter, then they may see the introduction of Saheehut-Targheeb (1/16-36).


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