What is a Mursal Hadith?

[stiks]

:salam2:

What is a Mursal Hadith?

January 7, 2009 on 1:47 pm | In Aqeeda, Hadith, Islam, Salaah, Tahara
| By Ilm Seeker

In the sciences of hadith, there's something called a "mursal" hadith. What exactly is a mursal hadith? What is it's status? What are the fiqh rulings on mursal ahadith? And why does it matter?

(Ok, for the answer to the last question, read and learn about the science of hadith. In a sentence: Scholars have devised an extremely rigorous process to determine which hadith are authentic, and which are not. You wouldn't want to spend your whole life following a "hadith," only to find out it really wasn't legit, do you?)

A mursal hadith is a hadith where the chain only goes up to a tabi'ee. (So the hadith goes: X narrated, from Y, from Z, ... from such-and-such a tabi'een.) Tabi'een are the generation after the companions--they are the sons and daughters and followers of Islam who came after the sahaba. Most hadith continue--the tabi'ee will narrate from a sahaba, who will narrate directly from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

So mursal ahadith are ahadith where the chain cuts off at the tab'iee level; it doesn't go directly to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

And why is this important? Because a tabi'ee can narrate from another tabi'ee! It doesn't necessarily mean that they heard it directly from a sahaba, who heard it from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

So the ruling on mursal ahadith? They are considered as da'eef ahadith. All the same rulings apply.

For example, in the issue of "does laughing in salaah break your wudoo?," imam Abu Hanifa says yes, and cites a mursal hadith as his proof. The majority of scholars disagree, and insha'Allah this is the correct opinion--why?

Because the hadith is mursal (i.e. da'eef), and it contradicts shari'ah principles--why would it break your wudoo inside salaah, but not if you laugh outside salaah? (And these are not the only proofs; only a taste of the discussion.)

Wallahu 'alam.
References

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib. The Purification Act. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2006.

 

[upuaut]

from wikipedia

If the Sahaba link between a Successor and Muhammad is missing, the hadith is mursal (hurried), e.g., when a Successor says, “The Prophet said ...”

Since Sunnis believe in the uprightness of all Sahaba, they do not view it as a necessary problem if a Successor does not mention what Sahaba he received the hadith from.

This means that if a hadith has an acceptable chain all the way to a Successor, and the successor does not mentions the Sahaba, the whole isnad is considered acceptable.

However, there are different views in some cases: If the Successor is a young one and it is probable that he omitted an elder Successor who in turn reported form a Sahaba.

The opinion held by Imam Malik and all Maliki jurists is that the mursal of a trustworthy person is valid, just like a musnad hadith. This view has been developed to such an extreme that to some of them, the mursal is even better than the musnad, based on the following reasoning:

"The one who reports a musnad hadith leaves you with the names of the reporters for further investigation and scrutiny, whereas the one who narrates by way of irsal (the absence of the link between the successor and the Prophet), being a knowledgeable and trustworthy person himself, has already done so and found the hadith to be sound. In fact, he saves you from further research."


Others reject the mursal of younger Successor

 

[icadams]

Very interesting brother. Can anyone recommend any books, in English, on the science behind hadith.

Wassalam

 

[Al-Kashmiri]

Very interesting brother. Can anyone recommend any books, in English, on the science behind hadith.

Wassalam

As-salaamu `alaykum

There is a good brief book about the subject of hadeeth, which deals with the Mursal hadeeth in some detail. It's authored by Dr. Suhaib Hasan, published by Darussalam... Can't remember what it's called, "Introduction to the Science of Hadeeth" I think. Perhaps even better, Dr. Suhaib Hasan's father, `Abdul-Ghaffaar Rehmaanee was a Muhaddith, may Allaah have mercy upon him. He has an excellent short treatise on the compilation of hadeeth, which can be found here.

 

[daywalker]

And why is this important? Because a tabi'ee can narrate from another tabi'ee! It doesn't necessarily mean that they heard it directly from a sahaba, who heard it from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

If a tabii narrates from anohter tabii then this kind of Mursal hadit isn´t accepted.but if tabii narrates from sahabi(rd) then its accepted.

According to the Hanafis, the Mursal Ahaadeeth of a person who only leaves out the names of Thiqah (reliable) Raawis e.g. Sa’eed ibn Musayyib will be accepted.If a person leaves out the names of even Ghair Thiqah (unreliable)
Raawis at times or habitually, then his Mursal Riwaayaat will not be
accepted because the possibility exists that he may narrate from another Taabi’ee and not a Sahaabi (and Taabi’een are all not necessarily Thiqah)

[from Nukhbatul fikar by ibn hajar(rh)]

 

[slaveofAllah88]

:salam2:
if im reading Book of Hadith Sahih Bukhari does it tell us whether the hadith is Mursal?

 

[daywalker]

:salam2: I doubt any mursal riwayah is present in bukhari or in muslim.

 

[slaveofAllah88]

:salam2: I doubt any mursal riwayah is present in bukhari or in muslim.

:salam2:
thx for clarifying brother

 

[daywalker]

Jazakallahu khairan brother ayman for mentioning the Usool of bukhari and muslim.