‘Ali: The Best of the Sahabah

26. Hadith Al-Tair, Investigating Its Authenticity ==================================================

Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 728 H) states:

Hadith al-Tair is one of the fabricated lies in the opinion of the people of knowledge.[^1]

Meanwhile, Imam Ibn Asakir (d. 571 H) records:

Abu Ghalib b. al-Bana – Abu al-Husayn b. al-Abnusi – Abu al-Hasan al-Daraquṭni – Muhammad b. Mukhlid b. Hafs – Hatim b. al-Layth – ‘Ubayd Allah b. Musa – ‘Isa b. ‘Umar al-Qari – al-Suddi – Anas b. Malik:

Birds were given as gifts to the Messenger of Allah. So, he distributed them and left a bird. Then he said, “O Allah, bring to me the most beloved to You of Your creation to eat with me from this bird. So, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib came and entered and ate with him from that bird.[^2]

Imam al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H) states about the first narrator:

Abu Ghalib b. al-Bana: The righteous Shaykh, the thiqah (trustworthy) narrator, the hadith transmitter of Baghdad, Abu Ghalib Ahmad b. Imam Abu ‘Ali al-Hasan b. Ahmad b. ‘Abd Allah b. al-Bana al-Baghdadi al-Hanbali.[^3]

Concerning the second narrator, he further says:

Ibn al-Abnusi: The thiqah (trustworthy) Shaykh, Abu al-Husayn, Muhamamd b. Ahmad b. Muhammad b. ‘Ali, Ibn al-Abnusi al-Baghdadi.[^4]

The third narrator, Imam al-Daraquṭni, needs no introduction. Nonetheless, let us get al-Dhahabi’s words about him anyway:

Al-Daraquṭni: The Imam, the excellent hafiz **(**hadith scientist), Shaykh al-Islam, the signpost of the pundits, Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali b. ‘Umar b. Ahmad b. Mahdi b. Mas’ud b. al-Nu’man b. Dinar b. ‘Abd Allah al-Baghdadi al-Maqri, the hadith expert.[^5]

Al-Hafiz (d. 852 H) says about the fourth narrator:

Muhammad b. Muhklid b. Hafs ... He is thiqah (trustworthy), thiqah (trustworthy), thiqah (trustworthy), well-known.[^6]

Imam al-Dhahabi tells us about the fifth narrator as well:

Hatim b. al-Layth: The hadith scientist, the prolific hadith narrator, the thiqah (trustworthy) narrator, Abu al-Fadhl, al-Baghdadi, al-Jawhari.[^7]

Al-Hafiz returns to inform us about the sixth narrator:

‘Ubayd Allah b. Musa b. Abi al-Mukhtar al-‘Ubsi al-Kufi, Abu Muhammad: Thiqah (trustworthy), he was a Shi’i.[^8]

Al-Hafiz proceeds about the seventh narrator too:

‘Isa b. ‘Umar al-Asadi al-Hamdani, Abu ‘Umar al-Kufi al-Qari: Thiqah (trustworthy)[^9]

Finally, ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H) grades the last narrator, al-Suddi:

This chain is hasan. Its narrators are trustworthy apart from al-Suddi, and he is Isma’il b. ‘Abd al-Rahman. He was saduq (very truthful), and he hallucinated, as stated in al-Taqrib.[^10]

He adds about him:

He is thiqah (trustworthy). (Imam) Muslim has relied upon him as a hujjah (in his Sahih**)**, and his name is Isma’il b. ‘Abd al-Rahman.[^11]

Shaykh al-Arnauṭ also states:

Its chain is hasan due to al-Suddi – and he is Isma’il b. ‘Abd al-Rahman b. Abi Karimah – and the other narrators are trustworthy.[^12]

Shaykh Dr. Asad has the same grading for him:

Abu Hammam – my father – Ziyad b. Khaythamah – Isma’il al-Suddi – Ikrimah – Ibn ‘Abbas .... Its chain is hasan.[^13]

Shaykh Dr. Al-A’zami is not left out either:

‘Ali b. Shu’ayb – Abu al-Nadhar – al-Ashja’ – Sufyan – al-Suddi – al-Bahi – ‘Aishah .... Its chain is hasan.[^14]

Interestingly, Imam Ibn al-Jawzi (d. 597 H) has documented a similar report of Hadith al-Tair as Imam Ibn Asakir:

Abu al-Qasim al-Hariri – Abu Talib al-‘Ashri – al-Daraquṭni – Muhammad b. Mukhlid – Hatim b. al-Layth – ‘’Ubayd Allah b. Musa – ‘Isa b. ‘Umar al-Qari – al-Suddi – Anas:

Birds were given as gifts to the Messenger of Allah. So, he distributed them. Then he said, “O Allah, bring to me the most beloved to You of Your creation to eat with me from this bird. So, ‘Ali b. Abi Talib came and entered and ate with him from that bird.[^15]

This chain is basically the same as that which we have verified above in this chapter. ‘Allamah al-Albani also has this comment about this report:

فقد رواه ابن الجوزي (363) بإسناده من طريق الدارقطني: نا محمد بن مخلد:

Ibn al-Jawzi (363) has recorded it with his chain from the route of al-Daraquṭni – Muhammad b. Mukhlid – Hatim b. al-Layth – ‘Ubayd Allah b. Musa with it (i.e. the full chain with the hadith).

All the narrators of this chain are trustworthy, except for the difference of opinions concerning al-Suddi, and he is al-Suddi al-Kabir, and his name is Isma’il b. ‘Abd al-Rahman.[^16]

Since al-Suddi too is thiqah (trustworthy), or at least saduq (very truthful) due to the disputes about him, the sanad is therefore either sahih or hasan. We go with the stricter ruling. As such, we declare that chain of the hadith is hasan due to al-Suddi. All its narrators are reliable, and there is no disconnection whatsoever in the sanad.

Meanwhile, the hadith itself is absolutely sahih due to the existence of massive, overwhelming corroboration (mutaba’at) for al-Suddi. Imam al-Hakim (d. 403 H), for instance, declares about Hadith al-Tair:

It has been narrated from Anas by a group of his companions, numbering more than thirty individuals.[^17]

This establishes the tawatur of the hadith from Anas, and shoots the report of al-Suddi from the level of hasan to the highest sahih grade.

[^1]: Abu al-‘Abbas Ahmad b. ‘Abd al-Halim b. Taymiyyah al-Harrani, Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah (Muasassat Qurtubah; 1st edition, 1406 H) [annotator: Dr. Muhammad Rashad Salim], vol. 7, p. 371

[^2]: Abu al-Qasim ‘Ali b. al-Hasan b. Habat Allah b. ‘Abd Allah, Ibn Asakir al-Shafi’i, Tarikh Madinah Dimashq (Beirut: Dar al-Fikr; 1415 H) [annotator: ‘Ali Shiri], vol. 42, p. 254

[^3]: Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Ahmad b. ‘Uthman al-Dhahabi, Siyar A’lam al-Nubala (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1413 H) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 19, p. 603, # 352

[^4]: Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Ahmad b. ‘Uthman al-Dhahabi, Siyar A’lam al-Nubala (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1413 H) [annotators of the eighteenth volume: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut and Muhammad Na’im al-Arqisusi], vol. 18, p. 85, # 38

[^5]: Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Ahmad b. ‘Uthman al-Dhahabi, Siyar A’lam al-Nubala (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 1413 H) [annotators of the sixteenth volume: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut and Akram al-Bushi], vol. 16, p. 449, # 332

[^6]: Shihab al-Din Abu al-Fadhl Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Lisan al-Mizan (Beirut: Manshurat Muasassat al-A’lami li al-Matbu’at; 2nd edition, 1390 H), vol. 5, p. 374, # 1218

[^7]: Shams al-Din Muhammad b. Ahmad b. ‘Uthman al-Dhahabi, Siyar A’lam al-Nubala (Beirut: Muasassat al-Risalah; 4th edition, 1406 H) [annotators of the twelfth volume: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut and Ṣalih al-Samar], vol. 12, p. 519, # 195

[^8]: Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Hajar al-‘Asqalani, Taqrib al-Tahdhib (Beirut: Dar al-Maktabah al-‘Ilmiyyah; 2nd edition, 1415 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 1, p. 640, # 4361

[^9]: Ibid, vol. 1, p. 773, # 5330

[^10]: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh b. Tajati b. Ādam al-Ashqudri al-Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Ṣahihah wa Shayhun min Fiqhihah wa Fawaidihah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma’arif li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’; 1st edition, 1415 H), vol. 1, p. 802, # 440

[^11]: Ibid, vol. 1, p. 622, # 311

[^12]: Abu ‘Abd Allah Ahmad b. Hanbal al-Shaybani, Musnad (Cairo: Muasassat Qurtubah) [annotator: Shu’ayb al-Arnaut], vol. 3, p. 217, # 13301

[^13]: Abu Ya’la Ahmad b. ‘Ali b. Muthanna al-Mawsili al-Tamimi, Musnad (Damascus: Dar al-Mamun li al-Turath; 1st edition, 1404 H) [annotator: Dr. Husayn Salim Asad], vol. 4, p. 396, # 2518

[^14]: Abu Bakr Muhammad b. Ishaq b. Khuzaymah al-Salami al-Naysaburi, Ṣahih (Beirut: al-Maktab al-Islami; 1390 H) [annotators: Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani and Dr. Muhammad Mustafa al-A’zami], vol. 3, p. 270, # 2049

[^15]: ‘Abd al-Rahman b. ‘Ali b. al-Jawzi, al-‘Ilal al-Mutanahiyyah fi al-Ahadith al-Wahiyyah (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1403 H) [annotator: Khalil al-Mays], vol. 1, p. 230, # 363

[^16]: Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman Muhammad Nasir al-Din b. al-Hajj Nuh b. Tajati b. Ādam al-Ashqudri al-Albani, Silsilah al-Ahadith al-Ṣahihah wa Shayhun min Fiqhihah wa Fawaidihah (Riyadh: Maktabah al-Ma’arif li al-Nashr wa al-Tawzi’; 1st edition, 1415 H), vol. 14, p. 174, # 6575

[^17]: Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad b. ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim al-Naysaburi, al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Ṣahihayn (Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-’Ilmiyyah; 1st edition, 1411 H) [annotator: Mustafa ‘Abd al-Qadir ‘Ata], vol. 3, p. 141, # 4650