Light On the Muhammadan Sunnah Or Defence of the Hadith
First Narrator Accused in Islam:
Ibn Qutaybah, in Ta'wil mukhtalif al-hadith, said: "When Abu Hurayrah reported that abundance of traditions the similar of which none among his Companions and the foremost in Islam could never relate, he was accused and his narrations were disapproved by others, saying: How did you hear this alone? who heard it other than you? A'ishah was the severest in
disapproving his narrations, due to the prolongation of their lives." 376
"Among those charging Abu Hurayrah with falsification, were Umar, Uthman and Ali and others. Thus he was truly — as stated by the great Islamic writer Mustafa Sadiq al-Rafi'i 377 – the first narrator accused in Islam." "When A'ishah said to him: You relate a hadith that I never heard from the Prophet (S), he gave her an impolite answer (as reported by Ibn Sa'd, al-Bukhari and Ibn Kathir and others) saying: Your attention was kept of him by the mirror and kohl bottle! In another narration (he said): My attention was not kept of him by the kohl bottle and dye, but that was your business"!!
"But he did not wait to witness that she being more knowledgeable than him, and she was not busied with the mirror and kohl bottle. That was when he related the hadith "Whoever enters upon the morning with the state of ritual impurity his fasting is invalid," A'ishah disapproved it of him saying: The Messenger of Allah has sometimes entered upon the dawn with the state of ritual impurity, not because of having a venereal dream, when he would take a ritual bath and keep on his fasting. I sent him someone to ask him to stop relating such a hadith from the Messenger of Allah, when he had no choice but to submit. Then he said: She is verily more knowledgeable than me, and I never heard it from the Prophet, but from al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas. Thus he quoted a dead man deluding people that he heard the hadith from the Messenger of Allah (S), as said by Ibn Qutaybah in Ta'wil mukhtalif al-hadith"
"Ali (may God be pleased with him) was evil-minded toward him, saying about him: He is verily the biggest liar among people, or he said: The biggest liar among the living creatures against the Messenger of Allah is verily Abu Hurayrah. When he heard him (Abu Hurayrah) saying: "My intimate friend (khalil) told me!", he said to him: When was the Prophet your
intimate friend?
When he related the hadith, "Whenever anyone of you gets up of bed, he should wash his hands before placing them in the pot, as none among you knows where has his hand passed the night," A'ishah never approved it saying: What to do with the mortar? 379 And when al-Zubayr heard his traditions he said: He said the truth, he lied. 380
Abu Hassan al-A'raj is reported to have said: Two men entered upon A'ishah (may God be pleased with her) saying: Abu Hurayrah relates from the Messenger of Allah (S) that he said: "Evil omen verily lies in the woman, mount and house," she felt pity and said: By Him Who sent down the Qur'an upon Abu al-Qasim, whoever relating such a hadith from the Messenger of Allah (upon whom be God's peace and benediction) has verily told a lie. What the Messenger of Allah said being: The pre-Islamic people used to say: Evil omen is verily in the mount, woman and house. Then she cited: "Naught of disaster befalleth in the earth or in yourselves but it is in a Book before We bring it into being...
Ibn Mas'ud disapproved his saying: "Whoever washes or carries a dead (corpus), he should perform the rite of ablution," using harsh words against him, saying then: O people, do not be contaminated (najis) of your dead. 382
Muhammad ibn al-Hasan reported from Abu Hanifah to have said: "I imitate the mufti judges among the Companions like Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Ali and the three Abds, and I never allow to contradict them with my opinion except three persons — in another narration" I imitate all the Sahabah and never permit contradicting them with my opinion except only three persons (Anas ibn Malik and Abu Hurayrah and Samurah ibn Jundab). When being disputed in this regard he said: In regard of Anas, he became disordered
in mind at the end of his life, and he used to issue verdicts from his intellect, and I never imitate his intellect. Concerning Abu Hurayrah, he used to narrate whatever reaching his ears without meditating the meaning and without discerning between the abrogating (nasikh) and abrogated (mansukh)." 383
Abu Yusuf is reported to have said: I said to Abu Hanifah: Every report reaching me from the Messenger of Allah contradicts our analogy (qiyas), how should we deal with it? He replied: If it is reported by the trustworthy narrators we verily act according to it and abandon opinion.
I said: What is your opinion about narration of Abu Bakr and Umar? He said: How great are they. I said: What about Ali and Uthman? He said: The same is true.
When I began to enumerate the Companions, he said: All the Companions are just except some referring among them to Abu Hurayrah and Anas ibn Malik. 384
Ibrahim al-Nakha'i is reported to have said: Our companions used to claim some of the traditions reported by Abu Hurayrah and reporting of al-A'mash from him, but they were never approving of all traditions of Abu Hurayrah!
Al-Thawri reported from Mansur ibn Ibrahim as saying: They (Companions) were observing something in the traditions of the Messenger of Allah, and were never approving of all the traditions of Abu Hurayrah except those describing the paradise or fire, or urging toward a virtuous deed, or forbidding from an evil mentioned in the Qur'an.
Abu Shamah reported from al-A'mash that he said: Ibrahim was known of correct hadith, 386 and whenever hearing any hadith I would come toward him and put it before him. Once a day I brought him some traditions of Abu Salih that he reported from Abu Hurayrah, when he said: Forget about
Abu Hurayrah! they (Companions) used to rejecting many of his traditions.
Abu Ja'far al-Iskafi is reported to have said: Our Shaykhs were of the opinion that Abu Hurayrah was fraudulent and of disapproved narration... he was beaten by Umar who said to him: You have been relating so many traditions, and I see you to be falsifying traditions of the Messenger of Allah. 387
Ibn al-Athir said: Concerning narration of Abu Hurayrah, there was much suspicion regarding it due to its abundance.
In al-Ahkam, al-Amudi writes: The Companions disapproved multiplicity of narrations of Abu Hurayrah since with multiplicity one can never be immune against difference and inexactitude with which that whose narration is less can never be inflicted.
One day, the issue of Misrat 389 took place in the meeting of al-Rashid regarding which a quarrel erupted among the attendants, who started to produce loud voices, with some of whom arguing with the hadith related by Abu Hurayrah. One of them refuted the hadith saying: Abu Hurayrah is suspected in whatever he narrates, the example of whom was followed by al-Rashid.
See p. 48.
Ta'rikh adab al-Arab, Vol. I, p. 278. Refer too to chapter "Companions Criticizing Each Other" in this book. And in Ikhtisar 'ulum al-hadith, p. 114, Ibn Hanbal, Abu Bakr al-Hamidi and Abu Bakr al-Sayrafi are reported to have said: The narration of that who falsified and lied in the traditions of the Messenger of Allah can never be accepted, even when he repents and gives up falsity. Al-Sam'ani also said: Whoever lied in one hadith, all his former traditions should be refuted and rejected (al-Nawawi's al-Taqrib, p. 14). Ibn Hajar says: The ulama' concurred on considering ascription of false hadith to the Messenger of Allah to be a major sin. Moreover al-Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Juwayni has gone even farther to charge with impiety everyone doing so, the idea to which Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi inclines.
See p. 28.
The mihras is a huge craved rock that cannot be lifted or moved by men, but they used to fill it with water with which they would cleanse themselves.
Al-Bidayah wa al-nihayah, vol. VIII, p. 109.
Ta'wil mukhtalif al-hadith, pp. 126, 127.
Jami' bayan al-'ilm, vol. II, p. 85.
Mukhtasar Kitab al-Mu'ammal of Abu Shamah, pp. 31, 32.
This is the opinion of Abu Hanifah about him, and we know the truth about him. He was born in the 1st century and came up with the era of Sahabah, and due to his high status he was called al-Imam al-A'zam. He was born in 80 H. and died in 150 H.
Al-Bidayah wa al-nihayah, vol. VIII, p. 109.
They used to call him 'Sayrafi al-Hadith'.
Sharh Nahj al-balaghah, vol. I, p. 360.
Al-Mathal al-sa'ir, p. 81.
The misrat is the she-camel or cow, from whose udder milk is collected, and withheld for some days without milking for misleading the purchaser of its being so milky. The reason for the Hanafis' refutation to the hadith of Misrat was its being contrary to all their analogies, as they viewed milking as an offence, which should be returned with its like or with its price. And every measure of capacity of dates cannot be returned with one of them.