Light On the Muhammadan Sunnah Or Defence of the Hadith

Sorcery Hadith Is of Ahad:

The hadith on sorcery - supposing it to be correct, is a singly narrated one (hadith ahad), and the ahad traditions are not approved in the bab of doctrines (aqa’id). And the Prophet’s infallibility against impact of

sorcery being one of the aqa’id, that cannot be refuted and discarded off him but only by certainty (yaqin), nor it can be adopted through suspicion and suspected! While in regard of the hadith reaching us through the way of ahad, suspicion occurs only for that who deemed it veracious, but that for whom it was proved to be incorrect, he has no hujjah to establish against us. Anyhow, we have to give full authority in the matter of hadith, not making it arbitrator in regard of our creed, and take hold of the text of the Book and evidence of reason (’aql). Since if the Prophet became disordered in mind — as alleged by them — he would be warranted to suppose that he propagated something while he did not do so actually, or that something was revealed to him while it was not so, and this fact is so manifest needing no elucidation. Till he (Muhammad Abduh) said: How detrimental is the ignorant lover, and how severe being his danger against that whom he thinks to love. We seek protection by God against disappointment.

It is to be noted that the denier of sorcery outright can never be regarded a heretic, since Allah the Exalted has clarified what is that the believer should believe in the verse”. The Messenger believed...” (2:285), and in other verses. Also there were commandments showing the things in which the Muslim should believe so as to be counted a (true) Muslim, with no any reference to sorcery.

He also said: Had these people given the Book its rightful value, and knowing of the language that much enough for a wiseman to speak, they would have neither prated all that nonsense, nor disgraced Islam with that blemish. But with that who got accustomed to believe in the impossible, it is not possible to debate with him whatsoever. We seek refuge by God against insanity. 717

Charging the Prophet with sorcery was negated and refuted by the earlier ulama’ among whom I can refer, beside al-Imam (Abduh), to al-Jassas in his Tafsir.

Al-Imam (Abduh) has also refuted many traditions on doctrinal and non-doctrinal matters like hadith al-gharaniq (crowned-cranes), and hadith

on Zaynab bint Jahash and others, regarding which his comments we cannot cite here.

Opinion of Sayyid Rashid Rida:

I conclude this topic with a valuable comment for al-Allamah al-Sayyid Rashid Rida (upon whom be God’s mercy):

Some of the ahadith al-ahad may constitute a hujjah against that for whom they were established and attained his trust, not being a hujjah against other than him according to which he should act. For this reason the Companions were not writing all the traditions reaching them nor inviting to follow them, but used to call to follow and act according to the Qur’an and the followed practical Sunnah (Prophet’s acts) manifesting it (Qur’an), except few cases where they would refer to the Sahifah of Ali that included some rules such as blood-money (diyah), emancipation of the captive, tabooing a city like Makkah. Al-Imam Malik disapproved of the caliphs al-Mansur and al-Rashid their compelling people to act according to his books, even al-Muwatta’, but obligated following the ahadith al-ahad upon that who believed in them, in respect of narration and indication, necessitating on that trusting the riwayah of anyone and comprehending part of it to learn from him, but not to make of this as a law for all.

Whoever hearing a hadith that proved to be authentic in his view, should act according to it, and whoever contradicting some traditions due to not-being confirmed for him or due to being unaware of them, is not to blame. And ahadith al-ahad should not be followed in case of doctrines (aqa’id), but to be applied in the legal rules, since the proofs of the aqa’id being the mutawatir reports (akhbar).

It is not to blame also that who found a defect in narration of any hadith, disbelieving its chain of transmission due to that defect, and it is not fair to describe him as a denier of so and so hadith. They (ahadith al-ahad) indicate surmise, and the Ummah have based their worship on a khabar

whose truth prevails over surmise, till considering among their rules that judgement is established through overwhelming surmise, of which its veracity is not binding in reality. And among the important foundations agreed among ulama’ of usul being: Occurrence (unexpectedly) of probability in the marfu’ actual conditions and events, can cover them with garb of wholeness, as a result of which its inferring will be invalid. 718

717. The tafsir of part of 'amma, pp. 183-186. Some ulama' refuted and disapproved narration of hadith of sorcery, among whom being the faqih exegete Abu Bakr al-Jassas in his book Ahkam al-Qur'an.

718. Al-Manar Journal, vol. XXVII, p. 784.