The Emergence of Da'if and Fabricated (Mawdu') Hadith

 

Abu Fatwa Albani
 (SAMSUDIN)

Know that the narrators whose hadith contains falsehood, lies, and confusion are divided into five parts:

Part I: 

People who are dominated by zuhud (asceticism) and piety so they become negligent in memorization and distinguishing narrations. Some of them lost their books, burned, or buried, then they narrated from memory so many mistakes occurred.

Part II:

People who do not have expertise in transmission (naql) so their mistakes become many and severe, similar to the first part.

Part III:

Trustworthy people (tsiqah) but their intellect became confused (senile) at the end of their life, so they mixed up the narrations.

Part IV:

People who are dominated by innocence, among whom are easily dictated (talqin) so they say whatever they are told to say. Some of them narrate hadith that they never heard because they think it is permissible.

Part V:

People who deliberately lie, who are further divided into several groups:

1. Those who narrate a mistake without knowing it is a mistake, but after knowing the truth, they persist in the mistake because they are reluctant to be considered wrong.

2. Those who narrate from liars and weak narrators whom they know, then conceal (tadlis) their names. This act places them in the rank of liars. Based on the authentic narration from the Prophet ﷺ who said: "Whoever narrates from me a hadith that he thinks is a lie, then he is one of the liars." And included in this part are people who narrate from others like Ibrahim bin Hadbah from Anas. In Wasit, there was a sheikh who narrated from Anas and Syarik. When he narrated from Anas, he was asked: "Perhaps you heard it from Syarik?" He answered: "I tell you the truth, I heard this from Anas from Syarik."

Abdullah bin Ishaq al-Kirmani narrated from Muhammad bin Abi Ya'qub, then it was said to him: "Muhammad died nine years before you were born."

Muhammad bin Hatim al-Kutubi narrated from Abad bin Humaid, then Abu Abdullah al-Hakim said: "This sheikh heard from Abad bin Humaid thirteen years after his death."

3. People who deliberately commit obvious lies, not because they are mistaken or narrating from a liar. They sometimes lie in the chain (sanad) by narrating from someone they never heard from, sometimes steal hadith narrated by others, and sometimes combine hadiths. These fabricators (al-Wadhdha'un) are divided into seven groups:

Group 1: 

The Zindiq (Heretics) who aim to corrupt the sharia, create doubt in the hearts of common people, and make fun of religion.

An example is Abdul Karim bin Abi al-Arja. He was the uncle of Ma'n bin Za'idah and the stepson of Hammad bin Salamah. He used to insert fabricated hadiths into Hammad's books.

When Ibn Abi al-Arja was arrested and brought before Muhammad bin Sulaiman bin Ali, he was ordered to be beheaded. When he was sure he would be killed, he said: "By Allah, I have fabricated among you four thousand (4,000) hadiths that prohibit what is halal and allow what is haram. I have made you break your fast on your fasting day and fast on your feast day." He said: I heard Al-Mahdi say: A man from the Zindiq group admitted before me that he had made four hundred hadiths that are now circulating among people.

The author said: Among the fabricators are Mughirah bin Sa'id and Bayan. Ibn Numair said: Mughirah was a sorcerer, and Bayan was a zindiq; so Khalid bin Abdullah al-Qasri killed and burned them both with fire. Among those Zindiq there are those who inserted into a sheikh's book what is not his hadith, then the sheikh narrated it thinking it was his hadith.

Hammad bin Zaid said: The Zindiq have fabricated fourteen thousand (14,000) hadiths in the name of the Messenger of Allah SAW.

Group 2: 

People who deliberately fabricate hadith to defend their sect (madhhab), and Satan whispers to them that it is permissible; this is mentioned about a group from Al-Masalimiyyah.

We were told by Abu Manshur bin Jabrun, from Abu Muhammad al-Jauhari, from al-Daraqutni, from Abu Hatim bin Hibban al-Hafiz, he said: I heard Abdullah bin Ali saying: I heard Muhammad bin Ahmad bin al-Junaid saying: I heard Abdullah bin Yazid al-Muqri saying about a man of bid'ah who repented from his bid'ah, he began to say:

"Pay attention to this hadith from whom you take it, because indeed when we had an opinion, we would make a hadith for it."

We were told by Abu Bakar Muhammad bin Abdul Baqi al-Bazzar, he said: We were told by Abu Muhammad al-Jauhari, he said: We were told by Ibrahim bin Ahmad al-Harfi, he said: We were told by Ja'far bin Muhammad al-Firyabi, he said: Yusuf bin al-Faraj Abu Nu'aim al-Halabi and Ishaq bin al-Bahlul al-Anbari told me, they said: We were told by Abdullah bin Yazid al-Muqri, he said: We were told by Ibn Lahi'ah, he said: "I heard an elder from the Khawarij who had repented and returned (to the right path) and he said that indeed hadiths are religion, so pay attention from whom you take your religion. Because indeed we, if we liked something, we made it into a hadith."

Abu Muhammad al-Samarqandi informed us, Abu Bakar bin Thabit al-Khatib informed us from Hammad bin Salamah, he said: A sheikh from them—that is, the Rafidhah—said to us: "When we gathered and liked something, we made it into a hadith."

We were informed by Muhammad bin Nashir al-Hafidz from Abu Bakar bin Khalaf al-Syirazi, he said: I heard al-Hakim Abu Abdullah al-Naisaburi saying: Muhammad bin Qasim al-Thalkani, he was among the leaders of the Murji'ah and among those who fabricated hadith based on their madhhab.

Group 3: 

People who fabricate hadith in terms of targhib (motivation for good deeds) and tarhib (threats for evil) to encourage people to do good and prevent them from evil.

This is an act of transgressing against the sharia, and the implication of their action is to consider the sharia as deficient and needing perfection, so they "perfect" it.

Ismail bin Ahmad al-Samarqandi informed us, he said: Ismail bin Abil Fadhl al-Isma'ili informed us, he said: Hamzah bin Yusuf al-Sahmi informed us, he said: Abu Ahmad bin 'Adi informed us, he said: I heard Abu Abdillah al-Nahawandi saying: I asked Gulam Khalil: "Where do you get these hadiths about heart-softening (al-raqa'iq) that you convey?" he answered: "We made them ourselves so that the hearts of common people become soft."

Group 4: 

People who allow making a chain (sanad) for every good saying.

Abdul Wahhab Al-Hafiz said, Ibnu Bakran Al-Qadi informed us, Al-Haqiqi informed us, Yusuf bin Ad-Dakhil told us, Abu Ja'far Al-Muqili told us, Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Sadaqah told us, Abu Zur'ah Ad-Dimasyqi told us, Muhammad bin Khalid told us from his father, he said I heard Muhammad bin Said saying: "There is no harm if the saying is good to make a sanad for it."

Group 5:

People who experience something then they fabricate hadith.

Among them are those who intend to get close to the ruler by supporting his purpose.

Like Ibn Abi Yahya. When he was brought before Al-Mahdi, and Al-Mahdi liked pigeons, in front of him there was a pigeon, then it was said to him, "Tell Amirul Mukminin a hadith." He said, "So-and-so told us from so-and-so that the Prophet SAW said: 'There is no competition except in archery, or horse shoes, or horse hooves, or wings'." Al-Mahdi gave him a bag of money. When he left, Al-Mahdi said, "Bear witness against me that he is a liar upon the Messenger of Allah SAW." Al-Mahdi said, "I am the one who encouraged him to do that." Then he ordered to slaughter the pigeons and leave what he had.

Group 6: 

A group of people who make hadith that contradicts a gharib (strange/rare) hadith so that their hadith is sought after and heard.

Abu Abdullah Al-Hakim said, among them is Ibrahim bin Al-Yasa', that is Ibn Abi Hubbah, who used to narrate hadith from Ja'far Al-Sadiq and Hisham bin Urwah, then he piled one hadith on top of another so that those hadiths looked strange with those chains.

Group 7 : 

A group of people who find it difficult to memorize, so they ignore criticism and may think that memorization is something already known, then they come with strange things that achieve their goals. They are divided into two: one of them is the storytellers (al-Qassas), and most of the problems come from them, because they add hadith that strengthen and soften the heart, while authentic hadith rarely contains this. In addition, memorization is difficult for them and sometimes they do not have religion (piety), and the people who attend their gatherings are ignorant. 

Two trustworthy jurists told me about one of the storytellers of our time who showed piety and God-fearing, that he told them, he said: I said on the day of Ashura, Rasulullah SAW said: Whoever does this today, he gets this, and whoever does that, he gets that, until the end of the gathering. They both asked him: Where did you memorize these hadiths from? He answered: By Allah, I did not memorize them, and I did not know them, but I said them at that very moment.

The author said: It is natural; the storyteller is very despicable, his dignity falls, people do not pay attention to him, and he does not get the world nor the hereafter. One of the storytellers of our time has written a book, in which he mentions that Hasan and Husain entered upon Umar bin Khattab RA, while he was busy. When he finished his work, he raised his head and saw them both, then he stood up, kissed them, and gave each one a thousand dirhams, saying: Forgive me, I did not know of your arrival. They both returned and thanked him in front of their father, Ali bin Abi Talib RA. Ali said: I heard Rasulullah SAW said: Umar bin Khattab is a light in Islam and a lamp for the people of Paradise. They both returned and told him that, then he asked for ink and paper and wrote: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate, it was told to me by the two leaders of the youth of Paradise, from their father who is pleasing (Ali), from their grandfather who is chosen (Prophet Muhammad), that he said: Umar is the light of Islam in this world and the lamp of the people of Paradise in Paradise. He bequeathed that the writing be placed in the shroud on his chest, then it was placed. When morning came, they found it on top of his grave, and in it was written: Hasan and Husain are true, their father is true, and true is the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, Umar is the light of Islam and the lamp for the inhabitants of Paradise.

The author said: It is astonishing that someone is so bold as to fabricate such a thing, and it is not enough for him, he even shows it to senior jurists (fuqaha), then they write approval for it. Neither he nor they know that such a thing is impossible. This is widespread ignorance, which shows that he is one of the most ignorant people, who has never smelled the aroma of the science of naql (science based on narration), and perhaps he heard it from some street storytellers.

The author said: I have mentioned in the book Al-Qashash (The Stories) some of these things from them, and how often the hadiths mentioned by the storytellers of this era were conveyed to me in the advice assembly, then I rejected them and explained that it was impossible, so they held a grudge against me when I explained the disgrace of their work, until one day I said, say that the person who narrates these hadiths will not be able to do it as long as there is this critic who distinguishes what is authentic and what is false. And I mention a hadith narrated to us by Abu Al-Fath Al-Karukhi, he said, narrated to us by Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Anshari, he said, we were informed by Ishaq bin Ibrahim, he said, I heard Abu Bakar Al-Jauzaqi saying: I heard more than one of our teachers mention from Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Khuzaimah that he said, as long as Abu Hamid Al-Sharqi is alive, no one can lie in the name of Rasulullah ﷺ.

We were informed by Abu Mansur Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad Al-Qarrar, he said, we were informed by Ahmad bin Ali bin Tsabit, he said, we were informed by Qadhi Abu Al-Ala' Al-Wasithi, he said, we were informed by Abu Ahmad Al-Husain bin Ali Al-Tamimi that he heard Muhammad bin Ishaq bin Khuzaimah looking towards Abu Hamid Al-Sharqi, then said: The life of Abu Hamid prevents people from lying in the name of Rasulullah ﷺ.

The author said: Abu Hamid is named Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Al-Hasan Al-Naisaburi, known as Ibn Al-Sharqi. He heard hadith from Muslim bin Al-Hajjaj and others, and he was a meticulous hafiz (memorizer of hadith).

We were informed by Abu Al-Izz Ahmad bin Ubaidillah bin Kadish, he said, I heard Qadhi Abu Al-Husain Muhammad bin Ali bin Al-Fariq saying, I heard Abu Al-Hasan Al-Daraquthni saying: O people of Baghdad, do not think that someone can lie in the name of Rasulullah SAW as long as I am alive.

We narrated from Ibn Al-Mubarak that when he was asked about fabricated hadith, he answered: "The experts of hadith will live for it (to examine it)."

Part Two: The Beggars, among whom there are storytellers and those who are not storytellers. Among them there are those who fabricate, and most of them memorize fabricated hadith.

Muhammad bin Abdul Baqi Al-Bazzar informed us, he said Hannad bin Ibrahim An-Nasafi informed us, he said Yahya bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad Al-Muzakki informed us, he said Az-Zubair bin Abdul Wahid informed us, he said Ibrahim bin Abdul Wahid At-Thabari informed us, he said I heard Ja'far bin Muhammad At-Tayalisi saying: Ahmad bin Hanbal and Yahya bin Ma'in prayed in Masjid Ar-Rasafah, then a storyteller stood before them and said: Ahmad bin Hanbal and Yahya bin Ma'in informed us, they said Abdul Razzaq informed us from Ma'mar from Qatadah from Anas, he said: Rasulullah SAW said: "Whoever says 'La ilaha illallah' (There is no god but Allah), then Allah will create from every sentence a bird, its beak from gold and its feathers from marjan (coral)." And he mentioned a story about twenty pages long. Ahmad bin Hanbal began to look at Yahya bin Ma'in, and Yahya looked at Ahmad. Then Ahmad said to him: "Did you narrate this to him?" He said: "By Allah, I just heard it now." After the storyteller finished preaching and taking charity, then sat waiting for the rest, Yahya bin Ma'in called him with his hand: "Come here!" He came hoping to get a gift. Yahya asked him: "Who narrated this hadith to you?" He answered: "Ahmad bin Hanbal." Yahya said: "I am Yahya bin Ma'in and this is Ahmad bin Hanbal, we have never heard this hadith at all from the hadith of Rasulullah SAW. If you must lie, then do not lie on our behalf."

The storyteller asked him: "Are you Yahya bin Ma'in?" He answered: "Yes." The storyteller said: "I always heard that Yahya bin Ma'in is stupid, and I am only sure now." Yahya asked him: "How do you know I am stupid?" He answered: "As if in this world there is no Yahya bin Ma'in and Ahmad bin Hanbal except you two. I have written (hadith) from seventeen Ahmad bin Hanbal and Yahya bin Ma'in." Then Ahmad covered his face with his sleeve and said: "Let him go." Then the storyteller left while mocking them both.

Muhammad bin Abdul Malik informed us from Abu Muhammad Al-Jauhari from Ad-Daruqutni from Abu Hatim Al-Busti, he said: I entered Ajruwan, a city between Raqqah and Harran, then I attended the central mosque. After we finished praying, a young man stood before us, then said: Abu Khalifah told us, he said: Al-Walid told us, Syu'bah told us from Qatadah from Anas, he said: Rasulullah SAW said: "Whoever fulfills the need of a Muslim, Allah will do this and that for him." After he finished, I called him, then I asked: Have you ever seen Abu Khalifah? He answered: No. I said: How do you narrate from him when you have not seen him? He answered: Indeed, arguing with us is part of lack of manners. I memorized this one chain (sanad) and every time I hear a hadith, I combine it with this chain.

Source: Quoted and translated from the book al-Maudhu'at by Ibn al-Jauziy. Daar el-Fikr Edition