Chapter: The Weak Narrators, Liars, and Those Whose Hadith are Avoided

‘There will be in the last of my nation a people narrating to you what you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them’.

‘There will be in the end of time charlatan liars coming to you with narrations that you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them lest they misguide you and cause you tribulations’.’ Abū Sa’īd al-Ashajj narrated to me, Wakī’ narrated to us, al-A’mash narrated to us, on authority of al-Musayyab bin Rāfi’, on authority of Āmir bin Abdah, he said, Abd Allah [bin Mas’ūd] said: ‘Indeed Satan will appear in the form of a man and he will come to the people, narrating to them false Ḥadīth, and they will then depart. Then a man among them will say: ‘I heard a man whose face I recognize but I do not know his name narrating [such and such]…’ Muhammad bin Rāfi’ narrated to me, Abd ur-Razzāq narrated to us, Ma’mar informed us, on authority of Ibn Tāwus, on authority of his father, on authority Abd Allah bin Amr bin al-Ās, he said: ‘Indeed in the sea are devils chained up, whom Sulaymān shackled and they are at the point of emerging. Then they will recite a Qur’ān upon the people.’

‘Go back to such-and-such narration‘. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. So [Ibn Abbās] said to him: ‘Go back to such-and-such narration’. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. Thus [Bushayr] said to him: ‘I do not know whether you know all of my Ḥadīth and you reject this one and that, or if you reject all of my Ḥadīth and know this one and that?’ Ibn Abbās said to him: ‘Indeed we would be narrated to on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, at a time when one would not lie upon him, however when the people took the difficult [Munkar] and the docile [Sahīh], we abandoned listening to Ḥadīth from them’.

‘Indeed we would take Ḥadīth and they would be taken on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him. However if you take every difficult and docile [narration] then how far that is [from being upright]!

‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’. Then it seemed that Ibn Abbās was not listening to his Ḥadīth and not reflecting on them, so [Bushayr] said: ‘Oh Ibn Abbās, why is it that I see you not listening to my Ḥadīth? I narrate to you on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, however you are not listening’. Ibn Abbās said: ‘Indeed once upon a time we would listen to a man saying, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’ rushing towards him with our eyes and harkening towards him with our ears; then when the people took the difficult and the docile we no longer took from people except those whom we knew’.

‘I wrote to Ibn Abbās asking him to write something [pertaining to knowledge] for me and he withheld from me quite a bit, and said: ‘As [if he were] a sincere child, I will write for him something especially suited to his status withholding from him what would not benefit him’. [Ibn Abī Mulaykah] said: ‘So [Ibn Abbās] called for the judgment of Alī [bin Abī Tālib which was a book with which Alī would pass verdicts in Kuffah], and he began to write from it [with respect to the request of Ibn Abī Mulaykah] and he came upon something [not appropriate to the station of Alī regarding the science of verdicts]. So [Ibn Abbās] said: ‘By Allah, Alī did not give judgment according to this unless he was astray

‘A book was brought to Ibn Abbās which contained the verdicts of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, and he effaced but a small amount,’ and Sufyān bin Uyaynah indicated with his arm [the amount].

‘When they narrated these things after Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, a man from the companions of Alī said: ‘May Allah curse them. Did they corrupt every [type of] knowledge!?’ Alī bin Khashram narrated to us, Abū Bakr, meaning Ibn Ayyāsh, informed us, he said ‘I heard al-Mughīrah saying: ‘There are no Ḥadīth on authority of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, that are confirmed except from the companions of Abd Allah bin Mas’ūd.’