Chapter: That Which is Related to the Statements ‘The Chain of Narration is from the Religion’; ‘Transmissions are not Taken Except from Trustworthy Narrators’; and ‘Criticism of the Narrators With What is Permissible Regarding Them, Even Obligatory and That It is not the Prohibited Kind of Backbiting, Rather it is the Defense of the Noble Sharī’ah’

‘Indeed this knowledge is faith, so carefully consider from whom you take your faith’. Abū Ja’far Muhammad bin us-Sabbāh narrated to us, Ismā’īl bin Zakariyyā’ narrated to us, on authority of Āsim il-Ahwal, on authority of Ibn Sīrīn that he said: ‘They would not ask about the chains of narration, and when the Fitnah occurred, they said: ‘Name for us your men’. So Ahl us-Sunnah would be regarded, and their Ḥadīth were then taken, and Ahl ul-Bi’dah would be regarded, and their Ḥadīth were not taken’. Ishāq bin Ibrāhīm al-Hanthalī narrated to us, Īsā, and he is Ibn Yūnus, informed us, al-Awzā’ī narrated to us, on authority of Sulyamān bin Mūsā, he said: ‘I came across Tāwus and said: ‘So-and-so narrated to me such-and-such’. Then he said: ‘If your companion is trustworthy, then take from him.’

‘So-and-so narrated to me like this-and-that’. He said: ‘If your companion is trustworthy, then take from him.’ Nasr bin Alī al-Jahdhamī narrated to us, al-Asma’ī narrated to us, on authority of Ibn Abī-Zinād, on authority of his father, he said: ‘I met one hundred [transmitters] in al-Madīnah, each of whom were reliable. Narrations were not taken from one about who it was said, ‘he is not from its people. Muhammad bin Abī Umar al-Makkī narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to us; and Abū Bakr bin Khallād al-Bāhilī narrated to us – and the wording is his, he said, I heard Sufyān bin Uyaynah, on authority of Mis’ar, he said, I heard Sa’d bin Ibrāhīm saying: ‘There is to be no narrating on authority of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, except by trustworthy narrators (Thiqāt)’.

‘The chain of narration is from the Dīn, and were it not for the chain of narration whoever wished could say what he wanted’. Muhammad bin Abd Allah said, al-Abbās bin Abī Rizmah narrated to me, he said I heard Abd Allah [bin al-Mubārak] saying: ‘Between us and the people are ‘the legs’ (meaning the chain of narration, i.e. if a Ḥadīth was like a creature)’.

‘Oh Abā Abd ir-Rahman! How is the Ḥadīth which goes ‘Indeed from al-Birr after al-Birr is that you pray for your parents after you pray for yourself and you fast for them both after you fast for yourself’? So [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘Oh Abā Ishāq! On whose authority is this?’ I said to him: ‘This is a Ḥadīth from Shihāb bin Khirāsh’. [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘[He is] trustworthy. On whose authority [did he transmit]?’ I said: ‘on authority of al-Hajjāj bin Dīnār’. [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘[He is] trustworthy. On whose authority [did he transmit]?’ I said: ‘He [al-Hajjāj said] the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’ [Ibn al-Mubārak] said: ‘Oh Abā Ishāq! Indeed between al-Hajjāj bin Dīnār and the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, is a wilderness in which the necks of the mounts are severed, however, there is no difference of opinion regarding charity [offered on behalf of one’s parents]’.

‘I was sitting near al-Qāsim bin Ubayd Allah and Yahyā bin Sa’īd [bin Qays al-Madanī al-Qāḍī], when Yahyā said to al-Qāsim: ‘Oh Abā Muhammad! Indeed it is gravely harmful for the likes of you to be asked about something from the affair of this Dīn, and then knowledge of it is not found with you, and no relief [in the form of an answer]’ -or- ‘…knowledge and no articulation’. So al-Qāsim said [to Yahyā bin Sa’īd]: ‘Where did that come from?’ [Yahyā] said: ‘It is because you are the son of two Imāms of guidance- a descendent of Abu Bakr and Umar.’ [al-Qāsim] said to him: ‘More harmful than that- according to whoever reflects about Allah- is to speak without knowledge or to take [Ḥadīth] from someone who is not trustworthy’. [Abū Aqīl] said: ‘So [Yahyā bin Sa’īd] was quiet and did not respond to him’. Bishr bin ul-Hakam al-Abdī narrated to me, he said, I heard Sufyān bin Uyaynah saying, they informed me on authority of Abī Aqīl, companion of Buhayyah, that a descendent of Abd Allah bin Umar was asked about something that he did not have knowledge about, so Yahyā bin Sa’īd said to him: ‘By Allah, indeed it is a grave matter that the likes of you, a descendent of two Imāms of guidance – meaning Umar and Ibn Umar – is asked about a matter and you have no knowledge of it’. So [al-Qāsim] said: ‘By Allah, more grave than that according to Allah, and to whoever reflects about Allah, is to speak without knowledge or to report on authority of one who is not trustworthy’. [Ibn Uyaynah] said that Abū Aqīl Yahyā bin al-Mutawakkil witnessed them both when they said that. Amr bin Alī Abū Hafs narrated to us, he said I heard Yahyā bin Sa’īd, he said: ‘I asked Sufyān ath-Thawrī , Shu’bah, Mālik, and Ibn Uyaynah about a man who is not reliable (Thabt) in Ḥadīth, and someone comes and asks me about him, and they said: ‘Inform [others] against him that he is not reliable’.’ Ubayd Allah bin Sa’īd narrated to us, he said, I heard an-Naḍr saying: ‘Ibn Awn was asked about the Ḥadīth of Shahr and he was standing at the threshold of the door, so [Ibn Awn] said: ‘Indeed they criticized Shahr, indeed they criticized Shahr’.

‘He means- the tongues of men were busy criticizing him’.’ Hajjāj bin ush-Shā’ir narrated to me, Shabābah narrated to us, he said, Shu’bah said: ‘I had met Shahr then abandoned transmitting from him’. Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Quhzādh, from the people of Marw, narrated to me, he said Alī bin Husayn bin Wāqid informed me, he said Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak said, I said to Sufyān ath-Thawrī: ‘Indeed Abbād bin Kathīr, about whose condition you are aware, when he related [narrations] he introduced a grave matter- do you believe that it should be said to the people ‘Do not take from him?’ Sufyān said: ‘Indeed!’ Abd Allah [bin al-Mubārak] said: ‘So when I was in an assembly and Abbād was mentioned there, I praised him regarding his Dīn and said: ‘Do not take from him.’ Muhammad said, Abd Allah bin Uthmān narrated to us, he said, my father said, Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak said: ‘I ended up in an assembly of Shu’bah, and he said: ‘This is Abbād bin Kathīr so be warned against him.’ Al-Faḍl bin Sahl narrated to me, he said, I asked Mu’allā ar-Rāzī about Muhammad bin Sa’īd whom Abbād transmitted from, so he informed me about what Īsā bin Yūnus said: ‘I was at his door and Sufyān was with [Muhammad bin Sa’īd], then when he came out I asked [Sufyān] about him. So he informed me that he was a liar.’ Muhammad bin Abī Attāb narrated to me, he said Affān narrated to me, on authority of Muhammad bin Yahyā bin Sa’īd al-Qattān, on authority of his father, he said: ‘We do not see the righteous more false in anything than they are regarding Ḥadīth’. Ibn Abī Attāb said: ‘So Muhammad bin Yahyā bin Sa’īd al-Qattān and I met and I asked him about it and he said on authority of his father: ‘You will not see the people of good (Ahl ul-Khayr) more false in anything than they are regarding Ḥadīth.’ Muslim said: ‘He was saying that falsehood flows upon their tongues although they do not intend to lie’. Al-Faḍl bin Sahl narrated to me, he said Yazīd bin Hārūn narrated to us, he said Khalīfah bin Mūsā informed me, he said: ‘I entered upon Ghālib bin Ubayd Allah so he began dictating to me ‘Mak’hūl narrated to me this’ and ‘Mak’hūl narrated to me that’. So he prepared to answer the call of nature and stood up, then I looked in his notebook and in it was ‘Abān narrated to me, on authority of Anas’ and ‘Abān on authority of so-and-so’. So I abandoned [listening to his Ḥadīth] and stood up [to leave]’. I heard al-Hasan bin Alī al-Hulwānī saying: ‘I saw in one of the books of Affān a Ḥadīth of Hishām Abīl-Miqdām meaning a Ḥadīth of Umar bin Abd il-Azīz. [In it was written] ‘Hishām said: ‘A man said to be Yahyā bin so-and-so narrated to me, on authority of Muhammad bin Ka’b…’ [Al-Hulwānī] said, I said to Affān: ‘They would say Hishām heard it [directly] from Muhammad bin Ka’b’. So [Affān] said: ‘Indeed Hishām was stricken [with accusations of lying] with regards to this Ḥadīth for he would say ‘Yahyā narrated to me on authority of Muhammad’, then he claimed afterwards that he heard it from Muhammad [directly]’.’

‘Who is this man from whom you transmit the Ḥadīth of Abd Allah bin Amr, ‘The day of Fitr is the day of prizes…’?’ [Abd Allah] said: ‘Sulaymān bin al-Hajjāj. Look at what I placed in your hands [of praise] about him’. Ibn Quhzādh said I heard Wahb bin Zam’ah mentioning about Sufyān bin Abd il-Mālik, he said, Abd Allah –meaning Ibn al-Mubārak- said: ‘I saw Rawh bin Ghutayf, the companion of blood the amount of a Dirham , and I took a seat in one of his audiences. Then I began to become ashamed for my companions to see me sitting with him while his Ḥadīth are disapproved of.’

‘Baqiyyah [bin al-Walīd] is truthful of tongue however he transmits [Ḥadīth] from those who approach [the Muhaddithīn, i.e. are trustworthy] and from those who turn their backs on [the Muhaddithīn, i.e. and are weak]’.

‘al-Hārith al-A’war ul-Hamdānī narrated to me, and he is a liar’. Abū Āmir Abd Allah bin Barrād al-Ash’arī narrated to us, Abū Usāmah narrated to us, on authority of Mufaḍḍal, on authority of Mughīrah, he said I heard ash-Sha’bī saying: ‘al-Hārith al-A’war narrated to me,’ and he [ash-Sha’bī] was testifying that he was one of the liars’. Qutaybah bin Sa’īd narrated to us, Jarīr narrated to us, on authority of Mughīrah, on authority of Ibrāhīm [bin Yazīd an-Nakhā’ī], he said, Alqamah said: ‘I memorized the Qur’ān in two years’. Al-Hārith said: ‘The Qur’ān is easy; the revelation [i.e. the secret revelation to Alī in the belief of the Shī’ah] is more difficult ’. Hajjāj bin ash-Shā’ir narrated to me, Ahmad- meaning Ibn Yūnus- narrated to us, Zā’idah narrated to us, on authority of al-A’mash, on authority of Ibrāhīm that al-Hārith said: ‘I studied the Qur’ān for three years and the revelation for two years’; or he said: ‘…the revelation in three years and the Qur’ān in two years ’. Hajjāj narrated to me, he said Ahmad- and he is Ibn Yūnus- narrated to me, Zā’idah narrated to us, on authority of Mansūr and al-Mughīrah, on authority of Ibrāhīm that al-Hārith was imputed. Qutaybah bin Sa’īd narrated to us, Jarīr narrated to us, on authority of Hamzah az-Zayyāt, he said: ‘Murrah al-Hamdānī heard something from al-Hārith and said to him: ‘sit by the door’. [Hamzah] said: ‘So Murrah went inside and took his sword and al-Hārith sensed evil and left’. Ubayd Allah bin Sa’īd narrated to me, Abd ur-Rahman- meaning Ibn Mahdī- narrated to us, Hammād bin Zayd narrated to us, on authority of Ibn Awn, he said, Ibrāhīm said to us: ‘Beware of al-Mughīrah bin Sa’īd and Abū Abd ar-Rahīm for they are both liars’. Abū Kāmil al-Jahdarī narrated to us, Hammād- and he is Ibn Zayd- narrated to us, he said Āsim [bin Bahdalah] narrated to us, he said: ‘We would catch up with Abū Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulamī and at the time we were young men, so he would say to us: ‘Do not sit with story-tellers other than Abūl-Ahwas and beware of Shaqīq [Abū Abd ar-Rahīm]’. [Muslim] said: ‘This Shaqīq held the view of the Khawārij and is not Abū Wā’il [Shaqīq bin Salamah, the righteous Tabi’ī]’. Abū Ghassān Muhammad bin Amr ar-Rāzī narrated to us, he said, I heard Jarīr [bin Abd al-Hamīd bin Qurt aḍ-Ḍabbī] saying: ‘I met Jābir bin Yazīd al-Ju’fī and did not write [Ḥadīth] from him; he believed in ar-Raj’ah’ [A Rāfiḍī belief regarding Alī returning].

‘Jābir bin Yazīd narrated to us before there took place what happened [i.e. before his false beliefs] ’. Salamah bin Shabīb narrated to me, al-Humaydī narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to us, he said: ‘The people would transmit from Jābir before there appeared what appeared, then when there appeared what appeared, the people imputed him in his Ḥadīth and some of the people abandoned him’. So it was said to [Sufyān]: ‘What appeared?’ [Sufyān] said: ‘Belief in ar-Raj’ah’. Hasan al-Hulwānī narrated to us, Abū Yahyā al-Himmānī narrated to us, Qabīsah and his brother [Sufyān bin Uqbah] narrated to us, that they heard al-Jarrāh bin Malīh saying, I heard Jābir say: ‘I have 70,000 Ḥadīth all of which are on authority of Abū Ja’far on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him’. Hajjāj bin ash-Shā’ir narrated to me, Ahmad bin Yūnus narrated to us, he said, I heard Zuhayr saying, Jābir said, or, I heard Jābir saying: ‘Indeed I have fifty thousand Ḥadīth that I have not narrated from at all’. [Zuhayr] said: ‘Then that day he related a Ḥadīth and said, ‘This is from the fifty thousand’. Ibrāhīm bin Khālid al-Yashkurī narrated to me, he said, I heard Abūl-Walīd saying, I heard Sallām bin Abī Mutī’ saying, I heard Jābir al-Ju’fī saying: ‘I have fifty thousand Ḥadīth on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him’. Salamah bin Shabīb narrated to me, al-Humaydī narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to us, he said, I heard a man ask Jābir about the verse: {Thus I will never depart from the land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me, and He is the best of Judges}[Yūsuf: 80]. Jābir said: ‘An interpretation has not come to me about these [verses]’. Sufyān said: ‘He lied’. We said to Sufyān: ‘What did he mean by this?’ [Sufyān] said: ‘Indeed the Rāfiḍah say, ‘Alī is in the clouds and we will not emerge along with he who will emerge from his children [the Khalīfah] until a caller calls from the heaven, meaning Alī: ‘Ride out along with so-and-so [meaning the promised Mahdī]’. Jābir said, ‘that is an interpretation for these verses’, and he would lie as they were regarding the brothers of Yūsuf, peace be upon him’. Salamah narrated to me, al-Humaydī narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to us, he said: ‘I heard Jābir talking about something like 30,000 Ḥadīth [that] I did not regard as permissible to mention anything from, and that to me was like this and that [Ḥadīth].’ Muslim said, I heard Abū Ghassān Muhammad bin Amr ar-Rāzī say, ‘I asked Jarīr bin Abd il-Hamīd: ‘Did you meet al-Hārith bin Hasīrah? He said: ‘Yes, [he is a] Shaykh of lengthy silence; he persisted in a grave matter.’ Ahmad bin Ibrāhīm ad-Dawraqī narrated to me, he said Abd ur-Rahman bin Mahdī narrated to me, on authority Hammād bin Zayd, he said, Ayyūb mentioned a man one day and said [about him]: ‘He is not upright in speech [i.e. he lies]’, and he mentioned another [person] and said: ‘He adds to records [i.e. he lies]’. Hajjāj bin ash-Shā’ir narrated to me, Sulaymān bin Harb narrated to us, Hammād bin Zayd narrated to us, he said, Ayyūb said: ‘Indeed I have a neighbor’ and he mentioned some of his virtues, [and continued] ‘…even if he testified to me about two dates I would not see his testimony as permissible’. Muhammad bin Rāfi’ and Hajjāj bin ash-Shā’ir narrated to me, they said Abd ur-Razzāq narrated to us, he said Ma’mar said: ‘I did not see Ayyūb speaking ill of anyone, ever, except for Abd al-Karīm- meaning Abū Umayyah’. So he mentioned him and said, may Allah have mercy on him ‘He is not trustworthy- he had asked me about a Ḥadīth of Ikrimah then said ‘I heard from Ikrimah’ [when relating the Ḥadīth].’ Al-Faḍl bin Sahl narrated to me, he said Affān bin Muslim narrated to us, Hammām narrated to us, he said, Abū Dāwud al-A’mā came to us and began saying: ‘Al-Barā’ [bin Āzib, the Companion] narrated to us’; he said: ‘Zayd bin Arqam narrated to us’- and he mentioned that [those chains] to Qatādah. [Qatādah] said ‘He lied; he did not hear from them. He would beg the people asking [about Ḥadīth] at the time of the plague’ [circa 67H].

‘Indeed this one alleges he has met eighteen of the warriors of the battle of Badr’. Qatādah said: ‘This one was barely asking [about Ḥadīth] before the plague; he did not attend to anything from [seeking Ḥadīth] and he did not speak [to any scholars] regarding it. By Allah, al-Hasan did not narrate to us from a witness of the battle of Badr without an intermediary; and Sa’īd bin al-Musayyib did not narrate to us from a witness of the battle of Badr without an intermediary except from Sa’d bin Mālik’.

on authority of Raqabah that ‘Abū Ja’far al-Hāshimī al-Madanī was fabricating narrations with words of truth, and they were not from the narrations of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, though he was transmitting them on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him.’

‘Amr bin Ubayd would lie regarding Ḥadīth’. Amr bin Alī Abū Hafs narrated to me, he said I heard Mu’ādh bin Mu’ādh saying, I said to Awf bin Abī Jamīlah ‘Indeed Amr bin Ubayd narrated to us on authority of al-Hasan that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘Whoever carries arms against us then he is not from us’. [Awf bin Abī Jamīlah] said ‘Amr lied, by Allah. Rather he intended it as a way to permit his filthy opinion.’

‘A man kept company with Ayyūb and listened [to Ḥadīth] from him, but then Ayyūb did not find him [one day]. [When Ayyūb asked, the people] said: ‘Oh Abā Bakr, indeed he keeps company with Amr bin Ubayd [now]’. Hammād said: ‘One day we were with Ayyūb, and we went to the market early in the morning. A man came to meet Ayyūb so he gave Salām to him, asked how he was doing, and then Ayyūb said to him: ‘It reached me that you kept company with that man’. Hammād said: ‘[Ayyūb] designated him, that is to say ‘Amr’.’ [The man] said: ‘Yes, Oh Abā Bakr. Indeed he came to us with strange things [i.e. reports]’. Ayyūb said to him: ‘Indeed we flee…’ or ‘…we fear from these strange things [transmissions]’.

‘There is no flogging the one who gets drunk from Nabīdh’.’ [Ayyūb] said: ‘He lied, for I heard al-Hasan saying, ‘Flog the one who gets drunk from Nabīdh’.’ Hajjāj narrated to me, Sulaymān bin Harb narrated to us, he said, I heard Sallām bin Abī Mutī’ saying, it reached Ayyūb that I would go to Amr so he turned to me and said: ‘Have you seen a man whose Dīn you do not trust- how do you trust him regarding Ḥadīth?’ Salamah bin Shabīb narrated to me, al-Humaydī narrated to us, Sufyān narrated to us, he said I heard Abū Mūsā [Isrā’īl bin Mūsā al-Basrī] saying: ‘Amr bin Ubayd narrated to us before what happened’ [i.e. before he became Mu’tazilī].

‘I wrote to Shu’bah asking him about Abū Shaybah , a judge of Wāsit, so he wrote to me: ‘Do not write anything from him [of Ḥadīth] and tear up my letter [to you about this]’. Al-Hulwānī narrated to us, he said, I heard Affān [bin Muslim] say: ‘I narrated to Hammād bin Salamah [bin Dīnār al-Basrī], on authority of Sālih al-Murrī , a Ḥadīth on authority of Thābit [bin Aslam al-Banānī], then [Hammād] said: ‘[Sālih] lied’. I also narrated to Hammām on authority of Sālih al-Murrī a Ḥadīth then [Hammām] said: ‘[Sālih] lied’. Mahmūd bin Ghaylān narrated to us, Abū Dāwud narrated to us, he said, Shu’bah said to me: ‘Go to Jarīr bin Hāzim and say to him, ‘It is not allowed for you to transmit from al-Hasan bin Umārah for indeed he lies’.’ Abū Dāwud said, I said to Shu’bah: ‘And how do you know that?’ So [Shu’bah] said: ‘He narrated to us on authority of al-Hakam things that were not found to have any basis’. [Abū Dāwud] said: ‘What things?’ [Shu’bah] said, I said to al-Hakam: ‘Did the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, pray over the martyrs of Uhud?’ [al-Hakam] said: ‘He did not pray over them’. Al-Hasan bin Umārah said, on authority of al-Hakam, on authority of Miqsam, on authority of Ibn Abbās: ‘Indeed the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, prayed over them and buried them ’. I [Shu’bah] said to al-Hakam: ‘What do you say about the children born from fornication?’ [Al-Hakam] said: ‘Pray over them ’. I [Shu’bah] said: ‘From whose Ḥadīth is it transmitted?’ [Al-Hakam] said: ‘It is transmitted on authority of al-Hasan al-Basrī’.’ Al-Hasan bin Umārah said: ‘Al-Hakam narrated to us, on authority of Yahyā bin al-Jazzār, on authority of Alī. Al-Hasan al-Hulwānī narrated to us, he said, I heard Yazīd bin Hārūn mention Ziyād bin Maymūn, and he said: ‘I swore that I would not transmit anything from him or Khālid bin Mahdūj’. [Yazīd] said: ‘I met Ziyād bin Maymūn and asked him about a Ḥadīth, so he narrated it to me on authority of Bakr al-Muzanī, then I returned to him and he narrated [the same Ḥadīth] to me on authority of Muwarriq; then I returned to him and he narrated it to me on authority of al-Hasan.’ [Al-Hulwānī said]: ‘He [Yazīd] would charge both of them with lying [i.e. Ziyād bin Maymūn and Khālid bin Mahdūj].’ Al-Hulwānī said: ‘I heard [Ḥadīth] from Abd as-Samad and I mentioned Ziyād bin Maymūn near him and he charged him with lying’. Mahmūd bin Ghaylān narrated to us, he said, I said to Abū Dāwud at-Tayālisī: ‘You transmit a great deal on authority of Abbād bin Mansūr - so how is it that you did not hear the Ḥadīth of ‘the lady perfume seller’ from him which an-Naḍr bin Shumayl transmitted to us?’ [Abū Dāwud] said to me: ‘Be quiet, for Abd ar-Rahma bin Mahdī and I met Ziyād bin Maymūn and asked him, saying to him, ‘Are these Ḥadīth you transmit on authority of Anas?’ [Ziyād] said: ‘Have you seen a man sin and then repent- does Allah not turn to him?’ [Abū Dāwud] said: ‘We said, ‘Yes’.’ [Ziyād] said: ‘I did not hear from Anas whether a little or a lot; if the people did not know, then you two would not know that I did not meet Anas’. Abū Dāwud said: ‘So it reached us afterwards that he was transmitting [from Anas], then Abd ar-Rahman and I went to him and he said: ‘I repented’. Then afterwards he was narrating [again in the same fashion] so we abandoned him ’.

‘Abd ul-Quddūs was narrating to us saying,‘Suwayd bin Aqalah said…’ [when it should be ‘bin Ghafalah’] Shabābah said: ‘And I heard Abd ul-Quddūs saying, ‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, prohibited taking a Rawḥ by accident’. [Shabābah] said: ‘So it was said to him, ‘What does this mean?’ [Abd ul-Quddūs] said: ‘It means to make an opening in a wall [thus letting] a breeze enter [by accident]’.’ [He changed the original Ḥadīth, switching ‘Rūḥ’ meaning ‘soul’ to ‘Rawḥ’ or ‘breeze’, and he switched ‘Gharaḍān’ meaning ‘as a target’ to ‘Arḍān’ or ‘accidentally’. All simply by changing a few letters in the words]

I heard Ubayd Allah bin Umar al-Qawārīrī saying, I heard Hammād bin Zayd saying to a man after he sat with Mahdī bin Hilāl for days: ‘What is this salty well [i.e. useless or harmful] which has sprung up in your direction?’ He said: ‘Yes, oh Abā Ismā’īl [in agreement]’.

‘A Ḥadīth did not reach me on authority of al-Hasan except I presented it to Abān bin Abī Ayyāsh , then he read it to me ’.

‘Hamzah az-Zayyāt and I heard from Abān bin Abī Ayyāsh something like one thousand Ḥadīth’. Alī said: ‘So I met Hamzah then he informed me that he saw the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, [in a dream], and he produced for him what he heard from Abān. However he [the Prophet] didn’t recognize any except a small amount [like] five or six [Ḥadīth]’. Abd Allah bin Abd ar-Rahman ad-Dārimī narrated to us, Zakariyyā’ bin Adī informed us, he said, Abū Ishāq al-Fazarī said to me: ‘Write from Baqiyyah what he transmits on authority of those who are well-known, and do not write from him what he transmits on authority of those who are not; do not write from Ismā’īl bin Ayyāsh what he transmits on authority of those who are well-known or otherwise ’. Ishāq bin Ibrāhīm al-Hanthalī [bin Rāhwayh] narrated to us, he said, I heard one of the companions of Abd Allah [bin al-Mubārak] say, Ibn al-Mubārak said: ‘What an excellent man is Baqiyyah, if it were not for the fact that he would provide a nickname for [those who were better-known by] the birth name, and he would provide the birth name for [those who were better-known by] a nickname. For a long time he would narrated to us on authority of Abī Sa’īd al-Wuhāthī, then when we investigated [we were surprised that] he was Abd ul-Quddūs ’.

‘I did not see Ibn al-Mubārak express so plainly the charge of ‘lying’ except towards Abd ul-Quddūs; for indeed I heard him saying to him ‘[You are] a liar’.’ Abd Allah bin Abd ar-Rahman ad-Dārimī narrated to me, he said: ‘I heard Abū Nu’aym and he mentioned al-Mu’allā bin Urfān, so [Abū Nu’aym] said, [al-Mu’allā] said: ‘Abū Wā’il narrated to us, he said ‘Ibn Mas’ūd attacked us on the day of Siffīn’. So Abū Nu’aym said: ‘Do you think he was raised after death? [Ibn Mas’ūd passed away in 32 or 33H, several years before the day in question]

‘We were near Ismā’īl bin Ulayyah, and a man narrated on authority of another man, so I said: ‘Indeed this is not reliable (Thabt)’. So the man said: ‘Are you backbiting him?’ Ismā’īl said: ‘He is not backbiting him; rather he is judging him unreliable’. Abū Ja’far ad-Dārimī narrated to us, Bishr bin Umar narrated to us, he said: ‘I asked Mālik bin Anas about Muhammad bin Abd ar-Rahman who transmits on authority of Sa’īd bin al-Musayyib, so he said: ‘He is not trustworthy ‘. I asked him about Sālih, a freed slave of at-Taw’amah, then he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Abūl-Huwayrith , and he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Shu’bah on whose authority Ibn Abī Dhi’b transmitted, and he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Harām bin Uthmān , and he said ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked Mālik about these five and he said: ‘They are not trustworthy in terms of their Ḥadīth’. I asked him about another man whose name I forget just now, and he said: ‘Did you see him in my book?’ I said: ‘No’. [Then] he said: ‘If he was trustworthy you would see him in my book’. Al-Faḍl bin Sahl narrated to me, he said: ‘Yahyā bin Ma’īn narrated to me, Hajjāj narrated to us, Ibn Abī Dhi’b narrated to us on authority of Shurahbīl bin Sa’d , and he was imputed [with lying regarding Ḥadīth near the end of his life]’. Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Quhzādh narrated to me, he said, I heard Abū Ishāq at-Tālqānī saying, I heard Ibn al-Mubārak saying: ‘If I had to choose between entering Paradise and meeting Abd Allah bin Muharrar, I would have chosen to meet him, then enter Paradise. Then when I saw him, dung was more preferred to me than him’. Al-Faḍl bin Sahl narrated to me, Walīd bin Sālih narrated to us, he said, Ubayd Allah bin Amr said, Zayd- meaning Ibn Abī Unaysah – said: ‘Do not take [Ḥadīth] from my brother ’. Ahmad bin Ibrāhīm ad-Dawraqī narrated to me, he said, Abd us-Salām al-Wābisī narrated to me, he said, Abd Allah bin Ja’far ar-Raqqī narrated to me, on authority of Ubayd Allah bin Amr, he said: ‘Yahyā bin Abī Unaysah was a liar’. Ahmad bin Ibrāhīm narrated to me, he said, Sulaymān bin Harb narrated to me, on authority of Hammād bin Zayd, he said, Farqad was mentioned near Ayyūb, so he said: ‘Indeed Farqad is not a companion of Ḥadīth’. Abd ur-Rahman bin Bishr al-Abdī narrated to me, he said, I heard Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Ubayd bin Umayr al-Laythī was mentioned near Yahyā bin Sa’īd al-Qattān, so he weakened him severely. Then it was said to Yahyā: ‘More weak than Ya’qūb bin Atā ’?’ He said: ‘Yes’. Then he said: ‘I did not see anyone transmitting on authority of Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Ubayd bin Umayr’.

‘His Ḥadīth are Rīh or ‘wind’ [i.e., not established and weak]. [Yahyā] weakened Mūsā bin Dihqān and Īsā bin Abī Īsā al-Madanī. [Muslim] said, ‘I heard al-Hasan bin Īsā saying ‘Ibn al-Mubārak said to me: ‘When you go to Jarīr then write down all of his knowledge except the Ḥadīth of 3 [people] - do not write the Ḥadīth of Ubaydah bin Mu’attib, as-Sarī bin Ismā’īl, or Muhammad bin Sālim’.’ Muslim said: Similar instances to what we mentioned from the words of Ahl ul-Ilm regarding those transmitters who are imputed in Ḥadīth, and reports about their defects, are great in number, it would lengthen this book to mention its investigation, and what we [already] mentioned should be sufficient for whoever reflects upon and understands the way of the people [Muhaddithīn] in terms of what they said and clarified of all of that. Indeed [the Muhaddithīn] concerned themselves with the unveiling of the defects of transmitters of Ḥadīth and narrators of reports; they delivered verdicts in that at the time they were asked when there was a great danger involved considering that the reports are regarding affairs of the Dīn; whether [the transmissions] present a permission or proscription, a command or prohibition, encouragement or admonition. If the transmitter for it is not a source of truthfulness or reliability, then those who know [his condition], who risk transmitting on his authority, and not declaring [his condition] to others whom are ignorant of his [state], are sinning through doing that, and deceiving the common Muslims, since he should not feel secure in that some of those who heard these reports will act upon them, or act upon some of them, and perhaps they are lies which have no basis, or a majority of them; this along with the fact that authentic reports from the trustworthy chains and the people who are satisfactory [to the majority of Ahl ul-Ilm] are in too great a number to compel relating from those who are not trustworthy and who are not satisfactory.

I do not think highly of those who would permit from the people what we described of these weak narrations and unknown chains, and who judge by these transmissions after knowing what is in them of those who are imputed and weak unless he, through his conveyance and judgment by them, desires to accumulate [status] through that among the commoners, or that it can be said, ‘How great is the number of Ḥadīth that so-and-so has gathered and compiled!’. Those who held this ideology regarding knowledge and traversed this path have no share in it and that they were designated as being ignorant is more deserving than for them to be attributed to knowledge. Some pretender to knowledge of Ḥadīth from the people of our time made a statement regarding authentication and weakening of chains; a statement that if we were to disregard relating it and disregard mentioning its evil, truly it would be a strong opinion and sound approach, since turning away from the renounced view and dropping any mention of its speaker are most appropriate for putting it to rest; and better suited so as to not draw the attention of the ignorant to it.

Other than for what we fear from the evil results and dangers of the ignorant in innovated matters and their hastening towards believing in the mistakes of those who err and the rejected statements according to the scholars, we think the unveiling of the evil of his statement and refutation of its speaker with the amount which is deserved from refutation is more beneficial upon the creation and more praiseworthy ultimately, if Allah wills.

The speaker who we introduced by way of speaking on the account of his opinion and the reports of the evil of his thinking, alleged that every chain for Ḥadīth which has in it ‘so-and-so narrated on authority of so-and-so’ [Mu’an’an], and he has knowledge that they were contemporaries, and the probability that the Ḥadīth which the narrator transmitted from whom he transmitted, had heard it from him, and spoke face to face with him; without our knowing [for certain] that the narrator heard from the one who transmitted to him, and without finding in any of the transmissions that they ever met and spoke face to face for the purpose of Ḥadīth- that the proof is not established according to him in any report which comes in this manner until he has knowledge of both transmitters meeting in their era one or more times and speaking face to face for the purpose of narration, or he wants a report in which their meeting is clarified, their having met once in their era, or more than that; then if he does not have knowledge of that and there does not come to him an authentic transmission reporting that this transmitter [who relates] on authority of his companion met him once AND heard from him something- [there] will be no [proof] of his relating the report from whom he transmitted on authority of. The matter just as we described is a proof [transmitters being contemporaries and the possibility of having met existing] and the report according to him is unresolved until there arrives [the transmitters] hearing from him something from Ḥadīth, a little or a lot, in a transmission [clarifying the ‘hearing’] equal to what he narrated [with Mu’an’an].