Never Go Astray: Qur'an and Ahlul Bayt, Authentic?

[AS7]

Assalaamu aleykum, if anyone could please comment upon the authenticity of this hadith, it would be much appreciated. I found this on a Shia website (http://www.ghadeer.org/english/tradi...ccasions.htm):

AlTirmidhi in his Sunan (v, 662, no. 3786) records the following tradition

....Jabir ibn `Abd Allah said: "I saw the Messenger of Allah - upon whom be God's peace and benedictions - in the course of his hajj pilgrimage on the day of `Arafah. The Prophet (S) was seated on his camel, alQaswa', and was delivering a sermon. I heard him say: 'O people, I am leaving among you that which if you hold on to you shall never go astray: the Book of Allah and my kindred, my household."

AlTirmidhi states that the same tradition has been narrated by Abu Dharr, Abu Sa`id, Zayd ibn Arqam and Hudhayfah ibn Usayd.

Among others who have recorded this tradition are:
alHafiz Ibn Abi Shaybah, as in Kanz al`ummal (1st ed.), i, 48;
al`Uqayli in alDu`afa' alKabir, ii, 250;
alHakim alTirmidhi, Nawadir al-'usul, 68, 50th asl;
alTabarani, alMu`jam alkabir, iii, 63, no. 2679;
alKhatib, alMuttafiq wa almuftariq, cf. Kanz al`ummal, i, 48 and Majma' alzawa'id, v, 195; ix, 163, x, 363, 268;
alBaghawi, al-Masabih, ii, 206;
Ibn al'Athir, Jami` al'usul, i, 277, no. 65;
al-Rafi`i, alTadwin, ii, 264 (in the biographical account of Ahmad ibn Mihran alQattan; this hadith has been deleted in the Indian print, but is present in the manuscripts of the book ! );
alMizzi, Tahdhib alkamal, x, 51, and Tuhfat al'ashraf, ii, 278, no. 2615;
alQadi alBaydawi, Tuhfat al'ashraf;
alKhwarazmi, Maqtal alHusayn (A), i, 144;
alKhatib alTabrizi, Mishkat almasabih, iii, 258;
Ibn Kathir, Tafsir (Bulaq edition, on the margin of Fath albayan), ix, 115;
al-Zarandi, Nazm aldurar alsimtayn, 232;
alMaqrizi, Ma`rifat ma yajib li Al alBayt alNabawi, 38.

Sheikh Albani includes this hadith in his Sahih al-Tirmidhi and classes it as sahih in Silsilah Ahadith. However, here: http://www.livingislam.org/ps12-13_e.html it says that it was, "Narrated with a weak chain because of Zayd ibn al-Hasan al-Qurashi."

Could anyone please let me know the status of this hadith? JazakAllah khair.

[AS7]

http://www.ahlelbayt.com/articles/rebuttals/thaqalayn


Let us examine the chain of transmission for this version of the Hadith as found in Sunan Tirmidhi and Musnad Ahmad.
*The first chain of narrators, as reported by Tirmidhi, includes:

Nasr ibn Abd al-Rahmaan al-Koofi - Zayd ibn al-Hasan al-Anmaatiy - Ja`fer ibn Mohammed - Mohammed ibn Ali ibn Hussain…

The second person in the chain is Zayd ibn al-Hasan. Zahabiy in his book “Meezaan al-Ai`tidaal” has quoted Abu Haatim as saying that Zayd is ‘Munkir al-Hadith’ - i.e. Zayd narrates repudiated and abominable narratives. Shaikh Al-Islam Ibn Hajar has considered him to be Dhaeef - i.e. a weak or an unreliable narrator (Taqreeb al-Tehzeeb). Even Tirmidhi, who has reported the said narrative, does not consider it to be ‘Sahih’. On the contrary, Tirmidhi, in his comments says that the Hadith is Ghareeb - i.e. strange in its content and not widely recognized.


Is there disagreement on this transmitter? If not, why was it classed as sahih by Sheikh Albani? I have the utmost respect for Sheikh Albani and his work to authenticate hadiths. I would just like to find out the true status of this narration. JazakAllah khair.

[Efendi]

Salam alaykum wa rahmatullah.

Some brothers are rejecting this narration. I use to reject it due to ignorance. But it's saheeh.

The most saheeh chain was transmitted by Tabarani in "Mojam":

حدثنا علي بن عبد العزيز ثنا عمرو بن عون الواسطي ثنا خالد بن عبد الله عن الحسن بن عبيد الله عن أبي الضحى عن زيد بن أرقم قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم : إني تارك فيكم الثقلين كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي وإنهما لن يتفرقا حتى يردا علي الحوض
"Prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa salam) said: I have left with you The Book of Allah and my progeny, they would never separate untill they would reach me near the pool".

Source: "Mojam al Kabeer" #4980,
لناشر : مكتبة العلوم والحكم - الموصل
الطبعة الثانية ، 1404 - 1983
تحقيق : حمدي بن عبدالمجيد السلفي
عدد الأجزاء : 20

Abi al-Dhuha that's Moslem ibn Sabeeh. Quote from "Tahtheeb al kamal" #5931 Mizzi:
قال إسحاق بن منصور عن يحيى بن معين وأبو زرعة ثقة وذكره بن حبان في كتاب الثقات
Yahya ibn Main, Abu Dhurah said he was thiqat. Ibn Hibban mentioned him in the kitab ath-thuqat.

al-Hassan bin Ubaidllah ibn Urwa Nakhai al-Kufi. Quote from "Tahtheeb al kamal" #1242:
وقال إسحاق بن منصور عن يحيى بن معين ثقة صالح وقال أحمد بن عبد الله العجلي وأبو حاتم والنسائي ثقة
Yahya ibn Main said: Thiqat saleeh. Nasai, Abu Khateem, Ijle said: thiqat.

Khalid bin Abdullah ibn Abdurrahman ibn Yazeed Abul Heytham Wasete. Quote from "Tahtheeb al kamal" #1625:
وقال محمد بن سعد وأبو زرعة وأبو حاتم والترمذي والنسائي ثقة زاد أبو حاتم صحيح الحديث وزاد الترمذي حافظ
Ibn Sad, Abu Dhurah, Abu Khateem, Tirmizi, Nasai said he was thiqat. Abu Khateem added: Saheeh ahadeeth. Tirmizi added: Hafidh.

Amro bin U'on ibn Ous ibn Jaad Abu Uthman Wasete. Quote from "Tahtheeb al kamal" #4423:
وقال أبو زرعة قل من رأيت أثبت منه وقال أبو حاتم ثقة حجة وكان يحفظ حديثه وذكره بن حبان في كتاب الثقات
Abu Dhurah said: I haven't seen anyone more steady than him. Abu Khateem said: Thiqat, hujjah, learned narrations. Ibn Hibban mentioned him in kitab ath-thuqat.

Ale ibn AbdulAzeez Bagawe. Zahabe in "Tazkiratul huffaz" 2/622/#101/649 said: الحافظ الصدوق
Dhahabi said: Hafidh, saduq.

In my huble opinion chain is perfect!

[Efendi]

Reported by Nasai in "Sunnan al Kubra" #8148:

- أخبرنا محمد بن المثنى قال ثنا يحيى بن حماد قال ثنا أبو عوانة عن سليمان قال ثنا حبيب بن أبي ثابت عن أبي الطفيل عن زيد بن أرقم قال : لما رجع رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم عن حجة الوداع ونزل غدير خم أمر بدوحات فقممن ثم قال كأني قد دعيت فأجبت إني قد تركت فيكم الثقلين أحدهما أكبر من الآخر كتاب الله وعترتي أهل بيتي فانظروا كيف تخلفوني فيهما فإنهما لن يتفرقا حتى يردا علي الحوض ثم قال إن الله مولاي وأنا ولي كل مؤمن ثم أخذ بيد علي فقال من كنت وليه فهذا وليه اللهم وال من والاه وعاد من عاداه

Zayd ibn Arqam (r.a) reported: While prophet (sallalahu alayhi wa ala alihi wa salam) returning from his last hajj (hijjat al*******wada') came down at Ghadir Khumm and ordered (us) towards the big trees, and (the ground) underneath them was swept. "Then he said, 'I am about to answer the call (of death). Verily, I have left behind two precious things amongst you, one of which is greater than the other. The Book of Allah , the Exalted, and my `itrah (kindred). So watch out how you treat these two after me, for verily they will not separate from each other until they come back to me by the side of the Pond.' Then he said 'Verily, Allah , the Almighty and the Glorious, is my mawla and I am the wale of every believer (mu'min).' Then he took `Ali, may God be pleased with him, by the hand and said, 'This (`Ali) is the wale of whomever I am his wale. O God, love whoever loves him and be the enemy of his enemy.'"

الكتاب : سنن النسائي الكبرى
المؤلف : أحمد بن شعيب أبو عبد الرحمن النسائي
الناشر : دار الكتب العلمية - بيروت
الطبعة الأولى ، 1411 - 1991
تحقيق : د.عبد الغفار سليمان البنداري , سيد كسروي حسن

Chain:

Zayd ibn Arqam and Abu Tufayl are companions. The interesting thing is the lie of al-islam rafidhi site. They wrote that ibn Arqam tried to hide this event! Wa laanatullahi alal katheeben!

1) Hubayb ibn Abe Sabeet. Ijle, Nasai, Yahya ibn Main said he was thiqat. (Tahtheeb al kamal #1079)

2) Sulayman ibn Mihran al Amash. Ibn Main said thiqat. Nasai said thiqat sabeet. (Tahtheeb al kamal #2570)
The one problem in this narrator his tadlees. But this narration he transmitted in : Hadathana (reported to me) form. So here that's ok.

3) Abu Owna Wadah ibn AbdAllah. Abu Dhurah said: Thiqat if he reported from his books. Abu Khateem said: (If he narrated) from books that saheeh. If he done it from memory, he use to err a lot. And he was saduq, thiqat. (Tahtheeb al kamal #6688)

4) Yahya ibn Khamaad Ash-Shaybane. Ibn Sad and Abu Khateem said he was thiqat. Ibn Hibban mentioned him in book ath-thuqat. (ibid #6815)

5) Muhammad ibn Mathane. Ibn Muin said thiqat. Abu Bakr al-Khateeb said saduq. Ibn Hibban mentioned in thuqat. (ibid #5579)

Wa Allahu Alam.

[AS7]

Assalaamu aleykum brother Efendi, thank you very much for this explanation. I had read it also in the other thread in which you commented upon a hadith of this nature. I greatly enjoy reading your posts and appreciate your insight and knowledge you impart. However, I was more interested in the specific version of this hadith that says, "If you hold on to you shall never go astray," which was classed as sahih by Sheikh Albani, but as hinted, weak by others due to Zayd ibn al-Hasan al-Qurashi in the isnad. I did not have questions surrounding the one about them not separating, etc. which Sheikh Albani has similarly classed as sahih, along with a version using the words sunnah. Note that the one in question was said at Arafah, while the version in Nasai was said at Ghadir Khumm. Could you please comment upon the one in question? JazakAllah khair.

[Efendi]

Wa alaykum salam.

Ok, the narration that u are looking for, was transmitted by Tabarani in "Kabeer" via 3 chain. 2 of them contain Atiyah Awfe, and he's extremely weak, and the last one contain Zayd Anmaate, and he's weak also.
And he also reported it in Awsat, also via Anmaate.

Tahawe reported it in "Sharh al mushkeelool athaar", and in the chain is Muhammad ibn Umar ibn Ale, and he's close to beeing majhool.

Bagawe in "Sharh as sunna", and imam Ahmad in "Musnad" also transmitted it via Atiya Awfe.

Wa Allahu Alam.

[AS7]

Assalaamu aleykum, jazakAllah khair. However, the specific one which I am inquiring about is this:

وفي صحيح الترمذي ( 3 ) عن جابر بن عبد الله الأنصاري قال : رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وآله في حجته يوم عرفة ، وهو على ناقته القصوى ، يخطب فسمعته يقول : ( يا أيها الناس ، إني قد تركت فيكم ما إن أخذتم به لن تضلوا : كتاب الله ، وعترتي أهل بيتي ) .

Which has been classed as sahih by Sheikh Albani in Sahih Tirmidhi and Silsilah Ahadith Sahihah, but I have read it is weak due to narrators. So, my question is, is there a disputed narrator in this? What is the final status of this hadith? JazakAllah khair.

[Efendi]

Tirmizi in "Sunnan":
4155 - حَدَّثَنَا نَصْرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ الْكُوفِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا زَيْدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ، هُوَ الأَنْمَاطِيُّ عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ جَابِرِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، قَالَ رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم فِي حَجَّتِهِ يَوْمَ عَرَفَةَ وَهُوَ عَلَى نَاقَتِهِ الْقَصْوَاءِ يَخْطُبُ فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ ‏"‏ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنِّي قَدْ تَرَكْتُ فِيكُمْ مَا إِنْ أَخَذْتُمْ بِهِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلَ بَيْتِي ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَفِي الْبَابِ عَنْ أَبِي ذَرٍّ وَأَبِي سَعِيدٍ وَزَيْدِ بْنِ أَرْقَمَ وَحُذَيْفَةَ بْنِ أَسِيدٍ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ ‏.‏ قَالَ وَزَيْدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ قَدْ رَوَى عَنْهُ سَعِيدُ بْنُ سُلَيْمَانَ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ ‏.

Tirmizi himself said hadeeth qareeb hasan. As far as i know qareeb means hadeeth which at the one stage narrated only by one narrator.

Narrator Zayd ibn Hasan Anmaate is /munkar al adeeth/ as it was stated by Abu Khateem. (See Mizan 2/102/#3001). Ibn Hajar in "Taqreeb" (#2133) said Zayd is weak. Dhahabi included this narrator in "Mugni fi duafa" (#2268).


Tirmizi narrated these words via other routes:
4157 - حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْمُنْذِرِ، - كُوفِيٌّ - حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ فُضَيْلٍ، قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا الأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ، عَنْ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ، وَالأَعْمَشُ، عَنْ حَبِيبِ بْنِ أَبِي ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَرْقَمَ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالاَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏"‏ إِنِّي تَارِكٌ فِيكُمْ مَا إِنْ تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا بَعْدِي أَحَدُهُمَا أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الآخَرِ كِتَابُ اللَّهِ حَبْلٌ مَمْدُودٌ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ إِلَى الأَرْضِ وَعِتْرَتِي أَهْلُ بَيْتِي وَلَنْ يَتَفَرَّقَا حَتَّى يَرِدَا عَلَىَّ الْحَوْضَ فَانْظُرُوا كَيْفَ تَخْلُفُونِي فِيهِمَا ‏"‏ ‏.‏ قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ غَرِيبٌ

Here we have two routes.

1) Ale ibn Muntheer, it was reported to me by Muhammad ibn Fudayl, that said, narrated to me Amash, from Atiya, from Abu Sayed.

2) Same as above, Amash from Hubayb ibn Abe Thabeet, from Zayd ibn Arqam.

There are two problems in 1-st chain. a) Amash is famous narrator, reliable one. But he was mudalis. And this narration he narrated in /anana/ form.
b) Atiya Awfe, is extremely weak narrator. He was shia, with bad memory, and mudalas.

In second chain, Amash again narrated in /anana/ form.

[AS7]

JazakAllah khair! All very interesting. I will have to do a bit of research on this and will post more soon inshaAllah. Thank you so much brother Efendi. JazakAllah khair. Assalaamu aleykum wa rahmatullah.

[Efendi]

Alaykuma salam wa rahmatullah.

U are wellcome.

By the way, i noticed one thing in this variant of hadeeth saqalayn.

إِنْ أَخَذْتُمْ بِهِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوا

It should be translated like this i think:
I am leaving among you that which if you hold on to it (singular) you shall never go astray

As far as i understand arabic, in text there is a order or call to hold to one thing. Not two. And that ofcourse should be Quran.

Wa Allahu Alam.