Hadith 6: Response to the Salafis
On the authority of Abu Sa`id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him: He relates that the Messenger of Allah said:
"The one who leaves his house for prayer and then says: O Allah, I ask you by the right of those who ask you and I beseech you by the right of those who walk this path unto you that my going forth bespeak not of levity, pride nor vainglory nor done for the sake of repute. I have gone forth in the warding off your anger and for the seeking of your pleasure. I ask you, therefore, to grant me refuge from Hellfire and to forgive me my sins, for no one forgives sins but yourself. Allah will accept for his sake and seventy thousand angels will seek his forgiveness."
The Salafis have tried to deem this narration weak due to the presence of the narrator Atiyyah al-Awfi.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani RH said about Atiyyah in al-Taqreeb [no. 4616] - Saduq Yukhti kathiran wa kana Shi'ian mudallisan
Meaning: Truthful, made many mistakes and he was a Shi'ite Mudallis.
Despite that, Ibn Hajar still graded the Abu Sa'id [ra] narration to be Hasan in his public dictation of this Hadith in his Amali, as did his teacher: al-Iraqi in the Takhrij of Ihya lil-Ghazali!
Shaykh Mahmud Mamduh has discussed the allegations in his Raf al-Minara.
In summary:
Atiyyah al-`Awfi is criticised for three matters:
- Tadlees (leaving the name of an intermediatery narrator when narrating ahadith
- inclination towards Shi'ism
- narration of things whose authenticity was contested
The Accusation of Tadlees:
The accusation is that `Atiyyah heard ahadeeth from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri Radi Allahu `anhu for some time, then he used to go to the Sabai liar al-Kalbi and heard his narrations and (in order to strengthen al-Kalbi's narrations) he nicknamed him Abu Sa'eed, so when `Atiyyah said, "Narrated to me Abu Sa'eed" people thought he was narrating the ahadith of Hadhrat Abu Sa'eed al-khudri Radhi Allahu `anhu whereas in reality he was transmitting reports from the liar al-kalbi.
This accusation depends on a narration of Imam Sufyan ath-Thawri who heard from al-Kalbi (Sabai, forger of ahadeeth) that he said, "Atiyyah has given me the kuniyah 'Abu Sa'eed". And the narration of Abu khalid al-Ahmar who heard al-Kalbi say, "`Atiyyah said I have given you the kuniyah Abu Sa'eed, and he said So i say narrated to me Abu Sa'eed..."
Shaykh Mamduh says that since al-Kalbi is a known liar his accusation cannot be accepted and Imam Ahmad et el relied on Sufyan ath-Thawri for pronouncing `Atiyyah a mudallis and since Imam Sufyan relied on al-Kalbi's statement, which is inacceptable, the end result is the attribution of this fault to `Atiyyah cannot be accepted.
Inclination towards Shi'ism
al-Juzjani in Ahwal ur Rijal has called him mail (inclined). Shaykh Mamduh says that al-Juzjani is a Nasibi and his statement proves that `Atiyyah was not a Shi'a because if there were even a hint of shi'ism in him al-juzjani would have labelled him a shi'a, since he has only referred to him as inclined towards shi'ism, out of his hatred for Kufi people, this shows that there is no such thing in `Atiyyah.
And what al-`Uqayli has quoted from Salim al-Muradi (?) in Kitab al-Dhu`afa' and what adh-Dhahabi has quoted from him in al-Meezan regarding `Atiyyah being inclined towards shi'ism is not of benefit in this reard because Salim al-Muradi (?) is not one of the Huffaz or of those opinions are referred to in matters of jarh. And he is himself Shi'i like `Atiyyah al-`Awfi and `Atiyyah is one of his mashaikh so he is far removed from being able to condemn `Atiyyah.
Narrating things that were denied
He narrated from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri Radhi Allahu `Anhu that Rasoolullah Sallallahu `alyhi wa Sallam said
"The people of `iliyyeen will be seen by those below them like you see the brilliant star on the horizon, and verily Abu bakr and `Umar will be in them and being rewarded."
The main part of this hadeeth is in the two Sahihs from Abu Sa'eed al-khudri Radhi Allahu `anhu
"The people of Jannah will see the people in special abodes above them as you see a glittering star remaining in the eastern horizon and the western horizon.due to differences in their stations. They said, "Oh Messenger of Allah these are the stations of the Prophets and those other than them will not be able to reach them? He said, "Why not! men who believe in Allah and affirm the Messengers"
What was contested by Ibn `Adi was the addition, "and verily Abu bakr and `Umar will be in them and being rewarded.". But this part is also proven and `Atiyyah al-`awfi is not the only person to have narrated this, Imam Ahmad has narrated this in his Musnad vol 3 page 26 and in his Fadhail u Sahabah vol 1 page 69 and Abu Y`ala in his Musnad vol 2 page 416, from Mujalid from Abu Alawdak (?) from Abu Sa'eed al-khudri Radhi Allahu `anhu.
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Now, something else which is extremely interesting was brought to light by Sidi Abul Hasan [of Sunniforum] which appears to have been overlooked by contemporary scholars of Hadith! Let me quote him below [with slight editing]:
"Basically, the argument that Atiyya did not clarify if he actually heard from the Sahabi Abu Sa'eed - since in all the routes that people have presented to us these days - Atiyya always used the word: "An" - meaning - FROM - which is a vague form of transmitting - Hence he was also accused of Tadlees!
We can dismiss this allegation of Tadlees now at last! Because: I [Abul Hasan] have located a narration from the Amali of ibn Bushran - where Atiyya used the phrase: Haddathani - which is a very clear way of transmitting the narration and discredits any claim of Tadlees now for this route in the Amali and hence applicable to all the other simlar versions, bi-idhnillah.
Here is the text from the Amali:
أَمَالِي ابْنِ بِشْرَانَ مَجْلِسُ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ الْعِشْرِينَ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ سَنَةَ أَرْبَعٍ وَعِشْرِينَ مَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ ، فَقَالَ753 وأخبرنا دعلج ثنا جعفر بن أحمد الساقاني ، ثنا محمد بن يحيى بن ضريس ، ثنا ابن فضيل ، ثنا أبي ، عن عطية ، حدثني أبو سعيد الخدري ، قال : قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " ما من رجل يخرج من بيته إلى الصلاة ، فقال : اللهم إني أسألك بحق السائلين عليك ، وبحق ممشاي هذا ، لم أخرج أشرا ، ولا بطرا ، ولا رياء ، ولا سمعة ، خرجت اتقاء سخطك ، وابتغاء مرضاتك ، أسألك أن تعيذني من النار ، وتغفر لي ذنوبي ، إنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت ، إلا وكل به سبعون ألف ملك يستغفرون له ، وأقبل الله عز وجل عليه بوجهه حتى يقضي صلاته
No doubt, Shaykh al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Asqalani declared the above narration from Hadrat Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (ra), via the route of his student: Atiyya al-Awfi to be HASAN in his Nata'ij al-Afkar (1/272), but let me add that just as in the riwaya above from Ibn Bushran, Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani also mentioned in the above named work (Nata'ij al-Afkar, 1/273) that he has also seen in the work known as Kitab al-Salah of Abu Nu'aym (Fadl ibn Dukayn) the fact that Atiyya also used the phrase: Haddathani when relating from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (ra), though this was a Mawquf narration and not Marfu hence lifting further the accusation of Tadlees against Atiyya on this specific narration under discussion.
May Allah swt reward Sidi Abul Hasan's efforts. Ameen.
There should be no doubt now in any "salafi's" mind that the grading of this hadith is as the scholars of Hadith like Ibn Hajar RH mentioned - it is hasan!
"The one who leaves his house for prayer and then says: O Allah, I ask you by the right of those who ask you and I beseech you by the right of those who walk this path unto you that my going forth bespeak not of levity, pride nor vainglory nor done for the sake of repute. I have gone forth in the warding off your anger and for the seeking of your pleasure. I ask you, therefore, to grant me refuge from Hellfire and to forgive me my sins, for no one forgives sins but yourself. Allah will accept for his sake and seventy thousand angels will seek his forgiveness."
The Salafis have tried to deem this narration weak due to the presence of the narrator Atiyyah al-Awfi.
Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani RH said about Atiyyah in al-Taqreeb [no. 4616] - Saduq Yukhti kathiran wa kana Shi'ian mudallisan
Meaning: Truthful, made many mistakes and he was a Shi'ite Mudallis.
Despite that, Ibn Hajar still graded the Abu Sa'id [ra] narration to be Hasan in his public dictation of this Hadith in his Amali, as did his teacher: al-Iraqi in the Takhrij of Ihya lil-Ghazali!
Shaykh Mahmud Mamduh has discussed the allegations in his Raf al-Minara.
In summary:
Atiyyah al-`Awfi is criticised for three matters:
- Tadlees (leaving the name of an intermediatery narrator when narrating ahadith
- inclination towards Shi'ism
- narration of things whose authenticity was contested
The Accusation of Tadlees:
The accusation is that `Atiyyah heard ahadeeth from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri Radi Allahu `anhu for some time, then he used to go to the Sabai liar al-Kalbi and heard his narrations and (in order to strengthen al-Kalbi's narrations) he nicknamed him Abu Sa'eed, so when `Atiyyah said, "Narrated to me Abu Sa'eed" people thought he was narrating the ahadith of Hadhrat Abu Sa'eed al-khudri Radhi Allahu `anhu whereas in reality he was transmitting reports from the liar al-kalbi.
This accusation depends on a narration of Imam Sufyan ath-Thawri who heard from al-Kalbi (Sabai, forger of ahadeeth) that he said, "Atiyyah has given me the kuniyah 'Abu Sa'eed". And the narration of Abu khalid al-Ahmar who heard al-Kalbi say, "`Atiyyah said I have given you the kuniyah Abu Sa'eed, and he said So i say narrated to me Abu Sa'eed..."
Shaykh Mamduh says that since al-Kalbi is a known liar his accusation cannot be accepted and Imam Ahmad et el relied on Sufyan ath-Thawri for pronouncing `Atiyyah a mudallis and since Imam Sufyan relied on al-Kalbi's statement, which is inacceptable, the end result is the attribution of this fault to `Atiyyah cannot be accepted.
Inclination towards Shi'ism
al-Juzjani in Ahwal ur Rijal has called him mail (inclined). Shaykh Mamduh says that al-Juzjani is a Nasibi and his statement proves that `Atiyyah was not a Shi'a because if there were even a hint of shi'ism in him al-juzjani would have labelled him a shi'a, since he has only referred to him as inclined towards shi'ism, out of his hatred for Kufi people, this shows that there is no such thing in `Atiyyah.
And what al-`Uqayli has quoted from Salim al-Muradi (?) in Kitab al-Dhu`afa' and what adh-Dhahabi has quoted from him in al-Meezan regarding `Atiyyah being inclined towards shi'ism is not of benefit in this reard because Salim al-Muradi (?) is not one of the Huffaz or of those opinions are referred to in matters of jarh. And he is himself Shi'i like `Atiyyah al-`Awfi and `Atiyyah is one of his mashaikh so he is far removed from being able to condemn `Atiyyah.
Narrating things that were denied
He narrated from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri Radhi Allahu `Anhu that Rasoolullah Sallallahu `alyhi wa Sallam said
"The people of `iliyyeen will be seen by those below them like you see the brilliant star on the horizon, and verily Abu bakr and `Umar will be in them and being rewarded."
The main part of this hadeeth is in the two Sahihs from Abu Sa'eed al-khudri Radhi Allahu `anhu
"The people of Jannah will see the people in special abodes above them as you see a glittering star remaining in the eastern horizon and the western horizon.due to differences in their stations. They said, "Oh Messenger of Allah these are the stations of the Prophets and those other than them will not be able to reach them? He said, "Why not! men who believe in Allah and affirm the Messengers"
What was contested by Ibn `Adi was the addition, "and verily Abu bakr and `Umar will be in them and being rewarded.". But this part is also proven and `Atiyyah al-`awfi is not the only person to have narrated this, Imam Ahmad has narrated this in his Musnad vol 3 page 26 and in his Fadhail u Sahabah vol 1 page 69 and Abu Y`ala in his Musnad vol 2 page 416, from Mujalid from Abu Alawdak (?) from Abu Sa'eed al-khudri Radhi Allahu `anhu.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Now, something else which is extremely interesting was brought to light by Sidi Abul Hasan [of Sunniforum] which appears to have been overlooked by contemporary scholars of Hadith! Let me quote him below [with slight editing]:
"Basically, the argument that Atiyya did not clarify if he actually heard from the Sahabi Abu Sa'eed - since in all the routes that people have presented to us these days - Atiyya always used the word: "An" - meaning - FROM - which is a vague form of transmitting - Hence he was also accused of Tadlees!
We can dismiss this allegation of Tadlees now at last! Because: I [Abul Hasan] have located a narration from the Amali of ibn Bushran - where Atiyya used the phrase: Haddathani - which is a very clear way of transmitting the narration and discredits any claim of Tadlees now for this route in the Amali and hence applicable to all the other simlar versions, bi-idhnillah.
Here is the text from the Amali:
أَمَالِي ابْنِ بِشْرَانَ مَجْلِسُ يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ الْعِشْرِينَ مِنْ شَهْرِ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ سَنَةَ أَرْبَعٍ وَعِشْرِينَ مَا مِنْ رَجُلٍ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْتِهِ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ ، فَقَالَ753 وأخبرنا دعلج ثنا جعفر بن أحمد الساقاني ، ثنا محمد بن يحيى بن ضريس ، ثنا ابن فضيل ، ثنا أبي ، عن عطية ، حدثني أبو سعيد الخدري ، قال : قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم : " ما من رجل يخرج من بيته إلى الصلاة ، فقال : اللهم إني أسألك بحق السائلين عليك ، وبحق ممشاي هذا ، لم أخرج أشرا ، ولا بطرا ، ولا رياء ، ولا سمعة ، خرجت اتقاء سخطك ، وابتغاء مرضاتك ، أسألك أن تعيذني من النار ، وتغفر لي ذنوبي ، إنه لا يغفر الذنوب إلا أنت ، إلا وكل به سبعون ألف ملك يستغفرون له ، وأقبل الله عز وجل عليه بوجهه حتى يقضي صلاته
No doubt, Shaykh al-Islam ibn Hajar al-Asqalani declared the above narration from Hadrat Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (ra), via the route of his student: Atiyya al-Awfi to be HASAN in his Nata'ij al-Afkar (1/272), but let me add that just as in the riwaya above from Ibn Bushran, Imam Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani also mentioned in the above named work (Nata'ij al-Afkar, 1/273) that he has also seen in the work known as Kitab al-Salah of Abu Nu'aym (Fadl ibn Dukayn) the fact that Atiyya also used the phrase: Haddathani when relating from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (ra), though this was a Mawquf narration and not Marfu hence lifting further the accusation of Tadlees against Atiyya on this specific narration under discussion.
May Allah swt reward Sidi Abul Hasan's efforts. Ameen.
There should be no doubt now in any "salafi's" mind that the grading of this hadith is as the scholars of Hadith like Ibn Hajar RH mentioned - it is hasan!
posted by faqir at 10:47 PM
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