Introduction
The Shia propagandists often claim that the Hadith about the Quran and Sunnah (i.e. “I am leaving you with the Book of Allah and my Sunnah…”) is weak or even forged. This is a blatant lie; according to the standards of the Hadith scholars, the Hadith about the Quran and Sunnah is Sahih. It is a wonder how the Shia continually attempt to establish the Sunni position themselves. How can they say that this Hadith is considered weak, when in fact it has always been considered authentic by the Ahlus Sunnah? Whether or not the Shia consider it authentic is irrelevant to us because they have no credible science of Hadith to begin with.
The following is a question/answer session with Shaikh Gibril Haddad.
Questioner says:
This Hadeeth about the Quran and Sunnah (i.e. “I am leaving you with the book of Allah and my Sunnah…”) is weak.
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
[A] crass lie…The hadith in question is not weak.
Questioner says:
Ninowi said: Please note, that some people are using an alleged Hadeeth (that I am leaving you with the book of Allah and my Sunnah). Please be advised that this Hadeeth is extremely weak. Moreover, many leading scholars of Hadeeth have declared it as fabricated.
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
What scholar(s) of hadith declared this hadith “extremely weak”? What scholars(s) declared it “fabricated”?
I have listed over two dozen dictionaries of forgeries in an article titled “The ‘famous hadith’ and forgery compilations” available in full at livingislam.org / (pdf-file).
Surely if “many leading scholars of Hadeeth have declared it as fabricated” it should be easy to say where, in any of those books, one of those supposedly “many leading scholars” can be seen declaring such a thing.
Questioner says:
The Hadeeth (i.e. that I am leaving you with the book of Allah and my Sunnah) is present in ONLY ONE book (al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim) and has ONLY ONE narrator.
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
The hadith in question states that the Prophet said, upon him blessings and peace:
“I have left among you two matters by holding fast to which, you shall never be misguided: the Book of Allah and the Sunna of His Prophet.”
This is narrated from Anas by:
*Abu al-Shaykh in Tabaqat al-Muhaddithin fi Asbahan (4:67 §549);
also from `Amr ibn `Awf by:
*Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Tamhid (24:331);
and also from Ibn `Abbâs by:
*Ibn Nasr al-Marwazi (202-294) in al-Sunna (p. 25-26 §68)
*al-Hakim in his Mustadrak (1:93=1990 ed. 1:171 §318) who declared that all its narrators are “agreed upon” meaning in the two books of Sahih
*al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (10:114 §20108)
*al-I`tiqad (p. 228) by Malik in his Muwatta’. Ibn `Abd al-Barr narrated its chain in al-Tamhid (24:331) and describes it as “so famous and widespread as a Prophetic report among the people of knowledge” that it can be treated as mass-transmitted (mahfuz, ma`ruf, mashhur `an al-Nabi salla Allahu `alayhi wa-Sallam thamma ahl al-`ilm shuhratan yakadu yustaghna biha `an al-isnad)
*Ibn Hazm who declared it sahih in al-Ihkam (6:243=6:810) even though he is overly strict in his criterion for soundness as stated by Shaykh Ahmad al-Ghumari in his student `Abd Allah al-Talidi’s biographical notes, Darr al-Ghamam al-Raqiq.
Another version states:
“I have left among you two matters by holding fast to which, you shall never be misguided: the Book of Allah and my Sunna. And these two shall never part ways until they show up at the Pond.”
Narrated from Abu Hurayra by:
*Ibn Shahin in al-Targhib fil-Dhikr (2:406 §528) as stated by Ahmad al-Ghumari in al-Mudawi (3:482 §3923)
*al-Hakim in the Mustadrak (1:93=1990 ed. 1:172 §319)
*al-Bayhaqi in al-Sunan al-Kubra (10:114 §20109)
*al-Daraqutni in his Sunan (4:245 §149)
*Abu Bakr al-Shafi`i in the Ghaylaniyyat as stated by al-Suyuti in the Jami` al-Saghir (§3923)
*al-Lalika’i in Sharh Usul I`tiqad Ahl al-Sunna (1:80)
*al-Khatib in al-Jami` li-Akhlaq al-Rawi (1983 ed. 1:111=1991 ed. 2:165-166 §89) and al-Faqih wal-Mutafaqqih (1:94)
*Ibn `Abd al-Barr in al-Tamhid (24:331)
*Ibn Hazm in al-Ihkam (6:243=6:810)
*al-Suyuti declared it hasan in al-Jami` al-Saghir (§3923).
Also narrated mursal from `Urwa as cited by:
*al-Suyuti in Miftah al-Janna (p. 29 §35).
Also narrated mursal through Ibn Ishaq from `Abd Allah ibn Abi Najih by:
*al-Tabari in his Tarikh (2:205-206)
*Ibn Hisham in his Sira (6:8-10).
So there are chains through at least four different Companions corresponding to two versions which have in common the wording: “I have left among you two matters by holding fast to which, you shall never be misguided: the Book of Allah and the Sunna or my Sunna.”
The fact that this wording in the Muwatta’ is enough proof that it is sahih, as further confirmed by Ibn `Abd al-barr’s remarks. Both these sources actually reflect that there is more to Hadith-grading than the mere documentation of chains of transmission.
Questioner says:
The Hadeeth is narrated by Al Hakem in his “Mustadrak” by way of Ibn abi owais by way of his father by way of thawr by way of Zayd through Ikrima, through ibn abbas, however, ibn abi owais and his father are unreliable people and fabricators.
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
Says who exactly? Imam al-Bukhari narrates over 200 hadiths from Ibn Abi Uways. Over 170 of those are hadiths Ibn Abi Uways narrates from his maternal uncle, Imam Malik. As for his father `Abd Allah Abu Uways, he is one of the narrators of the Sunan and Muslim also uses him in his Sahih.
Questioner says:
See “tahtheeb al kamal” 3/127 by Imam Hafez Mizzy, and “Sharhh saheeh Al Bukhari” intro/391 by Imam Hafez Inb Hajr, also Imam Nasaaiy was among other scholars to denounce those narrators describing them as ” weak and unreliable”, similarly did Abu Hatem Arrazy in his book “aljarhh wat ta’deel in Elm Al hadeeth”, others who also mentioned their unreliability are Llakaiy, Assideeq, Ibn Mueen, Ibn Habban,. ….etc.
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
None of the above called these two narrators “unreliable people and fabricators.” On the contrary, Ibn Hajar, Abu Hatim, and Ibn Ma`in all called him truthful (saduq).
Questioner says:
Even Imam Al Hakem himself who mentioned this hadeeth in his book, after he added another weak route to it, declared this Hadeeth immediately as a weak Hadeeth and admitted it’s great weakness.”
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
Actually, al-Hakim followed up with another route because it came through another Companion, which strengthens the hadith. Nowhere does he declare the first hadith weak.
Shaikh Gibril Haddad also said:
Shaykh Abu al-Fadl Ahmad al-Ghumari in his book al-Mudawi li-`Ilal al-Munawi (3:482 §3923) supports the authenticity of this hadith and that his brother, Shaykh `Abd Allah ibn al-Siddiq al-Ghumari, Allah have mercy on both of them, included this hadith among the sound hadiths in his compilation of the sahih and hasan hadiths of Imam al-Suyuti’s al-Jami` al-Saghir which he titled al-Kanz al-Thamin fi Ahadith al-Nabi al-Amin salla Allahu `alayhi wa Sallam. And Allah knows best.
Questioner says:
We Shia instead follow the Hadeeth in which the Prophet says he left behind the Quran and Ahl al-Bayt. This hadeeth mentioning Ahlul Bayt and Quran as inseparable is very significant and has been narrated by 35 Sahaba (!!!) and is given in the Sahihs of Ahlu Sunnah and the many books of their scholars. It is Mutawattir!
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
This is absolutely false, the hadith is NOT mutawatir nor narrated by anywhere near even 10 Sahaba.
Questioner says:
The Hadeeth about Quran and Sunnah is weak and narrated by only 1 Sahabi, whereas the other Hadeeth (Quran and Ahl al-Bayt) is mutawattir and narrated by 35 Sahabah.
Answer by Shaikh Gibril Haddad:
The hadith in question (Quran and Sunnah) is not weak…(and it is narrated by) at least four different Companions …the other hadith (Quran and Ahl al-Bayt) is not mutawatir as I already said…the hadith is NOT mutawatir nor narrated by anywhere near even 10 Sahaba. [Therefore, a similar number of Companions narrated BOTH Hadith, with perhaps only a couple more narrating the Hadith of the Quran and Ahl al-Bayt.]
Questioner says:
Why have you abandoned the Mutawattir Hadeeth about the Quran and Ahl al-Bayt, replacing it with the weak Hadeeth about Quran and Sunnah?
Answer by Team Ahlel Bayt:
First of all, the Hadith about the Quran and Ahl al-Bayt is not Mutawattir, nor is the Hadith about Quran and Sunnah considered Dhaeef (weak). Instead, both Hadith are of a very similar calibre. Secondly, we have not abandoned the Hadith about Quran and Ahl al-Bayt nor have we replaced it with the other Hadith. Instead, we believe in both Hadith; the Hadith about Quran and Sunnah was said by the Prophet in front of the larger gathering during his Farewell Sermon, and the Hadith about Quran and Ahl al-Bayt was said by the Prophet in front of the smaller gathering at Ghadir Khumm. This second Hadith was directed towards those of Medinah because it was they who would be tasked with the role of caring for the Prophet’s family after his death.
