What is the reason for your weakening of the hadith (… if he does not have a staff, let him draw a line in front of him, and then whoever passes in front of him will not harm him), and what is your response to those who denied the inconsistency?
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The questioner : He says here: In *Da'if al-Jami'*, you weakened the hadith: Sunan Abi Dawud 689Da'if (Al-Albani) Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar graded its chain as hasan and denied inconsistency in its chain. What is the reason for your weakening, and what is the response to those who denied the inconsistency? Note: In its chain is Abu Muhammad 'Amr ibn Harith, and it is said he is Abu Muhammad 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith?
The Shaykh : As I recall, when we began the takhrij of *Sunan Abu Dawud* long ago, about forty years ago, I planned for myself to make it into two books: one called *Sahih Abu Dawud* and the other *Da'if Abu Dawud*, based on this division that has recently appeared with very brief authentication.
This hadith passed by me, and I had in my mind that this hadith has two defects: the first defect is the inconsistency that the questioner mentioned was denied by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, and the second defect is the obscurity of some of its narrators. So I was reassured at that time that this hadith is not authentic in its chain, and many scholars of hadith before me have weakened it. What we see from his (peace and blessings be upon him) practice is to turn away from such a hadith in practice. It is reported from his actions (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that, as in the hadith of his going out for the Eid prayer, a staff called an 'anazah was set up for him, and he did not draw a line. Sometimes he would pray, as in the Battle of Badr al-Kubra, facing a tree. Sometimes he would adjust the camel's saddle and pray facing it, or pray facing a wall, as was the case in his mosque. There is no practical evidence for this hadith of the line; rather, it contradicts the concept of his (peace be upon him) statement in some authentic hadiths, such as the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), in which he said, in its wording or at least its meaning: Therefore, the prescribed sutrah that prevents the breaking of the prayer is something like the back of the saddle, meaning a height of one shibr and a half or two shibr. You are supposed to know the back of the saddle, as you are Arabs, better than we non-Arabs. The back of the saddle is the staff on which a camel rider hangs his luggage, provisions, and the like. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) specifies in the wording of this hadith the sutrah that prevents the prayer from being broken, meaning here the prayer is invalidated by the passing of one of these three types. As for the line, it is not the back of the saddle, of course. So the concept of the hadith is a proof, as we said earlier in the answer to some questions, unless it is contradicted by the wording. And the wording of the hadith of the line, if it were authentic, we would take it and prioritize it over the concept.
As for al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar's denial of the inconsistency in the hadith, this actually requires us to have the various routes before us to see if it is true that the inconsistency has been removed? The inconsistency certainly exists. But if al-Hafiz's opinion is correct—and I do not say now that what is reported from al-Hafiz is correct, but I say: if al-Hafiz's opinion is correct that this hadith is not described as inconsistent—then this means a description that affects its authenticity. This is because it is mentioned in the science of terminology that inconsistency is one of the defects of a hadith. So every hadith that is confirmed to be inconsistent is among the categories of weak hadith. But it is not always the case that a hadith is inconsistent in a way that affects the authenticity of the hadith. This is because a hadith sometimes actually comes in inconsistent forms. This inconsistency, as scholars of hadith say, indicates that the narrator did not master his narration of the hadith, either in the chain or in the text. But if the Hafiz gathers the precise routes of this inconsistent hadith, it is possible sometimes to prefer one form over another of the inconsistent forms. Because the effective inconsistency is when the forms of the inconsistent narrations are equal and it is not possible to prefer one form over these forms. But if the opposite is the case, such that most of the routes narrated one of these forms and the other forms are isolated, then in this case the narration of the majority is preferred over the narration of the minority, and this narration of the majority is the stronger one. Stronger from what? From the inconsistency. But does the mere strength of the hadith from its description as inconsistent mean that it escaped weakness and entered the circle of authenticity or at least the circle of goodness? The answer: This is not necessary. It may, and it may, meaning it may escape weakness and enter the circle of establishment as hasan or sahih, or it may not. Let us suppose, for example, because the chain is not before us now.
The questioner : The chain.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The form of the inconsistency: sometimes his narrator says from Abu 'Amr ibn Harith from his father from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr ibn Muhammad from his grandfather from his father from Abu Hurayrah, and sometimes from Abu 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn Harith from his father from Abu Hurayrah, and sometimes from Harith ibn 'Ammar from Abu Hurayrah.
The Shaykh : Keep it in mind if you can. Yes.
The questioner : And sometimes from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr from his father from his grandfather from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn Harith from his grandfather, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather. These are the forms of the inconsistencies.
The Shaykh : Which of them is the stronger?
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : Does the author not address this point?
The questioner : This author said: "And this is severe inconsistency".
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Another author said.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. Did he try to prefer one of the forms of this much inconsistency, or not?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : So this is very clear, meaning there is inconsistency in it.
The questioner : He says here, and Ibn al-Salah cited it as an example of the inconsistent, and he was correct.
The Shaykh : Yes, I do.
The questioner : Here one of the authors tried to reconcile the inconsistency.
The Shaykh : Good.
The questioner : He said that this is one person, his name is Abu Muhammad 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Muhammad, 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith. He says sometimes he is attributed to his farthest grandfather and sometimes to his nearest grandfather.
The Shaykh : It is possible.
The questioner : So from this angle, he says the narration from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather means from his farthest grandfather, and sometimes he says from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn… how does he narrate this from his farthest grandfather, from the fourth grandfather, meaning from 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith, his third father.
The Shaykh : So is it connected in this case?
The questioner : No, this is what is problematic.
The Shaykh : This is it. In any case, what is in my mind is: did the man address the fact that there is obscurity in this chain?
The questioner : Yes, first he mentioned that this is Abu Muhammad and Harith 'Amr and Harith are unknown, he mentioned this. And Sufyan used to say: "When Isma'il narrated this hadith, he would say: Do you have anything to strengthen it with?" And he said: "I do not remember Abu Sufyan saying: I do not remember except Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr. Sufyan said: A man came here after Isma'il ibn Umayyah died, and this Shaykh sought Abu Muhammad until he found him, so he asked him, and he confused him."
The Shaykh : Did you quote al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar's words?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And what is it?
The questioner : Isma'il's Shaykh, Abu 'Amr ibn Harith, al-Hafiz said about him: "Unknown" And his father or grandfather is also unknown, al-Hafiz said: "And in my opinion, the narrator of the hadith of the line is not the Companion, but he is unknown."
The strange thing here is that al-Hafiz means he grades the hadith as hasan while he sees that both narrators are unknown.
The Shaykh : Where is the grading as hasan?
The questioner : The grading as hasan is in *Bulugh al-Maram*.
The Shaykh : In *Bulugh al-Maram*.
The questioner : And he mentioned this.
The Shaykh : Are you quoting his text in *Bulugh al-Maram*?
The questioner : If you wish, we can bring *Bulugh al-Maram*.
The Shaykh : In any case.
The questioner : And some scholars argue with it that Ibn Hajar graded the hadith as hasan.
The Shaykh : But this is taqlid without basis after they knew that the hadith is in *Sahih Muslim* and clarifies what the sutrah is, and in some hadiths in *al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim*, although I do not recall now if it is from the established hadiths or not, that the sutrah is the thickness of an arrow.
And therefore I say, according to my opinion and ijtihad, both old and new: that the hadith of the line is struck through with a line.
When one of you prays, he should put something in front of his face, and if he can find nothing , he should set up his staff; but if he has no staff, he should draw a line; then what passes in front of him will not harm him.
إذا صلى أحدكم فليجعل تلقاء وجهه شيئاً فإن لم يجد فلينصب عصا، فإن لم يكن معه عصا فليخط بين يديه خطاً ثم لا يضره من مر أمامهThe Shaykh : As I recall, when we began the takhrij of *Sunan Abu Dawud* long ago, about forty years ago, I planned for myself to make it into two books: one called *Sahih Abu Dawud* and the other *Da'if Abu Dawud*, based on this division that has recently appeared with very brief authentication.
This hadith passed by me, and I had in my mind that this hadith has two defects: the first defect is the inconsistency that the questioner mentioned was denied by al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar, and the second defect is the obscurity of some of its narrators. So I was reassured at that time that this hadith is not authentic in its chain, and many scholars of hadith before me have weakened it. What we see from his (peace and blessings be upon him) practice is to turn away from such a hadith in practice. It is reported from his actions (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) that, as in the hadith of his going out for the Eid prayer, a staff called an 'anazah was set up for him, and he did not draw a line. Sometimes he would pray, as in the Battle of Badr al-Kubra, facing a tree. Sometimes he would adjust the camel's saddle and pray facing it, or pray facing a wall, as was the case in his mosque. There is no practical evidence for this hadith of the line; rather, it contradicts the concept of his (peace be upon him) statement in some authentic hadiths, such as the hadith of Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him), in which he said, in its wording or at least its meaning:
When one of you prays and there is not in front of him the length of the back of a saddle, a woman, a donkey, and a black dog will break his prayer.
إذا صلى أحدكم وليس بين يديه مثل مؤخرة الرحل يقطع صلاته المرأة والحمار والكلب الأسودAs for al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar's denial of the inconsistency in the hadith, this actually requires us to have the various routes before us to see if it is true that the inconsistency has been removed? The inconsistency certainly exists. But if al-Hafiz's opinion is correct—and I do not say now that what is reported from al-Hafiz is correct, but I say: if al-Hafiz's opinion is correct that this hadith is not described as inconsistent—then this means a description that affects its authenticity. This is because it is mentioned in the science of terminology that inconsistency is one of the defects of a hadith. So every hadith that is confirmed to be inconsistent is among the categories of weak hadith. But it is not always the case that a hadith is inconsistent in a way that affects the authenticity of the hadith. This is because a hadith sometimes actually comes in inconsistent forms. This inconsistency, as scholars of hadith say, indicates that the narrator did not master his narration of the hadith, either in the chain or in the text. But if the Hafiz gathers the precise routes of this inconsistent hadith, it is possible sometimes to prefer one form over another of the inconsistent forms. Because the effective inconsistency is when the forms of the inconsistent narrations are equal and it is not possible to prefer one form over these forms. But if the opposite is the case, such that most of the routes narrated one of these forms and the other forms are isolated, then in this case the narration of the majority is preferred over the narration of the minority, and this narration of the majority is the stronger one. Stronger from what? From the inconsistency. But does the mere strength of the hadith from its description as inconsistent mean that it escaped weakness and entered the circle of authenticity or at least the circle of goodness? The answer: This is not necessary. It may, and it may, meaning it may escape weakness and enter the circle of establishment as hasan or sahih, or it may not. Let us suppose, for example, because the chain is not before us now.
The questioner : The chain.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The questioner : The form of the inconsistency: sometimes his narrator says from Abu 'Amr ibn Harith from his father from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr ibn Muhammad from his grandfather from his father from Abu Hurayrah, and sometimes from Abu 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn Harith from his father from Abu Hurayrah, and sometimes from Harith ibn 'Ammar from Abu Hurayrah.
The Shaykh : Keep it in mind if you can. Yes.
The questioner : And sometimes from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr from his father from his grandfather from Abu Hurayrah, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn Harith from his grandfather, and in a narration from Abu 'Amr Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather. These are the forms of the inconsistencies.
The Shaykh : Which of them is the stronger?
The questioner : Allah knows best.
The Shaykh : Does the author not address this point?
The questioner : This author said: "And this is severe inconsistency".
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Another author said.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you. Did he try to prefer one of the forms of this much inconsistency, or not?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : So this is very clear, meaning there is inconsistency in it.
The questioner : He says here, and Ibn al-Salah cited it as an example of the inconsistent, and he was correct.
The Shaykh : Yes, I do.
The questioner : Here one of the authors tried to reconcile the inconsistency.
The Shaykh : Good.
The questioner : He said that this is one person, his name is Abu Muhammad 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Muhammad, 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith. He says sometimes he is attributed to his farthest grandfather and sometimes to his nearest grandfather.
The Shaykh : It is possible.
The questioner : So from this angle, he says the narration from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith from his grandfather means from his farthest grandfather, and sometimes he says from Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn… how does he narrate this from his farthest grandfather, from the fourth grandfather, meaning from 'Amr ibn Muhammad ibn 'Amr ibn Harith, his third father.
The Shaykh : So is it connected in this case?
The questioner : No, this is what is problematic.
The Shaykh : This is it. In any case, what is in my mind is: did the man address the fact that there is obscurity in this chain?
The questioner : Yes, first he mentioned that this is Abu Muhammad and Harith 'Amr and Harith are unknown, he mentioned this. And Sufyan used to say: "When Isma'il narrated this hadith, he would say: Do you have anything to strengthen it with?" And he said: "I do not remember Abu Sufyan saying: I do not remember except Abu Muhammad ibn 'Amr. Sufyan said: A man came here after Isma'il ibn Umayyah died, and this Shaykh sought Abu Muhammad until he found him, so he asked him, and he confused him."
The Shaykh : Did you quote al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar's words?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And what is it?
The questioner : Isma'il's Shaykh, Abu 'Amr ibn Harith, al-Hafiz said about him: "Unknown" And his father or grandfather is also unknown, al-Hafiz said: "And in my opinion, the narrator of the hadith of the line is not the Companion, but he is unknown."
The strange thing here is that al-Hafiz means he grades the hadith as hasan while he sees that both narrators are unknown.
The Shaykh : Where is the grading as hasan?
The questioner : The grading as hasan is in *Bulugh al-Maram*.
The Shaykh : In *Bulugh al-Maram*.
The questioner : And he mentioned this.
The Shaykh : Are you quoting his text in *Bulugh al-Maram*?
The questioner : If you wish, we can bring *Bulugh al-Maram*.
The Shaykh : In any case.
The questioner : And some scholars argue with it that Ibn Hajar graded the hadith as hasan.
The Shaykh : But this is taqlid without basis after they knew that the hadith is in *Sahih Muslim* and clarifies what the sutrah is, and in some hadiths in *al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim*, although I do not recall now if it is from the established hadiths or not, that the sutrah is the thickness of an arrow.
And therefore I say, according to my opinion and ijtihad, both old and new: that the hadith of the line is struck through with a line.