Explanation of the hadith: Anas (that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, where is my father?” He said, “In the Fire.”
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The Shaykh : This hadith is in Sahih Muslim and in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad, narrated by Hammad ibn Salama from Thabit from Anas. It seems he returned, naturally, sad. “Bring the man.” Sunan al-Bayhaqi 10:1424 Al-Suyuti criticized this hadith on the basis of Hammad ibn Salama, although he knows two things that cannot be denied, especially the second of them. He knows first that he is one of the great imams of the Muslims, and especially one of those who defend the Sunnah; this is how they mentioned it in his biography unanimously.
Then he knows that he is trustworthy, particularly in what he narrates from Thabit. But he took the words of those who hinted at a defect in his narration from others than Thabit and said something about his memory, so he dropped this hadith of his, while he sees with his own eyes that it is from his narration from Thabit. There is no doubt about the validity of his hadith from him, on the pretext that the parents of the Messenger (peace be upon him) were from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra). And Allah the Exalted says:[Al-Isra 17:15] How can it be understood that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would rule that his parents are in the Fire when the call did not reach them, and they were from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra)?
I do not know if he is acting out of a personal conviction that the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance are from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra). Every Muslim knows, approximately, that Ibrahim and Isma'il (peace be upon them) raised the foundations of the Ka'bah, as is explicit in the Qur'an. Then, the Arabs were the only ones who performed Hajj and 'Umrah, and they would chant the talbiyah, stand, and spend the night, and so on. How did he overlook this and say that they, meaning the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra), meaning the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance before the mission of the Messenger (peace be upon him), did not have the call reach them?
Add to that that there are many authentic hadiths that indicate to the negligent person that the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance before the mission of the Messenger (peace be upon him) are not from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra). How many hadiths are there in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked, for example, about Hatim al-Tai and his generosity and spending? Did that benefit him? He said:Sahih Muslim 214 He said this about him or about other generous Arabs.
Likewise, it came in Sahih Muslim: This is an explicit text that those who died in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance are being tormented. So how is it correct to say that those who were before the Messenger (peace be upon him) are from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra) and they have no evidence except the generality of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Isra 17:15] And there is no doubt that the sending in this verse does not necessarily have to be a direct sending to their people; it is sufficient that the call reaches them, even through the Messenger, as is our situation, we Muslims today. If the verse is interpreted by: [Al-Isra 17:15] for every group, for every era, then it means that we also entered into the group of the period of ignorance (al-fatra), because no Messenger came to us directly. So, the verse that says: [Ya-Sin 36:6] [Ya-Sin 36:6] meaning directly, then that does not contradict what we mentioned earlier that the intended meaning is the arrival of the message, not the Messenger himself, as I mentioned earlier regarding the Ummah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
The summary is that the people of opinion rely on interpreting the verses according to their desires, and then their desires conflict with some of the hadiths, not the verses, and they claim that this hadith contradicts the Noble Qur'an.
As for Al-Suyuti, he unfortunately paved the way for such a man to attack this hadith in terms of its chain of narration, and there is no defect in it at all, especially since I have found for it some corroborating narrations, including that a man also asked the Prophet ... he said to him ... Imam Ahmad ...
That a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, “O Messenger of Allah, where is my father?” He said, “In the Fire.” The man returned.
أن رجلا جاء إلى النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم فقال يا رسول الله أين أبي قال في النار فرجع الرجلHe returned and said, “My father and your father are in the Fire.”
فرجع فقال إن أبي وأباك في النارThen he knows that he is trustworthy, particularly in what he narrates from Thabit. But he took the words of those who hinted at a defect in his narration from others than Thabit and said something about his memory, so he dropped this hadith of his, while he sees with his own eyes that it is from his narration from Thabit. There is no doubt about the validity of his hadith from him, on the pretext that the parents of the Messenger (peace be upon him) were from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra). And Allah the Exalted says:
And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وما كنا معذبين حتى نبعث رسولاI do not know if he is acting out of a personal conviction that the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance are from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra). Every Muslim knows, approximately, that Ibrahim and Isma'il (peace be upon them) raised the foundations of the Ka'bah, as is explicit in the Qur'an. Then, the Arabs were the only ones who performed Hajj and 'Umrah, and they would chant the talbiyah, stand, and spend the night, and so on. How did he overlook this and say that they, meaning the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra), meaning the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance before the mission of the Messenger (peace be upon him), did not have the call reach them?
Add to that that there are many authentic hadiths that indicate to the negligent person that the people of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance before the mission of the Messenger (peace be upon him) are not from the people of the period of ignorance (al-fatra). How many hadiths are there in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked, for example, about Hatim al-Tai and his generosity and spending? Did that benefit him? He said:
It would be of no avail to him as he did not ever say: O my Lord, pardon my sins on the Day of Resurrection.
لا إنه لم يقل يوما رب اغفر لي خطيئتي يوم الدينLikewise, it came in Sahih Muslim:
That the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was riding his mount when the sun beat down on him, so he looked and saw two graves, so he asked, “When did these two die?” They said, “In the pre-Islamic age of ignorance.” He said, “Indeed, they are being tormented, and if it were not that you are burying each other, I would have let you hear the torment of the grave.”
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم كان راكبا على دابته حينما شمست به فنظر فإذا هناك قبران فسأل متى مات هذان قالا في الجاهلية قال إنهما ليعذبان ولولا أن تدافنوا لأسمعتكم عذاب القبرAnd never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
وما كنا معذبين حتى نبعث رسولاnever would We punish until We sent a messenger.
ما كنا معذبين حتى نبعث رسولاThat you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned
لتنذر قوما ما أنذر آباؤهمThat you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned
لتنذر قوما ما أنذر آباؤهمThe summary is that the people of opinion rely on interpreting the verses according to their desires, and then their desires conflict with some of the hadiths, not the verses, and they claim that this hadith contradicts the Noble Qur'an.
As for Al-Suyuti, he unfortunately paved the way for such a man to attack this hadith in terms of its chain of narration, and there is no defect in it at all, especially since I have found for it some corroborating narrations, including that a man also asked the Prophet ... he said to him ... Imam Ahmad ...