Discussion of the term "left hand" in the hadith: (( Allah folds the heavens on the Day of Resurrection, then He takes them with His right hand, then He says

The questioner : And Muslim narrated from Ibn Umar, traced to the Prophet: . Then the author says: Muslim narrated it from Ibn Umar, and in its chain is 'Umar ibn Hamzah al-'Umrī, who is weak as stated in "al-Taqrib." He uniquely mentioned the left hand in this hadith. Al-Hafiz al-Bayhaqi said in "al-Asma' wa al-Sifat" regarding the mention of the left hand: 'Umar ibn Hamzah uniquely narrated it from Salim, and Nafi' and 'Ubaid Allah ibn al-Miqsam narrated this hadith from Ibn Umar.
-- The Shaykh : ... . The questioner : ... . The Shaykh : ...the abundance of scholarly distractions, O Allah, establish the prayer -- .


The questioner. The author says: Muslim narrated it from Ibn Umar, and in its chain is 'Umar ibn Hamzah al-'Umrī, who is weak as stated in "al-Taqrib." He uniquely mentioned the left hand in this hadith. Al-Hafiz al-Bayhaqi said in "al-Asma' wa al-Sifat": "The mention of the left hand is unique to 'Umar ibn Hamzah from Salim. Nafi' and 'Ubaid Allah ibn al-Miqsam narrated this hadith from Ibn Umar and did not mention the left hand. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) and others narrated it from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and none of them mentioned the left hand. The mention of the left hand was narrated in another hadith in a different context, but it is extremely weak. Ja'far ibn al-Zubayr uniquely narrated one of them, and Yazid al-Raqashi uniquely narrated the other, and both are abandoned. How can this be correct when it is authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that He named both His hands as right? It seems that whoever said this transmitted it according to his own wording; that is, he narrated it according to the meaning he understood rather than the exact text as it occurred to him, or according to the custom of the Arabs in mentioning the left hand in contrast to the right hand." End of quote.
Al-Qurtubi also weakened this narration in "al-Tadhkirah." It is established that both hands of the Most Merciful (Exalted and Majestic is He) are right. In "Sahih Muslim," 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The just ones will be on minbars of light.

The Shaykh: Indeed, indeed.

The questioner: The just ones... End of quote. Is it authentic...?

The Shaykh : The term "left hand" in this hadith is indeed unique to the person mentioned earlier, whom the Hafiz weakened in "al-Taqrib." So I had excused it with another hadith that I mentioned in "Adab al-Zafaf," and some contemporary scholars criticized it with a weak argument, claiming that since the hadith is in "Sahih Muslim," it has crossed the bridge, as some say. But this rule is not correct. Therefore, we agree with him in weakening the term "left hand" in this hadith of Ibn Umar. However, what he said about the large number of instances of the term "left hand" in all the hadiths of the attributes is a fact that requires thorough consideration. I do not know if the author did that. If it is as he stated, which suggests that there are no other hadiths mentioning the left hand as an attribute of one of the hands of the Lord of the Worlds, then what he mentioned is correct in its context. But it remains to be seen whether he exhaustively examined all the hadiths containing this term or not.
This is a place that requires verification and confrontation. If the author were before us and we asked him this question, and he said: "There is no presence except through the paths he facilitated," then his statement is correct according to the rules. However, the occurrence of: does not negate, in terms of semantic indication or, in the expression of jurists, in terms of understanding (not transmission), that Allah has two hands, one right and the other left. This is because the occurrence of that in some other hadiths does not negate this attribute that came in "Sahih": . Because this hadith is a detail of some of what is included in the generality of His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): . If it is established—and this is what is in my mind—that some hadiths contain the term "left hand," then there is no contradiction or difference at that time between this term and His saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . Because this authentic hadith, as I mentioned earlier, is a confirmation of His saying (Blessed and Exalted is He): .
This is my answer, and this—as you hear—is contingent upon reconciliation. If the term "left hand" is established, the reconciliation is very clear. Because among the divisions of hadith science is what Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar calls the "mabtur" (truncated) hadith. He says: If two contradictory hadiths come to us, both from the accepted category, it is obligatory to reconcile them in one of the ways of reconciliation, which are many. Al-Hafiz summarized the statement on this in his treatise "Sharh al-Nukhba," and Al-Hafiz al-'Iraqi detailed the statement on this well in his commentary on "Mukhtasar Ibn al-Salah." Al-Hafiz says: If two accepted hadiths come, it is obligatory to reconcile them in one of those ways. If reconciliation is not possible, they are referred to considering the abrogating and the abrogated.
This is his statement, and a pause is necessary. The abrogating and the abrogated are only in the context of legal rulings, where abrogation can occur. As for reports about the unseen, and especially those related to the divine attributes, it is impossible for there to be an abrogating or abrogated one. Therefore, it is not conceivable that there is an abrogating or abrogated one between these two hadiths. Accordingly, the Hafiz continued to mention the third rank after mentioning the first rank, which is reconciliation, and the second rank, which is considering the abrogating and the abrogated. The third rank—if neither reconciliation nor considering the abrogating and the abrogated is possible—he said: "It is referred to to preference (tarjih)." This means saying, for example: One of the hadiths is authentic, and the other is good. The good one is set aside, and the authentic one is relied upon, provided the condition mentioned first is met: reconciliation was not possible, and considering the abrogating and the abrogated was not possible. At that time, it is said: The authentic one is the stronger position, and the good one is the weaker position. And if the hadith is good, let alone authentic, and its contradicting one is weak, then it is even more appropriate that it not be considered. This is the third rank.
He said: If the rank is equal in both hadiths, and reconciliation was not possible, nor considering the abrogating and the abrogated, he said: "The knowledge is referred to to its Knower." As if he is responding to some of the later Hanafi scholars who say about many hadiths: "They contradicted each other and fell away," even if they were two authentic hadiths! The etiquette is what Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said, as you heard: that we refer the matter to its Knower. Here, reconciliation is necessary, and we mentioned it earlier, and this is its condition: if the term "left hand" is established in paths other than those indicated.
This is what I have as an answer to that question.