What is the grade of the hadith: (There is no verse except that it has a back and a belly)? And the Shaykh’s pointing out of al-Sabuni’s errors in his abridgment of Ibn Kathir’s tafsir.
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The questioner : Shaykh, there is a hadith Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq 6:106 How authentic is this hadith?
The Shaykh : I do not have it at hand right now. If it were permissible for me to judge based on suspicion, I would say it is weak, but I do not assert this with certainty.
The questioner : This hadith was mentioned by Ibn Kathir in his tafsir regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted[Al-Hadid 57:3].
The Shaykh : Well, he neither authenticates it nor weakens it.
The questioner : Yes, just for the sake of reminder.
The Shaykh : No, it is documented in my notes, but right now my memory is dim, weak, and tired; it does not help me to assert an answer. Otherwise, it is documented in my notes. And the fact that al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir mentioned it does not mean, as is clear to everyone, that it is authentic, nor does it mean that it is weak. Rather, if he mentioned it with a chain, the reliance is on the chain. And if he mentioned it without a chain, it is supposed to be authentic when he mentions it without a chain, but this is also not a consistent rule. And due to the ignorance of some of the contemporary scholars today, such as your al-Sabuni, when he abridged Ibn Kathir’s tafsir, he placed that introduction which indicates two things. The first is that he inserted himself into the group of hadith scholars, whereas in reality, according to what his works indicate—and it was said long ago, “These are our works that indicate us, so look at the works after us”—he is not among the hadith scholars, nor the exegetes, nor the jurists. Yet in this introduction, he inserted himself into the group of hadith scholars, claiming that he limited his abridgment to authentic hadiths. And if you return to his abridgment, you will find weak hadiths in it, some of which are fabricated. Ibn Kathir’s excuse is like the excuse of many hadith scholars when they mention a hadith with a chain; in this case, their conscience is clear because they refer the reader to the chain. But he deleted the chain and mentioned the text, so here the harm is clear. He deleted the chain and misled people into thinking that this hadith is authentic. Then, when Ibn Kathir says above, “Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i narrated it,” and Ibn Jarir deletes the attribution found in the original and puts it in the footnote, he misleads the readers into thinking that this documentation is from his own work, whereas in reality, as we say in the Levant, “changing the shape for the sake of eating.” So, unfortunately, the hadithSahih Muslim 2129 applies to him. This man abridged Ibn Kathir, deleted the chains, but he is unable to provide a summary of these chains because he has no commitment to this science and no experience with it, nor is he known in any of his works for authenticating or weakening hadiths. But I, although I am not a Sufi, do not declare them disbelievers, though we may consider them misguided in some matters, they have some virtues that I am amazed by, such as “love of showing off cuts off showing off.” So he loves to appear before people as an exegete and hadith scholar, and he abridged Ibn Kathir’s book. And you, the people of knowledge, must know that even the abridgment of a tafsir was not successful for him, because it requires a scholar who is at the level of the original in knowledge, which is Ibn Kathir, or close to him. But in hadith, he is neither in the caravan nor in the alarm, as they say.
The questioner : And in creed, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, ah...
The questioner : In creed, he writes an article that it is not permissible to ask Allah “Where?”
The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest! Allah is the Greatest!
The questioner : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : This is evidence that he is bankrupt in the science of hadith.
The questioner : And in jurisprudence, Shaykh, we have a colleague who tracked this man in what he did to Ibn Kathir, and he found that the man, being a fanatical Hanafi, deleted Ibn Kathir’s words, as you know, he follows the Shafi'i school.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : So the man gathered chaff from every...
The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest, from every type.
The questioner : From every type.
The Shaykh : Allah is the Helper.
Another questioner : In a book on which your brother, Dr. al-Qahtani, wrote a commentary.
The Shaykh : Raise your voice, please.
The questioner : In a book by al-Barbahari on the Sunnah, on which Dr. al-Qahtani wrote a commentary, he mentioned the “sweet tongue,” and I saw it in the explanation of the Principles of the Creed of the People of the Sunnah by al-Lalikai. Also, in a treatise I dedicated to it, but I did not find a sound report raised to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the matter of the sweet tongue.
The Shaykh: I did not understand you.
The questioner : They mention in the creed the scale.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes, and they mention the sweet tongue with it, saying this is a scale that has a sweet tongue.
The Shaykh : It has a tongue?
The questioner : Yes, so I did not find for this any report except in the explanation of the Principles of the Creed of the People of the Sunnah by al-Lalikai from al-Hasan al-Basri. I did not find anything raised to the Prophet.
The Shaykh : I do not know this in the Sunnah at all. And perhaps you know that if al-Hasan al-Basri narrated a hadith with a sound chain to him, meaning al-Hasan al-Basri, saying, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,” this hadith would not be a proof. How much more so if it is stopped at him? Therefore, do not be concerned, and do not believe in anything related to the unseen except with a sound hadith. And praise be to Allah, this amount of faith is sufficient. It is not required in the unseen matters what is said about the condition of mass transmission. Merely that the hadith is sound, we do not distinguish between a ruling and a creed. Everything that comes to us from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) soundly, we must believe in it. And if you do not find it, half of knowledge, I do not know, and I do not know.
The questioner : Well done.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : By Allah, Shaykh, we hope to sit with you.
The Shaykh: May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : Your time is precious, and we have burdened you.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : So we do not know, may you live long, after Hajj, what your program is regarding travel.
The Shaykh : By Allah, it is my intention to stay after the fourth day of the festival for about four or five days. Of course, I will spend it between my two daughters, one of whom, as you know, is here in Makkah, and the other in Jeddah. So perhaps I will meet you again, if Allah wills.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
Another questioner : Muhammad Sa'id al-Qahtani, the author of Loyalty and Disavowal.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : Shaykh Abdullah al-Jalali from Qassim, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : We have known him for a long time; we traveled with him on some trips. Yes, and welcome to you all.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. Peace be upon you, Shaykh, and we apologize, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Excuse me.
The Shaykh : Your commentary on the book of al-Alusi... how does one avoid this where some people get confused, especially those who look into these sciences, if they hear the opinion of some people here.
The Shaykh : There is no confusion, and I distinguish the sound from the weak. What is the problem with that?
The questioner : For a place of trust...
The Shaykh : If a book were presented to me in the science of astronomy, in the science of geography, and it contained sound and weak hadiths, and I served this book from the hadith perspective, what is the doubt in that?
The questioner : No doubt, but some teachers at the Islamic University told us, and I said to him, this is a clear error, but he thinks like we do, although he has looked into these sciences according to...
The Shaykh : What is the error, my brother?
The questioner : I mean, their belief in this thing must be...
The Shaykh : Be frank, my brother. What is the error?
The questioner : This is what they say, for example, that the earth, for example...
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you. It seems that you are mistaken and you feel yourself that you are mistaken, and therefore you do not have the courage to state what you believe. And if this error is attributed to you or to someone else, what is this opinion, this error?
The questioner : That the earth, for example, is stationary.
The Shaykh : The earth is stationary? Do you believe that the earth is stationary?
The questioner : I do not think so.
The Shaykh: So then?
The questioner : No, I do not say it about myself. I only say regarding those who commit to the existence of this. If they encounter this, if they hear from so-and-so and so-and-so...
The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah bless you, be eloquent so that we know. When you say “this,” what does this demonstrative pronoun refer to?
The questioner : To the one who says this statement.
The Shaykh : And what is it?
The questioner : It is not a specific person, only because a group of people say this.
The Shaykh : And what is it? What is the statement being made?
The questioner : That the earth, for example, is stationary, or for example, the celestial body...
The Shaykh : What does the book say, the book that you are now talking about, and I have documented its hadiths, what does it say?
The questioner : I have not looked into it.
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you, so you are speaking without knowledge.
The questioner : No, I am asking you about those who say this... or that it is a scientific error, and that this is something obvious, like their claim that the earth is stationary, or such and such.
The Shaykh : You do not know what is in the book, so why do you speak without knowledge?
The questioner : I am asking you about something I heard.
The Shaykh : What is the thing you heard?
The questioner : Their claim that the earth is stationary, for example, or that the configuration...
The Shaykh : People, you are saying the earth is stationary; the author does not say the earth is stationary.
The questioner : This is the one who...
The Shaykh : The people of the Sunnah do not do this; the people of the Sunnah are explicit in their speech. You are saying that the earth is stationary, and what is your objection to me for having extracted this book?
The questioner : I am not taking you to task. I am saying that this book did not reach me so that I could look into it. I tried to search for it, but I could not find it. I am saying that this scientific error, which claims, for example, that the earth is stationary, I consider it a scientific error. So, how do we classify these people?
The Shaykh : What is this talk, O Shaykh? May Allah guide you. You started this talk about the book, how you extract it and clarify its hadiths, and so on, and then you got into a back-and-forth with me, and I got into a back-and-forth with you, until we reached this point. You did not raise this issue.
The questioner : All right, we have reached the point.
The Shaykh : What do you believe? Is the earth stationary or moving?
The questioner : Moving.
The Shaykh : Okay, make it known to the people.
The questioner: Is this it?
The Shaykh : That is it.
The questioner : Your book did not reach us, for example, your opinion on...
The Shaykh : I am not a publisher; request the book from the publisher.
There is no verse except that it has a back and a front.
ما من آية إلاّ ولها ظهر وبطنThe Shaykh : I do not have it at hand right now. If it were permissible for me to judge based on suspicion, I would say it is weak, but I do not assert this with certainty.
The questioner : This hadith was mentioned by Ibn Kathir in his tafsir regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted
He is the First and the Last, the Ascendant and the Intimate
هو الأوّل والآخر والظّاهر والباطنThe Shaykh : Well, he neither authenticates it nor weakens it.
The questioner : Yes, just for the sake of reminder.
The Shaykh : No, it is documented in my notes, but right now my memory is dim, weak, and tired; it does not help me to assert an answer. Otherwise, it is documented in my notes. And the fact that al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir mentioned it does not mean, as is clear to everyone, that it is authentic, nor does it mean that it is weak. Rather, if he mentioned it with a chain, the reliance is on the chain. And if he mentioned it without a chain, it is supposed to be authentic when he mentions it without a chain, but this is also not a consistent rule. And due to the ignorance of some of the contemporary scholars today, such as your al-Sabuni, when he abridged Ibn Kathir’s tafsir, he placed that introduction which indicates two things. The first is that he inserted himself into the group of hadith scholars, whereas in reality, according to what his works indicate—and it was said long ago, “These are our works that indicate us, so look at the works after us”—he is not among the hadith scholars, nor the exegetes, nor the jurists. Yet in this introduction, he inserted himself into the group of hadith scholars, claiming that he limited his abridgment to authentic hadiths. And if you return to his abridgment, you will find weak hadiths in it, some of which are fabricated. Ibn Kathir’s excuse is like the excuse of many hadith scholars when they mention a hadith with a chain; in this case, their conscience is clear because they refer the reader to the chain. But he deleted the chain and mentioned the text, so here the harm is clear. He deleted the chain and misled people into thinking that this hadith is authentic. Then, when Ibn Kathir says above, “Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i narrated it,” and Ibn Jarir deletes the attribution found in the original and puts it in the footnote, he misleads the readers into thinking that this documentation is from his own work, whereas in reality, as we say in the Levant, “changing the shape for the sake of eating.” So, unfortunately, the hadith
The one who makes a false statement of that which one has not been given is like one who wears a garment of falsehood.
المتشّبع بما لم يعط كلابس ثوبي زورThe questioner : And in creed, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : Yes, ah...
The questioner : In creed, he writes an article that it is not permissible to ask Allah “Where?”
The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest! Allah is the Greatest!
The questioner : Yes, exactly.
The Shaykh : This is evidence that he is bankrupt in the science of hadith.
The questioner : And in jurisprudence, Shaykh, we have a colleague who tracked this man in what he did to Ibn Kathir, and he found that the man, being a fanatical Hanafi, deleted Ibn Kathir’s words, as you know, he follows the Shafi'i school.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : So the man gathered chaff from every...
The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest, from every type.
The questioner : From every type.
The Shaykh : Allah is the Helper.
Another questioner : In a book on which your brother, Dr. al-Qahtani, wrote a commentary.
The Shaykh : Raise your voice, please.
The questioner : In a book by al-Barbahari on the Sunnah, on which Dr. al-Qahtani wrote a commentary, he mentioned the “sweet tongue,” and I saw it in the explanation of the Principles of the Creed of the People of the Sunnah by al-Lalikai. Also, in a treatise I dedicated to it, but I did not find a sound report raised to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the matter of the sweet tongue.
The Shaykh: I did not understand you.
The questioner : They mention in the creed the scale.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : Yes, and they mention the sweet tongue with it, saying this is a scale that has a sweet tongue.
The Shaykh : It has a tongue?
The questioner : Yes, so I did not find for this any report except in the explanation of the Principles of the Creed of the People of the Sunnah by al-Lalikai from al-Hasan al-Basri. I did not find anything raised to the Prophet.
The Shaykh : I do not know this in the Sunnah at all. And perhaps you know that if al-Hasan al-Basri narrated a hadith with a sound chain to him, meaning al-Hasan al-Basri, saying, “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said,” this hadith would not be a proof. How much more so if it is stopped at him? Therefore, do not be concerned, and do not believe in anything related to the unseen except with a sound hadith. And praise be to Allah, this amount of faith is sufficient. It is not required in the unseen matters what is said about the condition of mass transmission. Merely that the hadith is sound, we do not distinguish between a ruling and a creed. Everything that comes to us from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) soundly, we must believe in it. And if you do not find it, half of knowledge, I do not know, and I do not know.
The questioner : Well done.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : By Allah, Shaykh, we hope to sit with you.
The Shaykh: May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : Your time is precious, and we have burdened you.
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.
The questioner : So we do not know, may you live long, after Hajj, what your program is regarding travel.
The Shaykh : By Allah, it is my intention to stay after the fourth day of the festival for about four or five days. Of course, I will spend it between my two daughters, one of whom, as you know, is here in Makkah, and the other in Jeddah. So perhaps I will meet you again, if Allah wills.
The questioner : If Allah wills.
Another questioner : Muhammad Sa'id al-Qahtani, the author of Loyalty and Disavowal.
The Shaykh : Welcome.
The questioner : Shaykh Abdullah al-Jalali from Qassim, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : We have known him for a long time; we traveled with him on some trips. Yes, and welcome to you all.
The questioner : May Allah bless you. Peace be upon you, Shaykh, and we apologize, Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Excuse me.
The Shaykh : Your commentary on the book of al-Alusi... how does one avoid this where some people get confused, especially those who look into these sciences, if they hear the opinion of some people here.
The Shaykh : There is no confusion, and I distinguish the sound from the weak. What is the problem with that?
The questioner : For a place of trust...
The Shaykh : If a book were presented to me in the science of astronomy, in the science of geography, and it contained sound and weak hadiths, and I served this book from the hadith perspective, what is the doubt in that?
The questioner : No doubt, but some teachers at the Islamic University told us, and I said to him, this is a clear error, but he thinks like we do, although he has looked into these sciences according to...
The Shaykh : What is the error, my brother?
The questioner : I mean, their belief in this thing must be...
The Shaykh : Be frank, my brother. What is the error?
The questioner : This is what they say, for example, that the earth, for example...
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you. It seems that you are mistaken and you feel yourself that you are mistaken, and therefore you do not have the courage to state what you believe. And if this error is attributed to you or to someone else, what is this opinion, this error?
The questioner : That the earth, for example, is stationary.
The Shaykh : The earth is stationary? Do you believe that the earth is stationary?
The questioner : I do not think so.
The Shaykh: So then?
The questioner : No, I do not say it about myself. I only say regarding those who commit to the existence of this. If they encounter this, if they hear from so-and-so and so-and-so...
The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah bless you, be eloquent so that we know. When you say “this,” what does this demonstrative pronoun refer to?
The questioner : To the one who says this statement.
The Shaykh : And what is it?
The questioner : It is not a specific person, only because a group of people say this.
The Shaykh : And what is it? What is the statement being made?
The questioner : That the earth, for example, is stationary, or for example, the celestial body...
The Shaykh : What does the book say, the book that you are now talking about, and I have documented its hadiths, what does it say?
The questioner : I have not looked into it.
The Shaykh : May Allah forgive you, so you are speaking without knowledge.
The questioner : No, I am asking you about those who say this... or that it is a scientific error, and that this is something obvious, like their claim that the earth is stationary, or such and such.
The Shaykh : You do not know what is in the book, so why do you speak without knowledge?
The questioner : I am asking you about something I heard.
The Shaykh : What is the thing you heard?
The questioner : Their claim that the earth is stationary, for example, or that the configuration...
The Shaykh : People, you are saying the earth is stationary; the author does not say the earth is stationary.
The questioner : This is the one who...
The Shaykh : The people of the Sunnah do not do this; the people of the Sunnah are explicit in their speech. You are saying that the earth is stationary, and what is your objection to me for having extracted this book?
The questioner : I am not taking you to task. I am saying that this book did not reach me so that I could look into it. I tried to search for it, but I could not find it. I am saying that this scientific error, which claims, for example, that the earth is stationary, I consider it a scientific error. So, how do we classify these people?
The Shaykh : What is this talk, O Shaykh? May Allah guide you. You started this talk about the book, how you extract it and clarify its hadiths, and so on, and then you got into a back-and-forth with me, and I got into a back-and-forth with you, until we reached this point. You did not raise this issue.
The questioner : All right, we have reached the point.
The Shaykh : What do you believe? Is the earth stationary or moving?
The questioner : Moving.
The Shaykh : Okay, make it known to the people.
The questioner: Is this it?
The Shaykh : That is it.
The questioner : Your book did not reach us, for example, your opinion on...
The Shaykh : I am not a publisher; request the book from the publisher.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.