Is the hadith (The Throne is encircled by a serpent and the revelation descends in chains...) authentic? And when does a mawquf hadith have the ruling of a marfu' hadith, with an example of this?

The questioner : Regarding this same topic, you had asked me about it on the telephone, the one where you said to me, "The hadith that the Throne is encircled by a serpent and the revelation descends in chains." I told you to go back and check if it is a hadith... In *Mukhtasar al-'Uluw*, you said the hadith was said by Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him), and you commented on it, saying that its chain of narration is authentic, that of Abdullah ibn Amr. So I said its chain is authentic; do I know if it is considered marfu' to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) based on this?

The Shaykh : I have no answer other than what I heard: if it is explicitly stated as marfu', then it is so.

The questioner : No, it is not explicitly stated as marfu'.

The Shaykh : And if it is not explicitly stated, it is mawquf.

The questioner : So if it is mawquf, how do we look at the hadith? Do we say that the Throne is encircled by a serpent?

The Shaykh : No, we do not say that. And I think I answered you, if the answer was for you, and it was a repeated answer for others. The sayings of the Companions, if they are authentic from them, to be in the position of hadiths marfu' to the Messenger (peace be upon him), must first be something that is not said by opinion or ijtihad. This specific point is where there is room for disagreement among scholars and jurists regarding some of what branches from this condition, which is that the saying of a Companion or the hadith mawquf upon a Companion is something not said by opinion. It is possible there is disagreement, for example, if a hadith comes that contains a prohibition of something, is this in the ruling of marfu' or not? Whoever thinks that the prohibition of something cannot be by ijtihad considers its ruling to be that of marfu'. And whoever thinks, like I do, that a Companion and those who came after them from the imams can exercise ijtihad and prohibit something, and may be mistaken in their ijtihad, then it is necessary that the hadith mawquf upon the Companion, which we want to say is in the ruling of marfu', must not be encompassed by any doubt that it is in the ruling of marfu'. When is that? When there is no room for it to be said by mere opinion and ijtihad. This is the first condition. And the second condition, or before I say the second condition, the first condition actually returns to a hidden matter, which is among its meanings prohibition and permission. But this hidden matter is divided into two parts: a part related to the Islamic Shari'ah and a part related to what came before the Shari'ah from the abrogated laws. So for the hadith mawquf to be in the ruling of marfu', it should be related to the Islamic Shari'ah and not related to what came before it. Why? Here is the crux of the matter, because it is possible that it is from the Isra'iliyyat and history that relates to what came before the Messenger (peace be upon him) in its broadest meaning, from the beginning of creation to before the Messenger (peace be upon him) and his mission; it is of this type. So if a hadith comes that talks about the wonders of the created things in the heavens, and it cannot be said with certainty by opinion and ijtihad, it comes to mind that this is in the ruling of marfu'. But no, it is possible that this is from the Isra'iliyyat that this Companion received from some of the Jews and Christians who became Muslim. Therefore, it is necessary that in the hadith mawquf, which we want to make in the ruling of marfu', there be something that suggests it has no relation to the previous laws. So this hadith from Abdullah ibn Amr could be from the Israelite matters that talk about the wonders in the sky and the creation of the angels. But the following example is now the exact opposite; it makes a person feel immediately that this cannot be from the Isra'iliyyat, so if it is mawquf, it is in the ruling of marfu' and there is no way around it. What is it? The well-known hadith narrated from Ibn Abbas with an authentic chain, he said (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Qur'an was sent down to the House of Glory in the lowest heaven as a single unit, then it was sent down in pieces according to the events." So it talks about the Qur'an and not the Torah and the Gospel. If his hadith mawquf was about the Torah and the Gospel, the previous possibility would apply, and it would be said, "We cannot say it is in the ruling of marfu'." But since it relates to the Qur'an and the rulings of the Qur'an and everything related to it, it is not possible to talk about it with something hidden unless the narrator received it from the Messenger (peace be upon him). Because the fact that the Qur'an was sent down as a single unit is hidden knowledge; how would Ibn Abbas know it? Did he receive it from some of the Isra'iliyyat? This is impossible. And that it was sent down to the House of Glory in the lowest heaven is a detailed explanation that the human mind cannot reach. Therefore, scholars deal with this hadith as if Ibn Abbas had explicitly stated in it that it was marfu' to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). In short, it is never easy to rule on mawquf hadiths with the ruling of marfu' except through a precise and very precise study, and that is something only the great scholars of knowledge can do.

The questioner : Our Shaykh, may Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh : And you, may Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : Abu Malik: This is a new benefit.

The Shaykh : May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : Abu Malik: Hold onto it with your fangs, molars, and incisors.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : Excuse me, regarding the Companions and the righteous Salaf, they had extreme scrupulousness in saying anything in matters related to the attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) or the Throne or others. Regarding Abdullah ibn Amr, he is one of the great Companions; is it possible that he took from the Isra'iliyyat in this saying regarding the Throne or other attributes of Allah (Mighty and Majestic)?

The Shaykh : Who is more than most people? Most of the Companions who took from the People of the Book is Abdullah ibn Amr.

The questioner : And for that reason, you can count it.

The Shaykh : Most of them in taking, yes, it is Abdullah ibn Amr.