Footnotes (1)

1 Soorah an-Nahl, 16:44

2 Bukhaari & Muslim - it will later follow in full.

3 Bukhaari & Ahmad.

4 Maalik, Abu Daawood, Nasaa'i, & Ibn Hibbaan. A saheeh hadeeth, declared saheeh by several Imaams. I have given its takhreej in Saheeh Abi Daawood (451, 1276).

5 Saheeh - collected by Ibn al-Mubaarak in az-Zuhd (10/21/1- 2), Abu Daawood & Nasaa'i with a good sanad; I have given its takhreej in Saheeh Abi Daawood (761).

6 Abul-Hasanaat Al-Lucknowi says in An-Naafi' al-Kabeer liman yutaali' al-Jaami' as-Sagheer (p. 122-3), after ranking the books of Hanafi fiqh and saying which of them are dependable and which are not: "All that we have said about the relative grades of these compilations is related to their content of fiqh issues; however, as for their content with regards to ahaadeeth of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), then it does not apply, for many books on which the cream of the fuqahaa' rely are full of fabricated ahaadeeth, let alone rulings of the scholars. It is clear to us from a broad analysis that although their authors were otherwise competent, they were careless in their quotation of narrations."

One of these false, fabricated ahaadeeth which are found in some of the best books is: "He who offers the compulsory prayers on the last Friday of Ramadaan, that will make up for every prayer he missed during his life up to the age of seventy years" ! Lucknowi (rahimahullaah) says in Al-Aathaar al-Marfoo'ah fil-Akhbaar al-Mawdoo'ah (p. 315), after giving this hadeeth, "'Ali al-Qaari says in his al-Mawdoo'aat as- Sughraa and al-Kubraa: this is totally false, for it contradicts the ijmaa' (consensus of opinion) that one act of worship cannot make up for those missed over years. Hence, there is no point in quoting the author of an-Nihaayah nor the rest of the commentators on al-Hidaayah, for they are not scholars of Hadeeth, nor did they reference this hadeeth to any of the collectors of Hadeeth."

Shawkaani also mentioned this hadeeth in Al-Fawaa'id al- Majmoo'ah fil-Ahaadeeth al-Mawdoo'ah with a similar wording and then said (p. 54), "This is fabricated beyond doubt - I do not even find it in any of the compilations of fabricated ahaadeeth! However, it has become popular among some students of fiqh in the city of San'aa' in this age of ours, and many of them have started acting according to it. I do not know who has fabricated it for them - May Allaah disgrace the liars."

Lucknowi further says, "To establish that this hadeeth, which is found in books of rituals and formulas, is fabricated, I have composed a brief essay, with intellectual and narrated evidence, called Repelling the Brethren from the Inventions of the Last Friday of Ramadaan, in which I have filed points which will enlighten minds and to which ears will hearken, so consult it, for it is valuable in this topic and of high quality."

The occurrence of similar false ahaadeeth in the books of fiqh destroys the reliability of other ahaadeeth which they do not quote from dependable books of Hadeeth. The words of 'Ali al- Qaari contain an indication towards this: a Muslim must take Hadeeth from the people who are experts in that field, as the old Arabic sayings go, "The people of Makkah know its mountain- paths best" and "The owner of the house knows best what is in it."

7 Imaam Nawawi(rahimahullaah)'s words in Al-Majmoo' Sharh al- Muhadhdhab (1/60) can be summed up as follows: "The researching scholars of the People of Hadeeth and others say that if the hadeeth is weak, it will not be said regarding it, 'The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said/did/commanded/forbade ...' or any other phrase designating certainty, but instead it will be said, 'It is reported/quoted/narrated from him ...' or other phrases suggesting uncertainty. They say that phrases of certainty are for saheeh and hasan ahaadeeth, and phrases of uncertainty are for anything else. This is because phrases designating certainty mean that what follows is authentic, so they can only be used in the case of what is authentic, otherwise one would effectively be lying about him (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

This convention is one ignored by most of the fuqahaa' of our age, in fact, by most scholars of any discipline, except for the skilled muhadditheen. This is disgusting carelessness, for they often say about a saheeh hadeeth, 'It is reported from him that ...', and about a da'eef one, 'he said' and 'so- and-so reported ...', and this is far from correct."

8 Publisher's note: Also in this category are the works of our teacher, author of e.g. Irwaa' al-Ghaleel fi takhreej Manaar as-Sabeel in 8 volumes, & Ghaayah al-Maraam fi takhreej ahaadeeth al-Halaal wal-Haraam, a takhreej of the ahaadeeth found in Dr. Yoosuf al-Qaradaawi's The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, (which contains many da'eef ahaadeeth).

9 The term, "authentic hadeeth" includes saheeh and hasan in the eyes of the muhadditheen, whether the hadeeth is saheeh li dhaatihi or saheeh li ghairihi, or hasan li dhaatihi or hasan li ghairihi.

10 an-Najm, 53:28

11 Bukhaari & Muslim.

12 Saheeh - collected by Tirmidhi, Ahmad & Ibn Abi Shaibah.

Later, I discovered that this hadeeth is actually da'eef: I had relied on Manaawi in declaring saheeh the isnaad of Ibn Abi Shaibah, but then I happened to come across it myself, and found that it was clearly weak, being the same isnaad as Tirmidhi and others - see my book Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth ad- Da'eefah (1783). However, its place is taken by the Prophet's saying (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), "He who relates from me a saying which he knows is a lie is indeed one of the liars", collected by Muslim and others.

13 'Abdul Hayy Al-Lucknowi says in Imaam al-Kalaam fimaa yata'allaq bil-Qiraa'ah Khalf al-Imaam (p. 156), as follows: "Whoever dives into the oceans of fiqh and the fundamentals of jurisprudence with an open mind, and does not allow himself to be prejudiced, will know with certainty that in most of the principal and subsidiary issues in which the scholars have differed, the madhhab of the scholars of Hadeeth is firmer than other madhhabs. Every time I go into the branches of difference of opinion, I find the view of the muhadditheen nearest to justice - their reward is with Allaah, and He will thank them. How could it be otherwise, when they are the true inheritors of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), and the sincere agents of his Law; may Allaah include us in their company and make us die loving them."

14 Subki says in al-Fataawaa (1/148): "The most important affair of the Muslims is the Prayer, which every Muslim must care about and ensure its performance and the establishment of its essentials. Related to Prayer are issues on which there is consensus and there is no escaping the truth, and other issues in which the scholars have differed. The correct approach is either to keep clear of dispute if possible, or to look for what is authentically- proven from the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and adhere to that. When one does this, his Prayer will be correct and righteous, and included in the words of the Exalted, "So whoever expects to meet his Lord, let him work correct, righteous deeds." (Al-Kahf, 18:110)

I say: The latter approach is superior, nay, obligatory; this is because the former appeoach, as well as being impossible many issues, does not fulfil his command (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), "Pray as you have seen me praying", but instead leads to one's prayer being decidedly different to that of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam).