šŸ¤”
Refuting Hadith
  • Quran Rejects Hadith
  • List of Problematic Sahih Hadith
  • Obey God and His Messenger
  • Preservation of Quran vs. Hadith
  • Do we need Hadith to judge?
  • Hikma ā‰  Sunnah
  • Did Quran and Hadith come from the same source?
  • Were Hadith narrated along with Quran?
  • Can we trust Isnad?
  • Hadith: The Oral vs. Written Dilemma
  • Is Hadith needed to explain Quran?
  • Muhammad received revelations aside from the Quran
  • How do we do Salat without Hadith?
  • But Hadith warns of following Quran alone
  • Was Muhammad allowed to issue religious teachings beyond Quran?
  • Can the majority be wrong?
  • Are Hadith needed for the Prophet's example?
  • The Myth of Mutawātir Hadith
  • What About Prophetic Hadith?
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: Bedouins Building Tall Buildings
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: The Conquest of Constantinople
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: THE KILLING OF ā€˜UMAR & THE AFFLICTIONS
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: The Fire From Hijaz & The Eruption of 641 AD
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: The Siege of Baghdad
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: RETURN TO GREEN ARABIA
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: THE PROPHESIED RETURN OF DHUL-KHALASA
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: ā€œHOLD ON TO THESE 6 THINGS THAT WILL OCCUR IN THE FUTUREā€
    • Fabricated Hadith Prophecy: THE THIRTY-YEAR REIGN
  • Stylometry Can't Prove Hadith Authenticity
  • Hadith As Divine Revelation (Wahi) Dilemma
  • Are we take what the messenger gives us? (59:7)
  • Hadith Fail the Authenticity Test
  • Hadith Contradicts Quran
    • Did the Prophet Know the Future (Unseen)? (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • Camels Created From the Devils (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • Sex During Menses (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • Abu Lahab vs. Dhajjal (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • Dietary Prohibitions Quran vs. Hadith
    • Can Death Be Delayed? (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • Good Deeds and Godā€™s Mercy (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • Jews and Christians will Carry the Sins of the Beleivers on Day of Resurrection
    • Abrahamā€™s Honesty (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • End of the World False Prophecy
    • Punishment for Adultery (Quran vs. Hadith)
    • Hadith Claims the Prophet Wrongly Accused a Couple of Adultery
    • Muhammad Challenged to Produce a Spring (Quran vs. Hadith)
  • There is Nothing Similar to Quran
  • Hadith Qudsi Proves Hadith Inauthenticity
  • History of Hadith Compilation
  • Abu Hurayra
  • Additional Resources
    • Memes
Powered by GitBook
On this page

Was this helpful?

Hadith Fail the Authenticity Test

PreviousAre we take what the messenger gives us? (59:7)NextHadith Contradicts Quran

Last updated 1 year ago

Was this helpful?

There are two predominant reasons why a devout adherent of the Quran and a follower of the Prophet Muhammad will solely rely on the Quran alone as their only source of religious law and dismiss all other Hadith.

NO AUTHORITY

The primary reason is that the Hadith corpus has no authority in the religion and is condemned by name in the Quran.

[45:6] These are GODā€™s revelations that we recite to you truthfully. In which Hadith other than GOD and His revelations do they believe?

ŲŖŁŁ„Ł’ŁƒŁŽ Ų”ŁŽŲ§ŁŠŁŽŁ€Ł°ŲŖŁ Ł±Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ł†ŁŽŲŖŁ’Ł„ŁŁˆŁ‡ŁŽŲ§ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁŠŁ’ŁƒŁŽ ŲØŁŁ±Ł„Ł’Ų­ŁŽŁ‚ŁŁ‘ ŁŁŽŲØŁŲ£ŁŽŁ‰ŁŁ‘ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŁŠŲ«ŁŪ­ ŲØŁŽŲ¹Ł’ŲÆŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŁˆŁŽŲ”ŁŽŲ§ŁŠŁŽŁ€Ł°ŲŖŁŁ‡ŁŪ¦ ŁŠŁŲ¤Ł’Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ

[77:50] Which Hadith, other than this, do they uphold?

ŁŁŽŲØŁŲ£ŁŽŁ‰ŁŁ‘ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŁŠŲ«ŁŪ­ ŲØŁŽŲ¹Ł’ŲÆŁŽŁ‡ŁŪ„ ŁŠŁŲ¤Ł’Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ

[31:6] Among the people, there are those who uphold baseless Hadith, and thus divert others from the path of GOD without knowledge, and take it in vain. These have incurred a shameful retribution.

ŁˆŁŽŁ…ŁŁ†ŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘Ų§Ų³Ł Ł…ŁŽŁ† ŁŠŁŽŲ“Ł’ŲŖŁŽŲ±ŁŁ‰ Ł„ŁŽŁ‡Ł’ŁˆŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ł’Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŁŠŲ«Ł Ł„ŁŁŠŁŲ¶ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘ Ų¹ŁŽŁ† Ų³ŁŽŲØŁŁŠŁ„Ł Ł±Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŲØŁŲŗŁŽŁŠŁ’Ų±Ł Ų¹ŁŁ„Ł’Ł…Ł ŁˆŁŽŁŠŁŽŲŖŁŽŁ‘Ų®ŁŲ°ŁŽŁ‡ŁŽŲ§ Ł‡ŁŲ²ŁŁˆŁ‹Ų§ Ų£ŁŁˆŪŸŁ„ŁŽŁ€Ł°Ł“Ų¦ŁŁƒŁŽ Ł„ŁŽŁ‡ŁŁ…Ł’ Ų¹ŁŽŲ°ŁŽŲ§ŲØŁŒ Ł…ŁŁ‘Ł‡ŁŁŠŁ†ŁŒ

[6:114] Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.

Ų£ŁŽŁŁŽŲŗŁŽŁŠŁ’Ų±ŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ų£ŁŽŲØŁ’ŲŖŁŽŲŗŁŁ‰ Ų­ŁŽŁƒŁŽŁ…Ł‹Ų§ ŁˆŁŽŁ‡ŁŁˆŁŽ Ł±Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ų°ŁŁ‰Ł“ Ų£ŁŽŁ†Ų²ŁŽŁ„ŁŽ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁŠŁ’ŁƒŁŁ…Ł Ł±Ł„Ł’ŁƒŁŲŖŁŽŁ€Ł°ŲØŁŽ Ł…ŁŁŁŽŲµŁŽŁ‘Ł„Ł‹Ų§ ŁˆŁŽŁ±Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ų°ŁŁŠŁ†ŁŽ Ų”ŁŽŲ§ŲŖŁŽŁŠŁ’Ł†ŁŽŁ€Ł°Ł‡ŁŁ…Ł Ł±Ł„Ł’ŁƒŁŲŖŁŽŁ€Ł°ŲØŁŽ ŁŠŁŽŲ¹Ł’Ł„ŁŽŁ…ŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ Ų£ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡ŁŪ„ Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŽŲ²ŁŽŁ‘Ł„ŁŒ Ł…ŁŁ‘Ł† Ų±ŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŁ‘ŁƒŁŽ ŲØŁŁ±Ł„Ł’Ų­ŁŽŁ‚ŁŁ‘ ŁŁŽŁ„ŁŽŲ§ ŲŖŁŽŁƒŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŁ‘ Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ł’Ł…ŁŁ…Ł’ŲŖŁŽŲ±ŁŁŠŁ†ŁŽ

[6:115] The word of your Lord is complete, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.

ŁˆŁŽŲŖŁŽŁ…ŁŽŁ‘ŲŖŁ’ ŁƒŁŽŁ„ŁŁ…ŁŽŲŖŁ Ų±ŁŽŲØŁŁ‘ŁƒŁŽ ŲµŁŲÆŁ’Ł‚Ł‹Ų§ ŁˆŁŽŲ¹ŁŽŲÆŁ’Ł„Ł‹Ų§ Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ Ł…ŁŲØŁŽŲÆŁŁ‘Ł„ŁŽ Ł„ŁŁƒŁŽŁ„ŁŁ…ŁŽŁ€Ł°ŲŖŁŁ‡ŁŪ¦ ŁˆŁŽŁ‡ŁŁˆŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ų³ŁŽŁ‘Ł…ŁŁŠŲ¹Ł Ł±Ł„Ł’Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŁŠŁ…Ł

LACK OF AUTHENTICITY

The secondary reason is that Hadith are highly inauthentic, making the entire corpus incredibly unreliable. Hadith by their very nature are conjecture (zann / ŲøŁŽŁ‘Ł†ŁŽŁ‘ ) and lacks any level of certainty.

[6:116] If you obey the majority of people on earth, they will divert you from the path of GOD. They follow only conjecture (l-įŗ“ana); they only guess.

ŁˆŁŽŲ„ŁŁ† ŲŖŁŲ·ŁŲ¹Ł’ Ų£ŁŽŁƒŁ’Ų«ŁŽŲ±ŁŽ Ł…ŁŽŁ† ŁŁŁ‰ Ł±Ł„Ł’Ų£ŁŽŲ±Ł’Ų¶Ł ŁŠŁŲ¶ŁŁ„ŁŁ‘ŁˆŁƒŁŽ Ų¹ŁŽŁ† Ų³ŁŽŲØŁŁŠŁ„Ł Ł±Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ų„ŁŁ† ŁŠŁŽŲŖŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŲ¹ŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ Ł±Ł„ŲøŁŽŁ‘Ł†ŁŽŁ‘ ŁˆŁŽŲ„ŁŁ†Ł’ Ł‡ŁŁ…Ł’ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ ŁŠŁŽŲ®Ł’Ų±ŁŲµŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ

[6:148] The idol worshipers say, ā€œHad GOD willed, we would not practice idolatry, nor would our parents, nor would we prohibit anything.ā€ Thus did those before them disbelieve, until they incurred our retribution. Say, ā€œDo you have any proven knowledge that you can show us? You follow nothing but conjecture (zann); you only guess.ā€

Ų³ŁŽŁŠŁŽŁ‚ŁŁˆŁ„Ł Ł±Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ų°ŁŁŠŁ†ŁŽ Ų£ŁŽŲ“Ł’Ų±ŁŽŁƒŁŁˆŲ§ŪŸ Ł„ŁŽŁˆŁ’ Ų“ŁŽŲ¢Ų”ŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ł…ŁŽŲ¢ Ų£ŁŽŲ“Ł’Ų±ŁŽŁƒŁ’Ł†ŁŽŲ§ ŁˆŁŽŁ„ŁŽŲ¢ Ų”ŁŽŲ§ŲØŁŽŲ¢Ų¤ŁŁ†ŁŽŲ§ ŁˆŁŽŁ„ŁŽŲ§ Ų­ŁŽŲ±ŁŽŁ‘Ł…Ł’Ł†ŁŽŲ§ Ł…ŁŁ† Ų“ŁŽŁ‰Ł’Ų”Ł ŁƒŁŽŲ°ŁŽŁ°Ł„ŁŁƒŁŽ ŁƒŁŽŲ°ŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŽ Ł±Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ų°ŁŁŠŁ†ŁŽ Ł…ŁŁ† Ł‚ŁŽŲØŁ’Ł„ŁŁ‡ŁŁ…Ł’ Ų­ŁŽŲŖŁŽŁ‘Ł‰Ł° Ų°ŁŽŲ§Ł‚ŁŁˆŲ§ŪŸ ŲØŁŽŲ£Ł’Ų³ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ł‚ŁŁ„Ł’ Ł‡ŁŽŁ„Ł’ Ų¹ŁŁ†ŲÆŁŽŁƒŁŁ… Ł…ŁŁ‘Ł†Ł’ Ų¹ŁŁ„Ł’Ł…Ł ŁŁŽŲŖŁŲ®Ł’Ų±ŁŲ¬ŁŁˆŁ‡Ł Ł„ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ¢ Ų„ŁŁ† ŲŖŁŽŲŖŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŲ¹ŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ Ł±Ł„ŲøŁŽŁ‘Ł†ŁŽŁ‘ ŁˆŁŽŲ„ŁŁ†Ł’ Ų£ŁŽŁ†ŲŖŁŁ…Ł’ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ ŲŖŁŽŲ®Ł’Ų±ŁŲµŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ

[10:36] Most of them follow nothing but conjecture (zann), and conjecture is no substitute for the truth. GOD is fully aware of everything they do.

ŁˆŁŽŁ…ŁŽŲ§ ŁŠŁŽŲŖŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŲ¹Ł Ų£ŁŽŁƒŁ’Ų«ŁŽŲ±ŁŁ‡ŁŁ…Ł’ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ ŲøŁŽŁ†Ł‹Ł‘Ų§ Ų„ŁŁ†ŁŽŁ‘ Ł±Ł„ŲøŁŽŁ‘Ł†ŁŽŁ‘ Ł„ŁŽŲ§ ŁŠŁŲŗŁ’Ł†ŁŁ‰ Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŽ Ł±Ł„Ł’Ų­ŁŽŁ‚ŁŁ‘ Ų“ŁŽŁŠŁ’Ł€Ł‹Ł”Ų§ Ų„ŁŁ†ŁŽŁ‘ Ł±Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡ŁŽ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŁŠŁ…ŁŒŪ¢ ŲØŁŁ…ŁŽŲ§ ŁŠŁŽŁŁ’Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŁˆŁ†ŁŽ

  • How many wives did the prophet have?

  • How many battles did the prophet participate in?

Traditionalists often accuse individuals who reject the authenticity of Hadith besides the Quran of cherry-picking Hadith and rejecting the authenticity of the entire corpus based on some fringe Hadith. To refute such a claim, letā€™s gauge the reliability of Hadith based on what should be considered the most reputable Hadith found in their entire Hadith corpus.

For this analysis, we will use three of the most cut-and-dry examples:

  1. The most mass-transmitted Hadith

  2. The most oft-repeated statement supposedly made by the prophet

  3. The most widely witnessed Hadith ever stated in the prophetā€™s whole life

We will demonstrate that the Hadith corpus is still highly unreliable even among these three most notable cases.

EXAMPLE # 1: THE MOST WIDELY TRANSMITTED HADITH

Besides the Quran, one Hadith is considered the most widely transmitted Hadith in all the Hadith corpus. This Hadith has more narrators than any other Hadith and consists of only a single sentence. Yet, there is a dispute regarding the exact wording of this Hadith. In addition to minor differences in the various narrations, there also exists a major point of contention that has implications on the entire Hadith corpus based on which narration is accepted.

The Hadith has the basic structure that claims the prophet said, ā€œWhoever lies about me should take their seat in the Hellfire.ā€ This Hadith is supposedly transmitted by some seventy different companions and is considered the most widely propagated Hadith in the entire Hadith corpus.

As ibn al-Salah (d. 643/1245), the most famous scholar of hadith criticism in the later period, explained, at most one hadith [ā€˜Whoever lies about me, let him prepare for himself a seat in the Hellfire.ā€™] would meet the requirements for mutawatir.

Hadith Muhammadā€™s Legacy in Medieval and Modern World p. 109 Ibn al-Salah, Muqaddima p. 454

While this Hadith contains many subtle variations in syntax that are inconsequential to the overall meaning, there are two flavors of this Hadith that, depending on which one a person chooses to follow, will have significant implications for the overall validity of the entire Sunni corpus.

This is because some of the narrations claim the lie must be deliberate ( Ł…ŁŲŖŁŽŲ¹ŁŽŁ…ŁŁ‘ŲÆŁ‹Ų§ ), while others have no indication that this is limited to deliberate lies.

For reference, here are several without the word deliberate:

WITHOUT THE WORD DELIBERATE

Narrated: ā€¦Rabā€™iy ibn Hirāsh, that he heard AlÄ«, may Allah be pleased with him, giving a Khutbah and he said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ā€˜Do not lie upon me; indeed whoever lies upon me will enter the Fireā€™.

ŁˆŁŽŲ­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁˆ ŲØŁŽŁƒŁ’Ų±Ł ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁŠ Ų“ŁŽŁŠŁ’ŲØŁŽŲ©ŁŽŲŒ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ ŲŗŁŁ†Ł’ŲÆŁŽŲ±ŁŒŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų“ŁŲ¹Ł’ŲØŁŽŲ©ŁŽŲŒ Ų­ ŁˆŁŽŲ­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ł…ŁŲ­ŁŽŁ…ŁŽŁ‘ŲÆŁ ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų§Ł„Ł’Ł…ŁŲ«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‰ŲŒ ŁˆŁŽŲ§ŲØŁ’Ł†ŁŲŒ ŲØŁŽŲ“ŁŽŁ‘Ų§Ų±Ł Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„Ų§ŁŽ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ł…ŁŲ­ŁŽŁ…ŁŽŁ‘ŲÆŁ ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų¬ŁŽŲ¹Ł’ŁŁŽŲ±ŁŲŒ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų“ŁŲ¹Ł’ŲØŁŽŲ©ŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ł…ŁŽŁ†Ł’ŲµŁŁˆŲ±ŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų±ŁŲØŁ’Ų¹ŁŁŠŁŁ‘ ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų­ŁŲ±ŁŽŲ§Ų“ŁŲŒ Ų£ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ų³ŁŽŁ…ŁŲ¹ŁŽ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŁŠŁ‹Ł‘Ų§ŲŒ ā€“ Ų±Ų¶Ł‰ Ų§Ł„Ł„Ł‡ Ų¹Ł†Ł‡ ā€“ ŁŠŁŽŲ®Ł’Ų·ŁŲØŁ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų±ŁŽŲ³ŁŁˆŁ„Ł Ų§Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŲµŁ„Ł‰ Ų§Ł„Ł„Ł‡ Ų¹Ł„ŁŠŁ‡ ŁˆŲ³Ł„Ł… ā€ ā€œā€ Ł„Ų§ŁŽ ŲŖŁŽŁƒŁ’Ų°ŁŲØŁŁˆŲ§ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‰ŁŽŁ‘ ŁŁŽŲ„ŁŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ł…ŁŽŁ†Ł’ ŁŠŁŽŁƒŁ’Ų°ŁŲØŁ’ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‰ŁŽŁ‘ ŁŠŁŽŁ„ŁŲ¬Ł Ų§Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘Ų§Ų±ŁŽ ā€ā€ā€ ā€.ā€

Narrated `Ali: The Prophet (ļ·ŗ) said, ā€œDo not tell a lie against me for whoever tells a lie against me then he will surely enter the Hell-fire.ā€œ

Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŁŠŁŁ‘ ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų§Ł„Ł’Ų¬ŁŽŲ¹Ł’ŲÆŁŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų£ŁŽŲ®Ł’ŲØŁŽŲ±ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų“ŁŲ¹Ł’ŲØŁŽŲ©ŁŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų£ŁŽŲ®Ł’ŲØŁŽŲ±ŁŽŁ†ŁŁŠ Ł…ŁŽŁ†Ł’ŲµŁŁˆŲ±ŁŒŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų³ŁŽŁ…ŁŲ¹Ł’ŲŖŁ Ų±ŁŲØŁ’Ų¹ŁŁŠŁŽŁ‘ ŲØŁ’Ł†ŁŽ Ų­ŁŲ±ŁŽŲ§Ų“ŁŲŒ ŁŠŁŽŁ‚ŁŁˆŁ„Ł Ų³ŁŽŁ…ŁŲ¹Ł’ŲŖŁ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŁŠŁ‹Ł‘Ų§ŲŒ ŁŠŁŽŁ‚ŁŁˆŁ„Ł Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų§Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŁŠŁŁ‘ ŲµŁ„Ł‰ Ų§Ł„Ł„Ł‡ Ų¹Ł„ŁŠŁ‡ ŁˆŲ³Ł„Ł… ā€ ā€œā€ Ł„Ų§ŁŽ ŲŖŁŽŁƒŁ’Ų°ŁŲØŁŁˆŲ§ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‰ŁŽŁ‘ŲŒ ŁŁŽŲ„ŁŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ł…ŁŽŁ†Ł’ ŁƒŁŽŲ°ŁŽŲØŁŽ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‰ŁŽŁ‘ ŁŁŽŁ„Ł’ŁŠŁŽŁ„ŁŲ¬Ł Ų§Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘Ų§Ų±ŁŽ ā€ā€ā€ā€.ā€

Narrated `Abdullah bin Az-Zubair: I said to my father, ā€˜I do not hear from you any narration (Hadith) of Allahā€™s Apostle as I hear (his narration) from so and so?ā€ Az-Zubair replied. l was always with him (the Prophet), and I heard him saying, ā€œWhoever tells a lie against me then let him occupy his seat in Hellfire.

Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁˆ Ų§Ł„Ł’ŁˆŁŽŁ„ŁŁŠŲÆŁŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų“ŁŲ¹Ł’ŲØŁŽŲ©ŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų¬ŁŽŲ§Ł…ŁŲ¹Ł ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų“ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų§ŲÆŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų¹ŁŽŲ§Ł…ŁŲ±Ł ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų¹ŁŽŲØŁ’ŲÆŁ Ų§Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų§Ł„Ų²ŁŁ‘ŲØŁŽŁŠŁ’Ų±ŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁŠŁ‡ŁŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ł‚ŁŁ„Ł’ŲŖŁ Ł„ŁŁ„Ų²ŁŁ‘ŲØŁŽŁŠŁ’Ų±Ł Ų„ŁŁ†ŁŁ‘ŁŠ Ł„Ų§ŁŽ Ų£ŁŽŲ³Ł’Ł…ŁŽŲ¹ŁŁƒŁŽ ŲŖŁŲ­ŁŽŲÆŁŁ‘Ų«Ł Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų±ŁŽŲ³ŁŁˆŁ„Ł Ų§Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŲµŁ„Ł‰ Ų§Ł„Ł„Ł‡ Ų¹Ł„ŁŠŁ‡ ŁˆŲ³Ł„Ł… ŁƒŁŽŁ…ŁŽŲ§ ŁŠŁŲ­ŁŽŲÆŁŁ‘Ų«Ł ŁŁŁ„Ų§ŁŽŁ†ŁŒ ŁˆŁŽŁŁŁ„Ų§ŁŽŁ†ŁŒā€.ā€ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų£ŁŽŁ…ŁŽŲ§ Ų„ŁŁ†ŁŁ‘ŁŠ Ł„ŁŽŁ…Ł’ Ų£ŁŁŁŽŲ§Ų±ŁŁ‚Ł’Ł‡Ł ŁˆŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁƒŁŁ†Ł’ Ų³ŁŽŁ…ŁŲ¹Ł’ŲŖŁŁ‡Ł ŁŠŁŽŁ‚ŁŁˆŁ„Ł ā€ ā€œā€ Ł…ŁŽŁ†Ł’ ŁƒŁŽŲ°ŁŽŲØŁŽ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‰ŁŽŁ‘ ŁŁŽŁ„Ł’ŁŠŁŽŲŖŁŽŲØŁŽŁˆŁŽŁ‘Ų£Ł’ Ł…ŁŽŁ‚Ł’Ų¹ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‡Ł Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŽ Ų§Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘Ų§Ų±Ł ā€ā€ā€ā€.ā€

Here are others with the word deliberate:

Narrated Anas: The fact which stops me from narrating a great number of Hadiths to you is that the Prophet (ļ·ŗ) said: ā€œWhoever deliberatly lies against me, then let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire.ā€

Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁˆ Ł…ŁŽŲ¹Ł’Ł…ŁŽŲ±ŁŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų¹ŁŽŲØŁ’ŲÆŁ Ų§Ł„Ł’ŁˆŁŽŲ§Ų±ŁŲ«ŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų¹ŁŽŲØŁ’ŲÆŁ Ų§Ł„Ł’Ų¹ŁŽŲ²ŁŁŠŲ²ŁŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų£ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ³ŁŒ Ų„ŁŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ł„ŁŽŁŠŁŽŁ…Ł’Ł†ŁŽŲ¹ŁŁ†ŁŁŠ Ų£ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų£ŁŲ­ŁŽŲÆŁŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁƒŁŁ…Ł’ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŁŠŲ«Ł‹Ų§ ŁƒŁŽŲ«ŁŁŠŲ±Ł‹Ų§ Ų£ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŁ‘ Ų§Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŁŠŁŽŁ‘ ŲµŁ„Ł‰ Ų§Ł„Ł„Ł‡ Ų¹Ł„ŁŠŁ‡ ŁˆŲ³Ł„Ł… Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ ā€ ā€œā€ Ł…ŁŽŁ†Ł’ ŲŖŁŽŲ¹ŁŽŁ…ŁŽŁ‘ŲÆŁŽ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‰ŁŽŁ‘ ŁƒŁŽŲ°ŁŲØŁ‹Ų§ ŁŁŽŁ„Ł’ŁŠŁŽŲŖŁŽŲØŁŽŁˆŁŽŁ‘Ų£Ł’ Ł…ŁŽŁ‚Ł’Ų¹ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‡Ł Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŽ Ų§Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘Ų§Ų±Ł ā€ā€ā€ā€.ā€

Muhammad bin Ubayd il-GhubarÄ« narrated to us, AbÅ« Awānah narrated to us, on authority of AbÄ« HasÄ«n, on authority of AbÄ« Sālih, on authority of AbÅ« Hurayrah, he said, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ā€˜Whoever lies upon me intentionally, then let him take his seat in the Fireā€™.

ŁˆŁŽŲ­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ł…ŁŲ­ŁŽŁ…ŁŽŁ‘ŲÆŁ ŲØŁ’Ł†Ł Ų¹ŁŲØŁŽŁŠŁ’ŲÆŁ Ų§Ł„Ł’ŲŗŁŲØŁŽŲ±ŁŁŠŁŁ‘ŲŒ Ų­ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‘Ų«ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŲ§ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁˆ Ų¹ŁŽŁˆŁŽŲ§Ł†ŁŽŲ©ŁŽŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁŠ Ų­ŁŽŲµŁŁŠŁ†ŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁŠ ŲµŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŲ­ŁŲŒ Ų¹ŁŽŁ†Ł’ Ų£ŁŽŲØŁŁŠ Ł‡ŁŲ±ŁŽŁŠŁ’Ų±ŁŽŲ©ŁŽŲŒ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ł„ŁŽ Ų±ŁŽŲ³ŁŁˆŁ„Ł Ų§Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŲµŁ„Ł‰ Ų§Ł„Ł„Ł‡ Ų¹Ł„ŁŠŁ‡ ŁˆŲ³Ł„Ł… ā€ ā€œā€ Ł…ŁŽŁ†Ł’ ŁƒŁŽŲ°ŁŽŲØŁŽ Ų¹ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‰ŁŽŁ‘ Ł…ŁŲŖŁŽŲ¹ŁŽŁ…ŁŁ‘ŲÆŁ‹Ų§ ŁŁŽŁ„Ł’ŁŠŁŽŲŖŁŽŲØŁŽŁˆŁŽŁ‘Ų£Ł’ Ł…ŁŽŁ‚Ł’Ų¹ŁŽŲÆŁŽŁ‡Ł Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŽ Ų§Ł„Ł†ŁŽŁ‘Ų§Ų±Ł ā€ā€ā€ ā€.ā€

This is not a subtle difference because if someone is to take the more conservative approach, then even if someone unintentionally lies about the prophet, attributing something to him that he did not say, they would be securing their seat in the Hellfire. Therefore, anyone who mistakenly attributes any inaccurate statement to the prophet would be condemning themselves to Hell. The reason this would be so highly problematic for all Hadith is that no scholar claims that the Hadith are verbatim statements from the prophet. This is perfectly encompassed in the following statement attributed to the most famous successor Hasan al-Basri:

The Companion Wathila b. Asqaā€˜ had admitted that sometimes the early Muslims even confused the exact wording of the Quran, which was universally well-known and well-preserved. So how, he asked, could one expect any less in the case of a report that the Prophet had said just once? Al-Hasan al-Basri is reported to have said, If we only narrated to you what we could repeat word for word, we would only narrate two hadiths.

Hadith Muhammad s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World p. 24

This shows that the most widely transmitted Hadith in the entire corpus is not only not a verbatim speech of the prophet, but even the exact meaning is uncertain. Therefore, if the most highly transmitted statement in the entire corpus, which consists of only a single sentence, is unreliable, how less reliable are all other Hadith?

EXAMPLE #2: THE MOST OFT-REPEATED HADITH

The Tashahhud ( ŲŖŁŽŲ“ŁŽŁ‡ŁŁ‘ŲÆ ) is the testimony of faith which is to be recited during Salat while in the sitting position. It is derived from the shahadah ( Ł±Ł„Ų“ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡ŁŽŲ§ŲÆŁŽŲ©Ł ), which occurs in various forms throughout the Quran approximately thirty-plus times.

[3:18] GOD bears witness that there is no god except He, and so do the angels and those who possess knowledge. Truthfully and equitably, He is the absolute god; there is no god but He, the Almighty, Most Wise.

Ų“ŁŽŁ‡ŁŲÆŁŽ Ų§Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ų£ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ł„ŁŽŲ§ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ°Ł‡ŁŽ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ Ł‡ŁŁˆŁŽ ŁˆŁŽŲ§Ł„Ł’Ł…ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŲ§Ų¦ŁŁƒŁŽŲ©Ł ŁˆŁŽŲ£ŁŁˆŁ„ŁŁˆ Ų§Ł„Ł’Ų¹ŁŁ„Ł’Ł…Ł Ł‚ŁŽŲ§Ų¦ŁŁ…Ł‹Ų§ ŲØŁŲ§Ł„Ł’Ł‚ŁŲ³Ł’Ų·Ł Ł„ŁŽŲ§ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ°Ł‡ŁŽ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ Ł‡ŁŁˆŁŽ Ų§Ł„Ł’Ų¹ŁŽŲ²ŁŁŠŲ²Ł Ų§Ł„Ł’Ų­ŁŽŁƒŁŁŠŁ…Ł

[Sura 47 ā€œMuhammadā€:19] You shall know that: ā€œThere is no other god beside GOD,ā€ and ask forgiveness of your sins and the sins of all believing men and women. GOD is fully aware of your decisions and your ultimate destiny.

ŁŁŽŲ§Ų¹Ł’Ł„ŁŽŁ…Ł’ Ų£ŁŽŁ†ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł Ł„ŁŽŲ§ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ°Ł‡ŁŽ Ų„ŁŁ„ŁŽŁ‘Ų§ Ų§Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŁˆŁŽŲ§Ų³Ł’ŲŖŁŽŲŗŁ’ŁŁŲ±Ł’ Ł„ŁŲ°ŁŽŁ†Ł’ŲØŁŁƒŁŽ ŁˆŁŽŁ„ŁŁ„Ł’Ł…ŁŲ¤Ł’Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŁŠŁ†ŁŽ ŁˆŁŽŲ§Ł„Ł’Ł…ŁŲ¤Ł’Ł…ŁŁ†ŁŽŲ§ŲŖŁ ŁˆŁŽŲ§Ł„Ł„ŁŽŁ‘Ł‡Ł ŁŠŁŽŲ¹Ł’Ł„ŁŽŁ…Ł Ł…ŁŲŖŁŽŁ‚ŁŽŁ„ŁŽŁ‘ŲØŁŽŁƒŁŁ…Ł’ ŁˆŁŽŁ…ŁŽŲ«Ł’ŁˆŁŽŲ§ŁƒŁŁ…Ł’

Letā€™s consider that the prophet made this statement multiple times daily and was heard repeatedly by hundreds if not thousands of companions throughout his prophethood. We can comfortably say that this is single-handedly one of the most oft-repeated statements of the prophet during his whole life. Therefore, we would expect that there should be an absolute consensus among all the companions regarding the exact wording for this most prolific statement from the prophet, yet when we search the Hadith corpus, we see this is not the case.

What else is interesting is that many of these narrations state that ā€œThe Messenger of Allah (ļ·ŗ) used to teach us tashahhud just as he used to teach us a Surah of the Qurā€™an.ā€ If this were true, one would expect to see every narration regarding how to state the tashahhud to be identical, as this is what we find in the Quran. However, this is not the case, as there are numerous variations of this statement. Below are some of the multiple narrations of the supposed tashahhud of the prophet:

Again, if this most oft-repeated statement made by the prophet, which was supposedly taught to his companions no different than the verses of the Quran, is unreliable, how less reliable are all other Hadith?

EXAMPLE #3: THE SINGLE MOST WIDELY HEARD HADITH DURING THE PROPHETā€™S LIFE

Despite there not existing a single sermon from the prophet that is transcribed from start to finish in the entire Hadith corpus, the most widely heard sermon that he gave in his whole life would be the one he supposedly gave during what is known as the Farewell Pilgrimage, įø¤ijjatu Al-WadāŹæ ( Ų­ŁŲ¬ŁŽŁ‘Ų© Ł±Ł„Ł’ŁˆŁŽŲÆŁŽŲ§Ų¹ ), in the Islamic year 10 AH, following the Conquest of Mecca.

Instead, what we find regarding the sermon in the Hadith corpus, on top of the confusion regarding the exact location, are various narrations that conflict with one another regarding what was stated in this sermon. The critical difference between these narrations lies with what the prophet supposedly claimed to have left for the believers to keep them from being misguided. Depending on the narration, there are one of four options.

  1. ā€œI left for you what if you hold up to, you will never be misguided, the book of God.ā€

    • Musnad of Imam Ahmad (hadith no.19774)

  2. ā€œI left for you what if you hold up to, you will never be misguided, the book of God and my Family, the people of the house.ā€

  3. ā€œI left for you what if you hold up to, you will never be misguided, the book of God and my Sunnah.ā€

    • Ibn Ishaq, as quoted in Ibn Hishamā€™s Sirah an-Nabawiyah (with no isnad)

  4. ā€œI enjoin you to fear Allah, and to hear and obey (your leaders) even if it be an Abyssinian (Ethiopian) slave, for those of you who live after me will see great disagreement. You must then follow my Sunnah and that of the rightly-guided caliphs.ā€

As seen above, these are not minor differences but have significant implications based on which statement the prophet said, if any. The fact that there is no consensus regarding what the prophet stated regarding the single most widely heard sermon of his entire life again reinforces that Hadith are highly unreliable. If the Hadith is not reliable to inform us what the prophet said when potentially thousands supposedly witnessed such a sermon, how less reliable are all the other Hadith when it was heard by one or even a handful of companions?

CONCLUSION

This shows that individuals who claim that the Hadith are unreliable are not doing this because they are cherry-picking questionable Hadith. Even among the most prominent examples where one should expect that if there is any authenticity to the Hadith, it should be visible in these examples, the Hadith literature repeatedly fails. It fails to determine the exact wording and meaning of the single sentence that is considered the most mass-transmitted statement in the entire corpus. It fails to provide the exact wording for the tashahhud which should be the most oft-repeated statement made by the prophet throughout his whole life. And it fails to give a consistent account regarding what the prophet supposedly stated during the most widely heard sermon of his life. So if the Hadith fails again and again on what should be its most ironclad narrations, how less reliable should one consider Hadith for all other matters?

For example, there are numerous regarding the most basic facts about the prophet and the religion.

What was the ?

What was the ?

How old was the prophet when he ?

How many years was the prophet in ?

Sahih Muslim 1

Sahih al-Bukhari 106

Sahih al-Bukhari 107

Sahih al-Bukhari 108

Sahih Muslim 3

For a complete analysis of this Hadith and its variations, you can check out the following .

For a more in-depth look into these various narrations, check out the following .

It is believed that there were between 4 to 10,000 people in the audience for this sermon. This would make this the most widely heard statement from the prophet in his entire life. Yet not only did not a single person fully document what was said, but the Hadith is even unsure regarding the , with some narrations claiming Mina while others Arafat.

in the Kitāb al-Bayān wa-al-Tabyīn

For an analysis of these four variations, check out the following .

contradicting reports
first revelation
last revelation
died
Mecca and Medina
https://sunnah.com/muslim:1
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:106
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:107
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:108
https://sunnah.com/muslim:3
article
article
exact location of the sermon
Sahih Muslim 1218a
Al-Jahiz
Mishkat al-Masabih 2555
Sunan Abi Dawud 1905
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 3786
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2676
Sunan Ibn Majah 42
Sunan Abi Dawud 4607
Riyad as-Salihin 157
article