In the name of Allah, Most Merciful, Bestower of Mercy.
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Read Hadith number 12 first.
Hadeeth Number 13
The author, Ibn Mājah (rahimahullah) said: Nasr bin ‘Ali al-Jahdami narrated to us, saying that Sufyān bin ‘Uyaynah narrated to us in his house, and I had asked him (for this Hadeeth), from Sālim Abi an-Nadr, then he moved on with the Hadeeth and he said, or it may have been Zaid bin Aslam, from ‘Ubaidullah ibn Abi Rāfi’ from his father, that the Messenger of Allah (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said:
حَدَّثَنَا نَصْرُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ الْجَهْضَمِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ، فِي بَيْتِهِ أَنَا سَأَلْتُهُ، عَنْ سَالِمٍ أَبِي النَّضْرِ، ثُمَّ مَرَّ فِي الْحَدِيثِ قَالَ أَوْ زَيْدِ بْنِ أَسْلَمَ عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي رَافِعٍ عَنْ أَبِيهِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ قَالَ
لاَ أُلْفِيَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ مُتَّكِئًا عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَأْتِيهِ الأَمْرُ مِمَّا أَمَرْتُ بِهِ أَوْ نَهَيْتُ عَنْهُ فَيَقُولُ لاَ أَدْرِي مَا وَجَدْنَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ اتَّبَعْنَاهُ
I do not want to find any of you reclining on his pillow, and news of an affair that I have commanded with, or something that I have prohibited comes to him, and he says, ‘I do not know. Rather, whatever we find in the Book of Allah, that is what we follow.’
[Also reported by Abu Dāwud (4605) and at-Tirmidhi (2663); graded saheeh by al-Albāni in Saheeh al-Jāmi’ (7172).]
The Explanation:
The author, Ibn Mājah, brings here this Hadeeth of Abu Rāfi’ (radiy Allahu ‘anhu), who was the freed slave of Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam). This Hadeeth carries the same meaning as the previous Hadeeth of al-Miqdām bin Ma’di Karib, and it proves what that Hadeeth proved, and it is a witness and support for it.
Allah’s Messenger (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, ‘لا ألفين’- meaning ‘Let me not find or I do not wish to find any of you reclining upon his cushion or couch,’ meaning in luxury and splendor, ‘And there comes to him news of that which I have commanded with, or something that I have prohibited, and he says: ‘I do not know. Whatever we find in the Book of Allah, that is what we follow.’ Meaning: that he will not take anything except that which is in the Qur’ān, and whatever comes to him from other than the Qur’ān, he will not take it. This group is present in this era, and they are known as the Qur’āniyoon — those who take only from the Qur’ān and say that they will not take except from the Qur’ān.
We say that whoever disbelieves in the Sunnah has disbelieved in the Qur’ān, and this is because Allah the Most High has said:
وَمَا آتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانتَهُوا ۚ
“Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it, and whatever he prohibits you from, stay away from it.” (Surah al-Hashr 59:7).
Likewise, Allah the Most High says:
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَن يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ ۗ
“It is not for a believing man nor a believing woman when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision.” (Surah al-Ahzāb 33:36).
The scholars of the Salaf (Ahlus-Sunnah) have said that whoever rejects the Sunnah is a non-believer outside the fold of Islām, because to reject the Sunnah is to reject the clear verses of the Qur’ān, and Allah has commanded us in various ayāt in the Qur’ān to obey Him and the Messenger unconditionally.
The Men in the Chain of Narration
Nasr bin ‘Ali al-Jahdami: he is thiqah (trustworthy and reliable), and all the 6 books narrate from him.
Sufyān bin ‘Uyaynah: he is an Imām of the Sunnah, thiqah (trustworthy and reliable), and all the 6 books narrate from him.
‘In his house, and I asked him regarding it’ —this is the speech of Nasr bin ‘Ali, meaning that this speech took place in the house of Sufyān due to a question that was put to him.
Sālim Abi an-Nadr: he is thiqah (trustworthy and reliable), and all the 6 books narrate from him.
He continued with the Hadeeth and said, ‘Or (it could have been) Zaid bin Aslam’—meaning that he was in doubt whether he took the Hadeeth from Sālim bin Abi an-Nadr or Zaid bin Aslam — but they are both thiqah (trustworthy and reliable).
If there is doubt regarding two narrators and it is not known which of the 2 was taken from, this affects the Hadeeth if one of the two is weak and the second is thiqah, because the Hadeeth could have been taken from the weak narrator. But if both of them are thiqah (as is the case here), then the Hadeeth is not affected, and the end result is the same (i.e., the Hadeeth is authentic).
The same applies to the Hadeeth that is mursal (where a Tābi’i narrates directly from the Prophet (salallāhu ‘alaihi wasallam); either he narrated directly from a Sahābi, or he narrated from another Tābi’i. If it was a Tābi’i, then it is possible that he was thiqah or he could be weak; therefore, the Hadeeth is considered to be weak in its origin as it does not have a connected chain of narration.
‘Ubaidullah bin Abi Rāfi’: he is thiqah (trustworthy and reliable), and all the 6 books narrate from him.
From his father, Abu Rāfi’ (radiAllahu ‘anhu), all 6 books narrate from him.
والحمد لله رب العالمين وصلى الله على نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا أنت، أستغفرك وأتوب إليك
Taken from the explanation of Al-ʿAllāmah ʿAbdul-Muhsin al-ʿAbbād with added notes by Abu Khadeejah.
Copyright 2025.
This article was transcribed by Umm Maryam (may Allah reward her) from the classes of Abu Khadeejah (SalafiSounds.com). Please share it with others.
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