The status of the Ahadith in the Hanafi book of Fiqh “Al-Hidayah” by Shaykh Irshadul Haq Athari, Dawud Arshad and Muhammad Junagri
Some fabricated Ahadith in “A-Hidayah” and some other books of Hanafi Fiqh.
The five first examples are based and adapted from the book of Shaykh Irshad Ul Haqq Al-Athari “Ahadith Hidayah”, as well as the introduction.
Introduction
‘Allamah Al-Luknawi wrote in his “An-Nafi’ Al-Kabir”:
“What we have mentioned in this grading of books, this is according to issues of Fiqh, as for the Prophetic Ahadith narrated in them, then how many books of Fiqh on which Fuqaha base themselves are filled with fabricated Ahadith, specially the Fatawa? And it has been made clear to us after looking a lot that their authors even if they were complete, but in quoting narrations, they were lenient (Mutasahil).”
Mulla Ali Qari said in his “Al-Mawdu’at Al-Kabir” and “Al-Masnu’” p 125:
“The quotes of “An-Nihayah” and other explanations of “Al-Hidayah” are not reliable, because they are not Muhadith, and they have not attributed the Ahadith to any reference.”
Abu Ghuddah also approved this saying of Mulla Ali Qari in his Hashiyah of “Masnu’” p 157 and said p 55: “And what is acted upon in this chapter is the saying of the Muhadith and not of the Fuqaha despite their great status”
‘Allamah Luknawi also said in his introduction of “Umdatu Ra’yah” p 12-13 after approving the words of Mulla Ali Qari:
“How many Ahadith in reliable books (of Fiqh) are fabricated and different (from how they appear in books of Hadith)?”
He said furthermore in “Rad’ Al-Ikhwan” p 57:
“Do you not see the author of “Al-Hidayah”, despite being from most noble of Hanafiyah, he incorporated in it Gharib and weak narrations on which one does not rely, as it is been made evident in the Takhrij of its Ahadith by Az-Zeyla’i and ibn Hajar”
‘Abdul Qadir Al-Qurshi wrote in his “Kitab Al-Jami’” published with “Jawahir Al-Madhiyah” p 440 v 2:
“And there have been a lot of errors in the book “Al-Hidayah” and “Al-Khulasa” and others that I have mentioned, and I have made them clear in my book “Al-‘Inayah bi Ma’rifah Ahadith Al-Hidayah”…”
Some examples are quoted below:
First example
In the chapters of Imamah, Al-Marghinani quoted: “because of his saying (saw): “He who prays behind a pious, it is as if he prayed behind a Prophet.””
As-Sarkhasi before him also quoted this in his “Al-Mabsut”
(As-Sarkhasi is the Hanafi sholar who quoted without Isnad the story of Abu Hafs Al-Kabir and Imam Al-Bukhari in which Abu Hafs forbade Imam Bukhari to give Fatwa, which is a pure lie…and these lies are even quoted by some Deobandi like Ameen Okarvi)
Hafiz Ibn Hajar said in his “Ad-Dirayah” p 168: “I could not find it.”
Mulla ‘Ali Qari said in his “Al-Mawdu’at” p 121 and “Al-Masnu’” p 152: “It has no basis”
Ibn Humam wrote in “Fath Al-Qadir” v 1 p 246: “Allah knows best about this Hadith”
Al-‘Ayni wrote in his “Al-Binayah” v 2 p 331: “This Hadith is Gharib, it is not in books of Hadith”
Tahir Al-Patni said in “Majma’ Al-Bihar” v 3 p 511: “I could not find it with these words”
Al-Luknawi said in his “Hashiyah Hidayah”: “As for the words of the mentioned Hadith in books, it is not found rather some Muhadith said it is fabricated”
Al-Luknawi thought: “As for me, it is taken from the Hadith: “The scholars of my Ummah are like the Prophets of Bani Israil””
But this one also as said by Al-Luknawi is not found in books, and he quoted As-Sakhawi and Mulla Ali Qari for this.
Second example:
Al-Marghinani attributed this to the Prophet (saw): “He who leaves the four (rak’ah) before Az-Zuhr, my intercession will not reach him”
Az-Zeyla’i said: “Very Gharib”
Ibn Hajar said: “I could not find it”
Al-‘Ayni said: “It has no basis”
Third example:
About raising hands (before and after Ruku’), Al-Marghinani said: “And what is narrated about raising (hands) is considered at the beginning, this is said so by ibn Az-Zubayr”
Muhammad ibn Mahmud said in his commentary “’Al-‘Inayah”:
“He (ibn Zubayr) saw a man praying in Masjid al-Haram and raising his hands in prayer before and after raising his head from Ruku’, and when he completed his prayer, he said to him: “Do not do this, because this was something done by the Prophet (saw), then he abandoned it”
Al-‘Ayni said in his explanation of “Al-Bukhari”, “Umdatul Qari”:
“And what the opposite side base upon is considered as (being an action of) the beginning of Islam, then it was abrogated by the proof that ‘Abdullah ibn Zubayr saw a man…”
Mahmud ul Hasan Deobandi also pointed at this narration in his “Idah ul-Adillah”
While Az-Zayla’i wrote according to his Istilah (terminology): “Gharib”
Ibn Hajar wrote: “I could not find it”
Al-Luknawi in his “Ta’liq ul-Mumajjad” said: “If the Sanad of the Athar of ibn ‘Abbas and Ibn Az-Zubayr is not found in reliable books of Hadith, how can we take it into account basing only on good opinion on those who quoted it, with the prove of the contrary from them (meaning ibn ‘Abbas and ibn Az-Zubayr) with many Isnads”
Shah Isma’il said in “Tanvir ul-‘Aynayn”: “Its basis is not found for Muhadiths”
Shaykh Irshad ul Haqq Al-Athari said there is no surprise to see that the author of Al-Hidayah” and its commentators based on these kinds of narrations, but the surprise comes from al-‘Ayni as he wrote an explanation of “Sahih Al-Bukhari”, and rejects its Hadith on the basis of a fabricated Hadith without basis.
Fourth example:
Al-Marghinani to justify his Fiqh quoted the Hadith: “He (saw) sat on a cushion of silk”
It is said on “Nasb Ar-Rayah”: “Very Gharib”
Al-‘Ayni said: “This is not proven from the Prophet (saw) at all, and none among specialists quoted it neither with an authentic Sanad nor weak”
While there is a Hadith in “Sahih Al-Bukhari” of Huzayfah saying: “He (saw) forbade wearing silk and Dibaj and to sit on it”
Az-Zayla’i wrote: “The Hadith of Huzayfah is difficult for the Madhab (Hanafi) (to be answered).”
Fifth example:
In “Al-Hidayah” there is a Hadith: “Three matters, being serious or joking makes it final, Nikah, Talaq and Yameen (oath)”
In Hanafi Fiqh, if one by joking makes an oath should fulfill it contrary to the Shafi’i Madhab. And Al-Marghinani quoted this Hadith to justify his Madhab.
While the words “Yameen” are not in this Hadith as said in “Nasb Ar-Rayah”, “Talkhis”, “Al-Binayah”.
‘Allamah Ash-Shami wrote in “Rad Al-Muhtar”: “This Hadith is famous without words “al-Yameen” and it is also wrong on the Ma’anwi consideration (according to the meaning)…”
Dawud Arshad mentioned in his “Tuhfat ul Ahnaf” that this Hadith is in the “Sunnan” of Abu Dawud, ibn Majah and At-Tirmidhi with words “Raj’ah” (return from divorce) instead of “Yameen” (oath).
Then Shaykh Irshad ul Haqq Al-Athari showed that the state of Al-Kasani is the same as al-Marghinani.
Al-Kasani quoted in his “Bada’i As-Sana’i” a Hadith without Isnad from ibn Mas’ud: “The Prophet (saw) raised his hands and we raised them, and then he abandoned and we abandoned”
And this has been quoted by many Ahnaf even Mahmud hasan Deobandi in his “Idah Al-Adillah” and in many books of Hanafi Fiqh like “Al-Kifayah”, “Al-Kafi”, “An-Nihayah”.
Al-Kasani went to the extreme of quoting without Isnad from ibn ‘Abbas saying that the ten Sahabah promised of paradise were only raising hands in the beginning of the prayer.
So this shows the state of these books, how to justify their Madhab they quote Ahadith without Sanad.
Shaykh Dawud Arshad in his book “Tuhfat ul Ahnaf” mentioned other examples of Hidayah, some of them are quoted below taken and adapted from his words:
Sixth example:
Al-Marghinani quoted the Hadith: “The Hadith of Al-Khat’amiyah” as he (saw) said: “Perform Hajj and ‘Umrah”
While this Hadith is in the “Sahih” of Al-Bukhari and Muslim without the words of performing ‘Umrah
Az-Zayla’i said: “This is an error of the author because the Hadith of Al-Khat’amiyah does not contain the mention of performing ‘Umrah”
Ibn Hajar said: “I could not see in the ways (of the Hadith of Al-Khat’amiyah) the mention of doing ‘Umrah, and what is clear is that it is a mistake in quoting from the author”
Seventh example:
Al-Marghinani quoted a Hadith: “And our proof (Hanafi) is that the Prophet (saw) forbade selling dogs except the dogs of hunt and Mashiyah (for looking after beasts)”
While this Hadith is in “Sunnan At-Tirmidhi” without the words “Mashiyah”, and none among ibn Humam, Zeyla’i, ibn Hajar could find these words.
Eight example:
Al-Marghinani in the chapter of “Adab Al-Qadhi” quoted the Hadith: “The mosque are only built for the remembrance of Allah (Ta’ala) and for (giving) judgments”
This Hadith is in “Sahih Muslim” but without words “judgments” as said by Az-Zeyla’i.
Muhammad Al-Junaghri accused the author of “Al-Hidayah” of inventing this Hadith for his Madhab and refuting the Shafi’i Madhab.
Ninth example:
In the chapter of the prayer, Al-Marghinani quoted the Hadith: “Because of his (saw) saying: when one of you prays in the desert, then he should put a Sutrah in front of him”
And none among Ibn Humam, Zeyla’i or Ibn Hajar found words “in the desert”.
And this addition also suits the Hanafi Madhab.
Tenth example:
About the Kaffarah (compensation) of having a sexual relation while fasting in Ramadan, Al-Marghinani quoted the Hadith of the Prophet (saw) telling the person to fast and feed poor people, but the man said there was not anyone poorer than him, and the Prophet (saw) gave him dates, and then Al-Marghinani added these words in the Hadith: “And this will not suffice anyone after you”
But Ibn Hajar said this addition is not present in the ways of this Hadith, but Al-Marghinani had the courage then to say: “And this is a proof over Ash-Shafi’i” while this addition does not exist.
So these are ten examples, Shaykh Irshadul Haqq quoted others as well as Shaykh Dawud Arshad, but this will be enough to show that Al-Marghinani quoted many Ahadith that no Muhadith could found, also he added words in famous Ahadith or changed some words, and these additions suit his Madhab. And despite all these fabricated Ahadith, Ahnaf exaggerate about “Al-Hidayah”
Shaykh Irshad ul Haqq Al-Athari wrote that Muhammad Haneef Gangohi wrote in his “Zafar Al-Muhasilin” the poem about Hidayah saying:
“Al-Hidayah is like the Quran
It has abrogated what was written before it in books of religious law (Shar’)”
And Haneef Gangohi said it is not an exaggeration but the manifestation of the truth.
These Ahnaf did not stop at saying books of Fiqh, but Shar’ showing their extreme exaggeration, so it shows they consider their Fiqh to be like a revealed Shari’ah, and that Abu Hanifah should be followed like a Prophet.
And this poem is written on many published versions by Deobandis in Pakistan.
Then Shaykh Irshad Ul Haqq mentioned that some Ahnaf like Qasim Qutlubagha and Kashmiri even consider Qadhi Khan higher that Hidayah, so one can see Hidayah dit not even abrogate Qadhi Khan, what about abrogating books of Fiqh like Al-Umm of Ash-Shafi’i and others.
Now Shaykh Muhammad Al-Junaghri and Dawud Arshad accused Al-Marghinani of fabricating Ahadith for his Madhab, and Shaykh Irshad ul Haqq like Az-Zeyla’i and others considered it as errors.
People who accuse Al-Marghinani of fabricating base on the fact that the additions support the Hanafi Madhab, and Abul ‘Abbas Al-Qurtubi said: “Some jurists (Fuqaha) of Ahlur-Ray have given themselves permission to attribute the ruling that is shown by Qiyas to the Messenger of Allah (saw)…that is why you will see their books full of Ahadith whose Matn witness that they are fabricated because of their resemblance to the Fatawa of Fuqaha…and because they do not give any Isnad for it.”
It is possible that Al-Marghinani found these narrations in some Hanafi books and their authors invented these lies like they invented the Hadith of Imam Abu Hanifah being the lamp of this community, or many Hadith about saying he who prays behind the Imam should have mouth filled with fire or he who raised his hands in prayer there is no prayer.
If he gave the Isnad, people would know who the liars are, all blame would be removed from Al-Marghinani. People could say these additions favouring the Hanafi madhab does not come from Al-Marghinani.
This is why Muhadith who quoted fabricated Ahadith gave Isnad, and by giving the Isnad, they are free from any responsibility.
But not giving any Isnad, and quoting Ahadith that suit one’s Madhab, then it would lead to accusations and give strength to the saying of Abul ‘Abbas Al-Qurtubi, that Ahlur Ray fabricate Hadith as words suit their Madhab and there is no Sanad.
Yet these might be errors and show that Al-Marghinani is not reliable in quoting Ahadith, as said by Al-Luknawi and other Hanafi scholars.
Allah knows best.
Recent time Deobandi scholars
In recent times, Sarfraz Safdar Khan Deobandi also in his “Khazain Sunnan” p 90 added some words in a Hadith that suit his Madhab.
He quoted a Hadith from the “Sunnan” of Abu Dawud: “When you find water, then put it on your skin and hair (Sha’raka)”
And Ahnaf do not see washing mouth and nose as an obligation in Wudhu, but for Ghusl they consider it obligatory, and Sarfraz Khan quoted the narration above to justify that washing nose is obligatory in Ghusl as there are hair in it.
So the added words “Sha’raka” have been added to justify the Hanafi Madhab.
When Shaykh Irshad ul Haqq wrote about this addition in his “Maulana Safdar apni Aine mein”, then the son of Sarfraz Khan agreed that it is a mistake in his “Wa Wela” and it will be corrected in the next edition.
So now are these additions genuine mistakes or forgery for the Madhab?
Mahmud ul Hasan Deobandi added an Ayah to the Quran to justify Taqlid Shaksi (Taqlid of an individual) which was not changed even 30 years later in the second edition.
Ameen Okarvi, student of Sarfraz Khan also changed a verse in the Quran to prove that one should not raise hands in the prayer.
Habib ur Rahman Al-A’zami when publishing his “Musnad Humaydi” omitted to tell there was a difference in the manuscript of the library of Az-Zahiriyah in Damascus that was in his hand and he published the mistaken version of the Indian manuscript abour Raful Yadayn, as the Indian manuscript had words denying raising hands before and after Ruku’ and was suiting the Hanafi Madhab, while the manuscript of Az-Zahiriyah was affirming raising hands before and after Ruku’, and the manuscript of Az-Zahiriyah is the correct as former scholars like Abu Nu’aym quoted it in this way from Al-Humaydi. Al-A’zami could at least tell the difference in the manuscripts.
So these matters give strength to the saying of Abul ‘Abbas Al-Qurtubi about Ahlur-Ray fabricating Ahadith for their Madhab.
May Allah send Salah and Salam on the Prophet (saw), his household, his companions and those who follow them.
Compiled by Ali Hassan Khan