Critical examination and Takhrij of the Traditions of the Chapter in Light of the Principles of the Science of Transmission
Concerning Salat al-Tasbih, what has been transmitted in some of the hadith and athar compilations under the attribution to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) consists of certain verbal reports ascribed to him. No practical report, however, has been transmitted anywhere in this chapter under his attribution which would state that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) ever actually performed this prayer of Salat al-Tasbih. Verbal reports on this subject have been transmitted from several Companions. In what follows, a critical study of these reports is presented to the reader in the light of the principles of hadith science. We shall first present the takhrij and evaluation of the hadith narrated from Abu Rafi al-Qibti (RA).
1. The hadith of Abu Rafi (RA):
َعَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللّٰہ ِ صَلی اللّٰہ عَلَيہِ وَسَلَّم لِلْعَبَّاسِ: يَا عَمِّ، أَالَ أَصِلُكَ، أَال ،ِأَحْبُوكَ، أَالَ أَنْفَعُكَ، قَالَ: بَلَى يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰہ قَالَ: ’’يَا عَمِّ، صَلِّ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ تَقْرَأُ فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ بِفَاتِحَةِ الكِتَابِ وَسُورَۃٍ، فَإِذَا انْقَضَتِ ا ،ِلقِرَاءَۃُ، فَقُلْ: اللّٰہ ُ أَكْبَرُ، وَالحَمْدُ ّٰللِه
ًوَسُبْحَانَ اللّٰہ ِ، وَالَ إِلَهَ إِالَّ اللّٰہ ُ، خَمْسَ عَشْرَۃَ مَرَّۃً قَبْلَ أَنْ تَرْكَعَ، ثُمَّ ارْكَعْ فَقُلْهَا عَشْر ْا، ثُمَّ ارْفَع رَأْسَكَ فَقُلْهَا عَشْرًا، ثُمَّ اسْجُدْ فَقُلْهَا عَشْرًا، ثُمَّ ارْفَعْ رَأْسَكَ فَقُلْهَا عَشْرًا، ثُمَّ اسْجُدْ فَقُلْهَا عَشْرًا، ثُمَّ ارْفَعْ رَأْسَكَ فَقُلْهَا عَشْرًا ِّقَبْلَ أَنْ تَقُومَ، فَتِلْكَ خَمْسٌ وَسَبْعُونَ فِي كُل َرَكْعَةٍ وَهِيَ ثَالَثُ مِائَةٍ فِي أَرْبَعِ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَلَوْ كَانَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ مِثْلَ رَمْلِ عَالِجٍ غَفَرَهَا اللّٰہ ُ لَك ْ‘‘، قَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰہ ِ، وَمَنْ يَسْتَطِيعُ أَن
ْيَقُولَهَا فِي يَوْمٍ، قَالَ: ’’إِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ أَنْ تَقُولَهَا فِي يَوْمٍ فَقُلْهَا فِي جُمْعَةٍ، فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِع ْ أَنْ تَقُولَهَا فِي جُمُعَةٍ فَقُلْهَا فِي شَهْرٍ، فَلَمْ يَزَل
ٍيَقُولُ لَهُ، حَتَّى قَالَ: فَقُلْهَا فِي سَنَة‘‘.
Abu Rafiʿ (RA) relates that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said (to his uncle) Abbas (RA): ‘O uncle, shall I not join ties with you? Shall I not show you affection? Shall I not benefit you?’ He replied: ‘Indeed, O Messenger of Allah.’ The Prophet said: ‘Uncle, perform four rakʿahs of prayer in such a manner that in each rakʿah, after reciting Surah al-Fatihah and any surah, when you finish the recitation but before going into rukuʿ, say fifteen times: “Allahu akbar, al-hamdu li-llah, subhana llah, la ilaha illa llah.” Then go into rukuʿ and there say these same words ten times. Then raise your head, and while standing upright say these words ten times. Then go into sujud and say these words ten times. Then raise your head from prostration and repeat these words ten times. Then go into the second prostration and say these same words ten times, and when you raise your head from that prostration, before standing up (while still sitting), again repeat these words ten times. In this way, in each rakʿah the repetition of these words will amount to seventy-five, and in four rakʿahs the total number will be three hundred. Then, even if your sins are as numerous as a mound of sand, Allah will forgive them for you.’
He (Abbas) submitted: ‘Who is capable of reciting so many words (of glorification) every day in prayer?’ The Prophet replied: ‘If you are unable to recite them daily, then perform this prayer every Friday; and if you
cannot do it every Friday, then perform it once a month.’ He continued thus, until he finally said: ‘Then perform it once in a year.’”
The text of this report has been taken from the Sunan of Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 AH), no. 482.
The Sources of the Hadith of Abu Rafi The other chains (turuq) of the above-mentioned hadith of Abu Rafiʿ, as taken from Sunan al-Tirmidhi, with slight variations in wording, are transmitted in the following primary sources, listed here in chronological order:
1. al-Sunan of Ibn Majah (d. 273 AH), no. 1386.
2. al-Musnad of al-Ruyani (d. 307 AH), no. 699. 3. al-Muʿjam al-Kabir of al-Tabarani (d. 360 AH), no. 987.
4. al-Sunan al-Sughra of al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH), no. 831.
5. Shuʿab al-Iman of al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH), no. 602.
A consideration of the dates of these sources makes three points clear:
First, that among the primary sources of hadith and athar, only the aforementioned five works contain a takhrij of the hadith of Abu Rafiʿ. In other words, the remaining primary sources are entirely devoid of any mention of this report.
Second, that up until the middle of the third century AH, this report of Abu Rafiʿ had not been recorded in any book of hadith or athar.
Third, that in the middle of the third century AH, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah transmitted it; towards the end of that same century, al-Ruyani transmitted it; in the fourth century AH, al-Tabarani transmitted it; and in the fifth century AH, only al-Bayhaqi recorded it. Thus, out of the many hadith scholars of these three centuries, only five scholars deemed this report worthy of inclusion in their compilations.
Critical assessment of the chains of transmission and legal ruling on the report From the critical examination of the chains (asanid) of the aforementioned routes (turuq) of the hadith of Abu Rafiʿ, it becomes evident that, in the view of the experts of rijal, all these chains—including the route found in al- Tirmidhi—contain several narrators who have been subjected to criticism (majruh). However, in terms of the principles of hadith evaluation, decisive weight in determining the ruling on these chains belongs to the following two unreliable narrators:
The first is Musa bin ʿUbaydah al-Rabadhi, who is deemed by the leading hadith authorities to be munkar al- hadith and an extremely weak transmitter.
The second is Saʿid bin Abi Saʿid al-Ansari. In the view of the scholars of rijal, he is majhul, that is, an unknown narrator. Apart from the route in Shuʿab al-Iman of al-Bayhaqi, this unknown narrator occurs in the chains of all the remaining routes of this hadith cited above.
In light of the presence and status of these two narrators in its chains, it is established, from the standpoint of hadith science and in the judgment of the experts of rijal, that this hadith ascribed to Abu Rafiʿ (RA)—along with all its aforementioned routes—is extremely weak (shadid al-daʿf) and unreliable. Accordingly, the hadith of Abu Rafiʿ can in no way be adduced as a proof for affirming, on the authority of the Prophet’s words, the legitimacy or recommended status (istihbab) of this prayer in religion.
2. The hadith of Abdullah bin Umar (RA) The second verbal report regarding Salat al-Tasbih is narrated from Abdullah bin Umar (RA). In the hadith literature, this report appears for the first time towards the end of the fourth century AH when al-Hakim (d. 405 AH) recorded it in his work al-Mustadrak ʿala al-Sahihayn, no. 1196. After al-Hakim, only al-Bayhaqi (d. 458 AH) mentions this report in the fifth century AH in his work al-Daʿawat al-Kabir, no. 445. Apart from these two works, all other hadith compilations are altogether devoid of the report of Abdullah bin Umar (RA) on the subject of Salat al-Tasbih.
Text of the Report In al-Mustadrak of al-Hakim, no. 1196, the report is transmitted in the following wording:
َعَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، قَالَ: وَجَّهَ رَسُولُ اللّٰہ ِ صَلی اللّٰہ عَلَيہِ وَسَلَّم جَعْفَرَ بْنَ أَبِي طَالِبٍ إِلَى بِالَدِ الْح َّبَشَةِ، فَلَمَّا قَدِمَ اعْتَنَقَهُ وَقَبَّلَ بَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ، ثُم
َقَالَ: ’’أَالَ أَهَبُ لَكَ، أَالَ أُبَشِّرُكَ، أَالَ أَمْنَحُكَ، أَالَ أُتْحِفُكَ؟‘‘ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، يَا رَسُولَ اللّٰہ ِ. قَال ٍ: ’’تُصَلِّي أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ تَقْرَأُ فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَة
ِبِالْحَمْدِ وَسُورَۃٍ، ثُمَّ تَقُولُ بَعْدَ الْقِرَاءَۃِ وَأَنْتَ قَائِمٌ قَبْلَ الرُّكُوعِ: سُبْحَانَ اللّٰہ ِ، وَالْحَمْدُ ّٰللِه َ، وَالَ إِلَهَ إِالَّ اللّٰہ ُ، وَاللّٰہ ُ أَكْبَرُ، وَال َّ حَوْلَ وَالَ قُوَّۃَ إِال
ِبِاّٰلله ِ خَمْسَ عَشْرَۃَ مَرَّۃً، ثُمَّ تَرْكَعُ فَتَقُولُهُنَّ عَشْرًا تَمَامَ هَذِهِ الرَّكْعَةِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَبْتَدِئَ ب ُالرَّكْعَةِ الثَّانِيَةِ، تَفْعَلُ فِي الثَّالَثِ رَكَعَاتٍ كَمَا وَصَفْت
ٍلَكَ حَتَّى تُتِمَّ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَات‘‘.
“Abdullah bin Umar (RA) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) dispatched Jafar bin Abi Talib to the land of Abyssinia. When Jafar bin Abi Talib returned and came to meet the Prophet, he embraced him and kissed him between the eyes. Then he said: ‘Shall I not give you a gift? Shall I not convey to you glad tidings? Shall I not grant you something? Shall I not present you with a precious offering?’ He replied: ‘Certainly, O Messenger of Allah.’ The Prophet said: ‘You shall perform four rakʿahs of prayer in such a manner that in every rakʿah you recite al-Hamd (Surah al-Fatihah) and a surah, then after the recitation, while you are still standing and before going into rukuʿ, you say fifteen times: “Subhana llah, wa-l-hamdu li-llah, wa la ilaha illa llah, wa llahu akbar, wa la hawla wa la quwwata illa bi-llah.” Then you bow and say these phrases ten times in the state of rukuʿ. Before you begin the second rakʿah, you complete the entire first rakʿah by repeating these phrases at each posture in the manner I have described. You do likewise in the remaining three rakʿahs until you complete four rakʿahs.’”
Critical assessment of the chains of transmission and legal ruling on the report With regard to the chain (isnad) of this report, al-Hakim has shown evident laxity, for after transmitting it he writes: هَذَا ٌإِسْنَاد ٌصَحِيح َال َغُبَار ِعَلَيْه – “This is a sound chain with no blemish upon it.” The reality, however, is otherwise. In both of the chains for this report, there are, in the judgment of the leading hadith scholars, two narrators who are unreliable:
The first is Ishaq bin Kamil al-Muʾaddibin No authoritative act of accreditation (tawthiq) is established for him from the experts of rijal; rather, some of them explicitly state that it is not even known whether a narrator by this name ever actually existed. Abu Saʿid bin Yunus al-Misri says concerning him: لم يتابع في حديثه مناكير – that is, he is a solitary (mutafarrrid) narrator, no other transmitter is found to support or corroborate his reports, and there are munkar narrations in what he transmits.
The second is Ahmad bin Dawud Abd al-Ghaffar al-Harrani. Numerous authorities of rijal have described him as a kadhdhab (liar) and a fabricator of hadiths ascribed to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). Indeed, it is established that senior pre-Hakim authorities such as Abu Hatim al-Razi, Ibn Hibban and Imam al-Daraqutni have all said about him: يضع الحديث – “He used to fabricate hadith.”
In light of the foregoing details, it becomes plainly obvious that both of the chains for this hadith attributed to Abdullah bin Umar (RA) are, according to the principles of hadith science, mawduʿ – that is, fabricated. The distinctive nafl prayer called Salat al-Tasbih therefore cannot be established at all on the basis of this report either.
3. The Hadith of Jafar bin Abi Talib (RA)
The third report regarding Salat al-Tasbih is narrated from Jafar bin Abi Talib (RA) himself. This is transmitted only in the following two hadith works: In al-Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq al-Sanʿani (d. 211 AH), no. 5004, dating from the late second or early third century AH. In Akhbar al-Salah of Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi (d. 600 AH), no. 81, compiled in the late sixth century AH.
Text of the Report The report attributed to Jafar bin Abi Talib (RA) is transmitted in Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq, no. 5004, in the following wording:
:ُعَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلی اللّٰہ عَلَيہِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَه’’ أَالَ أَهَبُ لَكَ؟ أَالَ أَمْنَحُكَ؟ أَالَ أَحْذُوكَ؟ أَالَ أُوثِرُكَ؟ أَالَ؟
أَالَ؟‘‘ :َحَتَّى ظَنَنْتُ أَنَّهُ سَيَقْطَعُ لِي مَاءَ الْبَحْرَيْنِ، قَال’’ َّتُصَلِّي أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ تَقْرَأُ أُمَّ الْقُرْآنِ فِي كُلِّ رَكْعَةٍ وَسُورَۃً، ثُم
تَقُولُ: الْحَمْدُ ّٰللِه ُ، وَسُبْحَانَ اللّٰہ ِ، وَاللّٰہ ُ أَكْبَرُ، وَالَ إِلَهَ إِالَّ اللّٰہ ُ، فَعُدَّهَا وَاحِدَۃً حَتَّى تعُدَّ خَمْسَ عَشْرَۃَ مَرَّۃً، ثُمَّ تَرْكَعُ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا
،ٌوَأَنْتَ رَاكِعٌ، ثُمَّ تَرْفَعُ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا وَأَنْتَ رَافِعٌ، ثُمَّ تَسْجُدُ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا وَأَنْتَ سَاجِد ،ٌثُمَّ تَرْفَعُ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا وَأَنْتَ جَالِس
َثُمَّ تَسْجُدُ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا وَأَنْتَ سَاجِدٌ، ثُمَّ تَرْفَعُ فَتَقُولُهَا عَشْرًا وَأَنْتَ جَالِسٌ، فَتِلَكَ خَمْسٌ و ِسَبْعُونَ، وَفِي الثَّالَثِ األَْوَاخِر
َكَذَلِكَ، فَذَلِكَ ثَالَثُ مِائَةِ مَجْمُوعَةٍ، وَإِذَا فَرَّقْتَهَا كَانَتْ أَلْفًا وَمِائَتَيْنِ، تَصْنَعُهُنَّ فِي يَوْمِك ،ٍ أَوْ لَيْلَتِكَ، أَوْ جَمْعَتِكَ، أَوْ فِي شَهْر َأَوْ فِي سَنَةٍ، أَوْ فِي عُمْرِكَ، فَلَوْ كَانَتْ ذُنُوبُكَ عَدَدَ نُجُومِ السَّمَاءِ، أَوْ عَدَدَ الْقَطْرِ، أَوْ عَدَدَ ر ِمْلِ عَالِجٍ، أَوْ عَدَدَ أَيَّامِ الدَّهْر
َلَغَفَرَهَا اللّٰہ ُ لَك‘‘. It is narrated from Jafar bin Abi Talib (RA) that the Prophet (PBUH) said to him: ‘Shall I not give you something as a gift? Shall I not grant you something? Shall I not clothe you (with something precious)? Shall I not give you preference over others? Shall I not? Shall I not?’ (Jafar (RA) says:) He continued thus until I thought that he would allot to me the water of the two seas. Then he said: ‘You shall perform four rakʿahs of prayer. In each rakʿah you recite Umm al-Quran (Surah al-Fatihah) and a surah, then you say: “al-hamdu li-llah, wa subhana llah, wa llahu akbar, wa la ilaha illa llah,” and count this as one, until you have counted it fifteen times. Then you bow and say them ten times while you are in rukuʿ; then you rise and say them ten times while you are standing upright; then you prostrate and say them ten times while you are in sujud; then you rise and say them ten times while you are sitting; then you prostrate again and say them ten times while you are in sujud; then you rise and say them ten times while you are sitting. Thus (in every rakʿah) these phrases are repeated seventy-five times. In the remaining three rakʿahs you do likewise. In this way, the total number amounts to three hundred when taken collectively; and if you separate the individual words (or phrases), they come to one thousand and two hundred. You may perform these four rakʿahs in your day or in your night, or on the day of Friday, or once in a month, or once in a year, or once in your lifetime. After that, even if your sins are as numerous as the stars in the sky, or as the drops of rain, or as the grains of sand in a great sand-hill, or as the days of time itself, Allah will surely forgive them for you.’
Critical assessment of the chains of transmission and legal ruling on the report
In Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq, no. 5004, there are two major defects (ʿilal) in the chain of this report:
1. Within it is a narrator named Ismael bin Rafi al-Ansari, who, in the view of the experts of rijal, is wholly unreliable. Several authorities of rijal have declared him weak (daif), while many eminent hadith scholars have described him as munkar al-hadith or matruk al-hadith (abandoned in hadith).
2. There is also an instance of inqitaʿ (discontinuity) in this chain, meaning that the sequence of transmitters is not fully connected but is broken. The detail is that this aforementioned narrator, deemed matruk al-hadith, namely Ismael bin Rafiʿ al-Ansari, belongs to the seventh generation of transmitters (the tabaqah of the tabiʿ al-tabiʿin), whereas in this chain he is shown reporting directly from Jafar bin Abi Talib (RA), the paternal cousin of the Prophet (PBUH), who was martyred in the eighth year after the Hijrah. It is therefore immediately apparent that this isnad is munqatiʿ (disconnected), and the direct transmission of a report by Ismael from Jafar (RA) cannot in any way be accepted.
The second route of the hadith of Jafar, which is transmitted in the work Akhbar al-Salah by Abd al-Ghani al- Maqdisi, is even weaker and more dismissible than the first route in Musannaf Abd al-Razzaq. The reason is that, in addition to the two aforementioned defects, this chain contains yet another criticized narrator, whose kunyah is Abu Maʿshar and whose name is Najih bin Abd al-Rahman al-Sindi. The leading hadith scholars have graded him weak (daif) and a transmitter of munkar reports.
Besides this, there is a further discontinuity in this chain: the author, Abd al-Ghani bin Abd al-Wahid al-Maqdisi, was born in 541 AH, yet he is shown as transmitting this report directly from Said bin Mansur al-Khurasani, who died in 227 AH. It is thus evident that the chain is not broken in just one place but in two. Owing to this initial break in the chain, it becomes clear that, in terms of hadith methodology, this report is muʿallaq and is therefore to be rejected.
From the study of both chains of this hadith attributed to Jafar bin Abi Talib (RA), it is established that, in accordance with the principles of hadith science, this report too is extremely weak and unworthy of consideration. Consequently, it is by no means permissible to cite this report as a proof for the establishment of Salat al-Tasbih.
[To Be Continued]