47/5. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 2673d — Verifying the Knowledge Hadith
The Taking Away Of Knowledge And The Spread Of Ignorance At The End Of Time
Hadith About Verifying Knowledge and Scholars
Sahih Muslim : 2673d
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 2673d
حَدَّثَنَا حَرْمَلَةُ بْنُ يَحْيَى التُّجِيبِيُّ، أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ وَهْبٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبُو شُرَيْحٍ، أَنَّ أَبَا الأَسْوَدِ، حَدَّثَهُ عَنْ عُرْوَةَ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ، قَالَ قَالَتْ لِي عَائِشَةُ يَا ابْنَ أُخْتِي بَلَغَنِي أَنَّحَمَلَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عِلْمًا كَثِيرًا - قَالَ - فَلَقِيتُهُ فَسَاءَلْتُهُ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ يَذْكُرُهَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم . قَالَ عُرْوَةُ فَكَانَ فِيمَا ذَكَرَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ " إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنْتَزِعُ الْعِلْمَ مِنَ النَّاسِ انْتِزَاعًا وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعُلَمَاءَ فَيَرْفَعُ الْعِلْمَ مَعَهُمْ وَيُبْقِي فِي النَّاسِ رُءُوسًا جُهَّالاً يُفْتُونَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَيَضِلُّونَ وَيُضِلُّونَ " . قَالَ عُرْوَةُ فَلَمَّا حَدَّثْتُ عَائِشَةَ بِذَلِكَ أَعْظَمَتْ ذَلِكَ وَأَنْكَرَتْهُ قَالَتْ أَحَدَّثَكَ أَنَّهُ سَمِعَ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم يَقُولُ هَذَا قَالَ عُرْوَةُ حَتَّى إِذَا كَانَ قَابِلٌ قَالَتْ لَهُ إِنَّ ابْنَ عَمْرٍو قَدْ قَدِمَ فَالْقَهُ ثُمَّ فَاتِحْهُ حَتَّى تَسْأَلَهُ عَنِ الْحَدِيثِ الَّذِي ذَكَرَهُ لَكَ فِي الْعِلْمِ - قَالَ - فَلَقِيتُهُ فَسَاءَلْتُهُ فَذَكَرَهُ لِي نَحْوَ مَا حَدَّثَنِي بِهِ فِي مَرَّتِهِ الأُولَى . قَالَ عُرْوَةُ فَلَمَّا أَخْبَرْتُهَا بِذَلِكَ قَالَتْ مَا أَحْسِبُهُ إِلاَّ قَدْ صَدَقَ أَرَاهُ لَمْ يَزِدْ فِيهِ شَيْئًا وَلَمْ يَنْقُصْ .
`Urwa bin Az-Zubair Narrated from:
'A'isha said to him: This news has reached me that 'Abdullah b. 'Amr al-'As would pass by us during the Hajj season, so you meet him and ask him (about religious matters) as he has acquired great knowledge from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ).I thus met him and asked him about things which he narrated from Allah's Messenger (ﷺ). And amongst these the one he mentioned was that Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge from people directly but he takes away the scholars and consequently takes away (knowledge) along with them and leaves amongst persons the ignorant as their leaders who deliver religious verdicts without (adequate) knowledge and themselves go astray and lead others astray.'Urwa said: When I narrated this to 'A'isha, she deemed it too much (to believe) and thus showed reluctance to accept that (as perfectly true) and said to, 'Urwa: Did he ('Abdullah b. 'Amr) say to you that he had heard Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) as saying: ('Urwa had forgotten to ask this from 'Abdullah b. 'Amr).So when it was the next year, she ('A'isha) said to him ('Urwa): Ibn Amr has come (for Hajj), so meet him. talk to him and ask him about this hadith that he narrated to You (last year on the occasion of the Hajj) pertaining to knowledge. He ('Urwa), said: So I met him, and asked about it and he narrated to me exactly like one that he had narrated (to me) for the first time. So when I informed her ('A'isha) about that, she said: I do not think but this that he has certainly told the truth and I find that be has neither made any addition to it, nor missed anything from it.
Reference : Sahih Muslim 2673dIn-book reference : Book 47, Hadith 25USC-MSA web (English) reference : Book 34, Hadith 6465
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 2673d
This hadith about verifying knowledge gives both the main prophetic warning and a careful example of checking a narration. Aisha told Urwa to meet Abdullah b. Amr because he had carried much knowledge from Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم. Urwa asked him, and among what he narrated was that Allah does not take knowledge away directly from people. Rather, He takes away scholars, and ignorant leaders then give verdicts without knowledge, misguiding themselves and others. Aisha first wanted to confirm that Abdullah had heard it from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. When Urwa checked again the next year, the wording was the same, and Aisha accepted his accuracy.
What we learn from this hadith
- Aisha showed care in verifying that a report was truly heard from the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم.
- The hadith warns against ignorant leaders giving religious verdicts.
- Consistent wording when repeated supported the reliability of the report.
