0/5.1. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 42 — Narrator Reliability and Hadith Care
Unveiling Defects of the Transmitters of Ḥadīth and Relaters of Reports and the Statements of the A’immah Regarding That
Hadith Narrator Reliability: Learning Care Before Transmitting
Sahih Muslim : 42
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 42
حَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ قُهْزَاذَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُثْمَانَ بْنِ جَبَلَةَ، يَقُولُ قُلْتُ لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ الْمُبَارَكِ مَنْ هَذَا الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي رَوَيْتَ عَنْهُ، حَدِيثَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو " يَوْمُ الْفِطْرِ يَوْمُ الْجَوَائِزِ " . قَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ الْحَجَّاجِ . انْظُرْ مَا وَضَعْتَ فِي يَدِكَ مِنْهُ . قَالَ ابْنُ قُهْزَاذَ وَسَمِعْتُ وَهْبَ بْنَ زَمْعَةَ، يَذْكُرُ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ، قَالَ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يَعْنِي ابْنَ الْمُبَارَكِ رَأَيْتُ رَوْحَ بْنَ غُطَيْفٍ صَاحِبَ " الدَّمِ قَدْرِ الدِّرْهَمِ " وَجَلَسْتُ إِلَيْهِ مَجْلِسًا فَجَعَلْتُ أَسْتَحْيِي مِنْ أَصْحَابِي أَنْ يَرَوْنِي جَالِسًا مَعَهُ كُرْهَ حَدِيثِهِ .
Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Quhzādh Narrated from:
Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Quhzādh narrated to me, he said I heard Abd Allah bin Uthmān bin Jabalah saying, I said to Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak: ‘Who is this man from whom you transmit the Ḥadīth of Abd Allah bin Amr, ‘The day of Fitr is the day of prizes…’?’ [Abd Allah] said: ‘Sulaymān bin al-Hajjāj. Look at what I placed in your hands [of praise] about him’.Ibn Quhzādh said I heard Wahb bin Zam’ah mentioning about Sufyān bin Abd il-Mālik, he said, Abd Allah –meaning Ibn al-Mubārak- said: ‘I saw Rawh bin Ghutayf, the companion of blood the amount of a Dirham, and I took a seat in one of his audiences. Then I began to become ashamed for my companions to see me sitting with him while his Ḥadīth are disapproved of.’
[1] Meaning, the narrator of the Hadîth : “Prayer is to be repeated if there is blood (stain) the size of a Dirham .” It was recorded by Ad-Dâraqutnî in his Sunan , Al-Baihaqî in his Sunan , and Al-‘Uqailî in Ad-Du‘afâ’ .Reference : Sahih Muslim Introduction 42In-book reference : Introduction, Narration 41
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 42
This report is about hadith narrator reliability and the care scholars showed before accepting reports. Abd Allah bin al-Mubarak was asked about a man from whom he narrated a report about the day of Fitr being the day of prizes. He named Sulayman bin al-Hajjaj and pointed the questioner to what had already been placed before him about that narrator. The report then mentions Rawh bin Ghutayf, whose hadith were disapproved of. Ibn al-Mubarak said he sat in one of his gatherings, but then felt ashamed that his companions might see him sitting with someone whose hadith were disliked. The core lesson is clear: reports are not treated lightly. A narrator’s standing matters, and sitting with or taking from questionable narrators can affect how knowledge is received.
What we learn from this hadith
- Hadith transmission requires care about who is being quoted.
- A narrator’s reputation matters when people judge a report.
- Scholars avoided being linked with people whose hadith were disapproved.
- Caution in religious knowledge protects people from unreliable reports.
