0/5.1. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 58 — False Interpretation Warning
Unveiling Defects of the Transmitters of Ḥadīth and Relaters of Reports and the Statements of the A’immah Regarding That
False Interpretation Warning: Staying With the Verse’s Meaning
Sahih Muslim : 58
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 58
وَحَدَّثَنِي سَلَمَةُ بْنُ شَبِيبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ رَجُلاً، سَأَلَ جَابِرًا عَنْ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ { فَلَنْ أَبْرَحَ الأَرْضَ حَتَّى يَأْذَنَ لِي أَبِي أَوْ يَحْكُمَ اللَّهُ لِي وَهُوَ خَيْرُ الْحَاكِمِينَ} فَقَالَ جَابِرٌ لَمْ يَجِئْ تَأْوِيلُ هَذِهِ . قَالَ سُفْيَانُ وَكَذَبَ . فَقُلْنَا لِسُفْيَانَ وَمَا أَرَادَ بِهَذَا فَقَالَ إِنَّ الرَّافِضَةَ تَقُولُ إِنَّ عَلِيًّا فِي السَّحَابِ فَلاَ نَخْرُجُ مَعَ مَنْ خَرَجَ مِنْ وَلَدِهِ حَتَّى يُنَادِيَ مُنَادٍ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ . يُرِيدُ عَلِيًّا أَنَّهُ يُنَادِي اخْرُجُوا مَعَ فُلاَنٍ . يَقُولُ جَابِرٌ فَذَا تَأْوِيلُ هَذِهِ الآيَةِ وَكَذَبَ كَانَتْ فِي إِخْوَةِ يُوسُفَ صلى الله عليه وسلم .
Sufyān Narrated from:
I heard a man ask Jābir about the verse:{Thus I will never depart from the land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me, and He is the best of Judges}[Yūsuf: 80].Jābir said: ‘An interpretation has not come to me about these [verses]’. Sufyān said: ‘He lied’. We said to Sufyān: ‘What did he mean by this?’ [Sufyān] said: ‘Indeed the Rāfiḍah say, ‘Alī is in the clouds and we will not emerge along with he who will emerge from his children [the Khalīfah] until a caller calls from the heaven, meaning Alī: ‘Ride out along with so-and-so [meaning the promised Mahdī]’. Jābir said, ‘that is an interpretation for these verses’, and he would lie as they were regarding the brothers of Yūsuf, peace be upon him’.
Reference : Sahih Muslim Introduction 58In-book reference : Introduction, Narration 57
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 58
This report is about false interpretation and the need to avoid forcing meanings onto the Qur'an. A man asked Jābir about the verse from Surah Yusuf: “Thus I will never depart from the land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me.” Jābir said that its interpretation had not yet come. Sufyān said he lied and explained that Jābir was linking it to a belief about Ali in the clouds and a caller from the sky. Sufyān then stated that this was false, because the verse was about the brothers of Yusuf, peace be upon him. The report teaches a clear point: Qur'an interpretation must not be shifted away from the verse’s own subject without right basis.
What we learn from this hadith
- Qur'an verses should not be forced into unrelated claims.
- False interpretation can mislead people about the meaning of a verse.
- Sufyān connected the verse back to the brothers of Yusuf.
- Religious interpretation needs care and honesty.
