0/5.1. Chapter:
Sahih Muslim 71 — Change in Narrator Status
Unveiling Defects of the Transmitters of Ḥadīth and Relaters of Reports and the Statements of the A’immah Regarding That
Hadith Authentication and Changes in a Narrator
Sahih Muslim : 71
Sahih MuslimHadith Number 71
وَحَدَّثَنِي سَلَمَةُ بْنُ شَبِيبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْحُمَيْدِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا سُفْيَانُ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا مُوسَى، يَقُولُ حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ، قَبْلَ أَنْ يُحْدِثَ، .
Abū Mūsā Narrated from:
Amr bin Ubayd narrated to us before what happened’ [i.e. before he became Mu’tazilī].
Reference : Sahih Muslim Introduction 71In-book reference : Introduction, Narration 70
Summary of Sahih Muslim Hadith 71
This report is short, but it gives an important point for hadith authentication. Abu Musa said that Amr bin Ubayd narrated to them before what happened, meaning before his later change mentioned in the translation. The text shows that timing can matter when a narrator is discussed. A report from one period may be treated differently from a report after a known change. The narration does not give a long ruling, and we should not add more than it says. Its direct lesson is that scholars paid attention not only to who narrated, but also to when the narration was taken from that person.
What we learn from this hadith
- Timing can matter when evaluating a narrator.
- A narrator’s later condition may affect how reports are viewed.
- Scholars noted changes in people connected to Hadith transmission.
- Hadith study looks carefully at both the narrator and the period of narration.
