That the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: “Verily, the Deen will retreat back to the Hijaz as a snake retreats back to its hole, and the Deen will seek refuge in the Hijaz as the mountain goat seeks refuge in the mountain top. The Deen began as something strange and will return as something strange. Blessed are the strangers; those who will rectify what the people after me have corrupted from my Sunnah”.
Some have spoken about Kathir who had they been silent about him it would have been more beneficial. Indeed, only the ignorant have spoken about him and his motives (or relations). I heard Ibn Uwais saying: Malik asked me about his Hadith and Yahya bin Sa’id Al-Ansari related from him. I have no doubt that I heard Ibrahim bin Al- Mundhir (And if I didn’t hear it from him, then a Thiqah related it to me) that he said: “Kathir used to claim that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had granted his grandfather land and he used to dispute with those in that area. He used to quarrel a lot. He went to Ibn ‘Imran to quarrel and so ‘Imran said to him: “O Kathir, indeed you are an idle man who quarrels a lot in respect to that which you don’t know, you claim that which does not belong to you and you have no evidence from what you demand. So, don’t approach me and I will not let me see you unless you see that I have freed my time for the people of falsehood. If you see that, then come”. One day Ibn ‘Imran was with us and then behold Kathir bin Abdullah had approached him. He (Ibn ‘Imran) said: “Did I not tell you to not come to me unless you see me having freed my time for the people of falsehood?” Kathir then replied: ““You have said the truth, may Allah make good the affair of the Qadi. Indeed, I only came to you when the people of falsehood came to you. So and so and so and so person came to you. They are both people of falsehood and so I came along with them both”. It was from the command of Ibn ‘Imran to him. Abu Yusuf said: “He commanded to remain fast to the column until he had stood from judicial proceedings”. Abu Yusuf said: “They were from those devoted to Ibn ‘Imran]. This has also been recorded in the transcript of “Ash-Shamela Lil- Ma’rifah Wa At-Tarikh” (p. 62 – by the numbering of the Shamela E- library).
It is therefore apparent that he (Kathir) used to argue with men from those who sat in the company of Qadi Ibn ‘Imran and were devoted to him, and that he considered them to be from the “people of falsehood”. Qadi Ibn ‘Imran then took revenge against him for that reason and as a result whatever took place as a consequence, took place.
The following is a model example of Imam Malik questioning about his Hadith and a model example of his narrating from him:
- The following came stated in “Al-Lata’if min Daqa’iq Al-Ma’arif”, by Abu Musa Al-Madini (170/303):
[(The narration of Malik bin Anas from the son of his sister Isma’il bin Abu Uwais) – Abu Al-Fat’h bin Al-Ikhshid related to us from Abu Tahir bin Abdur Rahim, from Abu Al-Hasan Ad-Daraqutniy, from Muhammad bin Makhlad, from Hammad bin Al-Mu’ammal bin Matar Al-Kalbi, from Muhammad bin Abdullah Abu Bakr An-Naqid, from Isma’il bin Abu Uwais, who said: my maternal uncle Malik bin Anas related to me, from me (i.e. Anas bin Malik), from Kathir bin Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Awf, from his father, from his grandfather, may Allah be pleased with him, who said: ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The wayfarer (or traveller) has more right to the water and the shade than the one who built upon it (i.e. the land)”. Abu Bakr said: I asked to Isma’il “Who did you relate from” He replied: “Kathir bin Abdullah related to me, however, I wished to insert the name of my maternal uncle in it (i.e. the Isnad)”].
- The following came stated in “Ittihaf Al-Maharah” by Ibn Hajar (12/518/16024): [(Concerning the) Hadith of Ibn Abdul Barr: “I have left among you two matters; you will never go astray as long as you hold fast to them: the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet”. Malik said in his “Al-Jami’”: “It reached him that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said that. And the chain of transmission of Ibn Abdul Barr was via: Kathir bin Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Awf, from his father, from his grandfather, who said the same (i.e. “I have left among you etc…). It is therefore apparent that Malik took it (the Hadith) from him].
The following is a model example of Imam Al-Bukhari verifying the authentication of his Hadith:
- The following came stated in the “Sunan Al-Kubra” of Al-Baihaqi [With “Al-Jawhar An-Naqi” at its end (3/286/6393)]:
[Abu Abdullah Al-Hafizh related to us from Abu Bakr bin Ishaq Al- Faqih, from Al-Hasan bin ‘Ali bin Ziyad, from Ibn Abu Uwais, from Kathir bin Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Awf, from his father, from his grandfather: “That the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), used to make seven Takbirs in the first Rak’ah of the two Eid prayers and five Takbirs in the second Rak’ah before the recital (i.e. of Al-Fatihah)”. It was also related by Abdullah bin Nafi’ from Kathir. Abu ‘Eisa At-Tirmidhi said: “I asked Muhammd (meaning Al-Bukhari) about this Hadith and he said: “There is nothing in this subject area (i.e. issue) that is more Sahih than it and my opinion is in accordance to it”. He said: And the Hadith of Abdullah bin Abdur Rahman At-Ta’ifi from ‘Amr bin Shu’aib, from his father, from his grandfather, related to this subject area is also Sahih].
It can therefore be observed here that he (i.e. Al-Bukhari) gave precedence to his (i.e. Kathir’s) Hadith over that of ‘Amr bin Shu’aib, from his father, from his grandfather, which he also considered to be Sahih. From what has preceded in terms of explanation, it is evident that Imam Ibn Al-Qattan Al-Fasi made an error when he resorted to far-off interpretations and suppositions, as found in the following reference:
- The following came stated in “Nas Ar-Rayah Lil-Ahadeeth Al- Hidayah” by Jamal ud-Din Az-Zai’aliy (2/217):
[Concerning another Hadith: Recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah from Kathir bin Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Awf Al-Muzani, from his father, from his grandfather ‘Amr bin ‘Awf Al-Muzani: That the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) made Takbir, in the two Eid prayers, seven times in the first Rak’ah, before the recital (of the Quran) and five in the last Rak’ah, before the recital” [End of Quote]. At-Tirmidhi said: “(It is) a Hasan Hadith and it is the best thing that has been narrated in this subject area” [End of Quote]. And he said in his “Ilal Al-Kubra”: I asked Muhammad about this Hadith and he said: “There is nothing in this subject area which is more Sahih than it and my opinion is in accordance with it. The Hadith of Abdullah bin Abdur Rahman At-Ta’ifi and At-Ta’ifi comes close to the Hadith” [End of Quote]. Ibn Al-Qattan, in his book, said that this is not explicit in respect to the authentication. That is because his statement: “It is the most Sahih thing that has been narrated in this subject area” means that it resembles what has come in relation to this subject area and less Da’if (weak). While his statement: “And my opinion is in accordance with it” could be from the speech of At-Tirmidhi (i.e. and not Al-Bukhari) i.e. And I say: That this Hadith resembles what has come in relation to this subject area. Similarly, his statement: “And the Hadith of At-Ta’ifi is also Sahih” could also possibly be from the speech of At-Tirmidhi. The verification (Tashih) of the Hadith of ‘Amr bin Shu’aib has already been established from him and so it appears from that, that the statement of Al-Bukhari “The most Sahih thing” does not mean that it is Sahih. He said: “That is even if we were to exit from the literal meaning of the worded expression, which is obligatory, as Kathir bin Abdullah is Matruk (disregarded and not related from them) in their view. Ahmad bin Hanbal said: “Kathir bin Abdullah does not equal anything” and he rejected his Hadith in his Musnad nor did he relate them”. Ibn Ma’een said: “His Hadith are not worth anything”. An-Nasa’i and Ad-Daraqutniy said: “His Hadith are disregarded”. Abu Zur’ah said: “His Hadith are feeble/flimsy”. Ash- Shafi’iy said: “He is a pillar from among the pillars of lying”. Ibn Hibban said: “He related from his father from his grandfather a fabricated transcript; it is not permissible to mention them (i.e. his narrations) in the books, except from the angle of astonishment”. As for At-Ta’ifi. Then the people classified him as Da’if, including Ibn Ma’een” [End of Quote]].
In addition, we find a single Hadith (of Kathir bin Abdullah) in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad and I don’t know if Imam Ahmad related to it because there was supportive evidence for the Hadith or if his son Imam Abdullah bin Hanbal recorded it. It is the following:
- The following came recorded in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal (8/153):
[Hussein related to us from Abu Uwais, from Kathir bin Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Awf Al-Muzani, from his father, from his grandfather: “That the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) allocated land to Bilal bin Al-Harith Al-Muzani including the mines of al-Qabaliyyah, both which lay on the upper side and which lay on the lower side, where it is suitable for cultivation, of Quds. He did not give him (the land which involved) the right of a Muslim. The Prophet (peace be upon him) wrote a document for him. It goes: "In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful. This is what the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) assigned to Bilal bin Al-Harith al-Muzani. He gave him the mines of al-Qabaliyyah, both which lay on the upper side and which lay on the lower side, and (the land) which is suitable for cultivation, of Quds. He did not give him the right of any Muslim”.
- The narrator Abu Uwais said: A similar Hadith has been related to me by Thawr ibn Zayd from ‘Ikrimah, from Ibn Abbas, from the Prophet (peace be upon him).
It is hoped that we observe in Conclusion, that Imam Al-Bukhari lived in Al-Madinah for many years and he met with a group of those who received from Kathir bin Abdullah. He had also received much from his Sheikh Isma’il bin Abu Uwais who had met Kathir bin Abdullah and knew his condition and status well; even better than him. Therefore, Al-Bukhari knew about Kathir bin Abdullah from others. Similarly, Imam Ya’qub bin Sufyan had vast knowledge of the people of Al-Madinah.
Consequently, we seek guidance from Allah for that which right, and see the obligation of correcting what came stated in “At-Taqrib” so that the corrected text will be as follows:
- “Taqrib At-Tahdhib” (1/460/5617): [Kathir bin Abdullah bin ‘Amr bin ‘Awf Al-Muzani Al-Madani: There is no issue (or problem) with him and those who attributed lying to him were mistaken. He is from the seventh (generation or line of transmitters)].
Through this correction, the injustice against this man has been lifted and he has been dealt with fairly within the limits of moderation. And all praise belongs to Allah, through whose blessing, the righteous acts are completed! Edited in London and revised many times. It was last revised on Wednesday the 10th of Jumada Al-Akhira 1441 AH; corresponding to the 5th of February 2020.
