بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
The following is a translation of an article written by our teacher, Muḥaddith Muḥaqqiq Shaykh Ṭalḥah Bilāl Manyār (May Allāh preserve him), an exceptional ḥadīth expert and a very close student of the late Syrian muḥaddith, Shaykh ʿAbdul Fattāḥ Abū Ghudda (رحمه الله).
We have double checked all the references quoted by the respected Shaykh and added further elucidating points in the parenthesis [] in the colour blue.
Question:
It is said in lectures that all the Prophets supplicated to be part of this ʾUmmah. Some even add that none of the Prophets’ supplications were accepted except ʿĪsā (عليه السلام). So, I would like to know if this is a statement of the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ?
Answer:
We were not able to locate any reliable Prophetic ḥadīth regarding this despite extensively researching many books of tafsīr and ḥadīth.
Duʿāʾ Ascribed to Sayyidunā Musā (عليه السلام):
However, there are some narrations regarding Sayyidunā Musā (عليه السلام), (not ʿĪsā (عليه السلام)) mentioned in some of the tafsīr books under the verse number 150 of Sūrah Al-ʾAʿrāf:
“And when Moses returned to his people, angry and grieved, he said, ‘How wretched is that by which you have replaced me after [my departure]. Were you impatient over the matter of your Lord?’ And he threw down the tablets…”
[The narrations state:] When Sayyidunā Musā (عليه السلام) read the virtues of this ʾUmmah in the Torah, he supplicated to Allāh to include him among this ʾUmmah. (Tafsīr Qurṭubī Vol.13 Pg.124)[1]
[ʾImām Qurṭubī (رحمه الله) mentioned a summarised version of the tābiʿī Qatādah’s (رحمه الله) narration but added the caveat: “If it is even authentically narrated from him.” The full narration is collected by the ʾImām, Ibn Jarīr Al-Ṭabarī (رحمه الله) in his Tafsīr (Vol.10 Pg.452 Turkī’s Edition). The summary of this narration is that after hearing the many virtues of the ʾUmmah of Muḥammad ﷺ, Mūsā (عليه السلام) threw down the tablets and then prayed to be part of this ʾUmmah. However, Allāh bestowed upon him two virtues which he did not bestow upon any other Prophet, and he (عليه السلام) was pleased. Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) remarked: “Ibn Jarīr (رحمه الله) narrated a strange statement from Qatādah (رحمه الله). Its chain is not authentic to Qatādah. Ibn ʿAṭiyah (رحمه الله) and several other ʿulamāʾ have refuted it, and it deserves to be rejected. It is as though Qatādah heard this from the People of the Book, but amongst them are liars, fabricators, accusers and infidels.” This is why the great Mālikī mufassir of Cordoba, Spain, ʾImām Qurṭubī (رحمه الله) concluded: “This is an awful opinion, and it is not befitting to ascribe it to Musa (عليه السلام).”
The correct reason for Mūsā (عليه السلام) throwing the tablets is clearly understood from the Qurʾān Majīd itself. The previous verse speaks about when Mūsā’s (عليه السلام) people started to worship a calf that they made from gold after he (عليه السلام) went up the mountains to receive revelation. So, he was angry over this, and threw the tablets down when he saw them. Allāh Taʿālā says: “And the people of Moses made, after [his departure], from their ornaments a calf – an image having a lowing sound. Did they not see that it could neither speak to them nor guide them to a way? They took it [for worship], and they were wrongdoers.” (Sūrah Al-ʿArāf: 148)]
There are also similar narrations in historical and biographical books. (Ḥilyatul ʾAwliyāʾ Vol.6 Pg.18)
[From Kaʿb Al-ʾAḥbār (رحمه الله) who was a Jewish rabbi, who accepted Islām in the era of the Ṣaḥābah (رضي الله عنهم) and transmitted many Israelites. This narration states that after Allāh Taʿālā mentioned the many virtues of the ʾUmmah of Muḥammad ﷺ to Mūsā (عليه السلام), he fell in prostration and prayed to be part of this ʾUmmah, but Allāh replied: “You will not reach them (i.e., their era).”]
However, all of these narrations revolve around either, Ḥazrat Kaʿb Al-ʾAḥbār (رحمه الله), Ḥazrat Wahab ibn Munabbih (رحمه الله) or Ḥazrat Qatādah ibn Diʿāmah (رحمه الله). These are those tābiʿīn who are renowned for narrating Israelites. Therefore, our predominant belief is that this is an Israelite narration.
In some books, these narrations are reported as statements of the Prophet ﷺ. For instance, Ḥāfiẓ ʾAbū Nuʿaym (رحمه الله) mentioned a ḥadīth transmitted by Sayyidunā ʾAbū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) in his ‘Dalāʾilun Nubuwwah’ (#31). However, its chain is weak.
[In its chain is Jubārah ibn Al-Mughallis. Some muḥaddithūn have branded him a liar while other said he did not intentionally lie but he unknowingly narrates fabrications. Regardless, he will be deemed unreliable.]
Duʿāʾ Ascribed to Sayyidunā ʾIlyās (عليه السلام)
Similarly, it is narrated in some books of ḥadīth, such as Al-Mustadrak of ʾImām Ḥākim (رحمه الله) (Vol.2 Pg.674)[2] and ‘Dalāʾilun Nubuwwah’ of ʾImām Bayhaqī (رحمه الله) (Vol.5 Pg.421) that Sayyidunā ʾIlyās (عليه السلام) supplicated in a similar manner. However, this narration’s chain is extremely weak. ʾImām Dha-habī (رحمه الله) has even graded this narration as a fabrication in his ‘Talkhīṣul Mustadrak’.
[ʾImām Bayhaqī (رحمه الله) himself remarked: “The chain of this ḥadīth is totally weak and those narrations which are authentic regarding [the Prophet’s ﷺ] miracles are sufficient.” This narration is the exact same narration ofAl-Mustadrak. Therefore, the same grade given by ʾImām Dha-habī (رحمه الله) above will apply.
ʾImām Dha-habī’s (رحمه الله) words are: “It is a fabrication. May Allāh disgrace he who fabricated this. I did not think nor permit that ignorance would reach Ḥākim (رحمه الله) to such an extent that he would authenticate this.”
Note: In his ‘Tafsīr’ (Vol.5 Pg.1587 #8369), Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʾAbī Ḥātim (رحمه الله) collected a narration of Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما) ascribing this supplication to Mūsā (عليه السلام). However, its chain is weak due to the following two narrators: (1) Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdur Raḥmān ibn ʾAbī Laylā Al-Kūfī Al-Qāḍī. He was truthful but has a weak memory. (Al-Taqrīb maʿa Al-Taḥrīr #6081, Al-Kāshif #5000) (2) Qays ibn Al-Rabīʿ Al-ʾAsadī Al-Kūfī. He was truthful but his memory became weak in his old age and his son would insert (in his books) that which was not his (ḥadīth) and he would (unknowingly) narrate them. (Al-Taqrīb maʿa Al-Taḥrīr #5573, Al-Kāshif #4600)]
Duʿāʾ Ascribed to Sayyidunā Khiḍar (رضي الله عنه)
This story has been ascribed to Sayyidunā Khiḍar (رضي الله عنه) in ʾImām Ṭabarānī’s (رحمه الله) ‘Al-Muʿjamul Awsaṭ’ (#3071). However, its chain is also useless and unreliable.
[A similar fabricated story which Ḥākim (رحمه الله) narrated was also narrated by Ṭabarānī (رحمه الله) but the person in the former was Sayyidunā ʾIlyās (عليه السلام) while in the latter was Sayyidunā Khiḍar (رضي الله عنه). Ḥāfiẓ Ibnul Jawzī placed this narration in his collection of fabrications, ‘Al-Mawḍūʿāt’ (#402) and quoted Ibnul Munādī (رحمه الله), who said: “It is an extremely weak ḥadīth due to Al-Waḍḍāḥ and others. Its chain is munkar and its wordings are sick. Khiḍar did not correspond with the Prophet ﷺ nor did he meet him.” Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) also quoted this in his book regarding Khiḍar, ‘Al-Zahrun Naḍar fī Ḥālil Khiḍar’ (Pg.135). Thereafter he mentioned two other chains. The first collected by Ḥāfiẓ Ibn ʿAsākir in ‘Tārīkh Dimashq’ (Vol.16 Pg.423). Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr (رحمه الله) remarked: “ʾAbū Dāwūd Al-ʿAʿmā Nufayʿ ibnul Ḥārith is a liar and fabricator. This is a lie and is not authentic in chain nor text.” (Al-Bidāyah wan Nihāyah Vol.2 Pg.256) The second narration was collected by Ḥafiẓ Ibn Shāhīn (رحمه الله) and ʾImām Al-Dāraquṭni (رحمه الله) in ‘Al-ʾAfrād’. Ḥafiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) graded its narrator extremely baseless in ḥadīth. (Pg.138) Ibn ʿIrāq (رحمه الله) concluded in ‘Tanzīhush Sharīʿah’: “Therefore, none of the two chains are suitable as a support.” (Vol.1 Pg.234)]
Duʿāʾ Ascribed to Sayyidunā ʿĪsā (عليه السلام)
As for Sayyidunā ʿĪsā (عليه السلام), then we did not find any narration which explicitly mentions that he supplicated in such a manner and subsequently it was accepted. Yes, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) mentioned the following in ‘Fatḥul Bārī’ (Vol.6 Pg.492):
“The wisdom in ʿĪsā (عليه السلام) descending and not any other Prophet is to refute the Jews in their claim that they killed him. So Allāh will expose their lie and he (عليه السلام) will be the one to kill them. [Another point is] He will descend to the earth to be buried there as his lifespan will be coming to an end. It is also said that when he saw the qualities of Muḥammad and his ʾUmmah, he supplicated to Allāh to include him amongst them. So Allāh accepted his supplication and kept him alive until he will descend in the end of times as a reviver of the matter of Islām. This will coincide with the emergence of Al-Dajjāl, and he (عليه السلام) will kill him. The first reasoning is the best.”
However, Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar (رحمه الله) did not mention any source for it. Furthermore, he deemed this explanation the least preferred one.
It is necessary to clarify that primarily, this discussion is regarding whether ʿĪsā’s (عليه السلام) ascent to the heavens and subsequently his descent in the end of times as an individual of this ʾUmmah was due to a supplication he invoked or not. This is solely what this discussion is about. Otherwise, the actual ascent and descent of ʿĪsā (عليه السلام) is established by authentic proofs. There is absolutely no denial of that here [in this discussion].
There are no narrations regarding the other Prophets (عليهم السلام) supplicating in such a manner.
[End of Shyak Talḥah’s article [with our explanation]. Original can be accessed here.]
Ruling of Israelite Narrations:
- If they coincide with the Qurʾān and Sunnah, then they are accepted. For instance, the drowning of Pharaoh.
- If they contradict with the Qurʾān and Sunnah, then they are rejected. For instance, the claim that Sayyidunā Sulayman (عليه السلام), Allāh forbid, did sorcery.
- If the Qurʾān and Sunnah are silent about the matter, then we neither affirm nor reject them. For instance, the names of the people of the cave (ʾAṣḥābul Kahf).[3]
And Allāh Taʿālā knows best.
Ibn Suleman
6th Dhul Ḥijjah 1445/13th June 2024
Dārul ʾIftāʾ
Sirājul ʿUlūm Institute
Reviewed and concurred by:
Muftī Muhammad Mahdi (Guiding Stars Academy)
Muftī Reza Deonarine
Muftī Ayinda Ahmad
[1] Tafsīr Qurṭubī Vol.9 Pg.339 Turkī’s Edition.
[2] Al-Mustadrak, Darul Minhāj Al-Qawīm’s Edition Vol.5 Pg.336 #4275
[3] See: Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr’s introduction to his ‘Tafsīr’ Vol.1 Pg.10, An approach to the Qurʾānic Science by Muftī Muhammad Taqi Usmani Pg.361