Salamah; both of them said:
“Ḥammād narrated to us, attributing it to Jundub, and he entertained no doubt about the chain.”
This ḥadīth possesses a sound isnād. (1)
Ḥammād ibn Zayd said, “I heard Ayyūb remark, ‘Qatādah never transmitted a single ḥadīth from Muḥammad.’”
Naṣr ibn ʿAlī related: “My father told us; Khālid ibn Qays told us; he said that Qatādah declared, ‘I have never forgotten anything.’
He then said, ‘Boy, hand me my sandals.’
The boy answered, ‘Your sandals are on your feet.’”
I comment: This anecdote is prompted by rivalry; empty claims bear no fruit.
ʿAbd al-Razzāq reported: “Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatādah, regarding Allah’s words, ‘and he is the most stubborn of adversaries’ (Q 2:204): he said, ‘That is futile disputation.’ (2)
Muḥammad ibn Thawr, from Maʿmar, from Qatādah, narrated about the verse, ‘They whisper to their allies so that they may dispute with you’ (Q 6:121): he said, ‘The idolaters disputed with them over the matter of slaughtered animals.’ (3)
(1) How can the report be relied upon when it contains al-Hasan’s ‘an‘anah? Nevertheless, the tradition is authentic through the chain of Abu Hurayrah. Al-Bukhari records it (11/441, Book of Predestination, chapter “Adam and Moses dispute before Allah”), as do Muslim (no. 2652, same book and chapter), Malik (2/898, Book of Predestination, chapter “Prohibition of speaking about qadar”), Abu Dawud (no. 4701) and al-Tirmidhi (no. 2135). The wording is: “The Messenger of Allah said: ‘Adam and Moses disputed. Moses said, “You are the one who drove people out of Paradise through your sin and made them miserable.” Adam replied, “You are Moses, whom Allah chose with His messages and His speech; do you reproach me for a matter Allah had written for me before He created me?”’ The Messenger of Allah added: ‘Thus Adam prevailed over Moses.’ ” Other versions are cited in Ibn al-Athir, Jamiʿ al-usul, 10/124, 126.
Regarding the phrase “fa-hajja Adamu Musa,” Adam is in the nominative and Musa in the accusative, meaning that Adam established the proof against Moses. Al-Khattabi explains that Adam’s victory concerns only the removal of blame, since no human may censure another; in the substantive issue, both prophets stand equal—no one can abolish the fundamental principle of qadar (Divine decree) or negate human acquisition, which is the immediate cause.
(2) Its transmitters are reliable. Al-Tabari also narrates it (2/315) via ʿAbd al-Razzaq with the wording “he argues with falsehood.” Al-Tabari further relates, from Saʿid on the authority of Qatada, concerning the verse “wa-huwa aladd al-khisam” (he is the most obstinate disputant): “He is extremely harsh in sin, arguing with falsehood. At will you may see him eloquent of tongue yet ignorant in deed—he speaks wisdom but acts in sin.”
(3) Its transmitters are reliable. Al-Tabari (8/18) gives the rest of the report: “They said, ‘What you kill with your own hands you eat, but what Allah kills you refuse to eat’—meaning carrion. Such was their disputation.”