Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (8/98)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

; ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam said:

“I heard Mālik declare: ‘Hārūn al-Rashīd consulted me about three matters. First, that he might suspend the Muwattaʾ inside the Kaʿbah and oblige the people to act in accordance with it; second, that he might dismantle the pulpit of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and remake it from gold, silver, and precious stones; and third, that he might put Nāfiʿ forward as the prayer-leader in the Prophet’s Mosque.

“I replied: As for suspending the Muwattaʾ, the Companions disagreed over subsidiary rulings and went their separate ways, each convinced of his own correctness. As for dismantling the pulpit, I do not think the people should be deprived of a tangible relic of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. And as for advancing Nāfiʿ, he is indeed an authority in Qurʾānic recitation, but one cannot be certain that some impulsive act will not slip from him in the miḥrāb (prayer-niche), and it would then be held against him.’

“Hārūn replied, ‘May Allah grant you success, Abū ʿAbd Allāh.’” (1)

This chain of transmission is sound, yet the narrator may have erred in mentioning Hārūn, for Nāfiʿ died before Hārūn assumed the caliphate.

Among Mālik’s statements concerning the Sunnah:

And with this chain: Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn ʿAlī narrated to us; al-Firyābī narrated to us; al-Ḥulwānī narrated to us; Muṭarrif ibn ʿAbd Allāh said: I heard Mālik remark:

“The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and the rulers after him instituted Sunnahs. Holding fast to them is adherence to the Book of Allah, the perfection of obedience to Allah, and strength for the religion of Allah. No one is entitled to alter or replace them, or even to consider anything that opposes them. Whoever is guided by them is truly guided; whoever seeks support through them is supported; and whoever abandons them and follows a way other than that of the believers—Allah will abandon him to what he has chosen, cast him into Hell, and what an evil destination it is.” (2)

(1) Al-Hilya, 6:332; also quoted by Qadi Iyad in Tartib al-Madarik, 1:214-15, but there he substitutes ‘al-Mahdi’ for ‘Harun’. (2) Al-Hilya, 6:324.

بنُ عَبْدِ الحَكَمِ: سَمِعْتُ مَالِكاً يَقُوْلُ: شَاوَرَنِي هَارُوْنُ الرَّشِيْدُ فِي ثَلاَثَةٍ: فِي أَنْ يُعَلِّقَ (المُوَطَّأَ) فِي الكَعْبَةِ، وَيَحْمِلَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا فِيْهِ، وَفِي أَنْ يَنْقُضَ مِنْبَرَ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ وَيَجْعَلَهُ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ وَفِضَّةٍ وَجَوْهَرٍ، وَفِي أَنْ يُقَدِّمَ نَافِعاً إِمَاماً فِي مَسْجِدِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ. فَقُلْتُ: أَمَّا تَعلِيقُ (المُوَطَّأِ) ، فَإِنَّ الصَّحَابَةَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِي الفُرُوعِ، وَتَفَرَّقُوا، وَكُلٌّ عِنْد نَفْسِه مُصِيْبٌ، وَأَمَّا نَقْضُ المِنْبَرِ، فَلاَ أَرَى أَنْ يُحْرَمَ النَّاسُ أَثَرَ رَسُوْلِ اللهِ ﷺ وَأَمَّا تَقدِمَتُكَ نَافِعاً، فَإِنَّهُ إِمَامٌ فِي القِرَاءةِ، لاَ يُؤْمَنُ أَنْ تَبْدُرَ مِنْهُ بَادِرَةٌ فِي المِحْرَابِ، فَتُحْفَظَ عَلَيْهِ. فَقَالَ: وَفَّقَكَ اللهُ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ (١) . هَذَا إِسْنَادٌ حَسَنٌ، لَكِنْ لَعَلَّ الرَّاوِي وَهِمَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: هَارُوْنُ؛ لأَنَّ نَافِعاً قَبْلَ خِلاَفَةِ هَارُوْنَ مَاتَ. مِنْ قَوْلِ مَالِكٍ فِي السُّنَّةِ: وَبِهِ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بنُ أَحْمَدَ بنِ عَلِيٍّ، حَدَّثَنَا الفِرْيَابِيُّ، حَدَّثَنَا الحُلْوَانِيُّ، سَمِعْتُ مُطَرِّفَ بنَ عَبْدِ اللهِ، سَمِعْتُ مَالِكاً يَقُوْلُ: سَنَّ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ ﷺ وَوُلاَةُ الأَمْرِ بَعْدَهُ سُنَناً، الأَخْذُ بِهَا اتِّبَاعٌ لِكِتَابِ اللهِ، وَاسْتِكمَالٌ بِطَاعَةِ اللهِ، وَقُوَّةٌ عَلَى دِيْنِ اللهِ، لَيْسَ لأَحَدٍ تَغِييرُهَا وَلاَ تَبْدِيلُهَا، وَلاَ النَّظَرُ فِي شَيْءٍ خَالَفَهَا، مَنِ اهْتَدَى بِهَا، فَهُوَ مُهتَدٍ، وَمَنِ اسْتَنصَرَ بِهَا، فَهُوَ مَنْصُوْرٌ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَهَا، اتَّبَعَ غَيْرَ سَبِيْلِ المُؤْمِنِيْنَ، وَوَلاَّهُ اللهُ مَا تَوَلَّى، وَأَصْلاَهُ جَهَنَّمَ، وَسَاءتْ مَصِيْراً (٢) .

(١) " الحلية " ٦ / ٣٣٢، وأورده القاضي عياض في " ترتيب المدارك " ١ / ٢١٤، ٢١٥، لكن ذكر بدل " هارون " " المهدي ". (٢) " الحلية " ٦ / ٣٢٤.