—will place His Hand into Hell until He draws out whomever He wills. (1)
Mālik repudiated this report in the strongest terms and forbade anyone to relate it. (2)
He was told, “Some scholars are narrating it.”
He asked, “Who are they?”
It was said, “Ibn ʿAjlān, from Abū al-Zinād.”
Mālik replied, “Ibn ʿAjlān had no understanding of these matters and was not a scholar.” Then, speaking of Abū al-Zinād, he added, “He remained in the employ of those people until he died.”
This was transmitted by Miqdām al-Ruʿaynī from Ibn Abī al-Ghamr, and by al-Ḥārith ibn Miskīn; both said, “Ibn al-Qāsim narrated it to us.”
I say: The Imām rejected the report because, in his view, its chain was neither established nor connected, and thus he is excused—just as the two authors of the Ṣaḥīḥayn are excused for including the first and second hadiths, since their chains are sound. As for the third hadith, I do not know it.
= Zayd ibn Aslam, through Ata ibn Yasar, from Abu Said al-Khudri; his wording runs: “so He will uncover His shin.” This version is sounder, al-Ismaili says, because it matches the phrasing of the Quran; Ibn Hajar reports and endorses this judgment in Fath al-Bari, 8/508.
(1) I did not find the report with exactly the same wording. Al-Ajurri, however, cites in al-Sharia, p. 346, via Hanad ibn al-Sari → Abu Muawiya → Abu Ishaq ibn Abd Allah → Said ibn Abi Said → Ibn Umar: “On the Day of Resurrection intercession will reach such a point that Allah will say to the angels: ‘By My mercy, bring out whoever has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of faith.’ He added: thereafter He will take them out with handfuls of His hand.”
Ahmad, 3/94; Muslim, no. 183; and al-Ajurri, p. 346, likewise transmit the long hadith of Abu Said al-Khudri, which contains: “Allah will say: ‘The angels have interceded, the prophets have interceded, the believers have interceded; none remains but the Most Merciful of the merciful.’ He will then seize a handful from the Fire and bring out people who never performed any good deed at all.”
The mention of the “hand” occurs in several other sound hadiths, collected by al-Bayhaqi in al-Asma wa-l-Sifat, pp. 314, 323.
(2) Al-Bukhari, Sahih, 1/199, opens a chapter entitled: “One may restrict knowledge to certain people lest others fail to understand it.” He quotes Ali: “Speak to people according to what they know; would you like Allah and His Messenger to be denied?” and then relates the hadith of Muadh.
Ibn Hajar comments that this supports the view that ambiguous passages (mutashabih) should not be mentioned in front of the general public. A similar statement comes from Ibn Masud: “Whenever you relate to people something their minds cannot grasp, it becomes a trial for some of them.” Muslim records this in the introduction to his Sahih, 1/11, through Ibn Shihab → Ubayd Allah ibn Abd Allah ibn Utbah → Ibn Masud. Among those who disliked transmitting some reports without others were Malik, regarding the hadiths on the divine attributes, and Abu Yusuf concerning rare traditions.