such as the Prophet’s Household; for the Rafidah are the most prolific liars against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. They cannot market their doctrine except through falsehood, because that doctrine is itself false, as Shaykh al-Islam (may Allah have mercy on him) stated about them.

There are likewise many reports transmitted condemning the Umayyads, and most of those who forged them were the Rafidah, since wars and turmoil had occurred between the Umayyads and ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him).

A fabricated narration is to be rejected, and speaking of it is forbidden—unless someone quotes it solely to show that it is fabricated, in which case he must inform the people of that. To invent a hadith and attribute it to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is a major sin, for the Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take his seat in the Fire.” 1 He also said, “Whoever relates a hadith from me while he thinks it is false is one of the two liars.” 2

If you want to cite a report before people and clarify that it is fabricated and falsely linked to the Prophet ﷺ, you must introduce it with a tentative phrase—“It is said,” “It is reported,” “It is mentioned,” and the like—so that you do not ascribe it to the Prophet categorically, for doing so would mislead the listener.

Among the important matters that deserve attention is what al-Zamakhshari does in his Qurʾanic commentary: he begins or ends the surah he is explaining with very weak or fabricated hadiths about that surah’s virtue. Allah, however, enabled al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) to extract the hadiths found in al-Zamakhshari’s al-Kashshaf and to distinguish the sound from the weak and the fabricated.