over the sorcerers, for Allah—glorified and exalted is He—grants the prophets’ miracles in the very discipline that has reached its peak in the age of the prophet whose truth He seeks to reveal. Thus, sorcery had attained its highest refinement in the time of Moses, peace be upon him; medicine in the time of Jesus, peace be upon him; and eloquence in the time of Muhammad—may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

[Chapter: A Warning concerning Hadiths Fabricated about the Merits of the Qur’an’s Surahs and Other Matters]

No heed is to be paid to what the fabricators have concocted—whether regarding the virtues of the surahs or other devotional acts. Many groups committed this crime, pursuing divergent aims and intentions.

Among them were heretics such as al-Mughīrah ibn Saʿīd al-Kūfī and Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd al-Shāmī—who was crucified for zandaqah—and others like them. They forged and circulated hadiths so as to sow doubt in people’s hearts.

One example is what Muḥammad ibn Saʿīd narrated from Anas ibn Mālik as a saying of the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—

“I am the Seal of the Prophets; there is no prophet after me—except as Allah wills.”

He inserted this clause of exception in support of the unbelief and heresy he was promoting.

I say: Ibn ʿAbd al-Barr mentions this report in his book al-Tamhīd, yet he offered no critique of it and construed the exception as referring to a dream. Allah knows best.

Others forged hadiths to advance a partisan desire for which they were calling people. A shaykh of the Khārijites, after repenting, declared:

“These hadiths are religion, so look carefully from whom you take your religion; whenever we took a fancy to something, we would turn it into a hadith.”

Still others produced hadiths—as they claimed—“seeking reward,” urging people to perform virtuous deeds. Among those named are Abū ʿIṣmah Nūḥ ibn Abī Maryam al-Marwazī, Muḥammad ibn ʿUkāshah al-Kirmānī, Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Juwaybarī, and others.

Abū ʿIṣmah was asked, “How did you obtain—from ʿIkrimah on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās—a narration that assigns a special merit to every surah of the Qur’an?”

He replied, “I saw people turning away from the Qur’an and occupying themselves with the jurisprudence of Abū Ḥanīfah and the military chronicles of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, so I fabricated this hadith as a devotional act.”

Abū ʿAmr ʿUthmān ibn