of precisely this kind of misconception. Allah’s help is sought. I have discussed this matter at length in al-Ahādīth al-Daīfa, no. (1103).

470—(The hadith: “Whoever harms a protected non-Muslim, I shall be his adversary; and whoever has me as his adversary, I shall prevail against him on the Day of Resurrection.” Al-Khatīb transmitted it with a good chain of transmission.) p. 329

Denounced. Al-Khatīb narrated it in Tārīkh Baghdād (8/370) through al-Abbās ibn Ahmad al-Mudhakkir, who said: Dāwūd ibn Alī ibn Khalaf narrated to us; Ishāq ibn Ibrāhīm al-Hanzalī narrated to us; Īsā ibn Yūnus narrated to us, from al-Amash, from Shaqīq, from Abd Allah ibn Masūd, who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said—and he then related the hadith. Al-Khatīb said:

“This hadith is denounced with this chain of transmission. In my view, the blame lies with al-Mudhakkir, for he is unreliable.”

In al-Mudhakkir’s biographical entry, al-Dhahabī cited this hadith and said that it was one of his calamitous reports! Ibn al-Jawzī included it in al-Mawdūāt. This was challenged on the basis of the hadith that follows, but that objection is plainly open to question, since its wording differs from this one, as you will see. Ibn Arrāq also included it in the second chapter of Tanzīh al-Sharīa al-Marfūa an al-Akhbār al-Shanīa al-Mawdūa (2/181–182).

Note: Regarding the author’s statement, “with a good chain of transmission,” I suspect that he took it from al-Suyūtī’s symbol for this hadith in al-Jāmi al-Saghīr, which designates it as good. He appears to have done the same with the preceding hadith—despite the error and inversion into which he fell concerning it! A student of knowledge should therefore be aware that the grading symbols in al-Jāmi al-Saghīr, whether designating a hadith authentic, good, or weak, cannot be relied upon by critical scholars. There are several reasons for this:

First, these symbols are not all from al-Suyūtī himself, as its commentator al-Munāwī stated. Second, they have been affected by textual corruption. Third, al-Suyūtī himself was lenient in grading hadiths, as is well known among scholars. We have frequently pointed out examples of this in our books, especially in Silsilat al-Ahādīth al-Daīfa wa-al-Mawdūa.