4/ Commentary: In the passage cited in al-Ṣaḥīḥah the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—relates part of his own biography: his migration with his father from Albania to Damascus, the tribute he pays to his father for that decision, and what Allah then facilitated for him—mastery of both classical and colloquial Arabic, sound monotheism, and the study of ḥadith and Sunnah in both methodology and substantive law. He also speaks of his struggle against the grave-worshippers, the two occasions on which he was imprisoned for that stand, his refusal to endorse the Syrian regime because he deemed it illegitimate, and a glimpse of his efforts—may Allah have mercy on him—to propagate tawḥīd and the Sunnah.

Hadith Nine

1/ Text: ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir—may Allah be pleased with him—reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Do not resent daughters; they are the cheerful, precious ones.” (Sound)

2/ The Shaykh had earlier classed it weak in Ḍaʿīf al-Jāmiʿ (p. 905, no. 6268) and referred the reader to al-Ḍaʿīfah (4793).

3/ The Shaykh later withdrew that verdict and authenticated it in al-Ṣilsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (7/627-628, no. 3206).

Shaykh al-Albānī—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “About twenty years after writing that, it became clear to me that the narration of Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd from Ibn Luhayʿah ranks—so far as soundness is concerned—with the narrations of the ʿAbādilah from him, as al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī explained in Siyar, a point I have quoted from him in several of my investigations and annotations (1). Since this ḥadīth comes through Qutaybah from Ibn Luhayʿah, I decided to move it from al-Ḍaʿīfah to the present collection, especially because it is supported by the mursal report of ʿUrwah ibn al-Zubayr.”

Footnote (1): See, for example, al-Ṣaḥīḥah (1/595), (6/825), and al-Ḍaʿīfah (1/421).

4/ Commentary: The ḥadīth has two further mursal supports that the Shaykh did not cite. The first is the mursal of Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, recorded by al-Marwazī in al-Birr wa’l-Ṣilah (p. 76, no. 146) and by Ibn Abī al-Dunyā in Kitāb al-ʿIyāl (1/243, no. 97); see also Shuʿab al-Īmān by al-Bayhaqī (6/410), where a point remains in need of study. The second support is the mursal of Saʿīd ibn Abī Hind, reported by al-Bayhaqī in the same work (6/410).

Hadith Ten

1/ Text: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ—may Allah be pleased with them both—said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ asked, “Which of creation impresses you most by its faith?” They replied, “The angels.” He said, “How could they not believe when they are with their Lord?” They said, “Then the prophets.” He said, “Why should they not believe when revelation descends upon them?” They said, “Then we.” He said, “What keeps you from believing while I am in your midst?” They said, “Then who, O Messenger of Allah?” He said, “Verily, those whose faith amazes me most are a people who will come after you; they will find written pages containing a Book and will believe in what is in them.” (Ḥasan)

2/ The Shaykh had first declared it weak in al-Ḍaʿīfah (2/102-103, no. 647).

3/ He later retracted that ruling, strengthening it and grading it ḥasan in al-Ṣilsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah (7/654-657, no. 3215).

Shaykh al-Albānī—may Allah have mercy on him—said: “Earlier I traced the ḥadīth under the chapter heading in al-Ḍaʿīfah (647) through two chains—the first better than the second—and I noted that al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr affirmed its attribution to the Prophet ﷺ, perhaps after finding one or more additional chains that reinforce it, which called for further inquiry. Now that I have located this additional chain I hastened to document it, fulfilling what I pledged there. It appears to be among the chains whose combined strength convinced al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Kathīr of the ḥadīth’s authenticity, prompting him to attribute it categorically to the Prophet ﷺ; the same assurance settled in my heart once I came across this pathway, which—as has become clear—is at least ḥasan by virtue of other evidence and strong when coupled with the first chain just mentioned…”.

4/ Commentary: In the same passage of al-Ṣaḥīḥah the Shaykh points out the mistake of the Salafī scholar Muḥammad Nasīb al-Rifāʿī in Taysīr al-ʿAlī al-Qadīr and of the Ṣūfī scholar Muḥammad ʿAlī al-Ṣābūnī in his abridgment of Ibn Kathīr’s Tafsīr, both of whom ascribed the ḥadīth to Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī although it is not found there, and he explains the reason for their error.

The second installment is now complete. All praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

Allah knows best, and may He send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muḥammad.

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The aḥādīth that Shaykh al-Albānī re-graded from weak to sound in al-Silsilah al-Ṣaḥīḥah, vol. 7 – Installment Three

All praise is due to Allah, and may blessings and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:

Hadith Eleven