(28) ʿAlī ibn Ṭalq reported: A Bedouin came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, “Messenger of Allah, a man among us may be out in the open desert, a smell escapes from him and the water he has is scarce.” The Messenger of Allah ﷺ replied, “When any of you breaks wind, let him renew his wudu, and do not approach women in their back passages, for Allah is not shy of telling the truth.” The Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—graded it weak (in Ḍaʿīf al-Sunan, 27); see al-Tirmidhī (1164–1166), Abū Dāwūd (205, 1005), Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 607, Mishkāt (314, 1006), and Hidāyat al-Ruwāt (300, 965). He later deemed it ḥasan by virtue of corroboration in Ṣaḥīḥ Mawārid al-Ẓamʾān, no. 168.

The Shaykh said: I note that the clause “When any of you breaks wind, let him perform wudu” is supported by the ḥadīth of ʿĀʾishah that follows—no. 169—with the wording, “If one of you experiences a discharge while praying, let him hold his nose and leave.” As for the next clause, “and do not approach women in their back passages,” it is corroborated by the ḥadīth of Khuzaymah that will appear later (17/—Marriage, 26—Chapter on the prohibition …). A second version adds, “and he should repeat his prayer,” but Ibn Ḥibbān criticised that because it conflicts with stronger reports, and so forth—the rest of the Shaykh’s discussion.

Note

(29) Here is a report the Shaykh declared weak in Sunan al-Tirmidhī, yet he regarded its final sentence as ḥasan.

Ibn Masʿūd narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Completing the greeting is by taking the hand.” Al-Tirmidhī said: In this regard there are also reports from al-Barāʾ and Ibn ʿUmar. Abū ʿĪsā added: This ḥadīth is gharīb; we know it only through Yaḥyā ibn Sulaym from Sufyān. I asked Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl [al-Bukhārī] about it and he did not deem it preserved. He said: What appears sound to me is the report of Sufyān from Manṣūr, from Khuwaythimah, from someone who heard Ibn Masʿūd relate from the Prophet ﷺ, “There is to be no late-night conversation except for someone praying or travelling.” Muḥammad added: It is also narrated from Manṣūr, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Yazīd—or someone else—that he said, “Completing the greeting is by taking the hand.”

The phrase “Completing the greeting …” is weak; see Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 5294, al-Ḍaʿīfah 1288, and Daʿīf al-Targhīb 1629. The statement “There is to be no late-night conversation except for someone praying or travelling” the Shaykh graded ḥasan (al-Ṣaḥīḥah 2435).

(30) Note: The ḥadīth “Gathering is a blessing, tharid is a blessing, and the pre-dawn meal is a blessing” was classed as weak by the Shaykh in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 2654 and al-Ḍaʿīfah 2673; however, its meaning is established through other routes, as he showed in al-Ṣaḥīḥah 1045 with the wording, “Blessing lies in three things: congregations, tharid, and the pre-dawn meal.”

Here is a mawqūf report the Shaykh first graded weak, then authenticated through corroboration.

(31) ʿUmar said, “Supplication is suspended between heaven and earth; none of it ascends until you send blessings upon your Prophet ﷺ.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī (486). See Mishkāt 938, Hidāyat al-Ruwāt 898, and Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 432, where he ruled it weak. In Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb 1676 he judged it ṣaḥīḥ by virtue of supporting evidence.

This is another report the Shaykh first declared weak, then graded ḥasan through corroboration.

(32) Ibn Masʿūd reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Those who will be closest to me on the Day of Resurrection are those who invoke blessings upon me most often.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhī and Ibn Ḥibbān. He graded it weak in al-Tirmidhī 484 and Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 1821, and ḥasan through corroboration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb 1668 and Ṣaḥīḥ al-Mawārid 2027. Allah knows best.

(33) Another report the Shaykh first weakened and then graded ḥasan by corroboration reads: “Increase your blessings upon me every Friday, for the prayers of my ummah are presented to me every Friday; the one among them who sends the most blessings upon me will be nearest to me in rank.” He deemed it weak in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 1115 and al-Ḍaʿīfah 2892, and ḥasan in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb 1673.

(34) The Shaykh graded the following ḥadīth weak in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ, Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, and al-Adab al-Mufrad, then later ruled it ḥasan by virtue of corroboration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb. Abū Hurayrah said: I heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say, “The deeds of the children of Adam are presented to Allah on Thursday evening, the eve of Friday, and the deed of one who severs family ties is not accepted.” (Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 1395; Irwāʾ, under ḥadīth 949, p. 105; al-Adab al-Mufrad 61). He later classified it as ḥasan in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb 2538.

(35) The next report the Shaykh weakened because of an extra phrase at its end—an addition that was not removed from Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ—namely, “and it drives illness away from the body.” He considered the ḥadīth sound without that addition. Its full wording is: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Maintain the night prayer, for it was the practice of the righteous before you, a means of drawing near to Allah, a deterrent from sin, an expiation for misdeeds, and a safeguard against bodily illness.” See Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ 4079; Daʿīf al-Targhīb 557; al-Ḍaʿīfah 5348; Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ 3789; Irwāʾ, under ḥadīth 452, pp. 200–201; al-Tirmidhī 3549; Tamām al-Minnah pp. 244–245; Mishkāt 1227; Hidāyat al-Ruwāt 1184; and Ṣaḥīḥ al-Targhīb 624.

(36) Note: ʿĀʾishah asked, “Messenger of Allah, if I know which night is Laylat al-Qadr, what should I say in it?” He answered, “Say: O Allah, You are al-ʿAfūw al-Karīm (All-Pardoning, Most Generous); You love to pardon, so pardon me.” Al-Tirmidhī 3513; see al-Ṣaḥīḥah, under ḥadīth 3337, pp. 1011–1012.