this report was cited by al-Suyūṭī in al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, and al-Manāwī offered no comment on its chain. For that reason I remarked in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ, no. 1358, that it is weak, since it is mursal. Now, however—after Allah enabled me to locate its isnād and it became clear that the fabricator al-Kadimī is in it—I have moved from declaring it weak to judging it fabricated. (al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah, vol. 12, p. 704)

Another ḥadīth the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—had first graded weak in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ (4306) and later ruled fabricated in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah (5822) runs as follows:

41- “The intelligent one is he who works for what comes after death, and the one stripped bare—stripped bare indeed—is the one without religion. O Allah, there is no life except the life of the Hereafter.”

The Shaykh said:

“This escaped al-Manāwī, who merely followed al-Bayhaqī’s brief remark and, in addition to al-Bayhaqī’s judgement of weakness, said: ‘Among those who weakened it are Abū Ḥātim and others.’ I once followed him in that when I produced Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr, limiting myself to calling the report weak. Now that I have examined its chain, it is clear that such a verdict was overly lenient in view of al-Kadimī’s condition—unless some corroborating route turns up, which I consider most unlikely. And Allah knows best.”

Here is a ḥadīth that the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—authenticated in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ (1177), Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd (2835), and al-Irwāʾ (4/391), yet later declared weak in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah (5862). Its wording is:

42- “Leave the birds on their nests.”

The publisher comments: “Shaykh al-Albānī authenticated this ḥadīth in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ, Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd, and al-Irwāʾ. The documentation here is later than those earlier works, as is evident from the Shaykh’s handwriting; moreover, his present discussion contains additional clarification and investigation, which tilts the balance toward the verdict of weakness.”

I—Muḥammad—add: Ibn Ḥibbān recorded the ḥadīth in his Ṣaḥīḥ, and the Shaykh graded it weak with a disordered isnād in Ḍaʿīf Mawārid al-Ẓamʾān, no. 172, referring the reader to al-Ḍaʿīfah under the same number.

43- This ḥadīth was judged weak by the Shaykh in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ (4743) and fabricated in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah, no. 5940. Its wording is:

“ A free woman has two days, and a slave-woman one day.”

The Shaykh said:

“One of al-Manāwī’s curiosities in at-Taysīr is his statement: ‘Its isnād is weak, but it has gained support!’ I have no idea what is supposed to support it; and if such support exists, what is it? Besides, the chain is extremely feeble, so any alleged support is ineffectual and imparts no strength. I had relied on him when compiling Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr wa Ziyādatihi, contenting myself with weakening the report; but after examining its chain and recognising its defect, I hereby retract that view.”

This next ḥadīth was declared weak by the Shaykh in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ (5085) and fabricated in al-Silsilah al-Ḍaʿīfah, no. 5562. Its wording is:

44- “None of those who accompanied all the messengers, nor even the Companion of Ya-Sīn—meaning the Prophet himself—is better than Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq.”

The Shaykh said:

“I had cited it in Daʿīf al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr wa Ziyādatihi (5085), limiting myself to calling it weak because of the strangeness of its wording. Now that it is evident that a liar occurs in its chain, it should there be marked as fabricated.”

The following ḥadīth was graded ḥasan by the Shaykh—may Allah have mercy on him—in al-Irwāʾ (676); in al-Ḍaʿīfah (5629) he quoted it and said that it is anomalous in this wording. It reads:

45- “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he sought rain for us, prolong his supplication and ask abundantly. Then he faced the qiblah, turned his cloak inside out—front to back—and the people turned with him, and he began the prayer before the sermon.”

The Shaykh said:

“It is narrated by Ibn Isḥāq, who said: ‘ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr told me, from ʿAbbād ibn Tamīm al-Anṣārī, later al-Māzinī, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd ibn ʿĀṣim—one of his own clan—and ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd was a Companion of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who had fought at Uḥud. He said: “I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ …”’—and he related the report without the additional clause.

“It was recorded by Imām Aḥmad (4/41): Yaʿqūb narrated to us; my father narrated to us; from Ibn Isḥāq with this chain. Then he said: ‘I read to ʿAbd al-Raḥmān: Mālik—ḥā—and Isḥāq narrated to us, saying: Mālik told me, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī Bakr, that he heard ʿAbbād ibn Tamīm say: I heard ʿAbd Allāh ibn Zayd al-Māzinī say: “The Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out to the prayer-ground and performed the rain-prayer, turning his cloak when he faced the qiblah.”’ In Isḥāq’s version there is the addition: ‘and he began the prayer before the sermon; then he faced the qiblah and supplicated.’

“The first chain is ḥasan; its narrators are trustworthy—those of al-Bukhārī and Muslim—apart from Ibn Isḥāq, and he is acceptable so long as he is not contradicted … He has, however, been contradicted in the text of this ḥadīth as will be clarified, Allah willing.

“The second chain, from Mālik, is ṣaḥīḥ on the conditions of al-Bukhārī and Muslim when transmitted via ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, and likewise through Isḥāq when he is Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān al-Rāzī; but if he is Isḥāq ibn ʿĪsā ibn Najīḥ al-Baghdādī, then it is on Muslim’s condition alone …

“In either case, I hold—and Allah knows best—that Isḥāq’s explicit statement in his narration that the Prophet ﷺ ‘began the prayer before the sermon’ is anomalous and not preserved. My proof for that consists of several points …” and he proceeded to set them out until he said: