Ibn Abi Ahmed
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Regarding the following narration which explicitly refutes the innovation of group dhikrs, a certain Shaykh had deemed it inauthentic. The narration follows, and an analysis of the Isnaad follows the narration:
'Amr ibn Yahya said:
"I heard my father narrating from his father who said: 'We were at the door of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood before the early morning prayer. When he came out we walked with him to the mosque. Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari came up to us and said, "Did Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan come out to you yet?" We said, "No." He sat down with us until [Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan] came out.
When he came out, we all stood up to greet him, and Abu Moosa said to him: "O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, earlier I saw in the mosque something that I have never seen before, but it seems good, al-hamdu Lillaah." He said, "And what was it?" He said, "if you live, you will see it. I saw people in the mosque sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a man, and they had pebbles in their hands. He would say, 'Say Allaahu akbar one hundred times,' and they would say Allaahu akbar one hundred times; then he would say, 'Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times,' and they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times; then he would say, 'Say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times,' and they would say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times.'
He asked, 'What did you say to them?' He said, 'I did not say anything to them; I was waiting to see what your opinion would be and what you would tell me to do.' He said, 'Why did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and guarantee them that nothing of their good deeds would be wasted?' Then he left, and we went with him, until he reached one of those circles. He stood over them and said, 'What is this I see you doing?'
They said, 'O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, these are pebbles we are using to count our takbeer, tahleel and tasbeeh.'
He said, 'Count your bad deeds, and I guarantee that nothing of your good deeds will be wasted. Woe to you, O ummah of Muhammad, how quickly you are getting destroyed! The Companions of your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are still alive, his garment is not yet worn out and his vessels are not yet broken. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, either you are following a way that is more guided than that of Muhammad or you have opened the door of misguidance!'
They said, 'By Allaah, O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, we only wanted to do good.'
He said, 'How many of those who wanted to do good failed to achieve it! The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that people recite Qur'aan and it does not go any further than their throats. By Allaah, I do not know, maybe most of them are people like you.'
Then he turned away from them. 'Amr ibn Salamah said, 'I saw most of the members of those circles fighting alongside the Khawaarij on the day of Nahrawaan.'"
"I heard my father narrating from his father who said: 'We were at the door of 'Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood before the early morning prayer. When he came out we walked with him to the mosque. Abu Moosa al-Ash'ari came up to us and said, "Did Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan come out to you yet?" We said, "No." He sat down with us until [Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan] came out.
When he came out, we all stood up to greet him, and Abu Moosa said to him: "O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, earlier I saw in the mosque something that I have never seen before, but it seems good, al-hamdu Lillaah." He said, "And what was it?" He said, "if you live, you will see it. I saw people in the mosque sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In every circle there was a man, and they had pebbles in their hands. He would say, 'Say Allaahu akbar one hundred times,' and they would say Allaahu akbar one hundred times; then he would say, 'Say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times,' and they would say Laa ilaaha ill-Allaah one hundred times; then he would say, 'Say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times,' and they would say Subhaan Allaah one hundred times.'
He asked, 'What did you say to them?' He said, 'I did not say anything to them; I was waiting to see what your opinion would be and what you would tell me to do.' He said, 'Why did you not tell them to count their bad deeds and guarantee them that nothing of their good deeds would be wasted?' Then he left, and we went with him, until he reached one of those circles. He stood over them and said, 'What is this I see you doing?'
They said, 'O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, these are pebbles we are using to count our takbeer, tahleel and tasbeeh.'
He said, 'Count your bad deeds, and I guarantee that nothing of your good deeds will be wasted. Woe to you, O ummah of Muhammad, how quickly you are getting destroyed! The Companions of your Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are still alive, his garment is not yet worn out and his vessels are not yet broken. By the One in Whose hand is my soul, either you are following a way that is more guided than that of Muhammad or you have opened the door of misguidance!'
They said, 'By Allaah, O Abu 'Abd al-Rahmaan, we only wanted to do good.'
He said, 'How many of those who wanted to do good failed to achieve it! The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told us that people recite Qur'aan and it does not go any further than their throats. By Allaah, I do not know, maybe most of them are people like you.'
Then he turned away from them. 'Amr ibn Salamah said, 'I saw most of the members of those circles fighting alongside the Khawaarij on the day of Nahrawaan.'"
[Reported by al-Daarimi, al-Sunan, no. 210, ed. by 'Abd-Allaah Haashim al-Yamaani. Al-Albaani classed its isnaad as saheeh in al-Silsilat al-Saheehah under hadeeth no. 2005. See Majma' al-Zawaa'id by al-Haythami, 1/181]
Shaykh Yasir Qadhi says refuting the notion that this narration is inauthentic:
Salaam Alaikum
Ya ikhwa, this topic is outside our class - it is related to Aqeedah Four which will insha Allah discuss the concept of bid`ah in more detail.
But, the topic is important, so I'll digress slightly:
1- A certain shaykh is quoted as claiming that Amr b. Yahya is weak, based on Ibn Ma`een's saying 'his narrations are worth nothing'. This shaykh cannot be faulted for linguistically translating Ibn Ma`een's phrase as he did, for 'laysa hadeethuhu bi-shay`in' would indeed typically translate as 'his narrations are not worth anything'.
More knowledge is required in the science of mustalah, and specifically the very exact and demanding science of jarh wa ta`deel, to properly understand Ibn Ma`een's statement. As Ibn Hajar pointed out in his Introduction to Fath al-Bari entitled Hady al-Sari (p. 421), when Ibn Ma`een uses this term, he typically means that the quantity of ahadeeth that this narrator narrated was very small. Thus, the proper translation of this phrase should be, 'His ahadeeth are not that numerous', and what proves this point rather conclusively in this case is that Ibn Abi Hatim reports, with a direct and authentic chain, that Ibn Ma`een himself said of Amr b. Yahya, this very same narrator, that he is 'thiqah' or 'trustworhty' (See his al-Jarh wa al-Ta`deel v. 6, p. 269).
So, Ibn Ma`een's actual verdict on him (putting both the narrations together, and understanding each one as was intended) is that he is trustworthy, but has few narrations. Based on this others also considered him to be trustworthy, including al-Fasawi, al-Ijli and Ibn Hibban. But, yes, it is true that some, such as al-Dhahabi, considered him to be weak, even if the greater and stronger authorities were of the opposite opinion.
In any case, it is not that important what his specific status is because:
2- There is another isnaad for this narration, which does not contain Amr b. Yahya, and is hasan; hence it can be used to strengthen the first chain (this narration only has the outline of the story, and not all of the details).
Abd al-Razzaaq reportes in his Musannaf, vol 3, p. 221, hadeeth 5408, from Sufyan b. Uyaynah, from Bayan b. Qays, from Abu Hazim, that someone mentioned to Ibn Mas`ud that a Qaas ('story-teller') would sit at night and tell the people, 'Say such-and-such, say such-and-such'. So he said, 'When you see him [next], inform me.' So they informed him. He then went to them, covering his face, and said, 'Whoever knows me knows me, and whoever does not, I am Abdullah b. Masud. Realize that, either you are more knowledgeable than Muhammad and his Companions, or else you are holding on to the tail of misguidance.'
This version, albeit not as detailed as the previous one, has the same story, and is with an authentic isnaad, as al-Haythami himself stated in his Majma al-Zawaa`id (1/181).
3- If there is any doubt left, one may also refer to the yet other versions of this incident, with yet other isnaads, in the Mu`jam al-Kabeer of al-Tabarani (9/125-128). Hence, put together, there can be no doubt as to the authenticity of this narration.
Now, from an usooli point of view, even if this narration is not authentic, the basic principle mentioned in it is undoubtedly true, and there are numerous evidences to substantiate it. No act of worship is acceptable, in form or substance, unless in conforms with the Sunnah. How beautiful is the statement of Ibn Ma`ud: "Realize that, either you are more knowledgeable than Muhammad and his Companions, or else you are holding on to the tail of misguidance." Succint, precise, water-proof, solid.
The same should be said to each and every group that introduces new acts of worship; it is even more ironic if these groups claim to be 'traditionalists'. Once again, the actual tradition appears to be on one side, while those who appropriate the term for themselves appear to be on the other.
More insha Allah on this topic in the future aqeedah class....
Yasir