I Introduction

Some narratives say that a Muslim ruler is God’s shadow on Earth. In this article, the isnad of these narratives shall be critically examined.

II Critical Analysis

 1. Anas ibn Malik (rta)

أخبرنا أبو محمد السكري أنبأ إسماعيل الصفار ثنا عباس بن عبد اللّٰه الترقفي ثنا سعيد بن عبد اللّٰه الدمشقي ثنا الربيع بن صبيح عن أنس بن مالك عن رسول اللّٰه صلي اللّٰه عليه وسلم قال إذا مررت ببلدة ليس فيها سلطان فلا تدخلها إنما السلطان ظل اللّٰه في الأرض ورمحه في الأرض

Malik reports from God’s Messenger that he said: “If you pass by a territory that does not have a ruler, do not enter it. Indeed, a ruler is God’s shadow on earth and His spear on earth.”1

Following is the schematic illustration of the isnad of this narrative’s variants:

 The variant recorded by Abu Nu‘aym and al-‘Uqayli has a very suspect narrator: Da’ud ibn al-Muhabbar (d. 206 AH). Following is the jarh recorded by al-Mizzi about him: Ahmad ibn Hanbal and al-Bukhari regard him to be nothing, someone who knows nothing about Hadith; ‘Ali ibn al-Madini says dhaba hadithuhu; Ibrahim ibn Ya qub al-Juzjani says that kana yarwi ‘an kullin wa kana mudtarib al-amr; Abu Zur‘ah and al-Nasa’i regard him to be da‘if; Abu Hatim says that he is dhahib al-hadith and unreliable; Salih Muhammad al-Baghdadi opines that he is da‘if sahib manakir and at another place says that he has been refuted and regarded to be da‘if in hadith; Al-Daraqutni regards him to be matruk al-hadith.2 Ibn Hibban records: he would concoct narratives from trustworthy narrators and narrate maqlubat from unknown ones.3 Al-Azdi regards him to be matruk.4

Moreover, according to al-‘Uqayli, ‘Uqbah ibn Abdullah is majhul and narrates only from Qatadah.5 Also Qatadah is famous for tadlis6 and both variants have his ‘an‘anah.

The variant recorded by al-Bayhaqi is munqata‘ as no authority says that al-Rabi‘ ibn Subayh (d. 160 AH) has heard from Anas ibn Malik (rta) (d. 93 AH).7 This is also borne out from the fact that almost 70 years separate their dates of death. Moreover, al-Rabi‘ ibn Subayh is an extremely suspect narrator.8

The variant cited in Ahmad ibn Hanbal’s ‘Ilal al-Hadith is marred by the fact that Ahmad ibn Hanbal regards this narrative to be munkar and says that ‘Awn ibn Abi Rukbah is majhul.9 Abu Hatim and al-Dhahabi also regard him to be majhul.10

2. ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (rta)

أخبرنا هبة اللّٰه بن إبراهيم بن عمر الخولاني أبنا أبو عمرو غزوان بن القاسم المقري ثنا أحمد هو بن جامع ثنا أحمد بن يحيي بن خالد بن حيان حدثني حرملة بن يحيي ثنا بشر بن بكر ثنا سعيد بن سنان عن أبي الزاهرية عن كثير بن مرة عن عبد اللّٰه بن عمر رضي اللّٰه عنه عن النبي صلي اللّٰه عليه وسلم قال السلطان ظل اللّٰه في الأرض يأوي إليه كل مظلوم

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar reported from the Prophet (sws) that he said: “A ruler is God’s shadow on earth. Every person seeks refuge from him.”11

Following is the schematic illustration of the isnad of this narrative’s variants:

 Following is the jarh recorded by al-Mizzi on Sa‘id ibn Sinan al-Shami (d. 163 AH): Yahya ibn Ma‘in says that he is not reliable; Ibrahim ibn Ya‘qub al-Juzjani says that he fears that his narratives have been concocted by him; Ahmad ibn Salih al-Misri says that he is munkar al-hadith and that he only knows two or three of his narratives; ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ibrahim Duhaym says that he is laysa bi shay’; ‘Ali ibn al-Madini says that he does not know him; Abu Hatim regards him to be da‘if al-hadith; Al-Bukhari regards him to be munkar al-hadith and al-Nasa’i calls him to be matruk al-hadith. Ibn ‘Adi says that whatever he narrates in general is not sound and in particular if it is from al-Zahiriyyah Hadib ibn Kurayb (as is the case here).12 Ibn Hibban says that he does not like adducing from his narratives if he is the only one narrating them.13 Al-Fasawi regards him to be da‘if al-hadith.14 Ibn Hajar regards him to be matruk and says that al-Daraqutni has blamed him of fabrication.15

3. Abu Bakrah (rta) 

حدثنا المقدمي ثنا مسلم بن سعيد الخولاني ثنا حميد بن مهران عن سعيد بن أوس عن زياد بن كسيب عن أبي بكرة قال سمعت رسول اللّٰه صلي اللّٰه عليه وسلم يقول السلطان ظل اللّٰه في الأرض فمن أكرمه أكرم اللّٰه ومن أهانه أهانه اللّٰه

Abu Bakrah said: “I heard God’s Messenger say: ‘A ruler is God’s shadow on earth. So he who respects him, respects God and he who disrespects him, disrespects God.’”16

Following is the schematic illustration of the isnad of this narrative’s variants:      

Nothing is known about Muslim ibn Sa‘id al-Khawlani.

4. Abu Hurayrah (rta) 

ثنا عبد اللّٰه بن محمد بن جعفر ثنا أبو الحسين أحمد بن الحسن الصوفي الحافظ ثنا حسين بن أبي يزيد ثنا يحيي بن ميمون ثنا حماد بن سلمة عن سهيل عن أبيه عن أبي هريرة قال قال رسول اللّٰه صلي اللّٰه عليه وسلم السلطان ظل اللّٰه في أرضه من نصحه هدي ومن غشه ضل

Abu Hurayrah stated that God’s Messenger said: “A ruler is God’s shadow on His earth. He who is his well-wisher is guided and he who deceives him will go astray.”17

Following is the schematic illustration of the isnad of this narrative’s variants:

Al-Mizzi records the following jarh on Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Wahb (d. 264 AH). About him, Abu Sa‘id ibn Yunus says: la taqumu bi hadithihi hujjah; Ibn ‘Adi says that Egyptian scholars of Hadith who have met him are unanimous in regarding him to be da‘if. Ibn Abi Hatim says that he heard Abu Zur‘ah state that he met Ahmad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Wahb but did not narrate from him.18 Ibn al-Jawzi has recorded him in his Al-Du‘afa’ and said that initially he was sound but later he started to narrate things which had no basis.19

Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri is a mudallis and the variant recorded by Ibn al-Najjar has his ‘an‘anah. About his tadlis it is recorded:

وصفه الشافعي و الدار قطني و غير واحد بالتدليس

Imam al-Shaf‘i, al-Daraqutni and others have attributed tadlis to Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri.20

Imam al-Shaf‘i says: 

لا نقبل من مدلس حديثا حتی يقول فيه حدثني أو سمعت

We will not accept any narrative of any narrator unless he says: haddathani [he narrated to me] or sami‘tu [I heard].21

It may be noted that in the opinion of Imam al-Shaf‘i, if a narrator has done tadlis just once in his life, then any of his narratives that has ‘an‘anah will not be accepted. Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali writes:

ولم يعتبر الشافعي أن يتكرر التدليس من الراوي، ولا أن يغلب علي حديثه، بل اعتبر ثبوت تدليسه، ولو بمرة واحدة.

Shafi‘i does not give regard to whether a narrator continuously indulges in tadlis nor if his narratives are dominated by tadlis. It is enough for him that if he has indulged in tadlis just once in his life.22

The following words of Abu Hatim recorded by al-Ka‘bi show that Abu Hatim also regarded him to be guilty of tadlis:

قال أبو حاتم الرازى: الزهرى أحب إلي من الأعمش، وكلاهما يحتج بحديثه فيما لم يدلسا

Abu Hatim al-Razi said: “Al-Zuhri is preferred by me over al-A‘mash and the narratives of both can be adduced from in what both of them are not guilty of tadlis.”23

Nafi‘ (d. 117 AH) records this weakness on the part of al-Zuhri in the following words:

وكان نافع يقول: إن الزهري سمع أحاديث ابن عمر مني فلقي سالما فقال: هذه أحاديث أبيك؟ قال: نعم، فرواها عن سالم وتركني.

Nafi‘ used to say: “Indeed, al-Zuhri heard from me the narratives of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar. So, when he met Salim [ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar], he said to him: ‘Are these narratives from your father?’ He said: ‘Yes.’ Thereafter, he narrated them from him and stopped narrating from me.”24

No information is available on Abu Muhammad al-Hasan ibn ‘Abd al-Malik ibn Muhammad ibn Yusuf.

Regarding Abu al-Qasim ‘Ubaydullah ibn al-Mubarak ibn al-Sayyibi, Ibn Najjar says that he would bear false witness for a paltry price and was not secure in narrating.25

No information is available on Husayn ibn Abi Yazid.

Following are the individuals who are identified in the current hadith corpus as Yahya ibn Maymun:

1. Yahya ibn Maymun ibn ‘Ata ibn Zayd al-Qarshi al-Tammar al-Basri Abu Ayyub26

2. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Hadrami al-Misri Qadi Abu ‘Amrah27

3. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Dabbi al-‘Attar al-Kufi Abu Mu‘alla28

4. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Ghafiqi29

5. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Ma‘na30

6. Yahya ibn Maymun ibn Maysarah31

7. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Hadadi32

8. Yahya ibn Maymun ibn Sahl ibn ‘Ali al-Wasti33

9. Yahya ibn Maymun al-‘Abdi34

10. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Haddad35

11. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Makhzumi36 (d. 560 AH)

12. Yahya ibn Maymun al-Farisi Abu Yahya37

None of the above narrates from Hammad ibn Salamah.

The Suhayl from whom Hammad ibn Salamah narrates is Suhayl ibn Abi Salih.38 Though some authorities regard the latter to be reliable, Ibn Abi Hatim records that according to Yahya ibn Ma‘in his narratives are not worthy of being deduced from and that Abu Hatim regarded him to be yuktabu hadithuhu wa yuhtajju bihi.39

III Conclusion

It is evident from the above analysis that these narratives are not reliably reported.

_______

1.  Al-Bayhaqi, Al-Sunan al-kubra, vol. 8, 162, (no. 16427). See also: Al-Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-iman, vol. 6, 18, (no. 7375); Al-‘Uqayli, Al-Du‘afa’, vol. 3, 353; Abu Nu‘aym, Fadilah al-‘adilin, 142, (no. 32).

2.Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 8, 445-447.

3.Ibn Hibban, Al-Majruhin, vol. 2, 291.

4.Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-tahdhib, vol. 3, 173.

5.‘Al-‘Uqayli, Al-Du‘afa’, vol. 3, 353.

6.See, for example: Al-Dhahabi, Tadhkirah al-huffaz, vol. 1, 123; Ibn Hajar, Tabaqat al-mudallisin, 43; Al-Ala’i, Jami‘ al-tahsil, vol. 1, 254.

7.  See, for example: Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 8, 90; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-tahdhib, vol. 3, 214.

8. See, for example: Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 8, 91-93; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-tahdhib, vol. 3, 214.

9. Ahmad ibn Hanbal, ‘Ilal al-hadith, vol. 2, 409.

10. Ibn al-Jawzi, Al-Du‘afa’ wa al-matrukin, vol. 3, 236; Al-Dhahabi, Mizan al-i‘tidal, vol. 7, 410.

11.  Al-Quda‘i, Musnad Shihab, vol. 1, 201, (no. 304). See also: Al-Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-iman, vol. 6, 15-16, (no. 7369).

12.  Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 10, 496-498.

13.  Ibn Hibban, Al-Majruhin, vol. 1, 322.

14.  Al-Fasawi, Al-Ma‘rifah wa al-tarikh, vol. 2, 261.

15.  Ibn Hajar, Taqrib al-tahdhib, 237.

16.  Ibn Abi ‘Asim, Al-Sunnah, vol. 2, 492, (no. 1024). See also: Al-Byahaqi, Shu‘ab al-iman, vol. 6, 17, (no. 7373).

17.  Abu Nu‘aym, Fadilah al-‘adilin, 140, (no. 31). See also: Ibn Najjar, Dhayl tarikh Baghdad, vol. 17, 106.

18. Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 1, 388-391.

19. Ibn al-Jawzi, Al-Du‘afa’, vol. 3, 245.

20. Ibn Hajar, Tabaqat al-mudallisin, 45.

21. Abu ‘Abdullah Muhammad ibn Idris al-Shafi‘i, Al-Risalah (Cairo: 1939), 380.

22. Zayn al-Din ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Ahmad ibn Rajab ibn al-Hasan al-Hanbali, Sharh ‘ilal al-Tirmidhi, 1st ed., vol. 2 (Jordan: Maktabah al-manar, 1987), 582-583.

23. Abu al-Qasim ‘Abdullah al-Ka‘bi, Qabul al-akhbar fi ma‘rifah al-rijal, 1st ed., vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar al-kutub al-‘ilmiyyah, 2000), 409.

24. Ibid., vol. 1, 269.

25.  Ibn Najjar, Dhayl tarikh Baghdad, vol. 17, 105.

26.  Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 32, 10.

27.  Ibid., vol. 32, 12.

28.  Ibid., vol. 32, 15.

29.  Al-Tabarani, Al-Mu‘jam al-kabir, vol. 19, 295, (no. 657).

30.  Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Musnad, vol. 5, 331, (no. 22863).

31.  See, for example: Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-mizan, vol. 6, 278.

32.  See, for example: Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Tarikh Baghdad, vol. 5, 227, (no. 2708).

33.  Ibn ‘Asakir, Tarikh Madinah Dimashq, vol. 17, 256.

34.  Ibn al-Athir, Usud al-ghabah, vol. 6, 208.

35.  ‘Ali ibn Muhamad al-Shafi‘i, Tanzih al-shari‘ah, vol. 2, 299.

36.  Abu Muhammad al-Quda’i, Al-Takmilah li kitab silah, vol. 4, 175. His date of death clearly shows that he cannot be the one found in the narrative under discussión.

37.  Al-Safadi, Al-Wafi bi al-wafayat, vol. 13, 76.

38.  This is evident from: Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 7, 254.

39.  Ibn Abi Hatim, Al-Jarh wa al-ta‘dil, vol. 4, 246.