The majority of the hypocrites
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Presented below is translation of a short piece written by Professor Muḥammad ibn Abdullah al-Mas’ari which covers the sourcing for the ḥadith: ‘The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.’ Set out below is the narration from four companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, cited among a wide array of texts. Apart from those narratives which carry the particle ‘inna’ [ان], the reported wording is identical across throughout. With some detailed analytical comment also provided, the reader can be assured that this ḥadith is considered to be Ṣaḥīḥ.
Some editing of the original document has been applied, to streamline the text and to enable greater readability.
As for hypocrisy, it is the inveterate sickness that one may be drowning in without even realising, for it is a hidden matter…
The major hypocrisy, one that leads to eternal damnation in the lowest rungs of hellfire, is that one feigns to the Muslims his faith in Allah, the angels, books, messengers, and the Last Day, but his inner being has parted from the faith, giving it the lie, and refusing to believe that Allah spoke with a speech that has been revealed to a human being, a revelation that has made him a messenger to the people who guides them by His leave, warning them against His punishment, advising them to fear His chastisement.
Allah the Glorified has rent the veils of the hypocrites and divulged their inner workings in the Qurʾan, cautioning His servants about them. In fact, Allah opens Surah al-Baqara by describing three kinds of people in the world: the believers, the unbelievers, and the hypocrites.
The diseases of doubts and desires have destroyed their hearts, leaving them lifeless; evil objects have overwhelmed their intentions and left them in ruins. Their malady has brought them to their death and the knowledgeable physicians have already given up: ‘In their heart is a disease and Allah has increased them in disease, and for them is a painful chastisement for how they used to give the lie’ [2:10].
Ibn Qayyim, Ranks of the Divine Seekers [Vol. 1, p. 726, 730 (Eng)]
Ḥadith of Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ
As cited in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad [Vol. 11, no. 6633]:
حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا زيد بن الحباب من كتابه ثنا عبد الرحمن بن شريح سمعت شرحبيل بن يزيد المعافري انه سمع محمد بن هدية الصدفي قال سمعت عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاصي يقول سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول ان أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
تعليق شعيب الأرنؤوط: صحيح وهذا إسناد حسن
Abdullah narrated to us my father narrated to me Zayd ibn al-Ḥubab narrated to us from his book, Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ narrated to us, I heard Shuraḥbeel ibn Yazeed al-Ma’āfiri that he heard that Muḥammad ibn Hudiya al-Ṣadafi said: I heard Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al- Aāṣ saying, I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him saying:
Indeed, the majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Comment of Shu’ayb al-Arnā’uṭ: ‘Ṣaḥīḥ, and this isnād is ḥasan.’
It is also cited in the Muṣṣanaf of Ibn Abi Shayba [Vol. 13, no. 35476] via the same isnād:
حدثنا زيد بن الحباب قال حدثني عبد الرحمن بن شريح قال حدثني شرحبيل بن يزيد المعافري قال سمعت محمد بن هدية الصدفي يقول سمعت عبد الله بن عمرو يقول سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Zayd ibn al-Ḥubab narrated to us he said Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ narrated to me, he said: Shuraḥbeel ibn Yazeed al-Ma’āfiri narrated to me, he said I heard that Muḥammad ibn Hudiya al-Ṣadafi saying: I heard Abdullah ibn ‘Amr saying, I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him saying:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Reported in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad [Vol. 11, no. 6637]:
حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا علي بن إسحاق ثنا عبد الله يعني بن المبارك أنا عبد الرحمن بن شريح المعافري ثنا شراحيل بن يزيد عن محمد بن هدية عن عبد الله بن عمرو قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
تعليق شعيب الأرنؤوط: إسناده حسن
Abdullah narrated to us my father narrated to me Ali ibn Isḥāq narrated to us Abdullah, namely Ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Ma’āfiri reported to us Shuraḥbeel ibn Yazeed narrated to us from Muḥammad ibn Hudiya from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, he said the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him said:
Indeed, the majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Comment of Shu’ayb al-Arnā’uṭ: ‘Its isnād is ḥasan.’
It is from the marfu’ aḥādith that is in al-Tārikh al-Kabir of Imām al-Bukhāri [Vol. 1, no. 212]:
قال لي محمد بن مقاتل حدثنا ابن المبارك، قال: أخبرنا عبد الرحمن بن شريح المعافري قال: حدثني شراحيل بن يزيد، عن محمد بن هدية، عن عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص قال: قال النبي، صلى الله عليه وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Muḥammad ibn Muqātil said to me, Ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us he said Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Ma’āfiri reported to us he said Shurāḥeel ibn Yazeed narrated to me from Muḥammad ibn Hadiya from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ, he said the Prophet peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Appearing also in Khalq Af’āl Al-‘Ibād of al-Bukhāri [no. 613, p. 291]:
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ مُقَاتِلٍ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللهِ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ شُرَيْحٍ الْمُعَافِرِيُّ حَدَّثَنِي شَرَاحِيلُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ هُدْيةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ، صلى الله عليه وسلم: أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
Muḥammad ibn Muqātil Abul’Ḥasan narrated to us Abdullah narrated to us Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Mu’āfiri narrated to us Shuraḥbeel ibn Yazeed narrated to me from Muḥammad ibn Hadiya from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ, may Allah be pleased with him, he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
From al-Zuhd of Ibn al-Mubārak [Vol. 1, no. 451]:
حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ شُرَيْحٍ الْمَعَافِرِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي شَرَاحِبيلُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ عَنْ رَجُلٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قال: قال رَسُولُ اللهِ، صلى الله عليه وسلم، أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Ma’āfiri narrated to us he said Shurāḥbeel ibn Yazeed narrated to me from a man from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Cited in various places of the work Ṣifa al-Nifāq wa’ zam al-Munāfiqeen [Characteristics of hypocrisy and slander of the hypocrites] of al-Firyābi [no. 36, p. 78]:
حدثنا أبو بكر وعثمان ابنا أبي شيبة قالا حدثنا زيد بن الحباب حدثنا عبد الرحمن بن شريح أبو شريح الإسكندراني حدثني شراحيل بن يزيد المعافري قال سمعت محمد بن هدية الصدفي قال سمعت عبد الله بن عمرو يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Abu Bakr and Uthmān narrated to us, Abi Shayba reports, they said Zayd ibn al-Ḥubāb narrated to us Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Iskanderāni narrated to us Shurāḥbeel ibn Yazeed al-Ma’āfiri narrated to me he said I heard Muḥammad ibn Hadiya al-Ṣadafi, he said I heard Abdullah ibn ‘Amr saying, said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Also in the same work [no. 35, p. 78]:
حدثنا محمد بن الحسن البلخي حدثنا عبد الله بن المبارك حدثنا عبد الرحمن بن شريح المعافري حدثنا شراحيل بن يزيد عن محمد بن هدية عن عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص قال ال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan al-Balkhi narrated to us Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Ma’āfiri narrated to us Shurāḥbeel ibn Yazeed narrated to us from Muḥammad ibn Hadiya from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ, he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
From al-Bidah by Ibn al-Waḍḍaḥ [no. 258, p. 274]:
حدثنا أسد قال حدثنا عبد الله بن المبارك عن عبد الله بن شريح المعافري قال حدثنا شرحبيل بن يزيد عن محمد بن هدبة عن عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاص قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Asad narrated to us Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us from Abdullah ibn Shureeḥ al-Ma’āfiri he said Shuraḥbeel ibn Yazeed narrated to us from Muḥammad ibn Hadiya from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ, he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Cited in the work entitled Ṣifa al-Nifāq wa’ nata al-Munāfiqeen by Abu Nu’aym [no. 155, p. 166]:
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ هَارُونَ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا جَعْفَرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْفِرْيَابِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ الْبَلْخِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ شُرَيْحٍ الْمَعَافِرِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا شَرَاحِيلُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ هَدِيَّةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
وَرَوَاهُ زَيْدُ بْنُ الْحُبَابِ وَابْنُ وَهْبٍ، عَنْ أَبِي شُرَيْحٍ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ شُرَيْحٍ
Ali ibn Hārun narrated to us he said Ja’far ibn Muḥammad al-Firyābi narrated to us he said Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Balkhi narrated to us Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak narrated to us Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Ma’āfiri reported to us Shurāḥbeel ibn Yazeed narrated to us from Muḥammad ibn Hadiya from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ, he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
And it is narrated by Yazeed ibn Ḥubāb and Ibn Wahb from Abu Shureeḥ, Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ.
From the Sharḥ al-Sunnah of al-Baghawi [Vol. 1, p. 73]:
أَخْبَرَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ أَبِي تَوْبَةَ أَنْبَأَنَا أَبُو طَاهِرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ أَحْمَدَ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ أَنْبَأَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ الْكِسَائِيُّ أَنْبَأَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَحْمُودٍ أَنْبَأَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْخَلالُ أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ عَنْ عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنِ شُرَيْحٍ الْمَعَافِرِيُّ قَالَ حَدَّثَنِي شَرَاحِيلُ بْنُ يَزِيدَ عَنْ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ هَدِيَّةَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
Muḥammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abi Tawbah reported to us Abu Ṭāhir Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad ibn al-Ḥarith reports Muḥammad ibn Ya’qub al-Kisā’i reports Abdullah ibn Maḥmud reports Ibrāhim ibn Abdullah al-Khallāl reports Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak reported to us from Abdar-Raḥman ibn Shureeḥ al-Ma’āfiri he said Shurāḥbeel ibn Yazeed narrated to me from Muḥammad ibn Hadiya from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ, he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Ibn ‘Asākir also cited this [Mu’jam, Vol. 1, no. 608] via a lengthy isnād. It is also reported in the Musnad of Imām Aḥmad [Vol. 11, no. 6634]:
حدثنا عبد الله حدثني أبي ثنا حسن ثنا بن لهيعة ثنا دراج عن عبد الرحمن بن جبير عن عبد الله بن عمرو بن العاصي قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول ان أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Abdullah narrated to us my father narrated to me Ḥasan narrated to us Ibn Lahiya narrated to us Darāj narrated to us from Abdar-Raḥman ibn Jubayr from Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him saying:
Indeed, the majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Analytical comment
I would submit that the ḥadith of Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aāṣ by itself is Ṣaḥīḥ (authentic). The statement of al-Ḥāfiz though that Muḥammad ibn Hadiya al-Ṣadafi is only graded as ‘maqbul’ (acceptable) is not correct; that is to say, he would only accept his ḥadith with follow-ons. But he is thiqa (trustworthy), as noted by al-‘Ijli and Yaq’ub ibn Sufyān, being also mentioned by Ibn Ḥibbān in al-Thiqat. Al-Dhahabi didn’t grasp all of this, thus he said in Mizān al-I’tidāl: ‘He’s not recognised.’ Notwithstanding that, it has been followed up by Abdar-Raḥman ibn Jubayr al-Maṣri al-Mu’wezzin and he is thiqa, a jurist knowledgeable of the obligations from the Awsaṭ al-Tābi’een, who died around the year 97 AH.
Their capital is deception and disguise, their profit is lying and treachery; their reasoning is always ready to compromise, pleasing both sides and seeking peace for themselves: ‘They seek to deceive Allah and the believers, but they do not deceive except themselves, they just do not realise’ [2:9]. Ibn Qayyim, Ranks of the Divine Seekers [Vol. 1, p. 730 (Eng)]
Ḥadith of Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir al-Juhani
As reported in Khalq Af’āl al-‘Ibād [no. 614, p. 291]:
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الرَّحِيمِ حَدَّثَنَا مَنْصُورُ بْنُ سَلَمَةَ حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ الْمُغِيرَةِ وَكَانَ ثَبَتًا حَدَّثَنَا مِشْرَحُ بْنُ هَاعَانَ عَنْ عُقْبَةَ بْنِ عَامِرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
Muḥammad ibn Abdar-Raḥeem narrated to us Manṣur ibn Salama narrated to us al-Waleed ibn al-Mughira, and he was firm, Mishraḥ ibn Hā’ān narrated to us from ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir may Allah be pleased with him, from the Prophet peace and blessing be upon him saying:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
It is also cited in the work Ṣifa al-Nifāq wa’ zam al-Munāfiqeen of al-Firyābi [no. 34, p. 77]:
حدثني أحمد بن خالد الخلال حدثنا أبو سلمة الخزاعي حدثنا الوليد بن المغيرة أبو العباس المصري ولم أر بمصر أثبت منه قال حدثنا مشرح بن هاعان عن عقبة بن عامر عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم أنه كان يقول أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Aḥmad ibn Khālid al-Khallāl narrated to me Abu Salama al-Khuzā’i narrated to al-Waleed ibn al-Mughira Abul-‘Abbās al-Miṣri narrated to us; I have not seen in Egypt (other than) he more well established, he said Mishraḥ ibn Hā’ān narrated to us from ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him that he used to say:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Again, from the same work [no. 31/32]:
حدثنا قتيبة بن سعيد حدثنا ابن لهيعة عن مشرح بن هاعان عن عقبة بن عامر قال ال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Qutayba ibn Sa’eed narrated to us Ibn Lahiya narrated to us from Mishraḥ ibn Hā’ān from ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir he said the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) their reciters.
حدثنا محمد بن الحسن البلخي بسمرقند سنة ست وعشرين ومائتين أخبرنا عبد الله بن المبارك أخبرنا ابن لهيعة حدثنا أبو المصعب مشرح بن هاعان قال سمع عقبة بن عامر الجهني يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Muḥammad ibn Ḥasan al-Balkhi narrated to us in Samarkand, in the year two hundred and twenty-six Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak reported to us Ibn Lahiya reported to us Abul-Muṣ’ab Mishraḥ ibn Hā’ān narrated to us he said I heard ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir al-Juhani saying, I heard the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him say:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
From al-Bidah by Ibn al-Waḍḍaḥ [no. 257, p. 273]:
حدثنا محمد بن وضاح قال حدثنا محمد بن يحيى قال: حدثنا أسد بن موسى قال: حدثنا ابن لهيعة قال: حدثنا مسرح بن هاعان سمعت عقبة بن عامر يقول: سمعت رسول الله، صلى الله عليه وسلم، يقول أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Muḥammad ibn Waḍḍaḥ narrated to us he said Muḥammad ibn Yaḥya narrated to us he said Asad ibn Musa narrated to us he said Ibn Lahiya narrated to us he said Misraḥ ibn Hā’ān narrated to us, I heard ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir saying: I heard the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him saying:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
As reported in Fawā’id Tamām [Vol. 2, no. 893]:
أخبرنا أبو إسحاق إبراهيم بن محمد بن صالح وأبو الحارث أحمد بن محمد بن عمارة في آخرين قالوا ثنا عبد الرحمن بن عبد الصمد البروزي ثنا جنادة بن محمد المري ثنا منصور بن عمار ثنا عبد الله بن لهيعة عن مشرح بن عاهان عن عقبة بن عامر الجهني قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Abu Isḥāq Ibrahim ibn Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ and Abul-Ḥārith Aḥmad ibn Muḥammad ibn ‘Umara reported to us among others, they said Abdar-Raḥman ibn Abduṣ Ṣamad al-Baruzi narrated to us Junada ibn Muḥammad al-Marri narrated to us Manṣur ibn ‘Ammār narrated to us Abdullah ibn Lahiya narrated to us from Misraḥ ibn Hā’ān from ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir al-Juhani he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
In the Musnad of al-Ru’yāni [Vol. 1, no. 210]:
حدثنا البرقي حدثنا ابن أبي مريم حدثنا ابن لهيعة عن مشرح بن هاعان قال سمعت عقبة بن عامر يقول قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
al-Barqi narrated to us Ibn Abi Maryam narrated to us Ibn Lahiya narrated to us from Mishraḥ ibn Hā’ān, he said I heard ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir al-Juhani saying, the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
As reported in the Mu’jam (Mashkul) of al-Ṭabarāni, [Vol. 15, no. 14256]:
حدثنا أبو يزيد القراطيسي ثنا أسد بن موسى ح وحدثنا بشر بن موسى ثنا يحيى بن إسحاق السيلحيني ح وحدثنا يحيى بن أيوب العلاف ثنا سعيد بن أبي مريم قالوا ثنا بن لهيعة عن أبي عشانة عن عقبة بن عامر قال سمعت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
Abu Yazeed al-Qaraṭisi narrated to us Asad ibn Musa narrated to us [ḥawala] and Bishr ibn Musa narrated to us Yaḥya ibn Isḥāq al-Saylaḥini narrated to us [ḥawala] and Yaḥya ibn Ayub al-A’lāf narrated to us Sa’eed ibn Abi Maryam narrated to us they said, Ibn Lahiya narrated to us from Abu Ushāna from ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir, he said I heard the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him saying:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
The narrator Abu Ushāna is Ḥayy ibn Yu’min ibn Ḥajeel ibn Ḥudayj ibn Asad al-Ma’āfari al-Miṣri, who is thiqa (trustworthy), being one of the middle ranking Tābi’een, who died in the year 118 AH. A further citation is from Ṣifa al-Nifāq wa’ nata al-Munāfiqeen by Abu Nu’aym [no. 154, p. 165]:
حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ هَارُونَ حَدَّثَنَا جَعْفَرٌ الْفِرْيَابِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ قَالَ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ لَهِيعَةَ عَنْ مِشْرَحِ بْنِ هَاعَانَ عَنْ عُقْبَةَ بْنِ عَامِرٍ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
ثم قال أبو نعيم: رَوَاهُ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ وَالْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ وَالْمُقْرِئُ وَبِشْرُ بْنُ السَّرِيِّ، عَنِ ابْنِ لَهِيعَةَ
Ali ibn Hārun narrated to us Ja’far al-Firyābi narrated to us Qutayba ibn Sa’eed narrated to us he said Ibn Lahiya narrated to us from Mishraḥ ibn Hā’ān from ‘Uqba ibn ‘Aāmir he said the Messenger of Allah peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
Thereafter Abu Nu’aym said: Its narrated by Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Waleed ibn Muslim, al-Muqri and Bishr ibn al-Sarri from Ibn Lahiya. I would submit, the three-righteous worshippers, Abdullah ibn al-Mubārak, Abdullah ibn Yazeed al-Muqri and Abdullah ibn Wahb are renewed for the old Ṣaḥīḥ hearing from Ibn Lahiya Qutayba ibn Sa’eed was correcting his hearing on the books of Abdullah ibn Wahb: Everything he narrated on the authority of Ibn Lahiya is also Ṣaḥīḥ. Most people are unaware of the fact that the hearing of al-Waleed ibn Muslim is also very old. As well as Bishr ibn al-Sarri, Yaḥya ibn Isḥāq al-Saylaḥini, Sa’eed ibn Abi Maryam and others that have been mentioned elsewhere. Nevertheless, it is not alone, but al-Waleed ibn al-Mughirah followed-on, his recension being more strong and affirmed. Likewise, Musharrah ibn Hā’ān was not unique to it, as Abu Ashāna followed it up: the ḥadith of ‘Uqbah ibn Aāmir al-Juhani is Ṣaḥīḥ on its own standing, together with the totality of its reported channels.
This emphasis on the hypocrites is] because of their great number and the ubiquity of the afflictions they cause, and the severity of their harm against Islam, their harm being so great because of their claim to it, to its aid and support when they are in reality its foes. They display animosity to it in every form, leaving the ignorant one to think that what they offer is knowledge and reform, but in fact it is ignorance and corruption. Erased from their hearts are the emblems of faith; they no longer recognise them. Ibn Qayyim, Ranks of the Divine Seekers [Vol. 1, p. 726 (Eng)
Hadith of Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbās
As reported in al-Ḍu’afā al-Kabir of al-‘Uqayli [Vol. 1, p. 274]:
وحدثني موسى بن محمد بن كثير الجدي قال حدثنا حفص بن عمر العدني قال حدثنا الحكم بن أبان عن عكرمة بن أبان عن عكرمة عن بن عباس قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أكثر منافقي أمتي قراؤها
قال ولا يتابع على هذا أيضا من حديث بن عباس وقد روي هذا عن عبد الله بن عمرو عن النبي عليه السلام بإسناد صالح
And Musa ibn Muḥammad ibn Kathir al-Juddi narrated to me he said Hafṣ ibn Umar al-Adnani narrated to us he said al-Ḥakam ibn Abān narrated to us from ‘Ikrima from Ibn ‘Abbās he said the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him said:
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
He said: And there is no follow-up upon this also from the ḥadith of Ibn ‘Abbās, and this was narrated on the authority of Abdullah bin ‘Amr on the authority of the Prophet, with its isnād being Ṣāliḥ.
I would submit Hafṣ ibn Umar al-Adnani is not strong, nevertheless, the soul rests with the ḥadith narrated by Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with him.
Hadith of ‘Iṣmah ibn Mālik al-Khaṭami
This is reported in the Mu’jam (Mashkul) of al-Ṭabarāni, [Vol. 15, no. 13907]:
وَبِإِسْنَادِهِ عَنْ عِصْمَةَ، قَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ، صلى الله عليه وسلم، يَقُولُ: أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا
والإسناد هو حدثنا أَحْمَدُ بن رِشْدِينٍ الْمِصْرِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا خَالِدُ بن عَبْدِ السَّلامِ الصَّدَفِيُّ حَدَّثَنَا الْفَضْلُ بن الْمُخْتَارِ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بن مَوْهِبٍ عَنْ عِصْمَةَ بن مَالِكٍ الْخَطَمِيِّ
With its isnād from ‘Iṣmah, he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessing be upon him saying
The majority of the hypocrites from among my Ummah are (to be found among) the reciters.
And the isnād is: Aḥmad ibn Rishdeen al-Miṣri narrated to us Khālid ibn Abdus-Sallām al- Ṣadafi narrated to us al-Faḍl ibn Mukhtār narrated to us from Abdullah ibn Mu’hib from ‘Iṣmah ibn Mālik al-Khaṭami.
I would submit here, that al-Faḍl ibn Mukhtār has around three or four manakeer (pl. munkar), this not being one of them. He wasn’t accused of either fabricating or stealing ḥadith, so this doesn’t detract from the report here narrated from ‘Iṣmah ibn Mālik al-Khaṭami.
Concluding analytical comment
It is thus established the ḥadith of Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al- Aāṣ and ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Aāmir al-Juhani is Ṣaḥīḥ with its follow-ons and together with the totality of reported channels. Imām al-Bukhāri confirmed it is Ṣaḥīḥ, attributed to the Prophet peace be upon him in his work Khalq Af’āl al-‘Ibād, both of the narrations being cited earlier on. From among contemporaries, al-Albāni as well as Shu’ayb al-Arnā’uṭ graded the narration as being Ṣaḥīḥ. Follow-on narrations have also been reported with this wording from ‘Iṣmah ibn Mālik al-Khaṭami and Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, separate from any wording contained with those isnād’s. Taken in the round, all of this necessitates that there is definite proof in this ḥadith in its wording from the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him and his family. This proof is beyond any reasonable doubt. Rather, it may reach a degree of certitude transcending every possible doubt!
And Allah, the Exalted evidently knows best.
By Professor Muḥammad ibn Abdullah al-Mas’ari
