Response to the claim that the body of the Prophet has become old

 The Christians

claimed, out of ignorance, that the body of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had aged and swollen like all other bodies after his death. They provided evidence for that with the hadith of Wakee’ on the authority of Ismail bin Abi Khalid on the authority of Abdullah Al-Bahi, in which it says: [.....and he was left for a day and a night until his belly grew and his little finger bent]

and also the saying of Al-Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib, may Allah be pleased with him [The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, aged as humans aged and the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, has died, so bury your companion]

after praising Allah and sending prayers and peace upon the Messenger of Allah:

As for the claim of the Christians, the answer to it is from several aspects:



First



, we Muslims do not worship the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, nor do we believe in his divinity as the Christians believe in the Messiah, son of Mary, so that we may follow up whether his noble body changes and decays with death or not.... Rather, we believe that he is a servant and a messenger, even though he was the master of the prophets and the seal of the messengers. Allah, the Most High, preserved His great prophet until he completed his message and his law was perfected and Allah the Almighty revealed His saying: “This day I have perfected for you your religion, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
Nothing will harm the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, after he completed his sublime message and left humanity on the straight path, and his pure soul ascended to its Creator.
The signs indicating the approaching death of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) came after the completion of conveying the message and while he was at the height of his conquests and victories, including:

(1) Allah the Almighty said in Surat An-Nasr :
“When the help of Allah and the victory come (1) And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes (2) So exalt [Allah] with the praises of your Lord.” (3)

This Surah was a subtle indication that the Messenger of God had delivered the message, conveyed the trust, and advised the nation, and that he now had to prepare to depart from this home in peace to the home of peace. The Messenger of God would not stop saying in his bowing, “Glory be to You, O God, our Lord, and praise be to You, O God, forgive me” in all his prayers, peace be upon him

(2). Also, what Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas, who said: The Messenger of God was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan when Gabriel met him. He would meet him every night of Ramadan and study the Qur’an with him. Gabriel would read and the Prophet would listen sometimes, and the Prophet would read and Gabriel would listen sometimes, until the year in which the Messenger died, and Gabriel would review the Qur’an with him twice. Therefore, the Messenger of God said, “I do not see that except as my death is approaching.” The last review was witnessed by one of the famous scribes of the revelation, Zaid bin Thabit Al-Ansari.

(3) Among them is what was reported on the authority of Abu Muwayhiba regarding the freed slave of the Messenger of God, who said: The Messenger of God woke me up one night and said: I have been commanded to seek forgiveness for the people of al-Baqi’, so go with me. So I went with him, and he greeted them and then said: May you be blessed with what you have become in. The trials have come like pieces of a dark night. Then he said: I have been given the keys to the treasures of the earth and eternity in it, then Paradise, and I have been given the choice between that and meeting my Lord, so I have chosen to meet my Lord. Then he sought forgiveness for the people of al-Baqi’, then he left. Then his illness began in which he died. Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh 2/318

(4) And from it is the saying of Ibn Masoud: [The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, announced his death to us a month before his death. When the time of separation approached, he gathered us in Aisha’s house. He looked at us and was very sad, and his eyes filled with tears. He said: Welcome to you, may God give you life, may God have mercy on you, may God protect you, may God raise you up, may God grant you success, may God keep you safe, may God accept you. I advise you to fear God, and God has advised you and I appoint Him as your successor over you and I bring you to Him. I am a warner and a bearer of good tidings from Him. Do not exalt yourself over God in His servants and lands, for He said to me and for you: This is the home of the Hereafter. We assign it to those who do not desire exaltation on the earth or corruption. And the good end is for the righteous.
We said: Then when is your death? He said: The separation has drawn near, and the return to Allah, the Lote Tree of the Limit, the Highest Companion, and the Garden of Refuge. We said: Who will wash you? He said: My family. We said: In what shall we shroud you? He said: In my clothes or in white. We said: Who will pray over you? He said: Take it easy, may Allah forgive you and reward you well on behalf of your Prophet... So we cried and he cried, then he said: Place me on my bed on the edge of my grave, then go out from me for an hour so that Gabriel, Israfil, Michael, and the Angel of Death may pray for me with the angels, then enter upon me in groups and pray for me and do not disturb me with praise or a groan. Convey my greetings to yourselves, and whoever of my companions is absent, convey my greetings to him, and whoever follows you in my religion, convey my greetings to him.] Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir 2/320

(4) And from it is what the two sheikhs narrated on the authority of Abu Saeed al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him,
that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, sat on the pulpit and said: [Indeed, Allah gave a slave the choice between giving him from the adornment of this world whatever he wanted and between what is with Him, and he chose what is with Him. So Abu Bakr cried and said: We would sacrifice our fathers and mothers for you. We were amazed by him and he said: People, look at this old man telling the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, about a slave whom God gave the choice between giving him the pleasures of this world and what He has, and he said, “We sacrifice our fathers and mothers for you.” So the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was the one given the choice, and Abu Bakr was the one who knew him best. And the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The one who is most trustworthy of people in his company and his wealth is Abu Bakr. And if I were to take a close friend from my nation, I would take Abu Bakr, except for the close friend of Islam. There should not remain a single doorway in the mosque except the doorway of Abu Bakr.”
(Bukhari 3615, Muslim 4390)

(5) And from it is the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the sermon of the Farewell Pilgrimage, “Beware, your wealth and your blood are sacred to you, as sacred as this land is on this day. Beware, I do not know that you will return after me as disbelievers, striking the necks of one another.” “Let the witness among you inform the absent, for I do not know that I will ever meet you after today. O God, bear witness against them. O God, I have conveyed the message.”
Al-Tabarani’s Great Lexicon (24/308), Al-Sunan Al-Kubra by Al-Bayhaqi, Book of Hajj (5/151).
Al-Albani said: Its chain of transmission – the Farewell Sermon – came in various hadiths: A large portion of them were narrated by Muslim

(5), including the hadith of the Mother of the Believers Aisha, who said:
The wives of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, gathered and none of them remained behind. Then Fatima came walking as if her gait was the gait of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace. He said, “Welcome, my daughter.” He sat her on his right or his left. Then he confided something to her and Fatima cried. Then he confided something to her and she laughed again. I asked her, “What makes you cry?” She said, “I would never divulge the secret of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace.” I said, “I have never seen joy closer to sadness than today.” When she cried, I said to her, “The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, has singled you out with his hadith, and you are still crying.” I asked her what he had said. She said, “I would never divulge the secret of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace.” When he died, I asked her and she said, “He had told me that Gabriel used to review the Qur’an with him once a year, and he reviewed it with him twice a year. I do not see myself except that my time has come.” And you will be the first of my family to join me, and what a good predecessor I am for you. So I cried for that, then he whispered to me and said, “Are you not pleased to be the mistress of the women of the believers or the mistress of the women of this nation?” So I laughed for that… (She died, may Allah be pleased with her, six months after the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)).

Sahih Muslim - Book of the Virtues of the Companions - Chapter on the Virtues of Fatima

(PBUH). The Mother of the Believers Aisha said: I often heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) say: Allah does not take the soul of a prophet until he gives him a choice. So when he was dying, the last words I heard from him were: Rather, the highest companion. She said: I said, then Allah does not choose us, and I knew that He gives a choice.

- And we have learned that God did not decree immortality for anyone and His will decreed the destruction of every creature except His noble face, including the prophets and the close angels

- and among the prophets were those who were burned, killed and torn to pieces. Indeed, John the Baptist, about whom Christ says (Among those born of women, has no woman given birth like John the Baptist) was killed and his noble head was cut off and placed in the hands of a prostitute called Salome, and this is according to the text of the Christian holy book.... Does this mean that he is not a noble prophet?!

- Rather, the Christians believe that God himself was crucified and died, and his hands remained pierced after his alleged resurrection..... While they prove to a man, namely the prophet Enoch, that he did not taste death to begin with
((By faith Enoch was translated so that he should not see death; and he was not found because God had translated him)) Hebrews 5:11

So God is highly exalted, and truly the Christians said that God’s hand is pierced!



Secondly,


as for the statement of Al-Abbas (The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, is rotting as humans rot, and the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, has died, so bury your companion), this is not news of something that has happened, but rather an effort on the part of Al-Abbas, as he thought that the body of the Messenger of God would be affected by what happens to all bodies after death. He had said this statement to intimidate and warn Omar when he refused to accept the calamity of the death of the Messenger of God, let alone bury the body of the noble one, and he cried out in horror at the calamity, threatening everyone who said that the Messenger of God had died until his cheeks foamed.

Ikrimah said: Omar, may God be pleased with him, continued to speak and threaten the hypocrites until his cheeks foamed, so Al-Abbas said to him: Leave us alone with our companion, the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, is rotting as humans rot, and he has died, so bury your companion. Does one of you die once and die twice? He is more honorable to God than that. If it is as they say, then it is not difficult for God to search for the dirt and bring him out, God willing.

So the body of the Messenger of God had not grown old. Rather, Abbas demanded that the noble body be buried out of honor for him and to frighten people from leaving it until it rotted, believing that this was possible with the Messenger of God due to his humanity and human nature.

As for the hadith of Wakee’ on the authority of Abdullah Al-Bahi, which states that the body of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, was left for a day and a night until his stomach grew...when Wakee’ narrated this news, he saw divine wisdom in it and said that God Almighty made the noble body grow so that people would not be tempted by it and place it in a position other than its rightful place, and so that the truth of the occurrence of the predestined fate would be proven to those who denied the death of the Messenger of God.

Despite the validity of his vision, the final word regarding his narration is that it is not authentic, as the hadith is rejected and has not been proven in the right of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace... Al-Albani, may God have mercy on him, said:
{Narrator: Abdullah Al-Bahi, the client of Mus`ab bin Al-Zubayr - Summary of the degree: rejected, with a broken chain of transmission - Narrator: Al-Dhahabi - Source: Siyar A`lam Al-Nubala - Page or number 9/160}
It is a rejected, broken hadith that has no proof and should not be paid attention to.

Rather, the great imams at the time of Waki` himself rejected this hadith, even Sufyan bin `Uyaynah, who is the only scholar who testified to the hadith according to the narration... He said that he did not know this hadith at all, but he testified to it to prevent greater harm. Waki` was almost killed for narrating this rejected news.

Ibn Khashram said: When Waki` narrated this in Mecca, the Quraysh gathered and wanted to crucify Waki`, and they erected a cross to crucify him, so Sufyan bin `Uyaynah came and said to them: By God, by God, this is the jurist of the people of Iraq and the son of its jurist, and this is a well-known hadith.
Sufyan said: And I did not I heard it, but I wanted to free Wakee

’, so what excuse do Christians have after that with a strange, reprehensible, and disconnected report?!



Thirdly,


the surprise that may greatly disappoint Christians is that the authentic reports regarding the death of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, prove his honor and demonstrate his prophethood.

As for how to wash the noble body:

Abu Dawood said in Sunan: An-Nufaili told us, Muhammad bin Salamah told us, on the authority of Muhammad bin Ishaq, who said: Yahya bin Ibad told me, on the authority of his father Ibad bin Abdullah bin Az-Zubayr, who said:
I heard Aisha say: [When they wanted to wash the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, they said: By God, we do not know whether to strip the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, of his clothes as we strip our dead, or to wash him while his clothes are on?
When they differed, Allah cast sleep upon them until there was not a man among them whose chin was not on his chest. Then a voice spoke to them from the side of the house, and they did not know who he was: Wash the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while he was wearing his clothes. So they went to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and washed him while he was wearing his shirt. They poured water over the shirt and rubbed him with the shirt, not their hands.
Aisha used to say: If I could do it again, only his women would have washed him.
Sunan by Abu Dawud - Book of Funerals - Hadith No. 3141.

It was also narrated by Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak - Book of Military Expeditions and Conquests. He said: [This Hadith is authentic according to the conditions of Muslim, but they did not include it.] (Part 3/62)

And also Al-Shafi’i included it in his Musnad – Chapter on Funeral Prayers and Their Rulings 23/563

. Here is a statement of the ruling on the hadith with its chains of transmission in As-Silsilah As-Saheehah by Al-Albani:

Narrator: Aisha - Summary of the degree: This hadith was narrated with a chain of transmission that is authentic - Narrator: Ibn Abd Al-Barr - Source: Al-Tamheed - Page or number: 24/400

Narrator: Aisha - Summary of the degree: Its narrators are trustworthy, including Ibn Ishaq, who is the truthful Imam - Narrator: Ibn Abd Al-Hadi - Source: Al-Muharrir - Page or number: 191

Narrator: Buraydah ibn al-Husaib al-Aslami - Summary of the degree: Its chain of transmission is good - Narrator: Ibn al-Mulqin - Source: Tuhfat al-Muhtaj - Page or number: 1/584

Narrator: Aisha - Summary of the degree: Good - Narrator: al-Albani - Source: Sahih Abi Dawud - Page or number: 3141

Narrator: Aisha - Summary of the degree: Its chain of transmission is sound - Narrator: al-Albani - Source: Ahkam al-Jana’iz - Page or number: 66

Narrator: Aisha - Summary of the degree: Good with an addition at the end - Narrator: al-Albani - Source: Mishkat al-Masabih - Page or number: 5892




As for the condition of the noble body:

It is correct that the bodies of the prophets do not decay, and this is proven with the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

Ibn Ishaq narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn Abi Bakr, Hussein ibn Abdullah, and others: that Ali ibn Abi Talib, al-Abbas ibn Abdul Muttalib, al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas, Qatham ibn al-Abbas, Usamah ibn Zayd, and Shuqran, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, are the ones who And if they washed the Prophet, then Ali ibn Abi Talib supported him to his chest, and Al-Abbas, Al-Fadl and Qutham were turning him over with him, and Usama ibn Zaid and Shuqran, his freed slave, were the ones who poured water over him, and Ali was washing him, supporting him to his chest, and he was wearing his shirt, rubbing him with it from behind, not letting his hand reach the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Ali was saying, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, how good you are, alive and dead.” And nothing was seen of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as is seen of the dead.”

And Ibn Sa’d also included it in Al-Tabaqat Al-Kubra (2/281) and Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi in Kanz Al-Ummal 18783.
Al-Hakim said in Al-Mustadrak: Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Ya’qub informed us, Yahya ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya told us, Musaddad told us, Abdul Wahid ibn Ziyad told us, Muammar told us, on the authority of Al-Zuhri, on the authority of Sa’id ibn Al-Musayyab, who said:
Ali ibn Abi Talib said: I washed the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and I went to see what would happen to the dead, but I did not see anything, and he was good - may Allah bless him and grant him peace - alive and dead. Al-Mustadrak

‘ala Al-Sahihain - Book Funerals 1339/85
Al-Hakim said: [This is a sound hadith according to the conditions of the two sheikhs, and they did not narrate anything from it except the grave]

and here is the graduation of Sheikh Al-Albani for the hadith with its chains of transmission:

Narrator: Ali bin Abi Talib - Summary of the degree: Its chain of transmission is sound - Narrator: Al-Albani - Source: Ahkam Al-Jana’iz - Page or number: 68

Narrator: Ali bin Abi Talib - Summary of the degree: Its chain of transmission is sound - Narrator: Ibn Al-Mulaqqin - Source: Al-Badr Al-Munir - Page or number: 5/200

and Imam Al-Nawawi narrated it in Al-Khulasah and Imam Al-Albani authenticated it 2/935

and Ibn Kathir narrated it in Irshad Al-Faqih and Imam Al-Albani authenticated it page or number 223/1
and also in Sahih Ibn Majah by Al-Albani 1198.


So the Messenger of God was not buried for three days, then when the time came for his washing, God sent drowsiness upon his companions and they heard a voice commanding them to wash the Messenger of God in his clothes without uncovering him out of respect and reverence, Then Ali bin Abi Talib took over the massage of his pure and noble body, and he did not find in it what he finds in the dead, but rather he found all the best 

Abdullah Al-Bahi" narrated a hadith that contradicted the authentic hadiths of the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, which mentioned his death, may God bless him and grant him peace.

The authentic hadiths are that his companions attended him after his death and testified that he, peace be upon him, was pure in life and death...

The first authentic hadith is what Al-Bukhari narrated on the authority of Aisha that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, died and Abu Bakr was in As-Sunh... Abu Bakr came and uncovered the face of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, and kissed him and said, "May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, you were pure in life and death... By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, God will never let you taste death twice..." The hadith.

The hadith narrated by Ibn Majah: On the authority of Saeed bin Al-Musayyab, on the authority of Ali bin Abi Talib , who said: When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was washed, he went to seek from him what one seeks from a dead person, but he did not find him, so he said: "May my father be sacrificed for you, you were pure in life and you were pure in death."

And similar narrations are in Al-Mustadrak Al-Hakim, Kanz Al-Ummal, and others... And what Ibn Saad narrated in Al-Tabaqat on the authority of Aisha that Abu Bakr came from As-Sanh and uncovered the face of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and kissed him and said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, you are good in life and death, ” as narrated by Al-Bukhari.

These are authentic narrations that go back to the companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) who saw him when he died, and who washed him, prostrated him, and buried him...

And none of them contain this phrase about the stomach swelling and the bending of the little finger!!


Ahmad and Al-Nasa’i narrated on the authority of Abu Salamah on the authority of the Mother of the Believers Aisha, and Ahmad narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas about Abu Bakr’s arrival and his kissing the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)... And there is no such strange word in them.

So these are the authentic, connected, and connected hadiths in the books of hadith about the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and his washing, and the testimony of his companions... May the prayers and peace of my Lord be upon him.

So what about this narration that was narrated on the authority of Abdullah Al-Bahi?!!

This narration does not exist in the books of hadith!

None of the Imams narrated it, neither in the Sahih books such as Bukhari, Muslim, nor Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah, nor in the Sunan compilers, nor in Al-Muwatta, nor Musnad Ahmad, nor Ad-Darimi, nor Ibn Majah, nor Sahih Ibn Hibban, nor any other Sunan books!!

It was only mentioned in the Abridged History of Damascus, and in the Classes of Ibn Saad.
As for the one in the Abridged History of Damascus, it is a narration narrated by Wakee’ on the authority of Ibn Abi Khalid on the authority of Abdullah Al-Bahi that Abu Bakr came to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, after his death, and leaned over him, and kissed him, and said: May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, how good your life was, and how good your death was.

So far.. The narration is in agreement with what came in the authentic hadiths such as the narration of Al-Bukhari and what we mentioned... that Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, kissed his Prophet and said: (How sweet is your life, and how sweet is your death).
Rather, it is in agreement with other narrations in the summary of the history of Damascus by Ibn Asakir himself, which was abridged by Muhammad bin Makram, known as Ibn Manzur. The narrations attributed to the companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, come with his purity and goodness in his life and death, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.


So if this narration testifies that Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said about the noble Prophet, you are good in life and death... then how was it said after that... that his stomach grew and his little finger bent?!

This is a narration whose end contradicts its beginning... and its beginning is what is known among the imams of the Sunnah and Hadith with its continuous chain of transmission to the companions of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.

Al-Bahi is not one of the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to say about the Prophet (peace be upon him) (He left for a day and a night until his belly grew and his little finger bent).
So where did he get this false report... contradicting the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him)?

Al-Bahi did not see Abu Bakr... nor did he narrate from Abu Bakr!! He

did not even narrate from Aisha, who is the one who narrated in the authentic narrations from Abu Bakr... that he kissed him and said, "You are good in life and death.
" These narrations were narrated to us from Aisha from Abu Bakr... so where did he get them from?

And the imams in hadith agree that al-Bahi did not narrate from Aisha... let alone narrate from Abu Bakr?!

His narration from Aisha was rejected by the two imams Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi and Ahmad, and they said that he did not hear it from her.
Al-Hafiz mentioned in Tahdhib al-Tahdhib from Ahmad regarding al-Bahi hearing from Aisha, he said: I do not see this as anything, he only narrates from Urwah.

Ahmad said in the hadith of Zaidah on the authority of Al-Suddi on the authority of Al-Bahi: Aisha told me, he said: Abd Al-Rahman bin Mahdi had heard it from Zaidah, and he would leave out “Aisha told me” from him and deny it - meaning he would deny the word “told me.”
This is also what was mentioned by the author of “Jami’ Al-Tahsil fi Ahkam Al-Marasil” Abu Saeed Salah Al-Din Al-Ala’i.

If his narration on the authority of Aisha was through the path of Urwah...then the narration of Urwah on the authority of Aisha is what Al-Bukhari narrated, and in it (Abu Bakr) uncovered the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and kissed him and said, “May my father and mother be sacrificed for you, you were good in life and death. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, Allah will never let you taste death twice.” And

all of those who saw the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, from his companions on the day of his death, and washed him , such as Ali bin Abi Talib, Al-Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib, Al-Fadl bin Al-Abbas, Qatham bin Al-Abbas, Usamah bin Zaid, and Shuqran his freed slave, and they were the ones who washed him . Al -Bahi did not narrate on the authority of any of them, according to the agreement of all the Imams of Hadith.

And none of them narrated this narration...
for none of them narrated this news, nor did any of the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, narrate it.

So we are faced with a weak, even reprehensible narration... First: Because the chain of transmission is broken. Al-Bahi did not narrate this narration from any of the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace... as we mentioned. Second: Because it contradicts what is authentic in the books of hadith and collections of Sunnah about the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in mentioning his death, may God bless him and grant him peace . Third: The weakness of Abdullah Al-Bahi and the confusion of his hadith . Ibn Abi Hatim mentioned in Al-Ilal on the authority of his father, who said: Al-Bahi cannot be relied upon, and his hadith is confused. Al-Dhahabi said in Siyar A'lam Al-Nubala': It is a reprehensible narration with an interrupted chain of transmission. As for the narration in Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd... Abdul Wahhab bin Ata' told us, Awf told me on the authority of Al-Hasan, who said: When the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, passed away, his companions consulted and said: Wait for your Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, perhaps he has ascended. He said: So they waited until his stomach grew. It is a weak narration... and this can be explained in several ways: First: We know that all the narrations that came from the companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, in the books of Sunnah mentioned his pure nature, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him... and there is nothing in the books of Sunnah of these falsehoods that are written in histories and events. ... So the hadiths are taken from the books of hadith, not from histories and biographies. So any narration after that or news that contradicts what came in the Sunnahs and Sahihs... is judged to be weak.




















Second: This is a mursal hadith... because the chain of transmission ends with Al-Hasan, and the mursal hadith is weak in general, and the mursal hadiths of Al-Hasan (during his Imamate, may Allah be pleased with him) are weak in particular.
Imam Ahmad said: (There is no mursal hadith weaker than the mursal hadiths of Al-Hasan and Ata bin Abi Rabah).
Al-Iraqi said: The mursal hadiths of Al-Hasan are similar to the wind.

Tadrib Al-Rawi Sharh Taqrib Al-Nawawi... by Al-Suyuti, Vol. 1.

In "Jami' Al-Tahsil fi Ahkam Al-Marasil" he said: (He, Al-Hasan, used to conceal a lot and he used to mursal a lot).

Then...

the narrator of the narration is Abdul-Wahhab bin Ata. The author of (Tabaqat Al-Mudallisin) quoted from him the saying of Al-Bukhari about him: He used to conceal hadiths from Thawr Al-Himsi and some people.

Imam Ahmad said about him: Abdul-Wahhab bin Ata Al-Khaffaf is weak in hadith and confused.
As in "Al-Du'afa Al-Kabir" by Al-Hafiz Abu Ja'far Al-Uqaili.
Al-Dhahabi said in Mizan Al-I'tidal: Al-Razi said: He used to lie. Al-Nasa'i said: The hadith is abandoned

. These are two weak, disconnected hadiths that contradict the authentic hadiths.


If we look into the story and ponder the hadith that came in it, and the story of Wakee' and Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, we would be certain of the weakness of the hadith that came in it without researching the narrators or the chain of transmission.

According to the story, Wakee' was exposed to a severe crisis because of this narration that almost cost him his life. Based on what came in this story, Wakee' almost lost his life, had it not been for Sufyan ibn Uyaynah who saved him from death by claiming that he knew this hadith... although in fact he did not know it...

Then Ibn Uyaynah said: I had not heard this hadith except that I wanted to save it.

So we are faced with two great scholars of the stature of Wakee'... and Ibn Uyaynah...

As for Wakee', he is an imam in hadith... one of the strongest scholars of the nation in memorization, so much so that Ahmad said about him: I have never seen a man like Wakee' in knowledge, memorization, chain of transmission, and chapters, along with humility and piety.
He also said about him: I have never seen anyone more knowledgeable than Waki', nor more knowledgeable than Waki'. I have never seen Waki' doubt a hadith except for one day, nor have I ever seen a book or a patch with Waki'. He said: Waki' was naturally good at memorizing, Waki' was a hafiz, and Waki' had a much, much better memory than Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi.
Yahya ibn Ma'in said: I have never seen anyone who had a better memory than Waki'. A man said to him: Not even Hushaym? He said: How do the hadith of Hushaym compare to the hadith of Waki'? Waki' said
about himself: I have never written down a hadith from Sufyan, I only took it, meaning I memorized it.
He meant Sufyan al-Thawri, who was one of his students, and Ahmad used to give him precedence over all of al-Thawri's companions, even Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi. Ahmad
was asked: Did you give precedence to Waki' over Abd al-Rahman? He said: Waki' is a sheikh.


This great Imam narrated a narration based on this story (!) that ended with Al-Bahi... The entire nation (!) did not know it until the scholars of Mecca judged him and asked him to provide a chain of transmission for the narration... and he is the Imam of Hadith... but he could not provide a chain of transmission for it, nor any other narrations from the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) that supported what he narrated... and his neck became threatened with being cut off... and he lost his temper, not knowing a way out except by asking for intercession from Sufyan ibn Uyaynah, or for Sufyan to volunteer to come and rescue him.

And how did Sufyan rescue him?
He claimed that it was a well-known narration!
And it is not well-known... rather it is unknown... Sufyan does not know it!
He does not know a chain of transmission for it, let alone know of its connection from Al-Bahi to the companions.

And who is Sufyan?
He is Ibn Uyaynah...one of the wise companions of Hadith...the Imam of Hadith, and the Imam of Hijaz. Without him and without Malik, the knowledge of Hijaz would have been lost, as Al-Shafi'i said.
Al-Shafi'i also said about him: I have not seen anyone among the people who has the tools of knowledge as Sufyan Ibn Uyaynah, and I have not seen anyone more qualified to issue fatwas than him .

This Imam did not find a way out for Waki' (despite his vast knowledge) with a single narration to any of the companions that contained what was mentioned in the alleged narration.
If he had known a single narration that supported what Waki' mentioned, he would not have needed to say anything but the truth in order to save his companion.

If this report had a basis or chain of transmission, neither of the two Imams Waki' nor Sufyan would have delayed mentioning it, one to save himself, and the other to save his companion from death.
Waki' did not find a chain of transmission for his narration,
although he is an imam in hadith. Likewise, Sufyan did not find any narrations that would refute his companion, although he is an imam in hadith.

Imam Al-Dhahabi even blamed Waki' (as in Siyar A'lam An-Nubala') for narrating this narration, although he is a scholar, and he said: This is a slip of the tongue of a scholar. What is wrong with Waki' and the narration of this strange, broken chain of transmission?
The entire nation, with its scholars, does not know this narration... nor does the one who narrates it know of a continuous chain of transmission for it...
So the story itself is evidence of the weakness of the narration, for whoever ponders and understands.

It is strange that this is a doubt that the Christians have about our Prophet, may the prayers and peace of my Lord be upon him...
For even if our Messenger died and changed... he is a human messenger... he fulfilled his message and then passed away to God, and what applies to people applies to him... as Al-Dhahabi mentioned in (An-Nubala') and as Al-Alusi said in Al-Jawab Al-Faseh.
If there was a liar whom God punished for his lie...the liar would have been...that crucified man whom the Christians

worshipped...if it were true that the crucified man claimed divinity and said that he was a god, or that he was God, then the evidence of his lie would be the breaking of his bones and the stabbing of his stomach...the slapping of those he called to worship him on the back of his head...they spat in his face...then the mockery of him, and the collapse of his powers which he claimed were the ones that perfected the worlds and created humans with them, so he was unable to carry the cross with them which his disbelieving servants would later hang on them, after the believers in him fled from him