Bismillah

بسم الله الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله

The base upon which the Haddaadiyyah attack Imam Abu Haneefah is one which deals with the matter of how the narrations of the scholars should be taken in regards to other scholars. As for the Haddaadiyyah, because they have no binding principle or principle of any sort, they rely upon anything they can come across to attack, defame, and disparage the Imam, no matter how incorrect or weak the saying could be. They do this under the guise of "following the Salaf" however, as we will demonstrate, this is far from following the Salaf as they select and cherrypick based on what their leaders, such as Abu Ja'far al-Khulayfi or Muhammad Ibn Shams pick for them.

The principle of Ahlus-Sunnah that this post presents is from the beneficial work of Imam Abu 'Umar Yoosuf ibn 'Abdullah ibn 'Abd al-Barr al-Andalusi al-Maaliki (d. 463 AH), one of the imams of Ahlus-Sunnah from Al-Andalus. He enjoys a great status among the righteous, pious, and knowledgeable scholars from the past. I would say that the Haddaadiyyah also know of his status and acknowledge it but it is safe to say they likely harbor the same hatred against him they do against Abu Haneefah.

From his book, "A Comprehensive Explanation of Knowledge and Its Virtues" [جامع بيان العلم وفضله], he wrote a chapter titled, "Ruling regarding the Saying of some Scholars regarding others". We will try to summarize the entire chapter while providing narrations upon which Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr. Some of them may be weak, however the point is to establish the principle regarding this matter, which is what the Imam had intended to do.

The Causes for Sayings of Some against Others

Az-Zubayr ibn al-'Awwam (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, the Prophet (peace and blessings upon him) said:

> "The disease of the nations before you is creeping towards you: Envy and hatred, it is the Haliqah. I do not speak of what cuts the hair, but what severs the religion. By the One in Whose Hand is my soul! You will not enter Paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love each other. Shall I tell you about what will strengthen that for you? Spread the Salam among each other."

Sa'eed ibn Jubayr narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allaah be pleased with them) that he said,

> "Listen to the knowledge of the scholars, but do not believe some of them against others. By the One in whose hand is my soul, they are more jealous of one another than male goats in their pens."

Maalik ibn Dinaar said,

> "One should accept the statements of scholars and Qur’an reciters in all matters, except their statements about one another; for they are more envious of each other than male goats. A goat is tied up for slaughter, and this one butts it from this side, and that one from that side"

'Abd al-'Azeez ibn Abi Haazim said, I heard my father saying,

> "In previous times, when a scholar met someone more knowledgeable than himself, he considered it a day of great gain. If he met someone equal to him, he would engage in discussion. And if he met someone less knowledgeable, he would not act arrogantly toward him. But then came this present time, where a man criticizes those more knowledgeable than him in hopes of cutting people off from them, so that others would think there is no need for them. He does not discuss with his peers, and he behaves arrogantly toward those below him, thus, the people have been ruined."

After narrating all that, Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said,

> Many people have erred in this matter, and an ignorant group has gone astray, not knowing what is required of them regarding it. The correct position in this matter is that if a person's integrity is well-established, his leadership in knowledge is proven, his trustworthiness is evident, and he is known for his dedication to knowledge, then no attention should be paid to anyone’s criticism of him, unless the critic brings forth clear and just evidence that validates his criticism. This must be done in the manner of proper testimony, with direct observation and concrete proof that confirms the claim, ensuring that the critic is free from malice, envy, hostility, rivalry, or any such motives. Only under such conditions can his criticism be accepted from a scholarly and reasoned standpoint.

> As for someone whose leadership is not proven, whose integrity is not known, and whose narration is not reliable due to lack of accuracy and preservation, his case is judged according to the consensus of scholars, and his narrations are examined according to what careful reasoning determines.

> The proof that criticism is not accepted against someone whom the vast majority of Muslims have taken as an authority is that even among the righteous predecessors (may Allaah be pleased with them), there were many statements some made about others, some out of anger, some influenced by envy, as Ibn 'Abbas, Maalik ibn Dinar, and Abu Haazim said, and some due to misinterpretation, where the one criticized was not necessarily guilty of what was said about him.

> Some even fought each other by the sword, based on interpretation and ijtihaad, yet we are not obligated to follow them in any of this without clear proof and evidence that compels us. We will present in this chapter some statements of trustworthy and great imams about one another, which should not be paid heed to or relied upon, to clarify the correctness of what we have stated, and with Allaah lies success.

After this, Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr narrated the following examples:

Hammad (ibn Abi Sulaymaan) and his saying regarding the people of Hejaaz

> From Mugheerah, who said Hammad mentioned the people of Hejaaz and said, "Verily I asked them [regarding knowledge], and they had nothing. By Allaah, your children know more than they do. Rather your children’s children.

> From Mugheerah who said: Hammad ibn Abi Sulayman came to us from Makkah, and we went to greet him. He said to us: "Praise Allaah, O people of Kufa, for I met 'Ata', Tawoos, and Mujaahid. Your children, and the children of your children know more than they do."

> From Mugheerah, Hammad said, "I saw 'Ata', Tawoos, Mujaahid. Your children know more than them. Rather, your children's children." Mugheerah said, "This is transgression from him."

Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr then said,

> Mugheerah has said the truth. Indeed Abu Haneefah - and he was the closest of people to Hammad- preferred 'Ata' over him.

Then Ibn 'Abd al-Barr narrated from Abu Haneefah,

> I have not seen anyone more virtuous than 'Ata'.

Az-Zuhri on Rabee'ah and Abu az-Zinaad

> Rabee‘ah ibn Abi 'Abd ar-Rahmaan said to Az-Zuhri, "If only you would sit and teach the people in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) for the remainder of your life.”" Then a man said to Az-Zuhri "It is as though he does not like to see you [doing so]." Az-Zuhri replied: "Indeed, it is not appropriate for me to do that unless I am ascetic regarding the world and [have] desire for the Hereafter."

> It was narrated from Ibn Shihab (Az-Zuhri) that he was told: "You left Madeenah and stayed in [places like] Shagab and Idam, and you left the scholars of Madeenah as orphans." He replied: "Two men corrupted it for us: Rabee‘ah and Abu az-Zinaad."

'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Azeez and his saying on the people of Iraaq

> From Ishaaq ibn Talhah ibn Ash'ath who said: ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez sent me to Iraaq and said: "Recite upon them, but do not [recitation] from them. Narrate to them, but do not listen to their narrations. Educate them, but do not learn from them."

Al-Awzaa'i and his saying regarding some of the scholars of his land (i.e. Syria)

> Al-Waleed ibn Muslim said, I heard Al-Awzaa'i said, "They were too shy to narrate the ahadeeth about the virtues of the Ahl al-Bayt in order to deter the people of Shaam from the path they had taken [i.e. hating the Ahl al-Bayt]."

Az-Zuhri regarding the people of Makkah

> Ahmad ibn Yoonus from Az-Zuhri, who said: "I have not seen a people more destructive to the bonds of Islam than the people of Makkah, and I have not seen a people more resembling the Christians than the Saba’iyyah." Ahmad (ibn Zuhayr) said: "Meaning the Rawaafidh."

After this, Imam Ibn 'Abd al-Barr, may Allaah have mercy on him, said,

> "This is Hammad ibn Abi Sulaymaan, he was the jurist of Kufa after an-Nakhaa'i, the one who carried on issuing fatwas there, and he was the teacher of Abu Haneefah. He is the one whom Ibraheem an-Nakhaa‘i referred to when he was asked: "Who will be asked [for fatwas] after you?" He said: "Hammad". And he sat in his seat after him. Yet he speaks about 'Ata', Tawoos and Mujaahid, and they, in the view of everyone, were more reliable than him, more knowledgeable of the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, had a better standing among people, and were superior to him in every way, because none of them were associated with Irja', while Hammad was accused of it and criticized for it. And from him Abu Haneefah took it, and Allaah knows best."

Then he said,

> "And this is Ibn Shihab (az-Zuhri), who plainly stated that the people of Makkah in his time were undoing the bonds of Islaam, without exempting anyone among them despite his well-known stature in religion. And I think, and Allaah knows best, that this was due to what was narrated from them regarding currency exchange and temporary marriage."

After that, the Imam continues with the examples.

The saying of ash-Sha'bi, Ibraheem and Shu'bah

> Al-A'mash reported, I was with Ash-Sha'bi when Ibraheem was mentioned so he said, "That is a man who comes to us regularly at night, and narrates to the people by day." He (i.e. Al-A'mash) said, I went to Ibraheem and told him about it, so he said, "That [i.e. ash-Sha'bi] is a man who narrates from Masrooq, but by Allaah he has not heard anything from him, ever." Then it was narrated from Shu'bah: "Ibraheem never heard anything from Masrooq."

> From al-A‘mash, who said: "Ibraheem an-Nakhaa‘i was mentioned in the presence of ash-Sha‘bi, who said: 'That one-eyed man seeks fatwa at night and sits giving fatwa to people during the day.' I mentioned that to Ibraheem, and he said: 'That is a liar, he did not hear anything from Masrooq.'

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said,

> Ibn Abi Khaythamah mentioned this report from his father who said: "This hadeeth was in the book of Abu Mu'awiyah so we asked him about it, but he turned away and refused to narrate it to us."

Then he said,

> Allaah forbid that ash-Sha‘bi be a liar, he is a great imam. And an-Nakhaa'i is also of great stature in knowledge and religion. I think that ash-Sha‘bi accounted for his statement about al-Haarith al-Hamdani: 'Al-Haarith narrated to me', and he was one of the liars. But no lie was known from al-Haarith; rather, he was only criticized for his extreme love of Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) and his preference for him over others." And from this, Allaah knows best, ash-Sha‘bi declared him a liar, because ash-Sha‘bi believed in the preference of Abu Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with him), and that he was the first to accept Islam, and the preference of Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him)."

'Aaishah and her saying about Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri and Anas ibn Maalik

> From Urwah that Aaishah said: "Anas ibn Maalik and Abu Saeed al-Khudri do not know about the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him), as they were just two young boys."

'Imraan ibn Husayn and his saying on Samurah.

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said:

> Al-Marwazi mentioned in his book on the use of dead animal hides, in the story of Ikrimah, in defense of him and to refute what was said about him, what should be included in this chapter. Among that, he mentioned the hadeeth of Samurah, who said: The Prophet, may Allaah bless him and grant him peace, had two pauses in prayer when he recited. This reached Imran ibn Husayn, who said: Samurah lied. They wrote to Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and he wrote back that Samurah had spoken the truth. This hadeeth is very well-known.

Ibn 'Umar's saying on Abu Hurayrah.

> From Tawoos, I was sitting with Ibn 'Umar when a man came to him and said, "Abu Hurayrah says that Witr is not decreed so take it or leave it." So Ibn 'Umar said, "Abu Hurayrah has lied. A man came to Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) asking about the night prayer so he said, 'Two by two, and if you fear dawn approaching, then one.'"

'Aishah and her corrections of Ibn 'Umar (may Allaah be pleased with them all).

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr says,

> "'Aaishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), declared Ibn Umar to be mistaken regarding the age of the Messenger of Allaah, peace be upon him. And regarding the dead being punished by the crying of his family over him."

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr then said,

> "Indeed, we have mentioned that in our book 'At-Tamheed': "Among the companions of the Messenger of Allaah, and among the great scholars, there were words exchanged in anger that were even harsher than this. But people of knowledge, understanding, and insight do not pay attention to such things, because they are human beings: they get angry and they are pleased, and a statement made in anger is not like a statement made in contentment. And how well said is the one who said: You do not know the wise man except in the hour of anger."

He continues with the examples. This one, he prefaces it by saying, "Among the most appaling and ignorant things is.."

Ad-Dahhak and his statement about the Companions

> From Ad-Dahhak that he used to dislike musk (perfume). So it was said to him, "But the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to perfume themselves" So he replied, "We know better than them."

'Ikrimah and his saying on Al-Hasan al-Basri

> Ayyub said, Ikrimah came to us and he kept narrating to us until I ended up at al-Mirbad, then he said: “Does your Hasan excel at this?"

Abu 'Umar then said, "And the people knew that al-Hasan al-Basri excels in things that Ikrimah does not excel in, even though Ikrimah is given precedence among them in the interpretation of the Qur’an and in reports of the campaigns."

'Urwah and his saying on Ibn 'Abbas

> It was said to 'Urwah, Ibn Abbas (may Allaah be pleased with him), says: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him) stayed in Makkah for thirteen years after he was sent." He said: "He lied. He only took it from the words of the poet.

Abu Umar said: "The poet is Abu Qays Sirmah ibn Anas al-Ansaari, also known as Ibn Abi Anas, who said:

> He stayed in Quraysh for over ten years... He remembers, if only he could find a suitable friend.

Sa'eed ibn Jubayr and his saying on Ash-Sha'bi.

> From Sa'eed ibn Jubayr that he said 'Umrah is obligatory. So it was said to him, "Ash-Sha'bi says it is not obligatory." Sa'eed replied, "Ash-Sha'bi lied."

Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali and his words on Ibn 'Umar and Ibn az-Zubayr

> From Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali (may Allaah be pleased with them) that he was asked about the saying of Allaah, {And by the witness and that which is witnessed} [Al-Buruj: 3], and he answered regarding it. Then it was said to him: Ibn Umar and Ibn Az-Zubayr said such and such, contrary to his saying. So he said: "They lied."

'Ali and his saying on al-Mugheerah ibn Shu'bah.

> From Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said: “Al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah lied.”

'Ubadah ibn as-Samit and his saying on Mas'ood ibn Aws al-Ansaari

> From 'Ubadah ibn as-Samit, who said: “Abu Muhammad lied."

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr explained:

> "Meaning regarding the obligation of Witr prayer. This Abu Muhammad is Mas’ood ibn Aws al-Ansaari, a Badri, whom we have mentioned among the Companions and attributed to him. 'Ubadah’s denial of him is based on the narration of Maalik and others concerning the story of Witr prayer, and Ubadah cited the words of the Messenger of Allaah (peace be upon him). And he said, “Allaah has prescribed five prayers for His servants." the hadeeth.

The dispute between 'Ikrimah and Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib.

> From from Ayyub, who said: A man asked Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyib about a man who made a vow of something that is not appropriate for him from sins, so he ordered him to fulfill his vow. He said: so the man asked Ikrimah, and he ordered him to make an expiation for his oath and not to fulfill his vow. So the man returned to Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyib and informed him of the statement of Ikrimah, so Ibn al-Musayyib said: "Ikrimah must stop, or the rulers will strike his back." So the man returned to Ikrimah and informed him, so Ikrimah said: "Since you have conveyed it to me, then convey to him: As for him, the rulers have already struck his back and made him stand in a garment of hair, and ask him about your vow: is it obedience to Allaah or disobedience? If he says it is obedience, then he has lied against Allaah, because the disobedience of Allaah cannot be obedience, and if he says it is disobedience, then he has ordered you to disobey Allaah."

Abu 'Umar then said,

> Al-Marwazi said: "This is why there was such a dispute between Saeed ibn al-Musayyib and Ikrimah, to the point that he spoke about what about him on what he narrated, such that he said to his servant Burd: "Do not lie about me as Ikrimah lied about Ibn 'Abbas."

The saying of Maalik against Muhammad ibn Ishaaq

> He (i.e. Al-Marwazi) said: "And likewise was the speech of Maalik regarding Muhammad ibn Ishaaq because of something that reached him about him; he spoke about him regarding his lineage and his knowledge."

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said,

> From Abdullah ibn Idrees, that he said: Muhammad ibn Ishaq came to us and we mentioned to him something about Maalik, so he said: "Bring the knowledge of Maalik, for I am his horseshoer."

> Ibn Idrees said: when I came to Madeenah I mentioned that to Maalik, so he said: "That is a liar among the liars [الدَّجَاجِلَةِ], we expelled him from Madeenah." Ibn Idrees said, "And I had not heard the word “liar” used in the plural before that, meaning in that collective form."

> Ibn Ishaaq used to say about him that he was a client of Banu Taym of Quraysh, and Ibn Shihab also said it.

> (Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said) So Maalik called Ibn Ishaaq a liar because he was more knowledgeable about his own lineage. They are only substitutes for Banu Taym in the pre-Islamic period, and we have already mentioned and clarified that at the beginning of the book at-Tamheed. And perhaps Maalik’s declaring Ibn Ishaaq a liar was due to his Shi‘ism and what was attributed to him of saying about predestination.

> As for honesty and memorization, he was truthful and a memorizer. Ibn Shihab praised him, and Shu‘bah, and ath-Thawri, and Ibn Uyaynah, and a group of senior scholars considered him reliable. And it has been narrated from Maalik that he was asked: from where did you say that Muhammad ibn Ishaaq is a liar? He said: I heard Hisham ibn Urwah say it. And this is imitation without proof. And it was said to Hisham ibn Urwah: from where did you say that? He said: he narrates from my wife, and by Allaah he never saw her at all. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said when mentioning this story: it is possible that Ibn Ishaaq saw her or heard from her from behind a veil in a way that Hisham did not know.

Maalik and 'Abdullah ibn Ziyad ibn Sam'an.

> From Ahmad ibn Saalih, I asked 'Abdullah ibn Wahb about 'Abdullah ibn Ziyad ibn Sam'an so he said, "He is trustworthy." So I said to him, "Maalik says he lies." So he replied, "The saying of some of them is not accepted on others."

Abu Haneefah saying on Al-A'mash.

> 'Ali ibn Khashram, said, I heard al-Fadhl ibn Moosa say, I entered with Abu Haneefah upon Al-A'mash while we were visiting him during his illness. Abu Haneefah said to him: “O Abu Muhammad, if it were not for the burden upon you, I would visit you more often than I do.” Or he said: “I would visit you more frequently than I visit you.” So Al-A’mash said to him: “By Allaah, you are a burden even when you are in your own house, so how would it be if you entered upon me?” Al-Fadhl said: when we left from him, Abu Haneefah said: “Al-A’mash never fasted Ramadan, and he never performed ghusl from janabah.” So I (i.e. Ali) said to Al-Fadhl: what did he mean by that? He said: "Al-A’mash used to consider “water from water,” [i.e. that Ghusl is only obligatory when semen comes out. This is an abrogated hadeeth] and he used to take suhoor based on the hadeeth of Hudhayfah. [Hudhayfah said they did Suhur during the day when the sun had not risen. The hadeeth meant that it is encouraged to do Suhur as late as possible.]

Maalik and the people of 'Iraaq

> Ibn Wahb said, Maalik said - and the people of Iraq were mentioned in his presence -, so he said: "Treat them as you would the People of the Book; neither believe them nor disbelieve them, and say: {We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you. And our God and your God is one} [Al-Ankabut: 46]"

> Abu Yoosuf Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Saydilani said: I heard Muhammad ibn al-Hasan say that he entered one day upon Maalik ibn Anas and heard him saying this statement which Ibn Wahb transmitted from him regarding the people of 'Iraq. He said: then he raised his head and looked at me, as if he felt shy, and said: “O Abu Abdullah, I dislike that it should be backbiting. I found our companions saying likewise.”

> From Sa'eed ibn Mansoor who said: I was with Maalik ibn Anas when a group of people from Iraq approached, so he recited: {You recognize in the faces of those who disbelieve disapproval. They are almost on the verge of assaulting those who recite to them Our verses} [Al-Hajj: 72]

Yahya ibn Abi Katheer and his saying on Qatadah

> Jubayr ibn Dinar said, I heard Yahya ibn Abi Katheer say: "The people of Basrah will remain in a bad state as long as Allaah keeps Qatadah among them."

> He said: I heard Qatadah say: "When was knowledge ever found among fishmongers?" He was alluding to Yahya ibn Abi Katheer, whose family were fishmongers.

Ibn al-Mubarak and his saying on Abu Haneefah

> From Salamah ibn Sulayman who said: I said to Ibn al-Mubarak: "You have criticized the opinion of Abu Haneefah but you did not criticize the opinion of Maalik." He said: "I did not see him as knowledgeable."

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr commented on this, saying: "This is one of the things we mentioned that should not be heard from them, nor should attention be paid to it, nor should any consideration be given to it."

Maalik's view of the people of Syria and others

> From Ibn Wahb who said, Maalik was asked about a matter and he answered it. The questioner said to him: "The people of Syria disagree with you on this matter and they say such and such." He said: When did this matter [i.e. Fiqh] begin in Syria? This matter is restricted to the people of Madeenah and Kufa.”

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "This contradicts what he previously said about the people of Kufa and the people of Iraq, and it contradicts his well-known preference for al-Awzaa’i, and it contradicts what he said about Abu Haneefah mentioned in the previous chapter; because the issue of legal rulings in Kufa revolves around Abu Haneefah, his companions and Ath-Thawri."

> Abdullah ibn Ghanim said: I said to Maalik: “We used not to regard the yellow discharge nor the brown discharge as anything, and we only considered that in the case of pure blood.” Maalik said: “And is yellow discharge anything other than blood?” Then he said: “This land, in it practice was only based upon prophethood, whereas others, practice among them is based upon the command of kings.”

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said: "And this is also from his statement, which differs from what preceded. And the people of Iraq used to describe the people of Madeenah that practice among them was based on the command of governors, such as Hisham ibn Isma'eel al-Makhzumi during a period and others. And all of this is mutual exaggeration by some of them against others."

Sulayman at-Taymi on Qatadah and Sa'eed ibn Abi Aroobah

> From Zuhayr ibn Ishaaq as-Saluli, who said: Saeed ibn Abi Aroobah was mentioned in the presence of Sulayman at-Taymi, and Sulayman said: "By Allaah, I would not accept Saeed’s testimony. Nor the testimony of his teacher, meaning Qatadah." Al-Asma'i said, "Because of [what they said in] predestination."

Mansoor ibn 'Ammar and his saying on Abu al-'Atahiyyah

> It is narrated that Mansoor ibn Ammar once delivered a sermon to the people while Abu al-Atahiyah was present, so he said: “Mansoor has only stolen this speech from a man of Kufa.” This reached Mansur, so he said: “Abu al-'Atahiyah is a heretic. Do you not see that he does not mention in his poetry Paradise nor Hell, and he only mentions death?” Then that reached Abu al-'Atahiyah, so he responded with verses:

> > “O preacher of the people, you have become accused ... when you blame them for matters you yourself commit

> >Like one whose garment is worn inside out, while his nakedness ... is exposed to the people, with nothing concealing it

> > The greatest sin after shirk, as we know it, ... is in every soul blinded from its own faults

> >It sees the faults of others, observing them, ... but does not see the fault that is within it”

> Then only a few days passed until Mansoor ibn Ammar died. So Abu al-Atahiyah stood at his grave and said: “May Allaah forgive you, Abu as-Sari, for what you had accused me of.”

Abu Umar said: “When I examined the poetry of Abu al-Atahiyah while compiling it, I found in it mention of resurrection, recompense, reckoning, reward, and punishment.”

Ibn Wahb and Ibn al-Qasim

> From Yahya ibn Yahya who said: I used to go to Ibn al-Qasim, and he would ask me, "Where did you come from?" I would reply, "From Ibn Wahb." He would then say, "Fear Allaah! Fear Allaah! Most of these narrations are not acted upon." Then I would go to Ibn Wahb, and he would ask, "Where did you come from?" I would reply, "From Ibn al-Qasim." He would then say, "Fear Allaah! Most of these issues are based on opinion."

The people of Iraq against the people of Madeenah

> From Sulayman ibn Abi Shaykh, who said: Abu Sa'eed ar-Razi used to dispute with the people of Kufa and prefer the people of Madeenah, so a man from the people of Kufa satirized him and nicknamed him Sharshir and said: “A dog in Hell named Sharshir.”

The man then went onto mock the people of Madeenah in a poem. When that reached the people of Madeenah, one of them responded against said poem. Ibn 'Abd al-Barr then mentioned two narrations about the virtue of the people of Madeenah. I have not mentioned them here for the sake of brevity.

Yahya Ibn Ma'een and his various sayings

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said,

> And Ibn Ma'een, may Allaah forgive him, used to let his tongue speak about the reputations of trustworthy imams with things that were criticized about him.

> Among that is his statement that Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan was foul-mouthed and was a bad man.

> And among it is his statement that Abu Uthman an-Nahdi was a policeman.

> And among it is his statement about az-Zuhri that he used to be in charge of the tax revenue for some of the Umayyads, and that he once lost some wealth, so he accused one of his servants of it and beat him, and the servant died from his beating, and he mentioned harsh words regarding his killing of that servant, but I omitted mentioning it because it is not appropriate for someone like him.

> And among it is his statement about al-Awzaa'i that he was from the military, and in another place in that book he said: he writes from someone in the military and there is no honor in that, and he said: the hadeeth of al-Awzaa'i from az-Zuhri and Yahya ibn Abi Katheer is not sound.

> And among it is his statement about Tawoos that he was Shi'i.

> All of this was mentioned by Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Mawsili al-Haafidh in the reports that are at the end of his book on the weak narrators, from al-Ghilabi from Ibn Ma'een, and it has been narrated separately by a group from Ibn Ma'een, among them Abbas ad-Duri and others.

> And among what was also criticized of Ibn Ma'een is his statement about ash-Shaafi'i that he was not reliable. It was said to Ahmad ibn Hanbal: Ibn Ma'een speaks about ash-Shaafi'i, so Ahmad said: "how does Yahya know ash-Shaafi'i? He does not know ash-Shaafi'i, nor does he know what ash-Shaafi'i says, or something similar." And whoever is ignorant of something becomes hostile to it.

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr then said,

> Ahmad ibn Hanbal spoke the truth, for Ibn Ma'een did not know what ash-Shaafi'i said, and it has been reported from Ibn Ma'een that he was asked about an issue of tayammum and he did not know it.

> And from Ahmad ibn Zuhayr who said: Yahya ibn Ma'een was asked, while I was present, about a man who gave his wife the choice, and she chose herself. He said: "Ask the people of knowledge about this."

Various 'Aimmah against Maalik ibn Anas

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr said,

> Ibn Abi Dhi'b spoke against Maalik ibn Anas with harsh and rough words, which I have disliked mentioning, and it is well known from him. He said it in rejection of Maalik’s statement regarding the hadeeth, "the two sellers have the option.”

> Ibraheem ibn Sa'd also spoke about him, and Ibraheem ibn Abi Yahya used to supplicate against him.

> And Maalik was also spoken against, as mentioned by as-Saaji in kitab al-'Ilal, by Abd al-'Azeez ibn Abi Salamah, Abd ar-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam, Ibn Ishaaq, Ibn Abi Yahya, and Ibn Abi az-Zinad. They criticized some aspects of his school, and others also spoke against him, due to his leaving narration from Sa'd ibn Ibraheem and his narration from Dawood ibn al-Husayn and Thawr ibn Zayd.

> Ash-Shaafi'i and some of the followers of Abu Haneefah also criticized him in some matters of opinion...

> And some people criticized him for his denial of wiping over leather socks in both residence and travel, and for his speech regarding Ali and Uthman, and for his fatwa permitting intercourse in the anus, and for his abstention from attending the congregational prayer in the Mosque of the Messenger of Allaah, peace be upon him, and they attributed to him things that are not appropriate to mention.

> And Allaah, Mighty and Majestic, has cleared Maalik of what they said, and he was, if Allaah wills, of high standing with Allaah. And the likeness of those who speak against Maalik and ash-Shaafi'i and their peers among the imams is as the poet al-A'sha said:

> > “Like one who butts a rock one day to weaken it, ... but it does not harm it, while the goat’s horn is broken.”

He then quotes other pieces of poetry about this.

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr continued on, saying:

> For we have seen falsehood, injustice, and envy to be among the quickest things people rush toward from early times. Do you not see the statement of a man from Kufa about Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas: “He does not act justly among the subjects, he does not go out in military expeditions, and he does not divide equally”? Yet Sa'd was at Badr, one of the ten promised Paradise, and one of the six whom Umar ibn al-Khattab placed in the council among them, and he said: “The Messenger of Allaah, peace be upon him, died while he was pleased with them.”

> And it has been narrated that Moosa, peace be upon him, said: “O Lord, cut off from me the tongues of the Children of Israel.” So Allaah, the Exalted, revealed to him: “O Moosa, I did not cut them off from Myself, so how could I cut them off from you?”

> [Ibn 'Abd al-Barr says] By Allaah, people have gone beyond bounds in backbiting and disparagement, and they have not been content with criticizing the common people while leaving the elite, nor with criticizing the ignorant while leaving the scholars. And all of this is driven by ignorance and envy.

> It was said to Ibn al-Mubarak: So-and-so is speaking ill of Abu Haneefah, so he recited a verse by Ibn al-Ruqayyat.

> > They envied you because they saw that Allaah had favored you with what He had favored the noble ones with

> It was said to Abu Aasim an-Nabeel: So-and-so is speaking ill of Abu Haneefah. He replied: He is as Nusayb said.

> > May you be safe, and is there anyone among people who remains safe

> Abu al-Aswad ad-Du’ali said:

> > They envied the young man because they could not attain his success... so the people became his enemies and adversaries.

Then the Imam ends this chapter by saying,

> "Whoever wants to accept the statements of the trustworthy scholars, the imams, the firmly established authorities, some of them about others, then let him also accept the statements that we have mentioned from the Companions, may Allaah be pleased with them all, of some of them about others. If he does that, he will go far astray and suffer great loss.

> Likewise, if he accepts in the case of Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib the statement of Ikrimah, and in the case of ash-Sha'bi, and the people of the Hijaz, and the people of Makkah, and the people of Kufa, and the people of Syria in general, and in the case of Maalik and ash-Shaafi'i and the rest of those we have mentioned in this chapter, what we have narrated from some of them about others, then if he does not do so, — and he will not do so unless Allaah guides him and inspires him with right guidance — then he should stop at what we have stipulated: that one does not accept the statement against someone whose uprightness has been established, whose concern for knowledge is known, who has been safe from major sins, who adheres to decency and restraint, whose good deeds are dominant and whose bad deeds are few. Regarding such a person, the statement of one who has no proof is not accepted. This is the truth other than which nothing is correct, if Allaah wills.

> Abu al-Atahiyah said:

> > Islam wept for its scholars... but they paid no heed to its weeping.

> > Most of them disapprove of the correctness of those who disagree with them ... and approve of their mistakes.

> > Which of them is the one we hope for regarding his religion... and which of them is the one we trust in his opinion?

Ibn 'Abd al-Barr continued:

> And those who praised Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib and the rest of those we have mentioned among the Tabi'een and the imams of the Muslims are more than can be counted. People have compiled their virtues and taken care regarding their biographies and reports. So whoever reads their virtues, and the virtues of Maalik, and the virtues of ash-Shaafi'i, and the virtues of Abu Haneefah, after the virtues of the Companions and the Tabi'een, may Allaah be pleased with them, and pays attention to them, and becomes aware of the noble aspects of their lives, and strives to imitate them, and follows their path in their knowledge, their character, and their guidance, then that will be for him a pure righteous deed. May Allaah, Mighty and Majestic, benefit us through loving all of them.

> Ath-Thawri, may Allaah have mercy on him, said: “At the mention of the righteous, mercy descends.”

> And whoever preserves from their reports only what is rare from some of them about others based on envy, slips, anger, and desires, without caring for their virtues and narrating their merits, is deprived of success and falls into backbiting and deviates from the path. May Allaah make us and you among those who hear speech and follow the best of it.

> And we have begun this chapter with the saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him: “The disease of the nations before you has crept into you: envy and hatred.” In that is sufficiency. People have spoken much about envy in poetry and prose, and we have clarified what needs to be clarified from that, and explained it in the book at-Tamheed when discussing his saying, peace be upon him: “Do not envy one another and do not cut ties with one another.”

> And we have devoted a chapter to poetry and prose in the book Bahjat al-Majalis. Whoever is granted success will be made independent by a little wisdom and a small amount of admonition if he understands and acts upon what he knows. And my success is only by Allaah; upon Him I rely, and He is sufficient for me and the best disposer of affairs.

Then Ibn 'Abd al-Barr narrated the following reports:

> Abu Dawood Sulayman ibn al-Ash'ath as-Sijistaani said, "May Allaah have mercy on Maalik, he was an Imam. May Allaah have mercy on ash-Shaafi'i, he was an Imam. May Allaah have mercy on Abu Haneefah, he was an Imam.

> Al-'Awaam ibn Hawshab said, "Remember the virtues of the Companions of Muhammad, peace be upon him, so that hearts will come together upon them, and do not mention their faults, lest you stir people up against them."

> Al-Awzaa'i said: "They used to prefer that they narrate reports concerning the virtues of the Ahlul-Bayt, so that they would turn the people of Syria away from what they were taking regarding them."

Conclusion

I ask the laymen of the Haddaadiyyah who claim to follow the Salaf in disparaging and insulting Imam Abu Haneefah, on what basis do you do so? If you say we do so on the basis of the reports, then let them also insult and disparage these great imams of Islam, some of whom they quote against Abu Haneefah, if they are truthful to their claim. But they will never do so, because their attacks are not based on following the Salaf or the reports. Rather, it is blind following of Ibn Shams, Al-Khulayfi, and those who cling to their feet. They will continue to believe the lies and misrepresentations of their elders, either continuing in their ignorance, or due to arrogance. Likewise, they will also ignore the principle set, and run towards tangents which have no bearing to the discussion. May Allaah guide this flock of sheep.

The esteemed imam of al-Andalus in his chapter has put the Haddaadiyyah to shame, exposed their evil from its root, and defended the Imams of the religion of Muhammad (peace be upon him). For him, we end it by saying the words he narrated from Imam Abu Dawood:

رحم الله ابن عبد البر كان إماما