Hadith No. 3

The Ummah is never devoid of one who is upon the truth.

رَوَى أَبُو دَاوُدَ الطَّيَالِسِيُّ [ت204هـ] فِي «مُسْنَدِهِ»[1]، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا هَمَّامٌ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ الرَّبِيعِ الْعَدَوِيِّ، قَالَ: لَقِينَا عُمَرَ، فَقُلْنَا لَهُ: إِنَّ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو حَدَّثَنَا بِكَذَا وَكَذَا، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ: «عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُ»، قَالَهَا ثَلَاثًا، ثُمَّ نُودِيَ بِالصَّلَاةِ جَامِعَةٌ، فَاجْتَمَعَ إِلَيْهِ النَّاسُ فَخَطَبَهُمْ عُمَرُ، فَقَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ:

لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.

Translation:

Abu Dawud al-Tayalisi [d. 204 AH] has narrated in his Musnad, (in this way that) he has said: Hammam narrated to us, from Qatada, from Abdullah ibn Buraidah, from Sulayman ibn Rabi‘ al-Adawi who said: We met with Umar, then we said to him that Abdullah ibn Amr had said to us such a thing. So Umar said: Abdullah ibn Amr knows better what he says. He said this three times, then he was called for prayer, then people gathered around him, so Umar delivered a sermon to them, then he said: I heard the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, say:

“A number of my Ummah will always be upon the truth until the command of God the Exalted, the Majestic comes.”

Consideration

قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: لَعَلَّ هَذَا كَانَ الْحَدِيثَ، حَتَّى ظَهَرَ أَهْلُ الشَّامِ فَزَادُوا عَلَيْهِ: «ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى مَنْ نَاوَأَهُمْ»، أَوْ «ظَاهِرِينَ عَلَى النَّاسِ»، وَلَوْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ لَكَانَ مَعْنَاهُ مَا قُلْنَا مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ بِالْحُجَّةِ، وَأَمَّا حَدِيثُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو فَقَدْ حَذَفَهُ أَبُو دَاوُدَ اخْتِصَارًا، وَذَكَرَهُ غَيْرُهُ:

Translation:

Mansoor, may God protect him, said: Perhaps the Hadith was this until the people of the Levant became dominant, then they added to it: “They will defeat those who are hostile to them” or “They will be dominant over people,” and even if it was from the Hadith, its meaning is what we said about their defeating with proof; as for the words of Abdullah ibn Amr, Abu Dawud has omitted it for brevity, and others have mentioned it:

Attestation No. 1

رَوَى الْبَيْهَقِيُّ [ت458هـ] فِي «الْبَعْثِ وَالنُّشُورِ»[2]، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا أَبُو الْحَسَنِ عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ الْمُقْرِئُ، أَخْبَرَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ إِسْحَاقَ، حَدَّثَنَا يُوسُفُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَمْرُو بْنُ مَرْزُوقٍ، أَخْبَرَنَا هَمَّامٌ، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ الرَّبِيعِ الْعَدَوِيِّ، قَالَ: خَرَجْتُ مِنَ الْبَصْرَةِ فِي رِجَالٍ نُسَّاكٍ، فَقَدِمْنَا مَكَّةَ، فَلَقِينَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو، فَقَالَ: «يُوشِكُ بَنُو قَنْطُورَاءَ بْنِ كَرْكَرَ أَنْ يَسُوقُوا أَهْلَ خُرَاسَانَ وَأَهْلَ سَجِسْتَانَ سَوْقًا عَنِيفًا، ثُمَّ يَرْبِطُوا خُيُولَهُمْ بِنَخْلِ شَطِّ دِجْلَةَ»، ثُمَّ قَالَ: «كَمْ بُعْدُ الْأُبُلَّةِ مِنَ الْبَصْرَةِ؟» قُلْنَا: أَرْبَعُ فَرَاسِخَ، قَالَ: «فَيَجِيئُونَ فَيَنْزِلُونَ بِهَا، ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُونَ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ: إِمَّا أَنْ تُخْلُوا لَنَا أَرْضَكُمْ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ نَسِيرَ إِلَيْكُمْ، فَيَتَفَرَّقُونَ عَلَى ثَلَاثِ فِرَقٍ: فَأَمَّا فِرْقَةٌ فَيَلْحَقُونَ بِالْبَادِيَةِ، وَأَمَّا فِرْقَةٌ فَيَلْحَقُونَ بِالْكُوفَةِ، وَأَمَّا فِرْقَةٌ فَيَلْحَقُونَ بِهِمْ»، قَالَ: «ثُمَّ يَمْكُثُونَ سَنَةً، فَيَبْعَثُونَ إِلَى أَهْلِ الْكُوفَةِ: إِمَّا أَنْ تُخْلُوا لَنَا أَرْضَكُمْ، وَإِمَّا أَنْ نَسِيرَ إِلَيْكُمْ»، قَالَ: «فَيَتَفَرَّقُونَ عَلَى ثَلَاثِ فِرَقٍ: فَتَلْحَقُ فِرْقَةٌ بِالشَّامِ، وَفِرْقَةٌ تَلْحَقُ بِالْبَادِيَةِ، وَفِرْقَةٌ تَلْحَقُ بِهِمْ». قَالَ: فَقَدِمْنَا عَلَى عُمَرَ، فَحَدَّثْنَاهُ بِمَا سَمِعْنَا مِنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، فَقَالَ: «عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُ»، ثُمَّ نُودِيَ فِي النَّاسِ إِنَّ الصَّلَاةَ جَامِعَةٌ، قَالَ: فَخَطَبَ عُمَرُ النَّاسَ، فَقَالَ: سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ: «لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ»، قَالَ: قُلْنَا: هَذَا خِلَافُ حَدِيثِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، قَالَ: فَلَقِينَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو فَحَدَّثْنَاهُ بِمَا قَالَ عُمَرُ، فَقَالَ: «نَعَمْ، إِذَا جَاءَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ جَاءَ مَا حَدَّثْتُكُمْ بِهِ»، قَالَ: فَقُلْنَا: مَا نَرَاكَ إِلَّا قَدْ صَدَقْتَ.

Translation:

Al-Bayhaqi [d. 458 AH] has narrated in the book al-Ba‘th Wa al-Nushur, he has said: Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Muhammad al-Muqri’ informed us, (he said:) Hasan ibn Muhammad ibn Ishaq informed us, (he said:) Yusuf ibn Ya‘qub narrated to us, (he said:) Umar ibn Marzuq narrated to us, (he said:) Hammam informed us, from Qatada, from Abdullah ibn Buraidah, from Sulayman ibn Rabi‘ al-Adawi who said: We came out of Basra with some men who were going for Hajj, so we reached Mecca, then we met with Abdullah ibn Amr, so he said us: Soon Banu Qantura’ ibn Karkar (i.e. the Mongols) will drive away the people of Khorasan and the people of Sajistan with violence, then they will tether their horses to the palm trees of the Tigris coast. Then he said: How far is it between Ubullah and Basra? We said: Four farsakh. He said: They will come and settle there, then they will send a message to the people of Basra (saying:) “Either vacate your city for us or we will come for you.” So they (i.e. the people of Basra) will be divided into three groups: one group will go to the desert, one group will go to Kufa, and one group will join them (i.e. the Mongols), then (the Mongols) will wait for one year, and after that, they will send a message to the people of Kufa (saying:) “Either vacate your city for us or we will come for you.” So they (i.e. the people of Kufa) will be divided into three groups: one group will go to the Levant, one group will go to the desert, and one group will join them (i.e. the Mongols). (Sulayman ibn Rabi‘) said: Then we came to Umar and said to him what we heard from Abdullah ibn Amr, so he said: Abdullah ibn Amr knows better what he says. Then the call for prayer was made among people, so Umar delivered a sermon to people, then he said: I heard the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, say: “A number of my Ummah will always be upon the truth until the command of God comes.” We said: This is contrary to the Hadith of Abdullah ibn Amr, so we came to meet with Abdullah ibn Amr and said to him what Umar said to us, so he said: Yes, when the command of God comes, what I said to you will happen. So we said: We do not think other than that you have spoken the truth.

Consideration

قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: قَتَادَةُ مُدَلِّسٌ وَقَدْ عَنْعَنَ، لَكِنَّهُ صَرَّحَ بِالسَّمَاعِ فِي رِوَايَةِ ابْنِ حَمَّادٍ، قَالَ: «قَالَ ابْنُ عَيَّاشٍ: حَدَّثَنَا نَافِعٌ، وَسَعِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي عَرُوبَةَ، جَمِيعًا عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بُرَيْدَةَ، عَنْ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ رَبِيعَةَ مِنْ نُسَّاكِ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ»[3]، كَذَلِكَ سَمَّاهُ، وَتَابَعَهُ حُسَيْنُ بْنُ ذَكْوَانَ الْمُعَلِّمُ قَالَ: «حَدَّثَنَا عُبَيْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بُرَيْدَةَ الْأَسْلَمِيُّ أَنَّ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنَ رَبِيعَةَ الْعَنَزِيَّ حَدَّثَهُ»[4]، كَذَلِكَ سَمَّاهُ، وَسُلَيْمَانُ هَذَا لَمْ يَرْوِ عَنْهُ إِلَّا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ بُرَيْدَةَ، وَلَكِنْ يَظْهَرُ مِنْ قَوْلِ الْبُخَارِيِّ وَأَبِي حَاتَمٍ أَنَّهُ كَانَ مَعْرُوفًا، فَقَدْ قَالَا: «يُقَالُ: سُلَيْمَانُ بْنُ الرَّبِيعِ، وَحُجَيْرُ بْنُ الرَّبِيعِ، وَحُرَيْثُ بْنُ الرَّبِيعِ إِخْوَةٌ»[5]، وَقَالَ ابْنُ حِبَّانَ: «هُمْ إِخْوَةٌ أَرْبَعَةٌ: حُجَيْرٌ وَحُرَيْثٌ وَيَعْقُوبُ وَسُلَيْمَانُ بَنُو الرَّبِيعِ»[6]، وَذَكَرَهُ فِي الثِّقَاتِ[7]، وَلَمْ يَنْفَرِدْ بِهَذِهِ الرِّوَايَةِ، بَلْ تَابَعَهُ أَبُو الْأَسْوَدِ الدِّيلِيِّ:

Translation:

Mansoor, may God protect him, said: Qatada is a deceiver, and (here) he has used “from, from” (which means there is no explicitness in the hearing of Hadith), but in the narration of ibn Hammad, he has been explicit about the hearing; (ibn Hammad) has said: “Ibn Ayyash has said: Nafi‘ and Sa‘id ibn Abi Arubah both narrated to us, from Qatada who said: Abdullah ibn Buraidah narrated to us, from Sulayman ibn Rabi‘ah, one of the pilgrims from Basra,” he has mentioned him in this way, and Husain ibn Dhakwan al-Mu‘allim has accompanied him, he has said: “Ubaidullah ibn Buraidah al-Aslami narrated to us that Sulayman ibn Rabi‘ah al-Anazi narrated to him,” he has mentioned him in this way, and only Abdullah ibn Buraidah has narrated from this Sulayman, but it is made clear from the words of al-Bukhari and Abu Hatam that he has been a well-known person; because they have said: “They say: Sulayman ibn Rabi‘, Hujair ibn Rabi‘, and Huraith ibn Rabi‘ were brothers,” and ibn Hibban has said: “They were four brothers: Hujair, Huraith, Ya‘qub, and Sulayman, the sons of Rabi‘,” and he has mentioned him among the trustworthy, and (yet) he is not alone in narrating this Hadith, but rather Abu al-Aswad al-Deyli has accompanied him:

Attestation No. 2

رَوَى الطَّبَرِيُّ [ت310هـ] فِي «تَهْذِيبِ الْآثَارِ»[8]، قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ بَشَّارٍ، وَقَتَادَةُ بْنُ سَعْدِ بْنِ قَتَادَةَ السَّدُوسِيُّ، قَالَا: حَدَّثَنَا مُعَاذُ بْنُ هِشَامٍ، حَدَّثَنِي أَبِي، عَنْ قَتَادَةَ، عَنْ أَبِي الْأَسْوَدِ الدِّيلِيِّ، قَالَ: انْطَلَقْتُ أَنَا وَزُرْعَةُ بْنُ ضَمْرَةَ مَعَ الْأَشْعَرِيِّ إِلَى عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ، فَلَقِينَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو، فَجَلَسْتُ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَجَلَسَ زُرْعَةُ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ، فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو: «يُوشِكُ أَلَّا يَبْقَى فِي أَرْضِ الْعَجَمِ مِنَ الْعَرَبِ إِلَّا قَتِيلٌ أَوْ أَسِيرٌ يُحْكَمُ فِي دَمِهِ»، فَقَالَ لَهُ زُرْعَةُ بْنُ ضَمْرَةَ: «أَيَظْهَرُ الْمُشْرِكُونَ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْإِسْلَامِ؟!» قَالَ: «مَنْ أَنْتَ؟» قَالَ: «أَنَا مِنْ بَنِي عَامِرِ بْنِ صَعْصَعَةَ»، قَالَ: «لَا تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ حَتَّى تَتَدَافَعَ مَنَاكِبُ نِسَاءِ بَنِي عَامِرِ بْنِ صَعْصَعَةَ عَلَى ذِي الْخَلَصَةِ، وَثَنٍ كَانَ يُسَمَّى فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ». فَذَكَرْنَا لِعُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ قَوْلَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ ثَلَاثَ مِرَارٍ: «عَبْدُ اللَّهِ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَقُولُ»، قَالَ: فَخَطَبَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ يَوْمَ جُمُعَةٍ، فَقَالَ: إِنَّ نَبِيَّ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَقُولُ: «لَا تَزَالُ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْحَقِّ مَنْصُورَةً حَتَّى يَأْتِيَ أَمْرُ اللَّهِ». قَالَ: فَذَكَرْنَا لِعَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَوْلَ عُمَرَ، فَقَالَ: «صَدَقَ نَبِيُّ اللَّهِ، إِذَا جَاءَ ذَاكَ كَانَ الَّذِي قُلْتُ».

Translation:

Al-Tabari [d. 310 AH] has narrated in the book Tahdhib al-Athar, he has said: Muhammad ibn Bashshar and Qatada ibn Sa‘d ibn Qatada al-Sadusi narrated to us, they said: Mu‘adh ibn Hisham narrated to us, (he said:) My father narrated to me, from Qatada, from Abu al-Aswad al-Deyli who said: I and Zur‘ah ibn Damrah along with al-Ash‘ari went to Umar ibn Khattab, then we came across Abdullah ibn Amr, so I sat on his right side and Zur‘ah sat on his left side, then Abdullah ibn Amr said: Soon there will be no Arab left in the land of non-Arabs except for the dead or a captive whose life is being decided upon.” Then Zur‘ah ibn Damrah said to him: Does this mean that disbelievers will become dominant over people of Islam?! He said: Who are you? He said: I am from Banu Amir ibn Sa‘sa‘ah. He said: The Day of Judgment will not come until the women of Banu Amir ibn Sa‘sa‘ah shove each other by shoulders near Dhu al-Khalasah -an idol that was in the ignorance age-. Then we said the words of Abdullah ibn Amr to Umar ibn Khattab, so Umar ibn Khattab said three times: Abdullah knows better what he says. Then Umar ibn Khattab delivered a sermon on Friday and said: Indeed, the Prophet of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, said: “A number of my Ummah will always victoriously be upon the truth until the command of God comes.” Then we said the words of Umar to Abdullah ibn Amr, so he said: The Messenger of God has spoken the truth. When that comes, what I said to you will happen.

Consideration

قَالَ الْمَنْصُورُ حَفِظَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: كَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرٍو يُحَدِّثُ عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ مَا لَمْ يَسْمَعْهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهِ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَالْمَقْصُودُ مِنْ «أَمْرِ اللَّهِ» فِي الْحَدِيثِ يَوْمُ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَالْمُسْتَفَادُ مِنْ رِوَايَةِ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ الرَّبِيعِ الْعَدَوِيِّ أَنَّهُ أَيْضًا كَانَ مَعَ أَبِي الْأَسْوَدِ الدِّيلِيِّ وَزُرْعَةِ بْنِ ضَمْرَةَ وَالْأَشْعَرِيِّ حِينَ لَقَوْا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَمْرٍو، فَلَمْ يَذْكُرْهُ أَبُو الْأَسْوَدِ لِنِسْيَانٍ أَوْ غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ، إِنْ لَمْ يَكُنِ الْأَشْعَرِيُّ تَصْحِيفًا لِاسْمِهِ، كَمَا قَالَ سُلَيْمَانُ: «خَرَجْتُ مِنَ الْبَصْرَةِ فِي رِجَالٍ نُسَّاكٍ»، وَكَانَ أَبُو الْأَسْوَدِ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْبَصْرَةِ.

Translation:

Mansoor, may God protect him, said: Abdullah ibn Amr would narrate things from the Children of Israel that he had not heard from the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him and his family, and the intended meaning of the “command of God” in the Hadith is the Day of Judgment, and it is understood from the narration of Sulayman ibn Rabi‘ al-Adawi that he, too, was with Abu al-Aswad al-Deyli, Zur‘ah ibn Damrah, and al-Ash‘ari when they came across Abdullah ibn Amr, so Abu Al-Aswad has not mentioned him due to forgetfulness or something else if al-Ash‘ari has not been a misrepresentation of his name; as Sulayman has said: “We came out from Basra with some men who were going for Hajj,” and Abu al-Aswad, too, was from Basra[9].