(Series of Answers by the Eminent Scholar Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah, Ameer of Hizb ut-Tahrir, to the Questions of Visitors to his Facebook Page "Fiqhi")
To: Abdul Wakil Seraji
Question:
Peace be upon you, O Ameer. I am from Afghanistan, and I would like to ask you about the authenticity of this hadith; the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Al-Nu’man is the lamp of my Ummah." Is this hadith regarding the virtue of Abu Hanifa, may Allah have mercy on him?
Answer:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh,
In the fourth and fifth centuries AH, after the famous debates and arguments between the schools of thought (madhahib) became widespread—which at times exceeded normal bounds—fabricated reports appeared that praised one mujtahid and diminished the status of another from among the imams of the madhahib. For instance, some followers of Ash-Shafi’i would elevate his status above Abu Hanifa, and some followers of Abu Hanifa would elevate his status above Ash-Shafi’i, and so on with followers of other madhahib... In this atmosphere, individuals with ulterior motives appeared and narrated fabricated hadiths without fearing Allah (swt) or His Messenger ﷺ, claiming to serve their madhhab. In reality, they were not serving their madhhab but rather working to distort it... Among these fabricated hadiths is what you mentioned in your question: "Al-Nu’man is the lamp of my Ummah." I will mention some of what has been reported regarding it:
- It was mentioned in the book Tarikh Baghdad by its author Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Ali bin Thabit bin Ahmad bin Mahdi al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (d. 463 AH), hadith number 4545:
إِنَّ فِي أُمَّتِي رَجُلا... يَكُونُ فِي أُمَّتِي رَجُلٌ اسْمُهُ النُّعْمَانُ، وَكُنْيَتُهُ أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ هُوَ سِرَاجُ أُمَّتِي، هُوَ سِرَاجُ أُمَّتِي، هُوَ سِرَاجُ أُمَّتِي
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: 'Indeed, there is a man in my Ummah,' and in the hadith of al-Qasri: 'There will be a man in my Ummah whose name is Al-Nu’man and his kunya is Abu Hanifa; he is the lamp of my Ummah, he is the lamp of my Ummah, he is the lamp of my Ummah.'"
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi commented on it saying: "It is a fabricated hadith; only al-Buraqi narrated it."
- It was mentioned in Al-Mustakhraj 'ala Sahih Muslim by its author Abu Nu'aim Ahmad bin Abdullah bin Ahmad bin Ishaq bin Musa bin Mehran al-Asbahani (d. 430 AH) under number 248: "Ma’mun bin Ahmad al-Sulami from the people of Herat is a wicked fabricator; he narrates fabrications from trustworthy narrators like Hisham bin Ammar and Duhaym. Among what he narrated from Ahmad al-Juwbari the liar, from Abdullah bin Ma’dan al-Azdi, from Anas as a marfu’ hadith:
يَكُونُ فِي أُمَّتِي رَجُلٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ أَضَرَّ عَلَى أُمَّتِي مِنْ إِبْلِيسَ وَيَكُونُ فِي أُمَّتِي رَجُلٌ يُقَالُ لَهُ أَبُو حَنِيفَةَ هُوَ سِرَاجُ أُمَّتِي
"There will be a man in my Ummah called Muhammad bin Idris (Ash-Shafi’i) who is more harmful to my Ummah than Iblis, and there will be a man in my Ummah called Abu Hanifa who is the lamp of my Ummah."
He commented on it saying: "The narrator of this hadith deserves the curse of Allah Almighty, His Messenger, and the Muslims."
It was mentioned in the book Al-Ta’yin fi Sharh al-Arba’in by its author Sulayman bin Abdul Qawi bin Abdul Karim al-Tufi al-Sarsari, Abu al-Rabi’, Najm al-Din (d. 716 AH): "As for the hadith 'He is the lamp of my Ummah,' Ibn al-Jawzi mentioned it in Al-Mawdu’at (The Fabrications), stating that when the Shafi’i school became famous, the Hanafis wanted to suppress it, so they spoke with Ma’mun bin Ahmad al-Sulami and Ahmad bin Abdullah al-Juwbari, both of whom were liars."
It was mentioned in the book Kashf al-Khafa wa Muzil al-Ilbas by its author Ismail bin Muhammad bin Abdul Hadi al-Jarahi al-Ajluni al-Dimashqi, Abu al-Fida (d. 1162 AH): "'Abu Hanifa is the lamp of my Ummah'—Al-Qari said in his Al-Mawdu’at al-Kubra: It is fabricated by the consensus of hadith scholars."
Thus, the saying "Al-Nu’man is the lamp of my Ummah" is a fabricated hadith.
Your brother, Ata bin Khalil Abu al-Rashtah
09 Dhu al-Qi'dah 1438 AH 01/08/2017 CE
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