Sean W. Anthony@shahanSean
Nov 26, 2022
14 tweets
My timeline is full of folks annoyed/dismayed by the idea that Abū Hurayrah (d. ca. 678-80), was a controversial figure and, especially, that early Ḥanafīs – like Muḥammad al-Shaybānī (d. 805) – rejected the authority of his ḥadīth in fiqh...
books.google.com/books?id=PYdyD
According to al-Bukhārī, Iraqis even during Abū Hurayrah's lifetime accused him of being a liar. AH allegedly said, ‘Do you Iraqis claim that I lie about the Messenger of God?! Isn't it for you to merely show gratitude while the burden of sin falls me!’ ...google.com/books/edition/
One of the most interesting stories about the early controversies over Abū Hurayrah appears in al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī’s (d. 1071 ) history of Baghdad. It is told by a defender of Abū Hurayrah, ʿUmar ibn Ḥabīb al-ʿAdawī, whose defense of the Companion ...
before the caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd nearly cost him his life. He narrates,
“I attended the majlis of Hārūn al-Rashīd, and a topic arose that the attendees began to debate. A clamor ensued, and one of them argued his case making recourse to a ḥadīth Abū Hurayrah transmitted from..
the Prophet ﷺ. Another one of them rejected the ḥadīth, and a great deal of defending it and naysaying it ensued until one of them said:
‘It’s not possible for this ḥadīth to be from the Messenger of God ﷺ! Abū Hurayrah is a man whose probity is suspect in narrating ḥadīth!’
And they began to openly declare him to be a liar. I saw [the caliph] al-Rashīd take their side and declare their statement victorious [in the dispute]. So I myself spoke out:
‘The ḥadīth is soundly narrated (ṣaḥīḥ) from the Messenger of God ﷺ, and ...
Abū Hurayrah is a man whose narrations are sound, and who's truthful in whatsoever he narrates from the Prophet of God and anyone else.’
Then al-Rashīd cast his gaze upon me full of ire, so I left the majlis and returned home. Hardly a moment passed until someone said, ...
‘A courier awaits at the door.’ He entered and said to me, ‘Answer the Commander of the Faithful on the pain of death and prepare to be embalmed and shrouded for burial!’ [not sure if I got this translation correct -SA]
I prayed, ...
‘O my Lord! You surely know that I merely defended the Companions of your Prophet and held your Prophet ﷺ in too high esteem to countenance that the probity of his Companions could be impugned! Deliver me from him!’
I was then brought before al-Rashīd...
He was seated upon his gilded throne, his arms bared and a sword in hand. The leather mat [for beheading] lay before him, and when he caught sight of me, he said to me,
‘ʿUmar ibn Ḥabīb! Never has anyone dared to reject and contradict my judgment as you have!’
I replied, ‘Commander of the Faithful! What you said and contested conveys disdain for the Messenger of God ﷺ and for what he brought. If his Companions are liars, then his law (sharīʿah) is false: the rules of inheritance; the rulings on fasting, prayer, divorce, and marriage;
and the statutory punishments, each one is to be rejected and not accepted.’
He returned to his senses and then said to me, ‘You given me a new lease onlife, ʿUmar ibn Ḥabīb! May God likewise preserve your life!' And he ordered for me to be paid 10,000 silver pieces." FIN...
Source: google.com/books/edition/
The caliph's gift was a large sum - nearly the equivalent of an annual income for a soldier of middling rank.
ʿUmar ibn Ḥabīb clearly believed that the entire edifice of Islam stands or falls with the probity of Abū Hurayrah – at least...
insofar as Abū Hurayrah and his traditions serve as a test case for the whole intellectual enterprise of ahl al-ḥadīth. And, perhaps, on that score he has a point. Obviously, not every Muslim held (or holds) that view.
Sean W. Anthony
@shahanSean
Professor, historian, specialist in Mashriqī Studies at 𝕿𝖍𝖊 @OhioState University #GoBucks
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