Angel of death's permission hadith
Hadith of the angel of death asking permission of the Prophet ﷺ before entering to take his soul and containing the phrase,
"truly Allah longs to see you" (innallāha qad ishtāqa ilā liqā'ik), followed
by the description of the visitation of the women to see the noble body in
ʿA'isha's house, whereupon a voice was heard saying "As-Salāmu ʿalaykum Ahl
al-Bayt...", which ʿAli ibn Abi Talib or ʿAli Zayn al-ʿAbidin said was the
voice of al-Khidr.
Al-Tibrizi cites it from al-Bayhaqi's Dala'il al-Nubuwwa towards the end of
Mishkat al-Masabih, 2nd chapter on wonder-miracles (bāb al-karāmāt), third
part, mursal from Zayn al-ʿAbidin ʿAli ibn al-Husayn ibn ʿAli ibn Abi Talib,
Allah be well-pleased with them. See Al-Qari's Mirqat al-Mafatih Sharh
Mishkat al-Masabih (1892 ed. 5:503-504) where he mentions the grading of Ibn
Hajar al-ʿAsqalani as hasan li ghayrihi or "fair due to its collected
chains."
Narrated:
- from Jabir and Ibn ʿAbbas by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (3:58-66) with a
chain containing ʿAbd al-Munʿim ibn Idris ibn Sinan whom al-Haythami
described as "an arch-liar and arch-forger" in Majmaʿ al-Zawa'id (9:26-31)
and his father Idris who is discarded as a narrator (matrūk) according to
al-Daraqutni. Al-ʿIraqi graded this narration "condemned" (munkar) in his
Takhrij of the Ihya'.
- from Ibn ʿAbbas by al-Tabarani with a chain containing al-Mukhtar ibn
Nafiʿ who is "condemned" as a narrator.
- from al-Husayn ibn ʿAli by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (3:128-130) and
al-Duʿa' (p. 367-368), both with a chain containing ʿAbd Allah ibn Maymun
al-Qaddah who is also discarded as in al-Haythami's Majmaʿ al-Zawa'id
(9:35). Al-ʿIraqi also graded it "condemned."
- from ʿAli [ibn Abi Talib] by Ibn Saʿd - as mentioned by al-Nabahani in
Hujjatullah ʿala al-ʿAlamin (p. 707-708) - with a "problematic" (muʿdal)
chain missing at least two non-successive links in al-Tabaqat al-Kubra
(2:258); al-Ajurri in al-Shariʿa as stated by al-Nabahani; al-Bayhaqi in
Dala'il al-Nubuwwa and Ibn Abi ʿUmar al-ʿAdani as stated in Kanz al-ʿUmmal
(#18785); and al-Jurjani with several chains in Tarikh Jurjan (p. 361-364)
containing Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad who admitted to being a forger
on the minbar two or three years before his death as related by Ibn Hajar in
al-Isaba (2:315).
- mursal from al-Muttalib ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Hantab as cited in Kanz
al-ʿUmmal (#18825).
- by Abu Mansur ibn ʿAsakir in al-Arbaʿin fi Manaqib Ummahat al-Mu'minin (p.
107-108 #38) with his chain from al-Bayhaqi, mursal from Muhammad ibn ʿAli -
as mentioned by al-Nabahani in Hujjatullah ʿala al-ʿAlamin (p. 708) - and he
graded it hasan mursal, but the hadith does not mention al-Khidr.
- by Ibn al-Jawzi mursal from Zayn al-ʿAbidin ʿAli ibn al-Husayn without the
Khidr segment in al-Wafa' as related by al-Qari in al-Mirqat (5:504).
- mursal from ʿAli ibn al-Husayn by al-Bayhaqi in full through al-Ajurri
according to al-Nabahani in Hujjatullah (p. 708-709).
- mursal from ʿAli ibn al-Husayn by al-Bayhaqi from Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn
Muhammad al-Faqih, from Shafiʿ Muhammad, from Imam al-Tahawi, from Imam
al-Muzani, from Imam al-Shafiʿi, from al-Qasim ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿUmar - he
is abandoned as a narrator and a forger -, from Hafs, from Jaʿfar ibn
Muhammad ibn ʿAli ibn al-Husayn ibn ʿAli (Jaʿfar al-Sadiq), from his father
(Muhammad al-Baqir), from ʿAli ibn al-Husayn as cited in al-Shafiʿi's
al-Sunan al-Ma'thura (p. 334). Ibn Kathir in the fifth volume of his Bidaya
(chapter on the reports connected to the condolences for the Prophet, Allah
bless and greet him) noted that it is missing the Companion-link and that
there is weakness in its chain because of al-Qasim al-ʿUmari but added that
the segment of al-Khidr is also narrated:
- by al-Rabiʿ from al-Shafiʿi, from al-Qasim, from Jaʿfar, from his father,
from his grandfather [ʿAli ibn al-Husayn], a mursal chain also containing
the weak link (al-Qasim), yet further confirmed by the narration:
- by al-Bayhaqi, from al-Hakim, from Abu Jaʿfar al-Baghdadi, from ʿAbd Allah
ibn al-Harith or ʿAbd al-Rahman ibn al-Murtaʿid al-Sanʿani, from Abu
al-Walid al-Makhzumi, from Anas ibn ʿIyad, from Jaʿfar ibn Muhammad, from
Jabir ibn ʿAbd Allah, a "problematic" (muʿdal) chain missing the
Successor-link in addition to one or more links between Anas and Jaʿfar.
[Al-Khidr segment only.] Ibn Kathir related that al-Bayhaqi said: "Even if
these two chains are weak, yet each is confirmed by the other and indicates
that Jaʿfar's narration has a basis, and Allah knows best." Al-ʿIraqi in his
Takhrij Ahadith al-Ihya' said that the recognized narration is the mursal
report from ʿAli ibn al-Husayn as opposed to that of ʿAli ibn Abi Talib,
without mention of al-Khidr, as in al-Shafiʿi's al-Umm.
- from ʿAli ibn Abi Talib (1) by Ibn Abi Hatim in his Tafsir as mentioned by
al-Suyuti in al-Durr al-Manthur under verses 3:183-185 and (2) by Ibn Kathir
in his under the same verses. [Khidr segment only.] Ibn Hajar cites its
chain in full in al-Isaba.
See also al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik.
What is firmly established as authentic is the hadith of ʿA'isha in
al-Bukhari and Muslim: "The Prophet ﷺ used to
say that no Prophet is seized [by death] until he first sees his seat in
Paradise and then is given the choice [between dying and living on]." This
shows that Allah Most High has indeed delegated to His Prophets the right to
give permission to the angel of death to seize their own soul at their own
liking, and Allah knows best.
Hajj Gibril
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[ 2000-10-21]
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