Fabricated Stories

Firstly: 

There is no basis for this story in the
books of Sunnah (prophetic teachings), hadeeth (prophetic narrations) and
history. It is contrary to Islam for several reasons: 

1 – The conversation between the man and
the shaytan. It is possible for the shaytan to whisper to a person (waswasah)
when he is in his real form, but speaking to him is not possible, unless the
shaytan appears to him in human form. 

2 – The shaytan says that he supported the
man when he stumbled. This is something that is unbelievable, and the
shaytan is unable to do such a thing. Allah has made the angels protectors
and guardians of man, to protect them from the harm of the jinn, because
they can see us but we cannot see them. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“For him (each person), there are angels
in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the Command of
Allah” [13:11]

In this made-up story it clearly states
that the shaytan is able to protect a person against that which may harm
him, or that the shaytan is able to prevent something that has been decreed
by Allah. 

3 – The most serious thing in this story
is where the shaytan says that the first time Allah forgave the man all his
sins, then the second time he says that Allah has forgiven his family, and
he says that if he had fallen a third time, Allah would have forgiven the
people of his neighbourhood! All of this is lies against Allah and claiming
to have knowledge of the unseen. Even if a mujahid (warrior) is wounded in
battle against the kuffar (disbelievers) it does not bring such virtues, so
how can it be ascribed to the one who is going to the mosque? It is not
ascribed to one who stumbled when calling people to Allah or going to uphold
ties of kinship or other acts of worship, so how can these virtues be
ascribed to one who falls when he is going to the mosque? 

There is nothing about falling or
stumbling that brings such virtues. Many of the Sahaabah (companions) fell,
stumbled or were injured at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him), but there is nothing in the Sunnah which ascribes such
virtues to them or even some of those virtues. Allah does not forgive a
family or the people of a neighbourhood or city because of the deeds or acts
of worship of one of the righteous, let alone the fact that stumbling does
not bring a person closer to Allah and it is not an act of worship in
itself. If anyone were to benefit from the actions of another, then the
father of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) would have benefited from the
prophethood of his son, and the son of Nuh would have benefited from the
prophethood of his father, and Abu Talib would have benefited from the
prophethood of his nephew Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him). 

Moreover, how did the shaytan know of all
that so that he could tell this man about it? Does the shaytan have the
power to prevent mercy reaching one of the slaves of Allah upon whom He
wishes to bestow it? 

No. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“Whatever of mercy (i.e. of good), Allah
may grant to mankind, none can withhold it; and whatever He may withhold,
none can grant it thereafter. And He is the All‑Mighty, the All‑Wise”
[35:2] 

Secondly: 

Undoubtedly these false stories are things
that become widespread among those who do not understand their religion
properly and who do not know the Oneness of their Lord (Tawheed). They are
propagated by liars and storytellers who fabricate lies against the laws of
Allah. 

Allah has issued a stern warning against
these liars. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Say (O Muhammad): (But) the things that
my Lord has indeed forbidden are Al‑Fawaahish (great evil sins and every
kind of unlawful sexual intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly,
sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship)
with Allah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about
Allah of which you have no knowledge” [7:33] 

What khateebs (orators) and preachers must
do is be above being mere storytellers who tell the common folk stories that
go against sharee’ah (Islamic teachings). The salaf (pious predecessors) of
this ummah (nation) issued a stern warning against these storytellers,
because of the bad effects that their stories have on the common folk and
because they contain things that go against the laws of Allah. 

In a hadeeth that was classed as hasan
(sound) by Shaykh al-Albani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah it was narrated that
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When the
Children of Israel were doomed they started to tell stories.” 

Shaykh al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on
him) said:  

It says in al-Nihayah: “when they were
doomed they started to tell stories” which means they relied on words and
forsook deeds, and that was the reason for their doom, or vice versa: when
they were doomed it was because they stopped doing good deeds and turned to
stories. 

Al-Albani said, commenting on this: 

It may be said that the reason they were
doomed was that they paid too much attention to stories at the expense of
fiqh (jurisprudence) and beneficial knowledge which teach the people about
their religion, and motivate them to do righteous deeds. Because they did
that, they were doomed. Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah.

This is the case with the storytellers;
they pay too much attention to stories and myths, which they narrate to the
common folk, without any understanding or knowledge, and the common man
hears a lot but does not understand any ruling or gain any knowledge. 

Ibn al-Jawzi said in Talbees Iblees: 

The storytellers are not condemned just
for being storytellers, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“We relate unto you (Muhammad) the best of
stories” [12:3] 

“So relate the stories” [7:176] 

Rather the storytellers are condemned
because they tell many stories without mentioning any beneficial knowledge,
and usually they mix sound and unsound material in what they narrate and
rely on things that are mostly impossible. End quote. 

It was narrated that Abu Qilabah
‘Abd-Allah ibn Zayd said: Nothing kills knowledge but stories. A man may sit
with another man for a year and not learn anything from him, and he may sit
with a knowledgeable man and not get up until he has learned something. Hilyat
al-Awliya.

How often do these storytellers narrate
from bad reports to the masses, and tell them these fables, which reach such
a status among the masses that they believe everything that they hear and
even give them precedence over the scholars and seekers of knowledge.  

Al-Hafiz al-‘Iraqi (may Allah have mercy
on him) said: 

One of the problems with them is that they
speak to so many people and tell them things that they are unable to
comprehend, and that leads them to confusion and makes them develop
misconceptions. This applies if what they tell them is sound, so how about
if it is false? 

Tahdheer al-Khawaas by al-Suyooti,quoting
from al-Baa’ith ‘ala al-Khalaas by al-‘Iraaqi. 

Ibn al-Jawzi said: 

The storyteller narrates weird reports to
the masses, and tells them that even if he had even the slightest whiff of
knowledge he would not have told them. So the masses leave with a lot of
false notions in their minds, which they discuss amongst themselves. If a
scholar denounces them, they say: we heard this, he narrated it to us. How
many storytellers have misled others by means of the fabricated reports they
narrate to them; how many people have turned yellow with hunger (because of
what they heard encouraging asceticism);  how many people left their
families, homes and cities to wander like monks; how many have refrained
from doing that which is permitted; how many have refrained from learning
and teaching knowledge, believing that he is going against his own whims and
desires; how many have made their children orphans because of their
asceticism whilst still alive; how many have turned away from their wives
and not given them their rights, so that she is neither single nor truly
married. End quote. Al-Mawdoo’aa

This is why the storytellers are
criticized by many of the salaf. 

Maymoon ibn Mahran (may Allah have mercy
on him) said: 

The storyteller may expect punishment from
Allah, and the one who listens to him may expect mercy. 

Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him)
said, following hadeeth no. 4070 in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah: 

This was narrated by Ibn al-Mubarak in his
book al-Zuhd with a saheeh isnaad (authentic chain). 

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have
mercy on him) said: 

The greatest liars among the people are
the storytellers. The people need truthful storytellers who will remind them
of death and the punishment of the grave. It was said to him: Didn’t you
attend their gatherings? He said: No. Al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah by Ibn Muflih
al-Hanbali.

We ask Allah to set straight the affairs
of the imams (leaders) and khateebs (orators), and to guide them to that
which is best for them and others. 

And Allah knows best.