Clarification about the spread of innovated du’aa’s

In recent years we have – unfortunately – seen a serious
spread of an abhorrent sin that is a major sin and one that dooms people to
Hell, but many people are heedless of it, and thus their religious
commitment is corrupted thereby, and they show a great deal of disrespect
towards the Noble Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). This phenomenon is the spread of ahaadeeth that are falsely
attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and the grave audacity to narrate things from him (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) without checking or verifying them. 

Hence we and every Muslim who feels a sense of pride in his
religion must remind the people and tell them of the seriousness of what
they take so lightly, and we must warn them of how bad the situation is, out
of sincerity towards Allaah and to His Messenger and to the ordinary
Muslims. 

So we say: 

Firstly: 

Our duty is to support the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and to love him properly by following him properly
and protecting the purity of his sharee’ah at a time when the fools and
haters are showing a great deal of disrespect towards him (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). Undoubtedly one of the greatest ways of
supporting the faith and honouring the Messenger is being truthful in
narrating his words and reports from him, and rejecting the lies that are
attributed to him. If we know that no one would accept to have words
attributed to him that he did not say, then what should we think about the
Messenger who received Revelation from Allaah, may He be blessed and
exalted, and his eternal sharee’ah which came to set the affairs of all
people straight until the Day of Resurrection? Undoubtedly he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the one who would most hate to have
lies attributed to him. Hence al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah (may Allaah be
pleased with him) narrated that he said: “Lying about me is not like lying
about anyone else. Whoever tells a lie about me deliberately, let him take
his place in Hell.” Narrated by Muslim in the Introduction to his Saheeh
(no. 4). Al-Haafiz Ibn Hibbaan included a similar hadeeth from Abu Hurayrah
under the heading: Chapter: Inevitability of entering Hell for one who
attributes anything to al-Mustafa (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) when he does not know whether it is sound. 

By Allaah, the Muslim is astounded when he sees people doing
their utmost to avoid falling into blatant sin, such as cheating,
backbiting, stealing or committing zina, then they treat this matter with
such carelessness, thinking that it is insignificant when in fact it is very
serious before Allaah. So you see them memorizing false ahaadeeth and
narrating them in gatherings and on websites, and they do not take care to
ask about that or to verify whether they are saheeh (sound). 

Secondly: 

Everyone who spreads a hadeeth without ascertaining whether
it is saheeh – whether that is via a text message or in an internet forum or
transferring it from one site to another or attaching it to an e-mail –
should understand that he is deserving of that punishment in the Hereafter,
both he and the one who fabricated the hadeeth in the first place. The crime
of transmitting it without verifying it is like the crime of the liar who
has the audacity to show disrespect towards the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me thinking that it is false is one
of the liars.” Narrated by Muslim in the Introduction to his Saheeh
(p. 7). 

Al-Nawawi said, commenting on this hadeeth in Sharh Muslim
(1/65): 

This is a stern warning against lying or taking part in
narrating lies. The one who thinks that what he is narrating is mostly
likely false but still narrates it is a liar; how can he not be a liar when
he is narrating something that did not happen? End quote. 

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
Tamaam al-Minah (32-34): 

Many writers – especially in the current era – regardless of
their madhhabs and specialities, narrate ahaadeeth that are attributed to
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) without
pointing out which are da’eef (weak), either because they are ignorant of
the Sunnah or they are too lazy to refer to the books of specialists. Abu
Shaamah said in al-Baa’ith ‘ala Inkaar al-Bida’ wa’l-Hawaadith (p.
54): This, according to the scholars of hadeeth and of usool and fiqh is a
mistake, and it should be pointed out if known, otherwise it comes under the
warning in the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me thinking that
it is false is one of the liars.” Narrated by Muslim. End quote. 

This is the ruling of one who keeps quiet about da’eef (weak)
ahaadeeth about righteous deeds! So how about if it has to do with rulings
and the like? 

It should be noted that the one who does that has to be one
of two things: 

1 – Either he knows that these ahaadeeth are weak but he does
not point out their weakness, so he is deceiving the Muslims and he
definitely is included in the warning mentioned. Ibn Hibbaan said in his
book al-Du’afa’ (1/7-8): This report indicates that the one who
narrates something that is not saheeh from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is something fabricated about him
and he know that, then he is like one of the liars, but the apparent meaning
of the report is stricter than that. The Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me thinking
that it is false …” And he did not say ‘and he is certain that it is
false’. So anyone who doubts whether what he is narrating is saheeh or not
is included in the apparent meaning of this report. 

2 – Or he does not know
that it is weak, but he is also sinning because he is attributing it to the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) without knowledge,
and he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is
sufficient lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears.” Narrated
by Muslim in the Introduction to his Saheeh (no. 5)  

So he has a share of the sin of the one who told the lie
about the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
indicated that the one who speaks of everything that he hears – and the one
who writes everything that he hears – will inevitably lie about him
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and thus he is one of the two
liars, the first of whom is the one who fabricates it and the second of whom
is the one who spreads it. 

Ibn Hibbaan also said (1/9): The report also contains a
rebuke to the one who speaks of everything that he hears, unless he knows
that it is definitely sound. End quote.   

Al-Nawawi stated that if a person does not know whether a
hadeeth is weak, it is not permissible for him to quote it as evidence
without examining it if he is knowledgeable, or asking scholars about it if
he is not knowledgeable. 

End quote from Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on
him). 

Thirdly: 

What these people are falling into – when they spread
ahaadeeth without checking or verifying – is very serious, as they spread
what they fabricate far and wide and it is read by millions of people, and
it is transmitted through many generations. The one who fabricated it and
the one who helped him to spread it will bear that sin until the Day of
Resurrection. 

It was narrated from Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said:  

“Last night I saw two men come to me … they said: ‘The one
whom you saw with the side of his mouth being torn is the liar who tells
lies that are conveyed from him until they reach the horizon; that will be
done to him until the Day of Resurrection.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari
(6096). 

Fourthly: 

All we can do – in the light of all these warnings – is to
remind ourselves and our Muslim brothers to fear Allaah with regard to our
religion and sharee’ah, and not to be the cause of doom and corruption.
Propagating false ahaadeeth is one of the worst means of corrupting
religion; the Jews and Christians were only doomed when they fabricated lies
against Allaah and His Messengers, and they attributed things to their
religions that the Messengers did not bring, thus they incurred the wrath
and anger of Allaah. 

Does these people who are so careless about fabricating
ahaadeeth without verifying them want to be included with those with whom
Allaah is angry and whom He has cursed?! 

Would anyone want to be a tool for the propagation of
corrupting material, or to help the heretics who tell lies against our
sharee’ah and our Prophet?! 

Or would he work to propagate ahaadeeth without checking them
to imitate groups that follow misguidance such as the Raafidis who have
filled the world with lies against the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and the members of his household?! 

Do these people realize that their prayer, fasting and
worship will not avail them anything before Allaah and will not ward off
from them the shame and sin of that lie, if they take part in propagating
these false ahaadeeth?! 

There may be a sin that a person commits, taking it lightly,
but it will cause him to fall into the Fire and be the cause of his doom. 

Abu’l-Wafa’ ‘Ali ibn ‘Aqeel al-Hanbali said: 

Our Shaykh Abu’l-Fadl al-Hamdaani said: Those who introduce
innovations in Islam and fabricate ahaadeeth are worse than the heretics,
because the heretics want to corrupt the religion from without, but these
people want to corrupt it from within. They are like the people of a city
who want to spread evil and corruption inside it, but the heretics are like
those who are besieging it from without, and those evildoers within are able
to open the gate to the enemy. They are more dangerous to Islam than those
who do not claim to be Muslims. End quote. 

Quoting from al-Mawdoo’aat by Ibn al-Jawzi (1/51). 

Fifthly: 

After all of that there comes to you one who apologizes for
his mischief and spreading false ahaadeeth by saying: The weak ahaadeeth may
be quoted as evidence with regard to righteous deeds. 

But he should understand that this is the deception of the
shaytaan, and it is a sign of sophisticated ignorance; the one who says this
will increase his burden of sin. This principle, which was mentioned by some
scholars, is subject to a number of conditions, which must be followed by
the one who wants to apply it. They are: 

1-The hadeeth should have to do
with righteous deeds for which there is a basis in sharee’ah, and not with
matters of ‘aqeedah, rulings or reports on which fiqh and actions are based.
It should not have to do with righteous deeds for which there is no basis in
sharee’ah.

2-It should not be very weak
(da’eef). It is not permissible to narrate or act upon mawdoo’ (fabricated)
and munkar ahaadeeth, according to scholarly consensus.

3-It should not be believed that
it can be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him).

4-The one who narrates the
hadeeth should state clearly that it is weak, or he should indicate its
weakness by using phrases to indicate that it is weak: it was narrated, it
was said, and so on.

These conditions are derived from the words of al-Haafiz Ibn
Hajar in his book Tabyeen al-‘Ajab and some of them were narrated from
al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salaam ibn Daqeeq al-Eid. 

For information on accepting weak ahaadeeth, please see the
answer to question no. 44877
and 49675. 

So those scholars who follow this principle do not say that
it is permissible to do what these people are doing by publishing every
hadeeth and every report in the chat rooms, whether it is saheeh or false or
da’eef (weak). 

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in
Tamaam al-Minah (36): 

Unfortunately we see many of the scholars – let alone the
common folk – neglecting these conditions, so they act on the basis of a
hadeeth without knowing whether it is saheeh or da’eef, and if they know it
is weak they do not know to what extent – is it slightly weak or is it so
weak that it may not be accepted? Then they demonstrate that they are
accepting it and acting upon it as if it were a saheeh hadeeth . Hence there
are many acts of worship done by Muslims which are not valid, and which
distract them from valid acts of worship which were narrated with sound
isnaads. End quote. 

Sixthly: 

If a person repents from propagating false ahaadeeth or he
finds out that what he was doing is haraam after he was unaware of the
ruling, then the door of repentance is open, but it is subject to the
condition of disclosure after concealment, and correction after corruption. 

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Except those who repent and do righteous deeds, and
openly declare (the truth which they concealed). These, I will accept their
repentance. And I am the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful”

[al-Baqarah 2:160]

Hence every Muslim should propagate saheeh hadeeth instead of
false and fabricated ones. The books of the saheeh Sunnah are filled – by
Allaah’s grace – with proven ahaadeeth which if a man were to spend his life
memorizing and studying them, he would hardly be able to do it. It is
sufficient to find a scholar of hadeeth who has judged a hadeeth to be
saheeh and acceptable, so let him accept it from him and propagate the
hadeeth along with the scholar’s ruling on it. 

But if it so happens that he has propagated weak ahaadeeth,
then he must publish the comments of the scholars concerning them. On our
site there are a number of answers concerning weak ahaadeeth that are
widespread on forums, and he can make use of these answers. That includes
the hadeeth mentioned in the question, which has been explained as da’eef
(weak) in the answer to question no.
98821. 

And Allaah knows best.