Muhammad bin Ja’far narrated to us, Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Mansūr, on authority of Rab’iy ibn Hirāsh, that he heard Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, giving a Khutbah and he said that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘Do not lie upon me; indeed whoever lies upon me will enter the Fire’.

‘Indeed what prevents me from relating to you a great number of Ḥadīth is that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘Whoever intends to lie upon me, then let him take his seat in the Fire.’

‘Whoever lies upon me intentionally, then let him take his seat in the Fire’.

‘I arrived at the Masjid and al-Mughīrah, the Amīr of al-Kūfah said: ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, saying, ‘Indeed a lie upon me is not like a lie upon anyone else, for whoever lies upon me intentionally, then he shall take his seat in the Fire’.’

’ Alī bin Hujr as-Sa’dī narrated to us, Alī bin Mushir narrated to us, Muhammad bin Qays il-Asadī informed us, on authority of Alī ibn Rabī’at al-Asadī, on authority of al-Mughīrat ibn Shu’bah, on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him a similar narration, however he did not mention the words ‘Indeed a lie upon me is not like a lie upon anyone else’.

Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Khubayb bin Abd ir-Rahman, on authority of Hafs bin Āsim, on authority of Abī Hurayrah, he said, the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said: ‘It is enough of a lie for a man to narrate everything he hears’.

Abū Bakr bin Abī Shaybah narrated to us, Alī bin Hafs narrated to us, Shu’bah narrated to us, on authority of Khubayb bin Abd ir-Rahman, on authority of Hafs bin Āsim, on authority of Abī Hurayrah, on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, the same as that.

‘It is enough of a lie for a man that he narrates everything he hears’.

‘Know that a man who relates everything he hears is not safe, and he can never be an Imām, as long as he narrates everything he hears’.

‘It is enough of a lie for a man that he narrates everything he hears’.

‘A man cannot be an Imām whose example is followed until he withholds from some of what he hears’.

‘Iyās bin Mu’āwiyah asked me saying: ‘Indeed I see that you love knowledge of the Qur’ān, so recite for me a Sūrah and explain it until I can reflect on what you know’. said to me: ‘Memorize from me what I am about to say to you- Beware of abominations in Ḥadīth for indeed rarely does anyone convey them except he lowers himself and his Ḥadīth are denied’.’

‘It is the case that you do not relate to the people a narration which their minds cannot grasp except that it becomes a Fitnah for some of them’.

‘There will be in the last of my nation a people narrating to you what you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them’.

‘There will be in the end of time charlatan liars coming to you with narrations that you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them lest they misguide you and cause you tribulations’.’

‘Indeed Satan will appear in the form of a man and he will come to the people, narrating to them false Ḥadīth, and they will then depart. Then a man among them will say: ‘I heard a man whose face I recognize but I do not know his name narrating …’

‘Indeed in the sea are devils chained up, whom Sulaymān shackled and they are at the point of emerging. Then they will recite a Qur’ān upon the people.’

‘Go back to such-and-such narration‘. Then , we abandoned listening to Ḥadīth from them’.

‘Indeed we would take Ḥadīth and they would be taken on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him. However if you take every difficult and docile !

‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’. Then it seemed that Ibn Abbās was not listening to his Ḥadīth and not reflecting on them, so said: ‘Oh Ibn Abbās, why is it that I see you not listening to my Ḥadīth? I narrate to you on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, however you are not listening’. Ibn Abbās said: ‘Indeed once upon a time we would listen to a man saying, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’ rushing towards him with our eyes and harkening towards him with our ears; then when the people took the difficult and the docile we no longer took from people except those whom we knew’.

‘I wrote to Ibn Abbās asking him to write something said: ‘By Allah, Alī did not give judgment according to this unless he was astray’.’

‘A book was brought to Ibn Abbās which contained the verdicts of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, and he effaced but a small amount,’ and Sufyān bin Uyaynah indicated with his arm .

‘When they narrated these things after Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, a man from the companions of Alī said: ‘May Allah curse them. Did they corrupt every knowledge!?’

‘There are no Ḥadīth on authority of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, that are confirmed except from the companions of Abd Allah bin Mas’ūd.’

‘Indeed this knowledge is faith, so carefully consider from whom you take your faith’.

‘They would not ask about the chains of narration, and when the Fitnah occurred, they said: ‘Name for us your men’. So Ahl us-Sunnah would be regarded, and their Ḥadīth were then taken, and Ahl ul-Bi’dah would be regarded, and their Ḥadīth were not taken’.

‘I came across Tāwus and said: ‘So-and-so narrated to me such-and-such’. Then he said: ‘If your companion is trustworthy, then take from him.’

‘So-and-so narrated to me like this-and-that’. He said: ‘If your companion is trustworthy, then take from him.’

‘I met one hundred in al-Madīnah, each of whom were reliable. Narrations were not taken from one about who it was said, ‘he is not from its people’.’

‘There is to be no narrating on authority of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah send blessings and peace upon him, except by trustworthy narrators (Thiqāt)’.

‘The chain of narration is from the Dīn, and were it not for the chain of narration whoever wished could say what he wanted’. Muhammad bin Abd Allah said, al-Abbās bin Abī Rizmah narrated to me, he said I heard Abd Allah saying: ‘Between us and the people are ‘the legs’ (meaning the chain of narration, i.e. if a Ḥadīth was like a creature)’. Muhammad said, I heard Abā Ishāq Ibrāhīm bin Īsā at-Tālqānī say, I said to Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak: ‘Oh Abā Abd ir-Rahman! How is the Ḥadīth which goes ‘Indeed from al-Birr after al-Birr is that you pray for your parents after you pray for yourself and you fast for them both after you fast for yourself’? So ’. Muhammad said, I heard Alī bin Shaqīq saying, I heard Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak saying in front of the people: ‘Abandon the Ḥadīth of Amr bin Thābit for indeed he would curse the Salaf ’.

‘I was sitting near al-Qāsim bin Ubayd Allah and Yahyā bin Sa’īd was quiet and did not respond to him’.

‘By Allah, indeed it is a grave matter that the likes of you, a descendent of two Imāms of guidance – meaning Umar and Ibn Umar – is asked about a matter and you have no knowledge of it’. So said that Abū Aqīl Yahyā bin al-Mutawakkil witnessed them both when they said that.

‘I asked Sufyān ath-Thawrī , Shu’bah, Mālik, and Ibn Uyaynah about a man who is not reliable (Thabt) in Ḥadīth, and someone comes and asks me about him, and they said: ‘Inform against him that he is not reliable’.’

‘Ibn Awn was asked about the Ḥadīth of Shahr and he was standing at the threshold of the door, so said: ‘Indeed they criticized Shahr, indeed they criticized Shahr’. Muslim, may Allah have mercy on him, said ‘He means- the tongues of men were busy criticizing him’.’

‘I had met Shahr then abandoned transmitting from him’.

‘Indeed Abbād bin Kathīr, about whose condition you are aware, when he related said: ‘So when I was in an assembly and Abbād was mentioned there, I praised him regarding his Dīn and said: ‘Do not take from him.’ Muhammad said, Abd Allah bin Uthmān narrated to us, he said, my father said, Abd Allah bin al-Mubārak said: ‘I ended up in an assembly of Shu’bah, and he said: ‘This is Abbād bin Kathīr so be warned against him.’

‘I was at his door and Sufyān was with about him. So he informed me that he was a liar.’

‘We do not see the righteous more false in anything than they are regarding Ḥadīth’. Ibn Abī Attāb said: ‘So Muhammad bin Yahyā bin Sa’īd al-Qattān and I met and I asked him about it and he said on authority of his father: ‘You will not see the people of good (Ahl ul-Khayr) more false in anything than they are regarding Ḥadīth.’ Muslim said: ‘He was saying that falsehood flows upon their tongues although they do not intend to lie’.

‘I entered upon Ghālib bin Ubayd Allah so he began dictating to me ‘Mak’hūl narrated to me this’ and ‘Mak’hūl narrated to me that’. So he prepared to answer the call of nature and stood up, then I looked in his notebook and in it was ‘Abān narrated to me, on authority of Anas’ and ‘Abān on authority of so-and-so’. So I abandoned ’. I heard al-Hasan bin Alī al-Hulwānī saying: ‘I saw in one of the books of Affān a Ḥadīth of Hishām Abīl-Miqdām meaning a Ḥadīth of Umar bin Abd il-Azīz. ’.’

‘Who is this man from whom you transmit the Ḥadīth of Abd Allah bin Amr, ‘The day of Fitr is the day of prizes…’?’ about him’. Ibn Quhzādh said I heard Wahb bin Zam’ah mentioning about Sufyān bin Abd il-Mālik, he said, Abd Allah –meaning Ibn al-Mubārak- said: ‘I saw Rawh bin Ghutayf, the companion of blood the amount of a Dirham , and I took a seat in one of his audiences. Then I began to become ashamed for my companions to see me sitting with him while his Ḥadīth are disapproved of.’

‘Baqiyyah ’.

‘al-Hārith al-A’war ul-Hamdānī narrated to me, and he is a liar’.

‘al-Hārith al-A’war narrated to me,’ and he was testifying that he was one of the liars’.

‘I memorized the Qur’ān in two years’. Al-Hārith said: ‘The Qur’ān is easy; the revelation is more difficult ’.

‘I studied the Qur’ān for three years and the revelation for two years’; or he said: ‘…the revelation in three years and the Qur’ān in two years ’.

Hajjāj narrated to me, he said Ahmad- and he is Ibn Yūnus- narrated to me, Zā’idah narrated to us, on authority of Mansūr and al-Mughīrah, on authority of Ibrāhīm that al-Hārith was imputed.

‘Murrah al-Hamdānī heard something from al-Hārith and said to him: ‘sit by the door’. said: ‘So Murrah went inside and took his sword and al-Hārith sensed evil and left’.

‘Beware of al-Mughīrah bin Sa’īd and Abū Abd ar-Rahīm for they are both liars’.

‘We would catch up with Abū Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulamī and at the time we were young men, so he would say to us: ‘Do not sit with story-tellers other than Abūl-Ahwas and beware of Shaqīq ’.

‘I met Jābir bin Yazīd al-Ju’fī and did not write .

‘Jābir bin Yazīd narrated to us before there took place what happened ’.

‘The people would transmit from Jābir before there appeared what appeared, then when there appeared what appeared, the people imputed him in his Ḥadīth and some of the people abandoned him’. So it was said to said: ‘Belief in ar-Raj’ah’.

‘I have 70,000 Ḥadīth all of which are on authority of Abū Ja’far on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him’.

‘Indeed I have fifty thousand Ḥadīth that I have not narrated from at all’. said: ‘Then that day he related a Ḥadīth and said, ‘This is from the fifty thousand’.

‘I have fifty thousand Ḥadīth on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings upon him’.

{Thus I will never depart from the land until my father permits me or Allah decides for me, and He is the best of Judges}’. Jābir said, ‘that is an interpretation for these verses’, and he would lie as they were regarding the brothers of Yūsuf, peace be upon him’.

‘I heard Jābir talking about something like 30,000 Ḥadīth .’ Muslim said, I heard Abū Ghassān Muhammad bin Amr ar-Rāzī say, ‘I asked Jarīr bin Abd il-Hamīd: ‘Did you meet al-Hārith bin Hasīrah? He said: ‘Yes, Shaykh of lengthy silence; he persisted in a grave matter.’

‘He is not upright in speech ’.

‘Indeed I have a neighbor’ and he mentioned some of his virtues, ‘…even if he testified to me about two dates I would not see his testimony as permissible’.

‘I did not see Ayyūb speaking ill of anyone, ever, except for Abd al-Karīm- meaning Abū Umayyah’. So he mentioned him and said, may Allah have mercy on him ‘He is not trustworthy- he had asked me about a Ḥadīth of Ikrimah then said ‘I heard from Ikrimah’ .’

‘Al-Barā’ .

‘Indeed this one alleges he has met eighteen of the warriors of the battle of Badr’. Qatādah said: ‘This one was barely asking regarding it. By Allah, al-Hasan did not narrate to us from a witness of the battle of Badr without an intermediary; and Sa’īd bin al-Musayyib did not narrate to us from a witness of the battle of Badr without an intermediary except from Sa’d bin Mālik’.

Uthmān bin Abī Shaybah narrated to us, Jarīr narrated to us, on authority of Raqabah that ‘Abū Ja’far al-Hāshimī al-Madanī was fabricating narrations with words of truth, and they were not from the narrations of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, though he was transmitting them on authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him.’

‘Amr bin Ubayd would lie regarding Ḥadīth’.

‘Whoever carries arms against us then he is not from us’. said ‘Amr lied, by Allah. Rather he intended it as a way to permit his filthy opinion.’

‘A man kept company with Ayyūb and listened ’.

‘There is no flogging the one who gets drunk from Nabīdh’.’ said: ‘He lied, for I heard al-Hasan saying, ‘Flog the one who gets drunk from Nabīdh’.’

‘Have you seen a man whose Dīn you do not trust- how do you trust him regarding Ḥadīth?’

‘Amr bin Ubayd narrated to us before what happened’ .

‘I wrote to Shu’bah asking him about Abū Shaybah , a judge of Wāsit, so he wrote to me: ‘Do not write anything from him ’.

‘I narrated to Hammād bin Salamah lied’.

‘Go to Jarīr bin Hāzim and say to him, ‘It is not allowed for you to transmit from al-Hasan bin Umārah for indeed he lies’.’ Abū Dāwud said, I said to Shu’bah: ‘And how do you know that?’ So said: ‘It is transmitted on authority of al-Hasan al-Basrī’.’ Al-Hasan bin Umārah said: ‘Al-Hakam narrated to us, on authority of Yahyā bin al-Jazzār, on authority of Alī.

‘I swore that I would not transmit anything from him or Khālid bin Mahdūj’. .’ Al-Hulwānī said: ‘I heard from Abd as-Samad and I mentioned Ziyād bin Maymūn near him and he charged him with lying’.

‘You transmit a great deal on authority of Abbād bin Mansūr - so how is it that you did not hear the Ḥadīth of ‘the lady perfume seller’ from him which an-Naḍr bin Shumayl transmitted to us?’ so we abandoned him ’.

‘Abd ul-Quddūs was narrating to us saying,‘Suwayd bin Aqalah said…’ Muslim said, I heard Ubayd Allah bin Umar al-Qawārīrī saying, I heard Hammād bin Zayd saying to a man after he sat with Mahdī bin Hilāl for days: ‘What is this salty well ’.

‘A Ḥadīth did not reach me on authority of al-Hasan except I presented it to Abān bin Abī Ayyāsh , then he read it to me ’.

‘Hamzah az-Zayyāt and I heard from Abān bin Abī Ayyāsh something like one thousand Ḥadīth’. Alī said: ‘So I met Hamzah then he informed me that he saw the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, ’.

‘Write from Baqiyyah what he transmits on authority of those who are well-known, and do not write from him what he transmits on authority of those who are not; do not write from Ismā’īl bin Ayyāsh what he transmits on authority of those who are well-known or otherwise ’.

‘What an excellent man is Baqiyyah, if it were not for the fact that he would provide a nickname for he was Abd ul-Quddūs ’.

‘I did not see Ibn al-Mubārak express so plainly the charge of ‘lying’ except towards Abd ul-Quddūs; for indeed I heard him saying to him ‘ a liar’.’

‘I heard Abū Nu’aym and he mentioned al-Mu’allā bin Urfān, so

‘We were near Ismā’īl bin Ulayyah, and a man narrated on authority of another man, so I said: ‘Indeed this is not reliable (Thabt)’. So the man said: ‘Are you backbiting him?’ Ismā’īl said: ‘He is not backbiting him; rather he is judging him unreliable’.

‘I asked Mālik bin Anas about Muhammad bin Abd ar-Rahman who transmits on authority of Sa’īd bin al-Musayyib, so he said: ‘He is not trustworthy ‘. I asked him about Sālih, a freed slave of at-Taw’amah, then he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Abūl-Huwayrith , and he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Shu’bah on whose authority Ibn Abī Dhi’b transmitted, and he said: ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked him about Harām bin Uthmān , and he said ‘He is not trustworthy’. I asked Mālik about these five and he said: ‘They are not trustworthy in terms of their Ḥadīth’. I asked him about another man whose name I forget just now, and he said: ‘Did you see him in my book?’ I said: ‘No’. he said: ‘If he was trustworthy you would see him in my book’.

‘Yahyā bin Ma’īn narrated to me, Hajjāj narrated to us, Ibn Abī Dhi’b narrated to us on authority of Shurahbīl bin Sa’d , and he was imputed ’.

‘If I had to choose between entering Paradise and meeting Abd Allah bin Muharrar, I would have chosen to meet him, then enter Paradise. Then when I saw him, dung was more preferred to me than him’.

‘Do not take from my brother ’.

‘Yahyā bin Abī Unaysah was a liar’.

‘Indeed Farqad is not a companion of Ḥadīth’.

‘More weak than Ya’qūb bin Atā ’?’ He said: ‘Yes’. Then he said: ‘I did not see anyone transmitting on authority of Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Ubayd bin Umayr’.

‘His Ḥadīth are Rīh or ‘wind’ - do not write the Ḥadīth of Ubaydah bin Mu’attib, as-Sarī bin Ismā’īl, or Muhammad bin Sālim’.’