People of the Sunnah are Humble and Clear About Their Sources

In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Ever-Merciful…

Stated Shaykh Jamaal ad-Deen al-Qaasimee… [*]

Stated Al-Haafith Jalaal ad-Deen as-Suyootee [1] (may Allaah have Mercy on him):

The blessing of knowledge and gratitude for it is to reference it to its source, as stated by al-Haafith Aboo Taahir as-Silafee [2], who heard from Abul-[Husayn] as-Sayrafee [3], who said: I heard Aboo ‘Abdillaah as-Sooree [4] saying: ‘Abdul-Ghanee ibn Sa’eed [5] said to me:

When my letter (perhaps a small treatise) reached Aboo ‘Abdillaah al-Haakim [6], he responded by thanking me for it, and he mentioned that he taught it to the people in dictation form. His written response included acknowledgment of benefitting (from me), and that he does not narrate it except with reference to me.

And [Al-Haakim also said]: Abul-‘Abbaas Muhammad ibn Ya’qoob al-Asamm [7] narrated to them, that al-‘Abbaas ibn Muhammad ad-Dooree [8] said: I heard Aboo ‘Ubayd [9] say:

Being thankful for knowledge means that you take benefit from someone, and then when asked about it, you say: This was hidden from me and I did not have knowledge of it until So-and-So benefitted me with it. This is being thankful for knowledge.

Thus, you do not find me mentioning anything -not one letter- in any of my books except that it is clearly referenced to the one who (originally) said it, clearly identifying his book where he mentioned it.

Source: al-Muzhir fee ‘Uloom al-Lughah (2/273 as found in al-Maktabah ash-Shaamilah) by as-Suyootee.

Translation and footnotes: Moosaa Richardson [10]

FOOTNOTES

[1] Jalaal ad-Deen as-Suyootee [d.911]: scholar of Tafseer and Hadeeth, some of his more famous works are the massive ad-Durr al-Manthoor in Tafseer, as well as his part of Tafseer al-Jalaalayn, and Tadreeb ar-Raawee in Hadeeth Sciences.

[2] Aboo Taahir as-Silafee [d.576]: Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Asbahaanee, the great scholar of Hadeeth and Fiqh, the authority of the senior scholars of his time. He lived over 100 years. [Siyar A’laam an-Nubalaa’, 21/5-39]

[3] Abul-Husayn as-Sayrafee [d.500]: ِAl-Mubaarak ibn ‘Abdil-Jabbaar, known as Ibn at-Tuyooree, a great imaam and precise Hadeeth scholar. (His name appears as “Abul-Hasan” in the printed passage, however this was likely misread from the manuscript or mistyped.) [Siyar A’laam an-Nubalaa’, 19/213-216]

[4] Aboo ‘Abdillaah as-Sooree [d.441]: Muhammad ibn ‘Alee Ash-Shaamee, one of the top, most reliable narrators of his time. [Taareekh Baghdaad, 3/103, Siyar A’laam, 17/627-631]

[5] ‘Abdul-Ghanee ibn Sa’eed [d.409]: Al-Azdee, the imaam and great scholar of Egypt of his time. [Siyar A’laam an-Nubalaa’, 17/268-273]

[6] Al-Haakim [d.405]: Aboo ‘Abdillaah Muhammad ibn Ahmad an-Naysaabooree, the great imaam of the hadeeth scholars of his era, the author of Al-Mustadrak, one of the Saheeh hadeeth compilations.

[7] Abul-‘Abbaas Muhammad ibn Ya’qoob al-Asamm [d.346]: An-Naysaabooree, another highly reliable and respected imaam of hadeeth. [Siyar A’laam an-Nubalaa’ 15/452-460]

[8] ‘Abbaas ibn Muhammad ad-Dooree [d.271]; Abul-Fadhl al-Baghdaadee, a reliable narrator, a famous student of Yahyaa ibn Ma’een. [Taqreeb at-Tah-theeb, p.488]

[9] Aboo ‘Ubayd al-Qaasim ibn Sallaam [d.224]: al-Baghdaadee, the famous and highly-reliable scholar and author. [Taqreeb at-Tah-theeb, p.791]

[10] Moosaa Richardson originally learned this point of benefit from his shaykh, Muhammad ibn ‘Umar Baazmool (may Allaah preserve him), about ten years ago. [as found here]

[*] This article originally included some speech from Jamaal ad-Deen al-Qaasimee in his book, Qawaa’id at-Tahdeeth, as well as some praise for the book attributed to Shaykh Al-Albaanee. After review, al-Qaasimee was found to have honored and promoted people of severe deviation, like Muhyiud-Deen Ibn ‘Arabee, and a number of the Jahmiyyah, after claiming that the heretical sect included a strain of upright adherents! In recent research pinpointing the mistakes of Ibraaheem ar-Ruhaylee, Shaykh ‘Ubayd al-Jaabiree (may Allaah preserve him) stated that al-Qaasimee was “wicked, astray, leading others astray.” [See this (in Arabic).]

13 thoughts on “People of the Sunnah are Humble and Clear About Their Sources

  1. Assalaamu alaikum.
    JazaakaAllaahu khairan wa BaarakAllaahu feek. So beautiful. Being upon the Sunnah, one cannot help but LOVE others who are also upon the Sunnah esp the scholars, the hearts expand with love for them and desire to increase in goodness like them. Allaahu Akbar! Truth and honesty shines from those who adhere to the proofs. May Allaah continue to guide us Ameen.

  2. Assalaamu alaikum brother Moosa,
    You mentioned in reference number 9 that Al-Haakim’s Al-Mustadrak is “…one of the Saheeh hadeeth compilations.”
    Does your statement mean that all ahaadith found in this collections are authentic?

    • wa ‘alaykas-salaamu wa rahmatullaah. Are all hadeeths in al-Mustadrak saheeh (authentic)? Yes, according to the author, with very rare exceptions. However, the scholars have noted a degree of leniency in al-Haakim’s verdicts on his narrations, and declared a number of them to be dha’eef (weak). But this is what a “saheeh” source collection is by definition: a book of hadeeth with their chains, intended to be exclusively authentic by the compiler (except in a minority of cases when the author exempts a narration for a specific benefit), while perfection is for Allaah alone.

  3. السلام عليكم ورحمة الله .. بارك الله فيكم

    A humbling article that clearly shows the sincerity of our salaf, something many of us lack. May Allah make us sincere.

  4. Assalaamu ‘Alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Baarakatuh

    I pray you are blessed wherever you may be.

    Regarding point [10] Copyrights on Translations and Research, Other Matters Related to Intellectual Property Rights in Islam.

    BaarakAllaahu Feeka,

    QUESTION:
    does this mean I or anyone else should NOT copy and paste anything from your site or other salafy site without first asking you or the owner of other sites permission?, although I do not add or take away from the article, I just share the knowledge referring it back to its original source?

    • Wa ‘alaykas-salaamu wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuh…

      Short quotes with references to their sources are generally acceptable. The longer the quote, the more questionable it may become. I don’t know of any fine line between the two. That’s general, and here is our specific copyright policy: https://www.bakkah.net/en/copyright-policy – May Allaah bless you for asking.

  5. Jazak Allahu khairan Akh Moosaa. What about a Da’ee calling himself a “Shaikh”. Is this a sign of lack of humility?

    • When used as a title like ‘Shaykh Fulaan’, then students and daa’ees should not use this for themselves, and it is likely a sign of lack of humility, and Allaah knows best.

  6. May Allaah, The Most Beneficent, Most Merciful aid the brothers and sisters upon the Sunnah and those reading and commenting on the website. May Allaah, The Sublime reward Moosaa for all his efforts and ways in which he has benefited us here in the west and throughout the world. May Allaah confine you (Moosaa) and us upon the Sunnah and keep us steadfast upon the straight path, Ameen.

    Quite a nice little blog upon the Sunnah. May Allaah facilitate a forum upon the Sunnah if our brother and teacher Moosaa would like to build one on the website.

    I hope the class on the Introduction to Ibn Majaahs Sunan resumes soon, Insha’Allaah. A great class for any Muslim, and must for any Salafi.

  7. Assalamu alaikum,

    Does this mean it is obligatory to reference any quotes of the salaf or ahadeeth one forwards to others via social media, email etc? Is one sinful if the hadeeth or quote alone is sent without including reference to the book or website it was taken from?

    Jazak Allahu khayr.

    • Wa ‘alayk as-salaamu wa rahmatullaah. If the quote is accurate, there is no problem. Just don’t expect people to trust you like scholars are trusted in their accuracy. If you are not an established student of knowledge (at least), known for precision in quoting texts, then realize you live in a very loose time of mass heedlessness, when people everywhere are quoting all types of things, and many of them are liars or genuine people who are just terribly erroneous and inaccurate.

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