. JI ದ : ; (cont.)

5 If the narrator were a great scholar of baditb and known for bis many different narrations of hadith, one would conclude that he must have heard the hadith in more than one fashion and passed it on in more than one way. In this case, though, neither of these two narrators are of that quality. Instead, they are known for committing many mistakes. Therefore, when they narrate the same haditb in different ways, it is taken as a sign that this is one of the haditb that they are making a mistake in. 6 Abu Nuaim Ahmad al-Isbahaani, Hilyat al-Auliyaa wa Tabaqaat al-Asfiyaa (Matbaab al­ Saadah, 1979), vol. 8, pp. 41-42. Hadith #31 : "Be Aloof from the World . . . " In Silsilat al-Ahadeeth al-Saheeha, al-Albaani mentions yet another chain for this hadith. 1 This chain is from Tareekh Dimishq by ibn Asakeer. It is the following: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Alas from lsmaaeel ibn Abdullah ibn Abu Uwais who said, "Narrated to us on the authority of Malik2 from Nafi from ibn Umar." All al-Albani had to say about this chain is, "The narrators in this chain are narrators from al-Bukhari and Muslim, except for ibn al-Alas as I do not know him."3 Therefore, this chain contains a completely unknown narrator in Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Alas.4 That in itself makes this another weak chain. However, there is something much more damaging in this chain that al­ Albaani did not mention. It is not sufficient to say that Ismaaeel ibn Abdullah ibn Abu Uwais, who was Imam Malik's nephew, may be found in either Sahih al-Bukhari or Sahih Muslim. This does not mean that all of his narrations from any narrator are necessarily acceptable. Some scholars of hadith, such as Yahya ibn Maeen, declared him to be weak. In fact, al-Nasaai abandoned him completely. However, the most compelling point is what ibn Adi concluded about him, "He narrated from his uncle Malik strange hadith that no one else corroborates."5 The hadith under question here is one of his narrations from Imam Malik concerning which no one else seems to have narrated from Imam Malik. Hence, this chain contains a completely unknown narrator as well as a narrator who, in this particular case, cannot be considered acceptable. The conclusion is that the strongest chain for this hadith is that of Abu Nuaim, wherein the chain is broken between Mujaahid and the Prophet (peace be upon him). Hence, it must be considered a weak hadith. Al-Hilaali also concluded that this hadith is weak.6 It seems that ibn Hajr did not accept the idea of calling this hadith hasan.7 Al-Husaini stated that "it is said that it is very weak but the correct opinion is that it has weakness."8 Ibn Muhammad called it munkar ("rejected"), which is a very weak type of weak hadith.9 Ibn Muhammad's judgment must be considered an overstatement as the worse that can be said about this hadith is that it is a hadith with a broken chain. 1 It is very strange that ibn Muhammad mentions al-Albaani's discussion as a reference yet he does not discuss or mention this upcoming chain at all. 2 This is the way that al-Albaani reproduced this chain. Unfortunately, ibn Asakeer's work is not available to this author. The way the chain is reproduced in al-Albaani's work, if it is not a misprint, casts some doubt as to whom lsmaaeel received this hadith from. This would cast further doubt upon this chain. 3 Al-Albaani, Silsilat al-Ahadeeth al-Saheeha, vol. 2, p. 663. 4 This author also could not find his biography in any of the standard works. 5 For more details about him, see al-Mizi, vol. 3, pp. 1 24-129. 6 Al-Hilaali, Eeqaadh, p. 4 1 8. 7 See the statement by al-Sakhaawi, ibn Hajr's student, in al-Sakhaawi, p. 1 06. 8 Muhammad al-Husaini al-Taraabilisi, Al-Kash/ al-Ilaahi an Shadeed al-Dhafwa al-Maudhu wa al-Waahi (Makkah: Maktaba al-Taalib al-Jaamiee, 1 987), vol. l , p. 9 1 . 9 lbn Muhammad, p. 1 83. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi General Comments About the Hadith This hadith is a weak hadith. Therefore, it will not be discussed in detail. However, a few points concerning the correct understanding of zuhd ("Islamic asceticism") are in order. First, zuhd does not imply abandoning this world and not working for one's needs in this world. The early scholar Abu Idrees al-Khaulaani said, "Zuhd in this world does not mean forbidding what is permissible or wasting wealth. Zuhd with respect to this world is only where a person puts more trust in what is with Allah than what is in his own hand. If he is afflicted with a calamity [by losing something of this world], he is more hopeful for its reward and what is stored for him in the Hereafter than if it were to have remained with him."1 Two important concepts are mentioned in this statement and both of them are dealing with the actions of the heart.