Benefit and Discussion!

Ibn Qutaybah (d. 276 AH) said in his book al-Maʿārif [Ṭabʿ al-Maʿārif] (p. 592) under the title: “Two brothers differing in age”:

“Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah, from whom ḥadīth is transmitted, had a brother, ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah, who was sixty years older than him, and Mūsā narrated from his brother.”

This is how it appears in the printed edition: “sixty”! But in some books that transmitted from Ibn Qutaybah, it is “eighty”!

Mughaltāy said in Ikmāl Tahdhīb al-Kamāl (8/51) in the biography of ʿAbdallāh:

“Ibn Qutaybah said: ‘Between Mūsā and his brother ʿAbdallāh—meaning in birth—was eighty years.’ Abū Yūsuf added in his book Laṭā’if al-Maʿārif: ‘And none is known like him.’”

[Abū Yūsuf here is the judge al-Madā’ini, whose name was altered to Ibn Yūsuf.]

Ibn Ḥajar said in Tahdhīb al-Tahdhīb (5/310):

“Ibn Qutaybah said in al-Maʿārif: ‘Between Mūsā and his brother ʿAbdallāh in birth was eighty years.’ I say: and there is no parallel to them in that.”

It appears that Ibn Ḥajar transmitted this from Mughaltāy, as was his habit of adding much to al-Mizzī, for most of these additions come from Mughaltāy. His last statement is what Mughaltāy transmitted from Ibn Yūsuf in addition to Ibn Qutaybah.

Abū Bakr al-Ḥāzimī said: “Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah al-Rabdhī narrated from his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah, and between them in age were eighty years.” [Tahdhīb al-Kamāl (29/106)].

Al-Bazzār (d. 292 AH) said in his Musnad (4/181): “Between Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah and his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah were eighty-two years; ʿAbdallāh was the elder.”

This supports what Mughaltāy and Ibn Ḥajar transmitted, so what appears in the printed edition of Ibn Qutaybah’s book is distorted. The correct number is eighty.

Perhaps al-Bazzār derived this from Ibn Qutaybah’s statement, though he said eighty-two, while Ibn Qutaybah said eighty—and Allah knows best.

Which brother had the eighty-year gap?

This ʿAbdallāh transmitted from some of the Companions such as ʿAlī, Jābir, and others, but it is not established that he actually heard from them! The stronger view is that he may have met some Companions, but there is no proof he heard directly from any of them. He was, may Allah have mercy on him, killed by the Ḥarūrīyah at Qudayd in 130 AH.

His brother, Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah al-Rabdhī, was an ascetic worshipper, but he did not take care with his ḥadīth, so he confused narrations. He had a grossly mistaken understanding, transmitted weak reports even from trustworthy people, and scholars considered him weak. His ḥadīth is not to be relied upon. He passed away in 153 AH.

I say: How could Mūsā have narrated from his brother ʿAbdallāh if they were eighty years apart? This makes it impossible that he actually heard from him!

If we examine the generation of Mūsā’s teachers, most of them died before 120 AH. So ʿAbdallāh would have belonged to a later generation relative to Mūsā’s teachers, which indicates it is impossible for there to have been an eighty-year gap in birth between them.

Then I found that Ibn Mākūlā said in al-Ikmāl (6/46) after mentioning ʿAbdallāh: “And his brother Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah heard from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir, narrated from him: his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah. It was said that Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah was eighty years older than Mūsā.”

Ibn Mākūlā thus made it so that the one eighty years apart from Mūsā was his other brother, Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah. Mūsā did not narrate from him; rather, he narrated from his brother ʿAbdallāh. This is closer to the truth. Between Mūsā and Muḥammad was eighty years, and Mūsā met him but did not hear from him. The one he heard from was ʿAbdallāh.

I then found Ibn Mākūlā’s source for this: al-Khaṭīb al-Baghdādī said in Takhliṣ al-Mutashābih fī al-Rasm (1/100): I read in the book of ʿUbaydallāh ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Furāt, who heard it from al-ʿAbbās ibn al-ʿAbbās ibn al-Mughīrah al-Jawharī, from Muḥammad ibn Yūnus al-Kudaymī: “Between Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah and Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah al-Rabdhī were eighty years; Muḥammad was eighty years older than Mūsā.”

Al-Kudaymī was a weak Basran transmitter, and his reliability is questioned, though scholars transmit some benefits from him regarding deaths and other matters. He died in 286 AH, ten years after Ibn Qutaybah, so Ibn Qutaybah’s statement predates him.

Al-Khaṭīb mentioned al-Kudaymī in the biography of Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah in Takhliṣ al-Mutashābih fī al-Rasm (1/100): “Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah ibn Nashīṭ ibn ʿUbayd ibn al-Ḥārith al-Rabdhī, a freedman of Banī ʿĀmir, was the brother of ʿAbdallāh and Mūsā. He heard ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir al-Juhānī, narrated from him: his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah.”

Then he transmitted from the path of Abū Ḥafṣ ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī al-Falās, from Abū ʿĀṣim al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Makhlad, from Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah, who said: “ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah told me that Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah said: I heard ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: {And prepare for them all you can of power} [al-Anfāl: 60]. He said: ‘Power means archery.’”

Ibn ʿAdī transmitted it in the biography of ʿAbdallāh from al-Kāmil (6/374) (9850) via Makkī ibn Ibrāhīm: “Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah narrated from his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah, from his brother Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah, from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir, from the Prophet ﷺ regarding the verse: {And prepare for them all you can of power}. He said: ‘Power is archery.’”

Then he transmitted it via Abū Qatādah al-Ḥarrānī from ʿAbdallāh ibn Wāqid: “Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah narrated from his brother Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah, from his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah, from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir: The Prophet ﷺ said: {And prepare for them all you can of power}. Power means archery.”

Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in al-ʿIlal (4/637) (1696): “My father said: And he mentioned a ḥadīth narrated by Bakkār ibn ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah al-Rabdhī from his uncle Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah, from his brother Muḥammad, from his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah: I heard ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir say about the Prophet ﷺ: {And prepare for them all you can of power}: that is, power is archery.”

My father said: “This ḥadīth is transmitted from ʿUqbah, from the Prophet ﷺ. I do not know this isnād, and I do not think ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah met ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir, yet he narrates from Sahl ibn Saʿd. I do not know whether he actually met him or not.”

I say: It seems he reversed the chain to Abū Qatādah al-Ḥarrānī, who could have erred, and to Bakkār ibn ʿAbdallāh, who was weak! So they made it: “From Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah, from ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah.”

And the correct version is what was narrated by Abū ʿĀṣim and Makkī: “From ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah, from Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah.”

It seems that Abū Ḥātim – may Allah have mercy on him – did not fully investigate the narrations of the ḥadīth, and so he commented based on the narration of Bakkār, which contains errors!

The same happened with Ibn Ḥibbān, who said in al-Thiqāt (7/411) (10655): “Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah al-Ribdhī: he narrates from his brother ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿUbaydah, from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir. His brother Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah al-Ribdhī narrated from him.”

Chain study of the archery ḥadīth

In summary, the statement of Ibn Qutaybah and those who followed him that there were eighty years between Mūsā and ʿAbdallāh is questionable.

The closer view is that the eighty-year difference was between Mūsā and his other brother Muḥammad, and that Mūsā did not directly hear from him, but rather narrated from him via his brother ʿAbdallāh. And Allah knows best.

The previous ḥadīth is from the authentic ḥadīth of Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah, as it is well-known from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir.

It was narrated by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ (3/1522) (1917): Hārūn ibn Maʿrūf said: Ibn Wahb told us, who said: ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith told me from Abū ʿAlī Thumāmah ibn Shufayy that he heard ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir say: “I heard the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, while he was on the minbar, say: ‘And prepare for them whatever you are able of power’ [al-Anfāl: 60]. Know that the power is archery. Know that the power is archery. Know that the power is archery.”

Scholars agreed that Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah should not be used as evidence due to the many mistakes in his narrations. He was devoted to worship, and thus mixed in his ḥadīth, often transmitting anomalous reports. However, Shuʿbah did narrate from him, and when Aḥmad was asked about Shuʿbah’s narration from him, he said that Shuʿbah did not transmit anything objectionable from him.

Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān said in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (2/169): Al-Faḍl ibn Ziyād told me that he heard Abū ʿAbdallāh, and Abū Jaʿfar asked him: “Who do you prefer, Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah or Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq?” He replied: “No, Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq.” I asked: “Did Shuʿbah narrate from Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah?” He said: “Yes.”

Abū Jaʿfar said: “Shuʿbah narrates from Abū ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Ribdhī.” He said: “Yes, Shuʿbah did not narrate from him any objectionable ḥadīth.” Abū Jaʿfar asked: “Did al-Thawrī also narrate from him?” He said: “Yes.”

Ibrāhīm ibn Yaʿqūb al-Saʿdī al-Jawzjānī narrated this story in Aḥwāl al-Rijāl (p. 215): He said he heard Aḥmad say: “Narration from Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah is not permissible.” He was asked, “O Abū ʿAbdallāh, why not?” He replied: “In my opinion.” I said to Aḥmad: “But Sufyān and Shuʿbah narrated from Mūsā.” He said: “If it were clear to Shuʿbah, it would not be clear to others to narrate from him.”

Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrated this story from al-Jawzjānī in al-Jarḥ wa al-Taʿdīl (8/152).

This indicates that Shuʿbah did not know Mūsā’s condition and thus narrated from him. Had he known, he would not have narrated. The story from Yaʿqūb about al-Faḍl shows that Shuʿbah knew his condition, so he only transmitted narrations that were not objectionable. Hence Aḥmad said Shuʿbah did not narrate any objectionable ḥadīth from him.

There seems to be a contradiction, but it can be reconciled: al-Jawzjānī may have narrated Aḥmad’s words according to his understanding, or he narrated part of it, and al-Faḍl narrated another part. Together it forms: “If it were clear to Shuʿbah, it would not be clear to others,” yet “Shuʿbah did not narrate any objectionable ḥadīth from him.”

If we weigh between the two reports, we follow no one over al-Faḍl ibn Ziyād al-Qaṭṭān al-Baghdādī.

Following Shuʿbah’s narrations from him, only two ḥadīths are found in the available books:

First: Narrated by Ibn Abī Khaythmah in Tārīkh (1/151) (323) from ʿAmr ibn Marzūq. Also narrated by al-Shāshī in Musnad (1/220) (182) from Abū Bakr ibn Abī Khaythmah.

Narrated by al-Ṭaḥāwī in Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār (3/126) (4781) from Muḥammad ibn Khuzaymah, from ʿAmr ibn Marzūq.

Narrated by al-Bazzār in Musnad (4/59) (1225) from Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā, from Abī Dāwūd al-Ṭayālisī.

All of them from Shuʿbah: “I heard Abū ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Ribdhī narrate from ʿUmar ibn al-Ḥakam from Saʿd, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘A prayer in my mosque is better than a thousand prayers elsewhere, except the Masjid al-Ḥarām.’”

Al-Bazzār said: “We do not know anyone who narrated this from ʿUmar ibn al-Ḥakam from Saʿd except Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah.”

Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrated in al-Marāṣil (p. 138) (498) from ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī al-Fallās that he heard Yaḥyā (ibn Saʿīd) mention the ḥadīth of Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah from ʿUmar ibn al-Ḥakam and criticized that ʿUmar could have heard from Saʿd.

Second: Narrated by Ghundar (as al-Daraqṭnī mentioned in his notes on Ibn Ḥibbān’s al-Majrūḥīn, p. 226) and by al-Ṭabarānī in al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ (2/228) (1822) via ʿAffān ibn Muslim. Narrated by al-Khaṭīb in Talkhīṣ al-Mutashābih fī al-Rasm (2/822) via ʿAmr ibn Marzūq al-Bāhilī.

All three from Shuʿbah: “I heard Abū ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz narrate from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Saʿīd al-Khudrī from his father that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘If one of you prays and someone passes in front of him where there is nothing covering him, he should prevent him; if he refuses, he should fight him.’”

Al-Ṭabarānī said: “The Abū ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz from whom Shuʿbah narrates this ḥadīth is Mūsā ibn ʿUbaydah al-Ribdhī.”

I say: This ḥadīth is well-known from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Saʿīd from his father, narrated by Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/362) via Mālik from Zayd ibn Aslam from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī Saʿīd. It also appears in al-Muwaṭṭaʾ and was narrated by others via Zayd ibn Aslam.

This does not mean Shuʿbah only narrated this ḥadīth from Mūsā; rather, he focused more on jarḥ wa taʿdīl than on transmission and avoided narrating the objectionable ḥadīths Mūsā transmitted. Shuʿbah only selected narrations that were not objectionable, meaning the text was sound and not unique to him.

Thus, as Aḥmad indicated, the narrations Shuʿbah transmitted from Mūsā were not objectionable. The ḥadīth he transmitted from his brother about his other brother is not objectionable and is known from ʿUqbah ibn ʿĀmir. It can be understood that Muḥammad ibn ʿUbaydah heard this ḥadīth from ʿUqbah and narrated it via an intermediary. This supports that the eighty-year gap was between Mūsā and Muḥammad, not between Mūsā and ʿAbdallāh. And Allah knows best.

Written by: Dr. Khālid al-Ḥāyik
20 Dhul-Ḥijjah 1441 AH