A grave misconception on the part of Mughaṭṭay – may Allah have mercy on him!

Mughaṭṭay said in Ikmāl Tahdhīb al-Kamāl (6/153) in the biography of “Suhail ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ Dhakwān al-Sammān”: “Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān mentioned him in the second generation of the people of Madīnah, and he said elsewhere: ‘Suhail ibn Dhakwān is weak and his ḥadīth is abandoned.’”

He then mentioned the biography of “Suhail ibn Dhakwān, kunya Abū al-Sindī al-Wāsiṭī,” saying: “He narrated from Ibn al-Zubayr and others. He was accused of lying by ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwām, Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn, and others. He said: ‘I saw ʿĀ’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, in Wāsiṭ and she was dark-skinned.’ We mentioned this for clarification.” End of quote.

I say:

Suhail ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ was mentioned by Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān in al-Maʿrifah wa al-Tārīkh (1/423) in the second generation of the people of Madīnah, as Mughaṭṭay stated.

In the printed edition of Yaʿqūb’s book, it erroneously states “the third generation”! This is a mistake. The correct version, as Mughaṭṭay mentioned, is that Suhail was from the second generation of the Tābiʿīn of Madīnah, while his father was from the first generation of the Tābiʿīn of Madīnah.

Mughaṭṭay fell into a serious error when he claimed that Yaʿqūb said elsewhere: “Suhail ibn Dhakwān is weak and his ḥadīth is abandoned!”

This statement was actually said by Yaʿqūb regarding “Suhail ibn Dhakwān al-Wāsiṭī,” whom Mughaṭṭay mentioned for distinction after discussing Suhail ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ.

Yaʿqūb said (3/140): “Suhail ibn Dhakwān: weak, his ḥadīth abandoned. Yezīd ibn Hārūn narrates from him, and Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd criticized Yezīd’s narration from him.”

So Yaʿqūb’s statement refers to al-Wāsiṭī, not Suhail of Madīnah, even though they are from the same generation.

This al-Wāsiṭī Suhail was narrated from by Hushaym ibn Bashīr al-Wāsiṭī (d. 183 AH) and Yezīd ibn Hārūn al-Wāsiṭī (d. 204 AH), and they did not narrate from Suhail ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ!

The weak and abandoned one mentioned by Yaʿqūb is this al-Wāsiṭī, who was a liar, claiming to have seen ʿĀ’ishah in Wāsiṭ!

ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwām said: “We used to accuse him of lying.”

He said: “I asked him: Describe ʿĀ’ishah to me. He said: She was dark-skinned.”

In another narration: ʿAbbād said: “We asked Suhail ibn Dhakwān: Did you see ʿĀ’ishah? He said: Yes. Describe her to us. He said: She was black.”

May Allah darken his face! ʿĀ’ishah was fair, with a reddish complexion.

Ibn al-Madīnī said: Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Wāsiṭī told us from Suhail ibn Dhakwān: “I met ʿĀ’ishah in Wāsiṭ.”

Ibn Ḥajar commented: “This is how lies occur; ʿĀ’ishah had died before al-Ḥajjāj founded the city of Wāsiṭ.”

He also claimed to have witnessed ʿAbdallāh ibn al-Zubayr cutting a grave robber!

And when asked: “Did you see Ibrāhīm al-Nakhʿī?” he said: “Yes, he had large eyes!”

This is false, as Ibrāhīm al-Nakhʿī was one-eyed.

Do not confuse him with the Madinan Suhail

Some scholars warned that he should not be confused with ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ.

Al-Bukhārī said in al-Tārīkh al-Awsaṭ (2/102): “Suhail ibn Dhakwān – not ibn Abī Ṣāliḥ al-Sammān – al-Makkī.”

An-Nasā’ī said in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ: “Suhail ibn Dhakwān – not al-Sammān – his ḥadīth is abandoned.”

Was Ibn Ḥajar mistaken?!

Ibn Ḥajar said in Lisān al-Mīzān (4/211): “Ibn Ḥibbān mentioned him in al-Thiqāt, but he called him Sahl with a sukun on the hā’.”

I could not find anyone named “Sahl” in any generation of narrators in Ibn Ḥibbān’s al-Thiqāt.

Perhaps it appears in some manuscripts that Ibn Ḥajar consulted of Ibn Ḥibbān’s book, Allah knows best.

Ibn Ḥibbān correctly mentioned him in al-Ḍuʿafāʾ: “Suhail ibn Dhakwān al-Makkī: lived in al-Baṣrah, kunya Abū al-Sindī, and it was also said Abū ʿAmr. He narrated from ʿĀ’ishah and Ibn al-Zubayr. He was narrated from by ʿAbbād ibn al-ʿAwām and Hushaym. He claimed to have narrated from shaykhs he had not seen, and he used to say: ‘ʿĀ’ishah narrated to us,’ and he said she was dark-skinned.”

Written by: Khālid al-Ḥāyik