It is not permitted to quote this Hadith or forward it until it is verified.

This Hadith with this wording is not found in any authentic, well-known book of Hadith. The person who wrote this Hadith in the article should have referenced it correctly and thoroughly to an original book of Hadith. It is wrong for them to not have done so. Some contemporary Hadith scholars have mentioned that this Hadith is baseless and cannot be found in any authentic book of Hadith.

It is important for us to realise when a Hadith is forwarded to us, we should go back to the person who has forwarded it if there’s no clear referencing and ask them to provide referencing. It is fine and correct to ask people of knowledge regarding the Hadith, but it is also important to go back to the person who forwarded it. Unless we do so, then people will continue forward dubious Hadith without any thought with regards to authenticity. However, if we do question them and challenge them then this error will slowly but surely be eradicated. If we do not question and challenge people who are forwarding dubious Hadith, then people will not learn and understand the importance of verifying the words of our beloved Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

With regards to referencing a Hadith, a couple of points are very important. Firstly, Hadtih should be referenced back to original sources, meaning a Hadith book that generally has the chains of narration, not secondary or tertiary books that are narrating from those original sources. Secondly, the original source must be a well-known book from a well-known author. These two criteria must be established even before any consideration is given to the Sanad (chain of narration) mentioned.

The onus of referencing hadith and proving its validity is upon the person narrating it.

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: كَفَى بِالْمَرْءِ كَذِبًا أَنْ يُحَدِّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ

“Abu Hurairah said that the Prophet ﷺ said: it is enough of a lie for a person to narrate everything that he hears.” – Sahih Muslim, Chapter 3, Prohibition of Narrating Everything One Hears

Commenting on the hadith in Sahih Muslim, Imam Nawawi said:

قَالَ الْعُلَمَاءُ يَنْبَغِي لِمَنْ أَرَادَ رِوَايَةِ حَدِيثٍ أَوْ ذَكَرَهُ أَنْ يَنْظُرَ فَإِنْ كَانَ صَحِيحًا أَوْ حَسَنًا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَذَا أَوْ فَعَلَهُ أَوْ نَحْوَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ صِيَغِ الْجَزْمِ وَإِنْ كَانَ ضَعِيفًا فَلَا يَقُلْ قَالَ أَوْ فَعَلَ أَوْ أَمَرَ أَوْ نَهَى وَشِبْهَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ صِيَغِ الْجَزْمِ بَلْ يَقُولُ رُوِيَ عَنْهُ كَذَا أَوْ جَاءَ عَنْهُ كَذَا أَوْ يُرْوَى أَوْ يُذْكَرُ أَوْ يُحْكَى أَوْ يقال أوبلغنا وَمَا أَشْبَهَهُ وَاللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ أَعْلَمُ

“The Ulema have said that a person who wants to narrate a Hadith or mention a Hadith must look into it. If it is Sahih or Hasan, then he narrates it by saying the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said such and such or done such and such or the like of it using words of certainty. And if the Hadith is weak, then he is not to say (the Prophet ﷺ ) said or done or commanded or prohibited or the like of that using words of certainty, rather he is to say it has been narrated regarding (the Prophet ﷺ ) or it has been mentioned regarding (the Prophet ﷺ ) or it is narrated or it is mentioned or it is said or it has reached us or the like of it. And Allah knows best.” – Al-Nawawi, Sharh Muslim, Vol. 1, pg. 71

Imam Ali al-Qari also commented on this hadith saying:

بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ) : يَعْنِي: لَوْ لَمْ يَكُنْ لِلْمَرْءِ كَذِبٌ إِلَّا تَحْدِيثُهُ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَيَقُّنٍ أَنَّهُ صِدْقٌ أَمْ كَذِبٌ، لَكَفَاهُ مِنَ الْكَذِبِ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ بَرِيئًا مِنْهُ، وَهَذَا زَجْرٌ عَنِ التَّحْدِيثِ بِشَيْءٍ لَمْ يُعْلَمْ صِدْقُهُ، بَلْ عَلَى الرَّجُلِ أَنْ يَبْحَثَ فِي كُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ خُصُوصًا فِي أَحَادِيثِ النَّبِيِّ – صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

“If a person told no lie other than narrating everything he hears without verifying whether it is true or false then that is sufficient a lie for him to be guilty of it (of lying). This is a warning against narrating something that is not known to be true, rather it is incumbent upon a person to research what he hears, especially regarding Hadith of the Prophet ﷺ.” – Ali al-Qari, Mirqaat al-Mafaateeh, Vol. 1, pg. 240

– Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen (05.01.2021)

See also:

Narrating Hadith Without Reference