Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
Archery is an established Sunnah and therefore it is recommended to teach it to children. However, the Hadith stating it is a right of the child is of dubious authenticity.
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْقَاسِمِ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ السَّرَّاجِ , إِمْلَاءً، أنبأ أَبُو الْحَسَنِ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عُبْدُوسٍ الطَّرَائِفِيُّ، أنبأ عُثْمَانُ بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، ثنا يَزِيدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ رَبِّهِ، ثنا بَقِيَّةُ، عَنْ عِيسَى بْنِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ، عَنِ الزُّهْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي سُلَيْمَانَ مَوْلَى أَبِي رَافِعٍ، عَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ، قَالَ: قُلْتُ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ , أَلِلْوَلَدِ عَلَيْنَا حَقٌّ , كَحَقِّنَا عَلَيْهِمْ؟ قَالَ:” نَعَمْ حَقُّ الْوَلَدِ عَلَى الْوَالِدِ أَنْ يُعَلِّمَهُ الْكِتَابَةَ، وَالسِّبَاحَةَ، وَالرَّمْيَ، وَأَنْ يُوَرِّثَهُ طَيِّبًا “، هَذَا حَدِيثٌ ضَعِيفٌ، عِيسَى بْنُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْهَاشِمِيُّ هَذَا مِنْ شُيُوخِ بَقِيَّةَ، مُنْكَرُ الْحَدِيثِ ضَعَّفَهُ يَحْيَى بْنُ مَعِينٍ وَالْبُخَارِيُّ وَغَيْرُهُمَا
Abi Rafi (May Allah Most High be pleased with him) narrated, I said ‘O Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) does a child have a right upon us?’ He (Peace and Blessings be upon Him) said: ‘Yes, the rights of the child over the father include being taught writing, swimming and archery.’ This hadith is weak, Isa bin Ibrahim al-Hashimi is from the Shayookh of Baqiyah, he is Munkar in Hadith. Yahya ibn Ma’in, al-Bukhari and others considered him to be weak. (Imam al-Bayhqai, al-Sunan al-Kubra).
The Hadith above is certainly weak. However, it may be considered very weak since Imam al-Bayhaqi mentioned one of the narrators is Munkar. A number of scholars simply mentioned that the Hadith is weak and did not specify it as being very weak.
وَرَوَى الْبَيْهَقِيُّ بِإِسْنَادٍ ضَعِيفٍ عَنْ أَبِي رَافِعٍ رَفَعَهُ: حَقُّ الْوَلَدِ عَلَى الْوَالِدِ أَنْ يُعَلِّمَهُ الْكِتَابَةَ، وَالسِّبَاحَةَ، وَالرَّمْيَ. (التلخيص الحبير)
(Imam) al-Bayhaqi narrated it with a weak chain from Abi Rafi (May Allah Most High be pleased with him), (raising it to the Prophet ﷺ) ‘The rights of the child over the father include being taught writing, swimming and archery.’ (Ibn Hajr in Talkhees al-Kabir)
وَرَوَى الْبَيْهَقِيُّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي رَافِعٍ «حَقُّ الْوَلَدِ عَلَى الْوَالِدِ أَنْ يُعَلِّمَهُ الْكِتَابَةَ وَالسِّبَاحَةَ وَالرَّمْيَ» وَإِسْنَادُهُ ضَعِيفٌ. (نيل الأوطار)
(Imam) al-Bayhaqi narrated it from Abi Rafi (May Allah Most High be pleased with him): ‘The rights of the child over the father include being taught writing, swimming and archery.’ The chain is weak. (Imam al-Showkani, Nayl al-Owtaar).
In any case. The fact that archery is Sunnah is well established in authentic Hadith. Therefore, it is recommended for one to learn and practice archery and encourage others to do so. This includes one’s children.
And Allah Most High Knows Best.
-Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (23.05.2022)
See also:
Are there any Sahih Hadith about archery?
What do the hadith gradings mean?
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