Is Kitab al-Fitan by Nu’aym bin Hammad reliable?

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind

Short Answer

Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad was differed over as a narrator. It is correct to consider him weak. Some Imams of Hadith accused him of fabrication. As for his book Kitab al-Fitan, it is known to have an abundance of rejected narrations. Therefore, it should not be used as a primary source.

Explanation

مَنْ حَدَّثَ عَنِّي بِحَدِيثٍ يُرَى أَنَّهُ كَذِبٌ، فَهُوَ أَحَدُ الْكَاذِبِينَ

The Prophet ﷺ said: Whoever narrates a Hadith about me, which is deemed a fabrication, is one of the liars. (Sahih Muslim, Muqadimah).

 

Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad has many fabrications in his book Kitab al-Fitan. This is obviously concerning. However, it is certainly not unique to him. Rather you will find senior Imams of Ahl al-Sunnah with fabrications in their works. The issue regarding Imam Nu’aym is that some Hadith authorities accused him of fabricating them himself.

 

Caution with Hadith

In the Hadith above, there is a serious warning for those who do not take care with Hadith narrations. The blessed Prophet ﷺ considered such people to be amongst the liars. Imam Ali al-Qari provided an explanation in the following Nass (text).

قَالَ الْأَشْرَفُ: سَمَّاهُ كَاذِبًا لِأَنَّهُ يُعِينُ الْمُفْتَرِيَ وَيُشَارِكُهُ بِسَبَبِ إِشَاعَتِهِ، فَهُوَ كَمَنْ أَعَانَ ظَالِمًا عَلَى ظُلْمِهِ. (مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح)

Al-Ashraf said: He ﷺ called him a liar because he aids the fabricator and participates with him because he spreads it (the lie). It is like someone who helps an oppressor in his tyranny. (Imam Ali al-Qari 1014H, Mirqaat al-Mafateeh).

 

People are obliged to question and oppose a tyrant for his tyranny. It is not acceptable to submit to his authority. Likewise, scholars are obliged to oppose dubious Hadith narrations. They cannot simply assume that the one narrating is trustworthy and thus submit to his authority.

 

Vast difference

نعيم بن حَمَّاد يروي عَن ابْن الْمُبَارك وَثَّقَهُ أَحْمد وَوَثَّقَهُ يحيى فِي رِوَايَة وَقَالَ مرّة يشبه لَهُ فيروي مَا لَيْسَ لَهُ أصل وَقَالَ النَّسَائِيّ لَيْسَ بِثِقَة وَقَالَ الدراقطني كثير الْوَهم وَقَالَ أَبُو الْفَتْح الْأَزْدِيّ قَالُوا كَانَ يضع الحَدِيث فِي تَقْوِيَة السّنة وحكايات مزورة فِي ثلب أبي حنيفَة كلهَا كذب وَكَذَلِكَ ذكر ابْن عدي. (الضعفاء والمتروكون)

Nu’aym bin Hammad narrates from Ibn al-Mubarak. Ahmad considered him reliable. And Yahya authenticated him in one narration. Another time he said, he becomes confused so narrates that which has no basis. Al-Nasa’i said: he is not trustworthy. Al-Daraqutni said: he often forgets. Abu Al-Fath Al-Azdi said: They said that he used to fabricate Hadith narrations to strengthen the Sunnah and fabricated stories to slander Abu Hanifah, all of which were lies. Ibn Adi also mentioned this. (Imam Abd al-Rahman Ibn al-Jowzi 597H, al-Dua’faa wal Matrukeen).

 

In the Nass (text) above we see an extreme difference of opinion regarding Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad. With Imam Ahmad considering him to be a reliable narrator. But Imam al-Azdi and Ibn Adi linking Hadith fabrication to him. In between these views, we see the likes of Imam al-Nasai considering him weak.

 

Narrated in Bukhari and Muslim

People can raise a strong contention against anyone who considers Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad weak or a fabricator. Namely, he is found in Bukhari and Muslim. If he was weak or a fabricator, then why is he in these works? Imam Ibn Hajr raised this in his commentary on Sahih al-Bukhari.

 

نعيم بن حَمَّاد الْخُزَاعِيّ الْمروزِي نزيل مصر مَشْهُور من الْحفاظ الْكِبَار لقِيه البُخَارِيّ وَلكنه لم يخرج عَنهُ فِي الصَّحِيح سوى مَوضِع أَو موضِعين وعلق لَهُ أَشْيَاء أخر وروى لَهُ مُسلم فِي الْمُقدمَة موضعا وَاحِدًا وَأَصْحَاب السّنَن إِلَّا النَّسَائِيّ وَكَانَ أَحْمد يوثقه وَقَالَ معِين كَانَ من أهل الصدْق إِلَّا أَنه يتَوَهَّم الشَّيْء فيخطئ فِيهِ وَقَالَ الْعجلِيّ ثِقَة وَقَالَ أَبُو حَاتِم صَدُوق وَقَالَ النَّسَائِيّ ضَعِيف وَنسبه أَبُو بشر الدولابي إِلَى الْوَضع وَتعقب ذَلِك بن عدي بِأَن الدولابي كَانَ متعصبا عَلَيْهِ لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ شَدِيدا على أهل الرَّأْي وَهَذَا هُوَ الصَّوَاب وَالله أعلم. (فتح الباري شرح صحيح البخاري)

Nu’aym bin Hammad al-Khuza’i al-Marwazi, was a resident of Egypt. He was well-known and was among the great Hadith scholars. Al-Bukhari met him, but he did not narrate from him in al-Sahih except in one or two places. He also had Mualaq narrations from him. Muslim narrated from him in the introduction in one place. And the authors of the Sunnan, except for al-Nasa’i.

Ahmad used to consider him trustworthy. Ma’in said: He was from the people of truthfulness, except that he would misremember something and make a mistake in it. Al-‘Ijli said: He is trustworthy. Abu Hatim said: He is truthful.

Al-Nasa’i said: He is weak. And Abu Bishr al-Dulabi connected him to fabrication. However, Ibn ‘Adi refuted that, saying that al-Dulabi was biased against him. Since he was harsh against Ahl al-Rai. And this is correct. And Allah knows best. (Imam Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani 852H, Fath al-Bari).

 

Imam Bukhari only narrated from Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad a couple of times. Some Hadith scholars clarified that it was only done when there were other chains corroborating. Thus, he is not necessarily one of the reliable narrators from Sahih al-Bukhari.

As for Imam Muslim, he only narrated from him in his introduction. Again, indicating that he is not heavily relied upon. Thus, the argument that Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad is reliable due to his presence in Bukhari and Muslim is somewhat flawed.

 

A Fabricator? 

In the above Nass, Imam Ibn Hajr explains that Imam al-Dulabi considering Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad a fabricator must be questioned. Due to an assumed bias. However, there were other scholars who also linked him to Hadith fabrication. So even if we ignore what Imam al-Dulabi said, the accusation will persist.

نعيم بن حماد الخزاعي: وثقه أحمد، وجماعة، وقال النسائي وغيره: ليس بثقة، وقال الأزدي: قالوا: كان يضع الحديث، وقال أبو داود: عنده نحو من عشرين حديثاً ليس لها أصل، وقال الدارقطني: كثير الوهم. (ديوان الضعفاء والمتروكين وخلق من المجهولين وثقات فيهم لين)

Nu’aym bin Hammad al-Khuza’i. Ahmad and a group deemed him reliable. Al-Nasa’i and others said: He is not trustworthy. Al-Azdi said: They said he used to fabricate Hadith. Abu Dawud said: He has about twenty narrations that have no basis. Al-Daraqutni said: He forgets often. (Imam Shams al-Deen al-Dhahabi 748H, Diwan al-Du’afaa).

 

Bias towards Imam Nu’aym  

Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali provided an explanation for the vast difference of opinion regarding the reliability of Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad. He said that they were bias in his favour due to his opposition to the  people of Bidah (Innovation). However, some of them came to learn of the extent of his false attributions and then had no choice but to declare him a problematic narrator.

تَصْحِيحُ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ بَعِيدٌ جِدًّا مِنْ وُجُوهٍ، مِنْهَا: أَنَّهُ حَدِيثٌ يَتَفَرَّدُ بِهِ نُعَيْمُ بْنُ حَمَّادٍ الْمَرْوَزِيُّ، وَنُعَيْمٌ هَذَا وَإِنْ كَانَ وَثَّقَهُ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ، وَخَرَّجَ لَهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ، فَإِنَّ أَئِمَّةَ الْحَدِيثِ كَانُوا يُحْسِنُونَ بِهِ الظَّنَّ، لِصَلَابَتِهِ فِي السُّنَّةِ، وَتَشَدُّدِهِ فِي الرَّدِّ عَلَى أَهْلِ الْأَهْوَاءِ، وَكَانُوا يَنْسُبُونَهُ إِلَى أَنَّهُ يُهِمُ، وَيُشَبَّهُ عَلَيْهِ فِي بَعْضِ الْأَحَادِيثِ، فَلَمَّا كَثُرَ عُثُورُهُمْ عَلَى مَنَاكِيرِهِ، حَكَمُوا عَلَيْهِ بِالضَّعْفِ. (شرح ابن رجب للأربعين النووية)

The authenticating of this Hadith is farfetched from several aspects. Among them, it is a Hadith that is unique to Nu’aym bin Hammad al-Marwazi. A group of Imams deemed him reliable, and al-Bukhari narrated from him, the Imams of Hadith held him in high regard, due to his firmness upon the Sunnah. And his strength in refuting the people of desires (innovators). They used to attribute forgetfulness to him and mixing up some Hadith. But when they found an abundance of rejected narrations coming from him, they judged him to be weak. (Imam Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali 795H, Sharh Arba’een).

If he is alone

Imam al-Dhahabi advised that Imam Nu’aym’s narrations should not be accepted, unless others have narrated the same Hadith. This was due to the considerable doubt regarding his reliability as a narrator. Many others took this position too. They had a particular concern with his book, Kitab al-Fitan.

قَالَ الحَافِظُ أَبُو عَلِيٍّ النَّيْسَابُوْرِيُّ: سَمِعْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ اللهِ النَّسَائِيَّ يَذْكُرُ فَضْلَ نُعَيْمِ بنِ حَمَّادٍ، وَتَقَدُّمَهُ فِي العِلْمِ وَالمَعْرِفَةِ وَالسُّنَنِ، ثُمَّ قِيْلَ لَهُ فِي قَبُولِ حَدِيْثِهِ، فَقَالَ: قَدْ كَثُرَ تَفَرُّدُهُ عَنِ الأَئِمَّةِ المَعْرُوْفِيْنَ بِأَحَادِيْثَ كَثِيْرَةٍ، فَصَارَ فِي حَدِّ مَنْ لاَ يُحْتَجُّ بِهِ. وَذَكَرَهُ ابْنُ حِبَّانَ فِي (الثِّقَاتِ)، وَقَالَ: رُبَّمَا أَخْطَأَ، وَوَهِمَ. قُلْتُ: لاَ يَجُوْزُ لأَحَدٍ أَنْ يَحْتَجَّ بِهِ، وَقَدْ صَنَّفَ كِتَابَ (الفِتَنِ)، فَأَتَى فِيْهِ بِعَجَائِبَ وَمَنَاكِيْرَ. (سير أعلام النبلاء)

Al-Hafiz Abu Ali al-Naysaburi said: I heard Aba Abdullah al-Nasa’i mentioning the excellence of Nu’aym bin Hammad, his leadership in knowledge, understanding and Sunnah. Then he was asked about the acceptance of his Hadith narrations. So, he said: He is alone in narrating many Hadith from well-known Imams. Therefore, he has become one of those who cannot be relied upon. (Imam Shams al-Deen al-Dhahabi 748H, Siyar Alam al-Nubalaa).

Especially signs

Early Imams of Hadith clearly differed regarding Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad. However, it seems the later scholars of verification were closer to agreement. They appear to converge upon warning against the narrations of the Imam. Therefore, the settled upon opinion is that the narrations of Imam Nu’aym are dubious.

وقال مسلمة بن قاسم كان صدوقا وهو كثير الخطأ وله أحاديث منكرة في الملاحم انفرد بها. (تهذيب التهذيب)

Maslamah bin Qasim said: He was truthful, but he made many mistakes. He has extremely dubious (Munkar) narrations about the great battles. He was alone in narrating them. (Imam Ibn Hajr al-Asqalani 852, Tadheeb al-Tadheeb).

Conclusion

Leading scholars of Hadith have expressed their concerns regarding Kitab al-Fitan by Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad. Imam al-Dhahabi explained that he is not comfortable narrating from him. This view was shared by many other leading Imams of Hadith.

نُعَيْمٌ مِنْ كِبَارِ أَوْعِيَةِ العِلْمِ، لَكِنَّهُ لاَ تَرْكَنُ النَّفسُ إِلَى رِوَايَاتِهِ. (سير أعلام النبلاء)

Nu’aym is one of the great vessels of knowledge. However, the soul is not comfortable narrating from him. (Imam Shams al-Deen al-Dhahabi 748H, Siyar Alam al-Nubalaa).

 

In our time many people speak about the signs of Judgement Day. However, they will often narrate dubious Hadith without an understanding of authenticity. Some of them do not know how to reference Hadith correctly. Others do not understand how to authenticate Hadith. And many of them narrate from Kitab al-Fitan of Imam Nu’aym bin Hammad.

This is not an insignificant matter. Our love for our blessed Prophet ﷺ dictates that we strongly oppose fabrications against him ﷺ. We must also be forthright in demanding that people reference and authenticate Hadith correctly. Many so-called people of knowledge have no understanding of how to do this.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (15.04.25)