Is the Hadith about Hitler, Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Saddam, etc. authenthic?
“The war of the end of time is the war of the world. There will be a third war after two great wars in which many are killed. He who will light the fires of the first/second world war will be known as the ‘Great Leader’ and then the world speaks the name (Hitler)…”
Quran
Hadith
Islamic Text
Classification: La asla lahu (Baseless)
This Hadith about Hitler and others is not found in any authentic book of Hadith narrations. It is vital to understand that when we attribute a Hadith to the Prophet ﷺ, not only do we need a chain of narrators and that chain to be analysed for authenticity, prior to that there is something more fundamental which is that the Hadith itself must be found in a recognised, well known, well established book of Hadith. If that is not the case, if we do not know the author of the book very well or it is mentioned in a book which is not recognised by the Hadith scholars then irrespective of the chain, the Hadith cannot be attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. This is because the author of the book is a part of the chain and if they are not recognised or it is not known that the book is actually theirs or if it has been safeguarded from being corrupted or changed in any way, then we cannot accept that Hadith.
Imam Al-Bayhaqi said:
وَذُكِرَ عَنْ الْحَافِظِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ الْبَيْهَقِيّ أَنَّ الْأَحَادِيثَ الَّتِي قَدْ صَحَّتْ أَوْ وَقَعَتْ بَيْنَ الصِّحَّةِ وَالسَّقَمِ قَدْ دُوِّنَتْ وَكُتِبَتْ فِي الْجَوَامِعِ الَّتِي جَمَعَهَا أَئِمَّةُ الْحَدِيثِ وَلَا يَجُوزُ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ شَيْءٌ مِنْهَا عَلَى جَمِيعِهِمْ وَإِنْ جَازَ أَنْ يَذْهَبَ عَلَى بَعْضِهِمْ لِضَمَانِ صَاحِبِ الشَّرِيعَةِ حِفْظَهَا فَمَنْ جَاءَ الْيَوْمَ بِحَدِيثٍ لَا يُوجَدُ عِنْدَ جَمِيعِهِمْ لَمْ يُقْبَلْ مِنْهُ
“The hadith that have been considered authentic (sahih) or between authentic and weak have indeed been recorded in the major books of hadith. The imams of hadith have collected them so it is not possible for a hadith to be missing from all of them. It is possible that some of the imams missed out certain hadith but for all of them to miss out a (sound) hadith is not possible because the revealer of the sharia (Allah, Most High) has taken it upon Himself to preserve the sharia. For this reason, if somebody brings a hadith today which is not present in any of those recognised books, it is not going to be accepted.”
References:
Imam Ala al-Din al-Bukhari, Kashf al-Asraar Sharh Usool al-Bazdawi, Vol. 3, p49.
Imam Ibn al-Salah, Muqadimah Ibn al-Salah, p121.
Imam al-Suyuti, Tadreeb al-Raawi, Vol. 1, p403.
Imam al-Sakhaawi, Fath al-Mugheeth, Vol. 2, p111.
Shaykh Nurudin Itr, Manhaj al-Naqd, p88.
– Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen (05.01.2021)
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