Sahih Hadith saying the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito?

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind

Short Answer

There is a Hadith saying the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito. Some scholars did consider it to be Sahih. It is most likely Sahih or Hasan Lighayrihi.

Explanation

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا تَعْدِلُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوضَةٍ مَا سَقَى كَافِرًا مِنْهَا شَرْبَةَ مَاءٍ» وَفِي البَاب عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ: «هَذَا حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحٌ غَرِيبٌ مِنْ هَذَا الوَجْهِ»

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: If the world (Dunya) was equal to a mosquito’s wing to Allah (Most High), then He would not give the disbeliever a sip of water from it. (Sunan al-Tirmidhi 2320).

Imam al-Tirmidhi has stated that the Hadith saying, the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito, is Sahih. Imam al-Nawawi included it in his renowned Hadith collection, Riyad al-Saliheen. This is relevant because Imam al-Nawawi said he will only include Sahih Hadith in that collection. So, he also believes the Hadith is Sahih.

However, Imam al-Tirmidhi has Abd al-Hameed bin Sulaiman in the chain. Imam al-Dhahabi mentioned him in his Tareekh and said he is not Thiqah (reliable). So, it seems that there is some difference of opinion regarding the narration in Tirmidhi. Imam al-Haythami clarified this when he commented on Abd al-Hameed. He said he is weak, but some considered him strong (see Majma al-Zawaid).

قُلْتُ: عَبْدُ الْحَمِيدِ لَيْسَ بِثِقَةٍ. (تاريخ الإسلام)

I say, Abd al-Hameed is not Thiqah (reliable). (Imam al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam).

The narration in Ibn Maja

The Hadith saying that the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito, was also narrated by Imam Ibn Maja (4110), Imam al-Tabarani (Kabeer, 5921) and Imam al-Hakim (7847). These narrations do not have Abd al-Hameed bin Sulaiman in their chains. However, Imam al-Dhahabi commented on the narration in Mustadrak al-Hakim, saying the chain had Zakariyah bin Madhoor who is a weak narrator. Both Ibn Maja and al-Tabarani also have this narrator in their respective chains of narration.

The Musanaf narration

Imams Ibn Abi Shabah (Musanaf, 34324) and al-Bazar (8176) both narrated the Hadith stating that the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito. However, their narrations are without Abd al-Hameed bin Sulaiman or Zakariyah bin Madhoor in the chains. So, they serve to strengthen the other chains.

Strengthened through each other

The scholars of Hadith clarified that numerous weak narrations may come together and strengthen each other. This is the case as long as they do not share the same weakness. For example, they all have the same weak narrator.

In the case of the Hadith saying, the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito, they do not share the same weakness. Some have Abd al-Hameed bin Sulaiman who is a weak narrator. Whereas others do not have him in the chain. But they do have Zakaiyah bin Madhoor who is also a weak narrator. Then we have narrations with neither.

Conclusion

Imam al-Tirmidhi claimed that the Hadith stating, the world is not worth the wing of a mosquito, is Sahih. Imam al-Nawawi seemed to concur. This is the case despite the potential weakness in one of the narrators. The claim of Imam al-Tirmidhi seems to be correct. The Hadith is either Sahih or Hasan. This is due to the support of numerous other narrations.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (29.03.24)