What is the ruling of narrating fabricated Hadith?

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah Most Merciful Most Kind

Short Answer

Narrating fabricated Hadith is strictly prohibited. It is only permitted to mention them if one is going to warn against them. The fact that such fabrications appear in well-known books does not justify promoting them. Rather it obliges one to raise the issue with those teaching or printing the book.

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).

Sadly, we are currently experiencing such widespread ignorance regarding Hadith that people are having to ask about the ruling on narrating fabricated Hadith. It is not the fault of the unqualified Muslim alone. Rather more blame is attributed to people who are supposed to be learned.

So-called learned Muslims are regularly narrating or promoting dubious Hadith without any consideration for their authenticity. It is so alarming to see that some of them are cautious regarding conveying accurately from scholars but have no such restraint when attributing matters to our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

Narrating fabricated Hadith is undoubtedly prohibited. The fact that some ostensibly learned people are doing it does not mean it is permitted. Nor can it be justified using the example of well-known books. People having to ask this question is an indictment of so-called scholars of our age.

Hadith Commentary

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).

In the Nass (text) above, Imam Ali al-Qari explains why a person who is careless regarding Hadith may be considered a fabricator. Being considered a fabricator is always devastating for a Muslim since we value honesty greatly. However, being considered a fabricator against our blessed Prophet ﷺ is so much worse.

Although the one narrating fabricated Hadith is not the same as the one who actually fabricated the narration, he is assisting the perpetrator of this grave crime. And when the crime is against our beloved Prophet ﷺ and our blessed religion then it cannot be taken lightly.

Hadith Scholars

اعْلَمْ أَنَّ الْحَدِيثَ الْمَوْضُوعَ شَرُّ الْأَحَادِيثِ الضَّعِيفَةِ، وَلَا تَحِلُّ رِوَايَتُهُ لِأَحَدٍ عَلِمَ حَالَهُ فِي أَيِّ مَعْنًى كَانَ إِلَّا مَقْرُونًا بِبَيَانِ وَضْعِهِ. (معرفة أنواع علوم الحديث)

Know that the fabricated Hadith is the worst form of weak Hadith. Anyone who knows its condition in any sense, is not permitted to narrate it unless it is accompanied by an explanation of its status. (Imam Ibn Salah 643H, Muqadimah Ibn Salah).

Those who are familiar with Hadith science know that Imam Ibn Salah is one of the great authorities. Such that later scholars generally agreed with the positions he took. In the Nass above, he makes clear the impermissibility of narrating fabricated Hadith. Other Hadith scholars reiterated and emphasised this prohibition.

Lack of knowledge

وَمِمَّنْ صَنَّفَ لَهُمْ فِي هَذَا، الْحَارِثُ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ، وَأَبُو طَالِبٍ الْمَكِّيُّ، وَأَبُو حَامِدٍ الطُّوسِيُّ. فَإِنَّهُمْ أَدْرَجُوا فِي كُتُبِهِمْ أَحَادِيثَ بَاطِلَةً وَلَا يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهَا كذب. (القصاص والمذكرين)

Among those who wrote about this were al-Harith al-Muhasibi, Abu Talib Al-Makki, and Abu Hamid al-Tusi. They included false Hadiths in their books, but they did not know that they were lies. (Imam Abd al-Rahman Ibn al-Jowzi 597H, al-Qusas wal-Mudhakireen).

Imam Ibn Salah mentioned the impermissibility of narrating fabricated Hadith knowingly. The sad reality is that many scholars in our history did not recognise fabricated Hadith. Therefore, they included them in their books. In the Nass (text) above, Imam Ibn al-Jowzi gives some examples of such scholars.

Example

دِينَار بْن عَبْد اللَّهِ شيخ كَانَ يَرْوِي عَن أَنَس بْن مَالِك روى عَنْهُ أَحْمَد بْن مُحَمَّد بْن غَالب وَغَيره روى عَن أَنَس أَشْيَاء مَوْضُوعَة لَا يحل ذكره فِي الْكتب وَلَا كِتَابَة مَا رَوَاهُ إِلَّا عَلَى سَبِيل الْقدح. (المجروحين من المحدثين والضعفاء والمتروكين)

Dinar bin Abdullah Sheikh used to narrate from Anas bin Malik. Ahmad bin Muhammad bin Ghalib and others narrated from him. He narrated fabrications from Anas. It is not permissible to mention them in books. Nor to write what he narrated except to criticize. (Imam Ibn Hiban 354H, al-Majruheen).

وَقَالَ ابْن حبَان: دِينَار يروي عَن أنس أَشْيَاء مَوْضُوعَة لَا يحل ذكرهَا فِي الْكتب إلاّ على سَبِيل الْقدح فِيهَا، فواعجبا للخطيب، أما سمع فِي الصَّحِيح: من حدث عني حَدِيثا وَهُوَ يرى أَنه كذب فَهُوَ أحد الْكَذَّابين؟ (عمدة القاري شرح صحيح البخاري)

Ibn Hiban said: Dinar narrated fabrications from Anas. It is not permissible to mention them in books except to criticise. Thus, it is astonishing from al-Khateeb. Did he not hear in the Sahih: Whoever narrates a Hadith about me, which is deemed a fabrication, is one of the liars. (Imam Badr al-Deen al-Ayni 855H, Umdatu al-Qari).

One of the errors novice students fall into is they assume all Hadith scholars were guaranteeing the authenticity of their narrations. This is certainly not the case. Rather fabrications can be found in the works of great Hadith scholars.

That is not to say they themselves were fabricating them. Rather they included fabrications in their works. Usually this was due to the fact that the Sanad (chain of narrators) was present, so readers could analyse it for themselves.

In the Nass (text) above, we find this with al-Khateeb al-Baghdadi. He has narrated a fabrication. However, Imam al-Ayni points this out. This is another feature of the Islamic tradition. If some scholars make mistakes, then others point it out.

Conclusion

As Muslims we love our blessed Prophet ﷺ dearly. An aspect of this love is to be protective regarding the beloved Prophet ﷺ. In particular protective regarding what s being attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. Sadly, many Muslims fail to do this. They give no consideration to the authenticity of what is being attributed to the blessed Prophet ﷺ.

The same people are often very protective of their Shaykhs. They are outraged if anything inauthentic is attributed to them. What does this say about their relationship with the Mubarak Prophet ﷺ. Inexplicably those who claim the greatest love for the Prophet ﷺ seem to have the least concern for Hadith authenticity.
Narrating fabricated Hadith is unequivocally prohibited. The ruling is similar for other comparable narrations like baseless narrations (La Asl Lahu) and very weak narrations. Muslims need to be far more cautious when attributing things to our beloved Prophet ﷺ.

And Allah Most High Knows Best.

–Answered by Shaykh Noorud-deen Rashid (09.09.24)