i. ‘Awf ibn Malik (rta)
حدثنا زيد بن حباب عن موسي بن عبيدة قال حدثنا محمد بن كعب عن عوف بن مالك الأشجعي قال قال رسول اللّٰه صلي اللّٰه عليه وسلم من قرأ حرفا من كتاب اللّٰه كتب اللّٰه له حسنة لا أقول الم ذلك الكتاب ولكن الحروف مقطعة عن الألف واللام والميم
‘Awf ibn Malik state that God’s Messenger said: “He who read one letter of the Qur’an, God will right one g ood deed for him in his account. I am not referring to words الم ذلك الكتاب; in fact I am referring to each letter separately like الألف واللام والميم.”1
Following is the schematic illustration of the isnad of this narrative’s variants:
This narrative cannot be reliably traced back to the Prophet (sws). Following is the jarh recorded by al-Mizzi about Musa ibn ‘Ubaydah (d. 152 AH): according to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, he is munkar al-hadith and that his narratives have not the slightest weight before him; Yahya ibn Ma‘in says la yuhtajju bi hadithihi, da‘if and laysa bi shay’; ‘Ali ibn Madini regards him to be da‘if al-hadith; Abu Zur‘ah says that he is laysa bi qawi al-hadith; Abu Hatim regards him to be munkar al-hadith; al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasa’i also regard him to be da‘if; at another instance the latter says that he is laysa bi thiqah; Ibn Sa‘d says that he is thiqah kathir al-hadith wa laysa bi hujjah; Ya ‘qub ibn Shaybag says that he is da‘if al-hadith jiddan and among whose narratives should not be adduced from because of his weakness and weak memory; Ibn ‘Adi says that most of his narratives are not secure from errors.2
Ibn Hajar records: Abu Bakr al-Bazzar sys that his proclivity towards worship had made him forgetful; al-Hakim says that he is laysa bi al-qawi ‘indahum; al-Saji regards him to be munkar al-hadith; Yahyan ib al-Qattan would not narrate from him.3
Ibn Hibban says that he is a pious person but has such a bad memory that he narrates things which do not have any basis and inadvertently reports from trustworthy narrators what is not narrated by authorities and thus citing things from him is prohibited.4
Ibn al-Jawzi records that according to ‘Ali ibn al-Junayd he is matruk al-hadith and al-Daraqutni regards him to be da‘if.5
Muslim regards him to be da‘if al-hadith.6
Regarding Muhammad ibn Abi Fudayk (d. 200 AH), al-Dhahabi records that though many regard him to be trustworthy, according to Ibn Sa‘d, he is laysa bi hujjah.7
ii. ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (rta)
حدثنا والدي أنا محمد بن علي بن عمر نا أحمد ابن الأزهر نا ابن أبي فديك عن الضحاك بن عثمان عن أيوب بن موسى عن محمد بن كعب عن ابن مسعود - رضي الله عنه - أن رسول الله قال من قرأ حرفاً من القرآن فله به حسنة والحسنة بعشر أمثالها لا أقول ألم حرف ولكن ألف حرف ولام حرف وميم حرف
‘Abdullah ibn Mas ‘ud reported that God’s Messenger (sws) said: “He who read one letter of the Qur’an, there is a reward of one good deed and one good deed is ten times multiplied. I do not regard to be one letter. ألف and لام and ميم are counted as separate letters.”8
Following is the schematic illustration of the isnad of this narrative:
The narrative is broken between Muhammad ibn Ka‘b and ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (rta) died in 33 AH. Consider the following information recorded by al-Mizzi:
According to Abu Ma‘shar, Abu Nuy‘aym, Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah, ‘Uthman ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Tirmishi and Qan‘ab ibn Muharrar, Muhammad ibn Ka‘b died in 108 AH.
In the opinion of al-Waqidi, ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah al-Tamimi, Khalifah ibn Khayyat, ‘Amr ibn ‘Ali and Ya‘qub ibn Shaybah he died in 117 AH and al-Waqidi, ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdullah al-Tamimi and Ya‘qub ibn Shaybah he was 87 when he died.
Ibn Hibban says that he died in 118 AH or 117 AH and was 80 years old.
According to Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Numayr, he died in 117 AH.
Yahya ibn Ma‘in, ‘Ali ibn al-Madini and Ibn Sa‘d and others says that he died in 120 AH. Abu ‘Umar al-Darir says that he died in 129 AH but none corroborates this and must be a mistake.9
If he died in 108 AH and was either 80 or 87 years at his death, then his years of birth are 28 AH or 35 AH.
If he died in 118/117 AH and was either 80 or 87 years at his death, then his years of birth are 38/37 AH or 31/30 AH.
Now it is well known that ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud died in 32-33 AH.
So whatever Muhammad ibn Ka‘b’s year of birth is, he could not have heard from ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (rta).
Moreover:
About al-Dahhak ibn ‘Uthman (d. 153 AH), al-Mizzi records: Yahya ibn Ma‘in and Ahmad ibn ‘Ali regard him to be trustworthy; Abu Zur‘ah says that he is laysa bi qawi; Abu Hatim says yuktabu hadithuhu wa la yuhtajju bihi.10
No source says that Muhammad ibn ‘Ali ibn ‘Umar narrates from Ahmad ibn al-Azhar ibn Mani‘.11 In all probability, the narrative is broken here too.
Ibn Hibban says that Ahmad ibn al-Azhar ibn Mani‘ makes errors.12
About Muhammad ibn Isma‘il ibn Muslim ibn Abi Fudayk (d. 200 AH), Ibn Hibban says rubbama akhti.13
iii. Anas ibn Malik (rta)
كتب إلي فيد بن عبد الرحمن بن شاذي الهمذاني أنبا أبو منصور عبد الله بن عيسى المحتسب أنبا الفضل بن الفضل بن العباس الكندي ثنا عبد الله بن أحمد بن خزيمة الباوردي ثنا محمد بن بشار بندار ثنا محمد بن بكر ثنا عبد الحميد بن جعفر أخبرني رجل عن العلاء بن عبد الرحمن بن يعقوب عن أبيه عن أنس بن مالك أنه كان يحدث عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم قال من قرأ حرفا من القرآن كتب الله له عشر حسنات بالباء والتاء والثاء
Anas ibn Malik said reported that God’s Messenger (sws) said: “He who read one letter of the Qur’an, there is a reward of ten deeds for him for every letter like الباء and التاء and الثاء.”14
There is an unknown person in this chain of narration.
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1. Ibn Abi Shaybah, Musannaf, vol. 6, 118, (no. 29933). See also: Al-Tabarani, Al-Mu‘jam al-kabir, vol. 18, 76, (no. 141); Ibid., vol. 18, 77, (no. 142); Al-Tabarani, Al-Mu‘jam al-awsat, vol. 1, 101-102, (no. 314); Al-Bazzar, Musnad, vol. 7, 192, (no. 2761); Al-Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-iman, vol. 2, 341, (no. 1983); Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi, Mudih awham, vol. 2, 388-389. Al-Khatib has also specified that Muhammad ibn Abi Muhammad mentioned in some variants is the same as Muhammad ibn Ka‘b al-Qurzi.
2. Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 29, 108-113.
3. Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-tahdhib, vol. 10, 320.
4. Ibn Hibban, Al-Majruhin, vol. 2, 234.
5. Ibn al-Jawzi, Al-Du‘afa’, vol. 3, 147.
6. Muslim, Al-Asma’ wa al-kuna’, vol. 1, 639.
7. Al-Dhahabi, Tahkirah al-hffaẓ, vol. 1, 345.
8. Abu al-Qasim Isma‘il ibn Muhammad ibn al-Fadl al-Tamimi, Al-Hujjah fi bayan al-mahajjah wa sharh ‘aqidah ahl al-sunnah, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (Riyad: Dar al-rayah, 1419 AH), 198, (no,. 147). See also: Al-Bayhaqi, Shu‘ab al-iman, vol. 2, 342, (no. 1983).
9. Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 26, 347.
10. Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 13, 274.
11. See, for example: Al-Mizzi, Tahdhib al-kamal, vol. 1, 255-256; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib al-tahdhib, vol. 1, 10; Al-Suyuti, Tabaqat al-huffaẓ, 244.
12. Ibn Hibban, Al-Thiqat, vol. 8. 43.
13. Ibn Hibban, Al-Thiqat, vol. 9, 42.
14. Abu Tahir Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Salafi, Al-Wajiz fi Dirk al-majaz wa al-majiz, 1st ed. (Beirut: Dar al-gharb al-islami, 1411 AH), 151-152.