Narration “Ali bin Abi Taalib placed his hands above the navel”

Question:

Sunan Abu Dawood 757. Jarir Ad-Dabbi narrated: "I saw 'All, may Allah be pleased with him, praying while grasping his left hand with his right hand, over the wrist-joint, above the navel." Sheikh Albaani says Daeef in Sunan Abu Dawood but declares it hasan in sifat u salat? While Mubarakpoori says Saheeh? So is it saheeh or not?

Answer:

Imaam Abu Dawood as-Sijistaani (D. 275) rahimahullah narrates:

" حدثنا محمد بن قُدامة- يعني ابنَ أعين-، عن أبي بدر، عن أبي طالوت عبد السلام، عن ابن جرير الضبي، عن أبيه قال: رأيتُ عليّاَ رضي الله عنه يُمسِكُ شِمالَه بيمييه على الرسغِ فوقَ السُّرَّة "

“Muhammad bin Qudaamah Ibn A’yun narrated to us, from Abu Badar, from Abu Taloot Abdus-Salaam from Ibn Jareer ad-Dabbi from his father (Jareer ad-Dabbi) who said: I saw Ali (radiallah anhu) catching hold of his left hand by his right hand on the wrist above the navel”

[Sunan Abu Dawood (2/70 H. 757 Ed. Al-Arana’oot)]

Its chain is Hasan, in-shaa-Allaah. Ghazwaan bin Jareer ad-Dabbi and his father Jareer ad-Dabbi have been declared Majhool by Ibn Hajar and Dhahabi but Ibn Hajar himself in another place and Imaam Bayhaqi have declared this chain “Hasan”. And Imaam Ibn Hibbaan mentioned both of them in his Thiqaat. Moreover, Imaam Bukhaari mentioned the narration of these two in his Saheeh in Ta’leeq form with the expression of affirmative (Seeghat al-Jazm) which means that its chain is authentic even according to Imaam Bukhaari, wallaahu a’lam.

However, the phrase “above the navel” is not authentic.

Because this hadeeth is also narrated by Imaam Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf from Abdus-Salaam by Imaam Wakee who is more thiqah and Haafidh than Abu Badar, but he did not mention the phrase “above the navel”. His wording is as follows:

" حدثنا وكيع قال: حدثنا عبد السلام بن شداد الحريري أبو طالوت قال: نا غزوان بن جرير الضبي، عن أبيه قال: «كان علي، إذا قام في الصلاة وضع يمينه على رسغ يساره، ولا يزال كذلك حتى يركع متى ما ركع، إلا أن يصلح ثوبه أو يحك جسده» "

“Wakee’ narrated to us he said Abdus-Salaam bin Shaddaad al-Hareeri Abu Taloot narrated to us, he said Ghazwaan bin Jareer ad-Dabbi narrated to us from his father who said: Whenever Ali would stand for Salaah, he would place his right hand over his left wrist and would remain in that position until he would make rukoo, except if he wanted to adjust his garment or scratch his body.”

[Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaybah (1/343 H. 3940)]

Similarly, this hadeeth is also narrated by Imaam Bayhaqi in his sunan from Abdus-Salaam by Muslim bin Ibraaheem (Thiqah Ma’moon) and even he did not mention the phrase “above the navel”. Bayhaqi narrates:

"أخبرنا أبو الحسين بن بشران، ثنا جعفر بن محمد الأنصاري ابن نصير الخلدي إملاء، ثنا إبراهيم بن عبد الله بن مسلم، ثنا مسلم بن إبراهيم، ثنا عبد السلام بن أبي حازم، ثنا غزوان بن جرير، عن أبيه، أنه كان شديد اللزوم لعلي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه قال: كان علي رضي الله عنه " إذا قام إلى الصلاة فكبر ضرب بيده اليمنى على رسغه الأيسر، فلا يزال كذلك حتى يركع، إلا أن يحك جلدا، أو يصلح ثوبه، فإذا سلم سلم عن يمينه سلام عليكم، ثم يلتفت عن شماله فيحرك شفتيه، فلا ندري ما يقول، ثم يقول: لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له، لا حول ولا قوة إلا بالله، لا نعبد إلا إياه، ثم يقبل على القوم بوجهه، فلا يبالي على يمينه انصرف، أو عن شماله ""

“Abu al-Husayn bin Bashraan informed us, Ja’far bin Muhammad al-Ansaari Ibn Naseer al-Khaldi narrated to us, Ibraaheem bin Abdullah bin Muslim narrated to us, Muslim bin Ibraheem (Al-Qaraheedi) narrated to us, Abdus-Salaam bin Abi Haazim narrated to us, Ghazwaan bin Jareer narrated to us, from his father – he used to strictly stick with Ali bin Abi Taalib radiallah anhu), he said: Whenever Ali (radiallah anhu) would stand for salaah, he would say the takbeer and place his right hand over his left wrist and he would remain in that position until he wanted to bow, except if he wanted to scratch his body or adjust his garment. And when he would say Salaam he would do it on his right (first) saying ‘Assalaam-o-Alaykum’ then he would do the same on his left thus moving his lips and we would not know what he is saying. They he would say: ‘La Ilaaha Illallaahu Wahdahu Lashareeka Lahu, La Hawla Wala Quwwata Illa Billaah, La Na’buda Illa Iyyaahu’ then he would turn his face towards the people and he would not care if he turned from his right or his left.”

[Sunan al-Kubra lil Bayhaqi (2/45 H. 2333)]

Imaam Bayhaqi said after this:

"هذا إسناد حسن"

“This chain is Hasan”

Similarly, Haafidh Ibn Hajar said about this narration:

"هذا إسناد حسن"

“This chain is Hasan”

[Taghleeq al-Ta’leeq (2/443)]

And this is the one also mentioned by Imaam Bukhaari in his Saheeh (2/61) without the addition.

As you can see, that these narrations do not mention at all the phrase “above the navel”!

This phrase is only mentioned by Abu Badar Shujaa’ bin Waleed in Sunan Abu Dawood from Abdus-Salaam. And even though he is Thiqah, Ibn Hajar said about him,

"صدوق ورع له أوهام"

“He was truthful, abstinent, and had some mistakes”

[Taqreeb (2750)]

Whereas, this narration is also narrated by:

1-    Imaam Wakee’ bin al-Jarraah concerning whom Ibn Hajar said:

"ثقة حافظ عابد"

“He is Thiqah Haafidh Aabid”

[Taqreeb (7414)]

2-    And Muslim bin Ibraaheem al-Qaraheedi concerning whom Ibn Hajar said:

"ثقة مأمون"

“Thiqah Ma’moon”

[Taqreeb (6616)]

So both of them are clearly more Thiqah and Haafidh than Abu Badar and Abu Badar has opposed both these Huffaadh in mentioning the phrase “above the navel”, which clearly means that it is “Ghayr mahfooz” and “shaadh”.

This is why Shaykh Shu’ayb al-Arana’oot also declared this hadeeth “Da’eef” in his tahqeeq of Sunan Abu Dawood (2/70).

As for Shaykh Albaani then he has also declared this hadeeth “Da’eef” in Da’eef Abu Dawood because according to him Ghazwaan and his father were Majhool based on one of the rulings of Ibn Hajar but I have explained above that Muhadditheen have declared their Hadeeth to be Hasan so they do not remain Majhool anymore but the actual weakness in the hadeeth is the opposition of Abu Badar in mentioning the disputed phrase. As for Shaykh Albaani’s authentication in Sifat us-Salaah then he only declared it “Hasan” by taking the narration of “on the chest” from Ali (radiallah anhu) as a support to this narration because according to him “above the navel” means “on the chest” as explained in another hadeeth. So there is no contradiction between the two rulings of Shaykh Albaani, walillaah-il-hamd!

And Allaah knows best