Did Abu Hurairah Ever Take Knowledge From The Shaytan?

Ash-Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan, hafidaho-Allah, was asked the following question,

Question:

“Some of Ahlul Bid’ah use the hadeeth of Abu Hurairah that it is permissible to study under Ahlul Bid’ah being Abu Hurairah رضي الله عنه took knowledge from the Shaytan.”

Answer:

“He took knowledge from the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, he did not take it from the Shaytan [- the Shaykh begins to laugh -]. The Messenger was the one who informed him about it, he did not take it from the Shaytan. Hence he didn’t rely upon the statement of the Shaytan, rather he relied upon the statement of the Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم that, “he was truthful to you, and he is a liar”. This attempt to build one’s proof upon is [absolutely] wrong; this particular speech is a wrong way to base one’s proof upon”

Ash-Shaykh Muqbil, rahimahullah, said:

أما أبو هريرة فهل عمل بما قال له الشيطان ؟ أم عرضه على النبي – صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم- حتى أقره النبي –صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم- وقال : ” لقد صدقك وهو كذوب ” ، الكذوب يؤخذ عنه ؟!!! ، ما أدري يا إخواننا أين سُلِبت عقول أولئك المُلبسين ؟!!! أسألكم يا طلبة العلم! الكذاب يؤخذ عنه أم لا ؟ لا يؤخذ عنه ، فكذلك الشيطان لا يؤخذ عنه ، لكن أقرّ النبي – صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم – ما قال الشيطان فنحن نأخذه بإقرار النبي – صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم –

… As for Abu Hurairah, then did he act upon what the Shaytan told him? Or did he present it to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم whereby He, sallahu alayhi wa salam, confirmed it for him and said: “he was truthful to you, and he is a liar”. Is anything taken from a liar?! Oh my brothers, I don’t know where the mind of these deceivers went?! I ask you oh students of knowledge, is anything taken from a liar or not? No, nothing is to be taken from him. Similarly, the Shaytan nothing is to be taken from him. However the Prophet, صلى الله عليه وسلم confirmed what the Shaytan said. Therefore, we are taking the confirmation of the Prophet, sallahu alayhi wa salam…

Translated by

AbdulFattaah Bin Uthman
Abu Fajr

Ash-Shaykh Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Misree, hafidaho-Allah, was asked the following question:

Question: It is known that some scholars of the Salaf would take the hadeeth of the Messenger (praise and peace be upon him) from people who were affected by bidaa (innovations), and today we have people who use this fact as a proof that it is okay to sit with an innovator who is proficient in a certain science. How do we refute this speech?

The Shaikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Misree (may Allaah preserve him) mentioned the following points while answering the question:

1. The scholars would take only the hadeeths the people of innovation narrated and not their explanations or clarifications of the hadeeths. (e.g. Narrated by so-and-so from so-and-so…). However nowadays the ignorant ones who take from Ahul- Bidaa take their explanations and clarifications, so they become influenced and deviant due to their speech.

2. The people who took these hadeeths [from them] were scholars like Imam Ahmed.

3. The Ulema took the hadeeth from those people out of haaja (necessity).

4. When Imam Ahmed was asked about Abdur-Razzaaq, he said “I didn’t see anything.” So some Ulema did not know that certain people were from Ahul-Bidaa.

5. Some people who took from the innovators were influenced by them, for this reason we see in biographies of certain individuals that they were infected with the bidaa of the Shia or Qadaria, etc.

And Allaah knows best.

Excerpted from the website (alilmia.net) with a few adjustments to the format.

Note: Likewise many of the scholars in that time would place down a number of conditions before taking hadiths that the people of innovations narrated, for example the condition that the specific narrator from the people of innovations cannot be one who calls to his innovation.

Mentioned by

AbdulFattaah Bin Uthman
Abu Fajr