Inauthentic hadeeth about the whiteness of the black people in Paradise
Fatwa No: 346621

Question

Is the following hadith authentic?
Narrated by Ibn 'Umar that a man (from Abyssinia) came to the the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, to ask him. Then, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said to him, "You may ask and enquire." The man said, O Messenger of Allah! You (Arabs) have been prefered over us with your pictures, color and Prophethood; so if I believed in same that which you believe in and did the same that which you do, will I enter Paradise with you? Thereupon, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wa sallam, said, By Him in Whose Hand my soul is! Your whiteness will be seen in Paradise at a distance of one thousand years (of traveling).‏

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

This hadeeth is not authentic, and it was cited by At-Tabaraani in  Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabeer, and it was quoted from him by Abu Nu’aym in Al-Hilyah and in Ma’rifat As-Sahaabah. Ibn Al-Jawzi mentioned it in his book Al-Mawdhoo’aat (the fabricated reports), and he commented on it, saying, “Abu Haatim ibn Hibbaan said, ‘This is a false hadeeth, it has no foundation and Abu Bakkaar commits serious mistakes.’ Yahya said, ‘Ayyoob is not taken into account.’ Muslim ibn Al-Hajjaaj said, ‘His narrations are weak.’ An-Nassa’i said, ‘His narrations are confused.’

Al-Haythami said in Majma’ Az-Zawaa’id, “It was reported by At-Tabaraani, and its chain of narrators includes Ayyoob ibn ‘Utbah who is Dha’eef (weak).

Shaykh Al-Albaani classified it as Munkar (rejected) hadeeth in Silsilat Al-Ahadeeth Adh-Dha’eefah under number 6618.

Allah knows best.

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