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Fatwa CenterReport of Ibn ‘Abbaas about seven earths inauthentic
Question
Assalaamu alaykum. Is this hadith authentic?
Ahmad ibn Ya’qub At-Thaqafi narrated to us, “Ubayd ibn Ghannam narrated to us, ‘‘Ali ibn Hakim narrated to us, ‘Sharik narrated to us, from ‘Ata, from Abu l-Duha, from Ibn ‘Abbaas, [that] he said in regards to His (Exalted is He) statement ‘And of the earth the like thereof,’ ‘Seven earths: In every earth is a Prophet like your Prophet, an Adam like your Adam, a Nuh (Noah) like your Nuh, an Ibrahim (Abraham) like your Ibrahim, and an ‘Isa (Jesus) like your ‘Isa.’’’” (Mustadrak Haakim)
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, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
What you mentioned in the question is not a hadeeth attributed to the Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam; rather, it is a Mawqoof report (hadeeth that stops at the level of the Companion) narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbaas, may Allah be pleased with him. It was cited by Ibn Abi Haatim in his Tafseer (exegesis) and Al-Haakim in Al-Mustadrak, and he classified it as authentic. Ath-Thahabi declared it authentic as well. Al-Bayhaqi cited it in Al-Asmaa’ was-Sifaat and commented on it, saying, “It is quite Shaath (irregular: a report narrated by a trustworthy narrator that differs from the narration of other trustworthy narrators, and this difference may be either in the chain of transmission or in the wording).”
As-Suyooti said in Al-Haawi, “The comment of Al-Bayhaqi is very good, since the authenticity of the chain of narration (Sanad) does not necessarily entail the authenticity of the wording (Matn) of the hadeeth. It is possible that the chain of narration is authentic but that there may be defects or irregularities in the wording entailing classifying it as inauthentic...”
Abu Hayyaan Al-Andalusi said, “This hadeeth is fabricated without doubt.” [Tafseer Al-Bahr Al-Muheet, 8/283]
Moreover, Al-Mu‘allimi Al-Yamaani said:
“Its chain of narration is not authentic because it was narrated on the authority of Shareek, from ‘Ataa’ ibn As-Saa’ib, from Abu Adh-Dhuha, from Ibn ‘Abbaas. Shareek is known for making many mistakes in narration as well as Tadlees (narrating a hadeeth that he did not hear directly from his shaykh without mentioning the name of the third party from whom he heard it). Before his death, ‘Ataa’ ibn As-Saa’ib became feeble-minded (in old age) and was labeled a Mukhtalit (confused in his narration due to poor memory), and Shareek heard reports from him after he (‘Ataa’) was labeled a Mukhtalit.” [Al-Anwaar Al-Kaashifah, p. 127]
Allah knows best.
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