0021-1818_islam_98-1-2-i-259

The The Lure of a Controversial Prayer 157
us, on the authority of Abu l-Fadl b. Khayrun, who said: they spoke [pejoratively]
about him.” 71
17) Designated as „weak”
Ibn al-Sala1 al-Shahrazur\: The hadith transmitted specifically about it is
weak, with an isnad that is considered to be faulty in the eyes of the experts in hadith.
Some even say it is fictitious, and this is our opinion about it, while others
limit themselves to calling it „weak“. It does not, however, acquire trustworthiness
by being mentioned by Raz\n b. Mu^awiya [d. 535/1140] in his Tajrid al-Sihah,
nor by the author of al-Ihya# [al-Ghazal\], who relies on it, 72 since both books include
weak hadith, and the citation of such a hadith by Raz\n in a book like his is
not puzzling.” 73
18) Designated as „fabricated”
Al-Sulam\: The third category [of innovations] includes such that conflict
with the divine law or necessarily lead to a conflict with the law. Salat al-ragha#ib
is in that [category], for it is a fabrication (mawdu^a) upon the Messenger of God,
peace and blessings be upon him, and a lie (kidhb) about him, as Abu Faraj b. al-
Jawz\ had mentioned, and likewise Abu Bakr al-Turtush\ [who said] that it only
occurred in Jerusalem after 480.” 74 And among the indications of the innovated
[status] of this prayer, is that the scholars who are the most knowledgeable in
religion, and the leaders of the Muslims from among the Companions, the Successors
and those who succeeded the Successors, and others who recorded the
books of the divine law (shari^a), with their intense concern over teaching the
people the obligatory and optional normative practices (sunan) – it is not transmitted
from any one of them that he mentioned the prayer nor recorded it in his
writing, nor presented it in his assemblies. Hence it is impossible that it is a sunna
and yet it has escaped [the attention of] those most learned in religion, the role
models of the believers. 75
71 Ibn al-Jawz\, Kitab al-muntazam, ed. M. ^Ata, Beirut 1992, 15: 161. Ibn Hajar cites two earlier
sources that Ibn al-Jawz\ does not mention: one that establishes Ibn al-Jahdam’s death date at
407/1016–17, and one that claims he is trustworthy (Ibn Hajar, Lisan al-Mizan, 5: 48). See also
Dhahab\, Ta#rikh al-islam, ed. ^U. ^A. Al-Tadmuri, Beirut 1993, 32: 349.
72 Al-Ghazal\ quotes the hadith without naming transmitters, simply by saying “fa-qad ruwiya
bi-isnad ^an rasul Allah” (Ihya# 1:268). See text # 2 above.
73 Taq\ al-D\n Ibn al-Sala1, “al-Radd ^ala al-targhib ^an salat al-ragha#ib al-mawdu^a,” in al-
Alban\, Musajala ^Ilmiyya, p. 15.
74 Al-Sulam\, “al-Targhib ^an salat al-ragha#ib,”in al-Alban\, Musajala, 4–5.
75 Subk\, Tabaqat, 8: 255. See similar reasoning in Ibn Taymiyya, Majmu^ al-Fatawa, 1: 149.