Question: Is this an authentic hadith?
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me on a cold morning. I came to him while he was with one of his wives under the blanket.He pulled me under it… and we became THREE."— Narrated by Al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam
Source:Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn by Al-Hakim al-Nishapuri, Part: 4, Page: 442, Hadith No.: 5618
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, in Al-Mustadrak ‘ala al-Sahihayn , we read:
The Book of Knowledge about the Companions (May Allah Be Pleased with Them) – Mentioning the Virtues of the Disciple (Hawari) of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ – Talhah and al-Zubayr Are Neighbors of the Prophet ﷺ in Paradise
5610
- حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو الْعَبَّاسِ
مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يَعْقُوبَ ، ثَنَا
مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِنَانٍ الْقَزَّازُ ،
ثَنَا إِسْحَاقُ بْنُ إِدْرِيسَ ،
ثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ خَازِمٍ ، ثَنَا
هِشَامُ بْنُ عُرْوَةَ ، عَنْ
أَبِيهِ ، عَنْ عَبْدِ
اللهِ بْنِ الزُّبَيْرِ ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ
، قَالَ : " . " أَرْسَلَنِي رَسُولُ
اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي
غَدَاةٍ بَارِدَةٍ ، فَأَتَيْتُهُ
وَهُوَ مَعَ بَعْضِ نِسَائِهِ فِي لِحَافِهِ ، فَأَدْخَلَنِي فِي اللِّحَافِ فَصِرْنَا ثَلَاثَةً
. " هَذَا
حَدِيثٌ صَحِيحُ الْإِسْنَادِ ، وَلَمْ يُخَرِّجَاهُ
" .
"Narrated to us by Abu al-‘Abbas Muhammad ibn Ya‘qub,
who narrated from Muhammad ibn Sinan al-Qazzaz,
who narrated from Ishaq ibn Idris,
who narrated from Muhammad ibn Khazim,
who narrated from Hisham ibn ‘Urwah,
from his father,
from ‘Abdullah ibn al-Zubayr,
from his father (al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam), who said:
"The Messenger of Allah ﷺ sent me on a cold morning. I came to him while he was with one of his wives under his blanket, and he pulled me into the blanket—so we became three."
Al-Hakim said: This hadith has a sound chain of narration (sahih al-isnad), and it was not recorded by al-Bukhari or Muslim."
Here is the chain of transmission of this narration:
The narration is weak and not authentic in its chain, as all its transmission paths revolve around Ishaq ibn Idris al-Aswari, and he is a liar, accused of fabricating hadiths.
We read in Lisan al-Mizan by Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, Volume 1, under the letter Alif:
[1088] Ishaq ibn Idris al-Aswari al-Basri, Abu Ya‘qub, narrated from Hammam and Aban, and from him ‘Umar ibn Shabbah and Ibn al-Muthanna.
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Ibn al-Madini abandoned him.
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Abu Zur‘ah said: He is weak (wahī).
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Al-Bukhari said: People abandoned him.
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Al-Daraqutni said: His hadith is munkar (rejected).
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Yahya ibn Ma‘in said: He is a liar who fabricates hadith. End of quote.
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Abu Hatim said: He is weak in hadith.
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Ibn Hibban said: He used to steal hadiths.
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Al-Bazzar reported from Yahya ibn Ma‘in: His hadith should not be written, but did not clarify Yahya’s exact words.
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Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna said: He is very weak in hadith.
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Al-Nasa’i said: A Basran narrator, abandoned (matruk).
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Ibn ‘Adi said: He has narrations, but he leans toward weakness.
Also, Al-Haythami, may Allah have mercy on him, declared the hadith weak in Majma‘ al-Zawa’id, Volume 9, Book of Virtues, Chapter: The Virtues of al-Zubayr ibn al-‘Awwam (may Allah be pleased with him):
"In its chain is Ishaq ibn Idris, and he is matruk (abandoned)."
As for al-Hakim’s grading of the narration as authentic, it is not to be relied upon, as he is known for being lenient in authenticating narrations.
We read in al-Majmu‘ Sharh al-Muhadhdhab by al-Nawawi, Volume 1, Book of Purification, (after citing one of al-Hakim’s hadiths):
وأنكروا ذلك على الحاكم وهو معروف عندهم بالتساهل في التصحيح
"Al-Hakim mentioned it in al-Mustadrak and said: 'It is authentic according to the conditions of Muslim', but this was objected to by the scholars, for al-Hakim is known for being lenient in authentication... as is well-established among the experts in this field."
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وُسِئِلَ أَبُو زُرْعَةَ عَنْ حديثٍ رَوَاهُ إسحاقُ بنُ إِدْرِيسَ الأَسْواري ، عَنْ أَبِي مُعَاوِيَةَ الضَّرِير ، عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ عُروَة، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عن عبد الله بْنِ الزُّبير، عَنِ الزُّبير؛ قَالَ: بعثَني رسولُ الله (ص) فِي حاجَةٍ فِي يومٍ باردٍ، فجئتُ ، فأدخلَني فِي لِحافِه؟
Abu Zur'ah was asked about a hadith narrated by Isḥāq ibn Idrīs al-Aswari, through Abū Muʿāwiya al-Dharīr, from Ḥishām ibn ʿUrwa, from his father, from ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr, from al-Zubayr; he said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) sent me on an errand on a cold day, so I came, and he wrapped me in his blanket."
The Response:
قَالَ أَبُو زُرْعَةَ: لا أعلمُ هَذَا الحديثَ رَوَاهُ غَيرُ إِسْحَاقَ بْنُ إدريس، وإسحاقُ وَاهٍ في هذا الحديث.
Abu Zur'ah said: "I do not know this hadith narrated by anyone other than Isḥāq ibn Idrīs, and Isḥāq is weak (واهي, wāhī ) in this hadith."
[book of Al-Ilal by Ibn Abī Hātim]
Shaykh al-Albani, may Allah have mercy on him, declared this hadith weak and judged it to be fabricated (mawdu‘) in Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Da‘ifah, Volume 6.
Conclusion:
The narration is not authentic due to the presence of a severely weak and discredited narrator (Ishaq ibn Idris al-Aswari). Hence, it cannot be used as reliable evidence for any religious or historical conclusion.
