المستدرك على الصحيحين
Al Mustadrak ala al‑Sahihayn
كتاب الحدود
Book of Prescribed Punishments
حكاية رجل سحر النبى صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم
The story of a man who bewitched the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)
Hadith Number: 8273
حدثنا الاستاذ ابو الوليد، حدثنا ابو عبد الله البوشنجي، حدثنا احمد بن حنبل، حدثنا جرير عن الاعمش، عن ثمامة بن عقبة المحلمي، عن زيد بن ارقم، قال: كان رجل يدخل على النبي ﷺ، فاخذه رجل (1) فعقد له، فوضعه وطرحه في بئر رجل من الانصار، فاتاه ملكان يعودانه (2)، فقعد احدهما عند راسه، وقعد الآخر عند رجليه، فقال احدهما: اتدري ما وجعه؟ قال: فلان الذي كان يدخل عليه عقد له عقدا، فالقاه في بئر فلان الانصاري، فلو ارسل إليه رجلا فاخذ منه العقد، فوجد الماء قد اصفر، قال: واخذ العقد فحلها فيها، قال: فكان الرجل بعد يدخل على النبي ﷺ، فلم يذكر له شيئا منه، ولم يعاتبه (1).
هذا حديث صحيح على شرط الشيخين، ولم يخرجاه.
هذا حديث صحيح على شرط الشيخين، ولم يخرجاه.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man used to come in to visit the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He cast a spell on him (peace and blessings be upon him) and tied knots (in a thread), then he threw it into the well of a man from the Ansar. So two angels came to him (peace and blessings be upon him) to visit him (peace and blessings be upon him) in his illness. One of them sat at his (peace and blessings be upon him) head and the other at his feet. One of them asked: Do you know what ails him (peace and blessings be upon him)? The other said: So-and-so, who used to come in to him (peace and blessings be upon him), has bewitched him (peace and blessings be upon him) by tying knots and has thrown it into the well of so-and-so the Ansari. If he (peace and blessings be upon him) were to send someone, he would bring those knots out from there. (So this was done), and it was found that the water there had turned yellow. The narrator said: He (peace and blessings be upon him) took those knots and untied them (and the effect of the sorcery ended). That man continued to come in to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after that, but he (peace and blessings be upon him) never mentioned it to him, nor did he reproach him.
This hadith is sahih on the condition of the two Shaykhs (Bukhari and Muslim), but they did not record it.
تخریج الحدیث: «رجاله ثقات لكن الأعمش مدلس، وقد عنعن، وإنما تحمل روايته على الاتصال لشيوخه المكثِر عنهم كما قال الذهبي في ترجمته من "الميزان" 2/ 224، ولم يروِ عن ثمامة بن عقبة سوى حديثين فيما قاله البزار في "مسنده" 10/ 215، وقد اختلف على الأعمش في إسناده أيضًا كما سيأتي» [ترقيم الرساله 8273] [ترقيم الشركة 8174]
Takhrij and Tahqiq of Hadith No. 8273 of Al Mustadrak ala al‑Sahihayn
by Shaykh Adil Murshid, Dr. Ahmad Barhoum, Dr. Muhammad Kamil Qarah Balli and Dr. Sa'id al-Lahham
Hadith-science notes and terminology
by Shaykh Adil Murshid, Dr. Ahmad Barhoum, Dr. Muhammad Kamil Qarah Balli and Dr. Sa'id al-Lahham
Hadith-science notes and terminology
Technical note / Defect ('illah): Regarding the words "fa-akhadhahu, rajul" (then a man seized him) in the text, our view is that these words are an interpolation (muqhamah), because the narration of al-Tabarani is without them.
(1) قوله: فأخذه، رجل، نُرى أنه مقحمة، ورواية الطبراني من دونه.
Note / Clarification: In manuscript (Z) this word is vocalised "ya'udanihi" (the two of them visit him), with a ya' bearing fathah and an 'ayn bearing dammah, while in al-Dhahabi's "al-Talkhis" it is vocalised "yu'awwidhanihi" (the two of them recite protective incantations over him), carefully vocalised.
(2) ضبطت في (ز): يَعُودانه، بياء مفتوحة ثم عين مضمومة، وضبطت في "التلخيص" للذهبي: يُعوِّذانه، مجودة.
Grading: All its narrators are trustworthy (thiqah), but Sulayman al-A'mash is a "mudallis" and he narrated with "'an". Technical note / Defect ('illah): The principle is that al-A'mash's narration is taken as "connected" (muttasil) when he narrates from those shaykhs of his from whom he narrates abundantly, as Imam al-Dhahabi mentioned in his biography in "al-Mizan" (2/224). (The difficulty here is that) al-A'mash narrated nothing from Thumamah bin Uqbah except two hadiths, as al-Bazzar said in his "Musnad" (10/215). Moreover, there is a disagreement from al-A'mash in this chain as well, which comes below. Identification of narrators: Abu Abdullah al-Bushanji is "Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Sa'id al-Abdari", and Jarir is "Jarir bin Abd al-Hamid al-Dabbi".
(1) رجاله ثقات لكن الأعمش مدلس، وقد عنعن، وإنما تحمل روايته على الاتصال لشيوخه المكثِر عنهم كما قال الذهبي في ترجمته من "الميزان" 2/ 224، ولم يروِ عن ثمامة بن عقبة سوى حديثين فيما قاله البزار في "مسنده" 10/ 215، وقد اختلف على الأعمش في إسناده أيضًا كما سيأتي. أبو عبد الله البوشنجي: هو محمد بن إبراهيم بن سعيد العبدري، وجرير: هو ابن عبد الحميد الضبي.
Reference / Source: Al-Bazzar narrated it in his "Musnad" (4303) and al-Tabarani in "al-Mu'jam al-Kabir" (5011) through various routes from Jarir bin Abd al-Hamid, with this same chain. Technical note / Defect ('illah): Imam al-Bazzar says: "We do not know anyone who narrates this hadith from Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him) other than Thumamah bin Uqbah, and we do not know anyone who narrated it from Thumamah except al-A'mash, and to our knowledge al-A'mash narrated nothing from Thumamah except these two hadiths."
وأخرجه البزار في "مسنده" (4303)، والطبراني في "الكبير" (5011) من طرق عن جرير بن عبد الحميد، بهذا الإسناد. وقال البزار: هذا الحديث لا نعلم أحدًا يرويه عن زيد بن أرقم إلا ثمامة بن عقبة!، لا نعلم أحدًا حدث به إلَّا الأعمش عنه، ولا نعلم حدَّث الأعمش عن ثمامة إِلَّا هذين الحديثين.
Reference / Source: Ibn Sa'd narrated it in "al-Tabaqat" (2/178) and al-Bazzar (4304) through the route of Sufyan al-Thawri. Also Ya'qub al-Fasawi in "al-Ma'rifah wa'l-Tarikh" (30/289-290), and through his route al-Bayhaqi in "Dala'il al-Nubuwwah" (1/319), and al-Tabarani in "al-Mu'jam al-Kabir" (5012) narrated it through the route of Shayban bin Abd al-Rahman al-Nahwi. Details of the narration: Both of them (Sufyan al-Thawri and Shayban) narrate it from al-A'mash with this same chain. In all the narrations other than that of al-Tabarani, the one who performed the sorcery is described as an "Ansari".
وأخرجه ابن سعد في "الطبقات" 2/ 178، والبزار (4304) من طريق سفيان الثوري، ويعقوب الفسوي في "المعرفة والتاريخ" 30/ 289 - 290 - ومن طريقه البيهقي في "دلائل النبوة" 1/ 319 - والطبراني في "الكبير" (5012) من طريق شيبان بن عبد الرحمن النحوي، كلاهما عن الأعمش، به. ونسبوا في رواياتهم فاعل السحر أنصاريًا ما خلا رواية الطبراني.
Reference / Source: In Sahih al-Bukhari (5765), in the hadith of A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her), the one who performed the sorcery was "Labid bin al-A'sam", who was from Banu Zurayq, an ally of the Jews, and a hypocrite. Note / Clarification: Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar says in "Fath al-Bari" (17/601) that "Banu Zurayq" is a well-known clan of the Ansar (of al-Khazraj).
وفي "صحيح البخاري" (5765) من حديث عائشة: أنَّ فاعل السحر لَبيدُ بن أعصَمَ من بني زُريق حليف ليهود، كان منافقًا. قال الحافظ في "فتح الباري" 17/ 601: وبنو زريق بطن من الأنصار مشهور من الخزرج.
Details of the narration / Contradiction: Contrary to all of them, Abu Mu'awiyah Muhammad bin Khazim al-Darir differed. In Musnad Ahmad (32/19267), al-Nasa'i (3529) and others, he narrated it from al-A'mash, from "Yazid bin Hayyan", from Zayd bin Arqam (may Allah be pleased with him). Thus he put Yazid bin Hayyan in place of Thumamah (in the chain). His wording is: "A man from the Jews worked sorcery on the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and because of it he (peace and blessings be upon him) was unwell for some days. Then Jibril (peace be upon him) came and said: A Jewish man has worked sorcery on you and has tied knots for you in such-and-such a well; send someone to bring it. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who took it out and brought it, then untied it. The narrator said: Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up as though released from a hobbling rope. He never mentioned it to that Jew, nor did he ever let him see it in his face until he died." In this narration the sorcerer is described as a Jew.
وخالفهم جميعًا أبو معاوية محمد بن خازم الضرير عند أحمد 32/ (19267)، والنسائي (3529)، وغيرِهما، فرواه عن الأعمش، عن يزيد بن حيان، عن زيد بن أرقم. فجعل مكان ثمامة يزيدَ بن حيان. ولفظه: سحَرَ النبيَّ ﷺ رجلٌ من اليهود، قال: فاشتكى لذلك أيامًا، قال: فجاءه جبريل ﵇ فقال: إنَّ رجلًا من اليهود سحرك، عقد لك عُقَدًا في بئر كذا وكذا، فأرسِلْ إليها من يجيء بها، فبعث رسول الله ﷺ عليًّا، فاستخرجها فجاء بها، فحلَّها. قال: فقام رسول الله ﷺ كأنما نُشِط من عِقال، فما ذكر لذلك اليهودي، ولا رآه في وجهه قطُّ حتى مات. فجعل الساحر يهوديًا.
Reference / Source: In Abd bin Humayd (271) and al-Tahawi's "Sharh Mushkil al-Athar" (5935), in the hadith of Yazid bin Hayyan, there is this addition: "Jibril (peace be upon him) came with al-Mu'awwidhatayn (Surat al-Falaq and al-Nas) and said: A Jewish man has worked sorcery on you, and it is in such-and-such a well. He (peace and blessings be upon him) sent Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who brought it, and he ordered him to untie the knots while reciting a verse. So he kept reciting and untying until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up as though released from a hobbling rope."
وفي رواية عبد بن حميد (271)، والطحاوي في "شرح المشكل" (5935) لحديث يزيد بن حيان من الزيادة: فأتاه جبريل ﵇ بالمعوذتين، وقال: إنَّ رجلًا من اليهود سحرك، والسحر في بئر فلان، فأرسل عليًا، فجاء به، فأمره أن يحل العقد، ويقرأ آية، فجعل يقرأ ويحل، حتى قام النبي ﷺ كأنما أُنشط من عقال.
Corroborating chains and supporting reports: In this narration of Yazid the sorcerer is called a "Jew", which agrees with the narration of A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) in Sahih Muslim (2189), which states that the one who worked sorcery on the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was a Jew of the Jews of Banu Zurayq called Labid bin al-A'sam. Important point / Reconciliation: Qadi Iyad reconciled these narrations (the one saying Ansari and the one saying Jew), as mentioned in "Fath al-Bari"; he says: "It is possible that he was called a Jew because he was an ally of the Jews, not because he (actually) followed their religion."
ورواية يزيد هذه ذكر فيها أنَّ الساحر يهودي، وهي توافق رواية مسلم (2189) لحديث عائشة، ففيها أن الذي سَحَرَ رسول الله ﷺ يهوديٌّ من يهود بني زُرَيق، يقال له: لبيد بن الأعصم. وجمع بينهما القاضي عياض كما في "فتح الباري" فقال: يحتمل أن يكون قيل له: يهودي، لكونه من حلفائهم، لا أنه كان على دينهم.
