A Narration Claimed to Be Fabricated by Hanafi Jurist Ibn al-Salji and Its Analysis
Öz
One of the primary aims of the science of Hadith is to determine whether the reports attributed to the Prophet Muhammad are genuinely his words or not. In order to distinguish authentic reports from fabricated ones, hadith scholars developed various methodologies, the most notable of which is the practice of al-jarḥ wa al-taʿdīl (criticism and accreditation of narrators). Among the fabricated reports often cited in works that compile false narrations is the baseless claim that “God first created a horse, made it run, and then created Himself from the sweat of that horse.” It has been claimed that this report -clearly contrary to reason, religion, and common sense- was fabricated by Muḥammad b. Shujāʿ al-Saljī (d. 266/880), a prominent figure within the Ḥanafī school. The allegation that such a report -one that no sincere Muslim would ever attribute to the Prophet -originated with a leading representative of a major legal school raises several serious questions. The earliest known source of this accusation is a work authored by ʿUthmān b. Saʿīd al-Dārimī (d. 280/894), written as a refutation of Bishr al-Marīsī (d. 218/833), a prominent Muʿtazilī theologian and teacher of Ibn al-Saljī. In the section where al-Dārimī presents the report, he implies -without explicitly naming him- that Ibn al-Saljī accepted the narration and offered an implausible interpretation of it. Later, Ibn ʿAdī (d. 365/976), in his biographical work identifying weak transmitters, directly states that Ibn al-Saljī fabricated the report. After Ibn ʿAdī, the accusation was uncritically accepted in later works of narrator criticism. Ibn al-Saljī lived in Baghdad -then a major center of Islamic scholarship- during the third century of the Hijrī calendar. He was recognized in his time as one of the foremost representatives of the rationalist tradition (ahl al-ra’y). In addition to his expertise in jurisprudence (fiqh), he was also highly proficient in hadith, theology (kalām), and Qurʾanic recitation (qirāʾāt). He studied law under Ḥasan b. Ziyād, a disciple of Abū Ḥanīfa, and adopted many of his theological ideas from Bishr al-Marīsī, a leading figure of the Jahmiyyah school. Consequently, he has been accused of harboring Muʿtazilī inclinations. Ibn al-Saljī also gained a reputation for his work in hadith transmission and classification. Although none of his writings have survived, bibliographical sources indicate that he compiled the hadiths upon which the imams of his school based their views, and that he sought to establish the principles of the Ḥanafī school through a method of hadith analysis (takhrīj). Ibn al-Saljī actively opposed the extremist factions within the traditionalist (ahl al-ḥadīth) circles of his time, such as the Ḥashwiyyah and the Mushabbihah, composing polemical works aimed at refuting their theological doctrines. Due to his unique position between the rationalist (ahl al-ra’y) and traditionalist camps, he became a subject of both high praise and severe criticism. Scholars of ahl al-ra’y praised his scholarship, piety, and asceticism, whereas hadith critics accused him—at best—of fabrication and falsehood, and at worst went so far as to label him a disbeliever. The content of the report stating, “God first created a horse, made it run, and then created Himself from the horse’s sweat,” is clearly incompatible with reason, the core tenets of religion, the Qur’an, and the Sunnah. There is no plausible interpretation that can reconcile this narration either textually or theologically. The article also examines its chain of transmission (isnād), which is recorded as: Ibn al-Saljī → Ḥabbān b. Hilāl → Ḥammād b. Salamah → Abū al-Muhazzim → Abū Hurayrah. Among the transmitters, one is problematic in terms of integrity (ʿadālah) and another in terms of precision (ḍabṭ). Abū al-Muhazzim, who reports from Abū Hurayrah, is described by hadith critics as a discredited (matrūk) narrator known for transmitting objectionable (munkar) reports. Ḥammād b. Salamah, meanwhile, was criticized for continuing to transmit hadiths from memory despite a decline in his recall toward the end of his life, which resulted in numerous errors. Moreover, it is reported that he had two adopted sons -named Ibn al-Awjāʾ and Zayd- who fabricated hadiths and inserted them among Ḥammād’s narrations. Despite these serious flaws in the isnād, hadith scholars did not hesitate to attribute the fabrication to Ibn al-Saljī himself. This raises the possibility that he was deliberately targeted due to his affiliation with the rationalist school (ahl al-ra’y). The two early sources of this claim -ʿUthmān al- Dārimī and Ibn ʿAdī- were both known for their particularly harsh views toward rationalist scholars, especially those from the Ḥanafī tradition. The article also investigates whether their judgments were influenced by bias against the ahl al- ra’y and its prominent figures.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Hanefî Fakihi İbnü’s-Selcî Tarafından Uydurulduğu İddia Edilen Bir Rivayet ve Tahlili
Öz
Hadis ilminin teşekkülü ve gelişimini motive eden temel unsur, Hz. Peygamber’den nakledilen haberlerin ona ait olup olmadığının tespitidir. Sahabe döneminden itibaren hadislerin nakliyle meşgul olan kimseler, bu konuda ellerinden gelen gayreti göstermişlerdir. Hadislerin tespiti işlemi bazen râvilerin naklettikleri hadisler, bazen de râvi hakkında verilen hükümler üzerinden yapılmıştır. Du‘afâ literatüründe, naklettiği haberlerden hareketle tenkit edilen râvilerden biri de Hanefî mezhebinin üçüncü asırdaki önde gelen isimlerinden Muhammed b. Şücâ‘ es-Selcî’dir (266/880). İbnü’s-Selcî, başta Osman ed-Dârimî (ö. 280/894) ve İbn Adî (ö. 365/976) olmak üzere, Ehl-i Hadis alimleri tarafından “Allah’ın önce bir at yarattığı, sonra onu koşturup o atın terinden kendisini yarattığı” şeklindeki rivayeti uydurup nakletmesi sebebiyle sert bir şekilde eleştirilmiş, hatta küfre düşmekle itham edilmiştir. Hanefî tabakat eserlerinde ise onun hakkında tam tersi olarak alim, âbid, verâ sahibi biri olduğu söylenerek olumlu bir portre çizildiği görülür. Makalede öncelikle İbnü’s-Selcî hakkında kısaca bilgi verilecek, hakkında yapılan olumlu ve olumsuz değerlendirmelerden bahsedilecektir. Daha sonra söz konusu rivayetin isnad değerlendirmesi yapılarak, haberi kimin uydurmuş olabileceği incelenecektir. Son olarak da Dârimî’den başlamak üzere, hadis münekkitleri tarafından ortaya atılan söz konusu iddianın gerçeği ne kadar yansıttığı üzerinde durulacak ve Ehl-i Rey’in önde gelen isimlerine karşı rical tenkitçilerinin görüşlerinin sıhhati değerlendirilmeye çalışılacaktır. Söz konusu rivayetin isnad incelemesi sonucunda, haberin senedinde daha İbnü’s-Selcî’ye ulaşmadan adalet ve zapt açısından tenkit edilen râvilerin bulunduğu, bu durum ortadayken haberi uyduran kişinin İbnü’s-Selcî’nin olduğunun söylenmesinin taraflı bir tutum olduğu ortaya konmaya çalışılacaktır. Zira ilk olarak söz konusu iddiayı dile getiren Dârimî ve İbn Adî, muhaddisler arasında Ehl-i Rey’in önde gelenlerine karşı müteşeddid yaklaşımlarıyla bilinen isimlerdir. Makalede başta Hanefî mezhebi imamları olmak üzere, onların Ehl-i Rey alimlere karşı taraflı yaklaşımlarına da değinilmektedir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Bu araştırma, Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Koordinasyon Birimi isimli kamu kuruluşunun Hızlı Destek Projesi kapsamında desteklenen SHIZ-2023-1488 numaralı, “Hanefi Mezhebi Alimlerinden İbnü’s-Selci ve Hadisçiliği” başlıklı projeden hareketle hazırlanmıştır.
Bu çalışmanın hazırlanma sürecinde bilimsel ve etik ilkelere uyulduğu ve yararlanılan tüm çalışmaların kaynakçada belirtildiği beyan olunur.
