<Critical analysis of the hadith about Prophet (s) making a dua for Mu’awiyah>

Imam Tirmidhi said: This hadith is hasan ghareeb.

Jami’ at-Tirmidhi: Vol#2, Hadith#1813

A- Analysis of the Chain of Transmission:

(Note: I'm only quoting the Imams of Ahlus Sunnah. If someone doesn't believe what's written in this thread, he should doubt his own books.)

Imam Tirmidhi had graded it as 'hasan ghareeb' because he considered 'Abd al-Rahman bin Abi 'Umairah a sahabi, but many scholars have disagreed on his being a sahabi.

(1) Imam Mubarakpuri quoted some great Imams of Ahlus Sunnah in his book Tuhfa tul Ahwaz (ref: vol#4, pg#354), the commentary on Jami’ at-Tirmidhi:

(a) Imam ibn Hajr in his book Fath al-Bari had mentioned that ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Abi 'Umaira was not a sahabi. Therefore, it’s ...

... impossible that he had listened it directly from the Prophet (s).

(b) Imam ibn ‘Abd al-Barr had the same opinion. He had mentioned this in his own book, al-Istiab (vol#1, pg#507).

Imam ibn al-Jowzi had quoted Imam ibn ‘Abd al-Barr’s claim in his own book & Imam ...

... Mubarakpuri had quoted it from the book of ibn al-Jowzi.

(c) Imam ibn al-Jowzi rejected many fabricated ahadith on fadhail of Mu’awiyah & others in his book, Mowdhu’at al-Kubra (A Great Collection of Fabricated Traditions), & quoted from Imam Is’haq bin Rahwayh that ...

... nothing had proven in the fadhilat of Mu’awiyah.

(d) Imam ibn al-Jowzi & Imam ibn Hajr had also narrated in their books a dialogue between Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal & his son ‘Abdullah. ‘Abdullah asked his father about fadhail e Mu’awiyah & he told him that ‘Ali had many

enemies. They couldn’t find even a single narration against ‘Ali to bring him down. So, they used another tactic & that was to bring his biggest enemy, Mu’awiyah up by fabricating his fadhail.

(e) Imam Hajr wrote in Fath al-Bari that there are many fabricated fadhail of Mu’awiyah but not even a single one had an authentic chain.

(f) Another person in the chain of above mentioned hadith, Sa’eed bin 'Abd al-'Aziz was a reliable person but he suffered from ...

... memory loss in his old age.

(2) Imam ibn Hajr had also rejected ‘Abd al-Rahman being a sahabi in his other book, Tahdhib al-Tahdhib (vol#5, pg#152).

Note: Ibn Hajr had another book, al-Isiba in which he mentioned ‘Abd al-Rahman being a sahabi but in his other ...

... 2 books, Fath al-Bari & Tahdhib al-Tahdhib, he negated this claim. And those 2 books are his amongst most trusted & renowned work.

(3) Imam 'Ali ibn al-Athir mentioned in his book Usd al-Ghaba (vol#3, pg#494) that 'Abd al-Rahman was not a sahabi.

(4) Imam al-Dhahabi was of the opinion that 'Abd al-Rahman was a sahabi. He stated:

هذا الحديث رواته ثقات، لكن اختلفوا في صحبة عبد الرحمن، والأظهر أنه صحابی

He used the word 'apparently' here.

(5) One of the reasons why some scholars considered 'Abd al-Rahman a thiqa rawi (trustworthy narrator) is that many thiqa narrators have narrated from him & also there is no jirah on 'Abd al-Rahman bin Abi 'Umaira. So, they assume him to be a thiqa narrator.

B- Logical Analysis:

Even if someone considers it authentic, it doesn’t make Mu’awiyah a Hadi & Mahdi.

It is a dua, not a prophecy. Prophet (s) is making a dua, not claiming that Mu’awiya will be a Hadi & Mahdi (Astagfirullah).

Can Allah reject Prophet’s dua? Yes, he can. Following is the hadith from Sahih al-Muslim:

And we can check from many authentic narrations that whether he was a Hadi & Mahdi or not.

For example, can the one leading transgressors/ the band of rebels be a Hadi & Mahdi? Can a leader of the party calling someone towards hell be a Hadi & Mahdi?

Can someone hating 'Ali (who is loved by Allah & his Messenger) be a Hadi & Mahdi? Can a person abandoning the Sunnah in the hatred of 'Ali be a Hadi & Mahdi?