748 H) confirms...

748 H) confirms: على شرط البخاري ومسلم ( Sahih ) upon the standard of al-Bukhari and Muslim ^5 One would never have guessed correctly that the Ahl al-Sunnah consider Sa’d b. Abi Waqqas, radhiyallahu ‘anhu - one of the most senior Sahabah and one of the earliest converts to Islam - to be an ignorant liar! Wait a minute! How come the testimony of Sa’d - an eye-witness - was ignorant fallacy while that of Sunni scholars, born centuries after him, is sound knowledge?

Has the world really turned upside down? Interestingly, another big Sunni name features prominently on the list of “ignorant liars”. Al-Hafiz Ibn Kathir (d. 774 H) copies this report: وقال يحيى بن معين: عن علي بن الجعد عن الحسن بن صالح قال: تذاكروا الزهاد عند عمر بن عبد العزيز فقال قائلون: فلان، وقال قائلون: فلان، فقال عمر بن عبد العزيز: أزهد الناس في الدنيا علي بن أبي طالب. Yahya b. Ma’in – ‘Ali b. al-Ja’d – al-Hasan b. Salih: They mentioned ascetism in the presence of ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz.

Some people said, “So-and-so (is the most ascetic)”. Others said, “So-and-so (is the most ascetic)”. So, ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz said, “ The most ascetic of mankind - as far as this world (i.e. material possessions, power, and worldly pleasures) is concerned - is ‘Ali b. Abi Talib .”[^6] Al-Hafiz says about the first narrator: يحيى بن معين بن عون الغطفاني مولاهم أبو زكريا البغدادي ثقة حافظ مشهور إمام الجرح والتعديل Yahya b. Ma’in b.

‘Awn al-Ghaṭfani, their freed slave, Abu Zakariyah al-Baghdadi: Thiqah (trustworthy), a well-known hafiz **(** hadith scientist) , Imam of al-jarh wa al-ta’dil .[^7] Concerning the second narrator, he also states: علي بن الجعد بن عبيد أبو الحسن الجوهري البغدادي ثقة ثبت رمي بالتشيع ‘Ali b. al-Ja’d b.

‘Ubayd, Abu al-Hasan al-Jawhari al-Baghdadi: Thiqah (trustworthy), thabt (accurate) , he was accused of Shi’ism.[^8] Lastly, he has this verdict on the third narrator: الحسن بن صالح بن صالح بن حي وهو حيان بن شفي بضم بالمعجمة والفاء مصغر الهمداني بسكون الميم الثوري ثقة فقيه عابد رمي بالتشيع Al-Hasan b. Salih b. Salih b. Hayy, and he was Hayyan b.

Shufay al-Hamdani al-Thawri: Thiqah (trustworthy) , a jurist, a great worshipper of Allah, he was accused of Shi’ism.[^9] The sanad , therefore, is sahih . All the narrators are trustworthy, and there is no disconnection among the narrators. So, ‘Umar b. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz – the righteous khalifah in the sight of most of the Ahl al-Sunnah – was actually an “ignorant liar” according to the view of Imam Ibn Hazm, endorsed by Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah!