So, does this affect the hadith ?

So, does this affect the hadith ? The answer is a negative. Al-A’mash’s ‘an-‘an reports from Abu Salih are accepted by scholars of the Ahl al-Sunnah. They apparently reject any notion that al-A’mash did tadlis in his reports from Abu Salih, even in his ‘an-‘an reports. For instance, Imam Muslim (d. 261 H) records this ‘an-‘an chain in his Sahih : وحدثني زهير بن حرب حدثنا جرير عن الأعمش عن أبي صالح عن أبي هريرة Zuhayr b.

Harb – Jarir – al-A’mash – Abu Salih – Abu Hurayrah[^8] ‘Allamah al-Albani (d. 1420 H)[^9], Shaykh Shu’ayb al-Arnauṭ[^10], Imam al-Tirmidhi (d. 279 H)[^11], Shaykh Dr. Asad[^12], and Shaykh Dr. Al-A’zami[^13] have all also declared chains containing ‘an-‘an transmission by al-A’mash from Abu Salih to be sahih . With this, it is obvious that the hadith of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri above, recorded by Imam Ahmad, has a perfectly sahih chain. The hadith establishes some very crucial points.

The first is that there were hypocrites among the Ansar. Of course, the Ansar were Sahabah. Therefore, there were hypocrites among the Sahabah. Interestingly, Shaykh Ibn Taymiyyah agrees on this point too: ولهذا قال احمد بن حنبل وغيره من العلماء انه لم يكن من المهاجرين من نافق و إنما كان النفاق في قبائل الأنصار…. ولهذا إنما ذكر النفاق في السور المدنية و إما السور المكية فلا ذكر فيها للمنافقين This is why Ahmad b.

Hanbal and other scholars said that there was no hypocrite among the Muhajirun and that hypocrisy existed only within the tribes of the Ansar …. And this is why hypocrisy is mentioned only in the Madinan suwar (chapters of the Qur’an). As for the Makkan suwar , there is no mention in them of hypocrites.[^14] Well, in one of the earliest Makkan surah, Allah does mention the existence of Muslims “in whose hearts is a disease” during the Makkan era[^15].

Apparently, our Shaykh and the classical Sunni scholars missed that crucial fact! Whatever the case, the fact that hypocrites existed among the Ansar – at the least - fatally undermines the Sunni doctrine that all the Sahabah earned Allah’s love, and that none of them ever forfeited it. Allah does not love hypocrites.