Q) How should we understand the following Hadith and the statement (Athar) of Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه)?
Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: The child of adultery is worst of the three.
Abu Hurairah said: That I give a flog in the path of Allah (as a charity) is dearer to me than emancipating a child of adultery.
حَدَّثَنَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ مُوسَى، أَخْبَرَنَا جَرِيرٌ، عَنْ سُهَيْلِ بْنِ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِيهِ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ وَلَدُ الزِّنَا شَرُّ الثَّلاَثَةِ ” . وَقَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ لأَنْ أُمَتِّعَ بِسَوْطٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ أَحَبُّ إِلَىَّ مِنْ أَنْ أَعْتِقَ وَلَدَ زِنْيَةٍ .
Sahih (Shaikh Al-Albani, Shaikh Muqbil bin Hadi), Sunan Abi Dawud 3963.
Answer:
The Hadith is Sahih, but what completes its meaning is the narration of Ummi (our mother) Aisha (رضي الله عنها).
- [عن عائشة أم المؤمنين:] أنَّ عائِشَةَ رضِيَ اللهُ عنها كانت إذا قيلَ لها: هو شَرُّ الثَّلاثَةِ (يَعني وَلَدَ الزِّنا)،عابَتْ ذلك وقالت: ما عليه مِن وِزرِ أَبَوَيْه، قال اللهُ: {وَلا تَزِرُ وازِرَةٌ وِزْرَ أُخْرى} [الإسراء: ١٥].
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شعيب الأرنؤوط (١٤٣٨ هـ)، تخريج المسند ١٣/٤٦٣ • سنده صحيح. • أخرجه عبدالرزاق (١٣٨٦٠) واللفظ له، وابن أبي شيبة (١٢٦٨٣)، والحاكم (٧٠٥٣)
On the authority of Aisha Ummul Mumineen: When it was mentioned to Aisha that- ‘He is the worst of the three (i.e. the child of fornication)’, she rejected it (i.e. she rejected the apparent meaning of the Hadith related by Abu Hurairah strongly) and said, ‘Not upon him (the illegitimate child) is the sin of his parents’. Allah said ‘and no bearer of burdens shall bear the burden of another’. [al-An’aam 6:164]
(See references in Arabic above.)
The meaning of Hadith as understood by Imam Sufyan Ath-Thawri (97 AH-161 AH), who was from the senior students of the students of the Sahaba (Lower level Tabai or Atba-Tabai) is-
- ولَدُ الزِّنا شَرُّ الثلاثَةِ إذا عمِلَ بعمَلِ أبوَيهِ
- البيهقي (٤٥٨ هـ)، السنن الصغير للبيهقي ٤/١٠٥ • قوله: (إذا عمل بعمل أبويه) المحفوظ أنه من قول سفيان الثوري.
(Sufyan At-Thawri said:) “The child of fornication is worst of the three (i.e. his fornicating parents and himself) if his action is like the action of his parents.”
The portion ‘if his action is like the action of his parents’ is the interpretation of the Hadith as stated by Imam Sufyan Ath-Thawri, and it is a preserved (authentic) statement from him. There are also many Daeef (weak) narrations similar to what Imam Sufyan Ath-Thawri said, but we will not use them as they are weak.
About the statement of Abu Hurairah:
Perhaps Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه) acted upon the apparent meaning of the Hadith, without considering or not recieving what Ummul Mumineen Aisha said. Abu Hurairah was a Mujtahid Aalim he acted upon what he recieved, he will be rewarded singly even if he was mistaken in his Ijtehad to follow the truth.
We also understand that Ahadith are to be understood using the entirety of the texts (Quran and Sunnah) as understood by Aisha (رضي الله عنها).
What if someone says that what Abu Hurairah says is more authentic and that this means that he will not free a child of fornication from slavery. -Such a person is entitled to his opinion, if he is convinced of it to be the truth, he will also be rewarded based on his sincerity.
As a summary:
Hence Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:“If an illegitimate child believes and does righteous deeds, he will enter Paradise, otherwise he will be punished for his deeds just like anyone else. The punishment is for the deeds, not for the lineage. Rather the illegitimate child is condemned because he is expected to do evil deeds, as often happens. By the same token, good lineages are regarded as praiseworthy because such people are expected to do good deeds. But when a person does a deed, then the reward or punishment is based on that, and the most noble of people before Allaah are those who are most pious. (al-Fataawa al-Kubra, 5/83).
Ref of Ibn Taymiyyah’s quote: Islamqa.info|21818
-Abu Muaaz Mohammed Manna
20th April 2020.
Saheehus-Seerah 