Hadith of the ten promised paradise

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A famous recorded oral tradition among Muslims (Arabic: Hadith) is about a comment made by the prophet Muhammad. Although this narration is prominently quoted and referred to, it is not given any formal name, in contrast to other hadith such as the Hadith of the pond of Khumm or the Hadith of Qur'an and Sunnah

Contents

[edit] Narration

[edit] Main narration

This hadith was narrated within Al-Tirmidhi's, Abu Da'ud's, and Ibn Maja's collections in two flavors.

[edit] Sunni site

A Sunni site, sahaba.net, quoting from swordofallah.com, presents the following narration, sourcing it to the collection of Sunan Abu Dawud, witout specifiyng the hadith number. Clarifications are added in parenthesis.

Abd-al-Rahman ibn Al-Akhnas said that when he was in a mosque, a man abused Ali (RA). So Said ibn Zayd got up and said, "I bear witness to the Apostle of God (pbuh) that I heard him say, 'Ten persons will go to Paradise. (1) Abu Bakr will go to Paradise, (2) Umar will go to Paradise, (3) Uthman will go to Paradise, (4) Ali will go to Paradise, (5) Talha will go to Paradise. (6) Zubayr ibn al-Awwam will go to Paradise, (7) Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas will go to Paradise, (8) Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf will go to Paradise and (9) Abu-Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah. If I wish, I can mention the tenth.'
The People asked, "Who is he?" so he kept silent. They again asked, "Who is he?"
He replied, 'He is (10) Said ibn Zayd (ie, himself).' He then said, 'The company of one man whose face has been covered with dust by the Apostle of Allah is better than the actions of one of you for a whole life time, even if he is granted the life-span of Noah'." [1]


On the other hand, the MSA hadith database stats that Sunan Abu Dawud includes #4631:


Abd-Allah ibn Zalim al-Mazini said: I heard Said ibn Zayd ibn Umar ibn Nufayl say: When so and so came to Kufah, and made so and so stand to address the people, Sa'id ibn Zayd caught hold of my hand and said: Are you seeing this tyrant? I bear witness to the nine people that they will go to Paradise. If I testify to the tenth too, I shall not be sinful.
I asked: Who are the nine? He said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said when he was on Hira': Be still, Hira', for only a Prophet, or an ever-truthful, or a martyr is on you. I asked: Who are those nine? He said: (1) The Apostle of Allah, (2) Abu Bakr, (3) Umar, (4) Uthman, (5) Ali, (6) Talha, (7) az-Zubayr, (8) Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas and (9) Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf. I asked: Who is the tenth? He paused a moment and said: (10) it is I.

and #4632:

Abd-al-Rahman ibn al-Akhnas said that when he was in the mosque, a man mentioned Ali (may Allah be pleased with him). So Sa'id ibn Zayd got up and said: I bear witness to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) that I heard him say: Ten persons will go to Paradise: (1) The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) will go to Paradise, (2) Abu Bakr will go to Paradise, (3) Umar will go to Paradise, (4) Uthman will go to Paradise, (5) Ali will go to Paradise, (6) Talha will go to Paradise: (7) az-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam will go to paradise, (8) Sa'd ibn Malik will go to Paradise, and (9) Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf will go to Paradise. If I wish, I can mention the tenth. The People asked: Who is he? So he kept silence. They again asked: Who is he? He replied: He is (10) Sa'id ibn Zayd (himself).

and #4633:

Narrated Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl:
Rabi'ah ibn al-Harith said: I was sitting with someone in the mosque of Kufah while the people of Kufah were with him. Then Sa'id ibn Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl came and he welcomed him, greeted him, and seated him near his foot on the throne. Then a man of the inhabitants of Kufah, called Qays ibn Al-Qamah, came. He received him and began to abuse him.
Sa'id asked: Whom is this man abusing? He replied: He is abusing Ali. He said: Don't I see that the companions of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) are being abused, but you neither stop it nor do anything about it? I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say--and I need not say for him anything which he did not say, and then he would ask me tomorrow when I see him --Abu Bakr will go to Paradise and Umar will go to Paradise. He then mentioned the rest of the tradition to the same effect (as in No. 4632).
He then said: The company of one of their man whose face has been covered with dust by the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) is better than the actions of one of you for a whole life time even if he is granted the life-span of Noah.

[edit] Shi'a site

A Shi'a site, al-islam.org [2], presents the following:

From Sunan Abu Dawud, referring to hadith #4649 and #4650:

"Said ibn Zayd said: I bear witness, I heard the messenger of Allah (s) say: Ten are in Paradise: (1) The prophet is in Paradise, (2) Abu Bakr in Paradise, (3) Talha in Paradise, (4) Umar in Paradise, (5) 'Uthman in Paradise, (6) Sa'd ibn Malik in Paradise, and (7) Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf in Paradise. If you wish I could tell you the tenth? He said. They said: Who is he? He said: (8) Said ibn Zayd."

Unfortunately, hadith #4649 and #4650 are not included in the partial Sunan Abu Dawud of the MSA hadith database [3], although this is a prominently quoted hadith.

From Sunan al-Tirmidhi, #3747, narrated from Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf:

The prophet (s) said: (1) Abu Bakr in Paradise, (2) Umar in Paradise, (3) Uthman in Paradise, (4) Ali in Paradise, (5) Talha in Paradise, (6) al-Zubair (ibn al-'Awwam) in Paradise, (7) Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf in Paradise, (8) Sa'd (ibn Abi Waqqass) in Paradise, (9) Said (ibn Zayd), (10) and Abu-Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah in Paradise." [3]


From Sunan al-Tirmidhi, #3748, narrated from Said ibn Zayd said:

The prophet (s) said in a number of people, ten are in Paradise: (1) Abu Bakr in Paradise, (2) Umar in Paradise, (3) Uthman, (4) Ali, (5) al-Zubair, (6) Talha, (7) Abd-al-Rahman, (8) Abu-Ubaida, and (9) Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas. He counted these nine and was quiet about the tenth. They said: By Allah, Abu-al-Aawar (i.e. Said ibn Zayd), who is the tenth? He said: You swore by Allah - (10) Abu-al-Aawar is in Paradise." Al-Tirmidhi commented that Abu-al-Aawar is Said ibn Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nawfal [4].


[edit] Muslim view

Muslims put different weight on this hadith, the majority, the Sunnis, viewing it as very favorable.

[edit] Sunni view

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Based on the narrations, Sunnis have listed ten people whom they believe were promised paradise while living. The list is written in the order Sunnis believed they were ranked in by prophet Muhammad. The first four of them are known by Sunnis as the "Righteously Guided Caliphs".

  1. Abu Bakr As-Siddiq (51 B.H - 13 A.H; 573 - 634 C.E)
  2. Umar bin Al-Khattab (40 B.H - 23 A.H; 584 - 644 C.E)
  3. Uthman ibn Affan (47 B.H- 35 A.H; 577-656 C.E)
  4. Ali ibn Abi Talib (23 B.H - 40 A.H; 600 - 661 C.E)
  5. Talha ibn Ubayd-Allah (28 B.H - 36 A.H; 596 - 656 C.E)
  6. Zubayr ibn al-Awwam (28 B.H - 36 A.H; 596 - 656 C.E)
  7. Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf (d. 31 A.H; 654 C.E)
  8. Sad ibn Abi Waqqas (23 B.H - 55 A.H; 600 - 675 C.E)
  9. Abu-Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah (40 B.H-18 A.H; 584-640 C.E)
  10. Said ibn Zayd (d. 51 A.H; 671 C.E)

Sunnis call these ten people the The Ten Promised Paradise (Arabic: Al-Asharatu Mubashshirun or Al-Mobashareen Bel-Jannah), a concept widely referred to in order to strengthen the status of those enumerated.

according to swordofallah.com:

The Companions were divided into twelve ranks by the scholars. This division was made according to the chronological order and some groups are also included in others. It was accepted by the majority of scholars:

It then enumerates twelve groups of Sahaba, starting with the "ten promised paradise" being included as the first and highest ranked group.

Shias often raise the differences in narration of certain hadith found in Sunni collections as a legitimate reason to disavow their authenticity. Sunnis have argued that slight differences in the narration of a hadith do not dismantle its credibility. Most ahadeeth have more than one narration, indeed they tend to be more trustworthy, as the ones with only a single narration are usually found only transmitted through a single isnad. The difference, Sunnis argue, is that websites like al-islam.com fail to acknowledge the many different narrations of Shia hadith from Shia collections which, unlike this one, don't have their authenticity doubted.

[edit] Shi'a view

Shia Muslims do not believe in the concept and have concluded that the idea is built on hadeeth that were fabricated during Umayyad reign, forged for political reasons to elevate the adversaries of the Shi'a Imam Ali and the Ahl al-Bayt. They also note that Ali is put together with nine other Sahaba who never supported him in his conflicts: Talha and Zubair were generals in the armies against him in the Battle of the Camel and Umar and Abu Bakr were in opposition to Ali during the succession of Muhammad. In contrast, Sahaba like Ammar ibn Yasir, Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr and Malik ibn Ashter, who staunchly defended Ali, are not included in the list.

Shi'a mention that the hadith was not even included in neither Sahih Bukhari nor Sahih Muslim, implying that not even the top Sunni scholars could consider it completely authentic. As argument for their un-authenticity, the Shi'a site al-islam.org [5] points to the following dissimilarities in the three hadith:

  • There are two versions, the version narrated by Said ibn Zayd includes a question and answer in the end, while the Abd-al-Rahman ibn Awf does not. Abu Dawud includs only the Said ibn Zayd version.
  • The hadith in Sunan Abu Dawud version includes Sa'd ibn Malik, while the Sunan al-Tirmith replaces him with Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas in both versions.
  • The Sunan Abu Dawud hadith does not even include Ali and also excluded are Zubayr ibn al-Awwam and Abu-Ubaida ibn al-Jarrah, and excluding Muhammad himself, the count goes down to seven, although the hadith aim to enumerate ten people.
  • The three narations do not even agree on the order of the people included in all three of them.

Among other arguments, Shi'a point out that in the chapter of merits of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, no sections can be found for neither Said ibn Zayd nor Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf, while in contrast there are merits mentioned for other companions who are ranked lower by the Sunnis. There is a a section in Sahih Bukhari for Muawiyah, one hadith for Khalid ibn Walid and a section heading for Masaab ibn Umayr (see volume 5, Book of Virtues). Sunnis do not even regard Sa'd ibn Malik as among the highly respected ten.

Further, Shi'a argue that if Uthman was really mentioned by name as one going to paradise, then he would have used it as defence when besieged, while nobody came forward mentioning this narration in support of Uthman. In fact, he was not even buried within the boundaries of Jannat al-Baqi when he died, he became included only after a later expansion of the cemetery, implying that the people of his time could not be familiar with the concept of him belonging to heaven.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Sahaba.net ("Ten Promised Paradise", Tuesday, June 07)
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ Narrators of al-Tirmithi are as follows:
    #3747: Qutaiba, Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad, Abdul Rahman bin Hameed, his father (Hameed), Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf. Al-Tirmithi said: We were told one by: Abdul Aziz bin Mohammad, Abdul Rahman bin Hameed, his father, from the prophet (s) where "Abdul Rahman bin 'Awf" was not listed. And another like it has been narrated by (adding) Saeed bin Zaid t othe chain.
  4. ^ Narrators of al-Tirmithi are as follows:
    #3748: Salih bin Mismar al-Marrouzi, Ibn Abi Fudaik, Musa bin Yaaqoub, Omar bin Saeed, Abdul Rahman bin Hameed, from his father, from Saeed bin Zaid.
  5. ^ [2]



[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Sunni:

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