Azami 432

Tirmidhi (3283), Ibn Khuzayma in Tawhid, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (59), Hakim (2/468–469), and Bayhaqi in Asma wa Sifat (920) all narrated it through the route of Israil, from Abu Ishaq, from Abdul-Rahman bin Yazid, from Abdullah, and he mentioned it. Its chain of transmission is sahih. Tirmidhi said, "Hasan sahih." Hakim said, "It meets the criteria of Bukhari and Muslim."Ibn Hibban said in his Sahih (1/257), after narrating the hadith of Ibn Masud, "Allah the Exalted commanded Jibreel, on the night of the Night Journey, to teach Muhammad what he needed to know. He said, "Taught to him by one intense in strength, one of soundness, and he rose to his true form, while he was in the highest horizon" [Najm 53:5–7], meaning Jibreel. "Then he approached and descended" [Najm 53:8], meaning Jibreel. "And was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer" [Najm 53:9], meaning Jibreel. "And he revealed to His servant what he revealed" [Najm 53:10], through Jibreel. "The heart did not lie about what it saw" [Najm 53:11], meaning that his heart did not lie about what he saw of his Lord in that noble place, and he saw Jibreel in a garment of ruby that filled what is between heaven and earth, as reported in the account of Ibn Masud." End of quote.The correct tafsir, narrated from Ayesha, Ibn Masud, and Abu Hurairah, regarding His saying, "Then he approached and descended, and was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer" [Najm 53:8–9], is that it refers to Jibreel . He approached Muhammadﷺ and descended, meaning he drew near to him. Some said there is an inversion in the wording, meaning that he actually descended and then approached.As for what Bukhari narrated in Tawhid (7517) and Muslim in Iman (162), both through the route of Sharik bin Abdullah, who said, "I heard Ibn Malik" (meaning Anas bin Malik) "say..." and he then related the story of the Night Journey at length, saying in it, "Until he reached Sidrat Muntaha, and the Almighty, Lord of Might, drew near and descended, until he was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer." This is the wording of Bukhari. As for Muslim, he did not give the wording in full, but instead referred to the narration of Thabit Bunani, saying, "He rearranged some parts of it, adding and omitting."Muslim, may Allah have mercy on him, recognized that what occurred from Sharik bin Abdullah contradicted the majority of scholars, who held, in explaining His saying, "Then he approached and descended" [Najm 53:8], that it means Jibreel , as mentioned before, so he did not give the wording in full. Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, however, related it as he heard it and did not wish to omit anything from it.The scholars said that this was among the mistakes made by Sharik bin Abdullah, that is, Ibn Abu Nimr, whom Ibn Hajar described in Taqrib as "truthful, but prone to error."Bayhaqi said in Asma wa Sifat (2/357), after narrating this hadith and attributing it to Bukhari, "Muslim narrated it from Harun bin Saeed Ayli, from Ibn Wahb, but he did not give its full wording, and instead referred to the narration of Thabit from Anas . The narration of Thabit from Anas does not contain the wording of approaching and descending, nor the wording about the place. The hadith of the Ascension was also narrated by Ibn Shihab Zuhri from Anas bin Malik , and by Abu Dharr and Qatada from Anas bin Malik from Malik bin Sasaa, and neither of these two hadiths contains anything of that. Sharik bin Abdullah bin Abu Nimr, in this narration of his, mentioned things that indicate he did not memorize the hadith as he should have, given his forgetting what others had memorized, and his contradicting, regarding the stations of the prophets he saw in the heavens, someone more precise in memory than himself.He said at the end of the hadith, "Then he woke up while he was in the masjid," whereas the Prophet'sﷺ Ascension was an actual physical vision, and it was only the splitting of his chest that occurred while he was between sleep and wakefulness.Moreover, this story, in its entirety, is merely an account that Sharik related from Anas bin Malik on his own authority. He did not attribute it to the Messenger of Allah, nor did he narrate it from him, nor did he ascribe it to his words. Abdullah bin Masud, Ayesha, and Abu Hurairah contradicted him regarding what he alone reported of it, and they were more precise in memory, greater in standing, and more numerous.Ayesha and Ibn Masud narrated from the Prophet ﷺ what indicates that His saying, "Then he approached and descended, and was at a distance of two bow-lengths or nearer" [Najm 53:8–9], refers to Jibreel, peace be upon him, in the form in which he was created." End of quote.He said in Dalail Nubuwwah (2/382), "In Sharik's hadith there is an addition he alone reported, in line with the view of those who claimed that heﷺ saw his Lord. The statement of Ayesha, Ibn Masud, and Abu Hurairah, in interpreting these verses as referring to the sight of Jibreel, is more correct."Ibn Kathir said in his tafsir, "This is what Bayhaqi, may Allah have mercy on him, said regarding this matter, and it is the truth."