Azami 6998

This was narrated by Abu Dawud (4261–4409), Hakim (4/424), and Bayhaqi (8/191), all through the route of Hammad bin Zayd, from Abu Imran Juni, from Mishab bin Tarif, from Abdullah bin Samit, from Abu Dharr, who related the hadith at length. It will come later in the Book of Tribulations (Fitan). Abu Dawud said, "No one mentioned Mishab in this hadith except Hammad bin Zayd." I say, this Mishab bin Tarif is graded "acceptable" (maqbul) by Ibn Hajar, meaning when supported by a corroborating narration. But I have not found a corroborator for him.However, the trustworthy narrators reported it from Abu Imran Juni without mentioning "Mishab bin Tarif" between Abu Imran and Abdullah bin Samit. Among these are Shuba, as found in Bayhaqi, Marhum bin Abdul-Aziz Attar, as found in Ahmad (21325) and Ibn Hibban (6685), Mamar, as found in Abdul-Razzaq (20729), and Hammad bin Salama, as found in Hakim. All of these and others narrated from Abu Imran Juni, from Abdullah bin Samit, from Abu Dharr, and related it thus. These narrators take precedence over Hammad bin Zayd. Bayhaqi and others confirmed that Hammad bin Zayd erred in this by adding "Mishab bin Tarif" between Abu Imran and Abdullah bin Samit.As for Hakim's statement that Hammad bin Zayd is more reliable (athbat) than Hammad bin Salama, this applies when the two differ and there is nothing to give preference to either one. But when something is found that gives preference to one over the other, then the one supported by that preference is given priority, as is the case here.Here "the house" means the grave, and "the servant" (wasif) means an attendant. He means that people become so preoccupied that no one is found among them to dig a grave for the dead and bury them, except by paying a servant, or the servant's equivalent value. So said Khattabi.Abu Dawud drew on this hadith in his Sunan, titling a chapter "The Chapter on Cutting Off the Hand of the Grave-Robber." His reasoning from the hadith was that it called the grave a house, and a house is a secure enclosure (hirz), and a thief who steals from a secure enclosure has his hand cut off if the stolen item reaches the threshold value for which the hand is cut off. This is the view of the majority of scholars, including Malik, Shafii, Ahmad, Ishaq, and Abu Yusuf, the companion of Abu Hanifa. It is also related that Ibn Zubayr had a grave-robber's hand cut off.Bukhari said in Tarikh al-Kabir (4/104), "Hushaym said, narrating to us from Suhayl, who said, 'I witnessed Ibn Zubayr cut off the hand of a grave-robber.'" Bayhaqi mentioned this as well (8/270). Umar bin Abdul-Aziz said, "Whoever robs the dead is punished as one who robs the living is punished."Abu Hanifa disagreed with them, saying, "There is no cutting off the hand for this, because of the ambiguity in calling the grave a house. Even if the grave is called a house, this house is not a secure enclosure, because a secure enclosure is where goods are placed for safekeeping, and the shroud is not placed in the grave for that purpose."In Musannaf Ibn Abu Shayba (29205), from Isa bin Yunus, from Mamar, from Zuhri, he said, "Some people who used to disturb graves, meaning dig them up, were brought to Marwan bin Hakam. He had them flogged and banished, while the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were still numerous and present.""Disturbing" (ikhtifa) means digging up a grave and removing its shroud.Also in it (29206), from Hafs, from Ashath, from Zuhri, he said, "A grave-robber was apprehended during the time of Muawiya, when Marwan was governor over Madinah. He asked those present among the companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ in Madinah and the jurists, but they found no one who would say his hand should be cut off. He said, so their consensus settled on flogging him and parading him around publicly."