The Phenomenon of Exaggeration in Narratives of Worship and Piety

Dr. Iyad Qanibi

1. Imam Abu Hanifa heard about a sheep that was stolen, so he did not eat any lamb meat for as long as sheep usually live, fearing that he might eat from the stolen one.
2. The Salaf would reprimand themselves for seven days if one of them missed the congregational prayer, and it is said, even for one rak'ah. They would reprimand themselves for three days if they missed the first takbir with the imam.
3. Imam Shafi'i, may Allah have mercy on him, would recite 30 khatms (complete recitations of the Quran) every month, and 60 khatms every month during Ramadan.
4. Abu Darda, may Allah be pleased with him, would glorify Allah 100,000 times in a single day.
5. Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, heard a man performing qiyam al-layl (night prayer) and reciting Surah At-Tur. When the man reached the verse, "Indeed, the punishment of your Lord will come to pass; there is no one to avert it" (At-Tur 52:7), Umar said, "I swear by the Lord of the Ka'bah, it is true," then he returned home and fell ill for a month. People visited him, but they did not know what his illness was.
6. Sa'id ibn al-Musayyib wept until one of his eyes became blind, and he was left with only one eye. He said, "There is no good in an eye that does not weep excessively."
7. Asad ibn Mehleb was by the bank of the Euphrates when he heard a reciter saying, "Indeed, the wrongdoers will be in the punishment of Hell, abiding eternally therein. They will not find for themselves from it any respite" (Az-Zukhruf 43:76). He swayed, and when the reciter said, "And we wronged them not, but they were the wrongdoers" (Az-Zukhruf 43:77), he fell into the water and died.
8. Imam Malik spent 50 years praying Fajr with the wudu of Isha, and Abu Hanifa spent 40 years doing the same.
9. Abdullah ibn al-Fadl heard the verse, "If you could but see when they are standing before the Fire and say, 'Oh, would that we could return and not deny the signs of our Lord and be among the believers'" (Al-An'am 6:27), and he wept until he fainted, then he was carried away as a dead person.

These were examples of stories we hear in the context of admonition and encouragement towards piety, worship, and being affected by the Quran. We assume that those who narrate such stories intend good, wanting to set an example for Muslims to follow, so that the Muslim feels the great difference between himself and his predecessors, rolls up his sleeves, gathers his strength, and catches up with the caravan... but... do these stories actually have a positive effect? And is mentioning them free from harm?

For this reason, I wanted to talk about: The phenomenon of exaggeration in narratives of worship and piety.

First: In terms of authenticity, are these stories authenticated?

If they were authenticated, we would look for interpretations for them... but the truth is that most of them are not authenticated. You either see them beginning with "it is said"... like this, without an isnad! Or a single man is mentioned in the chain of narration, such as the phrase: Abdullah ibn Isa said, "There were two black lines on Umar ibn al-Khattab's face from weeping." This report is mentioned in a book between him and Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, with nations and centuries in between, and it must have a connected isnad from fifteen or twenty narrators, so what benefit is there in saying: from Abdullah ibn Isa?

It is even worse when the man mentioned is accused of fabricating hadith, such as when you hear someone say: from al-Waqidi (The Imam Ibn Abi Dhi'b used to pray all night). Meaning the entire night. Al-Waqidi caused much defamation in the books of Ahl al-Sunnah with fabrications, not only about the Imams but also about the major Companions. How can we reject the hadith of al-Waqidi regarding what happened between some of the Companions and accept his narrations here?

Or the report may have a known isnad but it is weak. For example, the report that Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, fell ill for a month after hearing a verse, was narrated by Ibn Abi ad-Dunya and Ibn Kathir with a weak isnad. Or the report may be in books known to be filled with fabricated hadith that have no basis, such as "Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din," like the report about the Salaf reprimanding themselves for days if they missed the takbir of ihram. This book, although it was of great benefit in its time and played a temporary role, and its author, Imam al-Ghazali, deserves praise, there is no justification in our time to narrate from "Ihya' 'Ulum ad-Din" without verification.

Someone may say: It is not necessary to adhere to the conditions of verification when narrating reports from the Salaf as we do when narrating prophetic hadith. True. But when these reports are strange and contrary to the prophetic guidance, it is necessary to reject them as a principle, and being lenient in accepting and narrating them is harmful, as we will see.

This is in terms of the isnad. As for the rational aspect, by calculation with pen and paper, many of these reports are impossible to occur. For example, the report that Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, used to pray 1,000 rak'ahs in a day and night. Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, responded to this in "Minhaj as-Sunnah" (4/32), saying: (What is authenticated from the Prophet, peace be upon him, is that he used to pray about forty rak'ahs in a day and night. Ali, may Allah be pleased with him, knew his Sunnah and followed his guidance better than to differ from it in such a way if it were possible. How can one pray 1,000 rak'ahs in a day and night along with performing other obligations? He must have time for eating, sleeping, fulfilling the rights of people, and fulfilling the rights of the subjects, and other matters that take up either half or more or less of the time. An hour cannot accommodate eighty rak'ahs or something close to that unless it is like the pecking of a crow. Ali is far from praying the prayer of hypocrites, as it is authenticated in the Sahihayn that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said: That is the prayer of the hypocrite, he watches the sun until it is between the horns of Shaitan, then he stands and pecks four times, not remembering Allah much in it.)

Therefore, many of these reports are rejected both in terms of isnad and reason. If they had a known isnad, we would say this is a blessing from Allah, the Exalted, that He blesses the time of the Companion so that he can accommodate so much of the deeds, but there is no accepted isnad for them, along with their contradiction to the prophetic guidance, which makes it unlikely that our righteous predecessors would do such things.

It is strange that some callers of Ahl al-Sunnah deal with these reports like the Sufis, narrating something close to what the Sufis narrate from stories of karamat (miracles) that are not authentic, even though karamat can occur, but they exaggerate in them in an unacceptable way.

Second: The Harms of These Narrations

What prompted me to discuss this topic is the harms that result from circulating such narrations, which are numerous:

1. Weakening the Credibility of Preachers: This is a serious matter. Preachers are the carriers of the Quran and Sunnah to the people, so they should strive to maintain their credibility; otherwise, they become a cause for people to be infatuated with the religion they carry to them.

2. Making People Doubt General Narrations: Some of these narrations contain acts of worship unfamiliar to people, even though some of these narrations are authentically attributed to the Prophet peace be upon him. For instance, in a hadith narrated by Imam Muslim, the Messenger of Allah recited in one rak'ah of the night prayer the chapters of Al-Baqarah, Al-Nisa, and Al-Imran, then bowed, and his bowing was almost as long as his standing. Then he said, "Allah hears the one who praises Him," and then stood for a long time, almost as long as his bowing. Then he prostrated, and his prostration was almost as long as his standing. This hadith is authentic in its chain, and we believe in its authenticity. It contains a very high level of devotion from the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, who was then close to sixty years old, while we, the youth, fall short in our devotion to such great worship. However, unfortunately, if we mention this hadith to someone who is used to hearing unverified narrations like the ones mentioned, their mind may be preoccupied with doubting and questioning the authenticity of the hadith and its possibility of occurrence instead of being motivated. This is because what they heard before this hadith was indeed dubious, causing the hadith to lose its strong impact on the hearts at that moment.

3. The Third Harm: Feeling the Impossibility of Keeping Up with the Righteous Predecessors: Consequently, the listener of these narrations may surrender to them and feel the impossibility of following their guidance. They may even despair of Allah's mercy, knowing that these righteous people feared they would not enter Paradise. They may say to themselves: If they, with their level of worship that is beyond our reach, feared they would not enter Paradise, then what about those below them? Of course, it is not hidden that the fear of not entering Paradise is a sign of faith. However, the true examples of the righteous predecessors contain the required balance between fear and hope. Let us present them as they are instead of exaggerating one aspect at the expense of the other.

Note that the first and second harms occur with those who doubt the authenticity of the narrations. As for this third mentioned harm, it may affect those who believe them. Thus, the narrations, in both cases, have their negatives.

4. Deterring from the Religion: Such as the narration that someone wept out of fear of Allah until he lost his sight, and they advised him to seek treatment, but he refused. What a deterrent! Does Allah the Almighty want us to go blind and become disabled to prove the sincerity of our faith?

5. These Narrations Make Us a Laughing Stock for Those Who Mock the Religion and the Misguided Sects: For example, I saw on a website of the Rafidah a comment on the story of Abu Hanifah's abstinence from eating sheep meat for a whole year because he knew that a sheep had been stolen. One of them said mockingly: (I don't know which superstition to laugh at? This or that... until he said: Or for the piety of the man connected to his sound jurisprudence in the story of the stolen sheep, which no pious jurist agrees with, while Islam has permitted the eating of sheep meat at all times, and among them are individuals that have been stolen in Islamic cities and their surroundings, but this jurist does not know). Unfortunately, his last statement is correct. Islam has indeed permitted the eating of sheep at all times, even though the theft of livestock is possible at all times. However, the fool, instead of denying the story, took it as an excuse to mock Imam Abu Hanifah. The reason is the Muslims who circulate these narrations in the first place, making themselves a laughing stock for those who mock.

6. These Narrations Are an Excuse for Exaggeration and Strictness in Religion: They indirectly indicate that some righteous people abstained from things that the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him did not abstain from. The Prophet peace be upon him said in the hadith narrated by Muslim: (The exaggerators are doomed. The exaggerators are doomed. The exaggerators are doomed). The exaggerators are those who impose strictness on themselves without evidence from Allah and His Messenger. I heard a scholar answer a question from a woman who said that a woman came to their neighborhood to gather them for religious lessons, but this woman refuses to remove her veil in front of other women, saying: I fear that one of you might describe me to her husband. This, my brothers, is not praiseworthy piety, but it is blameworthy exaggeration. Imagine the joy of the hypocrites with such a story and how they will use it as an excuse to attack the veil, the hijab, modesty, and shyness.

7. I Fear That These Narrations May Be a Cause of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: This is a disease whose forms include extreme exaggeration in purity or long doubt about the validity of intention for ablution or prayer, or self-accusation of illness... The nature of this disease is exaggeration, and some, if they study with a scholar who exaggerates in the rulings of purity and prayer, begin to have obsessive thoughts. I fear that hearing narrations that exaggerate in describing abstinence, and that a righteous person was seen in a dream detained from Paradise because of dust stuck in a measure he used to measure dirt... I fear that hearing them may be a gateway to obsessive thoughts.

8. These Narrations, in the Belief of Their Narrators That They Elevate the Status of Our Imams from the Righteous Predecessors, Are, on the Contrary, If They Are Authentic, a Criticism of Our Predecessors.

According to these narrations, Abu Bakr abstained from more of what is permissible, saying: (We used to supplicate seventy doors of the permissible fearing that we might fall into a door of the forbidden), thus abstaining from what the Prophet did not abstain from according to these narrations.

According to them, Abu Hanifah was an exaggerator who abstained from what the Prophet peace be upon him did not abstain from, such as eating sheep meat. According to them, Malik contradicted the Sunnah by not sleeping at night for fifty years, while the follower of the Sunnah is the one who says: (By Allah, I am the most fearful of you of Allah and the most obedient to Him, but I fast and break my fast, I pray and sleep, and I marry women. Whoever desires other than my Sunnah is not from me) (Bukhari).

According to them, Al-Shafi'i, by reciting the Quran twice a day, contradicted the prohibition of the Prophet peace be upon him who said: (Do not recite it in less than three) (narrated by Said bin Mansour with a sound chain), and the one who said: (He who recites it in less than three will not understand it) (narrated by Imam Ahmad and authenticated by Al-Albani, and its chain was authenticated by Ahmad Shakir).

According to them, Umar bin Abdul Aziz did not perform ritual bath from seminal emission since he assumed the caliphate, thus shortening the rights of his wife and contradicting the saying of the Prophet peace be upon him: (And your wife has a right over you).

According to them, Hassan bin Abi Sinan prohibited for himself what Allah had permitted him, so according to Al-Qushayri in the Qushayriyyah, he did not sleep lying down, did not eat fatty food, and did not drink cold water for sixty years... And the Messenger of Allah did not legislate for us worship by abstaining from lying down, eating meat, and drinking cold water.

According to them, our righteous predecessors had no occupation except to console themselves for seven days if one of them missed a rak'ah of congregational prayer. They had no jihad that took their time, no seeking of livelihood, nor seeking of knowledge. Their only work was to line up to greet those who missed the rak'ah and say to them: (May Allah magnify your reward and make your consolation good) for seven days! What praise is this? There is no power except with Allah.

We exonerate our righteous predecessors from these contradictions to the Sunnah of the Chosen One peace be upon him. If any of these similar narrations are proven, they should not be presented as the ideal model required. The complete, balanced Prophetic Sunnah is more beautiful, more perfect, and more complete.

Imam adh-Dhahabi in his discussion about the scholar Wakee' bin al-Jarrah in his book "Siyar A'lam an-Nubala'" said: (It has been reported about him that he used to fast continuously and complete the recitation of the Quran every night. adh-Dhahabi said: I say, this is a form of worship that one submits to, but it is not the best, as it is from the likes of an imam from the great imams who are given preference (i.e., it is not the best). It has been authentically reported that he (peace be upon him) forbade fasting continuously, and it has been authentically reported that he forbade reciting the Quran in less than three days. The religion is ease, and following the Sunnah is more important.)

To complete the topic, we mention that it has been authentically reported about 'Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) that he completed the recitation of the Quran in one rak'ah. The scholars have interpreted this narration in various ways, including that perhaps the prohibition of the Prophet (peace be upon him) from reciting the Quran in less than three days had not reached him, or that he had memorized the Quran, so the reason for the prohibition was removed. In any case, the narrations reported about this do not say that this was 'Uthman's (may Allah be pleased with him) habit every night, as doing this every night would involve standing in prayer all night, which would conflict with other obligations. It is possible that he did this during seasons of blessings, such as the last ten nights, and Allah knows best.

9. In some exaggerated narrations, there is an indirect belittling of the status of the Prophet (peace be upon him), such as the false statement attributed to Sa'eed bin al-Musayyib that he said: (There is no good in an eye that does not become blind from excessive weeping). The Prophet's (peace be upon him) eye did not become blind from excessive weeping, and yet it is the best eye, the most righteous eye, the most tender eye, and the most fearful eye of Allah the Most High.

10. These narrations give the listener the impression that what is required is quantity, not quality, which is an apparent direction among Muslims who strive to complete many recitations of the Quran in Ramadan quickly, without reflection, contemplation, or being affected by the verses they recite. Note the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): (He who recites it in less than three days does not understand it). What is required is that we understand what we recite.

These are some of the harms of these narrations, which contain extreme exaggerations, and it is sufficient that most of them appear to be unsound both in transmission and in reason. Therefore, it is not appropriate for a Muslim to spread them, knowing the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): (It is sufficient for a person to lie that he narrates everything he hears) (narrated by Muslim). And sharpening the minds at that time is not a justification for spreading them.

With this, we have discussed two elements: the first is the non-authenticity of these narrations, and the second is the harms of spreading them.

The Third Element: How Beautiful is the Prophetic Balance

(You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah often) (Al-Ahzab: 21)

• While the Prophet, peace be upon him, was delivering a sermon, he saw a man standing and asked about him. They said, "He is Abu Israel. He has vowed to stand and not sit, not seek shade, not speak, and to fast." The Prophet, peace be upon him, said, "Tell him to speak, to seek shade, to sit, and to complete his fast" (Bukhari).

• The Messenger of Allah saw an old man being supported by his two sons, meaning he was walking with difficulty leaning on them. He said, "What is the matter with this man?" They said, "He has vowed to walk to the House of Allah - the Kaaba." He said, "Verily, Allah is rich and does not need to torment this man," and he ordered him to ride (Agreed upon).

• On one occasion, the Prophet entered the mosque and saw a rope stretched between the two pillars. He said, "What is this rope for?" They said, "It is for Zainab. When she becomes tired, she holds onto it." He said, "No, remove it. Let one of you exert himself, and when he becomes tired, let him sit" (Bukhari).

• Umm al-Mu'minin Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, said: A woman from the tribe of Asad was with me. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, entered and said, "Who is this?" I said, "So and so, she does not sleep at night, remembering her prayers." He said, "No, do what you can of deeds. Verily, Allah does not become weary until you become weary" (Bukhari).

• He was on a journey and saw a crowd and a man who had sought shade over him. He said, "What is this?" They said, "He is fasting." He said, "Fasting is not from righteousness in travel" (Bukhari).

• He went out in the year of the Conquest to Mecca in Ramadan and fasted until he reached Kura' al-Ghamim - a valley between Mecca and Medina. The people fasted, and it was said to him, "The people have found fasting difficult, and they are looking to you in what you do." He called for a cup of water after Asr, raised it so that the people could see it, and then drank. It was said to him afterward, "Some people have fasted," meaning despite your breaking the fast. He said, "Those are the rebels, those are the rebels" (Muslim).

• All these hadiths contain ease, balance, and hatred of hardship upon oneself in worship, and the prohibition of making forbidden what Allah has permitted and inventing acts of worship that Allah and His Messenger have not legislated.

• Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As, may Allah be pleased with them, said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to me, "O Abdullah, did I not inform you that you fast during the day and stand at night?" I said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah." He said, "Then do not do that. Fast and break your fast, stand and sleep, for your body has a right upon you, and your eye has a right upon you, and your wife has a right upon you, and your guest has a right upon you" (Bukhari).

How beautiful is the prophetic balance. And if the reports of exaggeration about our righteous predecessors were authentic, would they have been able to give everyone their due right as the Prophet, peace be upon him, commanded? We only think that they were people of balance and completeness in character.

As for the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, this is Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, to whom some reports of exaggeration are attributed. In the narration mentioned by Ibn Taymiyyah in Majmu' al-Fatawa, it is established that Umar ibn al-Khattab and his companion were in a place, and water fell on his companion from a water spout. His companion called out, "O owner of the water spout, is your water pure or impure?" Umar said, "O owner of the water spout, do not inform him, for this is not upon him." Ibn Sa'd in al-Tabaqat al-Kubra (3/290) narrated that Ash-Shafa bint Abdullah saw some young men walking slowly, meaning they were walking slowly affectedly to show humility and piety. She said, "Who are these?" It was said to her, "They are ascetics," meaning worshippers who abstain from worldly pleasures. She said, "By Allah, Umar, when he spoke, was heard, and when he walked, he was swift, and when he struck, he hurt, and he was the true ascetic."

And if we were to accept the reports that do not have a connected and known chain of narration, it is more befitting for us to accept the reports that agree with what is established from the companions of the Prophet regarding balance and not affectedness, such as what Ibn Abidin mentioned in Radd al-Muhtar on al-Durr al-Mukhtar, that a man found a date on the ground and took it and asked about its owner repeatedly, meaning he wanted to show his piety and righteousness. Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said to him, "Eat it, O showy pious one, for this is piety that Allah hates," and he struck him with the date.

Thus were the companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, they did not like affectedness and pretension nor did they put hardship upon themselves, despite their high aspirations and true piety.

And thus were their followers with goodness. The Imam al-Bayhaqi narrated in Sha'b al-Iman with a connected chain of narration that Muhammad ibn Hajjaj asked about the state of al-Hasan al-Basri, and it was said to him, "I saw him open the Mushaf, and I saw his eyes flowing with tears and his lips not moving." This calm and sincere image of being affected by the Quran is more correct and closer to the Sunnah than the reports of fainting, swaying, falling into the river, and dying from hearing the Quran.

And let us remember His saying, "Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship" (Al-Baqarah: 185), and His saying, "And We have certainly made it easy for you" (Al-A'la: 8).

Therefore, it is upon us to resort to authenticated books as much as possible, even in biographies, for they contain great and established examples that suffice us from the reports of exaggeration. I also strongly advise reading an article titled "Some of what is attributed to the Salaf leads to despair!" by Sulayman ibn Sa'd ibn Khudayr, for it contains a beautiful scientific method in discussing the phenomenon of exaggeration.

Some may blame me and think that this speech of mine will discourage Muslims from worship, but I think that the best call is the balanced call in which the caller maintains his credibility, and the established models are sufficient for whoever wants to emulate. And presenting them makes the listener feel the possibility of joining the caravan, so I consider it the greatest motivation for the souls.

Finally, this speech of ours should not make us forget what the Prophet, peace be upon him, was upon in terms of the beauty of worship, the tenderness of the heart, and being affected by the Quran. The authentic hadiths in this regard are very numerous, characterized by a calm, deep, sincere, and affecting nature. They are more beautiful than all that has been mentioned.

Among them is what Abu Dawud, an-Nasa'i, and others narrated and authenticated by an-Nawawi and al-Albani, from Abdullah ibn al-Shaikh, who said: I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, praying, and in his chest was a buzzing like the buzzing of a millstone from weeping.

And the hadith narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim from Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said to me, "Recite the Quran to me." I said, "O Messenger of Allah, recite to you while it has been revealed to you?" He said, "I love to hear it from others." So I recited the women until I reached, "So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness and say to you, 'You are a witness over these'" (An-Nisa': 41). I raised my head, or someone nudged me to my side, so I raised my head. I saw his tears flowing. Peace be upon him.

And the hadith authenticated and graded as good by a group of scholars such as Ibn al-Qayyim, an-Nawawi, al-Hafiz al-Iraqi, and al-Albani, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, stood by an ayah and repeated it until morning, and it is, "If You punish them, then they are Your servants; but if You forgive them, then You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise" (Al-Ma'idah: 118).

Finally, Imam Muslim narrated that the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited the words of Allah the Exalted about Ibrahim, "My Lord, indeed they have led astray many from among the people. So whoever follows me, he is of me; and whoever disobeys me - indeed, You are Forgiving and Merciful" (Ibrahim: 36), and Isa, peace be upon him, said, "If You punish them, then they are Your servants; but if You forgive them, then You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise" (Al-Ma'idah: 118). He raised his hands and said, "O Allah, my Ummah, my Ummah," and he wept. Allah the Exalted said, "O Jibril, go to Muhammad, and your Lord knows best, and ask him what makes you weep?" So Jibril, peace be upon him, came to him and asked him. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, informed him of what he said, and he is the most knowing. Allah the Exalted said, "O Jibril, go to Muhammad and say, 'We will please you in your Ummah and not displease you.'"

O Allah, be pleased with Muhammad in us and gather us with him and with the pure companions in the highest Paradise without reckoning or punishment... Amen. And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his companions.