Widely shared sayings and what the scholars wrote

Hadith scholars reviewed this page before it was published (29 October 2026).

These sayings reach many people as words of the Prophet ﷺ. For each one, this page quotes what hadith scholars wrote after looking for it in the books of hadith. Takhrij adds no verdict of its own: the words below are the scholars', in Arabic as printed (vowel marks left out) and in our translation, with the book, number and page.

How to read an entry:

As it circulates is the saying in the form people forward it.
What the scholars wrote quotes each scholar and names the work. «No basis» (lā aṣl lahu) usually means the scholar found no chain of narrators for it; al-Suyūṭī writes: قولهم هذا الحديث ليس له أصل، أو لا أصل له. قال ابن تيمية: معناه: ليس له إسناد, «their saying "this hadith has no basis", or "it has no basis": Ibn Taymiyya said it means it has no chain of narrators» (Tadrīb al-Rāwī, vol. 1, p. 350; translation ours). «Fabricated» (mawḍūʿ) means he judged it invented. «Weak» (ḍaʿīf) means a chain exists but does not meet the standard.
Where scholars disagree, both sides are quoted.
On the same subject points to a report on the same theme in the hadith books, with its source and the grade its source gives.

A saying that is not the Prophet's ﷺ words may still carry a sound thought, and several scholars below say so. What they ask is that it not be attributed to him.

Each quotation was checked against turath.io's text of the printed edition on 25 and 26 October 2026.

1. «اطلبوا العلم ولو بالصين»

As it circulates: Seek knowledge, even if it is in China.

What the scholars wrote

Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Mawḍūʿāt, vol. 1, p. 216 (turath.io)

هذا حديث لا يصح عن رسول الله ﷺ. … قال ابن حبان: وهذا الحديث باطل لا أصل له.

This hadith is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. … Ibn Ḥibbān said: this hadith is false; it has no basis. (translation ours)
al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 125, p. 63 (turath.io)

وهو ضعيف من الوجهين، بل قال ابن حبان: إنه باطل لا أصل له، وذكره ابن الجوزي في الموضوعات

It is weak through both routes; indeed Ibn Ḥibbān said it is false and has no basis, and Ibn al-Jawzī listed it in al-Mawḍūʿāt. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 397, vol. 1, p. 138 (turath.io)

وهو ضعيف، بل قال ابن حبان باطل، وذكره ابن الجوزي في الموضوعات، ونوزع بقول الحافظ المزي له طرق ربما يصل بمجموعها إلى الحسن، وبقول الذهبي في تلخيص الواهيات روى من عدة طرق واهية وبعضها صالح

It is weak; indeed Ibn Ḥibbān said «false», and Ibn al-Jawzī listed it in al-Mawḍūʿāt. This was disputed by al-Ḥāfiẓ al-Mizzī's remark that it has routes which together may reach the grade ḥasan, and by al-Dhahabī's remark in Talkhīṣ al-Wāhiyāt that it was narrated through several very weak routes, some of them passable. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 416, vol. 1, p. 600 (turath.io)

باطل.

False. (translation ours)

Note. A second sentence is often attached: «طلب العلم فريضة على كل مسلم», on seeking knowledge as an obligation for every Muslim. It is a separate report, which al-Sakhāwī and al-ʿAjlūnī treat in its own entry under the letter ṭāʾ.

On the same subject, from the hadith books: On seeking knowledge

Abu Ad-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever follows a path in pursuit of knowledge, Allah will facilitate for him a path to Paradise. Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure at what he does. Verily, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the fish in the water, ask forgiveness from Allah for the knowledgeable. The superiority of a scholar over a devout worshiper is like the superiority of the moon over the rest of the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets, who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham, only knowledge. So whoever acquires it has actually taken abundant wealth."

HadeethEnc: حسن — [Good hadith] [Narrated by Ibn Majah - Narrated by At-Termedhy - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad - Ad-Daarimi]

Translation: HadeethEnc.com — Encyclopedia of Translated Prophetic Hadiths, by Rowad Translation Center; published by the Islamic Propagation Office in Rabwah. English, version v1.25.0. Full entry with explanation: https://hadeethenc.com/en/browse/hadith/6267

2. «اختلاف أمتي رحمة»

As it circulates: The differences of opinion among my community are a mercy.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 39, p. 27 (turath.io)

وقد قرأت بخط شيخنا: إنه يعني هذا الحديث حديث مشهور على الألسنة، … وكثر السؤال عنه، وزعم كثير من الأئمة أنه لا أصل له

I read in our teacher's [Ibn Ḥajar's] handwriting: it, meaning this hadith, is well known on people's tongues … it has been asked about a great deal, and many of the imams held that it has no basis. (translation ours)
ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 17, p. 84 (turath.io)

زعم كثير من الأئمة أنه لا أصل له لكن ذكره الخطابي في غريب الحديث مستطردا وأشعر بأن له أصلا عنده

Many imams held that it has no basis; but al-Khaṭṭābī mentioned it in passing in Gharīb al-Ḥadīth and suggested that, in his view, it had a basis. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 57, vol. 1, p. 141 (turath.io)

لا أصل له. ولقد جهد المحدثون في أن يقفوا له على سند فلم يوفقوا … ونقل المناوي عن السبكي أنه قال: وليس بمعروف عند المحدثين، ولم أقف له على سند صحيح ولا ضعيف ولا موضوع.

It has no basis. The hadith scholars tried hard to find a chain for it and did not succeed. … al-Munāwī reports that al-Subkī said: it is not known to the hadith scholars, and I have found no chain for it, sound, weak or fabricated. (translation ours)

Note. Several of these scholars go on to discuss the meaning separately from the attribution; this entry records only what they say about the attribution.

On the same subject, from the hadith books: the reward of a judge who strives to reach the right ruling (a related subject)

‘Amr ibn al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "If a judge issues a ruling, having tried his best to decide correctly, and his ruling is right, he will have a double reward, but if he issues a ruling, having tried his best to decide correctly, and his ruling is wrong, he will have a single reward."

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic hadith] [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

3. «حب الوطن من الإيمان»

As it circulates: Love of one's homeland is part of faith.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 386, p. 183 (turath.io)

لم أقف عليه، ومعناه صحيح

I have not come across it; its meaning is sound. (translation ours)
ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 164, p. 180 (turath.io)

قال الزركشي لم أقف عليه وقال السيد معين الدين الصفوي ليس بثابت وقيل إنه من كلام بعض السلف

al-Zarkashī said: I have not come across it. al-Sayyid Muʿīn al-Dīn al-Ṣafawī said: it is not established. It has been said that it is the saying of one of the early Muslims (salaf). (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 1102, vol. 1, p. 345 (turath.io)

قال الصغاني موضوع، وقال في المقاصد لم أقف عليه، ومعناه صحيح

al-Ṣaghānī said: fabricated. [al-Sakhāwī] said in al-Maqāṣid: I have not come across it; its meaning is sound. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 36, vol. 1, p. 110 (turath.io)

موضوع. كما قال الصغاني (ص ٧) وغيره. ومعناه غير مستقيم

Fabricated, as al-Ṣaghānī (p. 7) and others said. Its meaning is not sound. (translation ours)

Note. None of the scholars quoted here found these words with a chain to the Prophet ﷺ. They differ on whether the meaning is sound.

On the same subject, from the hadith books: A related report: Ibn ʿAbbās's report of the Prophet's ﷺ words to Mecca

عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِمَكَّةَ: " مَا أَطْيَبَكِ مِنْ بَلَدٍ وَأَحَبَّكِ إِلَيَّ، وَلَوْلَا أَنَّ قَوْمِي أَخْرَجُونِي مِنْكِ مَا سَكَنْتُ غَيْرَكِ ".

— Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī 3926 (Sanadset). al-Tirmidhī's comment: هذا حديث حسن صحيح غريب من هذا الوجه (ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb by this route; Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, ed. Shākir, ʿAbd al-Bāqī and ʿAwaḍ, vol. 5, p. 723).

What the report says (our description, not a translation): Ibn ʿAbbās reports that the Prophet ﷺ addressed Mecca, saying how good a land it was and how dear to him, and that had his people not driven him out he would have lived nowhere else.

4. «حب الهرة من الإيمان»

As it circulates: Love of cats is part of faith.

What the scholars wrote

ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 165, p. 182 (turath.io)

موضوع كما قاله الصغاني وغيره

Fabricated, as al-Ṣaghānī and others said. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 1104, vol. 1, p. 347 (turath.io)

قال القاري موضوع كما قاله الصغاني وغيره

al-Qārī said: fabricated, as al-Ṣaghānī and others said. (translation ours)

On the same subject, from the hadith books: A report on cats

Kabshah bint Ka‘b ibn Mālik, who was married to the son of Abu Qatādah, reported: Abu Qatādah came in so I poured out some water for him to use for ablution. A cat came to drink from it, so he tilted the vessel for it until it drank. Kabshah continued: He saw me looking at him and said: "Do you find it strange, O daughter of my brother?" I said: 'Yes.' He said: "The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: 'It is not impure. It is one of those who roam around among you.'"

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic hadith] [Narrated by At-Termedhy - An-Nasaa’i - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad - Ad-Daarimi]

5. «الجنة تحت أقدام الأمهات»

As it circulates: Paradise lies at the feet of mothers.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 373, p. 176 (turath.io)

أحمد والنسائي وابن ماجه والحاكم في مستدركه من حديث ابن جريج، … عن معاوية بن جاهمة السلمي، … وقال الحاكم: إنه صحيح الإسناد ولم يخرجاه، وتعقب بالاضطراب. … وفي الباب ما أخرجه الخطيب في جامعه، والقضاعي في مسنده، من حديث منصور بن المهاجر البزوري. عن أبي النضر الأبار عن أنس رفعه: الجنة تحت أقدام الأمهات، قال ابن طاهر: ومنصور وأبو النضر لا يعرفان، والحديث منكر

Aḥmad, al-Nasāʾī, Ibn Mājah and al-Ḥākim in his Mustadrak narrated through Ibn Jurayj … from Muʿāwiya ibn Jāhima al-Sulamī [the report of the man told to stay with his mother] … al-Ḥākim said: its chain is sound, and the two [al-Bukhārī and Muslim] did not include it. This was questioned on the ground of iḍṭirāb [the chain is reported in conflicting ways]. … On the subject there is also what al-Khaṭīb in his Jāmiʿ and al-Quḍāʿī in his Musnad narrated through Manṣūr ibn al-Muhājir al-Bazūrī, from Abū al-Naḍr al-Abbār, from Anas, attributed to the Prophet ﷺ: «al-janna taḥta aqdām al-ummahāt». Ibn Ṭāhir said: Manṣūr and Abū al-Naḍr are unknown, and the hadith is munkar (rejected). (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 593, vol. 2, p. 59 (turath.io)

" الجنة تحت أقدام الأمهات، من شئن أدخلن، ومن شئن أخرجن ". موضوع. … ويغني عن هذا حديث معاوية بن جاهمة أنه جاء النبي ﷺ فقال: يا رسول الله أردت أن أغزووقد جئت أستشيرك؟ فقال: هل لك أم؟ قال: نعم. قال: فالزمها فإن الجنة تحت رجليها. رواه النسائي (٢ / ٥٤)، وغيره كالطبراني (١ / ٢٢٥ / ٢) . وسنده حسن إن شاء الله، وصححه الحاكم (٤ / ١٥١)، ووافقه الذهبي، وأقره المنذري

«Paradise is under the feet of mothers; whom they will, they let in, and whom they will, they put out.» Fabricated. … What makes this unnecessary is the hadith of Muʿāwiya ibn Jāhima: he [Jāhima] came to the Prophet ﷺ and said he wanted to go on campaign and had come to consult him; the Prophet ﷺ asked whether he had a mother, and told him to stay with her: «فالزمها فإن الجنة تحت رجليها». Narrated by al-Nasāʾī (2/54) and others such as al-Ṭabarānī. Its chain is ḥasan, God willing; al-Ḥākim (4/151) declared it ṣaḥīḥ, al-Dhahabī agreed, and al-Mundhirī accepted it. (translation ours)

Note. The scholars separate two things: the popular wording, which they find only through unknown narrators or judge fabricated, and a different report with a similar meaning, in the Sunan of al-Nasāʾī (3104). Of that report, al-Albānī calls the chain ḥasan; al-Sakhāwī reports that al-Ḥākim called its chain sound («صحيح الإسناد») and that this was questioned because the chain is reported in conflicting ways («وتعقب بالاضطراب»).

On the same subject, from the hadith books: The report the scholars point to (al-Nasāʾī 3104)

عَنْ مُعَاوِيَةَ بْنِ جَاهِمَةَ السَّلَمِيِّ، أَنَّ جَاهِمَةَ جَاءَ إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَغْزُوَ وَقَدْ جِئْتُ أَسْتَشِيرُكَ، فَقَالَ: " هَلْ لَكَ مِنْ أُمٍّ؟ " قَالَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: " فَالْزَمْهَا، فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ تَحْتَ رِجْلَيْهَا ".

— Sunan al-Nasāʾī 3104 (Sanadset).

What the report says (our description, not a translation): Muʿāwiya ibn Jāhima reports that his father came to the Prophet ﷺ wanting to go out on campaign; the Prophet ﷺ asked whether he had a mother and told him to stay with her, «فَإِنَّ الْجَنَّةَ تَحْتَ رِجْلَيْهَا».

On the same subject, from the hadith books: Who most deserves our good company

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah, who is the most entitled among people to my good companionship?" He said: "Your mother." The man said: "Who next?" He said: "Your mother." The man asked again: "Who next?" He replied: "Your mother." The man further said: "Who next?" He said: "Your father." In another narration, the man asked: "O Messenger of Allah, who is the most entitled among people to my good companionship?" He said: "Your mother, then your mother, then your mother, then your father, and then those who are the closest to you."

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic hadith] [Narrated by Muslim - Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

6. «من عرف نفسه فقد عرف ربه»

As it circulates: Whoever knows himself knows his Lord.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 1149, p. 419 (turath.io)

قال أبو المظفر ابن السمعاني: في الكلام على التحسين والتقبيح العقلي من القواطع أنه لا يعرف مرفوعا، وإنما يحكى عن يحيى بن معاذ الرازي يعني من قوله، وكذا قال النووي: إنه ليس بثابت

Abū al-Muẓaffar Ibn al-Samʿānī said, in al-Qawāṭiʿ, in his discussion of reason's judgement of good and bad, that it is not known as the Prophet's ﷺ words; it is only reported from Yaḥyā ibn Muʿādh al-Rāzī, meaning as his own saying. al-Nawawī likewise said: it is not established. (translation ours)
ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 506, p. 351 (turath.io)

قال ابن تيمية موضوع

Ibn Taymiyya said: fabricated. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 66, vol. 1, p. 165 (turath.io)

لا أصل له.

It has no basis. (translation ours)

7. «كنت كنزا مخفيا فأحببت أن أعرف»

As it circulates: I was a hidden treasure and loved to be known, so I created creation.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 838, p. 326 (turath.io)

قال ابن تيمية: إنه ليس من كلام النبي ﷺ، ولا يعرف له سند صحيح ولا ضعيف، وتبعه الزركشي وشيخنا.

Ibn Taymiyya said: it is not the words of the Prophet ﷺ, and no chain for it is known, sound or weak. al-Zarkashī and our teacher [Ibn Ḥajar] followed him in this. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 2016, vol. 2, p. 132 (turath.io)

قال ابن تيمية ليس من كلام النبي ﷺ ولا يعرف له سند صحيح ولا ضعيف. وتبعه الزركشي والحافظ ابن حجر في اللآلئ والسيوطي وغيرهم.

Ibn Taymiyya said: it is not the words of the Prophet ﷺ, and no chain for it is known, sound or weak. al-Zarkashī, al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar in al-Laʾāliʾ, al-Suyūṭī and others followed him. (translation ours)

Note. al-ʿAjlūnī also reports ʿAlī al-Qārī's view that, although the words are not the Prophet's ﷺ, the meaning can be drawn from the Quran, al-Dhāriyāt 51:56.

8. «اعمل لدنياك كأنك تعيش أبدا، واعمل لآخرتك كأنك تموت غدا»

As it circulates: Work for this world as if you will live forever, and for the hereafter as if you will die tomorrow.

What the scholars wrote

al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 8, vol. 1, pp. 63–64 (turath.io)

لا أصل له مرفوعا. وإن اشتهر على الألسنة في الأزمنة المتأخرة … وقد وجدت له أصلا موقوفا، رواه ابن قتيبة في " غريب الحديث " (١ / ٤٦ / ٢) حدثني السجستاني حدثنا الأصمعي عن حماد بن سلمة عن عبيد الله بن العيزار عن عبد الله بن عمرو أنه قال: فذكره موقوفا عليه إلا أنه قال: " احرث لدنياك " إلخ. وعبيد الله بن العيزار لم أجد من ترجمه. ثم وقفت عليها في " تاريخ البخاري " (٣ / ٣٩٤) … وفيها يتبين أن الرجل وثقه يحيي بن سعيد القطان وأنه يروي عن الحسن البصري وغيره من التابعين فالإسناد منقطع.

It has no basis as words of the Prophet ﷺ, even though it became famous on people's tongues in later times. … I found a basis for it as the words of a companion: Ibn Qutayba narrated it in Gharīb al-Ḥadīth (1/46/2): al-Sijistānī narrated to me: al-Aṣmaʿī narrated to us, from Ḥammād ibn Salama, from ʿUbayd Allāh ibn al-ʿAyzār, from ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr, that he said it, as his own words, except that his wording was «iḥruth li-dunyāk», «till [the soil] for your world», and so on. I found no one who gave a biography of ʿUbayd Allāh ibn al-ʿAyzār. Then I found it [his biography] in al-Bukhārī's Tārīkh (3/394) … and there it becomes clear that Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd al-Qaṭṭān declared the man reliable and that he narrates from al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī and others of the Successors, so the chain is broken. (translation ours)

On the same subject, from the hadith books: On how to live in this world

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) took me by the shoulder and said: "Be in this world as if you are a stranger or a wayfarer." Ibn ‘Umar used to say: If you reach the evening, do not wait for the morning, and if you reach the morning, do not wait for the evening. Take from your health for your sickness and from your life for your death.

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic] [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri]

9. «الدنيا مزرعة الآخرة»

As it circulates: This world is the farm of the hereafter.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 497, p. 217 (turath.io)

لم أقف عليه مع إيراد الغزالي له في الإحياء

I have not come across it, although al-Ghazālī cites it in the Iḥyāʾ. (translation ours)
ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 205, p. 199 (turath.io)

قال السخاوي لم أقف عليه مع إيراد الغزالي له في الإحياء قلت معناه صحيح يقتبس من قوله تعالى ﴿من كان يريد حرث الآخرة نزد له في حرثه﴾

al-Sakhāwī said: I have not come across it, although al-Ghazālī cites it in the Iḥyāʾ. I say: its meaning is sound, drawn from the verse al-Shūrā 42:20. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 1320, vol. 1, p. 412 (turath.io)

وقال ابن غرس لا يعرف

Ibn al-Ghars said: it is not known. (translation ours)

10. «تفكر ساعة خير من عبادة سنة»

As it circulates: An hour of reflection is better than a year of worship.

What the scholars wrote

ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 141, p. 163 (turath.io)

ذكره الفاكهاني بلفظ فكر ساعة وقال إنه من كلام السري السقطي وقال ابن عباس وأبو الدرداء فكر ساعة خير من قيام ليلة

al-Fākihānī cited it in the wording «fikru sāʿatin» and said it is from the words of al-Sarī al-Saqaṭī. Ibn ʿAbbās and Abū al-Dardāʾ said: an hour's reflection is better than standing [in prayer] for a night. (translation ours)
Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Mawḍūʿāt, vol. 3, p. 144 (turath.io)

" فكرة ساعة خير من عبادة ستين سنة ". هذا حديث لا يصح. وفي الإسناد كذابان

«An hour's reflection is better than sixty years of worship»: this hadith is not authentic. Its chain contains two liars. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 173, vol. 1, p. 322 (turath.io)

" فكرة ساعة خير من عبادة ستين سنة ". موضوع. … وقال: عثمان وشيخه كذابان، وتعقبه السيوطي في " اللآليء " (٢ / ٢٢٧) بقوله: قلت: اقتصر العراقي في " تخريج الإحياء " على تضعيفه، وله شاهد. قلت: ثم ساق من رواية الديلمي وهذا في " مسنده " (٢ / ٤٦) بسنده إلى سعيد ابن ميسرة سمعت أنس بن مالك يقول: تفكر ساعة في اختلاف الليل والنهار خير من عبادة ألف سنة. قلت: هذا مع كونه موقوفا ومغايرا للفظ الحديث فهو موضوع أيضا

«An hour's reflection is better than sixty years of worship.» Fabricated. … [Ibn al-Jawzī] said: ʿUthmān and his teacher are liars. al-Suyūṭī took issue with him in al-Laʾāliʾ (2/227), saying: I say: al-ʿIrāqī, in Takhrīj al-Iḥyāʾ, went no further than calling it weak, and it has a supporting report. I say: he then cited, from al-Daylamī's narration — it is in his Musnad (2/46) — with his chain to Saʿīd ibn Maysara: I heard Anas ibn Mālik say: «An hour's reflection on the alternation of night and day is better than a thousand years of worship.» I say: besides being the words of a companion (mawqūf) and differing from the wording of the hadith, this too is fabricated. (translation ours)

Note. The saying circulates in several versions (a year, sixty years, a thousand years). Ibn al-Jawzī and al-Albānī speak about the «sixty years» version; al-Albānī also quotes al-Suyūṭī's objection to Ibn al-Jawzī and answers it. al-Qārī reports the shorter wording as words of al-Sarī al-Saqaṭī.

11. «موتوا قبل أن تموتوا»

As it circulates: Die before you die.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 1213, p. 436 (turath.io)

قال شيخنا: إنه غير ثابت.

Our teacher [Ibn Ḥajar] said: it is not established. (translation ours)
ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 539, p. 363 (turath.io)

قال العسقلاني إنه غير ثابت قلت هو من كلام الصوفية والمعنى موتوا اختيارا قبل أن تموتوا اضطرارا المراد بالموت الاختياري ترك الشهوات واللهوات وما يترتب عليها من الزلات والغفلات

al-ʿAsqalānī said: it is not established. I say: it is from the words of the Sufis, and the meaning is: die by choice before you die by compulsion; dying by choice means leaving desires and idle pleasures, and the slips and heedlessness that follow from them. (translation ours)

12. «ما وسعني سمائي ولا أرضي ولكن وسعني قلب عبدي المؤمن»

As it circulates: Neither My heavens nor My earth contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 990, p. 373 (turath.io)

ذكره الغزالي في الإحياء بلفظ: قال الله لم يسعني، وذكره بلفظ: ووسعني قلب عبدي المؤمن اللين الوادع، وقال مخرجه العراقي: لم أر له أصلا، وكذا قال ابن تيمية: هو مذكور في الإسرائيليات، وليس له إسناد معروف عن النبي ﷺ

al-Ghazālī cites it in the Iḥyāʾ in the wording «قال الله لم يسعني», and also in the wording «ووسعني قلب عبدي المؤمن اللين الوادع»; the scholar who traced the Iḥyāʾ's hadiths, al-ʿIrāqī, said: I have not seen any basis for it. Ibn Taymiyya likewise said: it is mentioned among the Isrāʾīliyyāt [reports taken from the People of the Book], and it has no known chain to the Prophet ﷺ. (translation ours)

13. «رجب شهر الله وشعبان شهري ورمضان شهر أمتي»

As it circulates: Rajab is the month of Allah, Shaʿbān is my month, and Ramaḍān is the month of my community.

What the scholars wrote

Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, al-Manār al-Munīf, no. 167–168, p. 95 (turath.io)

وكذلك أحاديث صلاة الرغائب ليلة أول جمعة من رجب كلها كذب مختلق على رسول الله ﷺ. … وأمثلها: ما رواه عبد الرحمن بن منده -وهو صدوق- عن ابن جهضم وهو واضع الحديث … عن أنس يرفعه "رجب شهر الله وشعبان شهري ورمضان شهر أمتي" الحديث.

Likewise, the reports about the Raghāʾib prayer on the night of the first Friday of Rajab are all lies invented against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. The best of them is what ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Manda — who is truthful — narrated from Ibn Jahḍam, who is the one who forged the hadith, … from Anas, attributing it to the Prophet ﷺ: «Rajab is the month of Allah, Shaʿbān is my month and Ramaḍān is the month of my community», and the rest of the hadith. (translation ours)
Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Mawḍūʿāt, vol. 2, p. 125 (turath.io)

هذا حديث موضوع على رسول الله ﷺ

[Of the long Raghāʾib report that opens with these words:] This hadith is fabricated against the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 1358, vol. 1, pp. 423–424 (turath.io)

رواه الديلمي وغيره عن أنس مرفوعا لكن ذكره ابن الجوزي في الموضوعات بطرق عديدة، وكذا الحافظ ابن حجر في كتاب تبيين العجب فيما ورد في رجب

al-Daylamī and others narrated it from Anas as the Prophet's ﷺ words, but Ibn al-Jawzī listed it in al-Mawḍūʿāt through many routes, and so did al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar in Tabyīn al-ʿAjab fīmā Warada fī Rajab. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 4400, vol. 9, p. 390 (turath.io)

ضعيف … وهذا إسناد ضعيف لإرساله.

Weak. … This chain is weak because it is mursal [a later narrator, al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, attributes it to the Prophet ﷺ without naming the companion]. (translation ours)

Note. The graders differ in degree: Ibn al-Qayyim and Ibn al-Jawzī treat the long Raghāʾib report that opens with these words as fabricated; al-Albānī grades the short wording, which he found through another route, as weak.

On the same subject, from the hadith books: What is reported of the Prophet's ﷺ fasting in Shaʿbān

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) would not fast in any month more than he did in Sha‘bān. He used to fast the whole of Sha‘bān. In another narration: “He used to fast the whole of Sha‘bān except for a few days.”

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic hadith] [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

14. «علماء أمتي كأنبياء بني إسرائيل»

As it circulates: The scholars of my community are like the prophets of the Children of Israel.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 702, p. 286 (turath.io)

قال شيخنا ومن قبله الدميري والزركشي: إنه لا أصل له، زاد بعضهم: ولا يعرف في كتاب معتبر

Our teacher [Ibn Ḥajar], and before him al-Damīrī and al-Zarkashī, said: it has no basis. Some of them added: and it is not known in any reliable book. (translation ours)
ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 298, p. 247 (turath.io)

قال الدميري والعسقلاني لا أصل له وكذا قال الزركشي

al-Damīrī and al-ʿAsqalānī said: it has no basis; al-Zarkashī said the same. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 466, vol. 1, p. 679 (turath.io)

لا أصل له. باتفاق العلماء

It has no basis, by agreement of the scholars. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 1744, vol. 2, p. 64 (turath.io)

وقال النجم وممن نقله جازم بأنه حديث مرفوع الفخر الرازي وموفق الدين بن قدامة والأسنوي والبارزي واليافعي … وله شواهد ذكرتها في حسن التنبيه لما ورد في التشبيه

al-Najm [al-Ghazzī] said: among those who quoted it with certainty as the Prophet's ﷺ words were Fakhr al-Dīn al-Rāzī, Muwaffaq al-Dīn ibn Qudāma, al-Asnawī, al-Bārizī and al-Yāfiʿī … and it has supporting reports, which I listed in Ḥusn al-Tanbīh li-mā Warada fī al-Tashbīh. (translation ours)

Note. al-ʿAjlūnī records both sides: the hadith critics who found no basis for it, and al-Najm al-Ghazzī's list of later authors who quoted it as a hadith.

On the same subject, from the hadith books: On the scholars as heirs of the prophets

Abu Ad-Dardā’ (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Whoever follows a path in pursuit of knowledge, Allah will facilitate for him a path to Paradise. Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure at what he does. Verily, the inhabitants of the heavens and the earth, even the fish in the water, ask forgiveness from Allah for the knowledgeable. The superiority of a scholar over a devout worshiper is like the superiority of the moon over the rest of the stars. Indeed, the scholars are the inheritors of the prophets, who bequeath neither dinar nor dirham, only knowledge. So whoever acquires it has actually taken abundant wealth."

HadeethEnc: حسن — [Good hadith] [Narrated by Ibn Majah - Narrated by At-Termedhy - Narrated by Abu Daoud - Narrated by Ahmad - Ad-Daarimi]

15. «النظر إلى وجه العالم عبادة»

As it circulates: Looking at the face of a scholar is worship.

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 1251, p. 446 (turath.io)

وكذا أورده الديلمي بلا سند عن أنس مرفوعا بلفظ: النظر إلى وجه العالم عبادة، وكذا الجلوس معه والكلام والأكل، ولا يصح.

al-Daylamī likewise cited it without a chain, from Anas, as the Prophet's ﷺ words, in the wording «looking at the face of a scholar is worship, and so is sitting with him, talking and eating», and it is not authentic. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 2811, vol. 2, p. 318 (turath.io)

ولا يصح شئ من ذلك كله

None of this is authentic. (translation ours)

16. «الحديث في المسجد يأكل الحسنات كما تأكل البهيمة الحشيش»

As it circulates: Talk in the mosque eats up good deeds as cattle eat grass.

What the scholars wrote

al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 4, vol. 1, p. 60 (turath.io)

لا أصل له. أورده الغزالي في " الإحياء " (١ / ١٣٦) فقال مخرجه الحافظ العراقي: لم أقف له على أصل

It has no basis. al-Ghazālī cites it in the Iḥyāʾ (1/136), and the scholar who traced its hadiths, al-Ḥāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī, said: I have found no basis for it. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 1121, vol. 1, p. 354 (turath.io)

قال القاري نقلا عن المختصر إنه لم يوجد انتهى، والمشهور على الألسنة الكلام المباح في المسجد يأكل الحسنات كما تأكل النار الحطب

al-Qārī said, quoting al-Mukhtaṣar: it has not been found. What is famous on people's tongues is «permissible talk in the mosque eats good deeds as fire eats firewood». (translation ours)
al-Shawkānī, al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿa, no. 33, p. 25 (turath.io)

قال الفيروزبادي: لم يوجد.

al-Fīrūzābādī said: it has not been found. (translation ours)

17. «خير الأسماء ما حمد وعبد»

As it circulates: The best names are those built on «ḥamd» (praise) and «ʿabd» (servant).

What the scholars wrote

al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, no. 65, p. 39 (turath.io)

وأما ما يذكر على الألسنة من: خير الأسماء ما حمد وما عبد فما علمته

As for what is repeated on people's tongues, «the best names are those of ḥamd and ʿabd», I do not know it. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 244, vol. 1, p. 91 (turath.io)

وقال النجم وأما ما يذكر على الألسنة خير الأسماء ما حمد أو عبد فباطل.

al-Najm said: as for what is repeated on people's tongues, «the best names are those of ḥamd or ʿabd», it is false. (translation ours)

Note. In al-Maqāṣid, the editor al-Ghumārī adds in a footnote to al-Sakhāwī's words: «بل لا أصل له», «rather, it has no basis».

On the same subject, from the hadith books: A report on the names most beloved to Allah

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Indeed, the dearest of your names to Allah is ‘Abdullah and ‘Abdur-Rahmān."

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic] [Narrated by Muslim]

18. «الأقربون أولى بالمعروف»

As it circulates: Relatives have the first claim to kindness.

What the scholars wrote

ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, no. 51, p. 101 (turath.io)

قال السخاوي ما علمته بهذا اللفظ ولكن قال ﵊ لأبي طلحة أرى أن تجعلها في الأقربين أخرجه الشيخان

al-Sakhāwī said: I do not know it in this wording; but the Prophet ﷺ said to Abū Ṭalḥa «أرى أن تجعلها في الأقربين», advising him to give it to his nearest relatives — narrated by al-Bukhārī and Muslim. (translation ours)
al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 486, vol. 1, p. 161 (turath.io)

وفي أسنى المطالب: اشتهر على الألسنة الأقربون أولى بالمعروف، وليس بحديث خلافا لمن زعمه، لكن يشهد له قصة أبي طلحة

In Asnā al-Maṭālib: «relatives have the first claim to kindness» became famous on people's tongues, and it is not a hadith, contrary to those who claim so; but the story of Abū Ṭalḥa supports it. (translation ours)
al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, no. 376, vol. 1, p. 555 (turath.io)

لا أصل له بهذا اللفظ. كما أشار إليه السخاوي في " المقاصد " (ص ٣٤)، وبعضهم يتوهم أنه آية!

It has no basis in this wording, as al-Sakhāwī indicated in al-Maqāṣid (p. 34); some people even imagine that it is a verse of the Quran! (translation ours)

On the same subject, from the hadith books: The story of Abū Ṭalḥa that the scholars point to

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him) was the richest man among the Ansār in Madīnah, in terms of his ownership of date palms. And his most beloved property was (his date-palm garden known as) Bayrahā’. It was opposite the mosque, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) often entered it and drank from its fresh water. When this verse was revealed: {Never will you attain the good (reward) until you spend (in the way of Allah) from that which you love} [Sūrat Āl-‘Imrān: 92], Abu Talhah came to the Messenger of Allah and said: "O Messenger of Allah, Allah revealed to you {Never will you attain the good (reward) until you spend (in the way of Allah) from that which you love}, and my most beloved possession is Bayrahā’. I have given it in charity in the way of Allah, hoping to earn its reward from Him, so spend it, O Messenger of Allah, as Allah shows you." The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Well-done! That is a profitable deal! That is a profitable deal! I heard what you said: and I suggest that you give it to your nearest relatives." So Abu Talhah said: "I shall do that, O Messenger of Allah", and he distributed it amongst his closest relatives and his paternal cousins.

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic hadith] [Narrated by Bukhari & Muslim]

19. «الدنيا جيفة وطلابها كلاب»

As it circulates: The world is a carcass and those who chase it are dogs.

What the scholars wrote

al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ, no. 1313, vol. 1, p. 409 (turath.io)

قال الصغاني موضوع، أقول وإن كان معناه صحيحا لكنه ليس بحديث، وقال النجم ليس بهذا اللفظ في المرفوع، وعند أبي نعيم عن يوسف ابن أسباط قال قال علي بن أبي طالب الدنيا جيفة، فمن أرادها فليصبر على مخالطة الكلاب

al-Ṣaghānī said: fabricated. I say: even if its meaning is sound, it is not a hadith. al-Najm said: it is not among the Prophet's ﷺ words in this wording. Abū Nuʿaym reports from Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ that ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib said: the world is a carcass; whoever wants it must put up with the company of dogs. (translation ours)

On the same subject, from the hadith books: A report on the worth of this world

Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) passed through the market with people around him. He came across a dead goat with its ears cut off. He held it by (the remaining part of) one ear and said: "Who of you would like to have this for one dirham?" They said: "We do not like to have it for anything whatsoever. What shall we do with it?" Then he said: "Would you like to have it anyway?'' They said: "By Allah, had it been alive, it would be of little value because of its cut ears. How could it be worth anything when it is dead?" Thereupon he said: "By Allah, the world is less worthy to Allah than this is to you.''

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic hadith] [Narrated by Muslim]

20. «الدين المعاملة»

As it circulates: Religion is how you deal with people.

What the scholars wrote

al-Albānī, al-Silsila al-Ḍaʿīfa, vol. 5, introduction to vol. 5, p. 11 (turath.io)

فذكر جملة متداولة اليوم؛ وهي: " الدين المعاملة " … ولعله لجهله اشتبه عليه بقوله - ﷺ -: " الدين النصيحة "! ولا أصل لذلك، ولا في الأحاديث الموضوعة!

[A preacher] mentioned a phrase in circulation today: «al-dīn al-muʿāmala», «religion is dealings» … perhaps, out of ignorance, he confused it with his ﷺ saying «al-dīn al-naṣīḥa». It has no basis — it is not even among the fabricated hadiths! (translation ours)

On the same subject, from the hadith books: The saying al-Albānī suggests it was confused with

Tamīm ad-Dāri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Religion is sincerity." We said: "To whom?" He said: "To Allah, to His Book, to His Messenger, to the Muslim leaders and their common folk."

HadeethEnc: صحيح — [Authentic] [Narrated by Muslim]

About the sources

The scholars' words are quoted from these editions: al-Sakhāwī, al-Maqāṣid al-Ḥasana, ed. al-Ghumārī (Cairo: al-Khānjī, 1956); al-ʿAjlūnī, Kashf al-Khafāʾ (Cairo: al-Qudsī, 1351 AH); ʿAlī al-Qārī, al-Asrār al-Marfūʿa, ed. al-Ṣabbāgh; al-Albānī, Silsilat al-Aḥādīth al-Ḍaʿīfa wa-l-Mawḍūʿa (Riyadh: al-Maʿārif, new edition); Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Mawḍūʿāt, ed. ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad ʿUthmān (Medina: al-Salafiyya, 1966–68); al-Shawkānī, al-Fawāʾid al-Majmūʿa, ed. al-Muʿallimī; Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya, al-Manār al-Munīf, ed. Abū Ghudda (Aleppo, 1970); al-Suyūṭī, Tadrīb al-Rāwī, ed. al-Fāryābī (Dār Ṭayba). al-Tirmidhī's comment is quoted from Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī, ed. Shākir, ʿAbd al-Bāqī and ʿAwaḍ (Cairo: al-Ḥalabī, 1395/1975). Each quotation is from turath.io's text of the printed edition. Arabic hadith texts shown on this page come from Sanadset 650K (CC BY 4.0). Translations of hadith come from HadeethEnc.com, unchanged, with HadeethEnc's own Arabic grade, the version and a link to the full entry.

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