The objectionable report (munkar)

الحديث المنكر

For Ibn Hajar the objectionable report (munkar) is what a weak narrator transmits in contradiction of a strong one, and its stronger counterpart is the recognised (ma'ruf); his example is Hubayyib ibn Habib's report from Abu Ishaq, from al-'Ayzar, from Ibn 'Abbas, attributed to the Prophet ﷺ, 'Whoever keeps up the prayer, gives the alms...', which Abu Hatim called objectionable because trustworthy narrators gave it as Ibn 'Abbas's own words ¹.

Overview

When the contradiction comes from a weak narrator, the stronger report is called the recognised (ma'ruf) and its counterpart the objectionable (munkar): so Ibn Hajar defines it in [[work/nuzhat-al-nazar|Nuzhat al-Nazar]]. The editor 'Itr sums it up: the recognised is what a strong narrator transmits in contradiction of a weak one, and the objectionable what a weak narrator transmits in contradiction of a strong one. ²

The example

Ibn Hajar's example is the report given by Ibn Abi Hatim through Hubayyib ibn Habib, brother of the Qur'an reciter Hamza ibn Habib al-Zayyat, from Abu Ishaq, from al-'Ayzar ibn Hurayth, from Ibn 'Abbas, from the Prophet: "Whoever keeps up the prayer, gives the alms, makes the pilgrimage, fasts and honours the guest will enter Paradise." Abu Hatim said: it is objectionable, because trustworthy narrators transmitted it from Abu Ishaq as Ibn 'Abbas's own words, and that is the recognised version. ¹ The editor adds that Hubayyib was very weak; Abu Zur'a considered him feeble and Ibn al-Mubarak abandoned him. ³

The early usage

The editor notes that many early scholars applied the word munkar to any solitary report, even when its narrator was trustworthy. ²

Objectionable and irregular

The objectionable and the irregular report both require contradiction, but the irregular is the report of a trustworthy or truthful narrator and the objectionable that of a weak one. ³

Sources

Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 67-68

Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 67

Sharh Nukhbat al-Fikar: Nuzhat al-Nazar fi Tawdih Nukhbat al-Fikar fi Mustalah Ahl al-Athar — Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani, ed. Nur al-Din 'Itr, Maktabat al-Bushra, Karachi 2011 , p. 68

Corroboration (mutaba'a), supporting report (shahid) and the search for them (i'tibar)

For Ibn Hajar corroboration (mutaba'a) is finding, for a report thought to be relatively solitary, someone who agrees with its narrator within the same Companion's report, complete if it is for the narrator himself and partial if for his teacher or someone above; the supporting report (shahid) is a text transmitted from another Companion resembling it in wording and meaning or in meaning alone; and i'tibar is tracing the routes in the collections, musnads and booklets to find them. For Ibn al-Salah i'tibar is examining a hadith to see whether its narrator is alone in it and whether it is known. Ibn Hibban illustrated it with a hadith of Hammad ibn Salama from Ayyub from Ibn Sirin from Abu Hurayra: one looks for a trustworthy narrator other than Ayyub from Ibn Sirin, then someone other than Ibn Sirin from Abu Hurayra, then a Companion other than Abu Hurayra. A complete corroboration (mutaba'a) is another narrator from Ayyub; a partial one lies further up; a supporting report (shahid) is a different hadith with the same meaning; if none is found the report is absolutely solitary. Narrators not relied on alone may still serve in corroborations and supporting reports.

The objectionable report (munkar)

At a glance

Overview

The example

The early usage

Objectionable and irregular

Connections

People and things also explored

Sources

Ideas

Corroboration (mutaba'a), supporting report (shahid) and the search for them (i'tibar)