Introduction
Ibn Masud (RA) was one of the strictest companions of the Prophet (SAW) against bidah, even though all of them opposed it.
Among the reports from Ibn Masud opposing bidah is a famous report of him reprimanding some people for congregational zikr in the masjid.
The general essence of these reports is as follows:
A group of people used to sit in a circle and one of them would instruct the rest to say Allahu Akbar X amount of times and Subhanallah Y amount of times, and some reports mention they used to count these azkar out with stones.
When Ibn Masud (RA) heard of this, he came to them and reprimanded them severely because this practice was not from the Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) or his companions.
Because this report directly contradicts many Sufi practices, people have written articles to argue the report is inauthentic, often relying on statements from scholars like Suyuti that did not fully research the chains of this hadith.
Some of these articles arguing against the report can be found here: Suffah Foundation, Seekers Guidance, and Islam Answers.
Invariably, these articles make three arguments:
- “The report has a weak chain.” They say this after only analyzing one famous version of the story. In this article, we will discuss several strong chains for the report that none of them came across.
- “There is strong evidence in favor of group zikr from more authentic hadith which should lead us to reject the report.” Here, they try to coopt hadith generally talking about those who mention Allah and praise him in gatherings to refer to group zikr as was deemed bidah by Ibn Masud (RA). We will not focus on this argument.
- “Ibn Masud was only criticizing them for using pebbles to count their azkar, not the concept of group zikr.” Firstly, analyzing the strong versions of this hadith will dispel any notion that pebbles were the focus. Secondly, in the beliefs of those who argue against this report, using pebbles should be completely allowed as bidah hasanah, so the report is still a problem for them even if we granted this meaning.
A major problem, as mentioned, is that no one has gathered the reliable and strong versions of this report. Even articles defending this report do not mention them.
So, in this article, I have gathered some of the most reliable versions of this report with commentary on their authenticity. The conclusion is that it is difficult to deny this story happened in the life of Ibn Masud and that he would disapprove strongly of group zikr.
1. Report of Qais ibn Hazim
Abd al-Razzaq > Ibn Uyainah > Bayan > Qais ibn Abi Hazim:
ذُكِرَ لابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ قَاصٌّ يَجْلِسُ بِاللَّيْلِ ، وَيَقُولُ لِلنَّاسِ : قُولُوا : كَذَا ، قُولُوا : كَذَا ، فَقَالَ ” إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُوهُ فَأَخْبِرُونِي ، فَأَخْبَرُوهُ ” ، قَالَ : فَجَاءَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ مُتَقَّنِعًا ، فَقَالَ : ” مَنْ عَرَفَنِي ، فَقَدْ عَرَفَنِي ، وَمَنْ لَمْ يَعْرِفْنِي ، فَأَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ ، تَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّكُمْ لأَهْدَى مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ وَأَصْحَابِهِ ، أَوْ إِنَّكُمْ لَمُتَعَلِّقُونَ بِذَنَبِ ضَلالَةٍ “
Someone mentioned to Ibn Masud that there was a qaas (inspirational speaker) who used to sit at night and tell people, “Say this, and say this” (i.e. azkār). Ibn Masud said, “When you see him, tell me.” So, they told him. Ibn Masud came to them covered up. He said, “Whoever recognizes me recognizes me. Whoever does not recognize me, I am Abdullah ibn Masud. Do you think you are more guided than the companions of Muhammad (SAW)? You are taking part in misguidance and sin.”
This hadith is recorded in the Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq and Mujam al-Kabir of Tabarani, both from Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Dubari from Abd al-Razzaq.
Ishaq ibn Ibrahim was a reliable narrator although he was criticized for making some mistakes in Abd al-Razzaq’s hadith. However, scholars generally relied on the Musannaf of Abd al-Razzaq as transmitted by him.
The narrators of this chain (Abd al-Razzaq, Sufyan ibn Uyainah, Bayan, and Qais) were all reliable and were quoted in both Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.
All links of the chain (Abd al-Razzaq from Sufyan, Sufyan from Bayan, Bayan from Qais, and Qais from Ibn Masud RA) are links used by Bukhari in his Sahih.
As a result, this hadith is strong evidence from Ibn Masud (RA).
2. Report of Aswad ibn Hilal
Abu Ghassan Malik > Isra’il ibn Yunus > Ash’ath ibn Abi Ash’ath > Aswad ibn Hilal:
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللهِ، قَالَ: ذَكَرُوا لَهُ رَجُلًا يَقُصُّ، فَجَاءَ فِي الْقَوْمِ فَسَمِعْتُهُ يَقُولُ: «سُبْحَانَ اللهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا»، فَلَمَّا سَمِعَ ذَلِكَ قَامَ، فَقَالَ: «أَلَا تَسْمَعُوا؟» فَلَمَّا نَظَرُوا إِلَيْهِ قَالَ: «إِنَّكُمْ لَأَهْدَى مِنْ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ، وَأَصْحَابِهِ، إِنَّكُمْ لَمُتَمَسِّكُونَ بِطَرَفِ ضَلَالَةٍ»
People mentioned to Ibn Masud (RA) that a man used to speak for inspiration (yaqussu). So, Ibn Masud went to the gathering and listened to him. The man said, “[Say] Subhanallah this many times.”
When Ibn Masud heard this, he got up and said, “Won’t you listen to me?”
When they looked at him, Ibn Masud said, “You are more guided than Muhammad ﷺ and his companions? You are taking a path of misguidance.”
Tabarani narrated this hadith from Ali ibn Abd al-Aziz from Abu Ghassan.
All the narrators (Abu Ghassan Malik, Isra’il ibn Yunus, Ash’ath ibn Abi Ash’ath, and Aswad ibn Hilal) were narrators of the Sahihayn.
Additionally, there is no doubt Aswad ibn Hilal met Ibn Masud since he was Kufan and mukhadhram (alive in the time of the Prophet SAW even though he did not meet him). However, no narration of him from Ibn Masud is in the Sahihayn, probably because he did not narrate many prophetic hadith from Ibn Masud in the first place.
3. Report of Ata ibn al-Saaib
Ata ibn al-Saaib > Abu al-Bakhtari:
أَخْبَرَ رَجُلٌ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ مَسْعُودٍ، ﵀ أَنَّ قَوْمًا، يَجْلِسُونَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ بَعْدَ الْمَغْرِبِ وَفِيهِمْ رَجُلٌ يَقُولُ: كَبِّرُوا لِلَّهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا وسَبِّحُوا لِلَّهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا وَاحْمَدُوا لِلَّهِ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ: فَيَقُولُونَ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، فَإِذَا رَأَيْتَهُمْ فَعَلُوا ذَلِكَ فَأْتِنِي فَأَخْبِرْنِي بِمَجْلِسِهِمْ، فَأَتَاهُمْ وَعَلَيْهِ بُرْنُسٌ فَجَلَسَ فَلَمَّا سَمِعَ مَا يَقُولُونَ قَامَ وَكَانَ رَجُلًا حَدِيدًا ⦗٢٩٠⦘ فَقَالَ: أَنَا عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ وَالَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ غَيْرُهُ لَقَدْ جِئْتُمْ بِبِدْعَةٍ ظَلْمَاءَ، أَوَلَقَدْ فَضُلْتُمْ أَصْحَابَ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ عِلْمًا؟ فَقَالَ مِعْضَدٌ: وَاللَّهِ مَا جِئْنَا بِبِدْعَةٍ ظَلْمَاءَ وَلَا فَضُلْنَا أَصْحَابَ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ عِلْمًا، فَقَالَ عَمْرُو بْنُ عُتْبَةَ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ نَسْتَغْفِرُ اللَّهَ قَالَ: «عَلَيْكُمْ بِالطَّرِيقِ فَالْزَمُوهُ فَوَاللَّهِ لَئِنْ فَعَلْتُمْ لَقَدْ سَبَقْتُمْ سَبْقًا بَعِيدًا وَإِنْ أَخَذْتُمْ يَمِينًا وَشِمَالًا لَتَضِلُّوا ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا»
A man told Abdullah ibn Masud (RA) that some people sit in the masjid after Maghrib, and there is a man among them that says, “Do takbir this or that many times” and “Do tasbeeh this or that many times” and “Do tahmeed this or that many times.”
Ibn Masud (RA) asked, “And they do it?”
He said, “Yes.”
Ibn Masud (RA) said, “When you see them do this, come and tell me.”
So, Ibn Masud came to them wearing a cloak and sat among them. When he heard what they were saying, he stood up–and he was a firm man–and said, “I am Abdullah ibn Masud. By Allah, the one who has no god other than Him, you have wrongfully come up with an innovation! Have you become more knowledgeable than the companions of Muhammad ﷺ.”
A man said, “By Allah, we have not wrongfully come up with an innovation, and we did not become more knowledgeable than the companions of Muhammad ﷺ.”
Another man said, “O Ibn Masud, we seek forgiveness from Allah.”
Ibn Masud (RA) said, “I advise you to stick to the path. If you do that (and follow the companions), they have gone far ahead. If you go right or left, you will go far astray.”
Muhammad ibn Fadhl and Jafar ibn Sulaiman narrated from Ata with Abu al-Bakhtari in the chain. Hammad ibn Salamah replaced Abu al-Bakhtari with Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami, and this was possibly his mistake. Ma’mar did not mention either in the chain; he most likely summarized the chain.
As such, the narrators in the hadith to be concerned about are: Ata ibn al-Saa’ib, Abu al-Bakhtari, and Abu Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami.
Ata ibn al-Saa’ib was criticized for losing his memory later in his life. This narration is relatively safe from that in terms of its content, because Hammad was an early student of Ata.
Tahawi mentioned explicitly that Hammad ibn Salamah was one of the people who learned from Ata before his memory weakened. (Sharh Mushkil al-Athar)
As for the chain, it is conflicted among the students, and Hammad had his own version that contradicted the other narrators. So, it is unclear whether to prefer Abu al-Bakhtari or al-Sulami.
Both Abu al-Bakhtari and al-Sulami were reliable narrators and narrators of the Sahihayn. However, their narrations from Ibn Masud were not included in the Sahihayn.
As for al-Sulami, although Shu’bah claimed he did not hear from Ibn Masud, the vast majority of scholars believed he learned Quran and other things from Ibn Masud.
As for Abu al-Bakhtari (d. 82 AH), he was an early Kufan authority, but it is quite unlikely he learned from Ibn Masud (d. 32) directly considering the dates. However, his narration would still provide strong early evidence despite being mursal.
4. Report of Amr ibn Salamah
Yahya ibn Amr (ok) > his father Amr ibn Yahya (hasan) > his father Amr ibn Salamah said:
كُنَّا نَجْلِسُ عَلَى بَابِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رضي الله عنه، قَبْلَ صَلَاةِ الْغَدَاةِ، فَإِذَا خَرَجَ، مَشَيْنَا مَعَهُ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ، فَجَاءَنَا أَبُو مُوسَى الْأَشْعَرِيُّ رضي الله عنه فَقَالَ: أَخَرَجَ إِلَيْكُمْ أَبُو عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ قُلْنَا: لَا، بَعْدُ. فَجَلَسَ مَعَنَا حَتَّى خَرَجَ، فَلَمَّا خَرَجَ، قُمْنَا إِلَيْهِ جَمِيعًا، فَقَالَ لَهُ أَبُو مُوسَى: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، إِنِّي رَأَيْتُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ آنِفًا أَمْرًا أَنْكَرْتُهُ وَلَمْ أَرَ – وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ – إِلَّا خَيْرًا. ⦗٢٨٧⦘ قَالَ: فَمَا هُوَ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنْ عِشْتَ فَسَتَرَاهُ. قَالَ: رَأَيْتُ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ قَوْمًا حِلَقًا جُلُوسًا يَنْتَظِرُونَ الصَّلَاةَ فِي كُلِّ حَلْقَةٍ رَجُلٌ، وَفِي أَيْدِيهِمْ حصًا، فَيَقُولُ: كَبِّرُوا مِائَةً، فَيُكَبِّرُونَ مِائَةً، فَيَقُولُ: هَلِّلُوا مِائَةً، فَيُهَلِّلُونَ مِائَةً، وَيَقُولُ: سَبِّحُوا مِائَةً، فَيُسَبِّحُونَ مِائَةً، قَالَ: فَمَاذَا قُلْتَ لَهُمْ؟ قَالَ: مَا قُلْتُ لَهُمْ شَيْئًا انْتِظَارَ رَأْيِكَ أَوِ انْتظارَ أَمْرِكَ. قَالَ: «أَفَلَا أَمَرْتَهُمْ أَنْ يَعُدُّوا سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ، وَضَمِنْتَ لَهُمْ أَنْ لَا يَضِيعَ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِهِمْ»، ثُمَّ مَضَى وَمَضَيْنَا مَعَهُ حَتَّى أَتَى حَلْقَةً مِنْ تِلْكَ الْحِلَقِ، فَوَقَفَ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَقَالَ: «مَا هَذَا الَّذِي أَرَاكُمْ تَصْنَعُونَ؟» قَالُوا: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ حصًا نَعُدُّ بِهِ التَّكْبِيرَ وَالتَّهْلِيلَ وَالتَّسْبِيحَ. قَالَ: «فَعُدُّوا سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ، فَأَنَا ضَامِنٌ أَنْ لَا يَضِيعَ مِنْ حَسَنَاتِكُمْ شَيْءٌ وَيْحَكُمْ يَا أُمَّةَ مُحَمَّدٍ، مَا أَسْرَعَ هَلَكَتَكُمْ هَؤُلَاءِ صَحَابَةُ نَبِيِّكُمْ ﷺ مُتَوَافِرُونَ، وَهَذِهِ ثِيَابُهُ لَمْ تَبْلَ، وَآنِيَتُهُ لَمْ تُكْسَرْ، وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، إِنَّكُمْ لَعَلَى مِلَّةٍ هِيَ أَهْدَى مِنْ مِلَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ ﷺ أوْ مُفْتَتِحُو بَابِ ضَلَالَةٍ». قَالُوا: وَاللَّهِ يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ، مَا أَرَدْنَا إِلَّا الْخَيْرَ. قَالَ: «وَكَمْ مِنْ مُرِيدٍ لِلْخَيْرِ لَنْ يُصِيبَهُ، إِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ حَدَّثَنَا أَنَّ» قَوْمًا يَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرْآنَ لَا يُجَاوِزُ تَرَاقِيَهُمْ “، وَايْمُ اللَّهِ مَا أَدْرِي لَعَلَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ مِنْكُمْ، ثُمَّ تَوَلَّى عَنْهُمْ. فَقَالَ عَمْرُو بْنُ سَلَمَةَ: رَأَيْنَا عَامَّةَ أُولَئِكَ الْحِلَقِ يُطَاعِنُونَا يَوْمَ النَّهْرَوَانِ مَعَ الْخَوَارِجِ
We used to sit at the door of Abdullah ibn Masud, before the dawn prayer. When he came out, we would walk with him to the mosque.
Then Abu Musa al-Ashari came to us and said, “Has Abu Abd al-Rahman come out to you yet?” We replied, “Not yet.” So he sat with us until he came out. When he emerged, we all stood up and went to him.
Abu Musa said to him, “O Abu Abd al-Rahman, I have just seen something in the mosque which I disapproved of, though—Alhamdulillah—I saw nothing but good.”
He said, “What is it?”
He replied, “If you wait, you will see it. I saw in the mosque people sitting in circles waiting for the prayer. In each circle there was a man, and in their hands were pebbles. He would say, ‘Say Allahu Akbar one hundred times,’ and they would say it one hundred times. Then he would say, ‘Say La ilaha illa Allah one hundred times,’ and they would say it one hundred times. Then he would say, ‘Say Subhan Allah one hundred times,’ and they would say it one hundred times.”
He said, “What did you say to them?”
He replied, “I did not say anything to them, waiting for your view or your command.”
He said, “Why did you not tell them to count their sins and guarantee to them that none of their good deeds would be lost?”
Then he went on, and we went with him, until he came to one of those circles. He stood over them and said, “What is this that I see you doing?”
They said, “O Abu Abd al-Rahman, these are pebbles with which we count the takbir, the tahlil, and the tasbih.”
He said, “Then count your sins, for I guarantee that none of your good deeds will be lost. Woe to you, O nation of Muhammad! How quickly you are heading to destruction! These are the companions of your Prophet still numerous among you; his clothes have not yet worn out, and his vessels have not yet been broken. By the One in whose hand is my soul, either you are upon a religion more guided than the religion of Muhammad, or you are opening a door to misguidance.”
They said, “By Allah, O Abu Abd al-Rahman, we intended nothing but good.”
He replied, “How many people intend good yet never attain it. The Messenger of Allah told us that there would be people who recite the Quran but it does not go beyond their throats. By Allah, I do not know—perhaps most of them are from among you.”
Then he turned away from them.
Amr ibn Salamah said: We later saw most of those circles fighting against us on the Day of Nahrawan alongside the Khawarij.
This report can be found in Musnad al-Darimi.
Yahya ibn Amr and Amr ibn Yahya were both honest and hasan in hadith.
This report is not as strong or early as the other ones. In fact, some embellishment is obvious, like Abu Musa al-Ashari being added to the story. But, it is useful corroboration.
5. Other Reports
There are other more disconnected or weaker reports of this incident. One narrated by Sayyar Abu al-Hakam, and one by Abd al-Wahid ibn Sabirah. However, there is not much benefit quoting them in detail.
The prevalance of those reports, however, does indicate that several scholars knew and agreed with the disapproval of this type of bidah, even bidah that seems on its surface to be good actions.
Conclusion
We have seen three strong reports from Ibn Masud in this article along with an acceptable corroboration. It is clear this story circulated very early among the scholars of hadith in Kufa and elsewhere.
It is very difficult to deny that the gist of this story happened considering the collection of reports, and the gist of this story they all agree about is that Ibn Masud reprimanded some people for group zikr. There is no other way to understand these reports except that Ibn Masud would not agree with what people today try to call bidah hasanah.
The only thing left for people to say is that Ibn Masud was stricter than necessary and that they learned fiqh better than Ibn Masud and realized bidah hasanah is actually ok.
Allah says about the disbelievers ⟪Say, [O Muhammad], “Shall we inform you of the greatest losers in terms of deeds? They are those whose effort is lost in worldly life, while they think that they are doing good work.”⟫ (18:104) This equally applies to those who waste their effort in bidah instead of worshiping Allah as the Prophet (SAW) taught us.
