Thread by @YetAnthrStudent

Do you know, Sufyan ibn Uyayna, the very famous imam from Makkah?

1️⃣Al-Razi: Super reliable (thiqah imam), "the most reliable students in the hadith of Zuhri were Ibn Uyayna and Malik".

2️⃣Ali b. Al madini: who is stronger than Ibn Uyayna in the hadith of Zuhri? (save this one)

So, when I see Sufyan from Zuhri, I'm pretty confident that: "the hadith really comes from Zuhri".



Example: we ask Sufyan about a hadith "are you sure?? Because Ma'mar says it's Zuhri→Sa'id b. al Musayyib (mursal)!"

He's overconfident: "yes I'm sure". shamela.ws/book/8493/261#…

Indeed, this hadith is known from Ma'mar from Zuhri from Sa'id, in a mursal version.

This is a big deal: Sufyan is claiming the hadith is marfu', with another isnad, so he is adding the last brick to the isnad, transforming it into something "sahih".

shamela.ws/book/84/5187

So bear with me. We don't care about the hadith, we are targeting Sufyan here, the "best transmitter from Zuhri".

We have 2 versions:
-Ma'mar→Zuhri→Said
-Sufyan→Zuhri→Urwa→Aisha

We naturally tend to favour the second one, since Sufyan is the MVP, according to scholars.

When al Humaydi asks Sufyan, he is overconfident about "Zuhri→Urwa→Aisha".

But plot twist, when Yahya b. Ma'in puts a bit more pressure, he gives another version: "Wa'il told me".

So it's "Sufyan→[Wa'il]→Zuhri→Urwa→Aisha"

shamela.ws/book/9082/5603

What is our conclusion?

We thought Sufyan was the guardian, the best transmitter from Zuhri, and when sheikh Al Humaydi, (who happens to be the cheikh of Bukhari and Ahmad) investigates, he is very confident.

But when Yahya b. Ma'in cooks him, he gives another version.

But wait, there is more.

You remember the hadith of makhzumiyya? "I would have chopped the hand of Fatima!"

Again, we're not trying to tell if this hadith is sahih or not, we're only focusing on Sufyan b. Uyayna.

Let's open Al Bukhari.

shamela.ws/book/1681/5650…

In this hadith, Sufyan went to Zuhri and asked about the hadith of al Makhzumiyya, and Zuhri yelled at him!

So 'Ali ibn al Madini is astonished and asks Sufyan: then this hadith comes from nobody? And Sufyan counter-attacks, and says it was actually written in the book of

Ayyub b. Musa from Zuhri.

So now we have another conclusion: Sufyan relies on an apocryphal book written by Ayyub b. Musa, he attributes to Zuhri, and when Sufyan fact checks the content of this book to Zuhri, the latter yells, implying he never said that.

And btw, I went to to check the translation about Zuhri yelling at Sufyan and guess what: it's missing :) sunnah.com

What do we conclude?
-Sufyan b. Uyayna is definitely NOT a guardian of Zuhri's hadith
-Shuyukh were WRONG to qualify him as such
-You can't trust him
-He owns an apocryphal book
-This is yet another example of how science of hadith is a can of worm.
-Yet, he is a pillar in hadith

And still, some people have complete peace of mind if they read a hadith from "Sufyan→Zuhri→Urwa→Aisha".

They must be drunk, I don't know how they do otherwise.

It doesn't mean ANYTHING. This isnad can be FAKE. You are eating the dog food you are being thrown at.