from Messenger of Allah ﷺ that he said: "There will be in the last of my nation a people narrating to you what you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them."  

عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَنَّهُ قَالَ «سَيَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ أُمَّتِي أُنَاسٌ يُحَدِّثُونَكُمْ مَا لَمْ تَسْمَعُوا أَنْتُمْ وَلاَ آبَاؤُكُمْ فَإِيَّاكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ۔»  

‘There will be in the end of time charlatan liars coming to you with narrations that you nor your fathers heard, so beware of them lest they misguide you and cause you tribulations’.’  

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ دَجَّالُونَ كَذَّابُونَ يَأْتُونَكُمْ مِنَ الأَحَادِيثِ بِمَا لَمْ تَسْمَعُوا أَنْتُمْ وَلاَ آبَاؤُكُمْ فَإِيَّاكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ لاَ يُضِلُّونَكُمْ وَلاَ يَفْتِنُونَكُمْ  

‘Indeed Satan will appear in the form of a man and he will come to the people, narrating to them false Ḥadīth, and they will then depart. Then a man among them will say: ‘I heard a man whose face I recognize but I do not know his name narrating [such and such]…’  

إِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ لَيَتَمَثَّلُ فِي صُورَةِ الرَّجُلِ فَيَأْتِي الْقَوْمَ فَيُحَدِّثُهُمْ بِالْحَدِيثِ مِنَ الْكَذِبِ فَيَتَفَرَّقُونَ فَيَقُولُ الرَّجُلُ مِنْهُمْ سَمِعْتُ رَجُلاً أَعْرِفُ وَجْهَهُ وَلاَ أَدْرِي مَا اسْمُهُ يُحَدِّثُ  

‘Indeed in the sea are devils chained up, whom Sulaymān shackled and they are at the point of emerging. Then they will recite a Qur’ān upon the people.’  

إِنَّ فِي الْبَحْرِ شَيَاطِينَ مَسْجُونَةً أَوْثَقَهَا سُلَيْمَانُ يُوشِكُ أَنْ تَخْرُجَ فَتَقْرَأَ عَلَى النَّاسِ قُرْآنًا  

‘Go back to such-and-such narration‘. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. So [Ibn Abbās] said to him: ‘Go back to such-and-such narration’. Then [Bushayr] returned to it and narrated it. Thus [Bushayr] said to him: ‘I do not know whether you know all of my Ḥadīth and you reject this one and that, or if you reject all of my Ḥadīth and know this one and that?’ Ibn Abbās said to him: ‘Indeed we would be narrated to on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, at a time when one would not lie upon him, however when the people took the difficult [Munkar] and the docile [Sahīh], we abandoned listening to Ḥadīth from them’.  

جَاءَ هَذَا إِلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ يَعْنِي بُشَيْرَ بْنَ كَعْبٍ فَجَعَلَ يُحَدِّثُهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ عُدْ لِحَدِيثِ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَعَادَ لَهُ ثُمَّ حَدَّثَهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ عُدْ لِحَدِيثِ كَذَا وَكَذَا فَعَادَ لَهُ فَقَالَ لَهُ مَا أَدْرِي أَعَرَفْتَ حَدِيثِي كُلَّهُ وَأَنْكَرْتَ هَذَا أَمْ أَنْكَرْتَ حَدِيثِي كُلَّهُ وَعَرَفْتَ هَذَا فَقَالَ لَهُ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا نُحَدِّثُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِذْ لَمْ يَكُنْ يُكْذَبُ عَلَيْهِ فَلَمَّا رَكِبَ النَّاسُ الصَّعْبَ وَالذَّلُولَ تَرَكْنَا الْحَدِيثَ عَنْهُ  

‘Indeed we would take Ḥadīth and they would be taken on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him. However if you take every difficult and docile [narration] then how far that is [from being upright]!  

إِنَّمَا كُنَّا نَحْفَظُ الْحَدِيثَ وَالْحَدِيثُ يُحْفَظُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَأَمَّا إِذْ رَكِبْتُمْ كُلَّ صَعْبٍ وَذَلُولٍ فَهَيْهَاتَ  

‘The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’. Then it seemed that Ibn Abbās was not listening to his Ḥadīth and not reflecting on them, so [Bushayr] said: ‘Oh Ibn Abbās, why is it that I see you not listening to my Ḥadīth? I narrate to you on authority of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, however you are not listening’. Ibn Abbās said: ‘Indeed once upon a time we would listen to a man saying, ‘the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah upon him, said…’ rushing towards him with our eyes and harkening towards him with our ears; then when the people took the difficult and the docile we no longer took from people except those whom we knew’.  

قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ فَجَعَلَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ لاَ يَأْذَنُ لِحَدِيثِهِ وَلاَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِ فَقَالَ يَا ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ مَا لِي لاَ أَرَاكَ تَسْمَعُ لِحَدِيثِي أُحَدِّثُكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ وَلاَ تَسْمَعُ فَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ إِنَّا كُنَّا مَرَّةً إِذَا سَمِعْنَا رَجُلاً يَقُولُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ ابْتَدَرَتْهُ أَبْصَارُنَا وَأَصْغَيْنَا إِلَيْهِ بِآذَانِنَا فَلَمَّا رَكِبَ النَّاسُ الصَّعْبَ وَالذَّلُولَ لَمْ نَأْخُذْ مِنَ النَّاسِ إِلاَّ مَا نَعْرِفُ  

‘I wrote to Ibn Abbās asking him to write something [pertaining to knowledge] for me and he withheld from me quite a bit, and said: ‘As [if he were] a sincere child, I will write for him something especially suited to his status withholding from him what would not benefit him’. [Ibn Abī Mulaykah] said: ‘So [Ibn Abbās] called for the judgment of Alī [bin Abī Tālib which was a book with which Alī would pass verdicts in Kuffah], and he began to write from it [with respect to the request of Ibn Abī Mulaykah] and he came upon something [not appropriate to the station of Alī regarding the science of verdicts]. So [Ibn Abbās] said: ‘By Allah, Alī did not give judgment according to this unless he was astray’.’  

كَتَبْتُ إِلَى ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ أَسْأَلُهُ أَنْ يَكْتُبَ لِي كِتَابًا وَيُخْفِي عَنِّي فَقَالَ وَلَدٌ نَاصِحٌ أَنَا أَخْتَارُ لَهُ الأُمُورَ اخْتِيَارًا وَأُخْفِي عَنْهُ قَالَ فَدَعَا بِقَضَاءِ عَلِيٍّ فَجَعَلَ يَكْتُبُ مِنْهُ أَشْيَاءَ وَيَمُرُّ بِهِ الشَّىْءُ فَيَقُولُ وَاللَّهِ مَا قَضَى بِهَذَا عَلِيٌّ إِلاَّ أَنْ يَكُونَ ضَلَّ  

‘A book was brought to Ibn Abbās which contained the verdicts of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, and he effaced but a small amount,’ and Sufyān bin Uyaynah indicated with his arm [the amount].  

أُتِيَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ بِكِتَابٍ فِيهِ قَضَاءُ عَلِيٍّ ؓ فَمَحَاهُ إِلاَّ قَدْرَ وَأَشَارَ سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ بِذِرَاعِهِ  

‘When they narrated these things after Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, a man from the companions of Alī said: ‘May Allah curse them. Did they corrupt every [type of] knowledge!?’  

لَمَّا أَحْدَثُوا تِلْكَ الأَشْيَاءَ بَعْدَ عَلِيٍّ ؓ قَالَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ عَلِيٍّ قَاتَلَهُمُ اللَّهُ أَىَّ عِلْمٍ أَفْسَدُوا  

‘There are no Ḥadīth on authority of Alī, may Allah be pleased with him, that are confirmed except from the companions of Abd Allah bin Mas’ūd.’  

لَمْ يَكُنْ يَصْدُقُ عَلَى عَلِيٍّ ؓ فِي الْحَدِيثِ عَنْهُ إِلاَّ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ