Hadith of Mahdi From Bukhari?

The anti-Ahmadis raise an allegation that Hadrat Ahmad (as) has written that there is a hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari in which it says that a voice will come from the skies that says this is the Khalifa of Allah, the Mahdi. Hadrat Ahmad (as) writes:

Therefore, how absurd is it to present any hadith against it and to interpret the hadith to mean what is obviously contrary to the Holy Quran? If the account of ahadith is to be relied upon, then those ahadith that are much more authentic and trustworthy than this hadith should be accepted first; e.g. those ahadith of Sahih al-Bukhari foretelling the appearance of Khulafa’ in the Latter Days, especially that khalifah about whom it is recorded in Sahih al-Bukhari that, for him, a voice will descend from heaven:

خليفة الله المهدي هذا

This is God’s Khalifah, the Guided One]. Now consider the status and credibility of this hadith—which is recorded in the most authentic of books after the Book of Allah. On the other hand, the hadith that has been presented by the critic has been criticized by the ulema on many grounds and its authenticity has been questioned. Has this critic not pondered over the prophecies regarding the appearance of certain Khulafa’ in the Latter Days that ‘a harith1 will come; the Mahdi will appear; a heavenly khalifah will come. Are they recorded in the books of ahadith or in some other book? (Testimony of the Holy Qur’an, p. 65-66)

Firstly, to suggest that Hadrat Ahmad (as) lied against the Prophet Muhammad (sa) is completely unjust. Lying is when someone intentionally tries to deceive someone and if someone forgets a reference of a hadith, this would not be classified as lying. The hadith the Promised Messiah (as) quoted is authentic according to the standards of Imam Bukhari (rh) and Imam Muslim (rh). To say that if someone forgets a reference they are lying is completely unjust and unislamic.

Can Prophets Forget?

The first question which arises is whether a Prophet can forget or not. The Prophets are also human beings and forget like human beings. The Prophet Muhammad (sa) stated:

إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِثْلُكُمْ، أَنْسَى كَمَا تَنْسَوْنَ، فَإِذَا نَسِيتُ فَذَكِّرُونِي

Verily, I am a human being like you and liable to forget like you. So if I forget remind me” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith #401)

This hadith is regarding the Prophet Muhammad (sa) forgetting the number of raka’at and he (sa) made it clear to the sahaba that the Prophets are also human beings and can forget.

What is Greater : A Covenant or a Reference of a Book?

Every Muslim would accept that a covenant made by Allah to a Prophet is of greater importance than a reference of a book. In the Qur’an, we see that Hadrat Adam (as) had forgotten the covenant which Allah made with him. If the anti-Ahmadis lived in that time, they would most certainly declare him false. Allah States:

وَلَقَدْ عَهِدْنَا إِلَىٰ آدَمَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَنَسِيَ وَلَمْ نَجِدْ لَهُ عَزْمًا

And verily, We had made a covenant with Adam beforehand, but he forgot, and We found in him no determination to disobey. (Chapter 20, Verse 116)

If Hadrat Adam (as) can forget the covenant Allah made with him, why can a Prophet not forget a reference of a book?

An Important Criteria

There is an important criteria of the scholars that a writers writings will be understood by his own words. Sanaullah Amritsari explains this in his book Turk-e-Islam.

Hadrat Ahmad (as)’s Own View Regarding the Imam Mahdi

Based on this criteria, we must see what Hadrat Ahmad (as)’s own view was regarding the Ahadith of Imam Mahdi. He (as) makes it clear throughout his literature that the Imam Mahdi by name is not mentioned in Bukhari or Muslim. This shows the reference of Shahadatul Qur’an was out of forgetfulness:

“I say that the news of the Mahdi is not free of weakness and this is the reason the two Imams (Bukhari and Muslim) did not take these Ahadith”

This shows that according to Hadrat Ahmad (as), such a hadith is not actually found in Sahih al-Bukhari and that this was said out of forgetfulness.

According to the Prophet Muhammad (sa), forgetfulness is one of the mistakes that Allah the Almighty has pardoned the ummah for. In Ibn Majah, it is narrated:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَجَاوَزَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي الْخَطَأَ وَالنِّسْيَانَ وَمَا اسْتُكْرِهُوا عَلَيْهِ

It was narrated from Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Allah has forgiven for me my nation their mistakes and forgetfulness, and what they are forced to do.” (Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith #2043)

The same hadith is found in Mishkat al-Masabih from Ibn Abbas (ra)

The Writing Style of Hadrat Ahmad (as)

We must also see the writing style of Hadrat Ahmad (as). During the debate of Hadrat Ahmad (as) with Muhammad Hussain Batalvi, Hadrat Ahmad (as) was accused of adding words into the Ahadith and he (as) explained that it is the habit of this humble one that he does translation with Tafsir so others can understand what point he is making. Hadrat Ahmad (as) has never claimed what these Ahadith are word for word written by him:

I am Not Free of Forgetfulness

Hadrat Ahmad (as) has himself explained that he (as) is not free of forgetfulness. How can he be free of forgetfulness if even the Prophet Muhammad (sa) forgot? In this passage of Nurul Haqq, he (as) explains that he has the ability of forgetting as he is a human being:

Does this Hadith Exist?

Now the question arises whether this hadith exists or not. This hadith exists throughout the Islamic literature with different wording. The first book we will show this hadith from is al-Mustadrak. Imam Hakim writes this hadith and comments saying : “This hadith is authentic based on the conditions of the Sheikhain (Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim)”

The hadith ends with the words : “You must go to him, even if you have to reach him across mountains of ice on your knees. He is the Mahdi and the Caliph of Allah.”

Then the same hadith is found in Sunan Ibn Maja:

Ibn Kathir (rh) writes this hadith in al-Bidayah wal-Nihayah and writes that this Hadith has a really strong chain:

Ibn Khaldun (rh) mentions this hadith in his Muqadamah and writes that the narrators are authentic narrators:

Imam al-Qurtubi (rh) mentions the hadith and says the chain is authentic:

Hadrat Nuaim bin Hammad (rh) mentions a hadith in which it says that the Mahdi will come out with a turban on his head and there will be a caller in the turban who will say this is the Mahdi, the Khalifa of Allah so follow him:

Imam al-Tabarani mentions a hadith in his book Musnad al-Shamiyyin which also mentions that the Mahdi will come out with an angel on his head who would say the words that this is the Mahdi so follow him:

Imam al-Suyuti (rh) mentions a different version which says that the Mahdi would appear with a turban on his head and a caller will call out that this is the Mahdi, the Khalifa of Allah so follow him:

The Scholars Knew

The scholars in the time of Hadrat Ahmad (as) knew that this hadith is authentic and is present in the books with different wording. They also knew that it was authentic which is why they never dared to bring this up against Hadrat Ahmad (as) during his lifetime.

Shia Narrations

We find these narrations in the books of the Shia as well. I will mention one of these narrations in the Arabic which use similar wording:

قال الإمام الرضا عليه السلام: ” إذا خرج – أي الإمام المنتظر – أشرقت الأرض بنوره، ووضع ميزان العدل بين الناس، فلا يظلم أحد أحدا، وهو الذي تطوى له الأرض، ولا يكون له ظل وهو الذي ينادي مناد من السماء يسمعه جميع أهل الأرض بالدعاء له، يقول: ألا إن حجة الله قد ظهر عند بيت الله فاتبعوه فإن الحق فيه ومعه، وهو قول الله: “وإن نشأ ننزل عليهم من السماء آية فظلت أعناقهم لها خاضعين

Many more can be seen on this website to further show that this concept is found even in their books that this voice would be from the angels and through Allah the Almighty:

https://almahdi.almaaref.org/maqalet/alamat_wa_bashaer_alzohor/al_nedaa_men_samaa.htm

Similar Way of Other Saints and Scholars

Many of the scholars and saints of the past would also mention ahadith summarized into their own words. This would not mean that they are lying. This is normal when mentioning Ahadith. Even when they mention the exact Ahadith they often say “or as the Messenger (sa) said” as they know there could be a slight difference in some words.

Ibn Taymiyyah (rh) would also follow this way and regarding him Sheikh Bin Baz (rh) wrote that if a Prophet was to come after the Prophet Muhammad (sa), it would be Ibn Taymiyyah (rh). To say that this equates to lying would be unjust:

The Way of the Pious Scholars

The pious scholars dealt with forgetfulness differently. Hadrat Mullah Ali Qari (rh) saw that Imam Ibn Rabee (rh) misquoted a hadith and said it was in Bukhari. Mullah Ali Qari (rh) did not say he is a liar. He explained that this was out of forgetfulness:

Prophet Muhammad (sa) Forgetting

We have examples in the Ahadith where the Prophet Muhammad (sa) also forgot the Qur’an while reciting. It is narrated:

يَرْحَمُهُ اللَّهُ لَقَدْ أَذْكَرَنِي كَذَا وَكَذَا آيَةً كُنْتُ أُنْسِيتُهَا مِنْ سُورَةِ كَذَا وَكَذَا ‏”‏‏.‏

Narrated Aisha: Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) heard a man reciting the Qur’an at night, and said, “May Allah bestow His Mercy on him, as he has reminded me of such-and-such Verses of such-and-such Suras, which I was caused to forget.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith #5038)

Qari Muhammad Tayyib, Son of Qasim Nanotwi (rh)

Qari Muhammad Tayyib sahib who was the son of Qasim Nanotwi (rh) also said that this hadith is of Sahih al-Bukhari. Would the anti-Ahmadis now say that he was a liar as well and an accursed or would they say that he has written this out of forgetfulness? Hadrat Ahmad (as) had made it clear that the Mahdi is not mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari so no one has the right to raise any allegation.