Fatwa ID: 06672
Answered by: Maulana Burhaan Rahman
Question:
I read in Fazail e Amal a hadith, and I wish to know its authenticity/classification. This is the beginning of the hadith: “Salman (Radhiyallaho anha) narrates that he had asked Rasulullah (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) about the forty ahadith concerning which he had said that, if anyone from amongst his Ummat memorized them, he would enter Paradise.” Afterwards, it lists 40 points. The hadith is at the end of the “Virtues of the Holy Qur’an” section and can be found on pg 192 of this scanned pdf of fazail e amal:
https://thequranblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/fazail-e-amal-virtues-of-deeds.pdf
I look forward to your reply, may Allah bless you all and reward you for your efforts.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Answer:
It is mentioned in Meezaan Al I’tidaal (written by Imam Zahabi)
اتهم بوضع أربعين في الآداب وهذا كذب
It is suspected that the hadeeth of Arba’een (40 ahadeeth memorizing them) is fabricated, resulting in the hadeeth being a lie. [Meezaan Al I’tidaal Vol 2 page 104]
In Tahzeeb Al Tahzeeb it mentions:
ومحمد بن إبراهيم الشامي هذا متهم ، قال ابن عدي : منكر الحديث وعامة أحاديثه غير محفوظة ، وقال الدارقطني : كذاب
And Muhammad bin Ibrahim al-Shami says: it is faulted.
Ibn Uday said: The hadith is denounced, and most of his hadiths are not preserved
Al-Daraqutni said: (This Hadeeth is) A lie [Tahzeeb Al Tahzeeb Vol 9 Page 14]
So from all the prominent Muhaddithoon mentioned above, this Hadeeth is not authentic nor somewhat a sound Hadeeth. It is fabricated/made up.
Only Allah knows best.
Written by Maulana Burhaan Rahman
Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah
Darul Ifta Birmingham