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Refutations

Did the Prophet Touch a Woman's Chest? A Weak Hadith Exposed

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Some critics, particularly from Shia polemical circles, cite a narration attributed to Anas ibn Malik alleging that the Prophet ﷺ placed his hand on a woman’s chest after she requested him to wipe her face and supplicate for her. This post demonstrates that the narration is weak in both its chain of transmission and its text, that it contains the known fabricator Hanzalah al-Sadusi, and that the critics’ reliance on it exposes their disregard for classical hadith methodology. We examine the chain defects, the judgments of the hadith masters on Hanzalah, and the scholarly consensus that rejects this narration.

The Alleged Hadith

The Shia claim: The Prophet ﷺ touched a woman’s chest against her will A narration is cited under the title of the Prophet “kissing and touching,” alleging that a woman came to the Prophet requesting him to wipe her face and supplicate for her, that he lowered his hand to her chest despite her repeated objections, and that he then moved her away.
The narration is weak and is not authentic in its text or chain of transmission. It contains Hanzalah al-Sadusi, who is weak and confused — a narrator rejected by the majority of hadith scholars.
Weak narration — On the authority of Anas ibn Malik (RA) Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah said: Affan told us, Abd al-Warith told us, Hanzalah told us, on the authority of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: A woman came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said: “O Messenger of Allah, wipe my face and supplicate to Allah Almighty for me.” He (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) wiped her face and supplicated to Allah Almighty for her. She said: “O Messenger of Allah, lower your hand.” So the Prophet (PBUH) lowered his hand to her chest. She said: “O Messenger of Allah, lower your hand.” But the Prophet (PBUH) refused and moved her away. Grade: Weak — contains Hanzalah al-Sadusi, a fabricator

The filthy Rafidi mentioned it under the title of the Prophet [kissing and touching] — Allah the Almighty said: Indeed, the curse of Allah is upon the wrongdoers.Al-A’raf 7:44. He wants to work according to the principle of mutual silence — “do not tell me and I will not tell you” — while the evidence overwhelmingly condemns his own methodology of hadith theft without verification.

The Chain Defect: Hanzalah al-Sadusi

The chain of this narration includes Hanzalah al-Sadusi, who is weak and confused. The shameful Rafidi did not bother to open a single book from which he could quote the criticism and approval of the people of Hadith for the chain of narrators; he only succeeded in stealing the narration without understanding its defects.

— On the authority of Ahmad ibn Hanbal “Weak hadith.”
— On the authority of Ahmad ibn Hanbal “I asked Abu Abdullah about Hanzala al-Sadosi, so he said: Hanzala — and he extended his voice — then he said: That one is a fabricator of hadith, he narrates strange things.”

The criticisms of Hanzalah al-Sadusi are extensive and severe:

  • He narrated on the authority of Anas that the Prophet used to supplicate in the Qunut — a narration not found in the authentic collections.

  • He narrated on the authority of Shahr on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the Prophet used to recite in the Fajr prayer — another strange narration.

  • Salih ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said on the authority of his father: “Weak hadith, he narrates fabricated hadiths on the authority of Anas.”

— Ithaf al-Khayrah, Vol. 6, p. 471 “Authentic chain of transmission.”

Al-Busayri’s authentication is not decisive. Al-Busayri is not an infallible angel. Even if he authenticated the chain, his judgment relied on Ibn Hibban’s mention of Hanzalah in Al-Thiqat and Al-Saji’s statement that Hanzalah is truthful. However, Ibn Hibban’s mention of a narrator in Al-Thiqat does not mean that he is trustworthy in absolute terms, and Al-Saji’s statement is not to be relied upon because most of the scholars of Hadith have weakened Hanzalah and deliberately rejected his narration — there is almost a consensus on weakening him.

Classical hadith masters on Ibn Hibban’s authentication “What Ibn Hibban knew about him — Hanzalah — was hidden from him, which others knew.” Ibn Hibban may have authenticated him in some of the Hadiths that he narrated and that Ibn Hibban knows about. In this case, Ibn Hibban’s authentication of him is because of those authentic narrations that he narrated, as happened with some of the narrators of the two Sahihs who are authenticated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim but criticized by others.

Therefore, if we go back to the chain of transmission, we will find in it the weakness of Hanzalah, and they have no choice but to weaken the hadith — because Al-Busayri or anyone else is not an angel, and we do not testify to anyone’s infallibility.

Scholarly Consensus on the Weakness of This Narration

— Al-Matalib al-Aliyah, Vol. 15, p. 616 “Its degree: weak due to the weakness of Hanzalah.”

This judgment appears in Al-Matalib al-Aliyah verified by a group of researchers in a university thesis with the coordinator Dr. Saad bin Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al-Shathri, published by Dar Al-Asemah for Publishing and Distribution — Dar Al-Ghaith for Publishing and Distribution. The scholarly consensus is clear: the narration is rejected due to the presence of a known fabricator in its chain.

The narration alleging that the Prophet ﷺ touched a woman’s chest is weak in its chain and text. It contains , whom the majority of hadith scholars have declared a fabricator of hadiths and a narrator of strange things. The authentication of Al-Busayri is undermined by his reliance on Ibn Hibban’s partial endorsement and Al-Saji’s isolated approval, both of which are overridden by the near-consensus of the hadith masters in weakening Hanzalah. The Rafidi polemicist who cites this narration does so without examining the chain, without consulting the books of jarh and ta’dil, and without regard for the classical methodology that demands the verification of every narrator. The narration is rejected — not by sectarian bias, but by the objective standards of hadith criticism that the critics themselves claim to uphold.

Sources

  1. Abu al-Hasan al-Maymuni, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

  2. Abu Bakr al-Athram, on the authority of Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

  3. Salih ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, on the authority of his father Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

  4. Al-Busayri, Ithaf al-Khayrah, Vol. 6, p. 471.

  5. Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Al-Matalib al-Aliyah, Vol. 15, p. 616, verified by researchers under Dr. Saad bin Nasser bin Abdul Aziz Al-Shathri, published by Dar Al-Asemah — Dar Al-Ghaith.

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