Laa Asla Lahu (Baseless) Hadeeth No 4: The Weakness of the Ahaadeeth Endorsing Ikhtilaaf (disagreement, differing)

Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth ad-Da`eefah wa''''l-Mawdoo`ah (58-62) by Shaykh al-Albaani

a) Laa Asla Lahu (Baseless). The muhadditheen have tried to find an isnaad for it but have not found one, to the extent that Suyooti said in his al-Jaami` as-Sagheer, "Perhaps it was collected in one of the books of the huffaadh which did not reach us"! This suggestion is very far-fetched, since it would mean that some of the sayings of the Prophet have been lost to the ummah forever, something which is not permissible for a Muslim to believe.

Manaawi quoted Subki as saying, "It (i.e. the saying) is not known to the muhadditheen and I cannot find any isnaad for it, whether saheeh, da`eef or mawdoo`", and this was endorsed by Shaykh Zakareeyyah al-Ansaari in his notes on Tafseer al-Baidaawi [92/2].

Further, the meaning of this hadeeth is also incorrect as shown by the verifying scholars, hence Ibn Hazm says in al-Ihkaam fi Usool al-Ahkaam [5/64] after indicating that it is not a hadeeth, "This is one of the most incorrect sayings possible, since if ikhtilaaf were a mercy, then agreement would be a punishment, something which no Muslim would say, because there can only be agreement or disagreement, and there can only be mercy or punishment."

More of Ibn Hazm''''s words are quoted below.

b) It contradicts the Qur''''ân, which has condemned ikhtilaaf in many places.