How did Ibn Taymiyyah assess the report about comparing narrations with the Book and Sunnah?
2026-10-14
T182 · Ibn Taymiyyah
Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah
شيخ الإسلام أحمد بن تيمية
Original Q&A · Complete individual question and response within a collected question
One complete individual question and response from a collected question about reports circulated by storytellers and others. The quoted report in the question is presented for assessment, not endorsed. The answer gives Ibn Taymiyyah's own assessment.
النص العربي
السؤال الأصلي
ومما يروون عنه صلى الله عليه وسلم، أنه قال: "إذا سمعتم عني حديثا فاعرضوه على الكتاب والسنة، فإن وافق فارووه، وإن لم يوافق فلا".
الجواب
الحمد لله، هذا مروي ولكنه ضعيف عن غير واحد من الأئمة؛ كالشافعي، وغيره.
English translation
English translation prepared for SalafAlSalih.com from the cited Arabic source. It is not an official translation.
Original question
Among the reports they attribute to him, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is that he said: “When you hear a report from me, compare it with the Book and the Sunnah. If it agrees, narrate it; if it does not agree, then do not.”
Answer
Praise be to Allah. This is narrated, but it is weak according to more than one of the leading scholars, such as al-Shāfiʿī and others.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 18/382
مجموع الفتاوى
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā
Arabic collated with the cited edition and a second transcription: https://quranislam.github.io/fatwa/ibn-taymiyyah/fatwa291.html. Each individual report and its full reply is preserved within the larger collected question. Diacritics omitted and honorific glyphs expanded. Titles and scope notes are editorial.