Is “The shaykh among his people is like the prophet among his community” a hadith?
2026-10-14
T168 · 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 أيضا : "الشيخ في قومه كالنبي في أمته".
الجواب
الحمد لله، ليس هذا من كلام النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وإنما يقوله بعض الناس.
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 also circulate is: “The shaykh among his people is like the prophet among his community.”
Answer
Praise be to Allah. These are not the words of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; it is merely something some people say.
Source and editorial notes
Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 18/379
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.