Taken from Ar-Riyāḍ al-ʾAnīqaħ fī Sharḥ ʾAsmāʾ Khayr al-Khalīqaħ g by al-ʾImām Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyuṭī r; Translated by Faizan Ali Khan al-Karāchawī Maddāḥ an-Nabī g
Our scholar al-ʾImām ash-Shimnī r narrated to me reciting, and ʾAbū al-ʿAdl ʾibn al-Kuwayk via hearing: ʾAbū aṭ-Ṭāhir ʾibn ʾAbī al-Yumn informed us: ʾIbrāhīm ʾibn ʿAlī al-Fiṭṭī informed us: Muḥammad ʾibn Mazīd informed us: ʾAbū al-Majd ʾibn al-Ḥasan al-Qarzawaynī informed us: ʾAbū Bakr ʾibn ʾIbrāhīm as-Sajjādhī informed us: ʾAbū al-ʾAsʿad informed us: my grandmother Fāṭimaħ bint al-ʿUstādh ʾAbī ʿAlī ad-Daqqāq informed us: Muḥammad ʾibn al-Ḥasan al-Ḥasanī informed us: Muḥammad ʾibn Muḥammad ʿAlī al-ʾAnṣārī Baṭūs informed us: Bakr ʾibn Muḥammad ʾibn ʿAbdillāh ʾibn ʾIbrāhīm al-Bukhārī narrated to us: my father narrated to us: Baḥr ʾibn an-Naḍr narrated to us: ʿĪsā ʾibn Mūsā ʾibn Ghanjār narrated to us: on the authority of Khārijaħ on the authority of Dāwūd ʾibn ʾAbī Hind on the authority of ʿIkrimaħ on the authority of ʾIbn ʿAbbās k he said: “When the Prophet g was born ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib slaughtered a ram for him and named him Muḥammad g for it was said to him: “Oh ʾAbā al-Ḥarth! What caused you to name him Muḥammad and not the name of his fathers?” He responded: “I desire that Allāh c praises him in the heavens and the people praise him on the earth.”” ʾIbn ʿAbd al-Barr r mentioned it in al-ʾIstīʿāb[1] from the path of ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurasānī, on the authority of ʾIbn ʿAbbās k. Al-Bayhaqī r said in Dalāʾil an-Nubūwwaħ: ʾAbū ʿAbdillāh al-Ḥāfiẓ informed us: ʾAḥmad ʾibn Kāmil al-Qāḍī, may he be cured, told us: that Muḥammad ʾibn ʾIsmāʿīl narrated it, meaning as-Sulamī: ʾAbū Ṣāliḥ ʿAbdullāh ʾibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: Muʿāwiyaħ ʾibn Ṣāliḥ narrated to us: on the authority of ʾAbī al-Ḥakm at-Tanūkhī, he said: “They said to ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib: “Have you thought what you will name your son?” He responded: “I have named him Muḥammad.”
They said: “So what made you desire it over the names of your forefathers?” He responded: “I desire that I desire that Allāh c praises him in the heavens and that His creation praises him on the earth.” I took it from the Sanad on the authority of ʾIbn ʾIsḥāq where he said: “ʾĀminaħ bint Wahb, the Mother of the Emissary of Allāh g, would say that she would be visited when she was pregnant with Muḥammad g and it was said to her: “Indeed you are pregnant with the Liegelord of this Nation, for when he reaches the earth, then say: “I seek protection for him with the One c (al-Wāḥid) from the evil of every envier in every in every covenant-bound land and every growing slave that search for those that aren’t growing for indeed he is the Slave of the All-Praising, the Illustrious (ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd al-Mājid), ʾAḥmad, who is praised by the people of the heavens and the earth. His name in the Gosepls (ʾInjīl) is ʾAḥmad, praised by the people of the heavens and the earth. His name in the Criterion (al-Furqān) is Muḥammad.” So she named him that.
ʾAbū ar-Rabīʿ ʾibn Sālim r in his Prophetic History (sīraħ) narrates that ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib only named him Muḥammad because of a dream they claimed he had, in which he saw in his dream as if a silver chain was extending from his back, one end of which was in the sky, another in the earth, another in the East, another in the West. Then it returned just as it was a tree. On every leaf, from them was a river [flowing]. So, when the people of the East and the West are attached to it, then he (ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib) narrated it. It was determined for him that a boy will be born, coming from his loins. The people of the East and the West will follow him and the people of the Heavens and the Earth will praise him. Because of that he named him Muḥammad with what his (the Prophet’s g) mother narrated to him (ʿAbd Al-Muṭṭalib).
What is found regarding this Noble Name is that it was mentioned to be written in eternity and engraved in the seals of the Prophets, stones, animals and plants. ʾAbū al-Faḍl Muḥammad ʾibn ʿUmar ʾibn ʿUmar ʾibn Ḥaṣīn al-Wifāyy r informed me by my recitation to him: ʾAbū al-Faraj al-Ghazzī informed us: al-Ḥāfiẓ Quṭb ad-Dīn ʿAbd al-Karīm ʾibn ʿAbd an-Nūr al-Ḥalabī and others informed us: al-ʿIzz al-Ḥarānī informed us: ʾAbū ʿAlī ʾIsmāʿīl ʾibn Ṣāliḥ aṣ-Ṣaffār informed us: al-Ḥasan ʾibn ʿUrfaħ informed us: ʿAbdullāh ʾibn ʾIbrāhīm al-Ghifārī al-Madanī narrated to us: on the authority of ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ʾibn Zayd ʾibn ʾAslam, on the authority of Saʿīd ʾibn ʾAbī Saʿīd al-Maqbarī, on the authority of ʾAbī Hurayraħ h said: the Emissary of Allāh g said:
«لَيْلَةَ عُرِجَ بِيْ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَمَا مَرَرْتُ بِسَمَاءٍ إِلَّا وَجَدْتُ اسْمِيْ فِيْهَا مَكْتُوْباً: مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ.»
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“On the night I was ascended to the Heavens, I did not pass by the Heavens but that I found my name in it, written: ‘Muḥammad the Emissary of Allāh g.”
ʾAbū Yaʿlā r reported it through al-Ḥasan ʾIbn ʿUrfaħ r.
Al-Bazzār r said: Qutaybaħ ʾibn al-Marzabān narrated to us, ʿAbdullāh ʾibn ʾIbrāhīm (he is al-Ghifārī) narrated to us, ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ʾibn Zayd ʾibn ʾAslam narrated to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʾIbn ʿUmar k he said: the Emissary of Allāh g said:
«لَمَّا عُرِجَ بِيْ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ مَا مَرَرْتُ بِسَمَاءٍ إِلَّا وَجَدْتُ اسْمِيْ مَكْتُوْباً فِيْهَا مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ.»
“When I was ascended to the Heavens, I did not pass by the Heavens but I found my name written in it ‘Muḥammad the Emissary of Allāh g’.”
Aṭ-Ṭabarānī r said in aṣ-Ṣaḡīr: Muḥammad ʾibn Dāwūd ʾibn ʾAslam aṣ-Ṣadafī (al-Miṣrī) narrated to us: ʾAḥmad ʾibn Saʿīd al-Madanī al-Fihrī narrated to us: ʿAbdullāh ʾibn ʾIsmāʿīl al-Madanī narrated to us: on the authority of ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ʾibn Zayn ʾibn ʾAslam, on the authority of his father, on the authority of his grandfather, on the authority of ʿUmar ʾibn al-Khaṭṭāb h said: the Emissary of Allāh g said:
«لَمَّا أَذْنَبَ آدَمُ الذَّنْبَ الّذِيْ أَذْنَبَهُ رَفَعَ رَأْسَهُ إِلَى الْعَرْشِ فَقَالَ: أَسْأَلُكَ بِحَقِّ مُحَمَّدٍ إِلَّا غَفَرْتَ لِيْ فَأَوْحَى اللهُ إِلَيْهِ: وَمَنْ مُحَمَّدٌ؟ فَقَالَ: تَبَارَكَ اسْمُكَ لَمَّا خَلَقْتَنِيْ رَفَعْتُ رَأْسِيْ إِلٰى عَرْشِكَ فَإِذَا فِيْهِ مَكْتُوْبُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ، فَعَلِمْتُ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ أَحَدٌ أَعْظَمُ عِنْدَكَ قَدْراً مِمَّا جَعَلْتَ اسْمَهُ مَعَ اسْمِكَ، فَأَوْحَى اللهُ إِلَيْهِ: يَا آَدَمُ! أَنَّهُ آخِرُ النَّبِيِّيْنَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ، [وَأَنَّ أُمَّتَهُ آَخِرُ الْأَمَمِ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِكَ،] وَلَوْلَاهُ يَا آدَمُ مَا خَلَقْتُكَ.»
“When ʾĀdam n made his mistake, he raised his head to the ʿArsh, then said: “I ask you by the right of Muḥammad except You forgive me.” Allāh c inspired him: “Who is Muḥammad?” He said: “Blessed be Your Name! When You created me I raised my head to Your ʿArsh. On it was written ‘Lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh Muḥammadur-rasūlullāh’[2]. I know that none is greater in Your Sight than the name of the one who You placed with Yours.” Allāh c inspired him: “Oh ʾĀdam! That is (the name of) the Last of the Prophets from your progeny, and that his nation is the last of nations from your progeny. If it weren’t for him, Oh ʾĀdam, I would have not created you.””[3]
No one narrates it from ʿUmar h except though this chain of narration. ʾAḥmad ʾibn Saʿīd is alone in narrating it.
Al-Ḥākim r reported it in al-Mustadrak and al-Bayhaqī r authenticated it in Dalāʾil an-Nubūwwaħ. He (Al-Bayhaqī r) said: “ʾAbd ar-Raḥmān ʾibn Zayd is alone in narrating it and he is weak (ḍaʿīf).”
ʾAbū Naʿīm r said in al-Ḥilyaħ: al-Qāḍī ʾAbū ʾAḥmad Muḥammad ʾibn ʾAḥmad narrated to us: ʾAḥmad ʾibn al-Ḥasan ʾibn ʿAbd al-Malik narrated to us: ʿAlī ʾibn Jamīl narrated to us: Jarīr narrated to us: on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, on the authority of ʾIbn ʿAbbās k, he said: the Emissary of Allāh g said:
«مَا فِي الْجَنَّةِ شَجَرَةٌ عَلَيْهَا وَرَقَةٌ إَلَّا مَكْتُوْباً عَلَيْهَا: لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ.»
“In Jannaħ, there is not a tree with leaves upon it except that written on it is: ‘Lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh Muḥammadur-rasūlullāh’.”[4]
He said in al-Ḥilyaħ: “[It is] a strange narration (gharīb) from the narration of Layth on the authority of Mujāhid. ʿAlī ʾibn Jamīl ad-Diqqī is alone in narrating it from Jarīr.”
Al-Bazzār r and others reported on the authority of ʾAbī Dharr h, that the treasure that Allāh c mentioned is a tablet of gold sealed.
In the Name of Allāh c, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. I am amazed at the one who is certain of pre-destination (Qadar) then he deceives. I am amazed at the one who fire is mentioned then laughs. I am amazed at the one who death is mentioned then forgets “Lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh Muḥammadur-rasūlullāh”.
Al-Bayhaqī r reports in ad-Dalāʾil from the path of Hishām ʾibn ʾIbrāhīm al-Makhzūmī: Mūsā ʾibn Jaʿfar ʾibn ʾAbī Kathīr narrated to us: on the authority of ʿUmar h he said: “It came to me, regarding the speech of Allāh c:
﴾وَكَانَ تَحۡتَهُۥ كَنزٞ لَّهُمَا ٨٢﴾ [الكهف: 82]
“and under the wall was a treasure that belonged to them,” [18:82]
That the treasure was a tablet of gold, inscribed upon it was: How strange is the one who has certainty of death (mawt)! How can he be happy? How strange is the one who has certainty of the reckoning (ḥisāb)! How can he laugh? How strange is the one who has certainty of pre-destination (qadar)! How can he sorrow? How strange is the one who sees the world, its end, its alteration of its people! How can he be content with it? Lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh Muḥammadur-rasūlullāh.
He reported from the path of Juwaybir on the authority of aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk an-Nizāl ʾibn Busraħ, on the authority of ʿAlī ʾibn ʾAbī Ṭālib h regarding His Statement:
﴾وَكَانَ تَحۡتَهُۥ كَنزٞ لَّهُمَا ٨٢﴾ [الكهف: 82]
“and under the wall was a treasure that belonged to them,” [18:82]
He said: “[It is] a tablet of gold, written on it: “Lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh Muḥammadur-rasūlullāh”…
ʾAbū al-Faḍl ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān ʾibn ʾAḥmad al-Qamṣī informed me: Muḥammad ʾibn al-Ḥasan al-Farsīsī informed us: al-Ḥāfiẓ ʾAbū al-Fatḥ al-Yaʿmarī informed us: ʾAbū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ʾibn ʾIbrāhīm al-Maqdisī informed us in Rābiʿaħ and ʾAbū ʿAbdillāh Muḥammad ʾibn ʿAbd al-Muʾmin ʾibn ʾAbī al-Fatḥ, in recitation, saying: ʾAbū al-Brakāt Dāwūd ʾibn ʾAḥmad ʾibn Muḥammad ʾibn Mulāʿib informed us: ʾAbū al-Faḍl Muḥammad ʾibn ʿUmar ʾibn Yūsuf al-ʾAdmawī informed us: ʾAbū al-Qāsim Yūsuf ʾibn ʾAḥmad ʾibn Muḥammad an-Nahrawānī informed us: ʾAbū Sahl ʾibn ʾIsmāʿīl al-Mawsūnī narrated to us: ʾAbū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbdullāh ʾibn Wahb al-Ghazzī narrated to us: Muḥammad ʾibn ʾAbī as-Sirrī al-ʿAsqalānī narrated to us: Shaykh ʾibn ʾAbī Khālid al-Baṣrī narrated to us: Ḥammād ʾibn Salmaħ narrated to us: on the authority of ʿAmr ʾibn Dīnār, on the authority of Jābir ʾibn ʿAbdillāh h he said: the Emissary of Allāh g said:
«كَانَ نَقْشُ خَاتَمِ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ.»
“The ring of Sulaymān, son of Dāwūd q was inscribed with: “Lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh Muḥammadur-rasūlullāh”.”
Aṭ-Ṭabarānī r said in Al-Kabīr: ʾAzhar ʾibn Zufar al-Miṣrī narrated to us: Muḥammad ʾibn Mukhlid ar-Raʿīnī narrated to us: on the authority of Ḥamīd ʾibn Muḥammad al-Ḥamṣī, on the authority of ʾArṭaʾaħ ʾibn al-Mundhir, on the authority of Khālid ʾibn Maʿdān, on the authority of ʿIbādaħ ʾibn aṣ-Ṣāmit h he said: the Emissary of Allāh g said:
«كَانَ فَصُّ سُلَيْمَانَ بْنِ دَاوُدَ سَمَاوِيّاً فَأُلْقِيْ إِلَيْهِ فَوَضَعَهُ فِيْ خَاتَمِهِ أَنَا لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا اللهُ مُحَمَّدٌ عَبْدِيْ وَرَسُوْلِيْ.»
“The stone ring of Sulaymān, son of Dāwūd q was heavenly, then it was thrown to him, then it was placed on his seal “ʾAnā lā ʾilāha ʾillallāh Muḥammadun ʿabdī warasūlī”.[5]”
The Virtue of His g Naming With Muḥammad
Al-Ḥāfiẓ r said: “The Ḥadīth is not authentic.” ʾIbn Taymīyyaħ r said: “Everything that is reported regarding this is fabricated. And for ʾAbī Bakīr in that is a known part of all his ʾAḥādīth that is ruined, and its most rectified [version] is the Ḥadīth of ʾAbī ʾUmāmaħ h.”
ʾIbn Bakīr r said: ʾAbū al-Ḥusayn Ḥāmid ʾibn Ḥammād ʾibn al-Mubārak ʾibn ʿAbdillāh ʾibn al-ʿAskarī narrated to us, ʾIsḥāq ʾibn Sayyār ʾibn Muḥammad ʾAbū Yaʿqūb an-Nuṣaybī informed us, Ḥajjāj ʾibn al-Minhāl narrated to us, Ḥammād ʾibn Salamaħ, on the authority of Barad ʾibn Sinān, on the authority of Makḥūl, on the authority of ʾAbī ʾUmāmaħ al-Bāhilī h,
on the authority of the Emissary of Allāh g:
«مَنْ وُلِدَ لَهُ مَوْلُوْدٌ فَسَمَّاهُ “مُحَمَّدٌ” أَحَبُّ لِيْ وَتَبَرُّكاً بِاسْمِيْ كَانَ هُوَ وَمَوْلُوْدُهُ فِيْ الْجَنَّةِ.»
This chain of narration is acceptable but ʾIbn al-Jawzī r took from al-Mawḍūʿāt, and we do not agree with him on its fabrication just as that has been clarified in Mukhtaṣar al-Mawḍūʿāt, and in the statement of al-Ḥasan in adh-Dhabb ʿan as-Sunan.
[1] It was not found in al-ʾIstīʿāb but it is in Dalāʾil an-Nubūwwaħ by ʾImām Al-Bayhaqī r
[2] There is no god but Allāh c and Muḥammad is the Emissary of Allāh g
[3] Aṣ-Ṣaghīr [2:82] by aṭ-Ṭabarānī, al-Majmaʿ az-Zawāʾid [1:253] by al-Haythamī r
al-Ḥākim r declares it ṣaḥīḥ in al-Mustadrak [2:651]
[4] It isn’t found in al-Ḥilyaħ. It is in al-Majrūḥīn [2:116] by ʾIbn Ḥibbān
[5] I am, there is no god but Allāh c and Muḥammad is My Slave and My Emissary g
Faqir Ink 