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The question

How authentic is this Hadith: “It was narrated that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, passed by Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, while he was performing Tahajjud at night, reciting quietly. And he passed by Umar, and he was performing Tahajjud, reciting aloud. And he passed by Bilal, and he was performing Tahajjud, moving from one Surah to another. When they woke up, they came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he asked each of them about his state. Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with him, said: ‘I was making heard [my recitation] to the One I was supplicating.’ And Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: ‘I was waking up the sleepy and driving away Satan.’ And Bilal, may Allah be pleased with him, said: ‘I was moving from one garden to another.’ Then the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: ‘O Abu Bakr, raise your voice a little. And O Umar, lower your voice a little. And O Bilal, if you start a Surah, complete it’”? And specifically the narration: “And he passed by Bilal, and he was performing Tahajjud..."?

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Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported Sep 2, 20261 min readAlso available in العربية
The answer

The hadith was reported both with a chain of transmission (musnad) and without one (mursal).

As for the musnad reports, there is some confusion between two narrations: The story of Abu Bakr and Umar was narrated by Abu Dawud and Al-Tirmidhi from the hadith of Abu Qatadah. As for the story of Bilal, it was narrated from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah with a different context.

As for the mursal reports, they were reported in several mursal narrations, each strengthening the others, such as the narration of Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyab and Umar, the freed slave of Afrah, and the mursal report of Yazid ibn Yutha'i.

The context mentioned in the question is more similar to the mursal narration of Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyab, except that Bilal's established statement in it is: "I mix perfume with perfume."

The mursal report of Sa'id ibn Al-Musayyab is strong due to what corroborates and strengthens it from the other mursal reports and the hadith of Abu Qatadah.

And Allah knows best.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · imported

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Source platform
Ftawy
Original fatwa ID
2842
Imported
Translation status
Source text, unreviewed
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