How sound is the hadith: "On the Day of Resurrection, the prophets and their nations will be called, then Jesus will be called, and Allah will remind him of His favor upon him, and he will acknowledge it. Then He will say: 'O Jesus, son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and your mother' - the verse. Then He will say: 'Did you say to the people, "Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah"?' - and he will deny having said that. Then the Christians will be brought and questioned, and they will say: 'Yes, he commanded us to do that.' He said: 'Then Jesus' hair will grow long, and every angel will take a strand of hair from his head and body, and they will make them kneel before Allah, the Almighty, for a thousand years until the proof is established against them, and the cross is raised for them, and they will be led to the Fire'"?
It appears that Ibn Kathir did not intend the technical meaning of Gharib (unfamiliar/rare) but rather sought to indicate the weakness and strangeness (nakara) of the hadith. This is because some scholars use the word "Gharib" to express Munkar (rejected). Therefore, the aforementioned hadith is Munkar according to Ibn Kathir, and Munkar is one of the categories of Da'if (weak) hadith. The hadith was narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim, Ibn Mardawayh, and Ibn Asakir, and Al-Muttaqi Al-Hindi in Kanz al-Ummal. No one commented on its chain of transmission except Ibn Kathir.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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