What is the authenticity of the report found in Ibn Abi Shaybah’s Musannaf: "When the angels saw the children of Adam and how they sinned, they said: 'Our Lord, they sin.' He said: 'If you were like them, you would do as they do.' So choose two angels from among you. He said: So they chose Harut and Marut. Then the Blessed and Exalted said to them: 'Indeed, there is a messenger between Me and mankind, but there is no one between Me and you. Do not associate anything with Me, and do not steal, and do not commit fornication.' Abdullah said: Ka'b said: 'They did not complete that day until they fell into what was forbidden to them'"?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
The report is not from the words of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him; rather, it is from the words of Ka'b al-Ahbar. He was a reliable Tabi'i and a former Jewish scholar who used to narrate from the books of the Children of Israel, and the Prophet permitted narrating from them. The fact that the report is from the words of Ka'b al-Ahbar has been corrected by imams such as Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Abu Hatim al-Razi, al-Bayhaqi, Ibn Kathir, al-Qurtubi, al-Sakhawi, and among contemporary scholars: Ahmad Shakir, al-Albani, and Shu'ayb al-Arna'ut.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/170855
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 170855
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy