The authenticity of the hadith, ‘There will come a time upon people when a man will be given a choice between incapacity and immorality...’

19-6-2023 | IslamWeb

Question:

السلام عليكمDear Sheikh, Is this hadith authentic and what is the source of the following hadith- [Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "There will come a time when man will be given a choice between being labeled incompetent and committing immorality. Whoever lives until that time should choose incompetence over immorality"]This Hadith was present in the book on page no. 179 - The End of The World Signs of The Hour Minor And Major By Dr. Muhammad Al-'Areefi [Darussalam ]
Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad sallallaahu `alayhi wa sallam ( may Allaah exalt his mention ) is His slave and Messenger.

The mentioned hadith was reported by Ahmad in Al-Musnad and Al-Hakim in Al-Mustadrak and Al-Bayhaqi in Al-Shu’ab, and others from the hadith of Abu Hurairah may Allaah be pleased with him. And in its chain of transmission, there is an unknown narrator, who is the one who narrates from Abu Hurayrah may Allaah be pleased with him. Sheikh Shu'aib Al-Arnaout may Allaah have mercy upon him said in his review of Al-Musnad: “Its chain of transmission is weak due to not knowing the ambiguous (Mubham) narrator from Abu Hurairah." [End of Quote]. Al-Albani, may Allaah mercy upon him, also classed it as weak in the book al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah under No. 3711, and in Da’eef al-Jaami’ under No. 3294. So, based on this, this hadith's chain of transmission is weak.

As for its meaning, Al-Manawi may Allaah have mercy upon him said in Fayd Al-Qadeer in explaining the hadith:

(There will come a time upon people when a man will be given a choice between incapacity and immorality), that is between being incapacitated, alienated, and oppressed or leaving the obedience of Allah (so whoever lives until that time) and he was given a choice, (he must choose incapacity over immorality) because the soundness of the religion must be prioritized. [End of Quote].

Allah knows best.

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