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Fatwa CenterAuthenticity of ahaadeeth about merit of Soorah Al-Waaqi‘ah
Question
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, Shaykh. I have a query about the virtues of Surah Al-Waaqi‘ah. I know that there are three hadiths about its virtue, and I used to know that all three are weak. For instance, 1) When Ibn Mas‘ood, may Allaah be pleased with him, was sick and he heard the Messenger of Allaah, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, say, “Whoever recites Surah Al-Waaqi‘ah every night will never become poor.” 2) Teach your women Surah Al-Waaqi‘ah. Indeed, it is a Surah which brings sufficiency (wealth). 3) Whoever recites Surah Al-Waaqi‘ah and teaches it, he is not considered to be among the heedless ones. Please provide me with authentic evidence about the weaknesses of these hadiths; that is, are they weak (Da‘eef), very weak (Da‘eef Jiddan), or fabricated (Mawdoo')? May you kindly give the reasons or errors in these hadiths.
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, is His slave and Messenger.
The ahaadeeth which you are asking about underline the merits of Soorah Al-Waaqi‘ah (Chapter 56); we shall cite the commentary on their chains of narration from the book Silsilat Al-Ahaadeeth Adh-Dha'eefah by Shaykh Al-Albaani 
.
Regarding the first hadeeth, "Whoever recites Soorah Al-Waaqi‘ah every night will never become poor," he said:
"Dha‘eef (weak) It was cited by Al-Haarith ibn Abi Usaamah in his Musnad (178: the Zawaa'id), Ibn As-Sunni in ‘Amal Al-Yawm wal-Laylah (No. 674), Ibn Laal in his Hadeeth collection (1/116), Ibn Bishraan in Al-Amaali (20/38/1), Al-Bayhaqi in Shu‘ab Al-Eemaan, and others on the authority of Abu Shujaa‘ who narrated it on the authority of Abu Taybah from Ibn Mas‘ood as a Marfoo‘ hadeeth (i.e. directly attributed to the Prophet 
). This chain of narration is weak. Ath-Thahabi said, "Abu Shujaa‘ is not a known reporter, and he reported from Abu Taybah – and who is Abu Taybah? – who narrated it from Ibn Mas‘ood as a Marfoo‘ hadeeth." He (Ath-Thahabi) indicated by this statement that Abu Taybah was not a known reporter, and he explicitly said in his biography that he was Majhool Al-Haal (a reporter whose trustworthiness cannot be affirmed by Hadeeth scholars). Ibn Hajar highlighted three aspects of Idhtiraab (non-uniformity) in its chain of narration in his book Lisaan Al-Meezaan within the biography of Abu Shujaa‘; so whoever wishes may refer to that book.
In Faydh Al-Qadeer, Al-Munaawi said:"Az-Zayla‘i classified the hadeeth as Ma‘lool (has defects only identifiable to prominent scholars of Hadeeth), following the opinion of a group of Hadeeth scholars, for several reasons. Firstly, the chain of narration is interrupted, as has been clarified by Ad-Daaraqutni and others. Secondly, the text is odd, as has been highlighted by (Imaam) Ahmad. Thirdly, the reporters in the chain of narration are weak, as has been underlined by Ibn Al-Jawzi. Fourthly, Ahmad, Abu Haatim, his son, Ad-Daaraqutni, Al-Bayhaqi, and others unanimously agreed that it has Idhtiraab.
Al-Munaawi said in At-Tayseer that it is Munkar (literally 'denounced')."
Sheikh Al-Albaani also commented on the second hadeeth, "Teach your women Soorah Al-Waaqi‘ah for, indeed, it brings sufficiency (wealth)," saying:
"Dha‘eef (weak).
Ad-Daylami cited it in Musnad Al-Firdaws on the authority of ‘Ali ibn Al-Husayn ibn Habeeb, who said, "Moosa ibn Farqad Al-Basri narrated it to us on the authority of Anas as a Marfoo‘ Hadeeth. I say: this chain of narration is Dha'eef (weak) and Muthlim (dark/gloomy); it includes a group of reporters for whom I could not find biographies, including this Moosa and the one who reported from him."
Regarding the last hadeeth, "Whoever recites Al-Waaqi‘ah and teaches it, he is not considered to be among the heedless and he and his household will not be afflicted with poverty," Sheikh Al-Albaani said:
"Mawdhoo' (fabricated).
As-Suyooti cited it in his book Thayl Al-Ahaadeeth Al-Mawdhoo‘ah, No. 277, on the authority of Abu Ash-Shaykh with its chain of narration on the authority of 'Abd Al-Quddoos ibn Habeeb from Al-Hasan from Anas as a Marfoo‘ hadeeth. As-Suyooti said, "Abd Al-Quddoos ibn Habeeb is Matrook (his narrations are rejected by Hadeeth scholars)." ‘Abd Ar-Razzaaq said, "I have not seen Ibn Al-Mubaarak explicitly say that a reporter is a liar except regarding ‘Abd Al-Quddoos, and Ibn Hibbaan clearly stated that he fabricated ahaadeeth."
Allah knows best.
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