Fabricated Stories
Question

                I hope that you can tell me whether this report – which I heard from a preacher – is sound. He got up at 4.20 a.m. to get ready to pray Fajr (early morning prayer). He went and did wudoo (ablution) and got dressed, and got ready to go out and go to the mosque. He was accustomed to doing that since he was a child. He was used to offering all his prayers in congregation in the mosque, even Fajr prayer. He left his house and made his way to the mosque. Whilst he was on his way, he stumbled and fell, and tore part of his garment. 
He went back home to change his garment and put on another one. He did not get angry or swear or curse, he just went back home and simply changed his clothes. Then he set out again for the mosque, and again he stumbled and fell, and part of this garment got ripped as well. He went back home and changed his garment. Both garments had got torn but that did not deter him from his keenness to offer the prayer in congregation in the mosque. He set out again for the mosque, and he stumbled for the third time, but suddenly he felt that he was not falling, and there was someone holding him and preventing him from falling to the ground. The man was surprised and looked around, but he did not see anyone. He stood confused for a moment, then he carried on towards the mosque. Then he heard a voice saying: “Do you know who I am?” The man said: “No.” The voice replied: “I am the one who prevented you from falling.” The man said: “Who are you?” He replied: “I am the shaytan.” The man asked him: “If you are the shaytan, why did you prevent me from falling?” The shaytan answered: “The first time when you stumbled and went home to change your clothes, Allah forgave you all your sins. The second time when you stumbled and went home to change your clothes, Allah forgave your family. The third time when you stumbled, I was afraid that if you went back home and changed your clothes, Allah would forgive all the people of your neighbourhood, so I supported you and prevented you from falling.”

 What is confusing me about this story is: is it possible for the shaytan to speak to a person and hold his hand and prevent him from falling as is described in this story?
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: 

    There is no basis for this story in the 
    books of Sunnah (prophetic teachings), hadeeth (prophetic narrations) and 
    history. It is contrary to Islam for several reasons: 

    1 – The conversation between the man and 
    the shaytan. It is possible for the shaytan to whisper to a person (waswasah) 
    when he is in his real form, but speaking to him is not possible, unless the 
    shaytan appears to him in human form. 

    2 – The shaytan says that he supported the 
    man when he stumbled. This is something that is unbelievable, and the 
    shaytan is unable to do such a thing. Allah has made the angels protectors 
    and guardians of man, to protect them from the harm of the jinn, because 
    they can see us but we cannot see them. Allah says (interpretation of the 
    meaning): 

    “For him (each person), there are angels 
    in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the Command of 
    Allah” [13:11]

    In this made-up story it clearly states 
    that the shaytan is able to protect a person against that which may harm 
    him, or that the shaytan is able to prevent something that has been decreed 
    by Allah. 

    3 – The most serious thing in this story 
    is where the shaytan says that the first time Allah forgave the man all his 
    sins, then the second time he says that Allah has forgiven his family, and 
    he says that if he had fallen a third time, Allah would have forgiven the 
    people of his neighbourhood! All of this is lies against Allah and claiming 
    to have knowledge of the unseen. Even if a mujahid (warrior) is wounded in 
    battle against the kuffar (disbelievers) it does not bring such virtues, so 
    how can it be ascribed to the one who is going to the mosque? It is not 
    ascribed to one who stumbled when calling people to Allah or going to uphold 
    ties of kinship or other acts of worship, so how can these virtues be 
    ascribed to one who falls when he is going to the mosque? 

    There is nothing about falling or 
    stumbling that brings such virtues. Many of the Sahaabah (companions) fell, 
    stumbled or were injured at the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of 
    Allah be upon him), but there is nothing in the Sunnah which ascribes such 
    virtues to them or even some of those virtues. Allah does not forgive a 
    family or the people of a neighbourhood or city because of the deeds or acts 
    of worship of one of the righteous, let alone the fact that stumbling does 
    not bring a person closer to Allah and it is not an act of worship in 
    itself. If anyone were to benefit from the actions of another, then the 
    father of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) would have benefited from the 
    prophethood of his son, and the son of Nuh would have benefited from the 
    prophethood of his father, and Abu Talib would have benefited from the 
    prophethood of his nephew Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon 
    him). 

    Moreover, how did the shaytan know of all 
    that so that he could tell this man about it? Does the shaytan have the 
    power to prevent mercy reaching one of the slaves of Allah upon whom He 
    wishes to bestow it? 

    No. Allah says (interpretation of the 
    meaning): 

    “Whatever of mercy (i.e. of good), Allah 
    may grant to mankind, none can withhold it; and whatever He may withhold, 
    none can grant it thereafter. And He is the All‑Mighty, the All‑Wise” 
    [35:2] 

    Secondly: 

    Undoubtedly these false stories are things 
    that become widespread among those who do not understand their religion 
    properly and who do not know the Oneness of their Lord (Tawheed). They are 
    propagated by liars and storytellers who fabricate lies against the laws of 
    Allah. 

    Allah has issued a stern warning against 
    these liars. Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “Say (O Muhammad): (But) the things that 
    my Lord has indeed forbidden are Al‑Fawaahish (great evil sins and every 
    kind of unlawful sexual intercourse) whether committed openly or secretly, 
    sins (of all kinds), unrighteous oppression, joining partners (in worship) 
    with Allah for which He has given no authority, and saying things about 
    Allah of which you have no knowledge” [7:33] 

    What khateebs (orators) and preachers must 
    do is be above being mere storytellers who tell the common folk stories that 
    go against sharee’ah (Islamic teachings). The salaf (pious predecessors) of 
    this ummah (nation) issued a stern warning against these storytellers, 
    because of the bad effects that their stories have on the common folk and 
    because they contain things that go against the laws of Allah. 

    In a hadeeth that was classed as hasan 
    (sound) by Shaykh al-Albani in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah it was narrated that 
    the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “When the 
    Children of Israel were doomed they started to tell stories.” 

    Shaykh al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on 
    him) said:  

    It says in al-Nihayah: “when they were 
    doomed they started to tell stories” which means they relied on words and 
    forsook deeds, and that was the reason for their doom, or vice versa: when 
    they were doomed it was because they stopped doing good deeds and turned to 
    stories. 

    Al-Albani said, commenting on this: 

    It may be said that the reason they were 
    doomed was that they paid too much attention to stories at the expense of 
    fiqh (jurisprudence) and beneficial knowledge which teach the people about 
    their religion, and motivate them to do righteous deeds. Because they did 
    that, they were doomed. Al-Silsilah al-Saheehah.

    This is the case with the storytellers; 
    they pay too much attention to stories and myths, which they narrate to the 
    common folk, without any understanding or knowledge, and the common man 
    hears a lot but does not understand any ruling or gain any knowledge. 

    Ibn al-Jawzi said in Talbees Iblees: 

    The storytellers are not condemned just 
    for being storytellers, because Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “We relate unto you (Muhammad) the best of 
    stories” [12:3] 

    “So relate the stories” [7:176] 

    Rather the storytellers are condemned 
    because they tell many stories without mentioning any beneficial knowledge, 
    and usually they mix sound and unsound material in what they narrate and 
    rely on things that are mostly impossible. End quote. 

    It was narrated that Abu Qilabah 
    ‘Abd-Allah ibn Zayd said: Nothing kills knowledge but stories. A man may sit 
    with another man for a year and not learn anything from him, and he may sit 
    with a knowledgeable man and not get up until he has learned something. Hilyat 
    al-Awliya.

    How often do these storytellers narrate 
    from bad reports to the masses, and tell them these fables, which reach such 
    a status among the masses that they believe everything that they hear and 
    even give them precedence over the scholars and seekers of knowledge.  

    Al-Hafiz al-‘Iraqi (may Allah have mercy 
    on him) said: 

    One of the problems with them is that they 
    speak to so many people and tell them things that they are unable to 
    comprehend, and that leads them to confusion and makes them develop 
    misconceptions. This applies if what they tell them is sound, so how about 
    if it is false? 

    Tahdheer al-Khawaas by al-Suyooti,quoting 
    from al-Baa’ith ‘ala al-Khalaas by al-‘Iraaqi. 

    Ibn al-Jawzi said: 

    The storyteller narrates weird reports to 
    the masses, and tells them that even if he had even the slightest whiff of 
    knowledge he would not have told them. So the masses leave with a lot of 
    false notions in their minds, which they discuss amongst themselves. If a 
    scholar denounces them, they say: we heard this, he narrated it to us. How 
    many storytellers have misled others by means of the fabricated reports they 
    narrate to them; how many people have turned yellow with hunger (because of 
    what they heard encouraging asceticism);  how many people left their 
    families, homes and cities to wander like monks; how many have refrained 
    from doing that which is permitted; how many have refrained from learning 
    and teaching knowledge, believing that he is going against his own whims and 
    desires; how many have made their children orphans because of their 
    asceticism whilst still alive; how many have turned away from their wives 
    and not given them their rights, so that she is neither single nor truly 
    married. End quote. Al-Mawdoo’aa

    This is why the storytellers are 
    criticized by many of the salaf. 

    Maymoon ibn Mahran (may Allah have mercy 
    on him) said: 

    The storyteller may expect punishment from 
    Allah, and the one who listens to him may expect mercy. 

    Al-Albani (may Allah have mercy on him) 
    said, following hadeeth no. 4070 in al-Silsilah al-Da’eefah: 

    This was narrated by Ibn al-Mubarak in his 
    book al-Zuhd with a saheeh isnaad (authentic chain). 

    Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (may Allah have 
    mercy on him) said: 

    The greatest liars among the people are 
    the storytellers. The people need truthful storytellers who will remind them 
    of death and the punishment of the grave. It was said to him: Didn’t you 
    attend their gatherings? He said: No. Al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah by Ibn Muflih 
    al-Hanbali.

    We ask Allah to set straight the affairs 
    of the imams (leaders) and khateebs (orators), and to guide them to that 
    which is best for them and others. 

    And Allah knows best.