Who are the storytellers?
Question

                Who are the storytellers who are regarded as being weak and worthless and who are criticized for being storytellers? Does it refer to any person who exhorts people and tells stories, or is there more to the matter than that?.
Praise be to Allah.The 
    storyteller is one who addresses the common folk and exhorts them on the 
    basis of stories. 
Ibn al-Jawzi 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 
The 
    storyteller is the one who makes a point by telling stories of the past and 
    explaining them. 
Reminding 
    (tadhkeer) means telling people of the blessings of Allaah and encouraging 
    them to give thanks to Him, and warning them against disobeying Him. 
Preaching or 
    exhortation means reminding people of the punishment of Allaah and softening 
    their hearts. 
The word 
    qaass (pl. qassaasoon) “storyteller” applies to all three. 

    Al-Qussaas wa Mudhakkireen (157-159). 
Storytelling 
    and exhortation are praiseworthy in principle, because Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): 
“So 
    relate the stories, perhaps they may reflect”

    [al-A’raaf 7:176] 
“but 
    admonish them, and speak to them an effective word (i.e. to believe in 
    Allaah, worship Him, obey Him, and be afraid of Him) to reach their 
    innerselves”
[al-Nisa’ 
    4:63] 
“And 
    remind (by preaching the Qur’aan, O Muhammad), for verily, the reminding 
    profits the believers”

    [al-Dhaariyaat 51:55]
The Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also used to remind and 
    exhort the people, and tell them stories about the previous nations in which 
    there were lessons to be learned. 
It was 
    narrated that al-‘Irbaad ibn Saariyah (may Allaah be pleased with him) 
    said: 
The 
    Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    exhorted us in an eloquent manner which moved us to tears and softened our 
    hearts. Narrated by al-Tirmidhi (2676) who said: hasan saheeh. It was also 
    classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi. 
It was 
    narrated from Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told the people the story 
    of three men who were trapped in cave by a rock. They asked Allaah for help 
    by virtue of their good deeds to move the rock, until it was moved. Narrated 
    by al-Bukhaari (2215) and Muslim (2743). 
Similarly 
    the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) used to remind the people of 
    Allaah and recite Qur’aan and hadeeth to them, and call them to learn 
    lessons from the stories of people of the past. 
It was 
    narrated that Abu Waa’il said: ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood used to remind the 
    people every Thursday. A man said to him: O Abu ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, I wish that 
    you would remind us every day. He said: What is keeping me from doing that 
    is the fact that I would not like to bore you. I try to choose the best time 
    as the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to do 
    with us, for fear of making us bored.
Narrated by 
    al-Bukhaari (70) and Muslim (2821). 
Whoever 
    follows the guidance of the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him) and his companions, and preaches to the people and exhorts them 
    with knowledge and insight, and does not indulge in lying, showing off, 
    exaggerating or showing ignorance, cannot be denounced, rather he will be 
    rewarded and is to be appreciated. 
Imam Ahmad 
    said: If the storyteller is truthful, I do not think there is anything wrong 
    with sitting with him. 
Al-Awzaa’i 
    was asked about people who gather and ask a man to tell them stories. He 
    said: If that is just one day, there is nothing wrong with it. 
Al-Khallaal 
    narrated that Abu Bakr al-Marwadhi said: I heard Ahmad ibn Hanbal say: I 
    like the storytellers because they mention the Balance and the torment of 
    the grave. I said to him: Do you think we may go to them? He said: Yes, by 
    Allaah, if they are truthful. 
He said: A 
    man came to Imam Ahmad and complained to him that he was suffering from 
    waswasah (whispers of the Shaytaan). He said: You should go to the 
    storyteller, how beneficial it is to sit with them. 
But because 
    people who had no knowledge started to get involved in preaching and 
    storytelling, and they told lies or added or took away things, and they 
    focused on showing off and gaining a reputation, or their conduct and deeds 
    were bad, the imams and scholars warned against such people. 
It was 
    narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that he used to leave the mosque and say: Nothing 
    forced me to leave the mosque except these storytellers; if it wasn’t for 
    them I would not have left.   
It was 
    narrated from Umm al-Darda’ that she sent word to two men saying: Tell them 
    to fear Allaah and they should exhort themselves before they exhort others. 
It was 
    narrated from Shu’bah ibn Hajjaaj that a young man came to him and asked him 
    about a hadeeth. He said to him: Are you a story teller? He said: Yes. He 
    said: Go away, for we do not narrate hadeeth to storytellers. He said to 
    him: Why? He said: They take the hadeeth from us like a handspan and make it 
    a cubit! i.e, they add to the hadeeth. 
Sufyaan 
    al-Thawri was asked: Can we listen to storytellers? He said: You should turn 
    your back on innovation. 
The reports 
    quoted above may be found in al-Adaab al-Shar’iyyah (2/82-89). 
Ibn al-Jawzi 
    said: The worst fabrication of hadeeth is done by storytellers. End quote. 

    Al-Qussaas (308). 
Conclusion: 
    The storyteller is not blameworthy in and of himself, rather it when he 
    mixes lies, exaggeration and audacity with religion that he is to be 
    condemned. 
Ibn al-Jawzi 
    said: The storytellers are not be criticized for this name, rather the 
    storytellers are criticized because most of them mention stories without 
    mentioning useful knowledge, and most of them mix what they narrate and 
    perhaps rely on. End quote. 
Talbees 
    Iblees (134). 
Imam Ahmad 
    said: The storyteller who mentions Paradise and Hell, and warns people, and 
    is sincere and speaks the truth (there is nothing wrong with him); as for 
    those who make up stories and hadeeths, they are to be shunned. End quote. 
Al-Adaab 
    al-Shar’iyyah (2/85). 
Thus you 
    will realize that if a narrator is described as one of the storytellers 
    (qussaas), that does not necessarily mean that he is either condoned or 
    condemned. Some of the storytellers were trustworthy narrators, and some of 
    them were da’eef (weak). There follow some examples: 
Sa’eed ibn 
    Hassaan al-Makhzoomi, the storyteller of the people of Makkah. Ibn Mu’een, 
    Abu Dawood and al-Nasaa’i said: he is thiqah (trustworthy). Tahdheeb 
    al-Tahdheeb (4/15). 

    ‘Aa’idh-Allaah ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr. Mak-hool said: I have not seen 
    anyone more knowledgeable than him. Al-Zuhri said: He was the storyteller 
    and judge of the people of Syria. Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb (5/74). 
Thaabit ibn 
    Aslam al-Banaani. Ahmad said: Thaabit is good in hadeeth. He used to tell 
    stories, and Qataadah used to tell stories.
Tahdheeb 
    al-Tahdheeb (2/3). 
Ibn al-Jawzi 
    said: We heard that Hammaad ibn Salamah said: I used to hear that 
    storytellers did not memorize hadeeth, but I used to narrate hadeeth to 
    Thaabit, and I would say Anas instead of Ibn Abi Layla, and Ibn Abi Layla 
    instead of  Anas to confuse him, but he corrected me every time. End quote. 
    i.e., he tested him and found that he had memorized hadeeth well. 

    Al-Qussaas (260) 
Those who 
    were da’eef (weak) included the following: 
Ahmad ibn 
    ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Iyaad al-Makki, who narrated munkar reports. Abu Haatim 
    said: he used to tell stories. Mizaan al-I’tidaal (1/248) 
Darraaj 
    Abu’l-Samh. Ahmad said: His ahaadeeth are munkar and he regarded him as 
    weak. Ibn Yoonus said: he used to tell stories in Egypt. Mizaan 
    al-I’tidaal (3/40). 
And Allaah 
    knows best.