Clarification about the spread of innovated du’aa’s
Question

                I seek your advice regarding a matter that became widespread on the internet. This is writing fabricated ahadeeth and innovated du’as on forums. We do not know if those ahadeeth and du’as are sound or weak. People became attached to such things; they forward them to one another via the internet and mobile phones.  

Among these du’as I read ‘A du’a that shook the heavens’: “Oh All-Loving, Oh All-Loving! Oh Lord of The Mighty Throne! Oh Who creates from the very beginning and restores life! Oh Doer of All that He intends! I ask You by the light of Your Face that lightened Your Throne, and ask You by Your Power by which You control All creatures, and by Your mercy that comprehend every thing, There is no God except You. Oh Who Helps! Help me”

Then I read that this du’a is innovated. So many similar things are being spread.  

What shall we do when we find such ahadeeth in days where temptations are so many? I seek your advice regarding this matter so that I put it on forums, hoping that it limits such mistakes. 

Please remember to make du’a for me, make du’a that Allah gives me success in my study, ease our anguish, and bless us with righteous offspring and to keep them on the straight path. Make du’a that Allah cures the Muslim patients. May Allah reward you and bless you with the high paradise! May he make the knowledge you provide beneficial for all Muslims!.
Praise be to Allah.
    In recent years we have – unfortunately – seen a serious 
    spread of an abhorrent sin that is a major sin and one that dooms people to 
    Hell, but many people are heedless of it, and thus their religious 
    commitment is corrupted thereby, and they show a great deal of disrespect 
    towards the Noble Messenger Muhammad  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him). This phenomenon is the spread of ahaadeeth that are falsely 
    attributed to the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    and the grave audacity to narrate things from him  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) without checking or verifying them. 

    Hence we and every Muslim who feels a sense of pride in his 
    religion must remind the people and tell them of the seriousness of what 
    they take so lightly, and we must warn them of how bad the situation is, out 
    of sincerity towards Allaah and to His Messenger and to the ordinary 
    Muslims. 

    So we say: 

    Firstly: 

    Our duty is to support the Prophet  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) and to love him properly by following him properly 
    and protecting the purity of his sharee’ah at a time when the fools and 
    haters are showing a great deal of disrespect towards him  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him). Undoubtedly one of the greatest ways of 
    supporting the faith and honouring the Messenger is being truthful in 
    narrating his words and reports from him, and rejecting the lies that are 
    attributed to him. If we know that no one would accept to have words 
    attributed to him that he did not say, then what should we think about the 
    Messenger who received Revelation from Allaah, may He be blessed and 
    exalted, and his eternal sharee’ah which came to set the affairs of all 
    people straight until the Day of Resurrection? Undoubtedly he  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the one who would most hate to have 
    lies attributed to him. Hence al-Mugheerah ibn Shu’bah (may Allaah be 
    pleased with him) narrated that he said: “Lying about me is not like lying 
    about anyone else. Whoever tells a lie about me deliberately, let him take 
    his place in Hell.” Narrated by Muslim in the Introduction to his Saheeh 
    (no. 4). Al-Haafiz Ibn Hibbaan included a similar hadeeth from Abu Hurayrah 
    under the heading: Chapter: Inevitability of entering Hell for one who 
    attributes anything to al-Mustafa  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him) when he does not know whether it is sound. 

    By Allaah, the Muslim is astounded when he sees people doing 
    their utmost to avoid falling into blatant sin, such as cheating, 
    backbiting, stealing or committing zina, then they treat this matter with 
    such carelessness, thinking that it is insignificant when in fact it is very 
    serious before Allaah. So you see them memorizing false ahaadeeth and 
    narrating them in gatherings and on websites, and they do not take care to 
    ask about that or to verify whether they are saheeh (sound). 

    Secondly: 

    Everyone who spreads a hadeeth without ascertaining whether 
    it is saheeh – whether that is via a text message or in an internet forum or 
    transferring it from one site to another or attaching it to an e-mail – 
    should understand that he is deserving of that punishment in the Hereafter, 
    both he and the one who fabricated the hadeeth in the first place. The crime 
    of transmitting it without verifying it is like the crime of the liar who 
    has the audacity to show disrespect towards the Messenger  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

    The Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me thinking that it is false is one 
    of the liars.” Narrated by Muslim in the Introduction to his Saheeh 
    (p. 7). 

    Al-Nawawi said, commenting on this hadeeth in Sharh Muslim 
    (1/65): 

    This is a stern warning against lying or taking part in 
    narrating lies. The one who thinks that what he is narrating is mostly 
    likely false but still narrates it is a liar; how can he not be a liar when 
    he is narrating something that did not happen? End quote. 

    Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in 
    Tamaam al-Minah (32-34): 

    Many writers – especially in the current era – regardless of 
    their madhhabs and specialities, narrate ahaadeeth that are attributed to 
    the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) without 
    pointing out which are da’eef (weak), either because they are ignorant of 
    the Sunnah or they are too lazy to refer to the books of specialists. Abu 
    Shaamah said in al-Baa’ith ‘ala Inkaar al-Bida’ wa’l-Hawaadith (p. 
    54): This, according to the scholars of hadeeth and of usool and fiqh is a 
    mistake, and it should be pointed out if known, otherwise it comes under the 
    warning in the hadeeth in which the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me thinking that 
    it is false is one of the liars.” Narrated by Muslim. End quote. 

    This is the ruling of one who keeps quiet about da’eef (weak) 
    ahaadeeth about righteous deeds! So how about if it has to do with rulings 
    and the like? 

    It should be noted that the one who does that has to be one 
    of two things: 

    1 – Either he knows that these ahaadeeth are weak but he does 
    not point out their weakness, so he is deceiving the Muslims and he 
    definitely is included in the warning mentioned. Ibn Hibbaan said in his 
    book al-Du’afa’ (1/7-8): This report indicates that the one who 
    narrates something that is not saheeh from the Prophet  (peace and 
    blessings of Allaah be upon him), which is something fabricated about him 
    and he know that, then he is like one of the liars, but the apparent meaning 
    of the report is stricter than that. The Prophet  (peace and blessings 
    of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever narrates a hadeeth from me thinking 
    that it is false ...” And he did not say ‘and he is certain that it is 
    false’. So anyone who doubts whether what he is narrating is saheeh or not 
    is included in the apparent meaning of this report. 
2 – Or he does not know 
    that it is weak, but he is also sinning because he is attributing it to the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) without knowledge, 
    and he  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “It is 
    sufficient lying for a man to speak of everything that he hears.” Narrated 
    by Muslim in the Introduction to his Saheeh (no. 5)  

    So he has a share of the sin of the one who told the lie 
    about the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him), because the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    indicated that the one who speaks of everything that he hears – and the one 
    who writes everything that he hears – will inevitably lie about him  
    (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and thus he is one of the two 
    liars, the first of whom is the one who fabricates it and the second of whom 
    is the one who spreads it. 

    Ibn Hibbaan also said (1/9): The report also contains a 
    rebuke to the one who speaks of everything that he hears, unless he knows 
    that it is definitely sound. End quote.   

    Al-Nawawi stated that if a person does not know whether a 
    hadeeth is weak, it is not permissible for him to quote it as evidence 
    without examining it if he is knowledgeable, or asking scholars about it if 
    he is not knowledgeable. 

    End quote from Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on 
    him). 

    Thirdly: 

    What these people are falling into – when they spread 
    ahaadeeth without checking or verifying – is very serious, as they spread 
    what they fabricate far and wide and it is read by millions of people, and 
    it is transmitted through many generations. The one who fabricated it and 
    the one who helped him to spread it will bear that sin until the Day of 
    Resurrection. 

    It was narrated from Samurah ibn Jundub (may Allaah be 
    pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) said:  

    “Last night I saw two men come to me … they said: ‘The one 
    whom you saw with the side of his mouth being torn is the liar who tells 
    lies that are conveyed from him until they reach the horizon; that will be 
    done to him until the Day of Resurrection.’” Narrated by al-Bukhaari 
    (6096). 

    Fourthly: 

    All we can do – in the light of all these warnings – is to 
    remind ourselves and our Muslim brothers to fear Allaah with regard to our 
    religion and sharee’ah, and not to be the cause of doom and corruption. 
    Propagating false ahaadeeth is one of the worst means of corrupting 
    religion; the Jews and Christians were only doomed when they fabricated lies 
    against Allaah and His Messengers, and they attributed things to their 
    religions that the Messengers did not bring, thus they incurred the wrath 
    and anger of Allaah. 

    Does these people who are so careless about fabricating 
    ahaadeeth without verifying them want to be included with those with whom 
    Allaah is angry and whom He has cursed?! 

    Would anyone want to be a tool for the propagation of 
    corrupting material, or to help the heretics who tell lies against our 
    sharee’ah and our Prophet?! 

    Or would he work to propagate ahaadeeth without checking them 
    to imitate groups that follow misguidance such as the Raafidis who have 
    filled the world with lies against the Prophet  (peace and blessings of 
    Allaah be upon him) and the members of his household?! 

    Do these people realize that their prayer, fasting and 
    worship will not avail them anything before Allaah and will not ward off 
    from them the shame and sin of that lie, if they take part in propagating 
    these false ahaadeeth?! 

    There may be a sin that a person commits, taking it lightly, 
    but it will cause him to fall into the Fire and be the cause of his doom. 

    Abu’l-Wafa’ ‘Ali ibn ‘Aqeel al-Hanbali said: 

    Our Shaykh Abu’l-Fadl al-Hamdaani said: Those who introduce 
    innovations in Islam and fabricate ahaadeeth are worse than the heretics, 
    because the heretics want to corrupt the religion from without, but these 
    people want to corrupt it from within. They are like the people of a city 
    who want to spread evil and corruption inside it, but the heretics are like 
    those who are besieging it from without, and those evildoers within are able 
    to open the gate to the enemy. They are more dangerous to Islam than those 
    who do not claim to be Muslims. End quote. 

    Quoting from al-Mawdoo’aat by Ibn al-Jawzi (1/51). 

    Fifthly: 

    After all of that there comes to you one who apologizes for 
    his mischief and spreading false ahaadeeth by saying: The weak ahaadeeth may 
    be quoted as evidence with regard to righteous deeds. 

    But he should understand that this is the deception of the 
    shaytaan, and it is a sign of sophisticated ignorance; the one who says this 
    will increase his burden of sin. This principle, which was mentioned by some 
    scholars, is subject to a number of conditions, which must be followed by 
    the one who wants to apply it. They are: 

    1-The hadeeth should have to do 
    with righteous deeds for which there is a basis in sharee’ah, and not with 
    matters of ‘aqeedah, rulings or reports on which fiqh and actions are based. 
    It should not have to do with righteous deeds for which there is no basis in 
    sharee’ah.

    2-It should not be very weak 
    (da’eef). It is not permissible to narrate or act upon mawdoo’ (fabricated) 
    and munkar ahaadeeth, according to scholarly consensus.

    3-It should not be believed that 
    it can be attributed to the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be 
    upon him).

    4-The one who narrates the 
    hadeeth should state clearly that it is weak, or he should indicate its 
    weakness by using phrases to indicate that it is weak: it was narrated, it 
    was said, and so on.

    These conditions are derived from the words of al-Haafiz Ibn 
    Hajar in his book Tabyeen al-‘Ajab and some of them were narrated from 
    al-‘Izz ibn ‘Abd al-Salaam ibn Daqeeq al-Eid. 

    For information on accepting weak ahaadeeth, please see the 
    answer to question no. 44877 
    and 49675. 

    So those scholars who follow this principle do not say that 
    it is permissible to do what these people are doing by publishing every 
    hadeeth and every report in the chat rooms, whether it is saheeh or false or 
    da’eef (weak). 

    Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said in 
    Tamaam al-Minah (36): 

    Unfortunately we see many of the scholars – let alone the 
    common folk – neglecting these conditions, so they act on the basis of a 
    hadeeth without knowing whether it is saheeh or da’eef, and if they know it 
    is weak they do not know to what extent – is it slightly weak or is it so 
    weak that it may not be accepted? Then they demonstrate that they are 
    accepting it and acting upon it as if it were a saheeh hadeeth . Hence there 
    are many acts of worship done by Muslims which are not valid, and which 
    distract them from valid acts of worship which were narrated with sound 
    isnaads. End quote. 

    Sixthly: 

    If a person repents from propagating false ahaadeeth or he 
    finds out that what he was doing is haraam after he was unaware of the 
    ruling, then the door of repentance is open, but it is subject to the 
    condition of disclosure after concealment, and correction after corruption. 

    Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

    “Except those who repent and do righteous deeds, and 
    openly declare (the truth which they concealed). These, I will accept their 
    repentance. And I am the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful”

    [al-Baqarah 2:160]

    Hence every Muslim should propagate saheeh hadeeth instead of 
    false and fabricated ones. The books of the saheeh Sunnah are filled – by 
    Allaah’s grace – with proven ahaadeeth which if a man were to spend his life 
    memorizing and studying them, he would hardly be able to do it. It is 
    sufficient to find a scholar of hadeeth who has judged a hadeeth to be 
    saheeh and acceptable, so let him accept it from him and propagate the 
    hadeeth along with the scholar’s ruling on it. 

    But if it so happens that he has propagated weak ahaadeeth, 
    then he must publish the comments of the scholars concerning them. On our 
    site there are a number of answers concerning weak ahaadeeth that are 
    widespread on forums, and he can make use of these answers. That includes 
    the hadeeth mentioned in the question, which has been explained as da’eef 
    (weak) in the answer to question no.
    98821. 
And Allaah knows best.