False ahaadeeth about calligraphers and tailors
Question

                How sound are the following ahaadeeth? 

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Calligraphers and tailors eat from the depths of their eyes” and he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “You should learn how to write well, for it is one of the keys to provision”. 

What is the meaning of the first hadeeth? 

May Allaah reward you with good.
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: 

    As for the 
    first hadeeth, we could not find it in any of the reliable books of hadeeth, 
    and we could not find any report that conveyed a similar meaning. It seems 
    that it is a fabrication of the masses who attribute everything to the 
    Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) without paying any 
    attention to the warning issued to those who tell lies about him  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

    The meaning 
    may be correct, for calligraphy and tailoring are skills that rely on good 
    eyesight and involve extensive use of one's eyes; hence the livelihood of 
    calligraphers and tailors comes from their eyes that they depend upon.  

    But the fact 
    that the meaning is correct does not make it permissible for anyone to 
    attribute to the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) 
    something that he did not say. Fabricators have attributed a great deal to 
    the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), especially 
    with regard to trades and professions, so as to market their wares and boast 
    about what they do well. Imam Ibn al-Jawzi even wrote a chapter in his book
    al-Mawdoo’aat (2/251) about tailoring, in which he quoted some of the 
    ahaadeeth that have been fabricated about this topic. 

    Secondly: 

    As for the 
    hadeeth, “You should learn how to write well, for it is one of the keys to 
    provision”, it is also a false and fabricated hadeeth which has no basis in 
    the books of sound ahaadeeth. It was quoted by al-San’aani in 
    al-Mawdoo’aat (39), al-Fatani in Tadhkirat al-Mawdoo’aat (135), 
    al-‘Ajlooni in Kashf al-Khafa’ (2/71) and al-Shawkaani in 
    al-Fawaa’id al-Majmoo’ah (147). 

    The poor style 
    is obvious in the wording of the two hadeeths, and there is no sign of 
    wisdom or the light of guidance in them; they do not resemble the speech of 
    the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as it usually 
    appears in his hadeeth. 

    Ibn al-Qayyim 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) said concerning the signs of a fabricated 
    hadeeth: 

    Its wording 
    does not resemble the speech of the Prophets, let alone the speech of the 
    Messenger of Allaah  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) which 
    is Revelation (Wahy) which was revealed to him, as Allaah says 
    (interpretation of the meaning): “Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. 
    It is only a Revelation revealed” [al-Najm 53:3-4], i.e., he only spoke 
    Revelation that was revealed. So this hadeeth is something that does not 
    resemble the Revelation and does not even resemble the speech of the 
    Sahaabah, like the hadeeth “Three things improve the eyesight: looking at 
    greenery, flowing water and a handsome face.”  

    Al-Manaar 
    al-Muneef, 
    p. 61, 62 

    Then he 
    mentioned some other signs: 

    The poor style 
    of the wording of the hadeeth, and the way it sounds silly to the ear, like 
    the hadeeth: “Four things never have their fill of four things: the female 
    of the male, the earth of rain, the eye of looking and the ear of news.” 

    Al-Manaar 
    al-Muneef 
    (p. 99). 

    Thirdly: 

    Although we 
    have stated above that these two hadeeth cannot be attributed to the Prophet 
     (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), we have found in the words 
    of the scholars and writers of literature something which indicates that 
    they regarded it as good to be able to write well and they regarded good 
    handwriting as a sign of refinement and good taste. We will quote some of 
    their words here: 

    Al-Maawardi 
    (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

    Because good 
    handwriting is so important, it is obligatory for the one who wants to 
    acquire knowledge to pay attention to two things: 

    1.
    
    Forming the letters properly

    2.
    
    Writing the vowel points correctly 
    

    Anything more 
    than that, such as writing beautifully is something extra and is not a 
    condition of its being correct.  

    ‘Ali ibn 
    ‘Ubaydah said; Good handwriting is the eloquence of the hand and the delight 
    of the heart. Abu’l-‘Abbaas al-Mubarrid said: Poor handwriting is bad 
    manners.  

    Writing 
    beautifully in addition to writing legibly is like speaking eloquently in 
    addition to speaking clearly. Hence the Arabs said: Good handwriting is one 
    of the two forms of eloquence. If the one who wants to be eloquent in speech 
    cannot ignore grammar and style, even if he understands and makes others 
    understand, the one who wants to write well must also write the letters 
    correctly and give them a nice shape, even if he understands and makes 
    others understand. There are people who developed fine handwriting and it 
    became one of their main characteristics, until some of them became known 
    scholars and masters of that field. But you find that scholars did not put 
    too much effort into improving their handwriting because they are 
    preoccupied with seeking knowledge, therefore you find that the handwriting 
    of scholars is usually poor. 

    al-Fadl ibn 
    Sahl said: It is a sign of a man’s being blessed that his handwriting is 
    poor, because the time that he spends in improving his handwriting distracts 
    him from memorizing and studying. Poor handwriting itself is not a blessing, 
    rather the blessing is that he does not have something to distract him from 
    seeking knowledge. Usually the one who has good handwriting is distracted 
    from seeking knowledge by trying beautify his handwriting. In this sense, 
    his poor handwriting means that he is blessed, even though poor handwriting 
    is not itself a blessing.  

    And Allaah 
    knows best.