Soundness of  Hadeeth, “By hating the Arabs you would hate me”
Question

                How sound is this hadeeth (prophetic narration)? It was narrated that Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “O Salman, do not hate me and leave your religion.” I said: O Messenger of Allah, how could I hate you when Allah has guided me through you? He said: ‘By hating the Arabs, you would hate me.”.
Praise be to Allah.
    Firstly: 

    The text 
    of this hadeeth is as follows: 

    It was 
    narrated that Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of 
    Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: 

    “O Salman, 
    do not hate me and give up your religion.”

    I said: O 
    Messenger of Allah, how can I hate you when Allah has guided us through you?

    He said: 
    “By hating the Arabs you would hate me.” 

    This 
    hadeeth was narrated by al-Tirmidhi (no. 3927); al-Bazzar in his Musnad 
    (2513); al-Tabarani in al-Mu’jam al-Kabeer (6/238); al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak 
    (4/86); and others, via Abu Badr al-Shuja’ ibn al-Waleed, from Qaboos ibn 
    Abi Zabyan, from his father, from Salman (may Allah be pleased with him). 

    This isnad 
    (chain of transmission) is da’eef (weak) and has two faults: 

    1.     
    Qaboos ibn Abi Zabyan. Ibn Ma’een said: his hadeeth is da’eef. Abu Hatim 
    said: Reports narrated by him cannot be quoted as evidence. Al-Daraqutni and 
    others classed him as weak. See: Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb, 8/306.

    2.     The 
    isnad is interrupted between Abu Zabyan – who is Husayn ibn Jundub – and 
    Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Tirmidhi said, after 
    narrating the hadeeth: I heard Muhammad ibn Isma’eel [meaning al-Bukhari] 
    say: Abu Zabyan did not meet Salman; Salmaan died before ‘Ali. End quote. 
    Ibn Abi Hatim said in al-Maraseel (50): I do not think that Husayn ibn 
    Jundub heard it from Salman. See: Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb, 2/380. 

    The 
    hadeeth was also narrated by Abu Na’eem in Hilyat al-Awliya, 7/270, via 
    Khalid ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman, from Mis’ar, from Abu Hashim al-Rummani from 
    Zadan, from Salman. 

    This chain 
    is da’eef jiddan (very weak) because of Khalid ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid 
    ibn Salamah al-Makhzoomi al-Makki, whose narration is worthless, and ‘Amr 
    ibn al-Fallas accused him of fabricating hadeeth. 

    Hence 
    al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri said in Ajwibah ‘ala Asilah fi’l-Jarh wa Ta’deel (p. 
    84): A munkar hadeeth (denounced narration). Al-Shaykh al-Albani (may Allah 
    have mercy on him) said: Its isnad is da’eef. End quote. Al-Silsilah 
    al-Da’eefah (no. 2029). 

    Thirdly: 

    The 
    weakness of this hadeeth does not mean that there is no virtue in the Arabs. 
    There are many hadeeths concerning this matter, a few of which are saheeh 
    (authentic) and many of which are weak or fabricated. 

    Shaykh 
    al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

    Concerning 
    this matter there are reports other than those which I have mentioned. Some 
    of them are subject to further examination and some of them are fabricated. 
    End quote.

    Iqtida’ 
    al-Sirat al-Mustaqeem, p.159 

    He also 
    said, commenting on this hadeeth: 

    The 
    Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) described hating the 
    Arabs as being a cause of leaving Islam, and he stated that hating them 
    implies hating him. 

    Previously 
    on our website we have spoken about the virtue of the Arabs and outlined the 
    correct understanding of this issue. Please see the answer to question 
    number 
    
    
    
    115934. 

    And Allah 
    knows best.