Ahadith Tazim al-Riba ala al-Zina "Dirasa Naqdiyya
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- Dār Ibn al-Jawzī lil-Nashr wa-al-Tawzī‘
Ahadith Tazim al-Riba ala al-Zina "Dirasa Naqdiyya" (Hadiths on Exalting Usury over Adultery: A Critical Study) is a specialized hadith study by Ali ibn Abd Allah al-Sayyah, an associate professor of Hadith and its sciences at King Saud University . Published by Dar Ibn al-Jawzi in a 200-page volume as part of a scholarly research series, the book critically evaluates the prophetic narrations that assert usury (riba) is graver than adultery (zina) .
Background and Purpose
The study addresses the sharp disagreement among hadith scholars regarding narrations that declare usury worse than adultery—such as reports stating that consuming a single dirham of usury is more severe than dozens of acts of adultery, or that the lowest tier of usury is equivalent to a man marrying his own mother . While certain scholars declared some versions authentic (sahih) or meeting the criteria of al-Bukhari and Muslim, others classified them as fabricated (mawdu'), with varying intermediate assessments . The author noted the absence of an independent monograph comprehensively tracing all transmission paths (turuq), evaluating them according to the principles of early hadith critics (al-mutaqaddimun), and examining the textual content (matn) against foundational Quranic and authentic prophetic principles .
Methodology and Structure
The work relies on an inductive method (al-manhaj al-istiqra'i) to collect the chains of transmission, document the assessments of hadith critics, and weigh the evidence . The book is organized into an introduction, two main chapters, and a conclusion :
- Chapter One: Dedicated to the documentation (takhrij) and evaluation of individual transmission paths attributed to various Companions and figures, including Anas ibn Malik, al-Bara ibn Azib, Abd Allah ibn Salam, Abd Allah ibn Abbas, Abd Allah ibn Umar, Abd Allah ibn Masud, Abu Hurayrah, Wahb ibn al-Aswad (or al-Aswad ibn Wahb), Aisha, Abd Allah ibn Hanzalah, and Ka'b al-Ahbar, alongside non-prophetic reports (athar) from Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib .
- Chapter Two: Contains supplementary analyses, beginning with an examination of the primary source compilations that recorded these traditions, distinguishing works dedicated to authentic hadiths from compilations known for recording defective or discarded transmissions (such as the works of al-Uqayli, Ibn Hibban's al-Majruhin, Ibn Adi's al-Kamil, and al-Khatib al-Baghdadi's Tarikh Baghdad) . It reviews the arguments of scholars who authenticated or weakened the reports, synthesizes the preferred verdict, and explores why statements exalting usury over adultery are authentically traced specifically to two scholars from among Jewish converts to Islam: the Companion Abd Allah ibn Salam and the Successor Ka'b al-Ahbar .
Key Findings
The study concludes that all prophetic narrations stating that usury is graver than adultery are weak across all chains of transmission . The chains consistently rotate around discarded transmitters (matrukun), fabricators (wadda'un), or severely impaired narrators, rendering them incapable of corroborating one another (la tasluh li-l-shawahid wa-l-mutaba'at) . Furthermore, the textual meaning is unviable because Quranic verses and authentic prophetic traditions demonstrate that adultery carries greater corruption and societal danger than usury .
The author notes that early hadith masters (al-mutaqaddimun) predominantly identified these defects and weakened the narrations, whereas later (al-muta'akhkhirun) and contemporary scholars were the ones who tended to authenticate them . Regarding the authentic statements of Abd Allah ibn Salam and Ka'b al-Ahbar, the author suggests that usury was particularly widespread and deeply entrenched among the Israelites compared to adultery, making the emphasis on the severity of usury over adultery suited to their historical circumstances .
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