Praise be to
Allah.
irstly:
The first
hadeeth was narrated by Imam ash-Shaafa‘i in his Musnad (365) (and via him by al-Bayhaqi in al-Ma‘rifah
(2140). Ash-Shaafa‘i said: One whom I do not have reason to suspect told
me from ‘Amr ibn Abi ‘Amr, from al-Muttalib ibn Hantab, that the
Prophet, (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There is no
hour of the night or day but the sky is raining; Allah directs it as He
wills.”
This is a
da‘eef isnaad. Al-Muttalib is the son of ‘Abdullah ibn al-Muttalib
ibn Hantab, a Taabi‘i; he is sadooq but mudallis (says ambiguous things
and gives the wrong impression) and narrated a lot of mursal reports, as it
says in at-Taqreeb (p. 534).
The shaykh of
ash-Shaafa‘i is not named, so he is unknown.
The hadeeth was
also narrated by Shaykh al-Albaani in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth
ad-Da‘eefah (4494) via this isnaad. He said:
This is a
da‘eef isnaad. In addition to its being mursal, it also includes the
shaykh of ash-Shaafa‘i, who is not named. It is not unlikely to have been
Ibraaheem ibn Abi Yahya al-Aslami al-Madani, about whose authenticity scholars
other than Imam ash-Shaafa‘i had doubts. End quote.
The idea that
the unknown narrator is Ibn Abi Yahya is supported by the words of
ar-Rabee‘ ibn Sulaymaan: When ash-Shaafa‘i says, “One whom I
do not have reason to suspect told me,” he is referring to Ibraaheem ibn
Abi Yahya.
Mizaan
al-I‘tidaal,
1/58. See also Ta‘jeel al-Manfa‘ah, 2/627; al-Kaamil
by Ibn ‘Adiyy, 1/220. Based on that, the isnaad is waahin (weak), because
Ibn Abi Yahya was accused of fabricating hadeeth. An-Nasaa’i said: The
liars who were known for fabricating hadeeths are four: Ibraaheem ibn Abi Yahya
in Madinah, al-Waaqidi in Baghdad,
Muqaatil in Khorasan and Muhammad ibn Sa‘eed in Syria.
End quote from Tahdheeb
at-Tahdheeb, 9/163
Secondly:
The second
hadeeth was narrated by al-Bayhaqi in his Sunan (6717); al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak
(3520); at-Tabari in his Tafseer (19/280); and Ibn Abi Haatim in his Tafseer
(15247) via al-Hasan ibn Muslim, from Sa‘eed ibn Jubayr, from Ibn
‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: There is no year that
has less rain than another, but Allah, may He be exalted, directs it as He
wills. Then he recited this verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“And
indeed We have distributed it (rain or water) amongst them in order that they
may remember the Grace of Allah, but most men refuse (or deny the Truth or
Faith) and accept nothing but disbelief or ingratitude”
[al-Furqaan
25:50].
Al-Haakim said:
It is saheeh according to the conditions of al-Bukhaari and Muslim, and
adh-Dhahabi agreed with him.
It was also
narrated by at-Tabari (17/84) and al-Bayhaqi (6716) via two isnaads from
‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ood (may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
“There is no year that has more rain than another, but Allah diverts it
as He wills.”
It was narrated
by al-Bayhaqi (6725) from Ibn Mas‘ood in a marfoo‘ report, then he
said: This is how it was narrated in a marfoo‘ report with this isnaad;
the saheeh version is mawqoof.
Ibn Katheer (may
Allah have mercy on him) attributed it in his Tafseer (6/116) to Ibn
Mas‘ood and Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with them).
It was narrated
by at-Tabari (17/84) from al-Hakam ibn ‘Utaybah as his own words.
The report was
narrated by Shaykh al-Albaani in as-Saheehah (2461) from Ibn
‘Abbaas, as his own words, and classed as saheeh according to the
conditions of al-Bukhaari and Muslim. He also narrated it from Ibn
Mas‘ood, then he said: From the above it seems that this report, although
it is mawqoof, may be regarded as marfoo‘ because it could not have been
said by way of personal opinion or ijtihaad, and because it was also narrated
in marfoo‘ reports. End quote.
To sum up:
The report is
saheeh in the isnaad from Ibn Mas‘ood and Ibn ‘Abbaas, as their own
words; as a marfoo‘ report (i.e., attributed to the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him)) it is not saheeh. Can it be regarded as
marfoo‘? That is subject to scholarly opinion. What appears to be the
case -- and Allah knows best -- is that it cannot be attributed to the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) because it cannot be proven to be
from him. But it can be attributed to those from whom it was proven, and it
should be limited to that.
And Allah knows best.