Imām Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf al-Barbahārī (d. 329 AH/941 CE) ؒ said in statement no. 117:
وعليك بالآثار وأهل الآثار، وإياهم فاسأل، ومعهم فاجلس، ومنهم فاقتبس.
“Adhere to the narrations and the people of narrations. Ask them, sit with them and learn from them.”
Explanation
Shaykh Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān ibn ʿAbd Allah al-Fawzān explains that āthār means the ḥadīths. The wording means to adhere to the narrations and their people, as in Allah’s words:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْفُسَكُمْ
“O you who believe! Take care of your own selves.” [Q 5:105] (excerpt)
That is, remain committed to this.
Concerning asking them, Allah says:
فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ
“So ask the people of remembrance [learned men of the Taurāt (Torah) and the Injīl (Gospel)], if you know not.” [Q 16:43] (excerpt)
This means the upright people of knowledge among the People of the Book and the people of knowledge from this ummah. They are the ones to be asked.
Concerning sitting with them and learning from them, Allah says:
وَإِذَا رَأَيْتَ الَّذِينَ يَخُوضُونَ فِي آيَاتِنَا فَأَعْرِضْ عَنْهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ ۚ وَإِمَّا يُنْسِيَنَّكَ الشَّيْطَانُ فَلَا تَقْعُدْ بَعْدَ الذِّكْرَىٰ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ
“And when you (Muḥammad) see those who engage in a false conversation about Our Verses (of the Qurʾān) by mocking at them, stay away from them till they turn to another topic. And if Shayṭān (Satan) causes you to forget, then after the remembrance sit not in the company of those people who are the ẓālimūn (polytheists and wrongdoers, etc.).” [Q 6:68]
He, the Most High, also says:
وَقَدْ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْكِتَابِ أَنْ إِذَا سَمِعْتُمْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ يُكْفَرُ بِهَا وَيُسْتَهْزَأُ بِهَا فَلَا تَقْعُدُوا مَعَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَخُوضُوا فِي حَدِيثٍ غَيْرِهِ ۚ إِنَّكُمْ إِذًا مِثْلُهُمْ
“And it has already been revealed to you in the Book (this Qurʾān) that when you hear the Verses of Allah being denied and mocked at, then do not sit with them until they engage in a talk other than that; [if you stayed with them] certainly in that case you would be like them.” [Q 4:140] (excerpt)
Indeed, if you sit with them, you will be like them. A person should therefore beware of sitting with evildoers and scholars of misguidance. He should instead remain in the company of the people of knowledge, those with the correct ʿaqīdah and sound manhaj, sitting with them and benefiting from them.
Translator’s Note
Imām Muḥammad ibn Jarīr aṭ-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH/923 CE) ؒ relates an explanation from ʿAbd Allah ibn ʿAbbās , through aḍ-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning the command in Q 16:43 to ask the people of remembrance:
يعني أهل الكتب الماضية، أبشرا كانت الرسل التي أتتكم أم ملائكة؟ فإن كانوا ملائكة أنكرتم، وإن كانوا بشرا فلا تنكروا أن يكون محمد رسولا.
“That is, ask the people of the earlier Books whether the messengers who came to them were human beings or angels. If they were angels, you could object. If they were human beings, do not deny that Muḥammad is a messenger.” (Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Jāmiʿ al-Bayān, commentary on Q 16:43.)
References
Aṭ-Ṭabarī, Muḥammad ibn Jarīr (d. 310 AH/923 CE). Jāmiʿ al-Bayān ʿan Taʾwīl Āy al-Qurʾān, commentary on Q 16:43 7:208.
Al-Barbahārī, Abū Muḥammad al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn Khalaf (d. 329 AH/941 CE). Sharḥ as-Sunnah, statement no. 117.
Al-Fawzān, Ṣāliḥ ibn Fawzān ibn ʿAbd Allah. Itḥāf al-Qārī bi-t-Taʿlīqāt ʿalā Sharḥ as-Sunnah li-l-Imām al-Barbahārī, section on adhering to the people of narrations, checked against the author’s electronic library. Maktabat ar-Rushd, Riyadh, 2:123.
The Qurʾān Q 5:105, 16:43 and 4:140 (excerpts), and Q 6:68.
