Knowledge - Sahih al-Bukhari 109

I heard the Prophet (ﷺ) saying, "Whoever (intentionally) ascribes to me what I have not said then (surely) let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire."

Commentary on the Hadith

This profound narration establishes the grave sin of fabricating statements and attributing them to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). The severe warning indicates the tremendous responsibility scholars and narrators bear in preserving the purity of Prophetic teachings.

The phrase "intentionally" highlights that the punishment applies to deliberate forgery, not honest mistakes in transmission. The definite language "let him occupy his seat in Hell-fire" emphasizes the certainty of this consequence for those who knowingly fabricate hadith.

This hadith serves as a foundational principle in Islamic scholarship, necessitating rigorous verification (isnad criticism) and scholarly consensus before accepting any narration as authentic. It protects the Shariah from corruption and preserves the Sunnah in its pristine form.

Scholarly Implications

This teaching compelled early scholars to develop sophisticated methodologies for verifying narrations, giving rise to the sciences of hadith criticism (mustalah al-hadith).

It establishes that protecting religious knowledge from distortion takes precedence over merely increasing the quantity of narrations. Quality and authenticity must always prevail over quantity.

The warning applies equally to adding to, subtracting from, or distorting the meaning of authentic Prophetic statements in ways that alter their intended meaning.