Hadith 86

Sahih Muslim

Book 0: Introduction

Chapter 5

That Which is Related to the Statements ‘The Chain of Narration is from the Religion’; ‘Transmissions are not Taken Except from Trustworthy Narrators’; and ‘Criticism of the Narrators With What is Permissible Regarding Them, Even Obligatory and That It is not the Prohibited Kind of Backbiting, Rather it is the Defense of the Noble Sharī’ah’

باب فِي أَنَّ الإِسْنَادَ مِنَ الدِّينِ وَأَنَّ الرِّوَايَةَ لَا تَكُونُ إِلَّا عَنْ الثِّقَاتِ وَأَنَّ جَرْحَ الرُّوَاةِ بِمَا هُوَ فِيهِمْ جَائِزٌ بَلْ وَاجِبٌ وَأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ مِنْ الْغِيبَةِ الْمُحَرَّمَةِ بَلْ مِنْ الذَّبِّ عَنْ الشَّرِيعَةِ الْمُكَرَّمَةِ

Sahih Muslim Introduction 87
وَحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ قُهْزَاذَ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ أَبَا إِسْحَاقَ الطَّالَقَانِيَّ، يَقُولُ سَمِعْتُ ابْنَ الْمُبَارَكِ، يَقُولُ لَوْ خُيِّرْتُ بَيْنَ أَنْ أَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ أَلْقَى عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ مُحَرَّرٍ لاَخْتَرْتُ أَنْ أَلْقَاهُ ثُمَّ أَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَلَمَّا رَأَيْتُهُ كَانَتْ بَعْرَةٌ أَحَبَّ إِلَىَّ مِنْهُ ‏.‏
Muhammad bin Abd Allah bin Quhzādh narrated to me, he said, I heard Abū Ishāq at-Tālqānī saying, I heard Ibn al-Mubārak saying:

‘If I had to choose between entering Paradise and meeting Abd Allah bin Muharrar, I would have chosen to meet him, then enter Paradise. Then when I saw him, dung was more preferred to me than him’.