Please advise us about the level of authenticity about the hadith narrated in Majma‘ az-Zawaa’id wa Manba‘ al-Fawaa’id from Jaabir, according to which he said concerning the soorah (interpretation of the meaning):

“When comes the Help of Allah (to you, O Muhammad (Peace be upon him) against your enemies) and the conquest (of Makkah),

And you see that the people enter Allah’s religion (Islam) in crowds,

So glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask for His Forgiveness. Verily, He is the One Who accepts the repentance and forgives”

[an-Nasr 110:1-3]:

[Jaabir said:] When this soorah was revealed to Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), he said: “O Jibreel, you have heralded the death of my soul.” Jibreel (peace be upon him) said: “And indeed the Hereafter is better for you than the present (life of this world). And verily, your Lord will give you (all i.e. good) so that you shall be well-pleased” [ad-Duha 93:4-5]. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) instructed Bilaal to call out “As-salaatu jaami‘ah (prayer is about to begin),” and the Muhaajiroon and Ansaar gathered, then the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) led them in prayer, then he ascended the minbar and praised and extolled Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, then he delivered a speech that caused their hearts to tremble and their eyes to weep. Then he said: “O people, what kind of Prophet have I been to you?” They said: May Allah reward you with good, O Prophet; you have been to us like a compassionate father and like a sincere and caring brother. You have conveyed the messages of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted; you have conveyed His revelation to us and called to the path of your Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching. May Allah reward you on our behalf with the best reward that He has ever given to any Prophet on behalf of his nation…. And he quoted the hadith at length.

Praise
be to Allah.

This lengthy hadith was narrated by Imam at-Tabaraani in
al-Mu‘jam al-Kabeer (3/58), and was quoted from him by Abu Nu‘aym in
Hilyat al-Awliya’ (4/74) and via him by Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Mawdoo‘aat
(1/295). 

He said: Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Bara’ narrated to us: ‘Abd
al-Mun‘im ibn Idrees ibn Sinaan narrated to us, from his father, from Wahb
ibn Munabbih, from Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullah and ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah
be pleased with them). 

Al-Haythami said, after quoting this hadith (8/605): 

This was narrated by at-Tabaraani. Its isnaad includes ‘Abd
al-Mun‘im ibn Idrees, who was a liar and a fabricator. End quote. 

Ibn al-Jawzi said in al-Mawdoo‘aat (1/301): 

This is a fabricated hadith that cannot be sound. May Allah
punish the one who fabricated it and may He curse those who undermine
religion with such nonsense and words which are not befitting for the
Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or for the Sahaabah. 

The one who is accused of fabricating it is ‘Abd al-Mun‘im
ibn Idrees. Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: He used to tell lies against Wahb. Yahya
said: He is an evil liar. Ibn al-Madeeni and Abu Dawood said: He is not
trustworthy. Ibn Hibbaan said: It is not permissible to quote what he
narrates as evidence. Ad-Daaraqutni said: He and his father are to be
rejected. End quote.                                    

Something similar was stated concerning him by as-Suyooti in
al-La’aali in his book on fabricated hadiths entitled al-La’aali al-Masnoo‘ah
(1/257), by Ibn ‘Iraaq in Tanzeeh as-Sharee‘ah (1/330) and by ash-Shawkaani
in al-Fawaa’id al-Majmoo‘ah (324). 

This fabricated hadith contains a number of problematic
matters: 

-1-

It speaks of the story of the death of the Prophet (blessings
and peace of Allah be upon him) and the Angel of death asking permission to
enter upon him, and it mentions unproven details about this major incident.
It is well-known to the scholars that the story of the death of the Prophet
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is one of the topics concerning
which the most lies were told by the liars and people transmitted to one
another many things concerning it that are not proven. 

Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said in
al-Bidaayah wa’n-Nihaayah (5/256): 

Al-Waaqidi and others quoted many reports concerning the
Prophet’s death that contain very strange and weird things, but we rejected
most of them because of the weakness of their isnaads and the oddness of
their texts, especially those that were narrated by many later storytellers
and others. Many of them are certainly fabricated, and the saheeh and hasan
hadiths that are narrated in the well-known books are sufficient and we have
no need for fabricated reports of which the isnaads are not known. And Allah
knows best. End quote. 

There is no saheeh hadith or report which suggests that the
Angel of death sought permission to enter upon the Prophet (blessings and
peace of Allah be upon him) to take his soul. All the reports that have been
narrated concerning that are either munkar (odd) or mawdoo‘ (fabricated).
Please see the answer to question no. 71400. 

-2-

With regard to the story of ‘Ukaashah seeking retaliation
from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), a
similar story was narrated via a saheeh isnaad, but in it, it states that
the one who sought retaliation was Usayd ibn Hudayr (may Allah be pleased
with him). ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan ibn Abi Layla narrated that Usayd ibn Hudayr
said: 

Whilst he – i.e., Usayd ibn Hudayr – was talking to the
people and joking to make them laugh, the Prophet (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) poked him in the ribs with a stick. He said: Let me
retaliate. He said: Retaliate. He said: You are wearing a shirt but I am not
wearing a shirt. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
lifted his shirt and he embraced him and kissed his side. He said: This is
all I wanted, O Messenger of Allah. 

Narrated by Abu Dawood (5224) and via him by al-Bayhaqi in
as-Sunan al-Kubra (7/102). Also narrated by at-Tabaraani in al-Mu‘jam
al-Kabeer (1/205); al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (3/327) and Ibn
‘Asaakir in Tareekh Dimashq (9/76). 

The isnaad of this hadith is saheeh. It was classed as saheeh
by al-Haakim and likewise by adh-Dhahabi. It was also classed as saheeh by
al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood. 

It says in ‘Awn al-Ma‘bood (14/90): 

“the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) poked
him in the ribs with a stick” i.e., he struck him by way of joking and
playing. “He” i.e., Usayd “said: Let me retaliate” i.e., allow me to poke
you in the ribs as you poked me in the ribs. “Retaliate”i.e., take your
revenge.

“and kissed his side” – the Arabic word translated as “side”
refers to the area on the side of the body between the lowest rib and the
hip.

 “He said: This is all I wanted” that is, all I wanted by
saying let me retaliate was to kiss you, and I did not really want to
retaliate. End quote. 

-3-

The hadith also contains a number of reprehensible and odd
things, such as the following:

“The first one who will offer the funeral prayer for me is
the Lord, may He be glorified and exalted, from above His Throne” – does
Allah offer the funeral prayer for anyone?! This is a reprehensible lie of
the fabricators. 

“When the soul reached the knees, the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: ‘Ouch!’ When the soul
reached the navel, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)
cried out: ‘How stressful it is!’ When the soul reached the chest, the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) cried out: ‘O Jibreel!
How difficult are the throes of death!’” 

The problem here is that this gives the impression that the
Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was displeased and
panicked at the time of death, but he is far above such a thing. 

“We said takbeer following the takbeer of Jibreel (peace be
upon him), and we offered the funeral prayer for the Messenger of Allah
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), led by Jibreel (peace be upon
him) in prayer”

it is not known that the angels ever led the Muslims in
prayer; rather this is one of the odd things that were narrated by the
suspect narrators. 

And Allah knows best.