Names and Attributes of Allah - , The hadeeth of the mountain goats is a weak hadeeth.

hadeeth of the mountain goats? How should we understand it in the
light of modern science?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The text of the hadeeth of the mountain goats is as follows:
It was narrated that al-'Abbaas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (may Allaah be
pleased with him) said:
I was in al-Batha' with a group of people, among whom was the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). A
cloud passed over him, and he looked at it and said, "What do you call
this?" They said, Sahaab (a cloud). He said, "And muzn (rain cloud)."
They said, And muzn. He said, "And 'anaan (clouds)." Abu Bakr said:
they said, "And 'anaan." He said: "How much (distance) do you think
there is between you and the heaven?" They said, We do not know. He
said, "Between you and it is seventy-one or seventy-two or
seventy-three years, and there is a similar distance betweenit and the
heaven above it [and so on]" – until he has counted seven heavens.
"Then above the seventh heaven there is a river, between whose top and
bottom isa distance like that between one heaven and another. Then
above that there are eight (angels in the formof) mountain goats. The
distance between their hooves and their knees is like the distance
between one heaven and the next. Then on their backs is the Throne,
and the distancebetween the top and thebottom of the Throne is like
the distance between one heaven and another. Then Allaahis above that,
may He be blessed and exalted.
Ibn al-Atheer said in al-Nihaayah (3/355):
Mountain goats means angels in the form of mountain goats.
This hadeeth is well known in the books of the scholars, and is
narrated in most of the books of Musnad. It was narrated by Ahmad in
al-Musnad (1/206), Abu Dawood in al-Sunan (4723), al-Tirmidhi in
al-Sunan (3320), Ibn Maajah (193), al-Daarimi in al-Radd 'ala
al-Jahamiyyah (50), al-Bazaar in his Musnad (4/134), Muhammad ibn
'Uthmaan ibn Abi Shaybah in al-'Arsh (1/66), Ibn Khuzaymah inKitaab
al-Tawheed (1/234) al-Haakim in al-Mustadrak (2/410) and other books
of Sunnah.
The reports of these imams come through five isnaads, all of which
meet in Simaak ibn Harb from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umayrah from al-Ahnaf
ibn Qays from al-'Abbaas ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib (mayAllaah be pleased
with him).
As for Simaak ibn Harb, he met a number of the Sahaabah. Muslim
narrated from him, as did al-Bukhaari in mu'allaq reports. He was
regarded as thiqah (trustworthy) by a number of scholars, suchas Imam
Ahmad, Abu Haatim, al-Bazaar and others. But some of the scholars
criticized for some strange matters in his hadeeth. Hence he was
classed as da'eef (weak) by Shu'bah and Ibn al-Mubaarak, and Ibn Abi
Khaythamah said: I heard Ibn Ma'een being asked: What is his fault? He
said: He narrated ahaadeeth which no one else narrated, but he is
thiqah. Ibn 'Ammaar said: They say that he used to make mistakes, and
they differed concerning his hadeeth. Al-Thawri regarded him as
somewhat da'eef but no one rejected him. Al-Nasaa'i said: Sometimes he
repeats everything he hears, therefore when he narrates a hadeeth
which no one else narrated, that cannot be regarded as sound. Ibn
Hibbaan said in al-Thiqaat: he makes many mistakes.
See his biography in Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb (4/204)
As for 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umayrah: we do not know anything about his
biography except that he narrated from al-Ahnaf ibn Qays, and no one
is known to havenarrated from him except Simaak ibn Harb. None of the
scholars stated whether he was thiqah or da'eef except Ibn Hibbaan who
mentioned him in al-Thiqaat. Ibn Hajar saidin Tahdheeb al-Tahdheeb
(5/301): al-Bukhaari said: It is notknown whether he heard from
al-Ahnaf. He was mentioned by Ibn Hibbaan in al-Thiqaat, and
al-Tirmidhi classed his hadeeth as hasan. I (Ibn Hajar) say: Abu
Na'eem said in Ma'rifat al-Sahaabah: He lived during the Jaahiliyyah
and he was the guide of al-A'sha, but it is not proven that he
accompanied the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or
saw him. Muslim said in al-Wuhdaan: Simaak alone narrated from him.
Ibraaheem al-Harbi said: I do not know him. End quote.
Because Simaak's report is not to be accepted when he is the only one
narrating it, and because we find that there are some doubts about
'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umayrah, the scholars differed as to whether the
hadeeth should be classed as saheeh or da'eef.
Al-Tirmidhi said concerning the hadeeth:it is hasan ghareeb. It was
classed as saheeh byIbn Khuzaymah in his report in his book al-Tawheed
where he stipulated some conditions for its soundness. Al-Haakim said
in al-Mustadrak: it issaheeh according to the conditions of Muslim
although they (al-Bukhaari and Muslim)did not narrate it.
Among the later scholars, Ibn Taymiyah inMajmoo' al-Fataawa (3/192)
and Ibn al-Qayyim in Mukhtasar al-Sawaa'iq (433) said itsisnaad is
jayyid.
With regard to the scholars who classed it as da'eef:
This is what is understood from the words of al-Bazaar in hisMusnad
(4/115), where he says: We do not knowof these words being narrated
except with this isnaad from al-'Abbaas from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him). We do not know of anyone who
narrated from 'Abd-Allaah ibn 'Umayrahexcept Simaak ibn Harb. End
quote.
Ibn 'Adiyy said in al-Kaamil (9/27): it is not known.
Al-Mazzi indicated that itis da'eef in Tahdheeb al-Kamaal (10/391).
Al-Dhahabi said in al-'Uluw (1/60): It was narrated only by Simaak
from 'Abd-Allaah, and 'Abd-Allaah is somewhat unknown. End quote. But
al-Dhahabi classed the hadeeth as hasan in al-'Arsh (24).
Another of the later scholars who classed it as da'eef was al-Albaani
in al-Silsilah al-Da'eefah (1247).
What seems most likely –and Allaah knows best – is that the hadeeth is
da'eef. As Simaak ibn Harb was the only one who narrated this hadeeth
which has to dowith matters of the unseen, this means that it is not
acceptable. The fact that little is known about 'Abd-Allaah ibn
'Umayrah further damages the soundness of the hadeeth. Then there is
the interruption (in the isnaad) between him and al-Ahnaf ibn Qays.
If anyone wants to quote this hadeeth as evidence that Allaah is above
His creation and that He is above the mighty Throne, the Qur'aan and
saheeh Sunnah are full of such evidence and there is noneed to quote
this hadeeth as evidence. There are a thousand pieces of evidence
which Imam al-Dhahabi compiled in his book al-'Uluw, for those who
want to know more.
We have already quoted

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