Weakness of the hadeeth “The bonds of Islam and the foundations of the faith are three…”

It was narrated by Abu Ya‘la in his Musnad (2349), al-Laalkaa’i in Sharh I‘tiqaad Ahl as-Sunnah (1576), Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr in al-Istidhkaar (2/154) via Mu’ammil ibn Ismaa‘eel: Hammaad ibn Zayd told us: ‘Amr ibn Maalik an-Nukri told us, from Abu’l-Jawza’, from Ibn ‘Abbaas – Hammaad said: I do not know but that he attributed it to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) – he said: “The bonds of Islam and the foundations of the faith are three, on which Islam is based; whoever forsakes one of them becomes a disbeliever thereby whose blood may be shed. (They are) the testimony that there is no God but Allah, the prescribed prayer, and fasting in Ramadan.” 

This is a da‘eef (weak) hadeeth; there are several problems with it: 

Firstly: Mu’ammil ibn Isma‘eel has a poor memory. Abu Haatim said: He is sadooq and strictly adheres to the Sunnah, but makes many mistakes. Al-Bukhaari said: his hadeeth is to be rejected. Abu Zar‘ah said: there are many mistakes in his hadeeth.

Mizaan al-I‘tidaal (4/228) 

Secondly: it is mawqoof. Someone who is more trustworthy disagreed with it and ended the isnaad with Ibn ‘Abbaas. 

Ibn Rajab said: 

It was narrated by Qutaybah from Hammaad ibn Zayd, who narrated it as a mawqoof hadeeth, and left it incomplete and cut it short. 

It was also narrated by Sa‘eed ibn Zayd – the brother of Hammaad – from ‘Amr ibn Maalik in a marfoo‘ report (i.e., attributed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)). 

The more correct view is that it is mawqoof and the isnaad ends with Ibn ‘Abbaas. 

End quote from Fath al-Baari (1/23-24) 

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 

It is most likely that this hadith, if it has a basis that was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas, is mawqoof and the isnaad ends with him. Hammaad ibn Zayd was hesitant about attributing it to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Yes, S ‘eed ibn Zayd, the brother of Hammaad, confirmed that it is to be attributed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), but this Sa‘eed cannot be taken as an authority, as as-Sa‘di said. An-Nasaa’i and others said: He is not qawiy (strong).

End quote from Silsilah al-Ahaadeeth ad-Da‘eefah (1/212). 

Thirdly: ‘Amr ibn Maalik an-Nukri was not regarded as trustworthy by anyone except Ibn Hibbaan. He is one of the unknown narrators, because Ibn Hibbaan (may Allah have mercy on him) was lenient in regarding narrators as trustworthy, but despite that he said in his biography of him: His hadeeth, other than those narrated from him by his son, are regarded as containing errors and being odd.

See: at-Tahdheeb (8/96) 

Therefore this hadeeth is da‘eef and is not saheeh in any report, whether it is attributed to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) or otherwise. It was classed as da‘eef by al-Albaani in ad-Da‘eefah (94). 

Even if we were to assume that it is proven, it is to be understood – with regard to things other than the prayer – as being a stern warning and that the disbelief mentioned is a lesser kind of disbelief (minor kufr), or it is to be understood as referring to the one who thinks it is permissible not to do these things. 

Ibn Rajab said:

Ibn ‘Abbaas regarded forsaking these pillars of Islam as constituting disbelief, but in some cases it is disbelief that makes shedding blood permissible, and in other cases it is not. This indicates that in some cases disbelief puts one beyond the pale of Islam, and in other cases it does not. 

Most of the scholars of hadeeth are of the view that abandoning prayer constitutes disbelief, unlike other pillars of Islam. This was narrated from them by Muhammad ibn Nasr al-Marwazi and others.

End quote from Fath al-Baari (1/25) 

Al-Mannaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This hadeeth is more akin to a warning and highlights the seriousness of the matter, or may be understood as referring to the one who regards it as permissible to abandon these pillars.

End quote from Fayd al-Qadeer (4/311) 

Secondly: 

It was narrated by Imam Ahmad (25121), Abu Ya‘la (4566), and al-Haakim (49) from ‘Aa’ishah that the Messenger of Allah (blessing and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “There are three things I swear to: Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, does not regard one who has a share in Islam like one who does not have a share. The shares of Islam are three: prayer, fasting and zakaah. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, does not take care of anyone in this world then abandon him to someone else on the Day of Resurrection. And no man loves people but Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will join him to them. And there is a fourth thing – if I swear to it, I hope that I will not be sinning: Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, does not conceal a person’s faults in this world but He will also conceal his faults on the Day of Resurrection.” 

It was classed as saheeh by al-Haakim. Al-Haythami said:

It was narrated by Ahmad and its men are thiqaat (trustworthy). It was also narrated by Abu Ya‘la.

End quote from Majma‘ az-Zawaa’id (1/37) 

Al-Busayri said in Ithaaf al-Kheerah (1/102): Its isnad is jayyid 

It was classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah (1387) 

This is the correct view. As for the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas, it is da‘eef and is not saheeh as either a marfoo‘ report or a mawqoof report, as stated above, so it cannot be quoted as evidence. 

See also the answer to question no. 9400 and 106481

And Allah knows best.