In order to prove that reading Soorat al-Kahf on Fridays is not authentically reported from the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam) - a view proven to be weak in my last post -, those who hold that opinion gave some points that deserve clarification(s). This post addresses those points - Allah willing:
1. The hadith is only authentically reported as a statement of a companion, Aboo Sa'eed al-Khudree (radiya Allahu anhu) and not one from the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).
Clarification: It had been explained that although the statement was authentically reported as one from the companion, Mawqoof, it has a ruling of a statement from the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam), Marfoo', because it is NOT from the matters that is said from juristic reasoning. The statements of leading authorities in the science of hadith were cited in that regard. They included that the authentic Mawqoof route strengthens even the weak chains that ascribe the statement directly to the Prophet (sallallaahu alayhi wasallam).
2. "...many issues in fiqh have been implemented by the Salaf, our predecessors, whereas in this issue, we don't find statements or actions from the Salaf that indicate it being a sunnah."
Clarification: This will be addressed from two angles:
Firstly: One of the clearly authentic routes of the hadith is that from the companion; it is not likely essentially, that while he told the people to read Soorat al-Kahf on Fridays and earn the rewards, he was not doing so. It is not likely as well, that the Tabi'oon who reported the hadith from him and the Tabi'u at-Taabi'een would only hear and transmit the report and not act upon it. Secondly: Imam ash-Shaafi'ee has clearly written that: "I like that Soorat al-Kahf is read on the night or day of Jum'ah based on what has been reported pertaining to it." [al-Umm 2/432 - published by Daar al-Wafaa and Dar Ibn Hazm]. The status of Imam ash-Shafi'ee among the early scholars in the Ummah is well-known. Others among the scholars like al-Hakim, an-Nawawee, Ibn Quddamah, Adh-Dhahabee have upheld the hadith. And so did the great scholars of our times, Imam al-Albaanee, Ibn al-'Uthaymeen and others. Therefore, giving evidence that the hadith was not acted on is really farfetched.
3. "In the book of Ibn Hajr, Talkhees Al-Habeer (volume 2, page 146), the author mentions, 'This statement is not a statement of the Prophet, peace be up on him, rather it is a statement from Abi Sa'eed, not to be ascribed to the Prophet, peace be upon him."
Clarification: This statement is either deliberately misrepresented or simply wrongly rendered. Ibn Hajar in the page cited rather said, "And it is reported by ad-Daarimee and Sa'eed bin Mansoor in the Mawqoof form. An-Nasaaee said after reporting it in the Marfoo' and Mawqoof form that: "The Mawqoof form is more authentic." The expression of the translator, "not to be ascribed to the Prophet, peace be upon him - above, is completely absent from Ibn Hajar's original comment. To include it would foreclose Ibn Hajar's viewing the Mawqoof form to have the ruling of a Marfoo' hadith. Yet, Ibn Hajar himself was only citing an-Nasaaee's preference for the Mawqoof form; his saying after quoting an-Nassaaee that: "And it has a supporting proof in the (Book of) Tafseer by Ibn Mardawayh - which although is a weak Marfoo - form of the report shows that he most likely held differently from an-Nasaaee - may Allah be pleased with them all - or seeks to corroborate the authentic Mawqoof form with the weak Marfoo' to give the Mawqoof a Marfoo' ruling as did Shaykh al-Albaanee with the same report in [Irwaa al-Galeel 3/95] . So the translation above ascribed to Ibn Hajar is misleading!
4. Ibn Qayyim said: "What is more accurate is that this statement is from Abi Sa'eed and is not the statement of the Prophet, peace be upon him."
Clarification: This is also not a well-rendered ascription! Ibn al-Qayyim rather said in Zaad al-Ma'aad (1/146 - Dar Bayan al-'Arabee print) that: "Sa'eed bin Mansoor cited it as a statement of Aboo Sa'eed al-Khudree and that is the most likely thing." So, where does, "and is not the statement of the Prophet, peace be upon him - come from? Leaving it at Ibn Qayyim's statement alone, it does not foreclose the statement having the ruling of a Marfoo' hadith as explained earlier.
Therefore, as said in the previous post - and further elaborated here - it is established from the Prophet's Sunnah to read Soorat al-Kahf on Fridays. Allah knows best.
