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"Hafiz of Qur'an carries Prophethood" hadith

Q. There is a hadith quoted by Sidi Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi in his Futuhat
and other works:

[ARABIC]

Have you heard of this hadith, or something similar?

A. Yes, it is a famous but very weak hadith narrated (i) from `Abd Allah
ibn `Amr by Ibn Nasr al-Marwazi in Qiyam al-Layl (no. 159), al-Khatib,
Tarikh (9:396), Ibn al-Durays in Fada'il al-Qur'an (no. 65), Abu `Ubayd
in Fada'il al-Qur'an p. 53, al-Shajari in his Amali (1:92), Ibn `Asakir
in his Tarikh (68:225 no. 9230), al-Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-Iman (5:531),
Abu al-Fadl al-Razi (371-454) in Fada'il al-Qur'an wa-Tilawatih (p. 91
no. 51), and al-Tabarani per al-Haythami in Majma` al-Zawa'id (7:159),
all of them through Isma`il ibn Rafi` al-Madani who is discarded; and
(ii) from al-Bara' ibn `Azib as part of a long hadith by Tammam al-Razi
in his Fawa'id (1:130-131 no. 301).

But it is also narrated as a saying of `Abd Allah ibn `Amr (i) by Ibn
al-Mubarak in al-Zuhd (p. 275-276), Ibn Abi Shayba from Waki`
(10:467=Luhaydan ed. 10:212 no. 30451=`Awwama ed. 15:445 no. 30573), and
al-Khatib in al-Faqih wal-Mutafaqqih (1:197 no. 196) with the same very
weak chain, also in Ibn Qutayba's Gharib al-Hadith (3:766) through Ibn
al-Mubarak; and (ii) with strong chains by al-Ajurri in Akhlaq Hamalat
al-Qur'an (no. 13), Abu `Ubayd (p. 53), al-Hakim (1:552 "sahih
al-isnad"), al-Bayhaqi in the Shu`ab (2:522 nos. 2590-2591) and Abu
al-Fadl al-Razi in Fada'il al-Qur'an wa-Tilawatih (p. 92 no. 52) through
al-Ajurri.

This is the wording of the latter: "Whoever has gathered up the entire
Qur'an [into memory] carries something immense: Prophethood has been
enfolded (udrijat) between his two shoulder-plates, except that he does
not receive revelation. It is not right for someone who carries Qur'an
to have a temper (yajida) like others have a temper [variant dotting in
Jam` al-Jawami` (no. 6123): 'to get furious (yahidda) like others get
furious'; variant reading in al-Durr al-Manthur (3:290): 'to hurry
(yajidda) like others hurry'] or to be ignorant like others are
ignorant, for the Qur'an is in his core." This is a fair mawquf report.
Meaning: He must try to reflect the fact that he is carrying with him
the sum of all wisdom.

It is also mentioned in part or in whole in the works of Tafsir such as:

- Waki` ibn al-Jarrah's Tafsir as cited by Ibn Kathir on verse 2:269
through Isma`il ibn Rafi`.
- al-Baghawi's on 2:271 as a saying of al-Hasan al-Basri.
- al-Suyuti's Durr al-Manthur on 2:269.

This narration was also mentioned by Imam al-Haytami in his brief
discussion of the long Prophetic hadith from Ibn `Umar, "Whoever
memorizes one third of the Qur'an has been given one third of
Prophethood" in his Fatawa Hadithiyya. The latter is narrated by
al-Khatib in Tarikh Baghdad (12:446) through al-Qasim al-Malati whom
al-Khatib calls a detestable arch-liar and forger and it is a forgery by
general agreement. Two similar narrations are at best very weak if not
also forgeries since they each also come through a very disclaimed
narrator (Maslama al-Khushani) and a liar (Bishr ibn Numayr)
respectively, both from Abu Umama al-Bahili: (i) by al-Ajurri and
through him Abu al-Fadl al-Razi; and (ii) by Ibn `Adi in al-Kamil, Ibn
Hibban in al-Majruhin, Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Mawdu`at and others.
Al-Qurtubi cites the latter in the Muqaddima of his Tafsir. He also
cites a mursal Prophetic report from al-Hasan al-Basri: "Whoever takes
one third of the Qur'an and puts it into practice has taken the matter
of one third of Prophethood, etc." Al-Bayhaqi narrated it in the Shu`ab
(2:523 no. 2592).

Note on spelling in the original question: after qala, yaqulu, "anna" becomes 
"inna" so it should be spelled with a hamza under the alif.

GF Haddad
2008-10-28