Q: In a book entitled "Durrat AlNasiheen fil Wa'dh wal Irshad" (The Pearl of Advisors on Preaching and Guidance) by a scholar of the ninth century A.H. called `Uthman Ibn Hasan Ibn Ahmad AlKhubri, I read the following: "It is narrated on the authority of Ja`far Ibn Muhammad from his father, from his grandfather, that he said, 'Allah (Exalted be He) gazed upon a jewel and it became red. He cast His sight upon it again and it melted and trembled in awe of the Lord. Then, He looked at it for a third time and it became water and the fourth time half of it became solid. Allah created the Throne out of one half and created water out of the other half, then He left it in that state. Hence, it trembles till the Day of Resurrection.'" Another narration reads: "It is reported that `Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said, 'Those who hold the Throne are four angels. Each of them has four faces. Their feet are planted on a rock under the seventh firmament of the earth at a distance of a five hundred year journey.'" Please enlighten me about the authenticity of what I have read!
A: This book is untrustworthy as it contains many Mawdu' (fabricated) and Da`if (weak) Hadith, such as these two narratives that have no source in Shari'ah (Islamic law). These two Hadiths are fabricated and falsely ascribed to the Prophet (peace be upon him). Therefore, we should not trust this book or others like it, which include the good and the bad, as well as Da'if and Mawdu' Hadith. The Hadith of the Messenger (peace be upon him) have been examined by the scholars of Ahl AlSunnah (those adhering to the Sunnah and the Muslim community) who have distinguished the Sahih from the Da`if. Hence, a believer should possess only sound benificial books, such as the Two Sahih Books (The two Authentic Books of Hadith: AlBukhari and Muslim), the Four Books of Sunan (by Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, AlTirmidhi and AlNasai'), Muntaqa AlAkhbar (the Selected Hadiths) by Ibn Taimiyah, Riyad AlSalihin (Gardens of the Righteous) by AlNawawi, Bulugh AlMaram (Attaining the Objective) by AlHafizh Ibn Hajar, 'Umdat A lHadith (Pillar of Hadith) by AlHafizh `AbdulGhani Ibn `AbdulWahid AlMaqdisi, as well as other edifying works approved by scholars