A study of the Pollination of the Palm Trees Narration

In some of the Sunni sources of narrations, such as Sahih Muslim, Musnad by Ibn Hanbal, Sunan by Ibn Majah, Sahih by Ibn Habban, and Majma al-Zawaid by Haythami, there is a narration known as the “pollination of the palm trees” which is considered as authentic by the Sunnis. The researcher in this article first traces the sources of this narration and shows that some of the transmitters of this hadith according to the Sunni scholars in the science of hadith transmission are weak. He then has an assessment of the content of the narration and its problems and shows that accepting personal judgment as one of the sources of the knowledge of the Prophet, peace be upon him and his household, would not only lead to the failure of the Prophetic mission and the reason of sending the Prophet but it is also its incompatible with the principles of reason. In this article a reference is also made to the difference between the Shiis and Sunnis on the infallibility and knowledge of the Prophet.