Q: We would like to know whether the following Hadiths are Sahih (authentic) or not:In the first Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Anyone who is able to die in Al-Madinah, let them die there. The Hadith is mentioned in the book entitled ''Al-Targhib wal-Tarhib'' for Imam Al-Mundhiry. In the second Hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Any Muslim who commits a sin, then rises and performs Wudu' (ablution) properly, then offers two Rak`ahs (unit of Prayer), and asks for Allah's Forgiveness, they will be surely granted forgiveness. (Related by Abu Dawud) Also refer to Sahih Al-Jami`. (Part No. 3; Page No. 229

A: The first Hadith was related by Imam Al-Tirmidhy in Al-Jami` with the wording mentioned above. He then said: "There is another Hadith under the same topic, which was narrated by Subay`ah bint Al-Harith Al-Aslamiyyah who reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, Anyone who is able to die in Al-Madinah, let them die there. Verily I will be the intercessor or the witness for anyone who dies there on the Day of Resurrection. " He commented: "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih Gharib (a good and authentic Hadith that is strange to come from this chain of narration) reported from Ayyub Al-Sakhtiyany." This Hadith was also related by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad (Hadith compilation - vol. 2, pp. 274 and 104); Ibn Majah in Al-Manasik (vol. 2, p. 1039, no. 3112); and was ranked as Sahih by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (vol. 9, p. 57).Moreover, Al-Haythamy said in Majm` Al-Zawa'id (vol. 3, p. 306) that this Hadith was related by Al-Tabarany in Al-Kabir and its narrators were Rijal Al-Sahih (narrators of Hadith compiled by Al-Bukhari and/or Muslim) except `Abdullah ibn `Ikrimah, who was mentioned by Ibn Abu Hatim and some narrators related from him and no one criticized him.There are many narrations for this Hadith, all of which support it. For example, the Hadith related by Muslim listed through several chains of transmission in Kitab Al-Hajj (Book of Pilgrimage), chapter of Encouraging to Live in Al-Madinah and Enduring its Hardships (vol. 2, pp. 1003-1004), which reads as follows: `Abdullah ibn `Umar narrated that he heard the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) say: Anyone who patiently endures the hardships and rigors of this city, I would be their witness and intercessor on the Day of Resurrection. He meant Al-Madinah. In some other narrations related by him, he added: ...If they are Muslims. The second Hadith is Sahih and it was related by Al-Tirmidhy in (Part No. 3; Page No. 230) (Al-Jami` under nos. 406 and 3006), and he commented: "It is a Hadith Hasan (a Hadith whose chain of narration contains a narrator with weak exactitude, but is free from eccentricity or blemish)." It was also related by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad vol. 5, p. 167; Ibn Majah in his Sunan (no. 1395); Abu Dawud in his Sunan (no. 1521); and Al-Tabarany in Al-Du`a'.Furthermore, it was related by Al-Baghawy in Sharh Al-Sunnah (no. 1015), who commented: "This is a Hasan Hadith which is not known to be narrated except on the authority of `Uthman ibn Al-Mughirah on whose authority Shu`bah, Mis`ar and many others related Hadith." It was also related by Ibn Abu Shaybah vol. 2, p. 387.May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.