Commentary on Hadeeth
Question:
I was once told that Rasulullah(saw) has said that
visiting his grave after his death is the same as visiting him
when he was alive and that, therefore, when we visit his
grave in Madinah, there is no harm in speaking to him as if
he were alive and requesting him to intercede on our
behalf with Allah. But I'm worried that this might be
`shirk'. Please answer soon; I hope to go for an Umrah in
the near future and visit his grave too, insya Allah.
Answer:
Al-Daaraqutni reported in his Sunan (2/278) with
an isnaad from Haatib that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Whoever visits me after I die, it is as if he visited me when I
was still alive…" This is a hadeeth which many of the
scholars of hadeeth judged to be false and not to have been
reported with a saheeh isnaad from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Among the
scholars who voiced this opinion was al-Haafiz al-Dhahabi
in Lisaan al-Meezaan (4/285), in his biography of one
of the narrators, Haaroon ibn Abi Qaz'ah. Al-Dhahabi
said: "…Haaroon ibn Abi Qaz'ah al-Madani [reported] from
a man" _ about visiting the grave of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). Al-Bukhaari
said: "This is not to be accepted or followed."
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in Lisaan
al-Meezaan (6/217): "Al-Azdi said: `Haaroon Abu Qaz'ah reports
mursal ahaadeeth from a man of Aal Haatib.' I [Ibn Hajar]
say: from this we understand that what he is referring to is
al-Azdi. Ya'qoob ibn Shaybah also classed him as
da'eef (weak)."
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar also mentioned him in
al-Talkhees al-Habeer, in his comment on the ahaadeeth of
al-Raafa'i al-Kabeer (2/266). He said, "In his isnaad is the
unknown [majhool] man" _ meaning a man from Aal Haatib.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said in al-Tawassul
wa'l-Waseelah (p. 134) about this hadeeth: "It is obviously
a lie that goes against Islam. Anyone who visited him
during his lifetime and believed in him, was one of
his Companions, especially if he was among those
who migrated to join him or fought alongside him. It is
proven that he (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: `Do not slander my Companions, for by the One in
Whose hand is my soul, if any one of you were to spend
gold equal to the size of Uhud, it would not equal the deeds
of one of them, not even half of it.' [Reported by
al-Bukhaari and Muslim]. Anyone who comes after the
Sahaabah cannot be like the Sahaabah by doing obligatory
duties such as Hajj, jihaad, the five daily prayers and
sending blessings upon the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him), so how can he become equal to them
by doing something that is not obligatory according to
the consensus of the Muslims? We are not even supposed
to travel for this purpose, in fact it is forbidden to do
so. However, travelling to the [Prophet's] Mosque, and
to al-Masjid al-Aqsaa [in Jerusalem], for the purpose
of praying there, is mustahabb (encouraged), and
travelling to the Ka'bah for Hajj is waajib (obligatory). If a
person who undertakes a journey that is waajib or
mustahabb still cannot be like one of the Sahaabah who travelled
to visit the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) during his lifetime, how can they achieve this
by undertaking a journey that is not allowed?"
He also said (p. 133): "All of the ahaadeeth about
visiting his grave are da'eef, and are not to be relied upon
in matters of religion. For this reason none of the authors
of books of Saheeh and Sunan reported them at all;
they were only narrated by those who reported
da'eef ahaadeeth, such as al-Daaraqutni, al-Bazzaar and others.
Shaykh al-Albaani said in al-Da'eefah (no. 1021)
about this hadeeth: it is baatil (false). He mentioned what
is wrong with the hadeeth, namely the man who is
not named, and classed Haaroon Abu Qaz'ah as da'eef.
There is a third fault with the hadeeth, which is that it
causes confusion and contradiction. Then Shaykh
al-Albaani said: "In general, the isnaad of this hadeeth is weak."
He also said in al-Da'eefah (no. 47): "many people
think that Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah and those who
follow him among the Salafis forbid visiting the grave of
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) altogether. This is a lie and a fabrication, and it is not
the only lie told about Ibn Taymiyah, may Allaah have
mercy on him, or about the Salafis. Everyone who reads
the books of Ibn Taymiyah will see that he says it
is permissible to visit his grave (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), and that doing so is
recommended (mustahabb), so long as it is not associated with
any objectionable practices or innovations (bid'ah), such
as travelling solely for that purpose, because of the
hadeeth "No one should set out purposely except to visit
three mosques." The hadeeth does not describe a ban only
on travelling to visit other mosques, as many people
think; it also includes a ban on setting out to visit any
place which people think will bring them closer to
Allaah, whether it is a mosque, a grave or any other place. This
is indicated by the hadeeth narrated by Abu Hurayrah
who said: `I met Basrah ibn Abi Basrah al-Ghifaari and
he asked me, `Where are you coming from?' I said,
`From al-Toor [Sinai].' He said, `If I had met you before
you left, you would not have gone there! I heard the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) say: `Do not travel except to three mosques.'"
(Reported by Ahmad and others with a saheeh isnaad).
This clearly indicates that the Sahaabah understood
the hadeeth to be general in application [i.e., it did not
apply only to mosques]. This is supported by the fact that it
is not reported that any of them ever set out with the
intention of visiting a grave. They are the predecessors of
Ibn Taymiyah in this regard, so whoever condemns
Ibn Taymiyah is in effect condemning the salaf (the
righteous predecessors), may Allaah be pleased with them.
May Allaah have mercy on the one who said: "All goodness
is in following those who went before (the salaf)"
and all evil is in following the innovations of those
who came later."
In conclusion, travelling with the intention of visiting
the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) is bid'ah and is haraam, because of the
hadeeth which forbids travelling to worship in any place
except the three mosques. As for visiting the grave of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when
one happens to be in Madeenah, this is perfectly
acceptable, as is travelling with the intention of praying in
the Prophet's Mosque as an act of worship and seeking
to draw close to Allaah. Those that are confused about
this issue are those who do not understand the
difference between what is permitted and what is forbidden.
And Allaah knows best.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
What is the status of this hadeeth?
It was narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "No man is scratched by
a thorn, or stumbles, or has a twitching in a vein,
except for a sin, and what Allaah forgives is greater."
Does this mean that everything that happens to a
person is because of his sin? I read this in Tafseer
al-Qurtubi, and I looked in Saheeh al-Bukhaari and Fath
al-Baari, but I could not find it.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
This hadeeth was narrated by al-Tabari in
al-Tafseer, 5/175; and by al-Bayhaqi in Shu'ab
al-Eemaan, 7/153; from the mursal hadeeth of Qataadah.
A mursal report is one which is narrated by a Taabi'i
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), with no narrator in between. This is one of the
Islam & Muslims of da'eef (weak) hadeeth. So this hadeeth has a
weak isnaad, as was mentioned by al-Albaani in al-Silsilah
al-Da'eefah, 1796.
Secondly:
The meaning of the hadeeth is sound and is supported
by other evidence from the Book of Allaah and the
Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). The calamities that befall a man may be as the
result of sin that he has committed, so this calamity may
be expiation for that sin.
Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Whatever of good reaches you, is from Allaah,
but whatever of evil befalls you, is from yourself. And
We have sent you (O Muhammad) as a Messenger to
mankind, and Allaah is Sufficient as a Witness"
[al-Nisa' 4:79]
"And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because
of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much"
[al-Shoora 42:30]
Ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer (1/529):
"Whatever of good reaches you, is from
Allaah" means, it is by the grace, bounty, kindness and mercy of
Allaah. "but whatever of evil befalls you, is from
yourself" means, it is because of your own actions. This is like the verse
in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And whatever of misfortune befalls you, it is because
of what your hands have earned. And He pardons much"
[al-Shoora 42:30]
Al-Saddi, al-Hasan al-Basri, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd
said: "is from yourself" means, because of your sin.
Qataadah said concerning this verse, "is from
yourself" means, as a punishment to you, O son of Adam, for your sin.
Thirdly:
The calamities that befall a believer in this world
raise him in status and expiate for his sins.
Hence the believer should accept whatever
calamities Allaah decrees for him, and should realize that this
is good for him.
It was narrated that `Aa'ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her), the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"There is no calamity that befalls a Muslim but Allaah
expiates (sin) thereby, even a thorn that pricks him." Narrated
by al-Bukhaari, 5640; Muslim, 2572.
Muslim (2572) narrated that `Aa'ishah said: I heard
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) say: "There is nothing that befalls a
believer, not even a thorn that pricks him, but Allaah will record
a hasanah (good deed) for him thereby, or erase from him
a sin."
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
In which book of Hadees is the Explanation of
Namrood's infanticide during the days of Hazarat Abrahim ?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Al-Namrood was the king of Babylon, and he was a
kaafir king. There happened between him and Ibraaheem
(peace be upon him) that which Allaah describes in the
verse (interpretation of the meaning):
"Have you not looked at him who disputed
with Ibraaheem (Abraham) about his Lord (Allaah),
because Allaah had given him the kingdom? When
Ibraaheem (Abraham) said (to him): `My Lord (Allaah) is He
Who gives life and causes death.' He said, `I give life and
cause death.' Ibraaheem (Abraham) said, `Verily, Allaah
brings the sun from the east; then bring it you from the west.'
So the disbeliever was utterly defeated. And Allaah
guides not the people, who are Zaalimoon (wrongdoers)"
[al-Baqarah 2:258]
There is no story about him and any child that can
be proven, as far as we know.
But if you are asking about the story of the believing
boy and the kaafir king, and how the boy was killed and
the people believed in Allaah, and they bore persecution
for that, this is the story of the people of the ditch, which
was narrated by Muslim (3005) from the hadeeth of
Suhayb (may Allaah be pleased with him), which says that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said:
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "Among those who came before
you there lived a king who had a (court) sorcerer. As he
(the sorcerer) grew old, he said to the king: `I have grown
old, so send some young boy to me so that I may teach
him magic.' He (the king) sent a boy to him so that he
might train him (in magic). On his way to the sorcerer he
(the boy) met a monk and sat with him. He (the boy)
listened to his (the monk's) talk and was impressed by it.
So whenever he went to the sorcerer he would pass by
the monk and sit with him. And when he came to the
sorcerer, he (the sorcerer) beat him. He complained about it to
the monk and he said to him: `When you feel afraid of
the sorcerer, say: My family made me late. And when
you feel afraid of your family, say: The sorcerer made me
late.' It so happened that there came a huge beast (of prey)
and it blocked the way of the people. He (the young boy)
said: I shall find out today whether the sorcerer or the monk
is superior. He picked up a stone and said: O Allaah, if
the affairs of the monk are dearer to You than the affairs
of the sorcerer, bring death to this animal so that the
people will be able to move about freely. He threw that stone
at it and killed it and the people were able to pass freely.
He (the boy) then came to that monk and told him (what
had happened). The monk said: My son, today you are
better than me. Your affairs have reached a stage where I
think that you will be soon put to the test, and in case you
are put to the test do not reveal my identity. That young
man began to heal the blind and those suffering from
leprosy and he began to cure people of (all kinds) of illness.
When a companion of the king, who had become blind,
heard about him, he came to him with numerous gifts and
said: If you heal me, all these things here will be yours.
He said: I myself do not heal anyone; it is Allaah Who
heals. If you believe in Allaah, I shall also pray to Allaah to
heal you. He believed in Allaah and Allaah healed him.
He came to the king and sat by his side as he used to
sit before. The king said to him: Who restored your
eyesight? He said: My Lord. He asked, Do you have any Lord
other than me? He said: My Lord and your Lord is Allaah;
so he (the king) took hold of him and tortured him until
he revealed the identity of the boy. The boy was
then summoned and the king said to him: O boy, it has
been conveyed to me that you have become so proficient
in your magic that you heal the blind and those
suffering from leprosy and you do such and such things.
Thereupon he said: I do not heal anyone; it is Allah Who heals.
He (the king) took hold of him and began to torture him.
So he revealed the identity of the monk. The monk was
thus summoned and it was said to him: Turn back from
your religion. But he refused to do so. He (ordered) a saw
to be brought and he (the king) placed it in the middle of
his head and cut it until it fell apart. Then the courtier of
the king was brought and it was said to him: Turn back
from your religion, but he refused to do so. So the saw
was placed in the middle of his head and it was cut until it
fell apart. Then the boy was brought and it was said to
him: Turn back from your religion. He refused to do so and
he was handed over to a group of his courtiers. He said
to them: Take him to such and such a mountain; make
him climb that mountain and when you reach its top (ask
him to renounce his faith) but if he refuses to do so, then
throw him (down the mountain). So they took him and
made him climb the mountain and he said: O Allaah, save
me from them however You will. The mountain began
to shake and they all fell down, and the boy came
walking back to the king. The king said to him: What has
happened to your companions? He said: Allaah has saved me
from them. He again handed him to some of his courtiers
and said: Take him and carry him away in a small boat
and when you reach the middle of the ocean (ask him
to renounce) his religion, but if he does not renounce
his religion throw him (into the water). So they took him
and he said: O Allaah, save me from them and what they
want to do. It was not long before the boat overturned and
they were drowned but he came walking back to the king.
The king said to him: What has happened to your
companions? He said: Allaah has saved me from them. He also said
to the king: You cannot kill me until you do what I ask
you to do. And he said: What is that? He said: You
should gather people in a plain and crucify me on the trunk (of
a tree). Then take an arrow from my quiver and say: In
the name of Allaah, the Lord of the boy; then shoot an
arrow and if you do that then you would be able to kill me.
So he (the king) called the people to an open plain
and crucified him (the boy) on the trunk of a tree. Then
he took an arrow from his quiver, placed the arrow in
the bow and then said: In the name of Allaah, the Lord of
the boy; he then shot an arrow and it hit his temple. He
(the boy) placed his hands upon the temple where the
arrow had hit him and he died. The people said: We believe
in the Lord of this boy, we believe in the Lord of this
boy, we believe in the Lord of this boy. Some people came
to the king and said to him: Do you realize that you
what feared has happened? All the people now believe (in
the Lord of the boy). He (the king) commanded ditches to
be dug at the entry-points of the roads. When these
ditches were dug, and fires was lit in them it was said (to
the people): He who does not turn back from his (the
boy's) religion will be thrown in the fire or they will be told
to jump in it. So they started to do that until a woman
came with her child and she hesitated to jump into the
fire. Then her child said to her: O mother, be patient, for
you are following the Truth."
Your saying in your question "Hazrat Ibraaheem" is
an innovated expression which is best avoided, because
for the Prophets (peace be upon them) there is an
expression which is used only for them, namely "al-salaatu
wa'l-salaamu `alayhim (blessings and peace be upon
them). There is scholarly consensus on this point, as was
narrated by Ibn al-Qayyim in Jala'
al-Afhaam from Imam al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on them both)
And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
In Saheeh al-Bukhaari there are two ahaadeeth _
numbers 645 and 646 according to the numbering of Fath
al-Baari. According to hadeeth no. 645 the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Praying in congregation is twenty seven times better than
praying alone". According to hadeeth no. 646, the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "Praying in congregation is twenty-five times better
than praying alone." I hope that you can comment and explain.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The first hadeeth was narrated from `Abd-Allaah
ibn `Umar by al-Bukhaari (619) and Muslim (650). It
says: "Praying in congregation is twenty seven times better
than praying alone".
The second hadeeth was narrated from Abu Sa'eed
al-Khudri, and was narrated by al-Bukhaari (619). It
says: "Praying in congregation is twenty-five times better
than praying alone."
The scholars have reconciled between these two
hadeeth. Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
They may be reconciled in three ways:
1 _ There is no contradiction because mentioning a
smaller number does not rule out the larger number.
Taking numbers literally is not acceptable according to
the scholars of usool.
2 _ He first spoke of the smaller number then Allaah
told him of the greater bounty so he spoke of that.
3 _ It may vary according to the circumstances of
the worshippers and the prayer. So for some of them it
may be twenty-five and for some it may be
twenty-seven, depending on how complete their prayer is, whether it
is done in the proper manner and with proper focus
and humility (khushoo'), the number of people present,
how good they are, how good the environment is, etc.
And Allaah knows best. Al-Majmoo', 4/84
And there are other ways of reconciling the two
hadeeth, some of which are based on the above. Al-Haafiz Ibn
Hajar suggested another way in Fath
al-Baari (2/132) which was not mentioned by al-Nawawi, which is
twenty-seven applies to the prayers in which Qur'aan is recited out
loud and twenty-five applies to the prayers in which it is
recited silently.
And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
In Saheeh al-Bukhaari there are two ahaadeeth (nos.
6529 and 6530 according to the numbering of Fath
al-Baari). In hadeeth no. 6529 it says that the number of "those
who are to be sent to Hell is ninety nine from every
hundred." And in hadeeth no. 6530 it says that the number of
"those who are to be sent to Hell is nine hundred and ninety
nine from every thousand." I hope that you could
comment and explain this. May Allaah reward you with good.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The first hadeeth was narrated by al-Bukhaari (6529)
from Abu Hurayrah, that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "The first one to be called
on the Day of Resurrection will be Adam. He will be
shown his progeny and it will be said, `This is your father
Adam.' He will say, `Here I am at Your service.' He will
say: `Bring forth those who are to be sent to Hell from
among your progeny.' He will say, `O Lord, how many should
I bring forth?' He will say, `Bring forth from every
hundred ninety nine.'" They said: "O Messenger of Allaah, if
ninety nine are taken from every hundred of us, what will be
left of us?" He said, "My ummah, among the other
nations, is like a white hair on a black bull."
The second hadeeth was narrated by al-Bukhaari
(3348) and Muslim (222) from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri
(may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah will
say, `O Adam!' and he will say, `Here I am at Your
service, and all goodness is in Your hand.' He will say,
`Bring forth those who are to be sent to Hell.' He will say,
`Who are those who are to be sent to Hell?' He will say,
`From every thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine.' At
that point the young will turn grey, every pregnant female
will abort, and the people will appear intoxicated
although they are not. But the punishment of Allaah is
severe." They said, "O Messenger of Allaah, which of us will
be that one?" He said, "Be of good cheer, for there will
be one man from among you and one thousand from
among Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj." Then he said, "By the One in
Whose hand is my soul, I hope that you will be one quarter of
the people of Paradise," and they said, "Allaahu akbar!"
Then he said, "I hope that you will be one third of the people
of Paradise," and they said, "Allaahu akbar!" Then he
said, "I hope that you will be half of the people of
Paradise," and they said, "Allaahu akbar!" Then he said,
"Among the people you are like a black hair on the hide of a
white bull, or like a white hair on the hide of a black bull."
According to the first hadeeth, the number of those
who will be saved on the Day of Resurrection is ten in
a thousand. According to the second hadeeth it is one in
a thousand.
The scholars have reconciled between these two
ahaadeeth in several ways, such as the following:
1 _ The numbers are not to be taken literally, so stating
a particular number does not mean that there may not
be more than that. What is meant by the two
numbers mentioned in the two hadeeth is the small number
of believers and the large number of kaafirs.
2 _ The hadeeth of Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri may be understood as referring to all the progeny of Adam,
so there will be one in every thousand (who goes to
Paradise), and the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah may be understood
as referring to everyone except Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj, so
that the number is ten in every thousand. This is supported
by the fact that Ya'jooj and Ma'jooj are mentioned in
the hadeeth of Abu Sa'eed but not in the hadeeth of
Abu Hurayrah.
3 _ It may be that the division will happen twice:
once involving all the nations who came before this
ummah, when the number will be one in every thousand, and
again for this ummah only, when the number will be ten in
every thousand.
4 _ It may be that what is meant by "those who are to
be sent to Hell" is the kaafirs and the sinners [from
among the Muslims] who will enter it, so that from
every thousand nine hundred and ninety nine kaafirs are
sent, and from every hundred ninety-nine sinners are sent.
These answers were mentioned by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar
in Fath al-Baari, 11/390.
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
In saheeh al bukhari hadith No246, rasulullah states
Adam was created 30m in height. i cannot understand
and imagine this can you please expain?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
This hadeeth was narrated by Abu Hurayrah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said:
"Allaah created Adam and he was sixty cubits tall.
Then He said, `Go and greet those angels and listen to
how they greet you, for that will be your greeting and
the greeting of your progeny.' He said, `Al-salaamu
`alaykum (Peace be upon you).' They said, `Al-salaamu
`alaykum wa rahmat-Allaah (Peace be upon you and the mercy
of Allaah).' So they added the words `wa rahmat
Allaah.' And everyone who enters Paradise will be in the form
of Adam. People kept on growing smaller until now."
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3336; Muslim, 7092
According to a version narrated by Muslim:
"Everyone who enters Paradise will be in the form of Adam
who was sixty cubits tall. People kept growing smaller
until now."
With regard to the words of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "People kept
growing smaller until now," al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said in
Fath al-Baari (6/367): "This means that in every
generation people grew shorter than the previous generation,
and continued to grow shorter until the time of this
ummah, then they stayed like that."
The Muslim is obliged to believe in every idea for
which there is evidence in the Qur'aan or saheeh Sunnah
from the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him). Imam al-Shaafa'i (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said: "I believe in Allaah and in that which
came from Allaah in the sense meant by Allaah. I believe in
the Messenger of Allaah and in what came from the Messenger of Allaah in the sense meant by the
Messenger of Allaah." See al-Irshaad Sharh Lam'at
al-I'tiqaad, p. 89.
So the believer is required to believe with firm faith
in everything that we are told by Allaah and by the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), if it is
proven to be soundly reported from him (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him). He must believe in it with firm
faith that leaves no room for the slightest doubt. He must
accept it in general and specific terms, whether he
understands it or not and whether he finds it strange or not,
because not understanding something that is proven in a
sound report does not mean that it did not happen. All that
means is that he cannot comprehend this particular issue.
Allaah has commanded us to believe in everything that He
tells us and everything that His Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) tells us. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):
"Only those are the believers who have believed in
Allaah and His Messenger, and afterward doubt not but
strive with their wealth and their lives for the Cause of
Allaah. Those! They are the truthful"
[al-Hujuraat 49:15]
Part of faith is belief in the unseen
(al-ghayb). The hadeeth we are discussing here comes under this heading.
Allaah praises those who believe in the unseen, as He
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Alif-Laam-Meem. [These letters are one of the
miracles of the Qur'aan and none but Allaah (Alone) knows
their meanings.]
This is the Book (the Qur'aan), whereof there is no
doubt, a guidance to those who are Al-Muttaqoon [the
pious believers of Islamic Monotheism who fear Allaah
much (abstain from all kinds of sins and evil deeds which
He has forbidden) and love Allaah much (perform all
kinds of good deeds which He has ordained)].
Who believe in the Ghayb[the unseen]"
[al-Baqarah 2:1-3]
You should note that Allaah is Able to do all things.
Just as He is able to create man in the form that he appears
in now, He is also Able to create man in a larger or
smaller form.
If this is difficult for you to understand, then think of
the dwarves that we see, who are child-sized men. If this
can happen, then why could the opposite not happen,
namely a man being sixty cubits tall? In the history of
mankind there have been giants as the archaeologists tell us.
The basic principle here is to accept the absolute
power of Allaah and to accept what He tells us and what
His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) tell us, and to say what those who are well versed
in knowledge say:
"We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear
Verses) are from our Lord" [Aal `Imraan 3:7 _ interpretation
of the meaning].
We ask Allaah to show us the truth as true and help us
to follow it, and to show us falsehood as false and help us
to avoid it.
And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
It is proven in the hadeeth that a woman is forbidden
to take off her clothes anywhere other than her
husband's house. What is the purpose of that prohibition? Is
she allowed to take off her clothes in the house of her
own family or her relatives?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The hadeeth which was narrated by Imam Ahmad,
Ibn Maajah and al-Haakim from `Aa'ishah (may Allaah
be pleased with her) says: "Any woman who takes off
her clothes anywhere but in her husband's house has torn
the veil that was between her and Allaah (i.e., He will
expose her)."
A version that was narrated by Ahmad, al-Tabaraani,
al-Haakim and al-Bayhaqi from Abu Umaamah (may
Allaah be pleased with him) says: "Any woman who takes
off her clothes, Allaah will tear His cover away from her
(i.e., expose her)."
What the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) meant was to stop women treating as
insignificant the matter of removing their clothes anywhere but in
their husband's houses in such a manner that their `awrah
can be seen and that they may be accused of intending
to commit immoral actions and the like. As for taking
off their clothes in a safe place, such as in her family's
house or her mahram's house, to change her clothes and the
like, or to relax etc and for other permissible purposes that
are far removed from fitnah, there is nothing wrong with that.
And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah li'l-Buhooth al-`Ilmiyyah
wa'l-Ifta', 17/224. (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
What is meant by the words man astataa'
al-baa'ah (whoever is able to) in the hadeeth in which the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) encourages young men to get married?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It was narrated that Ibn Mas'ood said: The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "O young
men, whoever among you is able to, let him get
married. Whoever is not able to, he must fast, for it will be a
shield for him." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5065; Muslim, 1400
A shield means protection against committing
immoral actions.
The scholars differed concerning the meaning of
ability here, and there are two opinions. Some of them said
that it means the ability to afford the expenses of
marriage and spending on one's wife; others said that it means
the ability to have intercourse. There is no conflict
between the two meanings, so what it meant is that whoever
is able to have intercourse and can afford it, let him
get married.
Al-Nawawi said:
The scholars differed concerning the meaning of
ability here, and there are two views which boil down to
the same meaning. The sounder of these two views is
that what is meant is what the word
(al-baa'ah) means in Arabic, which is the ability to have intercourse. So
the meaning is, whoever is able to have intercourse
because he can afford the expenses of marriage, then let him
get married. Whoever is unable to have intercourse
because he cannot afford the expenses of marriage, then he has
to fast in order to control his desire.
Sharh Muslim, 9/173
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
With regard to the phrase, "whoever among you is
able to, let him get married" _ the word
al-baa'ah was interpreted as meaning intercourse, and as meaning
the expenses of marriage. That does not contradict the
first meaning. Rawdat al-Muhibbeen, p. 219
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said:
The ability to get married is the ability to afford
the expenses of marriage, not the ability to have
intercourse because the hadeeth is addressed to those who are able
to have intercourse. Hence those who cannot afford it
are commanded to fast, for it is a shield. Al-Fataawa
al-Kubra, 3/134. Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
In the mosque we had a program where the Muslim
youth could discuss with those who are older the ahaadeeth
of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) concerning marriage, and the fact that they
should make it easy for the youth to get married. This subject
led to a number of discussions, because the parents
are concerned about the situation and welfare of the
couple, especially if they have children.
Young people nowadays do not complete their
university studies until the age of 21, or 23 for those who
study medicine. They cannot afford the expenses of
marriage. So what practical advice can you give them? Many of
the Muslim youth in the west want to complete half of
their religion.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
Discussing Islamic matters and spending time on that
is one of the most beneficial things that a person can do
for himself, because seeking knowledge is an obligation
and an act of worship, and he is spending time in
doing something that is of benefit to him and to others. If
the people who are discussing do not understand
something, then they have to ask people who have knowledge.
Secondly:
Our advice to those who live in the lands of
immorality and kufr is to migrate from them to the Muslim
lands where the temptations of this world and of women
are less. The Muslim countries are not equal in that
regard, so he has to choose the best of them.
We advise them to leave every environment in which
he may stumble and fall, whether that is his
accommodation, his work or his school/college.
We advise them to hasten to marry, and to
choose righteous wives who do not make extravagant
demands with regard to the mahr, etc.
We advise those who are unable to get married to
fear Allaah and not to look at or listen to haraam things,
not to walk towards haraam things, not to touch that which
it is not permissible for him to touch. They should
help themselves in this regard by fasting and praying,
making du'aa', and keeping company with righteous people.
They should keep themselves busy with beneficial things
such as seeking knowledge, memorizing Qur'aan and
making du'aa' to Allaah, for if a person keeps busy in
obeying Allaah, that will distract him from disobeying Him.
Thirdly:
Our advise to community leaders and parents and guardians of boys and girls is not to regard completion
of studies as an impediment to marriage. Since when
is marriage an obstacle to acquiring knowledge?!
Rather reality and experience point to the opposite,
because marriage helps a person to focus and makes his mind
clear, and above all that it is obedience to the command of
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) to the youth to get married.
So parents and guardians should not burden the
youth with excessive demands that may be regarded as a
form of extravagance. They should limit the demands to
that which the woman and the house need only. They
should understand that marriage is one of the means by
which provision is sought. Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning):
"And marry those among you who are single (i.e. a
man who has no wife and the woman who has no
husband) and (also marry) the Saalihoon (pious, fit and
capable ones) of your (male) slaves and maidservants
(female slaves). If they be poor, Allaah will enrich them out
of His Bounty. And Allaah is AllSufficient for His
creatures' needs, AllKnowing (about the state of the people)"
[al-Noor 24:32]
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
We would like to know how to understand the
hadeeth found in Saheeh At-Targheeb wat-Tarheeb
(Al-Albani-RA)which states that (hadeeth qudsi) one whom
Allaah has granted good health etc.. and does not visit His
house every five years is mahroom (deprived). Does it refer
to Hajj or `umrah or both? And whatever the case may
be, what are we to take from the hadeeth?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Firstly:
The text of the hadeeth:
It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Allaah says: `A person whose body
I make healthy and to whom I grant ample provision
but five years go by and he does not come to Me is
indeed deprived.'"
Narrated by Abu Ya'laa, 2/304; al-Bayhaqi, 5/262
Secondly:
Discussion of the hadeeth:
Some of the scholars have discussed this hadeeth.
Some of them _ such as Ibn al-`Arabi al-Maaliki _ were of
the view that it is mawdoo' (fabricated). Others classed it
as da'eef, such as al-Daaraqutni, al-`Aqeeli and
al-Subki. Ibn Hibbaan and Shaykh al-Albaani in al-Silsilah
al-Saheehah (1662) are of the view that it is saheeh.
Thirdly:
Some of the scholars have interpreted this hadeeth
as referring to Hajj or `Umrah. Based on this,
al-Haythami included this hadeeth in his book Mawaarid
al-Zam'aan under the heading "Chapter concerning one who is
well off but does not go for Hajj or `Umrah in five years."
Mawaarid al-Zam'aan, p. 239.
Others interpreted it as referring to Hajj only, as
al-Mundhiri included it in his book al-Targheeb
wa'l-Tarheeb under the heading, "Warning to one who is
able to do Hajj but does not go for Hajj."
Some of the scholars quoted this hadeeth as evidence
that it is obligatory to perform Hajj once every five years
for the one who is able to do that. This is a weak view,
either because the hadeeth is weak (da'eef) and not saheeh,
or because the hadeeth is to be understood as referring
to what is mustahabb, not what is obligatory.
Al-Subki said:
The scholars are agreed that Hajj is an
individual obligation upon every accountable, free Muslim who
is able to do it, once in his or her lifetime, except for
very few scholars who held different views, who said: It
is obligatory once every five years, and they based that
view on the report that the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said: "Every Muslim should
come to the House of Allaah every five years." This was
narrated by Ibn al-`Arabi. We say: Narrating this hadeeth is
haraam, so how can a ruling be established based on it?
Al-Daaraqutni said: It was narrated through more
than one isnaad, none of which are saheeh at all.
Fataawa al-Subki, 1/263
Al-Hattaab said:
Some of those who held an odd view said that it
is obligatory every year, and it was narrated from some
of them that it is obligatory every five years, because of
the report according to which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Every Muslim should
come to the House of Allaah every five years." Ibn `Arabi
said: Narrating this hadeeth is haraam, so how can a ruling
be established based on it? Meaning that it is
mawdoo' (fabricated). Al-Nawawi said: This idea is contrary to
the consensus of the scholars, so this odd view is to be
rejected on the basis of the consensus of the scholars who
came before those who held this odd view.
Even if we accept this hadeeth, then it is to be
understood as meaning that it is mustahabb. Mawaahib
al-Jaleel, 2/466. And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A
(www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
What is the meaning of the words of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in the
hadeeth, "maa'ilaat mumeelaat"?.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This is a saheeh hadeeth which was narrated by
Muslim in his Saheeh from the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) who said: "There are two types
of the people of Hell whom I have not seen: men in
whose hands are whips like the tails of cattle, with which
they beat the people, and women who are clothed yet
naked, maa'ilaat mumeelaat, with their heads like the humps
of camels, tilted to one side. They will not enter
Paradise nor even smell its fragrance." This is a stern warning
to beware of the things referred to.
The men in whose hands are whips like the tails of
cattle are those who beat the people unjustly, like police
and others, whether that is done by order of the state
or otherwise. The state is only to be obeyed with regard
to matters that are right and proper. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Obedience is
only with regard to what is right and proper." And he
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "There is
no obedience to any created being if it involves
disobedience towards the Creator."
With regard to the phrase "women who are clothed
yet naked, maa'ilaat mumeelaat", the scholars interpreted
this as follows:
"kaasiyat `aariyaat (translated above as "clothed
yet naked" may have another meaning, which is that they
are enjoying the blessings of Allaah, but they do not
give thanks for them and they do not obey the commands
of Allaah or heed His prohibitions, even though Allaah
has bestowed upon them wealth and other blessings.
The hadeeth is also explained in a different manner,
which is that they wear clothes that do not cover them,
because they are too thin or too short, so they do not serve
the purpose of clothes, hence they are described as
naked, and because the clothes they wear do not cover
their `awrah.
Maa'ilaat (literally "deviant") means they turn away
from chastity and righteousness, i.e., they commit sins and
evil deeds like those who do immoral actions, or they fall
short in doing the obligatory duties, prayer etc.
Mumeelaat means they turn others away, i.e., they
call people to evil and corruption, so by their words and
actions they lead others into immorality and sin, and they
commit immoral actions because of their lack of faith or
the weakness of their faith. The point of this saheeh
hadeeth is to warn against oppression and all kinds of
corruption from men and women.
With regard to the phrase, "their heads are like the
heads of camels, tilted to one side," some of the scholars
said that this means they make their heads look big
because of the hairstyles they adopt and so on, so that it looks
like the hump of a bakht camel. The bakht is a type of
camel that has two humps between which there is a dip, so
that one hump leans one way and the other leans the
other way. When these woman make their heads look big
in this way, they look like these humps.
With regard to the phrase, "They will not enter
Paradise nor even smell its fragrance," this is a stern warning;
it does not necessarily mean that they are kaafirs or
that they will abide in Hell forever, like other sinners who
die as Muslims; rather what is meant is that they and
other sinners are threatened with Hell for their sins, but
they are subject to the will of Allaah. If He wills He will
forgive them and if He will He will punish them. This is like
the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, Allaah forgives not that partners should be
set up with Him (in worship), but He forgives except
that (anything else) to whom He wills" [al-Nisa' 4:48]
If a sinner (who is Muslim) enters Hell, he will not
abide therein forever like the kuffaar, and those who will
abide therein like murderers, adulterers and suicides will
not abide therein forever like the kuffaar; rather it is an
eternity which will have an end according to Ahl al-Sunnah
wa'l-Jamaa'ah _ in contrast to the Khawaarij and
Mu'tazilah and the innovators who follow their path, because
the saheeh mutawaatir ahaadeeth narrated from
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) indicate that he will intercede for the
sinners among his ummah and that Allaah will accept
that intercession from him (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) a number of times; each time He will specify
a number who are to be brought forth from Hell.
Similarly the rest of the Messengers, the believers and the
angels will all intercede by Allaah's leave, and He will
accept their intercession for whomsoever He will among
the believers in Tawheed who have entered Hell because
of their sins but are Muslims. Then there will remain in
Hell those sinners who are not included in the intercession
of the intercessors, but Allaah will bring them forth by
His Mercy and Kindness, and there will be none left in
Hell but the kuffaar who will abide therein forever and
ever. Allaah says concerning the kuffaar (interpretation of
the meaning):
"whenever it abates, We shall increase for them
the fierceness of the Fire" [al-Isra'
17:97]
"So taste you (the results of your evil actions). No
increase shall We give you, except in
torment" [al-Naba' 78:30]
And He says concerning the kuffaar who worshipped
idols (interpretation of the meaning):
"Thus Allaah will show them their deeds as regrets
for them. And they will never get out of the
Fire" [al-Baqarah 2:167]
And Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"Verily, those who disbelieve, if they had all that is in
the earth, and as much again therewith to ransom
themselves thereby from the torment on the Day of Resurrection,
it would never be accepted of them, and theirs would be
a painful torment.
They will long to get out of the Fire, but never will
they get out therefrom; and theirs will be a lasting
torment" [al-Maa'idah 5:36-37]
We ask Allaah to keep us safe and sound from being
like them.
Majmoo' Fataawa wa Maqaalaat Mutanawwi'ah li'l-Shaykh Ibn Baaz, 6/355 (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
What is the meaning of the hadeeth which says that
Allaah is beautiful and loves beauty? What is meant here
by beauty? _ especially since some people use this
hadeeth as evidence that it is permissible to look at
beautiful women and to enjoy every beautiful thing. Can you
clarify this?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The hadeeth mentioned in the question was narrated
by Muslim in his Saheeh, no. 131, from `Abd-Allaah
ibn Mas'ood, who narrated that the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "No one will
enter Paradise who has an atom's-weight of pride in his
heart." A man said, "What if a man likes his clothes to look
good and his shoes to look good?" He said, "Allaah is
beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth
and looking down on people."
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him)
said, commenting on this hadeeth: the phrase "Allaah
is beautiful and loves beauty" includes the beautiful
clothing which was asked about in the same hadeeth. It is
included by way of generalization, i.e., that beauty in all things
is what is meant here. In Saheeh Muslim no. 1686 it
says: "Allaah is good and only accepts that which is good."
In Sunan al-Tirmidhi it says: "Allaah loves to see the
effects of His blessing on His slave." (Narrated by
al-Tirmidhi, no. 2963; he said it is hasan saheeh). It was reported
that Abu'l-Ahwas al-Jashami said: The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw me wearing
old, tattered clothes, and asked me, "Do you have any
wealth?" I said, "Yes." He said, "What kind of wealth?" I
said, "All that Allaah has given me of camels and sheep."
He said, "Then show the generous blessings that He has
given you." (Narrated by Ahmad, no. 15323; al-Tirmidhi,
1929; al-Nisaa'i, 5128). Allaah, may He be glorified, loves
the effects of His blessings to His slave to be made
manifest, for this is part of the beauty that He loves, and that is
part of the gratitude for His blessings which forms an
inner beauty (beauty of character). Allaah loves to see
the external beauty of His slaves which reflects His
blessings on them, and the inner beauty of their gratitude to
Him for those blessings. Because He loves beauty, He
sends down on His slaves clothes and adornments with
which they may make their outward appearance beautiful
and He gives them Taqwaa which makes their inner
characters beautiful. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
"O Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment
upon you to cover yourselves (screen your private parts,
etc.) and as an adornment, and the raiment of
righteousness, that is better."
[al-A'raaf 7:26]
And He says, speaking of the people of Paradise (interpretation of the meaning):
"… and [Allaah] gave them Nadratan (a light of
beauty) and joy. And their recompense shall be Paradise
and silken garments, because they were patient."
[al-Insaan 76:11-12]
Their faces will be made beautiful with the
Nadrah (light of beauty), their innermost being with joy and their
bodies with silken garments.
Just as Allaah loves beauty in words, deeds,
garments and outward appearance, so He hates ugliness in
words, deeds, garments and outward appearance. He
hates ugliness and its people, and loves beauty and its
people. But two groups are misguided with regard to this issue:
a group who say that everything that He has created
is beautiful, so He loves all that He has created and
we should love all that He has created and not hate
anything. They say: whoever realizes that all that exists comes
from Him will see that it is beautiful… these people have
no sense of jealousy for the sake of Allaah or hatred
and enmity for the sake of Allaah, or denouncing what is
evil (munkar), or jihaad for the sake of Allaah, or
adhering His limits. They regard the beauty of images, male
or female, as being part of the beauty that Allaah loves,
and seek to worship Allaah through immoral acts. Some
of them may even go so far as to claim that the One
Whom they worship is manifested or incarnated in those images.
The second group, on the other hand, say that
Allaah condemns the beauty of images, forms and
outward appearances. Allaah says about the
Munaafiqoon (hypocrites) (interpretation of the meaning):
"And when you look at them, their bodies please
you…" [al-Munaafiqoon 63:4]
"And how many a generation have We destroyed
before them. Who were better in wealth, goods and
outward appearance?" [Maryam 19:54]
In Saheeh Muslim it is reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Allaah
does not look at your outward appearance and your
wealth, rather He looks at your hearts and deeds."
(Saheeh Muslim, no. 4651).
According to another hadeeth: "Shabbiness is part
of faith." (Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 4108; Abu
Dawood, 3630; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani, may Allaah
have mercy on him). Allaah condemns those who are extravagant, which applies to extravagance in
clothing as well as in food and drink.
In order to settle this dispute, we may say that beauty
in clothing and outward appearance is of three types, one
of which is commendable, one is blameworthy and one
of which is neither. The kind of beauty which is to
be commended is that which is done for the sake of
Allaah, to help one to obey Allaah and fulfil His commands,
such as when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) made himself look beautiful (i.e.
handsome) when meeting the delegations that came to him. This
is like wearing armour or battle-dress when fighting,
or wearing silk and showing off (in front of the enemy).
This is commendable because it is done to make the word
of Allaah supreme and to support His religion and
annoy His enemies. The blameworthy kind of beauty is
that which is done for the sake of this world, for reasons
of power, false pride and showing off, or to fulfil
some (selfish) desires. This also includes cases where beauty
is an end in itself for a person and is all he cares
about. Many people have no other concern in life. As for
the kind of beauty which is neither commendable
nor blameworthy, it is that which has nothing to do with
either of the two purposes mentioned above (i.e., it is
neither for the sake of Allaah nor for the sake of
worldly purposes).
The hadeeth under discussion refers to two
important principles, knowledge and behaviour. Allaah is to
be acknowledged for beauty that bears no resemblance
to anything else, and He is to be worshipped by means
of the beauty which He loves in words, deeds and
attitudes. He loves His slaves to beautify their tongues with
the truth, to beautify their hearts with sincere
devotion (Ikhlaas), love, repentance and trust in Him, to
beautify their faculties with obedience, and to beautify their
bodies by showing His blessings upon them in their clothing
and by keeping them pure and free of any filth, dirt or
impurity, by removing the hairs which should be removed,
by circumcision, and by clipping the nails. Thus
they recognize Allaah through these qualities of beauty
and seek to draw close to Him through beautiful words,
deeds and attitudes. They acknowledge Him for the
beauty which is His attribute and they worship Him through
the beauty which He has prescribed and His religion.
The hadeeth combines these two principles of knowledge
and behaviour.
Al-Fawaa'id, 1/185
Where are these deep meanings of this hadeeth,
as explained by Ibn al-Qayyim, in the misguided interpretations of those who follow their whims
and desires, who want to follow deviant interpretations
in order to justify their evil aims and goals? We ask
Allaah to protect us. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
What is the meaning of good treatment in the hadeeth
of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him): "Whoever has two daughters and he treats
them well, they will be a shield for him against the Fire"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Good treatment of girls and others means giving them
an Islamic upbringing, teaching them the truth, striving
to keep them chaste and keep them away from the
things that Allaah has forbidden, such as tabarruj
(wanton display) etc. The same applies to taking care of
one's sisters and sons, so that all of them will be brought up
to obey Allaah and His Messenger, and will keep away
from the things that Allaah has forbidden, and will do
their duty towards Allaah. Hence we know that good
treatment does not simply mean giving them food and drink
and clothing only; rather what is meant is something
greater than that, treating them kindly by taking care of both
their religious and worldly interests.
Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn Baaz in al-Fataawa
al-Jaami'ah li'l-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, part 3, p. 1074
(www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
I want to know the names of some detailed
commentaries on Saheeh Muslim.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
You may read the book Fath al-Mulhim li Sharh
Saheeh Muslim by Imam al-Subki; al-Siraaj
al-Wahhaaj by Abu'l-Tayyib Siddeeq ibn Hasan Khan al-Qanooji
al-Bukhaari, b. 1248 AH, d. 1307 AH, which is comprised of
13 volumes.
And Allaah is the Source of strength.
Islam Q&A. Sheikh Muhammed Salih
Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
What is the meaning of Allaah's words in the
hadeeth qudsi, "When I love him I am his hearing with which
he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with
which he strikes and his foot with which he walks"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
If the Muslim does the obligatory acts that Allaah
has enjoined upon him, then he strives to draw closer to
Allaah by doing naafil (supererogatory) acts of worship
and persists in that as much as he can, then Allaah will
love him and will help him in all that he does or does not
do. So when he hears he will be guided by Allaah with
regard to what he hears, and he will not hear anything but
what is good, and he will not accept anything but the truth,
and falsehood will be kept away from him, by the help
and support of Allaah. So he will see the truth as truth
and falsehood as falsehood, and when he strikes anything
he will strike with power from Allaah, so his strike will
be like a strike from Allaah in support of the truth. And
when he walks he will be walking in obedience to
Allaah, seeking knowledge, striving in jihad for the sake of
Allaah. To sum up, all that he does, both inwardly and
outwardly, will be guided and supported by Allaah.
Hence it becomes clear that there is nothing in this
hadeeth to indicate that Allaah is "incarnated" in His creation
or that He becomes one with any of them. This is shown
by the words at the end of the hadeeth, where Allaah
says: "Were he to ask [something] of Me, I would surely
give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would
surely grant him it." According to some reports, He also
said, "So by My help he hears and by My help he sees…"
This explains what is meant at the beginning of the
hadeeth, and it clearly demonstrates that there is one who asks
and One Who is asks, one who seeks refuge and One
Who grants refuge [i.e., two separate entities]. This hadeeth
is similar to another hadeeth qudsi: "Allaah says: `O
My slave, I fell sick and you did not visit Me…'" In
both cases, the latter part of the hadeeth explains the first
part, but those who are led by their whims and desires
follow the ambiguous texts and ignore the clear and
unambiguous texts, and so they go astray.
Al-Lajnah al-Daa'imah, Kitaab Fataawa Islamiyyah,
1/35. (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
Hadhrat Muaaz (Allah be pleased with him) narrates
that Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "Whoever
taunts a brother (Muslim) with a sin (which the Muslim
has committed), will not die until he the taunter)
commits the same sin." Could you please xplain this Hadith
in further detail?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This hadeeth was narrated by al-Tirmidhi, (Kitaab
Sifat al-Qiyaamah wa'l-Wara', 2429), where the wording
is, "Whoever shames his brother for a sin will not die
until he does it too."
Shaykh al-Albaani described this hadeeth in Da'eef
al-Jaami' (5710) as mawdoo' (fabricated).
If a hadeeth is da'eef (weak) and mawdoo'
(fabricated), it cannot be taken as a basis for rulings or be acted upon.
With regard to the meaning of the hadeeth, Shaykh
al-Mubaarakfoori said:
" `Whoever shames' means whoever criticizes
or condemns. `his brother' means his brother in faith. `For
a sin' means one from which he has repented, according
to the way in which Imaam Ahmad explained it. `will
not die' _ the subject of this verb is `whoever'. `Until he
does it too' means, the sin for which he criticizes his brother.
It is as if the one who criticizes his brother will be
forsaken by Allaah until he commits the sin for which he
criticized his brother, if that criticism was accompanied by
self-admiration for being free of that sin."
(Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 7/173)
The fact that this hadeeth is da'eef (weak) does not
mean that it is permissible to criticize those who have
fallen into sin, for those who fall into sin are of different types.
Some of them repent and turn back to their Lord, or
else the punishment (hadd) is carried out on them. So it is
not permissible to criticize them because their souls have
been purified by their repentance or the punishment.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "The one who repents from sin is like one who has
never sinned." (Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 4240; classed as
saheeh by al-Busayri in al-Zawaa'id, commentary on
Sunan Ibn Maajah).
Imam Ahmad said that the punishment mentioned in
the hadeeth is for the one who criticizes a person who
has repented from his sin, as al-Tirmidhi narrated from
him. After narrating this hadeeth, he said: Ahmad said: from
a sin from which he has repented.
Some of them commit sin but they do not do it
openly. Anyone who comes to know of that has to advise
the person and cover his faults.
And some of them commit sin openly. They should
also be advised, and others should be warned against them
to whatever extent is appropriate.
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
It may be that what he meant is that your criticizing
your brother for his sin is an even greater sin than his,
because it means that you feel pride in your obedience and
you are praising yourself for that, and claiming to be free
from sin, whereas your brother has fallen into sin. But it
may be that his feeling humble because of his sin and
what has happened to him, such as his feeling humble
and submissive, thinking less of himself, ridding himself
of pious pretensions, arrogance and self-admiration,
standing before Allaah with his head bowed, his gaze lowered
and his heart broken _ it may be that all of that is better
for him than your feeling proud of your obedience,
thinking that you are doing much good, believing that by doing
so you are important, and reminding Allaah and mankind
of that.
How close this sinner is to the mercy of Allaah, and
how close this conceited one is to the wrath of Allaah! A
sin that leads to humility is more beloved to Him than an
act of obedience which fills a person with conceit. If
you sleep all night then wake up feeling regret (for not
having prayed qiyaam al-layl), that may be better for you than
if you were to pray all night and wake up in the
morning filled with self-admiration. For the deeds of the one
who admires himself are not accepted. Perhaps your
laughing whilst admitting to shortcomings is better than
your weeping with piety but being filled with conceit.
The groaning of the sinners is more beloved to Allaah
than the tasbeeh of the conceited. It may be that by means
of this sin, Allaah has caused him to drink the medicine
that will cure a fatal disease which you also have, but you
do not realize it. Allaah has reason for what He does to
both those who are obedient and those who sin, which
are known to no-one except Him, and which no one recognizes except those who have insight, and then
only within the limits of human understanding; beyond
that there are reasons which are not even known to
the honourable scribes (i.e., the recording angels).
The Prophet said: "If the slave woman of any one of
you commits adultery, let him carry out the punishment
on her and not criticize." And Yoosuf (peace be upon
him) said: "No reproach on you this day" [Yoosuf 12:92
_ interpretation of the meaning]. For the scale is in the
hand of Allaah, and the ruling is His. The point is to carry
out the punishment (prescribed by Allaah) and not to
shame and criticize. No one feels safe from what has
been decreed for them and from the power of His decree
except those who are ignorant of Allaah. Allaah said to the
one who had more knowledge of Him than anyone else
and was closer to Him: "And had We not made you
stand firm, you would nearly have inclined to them a
little"[al-Israa' 17:74 _ interpretation of the
meaning]. And Yoosuf said: "Unless You turn away their plot from me, I
will feel inclined towards them and be one (of those
who commit sin and deserve blame or those who do deeds)
of the ignorant"[Yoosuf 12:33 _ interpretation of
the meaning]. One of the ways in which the Messenger
of Allaah used to swear was "No, by the One who
turns hearts." And he said, "There is no heart which is
not between two of the fingers of the Most Merciful. If
He wills He guides it aright and if He wills He sends it
astray." Then he said, "O Allaah, the one Who turns hearts
over, make our hearts steadfast in adhering to Your religion.
O Allaah, musrif al-Quloob, sirf our hearts to obey You."
Madaarij al-Saalikeen, 1/177, 178)
And Allaah knows best.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
The hadeeth says, "Treat women kindly, for woman
was created from a bent rib, and the most crooked part of
the rib is the top part…" Please explain the meaning of
this hadeeth, especially the phrase "and the most crooked
part of the rib is the top part".
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
This is a saheeh hadeeth which was narrated by the
two Shaykhs [al-Bukhaari and Muslim] in al-Saheehayn
from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), from the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be
pleased with him). The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Treat women kindly, for woman
was created from a bent rib, and the most crooked part of
the rib is the top part, so treat women kindly."
This is a command to husbands, fathers, brothers
and others to treat women kindly and not to oppress them;
to give them their rights and to guide them to do good.
This is what is obligatory upon everyone, because the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
"Treat women kindly." This is not altered by the fact that
a woman may sometimes mistreat her husband or
relatives with her words or actions, because she was created
from a rib as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, and the most crooked part of it is the
top. It is well known that the top of it is the part by which it
is attached, so the rib will have some crookedness in it
at that point, as is well known.
The meaning is that she will inevitably have
some crookedness or shortcomings in her character. Hence
it was narrated in another hadeeth in al-Saheehayn:
"I have not seen any lacking in rational ability and
failing in religion but (at the same time) robbing the wisdom
of the wise, besides you [women]."
The point is that this is the ruling of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and it is
narrated in al-Saheehayn from the hadeeth of Abu Sa'eed
al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him). What is meant
by lacking in rational ability, as the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, is that the
testimony of two women is equivalent to the testimony of one
man. Failing in religion, as the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) said, means that women spend
days and nights without praying, i.e., because of
menstruation or post-childbirth bleeding. This is a shortcoming
which Allaah has decreed for them, and there is no sin on
them because of that.
So women should accept this in the way that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) meant
it, even if a woman is knowledgeable and pious,
because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) did not speak of his own whims and desires, rather
that was a Revelation that was revealed to him, which
he conveyed to the ummah, as Allaah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
"By the star when it goes down (or vanishes).
Your companion (Muhammad) has neither gone
astray nor has erred.
Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.
It is only a Revelation revealed" [al-Najm 53:1-4]
Majmoo' Fataawa wa Maqaalaat al-Shaykh `Abd al-`Azeez ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), part
5 (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
Is this hadeeth saheeh, and what does it mean: "Do
not write anything from me, and whoever writes anything
but the Qur'aan, let him erase it"? May Allaah reward
you with good.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
It was narrated from Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri that
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: "Do not write anything from me;
whoever has written anything from me other than the Qur'aan,
let him erase it and narrate from me, for there is
nothing wrong with that." (Narrated by Muslim,
al-Zuhd wa'l-Raqaa'iq, 5326)
Al-Nawawi said in his commentary on Saheeh Muslim:
"Al-Qaadi said: there were many disputes among
the Sahaabah and Taabi'een concerning the writing down
of knowledge. Many of them regarded this as being
makrooh, but most of them regarded it as permissible. This
dispute is no longer an issue.
They differed as to the meaning of this hadeeth
which says that it is forbidden. It was said that this pertained
to one who was sure of his memory, and there was the
fear that he may rely upon what he had written if he wrote
it down; the ahaadeeth which say that it is permissible
to write things down is to be interpreted as referring to
the one whose memory is not reliable, such as the
hadeeth, "Write it down for Abu Shaah"; or the hadeeth of
the saheefah of `Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him);
the hadeeth of the book of `Amr ibn Hazm, which
contains laws on inheritance, sunnahs and diyaat (blood
money); the hadeeth about writing down charity, and the
minimum amounts at which zakaah becomes obligatory
(nisaab), with which Abu Bakr sent Anas (may Allaah be
pleased with him) to Bahrain; the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah
which says that Ibn `Amr ibn al-`Aas used to ; write things
down but he (Abu Hurayrah) did not write things down,
and other ahaadeeth. And it was said that the
hadeeth forbidding writing down ahaadeeth was abrogated
by these ahaadeeth. The prohibition was in effect when
there was the fear that (the words of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) might be mixed
with the Qur'aan. When that danger was no longer
present, permission was given to write down (ahaadeeth). And
it was said that the prohibition mentioned in the
hadeeth referred to writing ahaadeeth on the same page as
Qur'aan, lest they become mixed and thus the reader would
be confused when looking at this page. And Allaah
knows best.
The hadeeth of Abu Shaah was narrated by
al-Bukhaari from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with
him), who said: `When Allaah granted His Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) victory over
Makkah, he stood before the people and praised and
glorified Allaah, then he said: "Allaah protected Makkah from
the elephant and has given authority to His Messenger
and the believers over it, so fighting was forbidden for
anyone before me, and was made permissible for me for part of
a day, and it will not be permissible for anyone after me.
Its game should not be chased, its thorny bushes should
not be uprooted, and picking up its fallen things is not
allowed except for one who makes public announcement for
it, and he whose relative is murdered has the option
either to accept a compensation for it or to retaliate."
Al-`Abbas said, "Except Al-Idhkhir (a kind of plant), for we use it
in our graves and houses." The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, "Except
Al-Idhkhir." Abu Shaah, a Yemeni, stood up and said,
"O Messenger of Allaah! Get it written for me."
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said, "Write it for Abu Shaah."
(al-Luqatah, 2254)
Ibn Hajar said: What may be understood from the
story of Abu Shaah ("Write it for Abu Shaah") is that the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
gave permission for hadeeth to be written down from him.
This contradicts the hadeeth of Abu Sa'eed
al-Khudri, which says that the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, `Do not write
down anything from me except the Qur'aan.' (Narrated
by Muslim).
The two may be reconciled by noting that the
prohibition applied only to the time when the Qur'aan was
being revealed, lest it be confused with something else, and
that permission was given at other times; or that the
prohibition applied only to writing down things other than
Qur'aan with the Qur'aan on one thing, and that permission
was given to write them separately; of that the
prohibition came first and the permission abrogated that, when
there was no longer any fear of confusion. This is most
likely to be the case.
It was said that the prohibition applied only to those
whom it was feared would depend on the writing and
not memorize things, and that permission was given for
those from whom such a thing was not feared.
The scholars said: a group of the Sahaabah and
Taabi'een regarded it as makrooh to write down the hadeeth
and they regarded it as mustahabb to learn it from them
by heart, as they had learned it. But when people were
no longer able to strive so hard (in memorizing) and
the scholars feared that knowledge might be lost,
they compiled it in books."
Islam Q&A. Sheikh Muhammed Salih
Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
I read a strange hadeeth which says that there is
no haamah, no Safar, no naw' and no ghoul. What do
these words mean?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
Ibn Muflih al-Hanbali said:
In al-Musnad, al-Saheehayn and elsewhere it is
narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: "No haamah and no Safar." Muslim and
others add the words, "No naw' and no ghoul."
Haamah (pl. Haam) [owl]: the people of the
jaahiliyyah used to think that when someone died and was buried,
an owl [haamah] would come out of his grave. The
Arabs used to think that the bones of the deceased turned
into owls which flew, and they said that if someone
was murdered, an owl would come out of his head, and
it would keep saying, "Give me to drink, give me to
drink," until the slain person was avenged and his killer
was killed.
Safar: it was said that they used to have
superstitions concerning the month of Safar, so the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "No Safar".
And it was said that the Arabs used to believe that there was
a snake in the stomach which would harm a person
when he had intercourse, and that this was contagious, so
the Lawgiver denied that. Maalik said: the people of
the Jaahiliyyah would regard Safar as not being sacred
one year and as sacred the next year.
Naw': (pl. al-Anwaa') (a star which sets at the rising
of another): this refers to twenty eight lunar mansions
or phases, as in the aayah (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And the moon, We have measured for it mansions…"
[Yaa-Seen 36:39].
Every thirteen nights, one of these stars sets in the
west at dawn, and another rises in the east, so that at the end
of the year they will all have come and gone. The
Arabs used to believe that when one set and the next one
rose, there would be rain, which they attributed to them
(these stars), so they would say, "We have rain because of
such and such naw' (star which sets at the rising of another)."
It is called naw' because when the star which is
setting sets in the west, the one which is rising appears (naa'a)
in the east, i.e., it rises and emerges. And it was said
that naw' means setting, which is the opposite.
But in the case of those who believe that rain came by
the will of Allaah and say, "We have rain at the time of
such and such naw'" meaning that Allaah usually causes
rain to come at this time _ there is some dispute as to
whether saying this is haraam or makrooh.
Ghoul (pl. gheelaan) means a kind of jinn or devil.
The Arabs used to think that the ghoul lived in the
wilderness and would appear to people, and that it could take
on different shapes and colours, and that it would make
them lose their way, seeking to kill them. The Lawgiver
rejected and denied this idea altogether.
And it was said that this was not denying that ghouls
exist, rather it was a denial of the Arabs' belief that they
could change shape and colour and make people lose their
way, hence the meaning of "no ghoul" is that they cannot
make people lose their way. This is borne out by another
hadeeth, "There is no ghoul but there is sa'aali" This is in
Muslim and elsewhere. Sa'aali is a magician among the jinn,
but among them there are magicians who base their
magic on confusion and illusions… al-Khallaal narrated
from Taawoos that a man accompanied him, then a crow
cawed and the man said, "Good, good." Taawoos said to
him, "What good is there in this, and what evil? Do not
come with me!" (al-Aadaab
al-Shar'iyyah, 3/369, 370)
Ibn al-Qayyim said:
Some scholars said that the words "no healthy
person should be exposed to a sick person" were abrogated
by the words "There is no `adwa (contagion)." This is
not correct. This is an example where what is negated
is different than what is affirmed. What the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) denied when
he said "There is no contagion and no Safar" was the
belief of the mushrikeen which was based on their beliefs
of shirk. With regard to the Prophet's prohibition of
exposing healthy people to sick people, there are
two interpretations:
(1) The fear that people may attribute what Allaah
has decreed to `adwa (contagion), which may confuse
those who hear of this and make them believe in
`adwa. There is no contradiction between the two reports.
(2) That this refers to exposing the sick person to
the healthy person, which may be the means by which
Allaah creates disease, so the exposure is the cause, but
Allaah may divert its effects by means of other causes
which oppose it or prevent the effect of the sickness. This
is pure Tawheed, unlike that which the people of
shirk believe in.
This is similar to the denial of intercession on the Day
of Resurrection mentioned in the aayah (interpretation
of the meaning):
"when there will be no bargaining, nor friendship,
nor intercession"
[al-Baqarah 2:254]
This does not contradict the unambiguous
mutawaatir ahaadeeth which say that there will be intercession
on the Day of Resurrection, because what Allaah is
denying here is the kind of intercession that was known
among the mushrikeen, where an intercessor would come
forward and intercede without being given permission.
The intercession which is affirmed by Allaah and
His Messenger is that which comes after His permission
is given, as in the aayahs (interpretation of the meaning):
"…Who is he that can intercede with Him except
with His Permission?…"
[al-Baraqah 2:255]
"and they cannot intercede except for him with whom
He is pleased"
[al-Anbiyaa' 21:28]
"Intercession with Him profits not except for him
whom He permits"
[Saba' 34:23]
Haashiyat Tahdheeb Sunan Abi Dawood, 10/289-291)
And Allaah is the One Who grants strength to do what
is right.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
What is meant by ruqam (marks or stripes on clothes)
in the hadeeth "except ruqam on textiles"?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The scholars (may Allaah have mercy on them)
interpreted ruqam in two ways:
(i) That it refers to images in carpets and similar
items, which are walked on and are not treated in a
respectful manner like pillows. This is allowed, because
the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) allowed it. What is meant is that he allowed their use,
but making images is not allowed.
(ii) That it refers to decorations on garments, apart
from pictures or images. Decoration on clothing is fine
and does not come under the ruling on images. What
is forbidden is images of animate beings, human or otherwise, because it was reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered
upon `Aa'ishah and saw a garment on which there was
an image. He got angry and tore it down, and said,
"The makers of these images will be punished on the Day
of Resurrection, and they will be told, `Give life to that
which you have created.' `Aa'ishah said: So I made it into
two pillows on which the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) could recline. Al-Nasaa'i
narrated with a saheeh isnaad from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah
be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) had an appointment with
Jibreel, and he was late, so he went out to him and found
him waiting for him (outside). Jibreel said to him: "In the
house there is a statue, and a curtain with images on it, and
a dog. Go and break the head off the statue so that it
will look like a tree, and go and make two pillows out of
the curtain that will be thrown on the floor and stepped
on, and go and throw the dog out." The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) went and did that,
then Jibreel (peace be upon him) came in. Abu Hurayrah
said: the dog was a puppy underneath a bed in the house,
which has been brought in by al-Hasan and al-Husayn.
Majmoo' Fataawa al-Maqaalaat Mutunaaw'iah li Samaahat al-Shaykh al-`Allaamah `Abd al-`Azeez
ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him), p. 91
(www.islam-qa.com)
4713:
What is the meaning of the hadeeth "We are
an unlettered nation, we do not write or calculate"?
Question:
What is the meaning of the hadeeth "We are an
unlettered nation, we do not read or write"? Does this
contradict what the Muslims are doing nowadays of
seeking education?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The wording of the hadeeth is not as mentioned in
the question. We will quote it here:
It was narrated from Ibn `Umar (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said: "We are an unlettered nation, we
do not write or calculate. The month is such-and-such
or such-and-such _ meaning sometimes it is twenty-nine
and sometimes it is thirty." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,
1814; Muslim, 1080)
This hadeeth was narrated concerning the issue of
the beginning of the lunar month, and it indicates that
there is no need to resort to astronomical calculations in
order to know when the month begins. We should rely on
visual sighting of the moon when it is new, then we will
know that the month has begun. The hadeeth was quoted
to explain that we should rely on sighting of the moon
and not on calculations. It did not come to urge the ummah
to remain ignorant and not to learn arithmetic and all
other useful sciences. So this hadeeth does not contradict
what Muslims are doing nowadays of seeking education
in different branches of science which will benefit
their worldly interests. Islam is the religion of knowledge;
it calls for knowledge and obliges every Muslim to
learn what Allaah has enjoined upon him and to learn
whatever rulings of sharee'ah he needs to know about acts
of worship and dealings with others. With regard to
worldly sciences such as medicine, engineering, agriculture,
etc., Muslims have to learn whatever the ummah needs
to know. If the Muslims need to manufacture a needle,
there has to be someone among them who can learn how
to make this needle.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah wrote a very
useful discussion on this hadeeth; there follows a selection
of his comments on it:
"The phrase `We are an unlettered nation' is not
telling them to be like that. They were unlettered before
Islam came, as Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
`He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a
Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves'
[al-Jumu'ah 62:2]
`And say to those who were given the Scripture
(Jews and Christians) and to those who are illiterates
(Arab pagans): Do you (also) submit yourselves (to Allaah
in Islam)?'
[Aal `Imraan 3:20]
Although this is how they were before the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sent to
them, they were not commanded to become like that. Some
of the implications of being unlettered were to remain,
but as we shall see, they were not commanded to remain
as they were in every sense…
Among the nation to which Allaah sent him were
some who could read and write a great deal, just as there
were among his Companions. There were also some who
could calculate. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) was sent with some obligations which
involve calculation. It was narrated that when the person he
had appointed to take care of the zakaah, Ibn
al-Latabiyyah, came to him, he calculated the total amount
collected. He had a number of scribes, such as Abu Bakr,
`Umar, `Uthmaan, `Ali, Zayd and Mu'aawiyah, who would
write down the Revelation, and would write contracts and
write his letters to the people to whom Allaah had sent him,
the kings of the earth and the leaders of groups, and to
his workers, governors, etc. Allaah says in His
Book (interpretation of the meaning):
"… that you might know the number of the years and
the reckoning"
[Yoonus 10:5; al-Israa' 17:12]
This is mentioned in two places in the Qur'aan,
where Allaah tells us that He has created [the sun and moon]
so that the calculations may be known.
The word ummi (unlettered or illiterate) comes from
the same root as the word ummah (nation). It refers to
one who is not distinguished from the rest of the people
by knowing how to read or write. It is akin to the
word `aammi which is used to describe a regular person
(one of the `aammah or masses) who is not distinguished
from them by having knowledge which they do not have.
It was also said that the word ummi is connected to the
word umm (mother), because he has learned no more than
his mother taught him, and so on.
The distinction which takes him out of the ranks of
the regular, unlettered people into the ranks of those who
have specialized knowledge may be a virtue in and of itself,
as in the case of those who read Qur'aan and understand
its meaning, or it may be a means which helps to reach
that level of virtue, as when a person is distinguished
from them by his being able to write and read. So the one
who uses that knowledge to pursue perfection is to be
praised, whilst the one who neglects it or uses it for evil
purposes is to be condemned. Whoever does away with it in
favour of something that is more beneficial is more perfect,
and if you can achieve the aim without using these
means, then that is even better.
Thus it is clear that being distinct from the unlettered
is of two types. The first nation to which the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was sent was
the Arabs, through whom the Message was conveyed to
all the other nations, because it was sent in their tongue.
They were mostly illiterate, and they had no advantage of
having knowledge or a scripture etc., although by nature
they were more ready to learn than other nations. They
were like a plowed field that is ready to be sown, but there
was no one to do the task and they had no scripture they
could read that had been revealed from Allaah, as the People
of the Book had, or any analytical science like the
Sabaeans and others had. Writing existed among them, but to a
very small extent. They had some knowledge of the type
that is acquired by common sense, but which does not
make an individual distinct from any other unlettered
person; for example, they knew of the Creator, and they held
good characteristics in high esteem, and they had
some knowledge of astronomy, genealogy and poetry. So
they deserved to be called unlettered in all senses of the
word, as Allaah said concerning them (interpretation of
the meaning):
"`He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones
a Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves'
[al-Jumu'ah 62:2]
`And say to those who were given the Scripture
(Jews and Christians) and to those who are illiterates
(Arab pagans): Do you (also) submit yourselves (to Allaah
in Islam)?'
[Aal `Imraan 3:20]
So the unlettered or illiterate were described as
being opposite to the People of the Book, for the
kitaabi (one of the People of the Book) is something other than
the ummi (unlettered).
When he was sent among them, it became obligatory
upon them to follow the Book that he brought and to ponder
its meanings, understand it and act upon it. Allaah made
this Book an explanation for all things, and their
Prophet taught them everything, even (the etiquette of)
defecation. They became people of a Book and people of
knowledge, indeed, they became the most knowledgeable of
people and the best of them in beneficial knowledge. They
lost the feature of blameworthy and imperfect illiteracy,
which is the lack of knowledge and a revealed Book, and
they gained knowledge of the Book and wisdom. They inherited the Book, as Allaah said concerning
them (interpretation of the meaning):
"He it is Who sent among the unlettered ones a
Messenger (Muhammad) from among themselves, reciting to
them His Verses, purifying them (from the filth of disbelief
and polytheism), and teaching them the Book (this
Qur'aan, Islamic laws and Islamic jurisprudence) and
AlHikmah (AsSunnah: legal ways, orders, acts of worship of
Prophet Muhammad). And verily, they had been before in
manifest error"
[al-Jumu'ah 62:2]
They were unlettered in every sense of the word, but
when he taught then the Book and al-Hikmah, Allaah
said concerning them (interpretation of the meaning):
"Then We gave the Book (the Qur'aan) as inheritance
to such of Our slaves whom We chose (the followers
of Muhammad). Then of them are some who wrong
their ownselves, and of them are some who follow a
middle course, and of them are some who are, by Allaah's
Leave, foremost in good deeds"
[Faatir 35:32]
"And this is a blessed Book (the Qur'aan) which We
have sent down, so follow it and fear Allaah (i.e. do not
disobey His Orders), that you may receive mercy (i.e. saved
from the torment of Hell).
Lest you (pagan Arabs) should say: `The Book was
sent down only to two sects before us (the Jews and
the Christians), and for our part, we were in fact unaware
of what they studied.'
Or lest you (pagan Arabs) should say: `If only the
Book had been sent down to us, we would surely, have
been better guided than they (Jews and Christians).'"
[al-An'aam 6:155-157]
And Allaah answered the prayer of al-Khaleel
(Ibraaheem) for them, when he said (interpretation of the meaning):
"Our Lord! Send amongst them a Messenger of their
own (and indeed Allaah answered their invocation by
sending Muhammad), who shall recite unto them Your Verses
and instruct them in the Book (this Qur'aan) and
Al-Hikmah (full knowledge of the Islamic laws and jurisprudence
or wisdom or Prophethood)
[al-Baqarah 2:129]
So there are kinds of illiteracy which are haraam,
kinds which are makrooh and kinds which are a
shortcoming and failure to do that which is better. A person who
does not know how to read al-Faatihah or any part of
the Qur'aan, is called by the fuqahaa' in their discussion
on al-salaah (prayer), ummi (unlettered), the opposite
of whom is a qaari' (one who reads or recites). They say:
it is not correct for a qaari' to be led in prayer by an
ummi, but it is permissible for an
ummi to lead another ummi in prayer; and they discuss other issues of the same
nature. What they mean by ummi here is one who cannot
read what is necessary, regardless of whether he can write
and calculate or not.
This illiteracy also includes neglecting what is
obligatory, for which a man will be punished if he is able to learn
it but he does not do so.
There is also the kind of illiteracy which is
blameworthy, such as that which Allaah described in the case of
the People of the Book, when He said (interpretation of
the meaning):
"And there are among them (Jews) unlettered people,
who know not the Book, but they trust upon false desires
and they but guess"
[al-Baqarah 2:78]
This is a description of one who does not understand
the word of Allaah or act upon it; all he does is to recite
it. Al-Hasan al-Basri said: The Qur'aan was revealed to
be acted upon, so recitation implies acting upon it. The
ummi in this sense may read the letters of the Qur'aan, etc.,
but he does not understand it; when he speaks about
matters of knowledge, he speaks superficially, based
on conjecture. This person is also regarded as
ummi and deserves to be blamed, just as Allaah condemned him
for his lack of obligatory knowledge, whether this
knowledge is fard `ayn (obligatory on each individual) or
fard kafaayah (obligatory on the community as a whole
but not on each individual)
There is also the kind of `illiteracy' which is better
and more perfect, such as the one who only reads a part of
the Qur'aan and he only understands what he has
learned. He only understands as much of sharee'ah as he has
to know. Such a person is also called ummi (illiterate),
and others who learn and act upon the Qur'aan are better
and more perfect than him.
These matters which distinguish a person are virtues,
and if a person fails to attain them, he is missing out
on something that is obligatory either on him as an
individual (fard `ayn) or is obligatory on the community
(fard kafaayah) or is
mustahabb (recommended). These attributes of perfection and virtue may be attributed
to Allaah and His Prophets in general terms. Allaah is
All-Knowing and All-Wise, and He combines knowledge
and beneficial speech in all that He wants, tells and wills.
The same is true of His Prophets and our Prophet, the
leader of the knowledgeable and wise.
With regard to the distinguishing features which are
means to attaining virtues, but which one can do without
and use alternative means, these are things like writing
and numeracy. If a person does not have these
abilities, knowing that virtue cannot be achieved without
them, not having them is a sign of imperfection. If a
person acquires them and uses them to perfect himself _ like
the one who learns how to read and then uses that to read
the Qur'aan and read useful books or write other things
that will be of benefit to people _ then this is a virtue in
his case. But if he uses it for purposes that will harm him
or other people _ like the one who reads misguided
books or writes things that will harm people, like forging
the writing of rulers, judges and witnesses _ then this will
be bad for him, and will be a sin and imperfection.
Hence `Umar forbade teaching women how to write. If it
is possible to do without it yet still achieve
perfect knowledge, then this is better, and this was the case
with our Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him), of whom Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):
"Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who
can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) whom they
find written with them in the Tawraat (Torah) and the
Injeel (Gospel)…" [al-A'raaf 7:157]
His being unlettered did not mean that he was lacking
in knowledge or the ability to recite by heart, for he is
the leader of all imaams in that regard. What it meant
was that he was not able to write or to read anything that
was written, as Allaah said of him (interpretation of
the meaning):
"Neither did you (O Muhammad) read any book before
it (this Qur'aan), nor did you write any book
(whatsoever) with your right hand…"
[al-`Ankaboot 29:48]
[Then he (Ibn Taymiyah _ may Allaah have mercy
on him) went back to discussing the hadeeth "We are
an unlettered nation, we do not write or calculate…"
and stated that there is a corroborating report which refers
to what is meant by this hadeeth. Then he said:]
When this is compared with his comment that the
month may be thirty or twenty-nine days, it becomes clear
that what is meant is that with regard to the new
moon (beginning of the month), we have no need for writing
or calculations, because sometimes it is (thirty days)
and sometimes it is (twenty-nine days). What
differentiates between them is the sighting (of the new moon), there
is nothing else that differentiates between them, such
as writing or calculation.
Thus is becomes clear that the "illiteracy" mentioned
here is a characteristic which is praiseworthy in several senses:
it means doing without writing and calculations in
favour of something whichis clearer and more apparent,
namely, (sighting) the new moon.
- Writing and calculation may involve errors…
Etc.
(Majmoo' al-Fataawa, 25/164-175) (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
Is the saying "Do not curse time for Allah is
time" authentic from the Rasool's sayings ? If so, how do
you interpret this ? I am confused about this issue.
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah. The word used in the hadeeth is
not waqt (= time), but dahr (= time, vicissitudes of time)
[this element of confusion may stem from translation of
the question into Arabic]. This hadeeth was narrated
by Muslim (5827) from Abu Hurayrah.
Other versions of the hadeeth are:
"Do not inveigh against time (al-dahr), for Allaah is time"
"Let not any one of you say, `Woe to time,' for Allaah
is time"
"Allaah says, `The sons of Adam offend Me and say,
Woe to time, but they should not say Woe to time. I am time,
I alternate the night and the day, and if I willed, I
could seize them both.'"
With regard to the meaning of the hadeeth,
al-Nawawi said:
They said: this is a metaphor, because the Arabs used
to inveigh against time when disasters such as death,
old age, loss of money, etc., happened. They would say,
`Woe to time' and other phrases cursing or inveighing
against time. So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: `Do not inveigh against time for
Allaah is time', i.e., do not inveigh against the One Who
brings about those disasters, for that will be directed
towards Allaah, for He is the One Who causes them to
happen. Time (al-dahr) means al-zamaan (time) which cannot
do anything in and of itself, for it is just one of the
things that have been created by Allaah.
The meaning of the phrase "for Allaah is time"
means that He is the One Who causes those events and
accidents to happen, and He is the Creator of all that happens.
And Allaah knows best.
(Sharh Muslim, 15/3)
It should be noted that "time" (al-dahr) is not one of
the Names of Allaah; it is attributed to Allaah in the
sense that He created it and is controlling it, i.e., He is the
Creator of time. Some phrases in the same hadeeth also
indicate this, as when He says, "It is in My Hand, I alternate
the night and the day." The One Who alternates and the
thing which is alternated cannot be one and the same; there
is the One Who alternates _ i.e., Allaah _ and the thing
which is alternated _ i.e., time, which Allaah controls as
and when He wills.
See: Fataawa al-`Aqeedah by Shaykh Ibn
`Uthaymeen, 1/163
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer said, in his Tafseer of the
aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
"And they say: "There is nothing but our life of this
world, we die and we live and nothing destroys us except
AdDahr (time)" [al-Jaathiyah 45:24]
Al-Shaafa'i, Abu `Ubaydah and others said, in
their commentary on the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Do not inveigh
against time for Allaah is time" _ During the Jaahiliyyah, if
some difficulty, trial or disaster befell them, the Arabs
would say `Woe to time', attributing those events to time
and inveighing against it. But the One Who brought
those events to pass is Allaah, so it was as if they
were inveighing against Allaah, may He be glorified,
because in fact He was the One Who caused those things to
happen. So it was forbidden to inveigh against time in this
manner, because Allaah is Time, i.e., He is the One lWho
is controlling it, but the Arabs were attributing those
events to Time.
This is the best of the comments made in the Tafseer
of this hadeeth, and this is what is meant. And Allaah
knows best.
(Tafseer Ibn Katheer, 4/152)
Shaykh Ibn `Uthaymeen (may Allaah preserve him)
was asked about the ruling on inveighing against time.
He replied:
Inveighing against time may be divided into
three Islam & Muslims:
1. Where the intention is to convey information
without blaming or condemning. This is permissible, such as
when a person remarks, "We are suffering from the heat (or
the cold) today" and the like, because deeds are
judged according to their intentions, and in this case a person
is merely describing what is happening without
expressing discontent.
2. Where a person inveighs against time as the cause
of events, as if by inveighing against it he means that
time is what causes things to alternate between good and
bad. This is shirk akbar (major form of
shirk) because when a person attributes events to something other than
Allaah, this means that he believes that there is another
creator alongside Allaah.
3. Where a person inveighs against time but believes
that the One who causes things to happen is Allaah, but
he inveighs against time because of the bad things
that happened. This is haraam because it is contrary to
the sabr (patience) that is required, but it is not kufr
because the person does not inveigh directly against Allaah. If
he were to inveigh directly against Allaah, he would be
a kaafir.
(Fataawaa al-`Aqeedah, 1/197)
Other reprehensible expressions which people
utter include cursing the hour or the day on which a
certain bad thing happened, and so on. This is a sin because it
is cursing and improper speech, and because this is
cursing something which does not deserve to be cursed.
What has the hour or the day done wrong? Nothing apart
from the fact that the events happened then, but they are
only created things which have no control over anything
and cannot be held to blame. If a person inveighs against
time, this reflects on the Creator of time. The Muslim
should be above speaking in such a foolish and improper
manner. And Allaah is the One Whose help we seek.
Islam Q&A
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Question:
Is the hadith that talks about the seven whom Allah
will shade on the Day in which there is no shade except
Allah's specific just for men or is it for anyone, such
as women, who perform those acts and, therefore, they
will receive that reward mentioned in the hadith?
Answer:
Praise be to Allaah.
The merits mentioned in the hadith are not
specifically for men. In fact, they are general for both men and
women. If a young woman grows up in the worship of Allah,
she is included among them. Similarly, two women who
love each other for the sake of Allah alone are also
included. Again, any woman who is invited to illegal
sexual intercourse by a man of nobility and beauty and she
refuses his advances, saying, "I fear Allah," will be one of
those in the shade of Allah.
Any woman who gives in charity from her legal
earnings to the extent that her left hand does not know what
her right hand has given will be included among them. If
a woman remembers Allah when she is alone by
herself, she will be included among them like any man.
However, the righteous leader is something specific for
men. Similarly, performing the prayers in congregation in
the mosque is something specific for men. The prayer of
the woman in her house is more virtuous as has been
stated in the authentic Hadith of the Prophet (peace be
upon him).
Shaikh ibn Baz (www.islam-qa.com)
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