HADITH STUDIES IMAM NAWAWI S 40 HADITH Hadeeth 5 On the authority of the Mother of the Believers, Umm Abdillah Aisha (ra), who said: The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: He who innovates something in this matter of ours that which is not of it will have it rejected [Related by Al Bukhari and Muslim] The reality of innovation This hadeeth is the foundation against innovation in Tawhid (Aqeedah or creed) and Ibaadat (acts of worship) and is a great hadeeth in the Sunnah. The hadeeth excludes Mu aamalaat (transactions and wordly dealings within its purvue), although there are shariah rules that need to be followed when it comes to buying and selling. The hadeeth clearly shows that innovations in Tawhid and Ibaadat are rejected (radd ) and that the religion of Allah (swt) has been completed and the mission of the Prophet (alehisalatu wasalam) has been accomplished. Anyone who innovates in the religion is called an innovator (mubtadi ). The innovator s place will be in the hellfire as the hadith in Muslim confirms: Every innovation is a misguidance and every misguidance goes to Hell fire [Muslim] Any deed carried out by a muslim must comply with the rules of the Qur an and the Sunnah or it will be rejected by Allah (swt). Whoever innovates something (in this religion) will be punished twice, the first punishment is for his innovation (bi dah). The second punishment he will receive is for those people who follow his bi dah. So, it is clear that committing an act of bi dah is a serious matter in the shariah. For this very reason, Muslims are asked to take care who they seek their Islamic knowledge from. Every muslim must seek the obligatory Islamic knowledge otherwise he will be misguided following people of innovation and desires (hawa ). It is a personal obligation (fard ayn) on every muslim to seek the minimum level of Islamic knowledge that will allow him to worship his Lord with a good level of awareness. Examples of Bid ah Bid ah in Tawhid sometimes you find some shuyookh who claim they have a special way of ibaadah (tareekah), and if the follower (mureed) follows this Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 1 April 2010
way he will get a special reward and will achieve a special station (makaam). This is a bid ah. Bid ah in Ibaadah If someone were to specify every night of Jumuah (friday) for Qiyam Al Layl (the night prayer) because they think that increasing the level of worship on a Friday is a good thing, then this is a kind of bid ah in ibaadah because the individual concerned believes that the Friday is a special day and hence needs special actions. This understanding would be wrong. Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 2 April 2010
Hadeeth 6 On the authority of Abu Abdillah an Nu man the son of Bashir (raa), who said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) say: That which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters safeguards himself in regard to his religion and his honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but grazing therein. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah s sanctuary is His prohibitions. Truly, in the body is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be sound, than all the body is sound, and which, if it is diseased, then all of (the body) is diseased. Truly, it is the heart. [Related by Al Bukhari and Muslim] Explanation This hadeeth shows that the legal rulings of any matters are of three categories: 1. That which is lawful, clear and unambiguous i.e. Halal 2. That which is unlawful or prohibited and is clear and unambiguous i.e. Haram 3. That whose ruling is not clear and many people do not know the rulings, however some people may know the rulings of those matters i.e. Mushtabihaat (doubtful) And between the two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know. Thus he who avoids doubtful matters safeguards himself in regard to his religion and his honour. Mushtabihaat: Doubtful matters Unclear matters should be avoided by asking those who have knowledge. A doubtful matter arises when either, a scholar is undecided on the matter or the person is unaware of the ruling of a scholar on the matter. Keeping away from the doubtful preserves one s honour as it protects him from falling into the wrong mistakenly....but he who falls into doubtful matters falls into that which is unlawful What does unlawful mean here? Unlawful (haram) means either clear haram, or that it will inevitably lead into haram. Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly Allah s sanctuary is His prohibitions. Steering clear of differences amongst scholars Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 3 April 2010
Example (1): If one scholar says that a matter is halal and the others say that is it haram, then it is recommended to stay away from performing the action, because then you will have kept away from the differences of the scholars. The permissibility/impermissibility of voting in democratic elections is a case in point. There is heated debate and discussion amongst the ulema over this issue with the majority tending towards the view of its impermissibility. The advise would be to steer away from the differences of the scholars and abstain from voting for fear of falling into the prohibited sanctuary. Example (2): If a scholar says that a matter is obligatory and another says it is recommended, then it is recommended to perform that action so as to stay away from the differences of the scholars. Blocking the means to the prohibited actions An important usuli principle is derived from this hadeeth and that is the concept of blocking the means to haram: whatever leads to a haram is itself haram (prohibited) From this principle, the ulema take the view that singing songs (ghinaa) is prohibited, because singing is linked to having illegal relations with the opposite sex, dancing, free mixing hence it is considered haram for other than itself. Imam Maalik (rh) said: Al Ghinaa bareed Al Zina (the songs are the postman for illegal sexual relations). Truly, in the body is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be sound, than all the body is sound, and which, if it is diseased, then all of (the body) is diseased. Truly, it is the heart. Signs of the heart The relationship of this part of the hadeeth with the first part is that when a person leaves the doubtful, then he clears his heart making it healthy and thus rectifying the rest of the body. The signs of a healthy heart include: the person feeling detached from this world and attached to the hereafter; the person gets upset with himself if he sins, until he repents and gives up the sin; he is more concerned with wasting time and is more stingy about his time than a greedy person is with his wealth. The signs of a diseased heart include: He does not feel hurt or upset when he sins; He does not find comfort in being with pious people but finds solace and tranquillity with being with sinners; he may not be affected by any kind of admonition. The piety of the Muslims heart is upon doing only the halal and avoiding the haram. Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 4 April 2010
Hadeeth 7 On the authority of Abu Ruqayya Tameem ibn Aus ad Daari (ra) that the Prophet (saws) said: The Deen (religion) is naseehah (advise/sincerity). We said: To whom? He said: To Allah, His Book, His Messenger, to the leaders of the Muslims and their common folk. [Related by Muslim] Explanation This hadeeth encompasses the whole deen. It encompasses the rights of Allah, the rights of His messenger and the rights of His slaves. Naseehah The word naseehah cannot be accurately translated into the English language because it is a broad concept which cannot be traced in the English language. Some of the ulema define naseehah to mean gibving good council and advise (either to the rulers or the ruled, in worldy or religious matters) To say that the deen is naseehah is to draw importance to its place in the religion and is a profound statement. In this one brief statement, the Prophet (saws) described the essence of Islam. We said: To whom? He said: To Allah... The naseehah should be first to Allah. This includes: To be sincere to Allah by fulfilling all His rights (i.e. fulfilling all his commands and abandoning all His prohibitions and that we single Him out in worship, in Lordship and Names and Attributes Recognising the blessings He has bestowed upon us and properly thanking Him for these blessings Also, it is to love Him (and loving what He loves and hating whatever He hates, be it objects, persons, actions, sayings etc.), follow His deen, obey His commands, abandon all His prohibitions, believe all that He informed us of and to worship Allah sincerely...his Book... That is to believe that it is definitely the Words of Allah, that He spoke it, it is the greatest sign given to any Prophet, it is a guidance and a Proof until the day of judgement; We must believe all that is in it and have no doubt over it...his Messenger... To the Prophet (saws) by: Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 5 April 2010
Obeying his commands; Abandoning his prohibitions; Not to worship Allah except by his way; To believe that he is the last and final Prophet and all other claims of Prophethood after him are false; To love him because Allah ordered us to love him, and to love him more than our own selves (note: we should teach the love of Him (saws) before teaching his sunnah)..to the leaders of the Muslims... Allah and His Messenger have ordered us to obey the rulers in that which is good and disobey them if they order with a sin. Advising rulers With gentleness, manners and softness, as people find criticism generally hard to take; It should be done privately and not publically;..and their common folk... Naseehah to them is to guide them to all that which is beneficial for them in this life and the hereafter. To advise them when they need to be advised, to stop them from doing evil, to help them with good, to be merciful to them and to conceal their faults. Conditions for giving advise/good council When giving advise to a Muslim male or female the following three points need to be kept in consideration at all times: 1. The advise/good council should not be given in public in front of others; 2. The advise/good council needs to given in a good manner; 3. The advise/good council should be given at an appropriate time and place e.g. don t give naseehah when someone is angry or under a lot of pressure. Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 6 April 2010
Hadeeth 8 From Ibn Umar (ra), there is that the Messenger of Allah (saws) said: I have been commanded to fight people until they witness that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and they establish the prayer and pay the Zakat. Then if they do that they are safe from me with respect to their blood and their property except for the right of Islam, and their reckoning is up to Allah (swt) [Related by Al Bukhari and Muslim] Explanation This is a great hadeeth in the shariah of Al Islam. It shows how the Prophet (saws) was ordered to fight all the nations until they became Muslim (by taking the shahadatayn, establishing the prayer and paying the poor due (zakat)). The people have to accept the domination and supremacy of Islam (as a complete way of life), that Islam is the dominant religion. This objective is to be achieved by whatever means, whether it is through fighting or through peaceful agreements. The main aim of Jihad (striving in the way of Allah (swt) with your utmost effort) is to further the cause of dawah (calling people to the pure Tawhid and Islam as a deen). The ultimate objective The ultimate objective of Islam is to abolish the lordship of one man over another and to bring human beings under the rules of one god. Al Tabari narrated that Rabi` ibn `Amir entered the court of Rustum, the Persian leader, who asked him: What brought you here? Rabi` said: God sent us, and He brought us here in order to lead whom He wills from the worship of man to the worship of God alone; from the narrowness and oppression of this world to the space and abundance of the hereafter; and from the injustice of other religions to the justice of Islam. He has sent us with His religion of His creation, to call them to Him. The link between Hadeeth Eight and Surah Bara ah (Al Tawbah) This hadeeth seeks out to explain the verse in the Qur an, in Surah Tawbah where Allah (swt) says: When the sacred months are over slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way. God is forgiving and merciful [EMQ 9:5]. The majority of the ulema are in agreement that [9:5] abrogates (makes naskh) all other verses in the Qur an such as There is no compulsion in religion [EMQ 2:256] which allow others to have a different religion in the Muslim state. The only Aalim who seems to have a comprehensive view of this issue and the interplay between [9:5] and the Muslims outward state is Sheikh Al Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (rahimullah). He recognised that all the verses and ahadeeth which ask the Muslims to have patience and sabr and to have good manners when dealing with the kuffar are verses when the Muslims are in a weak state (Qur an Al Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 7 April 2010
Makki). And all the verses which talk about the situation were the Muslims should fight against the kuffar is when the Muslims are in a strong position, in a strong state (Qur an Al Madani). Ibn Taymiyyah believed their was no abrogation (naskh) when the Muslim Ummah were in a weak state and that it was allowed to work with the verses which talk about having patience, having sabr, and ignoring what the kuffar do (even if they insult you) in such a situation. However, after having migrated to Madeenah (Dar Al Islam), when the Muslims were in a stronger position, Allah (swt) sent them other verses which talk about fighting the kuffar wherever you find them:..slay the idolaters wherever you find them [EMQ Tawbah, verse 5]. [Reported in the book Muqadimat Al Tafseer, Sheikh Al Islam, Ibnu Taymiyyah]. Jihad The general principle of Jihad is to make Allah (swt) word the highest. There are two forms of Jihad in Islam: 1. Jihad Al Daf a (defensive Jihad) 2. Jihad Al Talab (offensive Jihad) The 2 nd type of Jihad is part of the foreign policy of an Islamic state. Ijaza Courses Spring Programme 8 April 2010