KHUTAB I - B (6-10)

6. GOOD  CONDUCT

          Islam deals with man’s relationship with Allah which is called ‘ibadah (worship) and his relationship with his fellow creatures which is called mu‘āmalah (behaviour towards others) or akhlāq (good conduct). These two kinds of relationship have to go hand-in-hand in proper balance and proportion. Ignoring any one of them is wrong.  It is not right to say that as long as I am good with others I do not have to observe prayers and fasting.  It is also wrong to say that as long as I do my prayers I should not care for others. A tradition dealing with mu‘āmalah is as follows:

عَنْ عَائِشَةَ أَنَّ رَجُلًا قَعَدَ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

فَقَالَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ لِي مَمْلُوكِينَ يُكَذِّبُونَنِي وَيَخُونُونَنِي وَيَعْصُونَنِي

وَأَشْتُمُهُمْ وَأَضْرِبُهُمْ فَكَيْفَ أَنَا مِنْهُمْ قَالَ يُحْسَبُ مَا خَانُوكَ وَعَصَوْكَ وَكَذَّبُوكَ

وَعِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ فَإِنْ كَانَ عِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ بِقَدْرِ ذُنُوبِهِمْ كَانَ كَفَافًا لَا لَكَ وَلَا عَلَيْكَ وَإِنْ

كَانَ عِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ دُونَ ذُنُوبِهِمْ كَانَ فَضْلًا لَكَ وَإِنْ كَانَ عِقَابُكَ إِيَّاهُمْ فَوْقَ ذُنُوبِهِمْ

اقْتُصَّ لَهُمْ مِنْكَ الْفَضْلُ قَالَ فَتَنَحَّى الرَّجُلُ فَجَعَلَ يَبْكِي وَيَهْتِفُ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ

صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَمَا تَقْرَأُ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ { وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ

فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا

 حَاسِبِينَ } الْآيَةَ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ مَا أَجِدُ لِي وَلِهَؤُلَاءِ

شَيْئًا خَيْرًا مِنْ مُفَارَقَتِهِمْ أُشْهِدُكُمْ أَنَّهُمْ أَحْرَارٌ كُلُّهُمْ.

(رواه أحمد و الترمذي).

“It was narrated by ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her)

that a man said to the Prophet:‘O Messenger of Allah, I have

 slaves who belie me, betray me and disobey me.  So I beat them

and insult them.  What will happen between me and them?’

The  Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) said to him: ‘Their belying,

betrayal and disobedience to you will be compared with your

punishment against them. If your punishment is below their

bad deeds to you,  it will be merit for you. If your punishment

 is equal to their bad deeds to you, then there will be neither

merit nor sin. But if your punishment is beyond their bad

 deeds to you, the merit you have before will be cut from you.’

 On hearingthis, the man started weeping and crying.  The

 Messenger of Allah said:‘Haven’t you read the Book of

 Allah which said, “We [i.e.,Allah] shall set up scales of

 justice for the day of Judgement, so that not a soul will be

 dealt with unjustly in the least.  And if there be (no more

than) the weight of a mustard seed, We will bring it (to

account): and enough are We to take account.”’ [Qur’ān

, al-Anbiyā’ [21]:47).  The man said: ‘O the Messenger of

 Allah, I don’t find anything better than to be separated

 from these people. I bear witness that they are free’”

(Reported by  Aḥmad and al-Tirmidhī)

 The man freed his slaves, got rid of them, for fear of committing sin in abusing them.

          So, if you yell at your Muslim brother or sister, if you assault, abuse and humiliate him or her and he or she does not fight back, do not think this person is coward, stupid weak, and worthless.  He or she might be a smart one, collecting merits from you. If you want to be smarter, ask forgiveness from him or her, and do not repeat the same mistake. If somebody wrongs you, cheats you, try hard to get back your right. But if you cannot get it back for any reason, because the person disappears, for example, do not be upset and lose hope. You will get it back in the Hereafter. The cheater will realize that he is cheating himself unknowingly.

          In this world people wrong each other, cheat each other suck each other’s blood, become “wolves to each other”. People could be worse than wolves. The wolves themselves are not wolves to each other; they are gentle to each other, they work and hunt together in a pack; they are even one of the most faithful animal species to their mates.

          In the Hereafter none will be wronged. This is Allah’s promise. He said:

وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ (البقرة : ‍‍‍‍‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍٢٨١‍‍‍)

“And fear the day when ye shall be brought back   

to Allah. Then shall every  soul be paid what it earned,

 and none shall be dealt with unjustly.” (Q. 2:281) 

Allah also said: 

وَمَنْ يَغْلُلْ يَأْتِ بِمَا غَلَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ

 مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ (آل عمران : ١٦١)

“…. And if any person acts dishonestly,

he shall, on the day of Judgement, restore what  he

misappropriated; then shall every soil receive

its due whatever it earned, and none

 shall be dealt with unjustly” (Q. 3:161)

Everything, however small it is, will be brought and shown in the Hereafter. Allah said:

فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْرًا يَرَهُ. وَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ شَرًّا يَرَهُ (الزلزال : ٧-٨)

“Then shall anyone who has done an atom’s

 weight of good, see it!  And anyone who has done

 an atom’s weight of evil, shall see it!” )Q. 99:7-8(

          In one tradition the Prophet said that the real bankrupt is the person who lost his merits and rewards as payment to the person he had wronged in this world.  If he has no more merit left and still has to pay, he has to take the demerits of those whom he had wronged.

          The Prophet was asked about the case of a woman who was pious, but    used to hurt the feelings of her neighbours, and a woman who was not so pious, but did not hurt others' feelings,what would happen to them in the Hereafter. It was narrated byAbū Hurayrah that someone asked the Prophet: 

إنَّ فُلَانَةَ تَصُوْمُ النَّهَاَر وَتَقُوْمُ اللَّيْلَ وَ تُؤْذِي جِيرَانَهَا بِلِسَانِهَا  فَقَالَ:

لَا خَيْرَ فِيْهَا هِيَ فِي النَّار، قِيْلَ : فَإنَّ فُلَانَةَ تُصَلِّي اْلمَكْتُوْبَةَ وَتَصُوْمُ رَمَضَانَ  وَتَتَصَدَّقُ

بِأَثْوَارٍ مِنْ أقِطٍ وَلَا تُؤْذِي أَحَدًا بِلِسَانِهَا قَالَ هِيَ فِي الْجَنَّةِ  »

(رواه الحاكم و أحمد و البيهقي)

 "So-and-so used to do the (recommended) fasting in the

 day time and (recommended) prayers at night but hurts her

neighbours  with her tongue"; he (the Prophet) said, "There is

 no goodness  with her, she will go to Hell."; it was told to him,

 "So-and-so prayed the obligatory prayers (only), fasted (only)

in the month of Ramadan, and used to give charity with her

 dried milk, but she did not hurt anyone with her tongue";

 he said, "She will go to Heaven."

(Reported by al-Ḥākim, Aḥmad, and al-Bayhaqī)

          In another tradition the Prophet warned us against mistreating our neighbours.  Abū Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said:

  وَاللَّهِ لَا يُؤْمِنُ وَاللَّهِ لَا يُؤْمِنُ وَاللَّهِ لَا يُؤْمِنُ قَالَهَا

 ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ قَالُوا وَمَا ذَاكَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ الْجَارُ لَا يَأْمَنُ

 الْجَارُ بَوَائِقَهُ قَالُوا وَمَا بَوَائِقُهُ قَالَ شَرُّهُ

(رواه البخاري و أحمد)

“By Allah he does not believe [perfectly], by Allah  he

does not believe [perfectly],by Allah he does not believe

 [perfectly].” He said it three times. They [i.e., his companions]

  asked, "O Messenger of Allah, who is that?” He said: “The

neighbour  who does not make his neighbour safe from

 his annoyance.”  They asked, “What is his annoyance?”

 He said, “His wrong-doings”

  (Reported by Bukhārī and Aḥmad)

                          

7. ARROGANCE

         A good Muslim cannot be arrogant. How could you imagine a Muslim is prayer bowing down and prostrating himself before Allah in humiliation, then all of a sudden, after prayer, he turns to be arrogant, putting himself up and putting other people down?  Ignorance is another problem. The worst is when arrogance and ignorance are combined in one person. Open any discussion, and this kind of person turns into “a scholar”. As for scholars, they are modest and humble, because they know their limitations. The more they know, the more they realize that there are more things they do not know. The late Arab immigrant poet Ilyā Abū Mād.ī said in the last line of his poem al-T.alāsim (الطَّلاسِم, Mysteries) as follows:

لَا تُجَادِلْ،  ذُوْ الِحجَى مَنْ قَالَ لَسْتُ أَدْرِي.

“Do not argue, the man of understanding

 is the one who says ‘I do not know.’”

          Allah says in the Qur’ān:

وَلَا تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولَئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْئُولًا. وَلَا تَمْشِ

فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّكَ لَنْ تَخْرِقَ الْأَرْضَ وَلَنْ تَبْلُغَ الْجِبَالَ طُولًا (الإسراء : ٣٦-٣٧).

“And pursue not that of which thou hast no knowledge [i.e.,

 avoid idle curiosity]; for surely, the hearing, the sight, the heart,

 all of those shall be questioned of. And do not walk on the earth

 in insolence.  You cannot penetrate the earth and your height

will not reach that of the mountains. (Q. 17:37-38)

He also says:

إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ  (الحجرات  : ١٣)

“The most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is

 (he who is) the most  righteous of you” )Q. 49:13(

Luqmān the sage advised his son as follows:

وَلَا تُصَعِّرْ خَدَّكَ لِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَمْشِ فِي الْأَرْضِ مَرَحًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ كُلَّ مُخْتَالٍ فَخُورٍ (لقمان : ١٨) 

 “And swell not thy cheek (for pride) at men.Nor walk in insolence

 through the earth. For  Allah loves not any arrogant boaster.”

 (Q. 31:18)

The Prophet said:

 لَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ (رواه مسلم وأبو داؤد والترمذي وابن ماجة)

“He who has the weight of a dust particle of

 arrogance in his heart  will not enter Heaven

(Reported by Muslim, Abū Dā’ūd,

Tirmidhī, and Ibn Mājah)

This means that Allah will punish him first before he enters Heaven if he deserves it. Allah alone deserves this haughtiness and calls Himself al-Mutakabbir (literally means “the Haughty”, “the Arrogant, or “the Insolent”) which is one of His ninety-nine names.  He said about Himself when he says:

هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ السَّلَامُ الْمُؤْمِنُ الْمُهَيْمِنُ

الْعَزِيزُ الْجَبَّارُ الْمُتَكَبِّرُ سُبْحَانَ اللَّهِ عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ (الحشر : ٢٣)

“Allah is He, than  there is no god other than Allah;

the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of Peace

(and Perfection), the Guardian of Faith, the Preserver

of Safety, the Exalted in Might, the Irresistible, the

justly Proud: glory to Allah! (High is He) above

the partners they attribute to Him” )Q. 59:23(

          The Western Orientalist D.B. Macdonald translates the word al-Mutakabbir as “the Haughty”, but the Muslim translators Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, due to their modesty, translate it respectively as “the Supreme” (“the justly Proud” in the revised translation, as above), and “the Superb”.

          Allah is the greatest and we say it several times in our prayer when we say Allāhu Akbar. The late Lebanese poet Ilyā Abū Mād.ī said to the arrogant:

يَا أَخِيْ لَا تَمِلْ بِرَأْسِكَ عَنِّيْ   *   مَا أَنَا فَحْمَةٌ وَلاَ أَنْتَ فَرقَـدُ

النُّجُوْمَ التِيْ تَرَاهـا أَرَاهـَا   *   حِيْنَمَا تحْفُو وَ عِنْدَمَا تَتَوَقـَّدُ      

“O brother, do not turn your head away

 from me (out of arrogance), I am not a lump of

 coal and you are not a bright star; the stars you see

  I also see, whether they are twinkling (among

 clouds) or radiant (in the clear sky)."

          As we know, the first creature who disobeyed Allah was Iblīs (devil) who refused to bow in respect to Adam (p.b.u.h.) because of his arrogance.  Allah says in the Qur’ān:

وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآَدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَى

 وَاسْتَكْبَرَ  وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ (البقرة : ٣٤).

“And behold, We said to the angels:

‘Bow down to Adam’ and they bowed down:

not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: he

was of  those who reject Faith.” (Q. 2:34)

8. SOUND HEART

          Among the du‘ā’ (supplication) of Prophet Abraham (Ibrāhīm, p.b.u.h.) mentioned in the Qur’ān is:

وَلَا تُخْزِنِي يَوْمَ يُبْعَثُونَ. يَوْمَ لَا يَنْفَعُ مَالٌ وَلَا بَنُونَ. إِلَّا مَنْ أَتَى اللَّهَ بِقَلْبٍ سَلِيمٍ (الشعراء : ٧٨-٨٩).   

“And let me not be in disgrace on the day when (men)

 will be raised up;--the day whereon neither wealth

nor sons will avail, but only he (will prosper) that

 brings to Allah a sound heart;”)Q. 26:87-89(

          According to Qur’ānic commentators “sound heart” means “free from shirk (associating Allah with anything), hypocrisy, and envy”.  Imām al-T.abarī said that “sound heart” means "free from doubt of Allah’s oneness and of the resurrection”. On the Judgement Day wealth and children would not avail, and those who have “sound heart” is the person mentioned in the following h.adīth:

رَوَى أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ قَالَ كُنَّا جُلُوسًا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

فَقَالَ يَطْلُعُ عَلَيْكُمْ الْآنَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَطَلَعَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ الْأَنْصَارِ تَنْطِفُ لِحْيَتُهُ

مِنْ وُضُوئِهِ قَدْ تَعَلَّقَ نَعْلَيْهِ فِي يَدِهِ الشِّمَالِ فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْغَدُ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ فَطَلَعَ ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ مِثْلَ الْمَرَّةِ الْأُولَى فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْيَوْمُ الثَّالِثُ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ

وَسَلَّمَ مِثْلَ مَقَالَتِهِ أَيْضًا فَطَلَعَ ذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى مِثْلِ حَالِهِ الْأُولَى فَلَمَّا قَامَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

تَبِعَهُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَاصِ فَقَالَ إِنِّي لَاحَيْتُ أَبِي فَأَقْسَمْتُ أَنْ لَا أَدْخُلَ عَلَيْهِ ثَلَاثًا فَإِنْ رَأَيْتَ أَنْ

تُؤْوِيَنِي إِلَيْكَ حَتَّى تَمْضِيَ فَعَلْتَ قَالَ نَعَمْ قَالَ أَنَسٌ وَكَانَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ يُحَدِّثُ أَنَّهُ بَاتَ مَعَهُ تِلْكَ اللَّيَالِي

الثَّلَاثَ فَلَمْ يَرَهُ يَقُومُ مِنْ اللَّيْلِ شَيْئًا غَيْرَ أَنَّهُ إِذَا تَعَارَّ وَتَقَلَّبَ عَلَى فِرَاشِهِ ذَكَرَ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَكَبَّرَحَتَّى

يَقُومَ لِصَلَاةِ الْفَجْرِ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ غَيْرَ أَنِّي لَمْ أَسْمَعْهُ يَقُولُ إِلَّا خَيْرًا فَلَمَّا مَضَتْ الثَّلَاثُ لَيَالٍ وَ كِدْتُ

أَنْ أَحْتَقِرَ عَمَلَهُ قُلْتُ يَا عَبْدَ اللَّهِ إِنِّي لَمْ يَكُنْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَ أَبِي غَضَبٌ وَلَا هَجْرٌ ثَمَّ وَلَكِنْ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ

اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَقُولُ لَكَ ثَلَاثَ مِرَارٍ يَطْلُعُ عَلَيْكُمْ الْآنَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَطَلَعْتَ أَنْتَ

الثَّلَاثَ مِرَارٍ فَأَرَدْتُ أَنْ آوِيَ إِلَيْكَ لِأَنْظُرَ مَا عَمَلُكَ فَأَقْتَدِيَ بِهِ فَلَمْ  أَرَكَ تَعْمَلُ كَثِيرَ عَمَلٍ فَمَا الَّذِي

بَلَغَ بِكَ مَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ  مَا هُوَ إِلَّا مَا رَأَيْتَ قَالَ فَلَمَّا وَلَّيْتُ دَعَانِي

فَقَالَ مَا هُوَ إِلَّا مَا رَأَيْتَ غَيْرَ أَنِّي لَا أَجِدُ فِي نَفْسِي لِأَحَدٍ مِنْ الْمُسْلِمِينَ غِشًّا وَلَا أَحْسُدُ أَحَدًا

عَلَى خَيْرٍ أَعْطَاهُ اللَّهُ إِيَّاهُ فَقَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ هَذِهِ الَّتِي بَلَغَتْ بِكَ وَهِيَ الَّتِي لَا نُطِيقُ

(رواه أحمد و النسائي و البيهقي)

“Anas b. Mālik related that while he and other companions were

sitting with the Prophet, the Prophet said: ‘A man promised with

 Paradise (Heaven) will come suddenly upon you’. Then a man

 among the ansar [lit. “the helpers”, i.e., the people of Madīnah

 who helped the muhājirīn, the Muslim emigrants from Mecca]

 appeared, his beard was clean from wud.ū' ablution) and his

sandals were hung at his left hand. The next day the Prophet said

the same thing, and the same person appeared. The third day the

Prophet said the same thing, and the same person appeared.

When the Prophet left Abdullah b.‘Umar b.‘Umar followed

 the man and said to him: ‘I am on bad terms with my father

 and I have sworn that I would not come to him for three days.

  I wish you would let me be your guest for that period.’  The

 man agreed. Anas said  that then Abdullah b.‘Umar reported

 what he had seen from his host.  In these three nights  said that

 the man did not even perform night sunnah (recommended)

 prayers other than that he mentioned Allah whenever he

 turned in his bed until he got up for fajr (dawn) prayer. ‘Abd

 Allāh said further that the man had never said anything except

good things [i.e., never said bad things].  After the third night

‘Abd Allāh almost looked down on what the man had done.  He

asked him: ‘Abd Allāh, [it was common among the Arabs in

the past to call anybody whose name was unknown “‘Abd Allāh”

 which means“the servant of Allah”, like what ‘Abd Allāh did to

this person] I heard the Messenger of Allah said three times that

 a person promised with Paradise would appear suddenly, and

and you appeared each time. So I would like to know what you

 did so that I could  follow it, but I have not seen you doing

 something great.  What makes you reach this high honour

 which has been mentioned by the Prophet?’  the man said:

‘Nothing but what you have seen.”  ‘Abd Allāh said: ‘When

 I turned away he called me and said: “Nothing except  what

 you have seen.  Only that I never cheat any Muslim, and I

 never envy  anybody of what Allah has given him”.  ‘Abd

Allāh b. ‘Umar said: ‘That is what makes you attain what

 the Prophet had said which we are unable to stand.”

(Reported by Aḥmad, al-Nasā’ī, and al-Bayhaqī)

9.    AS.H...ĀB AL-UKHDŪD

(THE MAKERS OF THE PIT OF FIRE)

          There were three babies who talked miraculously in their childhood. One of them was in the story reported by Imām Ah.mad b. H...anbal in a long tradition narrated by S.uhayb al-Rūmī [the Roman, being from the Eastern Roman empire], that Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) said a story the summary of which is as follows:

          “There was a king in the past who had an old magician. Being old and feeling that his death was approaching, the magician asked the king to give him a boy whom he could teach his magic. He found the boy, but the boy also learned secretly from a monk whom he admired. Therefore, he always came late to the magician and came home late. He was beaten by the magician and was asked, ‘What makes you late?’. At home he was beaten by his parents and was asked, ‘What makes you late?’ When he complained to the monk, the monk advised him to say to the magician, when he wanted to beat him for being late, that he had been detained by his parents, and to his parents, when they wanted to beat him for coming home late, that he had been detained by the magician.

          “One day a huge animal [it was not mentioned what kind of animal it was] prevented people from passing by. The boy said to himself: ‘Today I shall see which of the two, the monk of the magician, is loved by Allah.’ He took a stone, saying, ‘O Allah, if You prefer the monk to the magician, kill this monster, so that people can pass by.’  Then he threw the stone at it. The monster was killed and the people could pass by. He told the monk what had happened. The monk said to him: ‘Now you become better than me, and you will be tested.  When this happens don’t tell people about me.’

          “The boy became a healer. He healed the blind and the lepers, and other ill people. The king had an associate who heard about the boy. He was blind, so he told him: ‘Cure me and I’ll give you a present.’ The boy said: ‘I don’t heal anybody. It is Allah who heals. If you believe in Him, He will heal you.’  The man did, and he was healed.

          ‘The king was surprised to see that his friend could see again.

          ‘Who healed you?’ asked the king.

          ‘My Lord,’ said the man.

          ‘Me?’, asked the king.

          ‘No, Allah, my Lord and your Lord.’

          ‘Is there any Lord other than me?', asked the king.

          ‘Yes, my Lord and your Lord is Allah,’ said the man.

          “The man was tortured until he mentioned the boy. The boy was summoned and was interrogated. He, too, was tortured until he mentioned the monk. The monk was summoned, interrogated, and asked to abandon his religion, or he would face persecution. He refused. He was persecuted in a terrible way. His head was cut off with a saw. The king’s associate, refusing to abandon his faith, was also persecuted in the same way.

          “Now it was the boy’s turn. He was to receive a special treatment.  He was sent to a high mountain where he would be dropped from a cliff. But his prayer was accepted. The mountain shook, and the people who where assigned to carry the persecution perished. The boy was saved. He told the king that Allah had saved him.

          “The king sent the boy to the sea where he would be dropped and drowned. Again Allah saved him. The waves drowned the king’s men. The boy said the to king: ‘You cannot kill me until you do what I say’.

          ‘What is that?’ asked the king.

          ‘Collect people, crucify me on a trunk of the tree, take an arrow from my quiver, and say [before shooting me]  بِسْمِ اللهِ رَبِّ هَذَا ْالغُلَام   (“In the name of Allah, the Lord of this boy”).

          “The king did what the said. He hit the boy in his temple with his arrow. He felt the wound with his fingers and died. The crowd cried, ‘We believe in the boy’s Lord’. The king’s adviser said to him: ‘I have warned you not to do what the boy had suggested.  Now it has happened. You see, all people have become believers.’

          “So the king blocked the road with a huge pit, put fire in it, and said: ‘Whoever abandons his faith will be spared. But nobody listened to him.  They had solid faith. They pushed each other into the burning pit. A woman with a baby in her arms looked hesitant to jump.  Her baby suddenly talked to her: ‘Be patient, mom, you are on the right way.’” (A similar version was also reported by Muslim and al-Nasā’ī).

          This is one of many examples of solid faith. This reminds us of Bilāl, ‘Ammār b. Yāsir, and the magicians of the Pharaoh who defied threat and punishment.

          Allah said in the Qur’ān:

وَالسَّمَاءِ ذَاتِ الْبُرُوجِ. وَالْيَوْمِ الْمَوْعُودِ. وَشَاهِدٍ وَمَشْهُودٍ.

قُتِلَ أَصْحَابُ الْأُخْدُودِ. النَّارِ ذَاتِ الْوَقُودِ. إِذْ هُمْ عَلَيْهَا قُعُودٌ. وَهُمْ عَلَى مَا

يَفْعَلُونَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ شُهُودٌ. وَمَا نَقَمُوا مِنْهُمْ إِلَّا أَنْ يُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ. الَّذِي

لَهُ مُلْكُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ فَتَنُوا الْمُؤْمِنِينَ

وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَتُوبُوا فَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابُ الْحَرِيقِ

(البروج : ‍‍‍١-٠‍‍١).

“By the sky, with its constellation; by the promised day (of

 judgement); by one that witnesses  and the subject of the witness,

 woe to the makers of the pit (of fire), the fire supplied (abundantly)

 with fuel; Behold! They sat over against the (fire)and they witnessed

 (all) that they were doing against the believers. And they ill-treated

 them for no other reason than that they believed in Allah exalted in

 power, worthy of all praise!  Him to Whom belongs the dominion

 of the heavens and the earth! And Allah is witness to all things.

 Those who persecute [i.e., burning alive] the believers, men

 and women, and do not turn in repentance, will have

chastisement of the burning fire.” (Q. 85:1-10) 

          Another interpretation is that the above verses referred to the following story: One of the kings of the Himyarite dynasty in Yemen was Dhū Nuwās (490-525 C.E.). After visiting Yathrib (now called Madinah) where many inhabitants were Jews, he converted to Judaism. Then he invaded Najran (now a small town in Saudi Arabia located near the border with Yemen), to crush the flourishing Christianity there. He made a trench filled with fire and threw the Christians into it. The Orientalist historian Sir William Muir said that there were no less than twenty thousand Christians perished.

          Then persecution of the Christians in Yemen (not only in Najran) made the prince of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), who was a Nestorian, to revenge. He sent an expedition in 525 C.E. ending with the death of Dhū Nuwās and the subjection of Yemen. However, in general sense, the above verses refer to any people who tortured and burned the believers alive, Allah will punish them in the same way, with fire, unless they repent.

10. THE POSITION OF FUQAHĀ’ (MUSLIM JURISTS)

          During my stay in this city (Edmonton) I notice that disagreements and discussions among our Muslim brother sometimes occurred which led to hot debates. Fortunately, the issues did not deal with the essence of Islam, namely, the faith. I wonder why we do not consult the fuqahā’ (Muslim jurists) in the Islamic world instead of leading a discussion which does not lead anywhere.

          It is normal to have different views. It is natural to be different. There is no harm in being different as long as we are tolerant and broad-minded.  The following h.adith will hopefully give us a lesson.

          After the campaign of al-Aḥzāb the Prophet on his way to Madinah Jibrīl (Gabriel) came to him and told him that Allah ordered him to march towards Banī Qurayz.ah. He asked Bilāl to announce it to people which he did and said: 

مَنْ كَانَ سَامِعًا فَلَا يُصَلِّيَنَّ الْعَصْرَ إِلَّا فِي بَنِي قُرَيْظَة (أَخْرَجَهُ الطَّبَرَانِيُّ وَالْبَيْهَقِيُّ)

"Whoever heard this (announcement) should not

  pray ‘As.r until he reaches Banī Qurayz.ah”

  (Reported by al-Ṭabrānī and al-Bayhaqī)

          Some companions, by using ijtihād and reasoning, prayed on the way before ‘As.r time was over and said that the Prophet merely wanted them to arrive early at Banī Qurayz.ah, not to delay the ‘As.r prayer. In other words, they did not stick to the text of the Prophet’s order, but followed what they thought the Prophet meant by his order. The other group stuck to the literal meaning of the Prophet’s order, namely, whatever happened they should not pray ‘As.r until they reached Banī Qurayz.ah. When the Prophet heard this discrepancy, what did they say to them? He did not blame any of the two groups. He did not say that one of the two groups was right and the other was wrong. Why? Both groups were obeying the Prophet according to their understanding.

          Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Jazā’irī told us the following story: Sufyān b. ‘Uyaynah said: “Abū H...anīfah and al-Awzā‘ī met each other at دَارُ الْحَنَّاطِيْن (the barn) at Mecca.  Al-Awzā‘ī asked Abū H...anīfah:  ‘Why don’t you raise your hands when you bow down and when you raise from bowing in your prayer?’ Abū H...anīfah answered: ‘Because there is no sound report stating that the Prophet did it.’ Al-Awzā‘ī asked: ‘How? Al-Zuhrī narrated to me from Sālim from his father (Ibn ‘Umar) from the Prophet  (p.b.u.h.) that he raised his hands when he started the prayer, when he bowed down and when he raised from bowing.’  Abū H...anīfah said: ‘H...ammād narrated to me from Ibrāhīm al-Nakhā‘ī from ‘Alqamah and al-Aswad that the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) did not raise his hands except in starting the prayer.’ Al-Awzā‘ī said: ‘I told you about the h.adīth narrated by al-Zuhrī from Sālim from his father, and you told me the h.adīth from H...ammād from Ibrāhīm.’ Abū H...anīfah said: ‘H...ammād knew more about fiqh (Islamic law) than al-Zuhrī; Ibrāhīm knew fiqh more than Sālim; al-‘Alqamah was not less knowledgeable in fiqh than Abdullah ibn ‘Umar; if ‘Abd Allāh had a merit of being a companion of the Prophet, al-Aswad had also many merits. ‘Abd Allāh is ‘Abd Allāh.’ So, al-Awzā‘ī kept silent.”

          Another story is found in Qād. ī ‘Iyād. ’s book al-Ghunyah related by ‘Abd Allāh b. ‘Umar who said: “We were with al-A‘mash when he asked Abū H...anīfah about his judgement on certain legal issues. When Abū H...anīfah gave him his legal judgments, al-A‘mash asked: ‘Where did you get these answers from?’ Abū H...anīfah said: ‘From the h.adīth narrated by Ibrāhīm you have told me, and from the h.adīth narrated by al-Sha‘bī you have also told me.’ Al-A‘mash then said: ‘O Muslim jurists, you are the physicians and we [the traditionists] are the druggists.

          These two stories indicate the prominence of the Muslim jurists over the traditionists. The h.adīths in solving legal issues are like medicines in curing diseases. The use of medicine without the physician’s prescription could be dangerous.  A h.adīth without a jurist could lead us astray.

          Knowing the different kinds of medicine does not make you a physician, and knowing many h.adīths does not make you a jurist. You could kill a patient if you are not a physician, and you could make h.alāl   (something permissible) h.arām (prohibited) and vice-versa. Let us have a moral lesson from the following German story:

          A medical student was having an oral-examination. His professor asked him the symptoms of a certain disease and the medicine to cure it. The student answered correctly. But when he was asked the amount of medicine he should give to the patient he said “one tea-spoon”. On his way out of the room he remembered that he was giving a wrong answer. He came back and said to the professor:  “Professor, the patient should be given three drops of the medicine instead of one-tea-spoon.” The professor said: ‘Es tut mir leid, der Patient ist schon gestorben” (I am sorry, the parent has passed away).  The student failed. Had he been a physician he could have killed his first patient.

          Many commercial advertisements of TV mislead people. For example, it was said that such-and-such medicine is stronger than the others. But this does not necessarily mean that it is better than the others, because it is stronger. On the contrary, it could be worse if your body cannot tolerate it.  Physicians know this trick. That is why we consult them. If you want to kill a mouse, for example, a small stone could be sufficient. You do not have to use a bomb or dynamite, which is much stronger than a piece of stone.

          In one tradition the Prophet said that having a bath on Friday is wājib (obligatory), but the jurists say it is recommended strongly as if it were obligatory. They interpret وَاجِب (obligatory) as كَالْوَاجِب (like obligatory), something necessary. So, if you have not taken your bath this week, it is time now to have it, because you will go to the mosque for the Friday prayer and mingle with people and we do not want people to be disturbed with your odour.

          According to the Arabic language, the expression wājib could mean “highly recommended”, while h.arām could mean “strongly disproved”. The late Sayyid Darwīsh in his song said:

زُوْرُوْنِيْ كُلَّ سَنةٍ مَرَّةً  *  حَرَامٌ تَنْسُوْنِي بِاْلمَرَّةِ

which means “visit me once each year, it is h.arām to forget me completely.”

          A traditionist (a h.adīth collector) is like a food supplier, and the faqīh (a jurist) is like a cook. He cooks the traditions supplied by the traditionist and makes his legal judgement out of them. He knows the tradition in which the Prophet prohibited people from drinking while standing, and in the meantime he knows also that it happened that the Prophet himself drank while he was standing.

          Dr. Muhammad ‘Abd al-Karīm al-Jazā’irī said that there are some h.adīths which are temporary and deal with a particular time, such as the h.adīth narrated by ‘Abd Allāh b. ‘Umar that the Prophet said:

  خَالِفُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ وَفِّرُوا اللِّحَى وَأَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ (رواه البخاري ومسلم)  

 “Do not imitate the idolaters, let your

beard grow and clip your moustaches.”

(Reported by Bukhari and Muslim)

          In his commentary on this h.adīth ‘Abd al-Wahhāb Khallāf (d. 1375/1955), the former  professor of Islamic Law at the Faculty of Law, Cairo University, in his article “Mas.ādir al-Tashrī‘ al-Islāmī Marinah” at Majallat al-Qānūn wa ’l-Iqtiṣād  (May, 1945), as follows: “The construction of the text itself indicates that this h.adīth is about temporal law when the dress of idolaters was respected, the intention of which is to be different from them, while people’s dress changes continually.” However, many Muslim scholars consider that growing beards and clipping moustaches remains obligatory or highly recommended for Muslim males till the Judgment day, and Muslims should tolerate this difference of opinion.                  

          Another temporal h.adīth is narrated by Ya‘lá b. Shaddād that the Prophet said:

  خَالِفُوا الْيَهُودَ فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يُصَلُّونَ فِي نِعَالِهِمْ وَلَا خِفَافِهِمْ (رواه الحاكم و البيهقي وأبو داءود ).

 “Do not imitate the Jews, they pray with

 their shoes and slippers off.”

(Reported by al-Ḥākim,

 al-Bayhaqī and Abū Dāwūd)

          This tradition indicates that Muslims are enjoined to pray with their footwear on if they are clean. The reason is clear, to be different from the Jews in their prayers, even though the Jews were following Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.) in taking off his shoes.  Allah says in the Qur’ān:

 إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى  (طه : ١٢).

“Verily I am your Lord!  Therefore put off thy shoes:

thou art in the sacred valley of Tuwa. (Q. 20:12)

          In another h.adīth Abū Sa‘īd al-Khud.arī said:

صَلَّى بِنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ فَلَمَّا كَانَ فِي بَعْضِ صَلَاتِهِ

 خَلَعَ  نَعْلَيْهِ فَوَضَعَهُمَا عَنْ يَسَارِهِ فَلَمَّا رَأَى النَّاسُ ذَلِكَ خَلَعُوا نِعَالَهُمْ فَلَمَّا قَضَى صَلَاتَهُ

 قَالَ مَا  بَالُكُمْ أَلْقَيْتُمْ  نِعَالَكُمْ  قَالُوا رَأَيْنَاكَ أَلْقَيْتَ نَعْلَيْكَ فَأَلْقَيْنَا نِعَالَنَا فَقَالَ رَسُولُ

اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ  وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّ جِبْرِيلَ أَتَانِي فَأَخْبَرَنِي أَنَّ فِيهِمَا قَذَرًا أَوْ قَالَ أَذًى

 فَأَلْقَيْتُهُمَا فَإِذَا  جَاءَ أَحَدُكُمْ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَلْيَنْظُرْ فِي نَعْلَيْهِ فَإِنْ رَأَى فِيهِمَا

قَذَرًا أَوْ قَالَ أَذًى فَلْيَمْسَحْهُمَا وَلْيُصَلِّ فِيهِمَا

(رواه أحمد وأبو داءود والبيهقي وابن حزيمة وابن حبان)

“While the Prophet was praying with us he took off

 his shoes and put them on his left side.  Seeing that, people

 also took off their shoes. After the prayer the Prophet asked:

 ‘Why did you take off your shoes?’  They said: ‘We saw you

 taking off you shoes.’ The Prophet said: ‘Gabriel came to me

 and told me that my shoes were dirty, so I took them off.

 Therefore, if any of you come to the mosque, he has

 to look at his shoes.  If they are dirty he should

 wipe them and pray with them on.’”

(Reported by Aḥmad, Abū Dāwūd, al-Bayhaqī,

 Ibn Ḥuzaymah and Ibn Ḥibān)

        The jurists did not stop here and stick to this h.adīth without further study and say that wearing shoes is obligatory in prayer, in order to be different from the Jews who prayed barefoot. The Prophet himself sometimes prayed barefoot and sometimes with his shoes on. He used to put them on his left side.  Narrated by Abū Hurayrah the Propet said:

  إِذَا صَلَّى أَحَدُكُمْ فَلَا يَضَعْ نَعْلَيْهِ عَنْ يَمِينِهِ وَلَا عَنْ يَسَارِهِ

 فَتَكُونَ عَنْ يَمِينِ غَيْرِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ عَنْ يَسَارِهِ أَحَدٌ وَلْيَضَعْهُمَا بَيْنَ رِجْلَيْهِ

(رواه أبو داءود والبيهقي والحاكم وابن حبان وابن حزيمة).

“If anyone of you prays he should put his shoes

neither on his right nor on his left; otherwise [if he puts

 them on his left]they will be on somebody else’s right,

 except  if nobody is on his left.Therefore,

 he should put them between his legs.”

(Reported by Abū Dāwūd,  al-Bayhaqī, al-Ḥākim,

Ibn Ḥibbān, and Ibn Ḥuzaymah)

  The above h.adīth is supported by the following h.adīth, narrated by Abū Hurayrah, that the Prophet said:

 إِذَا صَلَّى أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَلْبِسْ نَعْلَيْهِ ،

 أَوْ لِيَخْلَعَهُمَا بَيْنَ رِجْلَيْهِ، وَلَا يُؤْذِيْ بِهِمَا غَيْرَهُ  

(رواه الحاكم و إبن حبان و إبن حزيمة).

 “If any of you prays he should put his shoes on,

or take them off and put them between his

legs so that not to disturb others”

(Reported by al-Ḥākim, Ibn Ḥibbān, and Ibn Ḥuzaymah)

         These temporal h.adīths are for the Muslims’ benefit as individuals as well members of the community. When the reason for the ruling does not exist any longer the ruling also does not exist. This kind of traditions deal with mu‘āmalāt (behaviour towards others) and ethics only, and not with īmān (faith) and ‘ibādāt (worship). Therefore, the rulings of these temporal h.adīths do not always apply permanently. They have, according to Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah’s term, tashrī‘ ‘ām (general ruling).