Signs of the Last Day (Ashrāṭ al-Sāʿah)

The Reckoning (Ḥisāb)

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After the events mentioned in the previous article, all of mankind will go for the reckoning, standing before Allāh, being questioned about all that they did, learning what is for them and against them, being reminded of what they had forgotten:

فَوَرَبِّكَ لَنَسْأَلَنَّهُمْ أَجْمَعِيْنَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

By your Lord, We will question them all about their deeds.[1]

وَلاَ تَقْفُ مَا لَيْسَ لَكَ بِهِ عِلْمٌ إِنَّ السَّمْعَ وَالْبَصَرَ وَالْفُؤَادَ كُلُّ أُولـئِكَ كَانَ عَنْهُ مَسْؤُولاً

Do not follow blindly what you have no knowledge of: ears, eyes, and heart, you will be questioned about all these.[2]

Messenger and non-Messenger alike will be questioned.

فَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الَّذِينَ أُرْسِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَنَسْأَلَنَّ الْمُرْسَلِينَ

We shall certainly question those to whom the Messengers were sent, just as We shall certainly question the Messengers themselves.[3]

With the souls driven forward by the Angels,

وَجَاءتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ

Every soul will come together with a driver [urging it along] and a witness [to his deeds].[4]

They will be arrayed in rows, waiting their turn,

وَعُرِضُوا عَلَىٰ رَبِّكَ صَفًّا لَّقَدْ جِئْتُمُونَا كَمَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ ۚ بَلْ زَعَمْتُمْ أَلَّن نَّجْعَلَ لَكُم مَّوْعِدًا ﴿٤٨﴾ وَوُضِعَ الْكِتَابُ فَتَرَى الْمُجْرِمِينَ مُشْفِقِينَ مِمَّا فِيهِ وَيَقُولُونَ يَا وَيْلَتَنَا مَالِ هَـٰذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا ۚ وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرًا ۗ وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا

They will be lined up in rows before your Lord: ‘Now you have come to Us as We first created you, although you claimed We had not made any such appointment for you.’ The record of their deeds will be laid open and you will see the guilty dismayed at they contain saying, ‘Woe to us! What a record this is! It does not leave any deed, small or large, unaccounted for!’ They will find everything they ever did laid in front of them. Your Lord will not be unjust to anyone.[5]

يَوْمَئِذٍ تُعْرَضُونَ لَا تَخْفَى مِنكُمْ خَافِيَةٌ

On that Day you will be exposed and none of your secrets will remain hidden.[6]

Each person will be summoned by their name and the name of our fathers, so the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) advised us to ensure we had good names.[7]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “There will be none among you but that his Lord will talk to him, and there will be no interpreter between him and Allāh. He will look to his right and see nothing but his deeds which he has sent forward, and he will look to his left and see nothing but his deeds which he has sent forward, and will look in front of him and see nothing but the Fire facing him. So save yourself from the Fire even with half a date (given in charity).”[8] Amongst the things that Allāh will ask will be, “Did I not grant you wealth and children and lavish you with favours?” The servant will answer in the affirmative. “Did I not send a Messenger to you conveying (the truth)?” He will again accept. “Did I not give you hearing and sight?” “Yes,” he will reply.[9]

The first to be questioned will be the ummah of Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), even though they are the last of nations.[10]

This questioning is not one where Allāh is trying to ascertain if they did something or not, He already knows. This questioning merely allows them to acknowledge what they have done. The type of questioning where one tries to ascertain the accuracy of an event will not happen,[11]

فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَّا يُسْأَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ

On that Day neither mankind nor Jinn will be asked about their sins.[12]

Imām Aḥmad said that man, particularly the non-Muslim, will not be allowed to speak initially, he will not be allowed to present any excuses,

هَذَا يَوْمُ لَا يَنطِقُونَ وَلَا يُؤْذَنُ لَهُمْ فَيَعْتَذِرُونَ

On that Day, they will not speak, and they will be given no chance to offer any excuses.[13]

Then he will be granted permission to speak and beg to be returned to this life,

رَبَّنَا أَبْصَرْنَا وَسَمِعْنَا فَارْجِعْنَا نَعْمَلْ صَالِحًا إِنَّا مُوقِنُونَ

Our Lord, now that we have seen and heard, send us back and we shall do good. Now we are convinced![14]

And then people will start arguing with each other,

ثُمَّ إِنَّكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عِندَ رَبِّكُمْ تَخْتَصِمُونَ

Then, on the Day of Rising, you will dispute with one another in the presence of your Lord.[15]

And Allāh will then forbid them,[16]

قَالَ لَا تَخْتَصِمُوا لَدَيَّ وَقَدْ قَدَّمْتُ إِلَيْكُم بِالْوَعِيدِ

Do not argue in my presence. I have already sent you a warning.[17]

Man’s Limbs Speak

What is extraordinary is that their very bodies will testify and speak,

الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَى أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ

Today We will seal up their mouths, but their hands speak to Us, and their feet bear witness to what they have done.[18]

حَتَّى إِذَا مَا جَاؤُوهَا شَهِدَ عَلَيْهِمْ سَمْعُهُمْ وَأَبْصَارُهُمْ وَجُلُودُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

وَقَالُوا لِجُلُودِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدتُّمْ عَلَيْنَا قَالُوا أَنطَقَنَا اللَّهُ الَّذِي أَنطَقَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ وَهُوَ خَلَقَكُمْ أَوَّلَ مَرَّةٍ وَإِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ

When they reach it, their ears, eyes and skins will testify for what they did. They will ask their skins, ‘Why did you testify against us?’ and their skins will reply, ‘Allāh, who gave everything speech, has given us speech. It was He who created you the first time and to Him have you returned.’[19]

The first limb to speak up will be the left thigh of a person,[20] and the earth itself will speak and bear witness about what was done on it,[21] as will rocks and trees.[22]

Allāh will meet a servant and ask, “Did I not honour you, make you the chief, provide you a spouse and put horses and camels at your command?  Did I not afford you an opportunity to rule over your subjects and tax their wealth? He will reply, ‘Yes.’ He will be asked, “Did you not think that you would meet Us?” He will reply, ‘No.’ Then Allāh will proclaim, “Well, I forget you as you forgot Us.” Then a second person would come forward. Allāh will ask him, “Did I not honour you, make you the chief, provide you a spouse and put horses and camels at your command?  Did I not afford you an opportunity to rule over your subjects and tax their wealth? He will reply, ‘Yes.’ He will be asked, “Did you not think that you would meet Us?” He will reply, ‘No.’ Then Allāh will proclaim, “Well, I forget you as you forgot Us.” A third person will come forward, and Allāh will ask him the same question. But this time the man will make a false claim saying, ‘My Lord, I believed in You, your Book, your Messenger and I observed the prayer, the fasts and gave charity,’ and he will keep on mentioning other good things. He will be told, “We will now bring our witness against you.” The man will be left wondering who that witness could be. Then his mouth will be sealed up and his thighs, his flesh and his bones will be told to speak. They will speak of his deeds and the person will be left no more opportunity to make excuses for himself. This will be the hypocrite and those Allāh is angry with.[23]

One time, while the Companions were sitting with Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), he laughed and then told them why he had laughed, “There came to my mind the conversation which the servant would have with his Lord (on the Day of Rising). He would say, ‘My Lord, have you not guaranteed me protection against injustice?’ He will reply, ‘Yes.’ Then the servant would say, ‘I do not deem any witness valid against me but my own self.’ He will say, ‘Your own self is sufficient witness against you this Day, and the two recordings angels as witnesses.’ His mouth will be sealed up and his hands and feet will be told to speak and they will speak of his deeds. Then the mouth would be allowed to talk, and the servant will cry out, ‘Away with you, may you perish! It was to save you that I made my contention!’”[24]

The reckoning will be swift. Allāh says,

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ

Allāh is swift in reckoning.[25]

A number of the Salaf said that the reckoning would take the time it takes to milk a sheep or as fast as the blink of an eye. A ḥadīth mentions, “Half a day will not have passed before the people of Paradise take their places in Paradise and the people of Hell take their places there.”[26]

Who will Allāh not speak to?

Some scholars state that Allāh will not speak to the disbelievers directly, rather He will have the Angels do so on His behalf since it is not befitting that He address them.[27] Others said that there are different events happening on the Last Day, at some the disbelievers will be spoken to, and at others they will not.[28] It is these latter occasions that are referenced in verses such as,

وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّـهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

Allāh will not speak to them on the Day of Rising.[29]

وَلَا يُسْأَلُ عَن ذُنُوبِهِمُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ

The sinful will not be asked about their sins.[30]

The former are referred in the āyāt such as,

وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّبِعُوا سَبِيلَنَا وَلْنَحْمِلْ خَطَايَاكُمْ وَمَا هُم بِحَامِلِينَ مِنْ خَطَايَاهُم مِّن شَيْءٍ ۖ إِنَّهُمْ لَكَاذِبُونَ ﴿١٢﴾ وَلَيَحْمِلُنَّ أَثْقَالَهُمْ وَأَثْقَالًا مَّعَ أَثْقَالِهِمْ ۖ وَلَيُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَفْتَرُونَ

Those who disbelieve will say to the believers, ‘Follow our path and we shall bear the consequences of your sins,’ yet they will not do so – they are liars. They will bear their own burdens and others besides: they will be questioned about their false assertions on the Day of Rising.[31]

This understanding is proven by the following āyah:

أَلَمْ تَكُنْ آيَاتِي تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُم بِهَا تُكَذِّبُونَ ﴿١٠٥﴾ قَالُوا رَبَّنَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْنَا شِقْوَتُنَا وَكُنَّا قَوْمًا ضَالِّينَ ﴿١٠٦﴾ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْهَا فَإِنْ عُدْنَا فَإِنَّا ظَالِمُونَ ﴿١٠٧﴾ قَالَ اخْسَئُوا فِيهَا وَلَا تُكَلِّمُونِ

‘Were My messages not recited over and over to you and you still rejected them?’ They will say, ‘Lord, our waywardness overcame us and we went astray. Lord, take us away from this and if we go back to our old ways, then we really shall be evildoers.’ He will say, ‘Away with you! In you go! Do not speak to me!’[32]

Moreover, as Ibn ʿAbbās said, they will not be asked in a way that gives them comfort, they will be questioned by way of rebuke and censure.[33]

There are, however, amongst the Muslims some categories of people that Allāh will not speak to on occasion, or even look at on the Last Day:

1) A man who possessed superfluous water that existed on a pathway and he withholds it from the travelers

2) A man who gives a pledge of allegiance to an Imām (ruler) and gives it only for worldly benefits, if the Imām gives him what he wants, he abides by his pledge, otherwise he does not fulfill his pledge

3) A man who sells something to another man after the ʿAṣr prayer and swears by Allāh (a false oath) that he has been offered so much for it whereupon the buyer believes him and buys it although in fact, the seller has not been offered such a price.[34]

4) A person who wears his garments below the ankles.

5) A person who reminds others of his favours to them.

6) A person who sells his goods by swearing a false oath.[35]

7) An aged person guilty of adultery.

8) A king who lies.

9) A poor beggar who is arrogant.[36]

10) A person who is placed in charge of people but ignores the needy and poor.[37]

Things that will be asked about first

The prayer.

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The first thing the servant will be judged for on the Day of Rising is the prayer.”[38]

Life, wealth, knowledge and body.

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The feet of a servant will not move on the Last Day until He is asked about four things: his life, how he spent it; his knowledge, how he acted by it; his wealth, how he earned it and spent it; his body, how he used it.”[39]

Matters related to blood. The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “The first thing that will be adjudged between people is matters related to blood.”[40]

Allāh says,

ثُمَّ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ

On that Day you will be asked about your pleasures.[41]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “On the Day of Rising the first thing a person will be asked will be, ‘Did I not grant you a healthy body? Did I not give you cool water to drink?’ By the One in whose hand is my soul, you will be asked about every pleasure, even cool shade, delicious moist dates and cool water.”[42]

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh, Most High, will question His servant on the Day of Rising and will ask him, ‘What stopped you from rejecting evil when you saw it?’”[43]

The disbeliever will be asked, “If you were given the earth filled with gold to ransom yourself, would you do so?” He will reply, ‘Yes!’ He will be told, “Yet I asked you for something much less than this!”[44]

Who will be the first to be judged?

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“The first man (whose case) will be decided on the Day of Judgement, will be a man who died as a martyr. He shall be brought forth and Allāh will recount His blessings (which He had bestowed upon him) and he will acknowledge them. Then Allāh will ask, ‘What did you do with them?’ He will reply, ‘I fought for Your sake until I died as a martyr.’ Allāh will say, ‘You lie. You fought so that you might be called a brave warrior and you were called so.’ Then a command will be given and he will be dragged on his face and cast into Hell.

Thereafter, a man who acquired knowledge and taught it and recited the Qurʾān will be brought forth and Allāh will recount His blessings (which He had bestowed upon him) and he will acknowledge them. Then Allāh will ask, ‘What did you do with them?’ He will say, ‘I acquired knowledge and disseminated it and recited the Qurʾān for your sake.’ Allāh will say, ‘You lie. You acquired knowledge so that you might be called a scholar, and you recited the Qurʾān so that it might be said, ‘He is a Qāriʾ,’ and it was said’. Then a command will be given and he will be dragged on his face and cast into Hell.

After him, a man whom Allāh had made abundantly rich and had granted every kind of wealth will be brought forth and Allāh will recount His blessings (which He had bestowed upon him) and he will acknowledge them. Then Allāh will ask, ‘What did you do with them?’ He will say, ‘I spent money in every cause in which You wished that it should be spent for Your sake.’ Allāh will say, ‘You lie. You did so that it might be said, ‘He is generous,’ and it was said.’ Then a command will be given and he will be dragged on his face and cast into Hell.”[45]

When Muʿāwiyah heard this ḥadīth he cried and said, ‘He spoke true,’ and recited,

مَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا وَزِينَتَهَا نُوَفِّ إِلَيْهِمْ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فِيهَا وَهُمْ فِيهَا لاَ يُبْخَسُونَ

أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَيْسَ لَهُمْ فِي الآخِرَةِ إِلاَّ النَّارُ وَحَبِطَ مَا صَنَعُواْ فِيهَا وَبَاطِلٌ مَّا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ

If any desire the life of this world with all its finery, We shall repay them in full in this life for their deeds, they will not be given any less. But such people will have nothing in the Hereafter but the fire, their work will be fruitless and their deeds futile.[46]

Two types of Ḥisāb

There is a reckoning which is more akin to a presentation, reserved for the righteous believers, where the deeds are just recounted and shown. Then there is a reckoning which is more akin to an interrogation, reserved for the disbelievers and sinful Muslims.[47] Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Whoever is interrogated while being reckoned will be punished.” ʿĀʾishah  (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanha) asked, ‘But Allāh says:

فَأَمَّا مَنْ أُوتِيَ كِتَابَهُ بِيَمِينِهِ فَسَوْفَ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا وَيَنقَلِبُ إِلَى أَهْلِهِ مَسْرُورًا

Whoever is given his Record in his right hand will have an easy reckoning, and return to his Lord, well pleased.[48]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) replied, “That refers to a presentation (of a persons’ deeds). Anyone who is interrogated on the Day of Rising will be destroyed.”[49] It is for this reason that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would supplicate, “Allāh, give us an easy reckoning.”[50]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) gave an example of a presentation when he said, “I know the last of the inhabitants of Paradise to enter it, the last of the inhabitants of Hell to come out of it. He is a man who would be brought on the Day of Rising and it will be said to him, ‘Present his minor sins to him, and withhold from him his major sins.’ The minor sins would be placed before him, and it would be said, ‘On such-and-such a day you did so-and-so and on such-and-such a day you did so-and-so.’ He would say, ‘Yes.’ It will not be possible for him to deny these as he is terrified lest his major sins shown to him. He will be told, ‘In place of every evil deed you will have good deed!’ He will then say, ‘My Lord! I have done things I do not see here!’” Then Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) laughed until his front teeth were exposed.[51] He then recited,

إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ

Except those who repent, believe and do good deeds, Allāh will change the evil deeds of such people into good ones.[52]

Another time he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh will bring a believer near Him and shelter him with His Screen and ask him, ‘Did you commit such-and-such sins?’ He will say, ‘Yes, my Lord.’ Allāh will keep on asking him until he will confess all his sins and will think that he is ruined. Allāh will say, ‘I did screen your sins in the world and I forgive them for you today,’ and then he will be given the Record of his good deeds.”[53]

There will also be a third group of believers who will enter Paradise without any reckoning. These will be discussed in the next article. There will also be disbelievers who will enter Hellfire without any reckoning.[54]

Justice for animals

Before man is judged, animals will be judged, showing Allāh’s perfect justice. After the recompense, they will all be turned to dust, and when the disbeliever sees this, he will cry,[55]

وَيَقُولُ الْكَافِرُ يَا لَيْتَنِي كُنتُ تُرَابًا

Woe to me, if only I were dust.[56]

Allāh’s justice will be so perfect that the horned ram will be judged for the harm it did to the hornless ram.[57]

People will also be judged for how they treated animals in this life. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Fear Allāh with regards to these animals that cannot speak.”[58]

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) once saw a donkey that had been branded on its face and said, “May Allāh curse the one who branded it.”[59] He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) also told us of a woman who would enter the Fire for not feeding a cat and keeping it caged up.[60] A prostitute was forgiven when she saw a dog lolling its tongue on a hot day due to extreme thirst, and drew some water for it from a well in her shoe.[61]

“If someone kills even a sparrow for sport, it will cry out on the Day of Rising, ‘My Lord! This person killed me in vain, for no purpose!’”[62]

Once, while on a journey, one of his companions stole two chicks from a birds nest. They then saw the mother circling the nest, beating its wings in grief. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Who has hurt the feelings of this bird, return her children to her.”[63]

He was once asked if people would be rewarded for how they treated their animals and he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) replied, “There is a reward for treating every living being (well).”[64]

After the reckoning, man will move onto a second stage of judging where his deeds will be weighed—the subject of the next article in the series, God willing.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] al-Ḥijr 15:92-93

[2] al-Isrāʾ 17:36

[3] al-Aʿrāf 7:6

[4] Qāf 50:21

[5] al-Kahf 18:48-49

[6] al-Ḥāqqah 69:17

[7] Abū Dāwūd #4948

[8] Bukhārī #6174, Muslim #1016

[9] Bukhārī #3400, Tirmidhī #2954

[10] Ibn Mājah #4290

[11] Saffārīnī 1:676

[12] al-Raḥmān 55:39

[13] al-Mursalat 77:35-36

[14] al-Sajda 32:12

[15] al-Zumar 39:31

[16] Saffārīnī 1:677

[17] Qāf 50:28

[18] Yā Sīn 36:65

[19] Fuṣṣilat 41:21

[20] Ahmad #17412

[21] Ahmad #8854

[22] Ibn Mājah #723

[23] Muslim #2968

[24] Muslim #2969

[25] Āli ʿImrān 3:199

[26] Hākim 2:436 #3516

[27] Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah 1:562-563

[28] Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah 1:676

[29] al-Baqarah 2:174

[30] al-Qaṣaṣ 28:78

[31] al-Ankabūt 29:12-13

[32] al-Muʾminūn 23:105-108

[33] Baghawī 4:272

[34] Bukhārī #2358-7212, Muslim #108

[35] Muslim #

[36] Muslim #107

[37] Aḥmad #22129

[38] Bukhārī #6533-6864, Muslim #1678, Tirmidhī #1397, Nasāʾī #3998-3999, ibn Mājah #2615 on the authority of ibn Masʿūd.

[39] Tirmidhī #2417

[40] Bukhārī #6533-6864, Muslim #1678, Tirmidhī #1397, Nasāʾī #3998-3999, ibn Mājah #2615 on the authority of ibn Masʿūd.

[41] al-Takāthur 102:8

[42] Ibn Ḥibbān #7364, Tirmidhī #2358

[43] Ibn Mājah #4017

[44] Bukhārī #6173, Muslim #2805

[45] Muslim #1905

[46] Hūd 11:15-16

[47] Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah 1:676

[48] al-Inshiqāq 84:7-9

[49] Bukhārī #103-4939-6536, Muslim #2876

[50] Aḥmad #24261

[51] Muslim #190

[52] al-Furqān 25:70

[53] Bukhārī #2441, Muslim #2768

[54] Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah 1:676

[55] Saffārīnī 1:681

[56] al-Nabaʾ 78:40

[57] Muslim #2852

[58] Abū Dāwūd #2548

[59] Muslim #1047

[60] Bukhārī #3482, Muslim #2619

[61] Bukhārī #3143, Muslim #2245

[62] Nasāʾī #4446

[63] Abū Dāwūd #5268

[64] Abū Dāwūd #2550

The post The Reckoning appeared first on Islam21c.

Signs of the Last Day (Ashrāṭ al-Sāʿah)

When Your Deeds Are Weighed

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

The Mīzān (The Scale)

After the reckoning, man will move onto a second stage of judging in which his deeds will be weighed. The first stage dealt with establishing all a person has done, the second stage deals with weighing those deeds and the establishing the consequences thereof.[1] This weighing will only be for Muslims according to the stronger view. The deeds of the disbelievers have no worth in the Hereafter, and hold no weight whatsoever;[2] they will have been rewarded for any good they did in this world.[3]

The Scale will be erected, it has two plates and a tongue as stated by Ibn ʿAbbās.[4] It will be large enough to easily accommodate the heavens and the earth in their entirety. When the Angels first saw it, they asked, ‘Who will be weighed in this?’ Allāh replied, “Whoever of My creation that I want.” Then the Angels said, ‘Glory be to You! We have not worshiped You as You truly deserve!’[5]

The belief of Ahlul-Sunnah is that this is a physical Scale and not a metaphor for justice as claimed by some. Allāh mentions the Scales in many places such as,

فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ

“Those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful. Those whose scales are light, they are the losers of their selves, remaining in Hell timelessly, forever.”[6]

وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ

We will set up the Just Scale on the Day of Rising and no self will be wronged in any way. Even if it is no more than the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, We will produce it. We are sufficient as a Reckoner.[7]

These āyāt mention al-mawāzīn which is the plural of the word Scale and has led some scholars to posit that there will be multiple Scales on the Last Day, perhaps even one per person.[8] Others said that there is, in fact, only one Scale, and the plural is used to reflect the different things that will be weighed on them.[9]

What will be weighed?

The texts show that:[10]

1) Man’s deeds will be weighed

For example, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “There are two statements that are light upon the tongue, heavy in the Scales and are beloved to the Lord of Mercy: SubḥānAllāhi wa biḥamdihī, SubḥānAllāhi’l-ʿAẓīm.”[11]

2) The scrolls on which the deeds are written will be weighed as in the ḥadīth of the man with 99 scrolls.

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh will distinguish a man from my Ummah before all of creation on the Day of Judgement. Ninety-nine scrolls will be laid out for him, each scroll is as far as the eye can see, then He will ask, ‘Do you deny any of this? Have those who recorded this wronged you?’ He will reply, ‘My Lord, no!’ Allāh will ask, ‘Do you have any excuse to present?’ He will reply, ‘My Lord, no!’ Allāh will then say, ‘You do have a good deed with Us; you shall not be wronged today.” Then He will bring out a card on which is written, ‘Ash-hadu an lā ilāha illAllāh wa ash-hadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluhu.’ Allāh will say, ‘Bring your Scales.’ The man will ask, ‘My Lord! What good is this card next to these scrolls?’ He will reply, ‘You shall not be wronged.’ The scrolls will be put on one plate of the scale and the card on the other; the scrolls will be light and the card will outweigh them because nothing is heavier than the name of Allāh.”[12]

3) The person himself will be weighed.

Once some people laughed at Ibn Masʿūd for having thin legs. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) remarked, “Are you laughing at Ibn Masʿūd’s legs? On Allāh’s Scales they are heavier than the mountain of Uḥud.”[13]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“A fat man will be brought forward on the Day of Rising, yet with Allāh he will not even weigh as much as a gnat. Recite if you wish

أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا

It is those who disbelieve in their Lords signs, and deny that they will meet with Him, their deeds come to nothing: on the Day of Rising We shall give them no weight.[14]”[15]

On this Scale, the good deeds will be multiplied,

مَن جَاء بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا وَمَن جَاء بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلاَ يُجْزَى إِلاَّ مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ

Whoever has done good will have it ten times to his credit, but whoever does a bad deed will be repaid only with its equivalent – they will not be wronged.[16]

مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي كُلِّ سُنبُلَةٍ مِّئَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَاللّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَن يَشَاء وَاللّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Those who spend their wealth in Allāh’s path are like grains of corn that produce seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains. Allāh gives multiple increase to whoever He wishes.[17]

إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

Those who are patient will be given a reward without measure.[18]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “Allāh records good and bad deeds in this way: If anyone intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, Allāh still records it with Him as one full good deed. If he intends a good deed and then carries it out, Allāh records it with Him as ten to seven hundred times in reward or even increases it many times more. If anyone intends to do a bad deed but does not actually do it, Allāh records it with Him as one full good deed. If he intends to do a bad deed and does it, Allāh records it with Him as only one bad deed.”[19]

After the weighing of deeds, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “A neck will stretch forth from Hell; it will have two eyes to see with, two ears to hear, and a tongue to speak. And it will speak, saying, ‘I have been appointed for three types of people: every arrogant tyrant, every person who called on some deity other than Allāh and those who made pictures.’[20]

The non-Muslims will have fallen to ground in terror for when Hell sees them from afar, they will hear it roaring and raging,

إِذَا رَأَتْهُم مِّن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ سَمِعُوا لَهَا تَغَيُّظًا وَزَفِيرًا

When it sees them from a distance, they will hear it raging and roaring.[21]

And they will be driven to Hell on their knees and hurled in,

وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَى رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَقْضِيًّا(71)ثُمَّ نُنَجِّي الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَنَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيًّا

There is not one of you who will not come to it. That is the final decision of your Lord. Then We will rescue those who had taqwa and We will leave the wrongdoers in it on their knees.[22]

وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ قَالُوا بَلَى قَدْ جَاءنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ

وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِّأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ

Those who disbelieve in their Lord We have prepared the torment of the blazing Fire, what an evil destination. When they are thrown into it, they will hear it drawing in its breath, while it is blazing forth. Almost bursting with rage. Each time a group is thrown in, its keepers will ask, ‘Did no one come to warn you?’ They will say, ‘Yes, a warner did come to us but we did not believe him.’ We said, ‘Allāh has revealed nothing; you are greatly misguided.’ They will say, ‘If only we had listened, or reasoned, we not be with the inhabitants of the fire.’ They will confess their sins, so away with the inhabitants of the Blazing Fire![23]

The People of the Aʿrāf

There will be a group of people whose good deeds balance out their bad deeds and they will be the last people to have their cases decided. They will wait at a place between Paradise and Hell, turning one way and seeing Hell, seeking refuge with Allāh against it, and then turning the other way and seeing Paradise, asking Allāh for it.

وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلاًّ بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْاْ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ

… On the Heights are people who will recognise each group by their marks: they will call out to the People of the Garden: peace be with you, they will not have entered it, but they will be hoping.[24]

Allāh will finally decide their case and as Hudhayfah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, ‘Allāh will say to them: go and enter Paradise, I have forgiven them.’[25]

The Ṣirāṭ

The Ṣirāt or the Bridge spans the entire back of Hell. It is the last hurdle the believers will face on the Last Day and at its far end will be Paradise. Every Muslim will cross it save those exempted

﴿وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَى رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَقْضِيًّا(71)ثُمَّ نُنَجِّي الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَنَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيًّا﴾

There is not one of you who will not come to it. That is the final decision of your Lord. Then We will rescue those who had taqwa and We will leave the wrongdoers in it on their knees.[26]

This was an āyah that terrified the Salaf, they would say that ‘we know for certainty that we will cross it because Allāh says so, but what we don’t know is if we will reach the other end.’[27] ʿAbdullāh b. Rawāḥa would cry when he recited this verse.[28]

All of mankind will be in a state of abject terror upon reaching the Bridge,[29] fearing that they will fall into Hell as they cross.

When the Ṣirāṭ is laid across the Fire, the Angels will ask Allāh who is to cross it and He will reply, “For whoever I want of My servants.” Realising what is required to successfully traverse it, they exclaim, “Glory be to You! We have not worshipped You as You truly deserve!”[30]

The Ṣirāṭ is thinner than a hair, sharper than a sword,[31] and extremely slippery.[32] It has hooks and clamps on either side like a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends, resembling the thorns of a bush called Saʿdān in Najd,[33] their true size known only to Allāh.[34] They will be made of fire[35] and will snatch those they are commanded to and sweep them away into the Fire.[36]

It will be pitch black. The Hellfire will be so hot as to be black, the smoke it gives off will be black. People will have light in proportion the strength of their īmān and their deeds, and it is in that light that they will cross.[37] Some people will have light blazing like the sun, and others not so much. The prayer (ṣalāh) is a light and it will provide light for the person who prayed,[38] and those who went to the masjid for jamaʿah in the darkness will have perfect light.[39]

Allāh, Most High, says,

يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَى بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

On a Day when Allāh will not degrade the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands, and they will say, ‘Our Lord! Complete our light for us and forgive us. Surely, You have power over all things.’[40]

يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَىٰ نُورُهُم بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِم بُشْرَاكُمُ الْيَوْمَ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

On the Day when you see the believers, both men and women, with their light streaming out ahead of them and to their right, [they will be told], ‘The good news for you today is that there are Gardens graced with flowing streams where you will stay: that is the supreme triumph!’[41]

Up to this point, the Hypocrites (Munāfiqūn) will have been given light by Allāh but now it will be taken away.[42] They will beg the believers for light,

يَوْمَ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا انظُرُونَا نَقْتَبِسْ مِن نُّورِكُمْ قِيلَ ارْجِعُوا وَرَاءَكُمْ فَالْتَمِسُوا نُورًا فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُم بِسُورٍ لَّهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِن قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ

On the Day, the hypocrites, both men and women, will say to the believers, ‘Wait for us! Let us have some of your light!’ They will be told, ‘Go back and look for light.’ A wall with a door will be erected between them: inside it lies mercy, outside lies torment.[43]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) will be standing here supplicating, “My Lord! Safety, safety!!” as will the other Messengers.[44] On either side will be the Angels supplicating, “Allāh! Safety, safety!”[45] The mark (shiʿār) of the believers at that time will be, “My Lord! Safety, safety!”[46] and “There is none worthy of worship save you!”[47] All of them realising the dire situation ahead of them, all realising that if Allāh did not save them, they would fall into Hell.

However, before they cross it, the ties of kinship (raḥim) and trust (amānah) will take their place on either side on the Bridge demanding justice.[48] Justice will be meted out with the person’s good deeds being the only commodity acceptable on that day to requite any injustice done in this regard.

Before stepping on that Bridge, the oppressor and the tyrant will meet all those he or she oppressed. He will recognise the person and be reminded of his oppression, and they will have mutual recompense again in terms of deeds at a time when the oppressor needs them the most. If all his good deeds are exhausted before justice is met, the bad deeds of the oppressed will be piled onto is, and it could be that they end up being thrown into the lowest depths of the Fire.[49] Refuge is sought with Allāh.

The first to cross it will be the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)  and then his ummah.[50] People will cross it (at speeds) proportional to their deeds: some will cross it in the blink of an eye, some will cross it like a flash of lightening, some will cross it like the wind, some will cross it like a race horse, some will cross it like a camel rider, some will cross it running, some walking, and some crawling. Some will get to other side without being harmed, and some will be scratched.[51] The last to cross it will be a man slithering on his stomach, dragging himself across, with his deeds having put him in that state.[52] And some will be seized and swept away into Hell, cut in pieces,[53] piling into the Fire like moths pile into a fire.[54]

The believers who get to the other side successfully will soon realise that some of their brothers and sisters in Islām did not make it and had fallen into the Fire. They will supplicate to Allāh and beg Him to save them,[55] presenting their case as forcefully as possible.[56] They will say, ‘Our Lord! There are some of Your servants )or: our brothers) who fasted with us, prayed with us, performed the Ḥajj with us,[57] and they fought alongside us, but we don’t see them!’[58] They will be told, ‘Take out of the Fire those you recognise,’ for Allāh will have prohibited the Fire from consuming their faces.[59] They will see people who are ankle deep, or knee deep, or half the shin, or waist deep, or chest deep or neck deep[60] in the Fire and take out a large proportion of them.[61] These will be thrown into the Water of Life where they will be washed and grow back like plants grow.[62]

The Prophets, the Angels and the Martyrs will be allowed to intercede as will the believers.[63] Some will intercede for large groups of people in one go, some for whole tribes, some for smaller groups of people and some for just one person.[64] They will then be asked to take out of the Fire a person who has half a dīnār weight of īmān and even an atom’s weight.[65]

The Qanṭara

Whoever crosses the Bridge will enter Paradise. However, after the believers cross the Bridge, they will stop at an arched bridge between Paradise and the Fire; there they will settle any lingering grievances. Then, when they are cleaned and cleansed, they will be permitted to enter Paradise.[66]

Maqātil then recited the verse,

سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ

Peace be with You! You have been good and pure, enter it to live there forever.[67]

This will just be a discussion amongst the believers to remove any lingering feelings, there will not be a judgment or mutual recompense based on deeds.[68]

The Seventy Thousand

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“The nations were presented to me. I saw a Prophet, and with him was a small party of people. (I saw a Prophet), and with him were one or two people. (I saw a Prophet), and there was no one with him at all. Then a great throng of people were raised before me and I thought that they were my nation, but I was told, “This is Mūsā and his people. However, look to the horizon.” I looked and I saw a huge throng of people and I was told, “This is your nation, amongst them are seventy thousand who shall enter Paradise without account or punishment.”’ He then rose and entered his house.” The people began to surmise who they could be: some thought that they were those who accompanied the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), some thought that they were those who were born in Islām and had never associated partners with Allāh, and they mentioned other possibilities. Then the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) came out and they informed him (of their discussion). He said, “They are those who do not ask for ruqyā,[69] they do not practice cauterisation, they do not seek omens, and they put their absolute reliance in their Lord.” ʿUkkāshah b. Miḥṣan stood and said, “Messenger of Allāh, invoke Allāh to make me one of them!” He said, “You are one of them.” Then another man stood and said, “Invoke Allāh to make me one of them.” He said, “ʿUkkāshah has preceded you.”’[70]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked for increase, and Allāh answered, granting him seventy thousand for every thousand, and then ‘three additional handfuls of your Lord,’ the extent of which none knows save Allāh.[71]

Describing them, the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) told us that their faces will be bright, shining with light like the moon when it is full.[72] These people will avoid the trials of the Last Day, will not be judged and will not have to cross the Bridge.[73]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Qurṭubī 1:715

[2] Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Majmūʿ 3:146, Saffārīnī 1:716

[3] Muslim #2808

[4] Bayhaqī, Shuʿab 1:263

[5] Ḥākim #8739, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #941

[6] al-Muʾminūn 23:102-103

[7] al-Anbiyāʾ 21:47

[8] Such as al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī who said that every person will have his own set of Scales. cf. Saffārīnī 1:717

[9] Qurṭubī 1:734-736

[10] Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz, Sharḥ al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah 2:613, Ibn Kathīr 2:203

[11] Bukhārī, Muslim

[12] Tirmidhī #2639

[13] Ahmad

[14] al-Kahf 18:105

[15] Bukhārī

[16] al-Anʿām 6:160

[17] al-Baqarah 2:261

[18] al-Zumar (39): 10

[19] Bukhārī

[20] Aḥmad #3430, cf. Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah 1:675

[21] al-Furqān 25:12

[22] Maryam 19:71-72

[23] al-Mulk 67:6-11

[24] al-Aʿrāf (7): 46

[25]

[26] Maryām 19:71-72

[27] Qurṭubī 1:764

[28] Qurṭubī 1:764

[29] Abū Dāwūd #4755

[30] Ḥākim #8739

[31] Ṭabarānī #9763

[32] Bukhārī #7001, Muslim #183

[33] Bukhārī #7439, Muslim #183

[34] Bukhārī #773, Muslim #182

[35] Ṭabarānī #8992

[36] Muslim #195

[37] Ṭabarānī #9763

[38] Muslim

[39] Abū Dāwūd #561

[40] al-Taḥrīm 66:8

[41] al-Ḥadīd 57:12

[42] Ṭabarānī 11:122 #11242

[43] al-Ḥadīd 57:13

[44] Bukhārī #7437, Muslim #195

[45] Muslim #195, Aḥmad #11202-12848

[46] Tirmidhī #2432, cf. Tirmidhī #2557, Muslim #183

The narration of Bukhārī #7437 and Muslim #182 state that none will speak on this occasion except the Messengers and they will make the supplication. The narration of Tirmidhī indicates that others will speak as well; however, ibn Ḥajr argues that the only the Messengers will be making the duʿā and the ḥadīth of Tirmidhī refers to the Messengers as they too are believers. Cf. Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 15:145

[47] Ṭabarānī 13:69 #168

[48] Muslim #195, Ḥākim #7849

[49] Ṭabarānī, Awsaṭ #5967

[50] Bukhārī #773-7437

[51] Bukhari #7439, Muslim #183

[52] Bukhārī #7439, Hannād, al-Zuhd #322, Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #406

[53] Bukhari #7439, Muslim #183

[54] Aḥmad #20440-20457

[55] Nasāʾī #5010, Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[56] Bukhārī #806, Muslim #183, Ibn Mājah #60

[57] Bukhārī #7439, Muslim #183, Aḥmad #11081

[58] Nasāʾī #5010, Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[59] Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[60] Aḥmad #11081

[61] Aḥmad #11081

[62] Aḥmad #11081

[63] Aḥmad #20440-20457

[64] Tirmidhī #2440

[65] Nasāʾī #5010

[66] Bukhārī #6535

[67] al-Zumar 39: 73, cf. Baghawī 4:89

[68] Qurṭubī 1:767, Saffārīnī 1:730

[69] ar: lā yastarqūn

[70] Bukhārī #3410-5705-5752-6472-6541 and Muslim #220. The wording quoted above is that of Muslim except that the wording of Muslim has Ḥuṣayn saying, “I asked (someone) to perform ruqyā on me.”

[71] Aḥmad #1702, Tirmidhī #2437

[72] Muslim #216

[73] Qurṭubī 1:767, Saffārīnī 1:730

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The post The Inner Secrets of Fasting appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

Loving our Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is an obligatory duty in Islām and an act of obedience to Allāh. To love the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) we must first know him. In this new series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu). We will begin with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).

Part I

Abū Rajāʾ, Qutaybah b. Saʿīd informed us; from Mālik b. Anas; from Rabīʿah b. Abū ʿAbdu’l-Raḥmān; that he heard Anas b. Mālik (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short. He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown. His hair was not very curly nor completely straight. Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year and he stayed in Mecca for ten years and in Madīnah, ten years. Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year and there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard.”[2]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short

He was of medium height. His being short has been categorically negated but only his being so tall as to be clearly noticed has been negated; this indicates that he was of medium height tending towards being tall.

It is in this sense that Barāʾa said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature but closer to being described as tall.’[3]   Therefore, there is no contradiction between this and the description that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature because such a statement is relative as is proven by the narration of ʿĀʾishah that ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would seem to be of medium stature,’[4]  i.e. by way of approximation.[5] Similarly, Umm Maʿbad said, ‘He was of middle stature, neither loathsome for tallness, nor offensive to the eye for shortness.’[6]

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) personality was so imposing and awe-inspiring that his very presence would dominate any gathering. Bayhaqī and Ibn ʿAsākir record that, ‘No one would be perceived to be taller than him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): sometimes two tall men would stand on either side of him and he would seem taller than them, yet when they parted, he would seem to be of medium height.’[7]  Others mention that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) sat, his shoulder seemed higher than all those sitting around him.[8] Therefore, it would seem to those around him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) that just as none was spiritually and morally above him, so too was no one physically above him.[9] Umm Maʿbad said, ‘He seemed like the branch that stood out between two others, being the most beautiful to look at and the most harmoniously proportioned of the three.’[10]

He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown

This description does not contradict the fact that he had a brownish complexion mentioned in the next ḥadīth since what is negated here is his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) being dark brown. There are a number of narrations that describe his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) complexion in different ways, but the overall picture given is that it was pale or light brown, with the parts of the body usually concealed by garments being of an even lighter colour, having a lustre or a luminescence about it.[11]

Anas said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a rosy white colour (azhar al-lawn), neither completely white, nor deep brown.’[12] It is also possible that term azhar al-lawn mean that he had the best skin colour.[13] ʿAlī said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was white skinned with a reddish tinge.’[14] Anas said, ‘He was white, a whiteness leaning towards brown,’[15] and Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘He was (light) brown, leaning towards white.’[16] A red-white colour is often referred to by the Arabs as asmar, brown and this is why Anas said, ‘The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was brown.’[17]

Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘Upon considering all the various reports on this it becomes clear that the whiteness which has been negated from him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is that whiteness that has no tinge of red and the brownness affirmed for him is redness that is mixed with white.’[18]

Some narrations, however, describe that ‘he was extremely white’.[19] Abū’l-Ṭufayl said, ‘I have not forgotten the extreme whiteness of his face.’[20] These refer to the lustre, sheen and glitter of his skin under the light of the sun as shown by the ḥadīth, ‘It was as if the sun were pursuing its course across his face, radiating out of it.’[21] As such, there is no contradiction between these narrations.[22] Umm Maʿbad described him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying, ‘I saw a radiant man with a luminous face and handsome physique.[23]

There are also numerous narrations highlighting the paleness or lightness of the skin colour of various parts of his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) body. His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) leg has been described as being white by Abū Juḥayfah and Anas, as were his thighs and shins.[24][25][26][27] His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) forearms were described as being white,[28] and so too were his armpits and abdomen.[29][30] The Companions also related how they saw the whiteness of his cheeks as he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said the salām at the end of the prayer.[31] Abū Hurayrah narrated that when the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) removed his upper garment, he would resemble an ingot of silver.[32] Miḥrash al-Kaʿbī also stated that he saw his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) back and it resembled an ingot of silver.[33] Anas narrated that one time a Bedouin came and asked, ‘Who amongst you is Muḥammad?’ They replied, ‘This white man reclining on his arm.’[34] All of these narrations are understood to mean his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) having light brown skin colour. When describing skin colour, Arabs would refer to pale or light brown skin as white (abyaḍ) and they would call the colour of Caucasian white, yellow (asfar), hence the Romans would be referred to as Banū Asfar.

His hair was not very curly nor completely straight

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hair was in-between the two and the best of affairs are those that are between the two extremes. Zamakhsharī said, ‘The predominate course amongst the Arabs is to have curly hair and amongst the non-Arabs, straight hair.’ Allāh has blessed His Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) with the best of virtues and qualities and has combined in him all that He has scattered amongst the different races.[35]

Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year

Allāh commissioned him as a Prophet and Messenger, and sent him to both the worlds of jinn and man. This is an integral part of the Muslim faith and whoever rejects it becomes a disbeliever. Some scholars postulated that he was also sent to the Angels.[36]

The commentators have stated that, in this sentence, the meaning of ‘the raʾs of his fortieth year’ means the latter part and not the turn of. This is because the majority of historians and biographers state that he was commissioned after having entered his fortieth year. Ṭībī said, ‘Raʾs here is metaphorically used to refer to the end of the year [and not its beginning] in the same way as one says, “Raʾs of the verse” i.e. its last part.’ Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘[Understanding it to mean the turn of the fortieth year] would mean that he was commissioned in the month of his birth which is Rabīʿ al-Awwal; however, he was commissioned in the month of Ramaḍān and therefore his age would have been forty and a half or thirty nine and a half. Those who mentioned that he was forty years old did so by ignoring the addition or subtraction. However, both Masʿūdī and Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr mention that the correct opinion was that he was commissioned in Rabīʿ al-Awwal, so according to this view he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would have just turned forty. It is also postulated that he was commissioned when he was forty years and ten days or forty years and twenty days old. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ relates an irregular report from Ibn ʿAbbās and Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was commissioned at the turn of his forty-third year.’[37]

The “fortieth year” could refer to when a person has turned forty and moves towards the forty-first, or it could refer to when a person turns thirty-nine and moves toward the fortieth, both usages are common. However, here, the first sense is more likely.

It is said that he was born on Monday, revelation came to him on Monday, he migrated to Madīnah on Monday, he arrived at Madīnah on Monday and he passed away on Monday.[38]

He stayed in Mecca for ten years

This narration has caused some confusion since the Muslims are agreed that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) stayed in Mecca for thirteen years; the scholars have explained it by saying that those who mentioned ten years, rounded down and hence did not mention the additional three years, a style commonly used by the Arabs. Others said that, put simply, the narration of those who mentioned thirteen years is stronger and this one is weak.[39] “And in Madīnah,” i.e. after the Hijra for “ten years,” there is no difference concerning this. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) remained there until the people entered into the religion in droves, until Allāh perfected the religion for him and his nation, and completed His favour upon them.[40]

Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year

The statement implies that he passed away at the age of sixty, some also said that he passed away at the age of sixty-five but the strongest opinion is that he was sixty-three years old when he passed on. The different narrations are reconciled by stating that those who stated sixty-five included the year of his birth and death. Those who mentioned sixty-three did not and those who mentioned sixty rounded down, all methods used by the Arabs when discussing the age of an individual.[41]

And there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard

Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘He had approximately twenty white hairs.’[42] Ibn ʿUmar further said, ‘The Messenger of Allāh’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) white hairs only came to about twenty, all towards the front.’[43]  To be more precise, Anas said, ‘There were only seventeen white hairs on his head and beard.’[44] While describing his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) beard, ʿAbdullāh b. Busr said, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten,’ and he further said that these were concentrated between his lower lip and chin.[45] The remainder was on his temples and head.[46] Bukhārī records that Anas was asked if the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) used to dye his hair to which he replied, ‘He did not reach that stage, there was just something on his temples.’[47] Muslim records on the authority of Anas that the white hairs were on his lower lip, temples, and a scarce scattering on his head.[48] Otherwise his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hair was jet black.[49]

There are some narrations stating that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had no white hair, but these are understood to mean that he did not have a lot of white hair, they were not meant to be a negation in totality. A more detailed discussion concerning his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) age and white hairs follows in the parts in this series.[50]

ʿAbdu’l-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī narrated to us; from Ḥumayd; from Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) from Ḥumayd b. Masʿadah al-Baṣrī that Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a handsome physique. His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion and when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly].”[51]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a handsome physique.

Bukhārī records on the authority of al-Barāʾa that ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was the most handsome of people with the best of physiques.’[52] Another narration mentions that “his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) body was well proportioned: stout and muscular.”[53] He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a nice laugh.[54]

His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion

This does not contradict the previous description of his skin as has already been explained. However, some said that this contradicts the ensuing description that he ‘was white skinned as if moulded of silver.’[55] One explanation offered is that the brownish complexion applied to his skin that was exposed to the sun and the whiteness referred to his skin that was concealed by his garments. However, this reconciliation is problematic because of the narration that mentions his neck being white as if it was made of silver and the neck is usually exposed to the sun. The more plausible explanation is that this comparison holds true when considering the lustre and sheen of his skin under the light of the sun and the smoothness of his skin.[56]

And when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly]

That is, with strength of purpose, taking large, firm steps as opposed to small ones.[57][58] When walking, he would lift his feet clearly off the ground without dragging them.[59]

“When he walked, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) placed his entire foot on the ground,”[60] but without “stamping it down,”[61] instead placing it comfortably.[62] Moreover, when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) walked, he did not turn left or right,[63] nor did he walk idly[64] or languidly.[65] Indeed, Ibn ʿAbbās said that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would walk a person could tell that he was not weak or lazy.[66] Abū Hurayrah said, ‘I have not seen anyone who walked faster than the Messenger of Allāh: it was as if the earth was compacted for him, we would strive to keep up with him yet he was not hard-pressed at all.’[67]

Another version of this ḥadīth has the word yatawakkaʾu instead of yatakaffaʾu, meaning to walk confidently.[68] This description is also reported by Ibn ʿAbbās when he said,

‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) walked confidently and not languidly.’[69]

This steady, energetic yet comfortable gait is characteristic of those with firm determination, those who have a sense of gravity and dignity, and those with courage and valour. It stands in stark contrast to those who saunter, strut, stride, parade or swagger when walking, all of which are gaits of the ostentatious or empty headed.[70] Allāh describes the manner of walking of His servants,

“The servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk humbly on the earth.”[71]

And He says,

“Do not strut arrogantly about the earth: you cannot break it open, nor match the mountains in height.”[72]

“Do not turn your nose up at people, nor walk about the place arrogantly, for Allāh does not love arrogant or boastful people.”[73]

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) manner of walking will be discussed in further detail in a later part in this series.

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“…he wore a red ḥulla. I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”

Source: www.islam21c.com

This is an updated commentary as part of a new series.

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Bukhārī #3547-3548-5900 and Muslim #2347.

[3] This statement also recorded by Dhuhlī, al-Zuhriyyāt and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:253 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah and Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 6:705 said the isnād was ḥasan. It is also recorded by Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:252 on the authority of ʿAlī.

[4] Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil 1:298

[5] Qārī, Haythamī pg. 41.

[6] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[7] Bayhaqī 1:298, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:709.

[8] Ibn Sabaʿ, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ as cited by Qārī

[9] Qārī

[10] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[11] cf. ḥadīth #8

[12] Bukhārī #3547

[13] Suyūṭī, Qārī

[14] Tirmidhi

[15] Bayhaqī 1:204

[16] Aḥmad #3410. Munāwī said the isnād was ḥasan.

[17] Aḥmad #13715 and Ibn Ḥibbān #6286. The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706. This description is also recorded on the authority of Anas by Tirmidhī #1754 and Abū Dāwūd #4863 who said it was ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb, with Albānī and Arnaʿūṭ ruling it ṣaḥīḥ.

[18] See for example ḥadīth #7. This is also the description reported of him by Anas in Muslim #2347 and Jābir by Ibn Saʿd as per Ibn Ḥajr 6:705.

[19] Bayhaqī 1:208 from Abū Hurayrah. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706, said, ‘with a strong isnād.’

[20] Ṭabarānī

[21] Tirmidhī #3548 and declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #6309. The full ḥadīth will be mentioned later in the chapter, ‘The manner of walking of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).’

[22] Ibn Ḥajr, Munāwī

[23] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[24] Bukhārī #3566

[25] Muslim

[26] Bukhārī #376, Muslim

[27] Bukhārī #3566, Muslim

[28] Abū Dāwūd #3206

[29] Bukhārī #6636, Muslim

[30] Bukhārī #7236, Muslim

[31] Muslim

[32] Bayhaqī 1/203,

[33] Nasāʾī 2:30

[34] Bukhārī #63

[35] Munāwī

[36] Munāwī

[37] Fatḥ 6:707, Qārī

[38] Aḥmad 1:277 from Ibn ʿAbbās.

[39] Munāwī, Qārī

[40] Munāwī

[41] Munāwī, Qārī

[42] In Mājah #3630 and Aḥmad #5633 with a ḍaʿīf. isnād.

[43] Ibn Ḥibbān #6294-6295 and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:239; cf. fn. 15

[44] Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt

[45] Bukhāri #3545-3546. The phrase “few white hairs,” has been employed using jamʿ qillah and in the Arabic language, this does not exceed ten. It is for this reason that that Munāwī quotes it by meaning, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten.’

[46] Munāwī

[47] Bukhāri #3550-5894 and Muslim #2341

[48] Muslim #2341

[49] Bayhaqī 1:164, 1:178, 1:203

[50] Qārī

[51] Bukhārī, Ṣifatu-n Nabī, Libās and Muslim, Faḍāʾil.

[52] Bukhārī #3549, Muslim #2337

[53] Ḥadīth #8

[54] Aḥmad #3410

[55] Ḥadīth #12.

[56] Qārī

[57] Haythamī, Majmaʿ 8:273 references this to Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr

[58] Qārī, Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 12:320, ibn al-Qayyim, Zād 1:169,  Qārī, Mirqāt 9:3704

[59] Bayhaqī 1:252

[60] Bayhaqī 1:241, 1:274; cf. Bukhārī, Adab al-Mufrad #1155 from al-Barāʾa

[61] Haythamī, Majmaʿ 8:273 references this to Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr

[62] cf. ḥadīth #8

[63] Ḥākim #7794, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2086

[64] Aḥmad #3033

[65] Bazzār #2391

[66] Ibn ʿAsākir, Tarīkh Dimashq 4:61, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2140

[67] Tirmidhī, Manāqib #3648. Aḥmad #8604-8943

Tirmidhī said the ḥadīth was gharīb and Arnaʿūṭ said it was ḥasan

[68] Qārī, Munāwī

[69] Aḥmad #3034, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2086

[70] Munāwī, ibn al-Qayyim, Zād 1:169,  Qārī, Mirqāt 9:3704

[71] al-Furqān 25:63

[72] al-Israʾ 17:37

[73] Luqmān 31:18

The post A Journey to loving our Prophet ﷺ appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

In this series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

Last time, we began with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). This shall be continued here, inshāAllāh.

Click to read: 

Part 1

Muḥammad b. Bashshār  al-ʿAbdī narrated to us; from Muḥammad b. Jaʿfar; from Shuʿbah; from Abū Isḥāq; that he heard Barāʾa b. ʿĀzib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) saying,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had slightly curly hair and was of medium stature with broad shoulders. His hair was thick, reaching his earlobes and he wore a red ḥulla.[2] I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”[3]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had slightly curly hair and was of medium stature

There are two ways to read the phrase mentioned here. 1) rajulan marbūʿan meaning he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was a man of medium stature 2) rajilan marbuʿan meaning that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had slightly curly hair and was of medium stature. In this respect Anas (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, ‘The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had large hands and, after him, I have not seen anyone like him. His hair was slightly curly (rajilan): neither completely straight nor very curly.’[4] Both descriptions hold true.[5]

with broad shoulders. His hair was thick, reaching his earlobes

Some reports mention that his hair reached below his ears and above his shoulders,[6] others mention half way down his ears,[7] others mention to his ears, others mention to his shoulders,[8] and yet others mention to his shoulder blades. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ reconciled these by saying that these descriptions all related to different times; therefore, when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) delayed cutting his hair, it would grow to his shoulders, and when he cut his hair, it would reach his ears, or half way down his ears, or his earlobes.[9] Most of the time his (SAW) hair went down to just above his shoulders.[10]

And he wore a red ḥulla

A garment consisting of two pieces, an izār and raḍāʾ. A detailed discussion follows in the chapter dealing with his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) clothes.

I have never seen anything more beautiful than him

This statement, along with proving the great beauty of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) also goes to show Barāʾa’s complete faith because believing him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) to be so is part and parcel of loving him.[11] It is worthy to note that Barāʾa did not say that he had never seen anyone more beautiful than him, instead he said anything to encompass both the animate and inanimate,[12] because Allāh has given him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) a beauty and splendour far surpassing anything else.[13] This point will be elaborated further in commentary to ḥadīth #5.

Maḥmūd b. Ghaylān narrated to us from Wakīʿ; from Sufyān al-Thawrī; from Abū Isḥāq; that Barāʾa b. ʿĀzib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

“I have never seen a person having a full head of hair, wearing a red ḥulla, who was more handsome than the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). He had hair that reached his shoulders and his shoulders were broad. He was neither short nor tall.”[14]

Muḥammad b. Ismāʿīl narrated to us;  from Abū Nuʿaym; from Masʿūdī; from ʿUthmān b. Muslim b. Hurmuz; from Nāfiʿ b. Jubair b. Muṭʿim; that ʿAlī b. Abū Ṭālib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

“The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither tall nor short. He had masculine hands and feet, a large head, stout limbs, and a long line of [fine] hair extending from his chest to navel. When he walked, he leant forward as if descending a slope. I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.”[15][16]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither tall nor short. He had masculine hands and feet

Bukhārī also recorded from Anas that “The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had masculine (shathn) hands and feet.”[17] He also records that Anas said, “The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had large (ḍakhm) hands and feet and a handsome face. I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was like him. He had wide (basit) palms,”[18] and “ample (raḥb) palms,”[19] with long fingers.[20]

Ibn Ḥajr explained the word shathn, translated here as masculine, to mean having thick and sturdy fingers and palms and cited another narration with the wording, “He had large hands and feet.”[21] He also said, ‘Khaṭṭābī explained it to mean thickness and length of hand and this is what is intended here.’ It is also reported that the linguist, Aṣmaʿī explained the word to mean calloused, but when the narration stating that the Prophet’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hands were soft was quoted, he went silent and decided not to explain the word any further. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ said, ‘Abū ʿUbayd, the linguist, explained it to mean thickness of fingers and palm coupled with shortness, but this position was criticised because it is established that he had long fingers.’[22] Ibn Ḥajr said, ‘The correct position is that the word means thick and sturdy without being short or calloused.’[23] Hence, the meaning is that his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hands were large and sturdy, tending towards being thick, but without being short or calloused.[24]

Ibn Baṭṭāl said, ‘His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hand was fleshy, it was large and thick, but despite this it was soft as is established in the ḥadīth of Anas recorded in the Ṣaḥīḥ, “I have not touched silk, or silk brocade, that was softer than his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hand.”[25] If we were to accept the explanation of Aṣmaʿī as being plausible, although no other linguist agreed with him on this, we would say it is possible that the narrator depicted the hand of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) in different situations: when he fought Jihād, his hand would become calloused, but otherwise his hand would be in its natural state of being soft.’[26]

Bukhārī records a ḥadīth stating that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had long hands.[27] The meaning of this ḥadīth is that his hands and fingers were long without being excessively so. This quality of hand is praiseworthy in men because it means that they have a strong grip as mentioned by Ibn al-Athīr, al-Nihāyah.

The Prophet’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hands were blessed and full of blessings. Muslim records that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) stroked the cheek of Jābir who then said, ‘I experienced a sensation of coolness from his hand and a scent as if he had just removed it from a perfume vendor’s box.’[28]

Bukhārī records on the authority of Abū Juḥayfah that the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) went out to al-Baṭḥāʾ at noon where he performed ablution and prayed Ẓuhr as two rakʿahs and ʿAṣr as two rakʿahs, praying towards a short spear beyond which women would pass. The people stood and took hold of his hands and used them to wipe their faces. He said, ‘So I took hold of his hand and placed it on my face and found it to be cooler than ice and its scent to be sweeter than musk.’[29]

Abū Juḥayfah said, ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) came out in mid-morning. Water for ablution was brought to him and he performed his ablution, then the people took what remained and rubbed it on themselves. Those who could not reach any took the water that dripped from their companions’ hands.’[30]

Jābir b. Samura said, “I prayed with the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and then he went out and I went out with him. He was met by some children and rubbed their cheeks one by one. As for myself, he rubbed my cheek and I found that his hand was cool and fragrant, as if he had just taken it out of a perfume vendor’s bag.”[31]

Aḥmad records that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) visited Saʿd b. Abī Waqqāṣ in Makkah when he was ill and stroked his face, chest and stomach. Saʿd said, ‘To this very hour it seems to me that I can feel the coolness of his hand on my liver.’[32]

Bayhaqī and Tirmidhī[33] record on the authority of Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) stroked his head and beard and supplicated, “O Allāh, make him beautiful.” Even when he had exceeded the age of one hundred, not a single white hair was seen on his beard, and his face remained cheerful and never looked perturbed or dejected until the day he died.[34]

One time, as he was leaving his house, ʿAbdullah b. ʿAtīq fell and broke his ankle. He bandaged it and hobbled to his companions, then they rode back together to Madīnah. The Prophet said, “Stretch your leg!” He passed his hand over the broken bones and they mended there and then.[35]

Hanẓalah b. Juzaym al-Tamīmī was brought to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) by his father. The latter said, ‘Messenger of Allāh, I have sons with beards, this is the youngest, pray Allāh for him!’ The Prophet passed his hand over his head, then said, “May Allāh bless you!” Thereafter, whenever a sick man with a swollen face or an animal with a swollen udder were brought to Hanẓalah, he blew in his hands, saying, ‘In the Name of Allāh,’ then placed his hand on his own head where the Prophet’s palm had touched it, saying, ‘Where the hand of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was placed,’ then rubbed the swelling and cured it.[36]

Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh said, ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) visited me in Banū Salamah and found me semi-conscious. He asked for water, made his wuḍūʾ then sprinkled some of the water over me and I came to.’[37]

Abū Hurayrah once said, ‘Messenger of Allāh, I often hear you speak but I forget!’ He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Spread out your garment!” I spread it out, he made as if he scooped something with his hand and poured it in it. Then he said, “Fold it up!” I did and thereafter forgot nothing he ever said.[38]

Jābir b. ʿAbdullāh said, ‘As the trench was being dug I noticed that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) suffered from severe hunger. I returned to my wife saying, “Do you have anything, for I have noticed that the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) suffers severe hunger.’ She brought out a bag with some barley in it and we had a small sheep in the house. We slaughtered the animal and ground the barley, then I returned to the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), and spoke to him secretly, “Messenger of Allāh, we have slaughtered an animal we had and have ground a measure of barley. Please come with a few people!” The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) raised his voice saying, “People of the Trench! Jābir has prepared some food, you are all welcome!” Then he said, “Do not take the pot off the fire and do not bake your dough until I come!” When he arrived he proceeded to break the bread, and put the meat on it. He took some food out of the pot and served his Companions, keeping both the pot and the oven covered. He went on breaking the bread, putting the meat on top of it and serving his Companions until they were all satiated, then he said, “Eat and give to other people for they have suffered hunger!”’[39]

Anas b. Mālik said, ‘I once saw the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) when it was time for ʿAṣr prayer and people looked for water for their ablutions and found none. The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was brought some water, he put his hand in the vessel and told the people to make their ablutions from it. I watched the water gushing from under his fingers while people made their ablutions, till the last one of them had done!’ In another narration he said, ‘I reckoned between sixty and eighty men, I watched water gushing from between his fingers.’[40]

Abū Hurayrah said that he had heard the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) say, “I was sent with comprehensive speech, I was supported with terror, and, while I was asleep, I was brought the keys to the treasuries of the earth and they were placed in my hand.”[41]

Muslim records on the authority of Umm Sulaym that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) used to visit her and have a siesta in her house and she would spread out a leather cloth on which he would lie. He would sweat profusely and she would collect his sweat and put it in perfume. When the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked about this she said, ‘It is your sweat which we have put in our perfume, and it is perfume of the sweetest type!’[42]

Ibn Ḥajr said, ‘Abū Yaʿlā and Bazzār record with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād on the authority of Anas that when the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) passed through a road in Makkah, he would leave behind him the fragrance of musk and the people would say, “The Messenger of Allāh has passed!”’[43]

He had a large head, stout limbs

The word used is karādīs, the plural of kurdūs, which refers to every bone that meets at a joint such as knees and shoulders, or it refers to the ends of the bones.[44] Baghawī said that what was meant was that he had large, stout limbs.[45]

And a long line of [fine] hair extending from his chest to navel

The Arabic word is masruba, which Baghawī explains to mean, ‘Fine hair extending from the chest to the navel,’ and ‘tracing a line down.’[46] Bayhaqī records the ḥadīth, “He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a line of hair extending from his navel to chest, and he had no other hair on his chest or stomach.”[47] Other ḥadīths explicitly describe the hair as being fine.[48] His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) bodily hair will be discussed further in a later ḥadīth.

I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him

Bukhārī records on the authority of Barāʾa that ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was the most handsome of people, with the best of physiques. He was neither very tall nor was he short.’[49] He also said, “I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”[50] Bukhārī records that Anas said, “He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a handsome face, and I have not seen anyone, before him or after him, who was like him.”[51] Jābir b. Samrah said, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) on a clear, moonlit night wearing a red ḥulla and I paused and looked at him and then the moon and found that, in my view, he was more beautiful than the moon.’[52] Abū Hurayrah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, “Out of all people, he had the best and most beautiful qualities.”[53] Rubayyiʿ bint Muʿawwidh, ‘Were you to see him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) you would have thought the sun had risen.’[54] Abū’l-Ṭufayl said, ‘‘He was white skinned and handsome.’[55] ʿAlī (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, ‘Whoever unexpectedly saw him would be awestruck and whoever associated with him and got to know him would love him. Those who described him would say, “I have never seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.”’[56] Later on in this work we will comment on the ḥadīth,

“Allāh never sent a Prophet except that he had a handsome face and a nice voice, and your Prophet has the best face and the best voice.”[57]

One should believe that Allāh created his noble body with an excellence that has not been seen before him or after him. The reason for this is that, predominantly, the good qualities of the body are a manifestation of the inner morals, manners and qualities of a person and the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) reached the peak of perfection in all of these.[58] Indeed, his inner and outer beauty was such that people would simply look at his (saw) face and believe him, knowing that he could not be a liar. ʿAbdullāh b. Salām reported that when the Messenger of Allāh (saw) came to Madīnah, the people rushed toward him and it was announced, ‘The Messenger of Allāh has come!’ I came along with the people to see him and when I looked at his face, I knew that his face was not the face of a liar. The first thing the Prophet (saw) said was this, “People, spread peace, feed the hungry, and pray at night when people are sleeping and you will enter Paradise in peace.”[59]

al-Ḥārith b. ʿAmr said, ‘I went to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) while he was at Minā or ʿArafah and people would visit him. Some Bedouins came to him and as soon as they looked at his face they said, “This is a blessed face!”’[60]

Moreover, a Muslim sees the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) through the lens of faith and love, which enhances the sense of his beauty. To love Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is part and parcel of faith; the more love one has the more complete his faith. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“By the One in whose hand is my soul, none of you will have faith until I am more beloved to him than his father, his children, indeed the whole of mankind.”[61]

One time ʿUmar said to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), ‘Messenger of Allāh, you are more beloved to me than everything except my own self.’ The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “No, by the One in whose hand is my soul, (you will not have complete faith) until I am more beloved to you than your own self!” ʿUmar then said, ‘Now, by Allāh, you are more beloved to me than my own self.’ The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “ʿUmar, now you have it!”[62] Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) also said, “Whoever has the following three qualities will taste the sweetness of faith: that Allāh and His Messenger are more beloved to him than anything else; that he loves a person only for Allāh’s sake; that he abhors the idea of reverting to disbelief as much as he hates to be thrown into the fire.”[63]

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“… he was the Seal of the Prophets. He had the most giving of hearts; he was the most truthful of people, the best of them in temperament, and the most sociable of them…”

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu).

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] A garment consisting of two pieces, an izār and raḍāʾ.

[3] Bukhārī #3551-5848 and Muslim #2337.

[4] Bukhārī #5906

[5] Qārī

[6] Bukhārī #5565, Muslim #2338

[7] Muslim #2338

[8] Bukhārī #5563, Muslim #2338

[9] Qārī

[10] Ibn Ḥajr 10:440, cf. Bukhārī #5903-5904

[11] Munāwī

[12] Haythamī, ʿAbbād

[13] ʿAbbād

[14] Muslim, Faḍāʾil #2337 and Abū Dāwūd, Tarajjul #4183.

[15] Tirmidhī, Manāqib #3637 who said it was ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ and it was ruled ṣaḥīḥ by ibn Ḥibbān #6311, Ḥākim #4194 with Dhahabī agreeing, and Albānī.

The sentence, ‘His hands and feet were heavy and thick,’ along with the last sentence are reported by Bukhārī, Libās #5911 from Anas (RA).

[16] Sufyān b. Wakīʿ narrates “My father narrated to us; from Masʿūdī the likes of this with this isnād.”

[17] Bukhārī #5910

[18] Bukhārī #5907.

[19] Ḥadīth #8 below

[20] Ḥadīth #8. cf. Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 13:279

[21] Bukhārī #5907-5911-5912 from Anas. cf. Ibn Ḥajr 10:439

[22] Bukhārī #

[23] Ibn Ḥajr 10:440

[24] Qarī, Munāwī

[25] Bukhārī #3561 and Muslim #2329

[26] Ibn Ḥajr 10:439-440, Ibn Baṭṭāl 9:156-157

[27] Bukhārī #

[28] Muslim #2329

[29] Bukhārī #3553

[30] Bukhārī #376

[31] Bukhārī #

[32] Aḥmad #

[33] Bayhaqī said it was ṣaḥīḥ and Tirmidhī #3269 said it was ḥasan.

[34] Zurqānī 5, pp. 452+

[35] Bukhārī #

[36] Aḥmad

[37] Bukhārī #

[38] Bukhārī #

[39] Bukhārī #, Muslim #

[40] Muslim #

[41] Bukhārī #

[42] Muslim #2331

[43] Ibn Ḥajr 6:711

[44] Suyūṭī

[45] Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 13:221, cf. Qārī

[46] Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 13:221, 13:278 cf. Qārī

[47] Haythamī, cf. ḥadīth #8

[48] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 10:183, 22:155, cf. ḥadīth #8

[49] Bukhārī #3549, Muslim #2337

[50] cf. ḥadīth #3

[51] Bukhārī #5906

[52] cf. ḥadīth #10

[53] Bayhaqī 1:274

[54] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 24:274. Haythamī, Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 8:280, said that its narrators were trustworthy and precise and Arnaʾūṭ ruled it ḥasan.

[55] cf. ḥadīth #14

[56] cf. ḥadīth #7

[57] ḥadīth #

[58] Munāwī

[59] Ibn Mājah #1334

[60] Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī, Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah as cited by ibn Kathīr, al-Shamāʾil, pg. 24

[61] Bukhārī #14-15, Muslim #44

[62] Bukhārī #16, Muslim #43

[63] Bukhārī #6632

The post The Description of the Prophet ﷺ appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

In this series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

In the last article, we began with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). This time we learn of some of the qualities and virtues he was known for, inshāAllāh.

Click to read:

Part 1 | Part 2

Aḥmad b. ʿAbdah al-Dabbī al-Baṣrī narrated to us, as did ʿAlī b. Ḥujr and Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn – i.e. Ibn Abī Ḥalīmah – with different wordings but the same meaning; from ʿĪsā b. Yūnus; from ʿUmar b. ʿAbdullāh the servant of Ghufrah; from Ibrāhīm b. Muḥammad – one of the sons of ʿAlī b. Abū Ṭālib (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) – that when ʿAlī (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) described the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) he would say,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither extremely tall nor very short, rather he was of a medium stature. His hair was neither curly nor completely straight, rather in between. He was not overweight, nor was his face so fleshy as to be completely round, rather it was only slightly round. He was white skinned, having a reddish tinge. His eyes were large with jet black pupils and his lashes, long. His joints were large as was his upper back. He did not have hair all over his body but had a line of fine hair extending from his chest to his navel. His hands and feet were large and sturdy. When he walked, he moved briskly as if descending a slope. When he turned, he would turn his whole body. Between his two shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood for he was the Seal of the Prophets. He had the most giving of hearts, he was the most truthful of people in speech, the best of them in temperament, and the most sociable amongst them. Whoever unexpectedly saw him would be awestruck and whoever became acquainted with him would love him. Those who described him would say, ‘I have never seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.”[2]

He was not overweight, nor was his face so fleshy as to be completely round, rather it was only slightly round.

al-Muṭahham: meaning having a puffed up, fleshy face or being overweight in general. However, the word can also have the opposite meaning of having a slender and fragile build.[3] Tirmidhī in this work ostensibly preferred the meaning of being overweight.

al-Mukaltham: someone who is chubby cheeked, or someone whose face is so fleshy that it is completely round.[4] It is this second meaning that was cited by Tirmidhī himself.

Umm Maʿbad described the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) with her words, ‘I saw a radiant man with a luminous face and handsome physique, unspoiled by fleshiness and not tainted by leanness.’[5]

Muslim records on the authority of Jābir ibn Samurah that a man asked him, ‘Was the face of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) like a sword?’ He replied, ‘No, it was like the sun and the moon, it was round.’[6] Abū ʿUbayd said, ‘He did not mean that it was completely round, rather that it had a sense of softness and serenity about it.’[7] al-Ḥārith b. ʿAmr said, ‘I went to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) while he was at Minā or ʿArafah and people would visit him. Some Bedouins came to him and as soon as they looked at his face they said, “This is a blessed face!”’[8]

The various aḥadīth quoted in this work and elsewhere give us a detailed picture of his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) face. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a handsome face with a slightly rounded quality and not long.[9] He had a wide brow and thick curved eyebrows that did not quite meet in the middle. Between them was a vein that would throb when angry. His eyes were large, with jet black pupils and a reddish tinge in the white of eye, and his lashes were long. His cheeks were smooth and not raised. He had a long, slightly arched nose which shone with a light that would seem to elevate it, whoever did not carefully look at it would think he had a large nasal bridge.[10] He had a wide mouth and white teeth with a gap between the incisors. He had a thick and full beard covering one side of his face to the other. Allāh’s peace and blessings be on him!

His eyes were large with jet black pupils and his lashes, long.

This will be discussed in more detail in a later ḥadīth.

His joints were large as was his upper back.

al-Mushāsh: joints of the bones. The meaning is the same as that mentioned in ḥadīth #5, i.e. he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had stout limbs.[11]

al-Katid: the meeting point of the shoulders as cited by Tirmidhī himself, i.e. the upper part of the back (kāhil). The meaning is the same as that mentioned in ḥadīth #3 that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was broad shouldered.[12]

He did not have hair all over his body, but had a line of fine hair extending from his chest to his navel

This description also holds true for someone who has hair on parts of his body and hence does not contradict the description that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had hair on his shins, forearms and upper chest.[13]

Bayhaqī records the ḥadīth, “He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a line of hair extending from his navel to chest, and he had no other hair on his chest or stomach.”[14] This ḥadīth is further clarified by the ḥadīth, “He had a line of hair extending from his upper chest to his navel, apart from that, his chest and stomach were bare. The upper part of his chest, his forearms, and shoulders had a lot of hair on them.”[15]

When he turned, he would turn his whole body

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was, therefore, not a person who stole glances. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was not in the habit of turning his head towards someone who addressed him; instead, he would turn his whole body to a person who addressed him, showing him that he had his complete attention. After finishing the discussion, he would turn his whole body away. Otherwise, he would frequently just glance at things that he was not addressing.[16] Abū Hurayrah reported that, ‘When he turned (to you), he turned his whole body, and when he turned away, he would turn his whole body away,’[17] as did al-Barāʾa.[18]

Between his two shoulders was the Seal of Prophethood

A discussion of this follows later inshāAllāh.

He had the most giving of hearts

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither stingy nor miserly. He would never withhold anything of this world, and he would never conceal any knowledge concerning his Lord. His generosity did not require great effort, neither was it hard upon him, resulting as it did from the purity of his soul and gentleness of spirit. [19] Bukhārī records on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās that ‘the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was the most generous of people, and he was never so generous as he was in the month of Ramaḍān when he met with Jibrīl. Jibrīl would meet him every night of Ramaḍan and revise the Qurʾān with him. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was more generous than a brisk breeze.’[20]

He had the most giving of hearts because of its righteousness and the immense good contained therein. His heart was bursting with every fine, beautiful moral and quality and goodness would pour out of it. Some of the People of Knowledge said, ‘There is no place in the entire world that contained more good than the heart of Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): all good was gathered together and put in it.’[21] Bukhārī records on the authority of Anas that although the eyes of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) slept, his heart would always be awake.[22]

Another valid interpretation of this sentence is that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had the largest heart, i.e. his heart never held back or grieved him. This view is supported by the report of Ibn Saʿd with this isnād with the words, ‘He was the most giving of people and had the largest of hearts.’

It is also said that it means that he had the best of hearts, i.e. he was free of all lowly traits and how could this be otherwise when Jibrīl cut open his heart, took out of a morsel of flesh, placed it in a golden tray, and washed it with Zamzam water?[23]

He was the most truthful of people in speech

This was something that even his enemies testified to, and not one of his opponents could ever say that they had witnessed him lying – not even once – let alone the testimony of all his friends and followers! His enemies fought him, employing all means at their disposal, yet none of them ever accused him of lying: not a serious lie or even a minor, insignificant one! Miswarah b. Makhramah said, ‘I asked Abū Jahl, my uncle, “Uncle! Did you ever accuse Muḥammad of lying before he came with his message?” He replied, “Son of my sister, by Allāh, while he was still young, Muḥammad would be called al-Amīn (the truthful) by us. Even when his hair started turning white, he would still not lie.” I asked, “Uncle of mine! So why don’t you follow him?” He replied, “Son of my sister, we and Banū Hāshim were always competing with each other for nobility: they fed people and so we did too, they gave others drink and so we did too, they granted protection and so we did too. We’ve kept pace with each other like two race horses, then they said, ‘A Prophet has arisen from us,’ how could we possibly compete in this?”’[24]

Allāh, Most High says, consoling him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), “We know that what they say distresses you. It is not that they are calling you a liar; the wrongdoers are just denying the signs of Allāh. Messengers before you were also denied but they were steadfast in the face of the denial and injury they suffered until Our help arrived. There is no changing the Words of Allāh and news of other Messengers has come to you.”[25]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was asked who the best of people was to which he replied, “The one who has a heart that is makhmūm and a truthful tongue.” When asked what a makhmūm heart was, he replied, “A heart that is fearful and clean: It has no sin in it, no transgression and no envy.”[26]  ʿĀʾishah stated, ‘There was no trait more abhorrent to Allāh’s Messenger than lying.’[27] Abū Bakr would say, ‘Beware of lying because lying is at odds to true faith.’[28] Iyās b. Muʿāwiyah said, ‘The most dignified quality of a man is truthfulness of tongue and whoever is devoid of the nobility of truthfulness has been stricken with the loss of the best of his manners.’[29]

Ibn al-Qayyim said, ‘Truthfulness is the greatest of stations of the people, from it sprout all the various stations of those traversing the path to Allāh; and from it sprouts the upright path which if not trodden, perdition is that person’s fate. Through it is the hypocrite become distinguished from the believer and the inhabitant of Paradise from the denizen of Hell. It is the sword of Allāh in His earth: it is not placed on anything except that it cuts it; it does not face falsehood expect that it hunts it and vanquishes it; whoever fights with it will not be defeated; and whoever speaks it, his word will be made supreme over his opponent. It is the very essence of deeds and the well spring of spiritual states, it allows the person to embark boldly into dangerous situations, and it is the door through which one enters the presence of the One possessing majesty. It is the foundation of the building of Islām, the central pillar of the construction of certainty and the next level in ranking after the level of Prophethood.’[30]

Another understanding of this sentence is that his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) tongue was the most eloquent of tongues, precisely and clearly pronouncing the letters of the Arabic language, and eloquently formulating the best of phrases.[31] The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “I have been granted the most eloquent, complete and pithy speech,”[32] “I have been granted pithiness in speech,”[33] and “I have been granted the keys to speech.”[34] Umm Maʿbad said, ‘His speech was sweet and clear, like string beads shed from their string; he spoke neither too little nor too much.’[35]

The best of them in temperament

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was easy going, gentle and compassionate. He responded to anyone who called him, judged those who required judgement, fulfilled the need of those who asked of him – never preventing them from asking him and never letting them depart disappointed or empty-handed. When his Companions desired a matter from him, he would agree with them and follow them; if he wanted to do something, he would consult them. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would accept the good from them and overlook their mistakes.[36]

And the most sociable of them

He would interact with those with him in the best of ways: he would never frown at them, treat them harshly or turn away from them. He would not point out slips of the tongue nor reprimand a person for any coarseness in speech or the likes, and he would make excuses for them as much as possible. Whoever mixed with him would think that he was the most beloved person to him due to the attention, kindness and sincere advice he received. There is no better way of dealing with people than this.[37]

In some texts the wording is ‘the best of them in lineage’ and both descriptions hold true of him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).  The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “I was passed through the best generations of the children of Ādam, generation after generation, until I reached the generation in which I came.”[38] The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is also reported to have said, “Allāh chose Kinānah from amongst the descendants of Ismāʿīl, He chose the Quraysh from amongst the descendants of Kinānah, from the Quraysh he chose Banū Hāshim, and me from Banū Hāshim.”[39]

Whoever unexpectedly saw him would be awestruck

This was due to his exceptional qualities, his heavenly sense of gravity, dignity, appearance and deluge of spirituality. Carrying oneself with an air of dignity and self-respect (mahābah) is a quality that can be confused with arrogance (kibr), yet it is the former that engenders a sense of awe. Ibn al-Qayyim explains why,

‘Dignity and self-respect arise from a heart that is filled with the glorification of Allāh, with love of Him and magnification of Him. When the heart is filled with this, it is inundated with light and tranquillity descends upon it. The person is clothed with the garments of gravity and dignity, and he inspires reverence in others. His face displays a sense of sweetness and pureness. Hearts love him and stand in awe of him; they are drawn to him and are comforted by his presence. His speech is light, his entrance is light, his leaving is light, and his actions are light. When he is quiet, a sense of dignity and gravity overcomes him; and when he speaks, he captures heart, ear and sight. As for arrogance, it arises from self-conceit and transgression, from a heart that is filled with ignorance and oppression. Servitude leaves such a person and displeasure descends upon him. When he looks at people, he looks askance; and when he walks amongst them, he struts. He deals with them as one who gives himself preference in all things rather than giving them preference. He does not begin by giving people the salām, and if he replies to a salām, he acts as if he has granted them a great favour. He does not display a cheerful face to them and his manners do not accommodate them. Allāh has protected His beloved (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) from all of these vile mannerisms.’[40]

Whoever accompanied him and got to know him would love him

This would occur to the point that that he became more beloved to him than his father, his child, and indeed the whole of mankind. This was because he obviously possessed all the qualities effectuating love such as perfect morals and manners, compassion and kindness and innate humility. He was a person who would captivate hearts and unite them.[41]

Those who described him would say i.e. by way of generalisation because of the inability to truly describe his beauty and perfection in detail.

“I have never seen anyone, before him or after him, who was comparable to him.”

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“He would have his Companions walk in front of him, and would hurry to greet whoever he met with the salām,”

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu).

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Tirmidhī #3638 who said it was ḥasan gharīb, but the isnād was not connected.  Qārī and Munāwī said about the narrator, ʿUmar b. ʿAbdullāh, the servant of Ghufrah: he was declared thiqah by Ibn Masʿūd but ḍaʿīf by Ibn Maʿīn and Nasāʾī; Aḥmad said that he narrated many mursal reports. Albānī said it was ḍaʿīf: its isnād is munqaṭiʿ and contains ʿUmar b. ʿAbdullāh who is ḍaʿīf.

[3] Suyūṭī, Haythamī

[4] Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 13:283

[5] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[6] Muslim, Faḍāʾil #2344

[7] Qārī

[8] Abū Zurʿah al-Rāzī, Dalāʾil al-Nubuwwah as cited by ibn Kathīr, al-Shamāʾil, pg. 24

[9] Bukhārī #5906 from Anas. Bukhārī #3549, Muslim #2337 from al-Barāʾa. cf. ḥadīth #14

[10] cf. ḥadīth #8

[11] ʿAbbād

[12] ʿAbbād

[13] Haythamī

[14] Haythamī

[15] cf. ḥadīth #8

[16] Haythamī, Munāwī, Qārī, cf. ḥadīth #8

[17] Aḥmad #9786

[18] Bukhārī, Adab al-Mufrad #1155

[19] Haythamī, Qārī

[20] Bukhārī #3554

[21] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām,

[22] Bukhārī #3570.

Bukhārī #3569 also records on the authority of ʿĀʾishah that the Messenger of Allāh (SAW) said, “My eye sleeps but my heart does not.”

[23] Haythamī, Qārī. The ḥadīth is recorded by Aḥmad 3:288

[24] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām. The narration was recorded by Yūnus b. Bukair, al-Maghāzī and quoted from him by Dhahabī, al-Sīrah

[25] al-Anʿām (6): 33-34

[26] Ibn Mājah #4216

[27] Aḥmad #

[28] Bayhaqī, Shuʿab #4806

[29] ibn Kathīr, al-Bidāyah wa’l-Nihāyah 9:336

[30] Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-Sālikīn 2:268

[31] Haythamī

[32] Abū Yaʿlā #7238, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #1483

[33] Bukhārī #2815, Muslim #523

[34] Bukhārī #6597

[35] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[36] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām

[37] Ibn al-Qayyim, Jalāʾ al-Afhām

[38] Bukhārī #3557 records on the authority of Abū Hurayrah

[39] Muslim #2276 records on the authority of Wāthila b. al-Asqaʿ

[40] Munāwī

[41] Munāwī

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The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

Loving our Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is an obligatory duty in Islām and an act of obedience to Allāh. To love the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) we must first know him. In this new series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu). We will begin with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Abū Rajāʾ, Qutaybah b. Saʿīd informed us; from Mālik b. Anas; from Rabīʿah b. Abū ʿAbdu’l-Raḥmān; that he heard Anas b. Mālik (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short. He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown. His hair was not very curly nor completely straight. Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year and he stayed in Mecca for ten years and in Madīnah, ten years. Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year and there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard.”[2]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short

He was of medium height. His being short has been categorically negated but only his being so tall as to be clearly noticed has been negated; this indicates that he was of medium height tending towards being tall.

It is in this sense that Barāʾa said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature but closer to being described as tall.’[3]   Therefore, there is no contradiction between this and the description that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature because such a statement is relative as is proven by the narration of ʿĀʾishah that ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would seem to be of medium stature,’[4]  i.e. by way of approximation.[5] Similarly, Umm Maʿbad said, ‘He was of middle stature, neither loathsome for tallness, nor offensive to the eye for shortness.’[6]

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) personality was so imposing and awe-inspiring that his very presence would dominate any gathering. Bayhaqī and Ibn ʿAsākir record that, ‘No one would be perceived to be taller than him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): sometimes two tall men would stand on either side of him and he would seem taller than them, yet when they parted, he would seem to be of medium height.’[7]  Others mention that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) sat, his shoulder seemed higher than all those sitting around him.[8] Therefore, it would seem to those around him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) that just as none was spiritually and morally above him, so too was no one physically above him.[9] Umm Maʿbad said, ‘He seemed like the branch that stood out between two others, being the most beautiful to look at and the most harmoniously proportioned of the three.’[10]

He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown

This description does not contradict the fact that he had a brownish complexion mentioned in the next ḥadīth since what is negated here is his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) being dark brown. There are a number of narrations that describe his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) complexion in different ways, but the overall picture given is that it was pale or light brown, with the parts of the body usually concealed by garments being of an even lighter colour, having a lustre or a luminescence about it.[11]

Anas said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a rosy white colour (azhar al-lawn), neither completely white, nor deep brown.’[12] It is also possible that term azhar al-lawn mean that he had the best skin colour.[13] ʿAlī said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was white skinned with a reddish tinge.’[14] Anas said, ‘He was white, a whiteness leaning towards brown,’[15] and Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘He was (light) brown, leaning towards white.’[16] A red-white colour is often referred to by the Arabs as asmar, brown and this is why Anas said, ‘The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was brown.’[17]

Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘Upon considering all the various reports on this it becomes clear that the whiteness which has been negated from him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is that whiteness that has no tinge of red and the brownness affirmed for him is redness that is mixed with white.’[18]

Some narrations, however, describe that ‘he was extremely white’.[19] Abū’l-Ṭufayl said, ‘I have not forgotten the extreme whiteness of his face.’[20] These refer to the lustre, sheen and glitter of his skin under the light of the sun as shown by the ḥadīth, ‘It was as if the sun were pursuing its course across his face, radiating out of it.’[21] As such, there is no contradiction between these narrations.[22] Umm Maʿbad described him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying, ‘I saw a radiant man with a luminous face and handsome physique.[23]

There are also numerous narrations highlighting the paleness or lightness of the skin colour of various parts of his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) body. His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) leg has been described as being white by Abū Juḥayfah and Anas, as were his thighs and shins.[24][25][26][27] His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) forearms were described as being white,[28] and so too were his armpits and abdomen.[29][30] The Companions also related how they saw the whiteness of his cheeks as he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said the salām at the end of the prayer.[31] Abū Hurayrah narrated that when the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) removed his upper garment, he would resemble an ingot of silver.[32] Miḥrash al-Kaʿbī also stated that he saw his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) back and it resembled an ingot of silver.[33] Anas narrated that one time a Bedouin came and asked, ‘Who amongst you is Muḥammad?’ They replied, ‘This white man reclining on his arm.’[34] All of these narrations are understood to mean his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) having light brown skin colour. When describing skin colour, Arabs would refer to pale or light brown skin as white (abyaḍ) and they would call the colour of Caucasian white, yellow (asfar), hence the Romans would be referred to as Banū Asfar.

His hair was not very curly nor completely straight

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hair was in-between the two and the best of affairs are those that are between the two extremes. Zamakhsharī said, ‘The predominate course amongst the Arabs is to have curly hair and amongst the non-Arabs, straight hair.’ Allāh has blessed His Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) with the best of virtues and qualities and has combined in him all that He has scattered amongst the different races.[35]

Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year

Allāh commissioned him as a Prophet and Messenger, and sent him to both the worlds of jinn and man. This is an integral part of the Muslim faith and whoever rejects it becomes a disbeliever. Some scholars postulated that he was also sent to the Angels.[36]

The commentators have stated that, in this sentence, the meaning of ‘the raʾs of his fortieth year’ means the latter part and not the turn of. This is because the majority of historians and biographers state that he was commissioned after having entered his fortieth year. Ṭībī said, ‘Raʾs here is metaphorically used to refer to the end of the year [and not its beginning] in the same way as one says, “Raʾs of the verse” i.e. its last part.’ Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘[Understanding it to mean the turn of the fortieth year] would mean that he was commissioned in the month of his birth which is Rabīʿ al-Awwal; however, he was commissioned in the month of Ramaḍān and therefore his age would have been forty and a half or thirty nine and a half. Those who mentioned that he was forty years old did so by ignoring the addition or subtraction. However, both Masʿūdī and Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr mention that the correct opinion was that he was commissioned in Rabīʿ al-Awwal, so according to this view he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would have just turned forty. It is also postulated that he was commissioned when he was forty years and ten days or forty years and twenty days old. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ relates an irregular report from Ibn ʿAbbās and Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was commissioned at the turn of his forty-third year.’[37]

The “fortieth year” could refer to when a person has turned forty and moves towards the forty-first, or it could refer to when a person turns thirty-nine and moves toward the fortieth, both usages are common. However, here, the first sense is more likely.

It is said that he was born on Monday, revelation came to him on Monday, he migrated to Madīnah on Monday, he arrived at Madīnah on Monday and he passed away on Monday.[38]

He stayed in Mecca for ten years

This narration has caused some confusion since the Muslims are agreed that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) stayed in Mecca for thirteen years; the scholars have explained it by saying that those who mentioned ten years, rounded down and hence did not mention the additional three years, a style commonly used by the Arabs. Others said that, put simply, the narration of those who mentioned thirteen years is stronger and this one is weak.[39] “And in Madīnah,” i.e. after the Hijra for “ten years,” there is no difference concerning this. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) remained there until the people entered into the religion in droves, until Allāh perfected the religion for him and his nation, and completed His favour upon them.[40]

Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year

The statement implies that he passed away at the age of sixty, some also said that he passed away at the age of sixty-five but the strongest opinion is that he was sixty-three years old when he passed on. The different narrations are reconciled by stating that those who stated sixty-five included the year of his birth and death. Those who mentioned sixty-three did not and those who mentioned sixty rounded down, all methods used by the Arabs when discussing the age of an individual.[41]

And there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard

Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘He had approximately twenty white hairs.’[42] Ibn ʿUmar further said, ‘The Messenger of Allāh’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) white hairs only came to about twenty, all towards the front.’[43]  To be more precise, Anas said, ‘There were only seventeen white hairs on his head and beard.’[44] While describing his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) beard, ʿAbdullāh b. Busr said, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten,’ and he further said that these were concentrated between his lower lip and chin.[45] The remainder was on his temples and head.[46] Bukhārī records that Anas was asked if the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) used to dye his hair to which he replied, ‘He did not reach that stage, there was just something on his temples.’[47] Muslim records on the authority of Anas that the white hairs were on his lower lip, temples, and a scarce scattering on his head.[48] Otherwise his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hair was jet black.[49]

There are some narrations stating that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had no white hair, but these are understood to mean that he did not have a lot of white hair, they were not meant to be a negation in totality. A more detailed discussion concerning his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) age and white hairs follows in the parts in this series.[50]

ʿAbdu’l-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī narrated to us; from Ḥumayd; from Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) from Ḥumayd b. Masʿadah al-Baṣrī that Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a handsome physique. His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion and when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly].”[51]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a handsome physique.

Bukhārī records on the authority of al-Barāʾa that ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was the most handsome of people with the best of physiques.’[52] Another narration mentions that “his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) body was well proportioned: stout and muscular.”[53] He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a nice laugh.[54]

His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion

This does not contradict the previous description of his skin as has already been explained. However, some said that this contradicts the ensuing description that he ‘was white skinned as if moulded of silver.’[55] One explanation offered is that the brownish complexion applied to his skin that was exposed to the sun and the whiteness referred to his skin that was concealed by his garments. However, this reconciliation is problematic because of the narration that mentions his neck being white as if it was made of silver and the neck is usually exposed to the sun. The more plausible explanation is that this comparison holds true when considering the lustre and sheen of his skin under the light of the sun and the smoothness of his skin.[56]

And when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly]

That is, with strength of purpose, taking large, firm steps as opposed to small ones.[57][58] When walking, he would lift his feet clearly off the ground without dragging them.[59]

“When he walked, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) placed his entire foot on the ground,”[60] but without “stamping it down,”[61] instead placing it comfortably.[62] Moreover, when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) walked, he did not turn left or right,[63] nor did he walk idly[64] or languidly.[65] Indeed, Ibn ʿAbbās said that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would walk a person could tell that he was not weak or lazy.[66] Abū Hurayrah said, ‘I have not seen anyone who walked faster than the Messenger of Allāh: it was as if the earth was compacted for him, we would strive to keep up with him yet he was not hard-pressed at all.’[67]

Another version of this ḥadīth has the word yatawakkaʾu instead of yatakaffaʾu, meaning to walk confidently.[68] This description is also reported by Ibn ʿAbbās when he said,

‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) walked confidently and not languidly.’[69]

This steady, energetic yet comfortable gait is characteristic of those with firm determination, those who have a sense of gravity and dignity, and those with courage and valour. It stands in stark contrast to those who saunter, strut, stride, parade or swagger when walking, all of which are gaits of the ostentatious or empty headed.[70] Allāh describes the manner of walking of His servants,

“The servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk humbly on the earth.”[71]

And He says,

“Do not strut arrogantly about the earth: you cannot break it open, nor match the mountains in height.”[72]

“Do not turn your nose up at people, nor walk about the place arrogantly, for Allāh does not love arrogant or boastful people.”[73]

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) manner of walking will be discussed in further detail in a later part in this series.

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“…he wore a red ḥulla. I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”

Source: www.islam21c.com

This is an updated commentary as part of a new series.

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Bukhārī #3547-3548-5900 and Muslim #2347.

[3] This statement also recorded by Dhuhlī, al-Zuhriyyāt and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:253 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah and Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 6:705 said the isnād was ḥasan. It is also recorded by Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:252 on the authority of ʿAlī.

[4] Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil 1:298

[5] Qārī, Haythamī pg. 41.

[6] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[7] Bayhaqī 1:298, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:709.

[8] Ibn Sabaʿ, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ as cited by Qārī

[9] Qārī

[10] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[11] cf. ḥadīth #8

[12] Bukhārī #3547

[13] Suyūṭī, Qārī

[14] Tirmidhi

[15] Bayhaqī 1:204

[16] Aḥmad #3410. Munāwī said the isnād was ḥasan.

[17] Aḥmad #13715 and Ibn Ḥibbān #6286. The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706. This description is also recorded on the authority of Anas by Tirmidhī #1754 and Abū Dāwūd #4863 who said it was ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb, with Albānī and Arnaʿūṭ ruling it ṣaḥīḥ.

[18] See for example ḥadīth #7. This is also the description reported of him by Anas in Muslim #2347 and Jābir by Ibn Saʿd as per Ibn Ḥajr 6:705.

[19] Bayhaqī 1:208 from Abū Hurayrah. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706, said, ‘with a strong isnād.’

[20] Ṭabarānī

[21] Tirmidhī #3548 and declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #6309. The full ḥadīth will be mentioned later in the chapter, ‘The manner of walking of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).’

[22] Ibn Ḥajr, Munāwī

[23] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[24] Bukhārī #3566

[25] Muslim

[26] Bukhārī #376, Muslim

[27] Bukhārī #3566, Muslim

[28] Abū Dāwūd #3206

[29] Bukhārī #6636, Muslim

[30] Bukhārī #7236, Muslim

[31] Muslim

[32] Bayhaqī 1/203,

[33] Nasāʾī 2:30

[34] Bukhārī #63

[35] Munāwī

[36] Munāwī

[37] Fatḥ 6:707, Qārī

[38] Aḥmad 1:277 from Ibn ʿAbbās.

[39] Munāwī, Qārī

[40] Munāwī

[41] Munāwī, Qārī

[42] In Mājah #3630 and Aḥmad #5633 with a ḍaʿīf. isnād.

[43] Ibn Ḥibbān #6294-6295 and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:239; cf. fn. 15

[44] Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt

[45] Bukhāri #3545-3546. The phrase “few white hairs,” has been employed using jamʿ qillah and in the Arabic language, this does not exceed ten. It is for this reason that that Munāwī quotes it by meaning, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten.’

[46] Munāwī

[47] Bukhāri #3550-5894 and Muslim #2341

[48] Muslim #2341

[49] Bayhaqī 1:164, 1:178, 1:203

[50] Qārī

[51] Bukhārī, Ṣifatu-n Nabī, Libās and Muslim, Faḍāʾil.

[52] Bukhārī #3549, Muslim #2337

[53] Ḥadīth #8

[54] Aḥmad #3410

[55] Ḥadīth #12.

[56] Qārī

[57] Haythamī, Majmaʿ 8:273 references this to Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr

[58] Qārī, Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 12:320, ibn al-Qayyim, Zād 1:169,  Qārī, Mirqāt 9:3704

[59] Bayhaqī 1:252

[60] Bayhaqī 1:241, 1:274; cf. Bukhārī, Adab al-Mufrad #1155 from al-Barāʾa

[61] Haythamī, Majmaʿ 8:273 references this to Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr

[62] cf. ḥadīth #8

[63] Ḥākim #7794, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2086

[64] Aḥmad #3033

[65] Bazzār #2391

[66] Ibn ʿAsākir, Tarīkh Dimashq 4:61, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2140

[67] Tirmidhī, Manāqib #3648. Aḥmad #8604-8943

Tirmidhī said the ḥadīth was gharīb and Arnaʿūṭ said it was ḥasan

[68] Qārī, Munāwī

[69] Aḥmad #3034, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2086

[70] Munāwī, ibn al-Qayyim, Zād 1:169,  Qārī, Mirqāt 9:3704

[71] al-Furqān 25:63

[72] al-Israʾ 17:37

[73] Luqmān 31:18

The post A Journey to loving our Prophet ﷺ appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

In this series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

In the last article, we began with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). Now we learn of some of the qualities and virtues he was known for, inshāAllāh.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

– حدثنا سفيان بن وكيع قال، حدثنا جُميع بن عمير بن عبد الرحمن العجلي (إملاء علينا من كتابه) قال، أخبرني رجل من بني تميم من ولد أبي هالة زوج خديجة يكنى أبا عبد الله، عن ابن لأبي هالة، عن الحسن بن علي رضي الله عنهما قال:

سَأَلْتُ خالِي هِنْدَ بنَ أَبِي هالَةَ، وَكانَ وَصَّافاً عَن حِلْيَةِ النبيَّ وَأَنا أَشْتَهِي أَنْ يَصِفَ لِي مِنْها شَيئاً أَتَعَلَّقُ بِهِ فَقالَ:

كانَ رَسُولُ اللهِ  فَخْماً مُفَخَّماً، يَتَلَأْلَأُ وَجْهُهُ تَلَأْلُؤَ القَمَرِ لَيلَةَ البَدْرِ، أَطْوَلَ مِن المَرْبُوعِ، وَأَقْصَرَ مِن المُشَذَّبِ عَظِيمَ الهامَةِ، رَجِلَ الشَّعْرِ، إِنِ انْفَرَقَتْ عَقِيقَتُهُ فَرَقَها، وَإِلا فَلا يُجاوِزُ شَعْرُهُ شَحْمَةَ أُذُنَيهِ إِذا هُوَ وَفَّرَهُ، أَزْهَرَ اللَّونِ، وَاسِعَ الجَبِينِ، أَزَجَّ الحَواجِبِ سَوابِغَ فِي غَيرِ قَرَنٍ، بَينَهُما عِرْقٌ يُدِرُّهُ الغَضَبُ، أَقْنَي العِرْنَينِ، لَهُ نُورٌ يَعْلُوهُ يَحْسَبُهُ مَن لَمْ يَتَأَمَّلَهُ أَشَمَّ، كَثَّ اللِّحْيَةِ، سَهْلَ الخَدَّينِ، ضَلِيعَ الفَمِ مُفَلَّجَ الأَسْنانِ دَقِيقَ المَسْرُبَةِ كَأَنَّ عُنَقَهُ جِيْدُ دُمْيَةٍ فِي صَفاءِ الفِضَّةِ، مُعْتَدِلَ الخَلْقِ، بادِنٌ مُتَماسِكٌ، سَواءَ البَطْنِ وَالصَّدْرِ، عَرِيضَ الصَّدْرِ، بَعِيدَ ما بَينَ المَنْكِبَينِ ضَخْمَ الكَرادِيسِ، أَنْوَرَ المُتَجَرَّدِ، مَوصُولَ ما بَينَ اللَّبَّةِ وَالسُّرَّةِ بِشَعْرٍ يَجْرِي كَالخَطِّ، عارِيَ الثَّدْيَينِ وَالبَطَنِ مِما سِوَى ذَلك، أَشْعَرَ الذِّراعَينِ وَالمَنْكِبَينِ وَأَعالِي الصَّدْرِ، طَوِيلَ الزَّنْدَينِ رَحْبَ الرَّاحَةِ شَثْنَ الكَفَّينِ وَالقَدَمَينِ، سائِلَ الأَطْرافِ، أَو قالَ شائِلَ الأَطرافِ خُمْصانَ الأَخْمَصَينِ مَسِيحَ القَدَمَينِ يَنْبُو عَنْهُما الماءُ، إِذا زَالَ زَالَ قَلْعاً، يَخْطُو تَكَفِّياً وَيَمْشِي هَوناً، ذَرِيعَ المِشْيَةِ إِذا مَشَى كَأَنَّما يَنْحَطُّ مِن صَبَبٍ، وَإِذا الْتَفَتَ التَفَتَ جَمِيعاً، خافِضَ الطَّرَفِ، نَظَرُهُ إِلى الأَرْضِ أَطْوَلُ مِن نَظَرِهِ إِلى السَّماءِ، جُلُّ نَظَرِهِ المُلاحَظَةُ. يَسُوقُ أَصْحابَهُ، وَيَبْدَأُ مَن لَقِيَ بِالسَّلامِ

Sufyān b. Wakīʿ narrated to us that Jumayʿ b. ʿUmayr b. ʿAbdur-Raḥmān al-ʿIjlī read to us from his book saying: A man from Banī Tamīm, from the sons of Abū Hālah – the husband of Khadījah – who was given the honorific of Abū ʿAbdullāh was told from one of the sons of Abū Hālah that al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhumā) said,

I asked my uncle, Hind ibn Abū Hālah, [to describe the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)] because it was his habit to do so and I really wanted him to describe some of his characteristics to me that I could memorise. He said,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was imposing and majestic in and of himself and in the eyes of those who saw him. His face shone with resplendence like that of the moon when full. He was somewhat taller than a person of medium stature but shorter than a tall person. His head was large with slightly curly hair and if the hair on his forehead parted easily, he would keep it parted, otherwise his hair, when at its longest, would reach the lobes of his ears. He had a rosy white complexion with a wide brow, thick curved eyebrows that did not quite meet in the middle. Between them was a vein that would throb when angry. He had a long, slightly arched nose which shone with a light that would seem to elevate it, whoever did not carefully look at it would think he had a large nasal bridge. He had a thick and full beard with smooth cheeks that were not raised. He had a wide mouth with a gap in the teeth. He had a fine line of hair extending from his chest to navel. His neck resembled that of an ivory dolls, white in colour like pure silver. His body was well proportioned: stout and muscular. His chest and stomach were level and he had a wide chest with broad shoulders. His limbs were large and stout, and the skin that was bare of clothes had a lustre about it. He had a line of hair extending from his upper chest to his navel, apart from that, his chest and stomach were bare. The upper part of his chest, his forearms, and shoulders had a lot of hair on them. He had long forearms with wide palms and he had masculine hands and feet. His fingers were long but not extremely so, he had insteps, and his feet were smooth and well-proportioned because of which water would swiftly flow off them and quickly vanish. When he walked, he walked briskly with strength of purpose but placed his feet on the ground comfortably. When he walked, he took large steps as if he was descending a slope. When he turned [to address someone], he turned his entire body. He would constantly lower his gaze looking more to the ground than he would the sky, and most of the time he would merely glance at something. He would have his Companions walk in front of him and would hurry to greet whoever he met with the salām.”[2]

I asked my uncle, Hind b. Abū Hālah, [to describe the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)]

al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī saw the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) while he was young and wanted to be reminded of how he looked. The request shows that learning about what the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) looked like is a branch of knowledge worthy of our attention.[3]

I really wanted him to describe some of his characteristics to me that I could memorise

The desire to know how someone looked and his qualities and characteristics is a sign of loving that person. The narration shows that the early generation of Muslims were keen to learn as much about their Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) as they possibly could.

In addition to this description given by Hind, another detailed description of him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was provided by Umm Maʿbad. She related,

“I saw a radiant man with a luminous face and handsome physique, unspoiled by fleshiness and not tainted by leanness. Comely and fine looking with large black eyes and thick eyelashes. His neck was long, his beard thick, his brows fine, arched and joined. When silent he had an air of dignity, and when he spoke he was stately and lustrous. He was the most handsome of people when you observe him from a distance, and nicest and kindest when close to you. His speech was sweet and clear, like string beads shed from their string; he spoke neither too little nor too much. He was of middle stature, neither loathsome for tallness, nor offensive to the eye for shortness. He seemed like the branch that stood out between two others, being the most beautiful to look at and the most harmoniously proportioned of the three. He had companions surrounding him who, when he spoke, listened silently to what he said, and when he commanded, rushed to carry out the order.”[4]

His face shone with resplendence like that of the moon when full

The ḥadīth of Umm Maʿbad has just preceded where she said, “I saw a radiant man with a luminous face.”

It was the habit of the Arabs, and poets for that matter, to compare certain qualities and attributes to objects and creatures to drive home the point being made, or to make it easier for the reader to grasp what was being said, or to introduce hyperbole. Here the comparison can only be one of approximation since the true nature of his qualities is far beyond the ability of any human language to describe.[5] The comparison here will be explained more fully in later ḥadīths.

If the hair on his forehead parted easily, he would keep it parted, otherwise his hair, when at its longest,would reach the lobes of his ears.

Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘Bukhārī and Muslim record that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would let his hair hang freely, as did the People of the Book, and the polytheists would part their hair. He liked to follow the practice of the People of the Book in those matters for which no command had come to him. Then, after this, the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would part his hair.[6] It is permissible to let the hair hang freely or part it, but parting is better as this is what he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) did at the end.’ More detail follows in the chapter dealing with Tarajjul.[7]

Thick curved eyebrows that did not quite meet in the middle

His eyebrows almost joined but did not. This is the correct description of his features in contrast to what is mentioned in the ḥadīth of Umm Maʿbad that his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) eyebrows were joined.[8] Assuming that this report is authentic, it is possible to reconcile the two descriptions by saying that the gap between the eyebrows was very fine and not easily discernible unless one looked carefully.[9]

A long, slightly arched nose

aqnā al-ʿirnayn: the word aqnā when used to describe a nose means long with a fine tip, slightly raised in the middle.[10] ʿirnayn refers to the upper part or the bridge of the nose, or it can be used to refer to the whole nose which seems most suitable in this context.[11] This is supported by the narration of Bazzār in which he states

‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)had a long, slightly arched nose (aqnā al-anf).’[12]

whoever did not carefully look at it would think he had a large nasal bridge

Ashamm: shamam can mean proud and arrogant, but when used to describe the nose means a raised nasal bridge with an upturned tip.

He had a thick and full beard

This is also how his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) beard is depicted by al-Barāʾa b. ʿĀzib.[13] Another ḥadīth mentions that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a, “full beard”[14] and in another, “large beard,”[15] and in yet another, “He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had lots of hair in his beard.”[16] Ḥāfiẓ Zayn al-ʿIrāqī said, ‘This is how it was described by ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb, Ibn Masʿūd, Umm Maʿbad and Hind.’ The narration of Ḥumayd has, “His beard filled the area from here to here,” and some of the narrators of this ḥadīth pointed from one side of the face to the other,[17] covering his neck.[18] Jābir said, “He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a thick head of hair and a thick beard.”’[19]

With smooth cheeks that were not raised

sahl al-khadayn: i.e. smooth cheeks that were not raised.[20] This meaning is further consolidated by the ḥadīth in Bazzār, “He had broad (asyal) cheeks that were not raised.”[21]

He had a wide mouth

This is a praiseworthy feature in the view of the Arabs and an expression denoting the peak of eloquence and clarity in speech.[22] This description is also reported from Jābir.[23]

ʿUmar (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, “Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would laugh, and he had the most handsome of mouths!”[24]Abū Hurayrah also said that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) ‘had the most handsome of mouths.’[25]

with a gap in the teeth

mufallaj al-asnān: a gap in the teeth or teeth with a gap between the incisors as a later narration shows.[26] His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) teeth were also white as recorded in another narration of this ḥadīth.[27]

The Messenger of Allāh’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) mouth was full of blessings. Ibn Ḥajr said, ‘Aḥmad and others record that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) drank from a bucket which was then lowered into a well, and after this it would diffuse an aroma like that of musk.[28] Abū Nuʿaym records that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) spat in a well in the house of Anas, after which there was no well to be found in Madīnah that would give sweeter water than his. Bayhaqī records that on the Day of ʿĀshūrāʾ, he spat lightly in the mouths of those suckling infants with him and his daughter, Fāṭimah, and said not to feed them until nightfall, and his spit would suffice them.’[29]

His neck resembled that of an ivory dolls, white in colour like pure silver

jīd: neck

dumyah: a doll or small statue made of ivory.[30]

The purpose is to illustrate that his neck was finely balanced, exquisitely formed and truly beautiful. In colour it was not like ivory, rather like pure silver.[31]

Abū Hurayrah narrated that when he removed his upper garment, he would resemble an ingot of silver.[32] Miḥrash al-Kaʿbī also stated that he saw his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) back and it resembled an ingot of silver.[33]

His body was well proportioned: stout and muscular

bādin: i.e. his body was neither fat nor thin and weak, rather it was firm and strong.[34] As such, the statement has the same meaning as his not being overweight already discussed.[35]

Mutamāsik: muscular and lean with well-proportioned limbs.[36]

The skin that was bare of clothes had a lustre about it

anwar al-mutajarrad: the skin that was bare of clothes, or hairless, had a lustre about it.[37] The sentence can also mean that the skin of those parts of the body normally covered by clothes, when uncovered had a lustre about it.

He had long forearms

This is also how Abū Hurayrah described him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying, “He had long forearms.”[38]

He had insteps

This does not necessarily contradict the description mentioned in the ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) walked, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) placed his entire foot on the ground, and he did not have insteps.[39] al-Barāʾa also reported the same.[40] This is because what is negated is his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) having high or deep insteps while what is affirmed is his having moderate insteps.[41] Others argued that there was no need to reconcile the two sets of ḥadīths as this ḥadīth is not authentic and Abū Hurayrah’s is.[42]

Munāwī said,  ‘Amongst the virtues of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is that Allāh has mentioned each of his limbs in the Qurʾān: He mentioned his face in, “We have seen the turning of your face toward the heaven”;[43] his eyes in, “Do not direct your eyes longingly to what We have given certain of them to enjoy”;[44] his tongue in, “We have made it easy on your tongue so that you can give good news to those who have taqwā”;[45] his hand and neck in “Do not keep your hand chained to your neck and neither extend it to its full extent”;[46] his chest and back in, “Did We not expand your breast for you and remove your load from you which weighed down your back”;[47] his heart in, “The faithful spirit brought it down to your heart so that you would be one of the warners”;[48] and all of him in, “Indeed you are truly vast in character.”’[49]

He would constantly lower his gaze looking more to the ground then he would to the sky

This would occur in his periods of silence, or when he was not focused on something else. The reason for this is that such a posture is more conducive to contemplating and thinking, or it was because of his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) great modesty before his Lord. When understood in this light, this narration does not contradict the ḥadīth recorded by Abū Dāwūd that when he sat and spoke, he would frequently look at the sky.[50]

He would have his Companions walk in front of him

He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) did this out of modesty and humbleness. By doing this, he was showing them that he was like a shepherd guiding his flock, and that he was also thinking about the poor and weak, putting himself behind them, thereby taking their feelings into account. This practice refutes the habit of the arrogant, ostentatious and the ignoramuses hankering after status. Dārimī records with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād that the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Leave my back empty for the Angels.”[51] Aḥmad records on the authority of Jābir that the Companions of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would walk in front of him and leave his rear for the Angels.[52] Perhaps this is derived from His saying, “And the Angels moreover are his assistants.”[53]

And would hurry to greet whoever he met with the salām

This is a general statement but it excludes the disbelievers. The first thing he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would do when meeting someone was to give the salām, even if they were children. This act is a clear manifestation of humility.

Some have argued that he did so to prefer those he met over himself with the greater reward of responding to the salām since responding to the salām is obligatory and hence superior to the sunnah of initiating the greeting. This is incorrect since it is an established principle that giving preference to others in matters of worship is not praiseworthy. In fact, Nawawī said it was reprehensible when explaining this in the chapter dealing with Tayammum in al-Majmūʿ, and Imām al-Ḥaramayn said it was unlawful. Ibn ʿAbdi’l-Salām said, ‘One cannot give preference in matters of worship because the goal of worship is to exalt and magnify Allāh; as such when a person gives preference to another in matters of worship, he has left magnifying Allāh as best he can.’ Moreover, they have also overlooked the saying of the scholars that this sunnah is better than the obligation because it is a means to its attainment. The principle that an obligation is superior to an optional deed does not hold true in every case, rather there are exceptions such as initiating the salām which is a sunnah, the response to which is an obligation, and such as performing ablution before the time of prayer, this is a sunnah and is better than performing it in the time of prayer.[54]

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“I paused and looked at him and then the moon and found that, in my view, he was more beautiful than the moon.”

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu).

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Albānī: In one text the wording is, “He would initiate the salām.” I say: perhaps this is the correct wording for this is what is mentioned in al-Bidāyah via the route of Yaʿqūb ibn Sufyān.

It is recorded by Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 22:155 and Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil 1:286-297 with an isnād that is ḍaʿīf jiddan: the man from Banī Tamīm is majhūl and Jumayʿ is ḍaʿīf and some accused him of lying. However, all that is mentioned in the ḥadīth is proven by other authentic aḥādīth, Allāh knows best.

[3] ʿAbbād

[4] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[5] Qārī

[6] Bukhārī #3558-3944–5918 and Muslim #2336

[7] Chpt. 3

[8] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[9] Qārī

[10] Haythamī

[11] Bājūrī

[12] Bazzār #

[13] Nasāʾī #5232

[14] Nasāʾī, Zīnah

[15] Aḥmad #746, Ibn Ḥibbān #6311, Bayhaqī 1:217

[16] Muslim #2344

[17] Aḥmad #3410

[18] Aḥmad #3410

[19] Qārī, Munāwī

[20] Haythamī

[21] Bazzār #

[22] Qārī

[23] cf. ḥadīth #9

[24] Ibn Ḥibbān #6290

[25] Bayhaqī 1:164

[26] Ḥadīth #15.

[27] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 22:155 #414, cf. Munāwī, Fayḍ al-Qadīr 5:76

[28] Ibn Mājah #659 and Aḥmad [4/416]

[29] Fatḥ 6:711

[30] Suyūṭī, Bājūrī, ʿAbbād

[31] Haythamī, Qārī, Munāwī

[32] Bayhaqī 1:203

[33] Nasāʾī 2:30

[34] ʿAbbād

[35] cf. ḥadīth #7

[36] Haythamī, Bājūrī

[37] Bājūrī, ʿAbbād

[38] Aḥmad #9786

[39] Bayhaqī 1:241, 245, 275

[40] Bukhārī, Adab al-Mufrad #1155

[41] Bayhaqī 1:305, Haythamī

[42] Qārī

[43] al-Baqarah (2): 144

[44]  al-Ḥijr (15): 88

[45] Maryam (19): 97

[46] al-Isrāʾ (17): 29

[47] al-Sharḥ (94): 1-3

[48] al-Shuʿarāʾ (26): 194

[49] al-Qalam (68): 4

[50] Abū Dāwūd #4837. cf. Qārī, Munāwī

[51] Dārimī 1, pp. 23-25. It was ruled ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #6312.

Ḥākim #7753 records on the authority of Jābir that the Messenger of Allāh (SAW) said, “Do not walk directly in front of me or behind me for this is the place of the angels.” He ruled it to be ṣaḥīḥ and Dhahabī agreed.

[52] Ibn Mājah, Muqaddimah #246 and Aḥmad #14236 with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād and it was declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #6312

[53] al-Taḥrīm (66): 4. cf Munawī

[54] Qārī, Munāwī

The post Prophetic Beauty appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

In this series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

Last week, we began with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam). This week we learn of some of the qualities and virtues he was known for, inshāAllāh.

Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Shuʿbah said: I asked Simāk what the meaning of  ‘wide mouth’ was and he replied, ‘a large mouth.’

This is the opinion of the majority, and it is also said that the meaning is ‘having large teeth,’ but this is incorrect.

I asked him what the meaning of ‘ashkal eyes’ was and he replied, ‘wide eyes.’

 Qaḍī ʿIyāḍ said, ‘This is an error on the part of Simāk and the correct position is the position agreed upon by the scholars and all those who explained the difficult words occurring in the aḥādīth: shaklah is a redness in the white of the eye and this is an extremely praiseworthy feature in the view of the Arabs; shahlah is a redness in the black of the eye.[3] Bayhaqī records on the authority of ʿAlī that, “He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had large eyes, long eyelashes and his eyes had a tinge of red.”’[4]

Hāfiẓ al-ʿIrāqī said, ‘This feature is one of the signs of Prophethood. When he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) journeyed to Syria with Maysirah and the monk asked about him, amongst the things that Maysirah said was, “His eyes have a red tinge to them”, to which the monk said, “That is him, that is him!”’

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was said to have extremely keen eyesight, more so than those around him. Suhaylī records that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) could see ten stars of the Pleiades and in al-Shifā it is mentioned that he could see twelve.[5]

I saw the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) on a clear, moonlit night

Some narrations mention that it was the eighth night of the month,[7] “wearing a red ḥulla,” this incident had such an impact on him that he was able to recollect it as if he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was actually standing there before him. The clothes struck him and were a further cause to ponder his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) beauty.[8]

I paused and looked at him

What is meant here is his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) face, “and found that, in my view,” not just his view because every Muslim who looks at him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) through the light of faith and love sees him like this, unlike those who are blind. Allāh informs us, “You see them looking at you but not seeing.”[9] What we see depends on how we look and the strength of our vision. For this reason, disbelievers were unable to see his beauty and perfection as their sight was marred by disbelief.[10]

Some narrations of this ḥadīth have, “in my eyes”[11] in place of, “in my view.”[12]

He was more beautiful than the moon

His physical beauty coupled with his spiritual beauty. The moon, a luminous orb of white radiance hanging in an otherwise dark, majestic heaven is being compared to his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) face. Even then, this comparison falls short and fails to convey his true beauty; it is employed merely to make the point. Allāh adorned His Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) with a beauty that far surpassed that of the moon,[13] and the light of his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) face is intrinsic to it, never leaving it. The light of the moon, however, is something that does not belong to it, it is borrowed; sometimes it fades and sometimes it disappears altogether. As such, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is more beautiful than the moon on a clear night.[14] Not only this, but Ibn Abī Hālah chose to compare his face to the moon because he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) appeared when the world was steeped in the darkness of disbelief and he filled it with light just as the moon lights up the night.[15]

Kaʿb b. Mālik said that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was happy, “his face lit up like it was the halo of the moon.”[16] Bukhārī records on the authority of Kaʿb b. Mālik who said that, ‘when the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was happy, his face would light up as if it was a piece of the moon.’[17] Ibn ʿUmar said that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was pleased, his face lit up as if a wall-mounted mirror reflecting sunlight.[18] Rubayyiʿ bint Muʿawwidh said, “Were you to see him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) you would have thought the sun had risen.”[19]

Was the face of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) like a sword?

i.e. in beauty and lustre. The question was also posed regarding the shape of his face as indicated by the wording of Ismāʿīlī, ‘Was the face of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) elongated like a sword?’[21]

No, it was like the moon

In its radiance and beauty as well as having a round quality rather than being long.[22] This understanding is strengthened by the ḥadīth of Kaʿb b. Mālik previously quoted who said that, ‘when the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was happy, his face would light up as if it was a piece of the moon.’ Indeed the aḥādīth prove that, “he was more beautiful than the moon,” and that, “were you to see him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) you would have thought the sun had risen,” as already quoted.[23] The moon is more radiant, permanent and imparts far more benefit than the sword; as such the comparison was altered to that of the moon.[24]

Muslim records on the authority of Jābir b. Samurah that a man asked him, ‘Did the face of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) resemble a sword?’ He replied, ‘No, it was like the sun and the moon, it was round.’[25] Abū ʿUbayd said, ‘He did not mean that it was completely round, rather that it had a sense of softness and serenity about it.’[26] This understanding is strengthened by the report that, “he had smooth cheeks that were not raised.”[27] So his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) face was brighter than the sun, and more radiant and beautiful than the moon.[28]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Muslim, Faḍāʾil #2339 and Tirmidhī, Manāqib #3646-3647.

[3] This is the description of his (SAW) eyes provided by Ibn Ḥibbān #6289 with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād: ashhal al-ʿaynayn.

[4] Bayhaqī 1:212

[5] Qārī

[6] Tirmidhī, Adab #2811 who said it was ḥasan gharīb. Ḥākim #7383 said it was ṣaḥīḥ and Dhahabī agreed,

[7] Qārī

[8] Qārī

[9] al-Aʿrāf (7): 198

[10] Qārī

[11] Abū Yaʿlā #7477, Ḥākim #7383, Bayhaqī, Shuʿab #1351

[12] Munāwī

[13] ʿAbbād

[14] Qārī

[15] Munāwī

[16] Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʾil #553, Abū al-Shaykh, Akhlāq al-Nabī #143

[17] Bukhārī, Manāqib #3556

[18] Abū al-Shaykh, Akhlāq al-Nabī #142

[19] Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr. Haythamī, Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 8:280, said that its narrators were trustworthy and precise and Arnaʾūṭ ruled it ḥasan.

[20] Bukhārī, Ṣifatu’l-Nabī #3552 and Tirmidhī, Manāqib #3636.

[21] Qārī, Munāwī

[22] Suyūṭī

[23] Qārī

[24] Munāwī

[25] Muslim, Faḍāʾil #2344

[26] Qārī, cf. ḥadīth #7

[27] Ḥadīth #8.

[28] Munāwī. cf. the comments to ḥadīth #8.

[29] The author was alone in recording it. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2053 ruled it ṣaḥīḥ. Abū Dāwūd al-Maṣāḥifī – Sulaymān ibn Salm – narrated to us; Naḍr ibn Shumayl narrated to us; from Ṣāliḥ ibn Abū al-Akhdar; from ibn Shihāb; from Abū Salamah.

The post “He was more beautiful than the moon” ﷺ appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

In this series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

The Prophets were presented to me

This either happened in a dream or during the Night of al-Isrāʾ.[2] This indicates his superiority (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) over them because they were presented to him rather than the other way around. The Prophets are like his entourage and the entourage is presented to the master and not vice-versa. The meaning of the word Prophets here is general and encompasses the Messengers.[3]

I saw Moses (ʿalayhi al-Salām), he was lean and well-built and resembled the tribe of Shanūʿah

Ḍarb min al-rijāl: lean and not fleshy, of a fine build.[4]

Shanūʿah: a well-known Yemeni tribe known for being of moderate build, neither too thin nor too fat.[5]

Mūsā (ʿalayhi al-Salām) was of medium build without being fleshy, tall and (dark)[6] brown,[7] well built with lots of hair[8] that was curly.[9] Another narration describes him as being large (jasīm),[10] which is understood to be a reference to his height.[11]

I saw Jesus (ʿalayhi al-Salām) and the person I have seen who resembles him most is ʿUrwah b. Masʿūd

ʿUrwah b. Masʿūd (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) accepted Islām in the ninth year of Hijrah after the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) returned from Ṭāʾif. He returned to his people to call them to Islām, they refused however and he was killed while calling the adhān for prayer, or while calling them to Islām. Not much more is known of ʿUrwah so as to know how Jesus looked but Muslim has the ḥadīth describing Jesus (ʿalayhi al-Salām) as being “of medium build, red skinned as if he had just come out of a bath.”[12] Another ḥadīth mentions about him, “I saw a brown man, the best one can see amongst those of brown colour.”[13] Other ḥadīths describe him as having red-white skin with straight hair,[14] a lean and strong, well-proportioned build[15]^,[16] with a broad chest,[17] and keen eyes.[18]

The narrations concerning his skin colour can be reconciled by saying that he had a redness and a brownness, but neither was so dark as to be predominate, as such sometimes he was described as being red and other times as brown; or they can be reconciled by saying that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saw him on two separate occasions in two different situations, his actual colour being brown and his being described as red on another occasion was due to some external factor, such as exertion or the likes.[19]

I saw Abraham (ʿalayhi al-Salām) and the person who resembles him most is your companion – i.e. himself

“i.e. himself,” are the words of Jābir or one of the other narrators of the ḥadīth. Another ḥadīth has, “I am the one who resembles Abraham the most amongst his children.” This resemblance was so strong that that every limb he looked at reminded him of himself.[20]

I saw Gabriel

Jibrīl (ʿalayhi al-Salām) has been mentioned here, amongst the Prophets, because of his frequently mixing in their company since he was responsible for conveying revelation to them, “and the person who resembles him the most is Diḥyā,” one of the senior Companions. He did not attend Badr but attended all the ensuing battles and was one of those who gave the pledge of allegiance under the tree. Similitudes would be propounded of him because of his great beauty. The two Ṣaḥīḥs mention that on occasion Jibrīl would come to the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) in the form of Diḥyā.[21]

I have seen the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and not a single person remains on the face of this earth

thereby excluding Jesus who saw him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) while he was in the heaven, “who has seen him besides me,” meaning that he then is the most deserving of being asked about him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) and encouraging others to ask after him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).

This ḥadīth shows that he was the last of the Companions of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) to die. He saw the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) during the last eight years of his life, and passed away in the year 110AH according to the correct opinion.[23] This accords to the words of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), a month before his passing away, “There is no breathing soul on this earth that will be alive in one hundred years’ time.” Another narration mentions that towards the end of his life, the Prophet  prayed ʿIshā after which he stood and said, “Do you see this night of yours? In one hundred years, there will not remain alive anybody who is alive on this earth today.”[24]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a gap between his incisors

al-falaj: refers to a gap between the incisors and the molars and al-faraq refers to a gap between the incisors, here al-falaj is employed with the meaning of al-faraq as proven by the context, this was stated by Ibn al-Athīr. However in al-Ṣiḥāḥ it is mentioned that al-falaj is used to refer to both types of gaps and as such one no longer stands in need of saying that one word has been used in place of another.[26]

When he spoke it was as if light was emanating from between his middle teeth

This was due to their extreme whiteness.[27] It could also mean something very white was seen that would glitter like light, this by way of a miracle for him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam),[28] however this ḥadīth is ḍaʿīf and miracles need to be established via authentic ḥadīth.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Muslim, Īmān #167 and Tirmidhī, Manāqib #3649.

[2] Haythamī, ʿAbbād

[3] Qārī

[4] Suyūṭī, Haythamī

[5] Qārī, Munāwī

[6] Aḥmad #3546, ar: asḥam

[7] Bukhārī, Anbiyāʾ #3394, Muslim #266

[8] Aḥmad #3546

[9] Bukhārī #5913, Muslim #267-270

[10] Aḥmad #2697

[11] Qārī

[12] Bukhārī, Anbiyāʾ #3394, 3437 and Muslim, Īmān #168

[13] Muslim, Īmān #169

[14] Bukhārī #3239, Muslim #267

[15] Aḥmad #3546

[16] Bukhārī #3395-3396, Muslim #266. Ar: jaʿd which in this context refers to the build of the body as opposed to having curly hair, and hence conforms to the description of him having straight hair. cf. Nawawī, Sharḥ Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim

[17] Aḥmad #2697

[18] Aḥmad #3546

[19] Qārī

[20] Aḥmad 1:347 #3546 from ibn ʿAbbās

[21] Bukhārī #4980, Muslim #271

[22] Muslim, Faḍāʾil #2340 and Abū Dāwūd, Adab #4864.

[23] Haythamī

[24] Bukhārī, ʿIlm #116, Mawāqīt al-Ṣalāh #564-601 and Muslim, Faḍāʾil al-Ṣaḥābah #2537-2538

[25] Ṭabarānī, al-Awsaṭ and al-Kabīr 11:416, Dārimī #59 and Bayhaqī 1:215.

Haythamī 8:279 said its isnād contains a ḍaʿīf narrator. Albānī: the isnād is ḍaʿīf jiddan.

[26] Qārī, Haythamī

[27] Haythamī

[28] Haythamī, Munāwī

The post The Likeness of Abraham ﷺ appeared first on Islam21c.

أَوْ كَصَيِّبٍ مِّنَ السَّمَاءِ فِيهِ ظُلُمَاتٌ وَرَعْدٌ وَبَرْقٌ يَجْعَلُونَ أَصَابِعَهُمْ فِي آذَانِهِم مِّنَ الصَّوَاعِقِ حَذَرَ الْمَوْتِ ۚ وَاللَّـهُ مُحِيطٌ بِالْكَافِرِينَ

“Or like a rainstorm from the sky, wherein is darkness, thunder and lightning. They thrust their fingers in their ears to keep out the stunning thunder-clap for fear of death. But Allāh ever encompasses the disbelievers.”[1]

“Or like a rainstorm”

In this āyah, Allāh gives a parable for the guidance and knowledge that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) came with, comparing it to rain. Knowledge and guidance gives life to the souls just as water gives life to the bodies. This aspect of the parable was further explained in His saying,

“It is Allāh who sends the winds, bearing good news of His coming grace, and when they have gathered up the heavy clouds, We drive them to a dead land where We cause rain to fall, bringing out all kinds of crops, just as We shall bring out the dead. Will you not reflect? Vegetation comes out of good land in abundance, by the will of its Lord, but out of bad land only scantily.”[2]

The Messenger (ﷺ) explained this in the ḥadīth,

“The similitude of the guidance and knowledge that Allāh has sent me with is like abundant rain falling on the earth, some of which has fertile soil that absorbed the rainwater and brought forth vegetation and grass in abundance. And another portion of it was hard and held the rainwater and Allāh benefited the people with it and they utilised it for drinking, making their animals drink from it and for irrigation of the land for cultivation. And a portion of it was barren which could neither hold water nor bring forth vegetation…”[3]

“Wherein is darkness”

The doubts and suspicions plaguing the hypocrites about the Qurʾān have been likened to the darkness in rain which in turn has been given as a parable for the Qurʾān. Allāh has given us a number of examples where āyāhs are like darkness for them because they only increase them in blindness.

Allāh says,

“We only made the direction the one you used to face in order to distinguish those who follow the Messenger from those who turn on their heels: that test was hard, except for those Allāh has guided.”[4]

The change of the Qiblah (from Jerusalem to the Kaʿbah) made people of weak conviction think that the Messenger (ﷺ) was himself wavering in doubt, one day facing one direction in prayer and another day another! This is why Allāh says,

“The foolish people will say, ‘What has turned them away from the prayer direction they used to face?’”[5]

Allāh makes clear that the abrogation of the Qiblah was hard upon those whom Allāh did not guide and strengthen, “that test was hard, except for those Allāh has guided.”

Allāh says,

“The vision We showed you was only a test for people, as was the cursed tree [mentioned] in the Qurʾān. We warn them, but this only increases their insolence.”[6]

What he (ﷺ) was shown on the night of Isrāʾ and Miʿrāj was one of the great miracles and wonders bestowed him, defying the laws of nature, and strengthened the belief of the disbelievers that he (ﷺ) was a liar because they thought that what he informed them of could not possibly have happened. So this event was a means by which the misguided increased in misguidance.

The accursed tree of Zaqqūm which is mentioned in the Qurʾān was also a means of increasing the misguided in misguidance. When they heard the Prophet (ﷺ) reciting, “it is a tree that springs out of the bottom of Hellfire,”[7] they said, “Now he is clearly lying! A tree will not grow in a desert so how can one grow from the bottom of Hell?!”

Allāh says,

“And We have fixed their number as a trial for the disbelievers.”[8]

When he (ﷺ) recited the āyah, “over it (Hell) are nineteen (angels as guardians)”[9] some people said, “This is a paltry number! We can kill them and take Paradise by force such is the number guarding this Fire that Muḥammad (ﷺ) thinks that we will enter.”

Allāh did this as a trial and test for them. He has an all-encompassing wisdom in doing so and is far above what the unbelievers say.

“And thunder”

Allāh has compared the rebukes and threats contained in the Qurʾān that ring in the ears and stir the heart to thunder, some of which are mentioned in other verses such as His sayings: “And if they turn away then say, ‘I have warned you of a destructive awful cry’”;[10] “You who were given the Scripture, believe in what We have sent down [to Muhammad], confirming that which is with you, before We obliterate faces and turn them toward their backs or curse them”;[11] and “I am a warner to you at the onset of a grievous punishment.”

In the chapter dealing the commentary of Sūrah al-Ṭūr, Bukhārī records the ḥadīth of Jubair b. Muṭʿim (RA) who said, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) reciting al-Ṭūr in Maghrib prayer, and when he reached this verse, “Were they created by nothing, or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay, but they have no firm belief. Or are with them the treasures of your Lord? Or are they tyrants with the authority to do as they like?” my heart almost jumped a beat.’

There are numerous other rebukes and cataclysmic announcements which the hypocrites were in continuous fear of, to the point that Allāh says, 

“They think that every cry is against them, they are the enemies, so beware of them.”[12]

The verse that we are in the process of explaining, even if it was revealed with regards to the hypocrites, consideration is given to the generality of the wording and not to the specific reason of its revelation.

“And lightning”

Allāh compares the light of decisive evidences and radiant proofs in the Qurʾān to lightning. The Qurʾān is a light by which Allāh uncovers the darkness of ignorance, doubt and shirk much the same way that natural light uncovers dark recesses. Allāh says, “O mankind! Indeed, there has come to you a convincing proof from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a clear light”;[13] “We made it a light, guiding with it whoever We will of Our servants”;[14] “And follow the light that has been sent down with him.” [15]

“But Allāh ever encompasses the disbelievers”

Some scholars said that ‘encompasses the disbelievers’ means that He will destroy them and this opinion is testified to by the saying of Allāh, ‘Jacob insisted, “I will not send him with you until you give me a solemn oath by Allāh that you will certainly bring him back to me, unless you are totally surrounded,”’[16] i.e. unless an enemy destroys you to your last man. It is also said that it means to overpower and both opinions are close in meaning because someone who is destroyed is hemmed in on all sides with no means of escape. The same applies to someone who is overpowered. In this respect is the saying of the poet:

We surrounded them until they became certain (of defeat)

Due to what they saw and inclined towards peace

Also in this respect – understanding ‘surrounded’ to mean ‘destroyed’ are His sayings, “So his fruits were encircled (with ruin),”[17] “there comes a storm wind and the waves come upon them from everywhere and they assume that they are surrounded, supplicating Allah, sincere to Him in religion.”[18]

يَكَادُ الْبَرْقُ يَخْطَفُ أَبْصَارَهُمْ ۖ كُلَّمَا أَضَاءَ لَهُم مَّشَوْا فِيهِ وَإِذَا أَظْلَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ قَامُوا ۚ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّـهُ لَذَهَبَ بِسَمْعِهِمْ وَأَبْصَارِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

“The lightning almost snatches away their sight. Every time it lights [the way] for them, they walk therein; but when darkness comes over them, they stand [still]. And if Allāh had willed, He could have taken away their hearing and their sight. Indeed, Allāh is Most Capable of everything.”[19]

“The lightning almost snatches away their sight”

Meaning that the dazzling light of the Qurʾān blinds their eyes just as the brilliance of a flash of lightning almost snatches away the sight of the onlooker. This is more so the case when the sight is weak: the weaker the sight the more it is affected by light. The poet said:

The light of day increases the sight of mortals

Yet blinds the eyes of bats

And the saying of another:

Bats are blinded by the light of day

While the covering of night agrees with them

The eyes of the disbelievers and the hypocrites are completely weak, and the sheer intensity of the Qurʾān’s light increases them in blindness. Allāh clarifies this blindness in His sayings, “So is the one who knows that what has been sent to you from your Lord is the truth like the one who is blind?”[20] “The blind and the seeing are not the same.”[21]

Some scholars said that ‘the lightning almost snatches away their sight’ means that the clear and unequivocal verses of the Qurʾān reveal the weaknesses and defects of the hypocrites.

“Whenever it flashes for them, they walk therein, and when darkness covers them, they stand still”

Allāh gives a similitude for the hypocrites in this verse stating that when the Qurʾān agrees with their desires and expectations they act according to it, like when it comes to marrying the believers and inheriting from them, receiving a share of the war booty, and safety from being killed despite the disbelief that is in their hearts. Whenever it does not agree with their desires such as when commanded to expend their selves and wealth in Jihād in Allāh’s way they hold back and delay. Allāh points this out with His words,

“And when they are summoned to Allāh and His Messenger in order for him to judge between them, some of them turn away. But if they were claiming their right, they would come willingly.”[22]

Some scholars said that “whenever it flashes for them they walk therein” means that whenever Allāh favours them with wealth and well-being they say, ‘this religion is the truth, ever since we followed it we have only received good.’ “When the darkness covers them, they stand still,” means that when they are tried with poverty or illness, or they have daughters born to them rather than sons they say, ‘this happened because of the evil of this religion’ and they apostate. This explanation is proven by the saying of Allāh,

“There are some who worship Allāh on the verge: if they are blessed with something good, they are content with it; but if they are afflicted with a trial, they relapse, losing this world and the Hereafter. That is the clearest loss.”[23]

Some of the scholars said: the lightning flashing for them means their cognition of some of the truth, and its darkness means the doubt that presents itself to them concerning the Qurʾān.

These are some reflections and commentaries on just one parable. The Qurʾān is filled with opportunities for reflection and taking lessons for one’s own life. We must not be deluded into thinking that just because an āyah was revealed with respect to hypocrites or disbelievers that we are not to take heed from it. As the principle goes, consideration is to the generality of the wording, and not to the specific reason of its revelation.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Al-Qur’ān, 2:19

[2] Al-Qur’ān, 7:57-58

[3] Bukhārī and Muslim, on the authority of Abū Mūsā

[4] Al-Qur’ān, 2:143

[5] Al-Qur’ān, 2:142

[6] Al-Qur’ān, 17:60

[7] Al-Qur’ān, 37:64

[8] Al-Qur’ān, 74:31

[9] Al-Qur’ān, 74:30

[10] Al-Qur’ān, 41:13

[11] Al-Qur’ān, 4:47

[12] Al-Qur’ān, 63:4

[13] Al-Qur’ān, 4:174

[14] Al-Qur’ān, 42:52

[15] Al-Qur’ān, 7:157

[16] Al-Qur’ān, 12:66

[17] Al-Qur’ān, 18:42

[18] Al-Qur’ān, 10:22

[19] Al-Qur’ān, 2:20

[20] Al-Qur’ān, 13:19

[21] Al-Qur’ān, 35:19

[22] Al-Qur’ān, 24:48-49

[23] Al-Qur’ān, 22:11

The post Parable of the Hypocrites appeared first on Islam21c.

Abū’l-Muẓaffar al-Samaʿānī (d. 489), with additional notes from Abū Muḥammad al-Baghawī (d. 516)

[Italics indicate an alternative, accurate translation. Normal font indicates a variant reading which is mutawātir, recurrent. The smaller, different font indicates a reading which is shādh, irregular (but with an authentic chain). It should be noted that all shādh readings mentioned here should be considered explanations to the verse in question.]

The Opening of the Book: this title is given because the Sūrah acts as an exordium to the Book, i.e. the Qurʾān.

The Mother of the Qurʾān: this title is given because it is the essence of the Qurʾān, and it starts the Book. The Mother of something is the core and foundation of that thing. This is why Mecca is called The Mother of Cities because it is the foundation of all cities.[2]

The Seven Oft-Recited Verses: this title is given because the Sūrah comprises seven verses by agreement of the Imāms, although a shādh narration has it as eight verses. It is called Oft-Recited because it is frequently repeated in prayer, indeed it is recited in every cycle of the prayer. Mujāhid said, ‘It was called Mathānī because Allāh exclusively chose it for this nation. He did not give a Sūrah like it to any other nation.’

Seven of the Oft-Recited Verses: There are two opinions concerning this title. 1) They are seven specific verses of the Mathānī, which is the Qurʾān. Allāh says, “A scripture that is consistent and oft-recited (or: paired).”[3]

The Qurʾān is referred to as something paired because promise is paired with threat, command is paired with prohibition and so on. 2) The title has the same meaning as Sabʿ al-Mathānī, with the preposition min acting as a conjunctive. This difference arose as a result of divergent understandings of the āyah, “We have given you the seven oft-recited verses.”[4]

In the view of ibn ʿAbbās, this Sūrah was Meccan. Mujāhid, on the other hand, was of the view that it was Medinan. Another view has that it was revealed twice, once in Mecca and once in Medina. The proponents of the latter view said that this is why it was called Mathānī in that it was revealed twice, but this is an odd view.[5]

Some scholars viewed this āyah to be an āyah of al-Fātiḥah itself, and this view is related from ibn ʿAbbas and Umm Salamah. Others held the view that this was not an āyah of the Sūrah, and the evidences for and against these positions are detailed in the works of Fiqh.[9]

Bismillāh

The ba in bismillāh is a preposition and the full meaning imparted by its usage is given by context: ‘I begin with Allāh’s Name,’ or ‘I began with Allāh’s Name.’

There is a difference of opinion concerning the derivation of the word ism. Mubarrad and other Basran linguists held the view that it is derived from the word sumuww, or elevation and prominence because the name raises to notice the thing denoted and sits on top of it. Amongst the Kūfan linguists, Thaʿlab said the word was derived from wasam or simah (sign), meaning that it acts as a signpost pointing to the thing denoted. The first opinion is more likely because the diminutive form of the latter would be wusaym like wuṣayl is the diminutive of waṣl and wuʿayd is the diminutive of waʿd.[10]

Allāh

Khalīl and Ibn Kaysān said that this word was Allāh’s proper Name, and a unique designation for Him. They said that it is not derived from any other word, as such it is like proper names used for humans such as Zayd and ʿAmr and so on. This was the view preferred by Qaffāl al-Shāshī and a group of the people of knowledge. Others said that it was a word that was derived from another (mushtaqq), but then went on to hold two positions concerning what it was actually derived from:

1) aliha ilāha, which means ʿabada ʿibādah (worship),

Ibn ʿAbbās recited, “…and abandon you and your ilāha?”[11]

and said, “i.e. and your worship.” Therefore, the meaning is that He alone is deserving of worship and all acts of worship should be directed to Him. He alone is the object of worship and none else must be worshipped.

It is also postulated that the ilāh is one who created all creation, provides for them, regulates their affairs and determines their destiny.

2) wilāh which derives from al-walah (devotion). Therefore, it is as if the servants are devoted to Allāh, resorting to Him, submitting to Him, and taking refuge with Him at times of hardship.[12]

al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm

Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘They are two names indicating tenderness, one moreso than the other.’ It is also related that he said, ‘al-Raḥmān: the One who is gentle to His servants. al-Raḥīm: the One who is compassionate to them.’

Some scholars said that al-Raḥmān has a meaning not to be found in al-Raḥīm, while others said that both Names carry the same meaning. Those who said that the meanings were different said that al-Raḥmān had a general meaning while al-Raḥīm had a specific meaning. al-Raḥmān is the One who provides in this worldly life, to both the believer and the disbeliever. al-Raḥīm is the One who forgives and pardons in the Hereafter, specifically the believers. This is why it is mentioned in the duʿā, ‘O One who is Raḥmān in this world and Raḥīm in the Hereafter.’[13] So al-Raḥmān is One who shows mercy to the entirety of creation whereas al-Raḥīm is One who shows mercy to a specific section of creation. It is for this reason that a person can be named Raḥīm but not Raḥmān because it is only Allāh’s mercy that can extend to the entirety of creation as He Himself says, “My mercy extends to all things.”[14] Those besides Allāh can only show mercy to some things, as such they can be raḥīm (but not raḥmān).

As regards those who said that the meanings were the same, Quṭrub said that the second Name was mentioned to emphasise the first just as one would say lahfān and lahīf, nadmān and nadīm. Mubarrad said, ‘This is an example of perfection after completion (itmām baʿd tamām), grace on top of grace, encouragement to the hearts of those desiring (Allāh), and a promise that will not fail the one who hopes in it.’

The meaning is that He possesses mercy, and mercy is to grace and bless.’

All praise (and thanks) belong to Allāh

Praise, ḥamd, can occur in response to a favour received. It can also occur by extolling and lauding praiseworthy qualities.[17] A person can say, ‘I praised so-and-so for the favours he lavished on me.’ And a person can also say, ‘I praised so-and-so for his courage and knowledge.’ Gratitude, shukr, on the other hand is only ever said in response to a favour received. Therefore, praise has a wider meaning than gratitude. Everyone who praises also expresses gratitude, but not everyone who expresses gratitude, praises. A person would say, ‘I praised so-and-so for his courage,’ but he would not say, ‘I expressed gratitude for the courage of so-and-so.’[18]

Moreover, we should know that Allāh’s praising Himself is something good but that this does not hold true for an object of creation praising himself. A human being praising himself will always be false praise since man by nature is deficient and flawed. Therefore, it is repugnant for such a person to praise himself. Allāh, on the other hand, is absolved of fault and deficiency, as such His praising Himself is good.

When Allāh says, “All praise (and thanks) belong to Allāh,” either He is informing us of this truth, or He is teaching us to say this. He is either informing us that He alone is deserving of praise, and that all forms of praise are due to Him. Or He is teaching us that just as He praised Himself, so too should we praise Him; as such it is as if He is saying, ‘Say: All praise (and thanks) belong to Allāh.’

When Allāh says, “to Allāh,” the lām is either used to indicate possession or to indicate deservingness. It is the latter meaning that is meant here. The one who is truly deserving of all praise is Allāh.

Lord of the Worlds

The word lord, rabb can have the meaning of nurturing and correcting and it can have the meaning of ownership. In this āyah, both meanings are meant. Allāh is the One who nurtures creation and He is the owner of creation.[19]

With regards to al-ʿālamūn, ibn ʿAbbās said that it means, ‘the Jinn and mankind,’[20] whereas Ḥasan, Qatādah and Abū ʿUbaydah said that it refers to all of creation.[21] It is said that the first opinion is more likely since the address is directed to legally responsible individuals, those who were the primary purpose of creation: the Jinn and man.[22] It is said that the Jinn constitute one ʿālam and man constitutes another ʿālam.[23] Allāh has four corners of the earth and in each one there are fifteen hundred ʿālams.[24]

This āyah is mentioned again by way of emphasis.

This āyah is recited in two ways: as Mālik (Master and Owner) and as Malik (King).[35] Abū Ḥātim al-Sijistānī said that recitation of Mālik was to be given precedence reasoning that the meaning is wider and more comprehensive. You would say, Mālik al-Dār, Mālik al-Ṭayr, Mālik al-ʿAbd but would not say these phrases using the word, Malik.[36] On the other hand, Abū ʿUbaydah and Mubarrad said that the recitation of Malik was to be given precedence because, they argued, its meaning was more comprehensive. Malik incorporates the meaning of Mālik but not vice-versa. They also stated that this recitation is more in tune with the rest of the Qurʾān where Allāh says, “Exalted be Allāh! The true King.”[37] and “Whose is the kingdom this Day?”[38] and so on. Mālik is derived from the word, milk and milka or ownership, whereas Malik is derived from mulk and mulka or dominion. Allāh is both Mālik and Malik.[39]

Day

This a noun referring to a known period of time.

Day of Judgement

What is referred to here is the Day of Rising (Yawm al-Qiyāmah). The meaning of Day of Dīn is the Day of Reckoning (Ḥisāb) and Recompense (Jazāʾ). The word dīn can carry the meaning of obedience and is used in numerous other senses, but it is the one mentioned previously that is meant here.[40]

If someone were to ask why the Day of Judgement has been specifically mentioned in this āyah when it is known that Allāh is the Mālik of all days without exception, the response would be that all command on that Day will solely and exclusively be His. Allāh says, “On that Day, command will belong to Allāh.”[41] In this world, on the other hand, kings have a say, Muslims have a say, and Prophets have a say etc.[42]

You (alone) we worship

Meaning: we worship You. The term ʿibādah, worship means obedience combined with submission and humility.[44] One says, ‘Ṭarīq muʿabbad,’ to refer to a well-trodden, beaten path. So the meaning of the āyah is that we worship you with submission.[45]

To You (alone) we turn for help

Meaning: we seek aid and assistance from You.[46]

If someone were to ask why is worship mentioned before seeking help in this āyah when it is Allāh’s help that is needed for a person to worship? And why is iyyāka repeated twice when just once would have sufficed? In response to the first question we would say this question is only really relevant if a person believes that seeking help comes before an act, whereas we believe – and all praise belongs to Allāh – that seeking help and divine accord go hand-in-hand with the action. Therefore, mentioning it before or after does not really matter. Or we could say that seeking help is actually an example of worship, so Allāh mentioned ʿibādah in general first, followed by a specific instance of it.

As regards the repetition of iyyāka, this was done to emphasise that He alone is the one who is to be worshipped and that He alone is the who is turned to for help. This is a rhetorical device well known to the Arabs and is used to emphasise and intensify the meaning or impart to it a sense of exclusivity. It is not a faulty use of the language.[47]

Guide us (to and on) the Straight Path

Direct us to it and keep us firm on it.[51] The word hidāyah is used in a number of different senses in the Qurʾān: inspiration, direction, explanation and calling.

Inspiration: “Our Lord is He who gave everything its form then gave it guidance,”[52] i.e. inspired it.

Direction: “…and guide us to the right path.”[53]

Explanation: “As for the Thamūd, we gave them guidance,”[54] i.e. We explained it to them.

Calling: “Each community had their guide,”[55] i.e. someone who would call them and proselytise.

The meaning here is guide, but if someone were to ask, ‘The believer is already guided, so why does he need to ask for guidance?’ We would say this question really arises from someone who thinks that Allāh’s grace to a person has a specific limit. The position of Ahlu’l-Sunnah, on the other hand, is that Allāh’s grace and guidance has no such limit. So the meaning of “Guide us” is actually requesting an increase in said guidance. It is also a request to remain firm on the Straight Path;[56] it is in this sense that a person would say, ‘Qum ḥattā aʿūdu ilayk,’ i.e. keep standing until I return.

The Straight Path

ʿAlī and Ibn Masʿūd said that the Straight Path was Islām, and Jābir said that it was the Qurʾān.[57]

Lexically, al-Ṣirāṭ al-Mustaqīm means a clear road. Islām is a clear road, and the Qurʾān is a clear road.[58]

ʿUmar recited this as, ‘The Path of the ones You have blessed, not of those upon whom there is anger, and not of those who are astray,’ but this is a shādh recitation. It is said that the ones who are blessed are the Prophets. It is also said those who are blessed are the ones that Allāh has made firm in their faith which would then include the Prophets and all the believers.[61] Abū’l-ʿĀliyah said that they were the Messenger, Abū Bakr and ʿUmar.[62]

The ones upon whom there is anger are the Jews and the ones who are astray[66] are the Christians.[67]

It is narrated that ʿAdī b. Ḥātim came to Allāh’s Messenger (SAW) to accept Islām, and asked, ‘Messenger of Allāh? Who are those upon whom is anger?’ He replied, “The Jews.” He asked, ‘Who are those who are astray?’ He replied, “They are the Christians.” ʿAdī said, ‘I bear witness that I am a Ḥanīf and a Muslim.’ ʿAdī said, ‘I saw the Messenger of Allāh’s face light up as he smiled out of joy at my accepting Islām.’[68]

As regards saying, ‘Āmīn,’ then we should know that this word is not part of the Qurʾān. The Sunnah is for the person to pause a little before saying it. There are two ways of saying it: ‘Āmīn’ elongating the first letter and ‘Amīn’ without elongating it. It means, ‘Allāh, accept my supplication,’ and it is said that it is like a seal on the supplication.[69]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Tirmidhī #3124, Abū Dāwūd #1457, Aḥmad #9788-9790 record from Abū Hurayrah that Allāh’s Messenger (SAW) said, “[The Sūrah beginning with] ‘All praise (and thanks) belong to Allāh, the Lord of the worlds’ is the Mother of the Qurʾān, the Mother of the Book, the Seven Oft-Recited Verses, and the Great Qurʾān.”

Tirmidhī said it was ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ, it was ruled ḥasan by Suyūṭī, al-Jāmiʿ al-Ṣaghīr #3833, and ṣaḥīḥ by Albānī, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Jāmiʿ #3184.

[2] Ṭabarī said that it was given this name because the meaning of the entire Qurʾān is summarised therein. The Arabs named anything that concisely summarises something or comprises its most important part, Umm, or mother.

[3] al-Zumar 39:23

[4] al-Ḥijr 15:87

[5] Baghawī: The first opinion is most correct. This is because Allāh states, “We have given you the Seven Oft-Recited verses,” (al-Ḥijr 15:87) which is a reference to al-Fātiḥah. Sūrah al-Ḥijr is a Meccan Sūrah and Allāh would not recount this as a favour (to His Messenger) had He not already given it.

[6] Ibn Kathīr, ʿĀṣim and Kasāʾī have this as the first verse, the remaining seven do not. shādh recitation: bi suma’Allāhi…

[7] M.A.S. Abdel Halim

[8] T. Khalidi

[9] Baghawī: They have agreed that the Sūrah comprises seven verses. Those who held the position that the basmallāh was an āyah of al-Fātiḥah stated that the seventh verse began with “The Path of those You have blessed…” Those who held the position that it was not an āyah of al-Fātiḥah stated that the seventh verse was, “Not of those upon whom there is anger, nor of those who are astray.”

[10] Baghawī: whereas the diminutive of ism is sumayy. Also the morphology is different, one says sammaytu (I named), but were it derived from wasm, one would have said, wasamtu.

[11] al-Aʿrāf 7:127

i.e. ibn ʿAbbās and Mujāhid read it with the reading ilāha as opposed to the more standard āliha. The full verse reads, “The ruling circle of Pharaoh’s people said, ‘Are you going to leave Mūsā and his people to cause corruption in the earth and abandon you and your āliha?’”

[12] Baghawī: or it is from al-walah which means to become bereft of reason at the loss of someone beloved. (Some commentators said that this meaning is linked to the sense of bewilderment one feels when trying to ponder something whose reality is beyond comprehension.)

[13] Ṭabarī 1:126 records from Ibn Masʿūd and Abū Saʿīd that Allāh’s Messenger (SAW) said, “al-Raḥmān: the One who shows mercy in this world and the Hereafter. al-Raḥīm: the One who shows mercy in the Hereafter.” Ibn Abī Shaybah 10:441 records from ʿAbdu’l-Raḥmān b. Sābiṭ that Allāh’s Messenger (SAW) said, “The Raḥmān of this world and the next, and the Raḥīm of them.” Ḥākim 1:515 records from Abū Bakr that Allāh’s Messenger (SAW) said, “The Raḥmān of this world and the next, and the Raḥīm of them,” and Suyūṭī, al-Durr 1:15 said the isnād was ḍaʿīf.

[14] al-Aʿrāf 7:156

[15] rabbaʾl-ʿālamīn: Kasāʾī

[16] rabbuʾl-ʿālamīn: Abū Jaʿfar

[17] The meaning of ḥamd is to praise and laud out of one’s own volition. It arises from love and veneration of the praised. It also carries the meaning of riḍā, or contentment, and is the opposite of dhamm, or blame.

[18] Baghawī: It is also said that ḥamd is done on the tongue whereas shukr is done on the limbs, in action. Allāh says, “Say: Praise belongs to Allāh, who has no child nor partner in His rule” (al-Isrāʾ 17:111) and “Work thankfully, family of Dāwūd.” (Sabaʾ 34:13)

[19] Baghawī: A created being cannot be referred to as al-Rabb with the definite article prefix, however the term rabb can be used in a possessive structure to refer to an object of creation. This is because the definite article prefix lends to the meaning of generality and a created being does not own everything.

[20] As did ʿAlī, recorded by ibn Abī Ḥātim 1:27

[21] This opinion is also stated by ibn ʿAbbās who said, ‘To Him belongs the creation in its entirety: all the heavens and whoever is in them, all the earths and whoever is in them, and whoever is between them, that which is known and unknown.’ (Ṭabarī 1:145)

Baghawī: because Allāh says, “Pharaoh said, ‘What is the Lord of the Worlds?’ Mūsā replied, ‘Lord of the heavens and earth and what is between them.’” (al-Shuʿarā 26:23-24) The word comes from al-ʿallāmah (sign) since the evidence of a creator therein is plain for all to see. Abū ʿUbaydah said that al-ʿālamūn were four groups: the Angels, man, the Jinn and the devils since the word was derived from ʿilm or knowledge. Animals cannot be said to have knowledge since they do not have an intellect.

[22] Since Allāh says, “I created Jinn and mankind only to worship Me.” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:56) and “Exalted is He who sent down the Criterion to His servant that he may give warning to the worlds.” (al-Furqān 25:1) and he was not a warner to the animal kingdom but he was a warner to man and Jinn.

[23] Since some linguists said that the word ʿālam designates only those who have understanding.

[24] Ṭabarī 1:49 from Abū’l-ʿĀliyah. Ibn Kathir 1:208 said, ‘These are strange words, the likes of which require authentic evidence.’

[25] The majority read the verse with khafḍ. Abūʾl-ʿĀliyah and others read it with naṣb (shādh). Abū Razīn and others read it with rafʿ (shādh).

[26] Mālik (Master): ʿĀṣim, Kasāʾī, Yaʿqūb, Khalaf

[27] Malik (King): the remaining six

[28] Mālika: Abū Hurayrah, al-Aʿmash (shādh)

[29] Malika: Anas ibn Mālik, Shaʿbī (shādh)

[30] Maliku: Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, ʿĀʾishah (shādh)

[31] Malīki: Ubayy, Abū Hurayrah (shādh)

[32] Malīku: ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ (shādh)

[33] Mallāki: ʿAlī (shādh)

[34] Malaka yawmaʾl-dīn: Anas, ʿAlī (shādh)

[35] Baghawī: Some said that the meaning of both Mālik and Malik was one and the same and that meaning was al-Rabb. One would say: Rabb al-Dār and, equally, Mālik al-Dār. It is also postulated that the meaning is that He is the one able to create things from nothing, and none besides Allāh can do this.

[36] Baghawī: (He also said), and because you can only be a Mālik of something if you own it, but you can be a Malik of something without actually owning it.

[37] al-Muʾminūn 23:116

[38] Ghāfir 40:16

[39] Shawkānī and ibn ʿAṭiyyah argue that both Names carry a meaning that is not found in the other. The mālik of property is able to dispose of his property as he wills whereas the malik will only be able to dispose of the mālik’s property in a limited fashion. The malik is able to command the mālik to dispose of his property in a particular way that promotes the benefit of his kingdom, but the mālik is not able to command another mālik with the same.

[40] Baghawī: Mujāhid said that al-Dīn meant reckoning (al-ḥisāb). Allāh says, “this is the correct reckoning (dīn)” (al-Tawbah 9:36), i.e. the proper calculation. Ibn ʿAbbās, Maqātil, and Suddī said that the meaning of Malik Yawm al-Dīn was the Judge of the Day of Reckoning (Qāḍī Yawm al-Ḥisāb). Qatādah said that al-Dīn meant recompense (jazāʾ), be it good or bad; in this sense it is said: As you judge so shall you be judged (kamā tadīnu tudān). Muḥammad b. Kaʿb al-Quraẓī said that the āyah means that (He is) the King of the Day where nothing will benefit except for the Dīn, i.e. religion. Yamān b. Rabāb said that Dīn means overpowering and subjugating (qahr), just as someone would say: I overpowered him and he submitted (dintuhu fa dāna). It is also said that Dīn means obedience (ṭāʿah), i.e. the Day of Obedience.

[41] al-Infiṭār 82:19

[42] Ṭabari 1:98 records that Ibn ʿAbbās said in explanation of the words yawmi’l-dīn, ‘The Day on which the creations are judged – the Day of Rising. He will recompense them for their actions: if they were good then it will be good, if they were bad then it will be bad except for that which He forgives for the only command on that Day will be His command, “Unquestionably to Him belongs the creation and the Command.” (al-Aʿrāf 7:54)’

Allāh says, “And what will make you comprehend what the Day of Dīn is? Again what will make you comprehend what the Day of Dīn is? It is the Day when no person shall have power [to do] anything for another. The command that Day will be Allāh’s alone” (al-Infiṭār 82:17-19)

[43] iyyāka yuʿbad, iyyāka tuʿbad: al-Ḥasan (shādh)

[44] Baghawī: The servant, ʿabd is called so because of his humility and submission.

[45] Ibn ʿAbbās explained this portion of the āyah to mean, ‘You alone we single out for worship, fear and hope; You and no one else.’ (Ṭabarī 1:99)

[46] Baghawī: Meaning: we seek Your help in worshipping You and in all of our affairs.

[47] Ibn ʿAbbās explained this āyah, ‘Our Lord! It is You alone that we single out for belief, fear and hope. It is Your aid alone that we seek in order to obey You and indeed in all of our affairs.’ (Ibn Kathīr)

Ibn Taymiyyah said, ‘I pondered the most beneficial supplication and I found it to be asking Allāh to help us in doing that which pleases Him; this I found in the verse, “You (alone) we worship and to You (alone) we turn to for help.”’ It is for this reason that some of the Salaf would say, ‘The secret of the Qurʾān lies in al-Fātiḥah and its secret is contained in the verse, “You (alone) we worship and to You (alone) we turn to for help.”’

[48] ihdinā Ṣirāṭan Mustaqīman: al-Ḥasan (shādh)

[49] Arshidnā: ibn Masʿūd (shādh)

[50] Baṣṣirnā: Thābit al-Bunānī (shādh)

[51] Ibn al-Qayyim, Badāʾi al-Fawāʾid 1:262 said, ‘The verse “Guide us to the Straight Path,” has been mentioned without the verb “Guide,” being adjoined to the particle, ilā or li, rather it is linked directly to the object. When the verb ‘Guide’ is adjoined to ilā, it lends the meaning of reaching the goal, when the verb is linked to li, it lends to the meaning of pointing out something and specifying it. When it is mentioned with neither of the two, it lends to the meaning of both. Hence the meaning of the verse would be: define this Path to us, explain it to us, direct us to it, and grant us the accord to follow it.’

[52] Ṭa Ha 20:50

[53] Ṣād 38:22

[54] Fuṣṣilat 41:18

[55] al-Raʿd 13:7

[56] Baghawī: as stated by ʿAlī and Ubayy b. Kaʿb

[57] Baghawī: It is reported that ʿAlī said it was Allāh’s Book. Saʿīd b. Jubayr said that it was the road to Paradise. Sahl b. ʿAbdullāh said that it was the way of (Ahlu’l)-Sunnah wa’l-Jamāʿah. Bakr b. ʿAbdullāh al-Muzanī said that it was the way of Allāh’s Messenger (SAW). Abū’l-ʿĀliyah and Ḥasan said that it Allāh’s Messenger, his family and his two Companions.

[58] Ibn ʿAbbās explained this verse by saying, ‘Inspire us towards Your true religion,’ and again, ‘Inspire us towards the right road which is the religion of Allāh containing no crookedness.’(Suyūṭī 1:75)

Ibn al-Qayyim, Madārij al-Sālikīn 1:16 said, ‘A road, ṭarīq, cannot be regarded to be a path, ṣirāt, unless five conditions are met: that it is straight, that it leads to the intended goal, that it is close to the objective, that it is expansive enough to accommodate those traversing it, and that it has been sign-posted as being the actual route to the goal.

The fact that this Path is straight proves that it is close for the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The fact that is straight proves that it leads to the object. The fact that it has been appointed for all those who would traverse it shows that it is wide enough to accommodate them. The fact that the Path has been adjoined to the One who has blessed them shows that it has been so sign-posted.’

[59] T. Khalidi

[60] Ṣirāṭa man: Ibn Masʿūd, ʿUmar, ʿAli (shādh)

[61] Baghawī: ʿIkrimah said, ‘Those you have graced with firmness of faith and steadfastness, and they are the Prophets.’ Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘They are the people of Mūsā and ʿĪsā before they altered their religion.’ ʿAbdu’l-Raḥmān b. Zayd said, ‘They are the Prophet (SAW) and those with him.’ Abū’l-ʿĀliyah said, ‘They are the family of Allāh’s Messenger, Abū Bakr, ʿUmar and his household.’ Shahr b. Ḥawshab said, ‘They are the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger and his household.’

[62] Ibn ʿAbbās summarised the meaning of this verse with his words, ‘[Those you have blessed] by making them obedient to You and worship You including the Angels, the Prophets, the sincerely truthful, the martyrs and the righteous. This is like what our Lord says, “They will be in the company of those upon whom Allāh has bestowed His favour: …” (al-Nisā 4:59)’

[63] Ghayraʾl- : ʿUmar, ʿAlī and a lesser known narration from ibn Kathīr (shādh)

[64] Ghayruʾl-: ʿUmar (shādh)

[65] Ghayriʾl-Ḍāllīn: ʿUmar, ʿAlī, Ubayy, Abū Bakr (shādh)

[66] Baghawī: The essential meaning of ḍalāl is disintegration and dissolution, as such it is said, ‘The milk ḍalla in the water,’ when it is mixed such that it disappears.

[67] Baghawī: Allāh has stated that the Jews have anger on them in His words, “…those who incurred Allāh’s curse and His anger” (al-Māʾidah 5:60), and He has stated that the Christians are astray in His words, “and do not follow the vain desires of people who went astray in times gone by.” (al-Māʾidah 5:60). Sahl b. ʿAbdullāh said that those who have anger on them are the ones who commit innovation, bidʿah. Those who are astray refers to those who have left the Sunnah.

[68] Tirmidhī #2953, 2954, Aḥmad #19381, Saʿīd b. Manṣūr #179, Ṭabarī 1:61, Ibn Abī Ḥātim #40. It was declared ṣaḥīḥ by ibn Ḥibbān #6246, 7206, 7365 and Albānī #8202

[69] Muslim records on the authority of Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī who said, ‘The Messenger of Allāh (SAW) addressed us and explained to us our Sunnah [that we should follow] and explained to us [the method of performing] our prayer. He said, “When you pray, straighten your rows and let one of you lead you. When he says the takbīr then say the takbīr. When he says, “Not of those upon whom is anger nor of those who are astray” then say āmīn and Allāh will respond to you.”’

Muslim records on the authority of Abū Hurayrah  that the Messenger of Allāh (SAW) said, “When the Imām says āmīn then say āmīn for indeed the one whose āmīn coincides with the āmīn of the Angels will have his previous [minor] sins forgiven.”

Ibn Mājah #856 records on the authority of ʿĀʾishah (RA) that the Messenger of Allāh (SAW) said, “The Jews do not envy you for anything as much as they envy you for saying the salām and āmīn.”

The post Al-Fatihah: The Opening appeared first on Islam21c.

VERSE 2

ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

“This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who are mindful [of Allāh].”

“This is the Book,” Ibn ʿAbbās explained the word dhālika (that) to mean hādha (this). This was also stated by Mujāhid, ʿIkrimah, Saʿīd b. Jubair, al-Suddī, Maqātil b. Ḥayyān, Zayd b. Aslam, and Ibn Jurayj. It is a well-known convention in the Arabic language where two demonstrative nouns are used interchangeably, one in the place of the other. This opinion was also recorded by Bukhārī from Maʿmar b. al-Muthannā, Abū ʿUbaydah.

Zamakhsharī said that the far-deictic demonstrative dhālika refers back to the previous āyah, “Alif. Lām. Mīm.” It is in the same sense that this demonstrative is used in āyat such as, “The cow should neither be old nor young but in between that” (2:68), “That is the judgment of Allāh, He judges between you” (60:10), “That is Allāh, your Lord; so worship Him (alone)” (10:3). In all these places, the far-deictic is used to refer back to the words that have just preceded. Allāh knows best.

Qurṭubī and others cite that some exegetes were of the view that the far-deictic refers to the Qurʾān itself, which Allāh promised He would reveal to His Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), or that it refers to the Tawrāh or the Injīl.[1] However, many were of the view that this opinion was weak. In all, there are ten opinions that he mentions concerning the usage of the far-deictic in this āyah.

“The Book,” Namely, the Qurʾān. Ibn Jarīr and others cite some authorities postulating that the Book refers to the Tawrāh or Injīl, but this opinion is extremely implausible, and indeed it is to posit something devoid of knowledge.

“In which there is no doubt,” The word rayb means doubt (shakk). Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, and other Companions explained the āyah to mean, ‘in which there is no shakk.’[2]

This explanation was also given by Abū al-Dardāʾ, Ibn ʿAbbās, Mujāhid, Saʿīd b. Jubair. Abū Mālik, Nāfiʿ (the freed slave of Ibn ʿUmar), ʿAṭāʾ, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, al-Rabīʿ b. Anas, Maqātil b. Ḥayyān, al-Suddī, Qatādah, and Ismāʿīl b. Abū Khālid. Ibn Abī Ḥātim said, ‘I know of no difference of opinion concerning this.’

The word rayb can also be used to mean suspicion or need.

The meaning of the āyah is that there is no doubt whatsoever that this Book – the Qurʾān – has been revealed by Allāh, just as He says, “Alif. Lām. Mīm. This Book, free from all doubt, has been sent down from the Lord of the Worlds” (32:1-2).

Some exegetes said that the āyah is expressed as a declarative phrase, but the meaning is one of prohibition, i.e. ‘Do not have any doubt in it.’

Some of the reciters pause at the words “Lā rayb,” which would mean, “there is no doubt,” and then continue “fīhī hudan li al-muttaqīn,” which would mean “it contains guidance for those who are mindful of Allāh.” However, the recitation which has “lā rayba fīhi,” is more befitting for this particular āyah because the word guidance would then be used as a description for the entire Qurʾān. This is more emphatic and expressive than just saying, “it contains guidance.”

“A guidance,” Grammatically, the word guidance (hudā) can be nominative, acting as an adjective, or accusative, acting as a circumstantial expression.

The word guidance (hudā) can refer to the faith (īmān) that settles in the heart, and no one can put this in people’s hearts besides Allāh. Allāh says, “You surely cannot guide whoever you like, but it is Allāh who guides whoever He wills” (28:56), “You are not responsible for people’s guidance – it is Allāh who guides whoever He wills” (2:272), “Whoever Allāh allows to stray, none can guide” (7:186), “Those people Allāh guides are rightly guided, but you will find no protector to lead to the right path those He leaves to stray” (18:17).

The word guidance can also be used to mean explaining the truth, clarifying it, and directing people to it. It is in this sense that Allāh says, “You give guidance to the Straight Path” (42:52), “You are only a warner, and every people had a guide” (13:7), “As for Thamūd, We gave them guidance but they preferred blindness over guidance” (41:17). Allāh also says, “And (did we not) point out to him the two clear ways?” (90:10) going by the explanation that the two clear ways mentioned refers to the paths of good and evil, which is the stronger explanation and Allāh knows best.

“A guidance for those who are mindful [of Allāh],” Guidance has been particularised to those who are mindful of Allāh, just as He says, “Say, ‘It is guidance and healing for those who have faith, but the ears of the disbelievers are heavy, they are blind to it, it is as if they are being called from a distant place’” (41:44), “We send down the Qurʾān as a healing and mercy for the believers, but it only increases the wrongdoers in loss” (17:82). These āyahs and others show that it is the believers who will benefit from the Qurʾān.[3] The Qurʾān is guidance in and of itself, but that guidance is only granted to the righteous, “People, a teaching from your Lord has come to you, a healing for what is in the hearts, and guidance and mercy for the believers” (10:57).

“A guidance for those who are mindful [of Allāh],” Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, and other Companions explained this to mean, ‘A light for those who are mindful of Allāh.’ Shaʿbī said that it means, ‘Guidance from misguidance.’ Saʿīd b. Jubair commented, ‘A clarification for those who are mindful of Allāh.’

All of these opinions are correct.

“Those who are mindful [of Allāh],” Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, and other Companions said that the muttaqūn are the believers (muʾminūn).

Ibn ʿAbbās said that the muttaqūn were ‘those who fear Allāh’s punishment should they abandon what they know of guidance, and hope in His mercy by believing in what He has revealed.’ He also explained the word to refer to, ‘The believers who avoid committing shirk with Me and are obedient to Me.’

Al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī said, ‘They avoid what Allāh has prohibited and fulfil what He has obligated.’

Abū Bakr b. al-ʿAyyāsh said, ‘Al-Aʿmash asked me about, “Those who are mindful [of Allāh],” and I responded. He then asked me to go to al-Kalbī and ask him. I went to him and asked, and he replied, “They are those who avoid major sin.” I relayed this back to al-Aʿmash who remarked, “This is what we think as well,” and he did not reject that opinion.’

Qatādah said that they are those who Allāh described in the verses that follow, “who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them” (2:3-5).

Ibn Jarīr said that the āyah covers all these meanings and it is as he said.

Tirmidhī and Ibn Mājah record on the authority of ʿAṭiyyah al-Saʿdī that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “A servant will not become one of the muttaqūn until he abandons something that is harmless for fear of falling into something harmful.”[4] Tirmidhī said that this was ḥasan gharīb.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim records that Maymūn Abū Ḥamza said, ‘I was sitting with Abū Wāʾil when one of the colleagues of Muʿādh called Abū ʿAfīf arrived. Shaqīq b. Salamah asked him, “Abū ʿAfīf, will you not narrate something to us from Muʿādh b. Jabal?” He replied, “Of course! I heard him say that on the Day of Rising, mankind will be confined to one plain. Someone will call out, ‘Where are the muttaqūn?’ They will then stand under the protection of the Lord of Mercy and He will not veil Himself from them.” I asked, “Who are the muttaqūn?” He replied, “They are people who avoided shirk and the worship of idols, and instead sincerely worshipped Allāh alone. They will walk into Paradise.”’[5]

Essentially, the word the taqwā means to take protection from all that is disliked, since it derives from the concept of protection and defence (wiqāyah).

It is reported that ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb asked Ubayy b. Kaʿb about taqwā who replied by asking, ‘Have you never taken a path beset with thorny bushes?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’ Ubayy asked, ‘What did you do?’ He replied, ‘I gathered in my clothes and trod carefully.’ He said, ‘That is taqwā.’

The poet Ibn Muʿtaz recapitulated this in verse,

Leave sins big and small,

that is taqwa.

Be like one walking amongst thorns,

dreading what he sees.

Belittle not minor sins,

mountains are made of stones.

One day, Abū al-Dardāʾ said,

A person wants to be given what he wants,

But Allāh only gives him what He wants.

The person cries out: My wealth! My benefit!

But the taqwā of Allāh is the best benefit of all.

Ibn Mājah records on the authority of Abū Umāmah that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “After the taqwā of Allāh, nothing is of more benefit to man than a righteous wife who pleases him when he looks at her, obeys him when he commands her, fulfils an oath when he makes one concerning her, and when absent, remains faithful to him and his property.”[6]

VERSE 3

الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

“Who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them”

“Who believe in the unseen,” ʿAbdullāh (b. Masʿūd) said that īmān means belief (taṣdīq). Ibn ʿAbbās said that yuʾminūn means ‘they believe’ (yuṣaddiqūn).

Al-Zuhrī said that īmān was deed (ʿamal). Al-Rabīʿ b. Anas said that yuʾminūn means ‘they fear’ (yakhshawn).

Ibn Jarīr and others said, ‘The best interpretation is that they have been characterised as having faith in the unseen (generally) in terms of speech, deed, and belief.’[7] He also said, ‘The fear of Allāh may also be included in the meaning of faith (īmān), and (lexically) faith is to have the deed attest to the truth of the statement. (Technically), the term īmān is a comprehensive term covering acknowledgement (iqrār) of Allāh, His Books, and His Messengers, with deed testifying to the truth of that acknowledgement.’

Lexically, the word īmān can be used to mean belief in and of itself. In some places in the Qurʾān, it is used in precisely this sense, such as, “He believes in Allāh and trusts the believers” (9:61). Yūsuf’s brothers said to their father, “But you will not believe us, no matter how truthful we are” (12:17). It is also used in this sense when mentioned alongside deeds, such as, “But those who believe and do good deeds will have a never-ending reward” (84:25).

However, when the word īmān is used unconditionally, then the faith that is required of us by the Sharīʿah comprises belief, speech, and deed. This is the view of most of the Imāms; indeed, Shāfiʿī, Aḥmad b. Ḥanbal, Abū ʿUbayd, and others stated that there was a consensus (ijmāʿ) that faith is comprised of statement and deed, and that it increases and decreases. There are many narrations testifying to this, as well as numerous aḥadīth that we have cited at the beginning of our commentary to Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, and to Allāh belongs all praise and blessings.

Some authorities explained īmān to mean fear (khashya) because Allāh says, “There is forgiveness and a great reward for those who fear their Lord though they cannot see Him” (67:12), “Who feared the Lord of Mercy, though He is unseen” (50:33). Fear is the essence of faith and knowledge, as Allāh says, “It is those of His servants that have knowledge who have truly fear Allāh” (35:28).

Some said that the āyah means that (the muttaqūn) believe in Allāh in public and in private. They are not like the hypocrites about whom Allāh says, “When they meet the believers, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say, ‘We’re really with you; we were only mocking’” (2:14), “When the hypocrites come to you [O Prophet], they say, “We bear witness that you are certainly the Messenger of Allāh” – and surely Allāh knows that you are His Messenger – but Allāh bears witness that the hypocrites are truly liars” (63:1). According to this opinion, the phrase “in the unseen” would be acting as a circumstantial expression, i.e. in the situation that they are away from prying eyes.

“Who believe in the unseen,” The explanations of the Salaf differ as to the precise meaning of the unseen (ghayb) spoken of in this āyah. However, all of them are correct, and one can say that all of them are meant.

Abū al-ʿĀliyah said, ‘They believe in Allāh, His Angels, Books, Messengers, the Last Day, Paradise, Hell, and the meeting with Him. They believe in life after death. All of this is unseen.’ This was also stated by Qatādah b. Diʿāmah.

Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, and some of the Companions said that ghayb meant ‘everything that is hidden from people of the affair of Paradise, the affair of Hell, and what has been mentioned in the Qurʾān.’

Ibn ʿAbbās also said that the āyah means, ‘who believe in all that has come from Him,’ namely, Allāh.

Sufyān al-Thawrī cited Zirr as saying that the ghayb referred to the Qurʾān. ʿAṭāʾ b. Abū Rabāḥ said, ‘Whoever believes in Allāh has believed in the unseen.’ Ismāʿīl b. Abū Khālid said that the āyah meant, ‘Who believe in the unseen aspects of Islām.’ Zayd b. Aslam said that it meant believing in the divine decree (qadr).

All of these opinions are close in meaning, since all of the articles mentioned fall under the category of the unseen that a person must believe in.

Saʿīd b. Manṣūr records that ʿAbdu al-Raḥmān b. Yazīd said, ‘We were sitting with ʿAbdullāh b. Masʿūd and mentioned the Companions of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and all the things they excelled us in. ʿAbdullāh remarked, “The Prophet’s affair was clear to everyone who saw him. By the One who should be worshipped alone, none can acquire a faith that is better than believing in the unseen.” Then he recited, “Alif. Lām. Mīm. This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who are mindful [of Allāh]. Who believe in the unseen” up to “it is they who are the successful” (2:1-5).’

This narration was also recorded by Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ibn Mardawayh, and Ḥākim in Al-Mustadrak. Ḥākim said that it was ṣaḥīḥ, meeting the criteria of Bukhārī and Muslim even though they did not record it.[8]

In a similar vein, Imām Aḥmad records that Ibn Muḥayrīz said to Abū Jumuʿah, ‘Narrate a ḥadīth to us that you heard from Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).’ He said, “I will narrate a great ḥadīth to you. We once had lunch with Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) along with Abū ʿUbaydah b. al-Jarrāḥ. He asked, ‘Messenger of Allāh, is there anyone better than us? We accepted Islām at your hands and fought Jihād with you.’ He replied, ‘Yes, people who will come after you and believe in me without having seen me.’”[9]

There is another chain to this ḥadīth. Abū Bakr b. Mardawayh in his Al-Tafsīr records that Ṣālīḥ b. Jubair said, ‘Abū Jumuʿah al-Anṣārī, Companion of Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), came to pray at Bayt al-Maqdis. At the time, Rajāʾ b. Ḥaywah was with us. When he had finished praying, we went to see him off, and when he was about to depart, he said, “You have a gift and a right. I will narrate a ḥadīth to you that I heard from Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).” We said, “Please do tell us, may Allāh have mercy on you!” He said, “We were with Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) and with us was Muʿādh b. Jabal and nine others. We asked, ‘Messenger of Allāh, is there anyone who will have greater reward than us? We believed in Allāh and followed you.’ He responded, ‘And why would you not believe when Allāh’s Messenger is amongst you bringing you revelation from the Heavens? There are people who will come after you. They will be given the Book between two covers, believe in it, and follow the guidance it contains. They will have a reward greater than yours.’ He repeated this twice.”’[10]

He then records another narration, similar to the one above, on the authority of Abū Jumuʿah.[11]

This ḥadīth contains a proof for the validity of acting upon texts taken from a written source without formal licensing (wijādah), something the Ahl al-Ḥadīth differed over as I have explained in the beginning of my commentary to Bukhārī. This is because he (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) praised them for following what they found and said that they would have a greater reward from this viewpoint, not generally.

There is also another ḥadīth recorded by al-Ḥasan b. ʿArafah al-ʿAbdī on the authority of ʿAmr b. Shuʿayb, from his father, from his grandfather, that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) asked, “Which creation do you find most amazing in terms of faith?” They replied, ‘The Angels?’ He said, “Why would they not believe when they are with their Lord?” They said, ‘The Prophets?’ He said, “Why would they not believe when revelation comes down to them?” They said, ‘Us?’ He said, “Why would you not believe when I am amongst you?” He then said, “Those I find most amazing in faith are people who will come after you. They will find pages containing the Book and believe in it.”[12]

Abū Ḥātim al-Rāzī said that one of the sub-narrators, al-Mughīrah b. Qays al-Baṣrī, was munkar in ḥadīth.[13] I say: a similar ḥadīth is recorded by Abū Yaʿlā, Ibn Mardawayh, and Ḥākim via the route of Muḥammad b. Abū Ḥumayd – and he has some weakness – from Zayd b. Aslam, from his father, from ʿUmar, from the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). Ḥākim said that the isnād was ṣaḥīḥ even though Bukhārī and Muslim did not record it.[14]

Another ḥadīth, similar to the above, is recorded on the authority of Anas b. Mālik to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam).[15] Allāh knows best.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim records that Nuwaylah b. Aslam said, ‘I prayer Ẓuhr – or ʿAṣr – in the Masjid of Banū Ḥārithah. We prayed two out of four cycles facing the Masjid of Īliyāʾ, and then someone came and told us that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) now faced al-Bayt al-Ḥarām in prayer. While in prayer, the women changed places with the men, changed the direction of prayer, and prayed the remaining two cycles towards al-Bayt al-Ḥarām.’ The sub-narrator, Ibrāhīm, then said, ‘A person from Banū Ḥārithah told me that when Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) heard about this, he remarked, “These are people who have believed in the unseen.”’[16] This is a gharīb ḥadīth when considered from this route.

“establish the prayer,” Ibn ʿAbbās explained, ‘They establish the obligations of prayer.’ He also said, ‘Establishing the prayer means to perfect the bowing, prostration, and recitation. It means to be totally submissive in it and to concentrate on it.’ Qatādah said, ‘Establishing the prayer means to ensure that it is prayed in its correct time, to perform ablution well, and to preserve the bowing and prostration during it.’ Maqātil b. Ḥayyān said, ‘Establishing prayer means to ensure it is prayed in its time, to perfect purification for it, to perfect its bowing, prostration, recitation, tashahhud, and sending blessings on the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam). This is what is meant by establishing the prayer.’[17]

“and give out of what We have provided for them,” Ibn ʿAbbās said that this means they pay the zakāh due on their wealth. Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, and some Companions explained the āyah to mean, ‘A man spending on his family. This was what it meant before the legislation of zakāh.’ Ḍaḥḥāk said, ‘Expenditures were righteous deeds that people did to draw closer to Allāh in accordance to their means and efforts. Then seven verses in Sūrah al-Barāʾa were revealed concerning the obligation of charity, and they abrogated and were never themselves abrogated.’

Qatādah said, ‘Give some of what Allāh has given you in charity. Son of Ādam, this wealth is a trust that has been deposited with you and soon will you leave it behind.’[18]

The opinion that Ibn Jarīr chose was that the āyah was general and covered both zakāh and general expenditure. He said, ‘The best interpretation of this āyah and the most appropriate to the description of these people is that they disbursed all that was obligatory on them to do so, be that zakāh or other expenditure, on those they were responsible for, be it family or dependents. This is because Allāh generalised His description of them and praised them for it. Both general expenditure and zakāh are praiseworthy and something to be commended.’[19]

Allāh frequently mentions ṣalāh alongside charity. Ṣalāh is Allāh’s right, an act of worship and an expression of Tawḥīd. It is to praise and glorify Him, turn to Him in abject need, supplicate to Him, and rely on Him. To give in charity is to show kindness to creatures by giving them something that will benefit them. Those most deserving of this are a person’s family, close relatives, those under his authority, and then those not related to him. Both mandatory expenditure and zakāh fall under the scope of His words, “and give out of what We have provided for them.”

This is why Bukhārī and Muslim record on the authority of Ibn ʿUmar that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Islām is built on five (pillars): the testification that none has the right to be worshipped save Allāh and that Muḥammad is Allāh’s Messenger, establishing the ṣalāh, paying the zakāh, fasting the month of Ramaḍān, and performing Ḥajj to the Sacred House.”[20] There are many ḥadīths on this subject.

Lexically speaking, the essential meaning of ṣalāh is supplication (duʿā).[21] In the technical usage of the Sharīʿah, the word ṣalāh is used to refer to the act that includes bowing, prostration, and other specific acts, and is performed at specific times with well-known pre-requisites. The mannerisms of performing it, as well as all the different categories of ṣalāh, are well-known.

Ibn Jarīr said, ‘I am of the view that the prescribed prayer is called ṣalāh because the person performing the act is seeking success in his desire for Allāh’s reward through that deed, as well as the fulfilment of the requests that he directs to his Lord in it.’

It is also suggested that the word ṣalāh derives from ṣalawayn, which are two veins in the middle of the back that separate at the base of the spine and go around it. It is these that move when a person bows and prostrates in prayer. From this is derived the word al-muṣallī, which refers to the horse that finishes second in a race.[22] However, this opinion is questionable.

Another opinion is that the word ṣalāh is derived from al-ṣalī, which means to stick firmly to something.[23] It is in this sense that Allāh says, “in which none will burn,” remain attached to and endure for eternity “except the most wretched.” (92:15)

Yet another opinion is that the word ṣalāh is derived from the idea of warming (taṣliya) a branch with fire in an attempt to straighten it. In the same way, a person engages in ṣalāh to correct his faults and shortcomings, “Indeed, [genuine] prayer deters from indecency and wickedness” (29:45).

The most correct opinion is that the word ṣalāh means duʿā, and this is also the most famous opinion. Allāh knows best.

We will discuss the meaning of zakāh in the appropriate place in shā Allāh.

VERSE 4

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ

“And who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and have certain faith in the Hereafter.”

“And who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you,” Ibn ʿAbbās commented, ‘They believe in what you have brought from Allāh and in what the Messengers before you came with. They do not make any distinctions between them, and they do not reject what they brought from their Lord.’[24]

“and have certain faith in the Hereafter,”[25] Namely, the Resurrection, the Day of Rising, Paradise, Hell, Judgement, and the Scales.

The Hereafter (ākhirah) is given this title because it comes after this world (dunyā).

The exegetes differ concerning the people referred to in this āyah. Are they the same as those referenced in the previous āyah, “Who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and give out of what We have provided for them,” or another body of people? There are three opinions that Ibn Jarīr relates:

The First: They are the same people as those referenced in the previous āyah. These are the believers, be they the Arabs who believed, the People of the Book who believed, or others. This was the view of Mujāhid, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, al-Rabīʿ b. Anas, and Qatādah.

The Second: They are the same people as those referenced in the previous āyah, but those spoken of are the believers amongst the People of the Book specifically.

According to these two views, the connective particle and (wāw) beginning the āyah would be employed to associate a second set of descriptions with the first. A usage such as this can be seen in Allāh’s words, “Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High, who created and [perfectly] fashioned [all], and who ordained precisely and inspired accordingly, and who brings forth [green] pasture, then reduces it to withered chaff” (87:1-5). Here, we have a set of attributes all describing one and the same thing, linked together with the connective particle.

The Third: Those mentioned in the previous āyah are the Arabs who believed. Those mentioned in this āyah are the People of the Book who believed. Al-Suddī cites this position from Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn Masʿūd, and a group of the Companions. Ibn Jarīr preferred this opinion and the following āyahs support this position as well, “Indeed, there are some among the People of the Book who truly believe in Allāh and what has been revealed to you [believers] and what was revealed to them. They humble themselves before Allāh, never trading Allāh’s revelations for a fleeting gain. Their reward is with their Lord. Surely Allāh is swift in reckoning” (3:199), “As for those to whom We had given the Scripture before this [Qurʾān], they do believe in it. When it is recited to them, they declare, ‘We believe in it. This is definitely the truth from our Lord. We had already submitted [even] before this.’ They will be given their reward twice over because they are steadfast, repel evil with good, and give to others out of what We have provided for them” (28:52-53). There is also the ḥadīth in Bukhārī and Muslim on the authority of Abū Mūsā who said that Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “There are three who will be given their reward twice over: a person from the People of the Book who believed in his Prophet and believed in me, a slave who fulfils Allāh’s rights and the rights of his master, and a person who teaches his slave girl good manners, educates her in the best way, frees her, and then marries her.”[26]

The argument Ibn Jarīr presents to support his position is that Allāh has described the believers and the disbelievers at the beginning of this sūrah. The disbelievers were categorised into two: the disbeliever, and the hypocrite. In the same manner, the believers should also be placed in two categories: Arab, and People of the Book.

What is clear me to me, however, is the opinion of Mujāhid, who said, ‘Four āyahs in the beginning of Sūrah al-Baqarah describe the believers, two describe the disbelievers, and thirteen describe the hypocrites.’ The four āyahs are general and apply to every believer – Arab, non-Arab, one of the People of the Book, human, or Jinn. Each of the attributes mentioned complement each other, and is not valid without the other. Indeed, each one implies the other and is a condition (of belief) alongside it. Belief in the unseen, establishment of ṣalāh, and zakāh are all invalid without believing in what the Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) came with, believing in all that the Messengers before him came with, and having certain faith in the Hereafter. Similarly, these beliefs are invalid without belief in the unseen, and so on.

Allāh has enjoined the believers with all these articles of faith, “You who believe, believe in Allāh and His Messenger and in the Scripture He sent down to His Messenger, as well as what He sent down before. Anyone who does not believe in Allāh, His Angels, His Scriptures, His Messengers, and the Last Day has gone far, far astray” (4:136), “Argue only in the best way with the People of the Book, except with those of them who act unjustly. Say, ‘We believe in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to you. Our God and your God is [only] One, and to Him we [fully] submit’” (29:46), “People of the Book! Believe in what We have revealed, confirming your own Scriptures” (4:47), “Say, ‘People of the Book! You have nothing to stand on unless you observe the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord’” (5:68). He told us that all the believers believe in this, “The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They [all] believe in Allāh, His Angels, His Scriptures, and His Messengers. [They proclaim,] ‘We make no distinction between any of His Messengers.’ And they say, ‘We hear and obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord! And to You is the final return’” (2:285), “As for those who believe in Allāh and His Messengers – accepting all, rejecting none – He will surely give them their rewards” (4:152).

These āyahs and others enjoin all the believers, without exception, to believe in Allāh, His Messengers, and His Scriptures.

That said, the People of the Book have a special distinction. When they believe in their own Scripture in all its details, and then accept Islām and believe in it in all its details, they receive a reward twice over. As for other believers, they are required to believe in the previous Scriptures in a general sense as mentioned in the ḥadīth recorded by Bukhārī, “When the People of the Book narrate something to you, neither believe nor disbelieve them. Instead say, ‘We believe in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to you’ (29:46).”[27]

However, the faith of many Arabs who accepted Islām – the religion that Muḥammad (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) came with – could well be more profound, complete, and better than the faith of the People of the Book who accepted Islām. They will be rewarded twice over when considered from the perspective mentioned above, but others could still receive a much greater reward overall because of the sheer depth of their faith. Allāh knows best.

VERSE 5

أُولَـٰئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

“It is they who are upon guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are successful.”

“It is they,” Namely, those who possess the qualities mentioned previously: faith in the unseen, establishment of ṣalāh, giving out of what Allāh has provided them, faith in what Allāh has revealed to the Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam), faith in what He revealed to the Messengers who came before him, and certain faith in the Hereafter. Certitude in the Hereafter drives a person to prepare for it by working righteous deeds and avoiding the unlawful.

“who are upon guidance,” light, clarification and sure knowledge, “from their Lord,” Allāh.

“and it is they who are successful,” in this life and the Next.

Ibn ʿAbbās commented, ‘“It is they who are upon guidance from their Lord,” upon a light from their Lord, resolutely following what He has revealed to them, “and it is they who are successful,” victorious.’

Ibn Jarīr said, ‘“It is they who are upon guidance from their Lord,” upon a light and proof from their Lord, proceeding with firmness and rectitude by His grace, “and it is they who are successful,” victorious, achieving what they sought from their Lord through their deeds and faith in Allāh, His Scriptures, and Messengers. They attain reward and the triumph of eternity in Gardens of Paradise, as well as deliverance from the punishment that Allāh has prepared for His enemies.’

Concerning the demonstrative “they” in this āyah, Ibn Jarīr quotes some authorities as stating that it references the believers amongst the People of the Book who were mentioned in, “And who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you” (2:4). According to this opinion, “And who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you,” would be an āyah disconnected from the āyahs before it. It would be a new sentence in the nominative state, acting as a subject, with the predicate being, “It is they who are upon guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are successful.”

The difference of opinion concerning this has already been discussed.

Ibn Jarīr prefers the view that the āyah refers to both the People of the Book who believed and the Arabs who believed. To prove this, he cites al-Suddī quoting Ibn ʿAbbas, Ibn Masʿūd, and some Companions stating, ‘“Those who believe in the unseen” are the believers amongst the Arabs. “Those who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed to those before you” are the believers amongst the People of the Book. Then Allāh mentioned both groups together with His words, “It is they who are upon guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are successful.”’

We have already stated that the stronger view is that this set of āyahs refer to the believers in general. As such, the demonstrative references the believers in general. Allāh knows best. This was the view narrated from Mujāhid, Abū al-ʿĀliyah, al-Rabīʿ b. Anas, and Qatādah, may Allāh have mercy on them.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim records on the authority of ʿAbdullāh b. ʿAmr that the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) was asked, ‘Messenger of Allāh, we recite some parts of the Qurʾān and are filled with hope, and then we recite other parts and almost give in to despair.’ He (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) replied, “Should I not tell you about the People of Paradise and the People of the Fire?” They said, ‘Messenger of Allāh, of course!’ He then recited, “Alif. Lām. Mīm. This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for those who are mindful [of Allāh]” until, “It is they who are upon guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are successful,” and said, “These are the People of Paradise.” Then he recited, “As for those who disbelieve, it makes no difference whether you warn them or not: they will not believe” (2:6) until, “They will suffer great torment” (2:7) and said, “These are People of the Fire.” They then remarked, ‘Messenger of Allāh, we are not these people!’ He said, “Of course not!”’^[28]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Qurṭubī: According to this view, the meaning of the āyah would be, ‘This Qurʾān contains what is to be found in those Books. The far-deictic demonstrative is used to refer to both the Tawrāh and Injīl. ’

[2] Ṭabarī, Ḥākim 2:260

[3] Qurṭubī: The Qurʾān is a guidance for the whole of mankind, but Allāh has specifically singled out the righteous in order to honour them, since they are the ones who had faith and believed in all that it contained. It is reported that Abū Rawq said, ‘“For those who are mindful of Allāh,” is said in order to honour them,’ i.e. He linked guidance to them in order to accord them due esteem and to highlight their excellence.

[4] Tirmidhī #2451, Ibn Mājah #4215, ʿAbd b. Ḥumayd #484, Ṭabarānī, Al-Kabīr 17:446, Ḥākim 4:319, Bahaqī, Al-Sunan 5:335, Al-Shuʿab #5361 with a ḍaʿīf isnād.

[5] Ibn Abī Ḥātīm 1:33 with a ḍaʿīf isnād.

[6] Ibn Mājah #1857, Ṭabarānī #7881 with a ḍaʿīf isnād as stated by Būṣīrī and others.

[7] Ṭabarī proceeds to state, ‘since Allāh has not restricted the description of them to one meaning of belief to the exclusion of another, instead he left the description general and without specification.’

[8] Saʿīd b. Manṣūr #180, Ibn Abī Ḥātim #66, Ibn Mandah, Al-Īmān #209, Ḥākim 2:260

[9] Aḥmad #17027, Dārimī #2747, Ṭabarānī, Al-Kabīr 4:22, Ḥākim 4:85, Abū Yaʿlā #1559. Ibn Ḥajr, Al-Fatḥ 7:6 said the isnād was ḥasan.

[10] Ṭabarānī, Al-Kabīr 4:23

[11] Ṭabarānī, Al-Kabīr 4:23

[12] Al-Ḥasan b. ʿArafah #19, Bayhaqī, Al-Dalāʾil 6:358, al-Khaṭīb, Sharaf Aṣḥāb Al-Ḥadīth #61, Aṣbahānī, Al-Targhīb #48 with a ḍaʿīf isnād.

[13] Ibn Abī Ḥātim 8:227

[14] Abū Yaʿlā #160, Ḥākim 4:85, Bazzār #2839 with a ḍaʿīf isnād.

[15] Bazzār #2840

[16] Ibn Abī Ḥātīm #73 with an extremely ḍaʿīf isnād. Ṭabarānī, Al-Kabīr 24:207 also records a similar ḥadīth via another isnād about which Haythamī, Majmaʿ 2:14 said, ‘Its narrators have been ruled trustworthy.’

[17] Qurṭubī: There is a difference of opinion concerning what type of prayer is referred to here. Some said that the reference is to the obligatory prayers only. Others said that the reference to both the obligatory and optional prayers; this is the correct opinion. This is because the word al-ṣalāh in the āyah is general and unqualified, and the muttaqī performs both.

[18] Qurṭubī: Allāh is the sole provider, none provides besides Him, “Is there any creator other than Allāh who provides for you from the Heavens and the Earth?” (35:3) “Indeed, Allāh [alone] is the Supreme Provider – Lord of all Power, Ever Mighty.” (51:58) “There is no moving creature on Earth whose provision is not guaranteed by Allāh.” (11:6) Allāh is the provider in reality, man is a provider metaphorically.

[19] Qurṭubī: The āyah is general and this is the correct view. This is because the āyah commends those who give out of what they have been provided, and this can only refer to what is given out of ḥalāl wealth. The āyah means that they give what the Sharīʿah enjoins them to give, be it zakāh, other obligatory expenditures, or recommended charity.

Qurṭubī: The āyah mentions belief in the unseen, which is the portion of the heart, establishing the prayer, which is the portion of the body, and spending in charity, which is the portion of wealth.

[20] Bukhārī #8, Muslim #19

[21] The word is used in this sense in a number of different texts, such as the āyah, “and pray (ṣalli) for them – surely your prayer is a source of comfort for them.” (9:103)

[22] Qurṭubī: So according to this opinion, the act of ṣalāh is assigned this term because it comes second after faith (īmān).

[23] Qurṭubī: So according to this opinion, the act of ṣalāh is assigned this term because a person is firmly and closely worshipping Allāh in the manner prescribed by Him.

[24] Qurṭubī: Unlike the attitude of the Jews and Christians that Allāh informs us of with His words, “When it is said to them: ‘Believe in what Allāh has revealed,’ they reply, ‘We only believe in what was sent down to us,’ and they deny what came afterwards, though it is the truth confirming their own Scriptures!” (2:91)

[25] Qurṭubī: Certainty (yaqīn) refers to that knowledge that admits no doubt.

[26] Bukhārī #97, Muslim #241

[27] Bukhārī #4485-7362-7542 from Abū Hurayrah. However, the wording of Bukhārī is, ‘The People of the Book would recite their Scripture in Hebrew and explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi wa sallam) said, “Neither believe nor disbelieve the People of the Book, rather say, ‘We believe in what has been revealed to us and what was revealed to you.’ (29:46)”’ cf. Abū Dāwūd #3644, Aḥmad 4:136, Ibn Ḥibbān #110

Qurṭubī: A question is asked here, ‘How can we believe in all of the previous Scriptures when their rules and regulations conflict with each other?’ There are two answers: 1) It means to have faith that all of them were revealed by Allāh. This is the view of those who hold that one does not worship Allāh through the laws of previous Scriptures; 2) It is to have faith in those aspects of the previous Scriptures that were not abrogated. This is the view of those who hold that one can follow the previous laws. This view will be explained fully in its correct place. (cf. Qurṭubī to 6:90)

[28] Ibn Abī Ḥātim 1:40 with a ḍaʿīf isnād.

The post Who Are The Muttaqūn? appeared first on Islam21c.

Signs of the Last Day (Ashrāṭ al-Sāʿah)

When Your Deeds Are Weighed

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

The Mīzān (The Scale)

After the reckoning, man will move onto a second stage of judging in which his deeds will be weighed. The first stage dealt with establishing all a person has done, the second stage deals with weighing those deeds and the establishing the consequences thereof.[1] This weighing will only be for Muslims according to the stronger view. The deeds of the disbelievers have no worth in the Hereafter, and hold no weight whatsoever;[2] they will have been rewarded for any good they did in this world.[3]

The Scale will be erected, it has two plates and a tongue as stated by Ibn ʿAbbās.[4] It will be large enough to easily accommodate the heavens and the earth in their entirety. When the Angels first saw it, they asked, ‘Who will be weighed in this?’ Allāh replied, “Whoever of My creation that I want.” Then the Angels said, ‘Glory be to You! We have not worshiped You as You truly deserve!’[5]

The belief of Ahlul-Sunnah is that this is a physical Scale and not a metaphor for justice as claimed by some. Allāh mentions the Scales in many places such as,

فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ

“Those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful. Those whose scales are light, they are the losers of their selves, remaining in Hell timelessly, forever.”[6]

وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ

We will set up the Just Scale on the Day of Rising and no self will be wronged in any way. Even if it is no more than the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, We will produce it. We are sufficient as a Reckoner.[7]

These āyāt mention al-mawāzīn which is the plural of the word Scale and has led some scholars to posit that there will be multiple Scales on the Last Day, perhaps even one per person.[8] Others said that there is, in fact, only one Scale, and the plural is used to reflect the different things that will be weighed on them.[9]

What will be weighed?

The texts show that:[10]

1) Man’s deeds will be weighed

For example, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “There are two statements that are light upon the tongue, heavy in the Scales and are beloved to the Lord of Mercy: SubḥānAllāhi wa biḥamdihī, SubḥānAllāhi’l-ʿAẓīm.”[11]

2) The scrolls on which the deeds are written will be weighed as in the ḥadīth of the man with 99 scrolls.

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh will distinguish a man from my Ummah before all of creation on the Day of Judgement. Ninety-nine scrolls will be laid out for him, each scroll is as far as the eye can see, then He will ask, ‘Do you deny any of this? Have those who recorded this wronged you?’ He will reply, ‘My Lord, no!’ Allāh will ask, ‘Do you have any excuse to present?’ He will reply, ‘My Lord, no!’ Allāh will then say, ‘You do have a good deed with Us; you shall not be wronged today.” Then He will bring out a card on which is written, ‘Ash-hadu an lā ilāha illAllāh wa ash-hadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluhu.’ Allāh will say, ‘Bring your Scales.’ The man will ask, ‘My Lord! What good is this card next to these scrolls?’ He will reply, ‘You shall not be wronged.’ The scrolls will be put on one plate of the scale and the card on the other; the scrolls will be light and the card will outweigh them because nothing is heavier than the name of Allāh.”[12]

3) The person himself will be weighed.

Once some people laughed at Ibn Masʿūd for having thin legs. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) remarked, “Are you laughing at Ibn Masʿūd’s legs? On Allāh’s Scales they are heavier than the mountain of Uḥud.”[13]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“A fat man will be brought forward on the Day of Rising, yet with Allāh he will not even weigh as much as a gnat. Recite if you wish

أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا

It is those who disbelieve in their Lords signs, and deny that they will meet with Him, their deeds come to nothing: on the Day of Rising We shall give them no weight.[14]”[15]

On this Scale, the good deeds will be multiplied,

مَن جَاء بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا وَمَن جَاء بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلاَ يُجْزَى إِلاَّ مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ

Whoever has done good will have it ten times to his credit, but whoever does a bad deed will be repaid only with its equivalent – they will not be wronged.[16]

مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي كُلِّ سُنبُلَةٍ مِّئَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَاللّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَن يَشَاء وَاللّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Those who spend their wealth in Allāh’s path are like grains of corn that produce seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains. Allāh gives multiple increase to whoever He wishes.[17]

إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

Those who are patient will be given a reward without measure.[18]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “Allāh records good and bad deeds in this way: If anyone intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, Allāh still records it with Him as one full good deed. If he intends a good deed and then carries it out, Allāh records it with Him as ten to seven hundred times in reward or even increases it many times more. If anyone intends to do a bad deed but does not actually do it, Allāh records it with Him as one full good deed. If he intends to do a bad deed and does it, Allāh records it with Him as only one bad deed.”[19]

After the weighing of deeds, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “A neck will stretch forth from Hell; it will have two eyes to see with, two ears to hear, and a tongue to speak. And it will speak, saying, ‘I have been appointed for three types of people: every arrogant tyrant, every person who called on some deity other than Allāh and those who made pictures.’[20]

The non-Muslims will have fallen to ground in terror for when Hell sees them from afar, they will hear it roaring and raging,

إِذَا رَأَتْهُم مِّن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ سَمِعُوا لَهَا تَغَيُّظًا وَزَفِيرًا

When it sees them from a distance, they will hear it raging and roaring.[21]

And they will be driven to Hell on their knees and hurled in,

وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَى رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَقْضِيًّا(71)ثُمَّ نُنَجِّي الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَنَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيًّا

There is not one of you who will not come to it. That is the final decision of your Lord. Then We will rescue those who had taqwa and We will leave the wrongdoers in it on their knees.[22]

وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ قَالُوا بَلَى قَدْ جَاءنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ

وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِّأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ

Those who disbelieve in their Lord We have prepared the torment of the blazing Fire, what an evil destination. When they are thrown into it, they will hear it drawing in its breath, while it is blazing forth. Almost bursting with rage. Each time a group is thrown in, its keepers will ask, ‘Did no one come to warn you?’ They will say, ‘Yes, a warner did come to us but we did not believe him.’ We said, ‘Allāh has revealed nothing; you are greatly misguided.’ They will say, ‘If only we had listened, or reasoned, we not be with the inhabitants of the fire.’ They will confess their sins, so away with the inhabitants of the Blazing Fire![23]

The People of the Aʿrāf

There will be a group of people whose good deeds balance out their bad deeds and they will be the last people to have their cases decided. They will wait at a place between Paradise and Hell, turning one way and seeing Hell, seeking refuge with Allāh against it, and then turning the other way and seeing Paradise, asking Allāh for it.

وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلاًّ بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْاْ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ

… On the Heights are people who will recognise each group by their marks: they will call out to the People of the Garden: peace be with you, they will not have entered it, but they will be hoping.[24]

Allāh will finally decide their case and as Hudhayfah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, ‘Allāh will say to them: go and enter Paradise, I have forgiven them.’[25]

The Ṣirāṭ

The Ṣirāt or the Bridge spans the entire back of Hell. It is the last hurdle the believers will face on the Last Day and at its far end will be Paradise. Every Muslim will cross it save those exempted

﴿وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَى رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَقْضِيًّا(71)ثُمَّ نُنَجِّي الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَنَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيًّا﴾

There is not one of you who will not come to it. That is the final decision of your Lord. Then We will rescue those who had taqwa and We will leave the wrongdoers in it on their knees.[26]

This was an āyah that terrified the Salaf, they would say that ‘we know for certainty that we will cross it because Allāh says so, but what we don’t know is if we will reach the other end.’[27] ʿAbdullāh b. Rawāḥa would cry when he recited this verse.[28]

All of mankind will be in a state of abject terror upon reaching the Bridge,[29] fearing that they will fall into Hell as they cross.

When the Ṣirāṭ is laid across the Fire, the Angels will ask Allāh who is to cross it and He will reply, “For whoever I want of My servants.” Realising what is required to successfully traverse it, they exclaim, “Glory be to You! We have not worshipped You as You truly deserve!”[30]

The Ṣirāṭ is thinner than a hair, sharper than a sword,[31] and extremely slippery.[32] It has hooks and clamps on either side like a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends, resembling the thorns of a bush called Saʿdān in Najd,[33] their true size known only to Allāh.[34] They will be made of fire[35] and will snatch those they are commanded to and sweep them away into the Fire.[36]

It will be pitch black. The Hellfire will be so hot as to be black, the smoke it gives off will be black. People will have light in proportion the strength of their īmān and their deeds, and it is in that light that they will cross.[37] Some people will have light blazing like the sun, and others not so much. The prayer (ṣalāh) is a light and it will provide light for the person who prayed,[38] and those who went to the masjid for jamaʿah in the darkness will have perfect light.[39]

Allāh, Most High, says,

يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَى بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

On a Day when Allāh will not degrade the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands, and they will say, ‘Our Lord! Complete our light for us and forgive us. Surely, You have power over all things.’[40]

يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَىٰ نُورُهُم بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِم بُشْرَاكُمُ الْيَوْمَ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

On the Day when you see the believers, both men and women, with their light streaming out ahead of them and to their right, [they will be told], ‘The good news for you today is that there are Gardens graced with flowing streams where you will stay: that is the supreme triumph!’[41]

Up to this point, the Hypocrites (Munāfiqūn) will have been given light by Allāh but now it will be taken away.[42] They will beg the believers for light,

يَوْمَ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا انظُرُونَا نَقْتَبِسْ مِن نُّورِكُمْ قِيلَ ارْجِعُوا وَرَاءَكُمْ فَالْتَمِسُوا نُورًا فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُم بِسُورٍ لَّهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِن قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ

On the Day, the hypocrites, both men and women, will say to the believers, ‘Wait for us! Let us have some of your light!’ They will be told, ‘Go back and look for light.’ A wall with a door will be erected between them: inside it lies mercy, outside lies torment.[43]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) will be standing here supplicating, “My Lord! Safety, safety!!” as will the other Messengers.[44] On either side will be the Angels supplicating, “Allāh! Safety, safety!”[45] The mark (shiʿār) of the believers at that time will be, “My Lord! Safety, safety!”[46] and “There is none worthy of worship save you!”[47] All of them realising the dire situation ahead of them, all realising that if Allāh did not save them, they would fall into Hell.

However, before they cross it, the ties of kinship (raḥim) and trust (amānah) will take their place on either side on the Bridge demanding justice.[48] Justice will be meted out with the person’s good deeds being the only commodity acceptable on that day to requite any injustice done in this regard.

Before stepping on that Bridge, the oppressor and the tyrant will meet all those he or she oppressed. He will recognise the person and be reminded of his oppression, and they will have mutual recompense again in terms of deeds at a time when the oppressor needs them the most. If all his good deeds are exhausted before justice is met, the bad deeds of the oppressed will be piled onto is, and it could be that they end up being thrown into the lowest depths of the Fire.[49] Refuge is sought with Allāh.

The first to cross it will be the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)  and then his ummah.[50] People will cross it (at speeds) proportional to their deeds: some will cross it in the blink of an eye, some will cross it like a flash of lightening, some will cross it like the wind, some will cross it like a race horse, some will cross it like a camel rider, some will cross it running, some walking, and some crawling. Some will get to other side without being harmed, and some will be scratched.[51] The last to cross it will be a man slithering on his stomach, dragging himself across, with his deeds having put him in that state.[52] And some will be seized and swept away into Hell, cut in pieces,[53] piling into the Fire like moths pile into a fire.[54]

The believers who get to the other side successfully will soon realise that some of their brothers and sisters in Islām did not make it and had fallen into the Fire. They will supplicate to Allāh and beg Him to save them,[55] presenting their case as forcefully as possible.[56] They will say, ‘Our Lord! There are some of Your servants )or: our brothers) who fasted with us, prayed with us, performed the Ḥajj with us,[57] and they fought alongside us, but we don’t see them!’[58] They will be told, ‘Take out of the Fire those you recognise,’ for Allāh will have prohibited the Fire from consuming their faces.[59] They will see people who are ankle deep, or knee deep, or half the shin, or waist deep, or chest deep or neck deep[60] in the Fire and take out a large proportion of them.[61] These will be thrown into the Water of Life where they will be washed and grow back like plants grow.[62]

The Prophets, the Angels and the Martyrs will be allowed to intercede as will the believers.[63] Some will intercede for large groups of people in one go, some for whole tribes, some for smaller groups of people and some for just one person.[64] They will then be asked to take out of the Fire a person who has half a dīnār weight of īmān and even an atom’s weight.[65]

The Qanṭara

Whoever crosses the Bridge will enter Paradise. However, after the believers cross the Bridge, they will stop at an arched bridge between Paradise and the Fire; there they will settle any lingering grievances. Then, when they are cleaned and cleansed, they will be permitted to enter Paradise.[66]

Maqātil then recited the verse,

سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ

Peace be with You! You have been good and pure, enter it to live there forever.[67]

This will just be a discussion amongst the believers to remove any lingering feelings, there will not be a judgment or mutual recompense based on deeds.[68]

The Seventy Thousand

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“The nations were presented to me. I saw a Prophet, and with him was a small party of people. (I saw a Prophet), and with him were one or two people. (I saw a Prophet), and there was no one with him at all. Then a great throng of people were raised before me and I thought that they were my nation, but I was told, “This is Mūsā and his people. However, look to the horizon.” I looked and I saw a huge throng of people and I was told, “This is your nation, amongst them are seventy thousand who shall enter Paradise without account or punishment.”’ He then rose and entered his house.” The people began to surmise who they could be: some thought that they were those who accompanied the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), some thought that they were those who were born in Islām and had never associated partners with Allāh, and they mentioned other possibilities. Then the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) came out and they informed him (of their discussion). He said, “They are those who do not ask for ruqyā,[69] they do not practice cauterisation, they do not seek omens, and they put their absolute reliance in their Lord.” ʿUkkāshah b. Miḥṣan stood and said, “Messenger of Allāh, invoke Allāh to make me one of them!” He said, “You are one of them.” Then another man stood and said, “Invoke Allāh to make me one of them.” He said, “ʿUkkāshah has preceded you.”’[70]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked for increase, and Allāh answered, granting him seventy thousand for every thousand, and then ‘three additional handfuls of your Lord,’ the extent of which none knows save Allāh.[71]

Describing them, the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) told us that their faces will be bright, shining with light like the moon when it is full.[72] These people will avoid the trials of the Last Day, will not be judged and will not have to cross the Bridge.[73]

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Qurṭubī 1:715

[2] Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Majmūʿ 3:146, Saffārīnī 1:716

[3] Muslim #2808

[4] Bayhaqī, Shuʿab 1:263

[5] Ḥākim #8739, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #941

[6] al-Muʾminūn 23:102-103

[7] al-Anbiyāʾ 21:47

[8] Such as al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī who said that every person will have his own set of Scales. cf. Saffārīnī 1:717

[9] Qurṭubī 1:734-736

[10] Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz, Sharḥ al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah 2:613, Ibn Kathīr 2:203

[11] Bukhārī, Muslim

[12] Tirmidhī #2639

[13] Ahmad

[14] al-Kahf 18:105

[15] Bukhārī

[16] al-Anʿām 6:160

[17] al-Baqarah 2:261

[18] al-Zumar (39): 10

[19] Bukhārī

[20] Aḥmad #3430, cf. Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah 1:675

[21] al-Furqān 25:12

[22] Maryam 19:71-72

[23] al-Mulk 67:6-11

[24] al-Aʿrāf (7): 46

[25]

[26] Maryām 19:71-72

[27] Qurṭubī 1:764

[28] Qurṭubī 1:764

[29] Abū Dāwūd #4755

[30] Ḥākim #8739

[31] Ṭabarānī #9763

[32] Bukhārī #7001, Muslim #183

[33] Bukhārī #7439, Muslim #183

[34] Bukhārī #773, Muslim #182

[35] Ṭabarānī #8992

[36] Muslim #195

[37] Ṭabarānī #9763

[38] Muslim

[39] Abū Dāwūd #561

[40] al-Taḥrīm 66:8

[41] al-Ḥadīd 57:12

[42] Ṭabarānī 11:122 #11242

[43] al-Ḥadīd 57:13

[44] Bukhārī #7437, Muslim #195

[45] Muslim #195, Aḥmad #11202-12848

[46] Tirmidhī #2432, cf. Tirmidhī #2557, Muslim #183

The narration of Bukhārī #7437 and Muslim #182 state that none will speak on this occasion except the Messengers and they will make the supplication. The narration of Tirmidhī indicates that others will speak as well; however, ibn Ḥajr argues that the only the Messengers will be making the duʿā and the ḥadīth of Tirmidhī refers to the Messengers as they too are believers. Cf. Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 15:145

[47] Ṭabarānī 13:69 #168

[48] Muslim #195, Ḥākim #7849

[49] Ṭabarānī, Awsaṭ #5967

[50] Bukhārī #773-7437

[51] Bukhari #7439, Muslim #183

[52] Bukhārī #7439, Hannād, al-Zuhd #322, Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #406

[53] Bukhari #7439, Muslim #183

[54] Aḥmad #20440-20457

[55] Nasāʾī #5010, Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[56] Bukhārī #806, Muslim #183, Ibn Mājah #60

[57] Bukhārī #7439, Muslim #183, Aḥmad #11081

[58] Nasāʾī #5010, Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[59] Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[60] Aḥmad #11081

[61] Aḥmad #11081

[62] Aḥmad #11081

[63] Aḥmad #20440-20457

[64] Tirmidhī #2440

[65] Nasāʾī #5010

[66] Bukhārī #6535

[67] al-Zumar 39: 73, cf. Baghawī 4:89

[68] Qurṭubī 1:767, Saffārīnī 1:730

[69] ar: lā yastarqūn

[70] Bukhārī #3410-5705-5752-6472-6541 and Muslim #220. The wording quoted above is that of Muslim except that the wording of Muslim has Ḥuṣayn saying, “I asked (someone) to perform ruqyā on me.”

[71] Aḥmad #1702, Tirmidhī #2437

[72] Muslim #216

[73] Qurṭubī 1:767, Saffārīnī 1:730

The post When Your Deeds Are Weighed appeared first on Islam21c.

Aḍwāʾ al-Bayān, Muḥammad al-Amīn al-Shanqīṭī

1. With the Name of Allāh, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful.
2. All praise (and thanks) belong to Allāh, the Lord of the worlds.
3. The All-Merciful, the Most Merciful.
4. Master of the Day of Judgment.
5. You (alone) we worship, and to You (alone) we turn for help.
6. Guide us (to and on) the Straight Path.
7. The Path of those You have blessed, not of those upon whom there is anger, nor of those who wander astray.

All praise (and thanks) belong to Allāh

There is no mention here as to when this praise is said or from where this praise comes from. However, Sūrah Rūm mentions that amongst the wheres are the heavens and earth, ‘and His is all praise and thanks in the heavens and earth.’ (30:18). Sūrah Qaṣaṣ mentions that amongst the whens are in this world and in the Hereafter,

‘He is Allāh, none has the right to be worshipped besides Him. To Him belongs all praise in the first world and the next.’ (28:70)

He said in the beginning of Sūrah Sabaʾ,

‘All praise belongs to Him in the Hereafter, and He is the All-Wise, All-Aware.’ (34:1)

The definite article prefix, al, in the word, al-Hamd is used to subsume all the different manners of praise; it is a method of eulogy that Allāh has employed to praise Himself and ordered His servants to use as well.

The Lord of the worlds

There is no further explanation here as to what al-ʿālamīn, the worlds, actually means, but this is explained in another place with His saying,

‘Pharaoh said, “And what is the Lord of the ʿālamīn?” He (Moses) said, “The Lord of the heavens and the earth and everything between them…”’ (26:23-24)

Some of the scholars stated that al-ʿālam (world, pl. ʿālamīn) is derived from al-ʿallāmah (sign) because the existence of the world is a sign, without doubt, of the existence of its Creator who is described with perfect and magnificent Attributes. Allāh, Most High, says,

‘In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the change of the night and day are Signs (āyāt) for the people of understanding.’

Linguistically, āyah means ʿallāmah.

The All-Merciful (al-Raḥmān), the Most Merciful (al-Raḥīm)

These Names depict two qualities of Allāh, Most High, and are two of His Beautiful and Perfect Names. They are derived from the word, al-raḥmah (mercy) in a way that expresses an intense and emphatic meaning.

Grammatically, the construct of al-Raḥmān is more emphatic than al-Raḥīm. al-Raḥmān is the One endowed with mercy which extends to all of creation in this world and to the believers in the Hereafter; al-Raḥīm is the One endowed with mercy which extends only to the believers on the Day of Judgment. This is the understanding of the majority of the scholars and the discussion of ibn Jarīr alludes to the fact that there is an agreement on this; moreover, ibn Kathīr said that the exegesis of some of the Salaf lends weight to this understanding. Further evidence for this position is adduced from the narration of ʿĪsā, mentioned by ibn Kathīr and others, in which he (upon him and our Prophet be peace and blessings) said, ‘al-Raḥmān: the One who shows mercy in this world and the Hereafter. al-Raḥīm: the One who shows mercy in the Hereafter.’ [1]

Allāh, Most High, also alludes to this meaning with His words, ‘Then He rose over the Throne, al-Raḥmān’ (25:59), ‘al-Raḥmān rose over the Throne.’ (20:5) Here, He mentioned the istawā (Rising over the Throne) with His Name, al-Raḥmān so as to embrace the whole of His creation with his mercy as stated by ibn Kathīr. [2]

He also says, ‘Do they not see the birds above them, with wings outspread and folding back? Nothing holds them up but al-Raḥmān’ (67:19) i.e. part His mercy to creation is His kindness to the birds and His holding them in the sky while they are spreading out their wings and folding them in.

One of the clearest evidences pertaining to this is His saying, ‘al-Raḥmān. He taught the Qur’ān…so which of the favours of your Lord will you two deny?’ (55:1-13)

He said, “He is Most Merciful (Raḥīm) to the believers” (33:43) and hence particularised His Name, al-Raḥīm to them.

If it asked, ‘How is it possible to reconcile what you have thus far established with his (SAW) saying in the supplication, ‘The Raḥmān of the world and the Hereafter and the Raḥīm of them’?[3] It would seem clear – and Allāh knows best – that al-Raḥīm is specific to the believers as we have mentioned, but it is not specific to them in the Hereafter alone, rather His mercy extends to them in this world as well. Therefore, the meaning of ‘The Raḥīm of them’ would be ‘His mercy to the believers in them.’ The evidence that He is Raḥīm to the believers in this world as well (as the Hereafter) is that this is the ostensive sense of His saying,

‘It is He who sends down His blessings (ṣalāh) on you, as do His Angels, to bring you out of the darkness into the light, and He is Most Merciful (Raḥīm) to the believers.’ (33:43)

His ṣalāh upon them, the ṣalāh of His Angels and His leading them out of the darkness to the light is mercy endowed to them in this world, even though it be the reason for His mercy in the Hereafter as well. Similar to this in meaning is His saying,

‘Allāh has turned towards the Prophet, the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār who followed him at the time of distress, after the hearts of a group of them had almost deviated. Then He turned towards them, He is All-Gentle, Most Merciful (Raḥīm) to them.’ (9:117)

The Mercy is linked to the event that befell the Prophet, the Muhājirūn and the Anṣār, and also His forgiving them was mercy endowed them in this world, even though it be the reason for mercy in the Hereafter as well. The Knowledge (of what is correct) lies with Allāh.

Master of the Day of Judgment (dīn)

There is no explanation here (as to what the Day of Dīn is), but this is explained in His saying,

‘And what will make you comprehend what the Day of Dīn is? Again! What will make you comprehend what the Day of Dīn is? It is the Day when a person will have no power to help another person in any way.’ (83:17-19).

The meaning of Dīn in the verse is recompense, as can be seen in His saying, ‘on that Day Allāh will pay them their dīn in truth’ (24:25) i.e. the recompense of their actions with complete justice.

You (alone) we worship

This noble verse points to the meaning of Lā ilāha illAllāh (there is none worthy of worship except for Allāh) and actualises it. The statement comprises negation and affirmation: every single object of worship besides Allāh is negated in all acts of servitude, and these, in turn are singled out for the Lord of the heavens and earth in the manner legislated by the Sharīʿah.

The negation found in the statement, lā ilāha illAllāh is implemented here by placing the object of (the verb) worship ahead of the actual verb itself, hence, “You (alone).” It is established in the science of Usul under the discussion on Dalīl al-Khiṭāb alladhī huwa Mafhūm al-Mukhālafa, and in the subject of al-Maʿānī under the discussion of al-Qaṣr that placing the object first (in a sentence) is a method of confining (the meaning of the verb to the object alone). 

The affirmation part of the kalima is implemented in His saying, “we worship.”

This meaning indicated here has been mentioned in details elsewhere such as,

‘Mankind! Worship your Lord who created you’ (2:21)

The affirmation is found in His words, ‘worship your Lord’ and the negation at the end of this noble verse with His words, ‘do not, then, knowingly make others equal to Allāh.’ (2:22). Allāh, Most High, says,

‘We sent a Messenger to every people saying: ‘Worship Allāh and keep clear of all false gods.’ (16:36)

The affirmation is mentioned in His words, ‘worship Allāh’ and the negation in His words, ‘and keep clear of all false gods.’ Allāh, Most High, says

‘Anyone who rejects false gods and has faith in Allāh has grasped the Firmest Handhold.’ (2:256)

The negation is stated in, ‘Anyone who rejects false gods’ and the affirmation in, ‘and has faith in Allāh.’ Allāh, Most High, says,

‘When Ibrāhīm said to his father and his people, “I am free of everything you worship except for Him who brought me into being…”’ (43:26-27)

‘We sent no Messenger without revealing to him, “There is none worthy of worship but Me, so worship Me.”’ (21:25)

‘Ask those of Our Messengers whom We sent before you, “Have We ever designated gods to be worshipped besides the All-Merciful?”’ (43:45)

You (alone) we turn to for help

i.e. We do not seek help from anyone but You because the affair in its totality is under Your control alone, no one else has even an atoms weight of control over it. In this statement’s following His saying, ‘You (alone) we worship’ lies an indication that it is not permissible to put our trust in anyone except the One who deserves worship since no one else has control over the affair. This meaning, indicated here, is clearly explained in other verses, like His sayings,

‘So worship Him and put your trust in Him’ (12:123)

‘But if they turn away, say: “Allāh is enough for me, none has the right to be worshipped save Him, in Him I put my trust.”’ (9:129)

‘Lord of the east and west, none deserves to be worshipped save Him, so take Him as your Guardian.’ (73:9)

‘Say: He is the All-Merciful, we have believed in Him and put our trust in Him.’ (67:29)

The path of those You have blessed

There is no explanation here as to who the blessed are, but this is explained in another place with His saying,

‘Whoever obeys Allāh and the Messenger will be in the company of those whom Allāh has blessed: the Prophets, the Sincerely Truthful (ṣiddīq), the Martyrs and the Righteous – what excellent company such people are!’ (4:69)

Addendum 1: The correctness of the khalīfate of Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq (RA) can be derived from this noble verse because he is included amongst those that Allāh has commanded us to ask Him to guide us to their path, thus indicating that their path is the Straight Path.

This lies in His saying, ‘Guide us (to and on) the Straight Path, the Path of those You have blessed,’ and in His explanation to who these blessed were, including the Ṣiddīqīn amongst them. He (SAW) explained that Abū Bakr (RA) was one of the Ṣiddīqīn, hence it becomes clear that he is included amongst those that Allāh has blessed – those that Allāh has commanded us to ask Him to guide us to their path. Therefore, there remains no doubt that Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq was upon the Straight Path and that his khilāfate was correct.

Addendum 2: You have come to know that the Ṣiddīqīn are amongst those that Allāh has blessed. Allāh has made clear that Maryam, the daughter of ʿImrān, was a Ṣiddīqah in His saying, ‘And His mother was a Ṣiddīqah’ (5:75). So is Maryam included in His saying, ‘Those you have blessed,’ or not?

The answer: whether or not she is included amongst them is dependent upon a foundational principle which has a well known dispute over it. This is – does the sound masculine plural and it’s likes which occurs in the Qurʾān and the Sunnah include the feminine gender in all cases or only in those cases for which there is a specific evidence?

A group of scholars took to the opinion that it does – so according to them Maryam is included in the above verse. These scholars depended upon two proofs:

• – The consensus of the people of the Arabic Language that the masculine gender takes prevalence over the feminine. [4]
• – There a number of verses which prove that the females are included in the sound masculine plural, like His saying concerning Maryam herself, ‘she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and His Books, and she was of those obedient to Allāh (Qānitīn – a sound masculine plural)’ (66:12), and His saying concerning the wife of al-ʿAzīz, ‘O Yusuf! Turn away from this! (O Woman!) Ask forgiveness for your sin, indeed your were of the sinful (khātiʾīn – a sound masculine plural)’ (12:29), and His saying concerning Bilqīs, ‘But what she worshipped besides Allāh impeded her, she was of a disbelieving people (qawm kāfirīn)’ (27:43), and His saying, ‘We said: get down (ihbiṭū) all of you from this’ (2:38) and this includes Hawāʾ by consensus.

The majority of scholars took to the opinion that the females are not included in the sound masculine plural unless there is a specific evidence, and they depended upon a number of verses like His saying, ‘Indeed the male Muslims and the female Muslims, the male believers and the female believers…Allāh has prepared for them a forgiveness and a great reward’, and His saying, ‘Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and protect their private parts. That is purer for them’ (24:30) following this with, ‘and tell the believing women to lower their gaze and protect their private parts’ (24:31). So their following the mention of the men indicates that they are not included amongst them.

They replied to the proponents of the first opinion by saying that the fact that the masculine gender takes prevalence over the feminine is not a matter of dispute. What is disputed is whether the masculine plural includes the females in every case. And they replied to the verses (the first group) used by saying that it is known by the context of these verses and the meaning of the wordings that the females are included in the male plural – and that their inclusion in the male plural in the case of their being an evidence that they are included is not contended.

So according to this opinion Maryam is not included in the verse.

This difference of opinion was pointed out in Marāqī al-Suʿūd with his saying:

There is nothing untoward in including the feminine (amongst the masculine gender)

For this is a matter in which the Muslims have differed

Not of those upon whom there is anger, nor of those who wander astray

The majority of the exegetes said that ‘those upon whom there is anger’ are the Jews, and ‘those who wander astray’ are the Christians. There is a ḥadīth of the Messenger of Allāh (SAW) from ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim (RA) concerning this. [5]

Even though both the Jews and the Christians are misguided and have Allāh’s anger on them, anger is specified to the Jews, even though the Christians share this with them, because the Jews knew the truth and rejected it, deliberately choosing falsehood; therefore, the anger (of Allāh being upon them) was the description most befitting them. The Christians were ignorant, not knowing the truth, so misguidance was the description most apt for them.

The saying of Allāh, ‘so they have drawn on themselves anger upon anger’ (2:90) further clarifies that the Jews are those upon whom there is anger. Moreover, Allāh says,

‘Say: “Shall I tell you of a reward with Allāh much worse than that: that of those who incurred the curse of Allāh and His anger.’ (5:60)

“As for those who adopted the calf (for worship), anger from their Lord and humiliation will overtake them…’ (7:152)

The saying of Allāh,

‘…and do not follow the whims and desires of people who went astray previously, and misled many, and are far from the right way.’ (5:77)

clarifies that it is the Christians who wander astray.

Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Ibn al-Jawzī, al-Mawḍūʿā 1:204, said of this ḥadīth “Its (chain of narration) contains Ismāʿīl b. ʿAyāsh who was declared ḍaʿīf by Nasāʾī. It also contains Ismāʿīl b. Yaḥyā about whom Dāruqutnī said, ‘A liar, abandoned.’ It also contains ʿAṭiyyah b. Saʿd who is a mudallis, a Shīʿī, truthful but has many mistakes. cf. Muqbil b. Hādī, Taḥqīq ibn Kathīr 1:37

[2] This is because the Throne of Allāh is far greater than the expanse of the heavens and earth, and Allāh is above the Throne. So His mentioning His Name of al-Raḥmān with respect to the Throne is implying that the effects of this name are true for the whole of creation – Muslim or non-Muslim.

[3] Hākim, al-Mustadrak 1:515 ruled it ṣaḥīḥ and Dhahabī criticised him by saying, ‘al-Ḥakam (one of the narrators) is not trustworthy.’ Ḥāfiẓ al-Mundhirī, al-Targhīb wa’l-Tarhīb 2:616, said, ‘It is recorded by Bazzār, Ḥākim and al-Aṣbahānī all via the route of al-Ḥakam b. ʿAbdullāh al-Aylī and Ḥākim said, ‘Ṣaḥīḥ isnād.’ How can this be when al-Ḥakam is abandoned and accused.’ cf. Muqbil b. Hādī, Taḥqīq ibn Kathīr 1:43

[4] For example a mixed gathering of males and females would be referred to by using the male plural not the female plural even if there be more females than males.

[5] The ḥadīth is: ʿAdī b. Ḥātim said, ‘I asked the Messenger of Allāh (SAW) about Allāh’s saying, ‘those upon whom there is anger,’ and He said, “It refers to the Jews.” I asked about, ‘those who wander astray’ and he replied, “The Christians are those who wander astray.”’ It is recorded by Tirmidhī and Aḥmad and it is ṣaḥīḥ.

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Know that in the fast is a special quality that is not found in anything else. And that is its close connection to Allāh, such that He says: “The fast (Sawm) is for Me and I will reward it.”¹This connection is enough to show the high status of fasting. Similarly, the Kaʿbah is highly dignified due to its close connection to Him, as occurs in His statement, “And sanctify My House.”²

Indeed, the fast is only virtuous due to two significant concepts. Firstly, it is a secret and hidden action thus, no one from the creation is able to see it. Therefore showing off cannot enter into it. Secondly, it is a means of subjugating the enemies of Allāh. This is because the road that the enemies (of Allah) embark upon (in order to misguide the Son of Ādam) is that of desires. And eating and drinking strengthens the desires. There are many reports that indicate the merits of fasting, and they are all well known.

The recommended acts of fasting

The pre-dawn meal (Suḥur) and delaying in taking it are preferable, as well as hastening to break the fast and doing so with dates. Generosity in giving is also recommended during Ramaḍān, as well as doing good deeds and increasing in charity. This is in accordance with the way of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).

It is also recommended to study the Qur’ān and perform I’tikāf during Ramaḍān, especially in the last ten days, as well as increasing upon the exertion (towards doing good deeds) in it.

In the two Sahihs, ʿĀ’ishah said, “When the (last) ten days (of Ramaḍān) would come, the Prophet would tighten his waist-wrapper, spend the night in worship, and wake his family up (for prayer).” The scholars have mentioned two views concerning the meaning of “tighten his waist-wrapper”: The first: It means the turning away from women.

The second: It is an expression denoting his eagerness and diligence in doing good deeds. They also say that the reason for his (peace be upon him) exertion in the last ten days of Ramaḍān was due to his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) seeking of the Night of Power (Laylah al-Qadr).

An explanation of the inner secrets of fasting and its characteristics

There are three levels of fasting: The general fast, the specific fast, and the further specific fast. As for the general fast, then it is the refraining of the stomach and the private parts from fulfilling their desires. The specific fast is the refraining of one’s gaze, tongue, hands, feet, hearing and eyes, as well as the rest of his body parts from committing sinful acts. As for the more specific fast, then it is the heart’s abstention from its yearning after the worldly affairs and the thoughts which distance one away from Allāh, as well as its (the heart’s) abstention from all the things that Allāh has placed on the same level. From the characteristics of the specific fast is that one lowers his gaze and safeguards his tongue from the repulsive speech that is forbidden, disliked, or which has no benefit, as well as controlling the rest of his body parts.

In a ḥadith reported by al-Bukhārī: “Whosoever does not abandon false speech and the acting upon it, Allāh is not in need of him leaving off his food and drink.”³  Another characteristic of the specific fast is that one does not overfill himself with food during the night. Instead, he eats in due measure, for indeed, the son of Ādam does not fill a vessel more evil than his stomach. If he were to eat his fill during the first part of the night, he would not make good use of himself for the remainder of the night. In the same way, if he eats to his fill for suhur, he does not make good use of himself until the afternoon. This is because excessive eating breeds laziness and lethargy. Therefore, the objective of fasting disappears due to one’s excessiveness in eating, for what is intended by the fast is that one savours the taste of hunger and becomes one who abandons desires.

Recommended Fasts

As for the recommended fasts, then know that preference for fasting is established in certain virtuous days. Some of these virtuous days occur every year, such as fasting the first six days of the month of Shawwāl after Ramaḍān, fasting the day of ʿArafah, the day of ʿAshura, and the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah and Muharram. Some of them occur every month, such as the first part of the month, the middle part of it, and the last part of it. So whoever fasts the first part of the month, the middle part of it, and the last part of it, then he has done well. Some fasts occur every week, and they are every Monday and Thursday.

The most virtuous of the recommended fasts is the fast of Dāwūd (ʿalayhi al-Salām). He would fast one day and break his fast the next day. This achieves the following three objectives: The soul is given its share on the day the fast is broken. And on the day of fasting, it completes its worship in full. The day of eating is the day of giving thanks and the day of fasting is the day of having patience. And Faith is divided into two halves – that of thankfulness and that of patience. It is the most difficult struggle for the soul. This is because every time the soul gets accustomed to a certain condition, it transfers itself to that.

As for fasting every day, then it has been reported by Muslim, from the ḥadith of Abu Qatadah, that ʿUmar (raḍiy Allāhuʿanhu) asked the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): ‘What is the case if one were to fast every day?’ So he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “He did not fast nor did he break his fast – or – he did not fast and he did not break his fast.”⁴ This is concerning the one who fasts continuously, even during the days in which fasting is forbidden.

Characteristics of the most specific fast

Know that the one who has been given intellect, knows the objective behind fasting. Therefore, he burdens himself to the extent that he will not be unable to do that which is more beneficial than it. Ibn Masʿūd would fast very little and it is reported that he used to say: “When I fast, I grow weak in my prayer. And I prefer the prayer over the (optional) fast. Some of them (the Saḥabah) would weaken in their recitation of the Qur’ān whilst fasting. Thus, they would exceed in breaking their fast (i.e. by observing less optional fasts), until they were able to balance their recitation. Every individual is knowledgeable of his condition and of what will rectify it.

Notes: Taken from Mukhtasar Minhaaj ul-Qaasideen

1. al-Bukhārī and Muslim
2. al-Hajj:26
3. Sahih al-Bukhārī, Abu Dāwūd, al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Mājah
4. Muslim

The post The Inner Secrets of Fasting appeared first on Islam21c.

Obligation of fasting

Allah, the Most High, says…

“O you who have faith! Fasting is prescribed for you, as it was prescribed for those before you – so that hopefully you will have taqwa.”

al-Qur’ān, 2:183

…meaning that hopefully you can safeguard yourselves from the Fire through fasting; fasting is a means to the forgiveness of sins, and sins lead one to the Fire.

The Two Sahīhs record the hadīth in which the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“Islam is built upon five: that you worship Allah and reject the worship of anything else, to establish the prayer, the giving of zakat, performing pilgrimage to the House, and fasting the month of Ramadan.”

This is a wording of Muslim; Bukhārī has the first sentence as “That you testify that none has the right to be worshipped, save Allah”.

Virtues of fasting

Fasting carries with it a number of benefits, amongst which are:

• the elevation of one’s rank;
• the expiation of sins;
• the breaking of one’s desires and lusts;
• the increase of charity;
• the multiplication of actions of obedience to Allah;
• giving thanks to the One who knows the hidden matters;
• and preventing oneself from even contemplating the committing of sin.

Elevation of rank

With regards to the elevation of rank, the Messenger (ﷺ) said,

“When Ramadan comes, the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hellfire are locked, and the devils are chained.”

Bukhārī

He (ﷺ) also said, relating from His Lord, Mighty and Magnificent,

“All of the actions of the son of Ādam are for him, except the fast, for that is for Me and I will reward it. Fasting is a protecting shield, so when it is the day when one of you are fasting, let him not behave or speak indecently; if someone tries to abuse or fight him, let him say, ‘I am fasting’.

“By the One in whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, the smell emanating from the mouth of the one fasting is better to Allah than the smell of musk. The one fasting has two times of joy: when he breaks his fast, he is happy; and when He meets his Lord, he will rejoice at his fasting.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

He (ﷺ) also said,

“Every action that the son of Ādam does [its reward] will be multiplied, a good deed will be increased tenfold up to seven-hundred fold.

“Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, says,

‘Except for the fast, for that is for Me and I will reward it because he left his desires and food for My sake.'”

Muslim

He (ﷺ) said,

“In Paradise, there is a gate which is called al-Rayyān, through which the people who fasted will enter on the Day of Judgment, and no-one else shall enter alongside them. It will be asked, ‘Where are those who fasted?’ and they will walk through it, and upon the entry of the last of them, it will be locked, and no-one else will walk through it.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

In another version, the wording is,

“There is a gate in Paradise called al-Rayyān, those who fasted will be summoned to it, and whoever fasted will enter through it, and whoever enters it will never again experience thirst.”

Tirmidhī and Nasāʾī

He (ﷺ) said,

“When people eat in the presence of a fasting person, the angels invoke blessings upon him, until they finish.”

Aḥmad and Tirmidhī

• With regards the “opening of the gates of Paradise”, this is a phrase that points to the increase of actions of obedience that in turn lead to the opening of the gates of Paradise.
• “Locking the gates of the Fire” is a phrase that points to the decrease, and lack of sins, which in turn leads to the locking of the gates of the Fire.
• “The chaining of the devils” is a phrase that points to the termination of their whisperings and temptations to those who are fasting, because they give up hope of receiving a favourable response.
• His saying, “All of the actions of the son of Ādam are for him, except the fast, for that is for Me and I will reward it,” fasting has been specifically adjoined to Him in order to honour it, because the hidden nature of fasting prevents ostentation entering it. And moreover, hunger and thirst are not used as means to draw closer to any king of this world nor any idol.
• His saying, “…and I will reward it,” even though He rewards all actions of obedience, this phrase points to the greatness of the reward of fasting.
• His saying, “…fasting is a protecting shield” means that fasting serves as a barrier erected between the person and the punishment of Allah.
• His saying, “…let him say, ‘I am fasting’,” means let him remind himself that he is fasting so that this would serve to prevent him from repaying like with like.
• His saying, “…the smell emanating from the mouth of the one fasting is better to Allah than the smell of musk,” means that the reward for the smell emanating from the mouth of the fasting person is better to Allah than the smell of musk.

^ [This explanation is a point of some difference and was the cause of a famous debate between Ibn al-Salāḥ and the author, may Allah have mercy upon both.]

As for the two times of joy, the first is because the one fasting has been granted the divine accord to complete this act of worship, and the second is because of the reward he will attain when Allah rewards him.

His saying, “…he left his desires and food for My sake” means that he chose the obedience of his Lord over the obedience of the call of his soul. Whoever chooses Allah, Allah chooses him. This is why, when someone desires to commit a sin, then leaves committing it for fear of Allah, He says to the recording angels,

“Record it as a good deed, for he only left giving in to his lusts for My sake.”

With regards their being specified to enter Paradise through the gate of al-Rayyān, this specification is because of the greatness of this act of fasting and its unique character.

With regards the angels invoking blessings upon the one fasting, in whose presence food is eaten, this is because on such an occasion he has to exert himself more in fighting his desire to eat. Their invoking blessings upon him is a phrase denoting their asking for his forgiveness and mercy to be bestowed upon him.

Expiation of sins 

With regards the expiation of sins, the Messenger (ﷺ) said,

“One Ramadan to the next serves as an expiation for what is done between them, so long as the major sins are avoided.”

Muslim

He (ﷺ) also said,

“Whoever fast the month of Ramadan, out of faith and expectant of reward, his previous sins will be forgiven for him.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

Breaking of one’s desires & lusts

Hunger and thirst break the desire to commit sin, it is authentically reported from him (ﷺ) that he said,

“O gathering of youth! Whoever can afford it, let him marry, for this is better in aiding one to lower his gaze and preserving the private parts. Whoever is not able, let him fast, for this will diminish his desire.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

It is mentioned in a hadīth,

“Satan flows through the son of Ādam as does his blood,” so constrain the passages of Satan through hunger.

Bukhārī and Muslim. The last sentence is the statement of one of the narrators of the hadīth mistakenly added into the main text.

Increase of charity 

When the one fasting feels the pangs of hunger, he takes this as a reminder to feed others who are hungry, “for the only one who feels compassion towards the lovers is one who has loved”.

It has reached us that Suleymān or Yūsuf (‘alayhum al-Salam) would not eat until all his dependants had first eaten. And when asked why this was so, he said,

“I fear that I would become full, and so forget the hungry.”

Increase of actions of obedience 

The one fasting will be reminded of the hunger and thirst that the denizens of Hell will experience.

And this will encourage him to obey Allah, so as to be saved from that fate.

Giving thanks to the One who knows the hidden matters 

The one fasting comes to truly appreciate the favours of Allah.

It is only through knowing hunger and thirst, that one truly appreciates satiation and the quenching of that thirst; it is only when blessings are absent, that one appreciates them more.

Preventing oneself from contemplating sin 

When one is full, the soul craves sin and looks longingly at all sorts of transgression, but when one is hungry, the soul craves food and drink, and this is the better of the two without doubt.

It is for this reason that one of the Salaf thought fasting to be the best of all actions of worship and when asked why, one of them replied,

“That Allah looks at me in a state where my soul is fighting me for food and drink is more beloved to me than Allah looking at me in a state where my soul is full and fighting me for sin.”

Fasting has many more benefits, such as refining the mind and strengthening the body.

It is mentioned in a hadīth,

“Fast, for you will become healthy.”

al-Ṭabarānī with a ḍaʿīf isnād

From the greatness of fasting is that whoever feeds a fasting person has the same reward as the one who fasted.

He (ﷺ) said,

“Whoever provides food for a person to open the fast, he will have the likes of his reward, without the reward of the fasting person decreasing in the slightest.”

Aḥmad and Tirmidhī

So, whoever provides food for thirty-six fasting people in one year, it will be as if he fasted for the whole year. And whoever provides food for many fasting people with this intention, Allah will record for him the fasting of many years [because a good deed is multiplied ten-fold].

Mannerisms of fasting

They are six: 

1 | Restraining the tongue & limbs from all that opposes the Divine Law (Shariah)

He (ﷺ) said,

“Whoever does not leave false speech and acting upon it, Allah has no need of his leaving food and drink.” 

Bukhārī

He (ﷺ) also said,

“It is possible that one standing [in prayer] only attains weariness from his standing, and the one fasting only attains hunger and thirst from his fasting.”

Aḥmad, al-ʿIrāqī said the isnād was hasan.

2 | If one is invited to eat while fasting, let him say, ‘I am fasting’

The Messenger (ﷺ) said,

“If one of you is invited to eat while fasting, let him say, ‘I am fasting’.” 

Muslim

3 | What should be said when one breaks the fast

He (ﷺ) used to say upon breaking fast,

ذَهَبَ الظَّمَأُ وَابْتَلَّتْ الْعُرُوقُ وَثَبَتَ الْأَجْرُ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ

“The thirst has gone, the veins are moistened, and the reward is certain, if Allah wills.”

Abū Dāwūd and Dāruquṭnī said its isnād was hasan.

It is also reported that he (ﷺ) said,

“O Allah! It is for you that I have fasted, and it is with your provision that I have broken the fast.”

Abū Dāwūd with a ḍaʿīf isnād. However, A. al-Arnaʿūṭ, in Jamiʿ al-Usūl, said that it has witnesses that strengthen it.

In another hadīth, it is reported that he (ﷺ) said,

“All praise and thanks are due to Allah, who gave me the strength to fast and who gave me the provisions with which to break fast.”

Bayhaqī with a ḍaʿīf isnād, but it has witnesses that strengthen it.

4 | What the fast should be broken with

The fast should be broken with fresh dates, or slightly older, drier dates, or water.

It is reported that he (ﷺ) would break fast with:

“Fresh dates before praying; and if not, then with older, drier dates; and if not with dates, then with some mouthfuls of water.”

Abū Dawūd with a ḥasan isnād

He (ﷺ) said,

“If one of you is fasting, then let him break fast with dates. If he does not find any, then with water, for it is pure and purifying.”

Abū Dāwūd with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād

5 & 6 | Hastening iftar (breaking fast) and delaying suḥūr (pre-dawn meal)

The Messenger (ﷺ) said,

“Take the meal of suḥūr, for indeed, in the suḥūr lies blessings.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

He (ﷺ) said,

“The people will not cease to be upon good, so long as they hasten in breaking the fast.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

He (ﷺ) said,

“Allah, Mighty and Magnificent, says,

‘The most beloved of My servants are those who are quickest in breaking the fast’.” 

Aḥmad with a ḍaʿīf isnād, but it has witnesses that strengthen it, cf. al-Arnaʿūṭ, Jamiʿ al-Usūl

He (ﷺ) said,

“This religion will remain good and pure, so long as the people hasten in breaking the fast, for the Jews and Christians would delay it.”

Abū Dāwūd with a ṣaḥīḥ isnād

ʿAmr ibn Maymūn said,

“The Companions of the Messenger (ﷺ) would be the quickest of people in breaking the fast, and the slowest of them in taking the pre-dawn meal.”

Bayhaqī

The suhūr is delayed so as to strengthen one more while he is fasting, and so that he can perform more actions of obedience.

The gap between the Messenger (ﷺ) taking the suḥūr and his prayer would be an interval allowing fifty verses of the Qurʾān to be recited. 

Bukhārī and Muslim

The ifṭār was hastened because it is possible that some physical harm may arise from hunger and thirst. Hence, there is no need to put the soul through such difficulty in a time [after the time of breaking fast] in which hunger and thirst is no longer an action that would draw one closer to Allah.

One of the wealthier people amongst the Salaf was seen eating in the marketplace, and when asked why, he replied [by quoting the ḥadīth],

“The delay of the rich is oppression.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

What should be avoided while fasting

1 | Continuous fasting

Abū Hurayrah (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu) said,

“The Messenger (ﷺ) prohibited continuous fasting, whereupon one of the Muslims asked him, ‘But you do it, O Messenger of Allah!’ He replied, ‘Who amongst you is like me? I spend the night with my Lord, He gives me food and drink.’ But when the people persisted in fasting continuously, he fasted continuously with them for a day, followed by another, until they saw the new moon. Upon which, he said, ‘If the moon had delayed in appearing, I would have made you fast more.’ This was a punishment for them, because they refused to stop continuously fasting.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

Continuous fasting was prohibited, because it weakens the person and emaciates his body by reason of something other than worship.

As for the Messenger (ﷺ), then if it is literally true that his food and drink was with his Lord, he cannot be said to have fasted continuously; but if “food and drink” is a phrase used to denote the strength of his closeness and communion (uns) with his Lord, and the joy he felt at this closeness, then this takes the place of food and drink in revitalising his strength.

Indeed, this uns is better than food and drink in this respect.

“Indeed, I fasted from worldly pleasures my entire life // And the Day that I meet You will be its breaking // For surely, I find the delight of fasting for You within my soul // And not in the satisfaction of eating or drinking.”

2 | Kissing

ʿĀʾishah (radiy Allāhu ‘anha) said,

“The Messenger (ﷺ) would kiss and embrace while fasting, but he was more able than you in restraining his desires.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

Therefore, whoever is old, able to control his desires, and hence not ruin his fast, there is no harm in his kissing.

If one is young and not sure that he can control his desires, it is disliked for him to kiss, due to his subjecting his action of worship to the danger of something that could break it.

3 | Cupping

It is authentically reported that the Messenger (ﷺ) was cupped while fasting.

Bukhārī

Anas (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu) was asked, “Did you consider cupping to be disliked for the one fasting?” He replied, “No, [we only considered it disliked] if it caused weakness”.

Bukhārī

Hence, whoever is physically weakened by cupping, it is disliked for him to do so, because in his weakened state he is more likely to break fast or find the action of fasting extremely difficult for him and therefore become averse to it.

4 | Applying Kohl

Anas (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu) would apply Kohl while fasting.

Abū Dāwūd and Ibn Ḥajr said the isnād had no fault.

al-Aʿmash said,

“I never saw any of our Companions disliking the application of Kohl for the one fasting. Ibrāhīm [al-Nakhaʿī] would allow the one fasting to apply aloe to his eyes.”

Abū Dawūd

Having said this, it is safer not to apply it, so as to steer clear of the difference that the scholars have concerning this issue.

5 | Snuffing the nose during ablution

The Messenger (ﷺ) said to Laqīt ibn Sabrah,

“Perform the ablution well, wipe between the fingers, and exert yourself in snuffing the nose, unless you are fasting.”

Abū Dawūd

So, he prohibited from exertion when snuffing the nose while fasting, the reason for this is that through exertion one puts his fast at risk [because the water could reach the back of the throat].

Allah knows best.

^ [Actions which nullify the fast are eating and drinking deliberately; making oneself vomit; menstruation; post-natal bleeding; and sexual intercourse.]

Laylat ul-Qadr 

Laylat ul-Qadr is a blessed night, Allah blessed it over one thousand months that do not contain it.

It is called Laylat ul-Qadr, either because of its excellence and great status, or because provisions and life-spans for the following year are decreed therein. The angels and the spirit descend in that night and greet those who pray by night with the salām; the scholars differ as to whether they extend the salām to them of their own accord, or if they convey the salām of their Lord.

A night in which the Lord of the worlds sends salām to His servants is a night that is indeed worthy of being better than a thousand months; it is a night worthy of being sought after and searched for. This is why the Messenger (ﷺ) would search for it, along with his Companions and the righteous who came after them.

This night occurs in the last ten days of Ramadan, and is most likely to occur in the odd nights, rather than the even nights. It seems clear that it occurs on the 21^st night; this is because the Messenger (ﷺ) of Allah saw this night in a dream but was made to forget it. However, he remembered that in the morning following it, he would prostrate in mud and water. It is authentically reported that it rained on the night of the 21^st and the Masjid leaked water, [when the Prophet (ﷺ)] prayed therein, traces of mud and water were seen on his forehead and nose. [Bukhārī]

Moreover he (ﷺ) informed us that on the night of Laylat ul-Qadr, the moon would look like half a plate, and the moon never looks like this unless it be in its 7^th night or 21^st night.

^ [Translation: this is the opinion of the author, may Allah have mercy upon him; other opinions have been mentioned, such as the opinion that Laylat ul-Qadr falls on different nights every year, an opinion that was preferred by a group of scholars, amongst whom was ibn Ḥajr.]

From the excellent qualities of this night is that whoever prays during it out of faith and seeking reward, will have his previous sins forgiven him.

The evidence for what we have mentioned lies in the his sayings (ﷺ),

“I was shown Laylat ul-Qadr, then one of my wives awoke me and I was made to forget it, so search for it in the last ten nights.”

Muslim

“Seek Laylat ul-Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten nights of Ramadan.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

Abū Hurayrah (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu) said,

“We were discussing Laylat ul-Qadr in the presence of the Messenger (ﷺ), and he said,

‘Which of you remembers the night when the moon arose and it was like half a plate?’” 

Muslim

“Whoever prays the night of Laylat ul-Qadr, out of faith and seeking reward, will have his previous sins forgiven.”

Bukhārī

It is recommended for whoever finds it, to increase in praising Allah and invoking Him, and he should frequently supplicate with this supplication,

“O Allah! You are the One who pardons greatly, You Love to pardon, so pardon me.”

Tirmidhī

If a person was to suffice with praising Allah, this would be better due to the ḥadīth in which it is reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“Whoever is diverted by making dhikr of Me from asking of Me, I would grant him the best of what I grant those asking.”

Tirmidhī #2,926 on the authority of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī with a ḍaʿīf isnād; cf. Albānī, al-Ḍaʾīfah #1,335. Aḥādīth with similar meaning have been reported on the authority of ʾUmar in Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īmān #573 and Ibn Ḥajr declared it ḥasan; Jābir in Bayhaqī #574; Ḥudhayfah in Abū Nuʿāym 7:313 and indicated as ḥasan by Albānī; and Mālik ibn al-Ḥārithah in al-Bayhaqī #575.

Umayyah said,

“Should I mention my need or should your // Gifts suffice me, for sure giving gifts is part of your disposition // If a person was to praise you one day // The one who he is praising would suffice him.”

Dīwān Umayyah, p. 333 in praise ibn Judʿān. Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah was asked about his (ﷺ) saying, “The most superior supplication on the Day of ʿArafah is, ‘None has the right to be worshipped save Allah, the One who has no partner, to Him belongs the dominion, to Him belongs all praise and He is Omnipotent over all things” and [in explanation to the fact that a direct request is not mentioned therein] he mentioned the previous ḥadīth and these verses and proceeded to say, ‘This is an object of creation saying of another that it is sufficient to praise him [to get what he desires] rather than directly ask him, what then of the Creator, Blessed and Most High?’ Recorded by Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr, al-Tamhīd 2:680 and Bayhaqī #575

Iʿtikāf, generosity, & reciting Qurʾān in Ramadan

Allah, Most High, says,

“Purify My House for those who perform tawāf, for those who stay there for worship and those who bow and prostrate [in prayer]”.

al-Qur’ān, 2:125

“…and do not have relations with them as long as you are staying for worship in the Mosques.”

al-Qur’ān, 2:187

Iʿtikāf is to visit Allah in one of His houses and to seclude oneself with Him, it is a duty upon the host to honour his guest.

It is mentioned in an authentic hadīth that the Prophet (ﷺ) said,

“Each time someone goes to, and comes from, a mosque, Allah prepares for him a feast in Paradise.” 

Bukhārī and Muslim

It is recommended to perform Iʿtikāf in the last ten days of Ramadan, so that a person can seek Laylat ul-Qadr. This was when the Prophet (ﷺ) would perform Iʿtikāf towards the end of his life.

ʿĀʾishah (radiy Allāhu ‘anha) said,

“The Prophet (ﷺ) would perform Iʿtikāf in the last ten days of Ramadan, until Allah caused him to pass away. Then, his wives after him would similarly perform Iʿtikāf.” 

Bukhārī and Muslim

She also said,

“When the last ten days came, he (ﷺ) would spend the night in worship, awake his family, exert himself in worship, and tighten his waist-wrapper.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

In another report,

“The Messenger (ﷺ) would exert himself in worship in the last ten nights in a way that he never did in any other night.”

Muslim

The meaning of “…tighten his waist-wrapper” is that he would not take pleasure with his wives, or that he would exert and devote himself to worship.

In this month, it is recommended to increase in the recitation of the Qurʾān and to be generous, for both the one performing Iʿtikāf and the one who is not.

Ibn ʿAbbās (radiy Allāhu ‘anhu) said,

“The Prophet (ﷺ) was the most generous of people, and he was most generous in Ramadan when Jibrīl met him. Jibrīl would meet him in every night of Ramadan until he passed away, and he (ﷺ) would recite the Qurʾān to him. When Jibrīl met him, he would be more generous than a strong wind.”

Bukhārī and Muslim

The meaning of “strong wind” here is a reference to its wide reach and its swiftness.

It is authentically reported that the Prophet (ﷺ) would recite the Qurʾān to Jibrīl once every Ramadan, but in the year in which he passed away, he recited the Qurʾān to him twice. 

Bukhārī and Muslim

Fasting six days of Shawwāl 

It is authentically reported that the Messenger (ﷺ) said,

“Whoever fasts the month of Ramadan and then follows this with six days of Shawwāl, it will be as if he fasted the whole year.”

Muslim

The reason for this is that a good deed is multiplied tenfold, hence every fast is like ten fasts [hence, a total of 36 fasts will be equivalent to 360 fasts].

Source: Islam21c

The post The Objectives of Fasting appeared first on Islam21c.

Signs of the Last Day (Ashrāṭ al-Sāʿah)

When Your Deeds Are Weighed

Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

The Mīzān (The Scale)

After the reckoning, man will move onto a second stage of judging in which his deeds will be weighed. The first stage dealt with establishing all a person has done, the second stage deals with weighing those deeds and the establishing the consequences thereof.[1] This weighing will only be for Muslims according to the stronger view. The deeds of the disbelievers have no worth in the Hereafter, and hold no weight whatsoever;[2] they will have been rewarded for any good they did in this world.[3]

The Scale will be erected, it has two plates and a tongue as stated by Ibn ʿAbbās.[4] It will be large enough to easily accommodate the heavens and the earth in their entirety. When the Angels first saw it, they asked, ‘Who will be weighed in this?’ Allāh replied, “Whoever of My creation that I want.” Then the Angels said, ‘Glory be to You! We have not worshiped You as You truly deserve!’[5]

The belief of Ahlul-Sunnah is that this is a physical Scale and not a metaphor for justice as claimed by some. Allāh mentions the Scales in many places such as,

فَمَن ثَقُلَتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ وَمَنْ خَفَّتْ مَوَازِينُهُ فَأُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ خَسِرُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فِي جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدُونَ

“Those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful. Those whose scales are light, they are the losers of their selves, remaining in Hell timelessly, forever.”[6]

وَنَضَعُ الْمَوَازِينَ الْقِسْطَ لِيَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ فَلَا تُظْلَمُ نَفْسٌ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ كَانَ مِثْقَالَ حَبَّةٍ مِنْ خَرْدَلٍ أَتَيْنَا بِهَا وَكَفَى بِنَا حَاسِبِينَ

We will set up the Just Scale on the Day of Rising and no self will be wronged in any way. Even if it is no more than the weight of a grain of mustard-seed, We will produce it. We are sufficient as a Reckoner.[7]

These āyāt mention al-mawāzīn which is the plural of the word Scale and has led some scholars to posit that there will be multiple Scales on the Last Day, perhaps even one per person.[8] Others said that there is, in fact, only one Scale, and the plural is used to reflect the different things that will be weighed on them.[9]

What will be weighed?

The texts show that:[10]

1) Man’s deeds will be weighed

For example, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “There are two statements that are light upon the tongue, heavy in the Scales and are beloved to the Lord of Mercy: SubḥānAllāhi wa biḥamdihī, SubḥānAllāhi’l-ʿAẓīm.”[11]

2) The scrolls on which the deeds are written will be weighed as in the ḥadīth of the man with 99 scrolls.

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “Allāh will distinguish a man from my Ummah before all of creation on the Day of Judgement. Ninety-nine scrolls will be laid out for him, each scroll is as far as the eye can see, then He will ask, ‘Do you deny any of this? Have those who recorded this wronged you?’ He will reply, ‘My Lord, no!’ Allāh will ask, ‘Do you have any excuse to present?’ He will reply, ‘My Lord, no!’ Allāh will then say, ‘You do have a good deed with Us; you shall not be wronged today.” Then He will bring out a card on which is written, ‘Ash-hadu an lā ilāha illAllāh wa ash-hadu anna Muḥammadan ʿabduhu wa rasūluhu.’ Allāh will say, ‘Bring your Scales.’ The man will ask, ‘My Lord! What good is this card next to these scrolls?’ He will reply, ‘You shall not be wronged.’ The scrolls will be put on one plate of the scale and the card on the other; the scrolls will be light and the card will outweigh them because nothing is heavier than the name of Allāh.”[12]

3) The person himself will be weighed.

Once some people laughed at Ibn Masʿūd for having thin legs. Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) remarked, “Are you laughing at Ibn Masʿūd’s legs? On Allāh’s Scales they are heavier than the mountain of Uḥud.”[13]

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“A fat man will be brought forward on the Day of Rising, yet with Allāh he will not even weigh as much as a gnat. Recite if you wish

أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا

It is those who disbelieve in their Lords signs, and deny that they will meet with Him, their deeds come to nothing: on the Day of Rising We shall give them no weight.[14]”[15]

On this Scale, the good deeds will be multiplied,

مَن جَاء بِالْحَسَنَةِ فَلَهُ عَشْرُ أَمْثَالِهَا وَمَن جَاء بِالسَّيِّئَةِ فَلاَ يُجْزَى إِلاَّ مِثْلَهَا وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ

Whoever has done good will have it ten times to his credit, but whoever does a bad deed will be repaid only with its equivalent – they will not be wronged.[16]

مَّثَلُ الَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَالَهُمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِي كُلِّ سُنبُلَةٍ مِّئَةُ حَبَّةٍ وَاللّهُ يُضَاعِفُ لِمَن يَشَاء وَاللّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

Those who spend their wealth in Allāh’s path are like grains of corn that produce seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains. Allāh gives multiple increase to whoever He wishes.[17]

إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّابِرُونَ أَجْرَهُم بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

Those who are patient will be given a reward without measure.[18]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “Allāh records good and bad deeds in this way: If anyone intends to do a good deed, but does not do it, Allāh still records it with Him as one full good deed. If he intends a good deed and then carries it out, Allāh records it with Him as ten to seven hundred times in reward or even increases it many times more. If anyone intends to do a bad deed but does not actually do it, Allāh records it with Him as one full good deed. If he intends to do a bad deed and does it, Allāh records it with Him as only one bad deed.”[19]

After the weighing of deeds, Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said, “A neck will stretch forth from Hell; it will have two eyes to see with, two ears to hear, and a tongue to speak. And it will speak, saying, ‘I have been appointed for three types of people: every arrogant tyrant, every person who called on some deity other than Allāh and those who made pictures.’[20]

The non-Muslims will have fallen to ground in terror for when Hell sees them from afar, they will hear it roaring and raging,

إِذَا رَأَتْهُم مِّن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ سَمِعُوا لَهَا تَغَيُّظًا وَزَفِيرًا

When it sees them from a distance, they will hear it raging and roaring.[21]

And they will be driven to Hell on their knees and hurled in,

وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَى رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَقْضِيًّا(71)ثُمَّ نُنَجِّي الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَنَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيًّا

There is not one of you who will not come to it. That is the final decision of your Lord. Then We will rescue those who had taqwa and We will leave the wrongdoers in it on their knees.[22]

وَلِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ عَذَابُ جَهَنَّمَ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ إِذَا أُلْقُوا فِيهَا سَمِعُوا لَهَا شَهِيقًا وَهِيَ تَفُورُ تَكَادُ تَمَيَّزُ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ كُلَّمَا أُلْقِيَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَا أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌ قَالُوا بَلَى قَدْ جَاءنَا نَذِيرٌ فَكَذَّبْنَا وَقُلْنَا مَا نَزَّلَ اللَّهُ مِن شَيْءٍ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ كَبِيرٍ

وَقَالُوا لَوْ كُنَّا نَسْمَعُ أَوْ نَعْقِلُ مَا كُنَّا فِي أَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ فَاعْتَرَفُوا بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسُحْقًا لِّأَصْحَابِ السَّعِيرِ

Those who disbelieve in their Lord We have prepared the torment of the blazing Fire, what an evil destination. When they are thrown into it, they will hear it drawing in its breath, while it is blazing forth. Almost bursting with rage. Each time a group is thrown in, its keepers will ask, ‘Did no one come to warn you?’ They will say, ‘Yes, a warner did come to us but we did not believe him.’ We said, ‘Allāh has revealed nothing; you are greatly misguided.’ They will say, ‘If only we had listened, or reasoned, we not be with the inhabitants of the fire.’ They will confess their sins, so away with the inhabitants of the Blazing Fire![23]

The People of the Aʿrāf

There will be a group of people whose good deeds balance out their bad deeds and they will be the last people to have their cases decided. They will wait at a place between Paradise and Hell, turning one way and seeing Hell, seeking refuge with Allāh against it, and then turning the other way and seeing Paradise, asking Allāh for it.

وَبَيْنَهُمَا حِجَابٌ وَعَلَى الأَعْرَافِ رِجَالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلاًّ بِسِيمَاهُمْ وَنَادَوْاْ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَن سَلاَمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوهَا وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ

… On the Heights are people who will recognise each group by their marks: they will call out to the People of the Garden: peace be with you, they will not have entered it, but they will be hoping.[24]

Allāh will finally decide their case and as Hudhayfah (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said, ‘Allāh will say to them: go and enter Paradise, I have forgiven them.’[25]

The Ṣirāṭ

The Ṣirāt or the Bridge spans the entire back of Hell. It is the last hurdle the believers will face on the Last Day and at its far end will be Paradise. Every Muslim will cross it save those exempted

﴿وَإِنْ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا وَارِدُهَا كَانَ عَلَى رَبِّكَ حَتْمًا مَقْضِيًّا(71)ثُمَّ نُنَجِّي الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا وَنَذَرُ الظَّالِمِينَ فِيهَا جِثِيًّا﴾

There is not one of you who will not come to it. That is the final decision of your Lord. Then We will rescue those who had taqwa and We will leave the wrongdoers in it on their knees.[26]

This was an āyah that terrified the Salaf, they would say that ‘we know for certainty that we will cross it because Allāh says so, but what we don’t know is if we will reach the other end.’[27] ʿAbdullāh b. Rawāḥa would cry when he recited this verse.[28]

All of mankind will be in a state of abject terror upon reaching the Bridge,[29] fearing that they will fall into Hell as they cross.

When the Ṣirāṭ is laid across the Fire, the Angels will ask Allāh who is to cross it and He will reply, “For whoever I want of My servants.” Realising what is required to successfully traverse it, they exclaim, “Glory be to You! We have not worshipped You as You truly deserve!”[30]

The Ṣirāṭ is thinner than a hair, sharper than a sword,[31] and extremely slippery.[32] It has hooks and clamps on either side like a thorny seed that is wide at one side and narrow at the other and has thorns with bent ends, resembling the thorns of a bush called Saʿdān in Najd,[33] their true size known only to Allāh.[34] They will be made of fire[35] and will snatch those they are commanded to and sweep them away into the Fire.[36]

It will be pitch black. The Hellfire will be so hot as to be black, the smoke it gives off will be black. People will have light in proportion the strength of their īmān and their deeds, and it is in that light that they will cross.[37] Some people will have light blazing like the sun, and others not so much. The prayer (ṣalāh) is a light and it will provide light for the person who prayed,[38] and those who went to the masjid for jamaʿah in the darkness will have perfect light.[39]

Allāh, Most High, says,

يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِي اللَّهُ النَّبِيَّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَى بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا إِنَّكَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ

On a Day when Allāh will not degrade the Prophet and those who believe with him. Their light will run before them and on their right hands, and they will say, ‘Our Lord! Complete our light for us and forgive us. Surely, You have power over all things.’[40]

يَوْمَ تَرَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَسْعَىٰ نُورُهُم بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَانِهِم بُشْرَاكُمُ الْيَوْمَ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ

On the Day when you see the believers, both men and women, with their light streaming out ahead of them and to their right, [they will be told], ‘The good news for you today is that there are Gardens graced with flowing streams where you will stay: that is the supreme triumph!’[41]

Up to this point, the Hypocrites (Munāfiqūn) will have been given light by Allāh but now it will be taken away.[42] They will beg the believers for light,

يَوْمَ يَقُولُ الْمُنَافِقُونَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتُ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا انظُرُونَا نَقْتَبِسْ مِن نُّورِكُمْ قِيلَ ارْجِعُوا وَرَاءَكُمْ فَالْتَمِسُوا نُورًا فَضُرِبَ بَيْنَهُم بِسُورٍ لَّهُ بَابٌ بَاطِنُهُ فِيهِ الرَّحْمَةُ وَظَاهِرُهُ مِن قِبَلِهِ الْعَذَابُ

On the Day, the hypocrites, both men and women, will say to the believers, ‘Wait for us! Let us have some of your light!’ They will be told, ‘Go back and look for light.’ A wall with a door will be erected between them: inside it lies mercy, outside lies torment.[43]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) will be standing here supplicating, “My Lord! Safety, safety!!” as will the other Messengers.[44] On either side will be the Angels supplicating, “Allāh! Safety, safety!”[45] The mark (shiʿār) of the believers at that time will be, “My Lord! Safety, safety!”[46] and “There is none worthy of worship save you!”[47] All of them realising the dire situation ahead of them, all realising that if Allāh did not save them, they would fall into Hell.

However, before they cross it, the ties of kinship (raḥim) and trust (amānah) will take their place on either side on the Bridge demanding justice.[48] Justice will be meted out with the person’s good deeds being the only commodity acceptable on that day to requite any injustice done in this regard.

Before stepping on that Bridge, the oppressor and the tyrant will meet all those he or she oppressed. He will recognise the person and be reminded of his oppression, and they will have mutual recompense again in terms of deeds at a time when the oppressor needs them the most. If all his good deeds are exhausted before justice is met, the bad deeds of the oppressed will be piled onto is, and it could be that they end up being thrown into the lowest depths of the Fire.[49] Refuge is sought with Allāh.

The first to cross it will be the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam)  and then his ummah.[50] People will cross it (at speeds) proportional to their deeds: some will cross it in the blink of an eye, some will cross it like a flash of lightening, some will cross it like the wind, some will cross it like a race horse, some will cross it like a camel rider, some will cross it running, some walking, and some crawling. Some will get to other side without being harmed, and some will be scratched.[51] The last to cross it will be a man slithering on his stomach, dragging himself across, with his deeds having put him in that state.[52] And some will be seized and swept away into Hell, cut in pieces,[53] piling into the Fire like moths pile into a fire.[54]

The believers who get to the other side successfully will soon realise that some of their brothers and sisters in Islām did not make it and had fallen into the Fire. They will supplicate to Allāh and beg Him to save them,[55] presenting their case as forcefully as possible.[56] They will say, ‘Our Lord! There are some of Your servants )or: our brothers) who fasted with us, prayed with us, performed the Ḥajj with us,[57] and they fought alongside us, but we don’t see them!’[58] They will be told, ‘Take out of the Fire those you recognise,’ for Allāh will have prohibited the Fire from consuming their faces.[59] They will see people who are ankle deep, or knee deep, or half the shin, or waist deep, or chest deep or neck deep[60] in the Fire and take out a large proportion of them.[61] These will be thrown into the Water of Life where they will be washed and grow back like plants grow.[62]

The Prophets, the Angels and the Martyrs will be allowed to intercede as will the believers.[63] Some will intercede for large groups of people in one go, some for whole tribes, some for smaller groups of people and some for just one person.[64] They will then be asked to take out of the Fire a person who has half a dīnār weight of īmān and even an atom’s weight.[65]

The Qanṭara

Whoever crosses the Bridge will enter Paradise. However, after the believers cross the Bridge, they will stop at an arched bridge between Paradise and the Fire; there they will settle any lingering grievances. Then, when they are cleaned and cleansed, they will be permitted to enter Paradise.[66]

Maqātil then recited the verse,

سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ

Peace be with You! You have been good and pure, enter it to live there forever.[67]

This will just be a discussion amongst the believers to remove any lingering feelings, there will not be a judgment or mutual recompense based on deeds.[68]

The Seventy Thousand

Allāh’s Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said,

“The nations were presented to me. I saw a Prophet, and with him was a small party of people. (I saw a Prophet), and with him were one or two people. (I saw a Prophet), and there was no one with him at all. Then a great throng of people were raised before me and I thought that they were my nation, but I was told, “This is Mūsā and his people. However, look to the horizon.” I looked and I saw a huge throng of people and I was told, “This is your nation, amongst them are seventy thousand who shall enter Paradise without account or punishment.”’ He then rose and entered his house.” The people began to surmise who they could be: some thought that they were those who accompanied the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), some thought that they were those who were born in Islām and had never associated partners with Allāh, and they mentioned other possibilities. Then the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) came out and they informed him (of their discussion). He said, “They are those who do not ask for ruqyā,[69] they do not practice cauterisation, they do not seek omens, and they put their absolute reliance in their Lord.” ʿUkkāshah b. Miḥṣan stood and said, “Messenger of Allāh, invoke Allāh to make me one of them!” He said, “You are one of them.” Then another man stood and said, “Invoke Allāh to make me one of them.” He said, “ʿUkkāshah has preceded you.”’[70]

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) asked for increase, and Allāh answered, granting him seventy thousand for every thousand, and then ‘three additional handfuls of your Lord,’ the extent of which none knows save Allāh.[71]

Describing them, the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) told us that their faces will be bright, shining with light like the moon when it is full.[72] These people will avoid the trials of the Last Day, will not be judged and will not have to cross the Bridge.[73]

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Source: www.islam21c.com

Notes:

[1] Qurṭubī 1:715

[2] Ibn Taymiyyah, al-Majmūʿ 3:146, Saffārīnī 1:716

[3] Muslim #2808

[4] Bayhaqī, Shuʿab 1:263

[5] Ḥākim #8739, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #941

[6] al-Muʾminūn 23:102-103

[7] al-Anbiyāʾ 21:47

[8] Such as al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī who said that every person will have his own set of Scales. cf. Saffārīnī 1:717

[9] Qurṭubī 1:734-736

[10] Ibn Abī al-ʿIzz, Sharḥ al-Ṭaḥāwiyyah 2:613, Ibn Kathīr 2:203

[11] Bukhārī, Muslim

[12] Tirmidhī #2639

[13] Ahmad

[14] al-Kahf 18:105

[15] Bukhārī

[16] al-Anʿām 6:160

[17] al-Baqarah 2:261

[18] al-Zumar (39): 10

[19] Bukhārī

[20] Aḥmad #3430, cf. Qurṭubī, al-Tadhkirah 1:675

[21] al-Furqān 25:12

[22] Maryam 19:71-72

[23] al-Mulk 67:6-11

[24] al-Aʿrāf (7): 46

[25]

[26] Maryām 19:71-72

[27] Qurṭubī 1:764

[28] Qurṭubī 1:764

[29] Abū Dāwūd #4755

[30] Ḥākim #8739

[31] Ṭabarānī #9763

[32] Bukhārī #7001, Muslim #183

[33] Bukhārī #7439, Muslim #183

[34] Bukhārī #773, Muslim #182

[35] Ṭabarānī #8992

[36] Muslim #195

[37] Ṭabarānī #9763

[38] Muslim

[39] Abū Dāwūd #561

[40] al-Taḥrīm 66:8

[41] al-Ḥadīd 57:12

[42] Ṭabarānī 11:122 #11242

[43] al-Ḥadīd 57:13

[44] Bukhārī #7437, Muslim #195

[45] Muslim #195, Aḥmad #11202-12848

[46] Tirmidhī #2432, cf. Tirmidhī #2557, Muslim #183

The narration of Bukhārī #7437 and Muslim #182 state that none will speak on this occasion except the Messengers and they will make the supplication. The narration of Tirmidhī indicates that others will speak as well; however, ibn Ḥajr argues that the only the Messengers will be making the duʿā and the ḥadīth of Tirmidhī refers to the Messengers as they too are believers. Cf. Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 15:145

[47] Ṭabarānī 13:69 #168

[48] Muslim #195, Ḥākim #7849

[49] Ṭabarānī, Awsaṭ #5967

[50] Bukhārī #773-7437

[51] Bukhari #7439, Muslim #183

[52] Bukhārī #7439, Hannād, al-Zuhd #322, Ibn al-Mubārak, al-Zuhd #406

[53] Bukhari #7439, Muslim #183

[54] Aḥmad #20440-20457

[55] Nasāʾī #5010, Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[56] Bukhārī #806, Muslim #183, Ibn Mājah #60

[57] Bukhārī #7439, Muslim #183, Aḥmad #11081

[58] Nasāʾī #5010, Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[59] Ibn Ḥibbān #7377

[60] Aḥmad #11081

[61] Aḥmad #11081

[62] Aḥmad #11081

[63] Aḥmad #20440-20457

[64] Tirmidhī #2440

[65] Nasāʾī #5010

[66] Bukhārī #6535

[67] al-Zumar 39: 73, cf. Baghawī 4:89

[68] Qurṭubī 1:767, Saffārīnī 1:730

[69] ar: lā yastarqūn

[70] Bukhārī #3410-5705-5752-6472-6541 and Muslim #220. The wording quoted above is that of Muslim except that the wording of Muslim has Ḥuṣayn saying, “I asked (someone) to perform ruqyā on me.”

[71] Aḥmad #1702, Tirmidhī #2437

[72] Muslim #216

[73] Qurṭubī 1:767, Saffārīnī 1:730

The post When Your Deeds Are Weighed appeared first on Islam21c.

The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said: “None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all the people.”[1]

Loving our Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is an obligatory duty in Islām and an act of obedience to Allāh. To love the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) we must first know him. In this new series we embark on a journey to increase our knowledge of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam), to view him as the Sahāba viewed him, and to love him as we should.

This series is an adapted translation of Shamāʾil al-Muḥammadiyyah by Imām Tirmidhī (raḥimahu Allāhu). We will begin with an exploration of the stature and physical characteristics of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Abū Rajāʾ, Qutaybah b. Saʿīd informed us; from Mālik b. Anas; from Rabīʿah b. Abū ʿAbdu’l-Raḥmān; that he heard Anas b. Mālik (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short. He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown. His hair was not very curly nor completely straight. Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year and he stayed in Mecca for ten years and in Madīnah, ten years. Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year and there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard.”[2]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was neither noticeably tall nor was he short

He was of medium height. His being short has been categorically negated but only his being so tall as to be clearly noticed has been negated; this indicates that he was of medium height tending towards being tall.

It is in this sense that Barāʾa said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature but closer to being described as tall.’[3]   Therefore, there is no contradiction between this and the description that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature because such a statement is relative as is proven by the narration of ʿĀʾishah that ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would seem to be of medium stature,’[4]  i.e. by way of approximation.[5] Similarly, Umm Maʿbad said, ‘He was of middle stature, neither loathsome for tallness, nor offensive to the eye for shortness.’[6]

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) personality was so imposing and awe-inspiring that his very presence would dominate any gathering. Bayhaqī and Ibn ʿAsākir record that, ‘No one would be perceived to be taller than him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam): sometimes two tall men would stand on either side of him and he would seem taller than them, yet when they parted, he would seem to be of medium height.’[7]  Others mention that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) sat, his shoulder seemed higher than all those sitting around him.[8] Therefore, it would seem to those around him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) that just as none was spiritually and morally above him, so too was no one physically above him.[9] Umm Maʿbad said, ‘He seemed like the branch that stood out between two others, being the most beautiful to look at and the most harmoniously proportioned of the three.’[10]

He was not extremely white nor was he particularly brown

This description does not contradict the fact that he had a brownish complexion mentioned in the next ḥadīth since what is negated here is his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) being dark brown. There are a number of narrations that describe his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) complexion in different ways, but the overall picture given is that it was pale or light brown, with the parts of the body usually concealed by garments being of an even lighter colour, having a lustre or a luminescence about it.[11]

Anas said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a rosy white colour (azhar al-lawn), neither completely white, nor deep brown.’[12] It is also possible that term azhar al-lawn mean that he had the best skin colour.[13] ʿAlī said, ‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was white skinned with a reddish tinge.’[14] Anas said, ‘He was white, a whiteness leaning towards brown,’[15] and Ibn ʿAbbās said, ‘He was (light) brown, leaning towards white.’[16] A red-white colour is often referred to by the Arabs as asmar, brown and this is why Anas said, ‘The Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was brown.’[17]

Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘Upon considering all the various reports on this it becomes clear that the whiteness which has been negated from him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) is that whiteness that has no tinge of red and the brownness affirmed for him is redness that is mixed with white.’[18]

Some narrations, however, describe that ‘he was extremely white’.[19] Abū’l-Ṭufayl said, ‘I have not forgotten the extreme whiteness of his face.’[20] These refer to the lustre, sheen and glitter of his skin under the light of the sun as shown by the ḥadīth, ‘It was as if the sun were pursuing its course across his face, radiating out of it.’[21] As such, there is no contradiction between these narrations.[22] Umm Maʿbad described him (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) saying, ‘I saw a radiant man with a luminous face and handsome physique.[23]

There are also numerous narrations highlighting the paleness or lightness of the skin colour of various parts of his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) body. His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) leg has been described as being white by Abū Juḥayfah and Anas, as were his thighs and shins.[24][25][26][27] His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) forearms were described as being white,[28] and so too were his armpits and abdomen.[29][30] The Companions also related how they saw the whiteness of his cheeks as he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) said the salām at the end of the prayer.[31] Abū Hurayrah narrated that when the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) removed his upper garment, he would resemble an ingot of silver.[32] Miḥrash al-Kaʿbī also stated that he saw his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) back and it resembled an ingot of silver.[33] Anas narrated that one time a Bedouin came and asked, ‘Who amongst you is Muḥammad?’ They replied, ‘This white man reclining on his arm.’[34] All of these narrations are understood to mean his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) having light brown skin colour. When describing skin colour, Arabs would refer to pale or light brown skin as white (abyaḍ) and they would call the colour of Caucasian white, yellow (asfar), hence the Romans would be referred to as Banū Asfar.

His hair was not very curly nor completely straight

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hair was in-between the two and the best of affairs are those that are between the two extremes. Zamakhsharī said, ‘The predominate course amongst the Arabs is to have curly hair and amongst the non-Arabs, straight hair.’ Allāh has blessed His Messenger (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) with the best of virtues and qualities and has combined in him all that He has scattered amongst the different races.[35]

Allāh commissioned him towards the end of his fortieth year

Allāh commissioned him as a Prophet and Messenger, and sent him to both the worlds of jinn and man. This is an integral part of the Muslim faith and whoever rejects it becomes a disbeliever. Some scholars postulated that he was also sent to the Angels.[36]

The commentators have stated that, in this sentence, the meaning of ‘the raʾs of his fortieth year’ means the latter part and not the turn of. This is because the majority of historians and biographers state that he was commissioned after having entered his fortieth year. Ṭībī said, ‘Raʾs here is metaphorically used to refer to the end of the year [and not its beginning] in the same way as one says, “Raʾs of the verse” i.e. its last part.’ Ibn Ḥajr said,

‘[Understanding it to mean the turn of the fortieth year] would mean that he was commissioned in the month of his birth which is Rabīʿ al-Awwal; however, he was commissioned in the month of Ramaḍān and therefore his age would have been forty and a half or thirty nine and a half. Those who mentioned that he was forty years old did so by ignoring the addition or subtraction. However, both Masʿūdī and Ibn ʿAbdu’l-Barr mention that the correct opinion was that he was commissioned in Rabīʿ al-Awwal, so according to this view he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would have just turned forty. It is also postulated that he was commissioned when he was forty years and ten days or forty years and twenty days old. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ relates an irregular report from Ibn ʿAbbās and Saʿīd b. al-Musayyab that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was commissioned at the turn of his forty-third year.’[37]

The “fortieth year” could refer to when a person has turned forty and moves towards the forty-first, or it could refer to when a person turns thirty-nine and moves toward the fortieth, both usages are common. However, here, the first sense is more likely.

It is said that he was born on Monday, revelation came to him on Monday, he migrated to Madīnah on Monday, he arrived at Madīnah on Monday and he passed away on Monday.[38]

He stayed in Mecca for ten years

This narration has caused some confusion since the Muslims are agreed that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) stayed in Mecca for thirteen years; the scholars have explained it by saying that those who mentioned ten years, rounded down and hence did not mention the additional three years, a style commonly used by the Arabs. Others said that, put simply, the narration of those who mentioned thirteen years is stronger and this one is weak.[39] “And in Madīnah,” i.e. after the Hijra for “ten years,” there is no difference concerning this. He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) remained there until the people entered into the religion in droves, until Allāh perfected the religion for him and his nation, and completed His favour upon them.[40]

Allāh caused him to pass away at the turn of his sixtieth year

The statement implies that he passed away at the age of sixty, some also said that he passed away at the age of sixty-five but the strongest opinion is that he was sixty-three years old when he passed on. The different narrations are reconciled by stating that those who stated sixty-five included the year of his birth and death. Those who mentioned sixty-three did not and those who mentioned sixty rounded down, all methods used by the Arabs when discussing the age of an individual.[41]

And there were barely twenty white hairs on his head and beard

Ibn ʿUmar said, ‘He had approximately twenty white hairs.’[42] Ibn ʿUmar further said, ‘The Messenger of Allāh’s (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) white hairs only came to about twenty, all towards the front.’[43]  To be more precise, Anas said, ‘There were only seventeen white hairs on his head and beard.’[44] While describing his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) beard, ʿAbdullāh b. Busr said, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten,’ and he further said that these were concentrated between his lower lip and chin.[45] The remainder was on his temples and head.[46] Bukhārī records that Anas was asked if the Prophet (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) used to dye his hair to which he replied, ‘He did not reach that stage, there was just something on his temples.’[47] Muslim records on the authority of Anas that the white hairs were on his lower lip, temples, and a scarce scattering on his head.[48] Otherwise his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) hair was jet black.[49]

There are some narrations stating that he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had no white hair, but these are understood to mean that he did not have a lot of white hair, they were not meant to be a negation in totality. A more detailed discussion concerning his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) age and white hairs follows in the parts in this series.[50]

ʿAbdu’l-Wahhāb al-Thaqafī narrated to us; from Ḥumayd; from Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) from Ḥumayd b. Masʿadah al-Baṣrī that Anas b. Mālik (raḍiy Allāhu ʿanhu) said,

“The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a handsome physique. His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion and when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly].”[51]

The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was of medium stature: neither tall nor short, and of a handsome physique.

Bukhārī records on the authority of al-Barāʾa that ‘The Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) was the most handsome of people with the best of physiques.’[52] Another narration mentions that “his (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) body was well proportioned: stout and muscular.”[53] He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) had a nice laugh.[54]

His hair was neither curly nor completely straight. He had a brownish complexion

This does not contradict the previous description of his skin as has already been explained. However, some said that this contradicts the ensuing description that he ‘was white skinned as if moulded of silver.’[55] One explanation offered is that the brownish complexion applied to his skin that was exposed to the sun and the whiteness referred to his skin that was concealed by his garments. However, this reconciliation is problematic because of the narration that mentions his neck being white as if it was made of silver and the neck is usually exposed to the sun. The more plausible explanation is that this comparison holds true when considering the lustre and sheen of his skin under the light of the sun and the smoothness of his skin.[56]

And when he walked he leant forward [walking briskly]

That is, with strength of purpose, taking large, firm steps as opposed to small ones.[57][58] When walking, he would lift his feet clearly off the ground without dragging them.[59]

“When he walked, he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) placed his entire foot on the ground,”[60] but without “stamping it down,”[61] instead placing it comfortably.[62] Moreover, when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) walked, he did not turn left or right,[63] nor did he walk idly[64] or languidly.[65] Indeed, Ibn ʿAbbās said that when he (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) would walk a person could tell that he was not weak or lazy.[66] Abū Hurayrah said, ‘I have not seen anyone who walked faster than the Messenger of Allāh: it was as if the earth was compacted for him, we would strive to keep up with him yet he was not hard-pressed at all.’[67]

Another version of this ḥadīth has the word yatawakkaʾu instead of yatakaffaʾu, meaning to walk confidently.[68] This description is also reported by Ibn ʿAbbās when he said,

‘He (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) walked confidently and not languidly.’[69]

This steady, energetic yet comfortable gait is characteristic of those with firm determination, those who have a sense of gravity and dignity, and those with courage and valour. It stands in stark contrast to those who saunter, strut, stride, parade or swagger when walking, all of which are gaits of the ostentatious or empty headed.[70] Allāh describes the manner of walking of His servants,

“The servants of the Lord of Mercy are those who walk humbly on the earth.”[71]

And He says,

“Do not strut arrogantly about the earth: you cannot break it open, nor match the mountains in height.”[72]

“Do not turn your nose up at people, nor walk about the place arrogantly, for Allāh does not love arrogant or boastful people.”[73]

His (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam) manner of walking will be discussed in further detail in a later part in this series.

Preview of the next ḥadīth in the series:

“…he wore a red ḥulla. I have never seen anything more beautiful than him.”

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Source: www.islam21c.com

This is an updated commentary as part of a new series.

Notes:

[1] Narrated by al-Bukhāri, 15; Muslim, 44

[2] Bukhārī #3547-3548-5900 and Muslim #2347.

[3] This statement also recorded by Dhuhlī, al-Zuhriyyāt and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:253 on the authority of Abū Hurayrah and Ibn Ḥajr, Fatḥ 6:705 said the isnād was ḥasan. It is also recorded by Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:252 on the authority of ʿAlī.

[4] Bayhaqī, al-Dalāʾil 1:298

[5] Qārī, Haythamī pg. 41.

[6] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[7] Bayhaqī 1:298, on the authority of ʿĀʾishah, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:709.

[8] Ibn Sabaʿ, al-Khaṣāʾiṣ as cited by Qārī

[9] Qārī

[10] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[11] cf. ḥadīth #8

[12] Bukhārī #3547

[13] Suyūṭī, Qārī

[14] Tirmidhi

[15] Bayhaqī 1:204

[16] Aḥmad #3410. Munāwī said the isnād was ḥasan.

[17] Aḥmad #13715 and Ibn Ḥibbān #6286. The ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ, cf. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706. This description is also recorded on the authority of Anas by Tirmidhī #1754 and Abū Dāwūd #4863 who said it was ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ gharīb, with Albānī and Arnaʿūṭ ruling it ṣaḥīḥ.

[18] See for example ḥadīth #7. This is also the description reported of him by Anas in Muslim #2347 and Jābir by Ibn Saʿd as per Ibn Ḥajr 6:705.

[19] Bayhaqī 1:208 from Abū Hurayrah. Ibn Ḥajr 6:706, said, ‘with a strong isnād.’

[20] Ṭabarānī

[21] Tirmidhī #3548 and declared ṣaḥīḥ by Ibn Ḥibbān #6309. The full ḥadīth will be mentioned later in the chapter, ‘The manner of walking of the Messenger of Allāh (sall Allāhu ʿalayhi wa sallam).’

[22] Ibn Ḥajr, Munāwī

[23] Ḥākim 3:9-10, Ṭabarī, al-Tārīkh, Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr 4:48, Abū Nuʿaym, al-Dalāʿil pg. 282

[24] Bukhārī #3566

[25] Muslim

[26] Bukhārī #376, Muslim

[27] Bukhārī #3566, Muslim

[28] Abū Dāwūd #3206

[29] Bukhārī #6636, Muslim

[30] Bukhārī #7236, Muslim

[31] Muslim

[32] Bayhaqī 1/203,

[33] Nasāʾī 2:30

[34] Bukhārī #63

[35] Munāwī

[36] Munāwī

[37] Fatḥ 6:707, Qārī

[38] Aḥmad 1:277 from Ibn ʿAbbās.

[39] Munāwī, Qārī

[40] Munāwī

[41] Munāwī, Qārī

[42] In Mājah #3630 and Aḥmad #5633 with a ḍaʿīf. isnād.

[43] Ibn Ḥibbān #6294-6295 and Bayhaqī, Dalāʾil 1:239; cf. fn. 15

[44] Ibn Saʿd, al-Ṭabaqāt

[45] Bukhāri #3545-3546. The phrase “few white hairs,” has been employed using jamʿ qillah and in the Arabic language, this does not exceed ten. It is for this reason that that Munāwī quotes it by meaning, ‘His white hairs did not exceed ten.’

[46] Munāwī

[47] Bukhāri #3550-5894 and Muslim #2341

[48] Muslim #2341

[49] Bayhaqī 1:164, 1:178, 1:203

[50] Qārī

[51] Bukhārī, Ṣifatu-n Nabī, Libās and Muslim, Faḍāʾil.

[52] Bukhārī #3549, Muslim #2337

[53] Ḥadīth #8

[54] Aḥmad #3410

[55] Ḥadīth #12.

[56] Qārī

[57] Haythamī, Majmaʿ 8:273 references this to Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr

[58] Qārī, Baghawī, Sharḥ al-Sunnah 12:320, ibn al-Qayyim, Zād 1:169,  Qārī, Mirqāt 9:3704

[59] Bayhaqī 1:252

[60] Bayhaqī 1:241, 1:274; cf. Bukhārī, Adab al-Mufrad #1155 from al-Barāʾa

[61] Haythamī, Majmaʿ 8:273 references this to Ṭabarānī, al-Kabīr

[62] cf. ḥadīth #8

[63] Ḥākim #7794, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2086

[64] Aḥmad #3033

[65] Bazzār #2391

[66] Ibn ʿAsākir, Tarīkh Dimashq 4:61, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2140

[67] Tirmidhī, Manāqib #3648. Aḥmad #8604-8943

Tirmidhī said the ḥadīth was gharīb and Arnaʿūṭ said it was ḥasan

[68] Qārī, Munāwī

[69] Aḥmad #3034, cf. Albānī, al-Ṣaḥīḥah #2086

[70] Munāwī, ibn al-Qayyim, Zād 1:169,  Qārī, Mirqāt 9:3704

[71] al-Furqān 25:63

[72] al-Israʾ 17:37

[73] Luqmān 31:18

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