Category Archives: Hanafi
Kissing the Thumbs, etc. During The Adhan?
Ma sha’ Allah, Rabbi zidni ‘ilman!
In fiqh, the discussion of taqbil al-unbulatayn wa mash al-‘aynayn is usually found at the end of Bab Adhan. Certain gestures performed during the adhan, and specifically the amal of kissing the thumbs and wiping the eye, are something known to Shafi`is, and there can be no objection whatsoever by our jurists (and any jurists for that matter) to those wishing to perform this `amal: as far as we are concerned, it is classified under the category of the Fada’il al-A`mal [I`anat, 1:243; al-Jurdani, Fath al-`Allam, 2:140-1].
Among its legal bases [`ilal] is that it is a Sunna of the first Khalifa of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him!) [i.e., an Athar of the first Khalifa], and it is also based on a number of Hadiths, of which the most well known is the Hadith of Abu Bakr (may Allah be well pleased with him!):
lammA sami’a qawla l-mu’adhdhini ashhadu anna MuHammadan rasUluLlAhi qAla hAdhA wa qabbila bATina l-unmulatayni l-sabbAbatayni wa masaHa `aynayhi fa-qAla SallaLlAhu `alayhi wa sallama man fa`ala mithla khalIlI faqad Hallat `alayhi shafA`atI [Whenever he [Abu Bakr] heard the Mu’addhin say: “I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allahâ€, he would repeat this [phrase as it is the Mandub of Adhan] and would kiss the tip of the index fingers [or thumbs] and wipe his eyes. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him!) said: whosoever does what my friend [i.e., Abu Bakr] did, my intercession will come down upon him] (Related by al-Daylami, with variants).
Almost all of the Muhaddith consider this and other Hadiths like it to be weak [Da`if] (at its lowest level, a Marfu` Hadith [something ascribed to the Prophet]; and it is because the Hadith is Da’if that the `amal is counted among the Fada’il, and not the confirmed Sunna!). Nevertheless, this is definitely not a fabricated Hadith [Mawdu`], and weak Hadiths are not and cannot be considered as false and lies. Furthermore, as Sayyid `Alawi al-Maliki (may Allah be pleased with him!) reported in his dedicated treatise on the rules concerning the use of weak Hadiths, the Manhal Latif, that scholars of the four law-schools [madhhab] concurred by Ijma` [Consensus]–and that this Ijma` was recorded from the time of the Mujtahid Imam, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah be well pleased with him!) until now–that any Hadith which are Da`if (as long as it is not Mawdu`), can be acted upon for the Fada’il al-A`mal [`Alawi al-Maliki, Manhal, 251-253]. Literally, “Fada’il al-A`mal†means ‘extra works’; but technically it means the extra acts of devotion performed, or refrained from, beyond one’s call of duty in order to please the Lawmaker, that is, an `amal that can lead to it’s being classed either as recommended [i.e., Mandub/Sunna/Mustahabb] or disliked [Makruh] but never Wajib [obligatory] or Haram [prohibited]. In this mas’ala, of course, it is a recommended act (and not Makruh).
Know that he who blames others–in the name of bid`a–for carrying out an `amal, saying that it is based on a weak Hadith or that the `amal is not based on an authentic Hadith, shows a sign that he may not be a trained faqih (whether he is called a Mufti/Shaykh/Mawlana or not); and that he probably has knowledge only of the literal Arabic but not a deep understanding of what is beyond the text, which is what the jurist is expected to know. In the old days, when scholarship was taken for granted (because scholastic `alims were many and accessible then), even the public knew that a weak Hadith can form the basis of an `amal. Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah be pleased with him!), in his popular work the Adhkar, says:
“The specialists of Hadiths [i.e., Muhaddith] and the jurists [Fuqaha‘] and other (scholars) have said that one is permitted, and in fact is recommended, to use weak Hadith in matters of ‘extra acts of devotion’ [Fada’il] and in ‘arousing one’s desire to do good and inspiring one’s fear from doing evil’ [Targhib wa al-Tarhib]–as long as it is not a fabricated Hadith. As for the legal rulings pertaining to what is lawful and unlawful [al-Halal wa al-Haram], buying and selling, marriage and divorce, and others like it [because all of them involve either an injunctive legal ruling [Hukm Shar`i Taklifi] (such as Haram and Wajib) or a stipulatory legal ruling [Hukm Shar`i Wad`i] (such as Shart and Mani`)] are concerned, one can only use a rigorously authenticated Hadith [Sahih] or a well authenticated Hadith [Hasan], except if a precautionary ruling [Ihtiyat] is [involved] in some matter relating to one of them. So, if a weak Hadith is found to object against some types of sales or some form of marriages, then it is recommended to avoid it (i.e., the sale or the marriage) even when it is not obligatory to do so [and even when the sale or the marriage is legally valid].â€
(al-Nawawi, Adhkar, 7-8)
I am not a Hanafi scholar (from whom you should really be asking your fiqhi/furu` questions), but classical Hanafi reference texts such as those of the Muhaqqiq of your school, Ibn `Abidin (and in spite the fact that he knew this `amal is based on weak Hadiths, he nevertheless) relates the opinion that this `amal is permissible and even Mustahabb, that is, the act when done will entail a reward. [Ibn `Abidin, Hashiya, 2:84-5]. In practice, apart from the Hanafis, some Shafi`i communities have inherited this `amal, and among the Malikis, those who are in the Sudan.
Qa’ida: To this end, we could sum up a point of law tersely in the following maxim: al-`amalu bi-r-riDA yanfI l-Hurmata [an act that is consented to, prevents prohibition].
What I mean by this qa’ida is that once something has been accepted by some of the mustahiqq, in this case, the scholars and the public alike, no one has any right [haqq] to object to it.
So do not be swayed by what you read if Muslims have been doing this in the past and are still doing this fadila `amal. If there are others who blame you for carrying on with this inherited `amal, then know that the person, apart from wasting his precious time, knows not how to leave alone what does not concern him [tark ma la ya`nih] where his time could be better spent in improving the lot of the Muslims today or benefiting others in this world. Not only does he not know how to mind his own business, but he has no right whatsoever to censure [Ihtisab] you in the first place (and by not tolerating and by criticizing you on this, he himself is transgressing a well known rule of Bab Amr bi-l-Ma`ruf wa Nahi ‘an al-Munkar [roughly speaking, the duty of a Muslim to intervene when another is acting wrongly]: that the duty has no application in matters over which the fuqaha‘ differed, thereby making himself liable for others to advise him). Furthermore, what is more embarrassing is that there is no legal basis [`illa] and cause [sabab] that warrants a Hisba for this case, or at least no jurist properly schooled will ever entertain the thought. For when others are blamed by a Muhtasib for carrying out this `amal, it is no different from the case of someone becoming upset at the sight of a pedestrian suddenly stopping to remove a wad of old chewing gum from his path (ponder over this!) or at the very minimum, complaining why a customer is buying only apples and not oranges.
According to Shafi’i jurists, this act is counted among the Fada’il, and there are undeniable benefits for those who wish to take from it and they are means to make one rich in the Next world; and in the same way that the one performing it cannot criticize others for neglecting it, nor can others criticize those who carry on doing it. It is a matter of personal choice (for one’s private-but-made-public bank account is no one else’s in the Next world) if one wants to take or overlook this Fadila in this world: take it or leave it, no more.
Allahumma aj`alna mina’l-`amilin wa-la taj`alna mina’l-mutakallikim!
[O’ Allah! Make us among those who do some work, not among those who can only talk]; Amin!
May this be of benefit.
wa sallallahu `ala Muhammadin wa `ala alihi wa sahbihi wa sallam
wa billahi t-tawfiq wa l-hidaya wa l-hamdulillah rabbi l-`alamin.
Your silent brother in Oxford,
M. Afifi al-Akiti
24 Muharram 1425
17 III 2004
Select Bibliography:
`Alawi al-Maliki. al-Manhal al-Latif fi Ahkam al-Hadith al-Da`f. In Majmu’ Fatawa wa-Rasa’il al-Imam al-Sayyid ‘Alawi al-Maliki al-Hasani. Edited by [his son and our scholar] Muhammad ibn ‘Alawi al-Maliki al-Makki al-Hasani. [Medina: Matabi` al-Rashid], 1413 H.
al-Bakri. Hashiyat I`anat al-Talibin. 4 vols. Bulaq, 1300 H.
al-Jurdani. Fath al-`Allam bi-Sharh Murshid al-Anam fi al-Fiqh `ala Madhhab al-Sadah al-Shafi`iyah. Edited by Muhammad al-Hajjar. 4 vols. Cairo: Dar al-Salam, 1990.
Ibn `Abidin. Radd al-Muhtar `ala Durr al-Mukhtar Hashiyat Ibn `Abidin. Edited by `Abd al-Majid Tu`mah Halabi. 12 vols. Beirut: Dar al-Ma`rifa, 2000.
al-Nawawi. al-Adhkar al-Muntakhab min Kalam Sayyid al-Abrar. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-`Umawiyya, 1955.
taken from : www.livingislam.org
© 2012 As-Sunnah Foundation of America
The Twin Pillars of the Hanafi Madhhab: Qadi Abu Yusuf and Muhammad Shaibani
Qadi Abu Yusuf
Qadi Abu Yusuf was a descendent of the Ansar and Sahaba Hadrat Sa`d b. Sibat. Born in Kufah in 113 or 117 H and passed away on the 5th of rabi’ al-Awwal 182 H. Muhammad b. al-Hasan al-Shaibani was born in 135 H and passed away in 189 H. He attended for about two yrs the lectures of Imam Abu Hanifah (ra), and upon the latter’s death, he completed his education under Abu Yusuf. He also studied for three yrs the Muwatta of Imam Malik (ra) under the great Imam himself, in Medina.
Qadi Abu Yusuf As long as Imam Abu Hanifah (ra) lived he regularly attended his court. Imam Abu Hanifah acknowledge his mastery in Fiqh. Returning once from a visit to Abu Yusuf during the latter’s sickness, Abu Hanifah (ra) said to his companions: “If, Allah forbid, this man (Abu Yusuf) dies, the world will lose one of its great scholars.â€
Abu Yusuf attended the lectures of many other doctors. He heard Traditions from A’mash, Hisham b. ‘Urwah, Sulaiman Taimi, Abu Ishaq Shaibani, Yahya b. Sa’id al-Ansari and others, learned maghazi (military history) and siyar (biography) from Muhammad b. Ishaq and knowledge of Fiqh from Muhammad b. Abi Laila. Allah endowed him with so much intelligence and such a good memory that he learned all these disciplines simultaneously! Other Imams in other sciences acknowledged his quick intelligence and penetration.
Although he is known mostly in Fiqh, he was unrivalled in other sciences.The historian Ibn Khallikan quotes Hilal b. Yahya as having said: “Abu Yusuf was a hafiz of tafsir (exegesis), maghazi and ayyam al-`Arab (history of Arabia), Fiqh was one of his minor accomplishments.â€
1. Abu Yusuf was ranked so high in Hadith so as to be counted huffaz in it, the famous and strict muhhadith Dhahabi included an account of Abu Yusuf in his Tadhkirat al-Huffaz.
2. Ahmad Hanbal (ra) said “When I was first attracted to Hadith, I went to Abu Yusuf.â€
3. Muzni, a famous disciple of Shafi`i (ra) used to say: “Abu Yusuf follows more Hadith than anybody else. ‘Abd al-Barr, a well-known Muhaddith, writes that Abu Yusuf used to visit different Muhaddithin and at one sitting learn 50 to 60 Traditions, all of which he would retain in his memory!
4. A`mash the famous muhaddith having consulted Abu Yusuf on a question, said on hearing his reply: “Have you any authority for this?â€. “Yesâ€, replied Abu Yusuf, and he reminded A`mash of a Tradition which the latter had narrated to him on a certain occasion. “Ya`qubâ€, said A`mash, “I first heard this Tradition when your parents had yet not got married, but I have understood its meaning only today†(Ibn Khallikan, Tarikh, note on Abu Yusuf).
Imam Muhammad Shaibani
The great Imam, Imam Shafi`i (ra) said: “Whenever Imam Muhammad expounded a point of law, it seemed as if the revealing Angel had descended upon him.â€
“I acquired from Imam Muhammad a camel-load of learning†Ibn Hajar quotes Imam Shafi`i as having said: “….I used to visit him (Muhammad b. Hasan). I told myself that he was of high rank in Fiqh too.
Therefore, I made it a point to attend upon him, and I used to take down his lectures.â€
[note: In his early days Ibn Taymiyyah denied that Shafi`i was a pupil of Imam Muhammad, but hundreds of historical books and rijal bear witness that Imam Shafi`i associated with Imam Muhammad]
On somebody asking the great Imam, Imam Ahmad Hanbal where he had learnt all the subtle points of law he used to make, he replied, “From the books of Muhammad b. Hasan.†(Tahdhib al- Asma’ wa’l-Lughat byImam Nawawi).
Again, similar to his teachers, most of his fame rests with his work in Fiqh but he had the rank of Mujtahid in exegesis, Tradition and literature also. Imam Shafi`i (ra) is reported to have said: I have not come across a man
more learned in the Quran than Imam Muhammad.†(Al- Jawahir al-Mudiyyah). His complete grasp on literature and Arabic linguistics is seen questions of fiqh based upon grammatical points in his Jami` Kabir. Jami` Kabir is a voluminous work where the dicta of Imam Abu Hanifah (ra), Imam Abu Yusuf and Imam Zufar are quoted with the questions and arguments. Later Hanafi scholars used this book as the basis of the methodological reasoning employed by the Hanafi school.
Shaykh al-Kadi, a latter day scholar said in a talk (Fiqh and Fuqaha) that Fiqh is the fruition of all the other Islamic sciences such as Hadith, Exegesis, Grammer, History and so forth. These two great Imams were recognized Mujtahids in all the sciences making them Mujtahid Mutaqs of the madhhab. The same holds true for the other
madhhabs. Many scholars consider some of Imam Shafi`i students to be Mujtahid Mutlaqs also. The genius of Imam Abu Hanifah (ra) in operationalizing the Quran and Sunnah was nurtured and matured under the genius of his
students.
As time went by, scholars who were masters in the Hanafi madhhab methodology and its basis became the madhhabs custodians, such as Imam Abideen. We lay Muslims are indebted to these great Scholars for allowing creating and maintaining a vehicle for us to traverse and protect us on the “Straight Path†to our Lord and Creator, based on the teachings of Allah’s beloved, our Prophet and leader in this world and the next, Muhammad, Peace and choicest blessings be upon Him and the Ahlul Bait.
This information has been obtained and adapted from the English translation of Sirat-i-Numan by Allamah Shibli Nu’mani translated by M. Hadi Hussain.
© 2012 As-Sunnah Foundation of America
Sighting the New Moon – The Crescent
It is a Sunnah (practice of the Holy Prophet Muhammad, prayers and peace of Allah  be upon Him) to sight  the new moon crescent for every lunar month. The crescent is usually sighted  a few minutes  after sunset in the Western horizon. Once sighted, the following prayer should be recited:
Allah is Greater. O Allah may the crescent come upon us in safety and faith and peace and Islam and in agreement with all that You love and pleases You. Our Lord and your Lord [O Crescent] is Allah.