Category Archives: Hadith

Reciting the Qur’an

‘Aisha {May Allah be pleased with her} reported that the Messenger of Allah {Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him} said:

“The one who is well versed in the recitation of the Qur’an will be with the honorable and obedient scribes and he who recites the Qur’an and finds it difficult to recite, doing his best to recite it in the best way possible, will have a double reward.”

وعن عائشة رضي الله عنها قالت : قَالَ رسول الله : « الَّذِي يَقْرَأُ القُرْآنَ وَهُوَ مَاهِرٌ بِهِ مَعَ السَّفَرَةِ الكِرَامِ البَرَرَةِ ، وَالَّذِي يَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ وَيَتَتَعْتَعُ فِيهِ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِ شَاقٌّ لَهُ أجْرَانِ »

{Sahih Bukhari Muslim; Riyadus’ Salihin}

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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 Allah”, 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].”
(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

Forty Ahadith on “Whosoever…”

Excerpted from
Al-Jami` al-Saghir min Hadith al-Bashir al-Nadhir
Compiled by: Imam Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (`alayhi ‘r-Rahmah)

Translated by: Muhammad Husayn al-Qadiri

  • Whosoever harms a believer has harmed me, and whosoever harms me has harmed Allah. [Al-Tabarani in Al-Awsat]
  • Whosoever fears Allah, Allah will make everything fear him, and whosoever does not fear Allah, He will make him fear everything. [Al-Hakim]
  • Whosoever loves for the sake of Allah, hates for the sake of Allah, gives for the sake of Allah and withholds for the sake of Allah then his faith has been completed.
  • Whosoever loves a group of people, Allah shall resurrect him with them. [Al-Tabarani in al-Kabir]
  • Whosoever loves al-Hasan and al-Husayn has indeed loved me, and whosoever hates them indeed hates me. [Ahmad in al-Musnad]
  • Whosoever performs hijamah (cupping) on the 17th, 19th or 21st of the (lunar) month then it is a cure for every disease.
  • Whosoever ties the Ihram of hajj or Umrah from al-Masjid al-Aqsa then he will be just like the day his mother gave birth to him. [Abd al-Razzaq in his Musannaf]
  • Whosoever looks after an orphan shall be with me in Jannah, just like this (joining his forefinger and middle finger together). [Al-Tirmidhi]
  • Whosoever revives these four nights then Jannah is binding upon him; the night of al-Tarwiya (8th of Dhu al-Hijjah), the night of al-`Arafah (9th of Dhu al-Hijjah), the night of al-Nahr (10th of Dhu al-Hijjah) and the night of al-Fitr (1st of Shawwal). [Kanz al-`Ummal]
  • Whosoever brings infertile land to life, for him is a reward therein, and if a creature eats from it, that shall be charity for him. [Ahmad in al-Musnad]
  • Whosoever revives my Sunnah has loved me, and whosoever loves me will be with me in Jannah. [Al-Tirmidhi]
  • Whosoever frightens a believer then it is a right of Allah that He shall not save him from the frights of the Day of Resurrection. [Al-Tabarani in al-Awsat]
  • Whosoever takes another’s piece of land unjustly, he will be made to sink down the seven earths on the day of resurrection. [Al-Bukhari]
  • Whosoever does not perform khilaal (pass wet fingers in between the fingers and toes in wudu and ghusl) using water, Allah shall pass fire through them on the Day of Resurrection. [Al-Tabarani in al-Kabir]
  • Whosoever has love for his (Muslim) brother in his heart and does not reveal it to him then he has betrayed him. [Kanz al-`Ummal]
  • Whosoever takes intoxicants then Allah shall not accept forty days of his prayers. [Al-Tirmidhi]
  • Whosoever builds a Masjid seeking by it the pleasure of Allah, Allah will build for him likewise in Jannah. [Al-Bukhari]
  • Whosoever removes harm from the Masjid, Allah shall build for him a house in Jannah.
  • Whosoever removes a harmful thing from the path of a Muslim, then Allah shall write for him a reward, and for whom He writes a reward, he will be entered into Jannah. [Al-Tabarani in al-Awsat]
  • Whosoever makes an error or commits a sin, thereafter feels remorseful, then that (remorse) shall compensate for it. [Al-Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-Iman]
  • Whosoever dedicates forty days for the sake of Allah, the wellsprings of wisdom shall appear from his heart to his tongue. [Abu Nu`aym in al-Hilya]
  • Whosoever calls the Adhan for seven years seeking reward; Allah shall write for him freedom from Hell. [Al-Tirmidhi]
  • Whosoever calls the Adhan for one year not seeking any (worldly) reward, shall be summoned on the Day of Resurrection. He will stand on the Door of Jannah and it will be said to him, ‘Intercede for whom you wish’. [Ibn `Asakir]
  • Whosoever commits a sin knowing he has a Lord who if He wishes can forgive or punish him then it is a right upon Allah to forgive him. [Al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak]
  • Whosoever displays to people fear (of Allah), greater than he really has, then he is a hypocrite. [Kanz al-`Ummal]
  • Whosoever pleases his (Muslim) parents has pleased Allah, and whosoever angers his parents has angered Allah. [Kanz al-`Ummal]
  • Whosoever increased his knowledge (of religion) and did not increase his detachment from the world has not but distanced himself from Allah. [Al-Daylami in Musnad al-Firdaws]
  • Whosoever performs ablution in extreme cold conditions will obtain double the rewards. [Al-Khatib in al-Tarikh]
  • Whosoever can, should die in Madinah, because I shall intercede for the one who dies in Madinah. [Ahmad in al-Musnad]
  • Whosoever can benefit [by incantation (al-ruqya)] his brother should do so.
  • Whosoever can protect one’s religion and one’s honour using his wealth should do so. [Al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak]
  • Whosoever amongst you can cover his believing brother using the edge of his cloak should do so. [Al-Daylami in Musnad al-Firdaws]
  • Whosoever makes haste shall err. [Al-Tirmidhi]Whosoever seeks forgiveness of Allah after each prayer by praying three times:أَسْتَغَفِرُ اللَّهَ العَظِيْمَ الَّذِيْ لَا إِلٰهَ إلَا هُوَ الحَيُّ القَيُّوْمُ وأَتوْبُ إِلَيْهِ Astaghfirullah al-`Azheem al-Ladhi La Ilaha Illa Huwa al-hayyu al-Qayyumu wa Atoobu Ilayhi his sins will be forgiven, even though he tried to run away from the army. [Ibn al-Sunni in `Amal al-Yawm wa al-Laylah]
  • Whosoever seeks forgiveness on behalf of believing men and women, Allah shall write for him a good deed (equal to) each believing man and woman. [Al-Tabarani in al-Kabir]
  • Whosoever seeks forgiveness twenty seven times in a day for the believing men and women then he will become from those who are answered and by whom the dwellers of earth are given sustenance. [Al-Tabarani in al-Kabir]
  • Whosoever begins his day with goodness and ends it with goodness then Allah says to the Angels, ‘Do not write the (minor) sins between the two’. [Kanz al-`Ummal]
  • Whosoever listens to music will not be allowed to hear the sound of al-Ruhaniyyin. It was asked, ‘Who are al-Ruhaniyyin?’ He (SallAllahu `Alayhi wa Sallam) said, ‘The reciters from the people of Paradise’. [Al-Tirmidhi]
  • Whosoever completes the recitation of the Quran in the morning, the angels pray for him till the evening. And whosoever completes the recitation of the Quran in the evening, the angles pray for him till the morning. [Abu Nu`aym in al-Hilya]
  • Whosoever carries for my people forty ahadith, Allah will resurrect him on the Day of Judgement as a Jurist and a Scholar. [Ibn `Adi in al-Kamil]

 

 


© 2012 As-Sunnah Foundation of America