It's very important to study the Sunnah of the Prophet, especially in this day and age. If you look around you'll find that the world is full of فتن, people are driven by the Dunya, atheism is widespread, etc.
المعتصم (The person who holds fast to the Qur'an and Sunnah) should feel afraid of drowning in this sea of فتن along with everyone else.
Allah, out of His mercy, extends to us a rope from Him:
"واعتصموا بحبل الله جميعا"
البخاري said that the حبل الله is the Qur'an and Sunnah. This is the means of being saved from the فتن.
You find that most people don't care and have no fear. They believe that just because they were born Muslims they will die upon it. But the more you study the more you realize how little we hold fast to the Quran and Sunnah.
This is why the true معتصم is مستغيث. He always implores and begs Allah to keep him firm in the straight path, to keep him righteous and upright. When he says, "إهدنا الصراط المستقيم" he says it from his heart. He is afraid of being deviated and constantly asks Allah to maintain his faith. He doesn't expose himself to the فتن. He says يا مقلب القلوب ثبت قلبي على دينك, and the like. If this is the persons state all the time, then Allah will undoubtedly save him from what he fears.
البخاري mentioned 5 Hadiths as an introduction to كتاب الاعتصام بالكتاب والسنة. These Ahadith contain the answer to the question: Why should I study the Qur'an and Sunnah?
HADITH 1: (7268)
عيد is something that reoccurs every year. It is something where we celebrate and rejoice. As the true معتصم's understanding of the Qur'an and Sunnah increases as the feelings of joy and happiness in him increase. His heart expands as he learns more.
In the aforementioned verse, three actions of Allah are mentioned:
1. أكملت لكم دينكم
2. أتممت عليكم نعمتي
3. رضيت لكم الإسلام دينا
Yet the attitude of most people towards this complete and perfect religion is that they abandon the Quran and Sunnah in every affair and matter of their lives. When it comes to purification of the soul, education, etc. they take the ideologies, theories and beliefs, of both the east and west, and turn away from what Allah revealed.
E.g. Healing with energy. This originates from Buddhism. Those among the Muslims that take this way distort it and try to reconcile it with the Quran and Sunnah. They misinterpret the verses. Many people are deceived with this way of healing.
We don't need other ideologies. We have Islam, which is perfect. Everything from medication, education, problems, sicknesses, social issues, economical issues, etc. is covered in it. Allah completed our religion for us. The problem is we don't study the Quran and Sunnah, this is why we assume that non-Muslims know better than us.
Allah described the disbelievers in the Qur'an as blind, and the believers as seers. How can the believer, whom Allah opened his eyes and mind, follow a blind person? Shouldn't the seer guide the blind? The sad fact is that we find the reverse happening nowadays. This is why most people are miserable.
The earlier generations didn't have all the Hadiths compiled into one book like we do. We just need to give it our time and effort. But we have time for everything except the Quran and Sunnah. We spend years on degrees in this field and that, but when it comes to the Quran and Sunnah we provide a list of excuses.
HADITH 2: (7269)
There is no way of guidance except the Quran and Sunnah.
You will find Umar mentioned a lot in this book.
HADITH 3: (7270)
When the Prophet noticed the intelligent attitude of Ibn Abbas he prayed and asked Allah to teach him the book and in another narration to make him comprehend the religion.
Ibn Abbas excelled in Tafseer. This shows us that تعليم الكتاب means to understand the Quran. It isn't limited to knowing how to recite it. It is through word AND meaning. There are many who memorize the Qur'an yet they may not even be on the right path. Following the right path is through knowing and understanding the meaning. العلم سبب العتصام.
If the Quran and Sunnah are perfect and there is no guidance except in them, it is required for us to learn them.
This invocation of the Prophet shows us that the best thing you can pray for someone is to pray that Allah teaches them the Qur'an. Many parents pray that their children excel in science, math, etc. but how many pray for this? The Prophet loved Ibn Abbas and wanted good for him, if you love someone you should pray for the same thing for them.
HADITH 4: (7271)
Abi Barzah was angry that the younger companions and the Tabi'een weren't adhering to the Quran and Sunnah. Allah elevated us and sufficed us with the Quran and Sunnah, we don't need other than it. We were misguided and Allah guided us. We were spiritually dead and Allah granted us life. What is the matter with us that we are running after this world?
HADITH 5: (7272)
This happened at a time when there was a فتنه among the Muslims about who was to be taken as Khalifah.
Abdullah bin Zubayr and Abdul Malik bin Marwan were fighting and Abdullah bin Zubayr was killed. Ibn Umar didn't pledge to any of them because they were fighting. After he died then Ibn Umar wrote the letter. Ibn Umar was a companion but he still had humility and respect.
When you read about the attitude of the companions and their relation with the rulers, you see the amount of respect they had.
It is as if بخاري wants to give us an example, a role model of المعتصم. Ibn Umar gives the pledge according to the Quran and Sunnah. His relation with the ruler is in accordance to the Quran and Sunnah.
General Rule: Our relationships with the ruler and other than the ruler should be based on the Quran and the Sunnah.
In a nutshell:
-> The Quran and Sunnah/The religion is complete
-> Guidance is restricted to it
-> We should learn it
-> We should feel self sufficient with it and Allah will elevate us by it.
-> We should use it in all our affairs
Someone may now ask: What is the description of the Qur'an and Sunnah?
There are many different ways with which البخاري titled the chapter. One way is by using an excerpt of the Hadith.
جوامع الكلم = "قليلة المبني غزيرة المعني"
7273:
"حدثنا" - This is an indication for the strength of the authenticity of a Hadith. The narrators heard it directly from each other.
The same Hadith is mentioned in 2977 in كتاب الجهاد.
- بعثت بجوامع الكلم.
This is the description of the Qur'an and the Sunnah. The Quran is not in many volumes. It is just one book.
- نصرت بالرعب
This is what happened in Tabuk. The Romans were defeated with رعب being cast in their hearts.
- The Prophet's dream is an indication of the spreading of Islam, that the kingdom of Muslims will be extended and enlarged.
- تلغثونها is from لغث.
- ترغثونها is from رغث.
Or in another Hadith: نثل
The Relation of this Hadith with كتاب العتصام بالكتاب و السنة: The Quran and Sunnah are جوامع الكلم.
You may live your entire life based on one verse from the Quran or one Hadith from the Prophet.
E.g. Someone is patient for 20 years. Someone might ask him what made him patient? He will say "The verse ان الله مع الصابرين"
E.g. A student of knowledge said, "I may read one verse in Ramadan, understand it well, and live it throughout the rest of the year"
E.g. The Prophet said, "Every action which is not from us is rejected"
This Hadith is enough for us to reject any innovated matter for the rest of our lives.
E.g. "و تعاونوا على البر و التقوى و لا تعاونوا على الاثم والعدوان"
If someone ever asks you to help them with evil you would always refuse, you wouldn't accept doing unlawful jobs, etc.
And the verses of the Quran are applicable to anyone and everyone of all ages, genders, from the beginning until the end of time. You can use the same verse to address a child, a believer, a female, a male, etc.
You could use one verse as an evidence for many places and situations. But we need to learn the Quran and Sunnah. Know that in front of you is a great treasure, and it's description is جوامع الكلم. Feel a sense of sufficiency with it.
7274:
Both the Qur'an and Sunnah are revelation from Allah.
What is the difference between the miracles of the other prophets and the miracle the Prophet Muhammed was given? What was in it that made him hope to have the largest amount of followers?
It is the speech of Allah. كلام الله has an effect on the hearts of the people. Even non-Muslims who listen to it, although they may not understand a single word, still feel peace when they listen to it.
Usually people are affected by speech more than anything else, and the Qur'an is the greatest speech - because it is the speech of Allah.
You can also find that a person who always recites and listens to the Qur'an, whose heart is filled with it, will naturally reject falsehood when exposed to it although he may not recognize it. This is a natural instinct.
If you give a person who always drinks clean water dirty water, he'll throw it away, because he'll be able to distinguish the good from the bad, the right from the wrong.
The Qur'an and Sunnah will affect people more than the statements of anyone else. Use it when you educate people, especially with children. Teach them with the Qur'an and Sunnah.
The relation between this with كتاب العتصام بالكتاب والسنة: The Quran is the greatest miracle, most beneficial, continuous, remaining, أعظمها، أنفعها، أدومها
Since this is the description of the Qur'an, and there is nothing comparable to it, we need to hold fast to it. Also, we should not belittle the Sunnah, because it too is wahy.
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