بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
"And (remember) when Musa (Moses) said to his people: "Verily, Allah commands you that you slaughter a cow." They said, "Do you make fun of us?" He said, "I take Allah's Refuge from being among Al-Jahilun (the ignorants or the foolish)."
Of the intentions we should have while studying Hadiths, and كتاب العتصام بالكتاب و السنة (The Book of Holding Fast to the Qur'an and Sunnah) specifically:
1) It is one of the ways of affirming your belief in the testification that Muhammed ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah.
2) To seek nearness to Allah by studying the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
3) Hoping this will be a means of your salvation; to be of the saved sect, as the Prophet ﷺ mentioned:
"إِنَّ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ تَفَرَّقَتْ عَلَى ثِنْتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً وَتَفْتَرِقُ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ثَلاَثٍ وَسَبْعِينَ مِلَّةً كُلُّهُمْ فِي النَّارِ إِلاَّ مِلَّةً وَاحِدَةً قَالُوا وَمَنْ هِيَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ قَالَ مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحَابِي "
"....Indeed the children of Isra'il split into seventy-two sects, and my Ummah will split into seventy-three sects. All of them are in the Fire Except one sect." He said: "And which is it O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "What I am upon and my Companions." [Tirmithi]
4) If we truly believe that the Prophet ﷺ was inspired by Allah, as Allah said in Surah Najm [53:4]:
"It is only an Inspiration that is inspired."
We would prove our belief by studying his Sunnah, following it, acting upon it, and spreading it amongst the people.
5) To carry out the command of Allah in Surah Aal-Imran [3:103]:
"And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Quran), and be not divided among yourselves,"
And in [3:32]:
"Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): "Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad ﷺ)." But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers."
We will not be able to obey the Prophet ﷺ if we do not know what he commanded us with and forbade us from.
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Of the Characteristics of the Qur'an and Sunnah is that no matter how much you read and review it, you will always come across a new knowledge. This is of their miraculousness . The same verse or Hadith could be taught by different teachers, and through each one, Allah will open a different benefit. This is from the bounty of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said that the Qur'an and Sunnah are جوامع الكلم (Concise in words but carry wide meanings). The Qur'an is one volume, whereas you find the books of people in 10 or 20 volumes just to explain one subject. Reading the Qur'an and Sunnah is not like the reading of any other book. The person reading them should be keen, diligent, and exerting his utmost to understand.
المعتصم looks at the Prophet ﷺ as his Leader and Guide. His eyes are on him, so he follows him, and does not look right or left, searching for other sources of knowledge. He sticks to the Qur'an and Sunnah.
Now, after 1400 years, how do we hold fast to the Qur'an and Sunnah? How can we follow the Prophet ﷺ? The answer is from the statement of Mujahid:
Our eyes should be on the Prophet ﷺ, the Companions, the Tabi'een, and the Salaf. If we follow them, the generations after us will follow us. How many times have we said "Ibn AlQayyim said, Ibn Taymiyyah said, Muhammad Ibn AbdulWahhab said"? Because they adhered strictly to the Sunnah, our eyes are on them, hoping that the generations that come after us will follow us.
What is the correct Manhaj (Methodology)?
1) To devote a portion of your time to learn the Sunnah and ask about it if you do not know.
2) To ponder over the Qur'an, and if you do not understand, ask about it (by going to the Tafseer book written by Scholars whose creed is well known).
3) Leave the people except in good.
Everyone claims that they are Ahlus-Sunnah wal Jama'ah and that they follow and love the Prophet ﷺ. But their actions should have a basis in the Qur'an and Sunnah, otherwise they are not truly following it. Our judge should always be the Qur'an and Sunnah.
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Hadith #7287:
In this Hadith is a statement which has a connection to the theme of this Chapter: الإقتداء بسنن رسول الله ﷺ (Following the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ):
The Prophet ﷺ said that we will put through trial in our graves, similar to the trial of the Dajjal. The Believer / Muslim will say, "محمد جاءنا بالبينات فأجبناه و آمنّا" (Muhammed ﷺ came with clear evidences and signs from Allah and we responded to him and believed in what he said).
The Angels will then say to him, "نم صالحاً، علمنا أنَّك موقنّ" (Sleep in peace, we knew that you believed with certainty).
The Prophet ﷺ brought the Qur'an and the Sunnah, so the believer accepted it without any doubt, and believed. This is state of المعتصم in the Dunya. There is no pretense in the grave, the truthfulness of the person will be shown there. If the facts of belief were established well in his heart, he will be able to answer the questions. Whereas the hypocrite will say, "لا أدري سمعت للناس يقولون شيئا فقلته" (I do not know, I heard the people saying something so I said the same).
Hadith #7288:
This is the last Hadith of Chapter 2: الإقتداء بسنن رسول الله ﷺ
The title of Chapter 3 is the dislikeness/prohibition of asking too many questions and troubling oneself things which do not concern him.
What is the relationship between these two chapters? المقتدي; who follows the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ does not ask too many questions regarding what does not concern him.
Al-Bukhari would always put his chapters in sequence. And this last Hadith in Chapter 2 is strongly connected to Chapter 3.
This Hadith teaches us what we should do in the Dunya. There are three important points in this Hadith:
1) "دعوني ما تركتكم"
"Leave me as I have left you (I.e. Do not ask about whatever I have not explained to you)"
The Prophet ﷺ commands his companions to not ask him about hypothetical situations. Take whatever the Prophet ﷺ has given you.
2) "فإنّما هلك من كان قبلكم سؤالهم و اختلافهم على أنبيائهم"
"For the people who were before you were ruined because of their questions and differences over their Prophets"
This is exactly like the Story of the Cow between Bani Israeel and Musa عليه السلام in Surah Baqarah. In [2:67]:
Notice it is indefinite: I.e. Any Cow. Bani Israeel were commanded to slaughter any cow.
"They said, "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!" He said, "He says, 'Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but (it is) between the two conditions', so do what you are commanded."
But they kept asking questions, which indicates that they did not want to obey and follow, and made it difficult on themselves.
Weak compliance is one of the impacts of weak faith, the weakness of the soul - when it is weak, the Shaytan can easily overpower that soul, and the person will be under the effect of waswaas all the time. Or it could be an impact of lack of intellect or laziness. The believer hastens towards the performance of what he is ordered to do.
E.g. You tell your child to bring you water. They say: Cold or hot? You say cold. They say: How cold? Very cold, or just a little bit? Which glass? ....because they are lazy and do not want to bring it. Until you say sit down, I will bring it myself.
In Chapter 3:
E.g. During the Hajj a person asks the Sheikh about distributing soap, feeling or thinking that there might be perfume in it. These are mere thoughts and feelings with no basis. This indicates that the person is under the effect of Waswaas. So she keeps asking until the Sheikh forbids it, and accordingly it becomes forbidden for everyone in the group. Excessive questioning does not indicate that the person is a Muttaqi or cautious.
3) "فإذا نهيتكم عن شيء فاجتنبوه و إذا أمرتكم بشيء فأتوا منه ما استطعتم"
"So if I forbid you from something, keep away from it. And if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can"
Notice that the Prophet ﷺ did not command us to avoid the prohibitons gradually or as much as you can, he ordered us to completely avoid it. If any prohibiton comes to you, you should immediately quit the sin. Of course the case of new Muslims is different.
And if the Prophet ﷺ orders you with something, you should try to do it as much as you can.
"يكره" does not always means disliked. It may mean forbidden. After Allah mentions killing, unlawful sexual intercourse, etc, He says in [17:38]:
"All the bad aspects of these (the above mentioned things) are hateful to your Lord."
مكروه (Disliked) = If you do not do it you will be rewarded, if you do it there will be no sin on you.
However when you kill, you have committed a sin.
Two things are Forbidden:
1) "كثرة السؤال"
Asking too many questions.
2) "من تكلّف ما لا يعنيه"
Troubling oneself with what does not concern one. - This decreases the faith of a person.
Islam is based on four main Hadiths:
1) "إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ وَإِنَّمَا لاِمْرِئٍ مَا نَوَى"
"(The value of) an action depends on the intention behind it. A man will be rewarded only for what he intended" [Muslim]
We should have a good intention in our heart when performing a good deed; to perform it for the sake of Allah.
2) مَنْ أَحْدَثَ فِي أَمْرِنَا هَذَا مَا لَيْسَ مِنْهُ فَهُوَ رَدٌّ " ."
"Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (i.e. Islam) that is not part of it, will have it rejected." [Ibn Majah]
Every deed requires correct following of the Qur'an and Sunnah.
3) الْحَلاَلُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَ ذَلِكَ أُمُورٌ مُشْتَبِهَاتٌ لاَ يَدْرِي كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ أَمِنَ الْحَلاَلِ هِيَ أَمْ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ فَمَنْ"
تَرَكَهَا اسْتِبْرَاءً لِدِينِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ فَقَدْ سَلِمَ وَمَنْ وَاقَعَ شَيْئًا مِنْهَا يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَ الْحَرَامَ كَمَا أَنَّهُ مَنْ يَرْعَى حَوْلَ الْحِمَى يُوشِكُ أَنْ يُوَاقِعَهُ أَلاَ وَإِنَّ لِكُلِّ مَلِكٍ حِمًى أَلاَ وَإِنَّ حِمَى اللَّهِ مَحَارِمُهُ "
"The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear, and between that are matters that are doubtful (not clear); many of the people do not know whether it is lawful or unlawful. So whoever leaves it to protect his religion and his honor, then he will be safe, and whoever falls into something from them, then he soon will have fallen into the unlawful. Just like if someone grazes (his animals) around a sanctuary, he would soon wind up in it. Indeed for every king is a sanctuary (pasture), and indeed Allah's sanctuary is what He made unlawful." [Tirmithi]
We should avoid doubtful matters, and we will be safe.
4) "من حسن إسلام المرء تركه ما لا يعنيه"
"It is from the excellence of (a believer's) Islam that he should shun that which is of no concern to him".[At-Tirmidhi].
A man was killed in Battle during the time of the Prophet ﷺ. His mother was crying and affirmed Paradise for him. When the Prophet ﷺ spoke to her, he said, "How do you know your son is in Paradise? Perhaps he indulged in matters that did not concern him when he was alive."
These four Ahadith are related to the actions of our heart and limbs.
Allah did not forget when He pardoned us and did not mention a matter. He did not do that except as a mercy for us.
عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: خطبنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: "يا أيها الناس إن الله قد فرض عليكم الحج فحجوا" فقال رجل: أكل عام يا رسول الله؟ فسكت، حتى قالها ثلاثًا فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : "لو قلت نعم لوجبت، ولما استطعتم" ثم قال: "ذروني ما تركتكم، فإنما هلك من كان قبلكم بكثرة سؤالهم، واختلافهم على أنبيائهم، فإذا أمرتكم بشيء فأتوا منه ما استطعتم، وإذا نهيتكم عن شيء فدعوه"
Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ delivered a Khutbah and said, "O people! Hajj (pilgrimage to the House of Allah) has been made incumbent upon you, so perform Hajj." A man inquired: "O Messenger of Allah, is it prescribed every year?" He ﷺ remained silent till the man repeated it thrice. Then he ﷺ said, "Had I replied in the affirmative, it would have surely become obligatory, and you would not have been able to fulfill it." Afterwards he said, "Do not ask me so long as I do not impose anything upon you, because those who were before you were destroyed on account of their frequent questioning and their disagreement with their Prophets. So when I order you to do something, do it as far as you can; and when I forbid you from doing anything, eschew it." [Muslim].
E.g. The Dog of the People of the Cave. People ask what type of dog it was, etc. Asking unnecessary questions ruins the person.
E.g. The Hadith where the Prophet ﷺ said:
"يَنْزِلُ رَبُّنَا تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى كُلَّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلَى سَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الآخِرُ فَيَقُولُ مَنْ يَدْعُونِي فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ مَنْ يَسْأَلُنِي فَأُعْطِيَهُ مَنْ يَسْتَغْفِرُنِي فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ " .
"Our Lord who is Blessed and Exalted descends every night to the lowest heaven when the last one-third of the night remains, and says: Who supplicates to Me so that I may answer him? Who asks of Me so that I may give to him ? Who asks My forgiveness so that I may forgive him?" [Abu Dawud]
Your duty here is to wake up at that time and ask Allah.
Someone might come and say, "What about in other countries? Isn't the last third of the night different there? Does it mean Allah always descends to the lowest heaven....?"
This is not a good question to ask. Be cautious especially when the matters of the unseen come to you, do not try to judge it with your intellect. Stop at the text, unless you want to understand it. This is considered transgression.
How do I know if my question is a right or wrong question to ask?
- It should not be hypothetical
- You should not ask excessive questions
- If it does not benefit you, increase you in faith, knowlege, do not ask about it.
Hadith #7289:
In كتاب الجنائز (The Book of Funerals) Hadith #1299 (and mentioned in #1305 with a different narrator):
If you enjoined the good and forbade the evil, and the people did not listen to you, leave it. Coming back to the Prophet ﷺ would not do anything.
E.g. A man goes to a Sheikh saying he wants to a buy a house and has no choice except to take a loan with Riba. The Sheikh will say that Riba is Haraam. The man comes back telling the Sheikh he cannot find a non-riba based loan. What can the Sheikh do? He gave you the ruling, He cannot change it for you. Riba is Haraam.
The person who asks too many questions harms himself, others, and could even harm the whole community.
Questions should be asked:
1) While you fear Allah
2) While you are intending to seek the truth by the question
3) When the Fatwa is given, you should follow as much as you can.
Hadith #7290:
This Hadith is evidence of the permissibility performing the night prayer in congregation.
The Prophet ﷺ guided his companions to what is more rewarding - to pray other the prayers other than the compulsory at home.
This Hadith points to the second prohibition in the Chapter: "Troubling oneself with what does not concern one" when the companions hummed (or in another narration, started throwing pebbles).
What should they have done? They should have instead gone back and prayed at home.
But because the companions were eager to pray behind the Prophet ﷺ, to say Ameen behind him (because his dua is accepted) they did not. But although their intentions were good, they did not follow the Sunnah. They were not required to overburden themselves.
And this is a lesson for us: Good intentions do not justify overburdening yourself with what does not concern you.
Hadith #7291:
Hadith #7291 and #7294 are the same Hadith by different narrators. Bukhari mentioned them both in the same chapter.
Hadith #7292:
The Companions, and Mu'awiyah رضي الله عنه was keen to compile and revive the Sunnah. He looked for those who remained alive amongst the companions to ask them what they had heard from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
"لا إله الا الله وحده لا شريك له له الملك و له الحمد و هو على كل شيء قدير. اللهم مانع لما أعطيت و لا معطي لما منعت و لا ينفع ذَا الجدّ منك الجدّ"
This Dhikr includes praising Allah for His Perfect Attributes; He has no partner, to Him belongs the dominion, and to Him belongs all Praise. The Prophet ﷺ taught us to say it after the obligatory prayer.
He used to forbid:
1) قيل و قال
2) كثرة السؤال - Asking too may questions
The prohibiton of قيل و قال (It is said and so and so said) is mentioned first. (I.e. A person sits down and speaks about what so and so said, I heard such and such, BBC said...etc.)
This is especially regarding worldly matters, but also regarding religious matters. It becomes قيل و قال when a person says something without verification, or even if it is authentic has no benefit.
Before you speak check:
1) Do you have a proof for what you are saying?
2) Does it benefit the people or not?
E.g. What people are transmitting of opinions to other people. People analyze and start to talk. You are far from the affair and are in wellbeing. but indulge yourself in قيل و قال (e.g. Do you know what happened...how many people died....this channel said this and that) and put yourself into sin by talking about it.
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