Various Shorter Texts

Al-Qari said in al-Asrar al-Marfuʿa: Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya was asked whether it was possible to identify forgeries through a universal rule (dabit) independently of their chain of transmission and he said the following [in al-Manar al-Munif fil-Sahih wal-Daʿif]:

"This is a question of tremendous significance. Only he knows it who is so conversant with the authentic Sunna that the latter has become part of his flesh and blood and he has achieved mastery in it. He has developed thorough expertise in knowledge of the Prophetic and other transmitted reports, and in that of the biography of the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, and his guidance. He knows his commands, his prohibitions, what he relates, what he summons to, what he loves, what he hates, and what he made law for his Community as though he were one of his noble Companions. Someone such as this knows the states of the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, his guidance, his speech, what can be attributed to him and what cannot, in a way others do not.

"It is the same with every follower in relation to the one he follows: he who is more familiar with his leader and assiduous in keeping track of his sayings and deeds, reaches a position of expert knowledge of them and discernment between what is correctly attributable to him and what not, which those who are neither familiar nor assiduous do not reach. This applies to all the imitators in relation to their Imams: they know their sayings, stipulations, and positions. and Allah knows best."

GFH
[SP 2007-01-27]





Hysteria needs its voices and Stephen Schwartz is only one of them. As the antithesis of clear thinking and good writing he is like a reverse guide to authentic anti-Wahhabi writers such as Abd al-Hakim Murad.

The comparison of Schwartz to Pipes and Emerson is extremely apt, add the creators of such sites as Jihad Watch and many others. Such people are the writing equivalent of callous policy-making on the ground. So the sayings apply to them as well, that "We all have to be concerned about terrorism, but you will never end terrorism by terrorizing others" (Martin Luther King III); "Everybody's worried about stopping terrorism. Well, there's a really easy way: stop participating in it." (Noam Chomsky).

Both the literate terrorism of ostensibly anti-Wahhabi Islamophobes and the literal terrorism of ostensibly anti-Wahhabi policies pour into a single result in the end: to make of all Muslims, by hook or by crook, public enemy Number One. In their eyes we are all Wahhabis, so it may well be that this is what we shall become in their face.

As for the attacks on the person of Shaykh Hamza, in earlier times it would have been enough to treat them the way of Imam al-Shafiʿi's advice in the face of barking dogs: "silence them by ignoring them." However, since we live in a dishonorable age which thrives on the systematic propagation of lies and opportunism at the cost of truth, defenders of truth cannot remain silent.

GF Haddad
[SP 2006-12-04]




From the former minister of State Sayyid Yusuf Hashim al-Rifaʿi's interview with the Kuwaiti daily _al-Siyasah_ 13486 (Year 39) of Saturday 29 Rabiʿ al-Akhar 1427 / 27 May 2006

<<Al-Siyasah: What do you say the current prohibition of the books of the Imams Bin Baz and others?

<<Al-Rifaʿi: I say that those books contain extremism. Bin Baz considers that whoever celebrates the Mawlid is a mushrik, so this is extremism. He says that whoever celebrates the Isra' and Miʿraj is a mushrik, so this is also extremism. He says that whoever goes to visit the Mosque specifically to visit the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, his travel is a sin, so this is extremism. and here is Ibn ʿUthaymin treading the same path. Consequently, such books promote extremism and it is the right of the state [of Kuwait] to prohibit them as long as we are fighting etremism. Do they not say that standing in front of the Prophet's grave, upon him blessings and peace, making duʿa, is shirk? They say it is impermissible to recite a khatma of Qur'an for the dead. Some of them say it is categorically prohibited to sit down for condoleances on the pretext that the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, never sat down when he gave condoleances. Did not all the Companions pray with him in the Mosque, among them the Mujahidun, so he would give them condoleances when they were with him? For all those reasons I am for the banning of the books of Bin Baz and Bin ʿUthaymin from all book forums and exhibits, as every book accusing Muslims of shirk and kufr leads to division and divisiveness among people. and if we declare people apostate, it means we can no longer marry our daughters to whomever they attribute shirk to, nor give them salaam. These books evidently lead to fitna, and those books by those they call "imams" are books of takfir and tashrik. Hence, their circulation became prohibited. An example: the State here celebrates Mawlid, while they distribute a fatwa by Bin Baz that that says such a thing is shirk. Is this matter not against the orientation of the State and against the position of the ministry of Awqaf? So this leads to a great fitna in the society and to matters with dire results. I have no idea why they want Kuwait to be all Wahhabi and Bin Bazi.>>

[SP 2006-07-19]




Wa ʿalaykum as-Salam wa-rahmatullah:



Reply by Dr. Recep Senturk:

Salam alaikum wa rahmatullah,

There is a hierarchy of rules in Islamic law in case there is a conflict and one has to make a choice between them. Protection of life (hurmah or 'ismah al-nafs) comes before everything. Other things follow such as property, religion, family, honor etc.

Protection of life has priority over all other rules in Islam. Therefore when there is a conflict between protecting a human life and observing another rule in shari'ah, the former overrides the other. The most well-known example is when you have to make a choice between death and drinking alcohol or eating pork to survive. Likewise, if one is required to steal to protect a life, whether his own or someone else's, his right to life overrides the other person's right to property. Consequently, in such a life and death situation he would be REQUIRED, and not simply allowed, to steal and save the life at risk.

In the case of this brother whose wife has cancer and is pregnant, all the possible measures MUST be taken to protect the life of the baby. Therefore he is obliged to save this life regardless of what it takes.

If he has to take a loan with interest to save the life of the baby he may do so but ONLY AFTER he exhausts all other possibilities in getting a loan without interest so that it becomes necessity (darurah) for him to violate a rule in shari'ah. Therefore, he MUST first apply to the Muslim community for loan without interest and let them know about his situation. Perhaps they will help him. Only if the Muslims don't help him, then he can go ahead and get a loan with interest. Then the responsibility wouldn't be on him, but on the Muslims who don't help in such a life and death situation.

Let us pray that Allah helps this brother to get help or a loan without interest. I also went through the same experience when my late sister was diagnosed cancer while she was pregnant. But alhamdulillah she had health insurance.

Wallahu a'lam.

With salaam and dua,

Recep

[rahimaha Allah-gfh]
[SP 2006-10-07]






Ibn Hajar's position on the life of al-Khadir is best characterized as a tendency to reject the view that al-Khadir is alive mixed with reluctant acceptance for its possibility. In the Isaba, he cites al-Nawawi and Ibn al-Salah's assertion that the majority of the scholars consider him alive then states: "One of the later scholars gathered the stories related from the righteous and others after the fourth century, and they hardly reach twenty stories on top of weakness in the chains of some of them." However, in al-Zahr al-Nadir fi Naba' al-Khadir – which he said he wrote after the Isaba – he cites more proofs and says he said to his teacher Abu al-Fadl al-ʿIraqi: "I have abandoned my belief that al-Khadir died. " At the conclusion of the monograph he says: "What I tend to hold as my position, on the basis of the strength of the proofs, is contrary to what the ʿawamm believe in that he continues to live; however, a doubt might be raised from the perspective of the abundance of transmitters for the reports indicating its continuation, and it can be said: granted, their chains are flimsy, since none of them is devoid of a reason for weakness, but what to do with the totality? Accordingly, it might be considered mass-transmitted in meaning in the same way, for example, as Hatim's generosity. "(*)

(*) Ibn Hajar, al-Zahr al-Nadir (p. 114). Note: the words "contrary to" were dropped in the Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya edition, which rendered the meaning unintelligible.

gibril
[SP 2006-10-17]





An example of a moderate shiʿi narrator is someone who gives precedence to ʿAli over ʿUthman, Allah be well-pleased with them; an extreme shiʿi would give him precedence over the Two Shaykhs as well, so this is not accepted because it is an extreme innovation and therefore cause for disusing a narrator. Another reason would be for a moderate narrator to be an active propagator of his shiʿism; this would disqualify him also.  
Not systematic to my knowledge, since they have considered them false as a whole to begin with, since they fall, at best, into the category of propaganda material.

Sunnis consider the 12 Imams of the utmost probity and pristine knowledge, although their fiqh is not considered to have reached us through mass- transmitted channels and thus does not form a reliable body of knowledge, even less an independent school. The position of the Four Rightly-Guided Caliphs is above the remainder of the Companions, however, the direct transmitters from Ibn Masʿud are considered much more reliable than most of the direct transmitters from our liege-lord ʿAli in al-kufa, Allah be well- pleased with them.

Perhaps because, ideally, if Shiʿis correct their disrespect of the Sahaba then everything else forms only secondary problems and they are closer to Sunni doctrine than Wahhabis. However, in practical terms, five-madhhabis are similar to la-madhhabis in that they try to resolve what they view as disunity through eccentric solutions which, in reality, form a much greater problem. Shaykh Mahmud Shaltut is not infallible and his fatwa was pilloried by his peers.


"The chain"? No. "A chain," yes.

Was-Salam,
gibril  [SP 2006-11-01]





Muqaddima of Shaykh ʿAbd al-Haqq al-Dihlawi, Sharh al-Bayquniyya by Sh Aʿbd Allah Siraiuddin and al-Zurqani, Muqaddima of Ibn al-Salah, Nukat ʿala Ibn al-Salah, Nawawi's Irshad, Ibn Hajar's Nukhba and Sharh al-Nukhba, Suyuti's Tadrib and Alfiyya, Muslim's Muqaddima, finally al-Sakhawi's Fath al-Mughith.


Ibn Hajar al-Haytami's Sharh al-Arbaʿin is about to come out with a full tahqiq in Damascus; Ibn Rajab's jamiʿ al-ʿulum has two strong Damascene editions and more.

Was-Salam,
gibril
[SP 2006-11-02]






From: "IIC Bristol" Date: Thu, 09 Nov 2006
Subject: From The Two Holy Sanctuaries

On behalf of the Islamic Information Centre (Bristol)

... congratulating you on your recent publication, 'From The Two Holy Sanctuaries'-it was truly an excellent read, i thoroughly enjoyed reading your own personal journey-it created a very perosnal and spiritual experience for myself and other readers.

The evidences you presented in the later topics are strong and accurate, i am sure it will prove to be extremely beneficial for many people, particularly the youth!

I especially enjoyed reading about your meeting with the awliya in the grounds of Mina and i was also very please with the way in which, for the first time someone described the reality of the disrespect the Najdis of Saudi give to the blessed places.

I pray Allah accepts your humble work and that it will benefit the entire Ummah. Amin.

Asalam'alaykum

AA

IslamicInformationcentre.co.uk -passive link 20220218

[SP 2006-11-10]




As-Salamu ʿalaykum:
I took this recipe from the nonagenarian Malaysian Shaykh Hajj Hashim ibn Hajj Abu Bakr al-Shafiʿi al-Naqshbandi, a colleague of Allama Ya Sin ibn ʿIsa al-Fadani, in his school in Kelantan, Shaʿban of last year (1426). It was translated from Malay by a member of this forum, may he be rewarded.

"....of the short recipe for the cure of paralysis and cardiovascular stroke and related diseases including paralysis caused by supernatural forces.

Ingredients:

1) Milk from one young green coconut
2) A branch of lemon grass along with its roots.

Boil the two together in a pot and let it boil for around 10 minutes or more, press a whole lemon into the boiled mixture and add some sugar. Drink the concoction and finish it within the day. For the next day prepare a new potion using fresh ingredients.

Continue this for a month.

The patient is to avoid eating the following for the duration of the treatment : liver from all animals, meat and all food spiced with salt, all type of fruits, ice, glutinous rice, vermicelli (all variants) and all type of tapioca (including yam etc).

2) Cure for heart disease (more on prevention)
- Take 10 pieces of clover or more (arabic: al-qurunful) daily. Chew it thoroughly (you can have a go with all 10 or a piece at a time) then suck on it and inhale your breath thru the nose and mouth.

The clover is good for 5 organs : the heart, lungs, teeth, eyes and the brain as mentioned in the Hayatul Hayawan of Al-Damiri."

Allahumma sallim.

GFHaddad
[SP 2006-11-10]



The sense seems to be that wherever the (by default male) heads of households are: women, slaves, and children follow. Hence atbaʿ can be translated as "dependents" or even "ummi dependents" rather than mere "followers" here, so as to clarify in what general (but not absolute) sense those three categories are mentioned together.

Add to this the implied understanding that the default state of women is dependence, but not necessarily, as mentioned in the followup, the archetype of female independence in both Jahiliyya and Islam being our mother Khadija, Allah be well-pleased with her.

Ustadha Zaynab's question is enough proof *in itself* that anachronisms are, in a rather basic way, antithetical to effective daʿwa. On the one hand, even many educated Arab readers will itch to intervene that "there are no slaves anymore," so their mention in a text destined for the contemporary public antiquates the text needlessly. This is crippling, since our contemporaries have modernist mentalities and no longer grasp that "older is better" or that that axiom in no way condones the concept or state of slavery! Hence, the relative betrayal of textual emendation imposes itself.

On the other hand, we should not balk texts which simply reflect the unalienable law that the default status of a woman in Islam is dependence and that, from the cradle to the grave, she does not have to disburse a penny on her living.

At any rate a footnote is needed. If our mother ʿA'isha, Allah be well-pleased with her, imposed a clarification for the hadith lumping together "women, dogs, and donkeys," we are but - followers.

gibril
[SP 2006-02-03]




As-Salamu ʿalaykum:
I have replaced the original paragraph on this issue in _Albani and His Friends_ for the second edition. It now reads thus:

When the Americans landed a man on the moon Bin Bāz issued a fatwa (Shaʿbān 1389/1969) he then expanded into his infamous seventy-five page al-Adillat al-Naqliyya wal-H.issiyya ʿalā Jarayān al-Shamsi wa- Sukūni al-Ard. wa-Imkān al-S.uʿūd ilā al-Kawākib ("The Transmitted and Sensory Proofs of the Rotation of the Sun, the Stillness of the Earth, and the Possibility of Going Up to the Planets")(1) published in 1391/ 1971 at the University of Madīna,(2) in which he asserted that whoever says the earth turns and the sun does not, or that the latter turns on its axis, has committed disbelief, gone astray, and must be summoned to repent or else be killed as an apostate disbeliever and his property be seized as spoils for the Muslim treasury.(3) A scandal ensued in which, Bin Bāz and others said, the writers and educators of the Egyptian Progressive Council (al-Tajammuʿ al-Taqaddumī), certain Arab radio stations such as S.awt al-ʿArab, and publications such as the Kuwaiti periodical al-Siyāsa, spread the false rumor that the Shaykh had declared apostate whoever affirmed space travel or the rotundity of the earth. In 1395/1975, Bin Bāz published a tamer and much shorter text under a similar title, al-Adillat al-Naqliyya wal-H. issiyya ʿalā Imkān al-S.uʿūd ilā al-Kawākib ("The Transmitted and Sensory Proofs of the Possibility of Going Up to the Planets") also at the University of Madīna – reproduced in full in Bin Bāz's Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa-Maqālāt wa-Rasā'il (1:190-198) and on his website(4) – while the 1391 version was removed from circulation. (Bin Bāz explicitly refers to "my three statements on the topic,"(5) namely, the 1389 fatwā, the 1391 bomb, and the 1395 bowdlerization.) Then, in a 1397/ 1977 letter reproduced in the Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa-Maqālāt wa-Rasā'il (9: 157-160), Bin Bāz denied he ever made takfīr of whoever says man landed on the moon, or says that the earth is round, or says that it turns around the sun. He specified he had originally said that landing on the moon was possible but ought to be verified, and that the had adduced from Ibn al-Qayyim a text which affirmed the earth's rotundity. He continued: "As for the movement of the earth, I denied it and exposed the proofs of its falsehood, but I never declared apostate one who upholds such a view. I only declared apostate one who says that the sun is still and does not move." In Mushkilāt al-Jīl fī D.aw' al-Islām (3rd ed. 1399, p. 224), Muh.ammad al-Majdhūb quotes further protestations from the Muftī that he does not consider it apostasy to affirm the earth's movement around the sun or the sun's revolution on its axis but that he "only explicitly made takfīr of the one who says the sun stands still." The rumors resurfaced in the nineties.(6)

Notes:

1 In his autobiographical notice at the opening of vol. 1 of his 13- volume Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa-Maqālāt wa-Rasā'il (2nd ed.) Bin Bāz states, "Among the works I authored..." then he mentions twenty-one titles, the sixteenth being the above in full. The Majmūʿ is at http://www. almeshkat.net/books/open.php?cat= &book=Y8. Its first edition numbers 7 volumes in 5, its second edition 13 volumes, and its third edition (1421) 17 volumes, all at Riyadh's Mu'assasat al-Risala.
2 http://www.iu.edu.sa/arabic/DisplayBI.asp?id=845 as of January, 2006.
3 See excerpts at http://www.arabtimes.com/writer/abas/doc5.html and http://www.rezgar.com/debat/show.art.asp?aid= 955
4 http://www.binbaz.org.sa/index.php?pg==mat&type==article&id= 6.
5 Majmūʿ Fatāwā wa-Maqālāt wa-Rasā'il (9:159-160).
6 "Muslim Edicts Take on New Force," New York Times, February 12, 1995 and Carl Sagan's 1996 Demon-Haunted World : Science as a Candle in the Dark.

gibril
[SP 2006-02-08]




ʿAlaykum as-Salam,
I heard Dr. Nur al-Din ʿItr in class say: each one of them was a pious, upright Muslim from the noble Prophetic Tree and many of them were also among the foremost people of knowledge in their time.

gibril
[SP 2006-02-22]




Wa ʿalaykum as-Salam wa-rahmatullah wa barakatuh:

In SP; YB wrote:


I could not find it but there are Prophetic hadiths to that effect, among them:

- Wathila ibn al-Asqaʿ asked, "Is it tribalism (ʿasabiyya) for one to love his people?" The Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, replied:
- "No, but tribalism is for one to help his people to injustice."
Narrated by Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Ruyani, Ibn Abi Shayba, and al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad cf. al-Fadani, Arbaʿun Buldaniyya (p. 24 §12 and p. 69 §36).

- "The best of you is he that defends his clan (ʿashira) as long as he does not transgress,"
narrated from Suraqa ibn Malik ibn Juʿshum by Abu Dawud in his Sunan;

- "The best of you is he that defends his people (qawm) as long as he does not transgress,"
narrated from ʿAbd Allah ibn Harmala by Mutayyan (Muhammad ibn ʿAbd Allah ibn Sulayman al-Hadrami d. 297) in his Musnad and al-Nasawi in his Tarikh with a fair chain per al-Fadani.

There are many more proofs to the effect that love of country is a praiseworthy trait on condition of right -nasiha- as opposed to the pagan maxim "My country right or wrong."

gibril
[SP 2006-02-23]



In SP; DD wrote


I don't know. However, the hadith "Verily this learning is Religion, therefore, look well from whom you take your Religion" is narrated in maqtuʿ form as a saying of Ibn Sirin by al-Tirmidhi at the end of his Shama'il and Muslim in the Muqaddima of his Sahih.

It is also narrated from other Tabiʿin, also as a Companion-saying from Abu Hurayra and others (Allah be well-pleased with them), and even as a marfuʿ Prophetic hadith, but the maqtuʿ is the strongest chainwise. Possibly, it was a rule that went without saying from the start, then required to be, as it were, shouted from the rooftops as more time elapsed and lying became widespread.

was-Salam,

gibril
[SP 2006-03-06]





This is an interesting question and the second question is interesting also. Some commentators mentioned that the pre-Islamic philosophers are considered to be the students of the Prophets or the students of their students who corrupted their messages. Hence we find traces of Tawhid here and there, especially in Plato, but paganism overwhelms the tenor of their texts.

Then there is a difference of position between Ashʿaris and Maturidis regarding Ahl al-Fatra, the people in between Prophets who have not been reached by any Message. The former position is more lenient while the latter consider it an absolute duty of everyone endowed with a mind to know Allah Most High in general terms.

It would be good if someone wrote more on this and elaborated its possible application to non-Muslims today.

Was-Salam,
gibril
[SP 2006-03-11]




In SP; IR wrote:


No, terrorizing is the essence of injustice and crime. The Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, never said such a thing. This immature person, Omar Bakri, is only projecting his own fears and sadism on the Prophet Muhammad, upon him peace, who is the paragon of mercy.

As for the narration: "O Quraysh, I bring you slaughter", it was spoken to a group of leaders who were insulting him as he was circumambulating the Kaʿba and who physically abused him on another occasion, all of whom were killed at Badr or shortly thereafter, so it was a specific prediction he was warning them about.


The word "terrorism" refers to civilian-targeting armed coercion against a state or political entity, which the fatwa of Shaykh Muhammad Afifi has shown is unmitigated haram. The Prophet, upon him peace, never condoned it.

What this immature, ignorant person means to refer to is "deterrence" as in the hadith "nusirtu bil-ruʿbi," which only the enemies of Islam deliberately translate as "terror."


No, it is only a gross lie against the Prophet, upon him peace, and whoever deliberately puts words in the Prophet's mouth which he never said, can rest assured of his cosy seat in the fire of hell.

gibril

Fatwa of Shaykh Muhammad Afifi


+ In SP; IR wrote:


Yes, this is related with its chain from Ibn ʿAbbas by the Shafiʿi and Maliki philologist and litterateur Ahmad ibn Faris (d. 395) in his brief _Asma'u Rasulillah (salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa-Sallam) wa- Maʿaniha_ (Kuwait: Markaz al-Makhtutat, 1989). Al-Suyuti adduces the latter's chain in his _Riyad al-Aniqa_ and al-Dhahabi mentions the report in the volume on Sira of his massive _Tarikh al-Islam_.

Note: "Dahuk" is germane to "qattal" in the sense that "al-dahhak," which also means "the oft-smiling one," is synonymous with "he of scathing courage in battle" as mentioned by al-Qastallani according to al-Nabhani in _al-Asma fima li-Sayyidina Muhammadin min al-Asma_.

Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and his Companions.

gibril
[SP 2006-05-12]




In SP; IMH wrote:


Shaykh Ninowy's online translation of Imam Abu Hanifa's Fiqh al-Akbar suppresses an entire passage of the original text toward the end, after the phrase "Similarly, all the [Divine] Names of Superiority and the Attributes of Perfection are equal in their honor and magnificence; there is no difference among them" and before the phrase "Qasem, Taher and Ibrahim are the sons of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu alayhi -wa alihi wa salam."

The suppressed passage contains a reference to Abu Talib, the uncle of the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace. This passage is found in all the printed editions of the Fiqh al-Akbar such as al- Maghnisawi, al-Halabi, Dar al-Nafa'is, Dar al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, and lastly our teacher Shaykh Wahbi Ghawji's two editions. Hence, responsibility for its suppression should be laid squarely at Ninowy's door.

Secondly, I emailed Shaykh Ninowy's website a while back asking him to rectify his claim of inauthenticity of the hadith "I have left you two things after which you shall not go astray, the Qur'an and my Sunna," which is firmly established among the hadith scholars as I documented for him at length (Hadith ”The Book of Allah and My Sunna”), but he has not modified that claim, which is still found in his online translation of the Tahawiyya entitled "Satisfying the Need with the Obligatory Creed of 'Elm at- Tawheed.'"

Lastly, I was informed that Shaykh Ninowy took offense at my description of the Ghumari school on livingislam.org questioning some of the Ghumaris' positions which, in the context of the doctrine of Ahl al-Sunna, reflect shiʿism. His only response, as far as I could gather, was to affirm the infallibility of his teachers and the Wahhabism of their critics rather than addressing the issues.

Success is from Allah alone and may He grant us the adab of His People here and hereafter.

Was-Salam,

gibril
[SP 2006-05-17]



A Divine inspiration was sent to the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, in his dream (according to most commentators) or in his eyesight (according to the grammarians) that the number of the Meccan enemy (who was going to be defeated at Badr) appeared less significant than its actual number in reality. I did not understand why this was construed as "Divine deceit." What about Allah Most High causing us to forget our old sins after we repent, is this Divine deceit as well? No, rather it is for our benefit and our comfort, otherwise we could not go on. Similarly, this vision was for the encouragement of the Believers, so that, in the words of Ibn Masʿud, they thought at Badr that they were 70-100, although the Prophet and Companions, upon him and them blessings and peace, knew beforehand that they were 1,000. This is proven by the hadith of the interrogation of the two captured scouts by Rasulullah, upon him blessings and peace, which went thus:

Rasulullah: "How many camels do they slaughter per day?" Captured scouts: "Between nine and ten." Rasulullah: "Then they are between 900 and 1,000."

Hence the aya refers to the information available at the initial impetus of the decision to do battle, not to subsequent information. Indeed, if we were to calculate precisely in advance the "normal" chances of success in our purported endeavors, we would run away from many of them from the word go. It is from the grace of Allah Most High, therefore, that he encourages His servants to embark on the loftiest of endeavors which He Himself brings to fruition anyway.

Allah knows best. Was-Salam,

gibril
[SP 2006-09-21]




In SP; SH wrote:


Those who questioned the ʿadl of al-Waqidi and Sayf were dismissed. The issue here is dabit vs. non-dabit. You know well we can have honest people who do not have a clue what dabt requires. Imam Malik mentioned that he met 70 extremely honest shuyukh in Madina but he did not narrate from a single one of them because they were nescient in hadith transmission. Now, take someone who does have a clue but given the abundance of things he transmits he makes so many mistakes that he becomes similarly discardable. Now make him so erudite, so researched, so full of gems that it is simply impossible to discard him altogether. This is the case with al-Waqidi and Sayf. These scholars would go to the actual sites of battles and look for descendents and interview them one by one for stories. Hence the large number of "unknowns" in their chains. Yet, when it comes to purely historical details such as whether a certain Sahabi was a Badri or not, they might even best al-Bukhari and Muslim.

and yes, the identification of the Sahabi in Malik al-Dar's report as Bilal ibn al-Harith al-Muzani [NOT Bilal ibn Rabah al-Habashi, in case that is whom the respondent meant by "Hadrat Bilal"] is definitely a historical clue. Allah Most High be well-pleased with them all.

Was-Salam,

gibril
[SP 2006-10-17]



In SP; AF wrote:

Suffice it to say that his narration of the Muwatta' is one of the Motherbooks.

Al-Shafiʿi studied under him and praised him lavishly. He said:

• "I never asked anyone a difficult question except their face showed displeasure, except Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan."

• "From Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan I took two camel-loads of learning." "I spent sixty dinars buying his books."

• "I never saw a big-bodied man with a lighter spirit."

• "I could say that the Qur'an was revealed in the tongue of Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan because of his immense eloquence."

Abu ʿUbayd al-Qasim ibn Sallam said: "I never saw more learned in the Book of Allah than him!"

Imam Ah.mad was asked: "From where do you know all those minutiae?" He replied: "From the books of Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan."

Al-T.ah.awi narrated from Yunus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿla, from al-Shafiʿi, that whenever Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan sat to debate fiqh or other, he would order for a referee to sit in the middle and adjudicate on each matter.

In h.adith: al-Shafiʿi narrated from him, al-Daraqut.ni defended his reliability, Ah.mad preferred Abu Yusuf and did not narrate anything from him, al-Nasa'i considered him weak, as did Ibn Maʿin, al-Juzjani, and Ibn H.ibban, all from the perspective of meticulous memorization (d.abt.) since they praised him unanimously for his intelligence and integrity (ʿadl).

Among Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan's works: al-Athar, in print with an extensive commentary by the late jurist and linguist Abu al-Wafa' al-Afghani; al-Jamiʿ al-S.aghir which Yah.ya ibn Maʿin said he wrote in full under his dictation; and al-Siyar al-Kabir which is among the books al-Shafiʿi bought and studied, then refuted. Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan said of al-H.iyal: "This book is not one of ours [i.e. one of the books of our School] but was cast into them." Ah.mad ibn Abi ʿImran said: "It was actually authored by Ismaʿil ibn H.ammad ibn Abi H.anifa."

Abu H.azim al-Qad.i said that he heard Bakr al-ʿAmmi say: "Ibn Samaʿa and ʿIsa ibn Aban took the beauty of [their] S.alat from none other than Muh.ammad ibn al-H.asan." His devotion (wird) in every day and night was recitation of one eighth of the Qur'an.

Main sources: al-Dhahabi, Tarikh al-Islam (Years 181-190: p. 358-362 §312), al-Shirazi, T.abaqat al-Fuqaha' (p. 135), al-Nawawi, Tahdhib (1:81-82), al-Khat.ib, Tarikh Baghdad (2:173-181), Ibn Khallikan, Wafayat (4:184), Ibn ʿImad, Shadharat al-Dhahab (1:322-324), and Abu al-Wafa' al-Afghani, T.abaqat al-H.anafiyya (p. 42).

From _The Four Imams and Their Schools_

GF Haddad
[SP 2007-01-16]




The correct wording is as follows:

The Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) climbed up the Minbar and then said: "Ameen, Ameen, Ameen." It was asked: "Messenger of Allah, why did you say Ameen?" He (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) said: "Gibreel came to me and said: 'O Muhammad, he is doomed who sees the month of Ramadaan come and go, and he has not been forgiven.' I said Ameen. Then he said: 'He is doomed, who grows up and both his parents or one of them are still alive, and they do not cause him to enter Paradise.' I said Ameen. Then he said: 'He is doomed who hears you mention and does not say, Peace upon you. Say Ameen!' So I said Ameen."

I read this hadith with several members of this forum in Damascus, Malaysia, Canada, and the United Kingdom as part of al-Uqlishi's Forty Hadiths on the merits of invoking blessings on the Holy Prophet, upon him and his House blessings and peace. It is a famous sound hadith, even included among the mass-transmitted (mutawatir) narrations by al-Kattani in Nazm al-Mutanathir, narrated from [1] Abu Hurayra, [2] Malik ibn Huwayrith, [3] Anas, [4] Jabir ibn Samura, [5] Jabir ibn ʿAbd Allah, [6] Ibn ʿAbbas, [7] Kaʿb ibn ʿUjra, [8] ʿAmmar ibn Yasir, [9] Thawban, and [10] ʿAbd Allah ibn al-Harith ibn Jaz' by:

Al-Bukhari in al-Adab al-Mufrad (p. 224-225 §644 and §646) Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih (3:192 §1888) Sahih Ibn Hibban (2:140-142 §409, 3:188 §907) Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak (4:170 §7256 = Al-Bazzar in his Musnad (4:240-241 §1405, 9:247 §3790) Abu Yaʿla in his Musnad (10:328 §5922) Al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (2:243 §2022, 2:246 §2034, 11:82 §11115, 12:83 §12551, 19:291 §649) and al-Awsat (8:113 §8131) Yaʿqub ibn Sufyan al-Fasawi in al-Maʿrifa wal-Tarikh (2:286-287 s.v. Muslim ibn Yazid al-Sadafi) Tammam al-Razi in his Fawa'id (2:13-14 §997) Al-ʿAmiri's al-Amali wal-Qira'a (p. 44-45 §39) Ismaʿil al-Qadi in Fadl al-Salat ʿala al-Nabi salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa- Alihi wa-Sallam (p. 34 §18). Al-Bayhaqi in Shuʿab al-Iman (2:215 §1572)3:309 §3266) and Fada'il al- Awqat (p. 175 §55) Husayn al-Marwazi in al-Birr wal-Sila (p. 23 §47, mursal from Saʿid ibn al-Musayyab) Al-Tirmidhi in his Sunan in part (hasan gharib).

Ibn Hibban has a beautiful observation on the fact that the third "Amin" had to be coaxed out of the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace ("SAY: 'Amin,' so I said Amin") whereas he said the first two spontaneously; he wished to preclude any part of gain for his own nafs. Ibn Hibban added that this is also a proof that Allah Most High Himself protects His friends here and hereafter.

Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions.

GF Haddad
[SP 2006-10-10]




In SP; NA wrote:

The best elaboration is probably the 4-5 pages on the hadith "Whoever imitates a people is one of them" by hafiz Muhammad ibn Jaʿfar al-Kattani in his Nasiha li-Ahl al-Islam, written about a hundred years ago to the sultan of Morocco and his successor (his brother). It is a stunning and heart-rending book which is even more relevant today than it was back then, when the elite and the commonality already threw the advice of the friends of Allah Most High to the four winds.

GF Haddad
[SP 2007-01-16]

1. No. No one can become a part of God Himself as God is not made of parts, and {There is nothing like unto Him}; the Creator is the Creator while the servant is the servant without any possibility of one becoming the other, ever. However, what all Muslims, including Sufis, including Naqshbandis, believe and practice is that absolute and self-sufficient existence belongs only to Allah Most High without partner, while everything else perishes and their characteristic is death and extinction (al-mawt wal-fana'). One great work on this noble topic is al-Wujud al-Haqq by the foremost Naqshbandi Jurist of Damascus, Shaykh Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi (Allah have mercy on him). May our fana' be in Allah Most High even before we reach the grave.

2. Yes. See Imam al-Suyuti's (Allah have mercy on him) fatwa translated and published in English as "The Remembrance of God" (published by Amal Press out of Bristol, UK). We are commanded strenuously by Allah Most High and the Holy Prophet upon him blessings and peace to make dhikr always and at all times, even lying down on our sides; and whether on our own or with others; even to the point hypocrites would accuse us of madness or self-display as narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad (Allah have mercy on him).

3. On the issue of mentioning the Name "Allah" on its own or any other Divine Name on its own, it is established that our liegelord Bilal (Allah be well-pleased with him) used to make the dhikr "AHAD, AHAD" on its own while undergoing torture. This proves that Shaykh Ahmad ibn Taymiyya (Allah have mercy on him) erred when he objected against the Sufis for mentioning the Name "Allah" on its own in his Fatawa. No one to our knowledge ever brought up such a bizarre objection before him, may Allah forgive him for splitting the Community on this and so many other issues.

As for "HU" specifically see the words of the foremost immaculate Imam of Tafsir, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (Allah have mercy on him) toward the end of his tafsir of Surat al-Fatiha where he says: "Know that the word 'Hu' contains wondrous secrets and high states..." and he goes on to mention several benefits. Then he mentions the statement of Imam al-Ghazali (Allah have mercy on him) that the commonality of the Believers say 'La ilaha illa Allah' while the elite of the Believers say 'La ilaha illa Hu'. Are we going to leave the likes of these two righteous Siddiqs - al-Ghazali and al-Razi - among the Imams of the Salaf in order to imitate the dissent of Ibn Taymiyya and others who came even later and later? Never.

See the dalils for mentioning the names of Allah on their own at livingislam.org (Dhikr "ALLAH, ALLAH") and
sunnah.org → /publication/encyclopedia/html/dhikr.htm" TARGET="_blank">sunnah.org (section entitled Dhikr "Hu", "Hayy", "Haqq")

and Allah Most High knows best, may He strengthen us on the path of right practice and followership, may He not leave us to our own defective selves and wrong deeds especially in the coming foremost blessed month of Ramadan al-Mubarak 1431. Blessings and peace on the Prophet, his Family, and all his Companions.

Was-Salam
GF Haddad
[SP 2010-08-07]

More: Questions and Answers by Shaykh Gibril Haddad