9 January 2011
Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Ahl us-Suffa
Part of one of the long colonnades in the Mosque was now reserved for those newcomers who had nowhere to live and no means of sustenance. They were known as "the People of the Bench", Ahl a-Suffah, on account of a stone bench which had been placed there for their benefit; and since the Mosque was a prolongation-of-the Prophet's own dwelling, he and his household felt especially responsible for this growing number of impoverished refugees who lived at their very door, whose plight they witnessed daily and who came in ones and twos from all directions, drawn by the message of Islam and the reports of him and his community which had by now reached the tribes all over Arabia.
When the Qibla was towards the north, the people had built a shed to provide shade, and the place underneath it, was called As-Suffa. The definition of As-Suffa according to Ibn Hajr is that As-Sufa is a place at the back of the Masjid-e-Nabi, it is shaded and it was prepared for the foreigners. The ones who don’t have any family or any place to stay. Abu Huraira, who was also an ahl al-Suffa says (in Bukhari) about Ahl us-Suffa that, Ahl us-Suffa are the guests of Islam, they are the ones who don’t have any family or wealth to fall back on. So they live in this place called As-Suffa. Now not everyone who lived there was forced to live there, because of their condition.
Abu Huraira
Some of them volunteered to join Ahl us-Suffa like Abu Huraira, who had enough wealth, but he chose to devote his time to studying and therefore he lived with the people of As-Suffa. He sais about himself that, some people comment that ,how come Abu Huraira narrates more hadith than the muhajireen and the ansar? They wondered this because Abu Huraira was late in becoming a muslim. Abu Huraira narrated more hadith than anyone else. So Abu Huraira explains how the brothers from the muhajireen were busy with business, while he used to follow RusoolAllah* with an empty stomach. He said that he was poor and had nothing but he would follow Rusool Allah (saw) all the time. So he would attend when the muhajireen were absent and he would remember, when they would forget. Then he would explain that the ansar were busy with their farms. He said that he was a poor man and that he would remember what they wouldn’t. Because Abu Huraira devoted all his time to studying he had time to review all the hadith of the Prophet (saw). Infact Abu Huraira said that he splits the night into three parts. One part for sleeping, one for praying, and one for reviewing the ahadith of RusoolAllah* that he would hear throughout the day.
One source of livelihood for As-Suffa was the sadaqat that the Prophet* sent to them. When the Prophet* receive sadaqat he would send it to them. Also when he would receive a gift he would take some of it and give them the rest. The Prophet* did not accept sadaqat for himself. The Prophet* would encourage the sahabah who are well-off to invite the people of As-Suffa. One of the Ansar said that his father was among the people of As-Suffa. The Prophet* ordered the sahaba to invite the Ahl us-Suffa to their houses and so the sahabah came and invited some until 5 of them were left. Then the Prophet* told them to go to that ansar’s house and he fed them. The Prophet* says that whoever has food enough for two people should take a third and whoever has food enough for four people, such a person should take a fifth of sixth person with him. These sahaba, who were told to invite these people, were not millionaires. This tells us that sacrifice and generosity has been part of Islam since the beginning.
Allah has repeatedly revealed ayats be kind to the orphans, the poor, the needy, being generous towards guests etc. All of these are ibadaat that have been encouraged from day one. So we should accept that being a muslim does demand sacrifice, and this we have to do, to seek the pleasure of Allah.
Something better than slaves...
Fatima (ra) was the daughter of the Prophet*, the most beloved to the messenger of Allah (saw). Fatima had to do all of the hard work at home. Fatimah before her marriage had been as it were hostess to the People of the Bench. But despite the sacrifices that were part of the daily life of the Prophet's household, her life after her marriage seemed even more rigorous on account of a lack which she had not yet experienced. There had never been, for her, any shortage of helping hands. But now Fatimah had no one in the house to help her. This even caused her hands to become injured and coarse. Ali ibn Talib told her that her father has received slaves, and then he advised her to go ask the Prophet* for a servant. So Fatima (ra) goes to the Prophet* and asks for a servant, the Prophet* responded to his daughter, that I am not going to give you and leave the people of As-Suffa with hungry stomachs, because they don’t have any money. I don’t have any money to spend on them, so I’m going to sell these slaves and use that money to give to Ahl us-Suffa. This tell us how much concern the Prophet* had for Ahl us-Suffa.
Fatima returned home in some disappointment but that night, after they had gone to bed, they heard the voice of the Prophet asking permission to enter. Giving him words of welcome they both rose to their feet, but he told them: "Stay where you are," and sat down beside them. "Shall I not tell you of something better than that which ye asked of me?" he said, and when they said yes he said: "Words which Jibreel taught me, that ye should say Glory be to God ten times after every prayer, and ten times Praise be to God, and ten times God is most great. And that when ye go to bed ye should say them thirty-three times each." 'Ali used to say in after years: "I have never once failed to say them since the Messenger of God taught them to US."
Other graduates
It should not be thought that Ahl us-Suffa would just sit and eat free food, and that they don’t do any work. These were actually very active people in ibadat, these were true monks. They had immense knowledge, who were scholars, mujahideen, many of them became Shuhadah. For example one of the scholars who graduated from among the ranks of Ahl us-Suffa was Abu Huraira (ra), the most prolific narrator of the hadith of Rusool Allah (saw). Another member of Ahl us-Suffa was Huzafia ibn Yamaan (ra), who narrated most of the ahadith about the end of time. Shuhada from among Ahl us-Suffa were Sufwan, Habib bin Isaaf, Hareem , Harifa ibn Nauman, Sarem bin Umair were shuhadah at the battle of Badar. Hanbala the one who was washed by the angels was a shaheed in Uhud. There were also some shuhadah from As-Suffa in Hudaibiyah and various other battles. They would also try to earn for a living my collecting date seeds and selling them as animal feed. They would try to make a living, but due to the difficult conditions in Medina they were forced into poverty.
The number of Ahl us-Suffa rose and decreased depending on the conditions. But on average they were 70. They used to live 24 hours at the back of Masjid-e-Nabi. They were obvioulsy active in studying because they were close to the center of learning, Masjid-e-Nabi, which was the university of islam. That is why these people have narrated a lot of ahadith.
The is a lot of importance of having a social welfare system in islam. People would stay at As-Suffa and eat at the houses of al-Ansar. To take care of social needs is also a part of da’wa.
Ubadah ibn us-Samet (ra) said that, “The Prophet* would become busy, so he would turn over the new muslim to us.” He also said, “If a new muhajir (new muslim) would come to Rusool Allah (saw), and if the Prophet* is busy then he would send him over to one of us to teach him Quran., Rusool Allah sent to me a man, he stayed with me at home, and I would feed him as a member of my own family and then I would teach him Quran.” Da’wa to them includes feeding and taking care of the muhajir. They were aware that these muhajir had left everything they own behind, thus were in need of help.
The Prophet* wanted the muslim society to become organized, so he appointed representatives over these groups. Abu Huraira (ra) was Areef, areef is someone who represents people and would express, or convey the people’s need to the leader. So Abu Huraira (ra) was the representative of Ahl us-Suffa. If the Prophet* wanted to give a message to Ahl us-Suffa, then he would convey it through Abu Huraira (ra).
Hadith
Number15 of Nawawi's 40 Hadith: Good Manners in Speech
Abu Hurairah, radiyallahu 'anhu, reported that the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said: "Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day either speak good or be silent. Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day honour his neighbour. Let whosoever believes in Allah and in the Last Day honour his guest." [Al-Bukhari & Muslim]
This hadith contains the rulings concerning the tongue and the behaviour of Muslims towards others. It also emphasises that we are responsible for what we say.
Imam Haithami points out that this hadith is very similar in meaning to Hadith 13 that says: "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." He says that everyone is a neighbour to someone else. Therefore if this hadith is properly practiced and applied, then there will be a strong bond and love within the society or community.
The responsibility of the Muslim regarding what he says is mentioned in the Qur'an: "Not a word does he utter but there is a watcher by him ready to record it" [ TMQ 50:18].
There are also other hadiths which state that the Muslim should be careful about what he says. His words can either, if they are pleasing to Allah, raise him to a higher level; or if his words displease Allah, they may cause him to be thrown into the Hellfire - as stated in a hadith recorded by Imam al-Bukhari. This shows that what we say can have a direct effect on whether it will benefit us or not.
One hadith (which illustrates the example of a bad consequence resulting from what a person says) states that the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said that a pious man from Bani Israel use to see his fellow man always committing sins. On day the pious man swore to the sinner: "By Allah, He will never forgive you." Allah was displeased with what the pious man said because only Allah knows what is our destiny, whether someone will end up in Paradise or Hell. Because of this, when the two men died, the pious man was punished and put into Hell and the sinner was forgiven by Allah.
What we can learn here is that either we say something beneficial and good or else we should keep silent. There are many Islamic guidelines which help us to say good things and to refrain from saying bad things, or things which displeases Allah subhana wa ta'ala. When we talk to others, whether it is relatives, friends, neighbours, etc., we should select the best terms/words and say them in a nice way. We should ensure that what we say is clear and easily understood. If we are not careful and we do not choose the right words, what we say may be misinterpreted and may lead to conflicts. As a listener, we have to listen positively and interpret what we hear in a good way. We should not 'over interpret' what we hear; we should not try to 'read between the lines'. Thus, as a speaker we say things in a positive manner and as a listener we interpret things in a positive manner. By doing so Islam encourages us to minimise disputes and conflicts.
If we find ourselves in the middle of a dispute between two people, e.g. between relatives, we should not take sides. We should try to help and reconcile the differences; try to resolve the problems and end the dispute.
If we are being consulted by someone and asked for our advice, we should try our best to give good advice. What we say should help the person and not add to his confusion or doubt. If we do not have enough knowledge and we cannot provide proper advice, then we should keep silent. Even if we have information which, as a result, may add to the person's confusion, we should keep it to ourselves.
We should keep away as best as we can from unnecessary or non-beneficial talk. People can talk or chat for hours but a lot of what is said is unimportant or trivial and does not benefit anyone. It wastes our time and this continuous talking may even lead us into areas where we might say something which displeases Allah.
When it comes to saying good things, there are many examples available: dzikrullah (remembrance of Allah), reciting the Qur'an, du'a, giving advice, etc. These are all things which are pleasing to Allah. When we meet people who are sick, sad, feeling down, in a low frame of mind, etc., we should say things that will make these people feel better, have patience in facing their calamity, be positive, be strong, etc. This is known as al-muasah - to say good things of encouragement to help those facing problems; to not make them panic. The scholars have defined sabr (patience) as 'to refrain from panicking' - to refrain from being out of control - and to refrain the tongue from complaining.
Complaining, e.g. simply saying that the weather is hot, will lead us to impatience; it can affect our attitude and hence our work. If we want to lament we should lament only with Allah. If we do it with Allah it is munajah - it will turn into ibadah. If we do it with others it will be complaining (tashakki) - we will be violating the ibadah itself, which is sabr. So we should learn to minimise and ultimately eliminate the act of complaining. We should refrain from saying bad things or things which may be untrue. When we hear some news, we shouldn't simply repeat it or spread it without first verifying if the news is true. This could lead to us spreading lies or rumours. We must refrain from:
- spreading rumours, especially those that will cause harm to the community.
- slandering, back-biting, etc.
- sarcasm and making fun of others - this is one of the most common social ills today. It is a sin to make fun of others.
Sometimes we may encounter a situation which involves fitnah or al-fitan. We have to be careful of what we say. There are people who will take advantage of the situation and they may say things which may worsen the situation. When there is fitnah, people are in a panic and might believe anything. That's why we have to be careful of what we say because it may add to the people's fears and problems. What we should do is to help by saying positive things that will give the people hope; to uplift them and motivate them to face the problems; and not to make it worse.
The second part of this hadith stresses on being courteous and generous to our neighbours and guests. This is stated in the Qur'an [4-36]: "…do good to parents, relatives, orphans, the poor, the neighbour who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hand possess." In one hadith, the Prophet*, said: "Jibril kept advising me concerning the neighbour to the point that I thought that he would inherit from his neighbour." In another hadith it is stated: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbour."
Another hadith records the Prophet*, as saying that the person who does not have complete faith (iman) is the one from whose affairs the neighbour is not safe. Al-Bukhari and Muslim also records another hadith which states that when you cook stew, you should add a little bit more water and give some to your neighbours. This sharing of food between neighbours can strengthen the relationships between them. We should be nice to our neighbours and share our food even if they are not Muslims.
We should be patient with our neighbour even if he causes annoyance to us. In a hadith, the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, said that there are three types of people whom Allah loves. One of them is a person who has a neighbour who causes him harm or annoyance but he remains patient and tolerates the neighbour.
The 'guest' mentioned in the last part of the hadith is generally interpreted as a travelling visitor who has come to stay for a short while. One hadith states: "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be generous to his guest. His special gift (to the guest) is one day and night. He (the guest) is to be entertained for three days. Whatever is beyond that is an act of charity. It is not lawful for a guest to stay with his host to the extent that he makes things difficult for him (the host)." Thus, the visitor should not take advantage of a generous host.
According to many scholars, the recommended act of hosting does not extend to evildoers or heretics.
News Topic:
An angry argument over a boy's firewood chore is believed to have triggered a 10-year-old Ohio boy to shoot and kill his mother, police indicated today.
"Apparently there was a verbal argument about the mother wanting the boy to bring firewood into the house, which may have had a bearing on what happened," Holmes County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Nathan Fritz told ABC News. "Apparently the tenor of the argument was very heated."
Deborah McVay, 46, was found dead of a single gunshot wound to the head Sunday night in the family's home – an apartment converted from a two-car garage - in the tiny town of Big Prarie.
[See links above for more of the story]
Some of the points discussed included:
- How Islam focuses on the relationship between parents and children
- 'Paradise lies under the feet of your mother'
- Children should listen to the parents
- Parents should be mindful of their duties to children
- There are too many guns in USA but this is enshrined in their constitution
Homework from 09 January 2011:
1. Research what Aishah said to some Jews in medina when they insulted the Prophet*, and what the Prophet said in rebuke?
2. What do you understand from the next (number 16) of Nawawi's 40 Hadith: Abu Hurairah reported that a man said to the Prophet*: "Advise me! "The Prophet said, "Do not become angry and furious." The man asked (the same) again and again, and the Prophet said in each case, "Do not become angry and furious." [Bukhari]
3. Research some ways in which we can control our anger.
4. News Topics from this week: Any interesting news articles from the week that relate to Islam or the Muslims? Bring a clipping or print out if you can...
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