22 July 2012

Seerah of Muhammed*

*: May the peace blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him

TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Battle of Hunain - the tide turns as the Muslims Return to the Battle Field and to the Fierceness of the Fight

Except for a few core group of Sahabae, all the Muslim fighters ran away from the battlefield. Those who remained with The Prophet* were some Muhajirs, a few Ansars and the nearest of his family members like: Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali, al-Abbas and his son al-Fadl, Abu Sufyan b.al-Harith and Usamah b. Zayd b. Haritha. When the stampede of the Muslims became quite uncontrollable, Abu Sufyan b. Harb remarked, “Their stampede will not stop until they reach the ocean!” Safwan b. Umayyah b.Khalaf said he preferred to be ruled by a man from the Quraysh than by the Hawazin. A rumour also spread that The Prophet* had been killed, creating more panic and terror among the Muslims.

When the Prophet* found that his call for support was in vain, he summoned his uncle al-Abbas (who had a very thunderous voice), to cry out very loudly for the Muslims to return and resume fighting. The Prophet* ordered his uncle Al-‘Abbas — who was a sonorous voiced man — to call out on the followers. As loudly as he could, Al-‘Abbas shouted: “Where are the lancers?” “By Allah,” Al-‘Abbas said, “Upon hearing my voice calling them back, they turned round to the battlefield as if they had been oryxes (wild cows) tending towards their calves.” "O Companions of the Tree! O Companions of the Acacia!" Immediately the summons was answered from all sides -Labbayk!, "Here at thy service" -as Helpers and Emigrants rallied to him. “Here we are, at your service. Here we are. ” They said. There you see them trying to stop their camels and reverse to the battle. He who was unable to force his camel to turn back, would take his armour, fling it round his neck, and hastily dismount his camel with his weapon in his hand letting his camel move freely and run towards the voice source. Voices would grow louder and louder till a hundred of them gathered round the Prophet* and resumed the fight. Those who were called out upon next were Al-Ansar, the Helpers, “O, folks of Al-Ansar! Folks of Al- Ansar!”

The last group to be called out upon were Bani Al-Harith bin Al-Khazraj. Muslims battalions poured successively into the battlefield in the same manner that they had left it. The stamina of both parties was superb. Both of them stoodfast and fought fiercely. They started to fight the enemy with new vigour and The Prophet* watched the fighting standing on his stirrup. The Prophet* was so eagerly and furiously watching the battle that he said: “Now the fight has grown fierce.” The enemy were preparing a fresh onslaught, and he prayed: "O God, I ask of Thee Thy promise!" Then he told his foster-brother to give him some pebbles, and taking them in his hand he flung them in the face of the enemy as he had done at Badr. Picking up a handful of earth, he hurled it at their faces while saying: “May your faces be shameful.” Their eyes were thick with dust and the enemy began to retreat in utter confusion. The tide of the battle suddenly turned for no apparent reason -or rather, it was not apparent to the believers, but it was apparent to the enemy, as it had been previously to their scouts; and afterwards there came the Revelation that Allah helped them.

Reverse Of Fortunes And The Enemy's Utter Defeat:

Few hours had elapsed since the earth-handful was hurled at the enemy’s faces, when they were shatteringly defeated. It was later mentioned by one of those who fought the Prophet* that it felt like stones in a tin shield or metal pan grating inside him when the dust was thrown.

Then it is described that a black striped garment descended from the sky; it looked like a mass of black ants from a distance. These were the angels descended from heaven to help the Muslims, the Prophet* said. With the help of those angels the Muslims finally defeated the B. Hawazin. About seventy men of Thaqif alone were killed, and the Muslims plundered all their riding camels, weapons and cattle. Allah, Glory is to Him, alluded to this sudden change in the Qur’an when He said: “…and on the Day of Hunain (battle) when you rejoiced at your great number but it availed you naught and the earth, vast as it is, was straitened for you, then you turned back in flight. Then Allah did send down His Sakinah (calmness, tranquillity, and reassurance, etc.) on the Messenger [The Prophet* ] and on the believers, and sent down forces (angels) which you saw not, and punished the disbelievers. Such is the recompense of disbelievers.” [9:25,26]

Individual stories from the battle

The Muslims had lost many men at the outset of the battle, in particular the Bani Sulaym who had borne the brunt of the initial ambush. But after the first onslaught relatively few had been killed. One of these few was Ayman, Usamah's elder brother, who was struck down at the side of the Prophet.

A group of Muslims headed by Abu ‘Amir Al-Ash’ari, were despatched to chase the enemy, some skirmishes took place during which Abu ‘Amir was killed. Abu Amir was shot at his knee with an arrow which a man from Jushm had shot and fixed into his knee. I went to him and said, "O Uncle! Who shot you?" He pointed me out (his killer) saying, "That is my killer who shot me (with an arrow)." So I headed towards him and overtook him, and when he saw me, he fled, and I followed him and started saying to him, "Won't you be ashamed? Won't you stop?" So that person stopped, and we exchanged two hits with the swords and I killed him. Then I said to Abu 'Amir. "Allah has killed your killer." He said, "Take out this arrow" So I removed it, and water oozed out of the wound. He then said, "O son of my brother! Convey my compliments to the Prophet and request him to ask Allah's Forgiveness for me." Abu Amir made me his successor in commanding the people (i.e. troops). He survived for a short while and then died. (Later) I returned and entered upon the Prophet at his house, and found him lying in a bed made of stalks of date-palm leaves knitted with ropes, and on it there was bedding. The strings of the bed had their traces over his back and sides. Then I told the Prophet about our and Abu Amir's news and how he had said "Tell him to ask for Allah's Forgiveness for me." The Prophet asked for water, performed ablution and then raised hands, saying, "O Allah's Forgive 'Ubaid, Abu Amir." At that time I saw the whiteness of the Prophet's armpits. The Prophet then said, "O Allah, make him (i.e. Abu Amir) on the Day of Resurrection, superior to many of Your human creatures." I said, "Will you ask Allah's Forgiveness for me?" (On that) the Prophet said, "O Allah, forgive the sins of 'Abdullah bin Qais and admit him to a nice entrance (i.e. paradise) on the Day of Resurrection." Abu Burda said, "One of the prayers was for Abu 'Amir and the other was for Abu Musa (i.e. 'Abdullah bin Qais).

While this was going on, Ali b. Abi Talib attacked a leading man from Hawazin, who was fighting fiercely with his lance. Ali hamstrung this man’s camel. The Muslims jumped over him and cut off his foot and half of his shank. This Hawazin man still kept on fighting and finally died.

Khalid b. Walid, killed some women and children of the polytheists. The Prophet* reprimanded Khalid for resorting to such act and said that no-fighting women and children should not be harmed on the battlefield.

During this time, the Prophet* met a pregnant woman, Umm Sulaym bt Milhan the wife of Abu Talhah. She advised the Prophet* to kill those Jihdists who flee the battlefield just in the same manner as the Prophet* kills his enemy combatants. But the Prophet* was not very enthusiastic over this and said that Allah was enough for him. On that day she and her husband had come fully armed to kill as many polytheists as they could and to take their booty. Her husband, Abu Talhah, took the spoils of twenty men he had killed himself.

The Prophet* had said, 'Whoever kills someone can have his effects’, and so the Sahaba soldiers then took the armours, coats of mail, and personal valuables from the enemy soldiers that they had killed with their own hands. One Sahaba (Abu Qatada) said that he had killed an enemy and was claiming his armour but no-one could vouch for him. Then a Quraishi man claimed it was he who killed the person; to which Abu Bakr said that it was not right to gives what belongs to a lion from the lions of Allah to a hyena! Later, Abu Qatada said that with that wealth he bought his first real estate from the proceeds of such booty.

Chasing the fleeing enemy

The rout was tremendous: Malik fought with bravery, but finally retreated with the men of Thaqif to their walled city of Ta'if. The main part of Hawazin was pursued with much slaughter as far as Nakhlah. From there they returned to their camp at Awtas; but the Prophet* sent a force to dislodge them, and they took to the hills.

The Awtas group then took shelter in their camp. Later, they were eventually defeated in a severe fight. A similar battalion of horsemen pursued the idolaters who threaded the track to Nakhlah and caught up with Duraid bin As-Simmah, the old wise warrior who was sitting in a howdage (palindrome) on a camel hiding there as a woman – or being infirm. He was then caught and told to get down from the camel. When Duraid asked the young Sahaba, Rabiah b. Rufai, what he intended to do with an old man like him, Rabiah said that he wanted to kill him. When Rabiah struck his sword on Duraid it did not kill him. Duraid laughed at the poor mastery of weapon by the young Sahaba. He gave his own sword to Rabiah and instructed him how to perform a slaughter. When he died Rabiah noticed that he had thighs like leather (from riding his animals bareback). Then Duraid told Rabiah that after killing him he should go back to his mother (Rabiah) and inform her about the slaying; for he (Duraid) had previously saved many of their women. After slaying Duraid, Rabiah returned to his mother and told her about what he had done. His mother said, “By God, he set free three mothers of yours.”

The Prophet's 'sister'

Among the divisions of Hawazin was a contingent from the Bani Sa'd ibn Bakr, the clan with whom the Prophet* had spent his infancy and early childhood; and one of the older captives rebuked her captors saying: "By God, lam the sister of your chief." They did not believe her, but none the less brought her to the Prophet. "O The Prophet*, I am thy sister," she said. The Prophet* gazed at her wonderingly: she was an old woman, of seventy or more. "Hast thou any sign of that?" he said, and she at once showed him the mark of a bite. "Thou didst bite me," she said, "when I was carrying thee in the valley of Sarar. We were there with the shepherds. Thy father was my father, and thy mother was my mother." The Prophet* saw that she was speaking the truth: it was indeed Shayma', one of his foster-sisters; and spreading out his rug for her, he bade her be seated. His eyes filled with tears as he asked her for news of Halimah and Harith, his foster-parents, and she told him that they had both died in the fullness of years. After they had talked he offered her the possibility of staying with him or returning to the Bani Sa'd. She said she wished to enter Islam, but chose to return to her clan. The Prophet* gave her a rich present, and intending to give her more he told her to remain with those of her people who were in the camp, saying that he would see her again on his return. He then set off with the army for Ta'if.

Huge Spoils

The Hawazin women and children who had been behind the lines were all made captive. The booty was six thousand captives, twenty four thousand camels; over forty thousand sheep and four thousand silver ounces. The Prophet* gave orders that booty should be confined at Al-J‘iranah and ordained Mas‘ud bin ‘Amr Al-Ghifari to be in charge of it about ten miles from Mecca.

After collecting the booty, the Prophet* left for Ta’if to face the greatest number of the defeated idolaters.

Fiqh:

Asking for questions related to the Fiqh of Fasting / Ramadhan. Some questions raised (that we will talk through next week (I/A), included:

-       Can we use toothpaste

-       Does biting nails break the fast

-       Can we use inhalers

Main Topic:
We have intellectually brought a convincing argument for the existence of God. We must also examine if this agrees with mans nature. Man has certain instincts and organic needs, the satisfaction of which he constantly strives for.
The organic needs are for:

• food and drink,
• sleeping,
• breathing,
• going to the toilet

These needs are essential without which man will die.
Instincts can be categorised as three:

• Survival or self-preservation,
• Procreation or sexual/family, and
• Religiousness/worship.

Lack of fulfilling instinct won’t kill a person but will affect how they function.
We can see clearly certain manifestations or traits in man reflecting his desire to satisfy these instincts. Thus man acquires goods and nice objects, likes to own property, wants a job and income, can be greedy, and may save for the future, in attempting to satisfy his instinct for survival. Similarly compassion, affection, love, marriage, and sexual tendencies are expressions of the procreational instinct in man. The desire to worship, sanctify, revere or approach something of greater power or influence are part of man's instinct of religiousness.
Before talking about how these different needs and instincts are met and satisfied and who is the right to decide on these we spent a few minutes talking about where laws tend to come from.  Certainly, in western countries it is accepted that people make the laws.  In England traditionally it was the Royal family who have the right to make the laws and so they are considered to be sovereign over the people.  Constitutionally, the current situation is that the head of the Royal family (the monarch/the Queen) as passed the right to legislate (make the laws) to Parliament -- but the Queen still has to rubber stamp every enacted law.  Modern democratic countries may vary the process of how the laws on made but the principal remains that it is the people who have the right to make the laws.  This is very different to the situation in Islam where it is universally accepted that only Allah has the right to make the laws and that Allah is sovereign over the Muslim people.
This important difference will be expanded upon in future study circles.  Furthermore, we will explore how all these elements of belief link with the Qur'an and Shariah over the coming weeks, InshaAllah.

Feedback:
Children's Charity Update
Ramadhan

Homework:
Seerah ~ What weapons were used in the seige of Taif?
Fiqh ~ questions related to the Fiqh of Fasting
Main topic ~ bring examples of how the instincts of personal survival and worship may have changed (or are the same) over the ages

12 February 2012

Refuting magic on Prophet, Khaibar (p1), Hadith 36 (p1)

Seerah of Muhammed*
*: May the Peace, Blessings and Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Refuting the story of magic on the Prophet* and The start of the Khaibar Campaign

The story of magic on the Prophet

The following story is mentioned in the biography of the Prophet* compiled by Martin Lings. I will print what he says (based upon hadith) and then mention why many scholars do not believe this to be authentic.

In these same weeks after the return of the pilgrims there was an attack on the Prophet's life by a means which had not yet been used against him. In every generation of the Jews in Arabia there could be found one or two adepts in the science of magic; and one of these was amongst the Jews still living in Medina, Labid by name, an expert sorcerer who had also instructed his daughters in the subtle art lest his own knowledge should die with him. Labid now received a heavy bribe to put as deadly a spell as he could upon the Prophet*. For this purpose he needed some combings of his hair, which he or one of his daughters contrived to procure, possibly through the intermediary of an entirely innocent person. He tied eleven knots in the hair, and his daughters breathed imprecations upon each knot. Then he attached it to a sprig from a male date-palm which had on it the outer sheath of the pollen, and threw it into a deep well. The spell could only be undone by the untying of the knots.

The Prophet* was soon aware that something was seriously wrong. On the one hand his memory began to fail him, while on the other hand he began to imagine that he had done things which in fact he had not done. He was also overcome with weakness, and when food was pressed upon him he could not bring himself to eat. He prayed God to cure him, and in his sleep he was conscious of two persons, one sitting at his head and the other at his feet. He heard one of them inform the other of the exact cause of his infirmity and of the name of the well. When he woke Gabriel came to him, and confirming his dream he gave him two surahs of the Qur’an, one of which contains five verses and the other six. The Prophet* sent 'Ali to the well, telling him to recite over it the two surahs. At each verse one of the knots untied itself until all were untied and the Prophet* recovered his full strength of mind and body.' The Prophet* ordered the well to be filled up and another to be dug near at hand to replace it. He sent for Labid, who confessed to having placed the spell upon him for the sake of a bribe, but he did not take any action against him.

The first of the two surahs is: ‘Say: I take refuge in the Lord of daybreak from the evil of that which He hath created, and from the evil of dusk when it dimmeth into night, and from the evil of the women who breathe upon knots, and from the evil of the envier when he envieth,' The second is: Say: I take refuge in the Lord of men, The King of men, the God of men, from the evil of the stealthy whisperer, who whispers in the breasts of men; from Jinn and from men.'

According to many authorities these two surahs which were recited on this occasion were not then newly revealed but had been given to the Prophet* in Mecca before the Hijrah.

These surahs are placed last of all in the Qur’an. They are called "the two takings of refuge", and are recited continually for protection against all manner of evil.

Comment

There are khabar ahad (singular) narrations that say the Prophet* was affected by magic but the meaning of these cannot be accepted as they contradict the definite matter of infallibility of the Prophet* and that he could not be influenced by Shaitan or evil in any way. The Prophet* is infallible with regards to the Deen. Furthermore, if a speculative (zanni) matter contradicts a definitive (qati) matter then the definitive must be taken even if there is a zanni narration upon the issue. This means that we should accept the principle of infallibility of the Prophet(s) above any narration as there may be error in the narration.

Secondly, the actual authenticity of the narrations regarding magic influencing the Prophet* themselves have been doubted by scholars. We talked about this topic when discussing ‘The Satanic Verses’ many months ago.
We find that the chains of transmission of this story can be divided into two categories:
A) Hisham – his father ‘Urwah – ‘Aishah
From Hisham several people (Yahya, ‘Isa, Abu Usamah, Ibn Numayr etc) narrate the story, so we can take it back to him with considerable confidence. But we have no way to verify that Hisham heard the story from ‘Urwah, since he is the only one to attribute it to him. And if we do accept that Hisham did relate it from ‘Urwah we cannot be sure that ‘Urwah heard it from ‘Aishah, since he is the only one to attribute it to her.
Hisham was a resident of Medina, although he later moved to Iraq and died there. Imam Malik, also from Medina quotes many traditions from him but he does not quote this one. One explanation of this fact is that when he was residing in Medina in early part of his life Hisham either did not know this story or he did not give credence to it. It is reported by scholars that Hisham became very feeble-minded in his later years. Thus ‘Uqayli says: he mentally degenerated in the last part of his life. It may be that Hisham heard the story from some unreliable narrators in his earlier years and in his later years his feeble-mindedness led him to attribute it to ‘Urwah. This would explain why no other narrator transmits the story from ‘Urwah or from ‘Aishah. This is one explanantion.
B) The second category of chains of transmission has: Abu Mu‘awiyah – al-A‘mash – Yazid bin Hayyan – Zayd bin Arqam
These chains are even more problematic than those from ‘Aishah. They are found only in two of the nine collections of Hadith: Nasa`i and Ahmad and allow us to take the hadith back with some confidence only to Abu Mu‘awiyah who died in 195. We have only his word that al-A‘mash (d. 147) narrated the story and the same is true about two earlier narrators: Yazid bin Hayyan and Zayd bin Arqam.

To conclude, although these stories are mentioned in some books of hadith we reject the stories partly because they contradict the Qur’anic promise of Allah to protect His Messenger and partly due to the weakness in the chain of narrators. Hence, there is doubt both in the text and transmission.

The Start of the Khaibar Campaign

Khaibar was a spacious strongly fortified territory, studded with castles and farms, lying at a distance of 60-80 miles north of Medina, now a village known for its uncongenial climate. After Al- Hudaibiyah Treaty, the major party of the anti-Islam tripartite coalition — Quraish, the bedouin horde of Najd tribes and the Jews — was neutralized, therefore, the Prophet* deemed it an appropriate time to settle his affairs with the other two wings — the Jews and the Najd tribes — in order that peace and security could prevail and the Muslims may devote their time and effort in propagating the Message of Allah and calling people to embrace it. Khaibar itself had always remained a hotbed of intrigue and conspiracy, and the Jews had always constituted it a source of military provocations and war instigation centre, so it was given a top priority on the agenda of the Prophet’s compelling exigencies. The Jews of Khaibar had united by an ancient alliance with the Confederates, triggered Bani Quraiza to practise treachery, maintained contacts with Ghatafan and the Arabians and they even devised an attempt at the Prophet’s life. In fact, the continual afflictions that the Muslims had sustained were primarily attributable to the Jews. Envoys were repeatedly sent to them for peaceful settlement, but all in vain. Consequently the Prophet* came to the conclusion that a military campaign was a must in order to forestall their hostilities. Interpreters of the Noble Qur’an suggest that capturing Khaibar had been a Divine promise implied in Allah’s Words: · “Allah has promised you abundant spoils that you will capture, and He has hastened for you this.” [48:20] i.e., Al-Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty and the surrender of Khaibar.

The hypocrites and people weak of heart had hung back from joining the true Muslims in Al- Hudaibiyah campaigns, so now Allah, the All-Mighty inculcated the following words in His Prophet’s ears: · “Those who lagged behind will say, when you set forth to take the spoils, ‘Allow us to follow you.’ They want to change Allah’s Words. Say: ‘You shall not follow us; thus Allah has said beforehand.’ Then they will say: ‘Nay, you envy us.’ Nay, but they understand not except a little.” [48:15]

For this reason, the Prophet* invited only those who were willing to fight in the cause of Allah to accompany him in his march against Khaibar. 1400 men only, who had sworn allegiance in response to his call. Meanwhile, Siba‘ bin ‘Arfatah Al-Ghifari was chosen to run the affairs of Medina.

The hypocrites of Arabia took notice of the fresh Islamic intentions so they began to alert the Jews to the imminent military activities. Their chief, ‘Abdullah bin Ubai delegated an envoy to the Jews of Khaibar warning them against the d angers approaching, and nerving them to resist the Muslims as they outnumbered the latter and were better equipped. On hearing the news the Jews despatched Kinanah bin Abi Al-Huqaiq and Haudha bin Qais to their former allies, the tribe of Ghatafan requesting military assistance, promising to grant them half the yield of the fruit that their farms could yield if they managed to beat the Muslims.

The Prophet* marched by way of Isra Mountain and then went forward with the army till he halted in a valley called Ar-Raji‘, encamping between Khaibar and Ghatafan so as to prevent the latter from reinforcing the Jews. The guides accompanying him led him to an intersection from which branched out three roads with different designations; all leading to his destination. He abstained from following the first two roads on grounds of their ominous designation and chose the third for its propitious indications.

Amr bin Al-Akwa’s martyrdom

It has been narrated on the authority of Salamah bin Al-Akwa‘, who said: We marched upon Khaibar with the Messenger of Allah*. We journeyed during the night. One of the men said to my brother ‘Amir: Won’t you recite to us s ome of your verses, ‘Amir? So he began to chant his verses to urge the camels, reciting: O Allah, if You had not guided us, We would have neither been guided rightly nor practised charity, nor offered prayers. We wish to lay down our lives for You; so forgive You our lapses, And keep us steadfast when we encounter (our enemies). Bestow upon us peace and tranquillity, Behold, when with a cry they called upon us to help.

The Messenger of Allah* said: “Who is this driver (of the camels)?” They said: “It is ‘Amir.” He said: “Allah will show mercy to him.” A man said: “Martyrdom is reserved for him; O Messenger of Allah, would that you had allowed us to benefit ourselves from his life.” The Prophet’s Companions had already known that he would never invoke Allah’s mercy upon a close Companion but to single him out for martyrdom.

The Prophet* began the campaign by reducing the minor strongholds one after the other. The first fort he was to attack was Na‘im, the first defence line with a formidable strategic position. Marhab, the leader of the fort, invited ‘Amr bin Al-Akwa‘ to meet him in combat and the latter responded; when ‘Amr struck the Jew, his sword recoiled and wounded his knee, and he died of that wound. Some people claimed, based on this action, that Amir ‘commited suicide and lost all his good deeds’ and this made Salamah unhappy. The Prophet* noticed this and later said: “For him (‘Amir) there is a double reward in the Hereafter.” He indicated this by putting two of his fingers together. ‘Ali bin Abi Talib then undertook to meet Marhab in combat, and managed to kill him. Yasir, Marhab’s brother, then turned up challenging the Muslims to a fight. Az-Zubair was equal to it and killed him on the spot. Real fighting then broke out and lasted for a few days. The Jews showed courage and proved to be too formidable even to the repeated rushes of the veteran soldiers of Islam. However, they later realized the futility of resistance and began to abandon their positions in An-Na‘im and infiltrate into the fortress of As-Sa‘b.

Hadith:

First half of Nawawi's 40 Hadith, Number 36

Hadith 36: Part 1 ~ Helping Brother Muslims 

Hadith No.36 (Nawawi's 40 Hadith): On the authority of Abu Huraira from the Prophet* who said: “Whoever relieves a believer’s distress of the distressful aspects of this world, Allah will rescue him from a difficulty of the difficulties of the Hereafter. Whoever alleviates [the situation of] one in dire straits who cannot repay his debt, Allah will alleviate his lot in both this world and in the Hereafter. Whoever conceals [the faults of] a Muslims, Allah will conceal [his faults] in this life and the Hereafter. Allah is helping the servant as long as the servant is helping his brother. Whoever follows a path in order to seek knowledge thereby, Allah will make easy doe him, due to it, a path to Paradise. No people gather together in a house of the houses of Allah, reciting the Book of Allah and studying it among themselves, except that tranquillity descended upon them, mercy covers them, the angels surround them and Allah makes mention of them to those in His presence. Whoever is slowed by his deeds will not be hastened forward by his lineage.”[Muslim]

We see that in this hadith the obligations towards other Muslims are emphasised and the fulfilment of brotherhood is again stressed. The previous hadith talks about the prohibitions regarding a Muslim’s duties towards their fellow Muslims, and this talks about the more positive elements of Brotherhood and its responsibilities. This is a great hadith that encompasses all the branches of Knowledge, and the Principles [of the Religion], and the Excellent Manners. In it is found the virtue of fulfilling the needs of the Muslims, and benefitting them, from what is possible for one, of Knowledge, or wealth, or aid, or guidance towards that which will correct their affairs, or advice.

“Whoever alleviates [the situation of] one in dire straits who cannot repay his debt, Allah will alleviate his lot in both this world and in the Hereafter.”

The Day of Judgement will be a very difficult day with many hardships. The only way to be rescued from difficulties on that Day is by obtaining the grace and mercy of Allah, all praises and glory be to Him. In this part of the hadith, the Prophet* has informed us about one of the ways in which we can attain the mercy of Allah. Relieving our fellow Muslim of their debt is an act beloved to Allah that may earn us His mercy, and an alleviation from trials in this world and the Hereafter. Here, it is not wise or appropriate for a Muslim to demand his money back from a poor or needy Muslim who honestly cannot afford to pay him. He should either give him a chance until he is able to repay his money or forgive him.

There are basically two ways in which we can relieve another’s debt. If we have leant money, and we know that someone is not able to repay the loan, we can wait until they have the means to repay it. This is in fact an obligation commanded by Allah, when He says: “And if the debtor is on straitened circumstances, then grant him time until it is easy for him to repay” (2:280)  A second option would be to reduce the debt or forgive it completely, and that is better for us, as Allah says: “But of you remit it [the debt] by way of charity, that is better for you if you did but know. And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to Allah. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly” (2:281)

Also included is the concept is giving the one in debt charity or a gift to help them pay off their debts. The Prophet* said regarding this: “Whoever would be pleased to have Allah save him from distress on the Day of Resurrection should then relieve one in straitened circumstances or completely remove his debt.” (Muslim)  Ibn Uthaimeen points out that if a Muslim does the opposite of this, and demands the debt, making life difficult for that person, then Allah may make life difficult him both in this life and the next. We can see that caring for our fellow Muslims, and seeking to alleviate their stresses and strains, be they financial or otherwise, not only serves to strengthen the ties of the brotherhood and sisterhood, and alleviate distress, it also benefits us though the removal of trials and tribulations either in this world, or on the Day of Judgement. The Prophet*, says in one of his great hadiths: "A man of the previous nations was very rich and people used to borrow money from him. Not only did he lend them money, which is indeed a good deed, but he also asked his sons to alleviate and forgive those who could not repay the money." The Prophet*, says that in the Hereafter Allah will reward him and forgive his sins because of his generosity. Allah says in Surah al-Furqan, Ayah 26 that "it will be a very hard day for the disbelievers". This means that there is a situation where a person who is kind to those in need and Allah will relief that person by rewarding him a great reward from Allah's Mercy and Help.

“Whoever conceals [the faults of] a Muslim, Allah will conceal [his faults] in this life and the Hereafter.”

The matter of concealing the faults of others is mentioned in numerous hadith of the Prophet*. In particular, we find the following: “O gathering who believe with their tongues but faith has yet to enter into their hearts, do not backbite the Muslims. And do not search into their private matters. Whoever searches for their private matters will have Allah follow up his private matters. And whose private matters Allah follows, He will expose him even [if his act were done] in his house.” (Ahmad and Abu Dawood)

And this is with regards to hiding the sins that they may have committed in the past, and which are over. On the other hand, if they are caught red-handed performing a sin then it is obligatory to admonish them and forbid them from it. And if they are unable to do so, then they must raise the matter to the Authorities, if they do not fear any evil repercussions from this. In general, a believer in Allah and the Last Day, would not like their mistakes and faults to be broadcast to others. If we make a mistake or commit a sin, it is better that we keep the matter to ourselves and ask Allah for forgiveness than to tell others about we have done, perhaps inadvertently encouraging them to do the same. If, may Allah forgive us, we are happy at having committed the sin, then it is a sign of a shortcoming in our faith, and we should repent to Allah and ask Him to guide us to what is better. Allah, all praises and glory be to Him has told us in the Qur’an: “Verily, those who like that lewd sinful acts should propagated among those who believe, they will have a painful torment in this world and in the Hereafter” (Surah al-Noor:19)

Those Whose Sins Should be Concealed

There are essentially two types of people. One is religious and performs the obligatory and recommended acts and remains away from what is forbidden. The other openly admits commits sins and acts that are forbidden by the shariah. In the light of the teachings of this hadith, the actions with respect to each type of person is different. The first type of person, who is not known to commit sins, should have shortcomings concealed by others. However, conditions must be met for this approach to be followed:

1) The sin that the person committed must be one related to the ‘rights of Allah’ and not the rights of mankind. That is, if you see them do something that will not harm anyone else, you should conceal that. But if what they are doing concerns others, such as stealing, then you cannot remain silent because another person’s rights have been violated.

2) The sin must have already been finished. In other words, if see someone in the act of committing a sin, you should try to stop them, even if it means telling others about it, but if the acts is done, then it should be concealed.

3) The person whose fault is being concealed must be a religious person who is not known to perform evil deeds, thus the act could be considered a slip.

4) The concealment must not be in a situation where one has been called to be a witness to what has occurred, or to the character of the accused.

5) The benefit of concealing the person’s sin must outweigh the benefit of letting the sin be known. If the benefit and the harm seem of an equal level, the sin should be concealed.

According to ibn Rajab, the one who comes privately to the authorities, full of repentance and sorrow, asking for punishment without explicitly stating which type of sin has been committed, should also have their sin concealed and be told to repent privately to Allah. This was the practice of the Prophet*.

Those Who are Not Deserving of Intercession

The second category of people, who openly and repeatedly commit sins, are not deserving of having their sins concealed. Instead, others should be told about them so that they take precautions against them. They should also be reported to the proper authorities in order to try and curb their evil, and one should not intercede on their behalf. When all this is considered, we can see that this teaching serves to protect the honour of the pious Muslim who may have slipped and committed a sin against the rights of Allah. But if the act committed was against the rights of a person, or committed openly with no shame, then there is no concealment and the action should be dealt with appropriately. Allah is all-Forgiving and He loves to Forgive, and we should never despair of His Mercy, but neither should we openly commit sins or harm the rights of another person, otherwise we cannot hope for Allah to conceal our own faults, in this life, or more importantly, in the Hereafter.

“Allah is helping the servant as long as the servant is helping his brother.”

This statement is a principle. Before this statement, the Prophet*, gives us three examples of Allah helping those who help others. We can see from this statement of the Prophet* that Allah rewards His servants in a manner similar to the deeds that they perform. If we are helping our brother or sister, Allah will help us in return. Some of the virtues of helping one another were discussed in detail in the commentary of Hadith Number 26, but this particular hadith gives us further cause for reflection. Allah promises to be our helper if we help one another, and who could be a better helper than Allah? If Allah is helping us, would we need for anything? This also shows us what the ideal Islamic society should look like. It is a society in which its members help each other and support each other and encourage each other to do what is best. Allah commands us: “Help one another in acts of piety and righteousness. And do not assist each other in acts of sinfulness and transgression. And be aware of Allah. Verily, Allah is severe in punishment” (al-Maaidah:2) Hence we should help each other to do good and avoid helping others in acts that would displease Allah.

A hadith of the Prophet* illustrates the reward of helping one another. Anas narrated that the Prophet* and his Companions were on a journey, and some of the Companions were fasting whilst others were not. Those who were fasting were struggling to perform the chores of feeding the animals and preparing the food and so forth, so those who were not fasting performed these tasks for them. Although fasting is an act that is extremely pleasing to Allah, the Prophet* said of their situation:“Those who were not fasting took all of the reward today.” (al-Bukhari and Muslim) Those who were not fasting received such a great reward because they were helping their brothers who were in need.

Helping one another is not limited to doing a deed on another’s behalf, it also includes the other deeds previously referred to in this hadith, including relieving someone in a distressful situation, relieving debt or interceding on their behalf. We should therefore use our physical and material means as well as other means such as our reputation and authority to help those in need. When we do this, we will find the most blessed of things, Allah as our helper. But should we confine ourselves only to the needy mentioned in the hadith? Of course not. The Prophet*, wants to convey to us that we should help our brothers in any way possible. There are hundreds of forms of need. For example, helping the blind to cross the street or any of the great and charitable acts that are mentioned in Hadiths 25 and 26. The greater the help, the greater the reward. This is something that Muslims should take seriously because if we have a community which care about each other and help one another, then there would be no needy. This should be our attitude - we should seek to be motivated to offer our help at any time to our Muslim brothers.

This is a generalisation whose detailed explanation must include the case where the Slave [of Allah] resolves to help his brother Muslim [by admonishing him], whereupon it becomes required of him not to be cowardly of speaking the Truth to him, believing, all the while, that Allah will help him and protect him from any evil repercussions of doing so.

The second half of the hadith will be covered next week, Insha’Allah

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8 November 2009

Seerah of Muhammed*

*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

Death of Abu Talib

About 6 months after the end of the boycott (embargo/siege) the Uncle of the Prophet* became very ill and was lying on his deathbed. He had supported the Prophet* for 42 years since the Prophet* was 8 years old and the Prophet* was very close to Abu Talib. Unsurprisingly, the Prophet* was at the bedside. Again, unsurprisingly, so was Abu Jahl on the other side.

The Prophet* would say: “oh my uncle! Say ‘la illaha illallah’ so I can witness for you on the day of Judgement.” Then Abu Jahl would say: “oh son of Abdul Muttalib! Are you going to die on another religion and denounce the religion of your father?” Abu Talib had mentioned to the Prophet* that if it were not for the Quraish insulting him (and his honour) after his death he would have professed Islam just to please the Prophet*. He was too proud to admit this up until the end and the exchanges between the Prophet* and Abu Jahl continue until Abu Talib spoke his last words before dying: “I am dying on the religion of my father Abdul Muttalib.”

The Prophet was distraught after losing someone so close and the Quraish were ecstatic with their propaganda coup claiming that the Prophet* could not even convert his Uncle. The Prophet* would then say that he would continue to ask Allah for the forgiveness of his Uncle Abu Talib unless he was forbidden from doing so. Indeed, Allah did send down a revelation stating: “It is not befitting for the Prophet and those that believe that they should invoke Allah for the forgiveness of the pagans even though they are relatives, after it has become clear to them that they are the companions of the fire.”

Other verses revealed to the Prophet* highlighted the fact that is was not the job of the Prophet* to convert the people but only to convey the message: “You cannot give guidance to those who love but it is Allah who gives guidance to the ones He Wills.” There is no compulsion in religion and people should be free to choose Islam and so judgement would be fair on the Day of Resurrection. Hence, Muslims have never had a history of forcing people to convert to Islam like the Christians used to convert people to Christianity.

Shortly after the death of Abu Talib, Khadija - the beloved wife of the Prophet* died. She had supported the Prophet* throughout his mission both emotionally and financially. She was 65 years old and this death, combined with the death of his uncle who had provided physical support to the message, made the Prophet* and Muslims very vulnerable to the Quraish. They had to become reliant solely upon Allah and develop ‘tawakkul-Allah’. This time was know as the ‘Year of Grief’ and later the Prophet* would say that they worst time of his mission was this period shortly after the death of these two. But Allah would then reveal a verse reassuring the Prophet* that ‘with every difficulty comes ease.’



Hadith (Riyadh as-Salihin): On Steadfastness

Suhayb reported hat the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Among those before you there was a king who had a sorcerer. When he was old, he said to the king, 'I am old, so send me a lad to whom I can teach sorcery.' He sent him a lad for him to teach. When the boy was on the way, he came upon a monk. He sat down to listen to his words and liked what he heard. Whenever he went to the sorcerer, he would pass by the monk and sit with him. When he came to the sorcerer, the sorcerer would beat him. He complained about that to the monk who said, 'When you are afraid of the sorcerer, say, "My family kept me." And when you are afraid of your family, say, "The sorcerer kept me."'

"While all this was going on, he came upon a great beast which was barring the people's way and said, 'Today I will find out who is better, the sorcerer or the monk.' He took a stone and said, 'O Allah, if what the monk does is preferable to You to what the sorcerer does, then turn this beast aside so that the people can pass.' He threw it and killed the animal and the people went on. He went to the monk and told him and the monk said to him, 'O my boy, today you are better than I am. I see the point that your business has reached. You will be tested and, when you are tested, do not point me out.'

The boy used to heal the blind and the lepers and treat people for all their ailments. A companion of the king who was blind heard this and brought him many gifts. He said, 'All that I have gathered for you here is yours if you heal me.' He said, 'I do not heal anyone. It is Allah Almighty who heals. If you believe in Allah Almighty, I will pray to Allah to heal you." So he believed in Allah Almighty and Allah Almighty healed him.

He went to the king and sat with him as he used to do. The king said to him, 'Who has returned your sight to you?' He said, 'It was my Lord.' He said, 'You have a Lord other than me?!' He said, 'My Lord and your Lord, Allah.' So he seized him and did not stop torturing him until he pointed out the boy. The boy was brought and the king said to him, 'O boy, your sorcery has reached the point where you heal the blind and the lepers, and you do such-and-such and such-and-such.' He said, 'I do not heal anyone. It is Allah Almighty who heals.' He seized him and did not stop torturing him until he pointed out the monk.

The monk was brought and told, 'Renounce your religion.' He refused. He called for a saw and placed the saw on the centre of his head and split it until the two halves fell apart. Then the companion of the king was brought and told, 'Renounce your religion!' He refused, and the the saw was placed on the centre of his head and split it until the two halves fell apart. Then the boy was brought and told, 'Renounce your religion,' and he refused. He handed him over to a group of his companions and said, 'Take him to such-and-such a mountain, and take him up the mountain. When you reach its summit, if he has not renounced his religion, throw him off.' They took him and brought him up the mountain and he said, 'O Allah, save me from them in whatever way You will.' The mountain shook and they fell. He walked to the king and the king said to him, 'What has happened to your companions?' He said, 'Allah Almighty saved me from them.'

He handed him over to a group of his companions and said, 'Take him and put him in a ship and take him to the middle of the sea. If he does not recant, then throw him into it.' They took him and he said, 'O Allah, save me from them in whatever way You will.' The ship capsized and they were drowned. He walked back to the king and the king said to him, 'What has happened to your companions?' He said, 'Allah Almighty saved me from them.' He said to the king, 'You will not kill me until you do what I command you.' He said, 'What is that?' He said, 'You should gather the people together on one plain and crucify me on a palm trunk. Then take an arrow from your quiver and put the arrow in the centre of your bow and say, "In the name of Allah, the Lord of the boy," and then shoot it. If you do that, you will kill me.'

So he gathered the people together on one plain and crucified him on a trunk and then took his arrow from his quiver and placed the arrow in the middle of the bow and then said, "In the name of Allah, the Lord of the boy," and then shot it and the arrow struck his temple. He put his hand on his temple and then died. The people said, "We believe in the Lord of the boy." The king was brought and told, "Do you not see that, by Allah, your fear has brought about the very thing you were afraid of! The people have believed." So he commanded that a trench be dug with openings onto it and had fires lit in it. He said, 'Throw into it, anyone who does not renounce his religion or tell him to jump.' They did that until a woman came with one of her children. She hesitated to jump into it and the child said to her, 'Mother, be steadfast! You have the truth.'" [Muslim]


How we see ourselves as Muslims today

Allah mentions a story about Musa (Moses) in the Qur’an, after Musa had taken the children of Israel out of Egypt and on the way to the Holy Land. He wanted the people to go and fight to get the land that Allah had promised them. Allah says: “And when Musa said to his people: Oh people! Remember the blessings of Allah upon you, for He has designated Messengers & Prophets from amongst you, and kings from amongst you and He gave you that which He did not give to the other people around your time. Oh my people, Go to the Holy Land that Allah has promised you and do not turn your backs on the commands of Allah otherwise you will be the losers” and the people replied: “Oh Musa! In it (the Holy Land) are men who are exceedingly powerful, and we will not enter that land until they leave. If they leave we will enter the city. As long as they are therein we will not attempt to go to that city.”

The Bible contains the same story and has some additional information that does not contradict or disagree with the Qur’anic version. The Bible adds that the Jews said to Moses that the Holy Land contained ‘people who are exceedingly powerful, and to them we [the Jews] are like grasshoppers, and they see us the way we see ourselves’.

Here, despite having the power and might of Allah behind them, the followers of Musa (who had delivered them from the evil Pharaoh) refused to obey Musa’s commands partly because they had such a negative image of themselves. Their self-esteem and self-belief was very low. They did not value themselves nor believe strongly in their message and the power of their Lord.

Today, many Muslims see themselves in a similar way. We have a negative and apologetic opinion of ourselves and are always defending our beliefs, distancing ourselves from the evil actions of a few bad people. Our confidence in ourselves, beliefs and each other is low, and battered by the media constantly picking upon Muslims in the UK and abroad. How can we change this and start to feel good about ourselves and our Islam?

The media and politicians are always attacking Muslims and we often say that we cannot change it because they are too powerful. We are saying that we are like grasshoppers to them! This attitude is wrong.

Allah mentions in the Qur’an: “Pharaoh has indeed transgressed on the land. He made the people with dignity humiliated”. And in another verse, talking about evil kings: “And when the kings move into a locality they spread corruption and made the dignified amongst the most humiliated and dishonoured”.

These verses talk about how the ruling elite target those with some self-dignity and pride. This may be because those who have self-confidence may stand up to tyranny and oppression and stand up for their beliefs. These people will not ‘go with the flow’ but stand for what is right. These people are potentially rebellious to the ruling people.

How do we feel good about ourselves? The Western media & society tells us that if we look good we deserve to feel good about ourselves. It promotes physical beauty for both men & women: you have to be a certain figure, or have muscles, or dress in a suggestive skimpy manner to look attractive. There are many programmes that promote the physical look, and how to look better. Hence, we should get our self-worth and confidence from the way we look. This is how many adverts sell their products. The side effect is that if you do not look good you shouldn’t feel good about yourself. Thus, we see many people with eating diseases (such as anorexia & bulimia) or people may go to the extreme and start harming themselves because they don’t look or feel good. Those that can afford it then have cosmetic surgery whilst the others feel worse. Again, we are like grasshoppers to this onslaught! Some others then derive their self-belief from their place of birth (e.g., ‘English’), others from their skin colour (‘proud to be black’), or their football team, or their looks. And should we take pride in these things that we made little effort in – how hard did we try to be born where we were or to be ‘black’ or ‘asian’?! So, how did the early Muslims see themselves…

A few short lesser known stories can shed some light on this: Haakim bin Hizam was a non-Muslim and he gave the Prophet* a beautiful gown that had once belonged to the ruler of Yemen. The Prophet* wore this and Haakim said that he had never seen someone more beautiful and handsome as when the Prophet* was wearing this gown. The next day, whilst in the street of Medina he came across Ussama bin Zaid wearing that gown. Ussama was not known for his good looks! Haakim said that is must have been an honour for Ussama to wear the gown that had once belonged to the ruler of Yemen. Instead of being apologetic Ussama replied: ‘By Allah! I am better than that king, and my mother is better than his mother, and my father is better than his father because we say la illaha illalah whereas none of his family ever did’.

On another occasion, Ubaid ibn Samit had been invited by an emperor to talk and explain Islam. He approached on a horse and the courtiers said that he could not address the king on his horse. He said that he had been invited and he will address him as he sees fit. The emperor allowed Ubaid to enter and he was asked what the Muslims were about and what they wanted, Ubaid replied to the emperor’s face: ‘We came to take the creation of Allah out of serving other creatures to the worship of Allah; out of the injustice of other religions to the justice of Islam, and out of the narrowness of this life to the vastness of this life and the Hereafter’.

A quote from the last century goes: ‘no-one can make you feel inferior without your permission and consent’. That is, no-one can actually physically go inside your heart and force you to feel inferior unless there is something for them to feed off. As Muslims, we should be feeling positive about our deen (Islam) and positive about ourselves. Next week we will cover this topic in greater detail (I/A).