24 June 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

Cutting the hands of the thief

A'isha, the wife of Allah's Apostle*, reported that the Quraish were concerned about the woman who had committed theft during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle*, in the expedition of Victory (of Mecca). They said: Who would speak to Allah's Messenger* about her? They (again) said: Who can dare do this but Usama b Zaid, the loved one of Allah's Messenger*? She was brought to Allah's Messenger* and Usama b. Zaid spoke about her to him (interceded on her behalf). The colour of the face of Allah's Messenger* changed, and he said: Do you intercede in one of the prescribed punishments of Allah? He (Usama) said: 'Messenger of Allah, seek forgiveness for me. When it was dusk. Allah's Messenger* stood up and gave an address. He (first) glorified Allah as He deserves, and then said: Now to our topic. This (injustice) destroyed those before you that when any one of (high) rank committed theft among them, they spared him, and when any weak one among them committed theft, they inflicted the prescribed punishment upon him. By Him in Whose Hand is my life, even if Fatima daughter of Muhammad were to commit theft, I would have cut off her hand. He (the Holy Prophet) then commanded about that woman who had committed theft, and her hand was cut off. 'A'isha (further) said: Hers was a good repentance, and she later on married and used to come to me after that, and I conveyed her needs (and problems) to Allah's Messenger*.

End of Hijra

The Prophet* in the Hadith related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim on the authority Ibn 'Abbas that reads, "There is no Hijrah after the conquest of Mecca (but there is jihad and intention of jihad)." Nevertheless, the Prophet (peace be upon him) left the door wide open for later Muslims generations to work hard. In the same Hadith, he said, "…  and when you are called for Jihad, you should immediately respond to the call." Accordingly, practicing jihad and participating in the Islamic activity will never come to an end.

Story of the young Imam and his new clothes!

Narrated Amr bin Salama:

We were at a place which was a thoroughfare for the people, and the caravans used to pass by us and we would ask them, "What is wrong with the people? What is wrong with the people? Who is that man? They would say, "That man claims that Allah has sent him (as an Apostle), that he has been divinely inspired, that Allah has revealed to him such-and-such." I used to memorize that (Divine) Talk, and feel as if it was inculcated in my chest (i.e. mind) And the 'Arabs (other than Quraish) delayed their conversion to Islam till the Conquest (of Mecca).

They used to say." "Leave him (i.e. Muhammad) and his people Quraish: if he overpowers them then he is a true Prophet. So, when Mecca was conquered, then every tribe rushed to embrace Islam, and my father hurried to embrace Islam before (the other members of) my tribe. When my father returned (from the Prophet) to his tribe, he said, "By Allah, I have come to you from the Prophet for sure!" The Prophet afterwards said to them, 'Offer such-and-such prayer at such-and-such time, and when the time for the prayer becomes due, then one of you should pronounce the Adhan (for the prayer), and let the one amongst you who knows Qur'an most should, lead the prayer." So they looked for such a person and found none who knew more Qur'an than I because of the Quranic material which I used to learn from the caravans. They therefore made me their Imam ((to lead the prayer) and at that time I was a boy of six or seven years, wearing a Burda (i.e. a black square garment) proved to be very short for me and had a tear in the rear (and my body became partly naked). A lady from the tribe said, "Won't you cover the backside (bottom) of your reciter for us?" So they bought (a piece of cloth) and made a shirt for me. I had never been so happy with anything before as I was with that shirt.

Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty and Conquest of Mecca

That is the story of the conquest of Mecca and the decisive battle that exterminated paganism once and for all. The other tribes in the Arabian Peninsula were waiting and closely watching the final outcome of the bitter struggle between the Muslims and idolaters, already convinced that the Holy Sanctuary would not fall but in the hands of the righteous party. It had been a conviction deeply established in their minds ever since the elephant army of Abraha Al-Ashram advanced from Yemen intending to destroy the Sacred House 50 years before.

Al-Hudaibiyah Peace Treaty was the natural prelude to this great victory in which people believed deeply and over which people talked a lot. The Muslims in Mecca, who had feared to declare their Faith in public, began to appear and work ardently for this new approach of life. People began to convert into Islam in hosts, and the Muslim army that numbered 3000 only in the previous Ghazwah, now came to reach 10,000 in number. In fact, this decisive change provided people with the keen insight to perceive things and the world around them as a whole in a different perceptive. The Muslims were then to steer the whole political and religious affairs of all Arabia. They had monopolised both the religious supremacy and temporal power. The whole post-Hudaibiyah phase had been well-fledged in favour of the new Islamic movement. Streams of the desert Arabians began to pour in paying full homage to the Messenger of Allah*, embracing the new faith and then carrying it to different quarters for propagation.

Fiqh part 6 (Proof and Chain of Narrators)

How do we know that the Amazon Jungle exists? Unless you go there will you really know it exists for sure - 100%? Or could there be a global conspiracy trying to hoodwink you (and others) into believing in the Amazon Jungle? If you believe it because you were taught this – where did they get the information from? Who told them? How do we know what is real and what constitutes evidence or proof for each and every one of us? Could real life be a dream and could our dreaming be real – similar to the film ‘The Matrix’? There are some people that do believe this! Next time you come across people who really believe this ask them if they want a slap in the face and if that feels real or not!! (Lol)

Oral and Written Tradition

There is a difference between the Oral and Written tradition. People in the Western countries put a lot of emphasis on things written down and regard that as better evidence; whereas Eastern traditions put a lot of emphasis on the passing down of information orally. This has changed in recent centuries but was traditionally a stronger form of preserving information. After all, that is how the Qur’an has been preserved with a backup of written preservation.

We explored this idea like a spider’s web, or string from a central point radiating out, with no chance of overlapping. This is similar to the concept of Hadith narrations from person F, who heard from person E, who heard from person D, who heard from person C who heard from a Companion (person B) who heard the Prophet (person A) say so-and-so!

The same so-and-so was heard from person K, who heard from person J, who heard from person I, who heard from person H who heard from a Companion (person G) who heard the Prophet (person A).

The same so-and-so was also heard from person P, who heard from person O, who heard from person N, who heard from person M who heard from a Companion (person L) who heard the Prophet (person A).

At no point in history did the paths of persons F or P or K ever overlap, nor persons F with O-J; nor did person E overlap with persons I-J-K or N-O-P, etc. Yet the so-and-so is the same – is this a proof that it is correct? How many more chains / strings are needed to convince somebody?

If you have only 1 written historical document how sure can you be that it is authentic??

Main Topic: Aqeeda (part 6) recap believing in Allah

It is vitally important that we firmly believe in Allah more than just having ‘faith’ that Allah exists. We should be different to the Quraish at the time of the Prophet*, or the people at the time of Ibrahim – who all said that they will continue with their worships because they are following their forefathers. How is our belief any different to this? As Muslims, Allah commands us to ‘KNOW’ that there is but one Allah. We must be sure individually for ourselves – it is not good enough to just hope in Allah without certainty. The five pillars of Islam are built upon the firm foundations of the Aqeeda – a rock solid belief. How do we get at this belief? Are there any questions that we shouldn’t ask in Islam and how inquisitive should we be in search for the Truth? What is our reason for believing in Allah – is this an active firm belief or a sense of hope, faith and trust? How we can know that Allah truly exists, or is our belief in Him like a superstition – a level of belief or ‘faith’ similar to believing in ghosts or aliens.

Language of Maths

We also talked about assumptions we make about what we see around us and the language we use. Using the example of apples we explored whether 1 + 1 = 2. According to Mathematics is does but are there real life situations where this is true?

Attributes of Allah

Many people consider their concept of ‘God’ or Allah as a being that can do anything. There are many terms to address the attributes of Allah including Omnipotent (All-Powerful), Omniscient (All-Knowing), Omnipresence (being present everywhere). We posed the question that is often used by atheists and non-believers in a Divine Creator that, if God can do anything, can He:

- build a wall over which he cannot jump

- make a stone that he cannot lift

- make a square-circle

Superheroes

We started off the study circle by talking about Superheroes, like Captain America, Batman, Superman, Spiderman; or the recent TV series Heroes; even touching upon mythical gods of previous cultures (Hindus and Greeks). There is often a need for limited humans like us to project power onto other beings – and super-powers to other super-beings. This reflects our own limitations – something we will come back to later. We recapped how Muslims should have a belief in Allah that is beyond superstition and ‘leap of faith’. Allah talks about this type of belief in the Qur’an: "Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have no firm belief." Quran [TMQ 52:35-36]

Logical, Scientific and Rational thought

Scientific (empirical) evidence is one type of evidence – and is based on theory tested by experiment and observation. That is things that can be tested (experimented upon).

Logical approaches are based on sound premises and a valid structure to argument (like mathematics). For example, the statements that all men are mortal combined with the observation that Abdul is a man rationally means that necessarily Abdul is mortal. Our acceptance of the concept that human beings are the product of a mother and father, allows us to establish, on analysis of this concept and its rational extension, that Aisha had a great great grandfather. None of these conclusions are scientific, for they do not involve the application of the scientific method. Yet all of them are rational.

We discussed evidence and Proof and why rational thinking is superior to scientific thinking – as we can not always measure things so it does not mean things do not exist. Humans made inferences and deduce things from what we see and weigh things up. Not everything is testable! In summary, Logical thought  is based on assumptions, Scientific thought is observation and experimentation and Rational thought is based on what is sensed and the reality around.

Arguments about the nature of matter, universe and Allah: The limited nature of existence

When we look around us at everything we can sense one factor is shared by these things, and that is that they are all limited. By limited we mean that they have restrictions, a starting point and an ending point, and they have definable attributes i.e. they are all finite. Man is born and he dies. There is no-one alive who will not die. During his life span, he will grow to a certain height, weight and volume. The universe is defined as all the celestial planets. All these objects have certain mass, shape, volume and so on. The life span of a star may be very long, but a point in time will come when it will cease to exist. The universe is large, but still a finite space. No scientist could ever prove using hard facts that the universe has no bounds. In fact when we say that the universe arose from the Big Bang and expanding they inherently admit it is finite in size, otherwise it could not expand! There is nothing in reality which is unlimited. No matter how hard we try, man is unable to find anything unlimited around him. All he can perceive is the finite and limited.

A further attribute of everything around us is that they are all needy and dependent in order to continue existing. They are not self-sustaining or independent. Man has needs he has to satisfy in order to survive. He has organic needs - must eat and drink if he is to survive, and if he does not he will die. We see the need and dependency in plants and animals. They depend on other parts of the food chain for their existence. The water cycle is dependent on the sun, which is dependent on the laws of the galaxies and of burning mass, and so on... Nothing man can perceive is self-subsistent. So things exist, but do not have the power of existence. They cannot control when they die or when other bodies die.

What being limited and Dependent means

Thus what we see is that everything around us is limited and finite. Everything that is limited and finite is dependant and everything that is dependant is dependent upon something greater than itself. Applying this to everything we see will bring us to a conclusion. If everything in the universe is dependant because it has not the power of being in existence on its own accord, and is also finite and limited, then what is everything dependant upon for its existence? Hence, two possibilities exist:

·         That is either all finite and limited objects depend upon each other in an infinite chain of inter dependencies (infinite regression). Or,

·         There is a first cause a sole Creator upon which everything depends.

To explain this further we can understand this by way of analogy. Consider a set of dominoes for example, for the final domino to fall it is dependant upon the domino before it, and for that domino to fall over it is dependant upon the domino before it. Now imagine if there was an infinite number of dominoes…… would any of the dominoes fall over? The answer is no, none of the dominoes would fall over. Now to view any aspect of the universe we would see that something is already in existence in essence the last domino has fallen over. Thus meaning that finite things are not dependant upon each other in an infinite chain. Therefore, there needs to be a first cause or a sole Creator upon which everything depends and itself being independent. Now, we have noted that everything that is finite and limited is also dependant, hence, for something to be independent it would need to be infinite and unlimited. This is whom we Muslims call Allah the sole Creator, self subsistent, and completely unique and different from creation. Allah says "Declare, Allah is one and only, Allah is self sufficient (needy of nothing but upon which everything depends), Neither Allah begets nor was he begotten, And there is nothing equal to or comparable unto Allah" [TMQ 112]

Limits of Science

Science cannot prove the existence of God. Not because it requires ‘faith’ but because of the limitations of the scientific method itself. As for rational evidence for the existence of God, that has been furnished, debated, refined and presented centuries ago. The Kalam Cosmological argument for example – was developed by Muslim scholars as early as the 11th century CE.

We cannot try to limit Allah with our limited understanding of the Universe

The only rational and intellectual solution to the question of creation is that there is a Creator that has accounted for all that we see and perceive. Ration tells us that nothing can be created without a creator. Ultimately, there must be a Creator who is unlimited in every aspect. Hence, we cannot ask if Allah can build a wall over which he cannot jump, or make a stone that he cannot lift or make a square-circle – as these would be putting limits onto Allah and confining Him to our limited understanding of the universe and its laws. Allah is beyond this and not subject to these laws as He created them. So the questions do not make sense.

Belief in Allah is not a superstition nor a mythology, but is a definite fact that is established upon the use of the mind and is felt within every person. Hence, looking at any planet in the universe, contemplating on any phase of life, or comprehending any aspect of man provides a conclusive evidence for the existence of a Creator. "Verily in the Creation of the heavens and the Earth and the alternation of the night and the day the are indeed signs for a people who depth and thinking" Quran [TMQ 3:190]

Who Created Allah?

When we ponder on the limited things all around us, we see that it is not azali (eternal - limitless), otherwise it would not have been limited! Therefore, it must be created by something else, which is the Creator of all things (that include man, life and the whole universe/cosmos). This “Creator”, is either:

         i.            created by someone else,

       ii.            creator of himself, or

      iii.            azali (eternal - limitless) whose existence is indispensable (wajib ul-wujood).

It is absolutely false that he is created by someone else (as in option i), because he would then be limited. Also, he would not be the creator and would have been created. Who created him would be like the question of the dominoes we already talked about. This who-created-who (like chicken and egg) could not go on for infinity and must have a start point. Hence, we can exclude this option that Allah was created by someone else. It is also false that he is the creator of himself (as option ii) and could not be rationally considered as the Creator. As for being self-created, the ramification of which would be he is created by himself and creating himself at the same time (simultaneously). This is simply absurd. He cannot be both existing and not-existing at the same time (simultaneously) in order to create himself! Hence, we can exclude this option that Allah created himself. Hence, the creator must be azali (eternal - limitless) whose existence is indispensable (option iii – nothing else fits rationally). He is Allah.

To 'Know' as a command on every soul

The Islamic Belief (Aqeeda) and subsequently the Islamic way of life has an intellectual basis – based on thinking and the mind. Therefore, Islam is neither a religion nor a set of values and rituals that arise from Blind Faith. Rather, Islam is an intellectual belief from which emanates a comprehensive system of life, be it for individuals or society.

Firm Conviction in belief in Allah against hope or leap of faith in Allah

Muslims should have a belief in Allah that is beyond superstition and ‘leap of faith’. Allah talks about this type of belief in the Qur’an: "Were they created by nothing? Or were they themselves the creators? Or did they create the heavens and the earth? Nay they have no firm belief." [TMQ 52:35-36]

Design Theory

We then explored the second strand of evidence (proof) of the existence of Allah (Creator). This is based on the theory of Divine Knowledge or Divine Design behind existence.

The story of Abu Hanifah and the boat

Imam Abu Hanifa (a great scholar of Islam) was known for his intelligence and so there came to him a group of atheists asking him to prove the Existence of Allah. Imam Abu Hanifa said, "Let me think," then he remarked, "I am thinking about a loaded ship that was tied to a port. The cargo unloaded itself without porters and the ship sailed away without a captain from port to port.” (Upon hearing this,) the atheists declared, "How can you say something like this! This is impossible. We cannot believe in it.” Imam Abu Hanifa replied, "If you do not believe in this then how do you believe in the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky and the earth – how can you believe that all these came into existence without an Originator?" Allah points out this intellectual proof in His Saying, "Were they created by nothing or were they themselves the creators?" [TMQ 52: 35]

The knock on the door

When we hear a knock on a door there are so many things we can learn from that, but the essence for this discussion is that the knocking gives us an indication that someone is making the sound. By contemplating on the Universe, our existence and mortality we can reasonably assume that we have been created by Allah. Not such a huge jump.

The pile of stones on the beach

Likewise, we talked about walking along the beach and finding a neat pile of stones stacked upon each other. Reason would tell us that this is unlikely to occur purely by chance but that someone constructed it in that fashion. Who is this Constructor or Designer – Muslims would call Him Allah. This is a rational conclusion not a far-fetched obscure unlikely theory…like what the atheists have.

Footprints and the sky and mountains

A further simple example was a story of a Bedouin who was asked, "How do you know your Lord?" The Bedouin could only reply with (the example of) that which was before him, so he said, "Droppings tell of a camel. Foot-prints tell of a traveller. The sky, the earth with mountain passes, seas with waves -do they not tell of the All-Hearer, the All-Seer?"

! THINK !

Anyone who has a mind (the mental faculty) can comprehend from things that can be sensed that they have a creator. This is because what is noticed in all of them is that they are imperfect, weak and dependent, so they are definitely created. Therefore, it is sufficient to draw one's attention to anything in the universe, life and humankind to conclude from that the existence of the Creator and Organiser. Hence, looking at any celestial body of the universe, contemplating upon any facet of life, or comprehending any aspect of man, indicates definitely of the existence of Allah. Therefore, we see that the Qur’an draws attention to these things and orders humans to ponder upon them, their surroundings, and what is related to them, and to conclude from his pondering the existence of Allah. Thus man looks at things how they are in need of other things, so he definitely concludes from this the existence of Allah, the Creator. There are hundreds of Qur’anic ayah expressing this meaning:

"Behold! In the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alteration of night and day, these are indeed signs for men of understanding." [Aali-Imran: 190]

"And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colours. Behold! herein indeed are signs for men of knowledge." [Ar-Rum: 22]

"Will they not look at the camels, how they are created! And the heaven, how it is raised! And the mountains, how they are set up! And the earth, how it is spread!" [Al-Ghashiya: 17-20]

"So let man reflect, from what he is created. He is created from a gushing fluid, that is issued from between the loins and ribs." [At-Tariq: 5-7]

"Behold! in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the difference of night and day, and the ships which run upon the sea with that which is of use to men, and the water which Allah sends down from the sky, thereby reviving the earth after its death, and dispersing all kinds of beasts therein, and in the ordinance of the winds, and the clouds obedient between heaven and earth are signs (of Allah's sovereignty) for people who have sense." [Al-Baqarah: 164]

In addition, there are so many ayah that call upon man to ponder deeply upon things and their surroundings and that which is related to them, thereby concluding from that the existence of the Creator, the Organiser. Thus belief in Allah is firmly established through reason and clear evidence.

Hence, there should be no element of ‘leap of faith’ or ‘blind faith’ like the people at the time of Ibrahim or the Quraish at the time of the Prophet. As Muslims, we should think and come to a rational conclusion in the existence of Allah and this should be done by everyone who can think!

Value of Actions

We very briefly talked about what is considered ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and where these concepts come from. But we mainly chatted about praying (or doing any good action or deed) with or without belief. Hence, a Muslim who believes in Allah and does good deeds requested by Him will get huge reward (i/A) but another person without belief in Allah may do the exact same action / deed but get no reward as they lack belief. So, all actions should be related to and stem from the belief. This is what Allah will be looking for first after we die – WHAT DID WE BELIEVE IN!!

Therefore, we are spending so much time talking about our belief and why this should be firm and unshakeable. When we do get tested by Allah, some people who do not have firm belief may have greater doubts about life and Allah if their belief is based upon a hereditary system (from their parents). It doesn’t necessarily mean their actions will be less rewarded by Allah but having a firm foundation for belief (upon which the five pillars of actions are built) could mean the actions are done with greater conviction.

Time Travel, TARDIS and Dr Who

Most people are familiar with the popular children's television show called Doctor Who. This is about an alien (Time Lord) who looks like a human being and travels throughout the universe in a special time travelling machine which also distorts the dimensions of space.  This machine is known as the T.A.R.D.I.S. (TARDIS = Time and Relative Dimension in Space).  This program introduces children (and adults - who is your favourite Doctor Who?!) to many ideas and concepts which include, for the purposes of our discussion, the ability to travel through time and outside of space.  For example, we are informed in authentic narrations (hadith) and the Prophet* travelled from Mecca to Al-Quds (Jerusalem) and then through and outside the universe to the seven heavens, and back all in the same night.  We're also told that the Prophet actually saw the punishment of people in Hellfire as well as hearing the footsteps of people in Paradise.  The question is how could he have witnessed these if the Day of Judgment has not happened -- and this is not to do with the Knowledge of Allah because these were witnessed events?  By thinking about the limited nature of the universe, and the limited nature of the things which make up the universe including the physical objects (stars and planets) and the dimensions of the universe (time and space) we can answer questions like 'What was there before Allah' and 'Where is Allah'?

'What was there before Allah’; 'Where is Allah'?

As we discussed previously and demonstrated through a rational approach, we live in a universe that is limited.  Necessarily, this universe was created and that Creator must be unlimited and not bound by the limits of this universe.  Therefore, Allah is not confined by the dimensions of time and space.  Hence, it would be wrong to suggest that 'Allah is everywhere' - which is a belief called pantheism - a common misconception amongst people who don't think about this deeply. This gives rise to concepts that Allah is everywhere and in everything (including trees and rocks and dirty places), and so some people would use this to justify worshipping these objects claiming that they are part of God or contain God.  By claiming that 'Allah is everywhere' we are in fact limiting His existence and defining it within the realms of our dimensions of space.

It would be better to consider that Allah is 'outside' our dimensions of space -- if we can try to get our heads around that.  The problem is with our language and as we do not have any words in the language to express how somebody could be outside/not bound by the concept or constraints of space.  Words like inside, outside, beyond, where, up, down are all relative and related to space - so how can we describe something which is beyond this!? But that is indeed what/where Allah is!

The same idea is related to the question about ' what was there before Allah?' - as the words before, during, after are all specifically related to time.  Whereas, Allah is beyond time as He created time and made it unidirectional in our universe.  Hence we cannot ask what was there before time as the question doesn't make sense as there is no 'before' when time was created.  Therefore, there is no time before the Big Bang or creation of the universe.  Hence, it is perfectly possible for Allah to be separate from time and space (acknowledging that separate is still related to space!).

'There is none like unto Him’

Therefore, by thinking of all of these things Muslims have a unique and pure perspective and understanding of Allah and Tawhid.  This looks at the true Glory and Majesty of our Creator.  Hence, the only appropriate ways in which we can try to describe Him are by the descriptions He gives if Himself and the comparisons He makes.  We don't have the words in our language to properly address this but Allah does mention in the Quran that 'there is none like unto Him'!  Simply put, that is the best description.

The Absurdity of the Atheist

We then revisited some elements of the design theory, but focusing on the concept of chance and probability.  There is an old saying which states that "an atheist must have stronger belief than a person who believes in God, because the atheist must have looked under every stone and every leaf for him to not believe in God!" but we find that the modern disbelievers put their entire trust in science all this idea of chance as being the source and creator of the universe, and life and human beings.  This is obviously a false situation if we are to analyse it rationally.  The creation of the universe by chance (although we have already said it cannot occur by itself) would be similar to believing that a whirlwind swept through the streets and through a garage that had lots of car parts on the floor.  After the whirlwind had left there would be a fully functioning perfectly formed car (Bugatti if you like) with its engine running ready to hit the road with no mess on the floor! Patently, nobody would believe this yet why do atheists think this is what happened with the universe -- even though we have said it cannot happen?

One of the reasons why it is quite possible that these people refuse to believe in an Almighty Creator is because if they did believe in one they would have to have some sort of relationship with the Creator.  This would involve finding out what He wants from us and what we have to do in return.  People would have to take responsibility for their beliefs and base any actions on these beliefs.  People are afraid of this and these responsibilities and so would prefer to avoid the obvious answer -- which is belief in an Almighty Creator.  Because, if you acknowledge an Almighty Creator that you will still need to answer the 3 Fundamental Questions about Life:

·         Why am I here (alive)?

·         Where did I come from?

·         What happens when I die (as we all will die)?

Implications of Believing in Allah

The idea and question of ‘God’ has serious implications because the answer obtained becomes the very basis by which we understand the creation and purpose of man, life round us and the whole existence of the universe. Therefore, the method used should not only be the rational thought but the comprehensive and agree with reality. Anything hypothetical or emotional should be rejected since their basis disagrees with ration and reality.

The Islamic Belief and subsequently the Islamic way of life has an intellectual basis. Therefore, Islam is neither a religion nor a set of values and rituals that arise from Blind Faith. Rather, Islam is an intellectual belief from which emanates a comprehensive system of life, be it for individuals or society. To understand the unique system that Islam offers necessitates the explanation of the Islamic belief i.e. the belief in God, Allah in Arabic, and the Word of God, the Qur’an.

Some people will never accept the Truth or any level of Proof

Children’s Feedback: None this week   : (
But we did talk about the Shahnam Charity Event (Saturday 25 August)
http://www.shahnam.org/

Homework:
Seerah: How many were in the Prophet's army for the Battle of Hunain (Huwazim)?
Belief - Do humans need Prophets or Messengers?

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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