Sunday 6 Jan 2019
Lesson 14: Hadith 4 (Part 11) and Hadith 5 (1-8)
Hadith 4
- On the authority of Abdullah ibn Masood (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and he is the truthful, the believed, narrated to us, “Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or wretched. By Allah, besides Whom there is no deity worthy of worship, verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and verily one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
- The explanation of this hadith consists of 11 parts, we did parts 6-10 in Lesson 13
Part 11: Summary of benefits
- 1. This hadith mentions the stages of the development of the human fetus in the womb
- 2. The blowing of the soul into the fetus occurs at the 120th day
- 3. There are angels entrusted with the affairs of the womb
- 4. In this hadith there is belief in the unseen
- 5. In this hadith there is belief in the pre-decree of Allah
- 6. In this narration there is the swearing by Allah in order to emphasise
- 7. Actions are by their endings
- 8. The importance of combining between fear and hope
- 9. Actions are a means of entering Paradise or Hell
- 10. The one who has been written down as having a wretched end, then no human knows about this, the reverse is also true
Hadith 5
- On the authority of the mother of the faithful, Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, “Whoever introduces something into this affair of ours that is not from it, then it is rejected” [Bukhari & Muslim] In another version in Muslim it reads: “Whoever does an action that is not from our affair, then it is rejected”
- The explanation of this hadith consists of 9 parts
Part 1: Determining the validity of actions
- Note: the first hadith of the 40 Hadith of Imam Nawawi (see Lesson 2) shows us how an action is validated and determined internally, i.e. via intentions
- This hadith (i.e. hadith 5) is a foundational hadith in determining the validity of actions externally as they have to conform to the Sunnah
Part 2: Invalidity of actions
- If an act of worship is performed in contradiction to the legislation, not in accordance with what the Prophet (ﷺ) came with, then this action is rejected and invalid
- Merchandise which is taken based upon an invalid transaction, then the merchandise which was taken based on this has to be returned to the seller
- What are some examples of the above?
Part 3: The Innovator
- The one who innovates something into the legislation then this is rejected and he himself has a threat upon him for the afterlife
- The statement of the Prophet (ﷺ) regarding innovators and those who accommodate them
Part 4: The Second wording
- The second wording that is found in Saheeh Muslim is broader in wording than the one found in both
- The first wording indicates that the action is only rejected from the one who actually devised the innovation (i.e. the initial innovator), however this second wording informs that anyone who performs an innovated act, then he too will have it rejected and this therefore covers those who follow the original innovator
- What are some examples of innovators?
- Question: Who was Sayyid Qutb and what was his innovation and misguidance?
- Important: What is the correct way of explaining verses of the Qur’an?
Part 5: Arabic Grammar of the Hadith
- What is the meaning of the word “radd” (“rejected”) in the arabic of the hadith?
- Literally this word means “rejecting”, it is a verb in the form of a non
- What is this linguistic tool used for in the Arabic language?
- Therefore in this contect the use of the word means “rejected”
- What are some other examples of this?
Part 6:
- This hadith does not include those matters which are used for the preservation of the religion
- Example: Arabic language has changed since the time of the Prophet and certain grammatical concepts did not exist then, however the study of Arabic Grammar is not innovation in the Religion
- Rather this hadith covers acts of worship
Part 7: Innovation is rejected regardless of intention
- This hadith shows us that any act of worship which contradicts the Sharia then it is rejected regardless of the intention of the person doing this
- The example of the companion performed the slaughter of the sacrifice before the Eid Prayer
Part 8: Explicit and Implied meaning of this hadith
- This hadith has an explicit meaning and an implied meaning
- The expressed meaning is that any act of worship done not in accordance with what Allah has legislated then it is rejected
- The implied meaning is that every act of worship which is in accordance with what has been legislated then it will not be rejected
- NOTE: An action must also be done sincerely
Q&A:
- When you attempt to warn some misguided muslims about innovations, they try to use modern day transport as examples of innovation and justify their innovations
- An important principle from Shaykh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah regarding judging matters related to the deen and dunya
- If your neighbour celebrates the birthday of the Prophet (ﷺ), should you accept gifts from him?