Hadith 28 & 29
read by Abu Arwa Ali
Hadith 28
- From Abu Najih al-‘Irbäd bin Sâriya, who said: The Messenger of Allah gave us a sermon by which our hearts were filled with fear and tears came to our eyes. We said, “O Messenger of Allāh, it is as though this is a farewell sermon, so counsel us.” He said, “I counsel you to fear Allah and to give absolute obedience even if a slave becomes your leader. Verily, he among you who lives [long] will see great controversy, so you must keep to my Sunnah and to the sunnah of the rightly-guided khulafa’ bite onto it with your molars. Beware of newly invented matters, for every invented matter is an innovation and every innovation is a going astray, and every going astray is in the Hellfire.” [Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi]
- Recap of previous lesson (parts 1-7)
- The Prophet (ﷺ) commanded us to hear and obey even if a slave is placed in a position of authority over you, what does this mean?
- The Prophet (ﷺ) foretold us that this ummah will split into 73 sects, what does this mean?
- Imam Malik stated that whoever innovates into Islam an innovation, considering it to be good, then he claims that Muhammad (ﷺ) has betrayed the trust that Allah entrusted him with, wal ‘iyaadhu billaah. Why is this?
Refuting Innovation
- Some people incorrectly cite some narrations as evidence for carrying out bidah (innovation) in the religion even though this is prohibited
- The narration about setting a good example and how this is not an evidence for innovation
Part 8: Summary of benefits
- 1. It is liked for an admonishment to be delivered at certain times
- 2. The keenness of the companions in wanting to know good
- 3. The most important advice that can be given is having the Taqwa of Allah
- 4. From among the very important advice is hearing and obeying the leaders
- 5. In this Hadith we see how important it is for us to hear and obey the leader
- 6. The Prophet (ﷺ) informed us that a great amount of differing will occur in his Ummah and the fact that this has occurred is from amongst the evidence of his prophethood
- 7. Sticking to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah and the rightly guided Khulafaa is an avenue of gaining safety
- 8. The great Virtue of the rightly guided Khulafaa (Abu Baker, Umar, Uthman, Ali) may Allah be pleased with them all
- 9. This Hadith contains a warning against every single innovation that does not have any foundation in the religion
- 10. All innovation is misguidance
- 11. In this Hadith there is encouragement of certain things and discouragement of others
- 12. This Hadith points out how important the advice that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) gave was
Hadith 29
- From Muadh bin Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:”I said, “O Messenger of Allāh, tell me of an act which will enter me into Paradise and will keep me away from Hellfire.” He said, “You have asked me about a major matter, yet it is easy for him for whom Allah the Exalted makes it easy. You should worship Allah, associating nothing with Him, you should perform the prayers, you should pay the zakah, you should fast in Ramadan, and you should make the pilgrimage to the House.” Then he said, “Shall I not show you the gates of goodness? Fasting (which) is a shield, charity (which) extinguishes sin as water extinguishes fire, and the praying of a man in the depth of night.” Then he recited: “Who forsake their beds to cry unto their Lord in fear and hope, and spend of what We have bestowed on them. No soul knows what is kept hidden for them of joy, as a reward for what they used to do”. Then he said, “Shall I not tell you of the peak of the matter, its pillar, and its topmost part?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allāh.” He said, “The peak of the matter is Islam, the pillar is prayer, and its topmost part is jihad.” Then he said, “Shall I not tell you of what controls all that?” I said, “Yes, O Messenger of Allah,” and he took hold of his tongue and said, “Restrain this.” I said, “O Prophet of Allah, will what we say be held against us?” He said, “May your mother be bereaved of you, Muadh! Is there anything that topples people on their faces” or he said “on their noses”-“into Hellfire other than the harvests of their tongues?” [At-Tirmidhi]
- The explanation of this Hadith is split into 7 parts
Part 1: The question of Muadh (may Allah be pleased with him)
- He asked the Prophet (ﷺ) what will bring him close to Paradise and distance him from Hellfire
- This indicates how keen the companions were in wanting to know the avenues of good and also how to avoid Allah’s punishment out of fear of it
- This is in contrast to the Sufis who claim base their actions on love only and do not consider the punishment of Allah nor give attention to fearing Him
Important Point about the letter “”
- The letter “ba” used in this narration
- The importance of context when understanding Arabic pre-propositions
- What are the different possible meanings of the letter “ba” here?
- Why is it important to know this?
Islamic understanding of actions vs the Christian view
- An anecdote
- How do Christians view actions? How do some Christians think Muslims view actions?
- How do Muslims view actions?