Lesson 51: Hadith 32 (There Should Be No Harm) and Hadith 33 (The Proof is Upon the Claimant)

Read by our brother Abu Arwa Ali

Summary

  • The Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm”
  • What are the different forms of harm?
  • The fairness and perfection of the Islamic judicial system
  • The claimant vs the one against whom the claim is made. How is the matter settled under Islamic law?

Hadith 32

  • From Abū Saʿīd Saʿd bin Sinān al-Khudrī (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhu), that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “There should be neither harming nor reciprocating harm.” [Related by Ibn Mājah, al-Dārqutnī]
  • The explanation is split into 2 parts

Part 1: What is the meaning of this Hadith?

  • Statement of Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy upon him)
    • “Dharar” is the harm that occurs unintentionally
    • “Dhiraar” is harm that occurs intentionally
  • Both forms have been prohibited in the Islamic legislation
  • Harm that is rightful (i.e legal punishments) is an exception
  • Ibn Rajab says therefore what is prohibited in Islam is to cause harm without right, this can occur in two situations:
    • 1. That there is no intention behind it other than to harm, this is absolutely prohibited. What are some examples?
    • 2. A person has good intention behind the act however he ends up causing harm, what are some examples?

Part 2: Summary of Benefits

  • 1. This hadith highlights the perfection of the Islamic law
  • 2. A Muslim should not harm others intentionally or unintentionally

Hadith 33

  • From Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiyallāhu ʿanhumā), that the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) said, “If the people were to be given in accordance with their claim, men would claim the fortunes and lives of [other] people, but the onus of proof is upon the claimant, and the taking of an oath is incumbent upon him who denies.” [Related by al-Bayhaqī]
  • The explanation is split into 4parts

Part 1: The authenticity of this narration

  • What has been established in the two Sahihs (Bukhara and Muslim)?

Part 2: The fairness of the Islamic Judicial (Sharia) system

  • This hadith is from amongst the foundational principles of the Islamic Judical system
  • This hadith shows us that people are allowed to make claims, but if they were given what they claim purely based on their claim alone, then this would cause the fortunes and lives of other people to be taken away without right
  • However the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), rather than leaving it to the claims of people, he established a system by which a just and fair decision can be made between people
  • The claimant vs the one against whom the claim is made. How is the matter settled under Islamic law?
    • The person making the claim must produce the evidence
      • What are the different forms of evidence? What is the strongest evidence?
    • The one against whom the claim is made, if he denies the claim then he has to take an oath by Allah
      • Why is it the case that this type of Oath is automatically strong evidence?
  • What if the one against whom the claim is being made refuses to take an oath?
  • What if the claim being made goes against Islamic law or reason?
  • This is the general “rule of thumb”, there are other factors that can impact the ruling and requires more detail
  • A description of what a Judge in the Islamic Law system is like:
    • Can anyone with an Islamic degree pass judgements?
    • What if someone has knowledge about Islamic law? Can he then pass judgements? Are there more requirements?
    • How is a judge selected in the Islamic court system?

Part 3: Religious matters

  • Just as it is upon the claimant to produce evidence in worldly matters, similarly it is upon the claimant to produce evidence concerning religious matters
  • What does this mean?
  • The companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and their methodology
  • How did later generations become misguided?