Category: Articles

Sun 3 Nov 2019

Lesson 42: Hadith 27 & 28

Hadith 27

• An-Nawwās bin Sam’ān – may Allah be pleased with him – said: the Prophet (ﷺ) said: “Piety is noble character; but sin is what comes to your mind and you dislike that the people become aware of it.” [Muslim]
• Wabişah bin Ma’bad – may Allah be pleased with him – said: I came to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and he said: “You came to enquire about piety?” I said; Yes. He said: “Search your mind; piety is what the soul is at ease with and the heart finds tranquility in. But sin is what occurs to the mind and brings hesitation in the heart even when the people give you rulings, telling you what to do.” 
• A Hasan Hadīth; we were given the report from the Musnad of the two great Scholars: Ahmad bin Hanbal and Ad-Darimi, with a Hasan chain of transmission.
• The explanation of this hadith is split into 8 parts
• Some important clarifications:
  • The Prophet (ﷺ) said that sin is those things which you would dislike the people becoming aware of. Does this mean our reference point for defining sins is the outlook of society? NO. Sins are defined legally in the legislation of the shariah, however it is a sign of a sin that a person disliked others finding out about it or becoming hesitant about it, this is therefore an indication for you not to do it even if you do not know its exact ruling until you find out.
  • What if something is Halal in the shariah, but he is hesitant about it? What then?
  • Who does this Hadith apply to? The Prophet (ﷺ) said this statement to a person of Faith and piety, therefore this Hadith DOES NOT apply to those who sin openly and have no shame, for them they cannot use this Hadith as an excuse to redefine sins for themselves

Part 6: “Even if people give you verdict upon verdict”

• What does this statement of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) mean?
• Additional Benefit: When a scholar gives a verdict, or when you impart knowledge to someone, consideration should be given to the nature of the person asking the question

Part 7: “You came to enquire about piety?”

• The Prophet (ﷺ) had prior knowledge, how may this have been?

Part 8: Summary of Benefits

• 1. This Hadith highlights the great station of good character
• 2. Righteousness and Sin are comprehensive terms
• 3. The Muslim should embark upon those things whose permissibility are clear, rather than engaging in those things that are doubtful
• 4. The Believer that fears Allah should not do those things that his heart does not feel at ease with
• 5. From this Hadith we learn that the companions were very keen about knowing the Halal and Haraam , and those things that were righteous and those things that are sinful

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]
• The explanation of this hadith is split into 8 parts