Usool ul Hadith (Fundementals of Hadith) Part 2

Introduction

Part 1

In the last post, I was categorizing verses from the Qur’an which point to the proof that Prophet Muhammad PBUH, must be obeyed.  I will continue from where I left off.

The third categories of verses are the ones, where Allah says he revealed to Prophet Muhammad something along with the Qur’an.  Allah has revealed something other than just the Qur’an”.  Allah mentions this other thing as “Hikma” wisdom.  When you read the Qur’an and read about this other revelation called “Hikma” nothing will come to mind except the Sunnah.

“Our Lord! send amongst them a Messenger of their own, who shall recite unto them Your Verses and instruct them In the Book (this Qur’ân) and Al-Hikmah (i.e. Sunnah), and sanctify them. Verily! You are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.”

“ Similarly (to complete My Blessings on you) we have sent among You a Messenger (Muhammad) of Your own, reciting to You Our Verses (the Qur’ân) and sanctifying you, and teaching You the Book (the Qur’ân) and the Hikmah (i.e. Sunnah), and teaching You that which You used not to know.”

The fourth categories of verses are the ones, which number about 50, which explicitly and clearly mention that obedience to the Messenger is obligatory.

“ but no, by Your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make You (O Muhammad ) judge In All disputes between them, and find In themselves no resistance against Your decisions, and Accept (them) with full submission.”

In this verse, from Surah An Nisaa’, Allah says they have no Iman, unless they come back to Muhammad PBUH for any of their disputes, and they must not have resistance against the decision of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, or they have no Iman (faith).

“and obey Allâh and the Messenger (Muhammad) that You may obtain Mercy.”

“ These are the limits (set by) Allâh (or ordainments as regards laws of inheritance), and Whosoever obeys Allâh and his Messenger (Muhammad) will be admitted to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein, and that will be the great success.

And Whosoever disobeys Allâh and his Messenger (Muhammad), and transgresses his limits, He will cast Him into the Fire, to abide therein; and He shall have a disgraceful torment.”

This verse says who obeys Allah and his Messenger, will be admitted to Jannah (Gardens).  More importantly, the following verse says whoever disobeys Allah and his messenger, will be thrown in to the fire (naar).

The fifth categories of verses are the ones that say obedience to Prophet Muhammad PBUH is a sign of loving Allah.

“Say (O Muhammad to mankind): “If You (really) love Allâh Then follow Me, Allâh will love You and forgive You of Your sins. and Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Say (O Muhammad ): “Obey Allâh and the Messenger (Muhammad).” but if they turn away, Then Allâh does not like the disbelievers.”

If you truly love Allah, then you would follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, those who don’t are not loved by Allah.

The sixth categories of verses are those who show the status of the Prophet PBUH, and how he should be treated.

“ O You who believe! do not put (yourselves) forward before Allâh and his Messenger (Sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe Wa Sallam), and fear Allâh. Verily! Allâh is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”

This verse means, as Ibn Abbas (RA) has explained it as, you do not put your opinion above that of Allah or his Messenger PBUH.

The seventh and final category of verses, are miscellaneous verses, that you really can’t categories.

“And Certainly, You (O Muhammad ) call them to a Straight Path”

More to Come Soon, InshAllah.

Billion Dollar Challange, To those who reject Hadith

The people who say the Qur’an is the only way of guidance for Muslims, are very misguided.  Here is proof from the Qur’an that they have disobeyed their Messenger, and by disobeying their messenger they have disobeyed their lord.

POINT #1

In Islam, the Qibla(direction of Prayer) is Mecca.  Before being Mecca, it was Jerusalem.  The Qur’an, never mentions Jerusalem as the original Qibla.  Allah SWT says in the Qur’an:

“Thus we have made You [true Muslims – real believers of Islâmic Monotheism, true followers of Prophet Muhammad and his Sunnah (legal ways)], a Wasat (just) (and the best) nation, that You be witnesses over mankind and the Messenger (Muhammad) be a witness over you. and we made the Qiblah (prayer direction towards Jerusalem) which You used to face, Only to test those who followed the Messenger (Muhammad) from those who would turn on their heels (i.e. disobey the Messenger). indeed it was great (heavy) except for those whom Allâh guided. and Allâh would never make Your faith (prayers) to be lost (i.e. Your prayers offered towards Jerusalem). Truly, Allâh is full of kindness, the Most Merciful towards mankind. Verily! we have seen the turning of Your (Muhammad’s ) face towards the heaven. surely, we shall turn You to a Qiblah (prayer direction) that shall please you, so turn Your face In the direction of Al-Masjid- al-Harâm (at Makkah). and wheresoever You people are, turn Your faces (in prayer) In that direction. Certainly, the people who were given the Scriptures is the Truth from their Lord. and Allâh is not unaware of what they do.”

SubhanAllah, Allah was just testing those who obey Muhammad, when he said to pray to Jerusalem.  Its so sad that when the people 1400 years ago learned their lesson, people today still have not learned the lesson.

InshAllah, I will post another chalange in the future.  For the mean time, find a verses that says the Qibla was in Jerusalem(hint: does not exist).  Credit goes to Allah all mighty and Sheykh Taqi Uthmani Hafidhullah, from whose book(The Authority of the Sunnah) where I got this information.

Usool ul Hadith (Fundementals of Hadith) Part 1

There are several major proofs, that make it mandatory for us to follow the Sunnah.

The first proof of the importance of the Sunnah, the Prophets all of them, were infallible.  All Prophets were infallible when it came to spreading the religion of Allah.

“ O Messenger (Muhammad)! proclaim (the Message) which has been sent down to You from Your Lord. and if You do not, Then You have not conveyed his Message. Allâh will protect You from mankind. Verily, Allâh guides not the people who disbelieve.”

This is evidence that what the Prophet said, was not against the Message of Islam.

“That This is Verily the word of an honoured Messenger (Muhammad Sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe Wa Sallam). It is not the word of a poet, little is that You believe! Nor is it the word of a soothsayer (or a foreteller), little is that You remember!  This is the Revelation sent down from the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and All that exists).  And if He (Muhammad Sal-Allaahu ‘alayhe Wa Sallam) had forged a false saying concerning us (Allâh), we surely should have seized Him by his Right Hand (or with power and might),

and Then certainly should have cut off his life artery (Aorta) and none of You could withhold us from (punishing) Him.”

This is evidence that if the Prophet ever said anything against Islam, Allah would have cut off his artery (meaning killing him).  This is evidence that anything that comes out of the Prophets mouth is from Allah.

The second proof for Ahadith is, this is the purpose of the Messenger.  If Allah had just wanted a book, then the book would have been sent without a messenger.  Something, which has never happened.  Allah has never spoken to mankind directly, always through a messenger.  Allah has always spoken through Prophets and Messengers.

“ we sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed by Allâh’s Leave. if they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to You (Muhammad) and begged Allâh’s Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged Forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allâh All-Forgiving (one who accepts repentance), Most Merciful.”

This is clear proof, that the Messengers have been sent to be obeyed.  Prophets of the past have said the same thing:

Prophet Nuh said:

“So fear Allâh, keep Your duty to him, and obey Me.”

Prophet Hud said

“So fear Allâh, keep Your duty to him, and obey Me.”

Prophet Salih said:

“So fear Allâh, keep Your duty to him, and obey Me.”

Prophet Lut said:

“So fear Allâh, keep Your duty to him, and obey Me.”

Prophet Suhaib said:

“So fear Allâh, keep Your duty to him, and obey Me.”

There are about 15 Prophets in the Qur’an saying the very same statement; I just took some of the sayings found in Surah Ash Shuaira.

Another simple proof for the importance following the Sunnah is that the companions of Prophet Muhammad PBUH would follow his Sunnah, and would follow his orders. And Allah would praise them (the companions) in the Qur’an, and he never once reprimanded the companions for following his Sunnah.  Yet Allah still reprimanded them in the Qur’an for disobeying the Prophet, but never reprimanded them for obeying him.  If they made mistakes, the Qur’an was revealed to guide them, that is why the Sunnah is not misguided.

The fourth proof, are the verses of the Qur’an that prove this point.  There are 40+ verses regarding this.  I will not be able to quote all of them but I will categorize them.

The first category of verses, are the verses that tell the Muslims to believe in the Messenger of Allah.  Very general verses. “Allâh will not leave the believers In the state In which You are now, until He distinguishes the wicked from the good. nor will Allâh disclose to You the secrets of the Ghaib (unseen), but Allâh chooses of his Messengers whom He pleases. so believe In Allâh and his Messengers. and if You believe and fear Allâh, Then for You there is a great reward.”

This is part of Iman(belief), to believe in Prophet Muhammad.

The second categories of verses are the ones that say Prophet Muhammad is the explainer of the Qur’an.  Allah sent Prophet Muhammad to explain the Qur’an.  If we don’t obey his explanation of the Qur’an, then we are rejecting the Qur’an.

“ with clear signs and Books (We sent the Messengers). and we have also sent down unto You (O Muhammad ) the Reminder and the advice (the Qur’ân), that You may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought.”

One of the primary goals of Prophet Muhammad was to explain the Qur’an.

InshAllah Tomorrow or the day after, I will be writing Part 2 of this discussion.

Introduction to Usool ul Hadith (Fundementals of Hadith)

A recent phenomenon in the west has begun where; “Muslims” will examine their religion.  They will speak on Fiqh (law), Aqeedah(theology), and other issues, and they will leave out the Sunnah.  For the most part this new phenomenon is called “modernism”.

No “Muslim” would ever say that I don’t believe in Prophet Muhammad PBUH, or I would not obey him if he told me something.  But now they try to find ways around this.  Some of these excuses are “well hadith weren’t really preserved” or “Imam Bukhari died 200 years after the Prophet”.  “I don’t know what Prophet Muhammad actually said” is the same as saying “we don’t care what Prophet Muhammad PBUH said”.  If you deny that the Sunnah has been preserved, the end result is denying the Sunnah itself.

Let’s first start off with some simple definitions.  The meaning of the word “Sunnah” linguistically means path, a way.  “Sunnah” is a simple path, or a road.  The Sharia(Islamic Rulings) definition of “Sunnah” depends on who uses it, and what context.  The scholars of Fiqh(law) define “Sunnah” to be “that which is not obligatory to do, but if a person does it he is rewarded.”  This is the most commonly known meaning of “Sunnah”.  According to the Scholars of hadith, “Sunnah” is defined as “All of the actions, the statements, the tacit approvals, and the physical characteristics of the Prophet.”  According to the Scholars of Aqeedah, the “Sunnah” is defined as what the Muslims believe.  The Theology of the Muslims is called the Sunnah.  That is why Ahlus-Sunnah wa al Jamaah, take the name that they do.  They are the people of the Sunnah, meaning they follow the theology of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.  For example when Imam Ahmad Raheemullah wrote a book about Aqeedah (theology) he titled it Usool ul Sunnah(Fundamentals of the Sunnah).  Now lets define the word “Hadith.”  Linguistically “hadith” is the opposite of “khadeem”, “Hadith” it means “something that is new”.  A person’s statements are called “hadith” because he said something new that he didn’t say before.  From a Sharia point of view, “Hadith” is a statement of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

What is the difference of Sunnah and the Hadith?  Hadith is something that is tangible.  You can open up Sahih Bukhari, and read what the Prophet said.  The Sunnah is something that is Abstract, it can be found in Hadith, but it is an action so it is not tangible.  Sunnah is something that he did, so there is no such thing as a Sahih(authentic) Sunnah or a Daef(weak) Sunnah, but there are Sahih Hadith and Daef Hadith.  When we are talking about the Sunnah, we are talking about a methodology, when we are speaking of Hadith, we are speaking of a specific statement, specific chain of narration, it may be authentic or weak.  Hadith is what preserved the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

What is the status of Sunnah in Islam?  The scholars of Islam have three very similar opinions.  The first opinion is that the Sunnah is second only to the Qur’an.  We find an Ayah and Hadith about something, we accept the hadith first and then also accept the hadith.  The second opinion, which is the majority opinion, is that the Qur’an and the Sunnah are equivalent in weight.  This does not mean that Qur’an and Sunnah are equivalent in blessing, no doubt the Qur’an is the most blessed book and the holiest book, but this means they are equivalent in a Fiqh (legal) point of view.   The third opinion, which no scholar actually had this opinion, is that the Sunnah is stronger than the Qur’an, but this opinion has been referred too.  The reason for this was that the Qur’an needs the Sunnah to be understood, but the Sunnah does not need the Qur’an to be understood.  One should note that the no scholar has the third opinion.  The strongest opinion is the second opinion.  One should always remember that this is regarding Fiqh (law) and not Barakah (blessing).

InshAllah, in the next post I will be jumping into daleel, for following the Sunnah.  The next post should be up on Monday InshAllah, and it will be a shorter version of an Authority of Sunnah course.

Is there Forgiveness In Islam?

In Islam if a person commits a sin, does that sin ever have a chance at being forgiven?

Allah says in the Qur’an

Say: “O My slaves who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allâh, Verily Allâh forgives All sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

In my last post I said that Allah has more than just one name, these names describe his attributes. Well, two of his names areالغفور (pronounced Al- Ghafoor) and الغفار (prnounced Al-Ghafaar).

Al Ghafoor الغفور means “quality of forgiveness.” While Al Ghafaar الغفار means “quantity of forgiveness.” Similar yet slightly different meanings.

Both word come from the root word غفر (pronounced ghafara) which translates to “to cover” or sometimes can be used as “to protect”.

What this name means is that Allah will cover up a sinful person’s sins, and protect them from the punishment of the sins.

The name Al Ghafoor(which is in the verse I quoted at the top) is mentioned 91 one times in the Qur’an. 72 times it is accompanied by the name Ar Rahman(the most merciful), just like the example at the top. 6 times with al Haleem(the ever forbearing). 4 times with the name Aufu(the oft pardoning). 3 times with Ash Shakir(the all apreciative). 2 times with Al Azeez(the all mighty). And one time with Al Wadud(the Most loving).

When you think of Islam, remember to think of the one of always forgives, and forgives the most, Allah.