How ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab became Muslim.

This is the story of how one of the greatest Muslim leaders of all time became a Muslim.  This is the conversion story of ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (Radiallahu Anhu).

‘Umar ibn Al Khattab was a feared and well respected man from the Banu Adi clan from among the Quraish.  He came from a middle class family from Mecca.  Well known for his determination and fearless nature; he became one of the early opponents of the religion of Islam.

During the days prior to his acceptance to Islam; the religion was being taught in private.  There was fear of persecution from the Quraish.  The Muslims would meet in homes, and would learn the religion from Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam).

There were few men that had carried so much honor and fear in Quraish.  ‘Umar ibn al Khattab was one of them.  That is why, Prophet Muhammad SWS once made a Dua(invocation) to Allah:
“O Allah! Give Islam strength through one of the men you love more: ‘Umar ibn al Khattab or Amr ibn al Hisham(Abu Jahl)”

Umm Abdullah(Radiallahu Anhum)was running one day and had the plan to leave Mecca because of the persecutions.  She ran into, fellow tribesmen, ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab who asked her, “Why are you running around?” She responded, “You have caused us too much pain for worshiping Allah.”  To her shock ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab told her, “have peace on your journey.” Umm Abdullah told her brother that she ran into ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, and her brother responded “He’s going to kill us.”  Islam began to soften the heart of ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab.

One day ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab went to visit the Haram.  Once there he saw the Prophet praying in front of his eyes. Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam)was reciting Surah Haqqah(the Reality).  Soon after listening to it he said “By Allah, this is poetry as the Quraish have said.”  Right when he said this; Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) recited:
إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ
وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ قَلِيلًا مَا تُؤْمِنُونَ
“That this is verily the word of an honoured Messenger
It is not the word of a poet, little is that you believe!” (69:40-41)
Surprised by the verses, he said to himself “He must be a soothsayer.” Another accusation made by the Quraish.  As soon as he said that; the next verses were recited:
وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ قَلِيلًا مَا تَذَكَّرُونَ
تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ
“Nor is it the word of a soothsayer , little is that you remember!
This is the Revelation sent down from the Lord of the ‘Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)” (69: 42-43)
Later on in life, when speaking of this moment, ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab said “This is when Islam entered my heart.”

‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, a man known for determination and his anger, made a sudden decision of killing Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam).  Even though Islam was slowly entering his heart; the hatred he had for the new religion still existed.  So on that day that he just decided that he was going kill the Messenger of Allah.  On his way he ran into Na’im ibn Abdullah (Radiallahu Anhu)who began to talk to him.  When Na’im found out that ‘Umar wanted to kill the Prophet; he told ‘Umar that maybe he should speak with his sister first(inferring that she became Muslim).  When he came near his sister’s house he heard the recitation of the Qur’an.  Upon enteringhe asked his sister and her husband Said ibn Zaid (Radiallahu Anhu) “Have you صدها (left the faith of your forefathers)?”.  He then began to attack his sister and her husband.  Upon seeing blood of her sister; he had began feeling guilty.  He apologized to his sister and her husband, and requested to read the words of the Qur’an.  Upon the request his sister said “you are not clean go wash your self.”  Upon reading the verses of Surah Ta ha; Islam began to enter his heart again.

Now ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab returned on his plan to visit the Prophet.  While he made the stop at his sister’s house; Na’im ibn Abdullah went and warned the Prophet and his companions of ‘Umar’s intentions.  When ‘Umar got to the house-sword in hand. The warrior Hamza ibn AbdulMutallib (Radiallahu Anhu) said, “I will kill him with his own sword.”  The Prophet(Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) told him, “No, go hide.”  When ‘Umar entered the Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) grabbed ‘Umar by the collar and shook him; then asked him, “O Ibn Al Khattab, Why have you not accepted Islam?” ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (Radiallahu Anhu)responded:
أشهد أن لا إله إلاَّ الله و أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله
“I bear witness that there is no deity worthy of worship but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

The Muslims that were hiding began yelling “الله أكبر”(God is the Greatest).  This became so loud that it could be heard through out Mecca.  Till this day, when a person accepts Islam, upon him finishing his deceleration the people say “الله أكبر”
After years of secretly spreading Islam, from that moment on, Islam began being preached in the open.  Outside for everyone to accept.

Immediately after becoming Muslim; ‘Umar asked Prophet Muhammad (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam), “Who is the hardest on the Muslims?”  The Prophet (Sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wassalam) told him it was Abu Jahl ibn Hisham.  So ‘Umar immediately went to the house of Abu Jahl and knocked on his door.  Abu Jahl greeted his nephew, but then ‘Umar said to him “I am a Muslim now.”  Upon hearing that Abu Jahl slammed the door on his face.

The young Abdullah Ibn Umar (Radiallahu Anhu), the son of ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab, who secretly was already Muslim at a very young age could not be happier.  When he found out he began running through the streets yelling “‘Umar has left the religion of your forefathers.”

Within one hour of becoming Muslim; ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab began fighting with the Quraish.  Many of the Polytheist came out and began fighting with ‘Umar.  When ‘Umar began to fatigue, he would grab an honored son of Quraish and threatened everybody that he would poke his eyes out if they didn’t back off.  He continued to do this until he was completely tired.

This is what made ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab (Radiallahu Anhu) special.  He was a man of action.  He not only believed, but he did something.  We can all take a lesson from his life.  We sit around and we have been Muslim for days, weeks, months, years, and most of us our whole lives.  This man was Muslim for just an hour, and began fighting for his faith.  How can we be too lazy to do anything; when we had an example like ‘Umar ibn Al Khattab.

History of the Compilation of the Sunnah

This is a brief history of a science that took place for 3 or 4 centuries.

Contrary to popular belief, the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad SWS was being written down during his life.  The fact that it was being written down during his life, has been proven without a shadow of a doubt.  ‘Amr ibn Aws RA once a doubt came to him, and he asked the Prophet PBUH “should I write down everything you say even when you joke”, Prophet Muhammad SWS pointed to his tongue, and then said “write, everything that comes from this tongue is the truth.”

The Prophet PBUH allowed many of his saying to be written.  Once he gave a Khutba and a man asked could I have what you said in writing.  Then the Prophet PBUH said “Right down for Abu Shah.”

It is reported that over 60 companions would be scribes for the Prophet PBUH, they would write down the Qur’an and Hadith, which came from Prophet Muhammad PBUH.

After the death of Prophet Muhammad SWS, the companions realized the responsibility and importance of preserving the Hadith.  That is why the major companions would narrate so many hadith.  Jabir ibn Abdullah, Abdullah ibn Abbas, Aisha bint Abu Bakr, Anas ibn Malik, Abdullah ibn Umar, and Abu Hurairah who narrated the most hadith. May Allah be pleased with them.

The Prophet PBUH even made a special Dua for Abu Hurairah so he could remember the Prophets Hadith.  Narrated Abu Huraira: I said to Allah’s Apostle “I hear many narrations (Hadiths) from you but I forget them.” Allah’s Apostle said, “Spread your Rida’ (garment).” I did accordingly and then he moved his hands as if filling them with something (and emptied them in my Rida’) and then said, “Take and wrap this sheet over your body.” I did it and after that I never forgot any thing. (Sahih Bukhari)

One person even asked Abu Huraira why he narrated so many Hadith, yet he only lived with the Prophet PBUH for 3 years.  He said because when he came to Medinah he became part of AhluSuffa.  Unlike other companions who had business, he only spent time with the Prophet.

Many of these companions opened schools.  Not physical buildings, but they had students who learned from them.

The formation of the Science of Hadith began in the time of the Tabaieen and the Taba Tabaieen.  If you wanted to study Hadith, it was understood you had to travel.  First study in your city, and then travel to the other cities.  For example Scholars of Hadith such as Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim, they traveled all over the world.  Bukhari’s life began in the area of Russia, and he traveled through almost all over the Muslim world.  Then at the end of his life he returned to his home.

For Hadith to be written down in the form of books did not begin until the time of Imam Malik, when he wrote down his Al-Muwatta.  This does not mean hadith were not written before this, they were written way before this.  The only difference was, that previously they were written for the person’s personal notes, not as a book to spread to everyone.  This was the first book for mass distribution.  This book was written by Imam Malik in Medinah around 130 AH.  So for those Quraniyoon that say “Bukhari came 300 years after the Prophet” the easy refutation is “Yes he did, but his sheikh’s sheikh’s sheikh wrote down the Hadith during the life of the Prophet.”  This is something they cannot refute, because it is the truth.

There was a PHD Dissertation by Sheikh Muhammad Mustafa Azami at Cambridge University.  This was one of the rare books that were translated from English to Arabic.  This book is actually available at Amazon titled under “Studies of early Hadith literature.”  He compiled the names of people who actually WROTE down hadith for the first 200 years of Islam.  Before both Imam Bukhari and Imam Muslim.  He compiled the names the authors, what were there personal manuscripts.  In order to refute the idea that hadith weren’t written down until 300 years after the Prophet death.  The idea spread by the Orientalist, the “modernist” Muslim, and Qur’an alone Cult.  He proved without a shadow of a doubt that there were works written down before that.  Usually these people ask the question, where are these manuscripts.  The answer is quite simple; first realize that these were personal manuscripts not published books.  They were not preserved like books.  The main reason they were not preserved, because later works absorbed them, and there was no need for them to be preserved.  The works for the 1^st and 2^nd century were absorbed by works of the 3^rd and 4^th century.  The greatest proof for this is the Saheefa of Haman ibn Munayba; Saheefa means manuscripts.  Haman ibn Munayba was one of the students of Abu Hurairah, in his manuscripts he wrote down the hadith of Abu Hurairah.  He recorded about 100 or so hadith, and he died 110 years after Hijrah.  Amazingly this manuscript exists to this day.  A modern scholar Muhammad Hameedullah he discovered these manuscripts early this century, around the 1920’s.  He discovered these manuscripts in a museum in France.  The most interesting part of these manuscripts, was that the over 100 hadith in them, they can all be found in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.  These manuscripts were written around the 40’s-70’s after the Hijrah, meaning lest than half a century after the Prophets death.  When Imam Muslim narrates this hadith, he also mentions that this hadith can be found in the Saheefa of Haman ibn Munayba.  Even more amazing, is that Imam Ahmad, in his Musnad narrated all of the hadith of Saheefa of Haman ibn Munayba, in a single booklet.  This proves that Imam Muslim and Imam Ahmad both viewed the Saheefa of Haman ibn Munayba in their lifetimes.  This is proof, that there is no need to keep the earliest works, because later works absorbed them.

The hadith when they were compiled were compiled in a special order.  This was a very deep science, and the scholars organized the Hadith in special ways.  Some scholars organized them by the topic of the hadith, others by who narrated the hadith, or by who they learned the hadith from.  Imam Malik’s Muwatta was the first and the one that cannot be categorized.  It was the first, and the organization began later.

The early works were the Musnad works.  The Musnad works organized the hadith, by the Sahabi who narrated the hadith.  The Musnad would for example list all the Hadith narrated by Abu Bakr, and then all by Umar, and then all by Uthman, and then all by Ali, and so on.  The most famous Musnad is of Imam Ahmad, al Musnad Imam Ahmad.  Imam Ahmad compiled over 30,000 hadith.  This is one of the largest collections of original source hadith.  This Musnad is still in tact today.  Another famous Musnad is of Baqi ibn Maqlad, this was the largest book of hadith ever written.  This Musnad is not available in its complete form now.  Our scholar’s referred to these Musnads in their books, but many of them do not exist in our times.  One reason for this is many Europeans came and stole them.  That is why you can find many early copies of Hadith books in Princeton, Oxford, France, Holland, and the most are found in Germany.  Some people believe this Musnad is still in existence with the non-Muslims, because our scholars referred it to just 200 years ago.

After the Musnad came the Sahih.  Where our scholars only kept the Sahih (Authentic).  There are two famous ones of these.  The first Jami as Sahih also known as the Sahih of Imam Bukhari who died in 256 AH.  The second As Sahih Imam Muslim of Imam Abul Husayn Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, or more popularly known as Imam Muslim who died in 261 AH.  Sahih Bukhari is the more authentic of the two Sahihs, but Sahih Musim is the better organized of the two Sahihs.  If a hadith is found in either of the two books, it is known as 100% Sahih.  The mass majority of Muslims scholars, minus 4 or 5, have said that the two Sahihs are 100% authentic.  These two scholars, and their two works were one of the greatest blessings to the Muslims.  If you look at the lives of these two scholars, they had so many trials and tribulations just to put these collections together.  It was a great blessing for us to have them as our scholars.  Allah has blessed these two Imams, by keeping their works around, and mentioned right after the book of Allah.  Some Hadith rejecters even go so far as to claim that Imam Bukhari did not know Arabic, which is an absolutely stupid argument; this is because they have no knowledge and speak out of hate.  Imam Bukhari had authored books in Arabic, how is it possible to write books not just narrations of hadith, and not know Arabic; this is how sad and low their argument is.  People like the great idiot of the 20^th century Rashad Khalifa, speak out of ignorance instead of intelligence.  There are other works of Sahih.  Sahih of Ibn Quzaima who died in 350 AH.  This book was lost very early on after its compilation.  Ibn Hajr ever said that during his lifetime that he only came across one fourth of it.  Many scholars believed that the whole book was lost, but recently Sheikh al Adhami found the one fourth of it in Turkey, mixed with another manuscript.  It was obvious that there were to manuscripts mixed together.  Another book of Sahih was by a student of Ibn Quzaima, Ibn Hibban who died in 354 AH.  This is a very large volume; it is called Sahih Ibn Hibban.  Both the books of Ibn Quzaima and Ibn Hibban are not 100% authentic, but the general rule is most of the hadith are Sahih.

After the Musnad and the Sahih, then came the works of the Sunnan.  The compilers wanted to organize the Fiqhi aspect of the hadith.  These are organized by the order of Fiqh.  They compiled them to make Fiqh easier.  Some major Sunnan works are of Sunnan ad Dharami who died in 256 AH, Sunnan Abu Dawood who died in 275 AH, Sunnan Ibn Majah who died in 279 AH, and Sunnan An Nasai who died in 303 AH, Sunnan Ad Darulkhutni who died in 385 AH, and Sunnan Bayhaqi who died in 458 AH.  As for the Sunnan of at Thirmidi, its proper classification is al Jam’I, although it is very close to the Sunnan.  Scholars refer to the four Sunnan: Sunnan Abu Dawood, Sunnan At Thirmidi, Sunnan Ibn Majah, and Sunnan An Nasai.

The other categories of Hadith literature are the Mu’jam works.  The Mu’jam works are categorized by the Sheikhs you heard them from.  These are organized according to the scholars a person hears the hadith from.  The greatest of Mu’jam works are the three works of At Tabarani, he wrote Al Mu’jam al Khabeer, Al Mu’jam al Awsat, and Al Mu’jam as Saghir.

There are many ways to categories Hadith, but these are the 4 main ways, the Musnad, the Sahih, the Sunnan, and the Mu’jam.

Ahlus Sunnah, has 6 books called the Al-Sihah al-Sittah.  These six books do not have a preference over the other books of hadith except Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Musim.  These six; Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunnan Abi Dawood, Sunnan At Thirmidi, Sunnan an Nasai and Sunnan Ibn Majah.  These six books are selected because they are the easiest for a person took pick up and find the narrator.  This does not mean that the four books, not named the Sahih, are all authentic.  These six books are the most comprehensive of all the Hadith books.

Non-sourced Hadith books:  These are books like 40 Hadith An Nawawi and Imam Nawawi’s Riyaad us Salaheen.  Riyaad us Salaheen, is probably one of the greatest works ever, and something that every Muslim should have.  People often make the mistake of thinking this is a source hadith.  Hadith from these works can not be quoted, because Imam Nawawi in these books says “I got this from Bukhari” or “I got this from Muslim”.  If there is a book, which quotes a hadith from the works of An Nawawi, there is a clear lack of knowledge from the author who quoted this.  Another book al Mundareez at Taghrib wa Tarhib, this is just a compilation of hadith from other sources (ie other Hadith books such as the Sahih Sittah).  Another is Kanz al-Ummal fi Sunan wal Aqwal wal Afwal by Sheikh al Hindi.  It is the largest collection of Hadith under two covers.  This book was a collection of Hadith by topic; it was an encyclopedia of Hadith.

How the Qur’an corrected the Errors of the Bible

In the Qur’an, God tells the story of the Pharaoh and Haman:

And Fir’aun (Pharaoh) said: “O Hâmân! build Me a tower that I may arrive at the ways,

“The ways of the heavens, and I may look upon the Ilâh (God) of Mûsa (Moses) but Verily, I think Him to be a liar.” Thus it was made fair-seeming, In Fir’aun’s (Pharaoh) eyes, the evil of his deeds, and He was hindered from the (Right) path, and the plot of Fir’aun (Pharaoh) led to nothing but loss and destruction (for Him).

Haman has been ordered by the Pharaoh to build a tower.  So lets look in the bible, is Haman told to construct something in the bible? Yes, but not by the Pharaoh.  In the Book of Esther, Haman is an advisor to Xerxes (Ahaseures) and in Babylon.  So there are three discrepancies between the Qur’an and the Bible regarding Haman.

1. Haman worked for the Pharaoh in the Qur’an, while Haman worked for Xerces in the Book of Esther.
2. Haman was in Egypt in the Qur’an, while Haman was in Babylon in the book of Esther.
3. Haman was in the neighborhood of 1,000 years earlier in the Qur’an than in the book of Esther.

Now when people in Europe began studying eastern thought, as well as Islam they discovered this.  Almost immediately they began saying that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) took this religion from some priest and mixed up the stories when he was “making” the Qur’an.  Their main goal was to say that the Qur’an was made up, or written by man.

Louis(or Ludovico) Maracci a Catholic Priest and confessor to Pope Innocent XI. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludovico_Marracci) wrote:

“Mahumet(Muhammad) has mixed up sacred stories. He took Haman as the adviser of Pharaoh whereas in reality he was an adviser of Xerxes (Ahaseures), King of Persia. He also thought that the Pharaoh ordered construction for him of a lofty tower from the story of the Tower of Babel. It is certain that in the Sacred Scriptures there is no such story of the Pharaoh. Be that as it may, he Muhammad has related a most incredible story”

Encyclopedia Britannica said in 1891:

“The most ignorant Jew could never have mistaken Haman (the minister of Ahasuerus) for the minister of the Pharaoh”

Those are just a few of the examples of ignorance thinking that it is the truth.

In the late 19^th century, the Catholic Church declared the Book of Esther, of being a book of tales and not a historic book.  Even the modern Jewish Encyclopedia has stated that this book is just a book of stories, stating that it was more of a book about Romance than did it state historic fact.  While not ONE Muslim ever doubts what the Qur’an is, it is the word of God, not inspired to humans, but the actual word of God.

So now we have discussed what the Qur’an says, what the bible says, what the Christians scholars say about the authenticity of the Qur’an, and then what they say about the authenticity of the Book of Esther.  Now lets discuss  history.

In the 19^th and 20^th century when the study of Hieroglyphics began to revive the language of the ancient Egyptians; a French Doctor Maurice Bucaille, was studying history and came across this disparity in the Qur’an and the Bible.  So he went to Egyptologist to get to the root of the person named “Haman”.  What he discovered was at the estimated time of Moses, there was a man who was named ‘Haman’ and he was a worker of the Pharaoh and his duty was “The Chief of the workers in the stone-quarries.”  SubhanAllah (Glory be to Allah) just as the Qur’an described it. So Dr. Bucaille went to one of the French Egyptologist and told him that the a man in 7^th century who claimed to a Messenger of God, said that there was a man named Haman and that he was an architect for the Pharaoh.  He was later told that this book was the Qur’an, and the Egyptologist responded:

“Had the Bible or any other literary work, composed during a period when the hieroglyphs could still be deciphered, quoted ‘Haman,’ the presence in the Qur’an of this word might have not drawn special attention. But, it is a fact that the hieroglyphs had been totally forgotten at the time of the Qur’anic Revelation and that no one could not read them until the 19th century AD. Since matters stood like that in ancient times, the existence of the word ‘Haman’ in the Qur’an suggests a special reflection.”

Not just that alone, there was a statue found in Egypt, which is currently in a museum in Australia of an ancient architect from the time of the Pharaohs, with his name sketched into stone, ‘Haman.’

Now we don’t know if this is the same Haman as mentioned in the Qur’an, but the Qur’an has the correct location, the correct name, the correct occupation, and the correct timing,  none of which the Bible has.

Usool ul Hadith (Fundementals of Hadith) Part 4

Now, these people (Submitters and Modernist) who reject the Sunnah, they will try to rationalize for their rejecting of the Sunnah by two things.  One that the Qur’an is complete, and two that the Sunnah has not been preserved.  When quoting a hadith to these people they might say “well that’s not in the Qur’an, why should I believe you? The Qur’an is complete, everything you need to know is in the Qur’an.”  They might even try to quote you the verses of the Qur’an that show that the Qur’an is complete.  Guess what? The Qur’an is complete, no one is arguing against that.  If shown the evidence from the Qur’an, they would backtrack and say that the Sunnah has not been preserved.  Saying the Sunnah does not need to be followed is Kufr.  Saying the Sunnah has not been preserved is not Kufr, but it leads to Kufr.  They say, “well Bukhari lived 300 years after the Prophet PBUH,” or “these Ahadith are like the gospels of Christianity.”

These two doubts can easily be refuted.  Is the Qur’an complete? Yes it is.  Is it sufficient in and of it self? Yes it is, but it orders us to go back to the Sunnah.  The second doubt that they bring is that the Sunnah has not been preserved.  The first way is to explain the long, detailed, dry, science of Hadith (Uloom ul Hadith).  You explain how the Sunnah was preserved, how the Sahaba preserved it, how the Tabioon preserved it, how the Taba Tabioon preserved it, the history of this process.  This is not something that can be explained in two minutes, this explanation will take quite some time.  The second way to prove the preservation of the Sunnah is the short cut.  This is a circular argument; it is full proof, and something that these people can NEVER refute.  The fact that the Sunnah is part of the religion necessitates that it will be preserved; it is sufficient proof that Allah will preserve it.

“Verily We: it is we who have sent down the Dhikr (i.e. the Qur’ân and Sunnah) and surely, we will Guard it (from corruption)”

The fact that Allah SWT orders us to follow the Sunnah proves that Allah has protected the Sunnah.  Allah says

“Allâh burdens not a person beyond his scope”

Allah says he does not burden a soul, with something it cannot handle.  Allah would not order us to obey the Sunnah if he had not preserved it.

Usool ul Hadith (Fundementals of Hadith) Part 3

Now that I have already mentioned all of the evidences of the Qur’an, now I will show some other evidences for the Authority of the Sunnah.  The Fifth Category of evidence for following the Ahadith of Prophet Muhammad PBUH, are the Ahadith in which he ordered obedience to his Sunnah.

I will break this down into three points.

The first point:  Prophet Muhammad PBUH, him self says that he was given wahi along with the Qur’an, just like the Qur’an says.  “Verily I have been given the Qur’an and something like it” (Abu Dawood, Classified as Sahih)

The second point:  Prophet Muhammad PBUH said “It will soon happen that a person will be sitting in content/relaxation and he will say ‘Whatever comes to you, take it from the Qur’an, that is sufficient for you.’ ” and then the Prophet PBUH said, “Know that everything that I make Halal, is as if Allah (SWT) made Halal, and everything that I make Haram, is as if Allah(SWT) has made Haram.” (Musnad Ibn Ahmed, Ibn Majah , Classified as Sahih)

This is very special, because the Prophet PBUH had predicted the coming of people like the Submitters Internationals (A group who rejects the Sunnah and beliefs in a so called Messenger of God the disgraced Rashad Khalifa) He PBUH predicted and warned us of these heretics like Ghulam Pervez.

The third point:  Is the fact that Prophet PBUH commanded the Sahaba to preserve his Sunnah, and forbade them from lying about his Sunnah.

Prophet PBUH said, “May Allah brighten the face of a person who has heard my speech, and then memorized it and understood it, and passed it on to others, it may be possible that the one that hears it, understands better than the one who narrates it” (at Tirmidhi)

Out of All the Ahadith narrated, the one with the most chains of narrations is one.  Out of All the Mutawatir Ahadith, this one has the most chains of narration.  It has been narrated with over 70 different chains of narrations.  It is recorded in almost every book of Ahadith.  You will find in the 6 major books of Ahadith belonging to Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamah, you will find it in the Ahadith books of the Shi’i, the Khuwarij were aware of this hadith, and so were the Mutazilis.

Prophet Muhammad PBUH said, “Who ever lies about me, will find a place in Hell.”

The sixth category is logic or common sense.  Before I begin with the evidences, I want to remind everyone that Islam is a logical religion, but it is not based purely on logic.  Everything in Islam is based on the order of Allah and his Messenger.  All the orders are logical, but none of them come straight from logic.  As Ali ibn Abi Talib RA said “Islam is logical, but it is not based on logic.  If it was, we would wipe the bottom of our feet instead of the top of our feet (during Wadhu).”

Allah All Mighty says in the Qur’an:

“And Establish the Prayer”

Does Allah mention how many Raka’s you have to pray?  Does Allah mention the exact timings of Fajr?  Does Allah tell us what to recite in Prayer?  Does Allah say what goes in what Order?  Does the Qur’an say recite Fatiha?

There is a group that started about 20 or 30 years ago, in Arizona. They are called Submitters.  Their founder was named Rashad Khalifa(The idiot who came up with the 19 theory, and then claimed to be a messenger of God, Alhumdulillah Allah saved us from him by killing him), they do not follow the Sunnah, and they actually say it is Shirk to follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad PBUH.  If you go to their official site they have a description of prayer, funny thing is they say one must recite Fatiha, and the follows the number of Raka’h like Muslims do.  Only problem with that is the Qur’an does not say how many Raka’h to pray, nor does it say to recite Al Fatiha.  This is their official literature on how to pray:

http://www.masjidtucson.org/submission/practices/salat/howtoperformsalat.html

The Last evidence for the authority of the Sunnah is the consensus of Muslims.  Not just Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamah, but even the other groups.  The Shia have concept of the Sunnah (ie  Usul ul Kaafi), the Khuwarij even accepted the Sunnah.

InshAllah, I will try to get the final part of Usool ul Hadith this week, and InshAllah try to get Uloom ul Hadith Started soon.