A translation of Futuhu-Sham:
”The Inspiring History of The Sahabah’s (RA)
Conquest of Syria as Narrated by the Great Historian of Islam.”
Writer: al-Imam al-Waqidi
Translated: by Sulayman al-Kindi Continue reading “The Islamic Conquest of Syria | Futuh Ash-Sham”
Sahabiyat: Ummuhàtul-Mu’minnin
(Female Companions of the Prophet Mohammad time)
”Raddiya Allahu Anhà”
Sawda bint Zamʿa ibn Qayyis ibn ʿAbd Shams (Arabic: سودة بنت زمعة) was a wife of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and considered by Muslims to be a Mother of the Believers. She was of the Quraysh tribe on her father’s side.
Sawda bint Zam’a was the first woman to immigrate to Abyssinia with her first husband As-Sakran bin Amr, after being persecuted by the polytheists of Mecca. Her husband died either on the way back to Mecca or after arriving.[who?] Sakran left Abyssinia by sea with Waqqas to preach.
Sawda had a son by Sakran named Sakran ibn Amr ibn Abd Shams who fell a martyr fighting in the Battle of Jalula in 637 AD.
Muhammad gave permission to Khawla to speak to Abu Bakr and to Sawda on the subject of their marriage. Muhammad married her in Shawwal, in the tenth year of His Prophethood, a few days after the death of Khadijah. She was older than Muhammad.
After Muhammad’s death, Sawda received a gift of money, which she spent on charity. Muawiyah I, the first caliph of the Umayyad dynasty bought her house in Medina for 180,000 dirhams. She died in Medina in October 674.
Sawda bint Zam’a, may Allah be pleased with her had been the first woman to immigrate to Abyssinia in the way of Allah. Her husband ha died and she was now living with her aged father. She was middle-aged, rather plump, with a jolly, kindly disposition, and just the right person to take care of the Prophet’s household and family.
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave permission to Khawla to speak to Sayyiduna Abu Bakr and to Sawda on the subject. Khawla went straight to Sawda and said, “Would you like Allah to give you great blessing, Sawda?” Sawda asked, “And what is that, Khawla?” She said, “The Messenger of Allah has sent me to you with a proposal of marriage!” Sawda tried to contain herself in spite of her utter astonishment and then replied in a trembling voice, “I would like that! Go to my father and tell him that.”
Khawla went to Zam’a, ad gruff old man, and greeted him and then said, “Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Abdul Muttalib, has sent me to ask for Sawda in marriage.” The old man shouted, “A noble match. What does she say?” Khawla replied, “she would like that.” He told her to call her.
When she came, he said, “Sawda, this woman claims that Muhammad son of Abdullah son of Abdul Muttalib has sent me to ask for you in marriage. It is a noble match. Do you want me to marry you to him?” She accepted, feeling it was a great honor. Sawda went to live in Muhammad’s house and immediately took over the care of his daughters and household, while Aisha bint Abu Bakr became betrothed to him and remained in her father’s house playing with her dolls.
There was great surprise in Mecca that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would choose to marry a widow who was neither young nor beautiful. The Prophet, however, remembered the trials she had undergone when she had immigrated to Abyssinia, leaving her house and property, and crossed the desert and then the sea for an unknown land out of the desire to preserve her deen. During the next two years, the Quraish increased their spiteful efforts to destroy the Prophet and his followers, in spite of the clear signs that confirmed beyond any doubt that Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was indeed the Messenger of Allah.
When he described this miraculous journey to the people of Mecca, they just laughed at him. Only Sayyiduna Abu Bakr, his closest companion and future father in law, accepted the Prophet’s account of his miraculous journey immediately: “If he had said this,” he said, when some scornful Meccans first gave him the news, “then it is true!”
As the enmity of the Quraish increased, (and while Aisha was still a small girl), Allah prepared the way for the future growth of the Muslim community in a place called Yathrib. During the time of pilgrimage in Mecca one year, twelve men from Yathrib, a small city of two hundred miles to the north of Mecca, secretly pledged allegiance to the Prophet, swearing to worship no gods other than Allah, nor to steal, nor to tell lies, nor to commit adultery, nor to kill their children, nor to disobey the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). They returned to Yathrib, accompanied by a Muslim called Mus’ab ibn Umayr, who taught them all that he had learned from the Prophet.
As a result, the numbers of Muslims in Madina began to increase, and when the time of the pilgrimage came again, this time seventy five people from Yathrib- three of whom were women: Umm Sulaym, Nsayba bint Ka’b and Asma bint Amr – pledged allegiance in Mecca to the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) this time also swearing that the would defend and protect him, even to the death if need be. After this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) gave his followers permission to emigrate to Yathrib, and slowly but surely, in twos and threes, the Muslims began to leave Mecca.
The leaders of the Quraish realized what was happening, and decided to kill the Prophet before he had a chance to join them. However, Allah protected the Prophet, and on the very night before the morning on which they had planned to kill him, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) slipped out of Mecca and hid in a cave called Thawr, which was to the south of Mecca.
Everybody knows what happened when the people who were hunting for them came to the cave: They found a wild dove nesting in the tree that covered the mouth of a cave, across which a spider had spun its web. Anyone entering the cave would have frightened away the dove and broken the spid’s web, they thought, so they did and not bother to look inside it. Their pursuers were so close that if one of them had glanced down at his feet, he would have discovered them. By the decree of Allah, the Prophet and Abu Bakr were safe!
Once the Quraish had given up the search, the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) circled round the Mecca and rode northwards. Only one man, a warrior called Suraqa ibn Jusham, suspected their whereabouts and set off in hot pursuit, thirsting of the reward that the Quraish had offered to anyone who captured the two men for them. As soon as he as within shouting distance of the travelers, however, his horse suddenly began to sink into the sand, and, realizing that if he did not turn back, then the desert would simply swallow up both him and his steed, he gave up his pursuit, asked them to forgive him and returned home.
After a long, hard journey Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) reached Yathrib amidst scenes of great rejoicing. Their time in Mecca had just come to an end, and their time in Medina had just begun – for Madina is the name that was now given to Yathrib, Madina al Munawarra, which means ‘the illuminated city’, the city that was illuminated by the light of the Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions, may the blessings and peace of Allah be upon him and on all of them.
The journey of the Prophet Muhammad and Abu Bakr is called the hijrah, and it is at this point that the dating of the Muslims begins, for it was after the hijrah that the first community of Muslims rapidly grew and flowered and bore fruit. When she was older, sawda said that she would like to give her night with the prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) to Aisha, of whom she was very fond. She lived on until the end of the time of Umar ibn al Khattab. She and Aisha always remained very close.
Sahabah:
`Amr ibn al-`As
The Companions of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him)
Hadeeth: Sunan Abu-Dawud
Kitab: Al−Ilm | The Knowledge
Introduction to Partial Translation of Sunnan Abu-Dawud
Translator: Prof. Ahmed Hasan
3634: Narrated AbudDarda’:
Kathir ibn Qays said: I was sitting with AbudDarda’ in the mosque of Damascus. A man came to him and said: AbudDarda, I have come to you from the town of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) for a tradition that I have heard you relate from the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). I have come for no other purpose. He said: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: If anyone travels on a road in search of knowledge, Allah will cause him to travel on one of the roads of Paradise.
The angels will lower their wings in their great pleasure with one who seeks knowledge, the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth and the fish in the deep waters will ask forgiveness for the learned man. The superiority of the learned man over the devout is like that of the moon, on the night when it is full, over the rest of the stars. The learned are the heirs of the Prophets, and the Prophets leave neither dinar nor dirham, leaving only knowledge, and he who takes it takes an abundant portion.
3637: Narrated AbuNamlah al−Ansari:
When he was sitting with the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and a Jew was also with him, a funeral passed by him. He (the Jew) asked (Him): Muhammad, does this funeral speak? The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Allah has more knowledge. The Jew said: It speaks. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Whatever the people of the Book tell you, do not verify them, nor falsify them, but say: We believe in Allah and His Apostle. If it is false, do not confirm it, and if it is right, do not falsify it.
3638: Narrated Zayd ibn Thabit:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) ordered me (to learn the writing of the Jews), so I learnt for him the writing of the Jews. He said: I swear by Allah, I do not trust Jews in respect of writing for me. So I learnt it, and only a fortnight passed that . I mastered it. I would write for him when he wrote (to them), and read to him when something was written to him.
3639: Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al−’As:
I used to write everything which I heard from the Apostle of Allah(peace_be_upon_him). I intended (by it) to memorise it. The Quraysh prohibited me saying: Do you write everything that you ear from him while the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) is a human being: he speaks in anger and pleasure? So I stopped writing, and mentioned it to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He signalled with his finger to him mouth and said: Write, by Him in Whose hand my soul lies, only right comes out from it.
3640: Narrated Zayd ibn Thabit:
Al−Muttalib ibn Abdullah ibn Hantab said: Zayd ibn Thabit entered upon Mu’awiyah and asked him about a tradition. He ordered a man to write it. Zayd said: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) ordered us not to write any of his traditions. So he erased it.
3644: Narrated Jundub:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone interprets the Book of Allah in the light of his opinion even if he is right, he has erred.
3645: Narrated A man:
AbuSalam said on the authority of a man who served the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) that whenever he talked, he repeated it three times.
3647: Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu’minin:
Are you not surprised at AbuHurayrah? He came and sat beside my apartment, and began to narrate traditions from the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) making me hear them. I am saying supererogatory prayer. He got up (and went away)before I finished my prayer. Had I found him, I would have replied to him. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) did not narrate traditions quickly one after another as you narrate quickly.
3648: Narrated Mu’awiyah:
The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) forbade the discussion of thorny questions.
3649: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone is given a legal decision ignorantly, the sin rests on the one who gave it. Sulayman al−Mahri added in his version: If anyone advises his brother, knowing that guidance lies in another direction, he has deceived him. These are the wordings of Sulayman.
3650: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: He who is asked something he knows and conceals it will have a bridle of fire put on him on the Day of Resurrection.
3651: Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: You hear (from me), and others will hear from you; and people will hear from them who heard from you.
3652: Narrated Zayd ibn Thabit:
I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: May Allah brighten a man who hears a tradition from us, gets it by heart and passes it on to others. Many a bearer of knowledge conveys it to one who is more versed than he is; and many a bearer of knowledge is not versed in it.
3654: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: relate traditions from the children of Isra’il; there is no harm.
3655: Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al−’As:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) used to relate to us traditions from the children of Isra’il till morning came; he would not get up except for obligatory prayer.
3656: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone acquires knowledge of things by which Allah’s good pleasure is sought, but acquires it only to get some worldly advantage, he will not experience the arf, i.e. the odour, of Paradise.
3657: Narrated Awf ibn Malik al−Ashja’i:
I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) say: Only a ruler, or one put in charge, or one who is presumptuous, gives instructions.
3658:Narrated AbuSa’id al−Khudri:
I was sitting in the company of the poor members of the emigrants. Some of them were sitting together because of lack of clothing while a reader was reciting to us. All of a sudden the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) came along and stood beside us. When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) stood, the reader stopped and greeted him. He asked: What were you doing? We said: Apostle of Allah! We had a reader who was reciting to us and we were listening to the Book of Allah, the Exalted. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then said: Praise be to Allah Who has put among my people those with whom I have been ordered to stay.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then sat among us so as to be like one of us, and when he had made a sign with his hand they sat in a circle with their faces turned towards him. The narrator said: I think that the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) did not recognize any of them except me. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then said: Rejoice, you group of poor emigrants, in the announcement that you will have perfect light on the Day of Resurrection. You will enter Paradise half a day before the rich, and that is five hundred years.
3659: Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: That I sit in the company of the people who remember Allah the Exalted from morning prayer till the sun rises is clearer to me than that I emancipate four slaves from the children of Isra’il, and that I sit with the people who remember Allah from afternoon prayer till the sun sets is dearer to me than that I emancipate four slaves.
Ahlu-s-Sunnati w-al-Jamāʿah
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam; its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhlu-s-Sunnati w-al-Jamāʿah (Arabic: أهل السنة والجماعة), “people of the tradition of Muhammad and the consensus of the Ummah” or ʾAhlu-s-Sunnah (Arabic: أهل السنة). For short, in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites or simply Muslims.
Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as the orthodox version of the religion. The word “Sunni” comes from the term Sunnah (Arabic: سنة), which refers to the sayings and actions of the prophet Muhammad as recorded in Hadiths.
The primary collections consisting of the six books accepted by Sunni orthodoxy, in conjunction with the Quran binding consensus, form the basis of all jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. Laws are derived from the Quran, hadith, and recorded consensus; in addition, Sunni Islam’s legal schools recognize differing methods to derive verdicts such as analogical reason, consideration of public welfare and juristic discretion.
Sunnī (Classical Arabic: سُنِّي /ˈsunniː/) is a broad term derived from sunnah (سُنَّة /ˈsunna/, pl. سُنَن sunan /ˈsunæn/), means “habit” or “usual practice”. The Muslim usage of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of Muhammad. In its full form, this branch of Islam is referred to as “Ahl al-Sunnah wa Jama’ah” (literally, “People of the Sunah and the Community”). People claiming to follow the Sunnah who can demonstrate that they have no action or belief against the prophetic Sunnah can consider themselves to be Sunni Muslims.
Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent
After the death of Muhammad, Muslims who accepted Abu Bakr as the first Caliph became known as Ahl al-Sunnah wa al-Jama’ah or “the people of tradition and unification” in order to differentiate them from Shi’ites, who rejected Abu Bakr’s authority in favor of Ali, whom Sunnis accepted as the fourth Caliph rather than the first.
The first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rightly Guided. Sunni recognition included as the first was the aforementioned Abu Bakr; as, the second, Umar; as the third, Uthman; and as the fourth, as mentioned above, Ali.
After the first four caliphs, the Caliphate was upheld as a political system by dynasties such as the Umayyads, the Abbasids, and the Ottomans. It was also upheld for relatively short periods of time by other competing dynasties in al-Andalus, North Africa and Egypt.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk abolished the system of the Ottoman Caliphate after Abdülmecid II was officially deposed and expelled from what was once the Ottoman Empire, whereby the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923 upon secular principles.
Sunnis believe that the companions of the prophet Muhammad were the best of the Muslims. This belief is based on prophetic traditions such as one narrated by Abdullah, son of Masud, in which Muhammad said: “The best of the people are my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them.” Support for this view is also found in Qur’an, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran. Furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a primary source of the Muslim faith.
Estimates of the world Sunni population has been estimated by some analysts to be “over 75 percent,” though the majority of statistical counts put the portion of Sunni adherent between 85 and 90 percent.
There are several intellectual traditions within the field of Islamic law, often referred to as legal schools. These varied traditions reflect differing viewpoints on some laws and obligations within Islamic law. While one school may see a certain act as a religious obligation, another may see the same act as optional. These schools aren’t regarded as sects; rather, they represent differing viewpoints on issues that are not considered the core of Islamic belief.
Historians have differed regarding the exact delineation of the schools based on the underlying principles they follow. Many traditional scholars saw Sunni Islam in two groups: Ahl al-Ra’i, or “people of reason,” due to their emphasis on scholarly judgment and discourse; and Ahl al-Hadith, or “people of traditions,” due to their emphasis on restricting juristic thought to only what is found in scripture. Ibn Khaldun defined the Sunni schools as three: the Hanafite school representing reason, the Zahirite school representing tradition, and a broader, middle school encompassing the Shafi’ite, Malikite and Hanbalite schools.
The Mosque of Uqba also known as the Great Mosque of Kairouan was, in particular during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, an important center of Islamic learning with an emphasis on the Maliki Madh’hab. The Mosque of Uqba is located in the city of Kairouan in Tunisia.
Interpreting Islamic law by deriving specific rulings – such as how to pray – is commonly known as Muslim jurisprudence. The schools of law all have their own particular tradition of interpreting this jurisprudence. As these schools represent clearly spelled out methodologies for interpreting Islamic law, there has been little change in the methodology with regard to each school. While conflict between the schools was often violent in the past, today the schools recognize one another as viable legal methods than error or heresy in contrast to one another. Each school has its evidences, and differences of opinion are generally respected.
As the social and economic environment changes, new rulings are derived. For example, when tobacco appeared, it was considered disliked because of its smell. When medical information showed that smoking was dangerous, most jurists took the view that it is forbidden. Current issues include social topics such as downloading pirated software and scientific issues such as cloning.
Sunni Islam has six articles of faith known as the six pillars of iman that all Sunni Muslims are united upon in belief, along with the 105 key points of creed mentioned in “Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī’s Islamic Theology”.
Some Islamic scholars faced questions that they felt were not explicitly answered in the Qur’an and Sunnah, especially questions with regard to philosophical conundra such as the nature of God, the existence of human free will, or the eternal existence of the Qur’an. Various schools of theology and philosophy developed to answer these questions, each claiming to be true to the Qur’an and the Muslim tradition (sunnah).
Among Sunni Muslims, various schools of thought in theology began to be born out of the sciences of kalam in opposition to the textualists who stood by affirming texts without delving into philosophical speculation as they saw it as an innovation in Islam. The following were the three dominant schools of theology that grew. All three of these are accepted by Muslims around the globe, and are considered within “Islamic Orthodoxy”. The key beliefs of Sunni Islam are all agreed upon (being the six pillars of Iman) and codified in the treatise on Aqeedah by Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi in his Aqeedat Tahawiyyah.
Founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (died 944). Maturidiyyah was a minority tradition until it was accepted by the Turkish tribes of Central Asia (previously they had been Ash’ari and followers of the Shafi’i school,[citation needed] it was only later on migration into Anatolia that they became Hanafi and followers of the Maturidi creed[citation needed]). One of the tribes, the Seljuk Turks, migrated to Turkey, where later the Ottoman Empire was established.
Their preferred school of law achieved a new prominence throughout their whole empire although it continued to be followed almost exclusively by followers of the Hanafi school while followers of the Shafi and Maliki schools within the empire followed the Ash’ari and Athari schools of thought. Thus, wherever can be found Hanafi followers, there can be found the Maturidi creed. Maturidis argue that the proof of God’s existence can be derived through pure reason.
Founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash’ari (873–935). This theological school of Aqeedah was embraced by plenty of Muslim scholars and developed in parts of the Islamic world throughout history, Imam al-Ghazali wrote on the creed discussing it and agreeing upon some of its principles.
Ash’ari theology stresses divine revelation over human reason. Contrary to the Mu’tazilites, they say that ethics cannot be derived from human reason, but that God’s commands, as revealed in the Qur’an and the Sunnah (the practices of Muhammad and his companions as recorded in the traditions, or hadith), are the sole source of all morality and ethics.
Regarding the nature of God and the divine attributes, the Ash’ari rejected the Mu’tazili position that all Qur’anic references to God as having real attributes were metaphorical. The Ash’aris insisted that these attributes were as they “best befit his majesty”. The Arabic language is a wide language in which one word can have 15 different meanings, so the Ash’aris endeavor to find the meaning that best befits Allah and is not contradicted by the Qur’an.
Therefore when Allah states in the Holy Qur’an, “He who does not resemble any of this creation,” this clearly means Allah can’t be attributed with body parts because he created body parts. This is one way which differentiates these Muslims from most Christians and Jews. Ash’aris tend to stress divine omnipotence over human free will and they believe that the Qur’an is eternal and uncreated.
Athari (Arabic: أثري), or “textualism”, is derived from the Arabic word athar, literally meaning “remnant”, and also referring to “narrations”. Their disciples are called the Atharis or al-Atharia. The Atharis are considered to be one of three Sunni schools of Aqidah.
The Athari methodology of textual interpretation is to avoid delving into any extensive theological speculation. They believe in Allah and his attributes in the exact fashion that they were mentioned in the Quran, the Sunnah, and by the Sahabah. They do not attempt to further interpret the aforementioned texts by giving a literal meaning like in Ẓāhirīya (literalism) or the Tashbih (simile or likening), nor through tahrif (distortion), nor ta`weel (allegory or metaphor), nor ta’teel (denial).
They avoid entering into deep rational philosophical discussions of matters relating to Islamic beliefs that are not supported by the Quran, the Sunnah or the understanding of the Sahabah with specific wording; rather, their discussion and presentation of beliefs revolves entirely around textual evidences found in these three main sources, while remaining cautious to avoid taking the path of the Ẓāhirīs (literalists) either. The Atharis believe this to be the methodology adhered to by the first three generations of Muslims (i.e. the Salaf), therefore making it the school of Sunni Aqeedah that they believe is adhering to the truth and keeping to the balanced middle path of Islam.
The codifier of the Athari Aqeedah was the great Islamic Classical Scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal who today is perhaps better known for his School of Jurisprudence than his school of Aqeedah. Prominent proponents of Classical Atharism today include Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi and Mauritanian scholar Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hassan Ad-Dedew, amongst others.
The Qur’an as it exists today in book form was compiled by Muhammad’s companions (Sahaba) within a handful of months of his death, and is accepted by all Muslim denominations. However, there were many matters of belief and daily life that were not directly prescribed in the Qur’an, but were actions that were observed by Muhammad and the early Muslim community.
Later generations sought out oral traditions regarding the early history of Islam, and the practices of Muhammad and his first followers, and wrote them down so that they might be preserved. These recorded oral traditions are called hadith. Muslim scholars have through the ages sifted through the hadith and evaluated the chain of narrations of each tradition, scrutinizing the trustworthiness of the narrators and judging the strength of each hadith accordingly.
Al-Kutub al-Sittah translates as “the Six Books”. Most Sunni Muslims accept the hadith collections of Bukhari and Muslim as the most authentic (sahih, or correct), and while accepting all hadiths verified as authentic, grant a slightly lesser status to the collections of other recorders. There are, however, four other collections of hadith that are also held in particular reverence by Sunni Muslims, making a total of six:
There are also other collections of hadith which also contain many authentic hadith and are frequently used by scholars and specialists. Examples of these collections include:
The Gardens of the Righteous”, is a compilation of verses from the Qur’an and hadith,
By: Imam Abu Zakaria Mohiuddin Yahya An-Nawawi
Continue reading “Riyadh Saliheen: The Gardens of the Righteous – Part 16”
Sahabah:
Abu Musa Al-Ash’ari
The Companions of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him)
تقي الدين أبو العباس أحمد بن عبد السلام بن عبد الله ابن تيمية الحراني
Taqi ad-Din Ahmad ibn Taymiyyah (January 22, 1263–1328 CE), full name: Taqī ad-Dīn Abu ‘l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥalīm ibn ʿAbd as-Salām Ibn Taymiya al-Ḥarrānī (Arabic: تقي الدين أبو العباس أحمد بن عبد السلام بن عبد الله ابن تيمية الحراني).
Was an Islamic scholar (alim), theologian and logician born in Harran. He lived during the troubled times of the Mongol invasions. He was a member of the school founded by Ahmad ibn Hanbal and sought the return of Islam to what he viewed as earlier interpretations of the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
Ibn Taymiyyah | Islamic scholar
Ibn Taymiyya was born in 1263 at Harran into a well-known family of theologians and died in Damascus, Syria, outside of the Muslim cemetery. His grandfather, Abu al-Barkat Majd ad-deen ibn Taymiyyah al-Hanbali (d. 1255) was a reputable teacher of the Hanbali school of law. Likewise, the scholarly achievements of ibn Taymiyyah’s father, Shihab al-deen ‘Abd al-Haleem ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1284) were well known.
Because of the Mongol invasion, ibn Taymiyyah’s family moved to Damascus in 1268, which was then ruled by the Mamluks of Egypt. It was here that his father delivered sermons from the pulpit of the Umayyad Mosque, and Ibn Taymiyyah followed in his footsteps by studying with the scholars of his time.
Ibn Taymiyyah acquainted himself with the secular and religious sciences of his time. He devoted attention to Arabic literature and lexicography as well as studying mathematics and calligraphy.
As for the religious sciences, he studied jurisprudence from his father and became a representative of the Hanbali school of thought. Though he remained faithful throughout his life to that school, whose doctrines he had mastered, he also acquired a knowledge of the Islamic disciplines of the Qur’an and the Hadith. He also studied theology (kalam), philosophy, and Sufism. He was known for his refutations of the excesses of many Sufis,and the Christians. His student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya wrote the famous poem “O Christ-Worshipper” which examined the dogma of the Trinity propounded by many Christian sects.
His troubles with government began when he went with a delegation of ulama to talk to Ghazan Khan, the Khan of the Mongol Ilkhans in Iran, to stop his attack on the Muslims. It is reported that none of the ulama dared to say anything to the Khan except Ibn Taymiyyah who said:
“You claim that you are Muslim and you have with you Mu’adhdhins, Muftis, Imams and Shaykhs but you invaded us and reached our country for what? While your father and your grandfather, Hulagu were non-believers, they did not attack and they kept their promise. But you promised and broke your promise.”
Ibn Taymiya was imprisoned several times for conflicting with the ijma of jurists and theologians of his day. He spent his last fifteen years in Damascus. The most famous of his students, Ibn Qayyim, was to share in Ibn Taymiyyah’s renewed persecutions. From August 1320 to February 1321 Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned on orders from Cairo in the citadel of Damascus for supporting a doctrine that would curtail the ease with which a Muslim man could divorce his wife.
When he was ultimately banned from having any books, papers and pens during the latter stage of his final imprisonment, Ibn Taymiyyah devoted all of his time to worship and reciting the Qur’an. Ibn Taymiyyah died in prison on 22 Dhu al-Qi’dah, 728 AH (27 September 1328).
Al-Bazzar says, ‘Once the people had heard of his death, not a single person in Damascus who was able to attend the prayer and wanted to, remained until he appeared and took time out for it. As a result, the markets in Damascus were closed and all transactions of livelihood were stopped. Governors, heads, scholars, jurists came out. They say that none of the majority of the people failed to turn up, according to my knowledge – except three individuals; they were well known for their enmity for Ibn Taymiyyah and thus, hid away from the people out of fear for their lives.”
Ibn Taymiyyah rejected the recourse to kalam towards understanding the Asma Wa Sifat (Divine Names and Attributes of God) as that was not the precedence established by the salaf. He argued that the companions and the early generations didn’t resort to philosophical explanations towards understanding the Divine Names and Attributes. He further argued that had Salaf, the first three generations of Muslims whom all Muslims must strive to emulate, found any benefit in resorting to kalam they would have done it and encouraged it. Therefore, Ibn Taymiyyah was accused by his opponents that he was anthropomorphic in his stance towards Names and Attributes of God.
However, in his celebrated work Al-Aqidah Al-Waasitiyyah, Ibn Taymiyyah refutes the stance of the Mushabbihah (those who liken the creation with God: anthropomorphism) and those who deny, negate, and resort to allegorical/metaphorical interpretations of the Divine Names and Attributes. He contends that the methodology of the Salaf is to take the middle path between the extremes of anthropomorphism and negation/distortion.
He further states that Salaf affirmed all the Names and Attributes of God without tashbih (establishing likeness), takyeef (speculating as to “how” they are manifested in the divine), ta’teel (negating/denying their apparent meaning) and without ta’weel (giving it secondary/symbolic meaning which is different from the apparent meaning).
Iby Taymiyyah’s highly intellectual discourse at explaining “The Wise Purpose of God, Human Agency, and the Problems of Evil & Justice” using God’s attributes as a means has been illustrated by Dr. Jon Hoover in his work “Ibn Taymiyyah’s Theodicy of Perpetual Optimism”. Although famous for polemic against Islamic philosophy, theology and rationalizing mysticism, Ibn Taymiyyah’s positive theological contribution has not been well understood.
Exposition and analysis of Ibn Taymiyya’s writings on God’s justice and wise purpose, divine determination and human agency, the problem of evil, and juristic method in theological doctrine show that he articulates a theodicy of optimism in which God in His essence perpetually wills the best possible world from eternity. This sets Ibn Taymiyya’s theodicy apart from Ash’ari divine voluntarism, the free-will theodicy of the Mu’tazilis, and the essentially timeless God of other optimists like Ibn Sina and Ibn Arabi.
What has been called Ibn Taymiyyah’s “most famous” fatwā was issued against the Mongols (or Tatars), in the Mamluk’s war. Ibn Taymiyyah declared that jihad upon the Mongols was not only permissible, but obligatory. He based this ruling his argument that the Mongols could not, in his opinion, be true Muslims despite the fact that they had converted to Sunni Islam because they ruled using what he considered ‘man-made laws’ (their traditional Yassa code) rather than Islamic law or Sharia. Because of this, he reasoned they were living in a state of jahiliyyah, or pre-Islamic pagan ignorance.
Apart from that, he led the resistance of the Mongol invasion of Damascus in 1300. In the years that followed, Ibn Taymiyyah was engaged in intensive polemic activity against:
In 1306 Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned in the citadel of Cairo for eighteen months on the charge of anthropomorphism. He was incarcerated again in 1308 for several months.
In 2010 a group of Islamic Scholars in Mardin argued that Ibn Taymiyya’s fatwa was misprinted into an order to “fight” the ruler who is not applying Islamic law, but rather it means to “treat”. They have based their understanding on the original manuscript in the Zaheer Library, and the transmission by Ibn Taymiyya’s student Ibn Muflih.
Ibn Taymiyyah censured the scholars for blindly conforming to the precedence of early jurists without any resort to the Qur’an and Sunnah. He contended that although juridical precedence has its place, blindly giving it authority without contextualization, sensitivity to societal changes, and evaluative mindset in light of the Qur’an and Sunnah can lead to ignorance and stagnancy in Islamic Law. Ibn Taymiyyah likened the extremism of Taqlid (blind conformity to juridical precedence or school of thought) to the practice of Jews and Christians who took their rabbis and ecclesiastics as gods besides God.
Ibn Taymiyyah held that much of the Islamic scholarship of his time had declined into modes that were inherently against the proper understanding of the Qur’an and the Sunnah. He strove to:
Ibn Taymiyyah believed that the first three generations of Islam (Arabic: Salaf) – Muhammad, his companions, and the followers of the companions from the earliest generations of Muslims – were the best role models for Islamic life. Their practice, together with the Qur’an, constituted a seemingly infallible guide to life. Any deviation from their practice was viewed as bid‘ah, or innovation, and to be forbidden. He also praised and wrote a commentary on some of the speeches of Abdul-Qadir Gilani. He criticized the views and actions of the Rafaiyah.
Ibn Taymiyyah strongly opposed borrowing from Christianity or other non-Muslim religions. In his text On the Necessity of the Straight Path (kitab iqtida al-sirat al-mustaqim) he preached that the beginning of Muslim life was the point at which “a perfect dissimilarity with the non-Muslims has been achieved.” To this end he opposed the celebration of the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or the construction of mosques around the tombs of Sufi saints saying: “Many of them [the Muslims] do not even know of the Christian origins of these practices.”
Opponents and critics of Ibn Taymiyyah claim that he rejected intercession completely as proved in Qur’an and Sunnah. However, his proponents argue citing evidence from his writings that the type of intercession Ibn Taymiyyah rejected was the type not sanctioned by the Qur’an or Sunnah and neither by the conduct of Salaf. In fact, Ibn Taymiya upheld that anyone who rejected the Intercession of Muhammad on the Day of Judgement had indeed disbelieved.[citation needed]
He also affirmed that God will allow the martyrs, scholars, memorizers of Qur’an, and angels to intercede on behalf of the believers on the Day of Judgement. However, what he condemned was asking them while they are no longer alive for their intercession since two conditions of Intercession are that God chooses the intercessor, and chooses the people on whose behalf intercession is possible. Therefore, God should be asked when intercession is sought.
Furthermore, Ibn Taymiyyah states that types of intercession that are legal are:
He further explains that on the day of Judgement, Muhammad and everyone else will be alive and therefore, their intercession can be sought just like in this world, people ask others to make a supplication for them. Ibn Taymiyyah rejected the notion that saints and prophets should be invoked for intercession while they have departed from this world.
Ibn Taymiyyah opposed giving any undue religious honors to shrines (even that of Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque), to approach or rival in any way the Islamic sanctity of the two most holy mosques within Islam, Mecca (Masjid al-Haram) and Medina (Al-Masjid al-Nabawi).
Ibn Taymiyyah duly eulogized the Ghaznavid ruler, stating that:
He commanded that Ahlul Bidah be publicly cursed on the minbars, and as a result the Jahmiyyah,, Hulooliyah, Mu’tazilah, and Qadariyah were all publicly cursed, along with the Asharites.
Muslim jurists have long held that the legal tradition initiated by the Qur’an includes a principle of permissibility, or Ibahah (Arabic إباحة), especially as applied to commercial transaction. “Nothing in them [voluntary transactions] is forbidden,” said Ibn Taymiyyah, “unless God and His Messenger have decreed them to be forbidden.” The idea is founded upon two verses in the Qur’an, 4:29 and 5:1.
Later, Ibn Taymiyyah argued against the certainty of syllogistic arguments and in favour of analogy (Qiyas). His argument is that concepts founded on induction are themselves not certain but only probable, and thus a syllogism based on such concepts is no more certain than an argument based on analogy. He further claimed that induction itself is founded on a process of analogy. His model of analogical reasoning was based on that of juridical arguments. This model of analogy has been used in the recent work of John F. Sowa.
Ibn Taymiyyah’s views on Ibn Arabi, who (though a controversial figure) is often cited as the greatest master of the Islamic gnostic tradition and one of the most influential Islamic thinkers ever, are well-documented. In his book Friends of God and Friends of the Devil, Ibn Taymiyyah brands Ibn Arabi an unbeliever, citing passages from Ibn Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom), claiming that they show that Ibn Arabi was a supporter of Pharaoh.
In fact, the aforementioned passages are often misinterpreted or misunderstood, and Ibn Arabi makes abundantly clear in numerous works (amongst them, his Book of the Fabulous Gryphon of the West) that he considered Pharaoh a tyrant and an unbeliever. Ibn Taymiyyah’s attacks on Ibn Arabi drew the ire of many Sufis and even led the famous Sufi and Islamic scholar Ibn ‘Ata Allah al-Iskandari to devote a significant portion of the last years of his life writing refutations of Ibn Taymiyyah’s attacks on Ibn Arabi.
He elaborated a circumstantial analysis of the market mechanism, with a theoretical insight unusual in his time. His discourses on the welfare advantages and disadvantages of market regulation and deregulation, have an almost contemporary ring to them.
Ibn Taymiyyah commenting on the power of supply and demand:
“If desire for goods increases while its availability decreases, its price rises. On the other hand, if availability of the good increases and the desire for it decreases, the price comes down.”
Ibn Taymiyyah left a considerable body of work (350 works listed by his student Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya and 500 by his student al-Dhahabi) that has been republished extensively in Syria, Egypt, Arabia, and India. Extant books and essays written by ibn Taymiyyah include:
Some of his other works have been translated to English. They include:
Hadeeth: Sunan Abu-Dawud
Kitab: Al−Aqdiyah | The Office of the Judge
Introduction to Partial Translation of Sunnan Abu-Dawud
Translator: Prof. Ahmed Hasan
3564: Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: He who has been appointed a judge has been killed without a knife.
3565: Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: He who has been appointed a judge among the people has been killed without a knife.
3566: Narrated Buraydah ibn al−Hasib:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Judges are of three types, one of whom will go to Paradise and two to Hell. The one who will go to Paradise is a man who knows what is right and gives judgment accordingly; but a man who knows what is right and acts tyrannically in his judgment will go to Hell; and a man who gives judgment for people when he is ignorant will go to Hell.
3568: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone seeks the office of judge among Muslims till he gets it and his justice prevails over his tyranny, he will go to Paradise; but the man whose tyranny prevails over his justice will go to Hell.
3570: Narrated AbuMas’ud al−Ansari:
AbdurRahman ibn Bishr al−Ansari al−Azraq said: Two men from the locality of Kindah came while AbuMas’ud al−Ansari was sitting n a circle. They said: Is there any man who decides between us. A man from the circle said: I, AbuMas’ud took a handful of pebbles and threw at him, saying: Hush! It is disapproved to make haste in decision.
3571: Narrated Anas ibn Malik:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone desires the office of Judge and seeks help for it, he will be left to his own devices; if anyone does not desire it, nor does he seek help for it, Allah will send down an angel who will direct him aright.
3573:Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al−’As:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) cursed the one who bribes and the one who takes bribe.
3574: Narrated Adi ibn Umayrah al−Kindi:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: O people, if any of you is put in an administrative post on our behalf and conceals from us a needle or more, he is acting unfaithfully, and will bring it on the Day of Resurrection. A black man from the Ansar, as if I am seeing him, stood and said: Apostle of Allah, take back from me my post. He asked: What is that? He replied: I heard you say such and such. He said: And I say that. If we appoint anyone to an office, he must bring what is connected with it, both little and much. What he is given, he may take, and he must refrain from what is kept away from him.
3575: Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) sent me to the Yemen as judge, and I asked: Apostle of Allah, are you sending me when I am young and have no knowledge of the duties of a judge? He replied: Allah will guide your heart and keep your tongue true. When two litigants sit in front of you, do not decide till you hear what the other has to say as you heard what the first had to say; for it is best that you should have a clear idea of the best decision. He said: I had been a judge (for long); or he said (the narrator is doubtful): I have no doubts about a decision afterwards.
3579: Narrated Umar ibn al−Khattab:
Umar said while he was (sitting) on the pulpit: O people, the opinion from the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) was right, because Allah showed (i.e. inspired) him; but from us it is sheer conjecture and artifice.
3581: Narrated Abdullah ibn az−Zubayr:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) gave the decision that the two adversaries should be made to sit in front of the judge.
3584: Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:
When this verse was revealed: “If they do come to thee, either judge between them, or decline to interfere….If thou judge, judge in equity between them.” Banu an−Nadir used to pay half blood−money if they killed any−one from Banu Qurayzah. When Banu Qurayzah killed anyone from Banu an−Nadir, they would pay full blood−money. So the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) made it equal between them.
3585: Narrated Mu’adh ibn Jabal:
Some companions of Mu’adh ibn Jabal said: When the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) intended to send Mu’adh ibn Jabal to the Yemen, he asked: How will you judge when the occasion of deciding a case arises? He replied: I shall judge in accordance with Allah’s Book. He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in Allah’s
Book? He replied: (I shall act) in accordance with the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). He asked: (What will you do) if you do not find any guidance in the Sunnah of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and in Allah’s Book? He replied: I shall do my best to form an opinion and I shall spare no effort.
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then patted him on the breast and said: Praise be to Allah Who has helped the messenger of the Apostle of Allah to find something which pleases the Apostle of Allah.
3587: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Conciliation between Muslims is permissible. The narrator Ahmad added in his version: “except the conciliation which makes lawful unlawful and unlawful lawful.” Sulayman ibn Dawud added: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: Muslims are on (i.e. stick to) their conditions.
3590: Narrated Abdullah ibn Umar:
Yahya ibn Rashid said: We were sitting waiting for Abdullah ibn Umar who came out to us and sat. He then said: I heard the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) as saying: If anyone’s intercession intervenes as an obstacle to one of the punishments prescribed by Allah, he has opposed Allah; if anyone disputes knowingly about something which is false, he remains in the displeasure of Allah till he desists, and if anyone makes an untruthful accusation against a Muslim, he will be made by Allah to dwell in the corrupt fluid flowing from the inhabitants of Hell till he retracts his statement.
3592: Narrated Khuraym Ibn Fatik:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) offered the morning prayer. When he finished it, he stood up and said three times: False witness has been made equivalent to attributing a partner to Allah. He then recited: “So avoid the abomination of idols and avoid speaking falsehood as people pure of faith to Allah, not associating anything with Him.
3593: Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al−’As:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) rejected the testimony of a deceitful man and woman, of one who harbours rancour against his brother, and he rejected the testimony of one who is dependent on a family, and he allowed his testimony for other.
3594: Narrated Sulayman ibn Musa:
The tradition mentioned above (No. 3593) has also been transmitted by Sulayman ibn Musa through a different chain of narrators. This version has: The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: The testimony of a deceitful man or woman, of an adulterer and adulteress, and of one who harbours rancour against his brother is not allowable.
3595: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: The testimony of a nomad Arab against a townsman is not allowable.
3597: Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al−’As:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) said: The proviso of a loan combined with a sale is not allowable, nor two conditions relating to one transaction, nor the profit arising from something which is not in one’s charge, nor selling what is not in your possession.
3598: Narrated AbuMusa al−Ash’ari: Ash−Sha’bi said:
A Muslim was about to die at Daquqa’, but he did not find any Muslim to call him for witness to his will. So he called two men of the people of the Book for witness. Then they came to Kufah, and approaching AbuMusa al−Ash’ari they informed him (about his) will. They brought his inheritance and will. Al−Ash’ari said:
This is an incident (like) which happened in the time of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) and never occurred after him. So he made them to swear by Allah after the afternoon prayer to the effect that they had not misappropriated, nor told a lie, nor changed, nor concealed, nor altered, and that it was the will of the man and his inheritance. He then executed their witness.
3599: Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas:
A man from Banu Sahm went out with Tamim ad−Dari and Adi ibn Badda’. The man of Banu Sahm died in the land where no Muslim was present. When they returned with his inheritance, they (the heirs) did not find a silver cup with lines of gold (in his property). The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) administered on oath to them. The cup was then found (with someone) at Mecca. They said: We have bought it from Tamim and Adi. Then two men from the heirs of the man of Banu Sahm got up and swore saying: Our witness is more reliable than their witness. They said that the cup belonged to their man. He (Ibn Abbas) said: The following verse was revealed about them: “O ye who believe! when death approaches any of you…..”
3600: Narrated Uncle of Umarah ibn Khuzaymah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) bought a horse from a Bedouin. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) took him with him to pay him the price of his horse. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) walked quickly and the Bedouin walked slowly. The people stopped the Bedouin and began to bargain with him for the horse as and they did not know that the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) had bought it. The Bedouin called the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) saying: If you want this horse, (then buy it), otherwise I shall sell it.
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) stopped when he heard the call of the Bedouin, and said: Have I not bought it from you? The Bedouin said: I swear by Allah, I have not sold it to you. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Yes, I have bought it from you. The Bedouin began to say: Bring a witness. Khuzaymah ibn Thabit then said: I bear witness that you have bought it. The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) turned to Khuzaymah and said: On what (grounds) do you bear witness? He said: By considering you trustworthy, Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him)! The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) made the witness of Khuzaymah equivalent to the witness of two people.
3603: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) gave a decision on the basis of an oath and a single witness.
3605: Narrated Zubayb ibn Tha’labah al−Anbari:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) sent an army to Banu al−Anbar. They captured them at Rukbah in the suburbs of at−Ta’if and drove them to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). I rode hurriedly to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: Peace be on you, Apostle of Allah, and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. Your contingent came to us and arrested us, but we had already embraced Islam and cut the sides of the ears of our cattle.
When Banu al−Anbar arrived, the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to me: Have you any evidence that you had embraced Islam before you were captured today? I said: Yes. He said: Who is your witness? I said: Samurah, a man from Banu al−Anbar, and another man whom he named. The man testified but Samurah refused to testify. The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: He (Samurah) has refused to testify for you, so take an oath with your other witness. I said: Yes.
He then dictated an oath to me and I swore to the effect that we had embraced Islam on a certain day, and that we had cut the sides of the ears of the cattle. The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Go and divide half of their property, but do not touch their children. Had Allah not disliked the wastage of action, we should not have taxed you even a rope. Zubayb said: My mother called me and said: This man has taken my mattress. I then went to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and informed him. He said to me: Detain him. So I caught him with a garment around his neck, and stood there with him .
Then the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) looked at us standing there. He asked: What do you intend (doing) with your captive? I said: I shall let him go free if he returns to this (man) the mattress of his mother which he has taken from her. He said: Prophet of Allah (peace_be_upon_him), I no longer have it. He said: The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) took the sword of the man and gave it to me, and said to him: Go and give him some sa’s of cereal. So he gave me some sa’s of barley.
3606: Narrated AbuMusa al−Ash’ari:
Two men claimed a camel or an animal and brought the case to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). But as neither of them produced any proof, the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) declared that they should share it equally.
3609: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
Two men disputed about some property and brought the case to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), but neither of them could produce any proof. So the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Cast lots about the oath whatever it may be, whether they like it or dislike it.
3613: Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas:
The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to a man whom he asked to take an oath: Swear by Allah except whom there is no god that you have nothing belonging to him, i.e. the plaintiff.
3619: Narrated Ikrimah:
The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to Ibn Suriya’: I remind you by Allah Who saved you from the people of Pharaoh, made you cover the sea, gave you the shade of clouds, sent down to you manna and quails, sent down you Torah to Moses, do you find stoning (for adultery) in your Book? He said: You have reminded me by the Great. It is not possible for me to belie you. He then transmitted the rest of the tradition.
3620: Narrated Awf ibn Malik:
The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) gave a decision between two men, and the one against whom the decision was given turned away and said: For me Allah sufficeth, and He is the best dispenser of affairs. The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Allah, Most High, blames for falling short, but apply intelligence, and when the matter gets the better of you, say; For me Allah sufficeth, and He is the best disposer of affairs.
3621: Narrated Ash−Sharid:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Delay in payment on the part of one who possesses means makes it lawful to dishonour and punish him. Ibn al−Mubarak said that “dishonour” means that he may be spoken to roughly and “punish” means he may be imprisoned for it.
3622: Narrated Grandfather of Hirmas ibn Habib:
I brought my debtor to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him). He said to me: Stick to him. He again said to me: O brother of Banu Tamim, what do you want to do with your prisoner.
3623: Narrated Mu’awiyah al−Qushayri:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) imprisoned a man on suspicion.
3624: Narrated Mu’awiyah al−Qushayri:
Bahz ibn Hakim reported from his grandfather: (Ibn Qudamah’s version has: His grandfather’s brother or uncle reported:) − the narrator Mu’ammal said: − He (his grandfather Mu’awiyah) got up before the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) who was giving sermon: and he said: Why have your companions arrested my neighbours? He turned away from him twice. He (his grandfather Mu’awiyah) then mentioned something. The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) then said: Let his neighbours go. (Mu’ammal did not mention the words “He was giving sermon.”)
3625: Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah:
I intended to go (on expedition) to Khaybar. So I came to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him), greeted him and said: I am intending to go to Khaybar. He said: When you come to my agent, you should take from him fifteen wasqs (of dates). If he asks you for a sign, then place your hand on his collar−bone.
3626: Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If you dispute over a pathway, leave the margin of seven yards.
3628: Narrated AbuSirmah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If anyone harms (others), Allah will harm him, and if anyone shows hostility to others, Allah will show hostility to him.
3629: Narrated Samurah ibn Jundub:
Samurah had a row of palm−trees in the garden of a man of the Ansar. The man had his family with him. Samurah used to visit his palm−trees, and the man was annoyed by that and felt it keenly. So he asked him (Samurah) to sell them to him, but he refused. He then asked him to take something else in exchange, but he refused.
So he came to the Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and mentioned it to him. The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) asked him to sell it to him, but he refused. He asked him to take something else in exchange, but he refused. He then said: Give it to him and you can have such and such, mentioning something with which he tried to please him, but he refused. He then said: You are a nuisance. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then said to the Ansari: Go and uproot his palm−trees.
3630: Narrated Abdullah ibn az−Zubayr:
A man disputed with az−Zubayr about streamlets in the lava plain which was irrigated by them. The Ansari said: Release the water and let it run, but az−Zubayr refused. The Holy Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said to az−Zubayr: Water (your ground), Zubayr, then let the water run to your neighbour. The Ansari then became angry and said: Apostle of Allah! it is because he is your cousin! Thereupon the face of the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) changed colour and he said: Water (your ground), then keep back the water till it returns to the embankment. Az−Zubayr said: By Allah! I think this verse came down about that: “But no , by thy Lord! they can have no (real) faith, until they make thee judge…..”
3631: Narrated Tha’labah ibn AbuMalik:
Tha’labah heard his elders say that a man from the Quraysh had his share with Banu Qurayzah (in water). He brought the dispute to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) about al−Mahzur, a stream whose water they shared together. The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) then decided that when water reached the ankles waters should not be held back to flow to the lower.
3632: Narrated Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al−’As:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) decided regarding the stream al−Mahzur that its water should be held back till it reached the ankles, and that the upper waters should then be allowed to flow to the lower.
3633: Narrated AbuSa’id al−Khudri:
Two men brought their dispute about the precincts of a palm−tree to the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him). According to a version of this tradition, he ordered to measure and it was measured. It was found seven yards. According to another version, it was found five yards. He made a decision according to that. AbdulAziz said: He ordered to measure with a branch of its branches. It was then measured.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) ERA.
Sahabiyat: Ummuhàtul-Mu’minnin
(Female Companions of the Prophet Mohammad time)
Rumaysa bint Milhan, popularly known as Umm Sulaim, was one of the earliest women converts to Islam in Yathrib. Umm Sulaym was first married to Malik ibn an-Nadr and her son by this marriage was Anas ibn Malik, a notable companion of Muhammad.
Following the death of her first husband, Zayd ibn Sahl, known as Abu Talha ibn Thabit, resolved to become engaged to her before anyone else did. He was confident that Umm Sulaym would not pass him over for another. He was quite rich, an accomplished horseman, and a skilful archer and he belonged to the same clan as Umm Sulaym, the Banu Najjar. Following Abu Talhah’s acceptance of Islam, the two married and were considered a model Muslim couple. Abu Talhah died while he was on a naval expedition during the time of the caliph Uthman, and was buried at sea.
Umm Sulaym was noted for her courage and bravery. During the battle of Uhud, she carried a dagger in the folds of her dress, giving water and tending to the wounded and attempting to defend Muhammad when the tide of battle was turning against him.
When it was known that Umm Sulaym had become a widow, one man, Zayd ibn Sahl, known as Abu Talhah, resolved to become engaged to her before anyone else did. He was rather confident that Umm Sulaym would not pass him over for another. He was after all a strong and virile person who was quite rich and who possessed an imposing house that was much admired. He was an accomplished horseman and a skilful archer and, moreover, he belonged to the same clan as Umm Sulaym, the Banu Najjar.
A narration attributed to Anas ibn Malik reports:
The son of Abu Talba who was born of Umm Sulaim died. She (Umm Sulaim) said to the members of her family: Do not narrate to Abu Talha about his son until I narrate it to him. Abu Talha came (home) ; she presented to him the supper. He took it and drank water. She then embellished herself which she did not do before. He (Abu Talha) had a sexual intercourse with her and when she saw that he was satisfied after sexual intercourse with her, she said: Abu Talha, if some people borrow something from another family and then (the members of the family) ask for its return, would they resist its return? He said: No. She said: I inform you about the death of your son.
He was annoyed, and said: You did not inform me until I had a sexual intercourse with you and you later on gave me information about my son. He went to Allah’s Messenger and informed him what had happened. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger said: May Allah bless both of you in the night spent by you! He (the narrator) said: She became pregnant. Allah’s Messenger was in the course of a journey and she was along with him and when Allah’s Messenger came back to Medina from the journey he did not enter (his house) (during the night). When the people came near Medina, she felt the pangs of delivery. He (Abu Talha) remained with her and Allah’s Messenger proceeded on.
Abu Talha said: O Lord, you know that I love to go along with Allah’s Messenger when he goes out and enter along with him when he enters and I have been detained as Thou seest. Umm Sulaim said: Abu Talha, I do not feel (so much pain) as I was feeling formerly, so better proceed on. So we proceeded on and she felt the pangs of delivery as they reached (Medina) and a child was born and my mother said to me: Anas, none should suckle him until you go to Allah’s Messenger tomorrow morning. And when it was morning I carried him (the child) and went along with him to Allah’s Messenger.
He said: I saw that he had in his hand the instrument for the cauterisation of the camels. When he saw me. he said: This is, perhaps, what Umm Sulaim has given birth to. I said: Yes. He laid down that instrument on the ground. I brought that child to him and placed it in his lap and Allah’s Messenger asked Ajwa dates of Medina to be brought and softened them in his month. When these had become palatable he placed them in the mouth of that child. The child began to taste them. Then Allah’s Messenger said: See what love the Ansar have for dates. He then wiped his face and named him ‘Abdullah.
Even before Islam was introduced to Yathrib, Rumaysa was known for her excellent character, the power of her intellect and her independent attitude of mind. She was known by various names including Rumaysa and Ghumaysa, but these were possibly nicknames. One historian says that her real name was Sahlah but later she was popularly known as Umm Sulaym.
Umm Sulaym was first married to Malik ibn an-Nadr and her son by this marriage was the famous Anas ibn Malik, one of the great companions of the Prophet.
Umm Sulaym was one of the first women of Yathrib to accept Islam. She was influenced by the refined, dedicated and persuasive Musab ibn Umayr who was sent out as the first missionary or ambassador of Islam by the noble Prophet may Allah bless him and grant him peace . This was after the first pledge of Aqabah. Twelve men of Yathrib had gone to Aqabah on the outskirts of Makkah to pledge loyalty to the Prophet. This was the first major break through for the mission of the Prophet for many years.
Umm Sulaym’s decision to accept Islam was made without the knowledge or consent of her husband, Malik ibn an-Nadr. He was absent from Yathrib at the time and when he returned he felt some change had come over his household and asked his wife: “Have you been rejuvenated?” “No,” she said, “but I (now) believe in this man (meaning the Prophet Muhammad).”
Malik was not pleased especially when his wife went on to announce her acceptance of Islam in public and instruct her son Anas in the teachings and practice of the new faith. She taught him to say la ilaha ilia Allah and Ash hadu anna Muhammada-r Rasulullah. The young Anas repeated this simple but profound declaration of faith clearly and emphatically.
Umm Sulaym’s husband was now furious. He shouted at her: “Don’t corrupt my son.” “I am not corrupting him ,” she replied firmly.
Her husband then left the house and it is reported that he was set upon by an enemy of his and was killed. The news shocked but apparently did not upset Umm Sulaym greatly. She remained devoted to her son Anas and was concerned about his. proper upbringing. She is even reported to have said that she would not marry again unless Anas approved.
When it was known that Umm Sulaym had become a widow, one man, Zayd ibn Sahl, known as Abu Talhah, resolved to become engaged to her before anyone else did.
He was rather confident that Umm Sulaym would not pass him over for another. He was after all a strong and virile person who was quite rich and who possessed an imposing house that was much admired. He was an accomplished horseman and a skilful archer and, moreover, he belonged to the same clan as Umm Sulaym, the Banu Najjar.
Abu Talhah proceeded to Umm Sulaym’s house. On the way he recalled that she had been influenced by the preaching of Musab ibn Umayr and had become a Muslim.
“So what?” he said to himself. “Was not her husband who died a firm adherent of the old religion and was he not opposed to Muhammad and his mission?”
Abu Talhah reached Umm Sulaym’s house. He asked and was given permission to enter. Her son Anas was present. Abu Talhah explained why he had come and asked for her hand in marriage.
“A man like you, Abu Talhah ,” she said, “is not (easily) turned away. But I shall never marry you while you are a kafir, an unbeliever.”
Abu Talhah thought she was trying to put him off and that perhaps she had already preferred someone wealthier and more influential. He said to her:
“What is it that really prevents you from accepting me, Umm Sulaym? Is it the yellow and the white metals (gold and silver)?”
“Gold and silver?” she asked somewhat taken aback and in a slightly censuring tone. “Yes,” he said. “I swear to you, Abu Talhah, and I swear to Allah and His Messenger that if you accept Islam, I shall be pleased to accept you as a husband, without any gold or silver. I shall consider your acceptance of Islam as my mahr.”
Abu Talhah understood well the implications of her words. His mind turned to the idol he had made from wood and on which he lavished great attention in the same way that important men of his tribe venerated and cared for their personal idols.
The opportunity was right for Umm Sulaym to stress the futility of such idol worship and she went on: “Don’t you know Abu Talhah, that the god you worship besides Allah grew from the earth?” ..”That’s true,” he said.
“Don’t you feel stupid while worshipping part of a tree while you use the rest of it for fuel to bake bread or warm yourself? (If you should give up these foolish beliefs and practices) and become a Muslim, Abu Talhah, I shall be pleased to accept you as a husband and I would not want from you any sadaqah apart from your acceptance of Islam.”
“Who shall instruct me in Islam?” asked Abu Talhah. “I shall,” Umm Sulaym replied. “How?”
“Utter the declaration of truth and testify that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. Then go to your house, destroy your idol and throw it away.”
Abu Talhah left and reflected deeply on what Umm Sulaym had said. He came back to her beaming with happiness.
“I have taken your advice to heart. I declare that there is no god but Allah and I declare that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.”
Umm Sulaym and Abu Talhah were married. Anas, her son, was pleased and the Muslims would say: “We have never yet heard of a mahr that was more valuable and precious than that of Umm Sulaym for she made Islam her mahr.”
Umm Sulaym was pleased and delighted with her new husband who placed his unique energies and talents in the service of Islam. He was one of the seventy three men who swore allegiance to the Prophet at the second Pledge of Aqabah. With him, according to one report, was his wife Umm Sulaym. Two other women, the celebrated Nusaybah bint Kab and Asma bint Amr witnessed Aqabah and took the oath of allegiance to the Prophet.
Abu Talhah was devoted to the Prophet and took enormous delight in simply looking at him and listening to the sweetness of his speech. He participated in all the major military campaigns. He lived a very ascetic life and was known to fast for long periods at a time. It is said that he had a fantastic orchard in Madinah with date palms and grapes and running water.
One day while he was performing Salat in the shade of the trees, a beautiful bird with brightly colored plumage flew in front of him. He became engrossed in the scene and forgot how many rakats he had prayed. Two? Three? When he completed the Prayer he went to the Prophet and described how he had been distracted. In the end, he said: “Bear witness, Messenger of Allah, that I hand over this orchard as a charity for the sake of Allah, the Exalted.”
Abu Talhah and Umm Sulaym had an exemplary Muslim family life, devoted to the Prophet and the service of Muslims and Islam. The Prophet used to visit their home. Sometimes when the time of Prayer came, he would pray on a mat provided by Umm Sulaym. Sometimes also he would have a siesta in their house and, as he slept, she would wipe the perspiration from his forehead. Once when the Prophet awoke from his siesta, he asked: “Umm Sulaym, what are you doing?” “I am taking these (drops of perspiration) as a barakah (blessing) which comes from you ,” she replied.
At another time, the Prophet went to their house and Umm Sulaym offered him dates and butterfat but he did not have any of it because he was fasting. Occasionally, she would send her son Anas with bags of dates to his house. It was noticed that the Prophet, peace be on him, had a special compassion for Umm Sulaym and her family and when asked about it, he replied: “Her brother was killed beside me.”
Umm Sulaym also had a well-known sister, Umm Haram, the wife of the imposing Ubadah ibn as-Samit. She died at sea during a naval expedition and was buried in Cyprus. Umm Sulaym’s husband, Abu Talhah, also died while he was on a naval expedition during the time of the third Caliph, Uthman, and was buried at sea.
Umm Sulaym herself was noted for her great courage and bravery. During the Battle of Uhud, she carried a dagger in the folds of her dress. She gave water to and tended the wounded and she made attempts to defend the Prophet when the tide of battle was turning against him. At the Battle of Khandaq, the Prophet saw her carrying a dagger and he asked her what she was doing with it. She said: “It is to fight those who desert.”
“May Allah grant you satisfaction in that,” replied the Prophet. In the face of adversity, Umm Sulaym displayed a unique calmness and strength. One of her young sons (Umayr) fell sick and died while her husband was away looking after his orchards. She bathed the child and wrapped him in shrouds. She told others at her home that they should not inform Abu Talhah because she herself wanted to tell him. Anas ibn Malik said, “A son of Abu Talha became ill. Abu Talha went out and the child died. When Abu Talha returned, he asked, ‘How is my son?’ Umm Sulaym said, “He is calmer now than he has ever been.’ She brought him supper and he ate and then he had sex with her. When he finished, she said, ‘Bury the child.’
“In the morning Abu Talha went to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and told him. He asked, ‘Did you have relations with your wife last night?’ ‘Yes,’ he answered. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘O Allah, bless them!’ and she ater had a baby boy.
A few days after she gave birth, she sent Anas with the baby and a bag of dates to the Prophet. The Prophet placed the baby on his lap. He crushed the dates in his mouth and put some in the baby’s mouth. The baby sucked the dates with relish and the Prophet said: “The Ansar are only fond of dates.” The prophet named him `Abdullah.
Abdullah eventually grew up and had seven children all of whom memorized the Quran.
Umm Sulaym was a model Muslim, a model wife and mother. Her belief in Allah was strong and uncompromising. She was not prepared to endanger her faith and the upbringing of her children for wealth and luxury, however abundant and tempting.
She was devoted to the Prophet and dedicated her son Anas to his service. She took the responsibility of educating her children and she played an active part in public life, sharing with the other Muslims the hardships and the joys of building a community and living for the pleasure of Allah.
The Gardens of the Righteous”, is a compilation of verses from the Qur’an and hadith,
By: Imam Abu Zakaria Mohiuddin Yahya An-Nawawi
Continue reading “Riyadh Saliheen: The Gardens of the Righteous – Part 15”
As-Sahabah:
Abu Hurairah
The Companions of Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him)
Al-Hajj Step by Step:
Third Way | Al-Hajj Al-Qiran
Al-Hajj Step by Step:
Second Way | Al-Hajj Al-Ifrad
Al-Hajj Step by Step:
First Way | Al-Hajj At-Tamattu’
Wajibad 
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