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Monday 26 September 2011

SPREAD THE WORD OF ALLAH(Understanding Hadith Qudsi 22)


SPREAD THE WORD OF ALLAH(Understanding Hadith Qudsi 22)

by Forty Hadith Qudsi on Thursday, 20 January 2011 at 19:55
 Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim

On the authority of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him), who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
"Let not any one of you belittle himself." They said: "O Messenger of Allah, how can any one of us belittle himself?" He said: "He finds a matter concerning Allah about which he should say something, and he does not say [it], so Allah (mighty and sublime be He) says to him on the Day of Resurrection: 'What prevented you from saying something about such-and-such and such-and-such?' He will say: 'It was] out of fear of people.' Then He says: 'Rather it is I whom you should more properly fear.'" [Ibn Majah with a sound chain of authorities.]


Hadith qudsi 22 stresses the importance of acquiring knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith and imparting it to others. No matter whether one has more or less knowledge, he must communicate it to others. There is no justification to presume that preaching or inviting to the Message of Allah is the duty of religious scholars and those who are well-versed in this sphere. In fact, it is a duty upon every Muslim, so much so that if a person knows even a single Verse of the Qur'an, that is to say if he knows only one injunction of Allah, he is duty bound to communicate it to other people.


>> Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying, "May Allah freshen the affairs of a person who hears something from us and communicates it to others exactly as he has heard it (i.e., both the meaning and the words). Many a recepient of knowledge understands it better than the one who has heard it."[At-Tirmidhi].

 Commentary: Besides mentioning the eminence of knowledge, this Hadith contains inducement for preaching and inviting people towards the path of Allah. It also urges us to communicate knowledge exactly as we have heard it, without changing anything in the least.

 >> Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "He who is asked about knowledge (of religion) and conceals it, will be bridled with a bridle of fire on the Day of Resurrection."[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

Commentary: We learn from this Hadith that to withhold guidance in the matter of religion from anybody who seeks it, is a grave sin which is threatened with Hell. Unfortunately, the religious scholars who are shackled in religious prejudices and terribly lack interest in juristic matters have developed a habit of concealing religious knowledge from people. In fact, this grave sin has become so alarming that any further delay to eradicate it will prove ruinous for us. May Allah grant us true guidance.


>>Ibn Mas'ud (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said, "Envy is permitted only in two cases: A man whom Allah gives wealth, and he disposes of it rightfully, and a man to whom Allah gives knowledge which he applies and teaches it."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: According to Imam An-Nawawi's explanation, the word Hasad (jealousy) is used in the sense of Ghibtah i.e., envy. In Islam, jealousy is forbidden and is held unlawful. The reason being that one who is jealous wants that the person, who possesses the quality of which he is jealous, be deprived of that quality. Envy is permissible for the reason that when one seems that a person has been graced by Allah with certain gifts and qualities, he also desires to be blessed with those gifts. In the latter case, he does not grumble and grieve but eagerly prays to Allah for those gifts. 'Knowledge' here stands for the knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith because this knowledge alone is beneficial for man, and it is through this knowledge that correct judgements can be made among the people. This Hadith has an inducement for acquiring useful knowledge along with wealth to spend in the ways ordained by Allah.

>>Sahl bin Sa'd (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Prophet (PBUH) said to 'Ali (May Allah be pleased with him), "By Allah, if a single person is guided by Allah through you, it will be better for you than a whole lot of red camels."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: "Better for you than red camels" is an allegory for every thing that is better than anything else. Red camels used to be precious in Arabia, and their reference here is to highlight the value of guidance. Thus, this Hadith brings into prominence the importance of calling people towards Allah. But before calling others to the path of Allah, one must himself know it, and for this purpose, the knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith is essential because one cannot provide any guidance in this respect without this knowledge.

>>Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "He who calls others to follow the Right Guidance will have a reward equal to the reward of those who follow him, without their reward being diminished in any respect on that account."[Muslim].

Commentary: This Hadith has already been mentioned. This Hadith has glad tidings for those who learn the knowledge of religion, teach it and impart it to others.

>>Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The world, with all that it contains, is accursed except for the remembrance of Allah that which pleases Allah; and the religious scholars and seekers of knowledge."[At-Tirmidhi].

Commentary: This Hadith has already been mentioned. It does not mean that this world, and whatever is in it, is really cursed. What it in fact means is that such things of this world are cursed which make a person negligent of the remembrance of Allah; or it is cursed for those who in their whole life do not remember Allah. This Hadith has been mentioned in the present chapter, which relates to knowledge for the reason that acquisition of knowledge is essential to know that such and such work will be a source of winning the Pleasure of Allah and such and such act will incur His displeasure. This is the reason the teacher and the learner have been included in the exemptions from the curse.
 
>>Abu Umamah (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "The superiority of the learned over the devout worshipper is like my superiority over the most inferior amongst you (in good deeds)." He went on to say, "Allah, His angels, the dwellers of the heaven and the earth, and even the ant in its hole and the fish (in water) supplicate in favour of those who teach people knowledge."[At-Tirmidhi].

Commentary: 'Alim (learned person) here means scholar of the Qur'an and Hadith, who adheres to Faraid and Sunnah and remains busy in learning and imparting knowledge. 'Abid (devout worshipper) is one who spends most of his time in the worship of Allah. The benefit of his voluntary prayer and remembrance of Allah is restricted to his own self while the benefit of knowledge of the scholar reaches others also. Hence, of the two, the latter is far superior.

If Salat is mentioned with reference to Allah, it denotes "Allah's Grace with Mercy;" if it is mentioned with reference to the angels, it denotes "to pray for forgiveness;" and if it is mentioned with reference to other creatures - men, animals, etc., - then it means prayer and supplication. Thus, Allah graces that person with His Mercy who teach people the beneficial knowledge, i.e., the knowledge of Islam; angels pray to Allah to forgive his (or her) sins; and other creatures pray for his (or her) well-being. In this way, this Hadith stresses the distinction of religious scholars and highlights the esteem in which they are held by Allah, His angels and His other creatures.

>>'Abdullah bin 'Amr bin Al-'As (May Allah be pleased with them) reported: I heard the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) saying: "Verily, Allah does not take away knowledge by snatching it from the people, but He takes it away by taking away (the lives of) the religious scholars till none of the scholars stays alive. Then the people will take ignorant ones as their leaders, who, when asked to deliver religious verdicts, will issue them without knowledge, the result being that they will go astray and will lead others astray."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Commentary: It is a sign of the nearness of the Day of Judgement that the world will be deprived of genuine religious scholars, and illiterate people will become leaders who will have neither the knowledge of the Qur'an nor that of the Hadith. Despite their ignorance of the Qur'an and the Hadith, they will be called Mujtahid (jurist entitled to independent reasoning) and Imam (leader) and will mislead people with their legal opinions and self-created problems. Besides urging us to acquire religious knowledge with a view to producing more scholars in the society, this Hadith also warns us against the ignorant self-styled 'Ulama'. It also warns us against entrusting religious leadership to them.

The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah, the angels, the inhabitants of heaven and earth, even the ant in its hole and even the fish in the sea, send blessings upon the one who teaches the people good.”Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2609; classes as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami‘, 1838. 

By the grace of Allah, the one who teaches the people something about their religion deserves this supplication, because what he taught them will bring them to something good. 

In Saheeh al-Bukhaari (3461) it is narrated from ‘Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Convey from me, even if it is a verse.” 
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar said in al-Fath: And he said in the hadeeth: “even if it is a verse,” meaning just one, so that everyone who heard it would hasten to convey whatever verses he knew, even if it was a little, so that by this means everything he (the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) brought would be transmitted.

But the one who takes on the mission of calling people to Islam has to have knowledge and insight into what he is calling them to. It is not essential for him to know the entire religion. Explaining this issue, al-‘Allaamah Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If a person has proper understanding what he is calling people to, it makes no difference whether he is a great scholar or a seeker of knowledge who is a hard worker, or an ordinary Muslim whose knowledge of a particular issue is clear and certain. The Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Convey from me, even if it is a verse.” He did not stipulate that the daa‘iyah (one who calls people to Allah) should have vast knowledge; rather he stipulated that he should have knowledge of what he is calling people to. As for the one who is ignorant and calls people on the basis of emotion, that is not permissible. 

May Allah SWT guide us in spreading the true word and keep us all on the right path.Ameen.



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