Intro + Hadiths 1-5

Page 1: Intro To Unit 4 & Who Is Ibn Rajab?

Page 2: Unit 4: Jami' Al-'Ulum Wal-Hikam Introduction to the work of Ibn Rajab Al-Hanbali.

Who Is The Author Of This Book?Author: Abdulrahman Bin Ahmad Bin Rajab

Birth: Born in Baghdad, Iraq, in 736H (1335AD).Background:

• Traveled to Damascus with his father at a young age.

• Became a student of knowledge early.

• Mastered various sciences, including:

  • Fiqh (Islamic Jurisprudence)

  • Tafseer (Quranic Exegesis)

  • Language

  • History

  • Hadith.

Who Is The Author Of This Book? (Cont) Authored many books and commentaries on works of earlier scholars, including:

• Sahih Bukhari

• Jami’ At-Tirmithi

• 40 Ahadeeth of Nawawi (Jami’ Al-’Ulum Wal-Hikam).

Death: Passed away in 795H (1393AD) at the age of 59.

before death: He repeated, “Oh Allah, pardon me!” 30 times.

Other Tidbits Ibn Rajab became known after his death. Why? Because He was very humble during his lifetime and avoided the limelight, fearing that his deeds were not sincere.

Other Tidbits (Cont) He Explained the Hadith of the two hungry wolves: the Prophet's warning about the dangers of seeking wealth/status. Ibn Rajab not only explained the hadith but also implemented it in his life.

On "Jami' Al-'Ulum Wal-Hikam" Explanation of Imam An-Nawawi's 40 Ahadith, plus more added by Ibn Rajab. one of the best explanations, bc he goes in-depth on many aspects of the Ahadith: Isnaad (chain of narration) and Matn (text).

Hadith on Intentions Reported by 'Umar b. al-Khattab: "Deeds are to be judged only by intentions..."Different scenarios for intentions of actions.

The Story Of Muhajir Umm Qais A man migrated to Madinah, not for faith, but to pursue a woman, Umm Qais.

The Story Of Muhajir Umm Qais (Cont)Ibn Rajab and Ibn Hajar note the story lacks strong evidence to be the main reason of this Hadith

The Importance Of This Hadith

Highly regarded by scholars; many scholars open their works with it. Imam Ahmad classifies it as foundational to the religion.

Explanation of this Hadith "Deeds are to be judged only by intentions, and a man will have only what he intended."

Meaning the deeds are either accepted or rejected, rewarded or punished, by the intention.

Whatever a person intends from good, they shall receive (as long as the good is proper in form and Shariah compliant) and if the intent was bad, then they'll receive bad.

Explanation of this Hadith (Cont)

The intentions have two meanings here:

1- The ones that separate acts of worship from one another, such as fasting a sunnah fast from Ramadan, or which prayer was prayed.

2- If an act was done for the sake of Allah Subhannahu Wa Ta'ala solely or not?

"When one’s emigration is to God and His Messenger, his emigration is to God and His Messenger, but when his emigration is to a worldly end at which he aims, or to a woman whom he marries, his emigration is to that to which he emigrated.

While migration was the topic of discussion, the prophet peace be upon him used it as an example of something that can be either accepted if it's for the sake of Allah, and rejected if it's not.

Any act of worship, small or big, can be included here

Explanation of this Hadith (Cont) Many examples from Sunnah emphasize intentions are crucial for deeds. The Hadith of seeking knowledge for reasons other than seeking Allah's pleasure, for instance.

Explanation of this Hadith (Cont)

Categories of intentions:

• Purely show off.

• Mixed intentions (for Allah + showing off).

• Initial good intention, later corrupted.

First Case: Purely To Show Off...Characteristics of hypocrisy. Severe consequences for those with this intention. its rejected

Second Case: For Allah & Showing Off Together Intentions must not be mixed; if so, the act is nullified.

Third Case: Starts For The Sake of Allah, Then...When intentions are initially pure but later challenged by Shaitan. Fleeting doubts: there’s nothing wrong.

Lingering thoughts:

Two types of worship to consider:

• Connected acts (e.g., prayer). the act is accepted based on the start of the intention

• Disconnected acts (e.g., reading the Quran). not accepted

Third Case: Starts For The Sake of Allah, Then... (Final)Need to renew intentions if thoughts of doubts persist. All previous good acts done with the right intention will be accepted.

hadith jibreel

on the authority of `Umar (ra) who said: While we were one day sitting with the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم (there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were visible on him, and none of us knew him. He sat down close by the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (rested his knees against the knees of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (and placed his palms over his thighs, and said: "O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه وسلم (replied: "Islam is that you should testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم(, that you should perform salah (ritual prayer), pay the zakah, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (the Ka`bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it).He said: "You have spoken the truth." We were astonished at his thus questioning him (صلى الله عليه وسلم (and then telling him that he was right, but he went on to say, "Inform me about Iman (faith)." He (the Prophet) answered, "It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate (qadar), both in its good and in its evil aspects." He said, "You have spoken the truth."Then he (the man) said, "Inform me about Ihsan." He (the Prophet) answered, "It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He seesyou." He said, "Inform me about the Hour." He (the Prophet) said, "About that the one questioned knows no more than the questioner." So he said, "Well, inform me about its signs." He said, "They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings."Thereupon the man went off. I waited a while, and then he (the Prophet) said, "O `Umar, do you know who that questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know better." He said, "That was Jibril. He came to teach you your religion."

Ibn Rajab said...

This is a great Hadith that encompasses the knowledge of this religion (meaning the keys to the doors of knowledge)

It talks about what Islam, Iman, and Ihsan are and what separates them from each other.

The first thing we can derive from this Hadith is the etiquette of seeking knowledge

Firstly, Jibreel 'alayh asalam came looking clean and pure, as one should always do when attending gatherings of knowledge

Secondly, he sat close to the teacher and took knowledge directly from him. The Sahaba were very attentive when listening to the strange man and did not interrupt him, the prophet peace be upon him, nor any of the others in the gathering.

Thirdly, one should always ask questions either to:

1- To gain the knowledge they don't have, whether they're asking about something they don't know the answer to, or to ask for a clarification to something they misunderstood.

2- To benefit the other students around, which is similar to this case here. In other words: the questioner may already know the answer but would like for the others around to benefit too (in this case, perhaps the teacher forgot to touch upon it.)

Questions asked should benefit both the inquirer and the audience.

some people challenge or showboat before teachers. and that is something that is frowned upon

The Pillars of Islam Jibreel addresses the Prophet by name, indicating an informal style.

The Pillars of Islam (Continued) The Prophet mentions the five foundational pillars of Islam.

1- The Shahadatain

2- Prayer

3- Zakat

4- Fasting Ramadan

5- Hajj if capable

Notice here that the acts are physical, financial, or both...

Shahdatain, prayer, and fasting – Physical

Zakat – Financial

Hajj – Physical and financial for those living in other lands

• Those pillars purify you and teach you to have restraint and patience.

Hadith Jibreel (Part 2)

What Is Iman? six pillars: belief in Allah, angels, books, messengers, Last Day, and fate.

What is Ihsan? It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He sees you.

What is Ihsan? (Cont) Ihsan has two levels: Mushahadah (witnessing) which is impossible from the physical sense, as we only get to see Him Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala We can get to that level by seeing the effects of His decree in our day-to-day lives. Such as the rain falling, the trees growing and dying, the sunrise and sunset.

Muraqabah (monitoring) to know that Allah is always watching you, which should have an effect on your worship and abstinence from sins. Ihsan is the highest level of the three, think of it like 3 circles within each other, each larger than the one before. Ihsan would be the smallest one in the middle.

Ihsan is...

To do well by the ones who have done you harm

To maintain ties with the family that cut you off

To spread salam to the ones you have issues with

To give from the dearest things to you, be it time or money

Ihsan is to make Allah's sight the most important sight!

Hadith Jibreel (Part 3)

About The Hour The prophet peace be upon him tells Jibreel that no one from the creation, not even he knows the answer to that question

Signs of The Hour They are that the slave girl will give birth to her mistress and that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings.

Signs of The Hour (Cont) Back in the day, slavery was common and very much accepted as a part of life.

Here, the prophet peace be upon him said that a time will come in which slave-girls will give birth to their mistress, someone who commands her.

buildings

This is a very recent sign that has happened within our parent's generation.

Essentially, this part of the hadith signifies that one of the signs is that things get flipped around.

the prophet talked about how at the end of times, things would flip around

The truthful would be made a liar, and the liar made truthful

The ones of trustworthiness would not be trusted, and the ones who lack it would be trusted

In this Hadith, the people of poverty and low status will have the power, so they will misuse it.

"That was Jibril. He came to teach you your religion."

This Hadith encompasses all matters of religion.

Pillars of Islam – Fiqh and law

Pillars of Iman – Aqeedah (creed)

Ihsan – Mannerisms and behaviour

Hadith 3 - The 5 Pillars of Islam

• The Hadith suggests that if the religion of Islam was a building of sorts, these five things would be the pillars that hold it together.

• Everything else, from the Sunnan, Athkar, charity, etc, are the other parts of the building that are also necessary, but not as essential as the other things

• A house can have issues, maybe a leaky roof, or worn-out walls with holes in them... But can it go on without the pillars it is built on? Not a chance!

• Similarly, all other things are useless without those five pillars being established.

• As for prayer, there's no act of worship after the shahadatain that is more important than establishing prayer.

• There are many Ahadith that talk about the importance of prayer and the consequences of not establishing it.

Not praying is a bigger sin than anything that is considered major in Islam...

Zina? Not praying is worse

Drinking? Not praying is worse.

Gambling? Not praying is worse

Dealing with interest? Not praying is worse

All four at the same time???? Not praying is WORSE!

Hadith 4 Part 1: The Creation of Human Kind Ibn Mas'ud reports the stages of human development in the womb.

The prophet (peace be upon him) in this Hadith talks about the following...The first 120 days of humans in the womb

What Allah has decreed for the fetus

Their final destination

"...then they become a piece of congealed blood for a similar period"o Allah has described this phase "علقة "or leech

"...then they become a lump of flesh for a similar period. o After the "leech" phase, the prophet describes the next phase as "مضغة ", comes from "مضغ "which is the process of chewing (basically bite-sized)

Explanation of the Hadith Clarification of the phases leading towards the spirit being breathed into the fetus.

Explanation of the Hadith (Cont)Discusses the significance of the fleshy lump phase in development.

Why did Ibn Mas'ud may Allah be pleased with him say, "God’s messenger who spoke the truth and whose word was believed told them the following"?

Because this Hadith talks about the matters of the unseen!

The people of the time didn't have access to all the tech we have today, so to them, this was purely faith-based.

It's easy for us to appreciate this because Allah's made it easy for us to see the stages, but to them, it was a different thing altogether.

"Then God sends to him an angel with four words who records his deeds, the period of his life, his provision, and whether he will be miserable or blessed"

The angel then is commanded to write the following, which all have to do with Allah's decree for the individual:

▪ The deeds committed, good or bad

▪ How long he/she lives for

▪ Their rizq (general, not just financial

▪ If they'll be from the people of heaven or the people of hell

Hadith 4 Part 2: Actions Are Judge By Their Endings

Explanation of the Hadith (Cont) As Muslims, we know that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala is the most Just, the most Wise, and the most Merciful

• How is it then, that someone would be so close to entering Jannah, but at the end of their lives they commit a sin that eventually condemns them into hell?

Before we answer this question, let us first talk about a concept that exists in the sciences of Hadith

We already established in the Hadith terminology unit that collecting all pathways of the hadith is important in determining the strength or weakness of said Hadith.

It is important for us to also understand that the process of collecting the different pathways is important in understanding the meaning of the Hadith

The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم (said, "A man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of Paradise, but he is of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire and a man may do what may seem to the people as the deeds of the dwellers of the Hell-Fire, but he is from the dwellers of Paradise."• In another Hadith, he said," Verily, deeds are judged by their endings

The Hadith is talking about the actions of the heart

Perhaps someone's doing everything right, but internally, they have some diseases in their hearts (Hypocrisy, showing off etc) that will have them die on an act of disobedience

The opposite could be true, a person could be doing many things wrong, but they hate what they do and constantly wish to go back to Allah and make Tawbah, so Allah grants them a good ending!

We learn...

What you end your life on is what matters the most, not the beginning nor the middle

Therefore, one must never feel too comfortable with where they're at, because

Always make Duaa' that Allah keeps you and your loved ones steadfast

Hadith 5: He Who Innovates...

Explanation of the Hadith

• This Hadith is a foundational Hadith for us Muslims

• This Hadith serves as a scale of the outward deeds, just like the Hadith of Omar may Allah be pleased with him (intentions) serves as a scale for the actions of the heart

• Just as any act with faulty intentions is unaccepted, this Hadith tells us that any act that isn't correct is unaccepted.

This Hadith has explicit and implicit meanings (what does that mean??)

Explicit: It is very clearly stated.

Implicit: It is not clearly stated, but it is understood (think the word "implied"• Question: What is the explicit meaning of this Hadith, and what is implied??

• Explicit: Any act that DOESN'T have any proof from a shariah perspective is null and void

• Implicit: Any act that DOES have any proof from a shariah perspective is accepted (with the intention in mind, of course)

Another implicit meaning: This is specific for the matters of the religion, whereas the matters of the dunya there needs to be an evidence for it to be haram or a fatwa by the people of knowledge

Why was Shariah highlighted here?? Cause the prophet was strictly talking about matters of the religion

Is the use of microphones to make Athan Bid'ah? No.

How about driving cars instead of camels? No.

The prophet peace be upon him once saw a man standing in the sun... When he asked about him he found out that...

The man vowed to stand and never sit

The man vowed to never be in the shade

The man vowed to fast

The prophet peace be upon him commanded the man to...

Sit

To find shade

… but to continue the fast (cause that is permissible)

• While standing is an act of worship in things like prayer, Athan etc... doesn't mean that it's an act of worship in general

Another thing is doing things that are generally liked, like Nawafil of Fasting and Prayer, but done in times that are impermissible

Like fasting on Eid

Like prayer after Fajr, right before Duhur, or after Asr.

Note*

Always ask yourselves: How can I benefit from this?

Some people learn knowledge to apply it on people, but little do they benefit

This Hadith should leave you pondering how to avoid Bid'ah, not how to judge if others are people of Bid'ah or not

This isn't to say that you don't correct the wrong if you know it's wrong, but refrain from labelling individuals. Leave that to the scholars!