Alhamdulillah- all praise is
due to ALLAH-Lord Almighty, King of Kings,The Merciful, The Compassionate and
salutations upon the Holy Messenger,the truthful, the noble-Prophet Muhammad
(Peace be upon him and his companions and his family).
The religion of Islam is a religion of peace. It is a not ONLY a religion but a
way of life.Our Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in his blessed
lifetime showed us the proper way of living in terms of eating, drinking,
sleeping and interacting with the society & our own family members-
alhamdulillah!
I testify that there is no God but ALLAH & Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)
is the final Prophet and Messenger of ALLAH- who was sent as a "Mercy to all
Mankind".
From his (Peace be upon him) teachings- the Sunnah- we have learnt a lot and are
still in the process of learning. Hence, I have chosen to write explanations on
Hadith in terms of its meaning & the situation in which it was presented.
inshaALLAH- this will be a continuous project that will include different
Hadiths with relation to our daily lives and also our Imaan and their
explanation.
Remember- our job is NOT ONLY to learn Hadiths BUT also to practice on them.
ALLAH's name, The Merciful, The Compassionate- let us begin,
عن أمـيـر المؤمنـين أبي حـفص عمر بن الخطاب رضي الله عنه ، قال : سمعت رسول الله
صلى الله عـليه وسلم يـقـول:
( إنـما الأعـمـال بالنيات وإنـمـا لكـل امـرئ ما نـوى . فمن كـانت هجرته إلى الله
ورسولـه فهجرتـه إلى الله ورسـوله ومن كانت هجرته لـدنيا يصـيبها أو امرأة ينكحها
فهجرته إلى ما هاجر إليه ).
رواه إمام المحد ثين أبـو عـبـد الله محمد بن إسماعـيل بن ابراهـيـم بن المغـيره بن
بـرد زبه البخاري الجعـفي،[رقم:1] وابـو الحسـيـن مسلم بن الحجاج بن مـسلم
القـشـيري الـنيسـابـوري [رقم :1907] رضي الله عنهما في صحيحيهما اللذين هما أصح
الكتب المصنفه.
On the authority of Ameer ul-Mu'mineen (the Commander of the Faithful), Aboo
Hafs `Umar ibn al-Khattaab (radiALLAHu anhu), who said: I heard the Messenger of
ALLAH (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) say:"Actions are but by intentions and every
man shall have only that which he intended.
Thus he whose migration (Hijrah to Madeenah from Makkah) was for ALLAH and HIS
Messenger, his migration was for ALLAH and HIS Messenger, and he whose migration
was to achieve some worldly benefit or to take some woman in marriage, his
migration was for that for which he migrated."
It is related by the two Imaams of the scholars of Hadeeth, Aboo `Abdillaah
Muhammad ibn Ismaa`eel ibn Ibraheem ibn al-Mugheera ibn Bardizbah al-Bukhaaree
and Aboo-l-Husain Muslim ibn al-Hajjaaj ibn Muslim al-Qushairee an-Naisaabooree,
in their two Saheehs.
Explanation of Hadeeth 1
This is a saheeh hadeeth that has been agreed upon by the scholars, and is
collected in both the collections of al-Bukhaaree (Hadeeth No. 1) and Muslim (Hadeeth
No. 1907). This hadeeth is great in its benefit and importance, and it has been
said that the religion of al-Islam revolves around it. Some of the scholars have
said that it is 1/3rd of Knowledge, because the actions of man involve his
heart, his tongue and his limbs, and hence the intention in the heart is 1/3rd
of that. Other scholars have said that the whole religion is encompassed in
three hadeeth - this one, the hadeeth "The Halaal is clear, the Haraam is clear
and between them are doubtful matters...", and the hadeeth "Whoever innovates in
this religion that which is not from it will have his actions rejected [by
ALLAH]". [Note: These other hadeeth will be covered later inshaa' ALLAH]
Some of the scholars have said that this hadeeth should be mentioned at the
beginning of every book, in order to establish that the seeking of knowledge is
for the sake of ALLAH alone, and not for anyone else.Indeed- everything in our
actions and intentions should be solely to earn HIS Pleasure ONLY & only in this
way - can we acquire the true Imaan in our hearts.
In the hadeeth, when the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) says "actions are
but by intention" then the 'by' here means that the acceptance and correctness
of any action depends upon the intention behind it. An action which is
apparently good, such as giving money in charity, will be rejected if the
intention behind it is wrong, for example: to show off. Indeed, the Prophet (sallALLAHu
alayhi wa sallam) has narrated from ALLAH that if a person performs an act for
ALLAH's sake and also for the sake of someone else, then ALLAH will reject the
deed entirely and leave the whole of it for the partner that the person made.
This shows us how grave the sin of shirk is - it is the only sin that ALLAH will
never forgive.
Often today we see a trend where a person learns more about his religion or even
reading of the Quran NOT to earn pleasure of The Almighty but to earn the
"accolades" & "adoration" of the people & such people's deeds- though virtuous
will be rejected completely & ONLY reward will be given for the world-which is
indeed a LOSS!
In the hadeeth, the words "shall have" means that the person will be rewarded
for only that which he intended. So, as mentioned in the hadeeth, if a person
performed the Hijrah, but did it with the wrong intention then he would not be
rewarded for that action of Hijrah.
The word "actions" refers to those actions which are part of the Sharee'ah of
Islaam. Thus, any action of the Sharee'ah - such as making wudoo', or ghusl, or
making tayammum, or the prayer, or zakaat, or fasting, or the Hajj, or i'tikaaf
in the masjid, or any other act of worship - will not be accepted and rewarded
unless it is performed with the correct intention.
Summary
Everything we do has to be intended to be for ALLAH, i.e., for anything we do we
want to make sure that it will be acceptable to HIM and will not in any way
interfere with the upholding of HIS Deen. A good action with the wrong intention
will not get us any reward in the Hereafter.
Here, alhamdulillah- the summary of the above hadith ends.
عن أبي عبد الله النعـمان بن بشير رضي الله عـنهما ، قـال : سمعـت رسـول الله صلي
الله عـليه وسلم يقول: ( إن الحلال بين ، وإن الحـرام بين ، وبينهما أمـور مشتبهات
لا يعـلمهن كثير من الناس ،
فمن اتقى الشبهات فـقـد استبرأ لديـنه وعـرضه ، ومن وقع في الشبهات وقـع في الحرام
،
كـالراعي يـرعى حول الحمى يوشك أن يرتع فيه،ألا وإن لكل ملك حمى ، ألا وإن حمى الله
محارمه ،
ألا وإن في الجـسد مضغة إذا صلحـت صلح الجسد كله ، وإذا فـسـدت فـسـد الجسـد كـلـه
، ألا وهي الـقـلب) رواه البخاري [ رقم : 52 ] ومسلم [ رقم : 1599 ]
On the authority of Aboo `Abdillaah an-Nu`maan the son of Basheer (radiALLAHu 'anhumaa),
who said: I heard the Messenger of ALLAH (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) say: That
which is lawful is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the
two of them are doubtful matters about which many people do not know.
Thus he who avoids doubtful matters clears himself in regard to his religion and
his honour, but he who falls into doubtful matters [eventually] falls into that
which is unlawful, like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary, all but
grazing therein.
Truly every king has a sanctuary, and truly ALLAH's sanctuary is HIS
prohibitions.
Truly in the body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the
body is whole, and which, if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased.
Truly, it is the heart. [Related by al-Bukhaari and Muslim.]
Explanation of Hadeeth 2
This hadeeth is a great Principle from the Principles of the Sharee'ah, such
that the well known Muhaddith Aboo Dawood as-Sijistaanee (Rahima huALLAH) said,
"al-Islaam revolves around four ahaadeeth" , and he then mentioned this hadeeth
amongst them. And there is consensus amongst the People of Knowledge upon the
great status of this hadeeth and its immense benefits.
The statement of the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) "That which is lawful
is clear and that which is unlawful is clear, and between the two of them are
doubtful matters" implies that matters are of three types.
Whatever ALLAH has established to be permissible in a text, then it is the
'clear' Halaal, such as the statement of ALLAH ta'aalaa:
"Made lawful to you this day are AtTayyibaat [all kinds of lawful foods, such
as meat of slaughtered eatable animals, milk, vegetables and fruits, etc.]
The food of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is lawful to you
and yours is lawful to them." [al-Maa'idah 5:5]
And whatever ALLAH has established to be forbidden in a text, then that is the
'clear' Haraam, such as the statement of ALLAH ta'aalaa: "Forbidden to you (for
marriage) are: your mothers, your daughters, your sisters ..." [an-Nisaa 4:23]
And also such as the forbiddance of fawaahish (evil lusts and desires), that
which is apparent of it and also that which is hidden of it. And every matter
concerning which ALLAH has established upon it a limit or associated with it a
punishment or a threat, then that matter is also included amongst the 'clear'
haraam.
As for the the 'doubtful matters' then they are those issues in which there
appears (to the layman) to be opposing evidences from the Book and the Sunnah,
and so in this case restraint from them is from piety.
And the scholars have differed regarding the ruling upon the doubtful matters
mentioned by the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) in this hadeeth.
So one opinion is that they are all Haraam, due the saying of the Messenger (sallALLAHu
alayhi wa salaam) "[he] clears himself in regard to his religion and his honour",
as whoever does safeguard his religion and his honour has definitely fallen into
the Haraam.
Another opinion is that they are Halaal, due the statement of the Prophet (sallALLAHu
alayhi wa sallam) "like the shepherd who pastures around a sanctuary", so this
indicates that these actions are permissible, but leaving them is from piety.
And a third opinion is that we make no ruling regarding the doubtful matters,
and do not say that they are Halaal nor that they are Haraam, as the Prophet (sallALLAHu
alayi wa salaam) placed them between the clear Halaal and the clear Haraam.
Hence it is required that we refrain from passing judgement and this too is from
piety.
And in the hadeeth from 'Adiyy ibn Haatim that he said to the Prophet (sallALLAHu
alayhi wa salaam): "O Messenger of ALLAH! [Sometimes] I send my hunting dog
after game, after pronouncing 'bismillaah' upon it, but when I reach the catch I
find another dog there too (upon which I had not pronounced the name of ALLAH)."
So the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) replied: "Do not eat from it (the
catch), for verily you pronounced the name of ALLAH upon your dog, but not upon
the other dog."
So the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) gave a verdict based upon a doubt,
fearing that the dog which killed the game was the other dog upon which the name
of ALLAH had not been pronounced, hence making the kill slaughtered for other
than ALLAH. And ALLAH has said about this:
"Eat not of that (meat) on which ALLAH's Name has not been pronounced (at the
time of the slaughtering),
for surely it is Fisq (a sin and disobedience of ALLAH)." [al-An'aam 6:121]
So this verdict contains evidence for taking care regarding those actions or
events that involve some judgement regarding what is Halaal or Haraam, due to
the similarity between the different situations. And this is encompassed in the
meaning of the statement of the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam): "Leave
that which causes you doubt, for that which does not cause you doubt." [narrated
by an-Nasaa'ee]
And some of the scholars have said the doubtful matters can be divided into
three types:
1) That affair which a person knows to be Haraam, but which he then doubts as to
whether its forbiddance still continues or not. For example, a person cannot eat
from an animal until he is sure that is has been slaughtered Islaamically, and
so if he has doubts about this then the forbiddance to eat continues until
certainty of the correct slaughtering is achieved. And the origin of this is in
the hadeeth of 'Adiyy mentioned above. [Note: this is referring to a situation
similar to when 'Adiyy came upon the dogs next to the kill - and not when your
butcher says the meat is Halaal and you doubt it!]
2) The opposite of this, where the affair is originally Halaal, and the person
has doubts regarding whether it has become Haraam. And whatever is of this type
then it is considered permissible until its forbiddance is clearly established.
And the origin of this is the hadeeth of Abdullaah bin Zayd, regarding the doubt
in ones wudoo' if one is sure that previously he had made wudoo'. [i.e. one
continues upon the assumption of being with wudoo' until it becomes clear that
the wudoo' has broken]
3) The third type is where one has doubts about a matter and one does not know
whether it is Halaal or Haraam, and the matter could be of either of the two,
and there is no clear evidence to establish either ruling. Then in this
situation the best course of action is restraint. For example, once the Prophet
(sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) found a date in his house, but did not eat it for
he feared that it may have been from that given as sadaqah (as the Prophet (sallALLAHu
alayhi wa sallam) was forbidden from taking of sadaqah).
However, if a person chooses the opposite of what is clearly apparent due to an
imaginary doubt which has no evidence, then restraint in such a situation is
foolishness, and is from the whisperings of shaytaan. For example, a person may
restrain from praying in a place which has no visible traces of filth, simply
out of a fear that maybe some urine had fallen there and since dried. Or a
person may wash a dress simply out of a fear that some filth (najaasah) came
upon it but which he did not actually see upon it. So in all such situations
where there is no 'real' doubt then it is required that one does not leave the
action.
And the statement of the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) "about which many
people do not know" means that many people do not know the shar'ee ruling upon
these matters. However, the People of Knowledge may be able to associate such
matters with other principles that they must follow, and thus achieve a ruling
upon them as to whether they are Halaal or Haraam, and thus they cease to be
doubtful matters.
As for the statement "but he who falls into doubtful matters [eventually] falls
into that which is unlawful" then this is from two angles:
1) The one who does not fear ALLAH and indulges in doubtful matters, eventually
begins to practise the Forbidden actions too, and becomes lenient in these
affairs. And this is as some of the 'ulemaa have said that minor sins lead to
major sins and major sins lead to kufr.
2) The one who often indulges in doubtful matters oppresses himself as his heart
is deprived of the Light of Knowledge and the Light of Piety, so he ends up
falling into the Haraam and does not realise it.
And just as a King has a sanctuary, which the shepherds must keep their sheep
away from, so too has ALLAH specified certain things as Forbidden for his
slaves, which they must refrain from - such as murder, interest (ribaa), theft,
drinking alcohol, backbiting and tale-carrying, and other such things, all of
which we should keep well away from for fear of falling into them.
As for the statement of the Prophet (sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam) "Truly in the
body there is a morsel of flesh, which, if it be whole, all the body is whole
... ":
ALLAH ta'aalaa has blessed only man and the animals with this special organ -
the heart - and through it we find that even the animals recognize that which
benefits them and that which harms them.
Then, ALLAH has singled out al-Insaan from amongst all the animals with the
faculty of the intellect, and additional faculties within the heart. ALLAH says:
"Have they not travelled through the land, and have they hearts wherewith to
understand and ears wherewith to hear?" [al-Hajj 22:46]
And the various limbs of the body are subservient to the heart, so whatever the
heart decides upon, that action appears upon the limbs. So if the heart is good
then the actions of the limbs are good, and if the heart is corrupt then the
actions of the limbs are also corrupt. And if this fact is understood then the
statement of the Prophet sallALLAHu alayhi wa sallam "if it be whole, all the
body is whole, and if it is diseased, all of [the body] is diseased" becomes
clear.
We ask ALLAH the Majestic to cleanse the corruption of our hearts. O Changer of
Hearts, establish our hearts upon Your Deen! O Controller of Hearts, turn our
hearts towards Your obedience!
Summary
• That those things which are Haraam are clear and need clear evidence.
• That one who does doubtful things may well be doing what is Haraam.
• That it is difficult to live honorably when doing the doubtful.
• That ALLAH is the King; The King of kings.
• That it is understandable that ALLAH should have things prohibited for us.
• That the sanctuary of ALLAH which we must not enter is all those things which
He has made Haraam for us. Thus we must know what is Haraam and definitely avoid
them.
• That doing the doubtful or what is forbidden adversely affects the heart.
• That it is important to make and keep the heart pure, since it affects the
rest of us. Thus we should look for ways to purify and preserve our hearts from
being stained.