3. Al Makasib : Earnings by Al Muhasibi part 3

الْمَكَاسِبُ وَالْوَرَعُ وَالشُّبْهَةُ

Al-Makāsibu wa-al-Waraʿu wa-al-Shubhatu

Earnings, Scrupulousness, and the Doubtful

الْحَارِثُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ

Al-Ḥārithu bnu ʾAsadin al-Muḥāsibiyyu

Al-Ḥārith ibn Asad al-Muḥāsibī

Source page 149

مَذَاهِبُ السَّلَفِ فِي الشُّبُهَاتِ وَمَعْنَاهَا

Madhāhibu al-salafi fī al-shubuhāti wa-maʿnāhā

The early authorities’ approaches to doubtful matters and their meaning

وَاخْتَلَفَتِ النَّاسُ فِي مَعْنَى الشُّبْهَةِ. فَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: إِنَّمَا هُوَ الْحَلَالُ، أَوِ الْحَرَامُ الَّذِي هُوَ ضِدُّ الْحَلَالِ، وَلَا مَنْزِلَةَ ثَالِثَةَ إِلَّا مَا حَذَّرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْهُ، فَقَالَ: «لَا تَقْرَبُوا أَوْ تَدْنُوا مِنَ الْحَرَامِ». فَسَمَّى ذَلِكَ شُبْهَةً، كَالَّذِي يَرْتَعُ حَوْلَ الْحِمَى، يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَقَعَ فِيهِ، قَالُوا: فَخَارِجُ الْحِمَى حَلَالٌ، وَدَاخِلُهُ حَرَامٌ.

Wa-ikhtalafati al-nāsu fī maʿnā al-shubhati. Fa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: ʾinnamā huwa al-ḥalālu, ʾawi al-ḥarāmu alladhī huwa ḍiddu al-ḥalāli, wa-lā manzilata thālithata ʾillā mā ḥadhdhara al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama minhu, fa-qāla: «lā taqrabū ʾaw tadnū mina al-ḥarāmi». Fa-sammā dhālika shubhatan, ka-alladhī yartaʿu ḥawla al-ḥimā, yūshiku ʾan yaqaʿa fīhi, qālū: fa-khāriju al-ḥimā ḥalālun, wa-dākhiluhu ḥarāmun.

People differed over the meaning of a doubtful matter. One group said: There is only the lawful or its opposite, the unlawful. There is no third category except what the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, warned against when he said, “Do not approach, or draw near to, the unlawful.” He called this a doubtful matter, like someone grazing around a protected pasture who is on the verge of entering it. They said: Outside the pasture is lawful; inside it is unlawful.

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: الشُّبْهَةُ سَاقِطَةٌ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ عِلْمَهَا غَيْرُ مُفْتَرَضٍ، لِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَا يَعْلَمُهَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ». وَإِنَّمَا اتَّقَوُا الْعَمَلَ بِالشُّبْهَةِ مَخَافَةَ التَّزْكِيَةِ بِأَنْ يَكُونُوا مِنْ أُولَئِكَ الْقَلِيلِ الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَهَا.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-shubhatu sāqiṭatun, wa-dhālika ʾanna ʿilmahā ghayru muftaraḍin, liqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «lā yaʿlamuhā kathīrun mina al-nāsi». Wa-ʾinnamā ittaqawu al-ʿamala bi-al-shubhati makhāfata al-tazkiyati bi-ʾan yakūnū min ʾulāʾika al-qalīli alladhīna yaʿlamūnahā.

Another group said: Doubtful matters are exempt [from obligatory determination], because knowing them is not obligatory, as the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Many people do not know them.” They avoided acting in doubtful matters only for fear of praising themselves as belonging to the few who know them.

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: الْعَمَلُ بِذَلِكَ وَاجِبٌ، لِيَطِيبَ لِلْمَرْءِ مَنْكَحُهُ وَمَطْعَمُهُ وَمَشْرَبُهُ وَمَلْبَسُهُ، وَشِرَاؤُهُ وَبَيْعُهُ، وَهُوَ مُتَعَبَّدٌ بِأَكْلِ الْحَلَالِ وَإِمْضَائِهِ. قَالُوا: وَالشُّبْهَةُ هِيَ مَا لَمْ يُعْرَفْ، أَحَلَالٌ بِعَيْنِهِ أَمْ حَرَامٌ، وَالْوُقُوفُ فِي هَذَا الْمَوْضِعِ فَرْضٌ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-ʿamalu bi-dhālika wājibun, liyaṭība li-al-marʾi mankaḥuhu wa-maṭʿamuhu wa-mashrabuhu wa-malbasuhu, wa-shirāʾuhu wa-bayʿuhu, wa-huwa mutaʿabbadun bi-ʾakli al-ḥalāli wa-ʾimḍāʾihi. Qālū: wa-al-shubhatu hiya mā lam yuʿraf, ʾaḥalālun biʿaynihi ʾam ḥarāmun, wa-al-wuqūfu fī hādhā al-mawḍiʿi farḍun.

Another group said: Acting on this is obligatory, so that a person’s marriage, food, drink, clothing, buying, and selling may be wholesome. One is bound to serve God by consuming and carrying through what is lawful. They said a doubtful matter is something not known to be specifically lawful or unlawful, and stopping at this point is obligatory.

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: لَيْسَ عِلْمُهَا بِفَرْضٍ. وَيَأْكُلُ مِنْهَا، لِأَنَّ فِيهَا حَلَالًا، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَ أَكْلُهُ مِنَ الْحَلَالِ. وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: التَّحَرُّزُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَفْضَلُ، فَإِذَا وَجَدَ السَّبِيلَ إِلَى غَيْرِهِ لَمْ يَحِلَّ لَهُ أَكْلُ الشُّبْهَةِ وَهُوَ يَجِدُ الْحَلَالَ الْمُطْلَقَ الْمُبَاحَ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: laysa ʿilmuhā bifarḍin. Wa-yaʾkulu minhā, li-ʾanna fīhā ḥalālan, wa-ʾinnamā kāna ʾakluhu mina al-ḥalāli. Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-taḥarruzu min dhālika ʾafḍalu, fa-ʾidhā wajada al-sabīla ʾilā ghayrihi lam yaḥilla lahu ʾaklu al-shubhati wa-huwa yajidu al-ḥalāla al-muṭlaqa al-mubāḥa.

Another group said: Knowing it is not obligatory. A person may eat from it because it contains lawful things, and what he ate was of the lawful. Another group said: Guarding against it is better. If he can obtain something else, he may not consume what is doubtful while unrestricted, permitted lawful food is available.

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: الشُّبْهَةُ لَيْسَتْ تُعْلَمُ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ، لِأَنَّ الْمَالَ لَا يُعْلَمُ إِلَّا حَلَالًا أَوْ حَرَامًا، وَإِذَا اخْتَلَطَ دِينَارٌ بِعَشَرَةِ دَنَانِيرَ، أَوْ مِائَةُ دِينَارٍ فِي أَلْفٍ، وَكَذَلِكَ الْوَرِقُ، فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا أَنْ يُخْرِجَ دِينَارًا أَوْ دِرْهَمًا، إِذْ لَا يُمْكِنُهُ أَنْ يُخْرِجَ ذَلِكَ الدِّينَارَ بِعَيْنِهِ، وَرِدْهَمٌ مَكَانَ رِدْهَمٍ، وَدِينَارٌ مَكَانَ دِينَارٍ جَائِزٌ بِاتِّفَاقِ الْفُقَهَاءِ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-shubhatu laysat tuʿlamu fī al-ʾamwāli, li-ʾanna al-māla lā yuʿlamu ʾillā ḥalālan ʾaw ḥarāman, wa-ʾidhā ikhtalaṭa dīnārun biʿasharati danānīra, ʾaw miʾatu dīnārin fī ʾalfin, wa-ka-dhālika al-wariqu, fa-laysa ʿalayhi ʾillā ʾan yukhrija dīnāran ʾaw dirhaman, ʾidh lā yumkinuhu ʾan yukhrija dhālika al-dīnāra biʿaynihi, wa-rid-hamun makāna rid-hamin, wa-dīnārun makāna dīnārin jāʾizun bi-ittifāqi al-fuqahāʾi.

Another group said: Doubtfulness is not a recognized category in wealth, since wealth is known only as lawful or unlawful. If one dinar becomes mixed with ten, or a hundred dinars with a thousand, and likewise with silver, one need only remove a dinar or dirham, since the particular dinar itself cannot be extracted. Substituting a dirham [the printed word is corrupt] for a dirham, or a dinar for a dinar, is permissible by the jurists’ agreement.

وَقَدْ ذَهَبَتْ طَائِفَةٌ إِلَى أَنَّهُ لَوْ خَلَطَ دِينَارًا مِنْ غَصْبٍ أَوْ ظُلْمٍ، وَمَازَجَهُ دِينَارٌ آخَرُ حَلَالٌ، فَاكْتَسَبَ بِهِمَا فَرَبِحَ عَلَيْهِمَا: فَلَهُ نِصْفُ ذَلِكَ الرِّبْحِ، وَيَرُدُّ عَلَى مَنِ اغْتَصَبَهُ أَوْ ظَلَمَهُ ذَلِكَ الدِّينَارَ، وَمَا رَبِحَ عَلَيْهِ.

Wa-qad dhahabat ṭāʾifatun ʾilā ʾannahu law khalaṭa dīnāran min ghaṣbin ʾaw ẓulmin, wa-māzajahu dīnārun ʾākharu ḥalālun, fa-iktasaba bihimā fa-rabiḥa ʿalayhimā: fa-lahu niṣfu dhālika al-ribḥi, wa-yaruddu ʿalā mani ightaṣabahu ʾaw ẓalamahu dhālika al-dīnāra, wa-mā rabiḥa ʿalayhi.

One group held that if someone mixes a dinar obtained through seizure or injustice with another lawful dinar, trades with both, and profits, half the profit is his. He returns the other dinar and its profit to the person he robbed or wronged.

Source page 150

فَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ الدِّينَارُ مَغْمُورًا فِي مِائَةِ دِينَارٍ، فَلَهُ بِقِسْطِ ذَلِكَ، يُؤَدِّيهِ إِلَى مَنْ ظَلَمَهُ، أَوْ إِلَى وَارِثِ مَنْ ظَلَمَهُ، أَوْ يَتَصَدَّقُ بِهِ عَلَى الْمَسَاكِينِ إِنْ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ. وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ، وَأَكْثَرُ الْفُقَهَاءِ: لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ إِلَّا مَا ضَمِنَ، وَهَذَا الدِّينَارُ فِي ضَمَانِهِ.

Fa-ʾin kāna dhālika al-dīnāru maghmūran fī miʾati dīnārin, fa-lahu biqisṭi dhālika, yuʾaddīhi ʾilā man ẓalamahu, ʾaw ʾilā wārithi man ẓalamahu, ʾaw yataṣaddaqu bihi ʿalā al-masākīni ʾin lam yajid-hu. Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun, wa-ʾaktharu al-fuqahāʾi: laysa ʿalayhi ʾillā mā ḍamina, wa-hādhā al-dīnāru fī ḍamānihi.

If that dinar was submerged among a hundred dinars, the injured person is entitled to its proportionate share, which he pays to him or his heir, or gives to the poor in charity if he cannot find him. Another group, including most jurists, said he owes only what he is liable for, and the dinar is what he is liable for.

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: الشُّبْهَةُ مَا كَانَ أَكْثَرُهَا حَلَالًا، وَإِنَّمَا اعْتَرَضَ عَلَيْهَا، فَدَخَلَ فِيهَا مَا يَظْهَرُ أَنَّهُ حَرَامٌ، فَهُوَ يَأْكُلُ مِنَ الشُّبْهَةِ أَبَدًا، الْعِلَّةُ مَا غَلَبَ مِنَ الْحَلَالِ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-shubhatu mā kāna ʾaktharuhā ḥalālan, wa-ʾinnamā iʿtaraḍa ʿalayhā, fa-dakhala fīhā mā yaẓharu ʾannahu ḥarāmun, fa-huwa yaʾkulu mina al-shubhati ʾabadan, al-ʿillatu mā ghalaba mina al-ḥalāli.

Another group said: A doubtful mixture is one that is mostly lawful, into which something manifestly unlawful has intruded. He may continue eating from the doubtful mixture; the reason is the predominance of the lawful.

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: الشُّبْهَةُ الَّتِي أَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَدِيَّ بْنَ حَاتِمٍ حِينَ قَالَ لَهُ: «أُرْسِلُ كَلْبِي عَلَى الصَّيْدِ فَأَجِدُهُ وَقَدِ اخْتَلَطَ مَعَهُ كِلَابٌ»، فَأَمَرَهُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَلَّا يَأْكُلَ، فَلَعَلَّهُ قَتَلَهُ غَيْرُ كَلْبِهِ، وَكَذَلِكَ إِذَا رَمَى صَيْدًا وَرَمَى غَيْرُهُ، فَلَا يَدْرِي أَيُّ الرَّمْيَتَيْنِ قَتَلَتْهُ بِالذَّكَاةِ أَوْ غَيْرِ الذَّكَاةِ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-shubhatu allatī ʾamara al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʿAdiyya bna Ḥātimin ḥīna qāla lahu: «ʾursilu kalbī ʿalā al-ṣaydi fa-ʾajiduhu wa-qadi ikhtalaṭa maʿahu kilābun», fa-ʾamarahu ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾallā yaʾkula, fa-laʿallahu qatalahu ghayru kalbihi, wa-ka-dhālika ʾidhā ramā ṣaydan wa-ramā ghayruhu, fa-lā yadrī ʾayyu al-ramyatayni qatalat-hu bi-al-dhakāti ʾaw ghayri al-dhakāti.

Another group said: The doubtful matter is that about which the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, instructed ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim when he said, “I send my dog after game, then find other dogs mixed with it.” He, peace be upon him, told him not to eat, since another dog might have killed it. Likewise, if he shoots at game and someone else also shoots, he does not know which shot killed it, by a valid slaughter or otherwise.

وَكَذَلِكَ الصَّيْدُ يَتَرَدَّى مِنْ جَبَلٍ، أَوْ يَهْوِي فِي بِئْرٍ، فَلَا يَدْرِي بِأَيِّهِمَا كَانَ قَتْلُهُ، وَكَذَلِكَ الرَّجُلُ يُطَلِّقُ إِحْدَى امْرَأَتَيْهِ فَلَا يَدْرِي أَيَّتَهُمَا طَلَّقَ، أَوْ يُعْتِقُ أَحَدَ عَبْدَيْهِ فَلَا يَدْرِي أَيَّهُمَا أَعْتَقَ، فَالْوُقُوفُ هَٰهُنَا وَالْوَرَعُ وَاجِبٌ.

Wa-ka-dhālika al-ṣaydu yataraddā min jabalin, ʾaw yahwī fī biʾrin, fa-lā yadrī bi-ʾayyihimā kāna qatluhu, wa-ka-dhālika al-rajulu yuṭalliqu ʾiḥdā imraʾatayhi fa-lā yadrī ʾayyatahumā ṭallaqa, ʾaw yuʿtiqu ʾaḥada ʿabdayhi fa-lā yadrī ʾayyahumā ʾaʿtaqa, fa-al-wuqūfu hāhunā wa-al-waraʿu wājibun.

The same applies when game falls from a mountain or plunges into a well, and he does not know which cause killed it. Likewise, a man may divorce one of his two wives without knowing which, or free one of his two slaves without knowing which. In such cases, stopping and exercising scrupulousness are obligatory.

وَقَالَتْ فِرْقَةٌ: الشُّبْهَةُ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ وَالنِّكَاحِ غَيْرُ ذَلِكَ، لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خَاطَبَهُمْ بِالشُّبْهَةِ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ ذَلِكَ. وَقَدْ رُوِيَ هَذَا الْخَبَرُ عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ بَشِيرٍ، رَوَاهُ زَكَرِيَّا بْنُ أَبِي زَائِدَةَ، وَإِسْمَاعِيلُ بْنُ أَبِي خَالِدٍ، وَمُغِيرَةُ، وَأَبُو السَّفَرِ، وَمُجَاهِدٌ، وَمُطَرِّفٌ، فِي جَمَاعَةٍ سِوَاهُمْ عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ.

Wa-qālat firqatun: al-shubhatu fī al-ʾamwāli wa-al-nikāḥi ghayru dhālika, li-ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama khāṭabahum bi-al-shubhati wa-hum yaʿlamūna dhālika. Wa-qad ruwiya hādhā al-khabaru ʿani al-Shaʿbiyyi, ʿani al-Nuʿmāni bni Bashīrin, rawāhu Zakariyyā bnu ʾAbī Zāʾidata, wa-ʾIsmāʿīlu bnu ʾAbī Khālidin, wa-Mughīratu, wa-ʾAbū al-Safari, wa-Mujāhidun, wa-Muṭarrifun, fī jamāʿatin siwāhum ʿani al-Shaʿbiyyi.

Another group said: Doubtfulness in wealth and marriage means something beyond this, because the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, spoke to them about doubtful matters when they already knew these cases. The report was transmitted from al-Shaʿbī, from al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr. Zakariyyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, Mughīra, Abū al-Safar, Mujāhid, Muṭarrif, and a number of others transmitted it from al-Shaʿbī.

Source pages 150–151

وَرُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ وَجَابِرٍ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا، نَحْوُ مَا قَالَ النُّعْمَانُ بْنُ بَشِيرٍ. وَرُوِيَ عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ حِينَ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ يَسْأَلُونَهُ، فَقَالَ: «الْحَلَالُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ، وَبَيْنَهُمَا شُبُهَاتٌ». وَقَالَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ: «دَعْ مَا يَرِيبُكَ إِلَى مَا لَا يَرِيبُكَ»، وَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: «الْإِثْمُ مَا حَاكَ حَوْلَ الْقُلُوبِ».

Wa-ruwiya ʿani ibni ʿUmara wa-Jābirin, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā, naḥwu mā qāla al-Nuʿmānu bnu Bashīrin. Wa-ruwiya ʿan ʿAbdi Allāhi bni Masʿūdin ḥīna ʾakthara al-nāsu ʿalayhi yasʾalūnahu, fa-qāla: «al-ḥalālu bayyinun wa-al-ḥarāmu bayyinun, wa-baynahumā shubuhātun». Wa-qāla ibnu ʿUmara: «daʿ mā yarībuka ʾilā mā lā yarībuka», wa-qāla ibnu Masʿūdin: «al-ʾithmu mā ḥāka ḥawla al-qulūbi».

Something similar to al-Nuʿmān ibn Bashīr’s words was related from Ibn ʿUmar and Jābir, may God be pleased with them both. It was related from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd that, when people pressed him with many questions, he said: “The lawful is clear, the unlawful is clear, and between them are doubtful matters.” Ibn ʿUmar said, “Leave what troubles you for what does not trouble you.” Ibn Masʿūd said, “Sin is what stirs uneasily around hearts.”

Source page 151

مَعَ مَا قَدْ رُوِيَ عَنِ الْمُصْطَفَى صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ فِي التَّمْرَةِ الْمُلْقَاةِ: «لَوْلَا أَنِّي أَخْشَى أَنْ تَكُونَ مِنْ تَمْرِ الصَّدَقَةِ لَأَكَلْتُهَا». وَنَهَى عَدِيَّ بْنَ حَاتِمٍ عَنْ أَكْلِ الصَّيْدِ إِذَا اخْتَلَطَتِ الْكِلَابُ الْمُعَلَّمَةُ وَغَيْرُهَا.

Maʿa mā qad ruwiya ʿani al-muṣṭafā ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾannahu qāla fī al-tamrati al-mulqāti: «lawlā ʾannī ʾakhshā ʾan takūna min tamri al-ṣadaqati laʾakaltuhā». Wa-nahā ʿAdiyya bna Ḥātimin ʿan ʾakli al-ṣaydi ʾidhā ikhtalaṭati al-kilābu al-muʿallamatu wa-ghayruhā.

Alongside this is what has been related from the Chosen One, may God bless him and grant him peace, who said of the fallen date: “Had I not feared it was a date given in charity, I would have eaten it.” He also forbade ʿAdī ibn Ḥātim to eat game when trained dogs and others had become mixed together.

وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي قِصَّةِ عُتْبَةَ، وَعَبْدِ بْنِ زَمْعَةَ. فَقَالَ عَبْدُ بْنُ زَمْعَةَ: هُوَ أَخِي، وُلِدَ عَلَى فِرَاشِي أَبِي، فَقَالَ: «هُوَ لَكَ يَا عَبْدُ، الْوَلَدُ لِلْفِرَاشِ، وَلِلْعَاهِرِ الْحَجَرُ، وَاحْتَجِبِي مِنْهُ يَا سَوْدَةُ» لِلشَّبَهِ الَّذِي رَأَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ، لِأَنَّهُ رَأَى شَبَهًا بَيِّنًا بِعَيْنِهِ.

Wa-qāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī qiṣṣati ʿUtbata, wa-ʿabdi bni Zamʿata. Fa-qāla ʿabdu bnu Zamʿata: huwa ʾakhī, wulida ʿalā firāshī ʾAbī, fa-qāla: «huwa laka yā ʿabdu, al-waladu li-al-firāshi, wa-li-al-ʿāhiri al-ḥajaru, wa-iḥtajibī minhu yā Sawdatu» li-al-shabahi alladhī raʾā ʿalayhi al-salāmu, li-ʾannahu raʾā shabahan bayyinan biʿaynihi.

He, peace be upon him, also spoke in the case of ʿUtba and ʿAbd ibn Zamʿa. ʿAbd ibn Zamʿa said, “He is my brother, born on my father’s bed [the printed phrase is defective].” He replied, “He is yours, ʿAbd. The child belongs to the marriage bed, and the adulterer gets the stone [has no claim]. But veil yourself from him, Sawda.” This was because of the resemblance he, peace be upon him, saw: he saw a clear resemblance with his own eyes.

Source pages 151–152

وَنَهَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عَنْ كَسْبِ الْأَمَةِ حَتَّى يُعْلَمَ مِنْ أَيْنَ كَسَبَتْ. وَأَمَرَ مُحَيِّصَةَ حِينَ سَأَلَهُ عَنْ كَسْبِ غُلَامِهِ الْحَجَّامِ، أَنْ يُطْعِمَهُ الرَّقِيقَ، وَيَعْلِفَ مِنْهُ النَّاضِحَ. وَاخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِيهِ: فَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: كَسْبُ الْحَجَّامِ خَبِيثٌ، لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ رُوِيَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ أَنَّهُ سُحْتٌ. وَنَهَى النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُحَيِّصَةَ أَنْ يَأْكُلَ مِنْ كَسْبِ الْحَجَّامِ.

Wa-nahā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿan kasbi al-ʾamati ḥattā yuʿlama min ʾayna kasabat. Wa-ʾamara Muḥayyiṣata ḥīna saʾalahu ʿan kasbi ghulāmihi al-ḥajjāmi, ʾan yuṭʿimahu al-raqīqa, wa-yaʿlifa minhu al-nāḍiḥa. Wa-ikhtalafa al-nāsu fīhi: fa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: kasbu al-ḥajjāmi khabīthun, li-ʾannahu qad ruwiya fī al-ḥadīthi ʾannahu suḥtun. Wa-nahā al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama Muḥayyiṣata ʾan yaʾkula min kasbi al-ḥajjāmi.

He, peace be upon him, forbade taking a slave woman’s earnings until it was known how she earned them. When Muḥayyiṣa asked about the earnings of his slave who worked as a cupper, he told him to feed his slaves with them and buy fodder for his water-carrying camel. People differed about this. One group said the cupper’s earnings are impure, because a report calls them illicit gain, and the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, forbade Muḥayyiṣa to eat from them.

Source page 152

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: كَسْبُ الْحَجَّامِ حَلَالٌ، وَاحْتَجُّوا بِابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، وَأَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَعْطَى الْحَجَّامَ، وَلَوْ كَانَ حَرَامًا لَمْ يُعْطِهِ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: kasbu al-ḥajjāmi ḥalālun, wa-iḥtajjū bi-ibni ʿAbbāsin, wa-ʾAnasi bni Mālikin, ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾaʿṭā al-ḥajjāma, wa-law kāna ḥarāman lam yuʿṭihi.

Another group said the cupper’s earnings are lawful, citing Ibn ʿAbbās and Anas ibn Mālik: the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, paid a cupper, and would not have paid him had it been forbidden.

وَقَدْ ذَهَبَتْ طَائِفَةٌ إِلَى تَأْوِيلِ حَدِيثِ مُحَيِّصَةَ بِأَنَّ الْمَكَاسِبَ بَعْضُهَا أَطْيَبُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ وَأَعْلَى، وَفِيهَا أَدْنَى مِنْ بَعْضٍ، وَالْمُسْتَنْصِحُ إِذَا نَزَعَ إِلَى النَّاصِحِ أَجَابَهُ بِالنَّصِيحَةِ، فَأَمَرَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُحَيِّصَةَ بِالتَّنَزُّهِ عَنْهُ حِينَ وَجَدَهُ، فَقَالَ: «أَمَّا أَنْتَ فَلَا تَأْكُلْ، وَلَكِنْ أَطْعِمْهُ الرَّقِيقَ»، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُبِيحُ لَهُمْ إِطْعَامَ الرَّقِيقِ مِنْ حَرَامٍ.

Wa-qad dhahabat ṭāʾifatun ʾilā taʾwīli ḥadīthi Muḥayyiṣata bi-ʾanna al-makāsiba baʿḍuhā ʾaṭyabu min baʿḍin wa-ʾaʿlā, wa-fīhā ʾadnā min baʿḍin, wa-al-mustanṣiḥu ʾidhā nazaʿa ʾilā al-nāṣiḥi ʾajābahu bi-al-naṣīḥati, fa-ʾamara al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama Muḥayyiṣata bi-al-tanazzuhi ʿanhu ḥīna wajadahu, fa-qāla: «ʾammā ʾanta fa-lā taʾkul, wa-lākin ʾaṭʿimhu al-raqīqa», wa-lam yakun yubīḥu lahum ʾiṭʿāma al-raqīqi min ḥarāmin.

Another group interpreted Muḥayyiṣa’s report to mean that some earnings are more wholesome and elevated than others, and some are lower. When someone seeking advice turns to an adviser, the adviser answers sincerely. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, therefore directed Muḥayyiṣa to avoid it when he found him [in that situation], saying, “As for you, do not eat it, but feed it to your slaves.” He would not have permitted them to feed slaves with unlawful wealth.

مَعْنَى التَّعَاوُنِ عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ

Maʿnā al-taʿāwuni ʿalā al-ʾithmi wa-al-ʿudwāni

The meaning of assisting in sin and aggression

وَقَدْ تَنَازَعَتْ طَوَائِفُ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي تَأْوِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ﴾ [الْمَائِدَةِ: ٢]. فَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: سَقْيُ الْمَاءِ لِلْعَاصِي، وَإِرْشَادُهُ إِلَى الطَّرِيقِ مِنَ الْمَعُونَةِ. وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ: «إِذَا سَأَلَكَ الطَّرِيقَ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَلَا تَدُلَّهُ، لَعَلَّهُ يَغْتَالُ رَجُلًا فِيمَا بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، أَوْ يَظْلِمُهُ».

Wa-qad tanāzaʿat ṭawāʾifu mina al-ʿulamāʾi fī taʾwīli qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wa-lā taʿāwanū ʿalā al-ʾithmi wa-al-ʿudwāni﴾ [al-Māʾidati: 2]. Fa-qāla baʿḍuhum: saqyu al-māʾi li-al-ʿāṣī, wa-ʾirshāduhu ʾilā al-ṭarīqi mina al-maʿūnati. Wa-qad ruwiya ʿan Sufyāna al-Thawriyyi: «ʾidhā saʾalaka al-ṭarīqa ʾilā al-masjidi fa-lā tadullahu, laʿallahu yaghtālu rajulan fīmā baynahu wa-bayna al-muslimīna, ʾaw yaẓlimuhu».

Groups of scholars have disputed the interpretation of the words of God, exalted is He, “Do not assist one another in sin and aggression” [Al-Māʾida: 2]. Some said giving a sinner water or showing him the way counts as assistance. It is related from Sufyān al-Thawrī: “If he asks you the way to the mosque, do not direct him; perhaps he will treacherously kill a man in his dealings with Muslims, or wrong him.”

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: الْمَعُونَةُ عَلَى حَرَامٍ بِعَيْنِهِ. وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: بَيْعُ السِّكِّينِ مِنَ السُّلْطَانِ، وَالْخَشَبَةِ لِيُصْلَبَ عَلَيْهَا رَجُلٌ مُسْلِمٌ، وَالسَّوْطِ مِنَ الْجَلَّادِ، وَالصَّلِيبِ مِنَ النَّصَارَى، هَذَا كُلُّهُ حَرَامٌ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-maʿūnatu ʿalā ḥarāmin biʿaynihi. Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: bayʿu al-sikkīni mina al-sulṭāni, wa-al-khashabati liyuṣlaba ʿalayhā rajulun muslimun, wa-al-sawṭi mina al-jallādi, wa-al-ṣalībi mina al-naṣārā, hādhā kulluhu ḥarāmun.

Another group said [the verse concerns] assistance in a specifically forbidden act. Another said selling a knife to the ruler, timber on which a Muslim is to be crucified, a whip to the executioner, or a cross to Christians is all forbidden.

وَذَهَبَتْ طَائِفَةٌ إِلَى أَنَّ ذَلِكَ مُبَاحٌ، وَالْإِثْمُ عَلَى الْفَاعِلِ، وَهَذِهِ الطَّائِفَةُ مُخَالِفَةٌ فِي التَّأْوِيلِ، لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَعَنَ فِي الْخَمْرِ عَشَرَةً: عَاصِرَهَا، وَمُعْتَصِرَهَا، وَبَائِعَهَا، وَمُبْتَاعَهَا، وَحَامِلَهَا، وَالْمَحْمُولَةَ إِلَيْهِ وَشَارِبَهَا وَآكِلَ ثَمَنِهَا، وَحَاضِرَ مَجْلِسِهَا. وَقَدْ أَحْرَقَ سَعْدٌ كَرْمَهُ وَقَالَ: «بِئْسَ الشَّيْخُ أَنَا إِنْ أَنَا بِعْتُ الْخَمْرَ».

Wa-dhahabat ṭāʾifatun ʾilā ʾanna dhālika mubāḥun, wa-al-ʾithmu ʿalā al-fāʿili, wa-hādhihi al-ṭāʾifatu mukhālifatun fī al-taʾwīli, li-ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama laʿana fī al-khamri ʿasharatan: ʿāṣirahā, wa-muʿtaṣirahā, wa-bāʾiʿahā, wa-mubtāʿahā, wa-ḥāmilahā, wa-al-maḥmūlata ʾilayhi wa-shāribahā wa-ʾākila thamanihā, wa-ḥāḍira majlisihā. Wa-qad ʾaḥraqa Saʿdun karmahu wa-qāla: «biʾsa al-shaykhu ʾanā ʾin ʾanā biʿtu al-khamra».

One group held that this is permissible and the sin rests upon the person who commits the act. This group is mistaken in its interpretation, because the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, cursed ten in connection with wine: its presser, the one who has it pressed, its seller, buyer, carrier, the one to whom it is carried, its drinker, the one who consumes its price, and the one attending its gathering [nine categories are actually listed in this text]. Saʿd burned his vineyard and said, “What a bad elder I would be if I sold wine!”

وَكَرِهَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ أَنْ يُعِينَ النِّسَاءَ عَلَى فَتْلِ الْخُيُوطِ لِلسُّبْحَةِ، لِأَنَّهُ كَانَ لَا يَرَى لِلنِّسَاءِ إِلَّا الْإِشَارَةَ عَقْدَ الْأَصَابِعِ بِالْأَنَامِلِ. وَأَبُو قَتَادَةَ فِي الصَّيْدِ لَمْ يُنَاوِلْهُ أَصْحَابُهُ السَّوْطَ، كَرَاهِيَةَ الْمَعُونَةِ لَهُ وَهُمْ حُرُمٌ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ نَهَى عَنْ قَتْلِ الصَّيْدِ وَهُمْ حُرُمٌ.

Wa-kariha ʾIbrāhīmu ʾan yuʿīna al-nisāʾa ʿalā fatli al-khuyūṭi li-al-subḥati, li-ʾannahu kāna lā yarā li-al-nisāʾi ʾillā al-ʾishārata ʿaqda al-ʾaṣābiʿi bi-al-ʾanāmili. Wa-ʾAbū Qatādata fī al-ṣaydi lam yunāwilhu ʾaṣḥābuhu al-sawṭa, karāhiyata al-maʿūnati lahu wa-hum ḥurumun, li-ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla nahā ʿan qatli al-ṣaydi wa-hum ḥurumun.

Ibrāhīm disliked helping women twist threads for prayer beads, since he held that women should only gesture by counting on their fingertips. When Abū Qatāda was hunting, his companions would not hand him his whip, disliking to assist him while they were in pilgrim consecration, because God, mighty and exalted, forbade killing game while they were consecrated.

Source page 153

وَفِي الْمَعُونَةِ أَخْبَارٌ كَثِيرَةٌ، وَالتَّارِكُونَ لَهَا دَاخِلُونَ فِي الْفَضِيلَةِ. وَقَدْ قَالَ الضَّحَّاكُ: «أَدْرَكْنَاهُمْ مَا يَتَعَلَّمُ بَعْضُهُمْ مِنْ بَعْضٍ إِلَّا الْوَرَعَ». وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: «الْوَرَعُ أَفْضَلُ الْعِبَادَةِ». وَقَالَ: «لَا دِينَ إِلَّا الْوَرَعُ». وَيُرْوَى عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَوْلُهُ: «فَأَمَّا الْوَرِعُونَ فَأَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ أُعَذِّبَهُمْ». فَأَوَّلُ بِدَايَةِ الْوَرَعِ مُحَاسَبَةُ النَّفْسِ عِنْدَ خَوَاطِرِ الْقُلُوبِ، وَالنَّفْيُ لِدَوَاعِي الْجَهَالَاتِ، وَالْوُقُوفُ عِنْدَ الشُّبُهَاتِ، وَالِاسْتِبْرَاءُ بِالتَّقْوَى، وَالِاحْتِيَاطُ عِنْدَ اخْتِلَافِ الْعُلَمَاءِ.

Wa-fī al-maʿūnati ʾakhbārun kathīratun, wa-al-tārikūna lahā dākhilūna fī al-faḍīlati. Wa-qad qāla al-Ḍaḥḥāku: «ʾadraknāhum mā yataʿallamu baʿḍuhum min baʿḍin ʾillā al-waraʿa». Wa-qāla al-Ḥasanu: «al-waraʿu ʾafḍalu al-ʿibādati». Wa-qāla: «lā dīna ʾillā al-waraʿu». Wa-yurwā ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla qawluhu: «fa-ʾammā al-wariʿūna fa-ʾastaḥyī ʾan ʾuʿadhdhibahum». Fa-ʾawwalu bidāyati al-waraʿi muḥāsabatu al-nafsi ʿinda khawāṭiri al-qulūbi, wa-al-nafyu lidawāʿī al-jahālāti, wa-al-wuqūfu ʿinda al-shubuhāti, wa-al-istibrāʾu bi-al-taqwā, wa-al-iḥtiyāṭu ʿinda ikhtilāfi al-ʿulamāʾi.

There are many reports about assistance, and those who refrain from it attain merit. Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said, “We encountered people who learned nothing from one another but scrupulousness.” Al-Ḥasan said, “Scrupulousness is the finest worship,” and, “There is no religion without scrupulousness.” It is related that God, mighty and exalted, said, “As for the scrupulous, I am ashamed to punish them.” The very beginning of scrupulousness is examining oneself when thoughts arise in the heart, repelling the impulses of ignorance, stopping at doubtful matters, clearing oneself through mindfulness of God, and taking precautions when scholars disagree.

وَقَدْ غَلِطَتْ طَائِفَةٌ تَأَوَّلَتْ قَوْلَ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ فِي الْأَكْلِ مِنِ اتِّجَارِ الْمُرَابِي فَقَالَ: «فَلَكَ الْمَهْنَا، وَعَلَيْهِ الْإِثْمُ». وَهَذَا حَدِيثٌ رَوَاهُ الشَّيْبَانِيُّ عَنِ التَّمِيمِيِّ، عَنِ الْحَارِثِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ، وَجَمَاعَةٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ، مِنْهُمْ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ - وَهُوَ يُضَعِّفُ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ - وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ.

Wa-qad ghaliṭat ṭāʾifatun taʾawwalat qawla ibni Masʿūdin fī al-ʾakli mini ittijāri al-murābī fa-qāla: «fa-laka al-mahnā, wa-ʿalayhi al-ʾithmu». Wa-hādhā ḥadīthun rawāhu al-Shaybāniyyu ʿani al-Tamīmiyyi, ʿani al-Ḥārithi bni Suwaydin, wa-jamāʿatun min ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi, minhum ʿAbdu al-Raḥmāni bnu Mahdiyyin - wa-huwa yuḍaʿʿifu hādhā al-ḥadītha - wa-ʾAḥmadu bnu Ḥanbalin.

A group misinterpreted Ibn Masʿūd’s statement about eating from a usurer’s trade, in which he said, “The enjoyment is yours, and the sin is his.” This report was transmitted by al-Shaybānī from al-Tamīmī, from al-Ḥārith ibn Suwayd, and [discussed by] a number of hadith scholars, including ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, who considers this report weak, and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal.

وَقَدْ تَأَوَّلَتْ طَائِفَةٌ قَوْلَ ابْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عَلَى أَنَّهُ لَمْ تَجْرِ شَهَادَةُ السَّائِلِ، أَوْ يَكُونُ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ عَلِمَ مِنَ الرَّجُلِ الَّذِي سَأَلَهُ، فَقَالَ ابْنُ مَسْعُودٍ: «كُلْ مِنْ حَلَالِ مَالِهِ». لِأَنَّهُ لَوْ تَابَ لَأَمْسَكَ مَا كَانَ لَهُ مِنَ الْحَلَالِ وَرَفَضَ مَا سِوَاهُ. قَالَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي الرِّبَا: «فَإِنْ تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُؤُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ» [الْبَقَرَةِ: 279].

Wa-qad taʾawwalat ṭāʾifatun qawla ibni Masʿūdin ʿalā ʾannahu lam tajri shahādatu al-sāʾili, ʾaw yakūnu ʿAbdu Allāhi ʿalima mina al-rajuli alladhī saʾalahu, fa-qāla ibnu Masʿūdin: «kul min ḥalāli mālihi». Li-ʾannahu law tāba laʾamsaka mā kāna lahu mina al-ḥalāli wa-rafaḍa mā siwāhu. Qāla Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla fī al-ribā: «fa-ʾin tubtum fa-lakum ruʾūsu ʾamwālikum» [al-Baqarati: 279].

Another group understood Ibn Masʿūd’s words to mean that the questioner’s testimony had not been accepted, or that ʿAbd Allāh knew something about the man who asked him [the construction is compressed]. Ibn Masʿūd therefore said, “Eat from the lawful part of his wealth.” For if he repented, he would retain whatever lawful wealth he possessed and relinquish the rest. God, mighty and exalted, said concerning usury: “If you repent, your principal belongs to you” [Al-Baqara: 279; the printed quotation begins with fa-in rather than the verse’s wa-in].

وَقَدْ ذَهَبَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ وَغَيْرِهِمْ إِلَى أَنَّ مَا لَمْ يَكُنْ حَرَامًا فِي التَّنْزِيلِ، أَوْ نَهْيِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فَهُوَ فِي الْإِطْلَاقِ وَالْإِبَاحَةِ، حَتَّى تَكُونَ آيَةٌ تَمْنَعُ، أَوْ سُنَّةٌ مَأْثُورَةٌ يَجِبُ اسْتِعْمَالُهَا، أَوِ اتِّفَاقٌ بَيْنَ أَهْلِ الصَّلَاةِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا بِإِطْلَاقِ الْآيَةِ: «قُلْ لَا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَى طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنْزِيرٍ» [الْأَنْعَامِ: 145].

Wa-qad dhahabat ṭāʾifatun min ʾahli al-ʿilmi wa-ghayrihim ʾilā ʾanna mā lam yakun ḥarāman fī al-tanzīli, ʾaw nahyi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, fa-huwa fī al-ʾiṭlāqi wa-al-ʾibāḥati, ḥattā takūna ʾāyatun tamnaʿu, ʾaw sunnatun maʾthūratun yajibu istiʿmāluhā, ʾawi ittifāqun bayna ʾahli al-ṣalāti, wa-dhālika ʾannahum qālū bi-ʾiṭlāqi al-ʾāyati: «qul lā ʾajidu fī mā ʾūḥiya ʾilayya muḥarraman ʿalā ṭāʿimin yaṭʿamuhu ʾillā ʾan yakūna maytatan ʾaw daman masfūḥan ʾaw laḥma khinzīrin» [al-ʾAnʿāmi: 145].

A group of scholars and others held that anything not prohibited in revelation or by God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, remains unrestricted and permissible unless a verse forbids it, an established Sunna requires observance, or there is agreement among the people of prayer. They relied on the unrestricted sense of the verse: “Say: I find nothing in what has been revealed to me forbidden for someone to eat, unless it is carrion, flowing blood, or swine’s flesh” [Al-Anʿām: 145].

Source pages 153–154

وَكَانَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، وَمَنْ سَلَكَ مَسْلَكَهُ يَذْهَبُونَ إِلَى الظَّاهِرِ. وَقَدْ رَوَى ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «الْحَلَالُ مَا أَحَلَّهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالْحَرَامُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، وَسَكَتَ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ عَفْوًا». وَقَالَ ذَلِكَ سَلْمَانُ وَالْحَسَنُ. وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ سَلْمَانَ الْفَارِسِيِّ أَنَّهُ سَأَلَ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْجُبْنِ وَالسَّمْنِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «الْحَلَالُ مَا أَحَلَّ اللَّهُ، وَالْحَرَامُ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ، وَسَكَتَ عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ عَفْوًا».

Wa-kāna ibnu ʿAbbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, wa-man salaka maslakahu yadh-habūna ʾilā al-ẓāhiri. Wa-qad rawā ibnu ʿAbbāsin ʾannahu qāla: «al-ḥalālu mā ʾaḥallahu Allāhu ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-al-ḥarāmu mā ḥarrama Allāhu taʿālā, wa-sakata ʿan ʾashyāʾa ʿafwan». Wa-qāla dhālika Salmānu wa-al-Ḥasanu. Wa-qad ruwiya ʿan Salmāna al-Fārisiyyi ʾannahu saʾala al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʿani al-jubni wa-al-samni fa-qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «al-ḥalālu mā ʾaḥalla Allāhu, wa-al-ḥarāmu mā ḥarrama Allāhu, wa-sakata ʿan ʾashyāʾa ʿafwan».

Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, and those who followed his approach adhered to the apparent meaning. Ibn ʿAbbās related that he said: “The lawful is what God, mighty and exalted, made lawful; the unlawful is what God Most High prohibited. He remained silent about some things as a pardon.” Salmān and al-Ḥasan said the same. It is related that Salmān al-Fārisī asked the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, about cheese and clarified butter. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, replied: “The lawful is what God made lawful; the unlawful is what God prohibited. He remained silent about some things as a pardon.”

Source page 154

وَسَأَلَ الْبَرَاءُ بْنُ عَازِبٍ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْأَضَاحِي فَقَالَ: إِنِّي أَكْرَهُ أَنْ يَكُونَ فِي السِّنِّ نَقْصٌ، أَوْ فِي الْقَرْنِ. فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «مَا كَرِهْتَهُ فَدَعْهُ، وَلَا تُحَرِّمْهُ عَلَى غَيْرِكَ».

Wa-saʾala al-Barāʾu bnu ʿĀzibin al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʿani al-ʾaḍāḥī fa-qāla: ʾinnī ʾakrahu ʾan yakūna fī al-sinni naqṣun, ʾaw fī al-qarni. Fa-qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «mā karihtahu fa-daʿhu, wa-lā tuḥarrimhu ʿalā ghayrika».

Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib asked the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, about sacrificial animals, saying, “I dislike a defect in a tooth or a horn.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, replied, “Leave what you dislike, but do not forbid it to others.”

وَمَعْنَى هَذَا أَنَّهُ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَحْتَاطَ لِنَفْسِهِ بِتَرْكِ أَشْيَاءَ اخْتُلِفَ فِي مَعْنَى تَأْوِيلِهَا، وَلَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ الشَّيْءُ حَرَامًا، لِأَنَّ الْقَائِلَ: حَلَالٌ وَحَرَامٌ عَاصٍ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ بِآيَةٍ مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ، أَوْ سُنَّةٍ، أَوْ إِنْفَاقٍ، أَوْ دَلِيلٍ عَلَى ذَلِكَ.

Wa-maʿnā hādhā ʾannahu ʾarāda ʾan yaḥtāṭa linafsihi bitarki ʾashyāʾa ukhtulifa fī maʿnā taʾwīlihā, wa-lā yakūnu dhālika al-shayʾu ḥarāman, li-ʾanna al-qāʾila: ḥalālun wa-ḥarāmun ʿāṣin li-llāhi taʿālā, ʾillā ʾan yakūna bi-ʾāyatin min kitābi Allāhi, ʾaw sunnatin, ʾaw ʾinfāqin, ʾaw dalīlin ʿalā dhālika.

This means that he wished to take precautions by leaving things whose interpretation was disputed, without those things necessarily being unlawful. For one who declares something lawful or unlawful disobeys God Most High unless the statement rests on a verse of God’s Book, a Sunna, “expenditure” [the printed word is defective in context], or evidence for it.

فَأَكْلُ الْحَرَامِ مَعْصِيَةٌ، وَاعْتِقَادُ الْقَوْلِ بِأَنَّ هَذَا حَلَالٌ، وَهَذَا حَرَامٌ، وَلَيْسَ بِبَيَانٍ أَوْ شَاهِدٍ مِنَ الْإِجْمَاعِ، فَهُوَ افْتِرَاءٌ عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَكَذِبٌ فِي الدِّينِ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَامَ الْوَاصِفِينَ لِذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ جَلَّ ذِكْرُهُ: «فَجَعَلْتُمْ مِنْهُ حَلَالًا وَحَرَامًا قُلْ آللَّهُ أَذِنَ لَكُمْ أَمْ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَفْتَرُونَ» [يُونُسَ: 59].

Fa-ʾaklu al-ḥarāmi maʿṣiyatun, wa-iʿtiqādu al-qawli bi-ʾanna hādhā ḥalālun, wa-hādhā ḥarāmun, wa-laysa bibayānin ʾaw shāhidin mina al-ʾijmāʿi, fa-huwa iftirāʾun ʿalā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-kadhibun fī al-dīni, li-ʾanna Allāha taʿālā lāma al-wāṣifīna li-dhālika, fa-qāla jalla dhikruhu: «fa-jaʿaltum minhu ḥalālan wa-ḥarāman qul ʾāllāhu ʾadhina lakum ʾam ʿalā Allāhi taftarūna» [Yūnusa: 59].

Eating the unlawful is disobedience. But adopting the claim that this is lawful and that is unlawful without clear proof or testimony from consensus is fabrication against God, mighty and exalted, and falsehood in religion. God Most High rebuked those who described things in this way, saying, exalted be His remembrance: “You made some of it lawful and some unlawful. Say: Has God permitted you, or are you inventing falsehood against God?” [Yūnus: 59; the source reverses the verse’s order of unlawful and lawful].

Source page 155

فَحَرَّكَ قُلُوبَ السَّامِعِينَ لِلتِّلَاوَةِ وَالْخَوْفِ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، أَنْ يَتَقَدَّمُوا عَلَى أَنْ يَقُولُوا: حَرَامًا وَحَلَالًا إِلَّا بِعِلْمٍ. وَقَدْ سُئِلَ عُيَيْنَةُ بْنُ فَرْقَدٍ عَنْ شَيْءٍ، فَكَانَ لَا يَقُولُ: حَلَالٌ وَلَا حَرَامٌ. لَكِنْ يَقُولُ: يَسْتَحِبُّونَ وَيَكْرَهُونَ. وَقَدْ رَوَى إِبْرَاهِيمُ بْنُ أَدْهَمَ: «كَانُوا يَكْرَهُونَ أَشْيَاءَ، وَلَا يَقُولُونَ حَرَامًا».

Fa-ḥarraka qulūba al-sāmiʿīna li-al-tilāwati wa-al-khawfi mina Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, ʾan yataqaddamū ʿalā ʾan yaqūlū: ḥarāman wa-ḥalālan ʾillā biʿilmin. Wa-qad suʾila ʿUyaynatu bnu Farqadin ʿan shayʾin, fa-kāna lā yaqūlu: ḥalālun wa-lā ḥarāmun. Lākin yaqūlu: yastaḥibbūna wa-yakrahūna. Wa-qad rawā ʾIbrāhīmu bnu ʾAd-hama: «kānū yakrahūna ʾashyāʾa, wa-lā yaqūlūna ḥarāman».

He stirred the hearts of those hearing the recitation to fear God, mighty and exalted, so that they would not venture to declare something unlawful or lawful without knowledge. When ʿUyayna ibn Farqad was asked about something, he would not say “lawful” or “unlawful,” but “they recommend it” or “they dislike it.” Ibrāhīm ibn Adham related: “They used to dislike things without calling them unlawful.”

وَسُئِلَ جَابِرُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ: مَا تَقُولُ فِي لُحُومِ الْحُمُرِ الْأَهْلِيَّةِ هَلْ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْهَا؟ فَقَالَ: «قَدْ كَانَ يَقُولُ ذَلِكَ عِنْدَنَا الْحَكَمُ الْغِفَارِيُّ، وَأَبَى ذَلِكَ الْبَحْرُ، يَعْنِي ابْنَ عَبَّاسٍ». ثُمَّ قَرَأَ الْآيَةَ: «قُلْ لَا أَجِدُ فِي مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيَّ مُحَرَّمًا عَلَى طَاعِمٍ يَطْعَمُهُ إِلَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ مَيْتَةً أَوْ دَمًا مَسْفُوحًا أَوْ لَحْمَ خِنْزِيرٍ» [الْأَنْعَامِ: 145].

Wa-suʾila Jābiru bnu Zaydin: mā taqūlu fī luḥūmi al-ḥumuri al-ʾahliyyati hal nahā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʿanhā? Fa-qāla: «qad kāna yaqūlu dhālika ʿindanā al-Ḥakamu al-Ghifāriyyu, wa-ʾabā dhālika al-baḥru, yaʿnī ibna ʿAbbāsin». Thumma qaraʾa al-ʾāyata: «qul lā ʾajidu fī mā ʾūḥiya ʾilayya muḥarraman ʿalā ṭāʿimin yaṭʿamuhu ʾillā ʾan yakūna maytatan ʾaw daman masfūḥan ʾaw laḥma khinzīrin» [al-ʾAnʿāmi: 145].

Jābir ibn Zayd was asked, “What do you say about the meat of domestic donkeys? Did God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, forbid it?” He replied, “Al-Ḥakam al-Ghifārī used to say that among us, but the ocean [of knowledge], meaning Ibn ʿAbbās, rejected it.” Then he recited the verse: “Say: I find nothing in what has been revealed to me forbidden for someone to eat, unless it is carrion, flowing blood, or swine’s flesh” [Al-Anʿām: 145].

وَكَانَ الشَّعْبِيُّ، وَمُجَاهِدٌ، يَسْلُكَانِ مَذْهَبَ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ. وَقَدْ أُتِيَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِجُبْنَةٍ، مِمَّا صُنِعَ فِي فَارِسَ، فَقَالَ: «اقْطَعْ بِالسِّكِّينِ، وَاذْكُرِ اسْمَ اللَّهِ، وَكُلْ». وَكَذَلِكَ رُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، وَابْنِ عُمَرَ، وَسَلْمَانَ، وَالْحَسَنِ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ فِي الْجُبْنِ، فَقَالُوا: «كُلْ». وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: «وَلَا تَشُكَّ».

Wa-kāna al-Shaʿbiyyu, wa-Mujāhidun, yaslukāni madh-haba ibni ʿAbbāsin. Wa-qad ʾutiya rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama bijubnatin, mimmā ṣuniʿa fī Fārisa, fa-qāla: «iqṭaʿ bi-al-sikkīni, wa-udhkuri isma Allāhi, wa-kul». Wa-ka-dhālika ruwiya ʿani ibni ʿAbbāsin, wa-ibni ʿUmara, wa-Salmāna, wa-al-Ḥasani, wa-ʾIbrāhīma fī al-jubni, fa-qālū: «kul». Wa-qāla al-Ḥasanu: «wa-lā tashukka».

Al-Shaʿbī and Mujāhid followed Ibn ʿAbbās’s approach. God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, was brought a cheese made in Persia, and said, “Cut it with a knife, mention God’s name, and eat.” Similar statements about cheese were related from Ibn ʿAbbās, Ibn ʿUmar, Salmān, al-Ḥasan, and Ibrāhīm: “Eat.” Al-Ḥasan added, “And do not doubt.”

الْوَرَعُ فِي جَوَائِزِ السُّلْطَانِ

Al-waraʿu fī jawāʾizi al-sulṭāni

Scrupulousness concerning rulers’ gifts

ثُمَّ اخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِي جَوَائِزِ السُّلْطَانِ. فَكَرِهَتْ ذَلِكَ طَائِفَةٌ، وَلَمْ تَرَ طَائِفَةٌ بِذَلِكَ بَأْسًا، وَفِرْقَةٌ قَالَتْ: حَلَالٌ. وَفِرْقَةٌ قَالَتْ: شُبْهَةٌ. وَفِرْقَةٌ قَالَتْ: حَرَامٌ. وَهَذِهِ الْفِرَقُ مُخَالِفَةٌ لِلسُّنَّةِ، وَأَكْثَرُ الْعُلَمَاءِ نَافُونَ لَهُمْ لِجَهْلِهِمْ. فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ قَالُوا بِالْكَرَاهِيَةِ فَالَّذِي يُخَالِطُ الْفَيْءَ وَالْغَنِيمَةَ مِنَ الظُّلْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ فِي الْجِبَايَاتِ وَالْقَبَالَاتِ الرِّحَابِ، وَأَخْذِ الرِّشَا، وَالْجَوْرِ وَالظُّلْمِ، وَإِصْرَافِ الْمَالِ فِي غَيْرِ حُقُوقِهِ، وَأَخْذِهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ وَجْهِهِ.

Thumma ikhtalafa al-nāsu fī jawāʾizi al-sulṭāni. Fa-karihat dhālika ṭāʾifatun, wa-lam tara ṭāʾifatun bi-dhālika baʾsan, wa-firqatun qālat: ḥalālun. Wa-firqatun qālat: shubhatun. Wa-firqatun qālat: ḥarāmun. Wa-hādhihi al-firaqu mukhālifatun li-al-sunnati, wa-ʾaktharu al-ʿulamāʾi nāfūna lahum lijahlihim. Fa-ʾammā alladhīna qālū bi-al-karāhiyati fa-alladhī yukhāliṭu al-fayʾa wa-al-ghanīmata mina al-ẓulmi wa-al-ʿudwāni fī al-jibāyāti wa-al-qabālāti al-riḥābi, wa-ʾakhdhi al-rishā, wa-al-jawri wa-al-ẓulmi, wa-ʾiṣrāfi al-māli fī ghayri ḥuqūqihi, wa-ʾakhdhihi min ghayri wajhihi.

People then differed over rulers’ gifts. One group disliked them; another saw no harm in them; one faction called them lawful, another doubtful, and another forbidden. These factions depart from the Sunna, and most scholars reject them because of their ignorance. Those who considered such gifts objectionable pointed to the injustice and aggression mixed into fayʾ revenue and spoils: tax collections and extensive tax farms, taking bribes, oppression and wrongdoing, directing wealth away from its rightful claims, and acquiring it improperly.

Source pages 155–156

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ قَالُوا: لَا بَأْسَ بِهِ فَإِنَّهُمْ تَأَوَّلُوا قَوْلَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ بِأَنَّ مَا يَدْخُلُ فِي بَيْتِ مَالِهِمْ مِنَ الْحَلَالِ أَكْثَرُ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ. وَأَخَذَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ مِنَ الْحَجَّاجِ، وَعَبْدِ الْمَلِكِ بْنِ مَرْوَانَ وَسَلَمَةُ بْنُ الْأَكْوَعِ، وَأَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ. وَكَذَلِكَ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ، أَخَذُوا مِنَ السُّلْطَانِ، مِنْهُمُ الْحَسَنُ، وَالشَّعْبِيُّ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمُ، وَعَطَاءٌ، وَمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ جَمَاعَةٌ أَيْضًا.

Wa-ʾammā alladhīna qālū: lā baʾsa bihi fa-ʾinnahum taʾawwalū qawla ʿAliyyi bni ʾAbī Ṭālibin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu bi-ʾanna mā yadkhulu fī bayti mālihim mina al-ḥalāli ʾaktharu mina al-ḥarāmi. Wa-ʾakhadha ibnu ʿUmara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu mina al-Ḥajjāji, wa-ʿAbdi al-Maliki bni Marwāna wa-Salamatu bnu al-ʾAkwaʿi, wa-ʾAnasu bnu Mālikin. Wa-ka-dhālika jamāʿatun mina al-tābiʿīna raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum, ʾakhadhū mina al-sulṭāni, minhumu al-Ḥasanu, wa-al-Shaʿbiyyu, wa-ʾIbrāhīmu, wa-ʿAṭāʾun, wa-man baʿdahum jamāʿatun ʾayḍan.

Those who saw no harm interpreted a statement of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with him, as meaning that more lawful than unlawful wealth enters their treasury. Ibn ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, accepted from al-Ḥajjāj and ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān; Salama ibn al-Akwaʿ and Anas ibn Mālik also accepted [such gifts]. A group of Successors, may God be pleased with them, likewise accepted from the governing authority, including al-Ḥasan, al-Shaʿbī, Ibrāhīm, and ʿAṭāʾ, as did a group after them.

Source page 156

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: الْأَخْذُ مِنْهُمْ شُبْهَةٌ، لِاخْتِلَافِ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي ذَلِكَ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ؛ لِأَنَّ مَنْ سِوَى هَؤُلَاءِ الْأَئِمَّةِ قَدْ خَالَطَ مَالَهُمُ الظُّلْمُ وَالْعُدْوَانُ وَالِاعْتِدَاءُ فِي الْأَمْوَالِ إِلَى عَصْرِنَا هَذَا، أَوْ سَفْكُ الدِّمَاءِ أَوِ الضَّرْبُ عَلَى الْجَوْرِ بِالسَّوْطِ، وَيُسْتَحَلُّ فِيهِ الْفَيْءُ وَالْغَنِيمَةُ.

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: al-ʾakhdhu minhum shubhatun, li-ikhtilāfi al-ʿulamāʾi fī dhālika, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum; li-ʾanna man siwā hāʾulāʾi al-ʾaʾimmati qad khālaṭa mālahumu al-ẓulmu wa-al-ʿudwānu wa-al-iʿtidāʾu fī al-ʾamwāli ʾilā ʿaṣrinā hādhā, ʾaw safku al-dimāʾi ʾawi al-ḍarbu ʿalā al-jawri bi-al-sawṭi, wa-yustaḥallu fīhi al-fayʾu wa-al-ghanīmatu.

One group said accepting from them is doubtful because scholars, may God be pleased with them, disagree about it. The wealth of rulers other than those exemplary leaders has been mixed, down to our time, with oppression, aggression, encroachment upon property, bloodshed, or unjust whipping, while fayʾ and spoils are treated as theirs to take.

وَقَدْ تَرَكَ الْأَخْذَ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ سَعِيدُ بْنُ الْمُسَيِّبِ، وَطَاوُسٌ، وَمُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ، وَأَيُّوبُ، وَابْنُ عَوْنٍ، وَيُونُسُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ، وَكَانَ مَسْرُوقٌ لَا يَقْبَلُ مِنْ أَحَدٍ شَيْئًا، وَلَا يَأْخُذُ عَلَى الْفُتْيَا أَجْرًا. وَسُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ وَأَصْحَابُهُ لَا يَرَوْنَ ذَلِكَ.

Wa-qad taraka al-ʾakhdha min ʾamwālihim Saʿīdu bnu al-Musayyibi, wa-Ṭāwusun, wa-Muḥammadu bnu Sīrīna, wa-ʾAyyūbu, wa-ibnu ʿAwnin, wa-Yūnusu bnu ʿUbaydin, wa-kāna Masrūqun lā yaqbalu min ʾaḥadin shayʾan, wa-lā yaʾkhudhu ʿalā al-futyā ʾajran. Wa-Sufyānu al-Thawriyyu wa-ʾaṣḥābuhu lā yarawna dhālika.

Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib, Ṭāwus, Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, Ayyūb, Ibn ʿAwn, and Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd refused to take their money. Masrūq would accept nothing from anyone and took no payment for legal rulings. Sufyān al-Thawrī and his associates did not approve such acceptance.

وَقَدِ اخْتُلِفَ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنْ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي، وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ يَرَى لِمَنْ وَلِيَ شَيْئًا مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ أَنْ يُفَرِّقَهُ كَمَا صَنَعَ مِنَ الْمَاضِينَ غَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ وَعَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا أَنَّهَا كَانَتْ تَأْخُذُ عَطَاءَهَا اثْنَيْ عَشَرَ أَلْفًا، وَتَرْفَعُ رِدَاءَهَا، وَلَا يَبِيتُ عِنْدَهَا مِنْهُ شَيْءٌ. وَالْمُخْتَارُ عَنْ عَائِشَةَ أَنَّهُ حَلَالٌ طَيِّبٌ، وَإِنَّمَا فَرَّقَتْهُ خَوْفًا عَلَى نَفْسِهَا.

Wa-qadi ukhtulifa ʿan Sufyāna fī kathīrin min hādhihi al-maʿānī, wa-ʾAḥmadu bnu Ḥanbalin yarā liman waliya shayʾan min ʾamwālihim ʾan yufarriqahu kamā ṣanaʿa mina al-māḍīna ghayru wāḥidin, wa-qad ruwiya ʿani ibni ʿUmara wa-ʿĀʾishata raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā ʾannahā kānat taʾkhudhu ʿaṭāʾahā ithnay ʿashara ʾalfan, wa-tarfaʿu ridāʾahā, wa-lā yabītu ʿindahā minhu shayʾun. Wa-al-mukhtāru ʿan ʿĀʾishata ʾannahu ḥalālun ṭayyibun, wa-ʾinnamā farraqat-hu khawfan ʿalā nafsihā.

Different reports from Sufyān concern many of these matters. Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal holds that someone entrusted with some of their wealth should distribute it, as several earlier authorities did. It is related from Ibn ʿUmar and ʿĀʾisha, may God be pleased with them both, that she used to receive her allowance of twelve thousand, lift her cloak, and keep none of it overnight. The preferred account of ʿĀʾisha’s view is that it was lawful and wholesome, and that she distributed it only out of concern for herself.

وَقَدْ آثَرَ تَرْكَ الْأَخْذِ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ الْعُدُولِ الَّذِينَ أَجْمَعَتِ الْأُمَّةُ عَلَى عَدَالَتِهِمْ وَفَضْلِهِمْ، وَطِيبِ مَجْبَاهُمْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْهُمْ حَكِيمُ بْنُ حِزَامٍ، وَأَبُو ذَرٍّ لِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «خَيْرٌ لِأَحَدِكُمْ أَلَّا يَأْخُذَ مِنْ أَحَدٍ شَيْئًا». فَكَيْفَ بِمَنْ بَعْدَهُمْ، وَقَدْ خَالَطَ الْمَجْبَى مَا خَلَطَهُ مِنَ الْفَسَادِ.

Wa-qad ʾāthara tarka al-ʾakhdhi mina al-ʾaʾimmati al-ʿudūli alladhīna ʾajmaʿati al-ʾummatu ʿalā ʿadālatihim wa-faḍlihim, wa-ṭībi majbāhum ṭāʾifatun minhum Ḥakīmu bnu Ḥizāmin, wa-ʾAbū Dharrin liqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «khayrun li-ʾaḥadikum ʾallā yaʾkhudha min ʾaḥadin shayʾan». Fa-kayfa biman baʿdahum, wa-qad khālaṭa al-majbā mā khalaṭahu mina al-fasādi.

Some preferred not to accept even from just leaders whose justice, excellence, and wholesome revenue the community unanimously recognized. Among them were Ḥakīm ibn Ḥizām and Abū Dharr, because of the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “It is better for one of you to take nothing from anyone.” How much more does this apply to those who came later, when revenue became mixed with such corruption?

Source pages 156–157

وَمَنْ قَصَدَ تَرْكَ أَمْوَالِهِمْ مِنَ الْجَوَائِزِ وَالْعَطِيَّاتِ وَالْهَدَايَا وَالصِّلَاتِ، وَالسُّؤَالِ لَهُمْ، فَقَدْ أَتَى فَضْلًا، وَقُرْبَةً تُؤَدِّيهِ بُلُوغُ تِلْكَ الْمَرْتَبَةِ إِلَى أَعْظَمِ مَنَازِلِ الْخَوَاصِّ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَالدُّخُولِ فِي مَرْتَبَةِ أَهْلِ الصَّفْوَةِ مِنَ الْعُمَّالِ.

Wa-man qaṣada tarka ʾamwālihim mina al-jawāʾizi wa-al-ʿaṭiyyāti wa-al-hadāyā wa-al-ṣilāti, wa-al-suʾāli lahum, fa-qad ʾatā faḍlan, wa-qurbatan tuʾaddīhi bulūghu tilka al-martabati ʾilā ʾaʿẓami manāzili al-khawāṣṣi mina al-muslimīna, wa-al-dukhūli fī martabati ʾahli al-ṣafwati mina al-ʿummāli.

Whoever deliberately forgoes their money, rewards, stipends, presents, grants, and requests to them has performed a meritorious act of nearness. Reaching that rank brings him toward the greatest stations of the elect among Muslims and into the rank of the chosen among those who act [righteously].

Source page 157

لِأَنَّا قَدْ رَأَيْنَا كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ لَيْسَ مَعَهُمُ السَّعَةُ فِي الْعِلْمِ وَمَعَهُمْ ضِيقٌ فِي الْفِقْهِ، فِي الدِّينِ، وَقِلَّةُ رِوَايَةٍ فِي الْحَدِيثِ، إِلَّا أَنَّ الْمَرْتَبَةَ فِي التَّرْكِ جَعَلَتْ لَهُمْ ذِكْرًا عِنْدَ الْخَاصَّةِ وَالْعَامَّةِ عَلَى فَضْلِهِمْ،

Li-ʾannā qad raʾaynā kathīran mina al-ʿulamāʾi laysa maʿahumu al-saʿatu fī al-ʿilmi wa-maʿahum ḍīqun fī al-fiqhi, fī al-dīni, wa-qillatu riwāyatin fī al-ḥadīthi, ʾillā ʾanna al-martabata fī al-tarki jaʿalat lahum dhikran ʿinda al-khāṣṣati wa-al-ʿāmmati ʿalā faḍlihim,

We have seen many scholars with limited breadth of knowledge, narrow understanding of religion, and few transmitted reports, yet their rank in abstaining earned them a reputation for excellence among both the elite and ordinary people.

وَأَوْرَثَتْهُمْ هَذِهِ الْمَنْزِلَةُ شِدَّةَ الْمُبَايَنَةِ، وَعَظِيمَ الْحَذَرِ مِنْ مُوَاقَعَةِ الشُّبُهَاتِ، لِمَا رُكِّبَ فِي الْقُلُوبِ مِنَ الْخَشْيَةِ، وَخَوْفِ السُّؤَالِ عِنْدَ الْعَرْضِ عَلَى الْجَبَّارِ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى، وَحَمَلَهُمُ الْحَذَرُ عَلَى خَوْفِ مُعَالَجَةِ الْمَوْتِ؛ لِأَنَّ أَوَّلَ مَا يَأْكُلُ التُّرَابُ مِنِ ابْنِ آدَمَ لَحْمُهُ، فَلَا يَكُونُ ذَلِكَ فِي نَبَاتِهِ إِلَّا مِنْ طَيِّبٍ، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يَقْبَلُ إِلَّا طَيِّبًا.

wa-ʾawrathat-hum hādhihi al-manzilatu shiddata al-mubāyanati, wa-ʿaẓīma al-ḥadhari min muwāqaʿati al-shubuhāti, limā rukkiba fī al-qulūbi mina al-khashyati, wa-khawfi al-suʾāli ʿinda al-ʿarḍi ʿalā al-jabbāri tabāraka wa-taʿālā, wa-ḥamalahumu al-ḥadharu ʿalā khawfi muʿālajati al-mawti; li-ʾanna ʾawwala mā yaʾkulu al-turābu mini ibni ʾĀdama laḥmuhu, fa-lā yakūnu dhālika fī nabātihi ʾillā min ṭayyibin, fa-ʾinna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla lā yaqbalu ʾillā ṭayyiban.

This station gave them firm separation and great caution against doubtful things, through reverent fear planted in their hearts and fear of questioning when presented before the Compeller, blessed and exalted is He. Caution made them fear the struggle of death. The first thing the earth consumes of a human being is his flesh, so its growth should come only from what is wholesome. God, mighty and exalted, accepts only what is wholesome.

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: «تَرَاهُ أَشْعَثَ أَغْبَرَ، مَطْعَمُهُ مِنْ حَرَامٍ، وَمَشْرَبُهُ مِنْ حَرَامٍ وَمَلْبَسُهُ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فَأَنَّى يُسْتَجَابُ لَهُ». وَقَالَ لِسَعْدٍ: «أَطِبْ مَطْعَمَكَ تُسْتَجَبْ دَعْوَتُكَ». وَقِيلَ لِسَعْدٍ: بِمَ تُسْتَجَابُ دَعْوَتُكَ؟ قَالَ: بِأَنِّي لَا أُدْخِلُ بَطْنِي إِلَّا شَيْئًا أَعْرِفُهُ.

Wa-qad ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʾannahu qāla: «tarāhu ʾashʿatha ʾaghbara, maṭʿamuhu min ḥarāmin, wa-mashrabuhu min ḥarāmin wa-malbasuhu min ḥarāmin fa-ʾannā yustajābu lahu». Wa-qāla lisaʿdin: «ʾaṭib maṭʿamaka tustajab daʿwatuka». Wa-qīla lisaʿdin: bima tustajābu daʿwatuka? Qāla: bi-ʾannī lā ʾudkhilu baṭnī ʾillā shayʾan ʾaʿrifuhu.

It is related from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “You see him disheveled and dusty, his food unlawful, his drink unlawful, and his clothing unlawful. How could his prayer be answered?” He told Saʿd, “Make your food wholesome, and your prayer will be answered.” Saʿd was asked, “Why is your prayer answered?” He replied, “Because I put nothing in my belly unless I know its source.”

وَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: لَوْ صَلَّى وَفِي ثَوْبِهِ سِلْكٌ حَرَامٌ، لَمْ تُقْبَلْ مِنْهُ. وَرَأَى مِثْلَهُ كَذَلِكَ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ: «وَمَنِ اشْتَرَى ثَوْبًا بِعَشَرَةِ دَرَاهِمَ، فِيهَا دِرْهَمٌ حَرَامٌ لَمْ تُقْبَلْ لَهُ فِيهَا صَلَاةٌ».

Wa-qāla ibnu ʿAbbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: law ṣallā wa-fī thawbihi silkun ḥarāmun, lam tuqbal minhu. Wa-raʾā mithlahu ka-dhālika ʿani ibni ʿUmara: «wa-mani ishtarā thawban biʿasharati darāhima, fīhā dirhamun ḥarāmun lam tuqbal lahu fīhā ṣalātun».

Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, said: If someone prayed while his garment contained an unlawfully acquired thread, the prayer would not be accepted. A similar statement is “seen” from Ibn ʿUmar [the printed reporting verb is defective]: “Whoever buys a garment for ten dirhams, one of them unlawful, will have no prayer accepted in it.”

وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ مَا أَرَادَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ وَابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ، إِلَّا أَنَّ الْحَدِيثَ عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ مِنْ وَجْهٍ ضَعِيفٍ، وَلَهُ تَأْوِيلٌ، يَقُولُ: مَا دَامَ الْحَرَامُ فِي ثَوْبِهِ يَتَخَوَّفُ حَتَّى يَخْرُجَ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ. إِلَّا أَنَّ الْإِجْمَاعَ مَنَعَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ: فَأَجْمَعَتِ الْأُمَّةُ كُلُّهَا عَلَى أَنَّ الصَّلَاةَ لَا تُعَادُ.

Wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu mā ʾarāda ibnu ʿUmara wa-ibnu ʿAbbāsin, ʾillā ʾanna al-ḥadītha ʿani ibni ʿUmara min wajhin ḍaʿīfin, wa-lahu taʾwīlun, yaqūlu: mā dāma al-ḥarāmu fī thawbihi yatakhawwafu ḥattā yakhruja mina al-ḥarāmi. ʾIllā ʾanna al-ʾijmāʿa manaʿa min dhālika: fa-ʾajmaʿati al-ʾummatu kulluhā ʿalā ʾanna al-ṣalāta lā tuʿādu.

God knows best what Ibn ʿUmar and Ibn ʿAbbās meant. The report from Ibn ʿUmar comes through a weak route and admits interpretation: as long as the unlawful remains in his garment, he should fear until he frees himself from it. Consensus, however, precludes [requiring repetition]: the whole community agrees that the prayer need not be repeated.

وَقَدْ غَلِطَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنَ الْقُرَّاءِ وَالنُّسَّاكِ فَقَالُوا: الصَّلَاةُ بَاطِلَةٌ بِمَا لَيْسَ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ فِيهَا، وَبِذَلِكَ قَالَ أَصْنَافٌ مِنَ الْخَوَارِجِ، وَكَذَلِكَ إِذَا كَانَ الْمَهْرُ حَرَامًا، فَالنِّكَاحُ وَالْوَطْءُ فَاسِدٌ.

Wa-qad ghaliṭat ṭāʾifatun mina al-qurrāʾi wa-al-nussāki fa-qālū: al-ṣalātu bāṭilatun bimā laysa mina al-ḥarāmi fīhā, wa-bi-dhālika qāla ʾaṣnāfun mina al-khawāriji, wa-ka-dhālika ʾidhā kāna al-mahru ḥarāman, fa-al-nikāḥu wa-al-waṭʾu fāsidun.

A group of devout reciters and ascetics erred, saying, “Prayer is invalid because of what is not unlawful within it” [the printed wording is contradictory]. Various Khārijites said the same. Likewise, they said that if the dower is unlawful, the marriage and intercourse are invalid.

وَهَذَا خُرُوجٌ مِنْ قَوْلِ الْأُمَّةِ كُلِّهَا، وَمَنْ قَالَ بِهَذَا الْقَوْلِ سُمِّيَ بِذَلِكَ عَاصِيًا، مِنْ أَجْلِ أَنَّ الْعَقْدَ فِي النِّكَاحِ إِنَّمَا تَمَّ بِالْكَلَامِ بِقَوْلِهِ: تَزَوَّجْتُ، وَيَقُولُ هَذَا: زَوَّجْتُ عَلَى صَدَاقٍ مُسَمًّى، أَوْ عَلَى التَّفْوِيضِ، فَيَكُونُ لَهَا صَدَاقُ الْمِثْلِ، وَيَكُونُ عَلَيْهِ الْوِزْرُ بِالصَّدَاقِ الْحَرَامِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ، وَلَا يَكُونُ الْفَرْجُ حَرَامًا.

Wa-hādhā khurūjun min qawli al-ʾummati kullihā, wa-man qāla bi-hādhā al-qawli summiya bi-dhālika ʿāṣiyan, min ʾajli ʾanna al-ʿaqda fī al-nikāḥi ʾinnamā tamma bi-al-kalāmi biqawlihi: tazawwajtu, wa-yaqūlu hādhā: zawwajtu ʿalā ṣadāqin musamman, ʾaw ʿalā al-tafwīḍi, fa-yakūnu lahā ṣadāqu al-mithli, wa-yakūnu ʿalayhi al-wizru bi-al-ṣadāqi al-ḥarāmi mina al-dhahabi wa-al-fiḍḍati, wa-lā yakūnu al-farju ḥarāman.

This departs from the position of the entire community. Whoever takes this position is called disobedient on that account. The marriage contract is completed through the words “I have married,” and the other’s “I have given in marriage,” with a specified dower or without specifying it, in which case she is entitled to the customary equivalent. The sin of an unlawful dower of gold or silver rests upon him, but sexual relations do not thereby become unlawful.

Source pages 157–158

وَقَدْ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: «أَخَذْتُمُوهُنَّ بِأَمَانَةِ اللَّهِ، وَاسْتَحْلَلْتُمْ فُرُوجَهُنَّ بِكَلَامِ اللَّهِ». وَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْهِ التَّوْبَةُ وَأَنْ يَبْذُلَ دِرْهَمًا مَكَانَ دِرْهَمٍ، وَدِينَارًا مَكَانَ دِينَارٍ.

Wa-qad qāla al-nabiyyu ʿalayhi al-salāmu: «ʾakhadhtumūhunna bi-ʾamānati Allāhi, wa-istaḥlaltum furūjahunna bikalāmi Allāhi». Wa-ʾinnamā ʿalayhi al-tawbatu wa-ʾan yabdhula dirhaman makāna dirhamin, wa-dīnāran makāna dīnārin.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: “You took them under God’s trust, and made sexual relations with them lawful through God’s words.” He need only repent and provide a dirham in place of a dirham and a dinar in place of a dinar.

Source page 158

وَأَمَّا مَنِ اشْتَرَى جَارِيَةً فَتَسَرَّى بِهَا مِنْ مَالٍ حَرَامٍ، مِنْ غَصْبٍ، فَأَكْثَرُ الْعُلَمَاءِ قَالُوا: الْوَطْءُ فَاسِدٌ، لِأَنَّهُ صَارَ مِلْكًا، وَالْمِلْكُ لَيْسَ بِحَرَامٍ، وَكَيْفَ يَمْلِكُهَا وَالْمَالُ لَيْسَ لَهُ، وَهَذِهِ الْمَسْأَلَةُ يَطُولُ شَرْحُهَا، وَفِي هَذَا كِفَايَةٌ لِمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَسْتَدِلَّ.

Wa-ʾammā mani ishtarā jāriyatan fa-tasarrā bihā min mālin ḥarāmin, min ghaṣbin, fa-ʾaktharu al-ʿulamāʾi qālū: al-waṭʾu fāsidun, li-ʾannahu ṣāra milkan, wa-al-milku laysa biḥarāmin, wa-kayfa yamlikuhā wa-al-mālu laysa lahu, wa-hādhihi al-masʾalatu yaṭūlu sharḥuhā, wa-fī hādhā kifāyatun liman ʾarāda ʾan yastadilla.

As for someone who purchases an enslaved woman with unlawful, seized money and takes her as a concubine, most scholars said that intercourse is invalid, “because it became ownership, and ownership is not unlawful” [the printed reasoning is internally difficult]. How can he own her when the money is not his? This question would require lengthy explanation; what is given here is enough for someone seeking the evidence.

وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ حَرَّمُوا الْعَطَايَا مِنَ السَّلَاطِينِ فَقَدْ غَلِطُوا لِعِلَّةِ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ بِحَرَامٍ كُلِّهِ، فَكَيْفَ يَجُوزُ أَنْ يُقَالَ: حَرَامٌ وَفِيهِ دِرْهَمٌ حَلَالٌ. وَيَلْزَمُ الَّذِينَ حَرَّمُوا أَيْضًا عَلَى قِيَاسِ قَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّهُ لَوْ كَانَ سِكِّينٌ مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ، فَذَكَّوْا بِهَا، لَا تَكُونُ ذَكَاةً عِنْدَهُمْ، لِسَبَبِ الْحَرَامِ، حَتَّى يَكُونَ سِكِّينًا مِنْ حَلَالٍ، وَيَكُونُ ضَامِنًا لِمَا جَنَى.

Wa-ʾammā alladhīna ḥarramū al-ʿaṭāyā mina al-salāṭīni fa-qad ghaliṭū liʿillati ʾannahu laysa biḥarāmin kullihi, fa-kayfa yajūzu ʾan yuqāla: ḥarāmun wa-fīhi dirhamun ḥalālun. Wa-yalzamu alladhīna ḥarramū ʾayḍan ʿalā qiyāsi qawlihim ʾinnahu law kāna sikkīnun min ʾamwālihim, fa-dhakkaw bihā, lā takūnu dhakātan ʿindahum, lisababi al-ḥarāmi, ḥattā yakūna sikkīnan min ḥalālin, wa-yakūnu ḍāminan limā janā.

Those who prohibited rulers’ gifts erred, since not all the wealth is unlawful. How can one call it unlawful when it contains a lawful dirham? By the logic of their position, they must also hold that if a knife came from that wealth and was used for slaughter, the slaughter would not count because of the unlawful element, until the knife came from lawful wealth, and the person would be liable for what he had done.

وَكَذَلِكَ لَوِ اشْتَرَى مُصْحَفًا مِنْ مَالٍ حَرَامٍ، وَحَفِظَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنَ، لَوَجَبَ أَنْ يَنْسَاهُ، وَلَا يُجْزِئُهُ أَنْ يَقْرَأَ فِي صَلَاتِهِ بِمَا حَفِظَ مِنْ جَوَائِزِ السُّلْطَانِ، وَلَا أَنْ يُعْطِيَ الْمُؤَذِّنِينَ وَالْمُعَلِّمِينَ كَذَلِكَ. وَهَذِهِ الْفِرْقَةُ مِنَ الْمُتَصَوِّفَةِ جَاهِلَةٌ بِالْفِقْهِ وَالْأَخْبَارِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ مَعَهَا الزِّيَادَةُ.

Wa-ka-dhālika lawi ishtarā muṣḥafan min mālin ḥarāmin, wa-ḥafiẓa fīhi al-qurʾāna, lawajaba ʾan yansāhu, wa-lā yujziʾuhu ʾan yaqraʾa fī ṣalātihi bimā ḥafiẓa min jawāʾizi al-sulṭāni, wa-lā ʾan yuʿṭiya al-muʾadhdhinīna wa-al-muʿallimīna ka-dhālika. Wa-hādhihi al-firqatu mina al-mutaṣawwifati jāhilatun bi-al-fiqhi wa-al-ʾakhbāri, wa-ʾin kāna maʿahā al-ziyādatu.

Likewise, if someone bought a Qurʾān manuscript with unlawful money and memorized the Qurʾān from it, he would have to forget it. Reciting in prayer what he learned through rulers’ gifts would not suffice, nor could he similarly pay callers to prayer and teachers. This group of Sufis is ignorant of jurisprudence and transmitted reports, even if it possesses an increase [the printed term is unclear].

وَقَدْ تَوَقَّى نَفَرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ الْمَطَاعِمَ الَّتِي لَمْ يَأْمَنُوا أَنْ تَخْتَلِطَ، أَوْ قَدِ اخْتَلَطَ حَرَامٌ بِحَلَالٍ فِيهَا خَوْفَ عُسْرِ الْحِسَابِ، وَتَنَزَّهُوا لِيُدْرِكُوا بِذَلِكَ الصَّوَابَ. وَقَالُوا: التَّحَرِّي أَصْلٌ مَعْمُولٌ بِهِ، وَقَاسُوا عَلَى الشَّاةِ الذَّكِيَّةِ وَالْمَيْتَةِ، لَا يَدْرِي أَيَّتُهُمَا الذَّكِيَّةُ بِالْوُقُوفِ، وَتَرْكِ أَكْلِهَا، حَتَّى يَتَبَيَّنَ. وَكَذَلِكَ كُلُّ مَا اخْتَلَطَ، فَلَمْ يُعْلَمِ الْحَلَالُ مِنْهُ مِنَ الْحَرَامِ.

Wa-qad tawaqqā nafarun min ʾahli al-ʿilmi al-maṭāʿima allatī lam yaʾmanū ʾan takhtaliṭa, ʾaw qadi ikhtalaṭa ḥarāmun biḥalālin fīhā khawfa ʿusri al-ḥisābi, wa-tanazzahū liyudrikū bi-dhālika al-ṣawāba. Wa-qālū: al-taḥarrī ʾaṣlun maʿmūlun bihi, wa-qāsū ʿalā al-shāti al-dhakiyyati wa-al-maytati, lā yadrī ʾayyatuhumā al-dhakiyyatu bi-al-wuqūfi, wa-tarki ʾaklihā, ḥattā yatabayyana. Wa-ka-dhālika kullu mā ikhtalaṭa, fa-lam yuʿlami al-ḥalālu minhu mina al-ḥarāmi.

Some scholars guarded themselves against foods in which they feared a mixture or in which unlawful and lawful elements had already become mixed, for fear of a difficult reckoning. They abstained to reach what was right, saying that conscientious inquiry is an operative principle. They drew an analogy with a properly slaughtered sheep and a dead one when one cannot tell which was properly slaughtered: one stops and leaves off eating until the matter is clear. The same applies to every mixture in which the lawful cannot be distinguished from the unlawful.

وَكَذَلِكَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ الرَّضِيعَتَيْنِ، لَوْ طَلَّقَ إِحْدَى امْرَأَتَيْهِ وَلَا يَدْرِي أَيَّتَهُمَا طَلَّقَ. وَقَدْ سُئِلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الضَّبِّ، فَقَالَ: «لَا آكُلُهُ، وَلَا أُحَرِّمُهُ». وَقَالَ: «أُمَّةٌ مُسِخَتْ». وَاللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ، وَلِهَذَا نَظَائِرُ وَشَوَاهِدُ وَدَلَائِلُ.

Wa-ka-dhālika al-ʾukhtayni al-raḍīʿatayni, law ṭallaqa ʾiḥdā imraʾatayhi wa-lā yadrī ʾayyatahumā ṭallaqa. Wa-qad suʾila al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʿani al-ḍabbi, fa-qāla: «lā ʾākuluhu, wa-lā ʾuḥarrimuhu». Wa-qāla: «ʾummatun musikhat». Wa-Allāhu ʾaʿlamu, wa-li-hādhā naẓāʾiru wa-shawāhidu wa-dalāʾilu.

Likewise, “the two milk-sisters,” if a man divorces one of his two wives without knowing which [the printed comparison is unclear]. The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, was asked about the spiny-tailed lizard and said, “I do not eat it, and I do not forbid it.” He also said, “A community that was transformed.” God knows best. There are parallels, supporting reports, and proofs for this.

وَأَمَّا مَا احْتَجُّوا بِهِ عَلَى أَبِي بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقِ، رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ، فَكَانَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ، وَأَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ يَقُولَانِ: الْعَمَلُ عَلَى حَدِيثِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَاجِبٌ اسْتِعْمَالُهُ.

Wa-ʾammā mā iḥtajjū bihi ʿalā ʾAbī Bakrin al-Ṣiddīqi, raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu, fa-kāna Sufyānu al-Thawriyyu, wa-ʾAḥmadu bnu Ḥanbalin yaqūlāni: al-ʿamalu ʿalā ḥadīthi ʾAbī Bakrin wājibun istiʿmāluhu.

Regarding the evidence they cited concerning Abū Bakr the Utterly Truthful, may God be pleased with him, Sufyān al-Thawrī and Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal used to say that the report about Abū Bakr must be put into practice.

Source pages 158–159

وَالتَّأْوِيلُ لِحَدِيثِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ أَوِ الْغُلَامِ، إِذْ قَالَ لِأَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: إِنِّي رَقَيْتُ فِي الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ، فَأَعْطَوْنِي الْيَوْمَ أُجْرَتِي، فَالرُّقَى حَرَامٌ، وَالْأُجْرَةُ عَلَيْهَا فَاسِدَةٌ. وَالْأَكْلُ مِنَ الْفَاسِدِ حَرَامٌ لِفَسَادِهِ بِالرُّقَى، الَّذِي اكْتَسَبَهُ مِنْهَا، فَكَذَلِكَ فِي أَكْلِ الْحَرَامِ إِذَا بَانَ عِنْدَهُ، فَقَدَرَ أَلَّا يُقِرَّهُ فِي جَوْفِهِ فَعَلَ.

Wa-al-taʾwīlu liḥadīthi ʾAbī Bakrin ʾawi al-ghulāmi, ʾidh qāla li-ʾAbī Bakrin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: ʾinnī raqaytu fī al-jāhiliyyati, fa-ʾaʿṭawnī al-yawma ʾujratī, fa-al-ruqā ḥarāmun, wa-al-ʾujratu ʿalayhā fāsidatun. Wa-al-ʾaklu mina al-fāsidi ḥarāmun lifasādihi bi-al-ruqā, alladhī iktasabahu minhā, fa-ka-dhālika fī ʾakli al-ḥarāmi ʾidhā bāna ʿindahu, fa-qadara ʾallā yuqirrahu fī jawfihi faʿala.

Its interpretation concerns the account of Abū Bakr or the young slave, who told Abū Bakr, may God be pleased with him, “I performed incantations in the pre-Islamic period, and today they paid me.” Those incantations were unlawful and the payment corrupt. Eating from that corrupt payment was forbidden because it was earned through those incantations. Likewise, if someone discovers that he has eaten unlawful food and can prevent it remaining in his belly, he does so.

Source page 159

وَجَمِيعُ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ وَالصَّلَامِ، وَالْغَزْوِ وَالْحَجِّ، مَعَ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الطَّاعَاتِ، لَا تَقُومُ مَقَامَ تَصْفِيَةِ الْخُبْزِ، لِأَنَّ زَكَاةَ الْأَعْمَالِ كُلِّهَا بِطِيبِ الْمَطْعَمِ، وَمِنْ طِيبِ الْمَطْعَمِ تُجْنَى ثَمَرَةُ دَوَاعِي الصِّدْقِ، وَالْقَلِيلُ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ مَعَ الِاجْتِهَادِ فِي السَّلَامَةِ مِنَ التَّخْلِيطِ، خَيْرٌ مِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْعَمَلِ مَعَ التَّخَالِيطِ، وَإِنَّمَا مَحْمُودُ الْعَوَاقِبِ فِي السَّلَامَةِ.

Wa-jamīʿu ʾaʿmāli al-birri mina al-ṣalāti wa-al-ṣalāmi, wa-al-ghazwi wa-al-ḥajji, maʿa kathīrin mina al-ṭāʿāti, lā taqūmu maqāma taṣfiyati al-khubzi, li-ʾanna zakāta al-ʾaʿmāli kullihā biṭībi al-maṭʿami, wa-min ṭībi al-maṭʿami tujnā thamaratu dawāʿī al-ṣidqi, wa-al-qalīlu mina al-ʿamali maʿa al-ijtihādi fī al-salāmati mina al-takhlīṭi, khayrun min kathīrin mina al-ʿamali maʿa al-takhālīṭi, wa-ʾinnamā maḥmūdu al-ʿawāqibi fī al-salāmati.

All righteous deeds, prayer and “ṣalām” [an unclear printed word, perhaps fasting], campaigning and pilgrimage, together with many acts of obedience, cannot replace making one’s bread pure. All deeds are purified through wholesome food. From wholesome food one harvests the fruit of the impulses of truthfulness. A little work accompanied by earnest effort to avoid compromised conduct is better than much work mixed with wrongdoing. Praiseworthy outcomes lie in remaining safe.

فَإِذَا صَحَّتِ الْكِسْرَةُ حَتَّى تَسْلَمَ مِنْ آفَاتِ التَّبَاعَاتِ، فَلَا تَكُونُ عَلَيْكَ فِيهَا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى تَبِعَةٌ، وَلَا لِأَحَدٍ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ عَلَيْكَ فِيهِ مِنَّةٌ، مِنْ تَعَبٍ فِي بَدَنٍ، وَعَنَاءٍ فِي الرِّجْلِ، وَكَدٍّ فِي الْيَدِ عَلَى الدِّينِ.

Fa-ʾidhā ṣaḥḥati al-kisratu ḥattā taslama min ʾāfāti al-tabāʿāti, fa-lā takūnu ʿalayka fīhā li-llāhi taʿālā tabiʿatun, wa-lā li-ʾaḥadin mina al-makhlūqīna ʿalayka fīhi minnatun, min taʿabin fī badanin, wa-ʿanāʾin fī al-rijli, wa-kaddin fī al-yadi ʿalā al-dīni.

When the morsel is sound, free from the harms of outstanding claims, you owe no liability to God Most High for it and no creature can claim a favor over you through it: [it comes] from weariness of the body, toil of the feet, and labor of the hands in the service of religion.

وَقَدْ كَانَ يُقَالُ فِي الْكُتُبِ: مَنْ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ صِفَتُهُ فِي حَيَاتِهِ فَقَدْ طَابَ حَيًّا وَمَيِّتًا، وَإِنَّمَا يُثْمِرُ الصِّدْقُ حَتَّى يَعْتَقِدَهُ الْقَلْبُ، فَيَنْفِي الْقَلْبُ بِاعْتِقَادِهِ دَوَاعِيَ السَّعَةِ فِي الرُّخْصَةِ. وَعَلَى قَدْرِ التَّأْدِيبِ لِلنُّفُوسِ سَاعَدَتْهُمْ، فَرَفَضُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ، وَجَانَبُوا اللَّذَّاتِ حَيْثُ لَمْ يَصِلُوا مِنْ سَعَةِ الْمَكْسَبِ لِمَا يَشْبَعُونَ بِهِ، وَأَخْمَصُوا الْبُطُونَ جُوعًا حَتَّى يَجِدُوا لَهَا مَا يُصْلِحُهَا مِنَ الْحَلَالِ.

Wa-qad kāna yuqālu fī al-kutubi: man kānat hādhihi ṣifatuhu fī ḥayātihi fa-qad ṭāba ḥayyan wa-mayyitan, wa-ʾinnamā yuthmiru al-ṣidqu ḥattā yaʿtaqidahu al-qalbu, fa-yanfī al-qalbu bi-iʿtiqādihi dawāʿiya al-saʿati fī al-rukhṣati. Wa-ʿalā qadri al-taʾdībi li-al-nufūsi sāʿadat-hum, fa-rafaḍū al-shahawāti, wa-jānabū al-ladhdhāti ḥaythu lam yaṣilū min saʿati al-maksabi limā yashbaʿūna bihi, wa-ʾakhmaṣū al-buṭūna jūʿan ḥattā yajidū lahā mā yuṣliḥuhā mina al-ḥalāli.

It was said in the books: Whoever lives in this way is wholesome in life and death. Truthfulness bears fruit only when the heart embraces it, and by embracing it the heart drives away impulses to seek broad concessions. Their lower selves cooperated in proportion to their discipline. They rejected desires and avoided pleasures when the scope of their earnings did not provide enough to satisfy them. They kept their bellies lean with hunger until they found lawful food that would sustain them.

فَإِنْ لَمْ يَجِدُوهُ، وَصَعُبَ ذَلِكَ، أَخَذُوا مِنَ الشُّبُهَاتِ بُلْغَةً لِسَاعَتِهِمْ لَا لِيَوْمِهِمْ، وَمَنَعُوا النُّفُوسَ مِنْ أَنْ تَشْبَعَ مِنْ خُبْزِ الشَّعِيرِ، إِنْ قَدَرُوا عَلَى النُّفُوسِ، وَإِلَّا اسْتَعَانُوا بِعَظِيمِ الْخَوْفِ عِنْدَ الْمُسَاءَلَةِ وَالْحِسَابِ.

Fa-ʾin lam yajidūhu, wa-ṣaʿuba dhālika, ʾakhadhū mina al-shubuhāti bulghatan lisāʿatihim lā liyawmihim, wa-manaʿū al-nufūsa min ʾan tashbaʿa min khubzi al-shaʿīri, ʾin qadarū ʿalā al-nufūsi, wa-ʾillā istaʿānū biʿaẓīmi al-khawfi ʿinda al-musāʾalati wa-al-ḥisābi.

If they could not find it and the difficulty grew severe, they took from doubtful things only enough for the moment, not for the day. They kept themselves from eating their fill even of barley bread if they could master their lower selves; otherwise they sought help through intense fear of questioning and reckoning.

الْوَرَعُ وَالْجُوعُ

Al-waraʿu wa-al-jūʿu

Scrupulousness and hunger

وَهَذَا جُوعٌ ذَهَبَتْ إِلَيْهِ طَوَائِفُ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ، إِذَا وَجَدُوا الْحَلَالَ شَبِعُوا وَآثَرُوا، وَإِنْ كَانَ جُوعُهُمْ عَدَمًا، لَا تَكَلُّفَ فِيهِ لِفَضِيلَةٍ. وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ، وَإِبْرَاهِيمَ بْنِ أَدْهَمَ، وَشُعَيْبِ بْنِ حَرْبٍ، وَالْمُعَافَى بْنِ عِمْرَانَ، وَحُذَيْفَةَ الْمَرْعَشِيِّ، وَبِشْرِ بْنِ الْحَارِثِ الْحَافِي. وَقَدْ ذُكِرَتْ هَذِهِ الْمَرْتَبَةُ عَنْ جَمَاعَةٍ كَثِيرَةٍ لَا يُحْصَى عَدَدُهُمْ.

Wa-hādhā jūʿun dhahabat ʾilayhi ṭawāʾifu mina al-ʿulamāʾi, ʾidhā wajadū al-ḥalāla shabiʿū wa-ʾātharū, wa-ʾin kāna jūʿuhum ʿadaman, lā takallufa fīhi lifaḍīlatin. Wa-hādhā madh-habu Sufyāna al-Thawriyyi, wa-ʾIbrāhīma bni ʾAd-hama, wa-Shuʿaybi bni Ḥarbin, wa-al-Muʿāfā bni ʿImrāna, wa-Ḥudhayfata al-Marʿashiyyi, wa-Bishri bni al-Ḥārithi al-Ḥāfī. Wa-qad dhukirat hādhihi al-martabatu ʿan jamāʿatin kathīratin lā yuḥṣā ʿadaduhum.

This is the kind of hunger adopted by groups of scholars: when they found lawful food, they ate their fill and preferred others to themselves. Their hunger arose from lack, not from contriving hunger as a virtue. This is the approach of Sufyān al-Thawrī, Ibrāhīm ibn Adham, Shuʿayb ibn Ḥarb, al-Muʿāfā ibn ʿImrān, Ḥudhayfa al-Marʿashī, and Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith al-Ḥāfī. This rank has been reported of a multitude beyond counting.

Source page 160

ثُمَّ الْجُوعُ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى مَعَانٍ قَصَدَ لَهَا الْمُتَعَبِّدُونَ: فَمِنَ الْمَعَانِي: التَّأْدِيبُ لِلنَّفْسِ، بِالنَّقْلَةِ مِنْ حَالَةٍ إِلَى حَالَةٍ، وَقَطْعُ الْإِلْفِ مِنْ دَوَاعِي الشُّبُهَاتِ، وَهُوَ مَذْهَبُ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ. فَمَنْ أَخَذَ بِذَلِكَ فَعَنْهُمْ أَخَذَهُ.

Thumma al-jūʿu baʿda dhālika ʿalā maʿānin qaṣada lahā al-mutaʿabbidūna: fa-mina al-maʿānī: al-taʾdību li-al-nafsi, bi-al-naqlati min ḥālatin ʾilā ḥālatin, wa-qaṭʿu al-ʾilfi min dawāʿī al-shubuhāti, wa-huwa madh-habu al-Baṣriyyīna. Fa-man ʾakhadha bi-dhālika fa-ʿanhum ʾakhadhahu.

Beyond this, worshipers have pursued hunger for various purposes. One is to discipline the lower self by moving it from one condition to another and breaking its familiarity with impulses toward doubtful things. This is the approach of the Basrans; whoever adopted it took it from them.

وَجُوعٌ آخَرُ: وَهُوَ إِذَا هَاجَ مِنَ النُّفُوسِ دَوَاعٍ تَتَحَرَّكُ لَهَا الطَّبَائِعُ مِنَ الشَّهَوَاتِ، مَنَعُوهَا بِالْعُقُوبَاتِ مَا لَهَا مِنَ الْغِذَاءِ، وَمِنْ حُقُوقِهَا اللَّازِمَةِ مِنَ الْغِذَاءِ وَالْعَشَاءِ، وَمِنْ مَغْرِبٍ إِلَى مَغْرِبٍ، حَتَّى أَخْرَجُوهَا مِنْ وَقْتٍ إِلَى وَقْتٍ، وَمَنَعُوهَا عُقُوبَةً لَهَا إِنْ دَعَتْ إِلَى مَا لَيْسَ لَهَا مِنْ ذَلِكَ.

Wa-jūʿun ʾākharu: wa-huwa ʾidhā hāja mina al-nufūsi dawāʿin tataḥarraku lahā al-ṭabāʾiʿu mina al-shahawāti, manaʿūhā bi-al-ʿuqūbāti mā lahā mina al-ghidhāʾi, wa-min ḥuqūqihā al-lāzimati mina al-ghidhāʾi wa-al-ʿashāʾi, wa-min maghribin ʾilā maghribin, ḥattā ʾakhrajūhā min waqtin ʾilā waqtin, wa-manaʿūhā ʿuqūbatan lahā ʾin daʿat ʾilā mā laysa lahā min dhālika.

Another form of hunger occurs when impulses of desire arise within the lower self and stir its natural tendencies. They punish it by withholding its food and the nourishment and evening meal due to it, from one sunset to the next, carrying it from one mealtime past another. They withhold these as punishment when it calls for what it has no right to.

وَذَكَرُوا أَنَّ غَزْوَانَ الرَّقَاشِيَّ نَظَرَ إِلَى مَا لَا يَحِلُّ لَهُ فَفَقَأَ عَيْنَهُ، وَفَتْحُ الْمَوْصِلِيُّ قَالَ: «لَوْ نَظَرَتْ عَيْنِي إِلَى شَهْوَةٍ لَقَلَعْتُهَا». وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ. فَوَاصَلَ وَأَدْخَلَ يَوْمًا فِي يَوْمٍ عُقُوبَةً لِلنَّفْسِ إِذَا دَعَتْ إِلَى الشَّهَوَاتِ. وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ الْحُكَمَاءِ: «إِذَا دَعَتْكَ نَفْسُكَ إِلَى مَا لَيْسَ لَهَا، فَامْنَعْهَا مَا لَهَا».

Wa-dhakarū ʾanna Ghazwāna al-Raqāshiyya naẓara ʾilā mā lā yaḥillu lahu fa-faqaʾa ʿaynahu, wa-Fatḥu al-Mawṣiliyyu qāla: «law naẓarat ʿaynī ʾilā shahwatin laqalaʿtuhā». Wa-ghayru wāḥidin mina al-Baṣriyyīna faʿala dhālika. Fa-wāṣala wa-ʾadkhala yawman fī yawmin ʿuqūbatan li-al-nafsi ʾidhā daʿat ʾilā al-shahawāti. Wa-qad qāla baʿḍu al-ḥukamāʾi: «ʾidhā daʿatka nafsuka ʾilā mā laysa lahā, fa-imnaʿhā mā lahā».

They related that Ghazwān al-Raqāshī looked at something unlawful for him and put out his eye. Fatḥ al-Mawṣilī said, “If my eye looked toward a desire, I would tear it out.” More than one Basran did this [as the text reports]. A person would continue fasting, joining one day to another to punish the lower self when it called for desires. One of the sages said, “If your lower self calls you toward what is not its right, withhold what is its right.”

وَجُوعٌ آخَرُ: صَاحِبُهُ مُفَوِّضٌ إِلَى عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فِي حَالَةِ الْمَنْعِ وَالْعَطَاءِ، فَإِنْ أُعْطِيَ حَمِدَ وَشَكَرَ، وَإِنْ مُنِعَ صَبَرَ وَاحْتَسَبَ. وَكَذَا رُوِيَ عَنْ جَمَاعَةٍ.

Wa-jūʿun ʾākharu: ṣāḥibuhu mufawwiḍun ʾilā ʿazza wa-jalla, fī ḥālati al-manʿi wa-al-ʿaṭāʾi, fa-ʾin ʾuʿṭiya ḥamida wa-shakara, wa-ʾin muniʿa ṣabara wa-iḥtasaba. Wa-kadhā ruwiya ʿan jamāʿatin.

Another kind of hunger is that of someone who entrusts himself to [God], mighty and exalted, in withholding and giving. If given food, he praises and gives thanks; if deprived, he is patient and seeks reward. This has been related of a number of people.

وَقَدْ كَانَ أَهْلُ الصُّفَّةِ عَلَى الْحَقِّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ. وَهَكَذَا كَانَ جُوعُ أَصْحَابِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، إِذَا أُعْطُوا أَكَلُوا وَشَكَرُوا، وَإِذَا مُنِعُوا حَمِدُوا وَصَبَرُوا. فَلَمْ يَجْعَلُوا الْجُوعَ لَهُمْ سَبَبًا وَلَا طَرِيقًا، وَلَا الشِّبَعَ لَهُمْ مَنْزِلَةً. وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ فِي الشِّبَعِ غِلَظًا وَصَلَابَةً عِنْدَ الْوَعْدِ وَالْوَعِيدِ، وَفِي الْجُوعِ رِقَّةً وَاهْتِيَاجًا لِلْبِرِّ.

Wa-qad kāna ʾahlu al-ṣuffati ʿalā al-ḥaqqi min dhālika. Wa-hākadhā kāna jūʿu ʾaṣḥābi Muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, ʾidhā ʾuʿṭū ʾakalū wa-shakarū, wa-ʾidhā muniʿū ḥamidū wa-ṣabarū. Fa-lam yajʿalū al-jūʿa lahum sababan wa-lā ṭarīqan, wa-lā al-shibaʿa lahum manzilatan. Wa-dhālika ʾanna fī al-shibaʿi ghilaẓan wa-ṣalābatan ʿinda al-waʿdi wa-al-waʿīdi, wa-fī al-jūʿi riqqatan wa-ihtiyājan li-al-birri.

The People of the Bench followed the right course in this, as did the Companions of Muḥammad, may God bless him and grant him peace: when given food, they ate and thanked; when deprived, they praised and were patient. They did not make hunger a means or a path, or fullness a spiritual station. Fullness can produce coarseness and hardness toward promise and warning, whereas hunger can produce tenderness and eagerness for goodness.

وَقَدْ زَعَمَتْ طَائِفَةٌ أَنَّهُ لَا مَرْتَبَةَ أَعْظَمُ مِنَ الْجُوعِ، لِأَنَّهُ سَيِّدُ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ، وَكَذَلِكَ الْجَوَارِحُ، لَا تَأْخُذُ الصَّيْدَ حَتَّى تَجُوعَ وَتَهِيجَ عَلَى الصَّيْدِ. وَكَذَلِكَ الْجُوعُ عِنْدَهُمْ. وَهُمْ طَوَائِفُ مِنَ الْبَصْرِيِّينَ، فَمَنْ أَخَذَ بِذَلِكَ، وَأَدَّبَ نَفْسَهُ بِهِ فَعَنْهُمْ أَخَذَ. وَلَمْ نَتَبَيَّنْ فِي هَذِهِ الْمَنْزِلَةِ مَرْتَبَةً يَبِينُ فِيهَا الْفَضْلُ، مِنْ أَحْلِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: «الطَّاعِمُ الشَّاكِرُ، بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْجَائِعِ الصَّابِرِ».

Wa-qad zaʿamat ṭāʾifatun ʾannahu lā martabata ʾaʿẓamu mina al-jūʿi, li-ʾannahu sayyidu ʾaʿmāli al-birri, wa-ka-dhālika al-jawāriḥu, lā taʾkhudhu al-ṣayda ḥattā tajūʿa wa-tahīja ʿalā al-ṣaydi. Wa-ka-dhālika al-jūʿu ʿindahum. Wa-hum ṭawāʾifu mina al-Baṣriyyīna, fa-man ʾakhadha bi-dhālika, wa-ʾaddaba nafsahu bihi fa-ʿanhum ʾakhadha. Wa-lam natabayyan fī hādhihi al-manzilati martabatan yabīnu fīhā al-faḍlu, min ʾaḥli ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qāla: «al-ṭāʿimu al-shākiru, bimanzilati al-jāʾiʿi al-ṣābiri».

One group claimed that no rank is greater than hunger because it is the master of righteous deeds. Birds and beasts of prey do not catch game until hunger rouses them to hunt, and so, in their view, does human hunger work. These are groups of Basrans; anyone who adopts this and disciplines himself through it has taken it from them. We have found no clearly superior rank in this condition, because [the printed connective is defective] the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “The grateful eater has the same rank as the patient hungry person.”

Source page 161

وَبَعْدُ، فَإِنَّ مَنْزِلَةَ الْجُوعِ وَإِنْ وَلَّدَتِ الْخُشُوعَ، فَإِنَّ الشِّبَعَ يَطْرُدُهَا، فَأَيْنَ الْخُشُوعُ فِي ذَلِكَ الْوَقْتِ، وَإِنَّمَا تُحْمَدُ الْمَنْزِلَةُ مَا كَانَ لَهَا زِيَادَةٌ، وَلَكِنْ يَجْعَلُ الصَّوْمَ طَرِيقًا وَأَصْلًا إِلَى الرِّيِّ وَالشِّبَعِ يَوْمَ الْحَاجَةِ وَالْفَقْرِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ،

Wa-baʿdu, fa-ʾinna manzilata al-jūʿi wa-ʾin walladati al-khushūʿa, fa-ʾinna al-shibaʿa yaṭruduhā, fa-ʾayna al-khushūʿu fī dhālika al-waqti, wa-ʾinnamā tuḥmadu al-manzilatu mā kāna lahā ziyādatun, wa-lākin yajʿalu al-ṣawma ṭarīqan wa-ʾaṣlan ʾilā al-riyyi wa-al-shibaʿi yawma al-ḥājati wa-al-faqri ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla,

Moreover, even if hunger produces humility, fullness drives that state away. Where is humility then? A station is praiseworthy only insofar as it brings increase. Rather, one makes fasting a path and foundation toward drink and fullness on the day of need and poverty before God, mighty and exalted.

وَلَيْسَ شَيْءٌ أَعْظَمَ مَرْتَبَةً مِنَ الْفَقْرِ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، لِأَنَّ الْفُقَرَاءَ قَدْ عَلِمُوا عِلْمَ يَقِينٍ غَيْرَ شَاكِّينَ، أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَادِرٌ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْمُرَ أَرْدِيَتَهُمُ الَّتِي عَلَى رِقَابِهِمْ أَنْ تَبْلُغَ مِنْهُمْ مِنَ الْمَكْرُوهِ مَا إِنْ تَعْجِزِ النَّارُ عَنْ صِفَةِ ذَلِكَ لَعَجَزَتْ.

wa-laysa shayʾun ʾaʿẓama martabatan mina al-faqri ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, li-ʾanna al-fuqarāʾa qad ʿalimū ʿilma yaqīnin ghayra shākkīna, ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wa-jalla qādirun ʿalā ʾan yaʾmura ʾardiyatahumu allatī ʿalā riqābihim ʾan tablugha minhum mina al-makrūhi mā ʾin taʿjizi al-nāru ʿan ṣifati dhālika laʿajazat.

Nothing is greater in rank than poverty before God, mighty and exalted. Those who know their poverty know with undoubting certainty that God, mighty and exalted, can command the cloaks upon their necks to inflict such harm that fire itself would be unable to describe it [the final comparison is compressed and difficult].

فَأَفْضَلُ الْجُوعِ جُوعُ الْمَنْعِ، وَجُوعُ التَّكَلُّفِ يَفْتَضِحُ بِالشِّبَعِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي الصَّوْمِ جُوعٌ فَإِنَّمَا مَعْنَاهُ التَّرَهُّبُ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَالسِّيَاحَةُ لِذَلِكَ، وَكَذَلِكَ يُرْوَى عَنِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، قَالَ: «الصَّوْمُ لِي وَأَنَا أَجْزِي بِهِ، يَدَعُ ابْنُ آدَمَ طَعَامَهُ وَشَرَابَهُ مِنْ أَجْلِي».

Fa-ʾafḍalu al-jūʿi jūʿu al-manʿi, wa-jūʿu al-takallufi yaftaḍiḥu bi-al-shibaʿi, wa-ʾin kāna fī al-ṣawmi jūʿun fa-ʾinnamā maʿnāhu al-tarahhubu li-llāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, wa-al-siyāḥatu li-dhālika, wa-ka-dhālika yurwā ʿani Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, qāla: «al-ṣawmu lī wa-ʾanā ʾajzī bihi, yadaʿu ibnu ʾĀdama ṭaʿāmahu wa-sharābahu min ʾajlī».

The best hunger, then, is hunger caused by deprivation; contrived hunger is exposed by fullness. Although fasting involves hunger, its meaning is ascetic devotion to God, mighty and exalted, and spiritual wayfaring for that purpose. It is likewise related that God, mighty and exalted, said: “Fasting is Mine, and I reward it. The child of Adam leaves food and drink for My sake.”

وَهَذَا هُوَ التَّرْغِيبُ، فَمَنْ دَعَا النَّاسَ إِلَى الْجُوعِ فَقَدْ عَصَى اللَّهَ، وَهُوَ يَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الْجُوعَ قَاتِلٌ، وَقَدْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ بِخَلْقٍ كَثِيرٍ مِنْ زَوَالِ الْعَقْلِ، حَتَّى تَرَكُوا الْفَرَائِضَ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَعْمِدُ إِلَى سِكِّينٍ فَيَذْبَحُ نَفْسَهُ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَتَغَيَّرُ طَبْعُهُ، وَيَسُوءُ خُلُقُهُ، قَالَ وَهْبُ بْنُ مُنَبِّهٍ: «إِذَا صَامَ الْعَبْدُ زَاغَ الْبَصَرُ، وَإِذَا أَفْطَرَ عَلَى الْحَلْوَى رَجَعَ».

Wa-hādhā huwa al-targhību, fa-man daʿā al-nāsa ʾilā al-jūʿi fa-qad ʿaṣā Allāha, wa-huwa yaʿlamu ʾanna al-jūʿa qātilun, wa-qad faʿala dhālika bikhalqin kathīrin min zawāli al-ʿaqli, ḥattā tarakū al-farāʾiḍa, wa-minhum man yaʿmidu ʾilā sikkīnin fa-yadhbaḥu nafsahu, wa-minhum man yataghayyaru ṭabʿuhu, wa-yasūʾu khuluquhu, qāla Wahbu bnu Munabbihin: «ʾidhā ṣāma al-ʿabdu zāgha al-baṣaru, wa-ʾidhā ʾafṭara ʿalā al-ḥalwā rajaʿa».

This is the encouragement [given in revelation]. Whoever calls people to hunger disobeys God while knowing that hunger can kill. It has deprived many people of their reason until they abandoned obligatory duties. Some take a knife and cut their own throats; others undergo a change of temperament and become ill-mannered. Wahb ibn Munabbih said: “When a servant fasts, his sight wanders; when he breaks his fast with something sweet, it returns.”

وَمَنْ دَعَا إِلَى الشِّبَعِ فَقَدْ عَصَى اللَّهَ، وَلَمْ يُحْسِنْ أَنْ يُطِيعَهُ، لِأَنَّ الشِّبَعَ ثِقَلٌ عَلَى الْبَدَنِ، وَصَلَابَةٌ عَنْ وَعِيدِ اللَّهِ فِي الْقَلْبِ، وَغِلَظٌ فِي الْفَهْمِ، وَفُتُورٌ فِي الْأَعْضَاءِ. فَبَانَ فَضْلُ الْجُوعِ لِلَّاجِئِينَ إِلَى اللَّهِ، الَّذِينَ اسْتَرْهَبَتْهُمُ الْخِدْمَةُ، بِعَظِيمِ قَدْرِ الْمَعْرِفَةِ.

Wa-man daʿā ʾilā al-shibaʿi fa-qad ʿaṣā Allāha, wa-lam yuḥsin ʾan yuṭīʿahu, li-ʾanna al-shibaʿa thiqalun ʿalā al-badani, wa-ṣalābatun ʿan waʿīdi Allāhi fī al-qalbi, wa-ghilaẓun fī al-fahmi, wa-futūrun fī al-ʾaʿḍāʾi. Fa-bāna faḍlu al-jūʿi li-al-lājiʾīna ʾilā Allāhi, alladhīna istarhabat-humu al-khidmatu, biʿaẓīmi qadri al-maʿrifati.

Whoever calls people to fullness also disobeys God and does not know how to obey Him well, for fullness weighs down the body, hardens the heart against God’s warning, dulls understanding, and slackens the limbs. The merit of hunger is therefore clear for those seeking refuge in God, whom service has drawn into ascetic devotion through their profound knowledge [of Him].

وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى مَانِعٌ وَمُعْطٍ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ يَخْتَارُونَ ذَلِكَ وَرِضًا وَخَوْفًا، وَتَقِيَّةً مِنْ عُسْرِ الْحِسَابِ، فَنَظَرُوا إِلَى عَنَاءِ مَا وَصَلَ إِلَيْهِمْ مِنَ الْغِذَاءِ مِنْ مُؤْمِنٍ مُوَفَّقٍ، أَوْ هَدِيَّةٍ صَالِحَةٍ مِمَّنْ يَعْتَقِدُ مُكَافَأَتَهُ، لِأَنَّهُ مُسْتَعْبَدٌ بِأَكْلِ الْحَلَالِ. وَهَذَا مَا وَصَفْنَا فِي الْجُوعِ، وَكُلُّهُ مُحْتَاجٌ إِلَى وَرَعٍ، لِيَصْفُوَ بِذَلِكَ طِيبُ الْمَأْكَلِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ مِنْ مَوْضِعٍ مُطْلَقٍ مُبَاحٍ بِالْإِجْمَاعِ، لَا خِلَافَ فِيهِ.

Wa-Allāhu taʿālā māniʿun wa-muʿṭin, ʾillā ʾannahum yakhtārūna dhālika wa-riḍan wa-khawfan, wa-taqiyyatan min ʿusri al-ḥisābi, fa-naẓarū ʾilā ʿanāʾi mā waṣala ʾilayhim mina al-ghidhāʾi min muʾminin muwaffaqin, ʾaw hadiyyatin ṣāliḥatin mimman yaʿtaqidu mukāfaʾatahu, li-ʾannahu mustaʿbadun bi-ʾakli al-ḥalāli. Wa-hādhā mā waṣafnā fī al-jūʿi, wa-kulluhu muḥtājun ʾilā waraʿin, liyaṣfuwa bi-dhālika ṭību al-maʾkali wa-al-mashrabi min mawḍiʿin muṭlaqin mubāḥin bi-al-ʾijmāʿi, lā khilāfa fīhi.

God Most High withholds and gives. They nevertheless choose this with contentment, fear, and caution against a difficult reckoning. They consider the labor involved in food reaching them from a believer granted success, or in a good gift from someone they intend to repay, because one is bound to serve God by eating lawfully. This is what we have described concerning hunger. All of it requires scrupulousness, so that food and drink may be genuinely wholesome, coming from a source unanimously recognized as unrestricted and permissible, without disagreement.

السُّؤَالُ وَالتَّحَرِّي

Al-suʾālu wa-al-taḥarrī

Inquiry and conscientious investigation

وَأَمَّا مَنْزِلَةُ السُّؤَالِ فَقَدِ اخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِي ذَلِكَ، فَأَكْثَرُ الْعُلَمَاءِ، وَفِيهِمُ الْأَوْزَاعِيُّ، وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ ذَلِكَ، وَابْنُ إِدْرِيسَ: «إِذَا مَرَرْتَ بِأَرْضٍ فَلَا تَسَلْ عَنْهَا». وَقَدْ قَالَ بَعْضُ هَؤُلَاءِ: «اشْتَرِ وَبِعْ فِيهَا». وَقَالَ ابْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ، وَابْنُ إِدْرِيسَ: «إِنْ أَرَدْتَ الْمُقَامَ فَاسْأَلْ».

Wa-ʾammā manzilatu al-suʾāli fa-qadi ikhtalafa al-nāsu fī dhālika, fa-ʾaktharu al-ʿulamāʾi, wa-fīhimu al-ʾAwzāʿiyyu, wa-qad ruwiya ʿan Sufyāna al-Thawriyyi, wa-qad dhakara ibnu al-Mubāraki dhālika, wa-ibnu ʾIdrīsa: «ʾidhā mararta bi-ʾarḍin fa-lā tasal ʿanhā». Wa-qad qāla baʿḍu hāʾulāʾi: «ishtari wa-biʿ fīhā». Wa-qāla ibnu al-Mubāraki, wa-ibnu ʾIdrīsa: «ʾin ʾaradta al-muqāma fa-isʾal».

People differed over the place of inquiry. Most scholars, including al-Awzāʿī, held, “When you pass through a land, do not inquire about it.” This has been related from Sufyān al-Thawrī, and Ibn al-Mubārak and Ibn Idrīs also mentioned it. Some of them said, “Buy and sell there.” Ibn al-Mubārak and Ibn Idrīs said, “If you intend to settle, then inquire.”

Source pages 161–162

وَأَبَى ذَلِكَ طَوَائِفُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْحَدِيثِ وَالْفِقْهِ، وَقَالُوا: لَا تَسَلْ إِلَّا أَنْ يَغْلِبَ عَلَى أَرْضٍ فِيهَا الْغُصُوبُ وَالصَّوَافِي، فَإِذَا سُتِرَ فَلَا تَسَلْ. وَأَيْضًا إِنَّ أَبَا بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ حِينَ سَأَلَ إِنَّمَا سَأَلَ مِلْكًا هُوَ لَهُ عَبْدٌ. وَقَدْ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ كَسْبِ الْأَمَةِ حَتَّى يُعْلَمَ مِنْ أَيْنَ كَسَبَتْ، وَهَذَا الْوَاجِبُ عَلَى سَيِّدِ الْأَمَةِ فَالْعَبْدُ لَا بُدَّ أَنْ يَعْلَمَ ذَلِكَ.

Wa-ʾabā dhālika ṭawāʾifu min ʾahli al-ḥadīthi wa-al-fiqhi, wa-qālū: lā tasal ʾillā ʾan yaghliba ʿalā ʾarḍin fīhā al-ghuṣūbu wa-al-ṣawāfī, fa-ʾidhā sutira fa-lā tasal. Wa-ʾayḍan ʾinna ʾAbā Bakrin al-Ṣiddīqa raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ḥīna saʾala ʾinnamā saʾala milkan huwa lahu ʿabdun. Wa-qad nahā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama ʿan kasbi al-ʾamati ḥattā yuʿlama min ʾayna kasabat, wa-hādhā al-wājibu ʿalā sayyidi al-ʾamati fa-al-ʿabdu lā budda ʾan yaʿlama dhālika.

Groups of hadith scholars and jurists rejected this, saying: Do not inquire unless seized property and crown estates predominate in a land; when the matter is concealed, do not inquire. Moreover, when Abū Bakr the Utterly Truthful, may God be pleased with him, asked, he asked someone he owned as a slave. God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, prohibited taking a slave woman’s earnings until their source was known. This is the owner’s duty; with a male slave too, one must know it.

Source page 162

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ: لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ أَنْ يَسْأَلَ، وَإِنْ سَأَلَ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ. وَقَالَ الْأَوْزَاعِيُّ: لَيْسَ هَذَا زَمَانَ سُؤَالٍ. وَقَالَ غَيْرُ الْأَوْزَاعِيِّ: قَدْ فَاضَ الْبَحْرُ، فَلَيْسَ هُوَ إِلَّا الْفَقْرُ وَالتَّقَلُّلُ، لِأَنَّ الْأَشْيَاءَ تَقَارَبَتْ،

Wa-qālat ṭāʾifatun: laysa ʿalayhi ʾan yasʾala, wa-ʾin saʾala kāna ʾafḍala. Wa-qāla al-ʾAwzāʿiyyu: laysa hādhā zamāna suʾālin. Wa-qāla ghayru al-ʾAwzāʿiyyi: qad fāḍa al-baḥru, fa-laysa huwa ʾillā al-faqru wa-al-taqallulu, li-ʾanna al-ʾashyāʾa taqārabat,

One group said he is not obliged to inquire, although doing so is better. Al-Awzāʿī said, “This is no age for inquiry.” Someone else said, “The sea has overflowed; nothing remains but poverty and modest sufficiency, since things have become much alike.”

إِلَّا أَنَّهُ يَنْبَغِي لِأَهْلِ الْعِنَايَةِ بِالدِّينِ، وَمَنْ كَانَ مُنْفَرِدًا لَا عِيَالَ لَهُ، وَلَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَيْهِ أَحَدٌ فِي كَسْبِهِ أَنْ يَطْلُبَ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَالسَّبْقَ إِلَى رِضْوَانِهِ، بِالتَّقَرُّبِ فِي إِصْلَاحِ الْكِسْرَةِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي ذَلِكَ حُمْلَانٌ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ، وَمَكْرُوهٌ وَثِقَلٌ عَلَى بَدَنِهِ. فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَعْوَنُ عَلَى مُبَاشَرَةِ الطَّاعَةِ.

ʾillā ʾannahu yanbaghī li-ʾahli al-ʿināyati bi-al-dīni, wa-man kāna munfaridan lā ʿiyāla lahu, wa-lā yaḥtāju ʾilayhi ʾaḥadun fī kasbihi ʾan yaṭluba al-wasīlata wa-al-sabqa ʾilā riḍwānihi, bi-al-taqarrubi fī ʾiṣlāḥi al-kisrati, wa-ʾin kāna fī dhālika ḥumlānun ʿalā nafsihi, wa-makrūhun wa-thiqalun ʿalā badanihi. Fa-ʾinna dhālika ʾaʿwanu ʿalā mubāsharati al-ṭāʿati.

Still, those devoted to religion, and someone living alone without dependents or anyone needing his earnings, should seek a means of approach and precedence in attaining [God’s] pleasure by drawing near through making his morsel sound, even if that burdens him and brings bodily hardship. This better supports wholehearted obedience.

وَقَالَ يُونُسُ بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ: «لَمْ أَرَ أَعَزَّ مِمَّنْ لَهُ أَخٌ فِي اللَّهِ تَعَالَى يَسْكُنُ إِلَيْهِ، وَدِرْهَمٌ مِنْ حَلَالٍ». وَقَالَ الْأَوْزَاعِيُّ: «لَيَأْتِيَنَّ عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ يَعِزُّ فِيهِ دِرْهَمٌ مِنْ حَلَالٍ، وَأَخٌ فِي اللَّهِ مُؤْنِسٌ». وَقَدْ كَانَ ابْنُ أَدْهَمَ لَا يَحْصُدُ إِلَّا فِي الْأَرْضِ الَّتِي اكْتُرِيَتْ مِنَ الْأَنْبَاطِ، وَلَا يَنْقُرُ فِي زَيْتُونٍ إِلَّا عُمَرِيٍّ، وَكَرْمٍ فِي يَدِ نَبَطِيٍّ.

Wa-qāla Yūnusu bnu ʿUbaydin: «lam ʾara ʾaʿazza mimman lahu ʾakhun fī Allāhi taʿālā yaskunu ʾilayhi, wa-dirhamun min ḥalālin». Wa-qāla al-ʾAwzāʿiyyu: «layaʾtiyanna ʿalā al-nāsi zamānun yaʿizzu fīhi dirhamun min ḥalālin, wa-ʾakhun fī Allāhi muʾnisun». Wa-qad kāna ibnu ʾAd-hama lā yaḥṣudu ʾillā fī al-ʾarḍi allatī ukturiyat mina al-ʾanbāṭi, wa-lā yanquru fī zaytūnin ʾillā ʿUmariyyin, wa-karmin fī yadi nabaṭiyyin.

Yūnus ibn ʿUbayd said, “I have seen nothing rarer than someone who has a brother for God Most High’s sake in whom he finds repose, and a lawful dirham.” Al-Awzāʿī said, “A time will come when a lawful dirham and a comforting brother for God’s sake are rare.” Ibn Adham harvested only land leased from the Nabatean cultivators, and picked olives only from ʿUmarī [lands, the precise designation is uncertain], or worked in a vineyard held by a Nabatean.

وَقَدِ امْتَنَعَ وُهَيْبُ بْنُ الْوَرْدِ مِنْ طَعَامِ مِصْرَ أَيَّامًا، لَمَّا قِيلَ لَهُ هُوَ مِنَ الصَّوَافِي، فَكَانَ إِذَا أَكَلَهُ يَأْكُلُهُ بِدُمُوعِ عَيْنَيْهِ وَيَقُولُ: مَا آخُذُهُ إِلَّا اضْطِرَارًا. وَكَانَ يُوسُفُ بْنُ أَسْبَاطٍ يَقُولُ: «قَدْ زَاحَمَنَا هَؤُلَاءِ الْخِصْيَانُ، فَلَنَجْعَلَنَّ الْغِذَاءَ عَلَى أَنْصَافِ الْبُطُونِ».

Wa-qadi imtanaʿa Wuhaybu bnu al-Wardi min ṭaʿāmi Miṣra ʾayyāman, lammā qīla lahu huwa mina al-ṣawāfī, fa-kāna ʾidhā ʾakalahu yaʾkuluhu bidumūʿi ʿaynayhi wa-yaqūlu: mā ʾākhudhuhu ʾillā iḍṭirāran. Wa-kāna Yūsufu bnu ʾAsbāṭin yaqūlu: «qad zāḥamanā hāʾulāʾi al-khiṣyānu, fa-lanajʿalanna al-ghidhāʾa ʿalā ʾanṣāfi al-buṭūni».

Wuhayb ibn al-Ward abstained from Egyptian food for several days when told it came from crown estates. When he ate it, he did so with tears in his eyes, saying, “I take it only out of necessity.” Yūsuf ibn Asbāṭ used to say, “These eunuchs have crowded us out, so let us make our food fill only half our bellies.”

Source page 163

وَأَمَّا مَا ذَهَبُوا إِلَيْهِ فِي أَرْضِ الْفَيْءِ وَالْخَرَاجِ، فَالْقِيَاسُ فِي كُلِّ مَا فُتِحَ عَنْوَةً أَلَّا يُشْتَرَى وَلَا يُبَاعَ، وَقَدْ خَاصَمَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ الزُّبَيْرَ بْنَ الْعَوَّامِ، وَعَبْدَ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنَ عَوْفٍ، وَبِلَالًا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ فِي أَرْضِ السَّوَادِ، فَقَالَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: أَنْتَ عَلَى سُورَةِ الْحَشْرِ: «وَالَّذِينَ جَاءُوا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَانِنَا الَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِالْإِيمَانِ» [الْحَشْرِ: 10].

Wa-ʾammā mā dhahabū ʾilayhi fī ʾarḍi al-fayʾi wa-al-kharāji, fa-al-qiyāsu fī kulli mā futiḥa ʿanwatan ʾallā yushtarā wa-lā yubāʿa, wa-qad khāṣama ʿUmaru bnu al-Khaṭṭābi al-Zubayra bna al-ʿAwwāmi, wa-ʿAbda al-Raḥmāni bna ʿAwfin, wa-Bilālan raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum fī ʾarḍi al-sawādi, fa-qāla ʿUmaru raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: ʾanta ʿalā sūrati al-ḥashri: «wa-alladhīna jāʾū min baʿdihim yaqūlūna rabbanā ighfir lanā wa-li-ʾikhwāninā alladhīna sabaqūnā bi-al-ʾīmāni» [al-Ḥashri: 10].

As for their position on fayʾ and land-tax territories, the analogical principle is that land conquered by force should neither be bought nor sold. ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb disputed with al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, and Bilāl, may God be pleased with them, over the land of the Sawād. ʿUmar, may God be pleased with him, said, “You are upon Sūrat al-Ḥashr” [the printed introductory wording is unclear]: “Those who came after them say: Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith” [Al-Ḥashr: 10].

وَقَدْ رُوِيَ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ قَاسَمَ مُشْرِكًا وَقَدْ كَانَ أَعْطَاهُ بِحِيلَةٍ رُبْعَ السَّوَادِ، ثُمَّ اسْتَرَدَّهُ، لِأَنَّهُ أَقْطَعَ قَطَائِعَ وَاصْطَفَى صَفَايَا، مِثْلَ عَيْنِ التَّمْرِ، وَمَغِيضِ كِسْرَى، وَأَرْضِ بَنِي صَلُوبَا. وَكَذَلِكَ فَتَحَ خَالِدُ بْنُ الْوَلِيدِ، وَأَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ، وَيَزِيدُ بْنُ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، مِنْ أَرْضِ دِمَشْقَ وَخَثْعَمَ وَقَيْسٍ، ثُمَّ أَقَرَّهُمْ عَلَى الْكَنَائِسِ، وَأَوْجَبَ عَلَى الدِّيَارَاتِ ضِيَافَةَ مَنْ يَمُرُّ بِهِمْ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ.

Wa-qad ruwiya ʿanhu ʾannahu qāsama mushrikan wa-qad kāna ʾaʿṭāhu biḥīlatin rubʿa al-sawādi, thumma istaraddahu, li-ʾannahu ʾaqṭaʿa qaṭāʾiʿa wa-iṣṭafā ṣafāyā, mithla ʿayni al-tamri, wa-maghīḍi Kisrā, wa-ʾarḍi banī Ṣalūbā. Wa-ka-dhālika fataḥa Khālidu bnu al-Walīdi, wa-ʾAbū ʿUbaydata bnu al-Jarrāḥi, wa-Yazīdu bnu ʾAbī Sufyāna, min ʾarḍi Dimashqa wa-Khathʿama wa-Qaysin, thumma ʾaqarrahum ʿalā al-kanāʾisi, wa-ʾawjaba ʿalā al-diyārāti ḍiyāfata man yamurru bihim thalāthata ʾayyāmin.

It is related that he divided property with a polytheist after having given him a quarter of the Sawād “by a device,” then reclaimed it [the printed account is difficult]. He allotted tracts and reserved estates, including ʿAyn al-Tamr, the drainage lands of Kisrā, and the land of Banū Ṣalūbā. Likewise, Khālid ibn al-Walīd, Abū ʿUbayda ibn al-Jarrāḥ, and Yazīd ibn Abī Sufyān conquered lands of Damascus, Khathʿam, and Qays, then left their churches in their possession and required monasteries to host passersby for three days.

وَأَمَّا مِصْرُ فَلَا يَشُكُّونَ أَنَّهَا فُتِحَتْ عَنْوَةً، وَفِيهَا صَوَافِي دَوْلَةِ بَنِي أُمَيَّةَ، وَدَوْلَةِ بَنِي الْعَبَّاسِ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْمُطَّلِبِ، فَقَدِ امْتَنَعَ نَاسٌ كَثِيرُونَ مِنْ أَكْلِ طَعَامِهَا. وَأَمَّا الطَّائِفُ فَإِنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَدْ أَقَامَ عَلَيْهَا حَتَّى افْتَتَحَهَا. وَاخْتَلَفَ النَّاسُ فِي مَكَّةَ، فَكَانَ الشَّافِعِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ يَقُولُ: فُتِحَتْ صُلْحًا، وَأَبَى ذَلِكَ النَّاسُ، فَقَالُوا: عَنْوَةً.

Wa-ʾammā Miṣru fa-lā yashukkūna ʾannahā futiḥat ʿanwatan, wa-fīhā ṣawāfī dawlati banī ʾUmayyata, wa-dawlati banī al-ʿAbbāsi bni ʿAbdi al-Muṭṭalibi, fa-qadi imtanaʿa nāsun kathīrūna min ʾakli ṭaʿāmihā. Wa-ʾammā al-Ṭāʾifu fa-ʾinna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama qad ʾaqāma ʿalayhā ḥattā iftataḥahā. Wa-ikhtalafa al-nāsu fī Makkata, fa-kāna al-Shāfiʿiyyu raḥimahu Allāhu yaqūlu: futiḥat ṣulḥan, wa-ʾabā dhālika al-nāsu, fa-qālū: ʿanwatan.

As for Egypt, they do not doubt that it was conquered by force. It contains crown estates of the Umayyad state and the state of the descendants of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, so many people abstained from eating its food. As for al-Ṭāʾif, the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, remained before it until he conquered it [as this work reports]. People differed about Mecca. Al-Shāfiʿī, may God have mercy on him, said it was taken by treaty; others rejected this, saying it was taken by force.

Source page 164

وَدَخَلَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَكَّةَ، وَقِيلَ لَهُ: أَيْنَ تَنْزِلُ؟ فَقَالَ: مَا تَرَكَ لَنَا عَقِيلٌ مِنْ رِبَاعٍ، يَعْنِي أَنَّ عَقِيلًا وَرِثَ أَبَا طَالِبٍ، فَهَذَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى قَوْلِ الشَّافِعِيِّ.

Wa-dakhala al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama Makkata, wa-qīla lahu: ʾayna tanzilu? Fa-qāla: mā taraka lanā ʿAqīlun min ribāʿin, yaʿnī ʾanna ʿAqīlan waritha ʾAbā Ṭālibin, fa-hādhā yadullu ʿalā qawli al-Shāfiʿiyyi.

When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, entered Mecca, he was asked, “Where will you stay?” He replied, “What dwellings has ʿAqīl left us?” This means that ʿAqīl inherited Abū Ṭālib, and supports al-Shāfiʿī’s position.

وَقَدِ اتَّفَقَتِ الْفِرَقُ، فَكَانَ قَوْلُهَا وَاحِدًا: أَنَّ مَا عَمِلَهُ السُّلْطَانُ مِثْلَ الْمَسَاجِدِ الْجَامِعَةِ، وَالْحُصُرِ فِيهَا، فَالصَّلَاةُ عَلَيْهَا عِنْدَهُمْ جَائِزَةٌ، وَكَذَلِكَ حَفْرُ الْأَنْهَارِ، وَالْبِرَكِ، وَالْمَصَانِعِ، وَالْآبَارِ الَّتِي لَا يُمْنَعُ مِنْهَا الْعَامُّ وَالْخَاصُّ، وَالْمَشْيُ عَلَى الْجُسُورِ، وَالْعُبُورُ عَلَى الْقَنَاطِرِ، وَفِي الظِّلَالِ، فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ وَفِي الطُّرُقِ الَّتِي يُصْلِحُهَا الْأُمَرَاءُ.

Wa-qadi ittafaqati al-firaqu, fa-kāna qawluhā wāḥidan: ʾanna mā ʿamilahu al-sulṭānu mithla al-masājidi al-jāmiʿati, wa-al-ḥuṣuri fīhā, fa-al-ṣalātu ʿalayhā ʿindahum jāʾizatun, wa-ka-dhālika ḥafru al-ʾanhāri, wa-al-biraki, wa-al-maṣāniʿi, wa-al-ʾābāri allatī lā yumnaʿu minhā al-ʿāmmu wa-al-khāṣṣu, wa-al-mashyu ʿalā al-jusūri, wa-al-ʿubūru ʿalā al-qanāṭiri, wa-fī al-ẓilāli, fī al-ʾaswāqi wa-fī al-ṭuruqi allatī yuṣliḥuhā al-ʾumarāʾu.

The groups agree unanimously that one may pray in congregational mosques built by the ruler and on their mats. The same applies to using dug waterways, pools, reservoirs, and wells open to ordinary and distinguished people alike; walking over bridges and crossing arches; and using shade in markets and roads repaired by governors.

وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ مَا وَجَدْنَا عَالِمًا وَلَا نَاسِكًا، وَلَا مُتَعَبِّدًا وَلَا مُتَصَوِّفًا، يَجْتَنِبُ شَيْئًا مِمَّا قُلْنَا، إِلَّا طَائِفَةً غَالِطَةً، قَالَتْ: إِذَا لَمْ يَعْدِلِ الْإِمَامُ فِي الرَّعِيَّةِ، وَيَقْسِمِ الْفَيْءَ بِالسَّوِيَّةِ، وَيُعْطِ الْعَطَاءَ، وَيُسَوِّ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِي الْأَرْزَاقِ، وَيَكْفِ الْعَامَّةَ، وَيَفْدِ الْأَسِيرَ، وَيُجَاهِدِ الْعَدُوَّ، وَيُقِمْ لَهُمُ الْحَجَّ، وَلَا يَسْتَأْثِرْ دُونَهُمْ بِالْفَيْءِ كَانَ عَاصِيًا، وَكُلُّ مَنْ رَضِيَ بِإِمَامَتِهِ كَانَ عَاصِيًا.

Wa-hādhā kulluhu mā wajadnā ʿāliman wa-lā nāsikan, wa-lā mutaʿabbidan wa-lā mutaṣawwifan, yajtanibu shayʾan mimmā qulnā, ʾillā ṭāʾifatan ghāliṭatan, qālat: ʾidhā lam yaʿdili al-ʾimāmu fī al-raʿiyyati, wa-yaqsimi al-fayʾa bi-al-sawiyyati, wa-yuʿṭi al-ʿaṭāʾa, wa-yusawwi bayna al-nāsi fī al-ʾarzāqi, wa-yakfi al-ʿāmmata, wa-yafdi al-ʾasīra, wa-yujāhidi al-ʿaduwwa, wa-yuqim lahumu al-ḥajja, wa-lā yastaʾthir dūnahum bi-al-fayʾi kāna ʿāṣiyan, wa-kullu man raḍiya bi-ʾimāmatihi kāna ʿāṣiyan.

We have found no scholar, ascetic, worshiper, or Sufi who avoids any of these things except one mistaken faction. They said: If the ruler does not deal justly with his subjects, divide fayʾ equally, pay allowances, treat people equally in provisions, provide for the public, ransom captives, fight the enemy, organize the pilgrimage, “and does not appropriate fayʾ to their exclusion” [the final negative is awkwardly placed in the printed list], he is disobedient, and everyone who accepts his leadership is disobedient.

فَهَذِهِ فِرْقَةُ خَوَارِجَ، مَرَقُوا مِنَ الدِّينِ، وَخَرَجُوا مِنْ حَدِّ الْإِسْلَامِ، بَلْ قَدْ قَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: «لَا بُدَّ مِنْ إِمَارَةٍ، بَرَّةٍ أَوْ فَاجِرَةٍ».

Fa-hādhihi firqatu khawārija, maraqū mina al-dīni, wa-kharajū min ḥaddi al-ʾislāmi, bal qad qāla ʿAliyyu bnu ʾAbī Ṭālibin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: «lā budda min ʾimāratin, barratin ʾaw fājiratin».

This is a faction of Khārijites who have passed out of religion and beyond Islam’s bounds. Rather, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may God be pleased with him, said: “Government is necessary, righteous or sinful.”

وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «سَيَكُونُ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَرَاءُ، يَعْرِفُونَ وَيُنْكِرُونَ، فَمَنْ أَنْكَرَ فَقَدْ بَرِئَ، وَلَكِنْ مَنْ رَضِيَ وَتَابَعَ». وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: «يَكُونُ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَرَاءُ يُؤَخِّرُونَ الصَّلَاةَ، فَصَلُّوا لِوَقْتِهَا، ثُمَّ صَلُّوا مَعَهُمْ تَكُونُ نَافِلَةً». وَقَدْ قِيلَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَقَدْ ذَكَرَ أَهْلَ الْجَوْرِ مِنَ الْأُمَرَاءِ: أَلَا نُنَابِذُهُمْ؟ فَقَالَ: «دَعُوهُمْ مَا صَلَّوْا لِلْقِبْلَةِ».

Wa-qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «sayakūnu ʿalaykum ʾumarāʾu, yaʿrifūna wa-yunkirūna, fa-man ʾankara fa-qad bariʾa, wa-lākin man raḍiya wa-tābaʿa». Wa-qāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: «yakūnu ʿalaykum ʾumarāʾu yuʾakhkhirūna al-ṣalāta, fa-ṣallū liwaqtihā, thumma ṣallū maʿahum takūnu nāfilatan». Wa-qad qīla li-al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama, wa-qad dhakara ʾahla al-jawri mina al-ʾumarāʾi: ʾalā nunābidhuhum? Fa-qāla: «daʿūhum mā ṣallaw li-al-qiblati».

The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “You will have rulers who recognize and reject [as the report is worded here]. Whoever rejects [wrong] is free of blame, but whoever approves and follows [is not].” He, peace be upon him, said: “You will have rulers who delay prayer. Pray at its proper time, then pray with them as a voluntary prayer.” When the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, mentioned unjust rulers, he was asked, “Should we not oppose them?” He replied, “Leave them as long as they pray toward the qibla.”

Source pages 164–165

وَأَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ الْعِلْمِ عَلَى الْكَفِّ عَنِ الْأُمَرَاءِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَالسَّمْعِ وَالطَّاعَةِ فِي الْعُسْرِ وَالْيُسْرِ، وَأَلَّا يُنَازَعَ الْأَمْرُ أَهْلَهُ، إِلَّا فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَرَسُولِهِ، فَلَا طَاعَةَ لَهُمْ فِي ذَلِكَ. وَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: «لَا تَسُبُّوا السُّلْطَانَ». وَقَالَ ابْنُ عُمَرَ: «لَوْ لَمْ تَسُبُّوهُمْ لَسَلَّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ نَارًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ، وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا: اللَّهُمَّ آذِهِمْ كَمَا آذَوْنَا».

Wa-ʾajmaʿa ʾahlu al-ʿilmi ʿalā al-kaffi ʿani al-ʾumarāʾi al-muslimīna, wa-al-samʿi wa-al-ṭāʿati fī al-ʿusri wa-al-yusri, wa-ʾallā yunāzaʿa al-ʾamru ʾahlahu, ʾillā fī maʿṣiyati Allāhi taʿālā, wa-rasūlihi, fa-lā ṭāʿata lahum fī dhālika. Wa-qāla ʾAbū Bakrin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: «lā tasubbū al-sulṭāna». Wa-qāla ibnu ʿUmara: «law lam tasubbūhum lasallaṭa Allāhu ʿalayhim nāran mina al-samāʾi, wa-lākin qūlū: Allāhumma ʾādhihim kamā ʾādhawnā».

The learned agreed that one should refrain from attacking Muslim rulers, listen and obey in hardship and ease, and not contest authority with those who hold it, except in disobedience to God Most High and His Messenger: in that there is no obedience to them. Abū Bakr, may God be pleased with him, said, “Do not curse the ruler.” Ibn ʿUmar said, “If you did not curse them, God would unleash fire from heaven upon them. Instead say, ‘O God, harm them as they harmed us.’”

Source page 165

وَقَالَ عِمْرَانُ بْنُ حُصَيْنٍ، لِحَكِيمِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو الْغِفَارِيِّ: إِنَّهُ يَذْكُرُ يَوْمًا أَنَّهُ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَخْلُوقٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ الْخَالِقِ». قَالَ: «نَعَمْ، أَمَا إِنَّكَ حَفِظْتَ فَالْزَمْ». وَيُرْوَى عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَا طَاعَةَ لِمَخْلُوقٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةٍ».

Wa-qāla ʿImrānu bnu Ḥuṣaynin, li-Ḥakīmi bni ʿAmrin al-Ghifāriyyi: ʾinnahu yadhkuru yawman ʾannahu qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «lā ṭāʿata limakhlūqin fī maʿṣiyati al-khāliqi». Qāla: «naʿam, ʾamā ʾinnaka ḥafiẓta fa-ilzam». Wa-yurwā ʿani ibni ʿUmara ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «lā ṭāʿata limakhlūqin fī maʿṣiyatin».

ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn told Ḥakīm ibn ʿAmr al-Ghifārī, recalling a day when God’s Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, said, “No created being is to be obeyed in disobedience to the Creator.” He replied, “Yes. Since you have remembered it, hold fast to it.” It is also related from Ibn ʿUmar, from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “No created being is to be obeyed in disobedience.”

وَهَذَا إِجْمَاعٌ لَا خِلَافَ فِيهِ، أَنَّهُ لَا طَاعَةَ لِأَحَدٍ فِي مَعْصِيَةِ اللَّهِ، جَلَّ وَعَزَّ، فِي ارْتِكَابِ الْفَوَاحِشِ، وَفِي شُرْبِ الْخَمْرِ، وَفِي السُّجُودِ لِلْوَثَنِ، وَفِي قَتْلِ النَّفْسِ ظُلْمًا. وَقَدْ أَجْمَعُوا جَمِيعًا، أَنَّ الْإِمَامَ الْمُسْلِمَ الَّذِي لَا بِدْعَةَ فِيهِ، إِذَا صَلَّى لِلْقِبْلَةِ فَقَدْ حَلَّ لَكَ الصَّلَاةُ خَلْفَهُ، وَإِنْ فَسَقَ وَفَجَرَ، وَحَرَامٌ عَلَيْكَ سَبُّهُ.

Wa-hādhā ʾijmāʿun lā khilāfa fīhi, ʾannahu lā ṭāʿata li-ʾaḥadin fī maʿṣiyati Allāhi, jalla wa-ʿazza, fī irtikābi al-fawāḥishi, wa-fī shurbi al-khamri, wa-fī al-sujūdi li-al-wathani, wa-fī qatli al-nafsi ẓulman. Wa-qad ʾajmaʿū jamīʿan, ʾanna al-ʾimāma al-muslima alladhī lā bidʿata fīhi, ʾidhā ṣallā li-al-qiblati fa-qad ḥalla laka al-ṣalātu khalfahu, wa-ʾin fasaqa wa-fajara, wa-ḥarāmun ʿalayka sabbuhu.

There is unanimous agreement, without dissent, that no one is to be obeyed in disobedience to God, glorious and mighty is He, whether in committing indecencies, drinking wine, prostrating to an idol, or wrongfully killing someone. They also agree that it is lawful to pray behind a Muslim leader free of doctrinal innovation who prays toward the qibla, even if he acts sinfully and wickedly, and that cursing him is forbidden.

وَقَالَ الْفُضَيْلُ بْنُ عِيَاضٍ: «إِنَّ لِي دَعْوَةً مُسْتَجَابَةً، مَا جَعَلْتُهَا إِلَّا فِي إِمَامٍ». وَصَدَقَ فُضَيْلٌ، لِأَنَّ صَلَاحَ الْإِمَامِ عِبَادَةٌ لِلرَّعِيَّةِ، وَطِيبٌ فِي الْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ وَالْمَلْبَسِ، وَعَدْلُ السُّلْطَانِ بَحْرٌ فِي الرَّعِيَّةِ، وَقُوَّةٌ عَلَى الْخَوَارِجِ وَاللُّصُوصِ، وَأَمْنٌ فِي الدِّينِ، وَعِزٌّ.

Wa-qāla al-Fuḍaylu bnu ʿIyāḍin: «ʾinna lī daʿwatan mustajābatan, mā jaʿaltuhā ʾillā fī ʾimāmin». Wa-ṣadaqa Fuḍaylun, li-ʾanna ṣalāḥa al-ʾimāmi ʿibādatun li-al-raʿiyyati, wa-ṭībun fī al-maṭʿami wa-al-mashrabi wa-al-malbasi, wa-ʿadlu al-sulṭāni baḥrun fī al-raʿiyyati, wa-quwwatun ʿalā al-khawāriji wa-al-luṣūṣi, wa-ʾamnun fī al-dīni, wa-ʿizzun.

Al-Fuḍayl ibn ʿIyāḍ said, “I have a prayer that is answered; I have directed it only toward a ruler.” Fuḍayl spoke truly: a ruler’s rectitude brings worship to his subjects and wholesomeness to their food, drink, and clothing. The ruler’s justice is an ocean among the people, strength against Khārijites and thieves, security in religion, and honor.

وَقَدْ قَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: «إِنَّ الْأَرْضَ لَتَتَزَيَّنُ فِي أَعْيُنِ النَّاسِ، إِنْ كَانَ عَلَيْهَا إِمَامٌ عَدْلٌ، وَإِنَّهَا لَتَقْبُحُ إِنْ كَانَ عَلَيْهَا إِمَامٌ جَائِرٌ». وَإِنَّهَا لَتَزْكُو وَتُخْرِجُ فِي زَمَانِ الْعَدْلِ، مَا لَا تَزْكُو فِي زَمَانِ الْجَوْرِ. وَأَمَّا الصَّلَاةُ فِي الْمَغْصُوبِ، فَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ: إِذَا كَانَ مَسْجِدًا جَامِعًا فَلَا بَأْسَ بِهِ يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ، وَيَتَنَفَّلُ خَارِجًا عَنْهُ. وَقَالَ الْأَوْزَاعِيُّ: إِنْ كَانَ حَانُوتًا فَبَاعَ وَاشْتَرَى خَارِجًا مِنْهُ فَلَا بَأْسَ بِهِ، وَكَرِهَ ذَلِكَ سُفْيَانُ.

Wa-qad qāla ibnu ʿAbbāsin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: «ʾinna al-ʾarḍa latatazayyanu fī ʾaʿyuni al-nāsi, ʾin kāna ʿalayhā ʾimāmun ʿadlun, wa-ʾinnahā lataqbuḥu ʾin kāna ʿalayhā ʾimāmun jāʾirun». Wa-ʾinnahā latazkū wa-tukhriju fī zamāni al-ʿadli, mā lā tazkū fī zamāni al-jawri. Wa-ʾammā al-ṣalātu fī al-maghṣūbi, fa-qāla al-Thawriyyu: ʾidhā kāna masjidan jāmiʿan fa-lā baʾsa bihi yawma al-jumuʿati, wa-yatanaffalu khārijan ʿanhu. Wa-qāla al-ʾAwzāʿiyyu: ʾin kāna ḥānūtan fa-bāʿa wa-ishtarā khārijan minhu fa-lā baʾsa bihi, wa-kariha dhālika Sufyānu.

Ibn ʿAbbās, may God be pleased with him, said, “The earth becomes beautiful in people’s eyes when a just ruler governs it, and ugly when an unjust ruler governs it.” In a time of justice it grows and produces what it does not in a time of oppression. As for prayer on seized property, al-Thawrī said: If it is a congregational mosque, there is no harm in Friday prayer there, but voluntary prayer should be performed outside. Al-Awzāʿī said: If it is a shop and he sells and buys outside it, there is no harm. Sufyān disliked that.

وَقَالُوا فِي الصَّلَاةِ فِي الْغَصْبِ: إِنْ كَانَ مَسْجِدًا فِي طَرِيقِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَكَانَ لَهُ سَعَةٌ فِي الطَّرِيقِ، فَلَا بَأْسَ بِهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي أَرْضٍ مَغْصُوبَةٍ مِنَ الدُّورِ، فَكَانَ سُفْيَانُ يُبْطِلُ الصَّلَاةَ فِيهَا. وَقَالَ الْأَوْزَاعِيُّ: إِنْ صَلَّى وَلَمْ يَعْلَمْ، فَصَلَاتُهُ جَائِزَةٌ، وَلَا يُعِيدُ. وَقَالَ وَكِيعُ بْنُ الْجَرَّاحِ: يُعِيدُ مَا دَامَ فِي الْوَقْتِ، فَإِذَا خَرَجَ الْوَقْتُ فَلَا إِعَادَةَ عَلَيْهِ.

Wa-qālū fī al-ṣalāti fī al-ghaṣbi: ʾin kāna masjidan fī ṭarīqi al-muslimīna, wa-kāna lahu saʿatun fī al-ṭarīqi, fa-lā baʾsa bihi, wa-ʾin kāna fī ʾarḍin maghṣūbatin mina al-dūri, fa-kāna Sufyānu yubṭilu al-ṣalāta fīhā. Wa-qāla al-ʾAwzāʿiyyu: ʾin ṣallā wa-lam yaʿlam, fa-ṣalātuhu jāʾizatun, wa-lā yuʿīdu. Wa-qāla Wakīʿu bnu al-Jarrāḥi: yuʿīdu mā dāma fī al-waqti, fa-ʾidhā kharaja al-waqtu fa-lā ʾiʿādata ʿalayhi.

Concerning prayer on seized property, they said: If it is a mosque in a Muslim thoroughfare and the road is sufficiently broad, there is no harm. If it stands on residential land that was seized, Sufyān regarded prayer there as invalid. Al-Awzāʿī said: If someone prayed without knowing, his prayer is valid and need not be repeated. Wakīʿ ibn al-Jarrāḥ said: He repeats it while its time remains; once the time has passed, no repetition is required.

Source page 166

وَقَدْ كَرِهَ جَمَاعَةٌ الصَّلَاةَ فِي الْغَضَبِ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ لَا يُوجِبُونَ عَلَى الْمُصَلِّي إِعَادَةً، مِنْهُمُ الشَّافِعِيُّ. وَاحْتَجُّوا بِقَوْلِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «جُعِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا، إِلَّا الْحَمَّامَ وَالْمَقْبَرَةَ». وَقَالَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ: «لَا تُصَلُّوا إِلَى الْقُبُورِ». ثُمَّ طَوَائِفُ قَدْ كَرِهُوا الْمَشْيَ فِي أَرْضِ الصَّوَافِي، حَتَّى قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنْ كَانَ وَالِدَاهُ، أَوْ أَحَدُهُمَا بَعَثَهُ فِي حَاجَةٍ، وَكَانَ طَرِيقُهُ فِيهَا، لَمْ يُطِعْ وَالِدَيْهِ.

Wa-qad kariha jamāʿatun al-ṣalāta fī al-ghaḍabi, ʾillā ʾannahum lā yūjibūna ʿalā al-muṣallī ʾiʿādatan, minhumu al-Shāfiʿiyyu. Wa-iḥtajjū biqawli al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallama: «juʿilati al-ʾarḍu masjidan wa-ṭahūran, ʾillā al-ḥammāma wa-al-maqbarata». Wa-qāla ʿalayhi al-salāmu: «lā tuṣallū ʾilā al-qubūri». Thumma ṭawāʾifu qad karihū al-mashya fī ʾarḍi al-ṣawāfī, ḥattā qāla baʿḍuhum: ʾin kāna wālidāhu, ʾaw ʾaḥaduhumā baʿathahu fī ḥājatin, wa-kāna ṭarīquhu fīhā, lam yuṭiʿ wālidayhi.

A group, including al-Shāfiʿī, disliked prayer “in anger” [the printed word; the context concerns seized property], but did not require the worshiper to repeat it. They cited the saying of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: “The earth has been made a place of prayer and a means of purification, except bathhouses and graveyards.” He, peace be upon him, said, “Do not pray toward graves.” Some groups also disliked walking on crown estates. Some went so far as to say that if a person’s parents, or one of them, sent him on an errand whose route crossed such land, he should not obey them.

وَقَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِنْ كَانَ طَرِيقًا كَانَ يُسْلَكُ مِنْ قَبْلِ الْغَصْبِ، أَوْ مَسْجِدًا كَانَ يُصَلَّى فِيهِ، أَفِي فُنْدُقٍ أَوْ خَانٍ، أَوْ دَارٍ مِنْ دُورِ التُّجَّارِ، فَلَا بَأْسَ بِسُلُوكِ الطَّرِيقِ، وَالصَّلَاةِ فِي ذَلِكَ الْمَسْجِدِ. وَإِذَا كَانَ رَوْشَنًا أَوْ سَابَاطًا، عَلَى طَرِيقٍ ظُلْمًا، فَكَانَ لَهُ فِي غَيْرِهِ مَنْفَذٌ، لَمْ يَأْخُذْ فِيهِ. وَأَتَى ذَلِكَ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَالْفُقَهَاءِ، وَقَالُوا: لَا بَأْسَ بِالْمَشْيِ فِي أَسْفَلِ السَّابَاطِ وَالرَّوْشِ، وَنَحْوِ ذَلِكَ.

Wa-qāla baʿḍuhum: ʾin kāna ṭarīqan kāna yuslaku min qabli al-ghaṣbi, ʾaw masjidan kāna yuṣallā fīhi, ʾafī funduqin ʾaw khānin, ʾaw dārin min dūri al-tujjāri, fa-lā baʾsa bisulūki al-ṭarīqi, wa-al-ṣalāti fī dhālika al-masjidi. Wa-ʾidhā kāna rawshanan ʾaw sābāṭan, ʿalā ṭarīqin ẓulman, fa-kāna lahu fī ghayrihi manfadhun, lam yaʾkhudh fīhi. Wa-ʾatā dhālika kathīrun mina al-ʿulamāʾi wa-al-fuqahāʾi, wa-qālū: lā baʾsa bi-al-mashyi fī ʾasfali al-sābāṭi wa-al-rawshi, wa-naḥwi dhālika.

Some said: If a road was used before the seizure, or a mosque was previously prayed in, whether in a lodging house, caravanserai, or merchant’s residence [the connection in the printed wording is unclear], there is no harm in using the road or praying in that mosque. If a projecting window or covered passage has been built unjustly over a road, and an alternative route is available, one should not pass beneath it. Many scholars and jurists addressed this matter and said there is no harm in walking beneath covered passages, projecting windows, and similar structures.

وَكَانَ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سِيرِينَ، يَقُولُ: «ظِلَالُ أَصْحَابِ السَّابِرِيِّ مِنَ الْغِشِّ». وَكَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ وَالْحَسَنُ، يَكْرَهُونَ بَيْعَ الْحَرَجِ فِي الْفِتْنَةِ.

Wa-kāna Muḥammadu bnu Sīrīna, yaqūlu: «ẓilālu ʾaṣḥābi al-Sābiriyyi mina al-ghishshi». Wa-kāna Muḥammadun wa-al-Ḥasanu, yakrahūna bayʿa al-ḥaraji fī al-fitnati.

Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn used to say, “The shade used by sellers of Sābirī cloth is a form of deception.” Muḥammad and al-Ḥasan disliked selling wooden riding saddles during civil strife.

قَالَ أَبُو عَبْدِ اللَّهِ الْمُحَاسِبِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: فَقَدْ وَصَفْنَا طَرِيقَ الْقَاصِدِينَ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، بِصَفَاءِ الْمَطْعَمِ وَالْمَشْرَبِ وَالْمَلْبَسِ، وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ، وَصَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَى خَاتَمِ النَّبِيِّينَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَسْلِيمًا.

Qāla ʾAbū ʿAbdi Allāhi al-Muḥāsibiyyu raḥimahu Allāhu: fa-qad waṣafnā ṭarīqa al-qāṣidīna ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wa-jalla, biṣafāʾi al-maṭʿami wa-al-mashrabi wa-al-malbasi, wa-al-ḥamdu li-llāhi rabbi al-ʿālamīna, wa-ṣallā Allāhu ʿalā khātami al-nabiyyīna Muḥammadin wa-ʿalā ʾālihi wa-sallama taslīman.

Abū ʿAbd Allāh al-Muḥāsibī, may God have mercy on him, said: We have described the path of those who seek God, mighty and exalted, through purity of food, drink, and clothing. Praise belongs to God, Lord of all worlds. May God bless Muḥammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and his family, and grant them abundant peace.