قُوتُ الْقُلُوبِ فِي مُعَامَلَةِ الْمَحْبُوبِ وَوَصْفِ طَرِيقِ الْمُرِيدِ إِلَى مَقَامِ التَّوْحِيدِ
Qūtu al-qulūbi fī muʿāmalati al-maḥbūbi wa-waṣfi ṭarīqi al-murīdi ʾilā maqāmi al-tawḥīdi
Nourishment for Hearts in Dealings with the Beloved and a Description of the Seeker’s Path to the Station of Divine Oneness
Chapters 34–36
الْإِسْلَامُ وَالْإِيمَانُ وَالسُّنَّةُ
Al-ʾislāmu wa-al-ʾīmānu wa-al-sunnatu
Islam, Faith, and the Sunna
الْفَصْلُ الرَّابِعُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِي تَفْصِيلِ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَعُقُودِ شَرْحِ مُعَامَلَةِ الْقَلْبِ مِنْ مَذَاهِبِ أَهْلِ الْجَمَاعَةِ
al-faṣlu al-rābiʿu wa-al-thalāthūna fī tafṣīli al-ʾislāmi wa-al-ʾīmāni waʿuqūdi sharḥi muʿāmalati al-qalbi min madhāhibi ʾahli al-jamāʿati
Chapter Thirty-Four: A detailed account of Islam and faith, and the commitments involved in explaining the heart’s conduct, according to the doctrines of the people of the community
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٠٦
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 206
Volume Two, page 206
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَوْفُوا بِالْعُقُودِ) الْمَائِدَةُ: 1، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا عَقَّدْتُمُ الْأَيْمَانَ) الْمَائِدَةُ: 89، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ) الْأَحْزَابُ: 5، وَقَالَ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ: (وَلَكِنْ يُؤَاخِذُكُمْ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 225.
qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū ʾawfū bi-al-ʿuqūdi) al-māʾidatu: 1, waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: (wa-lākin yuʾākhidhukum bimā ʿaqqadtumu al-ʾaymāna) al-māʾidatu: 89, waqāla taʿālā: (walaysa ʿalaykum junāḥun fīmā ʾakhṭaʾtum bihi wa-lākin mā taʿammadat qulūbukum) al-ʾaḥzābu: 5, waqāla jalla thanāʾuhu: (wa-lākin yuʾākhidhukum bimā kasabat qulūbukum) al-baqaratu: 225.
God Most High says, “You who believe, fulfill your commitments” (al-Māʾidah 5:1). He, glorious and exalted, says, “But He calls you to account for the oaths you have firmly bound yourselves by” (al-Māʾidah 5:89). He, exalted is He, says, “There is no blame upon you for what you do by mistake, but for what your hearts deliberately intend” (al-Aḥzāb 33:5). Exalted is His praise, He says, “But He calls you to account for what your hearts have earned” (al-Baqarah 2:225).
فَعَمْدُ الْقُلُوبِ وَكَسْبُهَا هُوَ عُقُودُهَا وَأَعْمَالُهَا، وَعُقُودُ الْقَلْبِ الَّتِي هِيَ السُّنَّةُ الْمُجْتَمَعُ عَلَيْهَا نَقَلَهَا الْخَلَفُ عَنِ السَّلَفِ، وَلَمْ يَخْتَلِفْ فِيهِ اِثْنَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، فِيهَا سِتَّ عَشْرَةَ خَصْلَةً؛ ثَمَانٍ وَاجِبَاتٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا، وَثَمَانٍ وَاقِعَاتٌ فِي الْآخِرَةِ.
faʿamdu al-qulūbi wakasbuhā huwa ʿuqūduhā waʾaʿmāluhā, waʿuqūdu al-qalbi allatī hiya al-sunnatu al-mujtamaʿu ʿalayhā naqalahā al-khalafu ʿani al-salafi, walam yakhtalif fīhi ithnāni mina al-muʾminīna, fīhā sitta ʿashrata khaṣlatan; thamānin wājibātun fī al-dunyā, wathamānin wāqiʿātun fī al-ʾākhirati.
The hearts’ deliberate intention and earning are their commitments and deeds. The commitments of the heart that constitute the universally accepted Sunnah were transmitted by later generations from their predecessors; no two believers disagreed about them. They comprise sixteen matters: eight obligations in this world and eight events in the next.
فَأَمَّا اللَّاتِي هُنَّ فِي الدُّنْيَا أَنْ يَعْتَقِدَ الْعَبْدُ أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ قَوْلٌ وَعَمَلٌ، يَزِيدُ بِالطَّاعَةِ، وَيَنْقُصُ بِالْمَعْصِيَةِ، وَيَقْوَى بِالْعِلْمِ، وَيَضْعُفُ بِالْجَهْلِ، وَأَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ كَلَامُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ غَيْرُ مَخْلُوقٍ، وَعِلْمُهُ الْقَدِيمُ صِفَةٌ مِنْ صِفَاتِهِ، وَهُوَ مُتَكَلِّمٌ بِهِ بِذَاتِهِ.
faʾammā allātī hunna fī al-dunyā ʾan yaʿtaqida al-ʿabdu ʾanna al-ʾīmāna qawlun waʿamalun, yazīdu bi-al-ṭāʿati, wayanquṣu bi-al-maʿṣiyati, wayaqwā bi-al-ʿilmi, wayaḍʿufu bi-al-jahli, waʾanna al-qurʾāna kalāmu Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ghayru makhlūqin, waʿilmuhu al-qadīmu ṣifatun min ṣifātihi, wahuwa mutakallimun bihi bidhātihi.
As for those pertaining to this world: the servant is to believe that faith consists of speech and action, increases through obedience, decreases through disobedience, grows strong through knowledge, and weakens through ignorance; that the Qurʾān is the speech of God, mighty and majestic, uncreated; that His eternal knowledge is one of His attributes; and that He speaks it by His own being.
وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَا تَقَرَّبَ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِأَفْضَلَ مِنْ شَيْءٍ خَرَجَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ كَلَامُهُ.
wafī al-ḥadīthi ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: mā taqarraba al-ʿabdu ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla biʾafḍala min shayʾin kharaja minhu wahuwa kalāmuhu.
A report from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, states: “The servant has drawn near to God, mighty and majestic, through nothing better than something that came forth from Him: His speech.”
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ: أَنَّ عَلِيًّا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمَا دَعَا عِنْدَ قِتَالِ صِفِّينَ: يَا كهيعص أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ الَّتِي تُوجِبُ النِّقْمَةَ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ الَّتِي تُغَيِّرُ النِّعَمَ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ الَّتِي تَهْتِكُ الْحُرَمَ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ الَّتِي تَحْبِسُ غَيْثَ السَّمَاءِ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ الَّتِي تُدِيلُ الْأَعْدَاءَ، اُنْصُرْنَا عَلَى مَنْ ظَلَمَنَا.
warawaynā ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin: ʾanna ʿaliyyan raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhumā daʿā ʿinda qitāli ṣiffīna: yā Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād ʾaʿūdhu bika mina al-dhunūbi allatī tūjibu al-niqmata, waʾaʿūdhu bika mina al-dhunūbi allatī tughayyiru al-niʿama, waʾaʿūdhu bika mina al-dhunūbi allatī tahtiku al-ḥurama, waʾaʿūdhu bika mina al-dhunūbi allatī taḥbisu ghaytha al-samāʾi, waʾaʿūdhu bika mina al-dhunūbi allatī tudīlu al-ʾaʿdāʾa, unṣurnā ʿalā man ẓalamanā.
We have transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās that ʿAlī, may God Most High be pleased with them both, prayed during the fighting at Ṣiffīn: “O Kāf Hā Yā ʿAyn Ṣād, I seek refuge in You from sins that bring down retribution. I seek refuge in You from sins that alter blessings. I seek refuge in You from sins that violate sacred bounds. I seek refuge in You from sins that withhold the rain of heaven. I seek refuge in You from sins that give the enemy the upper hand. Grant us victory over those who have wronged us.”
قَالَ الضَّحَّاكُ بْنُ مُزَاحِمٍ: فَكَانَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ يُقَدِّمُ هَذِهِ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ كُلِّ شَدِيدَةٍ، وَفِيمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ: أَعُوذُ بِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ وَأَسْمَائِهِ كُلِّهَا، كَمَا قَالَ: أَعُوذُ بِعِزَّةِ اللَّهِ وَقُدْرَتِهِ، دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ الْكَلَامَ وَالْأَسْمَاءَ صِفَاتٌ.
qāla al-ḍaḥḥāku bnu muzāḥimin: fakāna ʿaliyyun raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu yuqaddimu hādhihi bayna yaday kulli shadīdatin, wafīmā rawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min qawlihi: ʾaʿūdhu bikalimāti Allāhi waʾasmāʾihi kullihā, kamā qāla: ʾaʿūdhu biʿizzati Allāhi waqudratihi, dalīlun ʾanna al-kalāma wa-al-ʾasmāʾa ṣifātun.
Al-Ḍaḥḥāk ibn Muzāḥim said, “ʿAlī, may God be pleased with him, would offer this prayer before every grave ordeal.” What we have transmitted from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, in his words, “I seek refuge in all God’s words and names,” just as he said, “I seek refuge in God’s might and power,” is evidence that speech and the names are attributes.
وَعَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ حِينَ حَكَّمَ الْحَكَمَيْنِ فَنَقَمَ عَلَيْهِ الْخَوَارِجُ ذَلِكَ فَقَالُوا: حَكَّمَ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ مِنَ الْمَخْلُوقِينَ، فَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ مَا حَكَّمْتُ مَخْلُوقًا، مَا حَكَّمْتُ إِلَّا الْقُرْآنَ، وَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ حِينَ
waʿan ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ḥīna ḥakkama al-ḥakamayni fanaqama ʿalayhi al-khawāriju dhālika faqālū: ḥakkama fī dīni Allāhi mina al-makhlūqīna, faqāla: wa-Allāhi mā ḥakkamtu makhlūqan, mā ḥakkamtu ʾillā al-qurʾāna, waqāla ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ḥīna
It is related of ʿAlī, may God Most High be pleased with him, that when he appointed the two arbitrators, the Khārijites reproached him for it, saying, “He has appointed created beings to arbitrate in God’s religion.” He replied, “By God, I have appointed no created being as arbiter. I have appointed only the Qurʾān.” Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God Most High be pleased with him, said, when
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٠٧
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 207
Volume Two, page 207
سَمِعَ قُرْآنَ مُسَيْلِمَةَ الْكَذَّابِ الَّذِي اِفْتَعَلَهُ وَتَخَرَّصَهُ يُضَاهِي بِهِ كَلَامَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: وَاللَّهِ مَا خَرَجَ هَذَا مِنْ آلٍ وَلَا مِنْ تَقِيٍّ، قَالَ أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ: يَعْنِي مَا خَرَجَ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، قَالَ: وَفِيهِ دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ الْقُرْآنَ غَيْرُ مَخْلُوقٍ، وَأَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى تَكَلَّمَ بِهِ.
samiʿa qurʾāna musaylimata al-kadhdhābi alladhī iftaʿalahu watakharraṣahu yuḍāhī bihi kalāma Allāhi taʿālā: wa-Allāhi mā kharaja hādhā min ʾālin walā min taqiyyin, qāla ʾabū ʿubaydata: yaʿnī mā kharaja mina Allāhi taʿālā, qāla: wafīhi dalīlun ʾanna al-qurʾāna ghayru makhlūqin, waʾannahu kharaja mina Allāhi taʿālā takallama bihi.
he heard the “Qurʾān” of Musaylimah the Liar, which he had fabricated and falsely devised to rival the speech of God Most High: “By God, this did not come forth from Āl, nor from anyone God-fearing.” Abū ʿUbaydah said, “He means that it did not come forth from God Most High.” He said, “This is evidence that the Qurʾān is uncreated and that it came forth from God Most High: He spoke it.”
قَالَ: وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: (لَا يَرْقُبُونَ فِي مُؤْمِنٍ إِلًّا وَلَا ذِمَّةً) التَّوْبَةُ: 10، مَعْنَاهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لَا يَرْقُبُونَهُ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِمَعْنَى ذَلِكَ فِي قَوْلِهِ: فَضْلُ كَلَامِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عَلَى سَائِرِ الْكَلَامِ كَفَضْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَى خَلْقِهِ، وَذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنْهُ.
qāla: wamin hādhā qawluhu taʿālā: (lā yarqubūna fī muʾminin ʾillan walā dhimmatan) al-tawbatu: 10, maʿnāhu Allāhu ʿazza wajalla lā yarqubūnahu. waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bimaʿnā dhālika fī qawlihi: faḍlu kalāmi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿalā sāʾiri al-kalāmi kafaḍli Allāhi taʿālā ʿalā khalqihi, wa-dhālika ʾannahu kharaja minhu.
He said, “Of the same kind is His saying, exalted is He, ‘They show regard neither for God nor for a covenant in their dealings with a believer’ (al-Tawbah 9:10), meaning that they show no regard for God, mighty and majestic.” We have transmitted something to this effect from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, in his saying: “The superiority of the speech of God, mighty and majestic, over all other speech is like the superiority of God Most High over His creation, for it came forth from Him.”
وَقَرَأْتُ فِي مُصْحَفِ اِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ: قَالَ يَا مُوسَى قَدْ فَضَّلْتُكَ بِرِسَالَاتِي وَبِكَلَامِي عَلَى النَّاسِ، وَهَذَا لَا يَجُوزُ فِيهِ إِلَّا التَّكَلُّمُ بِالذَّاتِ مَعَ قَوْلِهِ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَى تَكْلِيمًا) النِّسَاءُ: 164، قَالَ أَهْلُ اللُّغَةِ: الْمَصْدَرُ إِذَا أُدْخِلَ فِي الْفِعْلِ فَهُوَ لِلْمُوَاجَهَةِ وَالْوَصْفِ لَا لِلْأَمْرِ بِالْفِعْلِ، وَلَا عَلَى الْمَجَازِ.
waqaraʾtu fī muṣḥafi ibni masʿūdin: qāla yā mūsā qad faḍḍaltuka birisālātī wabikalāmī ʿalā al-nāsi, wa-hādhā lā yajūzu fīhi ʾillā al-takallumu bi-al-dhāti maʿa qawlihi subḥānahu wataʿālā: (wakallama Allāhu mūsā taklīman) al-nisāʾu: 164, qāla ʾahlu al-lughati: al-maṣdaru ʾidhā ʾudkhila fī al-fiʿli fahuwa li-l-muwājahati wa-al-waṣfi lā li-l-ʾamri bi-al-fiʿli, walā ʿalā al-majāzi.
I read in Ibn Masʿūd’s codex: “He said: Moses, I have favored you above people with My messages and My speech.” This can only mean speaking by His own self, especially together with His saying, glorious and exalted is He, “God spoke to Moses in direct speech” (al-Nisāʾ 4:164). The scholars of language said: “When the verbal noun is added to the verb, it indicates direct encounter and actual attribution, not an instruction that the act be done, nor a figurative usage.”
ثُمَّ تَسْلِيمُ أَخْبَارِ الصِّفَاتِ فِيمَا ثَبَتَتْ بِهِ الرِّوَايَاتُ وَصَحَّ النَّقْلُ، وَلَا يُتَأَوَّلُ ذَلِكَ وَلَايُشَبَّهُ بِالْقِيَاسِ وَالْعَقْلِ، وَلَكِنْ يَعْتَقِدُ إِثْبَاتَ الْأَسْمَاءِ وَالصِّفَاتِ بِمَعَانِيهَا وَحَقَائِقِهَا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَيَنْفِي التَّشْبِيهَ وَالتَّكْيِيفَ عَنْهَا إِذْ لَا كُفُؤَ لِلْمَوْصُوفِ فَيُشَبَّهَ، وَلَا مِثْلَ لَهُ فَيُجَنَّسَ مِنْهُ، وَلَا نُشَبِّهُ وَنَصِفُ، وَلَا نُمَثِّلُ وَنَعْرِفُ، وَلَا نُكَيِّفُ.
thumma taslīmu ʾakhbāri al-ṣifāti fīmā thabatat bihi al-riwāyātu waṣaḥḥa al-naqlu, walā yutaʾawwalu dhālika walāyushabbahu bi-al-qiyāsi wa-al-ʿaqli, wa-lākin yaʿtaqidu ʾithbāta al-ʾasmāʾi wa-al-ṣifāti bimaʿānīhā waḥaqāʾiqihā li-llāhi taʿālā, wayanfī al-tashbīha wa-al-takyīfa ʿanhā ʾidh lā kufuʾa li-l-mawṣūfi fayushabbaha, walā mithla lahu fayujannasa minhu, walā nushabbihu wanaṣifu, walā numaththilu wanaʿrifu, walā nukayyifu.
Next comes acceptance of the reports concerning the attributes, wherever the narrations are established and the transmission is sound. These are not to be given a figurative interpretation or likened to anything through analogy and reason. Rather, one affirms the names and attributes of God Most High in their meanings and realities, while denying resemblance and any determination of their modality. The One described has no equal to whom He might be likened and no counterpart from whose kind He might be classified. We describe without drawing likenesses, acknowledge without setting up equivalents, and do not determine modality.
وَفِي رَدِّ أَخْبَارِ الصِّفَاتِ بُطْلَانُ شَرَائِعِ الْإِسْلَامِ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ النَّاقِلِينَ إِلَيْنَا ذَلِكَ هُمْ نَاقِلُو شَرَائِعِ الدِّينِ وَأَحْكَامِ الْإِيمَانِ، فَإِنْ كَانُوا عُدُولًا فِيمَا نَقَلُوهُ مِنَ الشَّرِيعَةِ فَالْعَدْلُ مَقْبُولُ الْقَوْلِ فِي كُلِّ مَا نَقَلَهُ، وَإِنْ كَانُوا كَذَبُوا فِيمَا نَقَلُوا مِنْ أَخْبَارِ الصِّفَاتِ فَالْكَذَّابُ مَرْدُودُ الْقَوْلِ فِي كُلِّ مَا جَاءَ بِهِ، وَالْكَذِبُ عَلَى اللَّهِ كُفْرٌ، فَكَيْفَ تُقْبَلُ شَهَادَةُ كَافِرٍ؟
wafī raddi ʾakhbāri al-ṣifāti buṭlānu sharāʾiʿi al-ʾislāmi min qibali ʾanna al-nāqilīna ʾilaynā dhālika hum nāqilū sharāʾiʿi al-dīni waʾaḥkāmi al-ʾīmāni, faʾin kānū ʿudūlan fīmā naqalūhu mina al-sharīʿati fa-al-ʿadlu maqbūlu al-qawli fī kulli mā naqalahu, waʾin kānū kadhabū fīmā naqalū min ʾakhbāri al-ṣifāti fa-al-kadhdhābu mardūdu al-qawli fī kulli mā jāʾa bihi, wa-al-kadhibu ʿalā Allāhi kufrun, fakayfa tuqbalu shahādatu kāfirin?
Rejecting the reports about the attributes entails invalidating the ordinances of Islam, because those who transmitted these reports to us are the very people who transmitted the religion’s ordinances and the rulings of faith. If they were upright in transmitting the Law, the testimony of an upright person is accepted in everything he transmits. If they lied in transmitting reports about the attributes, a liar’s testimony is rejected in everything he brings. Lying about God is unbelief; how, then, could an unbeliever’s testimony be accepted?
وَإِذْ جَازَ أَنْ يَجْتَرِئُوا عَلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ بِأَنْ يَزِيدُوا فِي صِفَاتِهِ مَا لَمْ يَسْمَعُوهُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَهُمْ إِلَى أَنْ يَكْذِبُوا عَلَى الرَّسُولِ فِيمَا مِنَ الْأَحْكَامِ أَوْلَى، فَفِي ذَلِكَ إِبْطَالُ الشَّرِيعَةِ، وَتَكْفِيرُ النَّقَلَةِ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ بِإِحْسَانٍ، فَلِذَلِكَ كَفَّرَ أَصْحَابُ الْحَدِيثِ مَنْ نَفَى أَخْبَارَ الصِّفَاتِ.
waʾidh jāza ʾan yajtariʾū ʿalā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla biʾan yazīdū fī ṣifātihi mā lam yasmaʿūhu ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fahum ʾilā ʾan yakdhibū ʿalā al-rasūli fīmā mina al-ʾaḥkāmi ʾawlā, fafī dhālika ʾibṭālu al-sharīʿati, watakfīru al-naqalati mina al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna biʾiḥsānin, fali-dhālika kaffara ʾaṣḥābu al-ḥadīthi man nafā ʾakhbāra al-ṣifāti.
If it were possible that they dared to add to the attributes of God, mighty and majestic, something they had not heard from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, they would be still more likely to lie about the Messenger regarding rulings. This would invalidate the Law and declare unbelievers those transmitters who were Companions and those who followed them in goodness. It is for this reason that the traditionists declared unbelievers those who denied the reports about the attributes.
وَيَعْتَقِدُ تَفْضِيلَ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَهْلِ بَيْتِهِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ كَافَّةً، وَيَسْكُتُ عَمَّا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ، وَيَنْشُرُ مَحَاسِنَهُمْ وَفَضَائِلَهُمْ لِتَأْتَلِفَ الْقُلُوبُ بِذَلِكَ، وَنُسَلِّمُ لِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْهُمْ مَا فَعَلَهُ، لِأَنَّهُمْ أَوْفَرُ وَأَعْلَى عُقُولًا مِنَّا.
wayaʿtaqidu tafḍīla ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʾahli baytihi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum waraḍū ʿanhu kāffatan, wayaskutu ʿammā shajara baynahum, wayanshuru maḥāsinahum wafaḍāʾilahum litaʾtalifa al-qulūbu bi-dhālika, wanusallimu likulli wāḥidin minhum mā faʿalahu, liʾannahum ʾawfaru waʾaʿlā ʿuqūlan minnā.
One is to believe in the superior merit of all the Companions of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and the members of his household, God being pleased with them and they with Him. One is to remain silent about the disputes that arose between them and make their virtues and merits known, so that hearts may be brought together. We defer to each of them concerning what he did, because their understanding is fuller and more elevated than ours.
فَقَدْ عَلِمَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ بِعِلْمِهِ وَمُنْتَهَى عَقْلِهِ فِيمَا أَدَّى إِلَيْهِ اِجْتِهَادُهُ، وَإِنْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ أَعْلَمَ مِنْ بَعْضٍ، كَمَا أَنَّ بَعْضَهُمْ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ، إِلَّا أَنَّ عُلُومَنَا وَعُقُولَنَا تَضْعُفُ وَتَنْقُصُ عَنْ عِلْمِ أَدْنَاهُمْ عِلْمًا، كَمَا فَضَلُوا عَلَيْنَا بِالسَّوَابِقِ سَبْقًا وَتُقَدِّمَ مَنْ قَدَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَأَجْمَعَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ الَّذِينَ تَوَلَّى اللَّهُ إِجْمَاعَهُمْ عَلَى الْهِدَايَةِ، وَضَمِنَ لِرَسُولِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ تَفْضِيلًا لَهُمْ وَتَشْرِيفًا لَهُمْ أَنْ لَا يَجْتَمِعُوا عَلَى ضَلَالَةٍ.
faqad ʿalima kullu wāḥidin biʿilmihi wamuntahā ʿaqlihi fīmā ʾaddā ʾilayhi ijtihāduhu, waʾin kāna baʿḍuhum ʾaʿlama min baʿḍin, kamā ʾanna baʿḍahum ʾafḍalu min baʿḍin, ʾillā ʾanna ʿulūmanā waʿuqūlanā taḍʿufu watanquṣu ʿan ʿilmi ʾadnāhum ʿilman, kamā faḍalū ʿalaynā bi-al-sawābiqi sabqan watuqaddima man qaddama Allāhu warasūluhu waʾajmaʿa al-muslimūna alladhīna tawallā Allāhu ʾijmāʿahum ʿalā al-hidāyati, waḍamina lirasūlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama tafḍīlan lahum watashrīfan lahum ʾan lā yajtamiʿū ʿalā ḍalālatin.
Each understood according to his knowledge and the furthest reach of his reason, within the conclusions of his considered judgment. Although some possessed more knowledge than others, just as some were more excellent than others, our knowledge and understanding are weak and deficient beside the knowledge of even the least learned among them, just as they surpassed us through their earlier service. You are to accord precedence to those whom God and His Messenger placed first, and upon whom the Muslims agreed: those whose agreement upon guidance God oversees, and for whom, to honor and ennoble them, He guaranteed to His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, that they would not agree upon error.
وَقَدْ قَالَ عَلِيٌّ لَمَّا قِيلَ لَهُ: أَلَا تَسْتَخْلِفُ عَلَيْنَا؟ فَقَالَ: لَا أَسْتَخْلِفُ عَلَيْكُمْ بَلْ أَكِلُكُمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَإِنْ يُرِدْ بِكُمْ خَيْرًا جَمَعَكُمْ بَعْدَ نَبِيِّكُمْ عَلَى خَيْرِكُمْ.
waqad qāla ʿaliyyun lammā qīla lahu: ʾalā tastakhlifu ʿalaynā? faqāla: lā ʾastakhlifu ʿalaykum bal ʾakilukum ʾilā Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, faʾin yurid bikum khayran jamaʿakum baʿda nabiyyikum ʿalā khayrikum.
When ʿAlī was asked, “Will you not appoint a successor over us?” he replied, “I will not appoint a successor over you. Rather, I entrust you to God, mighty and majestic. If He intends good for you, He will unite you, after your Prophet, around the best of you.”
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٠٨
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 208
Volume Two, page 208
قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ النَّخَعِيُّ: فَلَمَّا سَلَّمَ الْحَسَنُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمَا الْأَمْرَ إِلَى مُعَاوِيَةَ سُمِّيَتْ سَنَةَ الْجَمَاعَةِ، وَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ مِنَ الشِّيعَةِ: يَا مُذِلَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، فَقَالَ: بَلْ أَنَا مُعِزُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، سَمِعْتُ أَبِي عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ يَقُولُ: لَا تَكْرَهُوا إِمَارَةَ مُعَاوِيَةَ فَإِنَّهُ سَيَلِي هَذَا الْأَمْرَ بَعْدِي، وَإِنْ فَقَدْتُمُوهُ رَأَيْتُمُ السُّيُوفَ تَبْدُرُ عَنْ كَوَاهِلِهَا كَأَنَّهَا الْحَنْظَلُ.
qāla ʾibrāhīmu al-nakhaʿiyyu: falammā sallama al-ḥasanu bnu ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhumā al-ʾamra ʾilā muʿāwiyata summiyat sanata al-jamāʿati, waqāla lahu rajulun mina al-shīʿati: yā mudhilla al-muʾminīna, faqāla: bal ʾanā muʿizzu al-muʾminīna, samiʿtu ʾabī ʿalayhi al-salāmu yaqūlu: lā takrahū ʾimārata muʿāwiyata faʾinnahu sayalī hādhā al-ʾamra baʿdī, waʾin faqadtumūhu raʾaytumu al-suyūfa tabduru ʿan kawāhilihā kaʾannahā al-ḥanẓalu.
Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī said: “When al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī, may God Most High be pleased with them both, surrendered authority to Muʿāwiyah, that year was called the Year of the Community.” A man among his partisans said to him, “You who have humiliated the believers!” He replied, “Rather, I have honored the believers. I heard my father, peace be upon him, say: ‘Do not resent Muʿāwiyah’s rule, for he will hold this authority after me. If you lose him, you will see swords springing from their shoulders as though they were colocynths.’”
فَلْيَعْتَقِدْ بِقَلْبِهِ مَنْ رَضِيَ الصَّحَابَةُ بِإِمَامَتِهِ، وَأَجْمَعُوا عَلَى خِلَافَتِهِ وَاِتَّفَقَ الْأَئِمَّةُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الشُّورَى عَلَى تَقْدِمَتِهِ عَلَى حَدِيثِ اِبْنِ عُمَرَ فِي التَّفْضِيلِ، قَالَ: كُنَّا نَقُولُ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَبُو بَكْرٍ ثُمَّ عُمَرُ ثُمَّ عُثْمَانُ، فَيَبْلُغُ ذَلِكَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَلَا يُنْكِرُ.
falyaʿtaqid biqalbihi man raḍiya al-ṣaḥābatu biʾimāmatihi, waʾajmaʿū ʿalā khilāfatihi wa-ittafaqa al-ʾaʾimmatu min ʾahli al-shūrā ʿalā taqdimatihi ʿalā ḥadīthi ibni ʿumara fī al-tafḍīli, qāla: kunnā naqūlu ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾabū bakrin thumma ʿumaru thumma ʿuthmānu, fayablughu dhālika rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama falā yunkiru.
Let him accept in his heart the one whose leadership the Companions approved, whose caliphate they unanimously acknowledged, and whose precedence the leaders of the consultative council agreed upon, in accordance with Ibn ʿUmar’s report concerning superiority. He said: “In the time of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, we used to say: ‘Abū Bakr, then ʿUmar, then ʿUthmān.’ This reached the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and he did not object.”
وَعَلَى حَدِيثِ سَفِينَةَ مَوْلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الْخِلَافَةُ بَعْدِي ثَلَاثُونَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ تَكُونُ مُلْكًا، فَهَؤُلَاءِ الْأَرْبَعَةُ خُلَفَاءُ النُّبُوَّةِ؛ وَهُمْ أَئِمَّةُ الْأَئِمَّةِ مِنَ الْعَشَرَةِ، وَعُيُونُ أَهْلِ الْهِجْرَةِ وَالنُّصْرَةِ، وَخِيَارُ الْخِيَارِ مِنَ الْأَصْحَابِ.
waʿalā ḥadīthi safīnata mawlā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-khilāfatu baʿdī thalāthūna sanatan thumma takūnu mulkan, fa-hāʾulāʾi al-ʾarbaʿatu khulafāʾu al-nubuwwati; wahum ʾaʾimmatu al-ʾaʾimmati mina al-ʿasharati, waʿuyūnu ʾahli al-hijrati wa-al-nuṣrati, wakhiyāru al-khiyāri mina al-ʾaṣḥābi.
And in accordance with the report of Safīnah, the client of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, who said: “The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said: ‘The caliphate after me will last thirty years; then it will become kingship.’” These four are therefore the successors to the prophetic office. They are the foremost leaders among the Ten, the eminent ones among the Emigrants and Helpers, and the best of the best among the Companions.
كَمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ اِخْتَارَ أَصْحَابِي عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ، وَاِخْتَارَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِي أَرْبَعَةً فَجَعَلَهُمْ خَيْرَ أَصْحَابِي، وَفِي كُلِّ أَصْحَابِي خَيْرٌ، وَاِخْتَارَ أُمَّتِي عَلَى الْأُمَمِ، وَاِخْتَارَ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَرْبَعَةَ قَرْنٍ، فَكُلُّ قَرْنٍ سَبْعُونَ سَنَةً.
kamā rawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wajalla ikhtāra ʾaṣḥābī ʿalā al-ʿālamīna, wa-ikhtāra min ʾaṣḥābī ʾarbaʿatan fajaʿalahum khayra ʾaṣḥābī, wafī kulli ʾaṣḥābī khayrun, wa-ikhtāra ʾummatī ʿalā al-ʾumami, wa-ikhtāra min ʾummatī ʾarbaʿata qarnin, fakullu qarnin sabʿūna sanatan.
As we have transmitted from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “God, mighty and majestic, chose my Companions above all peoples, and chose four of my Companions and made them the best of my Companions, though there is goodness in all my Companions. He chose my community above all communities, and chose four generations from my community, each generation being seventy years.”
فَإِنَّا نَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مُتَّبِعُونَ نَقْفُو الْأَثَرَ غَيْرَ مُبْتَدِعِينَ بِالرَّأْيِ وَالْمَعْقُولِ نَرُدُّ بِهِ الْخَبَرَ، إِذْ لَا مَدْخَلَ لِلْقِيَاسِ وَالرَّأْيِ فِي التَّفْضِيلِ، كَمَا لَا مَدْخَلَ لَهُمَا فِي الصِّفَاتِ وَأُصُولِ الْعِبَادَاتِ، وَإِنَّمَا يُؤْخَذُ التَّفْضِيلُ تَوْقِيفًا وَتَسْلِيمًا وَمِنْ طَرِيقِ الْإِجْمَاعِ وَالِاتِّبَاعِ خَشْيَةَ الشُّذُوذِ وَالِابْتِدَاعِ.
faʾinnā naḥnu qawmun muttabiʿūna naqfū al-ʾathara ghayra mubtadiʿīna bi-al-raʾyi wa-al-maʿqūli naruddu bihi al-khabara, ʾidh lā madkhala li-l-qiyāsi wa-al-raʾyi fī al-tafḍīli, kamā lā madkhala lahumā fī al-ṣifāti waʾuṣūli al-ʿibādāti, waʾinnamā yuʾkhadhu al-tafḍīlu tawqīfan wataslīman wamin ṭarīqi al-ʾijmāʿi wa-al-ittibāʿi khashyata al-shudhūdhi wa-al-ibtidāʿi.
We are people who follow, tracing the transmitted precedent, rather than introducing innovations through opinion and rational argument with which to reject the report. Analogy and opinion have no role in determining superiority, just as they have no role in the attributes or the foundations of worship. Superiority is learned solely through authoritative instruction and acceptance, and through consensus and adherence, for fear of deviation and innovation.
لِقَوْلِ الرَّسُولِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: عَلَيْكُمْ بِسُنَّتِي وَسُنَّةِ الْخُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِينَ الْمَهْدِيِّينَ بَعْدِي عَضُّوا عَلَيْهَا بِالنَّوَاجِذِ، وَمَنْ شَذَّ فَفِي النَّارِ، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى فِي تَصْدِيقِ ذَلِكَ: (وَيَتَّبِعْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ نُوَلِّهِ مَا تَوَلَّى وَنُصْلِهِ جَهَنَّمَ) النِّسَاءُ: 115.
liqawli al-rasūli ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʿalaykum bisunnatī wasunnati al-khulafāʾi al-rāshidīna al-mahdiyyīna baʿdī ʿaḍḍū ʿalayhā bi-al-nawājidhi, waman shadhdha fafī al-nāri, waqāla taʿālā fī taṣdīqi dhālika: (wayattabiʿ ghayra sabīli al-muʾminīna nuwallihi mā tawallā wanuṣlihi jahannama) al-nisāʾu: 115.
For the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “Hold fast to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the rightly guided caliphs, guided aright after me; grip it with your molars. Whoever breaks away is in the Fire.” Confirming this, the Most High said: “And follows a path other than that of the believers, We shall turn him toward what he has chosen and make him enter Hell” (al-Nisāʾ 4:115).
وَإِنَّمَا جَاءَ التَّرْتِيبُ فِي التَّفْضِيلِ وَالْخِلَافَةِ مُخَالِفًا لِلْقِيَاسِ، وَالْمَعْقُولِ تَوْكِيدًا لِلنُّبُوَّةِ وَتَأْكِيدًا لِلرِّسَالَةِ، لِئَلَّا تَلْتَبِسَ النُّبُوَّةُ بِالْمُلْكِ وَلَا يَنْحُوَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْخِلَافَةِ نَحْوَ الْأَكَاسِرَةِ وَالْأَقَاصِرَةِ فِي الْمَمْلَكَةِ، كَمَا كَانَتِ النُّبُوَّةُ مُخَالِفَةً لِلْمُلْكِ جَاءَتِ الْخِلَافَةُ عَلَى غَيْرِ سِيرَةِ الْمُلُوكِ مِنَ اِسْتِخْلَافِ أَبْنَائِهِمْ وَأَهْلِ بَيْتِهِمْ.
waʾinnamā jāʾa al-tartību fī al-tafḍīli wa-al-khilāfati mukhālifan li-l-qiyāsi, wa-al-maʿqūli tawkīdan li-l-nubuwwati wataʾkīdan li-l-risālati, liʾallā taltabisa al-nubuwwatu bi-al-mulki walā yanḥuwa al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-khilāfati naḥwa al-ʾakāsirati wa-al-ʾaqāṣirati fī al-mamlakati, kamā kānati al-nubuwwatu mukhālifatan li-l-mulki jāʾati al-khilāfatu ʿalā ghayri sīrati al-mulūki mina istikhlāfi ʾabnāʾihim waʾahli baytihim.
The order of precedence in excellence and the caliphate ran counter to analogy and rational expectation precisely to confirm prophethood and reinforce the mission, lest prophethood be confused with kingship and the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, adopt for the succession the practice of the Persian and Roman emperors in their kingdoms. Just as prophethood differed from kingship, the caliphate followed a course different from the kings’ practice of appointing their sons and family members as successors.
وَلَوْ كَانَ لِلْمَعْقُولِ وَالْقِيَاسِ مَدْخَلٌ فِي التَّفْضِيلِ لَكَانَ أَفْضَلَ النَّاسِ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْحَسَنُ اِبْنُهُ، لِأَنَّ فِيهِ النُّبُوَّةَ وَالْعَبَّاسُ عَمُّهُ إِذْ فِيهِ الْأُبُوَّةُ، وَقَدْ أَجْمَعُوا عَلَى خِلَافِ ذَلِكَ وَبِمَعْنَى هَذَا مِنْ إِخْرَاجِ الْخَلْقِ مِنَ الْمَأْلُوفِ وَرَفْعِ
walaw kāna li-l-maʿqūli wa-al-qiyāsi madkhalun fī al-tafḍīli lakāna ʾafḍala al-nāsi baʿda rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-ḥasanu ibnuhu, liʾanna fīhi al-nubuwwata wa-al-ʿabbāsu ʿammuhu ʾidh fīhi al-ʾubuwwatu, waqad ʾajmaʿū ʿalā khilāfi dhālika wabimaʿnā hādhā min ʾikhrāji al-khalqi mina al-maʾlūfi warafʿi
Had rational consideration and analogy had a role in determining superiority, the best of people after the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, would have been al-Ḥasan, his son, because in him is “prophethood,” and al-ʿAbbās, his uncle, because in him is fatherhood. Yet they unanimously agreed otherwise. Of a similar character, in taking people beyond the familiar and removing
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٠٩
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 209
Volume Two, page 209
سُكُونِهِمْ عَنِ الْمَعْهُودِ، أَنَّ أَبَا قُحَافَةَ وَأَبَا سُفْيَانَ مَاتَا مُؤْمِنَيْنِ، وَأَنَّ أَبَا رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَمَّهُ مَاتَا كَافِرَيْنِ، أَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ النَّقْلِ وَالتَّوَارِيخِ عَلَى ذَلِكَ.
sukūnihim ʿani al-maʿhūdi, ʾanna ʾabā quḥāfata waʾabā sufyāna mātā muʾminayni, waʾanna ʾabā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʿammahu mātā kāfirayni, ʾajmaʿa ʾahlu al-naqli wa-al-tawārīkhi ʿalā dhālika.
their repose in what they are accustomed to, is the fact that Abū Quḥāfah and Abū Sufyān died as believers, while the father and uncle of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, died as unbelievers. The authorities in transmitted reports and histories unanimously agreed on this.
وَقَالَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ لَمَّا أَسْلَمَ أَبُوهُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ عَامَ فَتْحِ مَكَّةَ: وَاللَّهِ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ لَإِسْلَامُ أَبِي طَالِبٍ كَانَ أَحَبَّ إِلَيَّ لَوْ أَسْلَمَ مِنْ إِسْلَامِ أَبِي لِيُقِرَّ اللَّهُ بِهِ عَيْنَكَ، فَبَكَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
waqāla ʾabū bakrin al-ṣiddīqu raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu lammā ʾaslama ʾabūhu bayna yaday rasūli Allāhi ʿāma fatḥi makkata: wa-Allāhi yā rasūla Allāhi laʾislāmu ʾabī ṭālibin kāna ʾaḥabba ʾilayya law ʾaslama min ʾislāmi ʾabī liyuqirra Allāhu bihi ʿaynaka, fabakā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
When his father embraced Islam before the Messenger of God in the year of the conquest of Mecca, Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God Most High be pleased with him, said: “By God, Messenger of God, Abū Ṭālib’s embracing Islam, had he embraced it, would have been dearer to me than my father’s doing so, because God would thereby have gladdened your heart.” The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, wept.
وَأَيْضًا، فَلَمَّا سَبَقَ فِي عِلْمِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى أَنْ يَجْعَلَ هَؤُلَاءِ الْأَرْبَعَةَ خُلَفَاءَ النُّبُوَّةِ بِمَا قَدَّرَ اللَّهُ مِنْ أَعْمَارِهِمْ، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ يَتِمُّ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِتَرْتِيبِهِمْ عَلَى مَا رُتِّبُوا فِي الْخِلَافَةِ، فَكَانَ آخِرُهُمْ اِسْتِخْلَافًا هُوَ آخِرَهُمْ مَوْتًا، فَدَبَّرَ خِلَافَتَهُمْ عَلَى مَا عَلِمَ مِنْ آجَالِهِمْ.
waʾayḍan, falammā sabaqa fī ʿilmi Allāhi taʿālā ʾan yajʿala hāʾulāʾi al-ʾarbaʿata khulafāʾa al-nubuwwati bimā qaddara Allāhu min ʾaʿmārihim, falam yakun yatimmu dhālika ʾillā bitartībihim ʿalā mā ruttibū fī al-khilāfati, fakāna ʾākhiruhum istikhlāfan huwa ʾākhirahum mawtan, fadabbara khilāfatahum ʿalā mā ʿalima min ʾājālihim.
Furthermore, since it was already in God Most High’s knowledge that He would make these four successors to the prophetic office, given the lifespans God had allotted them, this could only be accomplished by arranging them in the order in which they held the caliphate. The last of them to succeed was the last of them to die. He therefore ordered their succession according to His knowledge of their appointed terms.
وَوَفَّى لَهُمْ بِمَا وَعَدَهُمْ مِنِ اِسْتِخْلَافِهِمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اِسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِنْ خَلَائِفِ أَنْبِيَائِهِ السَّوَالِفِ، وَمَكَّنَ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِي اِرْتَضَى لَهُمْ، وَبَدَّلَهُمْ أَمْنًا بَعْدَ خَوْفِهِمْ، كَمَا قَالَ الصَّادِقُ فِيمَا عَهِدَ، وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللَّهِ، فَذَلِكَ تَأْوِيلُ قَوْلِهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَمَا اِسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ) النُّورُ: 55 الْآيَةُ.
wawaffā lahum bimā waʿadahum mini istikhlāfihim fī al-ʾarḍi kamā istakhlafa alladhīna min qablihim min khalāʾifi ʾanbiyāʾihi al-sawālifi, wamakkana lahum dīnahumu alladhī irtaḍā lahum, wabaddalahum ʾamnan baʿda khawfihim, kamā qāla al-ṣādiqu fīmā ʿahida, waman ʾawfā biʿahdihi mina Allāhi, fa-dhālika taʾwīlu qawlihi ʿazza wajalla: (waʿada Allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū minkum waʿamilū al-ṣāliḥāti layastakhlifannahum fī al-ʾarḍi kamā istakhlafa alladhīna min qablihim) al-nūru: 55 al-ʾāyatu.
He fulfilled His promise to make them successors on earth, just as He had made successors of those before them, the successors to His earlier prophets. He firmly established for them the religion He had approved for them and replaced their fear with security, as the Truthful One said in His covenant; and who is more faithful to his covenant than God? This is the interpretation of His saying, mighty and majestic: “God has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely make them successors on earth, just as He made those before them successors” (al-Nūr 24:55), and the rest of the verse.
وَأَنْ يَعْتَقِدَ أَنَّ الْإِمَامَةَ فِي قُرَيْشٍ خَاصَّةً دُونَ سَائِرِ الْعَرَبِ كَافَّةً إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَأَنْ لَا يَخْرُجَ عَلَى الْأَئِمَّةِ بِالسَّيْفِ، وَيَصْبِرَ عَلَى جَوْرِهِمْ إِنْ كَانَ مِنْهُمْ، وَيَشْكُرَ عَلَى الْمَعْرُوفِ وَالْعَدْلِ، وَيُطِيعَ إِذَا أَمَرَ بِالتَّقْوَى وَالْبِرِّ حَتَّى تَأْتِيَهُ يَدٌ خَاطِئَةٌ أَوْ مَنِيَّةٌ قَاضِيَةٌ، كَذَلِكَ السُّنَّةُ.
waʾan yaʿtaqida ʾanna al-ʾimāmata fī qurayshin khāṣṣatan dūna sāʾiri al-ʿarabi kāffatan ʾilā yawmi al-qiyāmati, waʾan lā yakhruja ʿalā al-ʾaʾimmati bi-al-sayfi, wayaṣbira ʿalā jawrihim ʾin kāna minhum, wayashkura ʿalā al-maʿrūfi wa-al-ʿadli, wayuṭīʿa ʾidhā ʾamara bi-al-taqwā wa-al-birri ḥattā taʾtiyahu yadun khāṭiʾatun ʾaw maniyyatun qāḍiyatun, kadhālika al-sunnatu.
He is also to believe that leadership belongs exclusively to Quraysh, to the exclusion of all the other Arabs, until the Day of Resurrection. He is not to rise against the rulers with the sword; he is to endure their injustice, should they commit it, be grateful for kindness and justice, and obey when the ruler commands God-fearing conduct and righteousness, until a wrongful hand overtakes him or death brings his end. Such is the Sunnah.
قَالَ عَالِمُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةُ ثَلَاثٌ وَسَبْعُونَ فِرْقَةً: اِثْنَتَانِ وَسَبْعُونَ هَالِكَةٌ، كُلُّهُمْ يُبْغِضُ السُّلْطَانَ، وَالنَّاجِيَةُ هَذِهِ الْوَاحِدَةُ الَّتِي مَعَ السُّلْطَانِ، وَسُئِلَ أَيُّ النَّاسِ خَيْرٌ؟ فَقَالَ: السُّلْطَانُ، قِيلَ: كُنَّا نَرَى أَنَّ شَرَّ النَّاسِ السُّلْطَانُ، فَقَالَ: مَهْلًا إِنَّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ نَظْرَتَيْنِ، نَظْرَةً إِلى سَلَامَةِ أَمْوَالِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَدِمَائِهِمْ، وَنَظْرَةً إِلى سَلَامَةِ أَفْكَارِهِمْ، فَيَطَّلِعُ فِي صَحِيفَتِهِ فَيَغْفِرُ لَهُ ذُنُوبَهُ.
qāla ʿālimunā ʾabū muḥammadin sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā: hādhihi al-ʾummatu thalāthun wasabʿūna firqatan: ithnatāni wasabʿūna hālikatun, kulluhum yubghiḍu al-sulṭāna, wa-al-nājiyatu hādhihi al-wāḥidatu allatī maʿa al-sulṭāni, wasuʾila ʾayyu al-nāsi khayrun? faqāla: al-sulṭānu, qīla: kunnā narā ʾanna sharra al-nāsi al-sulṭānu, faqāla: mahlan ʾinna li-llāhi taʿālā fī kulli yawmin naẓratayni, naẓratan ʾilā salāmati ʾamwāli al-muslimīna wadimāʾihim, wanaẓratan ʾilā salāmati ʾafkārihim, fayaṭṭaliʿu fī ṣaḥīfatihi fayaghfiru lahu dhunūbahu.
Our scholar Abū Muḥammad Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, said: “This community comprises seventy-three sects. Seventy-two are doomed; all of them hate the ruler. The saved one is this single group that stands with the ruler.” Asked, “Who is the best of people?” he answered, “The ruler.” He was told, “We thought the ruler was the worst of people.” He replied, “Be patient. Every day God Most High looks twice: once toward the safety of Muslims’ property and lives, and once toward the soundness of their thoughts. He then looks into the ruler’s record and forgives his sins.”
وَقَالَ أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ: الْخَلِيفَةُ إِذَا كَانَ غَيْرَ صَالِحٍ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْأَبْدَالِ، وَإِذَا كَانَ صَالِحًا فَهُوَ الْقُطْبُ الَّذِي تَدُورُ عَلَيْهِ الدُّنْيَا، قَوْلُهُ مِنَ الْأَبْدَالِ يَعْنِي أَبْدَالَ الْمُلْكِ، كَمَا حَدَّثَنَا عَنْ جَعْفَرِ بْنِ مُحَمَّدٍ الصَّادِقِ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: أَبْدَالُ الدُّنْيَا سَبْعَةٌ، عَلَى مَقَادِيرِهِمْ يَكُونُ النَّاسُ فِي كُلِّ زَمَانٍ مِنَ الْعُبَّادِ، وَالْعُلَمَاءِ، وَالتُّجَّارِ، وَالْخَلِيفَةِ، وَزِيرٍ، وَأَمِيرِ الْجَيْشِ، وَصَاحِبِ الشُّرْطَةِ، وَالْقَاضِي وَشُهُودِهِ.
waqāla ʾabū muḥammadin: al-khalīfatu ʾidhā kāna ghayra ṣāliḥin fahuwa mina al-ʾabdāli, waʾidhā kāna ṣāliḥan fahuwa al-quṭbu alladhī tadūru ʿalayhi al-dunyā, qawluhu mina al-ʾabdāli yaʿnī ʾabdāla al-mulki, kamā ḥaddathanā ʿan jaʿfari bni muḥammadin al-ṣādiqi ʾannahu qāla: ʾabdālu al-dunyā sabʿatun, ʿalā maqādīrihim yakūnu al-nāsu fī kulli zamānin mina al-ʿubbādi, wa-al-ʿulamāʾi, wa-al-tujjāri, wa-al-khalīfati, wazīrin, waʾamīri al-jayshi, waṣāḥibi al-shurṭati, wa-al-qāḍī washuhūdihi.
Abū Muḥammad said: “If the caliph is not righteous, he is one of the substitutes; if he is righteous, he is the pole around which the world revolves.” By “one of the substitutes” he means the substitutes in worldly sovereignty. Thus he related to us from Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad al-Ṣādiq that he said: “The substitutes of the world are seven. According to their respective measures are people in every age: worshippers, scholars, merchants, the caliph, a minister, the army commander, the chief of police, and the judge and his witnesses.”
رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: عَدْلُ سَاعَةٍ مِنْ إِمَامٍ عَادِلٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عِبَادَةِ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً، وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ الْإِمَامَ الْعَادِلَ يُوضَعُ فِي مِيزَانِهِ جَمِيعُ أَعْمَالِ رَعِيَّتِهِ، وَكَانَ عَمْرُو بْنُ الْعَاصِ يَقُولُ: إِمَامٌ غَشُومٌ خَيْرٌ مِنْ فِتْنَةٍ تَدُومُ.
rawaynā fī al-khabari: ʿadlu sāʿatin min ʾimāmin ʿādilin khayrun min ʿibādati sittīna sanatan, wayuqālu: ʾinna al-ʾimāma al-ʿādila yūḍaʿu fī mīzānihi jamīʿu ʾaʿmāli raʿiyyatihi, wakāna ʿamru bnu al-ʿāṣi yaqūlu: ʾimāmun ghashūmun khayrun min fitnatin tadūmu.
We have transmitted in a report: “One hour of justice from a just ruler is better than sixty years of worship.” It is said that all the deeds of a just ruler’s subjects are placed in his scales. ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ used to say, “An oppressive ruler is better than unending civil strife.”
وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يَكُونُ عَلَيْكُمْ أُمَرَاءُ يُفْسِدُونَ وَمَا يُصْلِحُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِمْ أَكْثَرُ، فَإِنْ أَحْسَنُوا فَلَهُمُ الْأَجْرُ وَعَلَيْكُمُ الشُّكْرُ، وَإِنْ أَسَاؤُوا فَعَلَيْهِمُ الْوِزْرُ وَعَلَيْكُمُ الصَّبْرُ، وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ: يَلِيكُمْ أُمَرَاءُ
waqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: yakūnu ʿalaykum ʾumarāʾu yufsidūna wamā yuṣliḥu Allāhu taʿālā bihim ʾaktharu, faʾin ʾaḥsanū falahumu al-ʾajru waʿalaykumu al-shukru, waʾin ʾasāʾū faʿalayhimu al-wizru waʿalaykumu al-ṣabru, wafī al-khabari al-ʾākhari: yalīkum ʾumarāʾu
The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said: “You will have rulers who cause corruption, but what God Most High sets right through them is greater. If they do well, theirs is the reward and yours is the duty of gratitude. If they do wrong, theirs is the burden and yours is the duty of patience.” In another report: “You will be governed by rulers
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٠
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 210
Volume Two, page 210
يَقُولُونَ مَا لَا يَعْرِفُوهُ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُنْكِرُونَ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ: يَفْعَلُونَ مَا لَمْ يُؤْمَرُوا، قُلْنَا: أَفَلَا نُقَاتِلُهُمْ؟ قَالَ: لَا مَا صَلَّوْا.
yaqūlūna mā lā yaʿrifūhu wayafʿalūna mā yunkirūna, wafī lafẓin: yafʿalūna mā lam yuʾmarū, qulnā: ʾafalā nuqātiluhum? qāla: lā mā ṣallaw.
who say what they do not recognize and do what they disapprove of.” In another wording: “They do what they were not commanded to do.” We asked, “Should we not fight them?” He said, “No, as long as they pray.”
وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ: مَا أَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ.
wafī al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari: mā ʾaqāmū al-ṣalāta.
In the other report: “As long as they maintain the prayer.”
وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: مَنْ أَنْكَرَ إِمَامَةَ لِسُلْطَانٍ فَهُوَ زِنْدِيقٌ، وَمَنْ دَعَاهُ السُّلْطَانُ فَلَمْ يُجِبْ فَهُوَ مُبْتَدِعٌ، وَمَنْ أَتَاهُ مِنْ غَيْرِ دَعْوَةٍ فَهُوَ جَاهِلٌ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: الْخُشَيْبَاتُ السُّودُ الْمُعَلَّقَةُ عَلَى أَبْوَابِهِمْ أَنْفَعُ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ مِنْ سَبْعِينَ قَاضِيًا يَقْضُونَ فِي الْمَسْجِدِ.
wakāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: man ʾankara ʾimāmata lisulṭānin fahuwa zindīqun, waman daʿāhu al-sulṭānu falam yujib fahuwa mubtadiʿun, waman ʾatāhu min ghayri daʿwatin fahuwa jāhilun, wakāna yaqūlu: al-khushaybātu al-sūdu al-muʿallaqatu ʿalā ʾabwābihim ʾanfaʿu li-l-muslimīna min sabʿīna qāḍiyan yaqḍūna fī al-masjidi.
Sahl, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: “Whoever denies a ruler’s leadership is a heretic. Whoever is summoned by the ruler and does not respond is an innovator. Whoever goes to him without being summoned is ignorant.” He also used to say: “The little black wooden rods hung at their doors are more beneficial to Muslims than seventy judges administering judgment in the mosque.”
وَقَدْ كَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: إِذَا كَانَ السُّلْطَانُ صَالِحًا فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ صَالِحِي الْأُمَّةِ، وَإِذَا كَانَ فَاسِقًا فَصَالِحُو الْأُمَّةِ خَيْرٌ مِنْهُ؛ وَهَذَا قَوْلُ عَدْلٍ، وَلَا يُكَفَّرُ أَحَدٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْقِبْلَةِ بِذَنْبٍ وَإِنْ عَظُمَ، وَلَا يُنْزِلُهُ جَنَّةً وَلَا نَارًا بَلْ يَرْجُو لَهُ وَيَخَافُ عَلَيْهِ.
waqad kāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: ʾidhā kāna al-sulṭānu ṣāliḥan fahuwa khayrun min ṣāliḥī al-ʾummati, waʾidhā kāna fāsiqan faṣāliḥū al-ʾummati khayrun minhu; wa-hādhā qawlu ʿadlin, walā yukaffaru ʾaḥadun min ʾahli al-qiblati bidhanbin waʾin ʿaẓuma, walā yunziluhu jannatan walā nāran bal yarjū lahu wayakhāfu ʿalayhi.
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: “If the ruler is righteous, he is better than the righteous members of the community. If he is sinful, the righteous members of the community are better than he is.” This is a just statement. One is not to declare any person who faces the prayer-direction an unbeliever on account of a sin, however great, nor assign him to either Paradise or the Fire. Rather, one hopes for him and fears for him.
وَإِنَّ مَنْ مَاتَ مُصِرًّا عَلَى الْكَبَائِرِ عَنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ مِنْهَا فِي مَشِيئَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، إِنْ أَثْبَتَ وَعِيدَهُ عَلَيْهِ كَانَ عَدْلًا، وَإِنْ عَفَا عَنْهُ وَسَمَحَ لَهُ بِحَقِّهِ كَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْهُ فَضْلًا، وَلَا نَحْكُمُ وَلَا نَقْطَعُ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِشَيْءٍ، وَلَا نُوجِبُ لَنَا عَلَيْهِ شَيْئًا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ بَيْنَ عَدْلِهِ وَفَضْلِهِ وَبِمَشِيئَتِهِ وَاِخْتِيَارِهِ.
waʾinna man māta muṣirran ʿalā al-kabāʾiri ʿan ghayri tawbatin minhā fī mashīʾati Allāhi taʿālā, ʾin ʾathbata waʿīdahu ʿalayhi kāna ʿadlan, waʾin ʿafā ʿanhu wasamaḥa lahu biḥaqqihi kāna dhālika minhu faḍlan, walā naḥkumu walā naqṭaʿu ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā bishayʾin, walā nūjibu lanā ʿalayhi shayʾan ʾinnamā naḥnu bayna ʿadlihi wafaḍlihi wabimashīʾatihi wa-ikhtiyārihi.
Anyone who dies persisting in major sins without repenting of them is subject to God Most High’s will. If He makes His threat effective against him, that is justice. If He pardons him and relinquishes His claim against him, that is grace on His part. We pass no binding judgment upon God Most High, make no categorical assertion concerning Him, and impose no obligation upon Him in our favor. We remain between His justice and His grace, subject to His will and choice.
إِنْ حَقَّقَ عَلَيْنَا وَعِيدَهُ فَنَحْنُ أَهْلُ ذَلِكَ، وَإِنْ غَفَرَ لَنَا فَهُوَ أَهْلُ التَّقْوَى وَأَهْلُ الْمَغْفِرَةِ، كَيْفَ وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: مَنْ وَعَدَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى عَمَلٍ ثَوَابًا فَهُوَ يُنْجِزُهُ لَهُ، وَمَنْ أَوْعَدَهُ عَلَى عَمَلٍ عِقَابًا فَهُوَ فِيهِ بِالْخِيَارِ.
ʾin ḥaqqaqa ʿalaynā waʿīdahu fanaḥnu ʾahlu dhālika, waʾin ghafara lanā fahuwa ʾahlu al-taqwā waʾahlu al-maghfirati, kayfa waqad rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qāla: man waʿadahu Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā ʿamalin thawāban fahuwa yunjizuhu lahu, waman ʾawʿadahu ʿalā ʿamalin ʿiqāban fahuwa fīhi bi-al-khiyāri.
If He fulfills His threat against us, we deserve it. If He forgives us, He is worthy of reverent fear and worthy of granting forgiveness. How could it be otherwise, when we have transmitted from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “If God Most High has promised someone a reward for a deed, He will fulfill it for him. If He has threatened someone with punishment for a deed, He has the choice concerning it.”
وَالْحَدِيثُ الْآخَرُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سُئِلَ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَمَنْ يَقْتُلْ مُؤْمِنًا مُتَعَمِّدًا فَجَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ خَالِدًا فِيهَا) النِّسَاءُ: 93، فَقَالَ: جَزَاؤُهُ جَهَنَّمُ إِنْ جَازَاهُ، فَفِي كُلِّ قَضَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى حِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ وَعَدْلٌ، وَحُكْمٌ صَادِقٌ وَحَقٌّ.
wa-al-ḥadīthu al-ʾākharu ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama suʾila ʿan qawlihi taʿālā: (waman yaqtul muʾminan mutaʿammidan fajazāʾuhu jahannamu khālidan fīhā) al-nisāʾu: 93, faqāla: jazāʾuhu jahannamu ʾin jāzāhu, fafī kulli qaḍāʾi Allāhi taʿālā ḥikmatun bālighatun waʿadlun, waḥukmun ṣādiqun waḥaqqun.
In the other report, the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, was asked about His saying, exalted is He, “Whoever kills a believer deliberately, his recompense is Hell, remaining therein” (al-Nisāʾ 4:93). He replied: “His recompense is Hell, if He recompenses him.” Thus every decree of God Most High contains consummate wisdom and justice, and a judgment that is true and right.
وَأَنْ يُصَدِّقَ بِجَمِيعِ أَقْدَارِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى خَيْرِهَا وَشَرِّهَا أَنَّهَا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى سَابِقَةٌ فِي عِلْمِهِ جَارِيَةٌ فِي خَلْقِهِ بِحُكْمِهِ، وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا حَوْلَ لَهُمْ عَنْ مَعْصِيَتِهِ إِلَّا بِعِصْمَتِهِ، وَلَا قُوَّةَ لَهُمْ عَلَى طَاعَتِهِ إِلَّا بِرَحْمَتِهِ، وَأَنَّهُمْ لَا يُطِيقُونَ مَا حَمَّلَهُمْ إِلَّا بِهِ، وَلَا يَسْتَطِيعُونَ لِأَنْفُسِهِمْ نَفْعًا وَلَا ضَرًّا إِلَّا بِمَشِيئَتِهِ.
waʾan yuṣaddiqa bijamīʿi ʾaqdāri Allāhi taʿālā khayrihā washarrihā ʾannahā mina Allāhi taʿālā sābiqatun fī ʿilmihi jāriyatun fī khalqihi biḥukmihi, waʾannahum lā ḥawla lahum ʿan maʿṣiyatihi ʾillā biʿiṣmatihi, walā quwwata lahum ʿalā ṭāʿatihi ʾillā biraḥmatihi, waʾannahum lā yuṭīqūna mā ḥammalahum ʾillā bihi, walā yastaṭīʿūna liʾanfusihim nafʿan walā ḍarran ʾillā bimashīʾatihi.
He is also to affirm all God Most High’s decrees, their good and their evil: that they are from God Most High, antecedently present in His knowledge and taking effect among His creatures by His judgment; that they have no means of turning away from disobeying Him except through His protection, and no strength to obey Him except through His mercy; that they cannot bear what He has charged them with except through Him; and that they cannot procure benefit or harm for themselves except by His will.
وَنُؤْمِنُ بِقُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ وَآيَاتِهِ فِي مُلْكِهِ وَغَيْبِ مَلَكُوتِهِ مِمَّا ذُكِرَ فِي الْأَخْبَارِ مِنْ كَرَامَتِهِ لِأَوْلِيَائِهِ، وَإِجَابَاتِهِ لِأَحِبَّائِهِ، وَإِظْهَارِ الْقُدْرَةِ لِلصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالصَّالِحِينَ، مَزِيدًا لِإِيمَانِهِمْ وَتَثْبِيتًا لِيَقِينِهِمْ وَتَكْرِمَةً وَتَشْرِيفًا لَهُمْ.
wanuʾminu biqudrati Allāhi waʾāyātihi fī mulkihi waghaybi malakūtihi mimmā dhukira fī al-ʾakhbāri min karāmatihi liʾawliyāʾihi, waʾijābātihi liʾaḥibbāʾihi, waʾiẓhāri al-qudrati li-l-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-ṣāliḥīna, mazīdan liʾīmānihim watathbītan liyaqīnihim watakrimatan watashrīfan lahum.
We believe in God’s power and His signs within His dominion and the unseen realm of His sovereignty: what the reports mention of His honoring His friends, answering His beloved ones, and manifesting power to the utterly truthful and the righteous, to increase their faith, establish their certainty, and honor and ennoble them.
وَأَنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِي ذَلِكَ إِبْطَالٌ لِنُبُوَّةِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَلَا إِدْحَاضُ حُجَجِهِمْ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ غَيْرُ مُثْبِتِينَ وَلَا مُخَالِفِينَ لِلْأَنْبِيَاءِ، وَلَا اِدَّعَوْا مَا ظَهَرَ لَهُمْ بِحَوْلِهِمْ وَقُوَّتِهِمْ، وَلَا أَظْهَرُوا دَعْوَةً إِلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ، وَلَا تَظَاهُرًا بِهِ، وَلَا اِجْتِلَابًا لِلدُّنْيَا، وَلَا طَلَبًا لِلرِّيَاسَةِ عَلَى أَهْلِهَا، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ شَيْءٌ كَشَفَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُمْ مِنْ سِرِّ مَلَكُوتِهِ كَيْفَ شَاءَ.
waʾannahu laysa fī dhālika ʾibṭālun linubuwwati al-ʾanbiyāʾi walā ʾidḥāḍu ḥujajihim min qibali ʾanna hāʾulāʾi ghayru muthbitīna walā mukhālifīna li-l-ʾanbiyāʾi, walā iddaʿaw mā ẓahara lahum biḥawlihim waquwwatihim, walā ʾaẓharū daʿwatan ʾilā ʾanfusihim, walā taẓāhuran bihi, walā ijtilāban li-l-dunyā, walā ṭalaban li-l-riyāsati ʿalā ʾahlihā, waʾinnamā huwa shayʾun kashafahu Allāhu taʿālā lahum min sirri malakūtihi kayfa shāʾa.
None of this invalidates the prophets’ prophethood or refutes their proofs, because these people neither advance a claim nor oppose the prophets. They have not claimed that what appeared to them came through their own might and strength, nor issued a call to themselves, nor displayed it ostentatiously, nor sought worldly gain through it or leadership over the world’s people. It is simply something God Most High disclosed to them from the secret of His sovereignty, however He willed.
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١١
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 211
Volume Two, page 211
وَأَظْهَرَهُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ غَيْبِ قُدْرَتِهِ أَيْنَ شَاءَ كَمَا شَاءَ، تَخْصِيصًا لَهُمْ وَتَعْرِيفًا، وَهُمْ لِلْأَنْبِيَاءِ مُتَّبِعُونَ، وَعَلَى آثَارِهِمْ مُقْتَفُونَ، وَلِسُنَّتِهِمْ مُقْتَدُونَ، فَآتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى ذَلِكَ بِبَرَكَةِ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ وَبِحُسْنِ اِتِّبَاعِهِمْ لَهُمْ، وَلِأَنَّهُمْ إِخْوَانُهُمْ أَبْدَالًا لَا أَشْكَالًا وَعَنْهُمْ أَمْثَالًا، وَقَدْ تَوَاتَرَتِ الْأَخْبَارُ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَالتَّابِعِينَ الْأَخْيَارِ بِمَا ذَكَرْنَا فَغَنِينَا بِالتَّوَاتُرِ عَنِ التَّنَاظُرِ.
waʾaẓharahum ʿalayhi min ghaybi qudratihi ʾayna shāʾa kamā shāʾa, takhṣīṣan lahum wataʿrīfan, wahum li-l-ʾanbiyāʾi muttabiʿūna, waʿalā ʾāthārihim muqtafūna, walisunnatihim muqtadūna, faʾātāhumu Allāhu taʿālā dhālika bibarakati al-ʾanbiyāʾi wabiḥusni ittibāʿihim lahum, waliʾannahum ʾikhwānuhum ʾabdālan lā ʾashkālan waʿanhum ʾamthālan, waqad tawātarati al-ʾakhbāru mina al-ṣaḥābati wa-al-tābiʿīna al-ʾakhyāri bimā dhakarnā faghanīnā bi-al-tawāturi ʿani al-tanāẓuri.
He made them privy to it from the unseen dimension of His power, wherever and however He willed, singling them out and imparting knowledge to them. They follow the prophets, trace their footsteps, and take their Sunnah as their model. God Most High gave them this through the prophets’ blessing and their own faithful adherence to them, and because they are their brothers as substitutes, not as counterparts, and exemplars deriving from them. Reports of what we have mentioned have come in abundant, convergent transmission from the Companions and the virtuous Successors, so that this transmission dispenses us from disputation.
وَأَمَّا الثَّمَانِي الْوَاقِعَاتُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ فَأَنْ يَعْتَقِدَ الْعَبْدُ مُسَاءَلَةَ مُنْكَرٍ وَنَكِيرٍ يُقْعِدَانِ الْعَبْدَ فِي قَبْرِهِ سَوِيًّا ذَا رُوحٍ وَجَسَدٍ، فَيَسْأَلَانِهِ عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ وَعَنِ الرِّسَالَةِ؛ وَهِيَ آخِرُ فِتْنَةٍ تُعْرَضُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِ، وَهُمَا فَتَّانَا الْقَبْرِ، كَذَلِكَ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
waʾammā al-thamānī al-wāqiʿātu fī al-ʾākhirati faʾan yaʿtaqida al-ʿabdu musāʾalata munkarin wanakīrin yuqʿidāni al-ʿabda fī qabrihi sawiyyan dhā rūḥin wajasadin, fayasʾalānihi ʿani al-tawḥīdi waʿani al-risālati; wahiya ʾākhiru fitnatin tuʿraḍu ʿalā al-muʾmini, wahumā fattānā al-qabri, kadhālika rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
As for the eight events in the next world, the servant is to believe in the questioning by Munkar and Nakīr. They make the servant sit upright in his grave, whole, possessed of spirit and body, and question him about God’s oneness and the prophetic mission. This is the last trial presented to the believer, and they are the two testers of the grave. Thus have we transmitted from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace.
وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (يُثَبِّتُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِالْقَوْلِ الثَّابِتِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ) إِبْرَاهِيمُ: 27، قِيلَ: عِنْدَ مُسَاءَلَةِ مُنْكَرٍ وَنَكِيرٍ، وَيُضِلُّ اللَّهُ الظَّالِمِينَ وَيَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ.
wahuwa maʿnā qawli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: (yuthabbitu Allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū bi-al-qawli al-thābiti fī al-ḥayāti al-dunyā wafī al-ʾākhirati) ʾibrāhīmu: 27, qīla: ʿinda musāʾalati munkarin wanakīrin, wayuḍillu Allāhu al-ẓālimīna wayafʿalu Allāhu mā yashāʾu.
This is the meaning of God’s saying, mighty and majestic, “God makes those who believe stand firm through the firm word in the life of this world and in the next” (Ibrāhīm 14:27). It was said: at the questioning by Munkar and Nakīr. “God lets the wrongdoers stray, and God does whatever He wills.”
وَعَذَابُ الْقَبْرِ حَقٌّ وَحِكْمَةٌ وَعَدْلٌ عَلَى الْجِسْمِ وَالرُّوحِ وَالنَّفْسِ، يَشْتَرِكُونَ فِي ذَلِكَ حَسَبَ اِشْتِرَاكِهِمْ فِي الْمَعْصِيَةِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ نَعِيمًا كَانَ ذَلِكَ عَلَى الْجِسْمِ وَالرُّوحِ وَالنَّفْسِ، يَشْتَرِكُونَ فِي النَّعِيمِ كَمَا اِشْتَرَكُوا فِي الطَّاعَةِ؛ وَهَذَا مِنْ أَحْكَامِ الْآخِرَةِ، يَكُونُ بِمَجَارِي الْقُدْرَةِ لَيْسَ عَلَى تَرْتِيبِ الْمَعْقُولِ وَلَا عُرْفِ الْعُقُولِ.
waʿadhābu al-qabri ḥaqqun waḥikmatun waʿadlun ʿalā al-jismi wa-al-rūḥi wa-al-nafsi, yashtarikūna fī dhālika ḥasaba ishtirākihim fī al-maʿṣiyati, waʾin kāna naʿīman kāna dhālika ʿalā al-jismi wa-al-rūḥi wa-al-nafsi, yashtarikūna fī al-naʿīmi kamā ishtarakū fī al-ṭāʿati; wa-hādhā min ʾaḥkāmi al-ʾākhirati, yakūnu bimajārī al-qudrati laysa ʿalā tartībi al-maʿqūli walā ʿurfi al-ʿuqūli.
The punishment of the grave is real, wise, and just, falling upon the body, spirit, and soul. They share in it in proportion to their shared part in disobedience. If it is bliss, that too falls upon body, spirit, and soul; they share in bliss just as they shared in obedience. This belongs to the determinations of the next world. It takes place through the workings of divine power, not according to rational ordering or what minds are accustomed to.
يُوصِلُ اللَّهُ الْعَذَابَ وَالنَّعِيمَ إِلَى الْأَرْوَاحِ وَالْأَجْسَامِ وَهِيَ مُتَفَرِّقَةٌ فَيَتَّصِلُ ذَلِكَ بِهِمَا كَأَنَّهُمَا مُتَّفِقَانِ، وَلَيْسَ فِي الْقُدْرَةِ مَسَافَةٌ وَلَا تَرْتِيبٌ وَلَا بُعْدٌ وَلَا تَوْقِيتٌ، وَيُؤْمِنُ بِالْمِيزَانِ ذِي الْكِفَّتَيْنِ وَاللِّسَانِ أَنَّهُ حَقٌّ وَعَدْلٌ وَحِكْمَةٌ وَفَضْلٌ، كَمَا جَاءَ وَصْفُهُ فِي الْعِظَمِ، مِنْ أَنَّ طَبَقَاتِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ تُوزَنُ فِيهِ الْأَعْمَالُ بِقُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.
yūṣilu Allāhu al-ʿadhāba wa-al-naʿīma ʾilā al-ʾarwāḥi wa-al-ʾajsāmi wahiya mutafarriqatun fayattaṣilu dhālika bihimā kaʾannahumā muttafiqāni, walaysa fī al-qudrati masāfatun walā tartībun walā buʿdun walā tawqītun, wayuʾminu bi-al-mīzāni dhī al-kiffatayni wa-al-lisāni ʾannahu ḥaqqun waʿadlun waḥikmatun wafaḍlun, kamā jāʾa waṣfuhu fī al-ʿiẓami, min ʾanna ṭabaqāti al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi tūzanu fīhi al-ʾaʿmālu biqudrati Allāhi taʿālā.
God conveys punishment and bliss to spirits and bodies while they are separated, and it reaches them both as though they were united. Within divine power there is no distance, sequence, remoteness, or appointed interval. One believes in the Balance with its two pans and pointer: that it is real, just, wise, and gracious, as described in its immensity with the layers of the heavens and earth; in it deeds are weighed by the power of God Most High.
وَالصِّنَجُ يَوْمَئِذٍ مَثَاقِيلُ الذَّرِّ وَالْخَرْدَلِ بِحَقِيقَةِ الْعَدْلِ، وَقَدْ خَابَ مَنْ حَمَلَ ظُلْمًا فَتَكُونُ الْحَسَنَاتُ فِي صُورَةٍ حَسَنَةٍ تُطْرَحُ فِي كِفَّةِ النُّورِ فَيَثْقُلُ بِهَا الْمِيزَانُ بِرَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَتَكُونُ السَّيِّئَاتُ فِي صُورَةٍ سَيِّئَةٍ تُطْرَحُ فِي كِفَّةِ الظُّلْمَةِ فَيَخِفُّ بِهَا الْمِيزَانُ بِعَدْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.
wa-al-ṣinaju yawmaʾidhin mathāqīlu al-dharri wa-al-khardali biḥaqīqati al-ʿadli, waqad khāba man ḥamala ẓulman fatakūnu al-ḥasanātu fī ṣūratin ḥasanatin tuṭraḥu fī kiffati al-nūri fayathqulu bihā al-mīzānu biraḥmati Allāhi taʿālā, watakūnu al-sayyiʾātu fī ṣūratin sayyiʾatin tuṭraḥu fī kiffati al-ẓulmati fayakhiffu bihā al-mīzānu biʿadli Allāhi taʿālā.
Its weights on that day are the measures of specks and mustard seeds, in the full reality of justice. Whoever bears wrongdoing has indeed failed. Good deeds take a beautiful form and are cast into the pan of light, making the Balance heavy through God Most High’s mercy. Bad deeds take an ugly form and are cast into the pan of darkness, making the Balance light through God Most High’s justice.
وَيَعْتَقِدُ أَنَّ الصِّرَاطَ حَقٌّ عَلَى مَا جَاءَ وَصْفُهُ فِي الْآثَارِ كَدِقَّةِ الشَّعْرَةِ وَحَدِّ السَّيْفِ؛ وَهُوَ طَرِيقُ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ أَوِ النَّارِ، دَحْضٌ مَزَلَّةٌ يُثَبِّتُ عَلَيْهِ أَقْدَامَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِقُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، فَيَحْمِلُهُمْ إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَتَزِلُّ عَنْهُ أَقْدَامُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ فَتَهْوِي بِهِمْ فِي النَّارِ بِحُكْمِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ.
wayaʿtaqidu ʾanna al-ṣirāṭa ḥaqqun ʿalā mā jāʾa waṣfuhu fī al-ʾāthāri kadiqqati al-shaʿrati waḥaddi al-sayfi; wahuwa ṭarīqu al-farīqayni ʾilā al-jannati ʾawi al-nāri, daḥḍun mazallatun yuthabbitu ʿalayhi ʾaqdāma al-muʾminīna biqudrati Allāhi ʿazza wajalla, fayaḥmiluhum ʾilā al-jannati bifaḍli Allāhi taʿālā, watazillu ʿanhu ʾaqdāmu al-munāfiqīna fatahwī bihim fī al-nāri biḥukmi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla.
He is to believe that the Bridge is real, as it is described in the transmitted accounts: as fine as a hair and sharp as a sword’s edge. It is the road of the two groups to Paradise or the Fire, slippery and treacherous. He makes the believers’ feet firm upon it through the power of God, mighty and majestic, and it carries them to Paradise through God Most High’s grace. The hypocrites’ feet slip from it and plunge them into the Fire by the judgment of God, mighty and majestic.
وَهُوَ عَلَى مَتْنِ جَهَنَّمَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، مَنْ قَطَعَهُ نَجَا مِنْهَا بِرَحْمَةِ اللَّهِ، وَمَنْ زَلَّ عَنْهُ وَقَعَ فِيهَا بِحِكْمَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَيُؤْمِنُ بِوُقُوعِ الْحِسَابِ وَتَفَاوُتِ الْخَلْقِ فِيهِ، فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يُحَاسَبُ حِسَابًا يَسِيرًا، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَدْخُلُ النَّارَ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ؛ وَهُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ.
wahuwa ʿalā matni jahannama biʾidhni Allāhi taʿālā, man qaṭaʿahu najā minhā biraḥmati Allāhi, waman zalla ʿanhu waqaʿa fīhā biḥikmati Allāhi taʿālā, wayuʾminu biwuqūʿi al-ḥisābi watafāwuti al-khalqi fīhi, faminhum man yuḥāsabu ḥisāban yasīran, waminhum man yadkhulu al-nāra bighayri ḥisābin; wahumu al-kāfirūna.
By God Most High’s permission it spans Hell. Whoever crosses it escapes Hell through God’s mercy; whoever slips from it falls into Hell through God Most High’s wisdom. One believes that the reckoning will occur and that creatures will differ in it. Some will receive an easy accounting; others will enter the Fire without an accounting, namely the unbelievers.
وَكَانَ إِمَامُنَا أَبُو مُحَمَّدٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: يُسْأَلُ الْأَنْبِيَاءُ عَنْ تَبْلِيغِ الرِّسَالَةِ، وَيُسْأَلُ الْكُفَّارُ عَنْ تَكْذِيبِ الْمُرْسَلِينَ، وَيُسْأَلُ الْمُبْتَدِعَةُ عَنِ السُّنَّةِ، وَيُسْأَلُ الْمُسْلِمُونَ عَنِ الْأَعْمَالِ، فَقَوْلُنَا لِقَوْلِهِ تَبَعٌ.
wakāna ʾimāmunā ʾabū muḥammadin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: yusʾalu al-ʾanbiyāʾu ʿan tablīghi al-risālati, wayusʾalu al-kuffāru ʿan takdhībi al-mursalīna, wayusʾalu al-mubtadiʿatu ʿani al-sunnati, wayusʾalu al-muslimūna ʿani al-ʾaʿmāli, faqawlunā liqawlihi tabaʿun.
Our imam Abū Muḥammad, may God Most High have mercy on him, used to say: “The prophets will be questioned about conveying the message; the unbelievers about denying the messengers; the innovators about the Sunnah; and the Muslims about their deeds.” Our position follows his.
وَيُؤْمِنُ بِالنَّظَرِ إِلَى اللَّهِ جَلَّ جَلَالُهُ عِيَانًا بِالْأَبْصَارِ كِفَاحًا مُوَاجَهَةً تُكْشَفُ الْحُجُبُ وَالْأَسْتَارُ بِقُدْرَةِ اللَّهِ وَمَشِيئَتِهِ وَنُورِهِ وَرَحْمَتِهِ كَيْفَ شَاءَ؛ وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: (لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا الْحُسْنَى وَزِيَادَةٌ) يُونُسُ: 26، فَالْحُسْنَى الْجَنَّةُ، وَالزِّيَادَةُ النَّظَرُ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَبَارَكَ
wayuʾminu bi-al-naẓari ʾilā Allāhi jalla jalāluhu ʿiyānan bi-al-ʾabṣāri kifāḥan muwājahatan tukshafu al-ḥujubu wa-al-ʾastāru biqudrati Allāhi wamashīʾatihi wanūrihi waraḥmatihi kayfa shāʾa; wahuwa maʿnā qawli Allāhi taʿālā: (li-alladhīna ʾaḥsanū al-ḥusnā waziyādatun) yūnusu: 26, fa-al-ḥusnā al-jannatu, wa-al-ziyādatu al-naẓaru ʾilā Allāhi tabāraka
One believes in looking upon God, exalted be His majesty, visibly with the eyes, directly and face to face. The veils and coverings are lifted through God’s power, will, light, and mercy, however He wills. This is the meaning of God Most High’s saying: “For those who do good is the finest reward, and more” (Yūnus 10:26). The finest reward is Paradise, and the addition is looking upon God, blessed
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٢
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 212
Volume Two, page 212
وَتَعَالَى، وَكَذَلِكَ فَسَّرَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَيَعْتَقِدُ إِخْرَاجَ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ بَعْدَ الِانْتِقَامِ حَتَّى لَا يَبْقَى فِي جَهَنَّمَ مُوَحِّدٌ بِفَضْلِ اللَّهِ بِشَفَاعَةِ الشَّافِعِينَ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ وَالصِّدِّيقِينَ.
wataʿālā, wa-kadhālika fassarahu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, wayaʿtaqidu ʾikhrāja al-muwaḥḥidīna mina al-nāri baʿda al-intiqāmi ḥattā lā yabqā fī jahannama muwaḥḥidun bifaḍli Allāhi bishafāʿati al-shāfiʿīna mina al-nabiyyīna wa-al-ṣiddīqīna.
and exalted is He. This is also how the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, explained it. One is to believe that those who affirm God’s oneness will be brought out of the Fire after retribution has been exacted, until not one such person remains in Hell, through God’s grace and the intercession of intercessors among the prophets and the utterly truthful.
وَأَنَّ لِكُلِّ مُؤْمِنٍ شَفَاعَةً بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ، فَيَشْفَعُ النَّبِيُّونَ وَالصِّدِّيقُونَ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ وَسَائِرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ وُسْعَ جَاهِهِ وَقَدْرَ مَنْزِلَتِهِ، أَجْمَعَتِ الرُّوَاةُ بِذَلِكَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي إِثْبَاتِ الشَّفَاعَةِ وَفِي إِخْرَاجِ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ؛ وَهُمُ الْجَهَنَّمِيُّونَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الطَّبَقَةِ الْعُلْيَا مِنَ النَّارِ.
waʾanna likulli muʾminin shafāʿatan biʾidhni Allāhi, fayashfaʿu al-nabiyyūna wa-al-ṣiddīqūna wa-al-ʿulamāʾu wa-al-shuhadāʾu wasāʾiru al-muʾminīna kullu wāḥidin wusʿa jāhihi waqadra manzilatihi, ʾajmaʿati al-ruwātu bi-dhālika ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ʾithbāti al-shafāʿati wafī ʾikhrāji al-muwaḥḥidīna mina al-nāri; wahumu al-jahannamiyyūna min ʾahli al-ṭabaqati al-ʿulyā mina al-nāri.
Every believer has an intercession, by God’s permission. The prophets, the utterly truthful, scholars, martyrs, and all other believers will intercede, each according to the extent of his standing and the measure of his rank. The transmitters unanimously relate this from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, affirming intercession and the bringing out of those who affirm God’s oneness from the Fire. They are the “people brought out of Hell,” from the inhabitants of the Fire’s uppermost level.
وَهُوَ مَعْنَى قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: (رُبَمَا يَوَدُّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ كَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ) الْحِجْرُ: 2، قَالَ أَهْلُ التَّفْسِيرِ: ذَلِكَ عِنْدَ إِخْرَاجِ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ مِنَ النَّارِ، وَيَبْقَى الْبَاقِي لِرَحْمَةِ أَرْحَمِ الرَّاحِمِينَ، فَيَخْرُجُ مِنَ النَّارِ بِمَشِيئَتِهِ، وَسَعَةِ رَحْمَتِهِ، وَفَضْلِ فَضْلِهِ، مَنْ لَمْ يَشْفَعْ لَهُمُ الشَّافِعُونَ وَلَمْ يُقَدِّمْ فِي الشَّفَاعَةِ لَهُمُ الْمُرْسَلُونَ، هَكَذَا رَوَيْنَا مَعْنَاهُ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
wahuwa maʿnā qawli Allāhi taʿālā: (rubamā yawaddu alladhīna kafarū law kānū muslimīna) al-ḥijru: 2, qāla ʾahlu al-tafsīri: dhālika ʿinda ʾikhrāji al-muwaḥḥidīna mina al-nāri, wayabqā al-bāqī liraḥmati ʾarḥami al-rāḥimīna, fayakhruju mina al-nāri bimashīʾatihi, wasaʿati raḥmatihi, wafaḍli faḍlihi, man lam yashfaʿ lahumu al-shāfiʿūna walam yuqaddim fī al-shafāʿati lahumu al-mursalūna, hākadhā rawaynā maʿnāhu ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
This is the meaning of God Most High’s saying: “Those who disbelieved may well wish that they had been Muslims” (al-Ḥijr 15:2). The exegetes said that this happens when those who affirm God’s oneness are brought out of the Fire. Whoever remains is left to the mercy of the Most Merciful of the merciful. By His will, the breadth of His mercy, and the abundance of His grace, those for whom the intercessors did not intercede and on whose behalf the messengers did not advance an intercession will come out of the Fire. This is the purport of what we have transmitted from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace.
فَهَذِهِ عُقُودُ السُّنَّةِ الْهَادِيَةِ وَطَرِيقَةُ الْأُمَّةِ الرَّاضِيَةِ، وَقَدْ أَجْمَعَ السَّلَفُ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّهُ لَمْ يُنْقَلْ عَنْ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ خِلَافُهُ، وَلَا رُوِيَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ضِدُّهُ، بَلْ قَدْ رُوِيَ فِي كُلِّ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ أَخْبَارٌ تُوجِبُ إِيجَابَهُ وَمَعَانٍ تَشْهَدُ لِإِثْبَاتِهِ وَتَوَلَّى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى إِجْمَاعَهُمْ عَلَى سُنَّةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَمَا تَوَلَّى إِظْهَارَ دِينِهِ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ.
fa-hādhihi ʿuqūdu al-sunnati al-hādiyati waṭarīqatu al-ʾummati al-rāḍiyati, waqad ʾajmaʿa al-salafu mina al-muʾminīna ʿalā mā dhakarnāhu min qibali ʾannahu lam yunqal ʿan ʾaḥadin minhum khilāfuhu, walā ruwiya ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ḍidduhu, bal qad ruwiya fī kulli mā dhakarnāhu ʾakhbārun tūjibu ʾījābahu wamaʿānin tashhadu liʾithbātihi watawallā Allāhu taʿālā ʾijmāʿahum ʿalā sunnati rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kamā tawallā ʾiẓhāra dīnihi ʿalā al-dīni kullihi.
These are the commitments of the guiding Sunnah and the path of the contented community. The predecessors among the believers unanimously agreed upon what we have mentioned, for no contrary view has been transmitted from any of them, nor has its opposite been related from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace. Rather, for everything we have mentioned, reports have been transmitted requiring its affirmation and meanings bearing witness to its establishment. God Most High has overseen their agreement upon the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, just as He has overseen the ascendancy of His religion over all religion.
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ضَمِنَ لِي، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: أَعْطَانِي أَنْ لَا تَجْتَمِعَ أُمَّتِي عَلَى ضَلَالَةٍ، فَإِذَا رَأَيْتُمْ خِلَافًا فَكُونُوا مَعَ السَّوَادِ الْأَعْظَمِ؛ وَالسَّوَادُ الْأَعْظَمُ يُعَبَّرُ بِهِ عَنِ الْكَثْرَةِ، فَالْمُخْتَلِفُونَ مُتَّفِقُونَ عَلَى أَنَّ السَّوَادَ الْأَعْظَمَ مَا عَلَيْهِ الْعَامَّةُ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْكَافَّةُ مِنَ الْعُمُومِ.
warawaynā ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾanna Allāha ʿazza wajalla ḍamina lī, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ʾaʿṭānī ʾan lā tajtamiʿa ʾummatī ʿalā ḍalālatin, faʾidhā raʾaytum khilāfan fakūnū maʿa al-sawādi al-ʾaʿẓami; wa-al-sawādu al-ʾaʿẓamu yuʿabbaru bihi ʿani al-kathrati, fa-al-mukhtalifūna muttafiqūna ʿalā ʾanna al-sawāda al-ʾaʿẓama mā ʿalayhi al-ʿāmmatu mina al-muslimīna wa-al-kāffatu mina al-ʿumūmi.
We have transmitted from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “God, mighty and majestic, has guaranteed me,” or, in another wording, “has granted me, that my community will not agree upon error. When you see disagreement, be with the great majority.” “The great majority” is an expression for the multitude. Even those who disagree agree that the great majority is the position held by the general body of Muslims and the public at large.
وَأَنَّ الْمُبْتَدِعَةَ وَالْمُخَالِفَةَ لِمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ إِنَّمَا هُمْ فِرَقٌ وَشَرَاذِمُ قَلِيلُونَ وَشِيَعٌ وَأَحْزَابٌ مُتَفَرِّقُونَ، لِأَنَّ كُلَّ مُبْتَدِعَةٍ مِنْهُمْ فِرْقَةٌ، وَكُلَّ شِرْذِمَةٍ مِنْهُمْ مُخْتَلِفَةٌ، وَلَيْسَ السَّوَادُ الْأَعْظَمُ وَالْجَمُّ الْغَفِيرُ الدَّهْمَاءُ إِلَّا أَهْلَ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ؛ وَهُمُ السَّوَادُ وَالْعَامَّةُ.
waʾanna al-mubtadiʿata wa-al-mukhālifata limā dhakarnāhu ʾinnamā hum firaqun washarādhimu qalīlūna washiyaʿun waʾaḥzābun mutafarriqūna, liʾanna kulla mubtadiʿatin minhum firqatun, wakulla shirdhimatin minhum mukhtalifatun, walaysa al-sawādu al-ʾaʿẓamu wa-al-jammu al-ghafīru al-dahmāʾu ʾillā ʾahla al-sunnati wa-al-jamāʿati; wahumu al-sawādu wa-al-ʿāmmatu.
The innovators and those who oppose what we have stated are only sects and small bands, factions and scattered parties. Each innovating group among them is a separate sect, and each small band disagrees with the others. The great majority, the vast multitude, the common mass, are none other than the people of the Sunnah and the community. They are the main body and the general public.
وَلِذَلِكَ كَانَ عُمَرُ اِبْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ يَقُولُونَ: دِينُنَا دِينُ الْعَجَائِزِ وَصِبْيَانِ الْمَكَاتِبِ وَدِينُ الْأَعْرَابِ، أَيْ هُوَ الْقَوِيُّ السَّلِيمُ الْعَامُّ، فَسَّرَ ذَلِكَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ فَقَالَ: مَنْ كَانَ عَلَى مَا أَنْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ الْيَوْمَ.
wali-dhālika kāna ʿumaru ibnu ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi waghayruhu mina al-ṣāliḥīna yaqūlūna: dīnunā dīnu al-ʿajāʾizi waṣibyāni al-makātibi wadīnu al-ʾaʿrābi, ʾay huwa al-qawiyyu al-salīmu al-ʿāmmu, fassara dhālika rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari faqāla: man kāna ʿalā mā ʾantum ʿalayhi al-yawma.
For this reason ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz and other righteous people used to say: “Our religion is the religion of old women and schoolchildren, and the religion of the desert Arabs,” meaning that it is strong, sound, and shared by all. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, explained this in the other report, saying: “Whoever follows what you follow today.”
فَأَجْمَعَتِ الْأُمَّةُ عَلَى أَنَّ مَا أَحْدَثَتِ الْفِرَقُ الْمُخْتَلِفَةُ لَمْ تَكُنْ عَلَيْهِ الصَّحَابَةُ وَلَا تَكَلَّمُوا فِيهِ وَلَا نُقِلَ عَنْهُمْ، وَأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا عَلَى مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ آنِفًا، لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يُرْوَ عَنْ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ خِلَافُهُ، بَلْ قَدْ نُقِلَ عَنْهُمْ وِفَاقُهُ فِي الْقَرْنِ الْأَوَّلِ وَالثَّانِي، ثُمَّ حَدَثَ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْخِلَافِ فِي بَعْضِ الْقَرْنِ الثَّالِثِ، وَفِي الْقَرْنِ الرَّابِعِ.
faʾajmaʿati al-ʾummatu ʿalā ʾanna mā ʾaḥdathati al-firaqu al-mukhtalifatu lam takun ʿalayhi al-ṣaḥābatu walā takallamū fīhi walā nuqila ʿanhum, waʾannahum kānū ʿalā mā dhakarnāhu ʾānifan, liʾannahu lam yurwa ʿan ʾaḥadin minhum khilāfuhu, bal qad nuqila ʿanhum wifāquhu fī al-qarni al-ʾawwali wa-al-thānī, thumma ḥadatha mā dhakarnāhu mina al-khilāfi fī baʿḍi al-qarni al-thālithi, wafī al-qarni al-rābiʿi.
The community unanimously agrees that the Companions did not hold the innovations introduced by the contending sects, did not speak of them, and did not transmit them; rather, they held what we have just mentioned. No contrary position is narrated from any of them, while agreement with it has been transmitted from them in the first and second generations. Then the disagreement we have described arose during part of the third generation and in the fourth.
وَقَدْ كَانَ عَمْرُو بْنُ دِينَارٍ وَأَيُّوبُ وَحَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ إِذَا ذَكَرَ أَحَدُهُمُ الْإِرْجَاءَ وَمَذْهَبَ جَهْمٍ يَقُولُ: لَعَنَ اللَّهُ دِينًا أَنَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْهُ؛ يَعْنِي أَنَّهُ سَبَقَ حُدُوثَ هَذِهِ الْمَذَاهِبِ الَّتِي تَدِينُ بِهَا الْمُبْتَدِعُونَ فَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْدُ؛ رَبِّ السَّمَٰوَاتِ وَرَبِّ الْأَرْضِ؛ الْعَالَمِينَ عَلَى حُسْنِ تَوْفِيقِهِ وَجَمِيلِ هِدَايَتِهِ، وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ.
waqad kāna ʿamru bnu dīnārin waʾayyūbu waḥammādu bnu zaydin ʾidhā dhakara ʾaḥaduhumu al-ʾirjāʾa wamadhhaba jahmin yaqūlu: laʿana Allāhu dīnan ʾanā ʾakbaru minhu; yaʿnī ʾannahu sabaqa ḥudūtha hādhihi al-madhāhibi allatī tadīnu bihā al-mubtadiʿūna fa-li-llāhi al-ḥamdu; rabbi al-samāwāti warabbi al-ʾarḍi; al-ʿālamīna ʿalā ḥusni tawfīqihi wajamīli hidāyatihi, wamā kunnā linahtadiya lawlā ʾan hadānā Allāhu.
Whenever one of ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, Ayyūb, or Ḥammād ibn Zayd mentioned the doctrine of postponement and Jahm’s doctrine, he would say, “May God curse a religion that is younger than I am!” He meant that he had lived before the emergence of these doctrines professed by the innovators. Praise therefore belongs to God, Lord of the heavens and Lord of the earth, [Lord of] all worlds, for His gracious enabling and beautiful guidance. We would not have found guidance had God not guided us.
فَنِعْمَةُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى عَلَيْنَا بِالسُّنَّةِ كَنِعْمَتِهِ عَلَيْنَا بِالْإِسْلَامِ إِذْ نِعْمَتُهُ عَلَيْنَا بِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَنِعْمَتِهِ عَلَيْنَا بِمَعْرِفَتِهِ لِاِقْتِرَانِ
faniʿmatu Allāhi taʿālā ʿalaynā bi-al-sunnati kaniʿmatihi ʿalaynā bi-al-ʾislāmi ʾidh niʿmatuhu ʿalaynā birasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kaniʿmatihi ʿalaynā bimaʿrifatihi li-iqtirāni
God Most High’s blessing upon us through the Sunnah is like His blessing upon us through Islam, just as His blessing upon us through the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, is like His blessing upon us through knowing Him, because of the joining
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٣
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 213
Volume Two, page 213
طَاعَتِهِ بِطَاعَتِهِ وَلِحَاجَةِ الْكِتَابِ الْعَزِيزِ إِلَى تَفْسِيرِ سُنَّتِهِ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ عُمَرَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الشَّيْطَانُ مَعَ الْوَاحِدِ وَهُوَ مِنِ اِثْنَيْنِ أَبْعَدُ، ذِئْبُ أَحَدِكُمْ كَذِئْبِ الشَّاةِ، يَتْبَعُ الشَّاذَّةَ وَالْقَاصِيَةَ، فَمَنْ أَرَادَ بُحْبُوحَةَ الْجَنَّةِ فَلْيَلْزَمِ الْجَمَاعَةَ، وَمَنْ شَذَّ فَفِي النَّارِ.
ṭāʿatihi biṭāʿatihi waliḥājati al-kitābi al-ʿazīzi ʾilā tafsīri sunnatihi. waqad rawaynā fī ḥadīthi ʿumara ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-shayṭānu maʿa al-wāḥidi wahuwa mini ithnayni ʾabʿadu, dhiʾbu ʾaḥadikum kadhiʾbi al-shāti, yatbaʿu al-shādhdhata wa-al-qāṣiyata, faman ʾarāda buḥbūḥata al-jannati falyalzami al-jamāʿata, waman shadhdha fafī al-nāri.
of obedience to him with obedience to Him, and because the mighty Book needs the explanation supplied by his Sunnah. We have transmitted in ʿUmar’s report from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace: “Satan is with the lone individual, and farther from two. The wolf that preys on one of you is like the wolf that preys on sheep: it follows the one that strays and the one far from the flock. Whoever desires the spacious heart of Paradise should keep to the community; whoever breaks away is in the Fire.”
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ أَبِي غَالِبٍ عَنْ أَبِي أُمَامَةَ: أَنَّهُ نَظَرَ إِلَى رُؤُوسِ الْحَرُورِيَّةِ جِيءَ بِهَا مِنَ الْبَصْرَةِ فَنُصِبَتْ عَلَى الْخَشَبِ بِدِمَشْقَ، قَالَ: شَرُّ قَتْلَى تَحْتَ ظِلِّ السَّمَاءِ وَخَيْرُ قَتْلَى مَنْ قَتَلُوهُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: كِلَابُ النَّارِ، ثُمَّ قَرَأَ: (فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ اِبْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 7.
warawaynā ʿan ʾabī ghālibin ʿan ʾabī ʾumāmata: ʾannahu naẓara ʾilā ruʾūsi al-ḥarūriyyati jīʾa bihā mina al-baṣrati fanuṣibat ʿalā al-khashabi bidimashqa, qāla: sharru qatlā taḥta ẓilli al-samāʾi wakhayru qatlā man qatalūhu, thumma qāla: kilābu al-nāri, thumma qaraʾa: (faʾammā alladhīna fī qulūbihim zayghun fayattabiʿūna mā tashābaha minhu ibtighāʾa al-fitnati) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 7.
We have transmitted from Abū Ghālib, from Abū Umāmah, that he looked at heads of the Ḥarūriyyah that had been brought from Basra and mounted on wooden posts in Damascus. He said, “The worst slain beneath the shade of heaven; and the best slain are those whom they killed.” Then he said, “Dogs of the Fire.” He then recited: “As for those in whose hearts is deviation, they follow what is ambiguous in it, seeking discord” (Āl ʿImrān 3:7).
ثُمَّ قَرَأَ: (يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 106، فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اِسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ، وَيُشِيرُ بِإِصْبَعِهِ إِلَيْهِمْ، ثُمَّ بَكَى، فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا أُمَامَةَ تَقُولُ فِيهِمْ مَا تَقُولُ؟ ثُمَّ بَكَى، فَقَالَ: قَاتَلَ اللَّهُ إِبْلِيسَ مَا صَنَعَ بِهَؤُلَاءِ النَّاسِ يَا أَبَا غَالِبٍ، إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا عَلَى دِينِنَا فَأَبْكِي مِمَّا هُمْ لَاقُونَ.
thumma qaraʾa: (yawma tabyaḍḍu wujūhun wataswaddu) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 106, faʾammā alladhīna iswaddat wujūhuhum ʾakafartum baʿda ʾīmānikum, wayushīru biʾiṣbaʿihi ʾilayhim, thumma bakā, faqultu: yā ʾabā ʾumāmata taqūlu fīhim mā taqūlu? thumma bakā, faqāla: qātala Allāhu ʾiblīsa mā ṣanaʿa bi-hāʾulāʾi al-nāsi yā ʾabā ghālibin, ʾinnahum kānū ʿalā dīninā faʾabkī mimmā hum lāqūna.
Then he recited: “On the day when faces turn white and [faces] turn black” (Āl ʿImrān 3:106). “As for those whose faces turn black: Did you disbelieve after your belief?” He pointed at them with his finger, then wept. I said, “Abū Umāmah, you say what you say about them?” He wept again and said: “God confound Iblīs! What he has done to these people, Abū Ghālib! They used to follow our religion, and I weep over what they are going to face.”
هَؤُلَاءِ بِأَرْضِكَ كَثِيرٌ فَأُعِيذُكَ بِاللَّهِ مِنْهُمْ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ، فَقُلْتُ: آمِينَ يَا أَبَا أُمَامَةَ أَشَيْءٌ سَمِعْتَهُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَوْ شَيْءٌ تَقُولُهُ مِنْ قِبَلِ رَأْيِكَ؟ قَالَ: إِنِّي إِذًا لَجَرِيءٌ ثَلَاثَ مَرَّاتٍ، لَقَدْ سَمِعْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ غَيْرَ مَرَّةٍ وَلَا مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَا ثَلَاثٍ وَلَا أَرْبَعٍ يَقُولُ: تَفَرَّقَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى اِثْنَتَيْنِ وَسَبْعِينَ فِرْقَةً، تَزِيدُ أُمَّتِي عَلَيْهَا فِرْقَةً، كُلُّهَا فِي النَّارِ إِلَّا السَّوَادَ الْأَعْظَمَ.
hāʾulāʾi biʾarḍika kathīrun faʾuʿīdhuka bi-Allāhi minhum thalātha marrātin, faqultu: ʾāmīna yā ʾabā ʾumāmata ʾashayʾun samiʿtahu min rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾaw shayʾun taqūluhu min qibali raʾyika? qāla: ʾinnī ʾidhan lajarīʾun thalātha marrātin, laqad samiʿtu rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ghayra marratin walā marratayni walā thalāthin walā ʾarbaʿin yaqūlu: tafarraqati al-naṣārā ʿalā ithnatayni wasabʿīna firqatan, tazīdu ʾummatī ʿalayhā firqatan, kulluhā fī al-nāri ʾillā al-sawāda al-ʾaʿẓama.
“There are many of these in your land, so I seek God’s protection for you against them,” he said three times. I replied, “Amen. Abū Umāmah, is this something you heard from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, or something you say from your own opinion?” He replied three times, “I would indeed be audacious then!” He continued, “I heard the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, more than once or twice or three or four times, say: ‘The Christians divided into seventy-two sects. My community will exceed them by one sect. All of them will be in the Fire except the great majority.’”
فَقَالَ رَجُلٌ كَانَ مَعَنَا: يَا أَبَا أُمَامَةَ إِنَّ فِي السَّوَادِ الْأَعْظَمِ بَنِي فُلَانٍ، قَالَ: وَإِنْ فَعَلُوا فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْهِمْ مَا حُمِّلُوا وَعَلَيْكُمْ مَا حُمِّلْتُمْ، وَالْجَمَاعَةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْفُرْقَةِ، وَالطَّاعَةُ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الْمَعْصِيَةِ، ثُمَّ نَظَرَ إِلَى الرُّؤُوسِ فَقَالَ: أَيَغْضَبُونَ لَنَا وَيَقْتُلُونَنَا؟
faqāla rajulun kāna maʿanā: yā ʾabā ʾumāmata ʾinna fī al-sawādi al-ʾaʿẓami banī fulānin, qāla: waʾin faʿalū faʾinnamā ʿalayhim mā ḥummilū waʿalaykum mā ḥummiltum, wa-al-jamāʿatu khayrun mina al-furqati, wa-al-ṭāʿatu khayrun mina al-maʿṣiyati, thumma naẓara ʾilā al-ruʾūsi faqāla: ʾayaghḍabūna lanā wayaqtulūnanā?
A man who was with us said, “Abū Umāmah, the great majority includes the sons of so-and-so.” He replied, “Whatever they may have done, theirs is the burden laid upon them, and yours is the burden laid upon you. Community is better than division, and obedience is better than disobedience.” Then he looked at the heads and said, “Are they angry on our behalf while killing us?”
هَذِهِ رُؤُوسُ الْخَوَارِجِ وَهُمُ الْحَرُورِيَّةُ الَّذِينَ خَرَجُوا عَلَى أَمِيرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ أَبِي طَالِبٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ بِالنَّهْرَوَانِ؛ وَهُمْ أَوَّلُ قَرْنٍ نَبَغَ مِنَ الْمُبْتَدِعَةِ وَأَوَّلُ بِدْعَةٍ اُبْتُدِعَتْ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ، وَكَانُوا قُرَّاءً الْمَصَاحِفُ فِي أَعْنَاقِهِمْ وَالسَّجَّادَاتُ كَرُكَبِ الْمِعْزَى فِي جِبَاهِهِمْ.
hādhihi ruʾūsu al-khawāriji wahumu al-ḥarūriyyatu alladhīna kharajū ʿalā ʾamīri al-muʾminīna ʿaliyyi bni ʾabī ṭālibin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu bi-al-nahrawāni; wahum ʾawwalu qarnin nabagha mina al-mubtadiʿati waʾawwalu bidʿatin ubtudiʿat fī al-ʾislāmi, wakānū qurrāʾan al-maṣāḥifu fī ʾaʿnāqihim wa-al-sajjādātu karukabi al-miʿzā fī jibāhihim.
These were the heads of the Khārijites, the Ḥarūriyyah who rose against the Commander of the Believers, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, may God Most High be pleased with him, at al-Nahrawān. They were the first generation of innovators to emerge and the first innovation introduced into Islam. They were reciters, with Qurʾānic codices hanging from their necks and marks of prostration on their foreheads like goats’ knees.
فَأَنْكَرُوا عَلَيْهِ تَحْكِيمَ الْحَكَمَيْنِ وَسَأَلُوهُ أَنْ يَنْقُضَ حُكْمَهُ فَيَرْجِعَ عَنْهُ وَقَالُوا: لَا حُكْمَ إِلَّا لِلَّهِ، وَأَنْكَرُوا أَمْرَ السُّلْطَانِ وَرَأَوُا الْخُرُوجَ عَلَى الْإِمَامِ، وَكَفَّرُوا عُثْمَانَ وَصَوَّبُوا قَتْلَ غَوْغَاءِ الْمِصْرِيِّينَ لَهُ، وَطَالَبُوا عَلِيًّا عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ أَنْ يُوَافِقَهُمْ عَلَى رَأْيِهِمْ وَيُتَابِعَهُمْ عَلَى أَهْوَائِهِمْ عَلَى أَنْ قَاتَلُوا مَعَهُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ إِنْ رَجَعَ عَنْ تَحْكِيمِ الْحَكَمَيْنِ، وَكَفَّرُوا أَهْلَ الْكَبَائِرِ بِالْمَعَاصِي.
faʾankarū ʿalayhi taḥkīma al-ḥakamayni wasaʾalūhu ʾan yanquḍa ḥukmahu fayarjiʿa ʿanhu waqālū: lā ḥukma ʾillā li-llāhi, waʾankarū ʾamra al-sulṭāni waraʾawu al-khurūja ʿalā al-ʾimāmi, wakaffarū ʿuthmāna waṣawwabū qatla ghawghāʾi al-miṣriyyīna lahu, waṭālabū ʿaliyyan ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʾan yuwāfiqahum ʿalā raʾyihim wayutābiʿahum ʿalā ʾahwāʾihim ʿalā ʾan qātalū maʿahu al-muslimīna ʾin rajaʿa ʿan taḥkīmi al-ḥakamayni, wakaffarū ʾahla al-kabāʾiri bi-al-maʿāṣī.
They reproached him for appointing the two arbitrators and asked him to rescind his decision and withdraw from it. They said, “Judgment belongs to God alone.” They rejected the ruler’s authority and advocated rising against the imam. They declared ʿUthmān an unbeliever and approved his killing by the Egyptian mob. They demanded that ʿAlī, peace be upon him, agree with their opinion and follow their inclinations, on the condition that they would fight the Muslims alongside him if he withdrew from the appointment of the two arbitrators. They declared those guilty of major sins unbelievers on account of their sins.
فَرَأَى عَلَى مَا أَرَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَبِمَا عَهِدَ إِلَيْهِ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مِنْ قَتْلِ الْمَارِقِينَ فَقَتَلَهُمْ فَهَؤُلَاءِ فِي النَّارِ، وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ عَلِيٌّ وَأَصْحَابُهُ خَيْرُ أَهْلِ الْأَرْضِ عَلِيٌّ يُبْغِضُهُ وَيَسُبُّهُ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَظْهَرَ مِنْهُ مَا ظَهَرَ.
faraʾā ʿalā mā ʾarāhu Allāhu taʿālā wabimā ʿahida ʾilayhi rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: min qatli al-māriqīna faqatalahum fa-hāʾulāʾi fī al-nāri, waqātilūhum ʿaliyyun waʾaṣḥābuhu khayru ʾahli al-ʾarḍi ʿaliyyun yubghiḍuhu wayasubbuhu qabla ʾan yaẓhara minhu mā ẓahara.
He judged in accordance with what God Most High had shown him and what the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, had instructed him concerning killing those who break away from the religion, and he killed them. These people are in the Fire, while those who fought them, ʿAlī and his Companions, are the best people on earth. ʿAlī hated and reviled him even before what later appeared from him had appeared.
فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْهِ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ الْكَوَّاءِ فِي سِتَّةِ آلَافٍ، فَأَرْسَلَ عَلِيٌّ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عَبْدَ اللَّهِ بْنَ عَبَّاسٍ إِلَيْهِمْ يُنَاظِرُهُمْ وَيُحَاجُّهُمْ، فَسَبُّوهُ وَبَطَشُوا بِهِ، وَجَرَّأَهُمْ عَلَيْهِ اِبْنُ الْكَوَّاءِ هَذَا فَقَامَ خَطِيبًا فِيهِمْ فَقَالَ: أَتَعْرِفُونِي بِهَذَا أَنَا أُعَرِّفُكُمُوهُ: هَذَا مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ قَالَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ: مَا ضَرَبُوهُ لَكَ إِلَّا جَدَلًا بَلْ هُمْ قَوْمٌ خَصِمُونَ، [الزُّخْرُفِ: 58].
fakharaja ʿalayhi ʿabdu Allāhi bnu al-kawwāʾi fī sittati ʾālāfin, faʾarsala ʿaliyyun ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿabda Allāhi bna ʿabbāsin ʾilayhim yunāẓiruhum wayuḥājjuhum, fasabbūhu wabaṭashū bihi, wajarraʾahum ʿalayhi ibnu al-kawwāʾi hādhā faqāma khaṭīban fīhim faqāla: ʾataʿrifūnī bi-hādhā ʾanā ʾuʿarrifukumūhu: hādhā mina al-qawmi alladhīna qāla Allāhu fīhim: mā ḍarabūhu laka ʾillā jadalan bal hum qawmun khaṣimūna, [al-zukhrufi: 58].
ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Kawwāʾ then rose against him with six thousand. ʿAlī, peace be upon him, sent ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās to debate and argue with them, but they insulted him and assaulted him. This Ibn al-Kawwāʾ emboldened them against him, then stood and addressed them: “Do you recognize me by this? I will identify him for you. This is one of the people of whom God said: ‘They put it to you only for argument; rather, they are a contentious people’” (al-Zukhruf 43:58).
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٤
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 214
Volume Two, page 214
ثُمَّ تَرَاجَعَ بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ فَسَأَلَهُ فَكَشَفَ لَهُ عَنِ الْحَقِّ وَاِسْتَتَابَ مِنْهُمْ أَلْفَيْنِ، وَقَاتَلَ عَلِيٌّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ أَرْبَعَةَ آلَافٍ؛ فَهَذِهِ أَوَّلُ فِرْقَةٍ مَرَقَتْ مِنَ الدِّينِ وَاِتَّبَعَتْ غَيْرَ سَبِيلِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.
thumma tarājaʿa baʿḍuhum ʾilā ibni ʿabbāsin fasaʾalahu fakashafa lahu ʿani al-ḥaqqi wa-istatāba minhum ʾalfayni, waqātala ʿaliyyun karrama Allāhu wajhahu ʾarbaʿata ʾālāfin; fa-hādhihi ʾawwalu firqatin maraqat mina al-dīni wa-ittabaʿat ghayra sabīli al-muʾminīna.
Some of them then returned to Ibn ʿAbbās and questioned him. He made the truth clear to them and brought two thousand of them to repentance. ʿAlī, may God honor his face, fought four thousand. This was the first sect to break away from the religion and follow a path other than that of the believers.
ثُمَّ اِفْتَرَقَتِ الْفِرْقَةُ الثَّانِيَةُ بِالْمَدَائِنِ فَرَأَوْا دِينَ الْإِرْجَاءِ، وَأَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ قَوْلٌ وَعَمَلٌ، وَأَنَّهُ لَا يَزِيدُ وَلَا يَنْقُصُ، وَكُتِبَ بِذَلِكَ إِلَى أَمِيرِ الشَّامِ فَهَمَّ بِقِتَالِهِمْ، ثُمَّ شُغِلَ عَنْهُمْ بِقِتَالِ الرُّومِ.
thumma iftaraqati al-firqatu al-thāniyatu bi-al-madāʾini faraʾaw dīna al-ʾirjāʾi, waʾanna al-ʾīmāna qawlun waʿamalun, waʾannahu lā yazīdu walā yanquṣu, wakutiba bi-dhālika ʾilā ʾamīri al-shāmi fahamma biqitālihim, thumma shughila ʿanhum biqitāli al-rūmi.
Then the second sect broke away at al-Madāʾin. They adopted the religion of postponement, holding that faith is speech and action and that it neither increases nor decreases. News of this was sent in writing to the governor of Syria, who intended to fight them, but was then distracted from them by warfare against the Romans.
ثُمَّ اِفْتَرَقَتِ الْفِرْقَةُ الثَّالِثَةُ بِالْبَصْرَةِ وَهُمُ الْقَدَرِيَّةُ إِمَامُهُمْ مَعْبَدٌ الْجُهَنِيُّ، وَتَابَعَهُ عَمْرُو بْنُ عُبَيْدٍ وَوَاصِلُ بْنُ عَطَاءٍ الْغَزَّالُ وَأَصْحَابُهُمْ، ثُمَّ خَرَجَتِ الْفِرْقَةُ الرَّابِعَةُ مِنَ الْكُوفَةِ سُمُّوا بِذَلِكَ لَمَّا رَفَضُوا زَيْدَ اِبْنَ عَلِيِّ بْنِ الْحُسَيْنِ حِينَ خَرَجَ يُقَاتِلُ هِشَامًا فَقَالُوا لَهُ: أَتَبْرَأُ مِنْ أَبِي بَكْرٍ وَعُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمَا؟ قَالَ: هُمَا جَدَّايَ إِمَامَا عَدْلٍ لَا أَتَبَرَّأُ مِنْهُمَا فَرَفَضُوهُ.
thumma iftaraqati al-firqatu al-thālithatu bi-al-baṣrati wahumu al-qadariyyatu ʾimāmuhum maʿbadun al-juhaniyyu, watābaʿahu ʿamru bnu ʿubaydin wawāṣilu bnu ʿaṭāʾin al-ghazzālu waʾaṣḥābuhum, thumma kharajati al-firqatu al-rābiʿatu mina al-kūfati summū bi-dhālika lammā rafaḍū zayda ibna ʿaliyyi bni al-ḥusayni ḥīna kharaja yuqātilu hishāman faqālū lahu: ʾatabraʾu min ʾabī bakrin waʿumara raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhumā? qāla: humā jaddāya ʾimāmā ʿadlin lā ʾatabarraʾu minhumā farafaḍūhu.
The third sect then broke away at Basra: the Qadariyyah, whose leader was Maʿbad al-Juhanī. ʿAmr ibn ʿUbayd, Wāṣil ibn ʿAṭāʾ al-Ghazzāl, and their companions followed him. The fourth sect then emerged from Kufa. They were given that name because they rejected Zayd ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn when he rose to fight Hishām. They asked him, “Do you disavow Abū Bakr and ʿUmar, may God Most High be pleased with them both?” He replied, “They are my two forefathers, two just leaders; I do not disavow them.” So they rejected him.
ثُمَّ اِفْتَرَقَتْ كُلُّ فِرْقَةٍ ثَمَانَ عَشْرَ فِرْقَةً، فَتَمَّتِ اِثْنَتَانِ وَسَبْعُونَ فِرْقَةً، وَكُلُّهَا نَبَعَ بِأَرْضِ الْعِرَاقِ، وَمِنْهُ طَلَعَ قَرْنُ الشَّيْطَانِ، وَظَهَرَتِ الْفِتَنُ نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ مِنْهَا، مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَمَا بَطَنَ.
thumma iftaraqat kullu firqatin thamāna ʿashra firqatan, fatammati ithnatāni wasabʿūna firqatan, wakulluhā nabaʿa biʾarḍi al-ʿirāqi, waminhu ṭalaʿa qarnu al-shayṭāni, waẓaharati al-fitanu naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi minhā, mā ẓahara minhā wamā baṭana.
Each sect then divided into eighteen sects, completing a total of seventy-two. All sprang up in the land of Iraq. From it rose Satan’s horn, and civil strife appeared. We seek refuge in God from it, both its outward and its hidden forms.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَنَّ لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ثَلَاثَ أَمْلَاكٍ؛ مَلَكٌ عَلَى ظَهْرِ بَيْتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمَلَكٌ عَلَى مَسْجِدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَمَلَكٌ عَلَى ظَهْرِ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ، يُنَادُونَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ.
waqad rawaynā ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾanna li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla thalātha ʾamlākin; malakun ʿalā ẓahri bayti Allāhi taʿālā, wamalakun ʿalā masjidi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, wamalakun ʿalā ẓahri bayti al-maqdisi, yunādūna fī kulli yawmin.
We have transmitted from Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, that God, mighty and majestic, has three angels: an angel upon the roof of God Most High’s House, an angel upon the mosque of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and an angel upon the roof of the Holy House in Jerusalem. They call out every day.
يَقُولُ الْمَلَكُ الَّذِي عَلَى ظَهْرِ بَيْتِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: مَنْ ضَيَّعَ فَرَائِضَ اللَّهِ خَرَجَ مِنْ أَمَانِ اللَّهِ، وَيَقُولُ الْمَلَكُ الَّذِي عَلَى ظَهْرِ مَسْجِدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ خَالَفَ سُنَّةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ تَنَلْهُ شَفَاعَةُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَيَقُولُ الْمَلَكُ الَّذِي عَلَى ظَهْرِ بَيْتِ الْمَقْدِسِ: مَنْ أَكَلَ حَرَامًا لَمْ يُقْبَلْ مِنْهُ صَرْفٌ وَلَا عَدْلٌ.
yaqūlu al-malaku alladhī ʿalā ẓahri bayti Allāhi taʿālā: man ḍayyaʿa farāʾiḍa Allāhi kharaja min ʾamāni Allāhi, wayaqūlu al-malaku alladhī ʿalā ẓahri masjidi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man khālafa sunnata rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lam tanalhu shafāʿatu rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, wayaqūlu al-malaku alladhī ʿalā ẓahri bayti al-maqdisi: man ʾakala ḥarāman lam yuqbal minhu ṣarfun walā ʿadlun.
The angel upon the roof of God Most High’s House says: “Whoever neglects God’s obligatory duties has departed from God’s protection.” The angel upon the roof of the mosque of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, says: “Whoever opposes the Sunnah of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, will not receive the intercession of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace.” The angel upon the roof of the Holy House says: “Whoever consumes what is unlawful will have neither an offering nor a ransom accepted from him.”
شَرْحُ مُعَامَلَةِ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ
sharḥu muʿāmalati al-qalbi mina al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri
An explanation of the heart’s conduct, from outward knowledge
ذِكْرُ مَبَانِي الْإِسْلَامِ وَأَرْكَانِ الْإِيمَانِ
dhikru mabānī al-ʾislāmi waʾarkāni al-ʾīmāni
An account of the foundations of Islam and the pillars of faith
قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِنْ بَنِي آدَمَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنْفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُوا بَلَى شَهِدْنَا) الْأَعْرَافُ: 172، وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (وَاُذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ وَمِيثَاقَهُ الَّذِي وَاثَقَكُمْ بِهِ إِذْ قُلْتُمْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا) الْمَائِدَةُ: 7، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالرَّسُولُ يَدْعُوكُمْ لِتُؤْمِنُوا بِرَبِّكُمْ وَقَدْ أَخَذَ مِيثَاقَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ) الْحَدِيدُ: 8.
qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (waʾidh ʾakhadha rabbuka min banī ʾādama min ẓuhūrihim dhurriyyatahum waʾashhadahum ʿalā ʾanfusihim ʾalastu birabbikum qālū balā shahidnā) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 172, waqāla ʿazza wajalla: (wa-udhkurū niʿmata Allāhi ʿalaykum wamīthāqahu alladhī wāthaqakum bihi ʾidh qultum samiʿnā waʾaṭaʿnā) al-māʾidatu: 7, waqāla taʿālā: (wamā lakum lā tuʾminūna bi-Allāhi wa-al-rasūlu yadʿūkum lituʾminū birabbikum waqad ʾakhadha mīthāqakum ʾin kuntum muʾminīna) al-ḥadīdu: 8.
God Most High says: “When your Lord took from the children of Adam, from their loins, their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ they said, ‘Yes, we testify’” (al-Aʿrāf 7:172). He, mighty and majestic, says: “Remember God’s blessing upon you and His covenant by which He bound you, when you said, ‘We hear and obey’” (al-Māʾidah 5:7). The Exalted says: “Why do you not believe in God when the Messenger calls you to believe in your Lord, and He has already taken your covenant, if you are believers?” (al-Ḥadīd 57:8).
فَمَبَانِي الْإِسْلَامِ خَمْسَةٌ: أَوَّلُهَا شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ؛ وَهُمَا كَوَاحِدَةٍ لِاِتِّصَالِ إِحْدَاهُمَا بِالْأُخْرَى فِي الْوُجُوبِ وَالْحُكْمِ، وَإِقَامُ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ وَهُنَّ كَوَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهَا لِتَعَلُّقِ كُلِّ وَاحِدَةٍ بِصَاحِبَتِهَا.
famabānī al-ʾislāmi khamsatun: ʾawwaluhā shahādatu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu waḥdahu waʾanna muḥammadan ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿabduhu warasūluhu; wahumā kawāḥidatin li-ittiṣāli ʾiḥdāhumā bi-al-ʾukhrā fī al-wujūbi wa-al-ḥukmi, waʾiqāmu al-ṣalawāti al-khamsi wahunna kawāḥidatin minhā litaʿalluqi kulli wāḥidatin biṣāḥibatihā.
The foundations of Islam are five. The first is testimony that there is no god but God alone and that Muḥammad, God bless him and grant him peace, is His servant and Messenger. The two testimonies count as one, because each is linked to the other in obligation and ruling. Next is maintaining the five prayers, which count as one of these foundations because each prayer is connected with the others.
وَإِيتَاءُ الزَّكَاةِ وَهِيَ كَالصَّلَاةِ، لِاِقْتِرَانِهَا بِهَا وَالِاشْتِرَاطِ بِهَا، وَصَوْمُ رَمَضَانَ، وَحَجُّ الْبَيْتِ؛ وَهُمَا كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ مِنَ الْفَرْضِ، فَهَذِهِ الْخَمْسُ كَوَاحِدَةٍ مِنْهُنَّ فِي إِيجَابِ الْعَقْدِ وَاِعْتِقَادِ الْوُجُوبِ، وَإِنِ اِخْتَلَفَ الْحُكْمُ فِي سُقُوطِ فِعْلِ بَعْضِهَا بِشَرْطٍ.
waʾītāʾu al-zakāti wahiya ka-al-ṣalāti, li-iqtirānihā bihā wa-al-ishtirāṭi bihā, waṣawmu ramaḍāna, waḥajju al-bayti; wahumā kashayʾin wāḥidin mina al-farḍi, fa-hādhihi al-khamsu kawāḥidatin minhunna fī ʾījābi al-ʿaqdi wa-iʿtiqādi al-wujūbi, waʾini ikhtalafa al-ḥukmu fī suqūṭi fiʿli baʿḍihā bisharṭin.
Then come giving the obligatory alms, which is like prayer because it is coupled with it and made a condition alongside it; fasting Ramaḍān; and pilgrimage to the House, these last two being alike in obligatory status. These five are as a single one in requiring commitment and belief in their obligatory character, even though the rulings differ as to when performing some of them ceases to be required under a particular condition.
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٥
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 215
Volume Two, page 215
رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا عَبْدُهُ وَرَسُولُهُ، وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ، وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ، وَصَوْمِ شَهْرِ رَمَضَانَ، وَحَجِّ الْبَيْتِ.
rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qāla: buniya al-ʾislāmu ʿalā khamsin: shahādati ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu waʾanna muḥammadan ʿabduhu warasūluhu, waʾiqāmi al-ṣalāti, waʾītāʾi al-zakāti, waṣawmi shahri ramaḍāna, waḥajji al-bayti.
We have transmitted from the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, that he said: “Islam is built upon five: testifying that there is no god but God and that Muḥammad is His servant and Messenger, maintaining prayer, giving the obligatory alms, fasting the month of Ramaḍān, and making pilgrimage to the House.”
وَأَرْكَانُ الْإِيمَانِ سَبْعَةٌ: الْإِيمَانُ بِأَسْمَاءِ اللَّهِ وَصِفَاتِهِ، وَالْإِيمَانُ بِكُتُبِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَنْبِيَائِهِ، وَالْإِيمَانُ بِالْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالشَّيَاطِينِ، وَالْإِيمَانُ بِالْجَنَّةِ وَالنَّارِ، وَأَنَّهُمَا قَدْ خُلِقَتَا قَبْلَ آدَمَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَالْإِيمَانُ بِالْبَعْثِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ.
waʾarkānu al-ʾīmāni sabʿatun: al-ʾīmānu biʾasmāʾi Allāhi waṣifātihi, wa-al-ʾīmānu bikutubi Allāhi taʿālā waʾanbiyāʾihi, wa-al-ʾīmānu bi-al-malāʾikati wa-al-shayāṭīni, wa-al-ʾīmānu bi-al-jannati wa-al-nāri, waʾannahumā qad khuliqatā qabla ʾādama ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, wa-al-ʾīmānu bi-al-baʿthi baʿda al-mawti.
The pillars of faith are seven: belief in God’s names and attributes; belief in God Most High’s books and prophets; belief in the angels and devils; belief in Paradise and the Fire, and that both were created before Adam, God bless him and grant him peace; and belief in resurrection after death.
وَالْإِيمَانُ بِجَمِيعِ أَقْدَارِ اللَّهِ خَيْرِهَا وَشَرِّهَا، حُلْوِهَا وَمُرِّهَا أَنَّهَا مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى قَضَاءً وَقَدَرًا أَوْ مَشِيئَةً وَحُكْمًا، وَأَنَّ ذَلِكَ عَدْلٌ مِنْهُ، وَحِكْمَةٌ بَالِغَةٌ، اِسْتَأْثَرَ بِعِلْمِ غَيْبِهَا وَمَعْنَى حَقَائِقِهَا، لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ، وَلَا تُضْرَبُ لَهُ الْأَمْثَالُ بِمُلْزِمَاتِ الْعُقُولِ وَتَمْثِيلَاتِ الْمَعْقُولِ، تَعَالَى عَنْ ذَلِكَ عُلُوًّا كَبِيرًا.
wa-al-ʾīmānu bijamīʿi ʾaqdāri Allāhi khayrihā washarrihā, ḥulwihā wamurrihā ʾannahā mina Allāhi taʿālā qaḍāʾan waqadaran ʾaw mashīʾatan waḥukman, waʾanna dhālika ʿadlun minhu, waḥikmatun bālighatun, istaʾthara biʿilmi ghaybihā wamaʿnā ḥaqāʾiqihā, lā yusʾalu ʿammā yafʿalu, walā tuḍrabu lahu al-ʾamthālu bimulzimāti al-ʿuqūli wa-tamthīlāti al-maʿqūli, taʿālā ʿan dhālika ʿuluwwan kabīran.
Also, belief in all God’s decrees, their good and evil, their sweetness and bitterness: that they come from God Most High as determination and decree, or as will and judgment; and that this is justice on His part and consummate wisdom. He has reserved to Himself knowledge of their unseen dimension and the meaning of their realities. He is not questioned about what He does, and no analogies are to be made for Him through the necessities imposed by minds or the representations of rational thought. Far exalted is He above that.
وَقَدْ شَهِدَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى بِالضَّلَالَةِ عَلَى مَنْ ضَرَبَ لِعَبْدِهِ الْأَمْثَالَ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى جَدُّهُ: (اُنْظُرْ كَيْفَ ضَرَبُوا لَكَ الْأَمْثَالَ فَضَلُّوا) الْإِسْرَاءُ: 48، فَكَيْفَ بِمَنْ ضَرَبَ الْمَثَلَ لِلسَّيِّدِ الْأَجَلِّ بَعْدَ نَهْيِهِ عَنْ ذَلِكَ وَإِخْبَارِهِ بِعِلْمِ غَيْبِ ذَلِكَ، إِذْ يَقُولُ: فَلَا تَضْرِبُوا لِلَّهِ الْأَمْثَالَ، إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ.
waqad shahida Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā bi-al-ḍalālati ʿalā man ḍaraba liʿabdihi al-ʾamthāla faqāla taʿālā jadduhu: (unẓur kayfa ḍarabū laka al-ʾamthāla faḍallū) al-ʾisrāʾu: 48, fakayfa biman ḍaraba al-mathala li-l-sayyidi al-ʾajalli baʿda nahyihi ʿan dhālika waʾikhbārihi biʿilmi ghaybi dhālika, ʾidh yaqūlu: falā taḍribū li-llāhi al-ʾamthāla, ʾinna Allāha yaʿlamu waʾantum lā taʿlamūna.
God, glorious and exalted is He, has testified that those who made comparisons about His servant were astray. He said, exalted be His majesty: “Look how they make comparisons about you and so go astray” (al-Isrāʾ 17:48). What, then, of someone who makes a comparison for the most exalted Master, after He has forbidden this and declared His knowledge of its hidden reality, saying: “Do not make comparisons for God. God knows, and you do not know.”
وَالْإِيمَانُ بِمَا صَحَّ مِنْ حَدِيثِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَقَبُولُ جَمِيعِهِ، وَاِفْتِرَاضُ طَاعَتِهِ وَأَمْرِهِ عَلَى الْعِبَادِ، وَاِلْتِزَامُ ذَلِكَ، إِذْ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى طَاعَةَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْ شَرْطِ الْإِيمَانِ وَقَرَنَهَا بِطَاعَتِهِ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ) الْأَنْفَالُ: 1.
wa-al-ʾīmānu bimā ṣaḥḥa min ḥadīthi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, waqabūlu jamīʿihi, wa-iftirāḍu ṭāʿatihi waʾamrihi ʿalā al-ʿibādi, wa-iltizāmu dhālika, ʾidh qad jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā ṭāʿata rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama min sharṭi al-ʾīmāni waqaranahā biṭāʿatihi, faqāla taʿālā: (waʾaṭīʿū Allāha warasūlahu ʾin kuntum muʾminīna) al-ʾanfālu: 1.
And belief in the reliably established reports of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace; accepting all of them; acknowledging that obedience to him and his command is obligatory upon the servants; and adhering to that obligation. For God Most High has made obedience to the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, a condition of faith and joined it to obedience to Himself, saying, exalted is He: “Obey God and His Messenger, if you are believers” (al-Anfāl 8:1).
وَاِشْتَرَطَ لِلرَّحْمَةِ طَاعَةَ الرَّسُولِ كَمَا اِشْتَرَطَ لَهَا تَقْوَاهُ فَقَالَ: (وَأَطِيعُوا الرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ) النُّورُ: 56، وَحَذَّرَ مِنْ مُخَالَفَةِ أَمْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي الِاسْتِجَابَةِ لَهُ مَقَامَهُ، وَجَعَلَهُ فِي الْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي الْوَصْفِ وَالْمَدْحِ بَدَلًا عَنْهُ.
wa-ishtaraṭa li-l-raḥmati ṭāʿata al-rasūli kamā ishtaraṭa lahā taqwāhu faqāla: (waʾaṭīʿū al-rasūla laʿallakum turḥamūna) al-nūru: 56, waḥadhdhara min mukhālafati ʾamri rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī al-istijābati lahu maqāmahu, wajaʿalahu fī al-mubālaghati fī al-waṣfi wa-al-madḥi badalan ʿanhu.
He made obedience to the Messenger a condition for mercy, just as He made reverent fear of Himself a condition for it, saying: “Obey the Messenger, so that you may receive mercy” (al-Nūr 24:56). He warned against disobeying the command of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, [placing him] in His stead in the response owed to him, and made him stand in His place in the most emphatic description and praise.
فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (فَلْيَحْذَرِ الَّذِينَ يُخَالِفُونَ عَنْ أَمْرِهِ أَنْ تُصِيبَهُمْ فِتْنَةٌ أَوْ يُصِيبَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ) النُّورُ: 63، كَمَا قَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 28، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (اِسْتَجِيبُوا لِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ إِذَا دَعَاكُمْ لِمَا يُحْيِيكُمْ) الْأَنْفَالُ: 24، لِأَنَّهُ قَالَ: (إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُبَايِعُونَكَ إِنَّمَا يُبَايِعُونَ اللَّهَ) الْفَتْحُ: 10.
faqāla taʿālā: (falyaḥdhari alladhīna yukhālifūna ʿan ʾamrihi ʾan tuṣībahum fitnatun ʾaw yuṣībahum ʿadhābun ʾalīmun) al-nūru: 63, kamā qāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: (wayuḥadhdhirukumu Allāhu nafsahu) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 28, waqāla taʿālā: (istajībū li-llāhi wali-l-rasūli ʾidhā daʿākum limā yuḥyīkum) al-ʾanfālu: 24, liʾannahu qāla: (ʾinna alladhīna yubāyiʿūnaka ʾinnamā yubāyiʿūna Allāha) al-fatḥu: 10.
The Most High said: “Let those who oppose his command beware lest a trial befall them or a painful punishment befall them” (al-Nūr 24:63), just as He said, glorious and exalted is He: “God warns you of Himself” (Āl ʿImrān 3:28). The Exalted said: “Respond to God and to the Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life” (al-Anfāl 8:24), for He said: “Those who pledge allegiance to you are only pledging allegiance to God” (al-Fatḥ 48:10).
وَهَذِهِ أَمْدَحُ آيَةٍ فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَأَبْلَغُ فَضِيلَةٍ فِيهِ لِرَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، لِأَنَّهُ جَعَلَهُ فِي اللَّفْظِ بَدَلًا عَنْهُ، وَفِي الْحُكْمِ مَقَامَهُ، وَلَمْ يُدْخِلْ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهُ كَافَ التَّشْبِيهِ كَأَنَّمَا وَلَا لَامَ الْمِلْكِ فَيَقُولَ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَلَيْسَ هَذَا الْمَقَامُ مِنَ الرُّبُوبِيَّةِ لِخَلْقٍ غَيْرِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
wa-hādhihi ʾamdaḥu ʾāyatin fī kitābi Allāhi taʿālā waʾablaghu faḍīlatin fīhi lirasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, liʾannahu jaʿalahu fī al-lafẓi badalan ʿanhu, wafī al-ḥukmi maqāmahu, walam yudkhil baynahu wabaynahu kāfa al-tashbīhi kaʾannamā walā lāma al-milki fayaqūla li-llāhi taʿālā walaysa hādhā al-maqāmu mina al-rubūbiyyati likhalqin ghayri rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
This is the most laudatory verse in God Most High’s Book and the most far-reaching distinction it accords the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace. For He made him stand in His place in the wording and occupy His position in the ruling. He did not insert between him and Himself the kāf of comparison, as in “as though,” nor the lām of possession, so as to say “for God Most High.” This station in relation to lordship belongs to no created being other than the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace.
الْفَصْلُ الْخَامِسُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِيهِ ذِكْرُ اِتِّصَالِ الْإِيمَانِ بِالْإِسْلَامِ فِي الْمَعْنَى وَالْحُكْمِ وَاِفْتِرَاقِهِمَا فِي التَّفْصِيلِ وَالِاسْمِ
al-faṣlu al-khāmisu wa-al-thalāthūna fīhi dhikru ittiṣāli al-ʾīmāni bi-al-ʾislāmi fī al-maʿnā wa-al-ḥukmi wa-iftirāqihimā fī al-tafṣīli wa-al-ismi
Chapter Thirty-Five: The connection between faith and Islam in meaning and judgment, and their distinction in detail and name
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٦
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 216
Volume Two, page 216
وَأَنَّ كُلَّ مُؤْمِنٍ مُسْلِمٌ، وَتَحْقِيقِ الْقَوْلِ بِالْعَمَلِ، وَإِبْطَالِ مَذْهَبِ الْجَهْمِيَّةِ وَالْكَرَّامِيَّةِ وَالْحَرُورِيَّةِ، وَبَيَانِ مَذْهَبِ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالْجَمَاعَةِ، وَفَّقَنَا اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِذَلِكَ.
waʾanna kulla muʾminin muslimun, wataḥqīqi al-qawli bi-al-ʿamali, waʾibṭāli madhhabi al-jahmiyyati wa-al-karrāmiyyati wa-al-ḥarūriyyati, wabayāni madhhabi ʾahli al-sunnati wa-al-jamāʿati, waffaqanā Allāhu taʿālā li-dhālika.
That every believer is a Muslim; that action gives reality to profession; the refutation of the positions of the Jahmiyya, Karrāmiyya, and Ḥarūriyya; and an explanation of the position of the people of the Sunna and the community. May God Most High grant us success in this.
قَالَ قَائِلُونَ: الْإِيمَانُ هُوَ الْإِسْلَامُ، وَهَذَا قَدْ أَذْهَبَ التَّفَاوُتَ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ، وَهَذَا يَقْرُبُ مِنْ مَذْهَبِ الْمُرْجِئَةِ. وَقَالَ آخَرُونَ: إِنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ غَيْرُ الْإِيمَانِ، وَهَؤُلَاءِ قَدْ أَدْخَلُوا التَّضَادَّ وَالتَّغَايُرَ، وَهَذَا قَرِيبٌ مِنْ قَوْلِ الْإِبَاضِيَّةِ، فَهَذِهِ مَسْأَلَةٌ مُشْكِلَةٌ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى شَرْحٍ وَتَفْصِيلٍ.
qāla qāʾilūna: al-ʾīmānu huwa al-ʾislāmu, wa-hādhā qad ʾadhhaba al-tafāwuta wa-al-maqāmāti, wa-hādhā yaqrubu min madhhabi al-murjiʾati. waqāla ʾākharūna: ʾinna al-ʾislāma ghayru al-ʾīmāni, wa-hāʾulāʾi qad ʾadkhalū al-taḍādda wa-al-taghāyura, wa-hādhā qarībun min qawli al-ʾibāḍiyyati, fa-hādhihi masʾalatun mushkilatun taḥtāju ʾilā sharḥin watafṣīlin.
Some have said, “Faith is Islam.” This abolishes differences of degree and spiritual stations, and approaches the position of the Murjiʾa. Others have said, “Islam is different from faith.” They introduce opposition and difference between them, coming close to the position of the Ibāḍiyya. This is therefore a difficult question requiring explanation and careful distinction.
فَمَثَلُ الْإِسْلَامِ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ كَمَثَلِ الشَّهَادَتَيْنِ إِحْدَاهُمَا مِنَ الْأُخْرَى فِي الْمَعْنَى وَالْحُكْمِ، فَشَهَادَةُ الرَّسُولِ غَيْرُ شَهَادَةِ التَّوْحِيدِ؛ فَهُمَا شَيْئَانِ فِي الْأَعْيَانِ وَإِحْدَاهُمَا مُرْتَبِطَةٌ بِالْأُخْرَى؛ فَهُمَا كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ، لَا إِيمَانَ لِمَنْ لَا إِسْلَامَ لَهُ، وَلَا إِسْلَامَ لِمَنْ لَا إِيمَانَ لَهُ.
famathalu al-ʾislāmi mina al-ʾīmāni kamathali al-shahādatayni ʾiḥdāhumā mina al-ʾukhrā fī al-maʿnā wa-al-ḥukmi, fashahādatu al-rasūli ghayru shahādati al-tawḥīdi; fahumā shayʾāni fī al-ʾaʿyāni waʾiḥdāhumā murtabiṭatun bi-al-ʾukhrā; fahumā kashayʾin wāḥidin, lā ʾīmāna liman lā ʾislāma lahu, walā ʾislāma liman lā ʾīmāna lahu.
Islam stands in relation to faith as the two testimonies stand in relation to one another in meaning and judgment. Testimony to the Messenger is distinct from testimony to divine oneness: they are two distinct things, yet each is bound to the other, making them like a single thing. A person without Islam has no faith, and a person without faith has no Islam.
إِذْ لَا يَخْلُو الْمُسْلِمُ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ بِهِ يَصِحُّ إِسْلَامُهُ، وَلَا بُدَّ لِلْمُسْلِمِ مِنْ إِيمَانٍ بِهِ يَحِقُّ إِيمَانُهُ، مِنْ حَيْثُ اِشْتَرَطَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى لِلْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ الْإِيمَانَ، وَاِشْتَرَطَ لِلْإِيمَانِ الْأَعْمَالَ الصَّالِحَةَ.
ʾidh lā yakhlū al-muslimu min ʾīmānin bihi yaṣiḥḥu ʾislāmuhu, walā budda li-l-muslimi min ʾīmānin bihi yaḥiqqu ʾīmānuhu, min ḥaythu ishtaraṭa Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā li-l-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati al-ʾīmāna, wa-ishtaraṭa li-l-ʾīmāni al-ʾaʿmāla al-ṣāliḥata.
A Muslim cannot be without the faith that makes his Islam valid, and a Muslim must possess the faith through which his faith becomes real. For God, glorified and exalted, has made faith a condition of righteous works and righteous works a condition of faith.
فَقَالَ فِي تَحْقِيقِ ذَلِكَ: (فَمَنْ يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّالِحَاتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَا كُفْرَانَ لِسَعْيِهِ) الْأَنْبِيَاءُ: 94، وَقَالَ فِي تَحْقِيقِ الْإِيمَانِ بِالْعَمَلِ: (وَمَنْ يَأْتِهِ مُؤْمِنًا قَدْ عَمِلَ الصَّالِحَاتِ فَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمُ الدَّرَجَاتُ الْعُلَى) طٰهٰ: 75.
faqāla fī taḥqīqi dhālika: (faman yaʿmal mina al-ṣāliḥāti wahuwa muʾminun falā kufrāna lisaʿyihi) al-ʾanbiyāʾu: 94, waqāla fī taḥqīqi al-ʾīmāni bi-al-ʿamali: (waman yaʾtihi muʾminan qad ʿamila al-ṣāliḥāti fa-ʾulāʾika lahumu al-darajātu al-ʿulā) Ṭā Hā: 75.
To establish this, He said, “Whoever does righteous deeds while being a believer, his striving will not go unacknowledged” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:94). Of faith realized through action, He said, “Whoever comes to Him as a believer, having done righteous deeds, those will have the highest ranks” (Ṭā Hā 20:75).
وَمَنْ كَانَ ظَاهِرُهُ أَعْمَالَ الْإِسْلَامِ لَا يَرْجِعُ إِلَى عُقُودِ الْإِيمَانِ بِالْغَيْبِ، فَهُوَ مُنَافِقٌ نِفَاقًا يَنْقُلُ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ، وَمَنْ كَانَ عَقْدُهُ الْإِيمَانَ بِالْغَيْبِ لَا يَعْمَلُ بِأَحْكَامِ الْإِيمَانِ وَشَرَائِعِ الْإِسْلَامِ؛ فَهُوَ كَافِرٌ كُفْرًا لَا يَثْبُتُ مَعَهُ تَوْحِيدٌ.
waman kāna ẓāhiruhu ʾaʿmāla al-ʾislāmi lā yarjiʿu ʾilā ʿuqūdi al-ʾīmāni bi-al-ghaybi, fahuwa munāfiqun nifāqan yanqulu ʿani al-millati, waman kāna ʿaqduhu al-ʾīmāna bi-al-ghaybi lā yaʿmalu biʾaḥkāmi al-ʾīmāni washarāʾiʿi al-ʾislāmi; fahuwa kāfirun kufran lā yathbutu maʿahu tawḥīdun.
Anyone whose outward conduct consists of the works of Islam but does not rest on inward commitments of faith in the unseen is a hypocrite whose hypocrisy removes him from the religion. Anyone whose inward commitment is faith in the unseen but who does not act according to the requirements of faith and the ordinances of Islam is an unbeliever with an unbelief alongside which divine oneness cannot stand.
وَمَنْ كَانَ مُؤْمِنًا بِالْغَيْبِ مِمَّا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ الرَّسُولُ عَنِ اللَّهِ سُبْحَانَهُ عَامِلًا بِمَا أَمَرَ بِهِ فَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ مُسْلِمٌ، وَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُ كَذَلِكَ لَكَانَ الْمُؤْمِنُ يَجُوزُ أَنْ لَا يُسَمَّى مُسْلِمًا، وَلَجَازَ أَنْ لَا يُسَمَّى كُلُّ مُسْلِمٍ مُؤْمِنًا بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَرُسُلِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ.
waman kāna muʾminan bi-al-ghaybi mimmā ʾakhbara bihi al-rasūlu ʿani Allāhi subḥānahu ʿāmilan bimā ʾamara bihi fahuwa muʾminun muslimun, walawlā ʾannahu kadhālika lakāna al-muʾminu yajūzu ʾan lā yusammā musliman, walajāza ʾan lā yusammā kullu muslimin muʾminan bi-Allāhi taʿālā warusulihi wakutubihi.
Anyone who believes in the unseen matters the Messenger has reported from God, glorified is He, and acts upon His commands is both a believer and a Muslim. Were this not so, a believer could properly be denied the name Muslim, and not every Muslim could be called a believer in God Most High, His messengers, and His books.
وَمَثَلُ الْإِيمَانِ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ كَمَثَلِ الْقَلْبِ مِنَ الْجِسْمِ، لَا يَنْفَكُّ أَحَدُهُمَا مِنَ الْآخَرِ، لَا يَكُونُ ذُو جِسْمٍ حَيٍّ لَا قَلْبَ لَهُ، وَلَا ذُو قَلْبٍ لَا جِسْمَ لَهُ؛ فَهُمَا سَبَبَانِ مُنْفَرِدَانِ، وَفِي الْمَعْنَى وَالْحُكْمِ مُتَّصِلَانِ.
wamathalu al-ʾīmāni mina al-ʾaʿmāli kamathali al-qalbi mina al-jismi, lā yanfakku ʾaḥaduhumā mina al-ʾākhari, lā yakūnu dhū jismin ḥayyin lā qalba lahu, walā dhū qalbin lā jisma lahu; fahumā sababāni munfaridāni, wafī al-maʿnā wa-al-ḥukmi muttaṣilāni.
Faith stands in relation to deeds as the heart stands in relation to the body: neither can be separated from the other. No one can have a living body without a heart, or a heart without a body. They are two distinct means, connected in their meaning and judgment.
وَمَثَلُهُمَا أَيْضًا مَثَلُ حَبَّةٍ لَهَا ظَاهِرٌ وَبَاطِنٌ وَهِيَ وَاحِدَةٌ لَا يُقَالُ حَبَّتَانِ لِتَقَارُبِ وَصْفَيْهِمَا، فَكَذَلِكَ أَعْمَالُ الْإِسْلَامِ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ، الْإِسْلَامُ هُوَ ظَاهِرُ الْإِيمَانِ
wamathaluhumā ʾayḍan mathalu ḥabbatin lahā ẓāhirun wabāṭinun wahiya wāḥidatun lā yuqālu ḥabbatāni litaqārubi waṣfayhimā, fa-kadhālika ʾaʿmālu al-ʾislāmi mina al-ʾīmāni, al-ʾislāmu huwa ẓāhiru al-ʾīmāni
They also resemble a seed with an outside and an inside. It remains a single seed; it is not called two seeds, because the two aspects are so closely related. So it is with the works of Islam in relation to faith. Islam is the outward aspect of faith,
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٧
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 217
Volume Two, page 217
وَهُوَ أَعْمَالُ الْجَوَارِحِ، وَالْإِيمَانُ بَاطِنُ الْإِسْلَامِ وَهُوَ أَعْمَالُ الْقُلُوبِ. رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَانِيَةٌ وَالْإِيمَانُ سِرٌّ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: وَالْإِيمَانُ فِي الْقَلْبِ، فَالْإِسْلَامُ أَعْمَالُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِيمَانُ عُقُودُ الْإِسْلَامِ، فَلَا إِيمَانَ إِلَّا بِعَمَلٍ وَلَا عَمَلَ إِلَّا بِعَقْدٍ.
wahuwa ʾaʿmālu al-jawāriḥi, wa-al-ʾīmānu bāṭinu al-ʾislāmi wahuwa ʾaʿmālu al-qulūbi. ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-ʾislāmu ʿalāniyatun wa-al-ʾīmānu sirrun, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: wa-al-ʾīmānu fī al-qalbi, fa-al-ʾislāmu ʾaʿmālu al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾīmānu ʿuqūdu al-ʾislāmi, falā ʾīmāna ʾillā biʿamalin walā ʿamala ʾillā biʿaqdin.
consisting of the deeds of the bodily members. Faith is the inward aspect of Islam, consisting of the deeds of hearts. It is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “Islam is public, and faith is secret.” Another wording has, “Faith is in the heart.” Islam is therefore the works of faith, and faith is the inward commitments of Islam. There is no faith without action and no action without inward commitment.
وَمَثَلُ ذَلِكَ مَثَلُ الْعِلْمِ الظَّاهِرِ وَالْبَاطِنِ؛ أَحَدُهُمَا مُرْتَبِطٌ بِصَاحِبِهِ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَأَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ، وَمِثْلُهُ قَوْلُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّمَا الْأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّةِ؛ أَيْ لَا عَمَلَ إِلَّا بِعَقْدٍ وَقَصْدٍ.
wamathalu dhālika mathalu al-ʿilmi al-ẓāhiri wa-al-bāṭini; ʾaḥaduhumā murtabiṭun biṣāḥibihi min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi waʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi, wamithluhu qawlu rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinnamā al-ʾaʿmālu bi-al-niyyati; ʾay lā ʿamala ʾillā biʿaqdin waqaṣdin.
This resembles outward and inward knowledge, each bound to its counterpart in the deeds of hearts and bodily members. The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, expressed the same principle: “Actions are only by intention.” That is, there is no action without an inward commitment and purpose.
لِأَنَّ قَوْلَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنَّمَا تَحْقِيقٌ لِلشَّيْءِ وَنَفْيٌ لِمَا سِوَاهُ، فَأَثْبَتَ بِذَلِكَ عَمَلَ الْجَوَارِحِ مِنَ الْمُعَامَلَاتِ، وَأَعْمَالَ الْقُلُوبِ مِنَ النِّيَّاتِ، فَمَثَلُ الْعِلْمِ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ كَمَثَلِ الشَّفَتَيْنِ مِنَ اللِّسَانِ، لَا يَصِحُّ الْكَلَامُ إِلَّا بِهِمَا.
liʾanna qawlahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinnamā taḥqīqun li-l-shayʾi wanafyun limā siwāhu, faʾathbata bi-dhālika ʿamala al-jawāriḥi mina al-muʿāmalāti, waʾaʿmāla al-qulūbi mina al-niyyāti, famathalu al-ʿilmi mina al-ʾīmāni kamathali al-shafatayni mina al-lisāni, lā yaṣiḥḥu al-kalāmu ʾillā bihimā.
For his expression “only,” God bless him and grant him peace, affirms the thing in question and excludes everything else. Thus he affirmed both the bodily actions involved in dealings and the heart’s actions involved in intentions. Knowledge stands in relation to faith as the lips stand in relation to the tongue: speech cannot function without both.
لِأَنَّ الشَّفَتَيْنِ تَجْمَعُ الْحُرُوفَ، وَاللِّسَانَ يُظْهِرُ الْكَلَامَ، وَفِي سُقُوطِ أَحَدِهِمَا بُطْلَانُ الْكَلَامِ، كَذَلِكَ فِي سُقُوطِ الْعَمَلِ ذَهَابُ الْإِيمَانِ، وَلِذَلِكَ عَدَّدَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي نِعْمَتِهِ عَلَى الْإِنْسَانِ بِالْكَلَامِ ذِكْرَ الشَّفَتَيْنِ مَعَ اللِّسَانِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ) الْبَلَدُ: 8 - 9.
liʾanna al-shafatayni tajmaʿu al-ḥurūfa, wa-al-lisāna yuẓhiru al-kalāma, wafī suqūṭi ʾaḥadihimā buṭlānu al-kalāmi, kadhālika fī suqūṭi al-ʿamali dhahābu al-ʾīmāni, wali-dhālika ʿaddada Allāhu taʿālā fī niʿmatihi ʿalā al-ʾinsāni bi-al-kalāmi dhikra al-shafatayni maʿa al-lisāni fī qawlihi taʿālā: (ʾalam najʿal lahu ʿaynayni walisānan washafatayni) al-baladu: 8 - 9.
The lips bring the letters together, and the tongue brings speech forth; the loss of either makes speech fail. Likewise, the loss of action means the disappearance of faith. That is why, when recounting His blessing of speech upon the human being, God Most High mentioned the lips along with the tongue in His saying, exalted is He: “Have We not given him two eyes, a tongue, and two lips?” (al-Balad 90:8–9).
الْمَعْنَى: أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْهُ نَاظِرًا مُتَكَلِّمًا؟ فَعَبَّرَ عَنِ الْكَلَامِ بِاللِّسَانِ وَالشَّفَتَيْنِ لِأَنَّهُمَا مَكَانٌ لَهُ، وَذِكْرُهُ الشَّفَتَيْنِ لِأَنَّ الْكَلَامَ الَّذِي جَرَتِ النِّعْمَةُ بِهِ لَا يَتِمُّ إِلَّا بِهِمَا.
al-maʿnā: ʾalam najʿalhu nāẓiran mutakalliman? faʿabbara ʿani al-kalāmi bi-al-lisāni wa-al-shafatayni liʾannahumā makānun lahu, wadhikruhu al-shafatayni liʾanna al-kalāma alladhī jarati al-niʿmatu bihi lā yatimmu ʾillā bihimā.
The meaning is, “Have We not made him able to see and speak?” He expressed speech through the tongue and lips because they are its location. His mention of the lips is because the speech bestowed as a blessing cannot be complete without them.
وَمَثَلُ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ أَيْضًا كَفُسْطَاطٍ قَائِمٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ لَهُ ظَاهِرٌ مُتَجَافٍ وَأَطْنَابٌ، وَلَهُ عَمُودٌ فِي بَاطِنِهِ، فَالْفُسْطَاطُ مَثَلُ الْإِسْلَامِ لَهُ أَرْكَانٌ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْعَلَانِيَةِ وَالْجَوَارِحِ، وَهِيَ الْأَطْنَابُ الَّتِي تُمْسِكُ أَرْجَاءَ الْفُسْطَاطِ.
wamathalu al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾislāmi ʾayḍan kafusṭāṭin qāʾimin fī al-ʾarḍi lahu ẓāhirun mutajāfin waʾaṭnābun, walahu ʿamūdun fī bāṭinihi, fa-al-fusṭāṭu mathalu al-ʾislāmi lahu ʾarkānun min ʾaʿmāli al-ʿalāniyati wa-al-jawāriḥi, wahiya al-ʾaṭnābu allatī tumsiku ʾarjāʾa al-fusṭāṭi.
Faith and Islam also resemble a tent pitched on the ground, with an outer covering standing away from its center, ropes, and an inner pole. The tent represents Islam, with its supports consisting of outward and bodily actions: these are the ropes holding the tent’s edges in place.
وَالْعَمُودُ الَّذِي فِي بَاطِنِ الْفُسْطَاطِ مَثَلُهُ كَالْإِيمَانِ لَا قِوَامَ لِلْفُسْطَاطِ إِلَّا بِهِ، فَقَدِ اِحْتَاجَ الْفُسْطَاطُ إِلَيْهِمَا، إِذْ لَا اِسْتِقَامَةَ لَهُ وَلَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِهِمَا، كَذَلِكَ الْإِسْلَامُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ، وَلَا قِوَامَ لَهُ إِلَّا بِالْإِيمَانِ، وَالْإِيمَانُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ لَا نَفْعَ لَهُ إِلَّا بِالْإِسْلَامِ؛ وَهُوَ صَالِحُ الْأَعْمَالِ.
wa-al-ʿamūdu alladhī fī bāṭini al-fusṭāṭi mathaluhu ka-al-ʾīmāni lā qiwāma li-l-fusṭāṭi ʾillā bihi, faqadi iḥtāja al-fusṭāṭu ʾilayhimā, ʾidh lā istiqāmata lahu walā quwwata ʾillā bihimā, kadhālika al-ʾislāmu min ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi, walā qiwāma lahu ʾillā bi-al-ʾīmāni, wa-al-ʾīmānu min ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi lā nafʿa lahu ʾillā bi-al-ʾislāmi; wahuwa ṣāliḥu al-ʾaʿmāli.
The pole inside the tent represents faith: the tent cannot stand without it. The tent therefore needs both, since it has neither stability nor strength without them. Similarly, Islam consists of bodily deeds but cannot stand without faith; faith consists of the heart’s deeds but brings no benefit without Islam, which is righteous action.
وَقَدْ عَبَّرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ بِالْإِسْلَامِ، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُمَا كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ مَا عَبَّرَ عَنْ أَحَدِهِمَا بِالْآخَرِ، فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: (فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَنْ كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ) الذَّارِيَاتُ: 35 - 36، وَلَمْ يَكُونَا بَيْتَيْنِ إِنَّمَا هُمْ أَهْلُ بَيْتٍ وَاحِدٍ لُوطٌ وَبَنَاتُهُ.
waqad ʿabbara Allāhu taʿālā ʿani al-ʾīmāni bi-al-ʾislāmi, falawlā ʾannahumā kashayʾin wāḥidin mā ʿabbara ʿan ʾaḥadihimā bi-al-ʾākhari, faqāla subḥānahu: (faʾakhrajnā man kāna fīhā mina al-muʾminīna famā wajadnā fīhā ghayra baytin mina al-muslimīna) al-dhāriyātu: 35 - 36, walam yakūnā baytayni ʾinnamā hum ʾahlu baytin wāḥidin lūṭun wabanātuhu.
God Most High has expressed faith by the word Islam. Were they not like a single thing, He would not have expressed one through the other. He said, glorified is He, “We brought out whoever among the believers was there, but found there only one household of Muslims” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:35–36). These were not two households, but the members of one household: Lot and his daughters.
وَقَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ فِي مِثْلِهِ: (إِنْ كُنْتُمْ آمَنْتُمْ بِاللَّهِ فَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلُوا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُسْلِمِينَ) يُونُسُ: 84، فَعَطَفَ بِقَوْلِهِ: إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُسْلِمِينَ عَلَى قَوْلِهِ: إِنْ كُنْتُمْ آمَنْتُمْ، فَدَلَّ عَلَى أَنَّهُمَا اِسْمَانِ بِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ.
waqāla ʿazza wajalla fī mithlihi: (ʾin kuntum ʾāmantum bi-Allāhi faʿalayhi tawakkalū ʾin kuntum muslimīna) yūnusu: 84, faʿaṭafa biqawlihi: ʾin kuntum muslimīna ʿalā qawlihi: ʾin kuntum ʾāmantum, fadalla ʿalā ʾannahumā ismāni bimaʿnan wāḥidin.
Likewise, the Mighty and Majestic said, “If you have believed in God, then put your trust in Him, if you are Muslims” (Yūnus 10:84). He linked “if you are Muslims” to “if you have believed,” showing that the two are names sharing one meaning.
وَهَذَا كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى فِيمَا عَبَّرَ عَنِ الْأَيَّامِ بِاللَّيَالِي، لِأَنَّ الْيَوْمَ مُرْتَبِطٌ بِاللَّيْلَةِ وَأَنْتَ تَعْلَمُ أَنَّهُمَا شَيْئَانِ، فَقَالَ فِي قِصَّةٍ وَاحِدَةٍ: (قَالَ آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ إِلَّا رَمْزًا) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 41، وَقَالَ أَيْضًا سُبْحَانَهُ: (آيَتُكَ أَلَّا تُكَلِّمَ النَّاسَ ثَلَاثَ لَيَالٍ سَوِيًّا) مَرْيَمُ: 10.
wa-hādhā kaqawlihi taʿālā fīmā ʿabbara ʿani al-ʾayyāmi bi-al-layālī, liʾanna al-yawma murtabiṭun bi-al-laylati waʾanta taʿlamu ʾannahumā shayʾāni, faqāla fī qiṣṣatin wāḥidatin: (qāla ʾāyatuka ʾallā tukallima al-nāsa thalāthata ʾayyāmin ʾillā ramzan) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 41, waqāla ʾayḍan subḥānahu: (ʾāyatuka ʾallā tukallima al-nāsa thalātha layālin sawiyyan) maryamu: 10.
This resembles His words, exalted is He, expressing days through nights, since a day is bound to a night, although you know they are two distinct things. In the same story He said, “Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three days except by gesture” (Āl ʿImrān 3:41), and also, glorified is He, “Your sign is that you will not speak to people for three nights, though sound in health” (Maryam 19:10).
وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَدْ جَعَلَ ضِدَّ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَاحِدًا، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُمَا كَشَيْءٍ وَاحِدٍ فِي الْحُكْمِ وَالْمَعْنَى مَا كَانَ ضِدُّهُمَا
waʾayḍan faʾinna Allāha taʿālā qad jaʿala ḍidda al-ʾislāmi wa-al-ʾīmāni wāḥidan, falawlā ʾannahumā kashayʾin wāḥidin fī al-ḥukmi wa-al-maʿnā mā kāna ḍidduhumā
Moreover, God Most High has given Islam and faith a single opposite. Were they not like a single thing in judgment and meaning, their opposite would not be
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٨
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 218
Volume Two, page 218
وَاحِدًا، فَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: (كَيْفَ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ قَوْمًا كَفَرُوا بَعْدَ إِيمَانِهِمْ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 86، وَقَالَ: (أَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْكُفْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 80، فَجَعَلَ ضِدَّهُمَا الْكُفْرَ.
wāḥidan, faqāla subḥānahu: (kayfa yahdī Allāhu qawman kafarū baʿda ʾīmānihim) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 86, waqāla: (ʾayaʾmurukum bi-al-kufri baʿda ʾidh ʾantum muslimūna) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 80, fajaʿala ḍiddahumā al-kufra.
the same. He said, glorified is He, “How should God guide a people who disbelieved after their faith?” (Āl ʿImrān 3:86), and, “Would he command you to disbelieve after you have become Muslims?” (Āl ʿImrān 3:80). Thus He made unbelief the opposite of both.
وَعَلَى مِثْلِ هَذَا خَبَرُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ بِوَصْفٍ وَاحِدٍ، فَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثِ اِبْنِ عُمَرَ: بُنِيَ الْإِسْلَامُ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: شَهَادَةِ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ، وَإِقَامِ الصَّلَاةِ، وَإِيتَاءِ الزَّكَاةِ، صَوْمِ رَمَضَانَ، وَحَجِّ الْبَيْتِ.
waʿalā mithli hādhā khabaru rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿani al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾislāmi biwaṣfin wāḥidin, faqāla fī ḥadīthi ibni ʿumara: buniya al-ʾislāmu ʿalā khamsin: shahādati ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu waʾanna muḥammadan rasūlu Allāhi, waʾiqāmi al-ṣalāti, waʾītāʾi al-zakāti, ṣawmi ramaḍāna, waḥajji al-bayti.
In the same way, the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, described faith and Islam in identical terms. In Ibn ʿUmar’s report he said, “Islam is built upon five: testifying that there is no god but God and that Muḥammad is God’s Messenger, establishing prayer, giving alms, fasting Ramadan, and making the pilgrimage to the House.”
وَفِي حَدِيثِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ عَنْ وَفْدِ عَبْدِ الْقَيْسِ أَنَّهُمْ سَأَلُوهُ عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ فَذَكَرَ هَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافَ، فَدَلَّ بِذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ لَا إِيمَانَ بَاطِنٌ إِلَّا بِإِسْلَامٍ ظَاهِرٍ، وَلَا إِسْلَامَ عَلَى نِيَّةٍ إِلَّا بِالْإِيمَانِ سِرًّا، وَأَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ وَالْعَمَلَ قَرِينَانِ لَا يَنْفَعُ أَحَدُهُمَا بِغَيْرِ صَاحِبِهِ، وَلَا يَصِحُّ أَحَدُهُمَا إِلَّا بِالْآخَرِ.
wafī ḥadīthi ibni ʿabbāsin ʿan wafdi ʿabdi al-qaysi ʾannahum saʾalūhu ʿani al-ʾīmāni fadhakara hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfa, fadalla bi-dhālika ʾannahu lā ʾīmāna bāṭinun ʾillā biʾislāmin ẓāhirin, walā ʾislāma ʿalā niyyatin ʾillā bi-al-ʾīmāni sirran, waʾanna al-ʾīmāna wa-al-ʿamala qarīnāni lā yanfaʿu ʾaḥaduhumā bighayri ṣāḥibihi, walā yaṣiḥḥu ʾaḥaduhumā ʾillā bi-al-ʾākhari.
In Ibn ʿAbbās’s report about the delegation of ʿAbd al-Qays, they asked him about faith, and he mentioned these same qualities. This shows that there is no inward faith without outward Islam, and no Islam grounded in intention without secret faith. Faith and action are companions: neither benefits a person without the other, and neither is valid without the other.
كَمَا لَا يَصِحَّانِ وَلَا يُوجَدَانِ مَعًا إِلَّا بِنَفْيِ ضِدِّهِمَا وَهُوَ الْكُفْرُ، كَمَا رُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: لَا يَكْفُرُ أَحَدٌ إِلَّا بِجُحُودِ مَا أَقَرَّ بِهِ، وَأَظْهَرُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ آنِفًا أَنَّ فِي نَفْسِ حَدِيثِ اِبْنِ عُمَرَ ذِكْرَ الْإِيمَانِ أَيْضًا بَدَلًا مِنْ لَفْظِ الْإِسْلَامِ.
kamā lā yaṣiḥḥāni walā yūjadāni maʿan ʾillā binafyi ḍiddihimā wahuwa al-kufru, kamā ruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: lā yakfuru ʾaḥadun ʾillā bijuḥūdi mā ʾaqarra bihi, waʾaẓharu min ḥadīthi ibni ʿabbāsin ʾānifan ʾanna fī nafsi ḥadīthi ibni ʿumara dhikra al-ʾīmāni ʾayḍan badalan min lafẓi al-ʾislāmi.
Likewise, neither is valid, nor can the two exist together, without excluding their opposite, unbelief. As is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, “No one becomes an unbeliever except by denying what he has acknowledged.” Clearer still than Ibn ʿAbbās’s report just mentioned is the occurrence of “faith” in place of “Islam” in Ibn ʿUmar’s own report.
وَرَوَاهُ جَرِيرٌ عَنْ سَالِمِ بْنِ أَبِي الْجَعْدِ عَنْ عَطِيَّةَ مَوْلَى بَنِي عَامِرٍ عَنْ يَزِيدَ بْنِ بِشْرٍ قَالَ: أَتَيْتُ اِبْنَ عُمَرَ فَجَاءَهُ رَجُلٌ فَقَالَ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنَ عُمَرَ مَا لَكَ تَحُجُّ وَتَعْتَمِرُ وَقَدْ تَرَكْتَ الْغَزْوَ؟
warawāhu jarīrun ʿan sālimi bni ʾabī al-jaʿdi ʿan ʿaṭiyyata mawlā banī ʿāmirin ʿan yazīda bni bishrin qāla: ʾataytu ibna ʿumara fajāʾahu rajulun faqāla: yā ʾabā ʿabdi Allāhi bna ʿumara mā laka taḥujju wataʿtamiru waqad tarakta al-ghazwa?
Jarīr related it from Sālim ibn Abī al-Jaʿd, from ʿAṭiyya, the client of Banū ʿĀmir, from Yazīd ibn Bishr, who said: “I came to Ibn ʿUmar, and a man approached him and said, ‘Abū ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUmar, why do you perform the pilgrimage and the lesser pilgrimage when you have abandoned military expeditions?’”
قَالَ: وَيْلَكَ إِنَّ الْإِيمَانَ بُنِيَ عَلَى خَمْسٍ: تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى، وَتُقِيمُ الصَّلَاةَ وَتُؤْتِي الزَّكَاةَ، وَتَحُجُّ الْبَيْتَ، وَتَصُومُ رَمَضَانَ، كَذَلِكَ حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
qāla: waylaka ʾinna al-ʾīmāna buniya ʿalā khamsin: taʿbudu Allāha taʿālā, watuqīmu al-ṣalāta watuʾtī al-zakāta, wataḥujju al-bayta, wataṣūmu ramaḍāna, kadhālika ḥaddathanā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
He replied, “Woe to you! Faith was built upon five: that you worship God Most High, establish prayer, give alms, make the pilgrimage to the House, and fast Ramadan. That is how the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, told it to us.”
وَقَدِ اِشْتَرَطَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِلْإِيمَانِ الْعَمَلَ الصَّالِحَ، وَنَفَى النَّفْعَ بِالْإِيمَانِ إِلَّا بِوُجُودِ الْعَمَلِ، كَمَا شَرَطَ لِلْإِيمَانِ الْإِسْلَامَ، فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ) الْفُرْقَانُ: 70.
waqadi ishtaraṭa Allāhu taʿālā li-l-ʾīmāni al-ʿamala al-ṣāliḥa, wanafā al-nafʿa bi-al-ʾīmāni ʾillā biwujūdi al-ʿamali, kamā sharaṭa li-l-ʾīmāni al-ʾislāma, faqāla taʿālā: (ʾillā man tāba waʾāmana waʿamila ʿamalan ṣāliḥan fa-ʾulāʾika yubaddilu Allāhu sayyiʾātihim ḥasanātin) al-furqānu: 70.
God Most High has made righteous action a condition of faith and denied that faith brings benefit without action, just as He made Islam a condition of faith. He said, exalted is He, “Except those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds: God will replace their evil deeds with good ones” (al-Furqān 25:70).
إِجْمَاعٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ التَّفْسِيرِ؛ إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ) التَّوْبَةُ: 5، بَعْدَ قَوْلِهِ: وَخُذُوهُمْ وَاُحْصُرُوهُمْ.
ʾijmāʿun min ʾahli al-tafsīri; ʾillā man tāba mina al-shirki kaqawlihi taʿālā: (faʾin tābū waʾaqāmū al-ṣalāta waʾātawu al-zakāta fakhallū sabīlahum) al-tawbatu: 5, baʿda qawlihi: wakhudhūhum wa-uḥṣurūhum.
The commentators agree that this means “except those who repent of associating partners with God,” as in His saying, exalted is He, “If they repent, establish prayer, and give alms, let them go their way” (al-Tawba 9:5), after His words, “Seize them and besiege them.”
وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: (وَمَا أَمْوَالُكُمْ وَلَا أَوْلَادُكُمْ بِالَّتِي تُقَرِّبُكُمْ عِنْدَنَا زُلْفَى إِلَّا مَنْ آمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا) سَبَأٌ: 37، وَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ) يُونُسُ: 63، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: (الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ) الزُّخْرُفُ: 69.
waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā: (wamā ʾamwālukum walā ʾawlādukum bi-allatī tuqarribukum ʿindanā zulfā ʾillā man ʾāmana waʿamila ṣāliḥan) sabaʾun: 37, waqāla taʿālā: (alladhīna ʾāmanū wakānū yattaqūna) yūnusu: 63, kamā qāla taʿālā: (alladhīna ʾāmanū biʾāyātinā wakānū muslimīna) al-zukhrufu: 69.
He said, glorified and exalted, “Neither your wealth nor your children bring you nearer to Us; only those who believe and do good” (Sabaʾ 34:37). The Exalted also said, “Those who believed and were mindful of God” (Yūnus 10:63), just as the Exalted said, “Those who believed in Our signs and were Muslims” (al-Zukhruf 43:69).
فَاِشْتَرَطَ لِلْإِيمَانِ الْأَعْمَالَ وَالتَّقْوَى، كَمَا اِشْتَرَطَ لِلْأَعْمَالِ الصَّالِحَةِ الْإِيمَانَ، فَكَمَا لَوْ عَمِلَ الْعَبْدُ بِالصَّالِحَاتِ كُلِّهَا لَمْ تَنْفَعْهُ إِلَّا بِالْإِيمَانِ، كَذَلِكَ لَوْ آمَنَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ كُلِّهِ لَمْ يَنْفَعْهُ إِلَّا بِالْأَعْمَالِ.
fa-ishtaraṭa li-l-ʾīmāni al-ʾaʿmāla wa-al-taqwā, kamā ishtaraṭa li-l-ʾaʿmāli al-ṣāliḥati al-ʾīmāna, fakamā law ʿamila al-ʿabdu bi-al-ṣāliḥāti kullihā lam tanfaʿhu ʾillā bi-al-ʾīmāni, kadhālika law ʾāmana mina al-ʾīmāni kullihi lam yanfaʿhu ʾillā bi-al-ʾaʿmāli.
Thus He made deeds and mindfulness of God conditions of faith, just as He made faith a condition of righteous deeds. Even if a servant performed every righteous deed, they would benefit him only with faith; likewise, even if he believed in the whole content of faith, it would benefit him only with deeds.
وَفِي وَصِيَّةِ لُقْمَانَ لِاِبْنِهِ: يَا بُنَيَّ كَمَا لَا يَصْلُحُ الزَّرْعُ إِلَّا بِالْمَاءِ وَالتُّرَابِ فَكَذَلِكَ لَا يَصْلُحُ الْإِيمَانُ إِلَّا بِالْعَمَلِ وَالْعِلْمِ.
wafī waṣiyyati luqmāna li-ibnihi: yā bunayya kamā lā yaṣluḥu al-zarʿu ʾillā bi-al-māʾi wa-al-turābi fa-kadhālika lā yaṣluḥu al-ʾīmānu ʾillā bi-al-ʿamali wa-al-ʿilmi.
In Luqmān’s counsel to his son: “My dear son, just as crops cannot thrive without water and soil, faith cannot thrive without action and knowledge.”
فَأَمَّا تَفْرِقَةُ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي حَدِيثِ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ لَمَّا سَأَلَهُ: مَا الْإِيمَانُ؟ فَقَالَ: أَنْ تُؤْمِنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ بِالْبَعْثِ بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَبِالْحِسَابِ وَبِالْقَدَرِ خَيْرِهِ وَشَرِّهِ، ثُمَّ قَالَ: مَا الْإِسْلَامُ؟ فَذَكَرَ الْخِصَالَ الْخَمْسَ؛ فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ
faʾammā tafriqatu al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ḥadīthi jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu lammā saʾalahu: mā al-ʾīmānu? faqāla: ʾan tuʾmina bi-Allāhi wamalāʾikatihi wakutubihi warusulihi bi-al-baʿthi baʿda al-mawti wabi-al-ḥisābi wabi-al-qadari khayrihi washarrihi, thumma qāla: mā al-ʾislāmu? fadhakara al-khiṣāla al-khamsa; faʾinna dhālika
As for the distinction made by the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, in Gabriel’s report, peace be upon him: when Gabriel asked him, “What is faith?” he replied, “That you believe in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, resurrection after death, the reckoning, and destiny, its good and its evil.” Then he asked, “What is Islam?” and he mentioned the five practices. This is
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢١٩
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 219
Volume Two, page 219
تَفْصِيلُ أَعْمَالِ الْقُلُوبِ وَعُقُودِهَا عَلَى مَا تُوجِبُ هَذِهِ الْمَعَانِي الَّتِي وَصَفْنَاهَا، أَنْ تَكُونَ عُقُودًا مِنْ تَفْصِيلِ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ، فِيمَا تُوجِبُ الْأَفْعَالُ الظَّاهِرَةُ الَّتِي وَصَفَهَا أَنْ تَكُونَ عَلَانِيَةً.
tafṣīlu ʾaʿmāli al-qulūbi waʿuqūdihā ʿalā mā tūjibu hādhihi al-maʿānī allatī waṣafnāhā, ʾan takūna ʿuqūdan min tafṣīli ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi, fīmā tūjibu al-ʾafʿālu al-ẓāhiratu allatī waṣafahā ʾan takūna ʿalāniyatan.
a detailed distinction between the heart’s actions and commitments, which the meanings we have described require to be inward commitments, and the bodily members’ actions, which the outward acts he described require to be public.
إِلَّا أَنَّ ذَلِكَ يُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالْإِيمَانِ فِي الْمَعْنَى بِاِخْتِلَافٍ وَتَضَادٍّ، وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ دَلِيلٌ أَنَّهُمَا مُخْتَلِفَانِ فِي الْحُكْمِ، إِذْ قَدْ يَجْتَمِعَانِ فِي عَبْدٍ وَاحِدٍ مُسْلِمٍ مُؤْمِنٍ، فَيَكُونُ مَا ذَكَرَهُ مِنْ عُقُودِ الْقَلْبِ وَصْفَ قَلْبِهِ، وَمَا ذَكَرَهُ مِنَ الْعَلَانِيَةِ وَصْفَ ظَاهِرِ جِسْمِهِ.
ʾillā ʾanna dhālika yufarriqu bayna al-ʾislāmi wa-al-ʾīmāni fī al-maʿnā bi-ikhtilāfin wataḍāddin, walaysa fīhi dalīlun ʾannahumā mukhtalifāni fī al-ḥukmi, ʾidh qad yajtamiʿāni fī ʿabdin wāḥidin muslimin muʾminin, fayakūnu mā dhakarahu min ʿuqūdi al-qalbi waṣfa qalbihi, wamā dhakarahu mina al-ʿalāniyati waṣfa ẓāhiri jismihi.
Except that this differentiates Islam and faith in meaning through difference and opposition; it contains no evidence that their judgment differs, since they can come together in a single servant who is both Muslim and believer. The inward commitments he mentioned would then describe that person’s heart, and the public acts he mentioned would describe his outward bodily conduct.
وَالدَّلِيلُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ جَعَلَ وَصْفَ الِاسْمَيْنِ مَعْنًى وَاحِدًا فِي حَدِيثِ اِبْنِ عَمْرٍو فِي حَدِيثِ وَفْدِ عَبْدِ الْقَيْسِ الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ قَبْلُ عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ، وَقَدْ رَوَى ذَلِكَ مُفَصَّلًا فِي حَدِيثِ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ: الْإِيمَانُ قَوْلٌ بِاللِّسَانِ، وَعَقْدٌ بِالْقَلْبِ، وَعَمَلٌ بِالْأَرْكَانِ، فَأَدْخَلَ أَعْمَالَ الْجَوَارِحِ فِي عُقُودِ الْإِيمَانِ.
wa-al-dalīlu ʿalā dhālika ʾannahu jaʿala waṣfa al-ismayni maʿnan wāḥidan fī ḥadīthi ibni ʿamrin fī ḥadīthi wafdi ʿabdi al-qaysi alladhī dhakarnāhu qablu ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin, waqad rawā dhālika mufaṣṣalan fī ḥadīthi ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu: al-ʾīmānu qawlun bi-al-lisāni, waʿaqdun bi-al-qalbi, waʿamalun bi-al-ʾarkāni, faʾadkhala ʾaʿmāla al-jawāriḥi fī ʿuqūdi al-ʾīmāni.
The evidence is that he gave the description attached to the two names one meaning in Ibn ʿAmr’s report, in the report about the delegation of ʿAbd al-Qays that we previously cited from Ibn ʿAbbās. He also related this explicitly in ʿAlī’s report, may God Most High be pleased with him: “Faith is profession with the tongue, commitment in the heart, and action with the members.” Thus he included bodily actions within the commitments of faith.
وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ الْأُمَّةَ مُجْمِعَةٌ أَنَّ الْعَبْدَ لَوْ آمَنَ بِجَمِيعِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ عُقُودِ الْقَلْبِ فِي حَدِيثِ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ مِنْ وَصْفِ الْإِيمَانِ، وَلَمْ يَعْمَلْ بِمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ وَصْفِ الْإِسْلَامِ بِأَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ لَا يُسَمَّى مُؤْمِنًا، وَأَنَّهُ إِنْ عَمِلَ بِجَمِيعِ مَا وَصَفَ بِهِ الْإِسْلَامَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَعْتَقِدْ مَا وَصَفَهُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ أَنَّهُ لَا يَكُونُ مُسْلِمًا.
waʾayḍan faʾinna al-ʾummata mujmiʿatun ʾanna al-ʿabda law ʾāmana bijamīʿi mā dhakarnāhu min ʿuqūdi al-qalbi fī ḥadīthi jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu min waṣfi al-ʾīmāni, walam yaʿmal bimā dhakarnāhu min waṣfi al-ʾislāmi biʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi lā yusammā muʾminan, waʾannahu ʾin ʿamila bijamīʿi mā waṣafa bihi al-ʾislāma thumma lam yaʿtaqid mā waṣafahu mina al-ʾīmāni ʾannahu lā yakūnu musliman.
Moreover, the community agrees that a servant who believed in all the heart’s commitments that we mentioned in Gabriel’s report, peace be upon him, as describing faith, but did not perform the bodily actions mentioned as describing Islam, would not be called a believer. And if he performed everything by which Islam was described but did not hold the beliefs by which faith was described, he would not be a Muslim.
وَقَدْ أَخْبَرَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَنَّ الْأُمَّةَ لَا تَجْتَمِعُ عَلَى ضَلَالَةٍ، وَلَيْسَ فِيهِ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ غَيْرُ الْإِيمَانِ، أَوْ أَنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ سِوَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، أَوْ أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ ضِدُّ الْإِسْلَامِ.
waqad ʾakhbara ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾanna al-ʾummata lā tajtamiʿu ʿalā ḍalālatin, walaysa fīhi dalīlun ʿalā ʾanna al-ʾislāma ghayru al-ʾīmāni, ʾaw ʾanna al-muslimīna siwā al-muʾminīna, ʾaw ʾanna al-ʾīmāna ḍiddu al-ʾislāmi.
He told us, God bless him and grant him peace, that the community does not agree upon error. The report therefore contains no evidence that Islam is other than faith, that Muslims are other than believers, or that faith is the opposite of Islam.
وَالْوَجْهُ الثَّانِي مِنْ تَأْوِيلِ الْخَبَرِ أَنَّ مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ: أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ يَعْنِي بِهِ أَوْ مُسْتَسْلِمٌ، فَإِذَا جَمَعَ بَيْنَ عُقُودِ الْقَلْبِ وَبَيْنَ أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ كَانَ مُسْلِمًا مُؤْمِنًا.
wa-al-wajhu al-thānī min taʾwīli al-khabari ʾanna maʿnā qawlihi: ʾaw muslimun yaʿnī bihi ʾaw mustaslimun, faʾidhā jamaʿa bayna ʿuqūdi al-qalbi wabayna ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi kāna musliman muʾminan.
The second way of interpreting the report is that by “or a Muslim” he meant “or someone who has submitted.” When someone combines the heart’s commitments with bodily actions, he is both Muslim and believer.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَقُلْ بِهَذَا الَّذِي ذَكَرْنَاهُ فَقَدْ كَفَّرَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ وَجَهَّلَهُ فِي قِتَالِ أَهْلِ الرِّدَّةِ وَاِدَّعَى عَلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ قَتَلَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، لِأَنَّ الْقَوْمَ جَاؤُوا بِعُقُودِ الْإِيمَانِ وَلَمْ يَجْحَدُوا التَّوْحِيدَ وَلَا أَكْثَرَ الْأَعْمَالِ وَإِنَّمَا أَنْكَرُوا الزَّكَاةَ فَاِسْتَحَلَّ قَتْلَهُمْ، وَوَاطَأَهُ الصَّحَابَةُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ حَتَّى اِسْتَتَابَ مَنْ رَجَعَ مِنْهُمْ.
waman lam yaqul bi-hādhā alladhī dhakarnāhu faqad kaffara ʾabā bakrin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu wajahhalahu fī qitāli ʾahli al-riddati wa-iddaʿā ʿalayhi ʾannahu qatala al-muʾminīna, liʾanna al-qawma jāʾū biʿuqūdi al-ʾīmāni walam yajḥadū al-tawḥīda walā ʾakthara al-ʾaʿmāli waʾinnamā ʾankarū al-zakāta fa-istaḥalla qatlahum, wawāṭaʾahu al-ṣaḥābatu ʿalā dhālika ḥattā istatāba man rajaʿa minhum.
Anyone who rejects what we have stated has declared Abū Bakr, may God Most High be pleased with him, an unbeliever and ignorant for fighting the apostates, and has accused him of killing believers. Those people held the commitments of faith and did not deny divine oneness or most religious works; they denied only almsgiving. Yet he deemed it lawful to kill them, and the Companions agreed with him, until he called those who returned to repentance.
وَأَمَّا الْحَدِيثُ الْآخَرُ الَّذِي جَاءَ ظَاهِرُهُ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَرَّقَ بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَالْمُسْلِمِ فِي أَنَّهُ أَعْطَى رَجُلًا وَلَمْ يُعْطِ الْآخَرَ، فَقَالَ لَهُ سَعْدٌ: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ تَرَكْتَ فُلَانًا لَمْ تُعْطِهِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، فَقَالَ: أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ؟ فَأَعَادَ عَلَيْهِ، فَأَعَادَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ؟
waʾammā al-ḥadīthu al-ʾākharu alladhī jāʾa ẓāhiruhu ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama farraqa bayna al-muʾmini wa-al-muslimi fī ʾannahu ʾaʿṭā rajulan walam yuʿṭi al-ʾākhara, faqāla lahu saʿdun: yā rasūla Allāhi tarakta fulānan lam tuʿṭihi wahuwa muʾminun, faqāla: ʾaw muslimun? faʾaʿāda ʿalayhi, faʾaʿādahu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾaw muslimun?
As for the other report, which appears to distinguish believer from Muslim: the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, gave to one man but not another. Saʿd said to him, “Messenger of God, you left so-and-so without giving him anything, although he is a believer.” He replied, “Or a Muslim?” Saʿd repeated his statement, and the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, repeated, “Or a Muslim?”
فَإِنَّمَا فِي هَذَا دَلِيلٌ عَلَى تَفْرِقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ فِي التَّفَاضُلِ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ؛ أَيْ لَيْسَ هُوَ مِنْ خُصُوصِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَا أَفَاضِلِهِمْ، فَكَشَفَ مَقَامَهُ الَّذِي خَفِيَ عَلَى سَعْدٍ كَمَا كَشَفَ مَقَامَ حَارِثَةَ عَنْ حَقِيقَةِ إِيمَانِهِ، إِذْ كَانَ خَامِلًا لَا يُؤْبَهُ لَهُ فَقَالَ: كَيْفَ أَصْبَحْتَ؟ فَنَطَقَ بِوَجْدِهِ عَنْ مُشَاهَدَتِهِ، فَقَالَ: عَرَفْتَ فَاِلْزَمْ.
faʾinnamā fī hādhā dalīlun ʿalā tafriqati al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾislāmi fī al-tafāḍuli wa-al-maqāmāti; ʾay laysa huwa min khuṣūṣi al-muʾminīna walā ʾafāḍilihim, fakashafa maqāmahu alladhī khafiya ʿalā saʿdin kamā kashafa maqāma ḥārithata ʿan ḥaqīqati ʾīmānihi, ʾidh kāna khāmilan lā yuʾbahu lahu faqāla: kayfa ʾaṣbaḥta? fanaṭaqa biwajdihi ʿan mushāhadatihi, faqāla: ʿarafta fa-ilzam.
This demonstrates only a distinction between faith and Islam in excellence and spiritual stations: the man was not among the select or most excellent believers. He disclosed the man’s station, which Saʿd had not perceived, just as he disclosed Ḥāritha’s station through the reality of his faith. Ḥāritha had been obscure and disregarded, and he asked him, “How have you awakened?” He spoke from his spiritual experience about what he witnessed, and the Prophet said, “You have come to know; hold fast.”
فَهَذَا دَلِيلٌ لَنَا فِي تَفْضِيلِ مَقَامِ الْإِيمَانِ عَلَى مَقَامِ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَأَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَتَفَاضَلُونَ فِي الْإِيمَانِ، وَإِنْ تَسَاوَوْا فِي أَعْمَالِ الْجَوَارِحِ مِنَ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَأَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ لَا حَدَّ لَهُ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ صِحَّتُهُ بِمَحْدُودِ الْإِسْلَامِ، فَآثَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ الَّذِي آمَنَ طَوْعًا عَلَى الْمُكْرَهِ.
fa-hādhā dalīlun lanā fī tafḍīli maqāmi al-ʾīmāni ʿalā maqāmi al-ʾislāmi, waʾanna al-muʾminīna yatafāḍalūna fī al-ʾīmāni, waʾin tasāwaw fī ʾaʿmāli al-jawāriḥi mina al-ʾislāmi, waʾanna al-ʾīmāna lā ḥadda lahu waʾin kānat ṣiḥḥatuhu bimaḥdūdi al-ʾislāmi, faʾāthara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama alladhī ʾāmana ṭawʿan ʿalā al-mukrahi.
This supports our view that the station of faith surpasses the station of Islam, that believers differ in the excellence of their faith even when equal in Islam’s bodily practices, and that faith has no limit, although its validity rests on Islam’s defined requirements. Thus the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, preferred the person who believed willingly to the one who had been compelled.
وَكَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِنَّمَا يُعْطِي مِنَ الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ الرُّؤَسَاءَ، وَمَنْ لَا يُؤْمَنُ عَادِيَتُهُ، وَجَمْعُهُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَتَحْرِيضُهُ الْمُشْرِكِينَ كَمَا أَكْرَمَ الرَّجُلَ بَعْدَ أَنْ تَكَلَّمَ فِيهِ فَقِيلَ لَهُ فِي ذَلِكَ، فَقَالَ: هَذَا أَحْمَقُ مُطَاعٌ، أَوْ مَنْ يَكْثُرُ عَشِيرَتُهُ وَأَتْبَاعُهُ فَيَكُونُ ظَهِيرًا عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ،
wakāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾinnamā yuʿṭī mina al-muʾallafati al-ruʾasāʾa, waman lā yuʾmanu ʿādiyatuhu, wajamʿuhu ʿalā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wataḥrīḍuhu al-mushrikīna kamā ʾakrama al-rajula baʿda ʾan takallama fīhi faqīla lahu fī dhālika, faqāla: hādhā ʾaḥmaqu muṭāʿun, ʾaw man yakthuru ʿashīratuhu waʾatbāʿuhu fayakūnu ẓahīran ʿalā al-muʾminīna,
Among those whose hearts were being reconciled, the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, gave only to leaders and to those whose aggression, mobilization against the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, and incitement of the idolaters could not be safely discounted. Thus he honored a man after speaking against him, and when asked about it said, “This is a fool whom people obey.” Or he gave to someone with a large clan and many followers who could become a force against the believers,
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٠
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 220
Volume Two, page 220
أَوْ مَنْ فِيهِ غِنًى لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ وَمَنْفَعَةٌ وَعِزَّةٌ لِلْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَأَمَّا الْأَتْبَاعُ وَالسَّفَلَةُ مِنَ الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ فَلَمْ يَكُنْ يُؤْثِرُهُمْ بِالْعَطَاءِ، بَلْ كَانَ يُؤْثِرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، يُقَدِّمُهُمْ عَلَى أَرَاذِلِ الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ وَضُعَفَائِهِمْ.
ʾaw man fīhi ghinan li-l-muslimīna wamanfaʿatun waʿizzatun li-l-muslimīna, faʾammā al-ʾatbāʿu wa-al-safalatu mina al-muʾallafati falam yakun yuʾthiruhum bi-al-ʿaṭāʾi, bal kāna yuʾthiru al-muʾminīna, yuqaddimuhum ʿalā ʾarādhili al-muʾallafati waḍuʿafāʾihim.
or to someone who could offer Muslims support, benefit, and strength. As for the followers and low-ranking people among those being reconciled, he did not favor them with gifts. Rather, he favored the believers, giving them precedence over the lowest and weakest of those being reconciled.
كَمَا فَعَلَ بِالْقَسْمِ الَّذِي قَسَمَهُ بَيْنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَأَعْطَاهُمْ، إِلَّا رَجُلًا مِنَ الْغُزَاةِ لَهُ سَجَّادَةٌ مَحْلُوقَ الرَّأْسِ فَإِنَّهُ لَمْ يُعْطِهِ، وَقَالَ: إِنَّ هَذِهِ قِسْمَةٌ مَا أُرِيدَ بِهَا وَجْهُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَاللَّهِ مَا عَدَلَ، فَقَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنْ لَمْ أَعْدِلْ فَمَنْ يَعْدِلُ؟ وَكَانَ ذَلِكَ أَوَّلَ قَرْنٍ نَبَغَ مِنَ الْخَوَارِجِ.
kamā faʿala bi-al-qasmi alladhī qasamahu bayna al-muʾminīna faʾaʿṭāhum, ʾillā rajulan mina al-ghuzāti lahu sajjādatun maḥlūqa al-raʾsi faʾinnahu lam yuʿṭihi, waqāla: ʾinna hādhihi qismatun mā ʾurīda bihā wajhu Allāhi taʿālā, wa-Allāhi mā ʿadala, faqāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾin lam ʾaʿdil faman yaʿdilu? wakāna dhālika ʾawwala qarnin nabagha mina al-khawāriji.
Such was his conduct in the distribution he made among the believers, giving to them except for one warrior with a prostration mark and a shaved head, to whom he gave nothing. The man said, “This is a distribution that was not made for God Most High’s sake. By God, he has not acted justly!” He replied, God bless him and grant him peace, “If I do not act justly, who will?” This was the first horn of the Khārijites to emerge.
أَفَلَا تَرَاهُ لَمْ يُعْطِ هَذَا شَيْئًا وَلَمْ يَسْتَمِلْهُ لِأَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ مِنْ خُصُوصِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَلَا مِمَّنْ يُتَّقَى بَأْسُهُ أَوْ يَظْهَرُ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ غَنَاؤُهُ فَيُتَأَلَّفُ بِالْعَطَاءِ.
ʾafalā tarāhu lam yuʿṭi hādhā shayʾan walam yastamilhu liʾannahu lam yakun min khuṣūṣi al-muʾminīna, walā mimman yuttaqā baʾsuhu ʾaw yaẓharu fī al-ʾislāmi ghanāʾuhu fayutaʾallafu bi-al-ʿaṭāʾi.
Do you not see that he gave this man nothing and did not try to win him over? He was neither one of the select believers nor someone whose force was feared or whose usefulness to Islam was evident, so as to be reconciled through a gift.
وَهَذَا مِثْلُ قَوْلِ فِرْعَوْنَ حِينَ أَلْجَمَهُ اللَّهُ الْغَرَقَ فَاِضْطَرَّهُ إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ بِقَوْلِهِ: آمَنْتُ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا الَّذِي آمَنَتْ بِهِ بَنُو إِسْرَائِيلَ، وَأَنَا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، أَجْمَعَ أَهْلُ التَّفْسِيرِ أَنَّ مَعْنَاهُ مِنَ الْمُسْتَسْلِمِينَ.
wa-hādhā mithlu qawli firʿawna ḥīna ʾaljamahu Allāhu al-gharaqa fa-iḍṭarrahu ʾilā al-ʾislāmi biqawlihi: ʾāmantu ʾannahu lā ʾilāha ʾillā alladhī ʾāmanat bihi banū ʾisrāʾīla, waʾanā mina al-muslimīna, ʾajmaʿa ʾahlu al-tafsīri ʾanna maʿnāhu mina al-mustaslimīna.
This resembles Pharaoh’s declaration when God bridled him with drowning and compelled him to submit: “I believe that there is no god but the One in whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims.” The commentators agree that this means “one of those who submit.”
فَإِنْ قِيلَ، فَقَدْ رُوِيَ فِي آخِرِ هَذَا الْخَبَرِ فِي بَعْضِ الرِّوَايَاتِ مَا يَدُلُّ عَلَى ضِدِّ هَذَا التَّأْوِيلِ، وَأَنَّ الرَّجُلَ كَانَ فَاضِلًا لَا أَنَّهُ كَانَ مُسْتَسْلِمًا، وَهُوَ أَنَّ فِي الْحَدِيثِ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: إِنِّي لَأُعْطِي قَوْمًا وَأَمْنَعُ آخَرِينَ أَكِلُهُمْ إِلَى مَا جَعَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ: مِنْهُمْ فُلَانٌ.
faʾin qīla, faqad ruwiya fī ʾākhiri hādhā al-khabari fī baʿḍi al-riwāyāti mā yadullu ʿalā ḍiddi hādhā al-taʾwīli, waʾanna al-rajula kāna fāḍilan lā ʾannahu kāna mustasliman, wahuwa ʾanna fī al-ḥadīthi ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: ʾinnī laʾuʿṭī qawman waʾamnaʿu ʾākharīna ʾakiluhum ʾilā mā jaʿala Allāhu taʿālā fī qulūbihim mina al-ʾīmāni: minhum fulānun.
Someone may object: “Some versions conclude with words supporting the opposite interpretation, showing that the man was virtuous rather than merely someone who had submitted. The report says that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said, ‘I give to some people and withhold from others, entrusting them to the faith God Most High has placed in their hearts; so-and-so is among them.’”
قِيلَ: إِنَّ هَذَا كَلَامٌ مُسْتَأْنَفٌ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَفَادَهُ الْقَائِلَ لِأَنَّهُ بُعِثَ بِجَوَامِعِ الْكَلِمِ، وَكَانَ يُسْأَلُ عَنِ الشَّيْءِ فَيُخْبِرُ بِهِ وَيَزِيدُ عَلَيْهِ لِلْبَيَانِ وَالْهِدَايَةِ الَّذِي أُعْطِيَ فَكَأَنَّهُ أَرَادَ أَنْ يُخْبِرَ بِتَنْوِيعِ عَطَائِهِ وَبِضُرُوبِ الْمُعْطَيْنَ مِنَ النَّاسِ؛ هَذَا لِلْحَاجَةِ، وَهَذَا لِلْفَضْلِ، وَهَذَا لِلتَّآلُفِ.
qīla: ʾinna hādhā kalāmun mustaʾnafun min rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾafādahu al-qāʾila liʾannahu buʿitha bijawāmiʿi al-kalimi, wakāna yusʾalu ʿani al-shayʾi fayukhbiru bihi wayazīdu ʿalayhi li-l-bayāni wa-al-hidāyati alladhī ʾuʿṭiya fakaʾannahu ʾarāda ʾan yukhbira bitanwīʿi ʿaṭāʾihi wabiḍurūbi al-muʿṭayna mina al-nāsi; hādhā li-l-ḥājati, wa-hādhā li-l-faḍli, wa-hādhā li-l-taʾālufi.
The answer is that this was a fresh statement by the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, offered to instruct the speaker. He was sent with concise, comprehensive speech; when asked about something, he answered and added more, through the explanatory power and guidance he had been given. It is as though he wished to explain the variety of his giving and the different kinds of recipients: one receives because of need, another because of excellence, and another to win his allegiance.
لِأَنَّ الَّذِي مَنَعَهُ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ مِنَ الَّذِي أَعْطَاهُ، إِذْ لَوْ كَانَ الْأَمْرُ كَمَا قَالَ هَذَا الْقَائِلُ لَكَانَ الْإِسْلَامُ أَفْضَلَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ، وَلَكَانَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ أَفْضَلَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَلَمْ يَقُلْ بِهَذَا أَحَدٌ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ.
liʾanna alladhī manaʿahu kāna ʾafḍala mina alladhī ʾaʿṭāhu, ʾidh law kāna al-ʾamru kamā qāla hādhā al-qāʾilu lakāna al-ʾislāmu ʾafḍala mina al-ʾīmāni, walakāna al-muslimūna ʾafḍala mina al-muʾminīna, walam yaqul bi-hādhā ʾaḥadun mina al-ʿulamāʾi.
For the one from whom he withheld was better than the one to whom he gave. If the matter were as this speaker claimed, Islam would be better than faith, and Muslims better than believers; no scholar has said this.
إِلَّا أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ خَاصٌّ فِيهِ التَّفَاوُتُ وَالْمَقَامَاتُ؛ فَهُوَ يَشْتَمِلُ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ، وَالْإِسْلَامُ دَاخِلٌ فِيهِ، وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ هُمْ خُصُوصُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، مِنْهُمُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ وَالصِّدِّيقُونَ وَالشُّهَدَاءُ، وَالْإِسْلَامُ عَامٌّ مَحْدُودٌ يُوصَفُ بِهِ عُمُومُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَيَدْخُلُ فِيهِ أَهْلُ الْكَبَائِرِ وَالْإِجْرَامِ، وَلَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ مَنْ فَارَقَ الْكُفْرَ وَوَقَعَ عَلَيْهِ اِسْمُ الْإِيمَانِ.
ʾillā ʾanna al-ʾīmāna khāṣṣun fīhi al-tafāwutu wa-al-maqāmātu; fahuwa yashtamilu ʿalā al-ʾislāmi, wa-al-ʾislāmu dākhilun fīhi, wa-al-muʾminīna hum khuṣūṣu al-muslimīna, minhumu al-muqarrabūna wa-al-ṣiddīqūna wa-al-shuhadāʾu, wa-al-ʾislāmu ʿāmmun maḥdūdun yūṣafu bihi ʿumūmu al-muʾminīna, wayadkhulu fīhi ʾahlu al-kabāʾiri wa-al-ʾijrāmi, walā yakhruju minhu man fāraqa al-kufra wawaqaʿa ʿalayhi ismu al-ʾīmāni.
Rather, faith is specific, admitting differences of degree and spiritual stations. It encompasses Islam, and Islam is contained within it. Believers are the select among Muslims, including those brought near, the utterly truthful, and the martyrs. Islam is general and defined, describing believers at large and including those who commit major sins and crimes. Anyone who has left unbelief and acquired the name of faith does not fall outside it.
كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: (فَمَنِ اِفْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 94، وَأَخْبَرَ عَنْهُ بِالْفُسُوقِ، (وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنِ اِفْتَرَى عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُوَ يُدْعَى إِلَى الْإِسْلَامِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ) الصَّفُّ: 7، فَعَلَى إِجْمَاعِهِمْ أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ أَعْلَى إِسْقَاطُ وَهْمِ مَنْ تَوَهَّمَ أَنَّ الرَّجُلَ كَانَ أَفْضَلَ.
kamā qāla taʿālā: (famani iftarā ʿalā Allāhi al-kadhiba) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 94, waʾakhbara ʿanhu bi-al-fusūqi, (waman ʾaẓlamu mimmani iftarā ʿalā Allāhi al-kadhiba wahuwa yudʿā ʾilā al-ʾislāmi wa-Allāhu lā yahdī al-qawma al-ẓālimīna) al-ṣaffu: 7, faʿalā ʾijmāʿihim ʾanna al-ʾīmāna ʾaʿlā ʾisqāṭu wahmi man tawahhama ʾanna al-rajula kāna ʾafḍala.
As He said, exalted is He, “Whoever invents a lie against God” (Āl ʿImrān 3:94), describing him as sinful; and, “Who is more unjust than one who invents a lie against God while being called to Islam? God does not guide the unjust people” (al-Ṣaff 61:7). Their consensus that faith is higher dispels the supposition of anyone who imagined that the man was better.
كَيْفَ وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا تَخْصِيصَ الْإِيمَانِ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ نَصًّا أَنَّهُ سُئِلَ: أَيُّ الْأَعْمَالِ أَفْضَلُ؟ قَالَ: الْإِسْلَامُ، قِيلَ: فَأَيُّ الْإِسْلَامِ أَفْضَلُ؟ قَالَ: الْإِيمَانُ، فَجَعَلَ الْإِيمَانَ مَقَامًا فِي الْإِسْلَامِ، فَفِي هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ أَيْضًا تَخْصِيصٌ لِلْإِيمَانِ عَلَى الْإِسْلَامِ لَا تَفْرِقَةٌ بَيْنَهُمَا، بِمَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ فِي وَصْفِ الرَّجُلِ: أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ.
kayfa waqad rawaynā takhṣīṣa al-ʾīmāni ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama naṣṣan ʾannahu suʾila: ʾayyu al-ʾaʿmāli ʾafḍalu? qāla: al-ʾislāmu, qīla: faʾayyu al-ʾislāmi ʾafḍalu? qāla: al-ʾīmānu, fajaʿala al-ʾīmāna maqāman fī al-ʾislāmi, fafī hādhā al-ḥadīthi ʾayḍan takhṣīṣun li-l-ʾīmāni ʿalā al-ʾislāmi lā tafriqatun baynahumā, bimaʿnā qawlihi fī waṣfi al-rajuli: ʾaw muslimun.
How could it be otherwise, when we have explicitly related the Prophet’s singling out of faith, God bless him and grant him peace? He was asked, “Which deed is best?” He replied, “Islam.” He was asked, “Which Islam is best?” He replied, “Faith.” He thus made faith a station within Islam. This report, too, gives faith a special place above Islam without separating them, in the sense of his description of the man as “or a Muslim.”
وَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي وَصْفِ الرَّجُلِ: أَوْ مُسْلِمٌ، فَدَلَّ عَلَى بُطْلَانِ مَا تَأَوَّلَهُ الْقَائِلُ لِأَنَّ هَذِهِ اللَّفْظَةَ بِأَلِفِ الِاسْتِفْهَامِ لَا تُسْتَعْمَلُ فِي عُرْفِ الْكَلَامِ إِلَّا فِي
waqāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī waṣfi al-rajuli: ʾaw muslimun, fadalla ʿalā buṭlāni mā taʾawwalahu al-qāʾilu liʾanna hādhihi al-lafẓata biʾalifi al-istifhāmi lā tustaʿmalu fī ʿurfi al-kalāmi ʾillā fī
The Prophet’s description of the man, God bless him and grant him peace, as “or a Muslim” demonstrates the invalidity of the speaker’s interpretation. In customary speech, this expression with the interrogative alif is used only for
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢١
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 221
Volume Two, page 221
الْوَصْفِ الْأَنْقَصِ وَالْحَالِ الْأَدْنَى فَاِفْهَمْ. وَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ تَعَالَى: (قَالَتِ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُلْ لَمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَٰكِنْ قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا) الْحُجُرَاتُ: 14، فَإِنَّ هَذَا أَيْضًا مِنْ هَذَا النَّوْعِ مَعْنَاهُ: قُولُوا: اِسْتَسْلَمْنَا حَذَرَ الْقَتْلِ.
al-waṣfi al-ʾanqaṣi wa-al-ḥāli al-ʾadnā fa-ifham. waʾammā qawluhu taʿālā: (qālati al-ʾaʿrābu ʾāmannā qul lam tuʾminū walākin qūlū ʾaslamnā) al-ḥujurātu: 14, faʾinna hādhā ʾayḍan min hādhā al-nawʿi maʿnāhu: qūlū: istaslamnā ḥadhara al-qatli.
a lesser description and a lower condition. Understand this. As for His saying, exalted is He, “The desert Arabs say, ‘We believe.’ Say, ‘You do not believe; rather, say, “We have submitted”’” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:14), this belongs to the same category. It means: say, “We have surrendered out of fear of being killed.”
وَهَؤُلَاءِ ضُعَفَاءُ الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ وَأَرَاذِلُهُمْ كَانُوا يَنْقِمُونَ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِيثَارَهُ وَتَقْدِيمَهُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ بِالْعَطَاءِ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَإِرْجَاءَهُ إِيَّاهُمْ فَقَالُوا: لِمَ لَا يُعْطِينَا كَمَا يُعْطِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؟ فَإِنَّا مُؤْمِنُونَ كَهُمْ، فَأَخْبَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِذَلِكَ عَنْهُمْ وَأَكْذَبَهُمْ فِي دَعْوَاهُمْ.
wa-hāʾulāʾi ḍuʿafāʾu al-muʾallafati waʾarādhiluhum kānū yanqimūna ʿalā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾīthārahu wataqdīmahu al-muʾminīna bi-al-ʿaṭāʾi ʿalayhim, waʾirjāʾahu ʾiyyāhum faqālū: lima lā yuʿṭīnā kamā yuʿṭī al-muʾminīna? faʾinnā muʾminūna kahum, faʾakhbara Allāhu taʿālā bi-dhālika ʿanhum waʾakdhabahum fī daʿwāhum.
These were the weak and low-ranking among those being reconciled. They resented the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, for favoring the believers over them in giving and putting them off. They said, “Why does he not give to us as he gives to the believers? We are believers just like them.” God Most High reported this about them and declared their claim false.
وَهُمُ الَّذِينَ قَصَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَخْبَارَهُمْ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ فَإِنْ أُعْطُوا مِنْهَا رَضُوا وَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطَوْا مِنْهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَ) التَّوْبَةُ: 58، فَفِي هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لَمْ يَكُنْ يُعْطِي هَذَا الضَّرْبَ مِنَ الْمُؤَلَّفَةِ.
wahumu alladhīna qaṣṣa Allāhu taʿālā ʾakhbārahum fī qawlihi taʿālā: (waminhum man yalmizuka fī al-ṣadaqāti faʾin ʾuʿṭū minhā raḍū waʾin lam yuʿṭaw minhā ʾidhā hum yaskhaṭūna) al-tawbatu: 58, fafī hādhihi al-ʾāyati dalīlun ʿalā ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama lam yakun yuʿṭī hādhā al-ḍarba mina al-muʾallafati.
They are those whose account God Most High gave in His words, exalted is He: “Among them are those who criticize you over the alms. If they receive some, they are pleased; if they receive none, they immediately become angry” (al-Tawba 9:58). This verse shows that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, did not give to this category of those being reconciled.
وَلَيْسَ فِي الْآيَةِ تَفْرِقَةٌ بَيْنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ بِدَلِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى فِي الْآيَةِ الَّتِي بَعْدَهَا: (يَمُنُّونَ عَلَيْكَ أَنْ أَسْلَمُوا قُلْ لَا تَمُنُّوا عَلَيَّ إِسْلَامَكُمْ بَلِ اللَّهُ يَمُنُّ عَلَيْكُمْ أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ) الْحُجُرَاتُ: 17، فَسَمَّى إِسْلَامَهُمْ إِيمَانًا لِأَنَّهُ عَطَفَ بِبَعْضِ الْكَلَامِ عَلَى بَعْضٍ، وَرَدَّ أَوَّلَهُ إِلَى آخِرِهِ.
walaysa fī al-ʾāyati tafriqatun bayna al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾislāmi bidalīli qawlihi taʿālā fī al-ʾāyati allatī baʿdahā: (yamunnūna ʿalayka ʾan ʾaslamū qul lā tamunnū ʿalayya ʾislāmakum bali Allāhu yamunnu ʿalaykum ʾan hadākum li-l-ʾīmāni) al-ḥujurātu: 17, fasammā ʾislāmahum ʾīmānan liʾannahu ʿaṭafa bibaʿḍi al-kalāmi ʿalā baʿḍin, waradda ʾawwalahu ʾilā ʾākhirihi.
The verse does not separate faith from Islam, as shown by His words, exalted is He, in the subsequent verse: “They regard their submission as a favor to you. Say, ‘Do not count your Islam as a favor to me. Rather, God favors you by guiding you to faith’” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:17). He named their Islam faith, linking one part of the statement to another and connecting its beginning to its ending.
وَإِنَّمَا أَسْقَطَ الْمِنَّةَ بِهِ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ، وَأَثْبَتَ الْمَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ بِنَفْسِهِ، وَعَطَفَ بِآخِرِ الِاسْمِ عَلَى أَوَّلِهِ، وَغَايَرَ بَيْنَ اللَّفْظَيْنِ، فَلَمْ يَرُدَّ أَحَدَهُمَا عَلَى الْآخَرِ، فَيَقُولَ: أَنْ هَدَاكُمْ لِلْإِسْلَامِ لِاِتِّسَاعِ لِسَانِ الْعَرَبِ وَلِيُفِيدَنَا فَضْلَ بَيَانٍ، وَإِنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ وَالْإِيمَانَ اِسْمَانِ بِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ.
waʾinnamā ʾasqaṭa al-minnata bihi ʿalā rasūlihi, waʾathbata al-manna ʿalayhim binafsihi, waʿaṭafa biʾākhiri al-ismi ʿalā ʾawwalihi, waghāyara bayna al-lafẓayni, falam yarudda ʾaḥadahumā ʿalā al-ʾākhari, fayaqūla: ʾan hadākum li-l-ʾislāmi li-ittisāʿi lisāni al-ʿarabi waliyufīdanā faḍla bayānin, waʾinna al-ʾislāma wa-al-ʾīmāna ismāni bimaʿnan wāḥidin.
He merely denied that it placed His Messenger under obligation and affirmed His own favor upon them. He linked the latter name to the former while varying the two expressions, rather than repeating the first by saying, “by guiding you to Islam.” This reflects the breadth of Arabic and supplies further explanation: Islam and faith are two names with one meaning.
كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: (هَلْ مِنْ خَالِقٍ غَيْرُ اللَّهِ يَرْزُقُكُمْ) فَاطِرٌ: 3، وَلَمْ يَقُلْ: يَخْلُقُكُمْ، لِيُبَيِّنَ أَنَّ الرَّازِقَ هُوَ الْخَالِقُ وَلِيُفِيدَ وَصْفًا ثَانِيًا وَصَفَ بِهِ نَفْسَهُ تَعَالَى، فَهُوَ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (فَأَخْرَجْنَا مَنْ كَانَ فِيهَا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهَا غَيْرَ بَيْتٍ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ) الذَّارِيَاتُ: 35 - 36.
kamā qāla taʿālā: (hal min khāliqin ghayru Allāhi yarzuqukum) fāṭirun: 3, walam yaqul: yakhluqukum, liyubayyina ʾanna al-rāziqa huwa al-khāliqu waliyufīda waṣfan thāniyan waṣafa bihi nafsahu taʿālā, fahuwa kaqawlihi taʿālā: (faʾakhrajnā man kāna fīhā mina al-muʾminīna famā wajadnā fīhā ghayra baytin mina al-muslimīna) al-dhāriyātu: 35 - 36.
Likewise, the Exalted said, “Is there any creator other than God who provides for you?” (Fāṭir 35:3), rather than “who creates you,” to show that the Provider is the Creator and to offer a second description of Himself, exalted is He. This resembles His saying, exalted is He, “We brought out whoever among the believers was there, but found there only one household of Muslims” (al-Dhāriyāt 51:35–36).
وَهَكَذَا قِرَاءَتُهَا فِي مُصْحَفِ اِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ: قَالَ: سُبْحَانَكَ تُبْتُ إِلَيْكَ، وَأَنَا أَوَّلُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُمَا بِمَعْنًى لَمْ يَجُزْ أَنْ يُقْرَأَا بِخِلَافِ الْمَعْنَى.
wa-hākadhā qirāʾatuhā fī muṣḥafi ibni masʿūdin: qāla: subḥānaka tubtu ʾilayka, waʾanā ʾawwalu al-muslimīna, falawlā ʾannahumā bimaʿnan lam yajuz ʾan yuqraʾā bikhilāfi al-maʿnā.
And this is the reading in Ibn Masʿūd’s codex: “He said, ‘Glory be to You! I turn to You in repentance, and I am the first of the Muslims.’” If the two terms did not share a meaning, it would not be permissible to read them in a way that changed the meaning.
فَأَمَّا مَا رُوِيَ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ: الْإِيمَانُ مَقْصُورٌ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ؛ فَمَعْنَاهُ هُوَ بَاطِنُهُ، قَالَ: وَأَدَارَ دَائِرَةً كَبِيرَةً فَقَالَ: هَذَا الْإِسْلَامُ، ثُمَّ أَدَارَ فِي وَسَطِهَا دَارَةً صَغِيرَةً فَقَالَ: وَهَذَا الْإِيمَانُ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ، فَإِذَا فَعَلَ وَفَعَلَ خَرَجَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَصَارَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ.
faʾammā mā ruwiya ʿan ʾabī jaʿfari bni ʿaliyyin: al-ʾīmānu maqṣūrun fī al-ʾislāmi; famaʿnāhu huwa bāṭinuhu, qāla: waʾadāra dāʾiratan kabīratan faqāla: hādhā al-ʾislāmu, thumma ʾadāra fī wasaṭihā dāratan ṣaghīratan faqāla: wa-hādhā al-ʾīmānu fī al-ʾislāmi, faʾidhā faʿala wafaʿala kharaja mina al-ʾīmāni waṣāra fī al-ʾislāmi.
As for the saying related from Abū Jaʿfar ibn ʿAlī, “Faith is confined within Islam,” its meaning is that faith is Islam’s inward aspect. The report says that he drew a large circle and said, “This is Islam.” Then he drew a small circle inside it and said, “This is faith within Islam. When a person does such-and-such, he leaves faith and comes to be within Islam.”
يُرِيدُ أَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ وَكَمَالِهِ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ مِنَ الْمَوْصُوفِينَ الْمَمْدُوحِينَ بِالْخَوْفِ وَالْوَرَعِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، لِأَنَّهُ خَرَجَ مِنَ الِاسْمِ وَالْمَعْنَى حَتَّى لَا يَكُونَ مُؤْمِنًا بِاللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا بِرُسُلِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ.
yurīdu ʾannahu kharaja min ḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni wakamālihi walam yakun mina al-mawṣūfīna al-mamdūḥīna bi-al-khawfi wa-al-waraʿi mina al-muʾminīna, liʾannahu kharaja mina al-ismi wa-al-maʿnā ḥattā lā yakūna muʾminan bi-Allāhi muṣaddiqan birusulihi wakutubihi.
He means that the person has left faith’s reality and perfection and is no longer among the believers described and praised for fear and scrupulousness, because he has left the name and meaning, so that he is no longer a believer in God who affirms His messengers and books.
أَلَا تَرَى إِلَى الدَّارَةِ الصَّغِيرَةِ غَيْرِ خَارِجَةٍ مِنَ الدَّارَةِ الْكَبِيرَةِ الَّتِي أَدَارَهَا حَوْلَهَا فَجَعَلَهَا فِيهَا وَضَرَبَ الْمَثَلَ بِهَا، لَٰكِنَّهَا خَالِصُهَا وَلُبُّهَا وَمَخْصُوصَةٌ فِيهَا، وَلَوْ أَرَادَ أَنَّهُ يَخْرُجُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ لَجَعَلَهَا دَائِرَتَيْنِ مُنْفَرِدَتَيْنِ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ إِحْدَاهُمَا جَوْفَ الْأُخْرَى.
ʾalā tarā ʾilā al-dārati al-ṣaghīrati ghayri khārijatin mina al-dārati al-kabīrati allatī ʾadārahā ḥawlahā fajaʿalahā fīhā waḍaraba al-mathala bihā, lākinnahā khāliṣuhā walubbuhā wamakhṣūṣatun fīhā, walaw ʾarāda ʾannahu yakhruju mina al-ʾīmāni lajaʿalahā dāʾiratayni munfaridatayni walam yajʿal ʾiḥdāhumā jawfa al-ʾukhrā.
Do you not see that the small circle does not lie outside the large circle he drew around it? He placed it inside and used it as his illustration. Rather, it is its pure essence and core, occupying a special place within it. Had he meant that a person leaves faith, he would have drawn two separate circles, without putting one inside the other.
وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ الْخَبَرُ: لَا يَزْنِي الزَّانِي حِينَ يَزْنِي وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، وَلَا يَشْرَبُ الْخَمْرَ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ، مَعْنَاهُ كَامِلُ الْإِيمَانِ أَوْ مُؤْمِنٌ حَقًّا، لِأَنَّ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِيمَانِ وَكَمَالَهُ بِالْخَوْفِ
wa-kadhālika jāʾa al-khabaru: lā yaznī al-zānī ḥīna yaznī wahuwa muʾminun, walā yashrabu al-khamra wahuwa muʾminun, maʿnāhu kāmilu al-ʾīmāni ʾaw muʾminun ḥaqqan, liʾanna ḥaqīqata al-ʾīmāni wakamālahu bi-al-khawfi
Likewise, the report says, “The adulterer does not commit adultery while being a believer, nor does he drink wine while being a believer.” It means someone perfect in faith, or a believer in truth, because faith’s reality and perfection consist in fear
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٢
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 222
Volume Two, page 222
وَالْوَرَعِ، إِذِ الْأُمَّةُ مُجْمِعَةٌ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْكَبَائِرِ لَيْسُوا بِكَافِرِينَ، وَإِذَا فَسَقَ بِالزِّنَا وَشُرْبِ الْخَمْرِ خَرَجَ مِنْ حَقِيقَةِ الْإِيمَانِ، هُوَ الْخَوْفُ وَالْوَرَعُ، وَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنِ اِسْمِهِ وَمَعْنَاهُ؛ وَهُوَ التَّصْدِيقُ وَاِلْتِزَامُ الشَّرِيعَةِ.
wa-al-waraʿi, ʾidhi al-ʾummatu mujmiʿatun ʾanna ʾahla al-kabāʾiri laysū bikāfirīna, waʾidhā fasaqa bi-al-zinā washurbi al-khamri kharaja min ḥaqīqati al-ʾīmāni, huwa al-khawfu wa-al-waraʿu, walam yakhruj mini ismihi wamaʿnāhu; wahuwa al-taṣdīqu wa-iltizāmu al-sharīʿati.
and scrupulousness. The community agrees that those who commit major sins are not unbelievers. When someone sins through adultery and drinking wine, he leaves the reality of faith, which is fear and scrupulousness, but not its name and meaning, which are affirmation and commitment to the religious law.
وَفِيهِ مَعْنًى لَطِيفٌ كَأَنَّهُ يَرْتَفِعُ عَنْهُ إِيمَانُ الْحَيَاءِ، لِأَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: الْحَيَاءُ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ، وَالْمُسْتَحْيِي لَا يَكْشِفُ عَوْرَتَهُ عَلَى حَرَامٍ، وَيَبْقَى إِيمَانُ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالتَّوْحِيدِ وَإِيجَابِ الْأَحْكَامِ.
wafīhi maʿnan laṭīfun kaʾannahu yartafiʿu ʿanhu ʾīmānu al-ḥayāʾi, liʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: al-ḥayāʾu mina al-ʾīmāni, wa-al-mustaḥyī lā yakshifu ʿawratahu ʿalā ḥarāmin, wayabqā ʾīmānu al-ʾislāmi wa-al-tawḥīdi waʾījābi al-ʾaḥkāmi.
There is a subtle meaning here: it is as though the faith of modesty is lifted from him. For the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Modesty is part of faith,” and a modest person does not expose his private parts for something forbidden. The faith of Islam, divine oneness, and acknowledgment of the binding rulings remains.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بَيَانَ ذَلِكَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: الْإِيمَانُ حَقِيقَةُ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَقِيلَ لِحُذَيْفَةَ: مَنِ الْمُنَافِقُ؟ فَقَالَ: الَّذِي يَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْإِسْلَامِ وَلَا يَعْمَلُ بِهِ، فَسَمَّى عِلْمَ الْإِيمَانِ إِسْلَامًا وَقَرَنَ الْقَوْلَ بِالْعَمَلِ.
waqad rawaynā ʿani al-ḥasani bayāna dhālika ʾannahu qāla: al-ʾīmānu ḥaqīqatu al-ʾislāmi, waqīla liḥudhayfata: mani al-munāfiqu? faqāla: alladhī yatakallamu bi-al-ʾislāmi walā yaʿmalu bihi, fasammā ʿilma al-ʾīmāni ʾislāman waqarana al-qawla bi-al-ʿamali.
We have related al-Ḥasan’s explanation of this: “Faith is the reality of Islam.” Ḥudhayfa was asked, “Who is the hypocrite?” He replied, “Someone who speaks of Islam but does not act upon it.” Thus he called the knowledge of faith Islam and joined profession to action.
وَقَالَ الثَّوْرِيُّ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ: النَّاسُ عِنْدَنَا مُؤْمِنُونَ مُسْلِمُونَ فِي حُدُودِهِمْ، وَفَرَائِضِهِمْ، وَفِي النِّكَاحِ، وَفِي الْمَوَارِيثِ، وَفِي الصَّلَاةِ خَلْفَهُمْ، وَالصَّلَاةِ عَلَيْهِمْ، لَا يُحَاسَبُ الْأَحْيَاءُ وَلَا يُقْضَى عَلَى الْأَمْوَاتِ، وَنَكِلُ مَا لَمْ نَعْلَمْ مِنْ سَرَائِرِهِمْ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.
waqāla al-thawriyyu raḥimahu Allāhu: al-nāsu ʿindanā muʾminūna muslimūna fī ḥudūdihim, wafarāʾiḍihim, wafī al-nikāḥi, wafī al-mawārīthi, wafī al-ṣalāti khalfahum, wa-al-ṣalāti ʿalayhim, lā yuḥāsabu al-ʾaḥyāʾu walā yuqḍā ʿalā al-ʾamwāti, wanakilu mā lam naʿlam min sarāʾirihim ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā.
Al-Thawrī, God have mercy on him, said: “In our judgment people are believers and Muslims in respect of their prescribed penalties and obligations, marriage, inheritance, praying behind them, and offering the funeral prayer over them. The living are not called to account, nor is judgment passed upon the dead. We entrust what we do not know of their inward secrets to God Most High.”
وَنَسْمَعُ بِالتَّشْدِيدِ فَنَخَافُهُ وَنَسْمَعُ اللِّينَ فَنَرْجُوهُ لِأَهْلِ الْقِبْلَةِ، وَنَتَّهِمُ رَأْيَنَا لِرَأْيِ السَّلَفِ قَبْلَنَا، وَمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنْ أَنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ وَالْإِيمَانَ قَرِينَانِ لَا يَفْتَرِقَانِ؛ هَذَا مَذْهَبُ فُقَهَاءِ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ وَطَرِيقَةُ أَئِمَّةِ السَّلَفِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ.
wanasmaʿu bi-al-tashdīdi fanakhāfuhu wanasmaʿu al-līna fanarjūhu liʾahli al-qiblati, wanattahimu raʾyanā liraʾyi al-salafi qablanā, wamā dhakarnāhu min ʾanna al-ʾislāma wa-al-ʾīmāna qarīnāni lā yaftariqāni; hādhā madhhabu fuqahāʾi ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi waṭarīqatu ʾaʾimmati al-salafi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhum ʾajmaʿīna.
“We hear stern warnings and fear them; we hear words of gentleness and hope for them for the people who face the qibla. We distrust our own judgment in deference to that of our predecessors.” What we have stated, that Islam and faith are inseparable companions, is the position of the jurists among the traditionists and the path of the leading early authorities, may God be pleased with them all.
بَابُ ذِكْرِ تَفْضِيلِ بَيَانِ مَا نُقِلَ عَنِ الْمُحَدِّثِينَ مِنَ التَّفْرِقَةِ بَيْنَهُمَا وَمَا جَاءَ فِي مَعْنَاهُ
bābu dhikri tafḍīli bayāni mā nuqila ʿani al-muḥaddithīna mina al-tafriqati baynahumā wamā jāʾa fī maʿnāhu
Section on preferring an explanation of the distinction between the two transmitted from the traditionists, and related reports
فَأَمَّا مَا حُكِيَ عَنْ بَعْضِ أَصْحَابِ الْحَدِيثِ، أَنَّهُ فَرَّقَ بَيْنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ الزُّهْرِيُّ: الْإِسْلَامُ الْكَلِمَةُ، وَالْإِيمَانُ الْعَمَلُ، وَقَالَ عَبْدُ الرَّحْمَنِ بْنُ مَهْدِيٍّ وَقَدْ سُئِلَ عَنِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ فَقَالَ: هُمَا شَيْئَانِ، وَقَالَ حَمَّادُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ: الْإِسْلَامُ عَامٌّ، وَالْإِيمَانُ خَاصٌّ.
faʾammā mā ḥukiya ʿan baʿḍi ʾaṣḥābi al-ḥadīthi, ʾannahu farraqa bayna al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾislāmi faqāla al-zuhriyyu: al-ʾislāmu al-kalimatu, wa-al-ʾīmānu al-ʿamalu, waqāla ʿabdu al-raḥmāni bnu mahdiyyin waqad suʾila ʿani al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾislāmi faqāla: humā shayʾāni, waqāla ḥammādu bnu zaydin: al-ʾislāmu ʿāmmun, wa-al-ʾīmānu khāṣṣun.
As for the distinction between faith and Islam attributed to some traditionists: al-Zuhrī said, “Islam is the profession, and faith is action.” When ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī was asked about faith and Islam, he said, “They are two things.” Ḥammād ibn Zayd said, “Islam is general, and faith is specific.”
فَإِنَّ قَوْلَ هَؤُلَاءِ عَلَى جُمْلَةِ قَوْلِنَا، وَهُوَ دَلِيلٌ لَهُ وَشَاهِدٌ عَلَيْهِ، وَأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِسْلَامِ تَفْرِقَةَ اِخْتِلَافٍ وَلَا تَضَادٍّ، وَلَمْ يُرِيدُوا أَنَّ أَحَدَهُمَا يُوجَدُ وَيَصِحُّ بِعَدَمِ الْآخَرِ لِيُوَاطِئُوا مَذْهَبَ الْمُرْجِئَةِ، لِأَنَّهُمْ أَبْعَدُ شَيْءٍ مِنْهُمْ، إِذْ هُمْ أَصْحَابُ أَثَرٍ وَتَوْقِيفٍ.
faʾinna qawla hāʾulāʾi ʿalā jumlati qawlinā, wahuwa dalīlun lahu washāhidun ʿalayhi, waʾannahum lam yufarriqū bayna al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾislāmi tafriqata ikhtilāfin walā taḍāddin, walam yurīdū ʾanna ʾaḥadahumā yūjadu wayaṣiḥḥu biʿadami al-ʾākhari liyuwāṭiʾū madhhaba al-murjiʾati, liʾannahum ʾabʿadu shayʾin minhum, ʾidh hum ʾaṣḥābu ʾatharin watawqīfin.
Their statements agree with our position in substance and provide evidence and testimony for it. They did not distinguish faith from Islam as different or opposed things, nor did they mean that one could exist and be valid in the absence of the other, thereby agreeing with the Murjiʾa. They were as far removed from them as possible, being people of transmitted reports and adherence to revealed instruction.
وَإِنَّمَا فَرَّقُوا بَيْنَهُمَا تَفْرِيقَ تَفَاوُتٍ وَتَخْصِيصٍ؛ أَيْ أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ أَخَصُّ وَأَعْلَى، لِأَنَّ الزِّيَادَةَ وَالنُّقْصَانَ فِيهِ، وَالْفَضَائِلَ وَالْمَقَامَاتِ عَنْهُ، وَالِاسْتِثْنَاءَ وَاجِبٌ فِيهِ، وَأَنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ عَامٌّ لَا يَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ إِلَّا الْكَافِرُونَ، إِذْ لَيْسَ وَرَاءَهُ شَيْءٌ، وَعِنْدَ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ أَنَّ الِاسْتِثْنَاءَ غَيْرُ وَاجِبٍ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ، لِأَنَّهُ مَحْدُودٌ مَعْلُومٌ.
waʾinnamā farraqū baynahumā tafrīqa tafāwutin watakhṣīṣin; ʾay ʾanna al-ʾīmāna ʾakhaṣṣu waʾaʿlā, liʾanna al-ziyādata wa-al-nuqṣāna fīhi, wa-al-faḍāʾila wa-al-maqāmāti ʿanhu, wa-al-istithnāʾa wājibun fīhi, waʾanna al-ʾislāma ʿāmmun lā yakhruju minhu ʾillā al-kāfirūna, ʾidh laysa warāʾahu shayʾun, waʿinda jamāʿatin mina al-ʿulamāʾi ʾanna al-istithnāʾa ghayru wājibin fī al-ʾislāmi, liʾannahu maḥdūdun maʿlūmun.
They distinguished them only by degree and specificity: faith is more specific and higher, because it increases and decreases, virtues and spiritual stations arise from it, and one must qualify one’s claim to it with “if God wills.” Islam is general; only unbelievers fall outside it, since nothing lies beyond it. According to a group of scholars, such a qualification is not required when claiming Islam, because its bounds are defined and known.
فَهَذَا كَانَ قَصْدَ مَنْ فَرَّقَ بَيْنَ الْإِسْلَامِ وَالْإِيمَانِ، وَهِيَ طَرِيقَةُ بَعْضِ السَّلَفِ، وَعِبَارَةُ الْقُدَمَاءِ؛ وَهُوَ عَلَى نَحْوِ مَا فَصَّلْنَاهُ وَبِمَعْنَى مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ، وَإِنْ كُنَّا نَحْنُ أَظْهَرَ تَفْصِيلًا وَأَبْيَنَ تَرْتِيبًا.
fa-hādhā kāna qaṣda man farraqa bayna al-ʾislāmi wa-al-ʾīmāni, wahiya ṭarīqatu baʿḍi al-salafi, waʿibāratu al-qudamāʾi; wahuwa ʿalā naḥwi mā faṣṣalnāhu wabimaʿnā mā bayyannāhu, waʾin kunnā naḥnu ʾaẓhara tafṣīlan waʾabyana tartīban.
This was the intention of those who distinguished Islam from faith. It was the approach of some of the early authorities and the wording used by the ancients. It follows the distinction we have made and carries the meaning we have explained, even if our presentation is more explicit in detail and clearer in arrangement.
وَهَذَا مِثْلُ الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رُوِيَ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سُئِلَ: أَيُّ الْإِيمَانِ أَفْضَلُ؟ قَالَ: الْإِسْلَامُ، قِيلَ: فَأَيُّ الْإِسْلَامِ خَيْرٌ؟ قَالَ: الْإِيمَانُ، فَلَمْ يُفَرِّقْ بَيْنَهُمَا، وَلَٰكِنَّهُ خَصَّصَ فَجَعَلَ الْإِيمَانَ حَقِيقَةَ الْإِسْلَامِ وَخَالِصَهُ لِأَنَّهُ أَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ مِنْهُ، فَهَذَا مِنْ قَوْلِهِ: مِنْ حُسْنِ إِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ تَرْكُهُ مَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ،
wa-hādhā mithlu al-khabari alladhī ruwiya ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama suʾila: ʾayyu al-ʾīmāni ʾafḍalu? qāla: al-ʾislāmu, qīla: faʾayyu al-ʾislāmi khayrun? qāla: al-ʾīmānu, falam yufarriq baynahumā, walākinnahu khaṣṣaṣa fajaʿala al-ʾīmāna ḥaqīqata al-ʾislāmi wakhāliṣahu liʾannahu ʾakhbara ʾannahu minhu, fa-hādhā min qawlihi: min ḥusni ʾislāmi al-marʾi tarkuhu mā lā yaʿnīhi,
It resembles the report that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, was asked, “Which faith is best?” He replied, “Islam.” He was asked, “Which Islam is best?” He replied, “Faith.” He did not separate them but made a distinction within them, making faith the reality and pure essence of Islam by saying that it belongs to it. This accords with his saying, “Part of a person’s good Islam is leaving aside what does not concern him,”
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٣
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 223
Volume Two, page 223
أَيْ مِنْ تَحَقُّقِهِ بِالْإِسْلَامِ وَمِنْ أَعْلَى إِسْلَامِهِ؛ هَذَا الْوَصْفُ، وَهَذَا هُوَ نَعْتُ الْمُؤْمِنِ الْمُوقِنِ الزَّاهِدِ وَهَذَا يُشْبِهُ مَا مَثَّلَهُ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ عَلِيٍّ فِي أَنَّهُ أَدَارَ دَائِرَةً كَبِيرَةً وَأَدَارَ فِيهَا دَارَةً صَغِيرَةً تَخْصِيصًا.
ʾay min taḥaqquqihi bi-al-ʾislāmi wamin ʾaʿlā ʾislāmihi; hādhā al-waṣfu, wa-hādhā huwa naʿtu al-muʾmini al-mūqini al-zāhidi wa-hādhā yushbihu mā maththalahu ʾabū jaʿfarin muḥammadu bnu ʿaliyyin fī ʾannahu ʾadāra dāʾiratan kabīratan waʾadāra fīhā dāratan ṣaghīratan takhṣīṣan.
meaning that this quality belongs to his realization of Islam and its highest degree. It describes the believer who possesses certainty and renunciation. This resembles the illustration given by Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī when he drew a large circle and, inside it, a small circle to mark out a special part.
وَجَمِيعُ مَا شَرَحْنَاهُ وَذَكَرْنَاهُ عَنِ السَّلَفِ يُبْطِلُ قَوْلَ الْمُرْجِئَةِ وَالْكَرَّامِيَّةِ الْإِبَاضِيَّةِ وَيَدْحَضُ دَعْوَاهُمْ، فِي أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ قَوْلٌ أَوْ مَعْرِفَةٌ وَعَقْدٌ بِلَا عَمَلٍ، وَهُوَ أَيْضًا رَدٌّ عَلَى الْمُعْتَزِلَةِ الْقَائِلِينَ بِالْمَنْزِلَةِ بَيْنَ الْمَنْزِلَتَيْنِ، الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ: مُؤْمِنٌ، وَفَاسِقٌ، وَكَافِرٌ؛ فَلَا يَجْعَلُونَ الْفَاسِقَ مُؤْمِنًا.
wajamīʿu mā sharaḥnāhu wadhakarnāhu ʿani al-salafi yubṭilu qawla al-murjiʾati wa-al-karrāmiyyati al-ʾibāḍiyyati wayadḥaḍu daʿwāhum, fī ʾanna al-ʾīmāna qawlun ʾaw maʿrifatun waʿaqdun bilā ʿamalin, wahuwa ʾayḍan raddun ʿalā al-muʿtazilati al-qāʾilīna bi-al-manzilati bayna al-manzilatayni, alladhīna yaqūlūna: muʾminun, wafāsiqun, wakāfirun; falā yajʿalūna al-fāsiqa muʾminan.
Everything we have explained and transmitted from the early authorities refutes the positions of the Murjiʾa, Karrāmiyya, and Ibāḍiyya and defeats their claim that faith is profession, or knowledge and inward commitment, without action. It also refutes the Muʿtazila who assert an intermediate position between the two positions, distinguishing believer, sinner, and unbeliever, and thus refusing to call a sinner a believer.
وَهُوَ رَدٌّ عَلَى الْحَشَبِيَّةِ وَالْجَرْمِيَّةِ وَالْقَطْعِيَّةِ وَالْحَرُورِيَّةِ، أَصْنَافٍ مِنَ الْخَوَارِجِ يَقُولُونَ: مَنْ أَتَى كَبِيرَةً خَرَجَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ، وَأَنَّ أَهْلَ الْكَبَائِرِ كُفَّارٌ يَحِلُّ قَتْلُهُمْ، وَيَقُولُونَ إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْبَغْيِ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ كَفَرَةٌ يَجِبُ عَلَى الرَّعِيَّةِ قِتَالُهُمْ.
wahuwa raddun ʿalā al-ḥashabiyyati wa-al-jarmiyyati wa-al-qaṭʿiyyati wa-al-ḥarūriyyati, ʾaṣnāfin mina al-khawāriji yaqūlūna: man ʾatā kabīratan kharaja mina al-ʾīmāni, waʾanna ʾahla al-kabāʾiri kuffārun yaḥillu qatluhum, wayaqūlūna ʾinna ʾahla al-baghyi mina al-ʾaʾimmati kafaratun yajibu ʿalā al-raʿiyyati qitāluhum.
It also refutes the Ḥashabiyya, Jarmiyya, Qaṭʿiyya, and Ḥarūriyya, groups of Khārijites who say that anyone who commits a major sin leaves faith, and that those guilty of major sins are unbelievers whom it is lawful to kill. They say that rulers guilty of injustice are unbelievers whom their subjects are obliged to fight.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ مَنْ بَغَى عَلَى الْإِمَامِ فَقَدْ كَفَرَ بِخِلَافِ قَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: (وَإِنْ طَائِفَتَانِ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ اِقْتَتَلُوا فَأَصْلِحُوا بَيْنَهُمَا، فَإِنْ بَغَتْ إِحْدَاهُمَا عَلَى الْأُخْرَى فَقَاتِلُوا الَّتِي تَبْغِي حَتَّى تَفِيءَ إِلَى أَمْرِ اللَّهِ) الْحُجُرَاتُ: 9، فَأَمَرَ بِقِتَالِ أَهْلِ الْبَغْيِ بِتَسْمِيَتِهِ إِيَّاهُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُمْ مَنْزِلَةً ثَالِثَةً.
waminhum man yaqūlu: ʾinna man baghā ʿalā al-ʾimāmi faqad kafara bikhilāfi qawli Allāhi taʿālā: (waʾin ṭāʾifatāni mina al-muʾminīna iqtatalū faʾaṣliḥū baynahumā, faʾin baghat ʾiḥdāhumā ʿalā al-ʾukhrā faqātilū allatī tabghī ḥattā tafīʾa ʾilā ʾamri Allāhi) al-ḥujurātu: 9, faʾamara biqitāli ʾahli al-baghyi bitasmiyatihi ʾiyyāhum muʾminīna walam yajʿal lahum manzilatan thālithatan.
Some of them say that anyone who rebels against the imam has become an unbeliever. This contradicts God Most High’s words: “If two groups of believers fight, reconcile them. If one transgresses against the other, fight the transgressing group until it returns to God’s command” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:9). He commanded fighting the transgressors while calling them believers, and assigned them no third position.
وَقَدِ اُبْتُلِينَا بِطَائِفَتَيْنِ مُبْتَدِعَتَيْنِ مُتَضَادَّتَيْنِ فِي الْمَقَالَةِ: الْمُرْجِئَةِ وَالْمُعْتَزِلَةِ، قَالَ الْمُرْجِئَةُ: إِنَّ الْمُوَحِّدِينَ لَا يَدْخُلُونَ النَّارَ، وَإِنْ عَمِلُوا بِالْكَبَائِرِ وَالْفُسُوقِ كُلِّهِ لِأَنَّ ذَلِكَ لَا يَنْقُصُ إِيمَانَهُمْ.
waqadi ubtulīnā biṭāʾifatayni mubtadiʿatayni mutaḍāddatayni fī al-maqālati: al-murjiʾati wa-al-muʿtazilati, qāla al-murjiʾatu: ʾinna al-muwaḥḥidīna lā yadkhulūna al-nāra, waʾin ʿamilū bi-al-kabāʾiri wa-al-fusūqi kullihi liʾanna dhālika lā yanquṣu ʾīmānahum.
We have been afflicted with two innovating groups whose doctrines oppose one another: the Murjiʾa and the Muʿtazila. The Murjiʾa say that those who affirm divine oneness do not enter the Fire, even if they commit every major sin and kind of wickedness, because this does not diminish their faith.
وَقَالَتِ الْمُعْتَزِلَةُ: إِنْ لَيْسَ الْفَاسِقُ بِمُؤْمِنٍ وَإِنْ مَاتَ عَلَى صَغِيرَةٍ مِنَ الصَّغَائِرِ مِنْ غَيْرِ تَوْبَةٍ دَخَلَ النَّارَ لَا مَحَالَةَ وَلَمْ يَخْرُجْ مِنْهَا خَالِدًا مِنَ الْكُفَّارِ.
waqālati al-muʿtazilatu: ʾin laysa al-fāsiqu bimuʾminin waʾin māta ʿalā ṣaghīratin mina al-ṣaghāʾiri min ghayri tawbatin dakhala al-nāra lā maḥālata walam yakhruj minhā khālidan mina al-kuffāri.
The Muʿtazila say that a sinner is not a believer, and that if he dies having committed even a minor sin without repenting, he inevitably enters the Fire and never leaves it, remaining eternally among the unbelievers.
وَالصَّوَابُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ أَنَّ الْفَاسِقَ مُؤْمِنٌ لَا يُخْرِجُهُ فِسْقُهُ مِنِ اِسْمِ الْإِيمَانِ وَحُكْمِهِ، وَلَٰكِنْ لَا يُدْخِلُهُ فِي الْمُؤْمِنِينَ حَقًّا مِنَ الصِّدِّيقِينَ وَالشُّهَدَاءِ، وَأَنَّ أَهْلَ الْكَبَائِرِ قَدِ اِسْتَوْجَبُوا الْوَعِيدَ وَدُخُولَ النَّارِ، وَجَائِزٌ أَنْ يَعْفُوَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُمْ بِكَرَمِهِ وَيَسْمَحَ لَهُمْ بِجُودِهِ.
wa-al-ṣawābu min dhālika ʾanna al-fāsiqa muʾminun lā yukhrijuhu fisquhu mini ismi al-ʾīmāni waḥukmihi, walākin lā yudkhiluhu fī al-muʾminīna ḥaqqan mina al-ṣiddīqīna wa-al-shuhadāʾi, waʾanna ʾahla al-kabāʾiri qadi istawjabū al-waʿīda wadukhūla al-nāri, wajāʾizun ʾan yaʿfuwa Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhum bikaramihi wayasmaḥa lahum bijūdihi.
The correct position is that the sinner is a believer: his sin does not remove him from the name and judgment of faith, though it does not admit him among the believers in truth, the utterly truthful and the martyrs. Those guilty of major sins have incurred the threatened punishment and entry into the Fire, but God Most High may pardon them through His generosity and deal leniently with them through His bounty.
كَمَا رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: عَلَيْكُمْ بِالنَّمَطِ الْأَوْسَطِ الَّذِي يَرْجِعُ إِلَيْهِ الْغَالِي وَيَرْتَفِعُ عَنْهُ الْقَالِي. وَقَدْ قَالَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي وَصْفِ عُلَمَاءِ السُّنَّةِ وَمَدْحِهِمْ: يَحْمِلُ هَذَا الْعِلْمَ مِنْ كُلِّ خَلَفٍ عُدُولُهُ، يَنْفُونَ عَنْهُ تَحْرِيفَ الْغَالِينَ وَاِنْتِحَالَ الْمُبْطِلِينَ وَتَأْوِيلَ الْجَاهِلِينَ.
kamā rawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin ʾannahu qāla: ʿalaykum bi-al-namaṭi al-ʾawsaṭi alladhī yarjiʿu ʾilayhi al-ghālī wayartafiʿu ʿanhu al-qālī. waqad qāla ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī waṣfi ʿulamāʾi al-sunnati wamadḥihim: yaḥmilu hādhā al-ʿilma min kulli khalafin ʿudūluhu, yanfūna ʿanhu taḥrīfa al-ghālīna wa-intiḥāla al-mubṭilīna wataʾwīla al-jāhilīna.
As we have related from ʿAlī: “Keep to the middle way, to which the extremist returns and above which the hostile person rises.” Describing and praising the scholars of the Sunna, he said, God bless him and grant him peace: “In every succeeding generation, its upright people carry this knowledge, removing from it the distortions of extremists, the false claims of fabricators, and the interpretations of the ignorant.”
فَالْغَالُونَ هُمُ الْمُجَاوِزُونَ لِلسُّنَنِ وَالْآثَارِ، وَالْمُبْطِلُونَ هُمُ الْمُدَّعُونَ بِالرَّأْيِ وَالْقِيَاسِ، وَالْجَاهِلُونَ هُمُ الشَّاطِحُونَ مِنَ الْمُتَصَوِّفَةِ الضُّلَّالِ، وَعُدُولُ كُلِّ خَلَفٍ مَنِ اِتَّبَعَ سُنَّةَ صَالِحِ مَنْ سَلَفَ، وَلَمْ يَبْتَدِعْ فِي الدِّينِ، وَلَا اِتَّخَذَ وَلِيجَةً دُونَ طَرِيقِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ؛ وَهُمْ رُوَاةُ الْأَخْبَارِ وَحَمَلَةُ الْآثَارِ مِنَ الْمُحَدِّثِينَ وَفُقَهَاءِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ.
fa-al-ghālūna humu al-mujāwizūna li-l-sunani wa-al-ʾāthāri, wa-al-mubṭilūna humu al-muddaʿūna bi-al-raʾyi wa-al-qiyāsi, wa-al-jāhilūna humu al-shāṭiḥūna mina al-mutaṣawwifati al-ḍullāli, waʿudūlu kulli khalafin mani ittabaʿa sunnata ṣāliḥi man salafa, walam yabtadiʿ fī al-dīni, walā ittakhadha walījatan dūna ṭarīqi al-muʾminīna; wahum ruwātu al-ʾakhbāri waḥamalatu al-ʾāthāri mina al-muḥaddithīna wafuqahāʾi al-muslimīna.
The extremists are those who overstep the Sunna and transmitted reports. The fabricators are those making claims through personal opinion and analogy. The ignorant are the errant professed Sufis given to ecstatic excess. The upright in each succeeding generation are those who follow the practice of a righteous predecessor, introduce no innovation into religion, and take no inner allegiance apart from the believers’ path. They are the transmitters of reports and bearers of traditions among the traditionists and Muslim jurists.
وَيُوَضِّحُ قَوْلَنَا وَيُصَحِّحُهُ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: (الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ) الْمَائِدَةُ: 3، إِجْمَاعًا مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَأَنَّهَا نَزَلَتْ بَعْدَ نُزُولِ الْفَرَائِضِ وَإِتْمَامِ الشَّرَائِعِ وَفِي حَجَّةِ الْوَدَاعِ؛
wayuwaḍḍiḥu qawlanā wayuṣaḥḥiḥuhu qawlu Allāhi taʿālā: (al-yawma ʾakmaltu lakum dīnakum) al-māʾidatu: 3, ʾijmāʿan mina al-muslimīna, waʾannahā nazalat baʿda nuzūli al-farāʾiḍi waʾitmāmi al-sharāʾiʿi wafī ḥajjati al-wadāʿi;
Our position is clarified and confirmed by God Most High’s saying, “Today I have perfected your religion for you” (al-Māʾida 5:3), as Muslims agree, and by the fact that this verse was revealed after the obligations had been sent down and the ordinances completed, during the Farewell Pilgrimage,
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٤
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 224
Volume Two, page 224
وَهِيَ آخِرُ حَجَّةٍ حَجَّهَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَعْدَ نُزُولِ فَرْضِ الْحَجِّ، لِأَنَّ سُورَةَ الْمَائِدَةِ مَدَنِيَّةٌ بِإِجْمَاعٍ مِنَ الْقُرَّاءِ، وَهِيَ مِنْ آخِرِ مَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ بِاِتِّفَاقٍ مِنَ الْفُقَهَاءِ.
wahiya ʾākhiru ḥajjatin ḥajjahā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama baʿda nuzūli farḍi al-ḥajji, liʾanna sūrata al-māʾidati madaniyyatun biʾijmāʿin mina al-qurrāʾi, wahiya min ʾākhiri mā nazala mina al-qurʾāni bi-ittifāqin mina al-fuqahāʾi.
the last pilgrimage performed by the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, after the obligation of pilgrimage had been revealed. The reciters agree that Sūrat al-Māʾida is Medinan, and the jurists agree that it is among the last Qurʾānic revelations.
وَلَمْ يَلْبَثْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بَعْدَ نُزُولِ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ إِلَّا ثَلَاثَةَ أَشْهُرٍ وَثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ، اِتَّفَقَ عَلَيْهِ أَهْلُ التَّارِيخِ، لِأَنَّهَا نَزَلَتْ يَوْمَ التَّاسِعِ مِنْ ذِي الْحِجَّةِ مِنْ آخِرِ يَوْمِ عَرَفَةَ وَقُبِضَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِاِثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ خَلَوْنَ مِنْ رَبِيعٍ الْأَوَّلِ.
walam yalbath rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama baʿda nuzūli hādhihi al-ʾāyati ʾillā thalāthata ʾashhurin wathalāthata ʾayyāmin, ittafaqa ʿalayhi ʾahlu al-tārīkhi, liʾannahā nazalat yawma al-tāsiʿi min dhī al-ḥijjati min ʾākhiri yawmi ʿarafata waqubiḍa rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama li-ithnatay ʿashrata khalawna min rabīʿin al-ʾawwali.
The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, lived only three months and three days after this verse was revealed, as the historians agree. It was revealed on the ninth of Dhū al-Ḥijja, toward the end of the day of ʿArafa, and the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, died when twelve days of Rabīʿ al-Awwal had passed.
فَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بَعْدَ نُزُولِ الْأَحْكَامِ وَأَحْكَامِ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ: (الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ) الْمَائِدَةُ: 3، وَالْإِكْمَالُ هُوَ إِتْمَامُ الشَّيْءِ الَّذِي بَعْضُهُ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِبَعْضٍ، فَلَا يُقَالُ أَكْمَلَ لِمَا كَانَ بَعْضُهُ قَبْلَ بَعْضٍ، فَإِذَا وُجِدَ جَمِيعُهُ قِيلَ: قَدْ أَكْمَلَ وَتَمَّمَ؛ هَذَا هُوَ حَقِيقَةُ هَذِهِ الْكَلِمَةِ.
faqāla Allāhu taʿālā baʿda nuzūli al-ʾaḥkāmi waʾaḥkāmi al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi: (al-yawma ʾakmaltu lakum dīnakum) al-māʾidatu: 3, wa-al-ʾikmālu huwa ʾitmāmu al-shayʾi alladhī baʿḍuhu mutaʿalliqun bibaʿḍin, falā yuqālu ʾakmala limā kāna baʿḍuhu qabla baʿḍin, faʾidhā wujida jamīʿuhu qīla: qad ʾakmala watammama; hādhā huwa ḥaqīqatu hādhihi al-kalimati.
After revealing the rulings, including those concerning the lawful and unlawful, God Most High said, “Today I have perfected your religion for you” (al-Māʾida 5:3). Perfecting means completing something whose parts are connected. One does not say “he perfected” of something whose parts preceded one another; once the whole is present, one says, “He has perfected and completed it.” This is the true meaning of the word.
فَلَمَّا كَانَ الْإِيمَانُ قَدْ تَقَدَّمَ بِمَكَّةَ، وَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى الْفَرَائِضَ وَالدِّينَ شَيْئًا بَعْدَ شَيْءٍ، وَكَانَ الْإِكْمَالُ مِنَ الدِّينِ دَلَّ أَنَّ بَعْضَهُ مُتَعَلِّقٌ بِبَعْضٍ إِلَى أَكْمَلَهُ، فَصَارَتِ الْأَعْمَالُ مُتَعَلِّقَةً بِالْإِيمَانِ؛ وَهُمَا الدِّينُ الْمُكَمَّلُ.
falammā kāna al-ʾīmānu qad taqaddama bimakkata, waʾanzala Allāhu taʿālā al-farāʾiḍa wa-al-dīna shayʾan baʿda shayʾin, wakāna al-ʾikmālu mina al-dīni dalla ʾanna baʿḍahu mutaʿalliqun bibaʿḍin ʾilā ʾakmalahu, faṣārati al-ʾaʿmālu mutaʿalliqatan bi-al-ʾīmāni; wahumā al-dīnu al-mukammalu.
Faith had already come in Mecca, and God Most High revealed the obligations and religion part by part. Since perfection belonged to the religion, this showed that its parts were connected until He completed it. Deeds thus became connected to faith; together they are the completed religion.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: مَنْ لَمْ يَقُلْ مِنَ الْمُرْجِئَةِ أَنَّ إِبْلِيسَ مُؤْمِنٌ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ أَقَرَّ بِالْإِيمَانِ وَقَالَ بِهِ اِنْكَسَرَ عَلَيْهِ مَذْهَبُهُ، وَلَعَمْرِي إِنَّ إِبْلِيسَ لَعَنَهُ اللَّهُ مُوَحِّدٌ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى عَارِفٌ بِهِ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَعْمَلْ بِالتَّوْحِيدِ وَلَمْ يُطِعْ مَنْ عَرَفَهُ وَآمَنَ بِهِ فَكَفَرَ.
waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: man lam yaqul mina al-murjiʾati ʾanna ʾiblīsa muʾminun liʾannahu qad ʾaqarra bi-al-ʾīmāni waqāla bihi inkasara ʿalayhi madhhabuhu, walaʿamrī ʾinna ʾiblīsa laʿanahu Allāhu muwaḥḥidun li-llāhi taʿālā ʿārifun bihi ʾillā ʾannahu lam yaʿmal bi-al-tawḥīdi walam yuṭiʿ man ʿarafahu waʾāmana bihi fakafara.
One of the early authorities said, “Any Murjiʾite who does not call Iblīs a believer, since he acknowledged and professed faith, has undermined his own doctrine.” By my life, Iblīs, God curse him, acknowledges God Most High’s oneness and knows Him. Yet he did not act upon divine oneness or obey the One he knew and believed in, and so became an unbeliever.
فَأَمَّا تَعَلُّقُهُمْ بِقَوْلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: (فَأَثَابَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِمَا قَالُوا جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ) الْمَائِدَةُ: 85، فَإِنَّهُ شَرَطَ الْقَوْلَ لِلْجَنَّاتِ أَوْ عَلَّقَ الْجَنَّاتِ بِالْقَوْلِ فَإِنَّمَا ذَلِكَ إِثْبَاتٌ مِنْهُ تَعَالَى لِتَحْقِيقِ الْقَوْلِ، وَأَنَّهُ قَوْلُ إِيمَانٍ وَيَقِينٍ، وَأَنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مُتَعَوِّذِينَ بِالْقَوْلِ، وَلَا مُتَّخِذُوهُ جُنَّةً كَالْمُنَافِقِينَ.
faʾammā taʿalluquhum biqawli Allāhi taʿālā: (faʾathābahumu Allāhu bimā qālū jannātin tajrī min taḥtihā al-ʾanhāru) al-māʾidatu: 85, faʾinnahu sharaṭa al-qawla li-l-jannāti ʾaw ʿallaqa al-jannāti bi-al-qawli faʾinnamā dhālika ʾithbātun minhu taʿālā litaḥqīqi al-qawli, waʾannahu qawlu ʾīmānin wayaqīnin, waʾannahum ghayru mutaʿawwidhīna bi-al-qawli, walā muttakhidhūhu junnatan ka-al-munāfiqīna.
As for their appeal to God Most High’s saying, “God rewarded them for what they said with gardens beneath which rivers flow” (al-Māʾida 5:85): His making speech a condition of the gardens, or attaching the gardens to speech, is His affirmation, exalted is He, of the genuineness of that speech. It is a profession of faith and certainty; they are not seeking refuge behind words or using them as a shield, like the hypocrites.
إِذِ الْمُنَافِقُونَ قَدْ قَالُوا كَقَوْلِهِمْ إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَخْبَرَ عَنْ سَرَائِرِهِمْ بِضِدِّهِ فَقَالَ: (هُمْ لِلْكُفْرِ يَوْمَئِذٍ أَقْرَبُ مِنْهُمْ لِلْإِيمَانِ يَقُولُونَ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ مَا لَيْسَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 167، فَأَرَادَ سُبْحَانَهُ بِأَنَّ قَوْلَ هَؤُلَاءِ قَوْلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ، وَأَنَّ قَوْلَهُمْ إِيمَانٌ مِنْ أَعْمَالِهِمْ لِأَنَّهُمْ مُنْفَرِدُونَ بِالْقَوْلِ دُونَ الْعَمَلِ.
ʾidhi al-munāfiqūna qad qālū kaqawlihim ʾillā ʾannahu ʾakhbara ʿan sarāʾirihim biḍiddihi faqāla: (hum li-l-kufri yawmaʾidhin ʾaqrabu minhum li-l-ʾīmāni yaqūlūna biʾafwāhihim mā laysa fī qulūbihim) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 167, faʾarāda subḥānahu biʾanna qawla hāʾulāʾi qawlu al-muʾminīna, waʾanna qawlahum ʾīmānun min ʾaʿmālihim liʾannahum munfaridūna bi-al-qawli dūna al-ʿamali.
The hypocrites had uttered the same words, but He reported the opposite concerning their inward secrets: “That day they were nearer to unbelief than to faith, saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts” (Āl ʿImrān 3:167). He meant, glorified is He, that these people’s words were the words of believers, and that their profession was faith, one of their deeds, because they confined themselves to words without action.
وَفِيهِ أَيْضًا دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ الْقَوْلَ بِالْحَقِّ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ، وَأَنَّهُ يَسْتَحِقُّ عَلَيْهِ ثَوَابًا، لِأَنَّهُ مِنْ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ بِمَنْزِلَةِ الْأَمْرِ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَالنَّهْيِ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ، فَأَمَّا أَنْ يَكُونَ فِيهِ دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ الْقَوْلَ حَسْبُ هُوَ الْإِيمَانُ كُلُّهُ وَأَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ يَكُونُ قَوْلًا لَا يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى عَمَلٍ، فَهَذَا بَاطِلٌ بِالْأَدِلَّةِ الَّتِي قَدَّمْنَا ذِكْرَهَا مِنَ الْآيِ الَّتِي شَرَطَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِيهَا الْأَعْمَالَ.
wafīhi ʾayḍan dalīlun ʾanna al-qawla bi-al-ḥaqqi mina al-ʾīmāni, waʾannahu yastaḥiqqu ʿalayhi thawāban, liʾannahu min ʾaʿmāli al-birri bimanzilati al-ʾamri bi-al-maʿrūfi wa-al-nahyi ʿani al-munkari, faʾammā ʾan yakūna fīhi dalīlun ʾanna al-qawla ḥasbu huwa al-ʾīmānu kulluhu waʾanna al-ʾīmāna yakūnu qawlan lā yaḥtāju ʾilā ʿamalin, fa-hādhā bāṭilun bi-al-ʾadillati allatī qaddamnā dhikrahā mina al-ʾāyi allatī sharaṭa Allāhu taʿālā fīhā al-ʾaʿmāla.
It also shows that speaking the truth is part of faith and merits a reward, since it is a righteous deed, like commanding what is right and forbidding what is wrong. But to take it as evidence that words alone constitute all of faith, and that faith can be speech requiring no action, is invalidated by the evidence we have already cited: the verses in which God Most High made deeds a condition.
وَمِنْ قَوْلِهِ فِي الْكُفَّارِ: (فَإِنْ تَابُوا وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ فَخَلُّوا سَبِيلَهُمْ) التَّوْبَةُ: 5، وَأَيْضًا فَإِنَّ فِي نَفْسِ هَذِهِ الْآيَةِ بُطْلَانَ دَعْوَى الْمُرْجِئَةِ لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمْ يَقُلْ: فَلَمْ يُثِبْهُمُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا بِمَا قَالُوا جَنَّاتٍ وَإِنَّمَا قَالَ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: (فَأَثَابَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِمَا قَالُوا جَنَّاتٍ) الْمَائِدَةُ: 85.
wamin qawlihi fī al-kuffāri: (faʾin tābū waʾaqāmū al-ṣalāta waʾātawu al-zakāta fakhallū sabīlahum) al-tawbatu: 5, waʾayḍan faʾinna fī nafsi hādhihi al-ʾāyati buṭlāna daʿwā al-murjiʾati liʾanna Allāha taʿālā lam yaqul: falam yuthibhumu Allāhu ʾillā bimā qālū jannātin waʾinnamā qāla ʿazza wajalla: (faʾathābahumu Allāhu bimā qālū jannātin) al-māʾidatu: 85.
Also His words concerning unbelievers: “If they repent, establish prayer, and give alms, let them go their way” (al-Tawba 9:5). The very verse they cite also invalidates the Murjiʾa’s claim, because God Most High did not say, “God rewarded them with gardens only for what they said.” He said, Mighty and Majestic, “God rewarded them for what they said with gardens” (al-Māʾida 5:85).
فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُ أَجَرَهُمْ عَلَى قَوْلِهِمْ بِالْحَقِّ، كَمَا قَالَ: فَأُولَٰئِكَ لَهُمْ جَزَاءُ الضِّعْفِ بِمَا عَمِلُوا، ثُمَّ أَحْكَمَ ذَلِكَ وَقَيَّدَهُ بِقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ) الْبَيِّنَةُ: 5.
faʾakhbara ʾannahu ʾajarahum ʿalā qawlihim bi-al-ḥaqqi, kamā qāla: fa-ʾulāʾika lahum jazāʾu al-ḍiʿfi bimā ʿamilū, thumma ʾaḥkama dhālika waqayyadahu biqawlihi taʿālā: (wamā ʾumirū ʾillā liyaʿbudū Allāha mukhliṣīna lahu al-dīna wayuqīmū al-ṣalāta wayuʾtū al-zakāta) al-bayyinatu: 5.
He stated that He rewarded them for speaking the truth, just as He said, “Those will receive a multiplied reward for what they did.” He then made this firm and qualified it by His saying, exalted is He, “They were commanded only to worship God, devoting religion sincerely to Him, establish prayer, and give alms” (al-Bayyina 98:5).
وَلَٰكِنْ هَؤُلَاءِ كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ زَيْغٌ فَيَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنْهُ اِبْتِغَاءَ الْفِتْنَةِ وَاِبْتِغَاءَ تَأْوِيلِهِ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 7، وَكَمَا قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِذَا رَأَيْتُمُ الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ مَا تَشَابَهَ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ فَهُمُ الَّذِينَ عَنَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَاِحْذَرُوهُمْ؛ وَذَلِكَ أَنَّ
walākin hāʾulāʾi kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā: (faʾammā alladhīna fī qulūbihim zayghun fayattabiʿūna mā tashābaha minhu ibtighāʾa al-fitnati wa-ibtighāʾa taʾwīlihi) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 7, wakamā qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾidhā raʾaytumu alladhīna yattabiʿūna mā tashābaha mina al-qurʾāni fahumu alladhīna ʿanā Allāhu taʿālā fa-iḥdharūhum; wa-dhālika ʾanna
But these people are as God Most High said: “Those whose hearts are crooked pursue what is ambiguous in it, seeking discord and seeking its interpretation” (Āl ʿImrān 3:7). And as the Messenger of God said, God bless him and grant him peace: “When you see those who pursue what is ambiguous in the Qurʾān, they are the people God Most High meant, so beware of them.” For
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٥
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 225
Volume Two, page 225
اللَّهَ تَعَالَى قَرَنَ الْأَعْمَالَ بِالْإِيمَانِ فِي كُلِّ الْمَوَاضِعِ، فَلَمْ تَقِفِ الْمُرْجِئَةُ مَعَ شَيْءٍ مِنْ هَذَا الْبَيَانِ وَالْأَحْكَامِ، فَلَمَّا أَجْمَلَ الْقَوْلَ فِي مَوْضِعٍ وَاحِدٍ لِمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ السَّبَبِ تَعَلَّقُوا بِهِ وَوَقَفُوا مَعَهُ.
Allāha taʿālā qarana al-ʾaʿmāla bi-al-ʾīmāni fī kulli al-mawāḍiʿi, falam taqifi al-murjiʾatu maʿa shayʾin min hādhā al-bayāni wa-al-ʾaḥkāmi, falammā ʾajmala al-qawla fī mawḍiʿin wāḥidin limā dhakarnāhu mina al-sababi taʿallaqū bihi wawaqafū maʿahu.
God Most High joined deeds to faith in every passage, but the Murjiʾa paid heed to none of this explanation and these rulings. When, for the reason we have mentioned, He spoke in general terms in one passage, they seized on it and confined themselves to it.
وَقَدْ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: صِنْفَانِ لَا نَصِيبَ لَهُمَا فِي الْإِسْلَامِ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: لَا تَنَالُهُمْ شَفَاعَتِي: الْقَدَرِيَّةُ وَالْمُرْجِئَةُ، وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ الْغَرِيبِ: طَائِفَتَانِ لَا يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ: مَنْ قَالَ إِنَّ الْإِيمَانَ كَلَامٌ.
waqad qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ṣinfāni lā naṣība lahumā fī al-ʾislāmi, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: lā tanāluhum shafāʿatī: al-qadariyyatu wa-al-murjiʾatu, wafī al-ḥadīthi al-gharībi: ṭāʾifatāni lā yadkhulūna al-jannata: man qāla ʾinna al-ʾīmāna kalāmun.
The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Two groups have no share in Islam,” or, in another wording, “My intercession will not reach them: the Qadariyya and the Murjiʾa.” An uncommon report says, “Two groups will not enter the Garden: those who say that faith is speech.”
وَرَوَاهُ حُذَيْفَةُ فَقَالَ: إِنِّي لَأَعْلَمُ أَهْلَ دِينَيْنِ فِي النَّارِ: قَوْمٌ شِرَارٌ بِلَا عِلْمٍ، وَقَوْمٌ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ يَقُولُونَ: كَانَ أَوَّلُونَا ضُلَّالًا.
warawāhu ḥudhayfatu faqāla: ʾinnī laʾaʿlamu ʾahla dīnayni fī al-nāri: qawmun shirārun bilā ʿilmin, waqawmun fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni yaqūlūna: kāna ʾawwalūnā ḍullālan.
Ḥudhayfa related it, saying, “I know the followers of two religions who are in the Fire: wicked people without knowledge, and people at the end of time who say, ‘Our forebears were astray.’”
نَسْأَلُ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى أَنْ لَا يَصْرِفَنَا عَنْ فَهْمِ آيَاتِهِ وَلَا يَبْلُوَنَا بِالْكِبْرِ، وَأَنْ يُرِيَنَا سَبِيلَ الرُّشْدِ وَيُوَفِّقَنَا لِاِتِّخَاذِهِ سَبِيلًا، وَأَنْ يُرِيَنَا سَبِيلَ الْغَيِّ وَيَعْصِمَنَا مِنِ اِتِّخَاذِهِ سَبِيلًا.
nasʾalu Allāha taʿālā ʾan lā yaṣrifanā ʿan fahmi ʾāyātihi walā yabluwanā bi-al-kibri, waʾan yuriyanā sabīla al-rushdi wayuwaffiqanā li-ittikhādhihi sabīlan, waʾan yuriyanā sabīla al-ghayyi wayaʿṣimanā mini ittikhādhihi sabīlan.
We ask God Most High not to turn us away from understanding His signs or test us with arrogance; to show us the path of right guidance and enable us to take it as our way; and to show us the path of error and protect us from taking it as our way.
كَمَا أَخْبَرَ بِذَلِكَ عَمَّنْ بَلَاهُ بِهِ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (سَأَصْرِفُ عَنْ آيَاتِيَ الَّذِينَ يَتَكَبَّرُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ بِغَيْرِ الْحَقِّ وَإِنْ يَرَوْا كُلَّ آيَةٍ لَا يُؤْمِنُوا بِهَا وَإِنْ يَرَوْا سَبِيلَ الرُّشْدِ لَا يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًا وَإِنْ يَرَوْا سَبِيلَ الْغَيِّ يَتَّخِذُوهُ سَبِيلًا) الْأَعْرَافُ: 146، الْآيَةَ.
kamā ʾakhbara bi-dhālika ʿamman balāhu bihi faqāla taʿālā: (saʾaṣrifu ʿan ʾāyātiya alladhīna yatakabbarūna fī al-ʾarḍi bighayri al-ḥaqqi waʾin yaraw kulla ʾāyatin lā yuʾminū bihā waʾin yaraw sabīla al-rushdi lā yattakhidhūhu sabīlan waʾin yaraw sabīla al-ghayyi yattakhidhūhu sabīlan) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 146, al-ʾāyata.
As He reported of those whom He afflicted with this, saying, exalted is He: “I shall turn away from My signs those who act arrogantly on the earth without right. If they see every sign, they do not believe in it; if they see the path of right guidance, they do not take it as their way; but if they see the path of error, they take it as their way” (al-Aʿrāf 7:146), and the rest of the verse.
ذِكْرُ الِاسْتِثْنَاءِ فِي الْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِشْفَاقِ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ وَطَرِيقَةِ السَّلَفِ فِي ذَلِكَ
dhikru al-istithnāʾi fī al-ʾīmāni wa-al-ʾishfāqi mina al-nifāqi waṭarīqati al-salafi fī dhālika
Qualifying one’s profession of faith, fearing hypocrisy, and the practice of the early authorities in this regard
فَأَمَّا الِاسْتِثْنَاءُ فِي الْإِيمَانِ فَإِنَّهُ سُنَّةٌ مَاضِيَةٌ وَفِعْلُ الْأَئِمَّةِ الرَّاضِيَةِ، عَلَى مَعْنَى الْخَوْفِ وَالتَّقْصِيرِ، وَكَرَاهِيَةِ التَّزْكِيَةِ لِلنَّفْسِ، لَا عَلَى وَجْهِ الِارْتِيَابِ فِي الْيَقِينِ، وَلَا بِمَعْنَى الشَّكِّ فِي التَّصْدِيقِ، إِذِ الْإِيمَانُ مَقَامَاتٌ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ فِيهِ دَرَجَاتٌ.
faʾammā al-istithnāʾu fī al-ʾīmāni faʾinnahu sunnatun māḍiyatun wafiʿlu al-ʾaʾimmati al-rāḍiyati, ʿalā maʿnā al-khawfi wa-al-taqṣīri, wakarāhiyati al-tazkiyati li-l-nafsi, lā ʿalā wajhi al-irtiyābi fī al-yaqīni, walā bimaʿnā al-shakki fī al-taṣdīqi, ʾidhi al-ʾīmānu maqāmātun wa-al-muʾminūna fīhi darajātun.
Qualifying one’s profession of faith with “if God wills” is an established practice and the conduct of the contented imams. It expresses fear, awareness of falling short, and dislike of declaring oneself pure, not uncertainty about what is certain or doubt in one’s affirmation. Faith has spiritual stations, and believers occupy different degrees within it.
وَلِذَلِكَ قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لِقَوْمٍ مَوْصُوفِينَ بِأَعْيَانِهِمْ: (أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا) الْأَنْفَالُ: 4، فَهَذَا وَصْفُهُمْ بِالْكَمَالِ وَمَدْحُهُمْ بِخِصَالِ الْأَعْمَالِ، فَفِي دَلِيلِ خِطَابِهِ أَنَّ ثَمَّ مُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرَ حَقٍّ.
wali-dhālika qāla Allāhu taʿālā liqawmin mawṣūfīna biʾaʿyānihim: (ʾulāʾika humu al-muʾminūna ḥaqqan) al-ʾanfālu: 4, fa-hādhā waṣfuhum bi-al-kamāli wamadḥuhum bikhiṣāli al-ʾaʿmāli, fafī dalīli khiṭābihi ʾanna thamma muʾminīna ghayra ḥaqqin.
For this reason, God Most High said of people specifically described, “Those are the believers in truth” (al-Anfāl 8:4). This describes their perfection and praises their qualities of action. By implication, His statement indicates that there are believers who are not believers in truth.
كَيْفَ وَقَدْ قَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ لَكَارِهُونَ يُجَادِلُونَكَ فِي الْحَقِّ بَعْدَ مَا تَبَيَّنَ) الْأَنْفَالُ: 5 - 6، وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى فِي وَصْفِ آخَرِينَ: (يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لَا تَفْعَلُونَ) الصَّفُّ: 2.
kayfa waqad qāla taʿālā: (waʾinna farīqan mina al-muʾminīna lakārihūna yujādilūnaka fī al-ḥaqqi baʿda mā tabayyana) al-ʾanfālu: 5 - 6, waqāla subḥānahu wataʿālā fī waṣfi ʾākharīna: (yā ʾayyuhā alladhīna ʾāmanū lima taqūlūna mā lā tafʿalūna) al-ṣaffu: 2.
How could it be otherwise, when He said, “A group of the believers were reluctant, disputing with you about the truth after it had become clear” (al-Anfāl 8:5–6)? And He said of others, glorified and exalted, “You who believe, why do you say what you do not do?” (al-Ṣaff 61:2).
وَقَالَ فِي نَعْتِ الصَّادِقِينَ: (إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَرْتَابُوا وَجَاهَدُوا بِأَمْوَالِهِمْ وَأَنْفُسِهِمْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الصَّادِقُونَ) الْحُجُرَاتُ: 15، وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِ وَصْفِهِمْ: (وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 177، الْآيَةَ.
waqāla fī naʿti al-ṣādiqīna: (ʾinnamā al-muʾminūna alladhīna ʾāmanū bi-Allāhi warasūlihi thumma lam yartābū wajāhadū biʾamwālihim waʾanfusihim fī sabīli Allāhi ʾulāʾika humu al-ṣādiqūna) al-ḥujurātu: 15, waqāla fī mithli waṣfihim: (walākinna al-birra man ʾāmana bi-Allāhi wa-al-yawmi al-ʾākhiri wa-al-malāʾikati) al-baqaratu: 177, al-ʾāyata.
Describing the truthful, He said, “The believers are only those who believe in God and His Messenger, then do not doubt, and strive with their wealth and lives in God’s path. Those are the truthful” (al-Ḥujurāt 49:15). In a similar description He said, “Rather, righteousness is in one who believes in God, the Last Day, and the angels” (al-Baqara 2:177), and the rest of the verse.
فَذَكَرَ عِشْرِينَ وَصْفًا إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: (أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُتَّقُونَ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 177، مِنْهَا الْإِيثَارُ بِالْمَالِ عَلَى حُبِّهِ، وَالْوَفَاءُ بِالْعَهْدِ، وَالصَّبْرُ فِي الْأَمْرَاضِ وَالْجُوعِ وَالشَّدَائِدِ، فَبَعْدَ ذَلِكَ شَهِدَ لَهُمْ بِالصِّدْقِ وَالتَّقْوَى، وَقَالَ فِي وَصْفِ الْمَحْبُوبِينَ مِنَ الْمُوقِنِينَ: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ اِشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ
fadhakara ʿishrīna waṣfan ʾilā qawlihi: (ʾulāʾika alladhīna ṣadaqū wa-ʾulāʾika humu al-muttaqūna) al-baqaratu: 177, minhā al-ʾīthāru bi-al-māli ʿalā ḥubbihi, wa-al-wafāʾu bi-al-ʿahdi, wa-al-ṣabru fī al-ʾamrāḍi wa-al-jūʿi wa-al-shadāʾidi, fabaʿda dhālika shahida lahum bi-al-ṣidqi wa-al-taqwā, waqāla fī waṣfi al-maḥbūbīna mina al-mūqinīna: (ʾinna Allāha ishtarā mina al-muʾminīna ʾanfusahum
He mentioned twenty qualities, down to His words, “Those are the ones who have been truthful, and those are the God-fearing” (al-Baqara 2:177). These include giving wealth to others despite one’s love for it, keeping one’s covenant, and enduring illness, hunger, and hardship. Only after that did He testify to their truthfulness and mindfulness. Describing the beloved among those possessing certainty, He said, “God has purchased from the believers their lives
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٦
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 226
Volume Two, page 226
وَأَمْوَالَهُمْ) التَّوْبَةُ: 111، وَقَالَ فِي نَعْتِ عُمُومِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ: (وَإِنْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَتَتَّقُوا يُؤْتِكُمْ أُجُورَكُمْ وَلَا يَسْأَلْكُمْ أَمْوَالَكُمْ إِنْ يَسْأَلْكُمُوهَا فَيُحْفِكُمْ تَبْخَلُوا وَيُخْرِجْ أَضْغَانَكُمْ) مُحَمَّدٌ: 36 - 37.
waʾamwālahum) al-tawbatu: 111, waqāla fī naʿti ʿumūmi al-muʾminīna: (waʾin tuʾminū watattaqū yuʾtikum ʾujūrakum walā yasʾalkum ʾamwālakum ʾin yasʾalkumūhā fayuḥfikum tabkhalū wayukhrij ʾaḍghānakum) muḥammadun: 36 - 37.
and their wealth” (al-Tawba 9:111). Describing believers in general, He said, “If you believe and are mindful of God, He will give you your rewards and will not ask you for your wealth. If He were to ask you for it and press you, you would be miserly, and He would bring your resentments to light” (Muḥammad 47:36–37).
فَشَتَّانَ بَيْنَ مَنْ وُصِفَ بِالْمُجَاهَدَةِ وَالصِّدْقِ وَبَيْنَ مَنْ نُعِتَ بِالْخُلْفِ وَعُرِّضَ لِلْمَقْتِ، وَبَيْنَ مَنْ وُصِفَ بِالْحَقِّ وَبَيْنَ مَنْ يُجَادِلُ فِي الْحَقِّ، وَكَمْ بَيْنَ مَنْ قُبِلَ مِنْهُ الْمَالُ وَالنَّفْسُ وَبَيْنَ مَنْ رُدَّ عَلَيْهِ الْمَالُ وَلَمْ يُسْأَلْهُ لِمَا عُلِمَ مِنْهُ مِنَ الْبُخْلِ وَالضِّغْنِ.
fashattāna bayna man wuṣifa bi-al-mujāhadati wa-al-ṣidqi wabayna man nuʿita bi-al-khulfi waʿurriḍa li-l-maqti, wabayna man wuṣifa bi-al-ḥaqqi wabayna man yujādilu fī al-ḥaqqi, wakam bayna man qubila minhu al-mālu wa-al-nafsu wabayna man rudda ʿalayhi al-mālu walam yusʾalhu limā ʿulima minhu mina al-bukhli wa-al-ḍighni.
How great the distance between someone described by striving and truthfulness and someone described by breaking his word and exposed to divine displeasure; between someone described by truth and someone who disputes the truth. How far apart are those whose wealth and lives are accepted and those whose wealth is left with them and not requested, because of the miserliness and resentment known to be in them.
وَاِسْمُ الْإِيمَانِ يَجْمَعُهُمْ وَمَعْنَاهُ يَجْتَمِعُ عَلَيْهِمْ، إِلَّا أَنَّ مَقَامَاتِ الْإِيمَانِ تَرْفَعُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَتُفَاوِتُ بَيْنَ بَعْضِهِمْ وَبَعْضٍ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: (يَرْفَعِ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مِنْكُمْ وَالَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْعِلْمَ دَرَجَاتٍ) الْمُجَادَلَةُ: 11.
wa-ismu al-ʾīmāni yajmaʿuhum wamaʿnāhu yajtamiʿu ʿalayhim, ʾillā ʾanna maqāmāti al-ʾīmāni tarfaʿu baʿḍahum ʿalā baʿḍin watufāwitu bayna baʿḍihim wabaʿḍin, kamā qāla taʿālā: (yarfaʿi Allāhu alladhīna ʾāmanū minkum wa-alladhīna ʾūtū al-ʿilma darajātin) al-mujādalatu: 11.
The name of faith encompasses them all, and its meaning applies to them all. Yet the stations of faith raise some above others and create differences between them. As He said, exalted is He, “God will raise those of you who believe, and those given knowledge, by degrees” (al-Mujādala 58:11).
وَكَقَوْلِهِ: (لَا يَسْتَوِي مِنْكُمْ مَنْ أَنْفَقَ مِنْ قَبْلِ الْفَتْحِ وَقَاتَلَ أُولَٰئِكَ أَعْظَمُ دَرَجَةً مِنَ الَّذِينَ أَنْفَقُوا مِنْ بَعْدُ وَقَاتَلُوا وَكُلًّا وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الْحُسْنَى) الْحَدِيدُ: 10، يَعْنِي الْجَنَّةَ عَلَى تَفَاوُتِ الدَّرَجَاتِ فِيهَا، فَجَمَعَ بَيْنَهُمْ فِي الدَّارِ كَمَا جَمَعَ بَيْنَهُمْ فِي اِسْمِ الْإِيمَانِ.
wakaqawlihi: (lā yastawī minkum man ʾanfaqa min qabli al-fatḥi waqātala ʾulāʾika ʾaʿẓamu darajatan mina alladhīna ʾanfaqū min baʿdu waqātalū wakullan waʿada Allāhu al-ḥusnā) al-ḥadīdu: 10, yaʿnī al-jannata ʿalā tafāwuti al-darajāti fīhā, fajamaʿa baynahum fī al-dāri kamā jamaʿa baynahum fī ismi al-ʾīmāni.
And His saying, “Those of you who spent and fought before the victory are not equal to the others. They are greater in rank than those who spent and fought afterward; yet God has promised the best to all” (al-Ḥadīd 57:10). He means the Garden, with its differing degrees. He brought them together in the same abode, just as He brought them together under the name of faith.
وَرَفَعَهُمْ فِي الدَّرَجَاتِ عُلُوًّا فِي الْمَقَامَاتِ، كَمَا قَالَ تَعَالَى: (هُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 163، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ: الْإِيمَانُ عُرْيَانٌ وَلِبَاسُهُ التَّقْوَى وَحِلْيَتُهُ الْوَرَعُ وَثَمَرَتُهُ الْعِلْمُ.
warafaʿahum fī al-darajāti ʿuluwwan fī al-maqāmāti, kamā qāla taʿālā: (hum darajātun ʿinda Allāhi wa-Allāhu baṣīrun bimā yaʿmalūna) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 163, waqad rawaynā fī khabarin: al-ʾīmānu ʿuryānun walibāsuhu al-taqwā waḥilyatuhu al-waraʿu wathamaratuhu al-ʿilmu.
He raised them through degrees, elevating their spiritual stations, as the Exalted said, “They are of differing ranks before God, and God sees what they do” (Āl ʿImrān 3:163). We have related in a report: “Faith is naked; its clothing is mindfulness of God, its adornment is scrupulousness, and its fruit is knowledge.”
فَفِيهِ دَلِيلٌ أَنَّ مَنْ لَا تَقْوَى لَهُ فَلَا لِبْسَ لِإِيمَانِهِ وَمَنْ لَا وَرَعَ لَهُ فَلَا زِينَةَ لِإِيمَانِهِ وَمَنْ لَا عِلْمَ لَهُ فَلَا ثَمَرَةَ لِإِيمَانِهِ، فَإِنِ اِتَّفَقَ فَاسِقٌ ظَالِمٌ جَاهِلٌ كَانَ بِالْمُنَافِقِينَ أَشْبَهَ مِنْهُ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَكَانَ إِيمَانُهُ إِلَى النِّفَاقِ أَقْرَبَ وَيَقِينُهُ إِلَى الشَّكِّ أَمْيَلَ.
fafīhi dalīlun ʾanna man lā taqwā lahu falā libsa liʾīmānihi waman lā waraʿa lahu falā zīnata liʾīmānihi waman lā ʿilma lahu falā thamarata liʾīmānihi, faʾini ittafaqa fāsiqun ẓālimun jāhilun kāna bi-al-munāfiqīna ʾashbaha minhu bi-al-muʾminīna wakāna ʾīmānuhu ʾilā al-nifāqi ʾaqraba wayaqīnuhu ʾilā al-shakki ʾamyala.
This shows that whoever lacks mindfulness of God has no clothing for his faith; whoever lacks scrupulousness has no adornment for it; and whoever lacks knowledge has no fruit from it. If a person is at once sinful, unjust, and ignorant, he resembles the hypocrites more than the believers. His faith is nearer to hypocrisy and his certainty more inclined toward doubt.
وَلَمْ يُخْرِجْهُ مِنِ اِسْمِ الْإِيمَانِ إِلَّا أَنَّ إِيمَانَهُ عُرْيَانٌ لَا لِبْسَةَ لَهُ، مُعَطَّلٌ لَا كَسْبَ لَهُ، كَمَا قَالَ: (أَوْ كَسَبَتْ فِي إِيمَانِهَا خَيْرًا) الْأَنْعَامُ: 158، وَالنِّفَاقُ مَقَامَاتٌ قِيلَ سَبْعُونَ بَابًا وَالشِّرْكُ مِثْلُ ذَلِكَ فِيهَا طَبَقَاتٌ.
walam yukhrijhu mini ismi al-ʾīmāni ʾillā ʾanna ʾīmānahu ʿuryānun lā libsata lahu, muʿaṭṭalun lā kasba lahu, kamā qāla: (ʾaw kasabat fī ʾīmānihā khayran) al-ʾanʿāmu: 158, wa-al-nifāqu maqāmātun qīla sabʿūna bāban wa-al-shirku mithlu dhālika fīhā ṭabaqātun.
This does not remove him from the name of faith, but his faith is naked, without clothing, idle and without gain, as He said, “or had earned some good through its faith” (al-Anʿām 6:158). Hypocrisy has stations, said to comprise seventy doors, and association of partners with God is similar, with different levels within them.
وَرُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَرْبَعٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ فَهُوَ مُنَافِقٌ خَالِصٌ، وَإِنْ صَامَ وَصَلَّى وَزَعَمَ أَنَّهُ مُؤْمِنٌ؛ مَنْ إِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا اُؤْتُمِنَ خَانَ، وَإِذَا خَاصَمَ فَجَرَ، وَفِي بَعْضِ هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ: وَإِذَا عَاهَدَ غَدَرَ؛ فَصَارَتْ خَمْسًا، فَإِنْ كَانَتْ فِيهِ وَاحِدَةٌ مِنْهُنَّ فَفِيهِ شُعْبَةٌ مِنْ نِفَاقٍ حَتَّى يَدَعَهَا.
waruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾarbaʿun man kunna fīhi fahuwa munāfiqun khāliṣun, waʾin ṣāma waṣallā wazaʿama ʾannahu muʾminun; man ʾidhā ḥaddatha kadhaba, waʾidhā waʿada ʾakhlafa, waʾidhā uʾtumina khāna, waʾidhā khāṣama fajara, wafī baʿḍi hādhā al-ḥadīthi: waʾidhā ʿāhada ghadara; faṣārat khamsan, faʾin kānat fīhi wāḥidatun minhunna fafīhi shuʿbatun min nifāqin ḥattā yadaʿahā.
It is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “Four qualities make a person a pure hypocrite, even if he fasts, prays, and claims to be a believer: when he speaks, he lies; when he promises, he breaks his promise; when entrusted, he betrays; and when he disputes, he acts wickedly.” Some versions add, “When he makes a covenant, he acts treacherously,” making five. If he has one of them, he has a branch of hypocrisy until he abandons it.
وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي سَعِيدٍ الْخُدْرِيِّ وَأَبِي كَبْشَةَ الْأَنْمَارِيِّ: الْقُلُوبُ أَرْبَعَةٌ: قَلْبٌ أَجْرَدُ فِيهِ سِرَاجٌ يُزْهِرُ فَذَلِكَ قَلْبُ الْمُؤْمِنِ، وَقَلْبٌ مُصَفَّحٌ فِيهِ إِيمَانٌ وَنِفَاقٌ فَمَثَلُ الْإِيمَانِ فِيهِ كَالْبَقْلَةِ يَمُدُّهَا الْمَاءُ الْعَذْبُ، وَمَثَلُ النِّفَاقِ فِيهِ كَمَثَلِ الْقَرْحَةِ يَمُدُّهَا الْقَيْحُ وَالصَّدِيدُ.
wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī saʿīdin al-khudriyyi waʾabī kabshata al-ʾanmāriyyi: al-qulūbu ʾarbaʿatun: qalbun ʾajradu fīhi sirājun yuzhiru fa-dhālika qalbu al-muʾmini, waqalbun muṣaffaḥun fīhi ʾīmānun wanifāqun famathalu al-ʾīmāni fīhi ka-al-baqlati yamudduhā al-māʾu al-ʿadhbu, wamathalu al-nifāqi fīhi kamathali al-qarḥati yamudduhā al-qayḥu wa-al-ṣadīdu.
In the report of Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī and Abū Kabsha al-Anmārī: “There are four kinds of hearts: a bare heart containing a shining lamp, which is the believer’s heart; and a layered heart containing both faith and hypocrisy. Faith within it resembles a plant nourished by fresh water; hypocrisy within it resembles a sore fed by pus and discharge.”
فَأَيُّ الْمَادَّتَيْنِ غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْهِ حُكِمَ لَهُ بِهَا، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: أَيُّهُمَا غَلَبَتْ عَلَيْهِ ذَهَبَ بِهِ،
faʾayyu al-māddatayni ghalabat ʿalayhi ḥukima lahu bihā, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: ʾayyuhumā ghalabat ʿalayhi dhahaba bihi,
“Whichever of the two sources of nourishment prevails in it determines its judgment.” Another wording says, “Whichever prevails over it carries it away.”
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٧
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 227
Volume Two, page 227
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: الْإِيمَانُ بِضْعٌ وَسَبْعُونَ شُعْبَةً أَعْلَاهَا شَهَادَةُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَأَدْنَاهَا إِمَاطَةُ الْأَذَى عَنِ الطَّرِيقِ، فَفِي تَبْعِيضِ أَخْلَاقِ الْإِيمَانِ وَفِي وُجُودِ دَقَائِقِ الشِّرْكِ وَشُعَبِ النِّفَاقِ مَا يُوجِبُ الِاسْتِثْنَاءَ فِي كَمَالِ الْإِيمَانِ لِجَوَازِ اِجْتِمَاعِ الْإِيمَانِ وَالنِّفَاقِ فِي الْقَلْبِ وَلِوُجُودِ شُعَبِ النِّفَاقِ وَعَدَمِ بَعْضِ شُعَبِ الْإِيمَانِ مِنَ الْقَلْبِ.
wafī al-khabari: al-ʾīmānu biḍʿun wasabʿūna shuʿbatan ʾaʿlāhā shahādatu ʾan lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu waʾadnāhā ʾimāṭatu al-ʾadhā ʿani al-ṭarīqi, fafī tabʿīḍi ʾakhlāqi al-ʾīmāni wafī wujūdi daqāʾiqi al-shirki washuʿabi al-nifāqi mā yūjibu al-istithnāʾa fī kamāli al-ʾīmāni lijawāzi ijtimāʿi al-ʾīmāni wa-al-nifāqi fī al-qalbi waliwujūdi shuʿabi al-nifāqi waʿadami baʿḍi shuʿabi al-ʾīmāni mina al-qalbi.
A report says, “Faith has seventy-odd branches. The highest is testifying that there is no god but God, and the lowest is removing harm from the road.” The division of faith’s qualities into parts, and the presence of subtle forms of association and branches of hypocrisy, require one to qualify any claim to perfect faith: faith and hypocrisy can coexist in the heart, branches of hypocrisy can be present, and some branches of faith can be absent.
كَيْفَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: أَكْثَرُ مُنَافِقِي أُمَّتِي قُرَّاؤُهَا، وَالْحَدِيثِ الْآخَرِ: الشِّرْكُ أَخْفَى فِي أُمَّتِي مِنْ دَبِيبِ النَّمْلِ عَلَى الصَّفَا، وَقَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: كَانَ الرَّجُلُ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِالْكَلِمَةِ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يَصِيرُ بِهَا مُنَافِقًا إِلَى أَنْ يَمُوتَ: إِنِّي لَأَسْمَعُهَا مِنْ أَحَدِكُمْ فِي الْيَوْمِ عَشْرَ مَرَّاتٍ.
kayfa waqad jāʾa fī al-khabari: ʾaktharu munāfiqī ʾummatī qurrāʾuhā, wa-al-ḥadīthi al-ʾākhari: al-shirku ʾakhfā fī ʾummatī min dabībi al-namli ʿalā al-ṣafā, waqāla ḥudhayfatu: kāna al-rajulu yatakallamu bi-al-kalimati ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yaṣīru bihā munāfiqan ʾilā ʾan yamūta: ʾinnī laʾasmaʿuhā min ʾaḥadikum fī al-yawmi ʿashra marrātin.
How could it be otherwise, when a report says, “Most of my community’s hypocrites are its reciters,” and another says, “Association is more hidden in my community than ants creeping over smooth rock”? Ḥudhayfa said, “In the time of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, a man would utter a word that made him a hypocrite until he died. I hear one of you say it ten times a day.”
وَفِي حَدِيثِ عَلِيٍّ كَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَجْهَهُ: إِنَّ الْإِيمَانَ لَيَبْدُو لُمْعَةً بَيْضَاءَ؛ فَإِذَا عَمِلَ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحَاتِ نَمَا وَزَادَ حَتَّى يَبْيَضَّ الْقَلْبُ كُلُّهُ، وَإِنَّ النِّفَاقَ لَيَبْدُو نُكْتَةً سَوْدَاءَ فَإِذَا اُنْتُهِكَتِ الْحُرُمَاتُ نَمَتْ وَزَادَتْ حَتَّى يَسْوَدَّ الْقَلْبُ فَيُطْبَعَ عَلَيْهِ؛ فَذَلِكَ الْخَتْمُ، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: (كَلَّا بَلْ رَانَ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ مَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ) الْمُطَفِّفِينَ: 14.
wafī ḥadīthi ʿaliyyin karrama Allāhu wajhahu: ʾinna al-ʾīmāna layabdū lumʿatan bayḍāʾa; faʾidhā ʿamila al-ʿabdu al-ṣāliḥāti namā wazāda ḥattā yabyaḍḍa al-qalbu kulluhu, waʾinna al-nifāqa layabdū nuktatan sawdāʾa faʾidhā untuhikati al-ḥurumātu namat wazādat ḥattā yaswadda al-qalbu fayuṭbaʿa ʿalayhi; fa-dhālika al-khatmu, thumma qāla taʿālā: (kallā bal rāna ʿalā qulūbihim mā kānū yaksibūna) al-muṭaffifīna: 14.
In ʿAlī’s report, God honor his face: “Faith first appears as a white gleam. When the servant does righteous deeds, it grows and increases until the entire heart becomes white. Hypocrisy first appears as a black speck. When sacred limits are violated, it grows and increases until the heart becomes black and is stamped shut: that is the sealing.” Then He said, exalted is He, “No indeed! What they used to earn has encrusted their hearts” (al-Muṭaffifīn 83:14).
فَهَذَا كُلُّهُ مُوجِبٌ لِلِاسْتِثْنَاءِ فِي الْإِيمَانِ خَشْيَةَ خَفَايَا الشِّرْكِ وَوُجُودِ دَقَائِقِ النِّفَاقِ وَخَوْفًا مِنَ الدَّعْوَى لِلْحَقِيقَةِ وَالْكَمَالِ، لِأَنَّ مَنْ قَالَ: إِنِّي مُؤْمِنٌ حَقًّا فَقَدْ زَكَّى نَفْسَهُ وَعَصَى رَبَّهُ، لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى نَهَى عَنِ التَّزْكِيَةِ لِلنَّفْسِ.
fa-hādhā kulluhu mūjibun li-l-istithnāʾi fī al-ʾīmāni khashyata khafāyā al-shirki wawujūdi daqāʾiqi al-nifāqi wakhawfan mina al-daʿwā li-l-ḥaqīqati wa-al-kamāli, liʾanna man qāla: ʾinnī muʾminun ḥaqqan faqad zakkā nafsahu waʿaṣā rabbahu, liʾanna Allāha taʿālā nahā ʿani al-tazkiyati li-l-nafsi.
All of this requires qualifying one’s profession of faith, out of fear of hidden association and subtle hypocrisy, and fear of claiming its reality and perfection. Whoever says, “I am a believer in truth,” has declared himself pure and disobeyed his Lord, because God Most High forbade self-purification by claim.
وَعَرَّضَ الْمُزَكِّيَ نَفْسَهُ لِلْكَذِبِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنْفُسَكُمْ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اِتَّقَى) النَّجْمُ: 32، وَبِقَوْلِهِ: (أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يُزَكُّونَ أَنْفُسَهُمْ بَلِ اللَّهُ يُزَكِّي مَنْ يَشَاءُ) النِّسَاءُ: 49، ثُمَّ قَالَ تَعَالَى: (اُنْظُرْ كَيْفَ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ) النِّسَاءُ: 50.
waʿarraḍa al-muzakkiya nafsahu li-l-kadhibi fī qawlihi taʿālā: (falā tuzakkū ʾanfusakum huwa ʾaʿlamu bimani ittaqā) al-najmu: 32, wabiqawlihi: (ʾalam tara ʾilā alladhīna yuzakkūna ʾanfusahum bali Allāhu yuzakkī man yashāʾu) al-nisāʾu: 49, thumma qāla taʿālā: (unẓur kayfa yaftarūna ʿalā Allāhi al-kadhiba) al-nisāʾu: 50.
He exposed the self-praiser to the charge of lying in His words, exalted is He, “Do not declare yourselves pure; He knows best who is mindful of Him” (al-Najm 53:32), and, “Have you not seen those who declare themselves pure? Rather, God purifies whom He wills” (al-Nisāʾ 4:49). Then the Exalted said, “Look how they invent lies against God” (al-Nisāʾ 4:50).
وَقَدْ قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ فِي تَفْسِيرِ أَحَدِ الْوَجْهَيْنِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَلَا أَخَافُ مَا تُشْرِكُونَ بِهِ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ رَبِّي شَيْئًا) الْأَنْعَامُ: 80، وَمِثْلَهُ قَالَ شُعَيْبٌ: وَمَا يَكُونُ لَنَا أَنْ نَعُودَ فِيهَا، يَعْنِي مِلَّةَ الْكُفْرِ، إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّنَا.
waqad qāla ʾibrāhīmu ʿalayhi al-salāmu fī tafsīri ʾaḥadi al-wajhayni min qawlihi taʿālā: (walā ʾakhāfu mā tushrikūna bihi ʾillā ʾan yashāʾa rabbī shayʾan) al-ʾanʿāmu: 80, wamithlahu qāla shuʿaybun: wamā yakūnu lanā ʾan naʿūda fīhā, yaʿnī millata al-kufri, ʾillā ʾan yashāʾa Allāhu rabbunā.
Abraham, peace be upon him, spoke in this way according to one of the two interpretations of His words, exalted is He: “I do not fear what you associate with Him, unless my Lord wills something” (al-Anʿām 6:80). Shuʿayb said similarly, “It is not for us to return to it,” meaning the religion of unbelief, “unless God our Lord wills.”
ثُمَّ عَلَّلَا جَمِيعًا بِسَعَةِ الْعِلْمِ وَسَبْقِ الْمَشِيئَةِ بِهِ فَلَمْ يَأْمَنَا أَنْ يَكُونَا فِي سَعَةِ عِلْمِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ وَفِي خَفِيِّ مَشِيئَتِهِ؛ وَهَذَا هُوَ خَوْفُ الْمَكْرِ.
thumma ʿallalā jamīʿan bisaʿati al-ʿilmi wasabqi al-mashīʾati bihi falam yaʾmanā ʾan yakūnā fī saʿati ʿilmi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla wafī khafiyyi mashīʾatihi; wa-hādhā huwa khawfu al-makri.
Both then grounded their statements in the vastness of God’s knowledge and the priority of His will concerning it. Neither felt secure concerning what they might be within the vastness of God’s knowledge, Mighty and Majestic, and His hidden will. This is fear of the divine stratagem.
وَحَقِيقَةُ الْمَكْرِ مَعْنَيَانِ؛ أَحَدُهُمَا أَنْ يُظْهِرَ شَيْئًا وَيُخْفِيَ ضِدَّهُ، وَالثَّانِي أَنْ يَكْشِفَ مَا كَانَ سَتَرَهُ وَيُفْشِيَ مَا كَانَ أَسَرَّهُ بَعْدَ الطُّمَأْنِينَةِ وَالْعِزَّةِ، وَالْأَنْبِيَاءُ مَعَ فَضْلِهِمْ وَمَكَانِهِمْ يَسْتَثْنُونَ فِي الْكُفْرِ خِيفَةَ الْمَكْرِ، وَلَا يَسْتَثْنِي الضَّعِيفُ الْجَاهِلُ فِي الْإِيمَانِ وَيَغْتَرُّ بِظَاهِرِ أَمْرِهِ.
waḥaqīqatu al-makri maʿnayāni; ʾaḥaduhumā ʾan yuẓhira shayʾan wayukhfiya ḍiddahu, wa-al-thānī ʾan yakshifa mā kāna satarahu wayufshiya mā kāna ʾasarrahu baʿda al-ṭumaʾnīnati wa-al-ʿizzati, wa-al-ʾanbiyāʾu maʿa faḍlihim wamakānihim yastathnūna fī al-kufri khīfata al-makri, walā yastathnī al-ḍaʿīfu al-jāhilu fī al-ʾīmāni wayaghtarru biẓāhiri ʾamrihi.
The reality of the divine stratagem has two meanings: first, that He reveals one thing and conceals its opposite; second, that He uncovers what He had veiled and discloses what He had kept secret, after reassurance and strength. The prophets, despite their excellence and standing, qualify their statements about unbelief out of fear of this stratagem, while the weak, ignorant person does not qualify his claim to faith and is deceived by his outward condition.
بَلْ يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَسْتَثْنِيَ فِي الْإِسْلَامِ أَيْضًا وَفِي جَمِيعِ أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ، لِأَنَّ الْقَبُولَ غَيْرُ الْعَمَلِ وَالسَّابِقَةَ غَيْرُ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنَ الْمُعَامَلَةِ، وَلَا يَنْبَغِي أَنْ يَدَعَ الِاسْتِثْنَاءَ فِي شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْأَحْوَالِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ) ق: 19، قَالَ:
bal yanbaghī ʾan yastathniya fī al-ʾislāmi ʾayḍan wafī jamīʿi ʾaʿmāli al-birri, liʾanna al-qabūla ghayru al-ʿamali wa-al-sābiqata ghayru mā ẓahara mina al-muʿāmalati, walā yanbaghī ʾan yadaʿa al-istithnāʾa fī shayʾin mina al-ʾaḥwāli. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: (wajāʾat sakratu al-mawti bi-al-ḥaqqi) Qāf: 19, qāla:
Rather, he should qualify his claim to Islam too, and to every righteous deed, for acceptance is different from action, and the prior decree is different from the conduct that has appeared. He should never abandon qualification in any state. One scholar explained His words, exalted is He, “The stupor of death has come with the truth” (Qāf 50:19), as meaning:
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٨
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 228
Volume Two, page 228
بِالسَّابِقَةِ، وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: إِنَّمَا يُوزَنُ مِنَ الْأَعْمَالِ خَوَاتِيمُهَا، وَكَانَ أَبُو الدَّرْدَاءِ يَحْلِفُ بِاللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: مَا أَحَدٌ أَمِنَ أَنْ يُسْلَبَ إِيمَانُهُ إِلَّا سُلِبَهُ.
bi-al-sābiqati, waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾinnamā yūzanu mina al-ʾaʿmāli khawātīmuhā, wakāna ʾabū al-dardāʾi yaḥlifu bi-Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: mā ʾaḥadun ʾamina ʾan yuslaba ʾīmānuhu ʾillā sulibahu.
“with the prior decree.” One of the early authorities said, “What is weighed of deeds is only their endings.” Abū al-Dardāʾ used to swear by God, Mighty and Majestic: “No one ever felt secure that his faith would not be taken from him without its being taken away.”
وَيُقَالُ: مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ ذُنُوبٌ تُؤَخَّرُ عُقُوبَتُهَا إِلَى سُوءِ الْخَاتِمَةِ؛ وَهَذَا مِنْ أَخْوَفِ مَا خَافَهُ الْعَامِلُونَ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَالٌ مِنْ دُونِ ذَلِكَ هُمْ لَهَا عَامِلُونَ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 63، وَقِيلَ: مِنَ الذُّنُوبِ ذُنُوبٌ لَا عُقُوبَةَ لَهَا إِلَّا سَلْبُ التَّوْحِيدِ فِي آخِرِ نَفَسٍ، نَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى مِنْ ذَلِكَ.
wayuqālu: mina al-dhunūbi dhunūbun tuʾakhkharu ʿuqūbatuhā ʾilā sūʾi al-khātimati; wa-hādhā min ʾakhwafi mā khāfahu al-ʿāmilūna min qawlihi taʿālā: (walahum ʾaʿmālun min dūni dhālika hum lahā ʿāmilūna) al-muʾminūna: 63, waqīla: mina al-dhunūbi dhunūbun lā ʿuqūbata lahā ʾillā salbu al-tawḥīdi fī ʾākhiri nafasin, naʿūdhu bi-Allāhi taʿālā min dhālika.
It is said that some sins have their punishment postponed until a bad ending. This is among the most fearful things the devout have feared in His words, exalted is He, “They have other deeds besides these which they will perform” (al-Muʾminūn 23:63). It has also been said that some sins have no punishment except the loss of divine oneness at the last breath. We seek refuge in God Most High from that.
وَقِيلَ: هَذَا يَكُونُ عُقُوبَةَ الدَّعْوَى لِلْوَلَايَةِ وَالْكَرَامَاتِ لِلِافْتِرَاءِ عَلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: مِنْ عَلَامَةِ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ أَنَّهُمْ يَسْتَثْنُونَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَقَالَ: مَنْ قَالَ: أَفْعَلُ كَذَا، وَلَمْ يَقُلْ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، سُئِلَ عَنْ هَذَا الْقَوْلِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَإِنْ شَاءَ عَذَّبَهُ وَإِنْ شَاءَ غَفَرَ لَهُ.
waqīla: hādhā yakūnu ʿuqūbata al-daʿwā li-l-walāyati wa-al-karāmāti li-l-iftirāʾi ʿalā Allāhi taʿālā, wakāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: min ʿalāmati al-ʾawliyāʾi ʾannahum yastathnūna fī kulli shayʾin, waqāla: man qāla: ʾafʿalu kadhā, walam yaqul ʾin shāʾa Allāhu taʿālā, suʾila ʿan hādhā al-qawli yawma al-qiyāmati faʾin shāʾa ʿadhdhabahu waʾin shāʾa ghafara lahu.
It has been said that this punishes the claim to sainthood and miraculous gifts, because it fabricates a claim against God Most High. Sahl, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “A sign of God’s friends is that they qualify everything with ‘if God wills.’” He also said, “Whoever says, ‘I shall do such-and-such,’ without saying ‘if God Most High wills,’ will be questioned about that statement on Resurrection Day. If He wills, He will punish him; if He wills, He will forgive him.”
وَقَدْ نَهَى اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى رَسُولَهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنْ لَا يَقُولَ شَيْئًا حَتَّى يَسْتَثْنِيَ، وَأَمَرَهُ بِالِاسْتِثْنَاءِ إِذَا نَسِيَ فَقَالَ تَعَالَى: (وَلَا تَقُولَنَّ لِشَيْءٍ إِنِّي فَاعِلٌ ذَلِكَ غَدًا إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ) الْكَهْفُ: 23 - 24، ثُمَّ قَالَ: (وَاُذْكُرْ رَبَّكَ إِذَا نَسِيتَ) الْكَهْفُ: 24، أَيِ الِاسْتِثْنَاءَ، أَيْ فَاِسْتَثْنِ إِذَا ذَكَرْتَ.
waqad nahā Allāhu tabāraka wataʿālā rasūlahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾan lā yaqūla shayʾan ḥattā yastathniya, waʾamarahu bi-al-istithnāʾi ʾidhā nasiya faqāla taʿālā: (walā taqūlanna lishayʾin ʾinnī fāʿilun dhālika ghadan ʾillā ʾan yashāʾa Allāhu) al-kahfu: 23 - 24, thumma qāla: (wa-udhkur rabbaka ʾidhā nasīta) al-kahfu: 24, ʾayi al-istithnāʾa, ʾay fa-istathni ʾidhā dhakarta.
God, blessed and exalted, instructed His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, not to say anything without this qualification, and commanded him to add it if he forgot. He said, “Never say of anything, ‘I shall do that tomorrow,’ without ‘if God wills’” (al-Kahf 18:23–24). Then He said, “Remember your Lord when you forget” (18:24), meaning when you forget the qualification: add it when you remember.
فَتَأَدَّبَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِذَلِكَ أَحْسَنَ الْأَدَبِ فَكَانَ يَسْتَثْنِي فِي الشَّيْءِ يَقَعُ لَا مَحَالَةَ، فَرُوِيَ أَنَّهُ دَخَلَ الْمَقَابِرَ فَقَالَ: السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ دَارَ قَوْمٍ مُؤْمِنِينَ، وَإِنَّا إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ بِكُمْ لَاحِقُونَ.
fataʾaddaba ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-dhālika ʾaḥsana al-ʾadabi fakāna yastathnī fī al-shayʾi yaqaʿu lā maḥālata, faruwiya ʾannahu dakhala al-maqābira faqāla: al-salāmu ʿalaykum dāra qawmin muʾminīna, waʾinnā ʾin shāʾa Allāhu bikum lāḥiqūna.
He observed this teaching with the finest propriety, God bless him and grant him peace, qualifying even something certain to happen. It is related that he entered the graveyard and said, “Peace be upon you, abode of believing people. We shall join you, if God wills.”
وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ مُعَلِّمًا لِعِبَادِهِ الِاسْتِثْنَاءَ وَرَادَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ بِمَشِيئَتِهِ؛ وَهُوَ أَصْدَقُ الْقَائِلِينَ وَأَعْلَمُ الْعَالِمِينَ: (لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ آمِنِينَ) الْفَتْحُ: 27، وَالِاسْتِثْنَاءُ أَصْلٌ يُرَدُّ إِلَيْهِ مَنْ عَرَفَهُ وَلَمْ يُنْكِرِ الِاسْتِثْنَاءَ، وَالْأَصْلُ هُوَ أَنْ يَزِيدَ وَيَنْقُصَ.
waqāla subḥānahu muʿalliman liʿibādihi al-istithnāʾa warāddahum ʾilayhi bimashīʾatihi; wahuwa ʾaṣdaqu al-qāʾilīna waʾaʿlamu al-ʿālimīna: (latadkhulunna al-masjida al-ḥarāma ʾin shāʾa Allāhu ʾāminīna) al-fatḥu: 27, wa-al-istithnāʾu ʾaṣlun yuraddu ʾilayhi man ʿarafahu walam yunkiri al-istithnāʾa, wa-al-ʾaṣlu huwa ʾan yazīda wayanquṣa.
Teaching His servants this qualification and returning them to it through His will, He said, glorified is He, though He is the most truthful of speakers and most knowing of knowers, “You will certainly enter the Sacred Mosque in safety, if God wills” (al-Fatḥ 48:27). Qualification is a principle to which anyone who understands it and does not deny it returns. The underlying principle is that faith increases and decreases.
فَأَمَّا زِيَادَتُهُ فَقَدْ ثَبَتَ بِنَصِّ الْكِتَابِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَيَزِيدُ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ اِهْتَدَوْا هُدًى) مَرْيَمُ: 76، وَمِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (فَزَادَهُمْ إِيمَانًا) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 173، إِلَى نَظَائِرِهَا، وَمَا يَزِيدُ فَهُوَ يَنْقُصُ لِأَنَّ مَعْنَاهُ مَوْجُودٌ فِي الْكِتَابِ بِدَلِيلِ الْخِطَابِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَلَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا) الْإِسْرَاءُ: 82.
faʾammā ziyādatuhu faqad thabata binaṣṣi al-kitābi min qawlihi taʿālā: (wayazīdu Allāhu alladhīna ihtadaw hudan) maryamu: 76, wamin qawlihi taʿālā: (fazādahum ʾīmānan) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 173, ʾilā naẓāʾirihā, wamā yazīdu fahuwa yanquṣu liʾanna maʿnāhu mawjūdun fī al-kitābi bidalīli al-khiṭābi min qawlihi taʿālā: (walā yazīdu al-ẓālimīna ʾillā khasāran) al-ʾisrāʾu: 82.
Faith’s increase is established by the explicit text of the Book, in His saying, exalted is He: “God increases those who have found guidance in guidance” (Maryam 19:76), and in His saying, exalted is He, “It increased them in faith” (Āl ʿImrān 3:173), and similar passages. What increases can also decrease; this meaning is present in the Book by implication, in His words, exalted is He, “It increases the unjust only in loss” (al-Isrāʾ 17:82).
وَقَوْلِهِ: (وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا) الْمَائِدَةُ: 64، وَمِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَفِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرًا) الْأَنْعَامُ: 25، وَفِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ فَزَادَتْهُمْ رِجْسًا إِلَى رِجْسِهِمْ) التَّوْبَةُ: 125.
waqawlihi: (walayazīdanna kathīran minhum mā ʾunzila ʾilayka min rabbika ṭughyānan wakufran) al-māʾidatu: 64, wamin qawlihi taʿālā: (wafī ʾādhānihim waqran) al-ʾanʿāmu: 25, wafī qawlihi taʿālā: (waʾammā alladhīna fī qulūbihim maraḍun fazādathum rijsan ʾilā rijsihim) al-tawbatu: 125.
And His words, “What has been sent down to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in rebellion and unbelief” (al-Māʾida 5:64); and His words, exalted is He, “and deafness in their ears” (al-Anʿām 6:25); and His words, exalted is He, “As for those whose hearts contain sickness, it adds defilement to their defilement” (al-Tawba 9:125).
فَمَا يَزِيدُ الظَّالِمِينَ إِلَّا خَسَارًا يَنْقُصُهُمْ رُجْحَانًا وَرِبْحًا، وَمَا يَزِيدُهُمْ إِلَّا كُفْرًا يَنْقُصُهُمْ إِيمَانًا، وَمَا يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى يَنْقُصُهُمْ بَصِيرَةً، وَمَا يَكُونُ لَهُمْ رِجْسًا يَكُونُ لَهُمْ مِنَ الطَّهَارَةِ نَقْصًا، مِنْ قِبَلِ أَنَّ مَزِيدَ الشَّرِّ نُقْصَانُ الْخَيْرِ، كَمَا أَنَّ مَزِيدَ الْخَيْرِ نُقْصَانُ الشَّرِّ.
famā yazīdu al-ẓālimīna ʾillā khasāran yanquṣuhum rujḥānan waribḥan, wamā yazīduhum ʾillā kufran yanquṣuhum ʾīmānan, wamā yakūnu ʿalayhim ʿaman yanquṣuhum baṣīratan, wamā yakūnu lahum rijsan yakūnu lahum mina al-ṭahārati naqṣan, min qibali ʾanna mazīda al-sharri nuqṣānu al-khayri, kamā ʾanna mazīda al-khayri nuqṣānu al-sharri.
What increases the unjust only in loss diminishes their advantage and profit. What increases their unbelief diminishes their faith. What becomes blindness for them diminishes their insight, and what becomes defilement for them diminishes their purity. For an increase of evil is a decrease of good, just as an increase of good is a decrease of evil.
فَإِذَا ثَبَتَ أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ يَزِيدُ بِالصَّالِحَاتِ وَيَنْقُصُ بِالسَّيِّئَاتِ وَجَبَ الِاسْتِثْنَاءُ فِيهِ، لِأَنَّ الصَّالِحَاتِ دَرَجَاتٌ يَعْلُو فِيهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِحُسْنِ الْوَلَايَاتِ وَالْمُجَاهَدَاتِ، قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فِي الْمُجْمَلِ مِنَ الْخِطَابِ: (وَأَنْتُمُ الْأَعْلَوْنَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 139، وَقَالَ: (وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ) آلُ عِمْرَانَ: 68.
faʾidhā thabata ʾanna al-ʾīmāna yazīdu bi-al-ṣāliḥāti wayanquṣu bi-al-sayyiʾāti wajaba al-istithnāʾu fīhi, liʾanna al-ṣāliḥāti darajātun yaʿlū fīhā al-muʾminūna biḥusni al-walāyāti wa-al-mujāhadāti, qāla Allāhu taʿālā fī al-mujmali mina al-khiṭābi: (waʾantumu al-ʾaʿlawna ʾin kuntum muʾminīna) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 139, waqāla: (wa-Allāhu waliyyu al-muʾminīna) ʾālu ʿimrāna: 68.
Once it is established that faith increases through righteous deeds and decreases through evil deeds, qualifying one’s profession becomes necessary. Righteous deeds are degrees through which believers ascend by excellence in their relations of devotion and striving. God Most High said in a general statement, “You will be uppermost if you are believers” (Āl ʿImrān 3:139), and, “God is the protector of the believers” (3:68).
وَقَالَ فِي الْمُفَسَّرِ: (وَلِكُلٍّ دَرَجَاتٌ مِمَّا عَمِلُوا) الْأَحْقَافُ: 19، وَقَالَ فِي مِثْلِهِ: (وَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ) الْأَنْعَامُ: 127، وَقَالَ: (لَا يَسْتَوِي الْقَاعِدُونَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ غَيْرُ أُولِي الضَّرَرِ وَالْمُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ)
waqāla fī al-mufassari: (walikullin darajātun mimmā ʿamilū) al-ʾaḥqāfu: 19, waqāla fī mithlihi: (wahuwa waliyyuhum bimā kānū yaʿmalūna) al-ʾanʿāmu: 127, waqāla: (lā yastawī al-qāʿidūna mina al-muʾminīna ghayru ʾulī al-ḍarari wa-al-mujāhidūna fī sabīli Allāhi)
More explicitly, He said, “For all there are degrees according to what they have done” (al-Aḥqāf 46:19), and similarly, “He is their protector because of what they used to do” (al-Anʿām 6:127). He also said, “Those believers who remain behind, other than those with disabilities, are not equal to those who strive in God’s path,”
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٢٩
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 229
Volume Two, page 229
إِلَى قَوْلِهِ: (وَفَضَّلَ اللَّهُ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ عَلَى الْقَاعِدِينَ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا) النِّسَاءُ: 95. وَرَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثِ وَاثِلَةَ بْنِ الْأَسْقَعِ: الْإِيمَانُ يَزِيدُ وَيَنْقُصُ، وَرُوِيَ ذَلِكَ عَنْ جَمَاعَةٍ مِنَ الصَّحَابَةِ وَمَنْ لَا يُحْصَى مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ.
ʾilā qawlihi: (wafaḍḍala Allāhu al-mujāhidīna ʿalā al-qāʿidīna ʾajran ʿaẓīman) al-nisāʾu: 95. warawaynā fī ḥadīthi wāthilata bni al-ʾasqaʿi: al-ʾīmānu yazīdu wayanquṣu, waruwiya dhālika ʿan jamāʿatin mina al-ṣaḥābati waman lā yuḥṣā mina al-tābiʿīna.
down to His words, “God has favored those who strive over those who remain behind with a great reward” (al-Nisāʾ 4:95). We have related in Wāthila ibn al-Asqaʿ’s report, “Faith increases and decreases.” This has also been related from a number of Companions and countless Successors.
وَقِيلَ لِأَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا: مَا مَعْنَى الِاسْتِثْنَاءِ فِي الْإِيمَانِ؟ قَالَ: أَلَيْسَ الْإِيمَانُ قَوْلًا وَعَمَلًا؟ قِيلَ: نَعَمْ، قَالَ: فَالتَّصْدِيقُ بِالْقَوْلِ وَالِاسْتِثْنَاءُ بِالْعَمَلِ.
waqīla liʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā: mā maʿnā al-istithnāʾi fī al-ʾīmāni? qāla: ʾalaysa al-ʾīmānu qawlan waʿamalan? qīla: naʿam, qāla: fa-al-taṣdīqu bi-al-qawli wa-al-istithnāʾu bi-al-ʿamali.
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, may God be pleased with them both, was asked, “What does qualifying one’s profession of faith mean?” He replied, “Is faith not profession and action?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “Then affirmation concerns the profession, and qualification concerns the action.”
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: أَقْرَبُ النَّاسِ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ مَنْ يَرَى أَنَّهُ مِنْهُ بَرِيءٌ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: آمَنُهُمْ لَهُ، وَقَالَ عُمَرُ مَوْلَى عُفْرَةَ: أَقْرَبُ النَّاسِ إِلَى النِّفَاقِ الَّذِي إِذَا زُكِّيَ بِمَا لَيْسَ فِيهِ اِرْتَاحَ لِذَلِكَ قَلْبُهُ، وَأَبْعَدُ النَّاسِ مِنْهُ مَنْ يَتَخَوَّفُ أَنَّهُ لَا يُنَجِّيهِ حَقِيقَةُ مَا هُوَ فِيهِ.
waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾaqrabu al-nāsi mina al-nifāqi man yarā ʾannahu minhu barīʾun, waqāla marratan: ʾāmanuhum lahu, waqāla ʿumaru mawlā ʿufrata: ʾaqrabu al-nāsi ʾilā al-nifāqi alladhī ʾidhā zukkiya bimā laysa fīhi irtāḥa li-dhālika qalbuhu, waʾabʿadu al-nāsi minhu man yatakhawwafu ʾannahu lā yunajjīhi ḥaqīqatu mā huwa fīhi.
One scholar said, “The person nearest to hypocrisy is the one who thinks himself free of it.” On another occasion he said, “The one who feels most secure from it.” ʿUmar, the client of ʿUfra, said, “The person nearest to hypocrisy is someone whose heart delights when he is praised for a quality he does not possess. The person furthest from it is someone who fears that even the reality of his present state will not save him.”
وَقَالَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحٰرِثِ: سُكُونُ الْقَلْبِ إِلَى قَبُولِ الْمَدْحِ أَضَرُّ عَلَيْهِ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ: غَفْلَةُ الْعَالِمِ السُّكُونُ إِلَى الشَّيْءِ، وَغَفْلَةُ الْجَاهِلِ الِافْتِخَارُ بِالشَّيْءِ، وَالسُّكُونُ عِنْدَهُمْ مِنَ الدَّعْوَى، وَالدَّعْوَى مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي.
waqāla bishru bnu al-ḥārithi: sukūnu al-qalbi ʾilā qabūli al-madḥi ʾaḍarru ʿalayhi mina al-maʿāṣī, wakāna sahlun yaqūlu: ghaflatu al-ʿālimi al-sukūnu ʾilā al-shayʾi, waghaflatu al-jāhili al-iftikhāru bi-al-shayʾi, wa-al-sukūnu ʿindahum mina al-daʿwā, wa-al-daʿwā mina al-maʿāṣī.
Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith said, “The heart’s contentment in accepting praise is more harmful to it than sins.” Sahl used to say, “The scholar’s heedlessness is finding repose in a thing; the ignorant person’s heedlessness is taking pride in a thing.” For them, such repose is a form of claiming spiritual standing, and such claims are among the sins.
وَقَالَ حُذَيْفَةُ: الْيَوْمَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ أَكْثَرُ مِنْهُمْ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانُوا إِذْ ذَاكَ يُخْفُونَهُ وَهُمْ الْيَوْمَ يُظْهِرُونَهُ، وَقِيلَ لِلْحَسَنِ: إِنَّ قَوْمًا يَقُولُونَ لَا نِفَاقَ الْيَوْمَ، فَقَالَ: يَا اِبْنَ أَخِي لَوْ هَلَكَ الْمُنَافِقُونَ لَاِسْتَوْحَشْتُمْ فِي الطُّرُقَاتِ.
waqāla ḥudhayfatu: al-yawma al-munāfiqūna ʾaktharu minhum ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kānū ʾidh dhāka yukhfūnahu wahum al-yawma yuẓhirūnahu, waqīla li-l-ḥasani: ʾinna qawman yaqūlūna lā nifāqa al-yawma, faqāla: yā ibna ʾakhī law halaka al-munāfiqūna la-istawḥashtum fī al-ṭuruqāti.
Ḥudhayfa said, “There are more hypocrites today than there were in the time of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace. Then they concealed it; today they display it.” Al-Ḥasan was told, “Some people say there is no hypocrisy today.” He replied, “My nephew, if the hypocrites perished, you would feel lonely on the roads.”
وَعَنْهُ وَعَنْ غَيْرِهِ: لَوْ نَبَتَ لِلْمُنَافِقِينَ أَذْنَابٌ مَا قَدَرْنَا أَنْ نَطَأَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ، وَسَمِعَ اِبْنُ عُمَرَ رَجُلًا يَطْعَنُ عَلَى الْحَجَّاجِ فَقَالَ: أَرَأَيْتَ لَوْ كَانَ حَاضِرًا بَيْنَ يَدَيْكَ أَكُنْتَ تَتَكَلَّمُ فِيهِ بِمَا تَكَلَّمْتَ الْآنَ؟ قَالَ: لَا، قَالَ: كُنَّا نَعُدُّ هَذَا نِفَاقًا عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
waʿanhu waʿan ghayrihi: law nabata li-l-munāfiqīna ʾadhnābun mā qadarnā ʾan naṭaʾa ʿalā al-ʾarḍi, wasamiʿa ibnu ʿumara rajulan yaṭʿanu ʿalā al-ḥajjāji faqāla: ʾaraʾayta law kāna ḥāḍiran bayna yadayka ʾakunta tatakallamu fīhi bimā takallamta al-ʾāna? qāla: lā, qāla: kunnā naʿuddu hādhā nifāqan ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
From him and others: “If hypocrites grew tails, we would have no room to step on the ground.” Ibn ʿUmar heard a man attacking al-Ḥajjāj and said, “Tell me, if he were here before you, would you say about him what you have just said?” He replied, “No.” Ibn ʿUmar said, “We counted this as hypocrisy in the time of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace.”
وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ كَانَ ذَا لِسَانَيْنِ فِي الدُّنْيَا جُعِلَ لَهُ لِسَانَانِ مِنْ نَارٍ فِي الْآخِرَةِ، وَفِي خَبَرٍ آخَرَ: شَرُّ النَّاسِ ذُو الْوَجْهَيْنِ يَأْتِي هَؤُلَاءِ بِوَجْهٍ وَهَؤُلَاءِ بِوَجْهٍ.
waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man kāna dhā lisānayni fī al-dunyā juʿila lahu lisānāni min nārin fī al-ʾākhirati, wafī khabarin ʾākhara: sharru al-nāsi dhū al-wajhayni yaʾtī hāʾulāʾi biwajhin wa-hāʾulāʾi biwajhin.
The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Whoever has two tongues in this world will be given two tongues of fire in the next.” Another report says, “The worst person is the two-faced one, who comes to these people with one face and to those with another.”
وَقِيلَ لِلْحَسَنِ: إِنَّ قَوْمًا يَقُولُونَ: لَا نَخَافُ النِّفَاقَ، فَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لَأَنْ أَكُونَ أَعْلَمُ أَنِّي بَرِيءٌ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ تِلَاعِ الْأَرْضِ ذَهَبًا، وَقَالَ الْحَسَنُ: إِنَّ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ اِخْتِلَافَ اللِّسَانِ وَالْقَلْبِ وَالسِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ وَالْمَدْخَلِ وَالْمَخْرَجِ.
waqīla li-l-ḥasani: ʾinna qawman yaqūlūna: lā nakhāfu al-nifāqa, faqāla: wa-Allāhi laʾan ʾakūna ʾaʿlamu ʾannī barīʾun mina al-nifāqi ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min tilāʿi al-ʾarḍi dhahaban, waqāla al-ḥasanu: ʾinna mina al-nifāqi ikhtilāfa al-lisāni wa-al-qalbi wa-al-sirri wa-al-ʿalāniyati wa-al-madkhali wa-al-makhraji.
Al-Ḥasan was told, “Some people say, ‘We do not fear hypocrisy.’” He replied, “By God, knowing that I am free of hypocrisy would be dearer to me than the earth’s hills filled with gold.” Al-Ḥasan also said, “Hypocrisy includes a divergence between tongue and heart, inward and outward, and entering and leaving.”
وَقَالَ رَجُلٌ لِحُذَيْفَةَ: إِنِّي أَخَافُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مُنَافِقًا، فَقَالَ: لَوْ كُنْتَ مُنَافِقًا مَا خِفْتَ أَنْ تَكُونَ مُنَافِقًا، إِنَّ الْمُنَافِقَ قَدْ أَمِنَ النِّفَاقَ لِأَنَّ النِّفَاقَ عَلَى ضَرْبَيْنِ؛ نِفَاقٍ يَنْقُلُ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ وَهُوَ الشَّكُّ فِي دِينِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالرَّدُّ لِشَرْعِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
waqāla rajulun liḥudhayfata: ʾinnī ʾakhāfu ʾan ʾakūna munāfiqan, faqāla: law kunta munāfiqan mā khifta ʾan takūna munāfiqan, ʾinna al-munāfiqa qad ʾamina al-nifāqa liʾanna al-nifāqa ʿalā ḍarbayni; nifāqin yanqulu ʿani al-millati wahuwa al-shakku fī dīni Allāhi taʿālā wa-al-raddu lisharʿi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
A man said to Ḥudhayfa, “I fear that I may be a hypocrite.” He replied, “If you were a hypocrite, you would not fear being one. The hypocrite feels secure from hypocrisy.” Hypocrisy is of two kinds: one removes a person from the religion, consisting of doubt in God Most High’s religion and rejection of the law of His Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.
وَنِفَاقٍ لَا يَنْقُلُ عَنِ الْمِلَّةِ وَلَا يُخْرِجُ عَنِ الْإِسْلَامِ، وَلَٰكِنَّهُ يَنْقُصُ الْإِيمَانَ وَيُذْهِبُ حَقِيقَتَهُ، وَيُطْفِئُ أَنْوَارَهُ، وَيَحْرِمُ مَزِيدَهُ، وَيُحْبِطُ الْأَعْمَالَ، وَيُوجِبُ الْمَقْتَ
wanifāqin lā yanqulu ʿani al-millati walā yukhriju ʿani al-ʾislāmi, walākinnahu yanquṣu al-ʾīmāna wayudhhibu ḥaqīqatahu, wayuṭfiʾu ʾanwārahu, wayaḥrimu mazīdahu, wayuḥbiṭu al-ʾaʿmāla, wayūjibu al-maqta
The other does not remove a person from the religion or take him out of Islam, but diminishes faith, takes away its reality, extinguishes its lights, deprives him of its increase, nullifies deeds, and brings divine displeasure
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٠
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 230
Volume Two, page 230
وَالْإِعْرَاضَ؛ وَهُوَ الرِّيَاءُ وَالْمُدَاهَنَةُ وَالتَّصَنُّعُ لِلْخَلْقِ وَالتَّزَيُّنُ بِالْحَقِّ وَاِئْتِلَافُ الْأَلْسِنَةِ وَاِخْتِلَافُ الْقُلُوبِ وَتَفَاوُتُ الْقَوْلِ وَالْعَمَلِ وَمُخَالَفَةُ الْأَمْرِ إِلَى مَا يُنْهَى عَنْهُ وَاِخْتِلَافُ السِّرِّ وَالْعَلَانِيَةِ وَزِيَادَةُ الظَّوَاهِرِ عَلَى السَّرَائِرِ.
wa-al-ʾiʿrāḍa; wahuwa al-riyāʾu wa-al-mudāhanatu wa-al-taṣannuʿu li-l-khalqi wa-al-tazayyunu bi-al-ḥaqqi wa-iʾtilāfu al-ʾalsinati wa-ikhtilāfu al-qulūbi watafāwutu al-qawli wa-al-ʿamali wamukhālafatu al-ʾamri ʾilā mā yunhā ʿanhu wa-ikhtilāfu al-sirri wa-al-ʿalāniyati waziyādatu al-ẓawāhiri ʿalā al-sarāʾiri.
and His turning away. It consists of ostentation, compromising flattery, putting on an appearance for people, adorning oneself with truth, agreement of tongues alongside disagreement of hearts, divergence between words and deeds, contravening a command by doing what is forbidden, discrepancy between inward and outward, and outward appearances exceeding inward realities.
وَهَذَا الْمَعْنَى مِنَ النِّفَاقِ الَّذِي خَافَهُ السَّلَفُ وَكَانُوا مِنْهُ عَلَى إِشْفَاقٍ، وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ يَقُولُ: الْمُرَائِي حَقًّا الَّذِي يُحَسِّنُ ظَاهِرَهُ، حَتَّى لَا تُنْكِرَ الْعَامَّةُ وَالْعُلَمَاءُ مِنْ ظَاهِرِهِ شَيْئًا وَبَاطِنُهُ خَرَابٌ.
wa-hādhā al-maʿnā mina al-nifāqi alladhī khāfahu al-salafu wakānū minhu ʿalā ʾishfāqin, wakāna sahlun yaqūlu: al-murāʾī ḥaqqan alladhī yuḥassinu ẓāhirahu, ḥattā lā tunkira al-ʿāmmatu wa-al-ʿulamāʾu min ẓāhirihi shayʾan wabāṭinuhu kharābun.
This is the kind of hypocrisy the early authorities feared and regarded with apprehension. Sahl used to say, “The true ostentatious person is someone who improves his outward appearance until neither ordinary people nor scholars find anything objectionable in it, while his inner being lies in ruins.”
وَقَدْ كَانَ الْحَسَنُ وَأَصْحَابُهُ يُسَمُّونَ أَهْلَ الْبِدَعِ مُنَافِقِينَ، وَكَانَ اِبْنُ سِيرِينَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ يُسَمُّونَهُمْ خَوَارِجَ، وَقَالَ اِبْنُ أَبِي مُلَيْكَةَ: أَدْرَكْتُ ثَلَاثِينَ وَمِائَةً، وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ خَمْسَمِائَةٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كُلُّهُمْ يَخَافُ النِّفَاقَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: مَا مِنْهُمْ أَحَدٌ يَقُولُ أَنَا عَلَى إِيمَانِ جِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَائِيلَ عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ.
waqad kāna al-ḥasanu waʾaṣḥābuhu yusammūna ʾahla al-bidaʿi munāfiqīna, wakāna ibnu sīrīna waʾaṣḥābuhu yusammūnahum khawārija, waqāla ibnu ʾabī mulaykata: ʾadraktu thalāthīna wamiʾatan, wafī riwāyatin khamsamiʾatin min ʾaṣḥābi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kulluhum yakhāfu al-nifāqa ʿalā nafsihi, waqāla marratan: mā minhum ʾaḥadun yaqūlu ʾanā ʿalā ʾīmāni jibrīla wamīkāʾīla ʿalayhimā al-salāmu.
Al-Ḥasan and his companions called the people of innovation hypocrites, while Ibn Sīrīn and his companions called them Khārijites. Ibn Abī Mulayka said, “I encountered one hundred and thirty,” or, in another version, “five hundred Companions of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, all of whom feared hypocrisy for themselves.” On another occasion he said, “Not one of them said, ‘My faith is like that of Gabriel and Michael, peace be upon them.’”
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ وَأَبِي سَعِيدٍ قَالَ: الْإِرْجَاءُ بِدْعَةٌ، وَقَالَ أَبُو أَيُّوبَ: أَنَا أَكْبَرُ مِنَ الْإِرْجَاءِ، أَوَّلُ مَنْ أَحْدَثَ الْإِرْجَاءَ رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْمَدِينَةِ ذَكَرَهُ، وَقَالَ قَتَادَةُ: لَعَنَ اللَّهُ دِينًا أَنَا أَكْبَرُ مِنْهُ، وَإِنَّمَا ظَهَرَ الْإِرْجَاءُ بَعْدَ هَزِيمَةِ اِبْنِ الْأَشْعَثِ يَعْنِي فِي وِلَايَةِ الْحَجَّاجِ.
waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin waʾabī saʿīdin qāla: al-ʾirjāʾu bidʿatun, waqāla ʾabū ʾayyūba: ʾanā ʾakbaru mina al-ʾirjāʾi, ʾawwalu man ʾaḥdatha al-ʾirjāʾa rajulun min ʾahli al-madīnati dhakarahu, waqāla qatādatu: laʿana Allāhu dīnan ʾanā ʾakbaru minhu, waʾinnamā ẓahara al-ʾirjāʾu baʿda hazīmati ibni al-ʾashʿathi yaʿnī fī wilāyati al-ḥajjāji.
We have related from ʿAlī and Abū Saʿīd the statement, “Irjāʾ is an innovation.” Abū Ayyūb said, “I am older than irjāʾ. The first to introduce it was a man of Medina,” whom he named. Qatāda said, “God curse a religion younger than I am!” Irjāʾ appeared only after Ibn al-Ashʿath’s defeat, that is, during al-Ḥajjāj’s governorship.
وَقَالَ سُفْيَانُ الثَّوْرِيُّ: مَنْ قَالَ أَنَا مُؤْمِنٌ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ فَهُوَ مِنَ الْكَذَّابِينَ، وَمَنْ قَالَ أَنَا مُؤْمِنٌ حَقًّا فَهُوَ بِدْعَةٌ، قِيلَ: فَمَا يَقُولُ؟ قَالَ: (قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَى إِبْرَاهِيمَ) الْبَقَرَةُ: 136، الْآيَةَ.
waqāla sufyānu al-thawriyyu: man qāla ʾanā muʾminun ʿinda Allāhi fahuwa mina al-kadhdhābīna, waman qāla ʾanā muʾminun ḥaqqan fahuwa bidʿatun, qīla: famā yaqūlu? qāla: (qūlū ʾāmannā bi-Allāhi wamā ʾunzila ʾilaynā wamā ʾunzila ʾilā ʾibrāhīma) al-baqaratu: 136, al-ʾāyata.
Sufyān al-Thawrī said, “Whoever says, ‘I am a believer in God’s sight,’ is one of the liars. Whoever says, ‘I am a believer in truth,’ is guilty of innovation.” He was asked, “Then what should he say?” He replied, “‘Say, “We believe in God, in what has been sent down to us, and in what was sent down to Abraham”’ (al-Baqara 2:136), and the rest of the verse.”
فَقِيلَ لِلْحَسَنِ: أَمُؤْمِنٌ أَنْتَ؟ قَالَ: إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ، فَقِيلَ: تَسْتَثْنِي يَا أَبَا سَعِيدٍ فِي الْإِيمَانِ؟ فَقَالَ: أَخَافُ أَنْ أَقُولَ نَعَمْ فَيَقُولَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: كَذَبْتَ يَا حَسَنُ فَيَحِقَّ عَلَيَّ الْكَلِمَةُ، وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: مَا يُؤْمِنُنِي أَنْ يَكُونَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ قَدِ اِطَّلَعَ عَلَيَّ فِي بَعْضِ مَا يَكْرَهُ فَمَقَتَنِي، وَقَالَ: اِذْهَبْ لَا قَبِلْتُ لَكَ عَمَلًا أَبَدًا فَأَنَا أَعْمَلُ فِي غَيْرِ مَعْمَلٍ.
faqīla li-l-ḥasani: ʾamuʾminun ʾanta? qāla: ʾin shāʾa Allāhu, faqīla: tastathnī yā ʾabā saʿīdin fī al-ʾīmāni? faqāla: ʾakhāfu ʾan ʾaqūla naʿam fayaqūla Allāhu taʿālā: kadhabta yā ḥasanu fayaḥiqqa ʿalayya al-kalimatu, wakāna yaqūlu: mā yuʾminunī ʾan yakūna Allāhu ʿazza wajalla qadi iṭṭalaʿa ʿalayya fī baʿḍi mā yakrahu famaqatanī, waqāla: idhhab lā qabiltu laka ʿamalan ʾabadan faʾanā ʾaʿmalu fī ghayri maʿmalin.
Al-Ḥasan was asked, “Are you a believer?” He replied, “If God wills.” They asked, “Abū Saʿīd, do you qualify your faith?” He said, “I fear saying yes and having God Most High say, ‘You have lied, Ḥasan,’ so that the sentence becomes binding upon me.” He used to say, “What assures me that God, Mighty and Majestic, has not seen me doing something He dislikes, become displeased with me, and said, ‘Go! I shall never accept a deed from you’? Then I would be working where work is of no avail.”
وَكَانَ جَمَاعَةٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْعِلْمِ يَرَوْنَ السُّؤَالَ عَنْ قَوْلِهِ: أَمُؤْمِنٌ أَنْتَ؟ بِدْعَةً، وَيَقُولُ بَعْضُهُمْ: إِذَا قِيلَ لَكَ أَمُؤْمِنٌ أَنْتَ؟ فَقُلْ: آمَنْتُ بِاللَّهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ، وَقَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ: إِذَا قِيلَ لَكَ أَمُؤْمِنٌ أَنْتَ؟ فَقُلْ: مَا أَشُكُّ فِي الْإِيمَانِ وَسُؤَالُكَ إِيَّايَ بِدْعَةٌ.
wakāna jamāʿatun min ʾahli al-ʿilmi yarawna al-suʾāla ʿan qawlihi: ʾamuʾminun ʾanta? bidʿatan, wayaqūlu baʿḍuhum: ʾidhā qīla laka ʾamuʾminun ʾanta? faqul: ʾāmantu bi-Allāhi wakutubihi warusulihi, waqāla ʾibrāhīmu: ʾidhā qīla laka ʾamuʾminun ʾanta? faqul: mā ʾashukku fī al-ʾīmāni wasuʾāluka ʾiyyāya bidʿatun.
A number of scholars considered the question “Are you a believer?” an innovation. Some said, “If someone asks you, ‘Are you a believer?’ say, ‘I believe in God, His books, and His messengers.’” Ibrāhīm said, “If you are asked, ‘Are you a believer?’ say, ‘I have no doubt about faith, but your asking me is an innovation.’”
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنِ الثَّوْرِيِّ عَنِ الْحَسَنِ بْنِ عُبَيْدِ اللَّهِ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ النَّخَعِيِّ: إِذَا سُئِلْتَ أَمُؤْمِنٌ أَنْتَ؟ فَقُلْ: لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ، وَمَنْصُورٍ عَنْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ قَالَ: سُئِلَ عَلْقَمَةُ فَقَالَ: أَمُؤْمِنٌ أَنْتَ؟ فَقَالَ: أَرْجُو ذَاكَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ، وَكَانَ الثَّوْرِيُّ يَقُولُ: نَحْنُ مُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَمَا نَدْرِي مَا نَحْنُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ.
warawaynā ʿani al-thawriyyi ʿani al-ḥasani bni ʿubaydi Allāhi ʿan ʾibrāhīma al-nakhaʿiyyi: ʾidhā suʾilta ʾamuʾminun ʾanta? faqul: lā ʾilāha ʾillā Allāhu, wamanṣūrin ʿan ʾibrāhīma qāla: suʾila ʿalqamatu faqāla: ʾamuʾminun ʾanta? faqāla: ʾarjū dhāka ʾin shāʾa Allāhu, wakāna al-thawriyyu yaqūlu: naḥnu muʾminūna bi-Allāhi wamalāʾikatihi warusulihi wamā nadrī mā naḥnu ʿinda Allāhi.
We have related from al-Thawrī, from al-Ḥasan ibn ʿUbayd Allāh, from Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī: “If you are asked, ‘Are you a believer?’ say, ‘There is no god but God.’” And from Manṣūr, from Ibrāhīm: ʿAlqama was asked, “Are you a believer?” He replied, “I hope so, if God wills.” Al-Thawrī used to say, “We believe in God, His angels, and His messengers, but we do not know what we are in God’s sight.”
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: أَنَا مُؤْمِنٌ بِالْإِيمَانِ غَيْرُ شَاكٍّ فِيهِ وَلَا أَدْرِي أَنَا مِمَّنْ قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا أَمْ لَا. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: لَوْ عُرِضَتْ عَلَيَّ الشَّهَادَةُ عِنْدَ بَابِ الدَّارِ وَالْمَوْتُ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ
waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: ʾanā muʾminun bi-al-ʾīmāni ghayru shākkin fīhi walā ʾadrī ʾanā mimman qāla Allāhu subḥānahu ʾulāʾika humu al-muʾminūna ḥaqqan ʾam lā. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: law ʿuriḍat ʿalayya al-shahādatu ʿinda bābi al-dāri wa-al-mawtu ʿalā al-tawḥīdi
One scholar said, “I believe in faith without doubting it, but I do not know whether I am among those of whom God, glorified is He, said, ‘Those are the believers in truth.’” One of the knowers said, “If martyrdom were offered to me at the house door, and death affirming divine oneness
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣١
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 231
Volume Two, page 231
عِنْدَ بَابِ الْحُجْرَةِ لَاِخْتَرْتُ الْمَوْتَ عَلَى الشَّهَادَةِ، قِيلَ: وَلِمَ؟ قَالَ: لِأَنِّي لَا أَدْرِي مَا يَعْرِضُ لِقَلْبِي مِنَ التَّغَيُّرِ عَنِ التَّوْحِيدِ مِنْ بَابِ الْحُجْرَةِ إِلَى بَابِ الدَّارِ.
ʿinda bābi al-ḥujrati la-ikhtartu al-mawta ʿalā al-shahādati, qīla: walima? qāla: liʾannī lā ʾadrī mā yaʿriḍu liqalbī mina al-taghayyuri ʿani al-tawḥīdi min bābi al-ḥujrati ʾilā bābi al-dāri.
at the chamber door, I would choose death over martyrdom.” He was asked, “Why?” He replied, “Because I do not know what change away from divine oneness might overtake my heart between the chamber door and the house door.”
وَقَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ: سَمِعْتُ فُلَانًا، يَعْنِي بَعْضَ الْأُمَرَاءِ، يَتَكَلَّمُ عَلَى الْمِنْبَرِ بِكَلَامٍ أَرَدْتُ أَنْ أَقُومَ فَأُنْكِرَ عَلَيْهِ فَخَشِيتُ أَنْ يَأْمُرَ بِقَتْلِي، فَلَمْ يَكُنْ بِي أَنْ أَمُوتَ وَلَٰكِنْ خَشِيتُ أَنْ يَعْرِضَ لِقَلْبِي التَّزَيُّنُ لِلْخَلْقِ بِأَنِّي أَمَرْتُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ عَلَى الْإِمَامِ وَقُتِلْتُ فِي اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ عِنْدَ خُرُوجِ رُوحِي فَكَفَفْتُ عَنْ ذَلِكَ.
waqāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu: samiʿtu fulānan, yaʿnī baʿḍa al-ʾumarāʾi, yatakallamu ʿalā al-minbari bikalāmin ʾaradtu ʾan ʾaqūma faʾunkira ʿalayhi fakhashītu ʾan yaʾmura biqatlī, falam yakun bī ʾan ʾamūta walākin khashītu ʾan yaʿriḍa liqalbī al-tazayyunu li-l-khalqi biʾannī ʾamartu bi-al-maʿrūfi ʿalā al-ʾimāmi waqutiltu fī Allāhi ʿazza wajalla ʿinda khurūji rūḥī fakafaftu ʿan dhālika.
Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī said, “I heard so-and-so,” meaning one of the rulers, “say something from the pulpit, and I wanted to stand and rebuke him. I feared that he would order my death. Dying itself did not trouble me, but I feared that as my soul departed my heart might be touched by a wish to impress people: that I had commanded the ruler to do right and been killed for God, Mighty and Majestic. So I refrained.”
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعَارِفِينَ: لَوْ عَرَفْتُ أَحَدًا عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ خَمْسِينَ سَنَةً ثُمَّ حَالَتْ بَيْنِي وَبَيْنَهُ سَارِيَةٌ ثُمَّ مَاتَ، لَمْ أَحْكُمْ أَنَّهُ مَاتَ عَلَى التَّوْحِيدِ لِعِلْمِي بِسُرْعَةِ تَقْلِيبِ الْقُلُوبِ، وَقَالَ مَنْصُورُ بْنُ زَادٍ: إِنْ كَانَ الرَّجُلُ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا سُئِلَ قَالَ: أَنَا مُؤْمِنٌ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ.
waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿārifīna: law ʿaraftu ʾaḥadan ʿalā al-tawḥīdi khamsīna sanatan thumma ḥālat baynī wabaynahu sāriyatun thumma māta, lam ʾaḥkum ʾannahu māta ʿalā al-tawḥīdi liʿilmī bisurʿati taqlībi al-qulūbi, waqāla manṣūru bnu zādin: ʾin kāna al-rajulu min ʾaṣḥābi al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾidhā suʾila qāla: ʾanā muʾminun ʾin shāʾa Allāhu.
One of the knowers said, “Even if I had known someone to affirm divine oneness for fifty years, then a pillar came between us and he died, I would not judge that he died affirming divine oneness, because I know how swiftly hearts are turned.” Manṣūr ibn Zād said, “A Companion of the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, when asked, would say, ‘I am a believer, if God wills.’”
وَقَالَ أَبُو وَائِلٍ: قَالَ رَجُلٌ لِاِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ: لَقِيتُ رَكْبًا فَقَالُوا: نَحْنُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ، فَقَالَ: أَلَا قَالُوا نَحْنُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ؟ وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ لِرَجُلٍ: أَمُؤْمِنٌ أَنْتَ؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، فَذُكِرَ ذَلِكَ لِاِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ فَقَالَ: سَلُوهُ أَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ أَنْتَ؟ فَقَالَ: أَرْجُو، فَقَالَ: أَلَا رَجَيْتَ الْأُولَى كَمَا رَجَيْتَ الثَّانِيَةَ؟
waqāla ʾabū wāʾilin: qāla rajulun li-ibni masʿūdin: laqītu rakban faqālū: naḥnu al-muʾminūna, faqāla: ʾalā qālū naḥnu min ʾahli al-jannati? waqāla baʿḍu ʾaṣḥābi ʿabdi Allāhi lirajulin: ʾamuʾminun ʾanta? qāla: naʿam, fadhukira dhālika li-ibni masʿūdin faqāla: salūhu ʾamin ʾahli al-jannati ʾanta? faqāla: ʾarjū, faqāla: ʾalā rajayta al-ʾūlā kamā rajayta al-thāniyata?
Abū Wāʾil said: “A man told Ibn Masʿūd, ‘I met a party of riders who said, “We are the believers.”’ He replied, ‘Why did they not say, “We are people of the Garden”?’” One of ʿAbd Allāh’s companions asked a man, “Are you a believer?” He said, “Yes.” When this was mentioned to Ibn Masʿūd, he said, “Ask him, ‘Are you among the people of the Garden?’” He replied, “I hope so.” Ibn Masʿūd said, “Why did you not express hope in the first case as you did in the second?”
وَنَقَشَ اِبْنٌ لِبَعْضِ التَّابِعِينَ عَلَى خَاتَمِهِ: فُلَانٌ لَا يُشْرِكُ بِاللَّهِ تَعَالَى شَيْئًا فَقَالَ أَبُوهُ: هَذَا أَقْبَحُ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: أَقْرَبُ النَّاسِ مِنَ النِّفَاقِ مَنْ يَرَى أَنَّهُ أَبْعَدُهُمْ مِنْهُ عِنْدَ نَفْسِهِ.
wanaqasha ibnun libaʿḍi al-tābiʿīna ʿalā khātamihi: fulānun lā yushriku bi-Allāhi taʿālā shayʾan faqāla ʾabūhu: hādhā ʾaqbaḥu mina al-shirki. waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: ʾaqrabu al-nāsi mina al-nifāqi man yarā ʾannahu ʾabʿaduhum minhu ʿinda nafsihi.
A son of one of the Successors engraved on his ring, “So-and-so associates nothing with God Most High.” His father said, “This is uglier than association itself.” One of the early authorities said, “The person nearest to hypocrisy is the one who, in his own estimation, thinks himself furthest from it.”
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ جَالِسًا فِي جَمَاعَةٍ مِنْ أَصْحَابِهِ فَذَكَرُوا رَجُلًا وَمَدَحُوهُ وَأَحْسَنُوا الثَّنَاءَ عَلَيْهِ، فَبَيْنَاهُمْ كَذَلِكَ إِذْ طَلَعَ عَلَيْهِمُ الرَّجُلُ يَقْطُرُ وَجْهُهُ مَاءً مِنْ أَثَرِ الْوُضُوءِ قَدْ عَلَّقَ نَعْلَيْهِ بِيَدَيْهِ وَبَيْنَ عَيْنَيْهِ أَثَرُ السُّجُودِ فَقَالُوا: يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ هَذَا هُوَ الرَّجُلُ الَّذِي وَصَفْنَا لَكَ آنِفًا.
wafī al-khabari: ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna jālisan fī jamāʿatin min ʾaṣḥābihi fadhakarū rajulan wamadaḥūhu waʾaḥsanū al-thanāʾa ʿalayhi, fabaynāhum kadhālika ʾidh ṭalaʿa ʿalayhimu al-rajulu yaqṭuru wajhuhu māʾan min ʾathari al-wuḍūʾi qad ʿallaqa naʿlayhi biyadayhi wabayna ʿaynayhi ʾatharu al-sujūdi faqālū: yā rasūla Allāhi hādhā huwa al-rajulu alladhī waṣafnā laka ʾānifan.
A report says that the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, was sitting with a group of his Companions. They mentioned a man, praised him, and spoke highly of him. While they were doing so, the man appeared, his face dripping water from ablution, his sandals hanging from his hands, and a mark of prostration between his eyes. They said, “Messenger of God, this is the man we were just describing to you.”
فَلَمَّا نَظَرَ إِلَيْهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: أَرَى عَلَى وَجْهِهِ سَفْعَةً مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ، يَعْنِي ظُلْمَةً، فَجَاءَ الرَّجُلُ حَتَّى سَلَّمَ وَجَلَسَ مَعَ الْقَوْمِ فَقَالَ لَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: نَشَدْتُكَ اللَّهَ هَلْ حَدَّثْتَ نَفْسَكَ حِينَ أَشْرَفْتَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ أَنَّهُ لَيْسَ فِيهِمْ خَيْرٌ مِنْكَ؟ فَقَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ نَعَمْ.
falammā naẓara ʾilayhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: ʾarā ʿalā wajhihi safʿatan mina al-shayṭāni, yaʿnī ẓulmatan, fajāʾa al-rajulu ḥattā sallama wajalasa maʿa al-qawmi faqāla lahu al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: nashadtuka Allāha hal ḥaddathta nafsaka ḥīna ʾashrafta ʿalā al-qawmi ʾannahu laysa fīhim khayrun minka? faqāla: Allāhumma naʿam.
When he looked at him, God bless him and grant him peace, he said, “I see a stain from Satan on his face,” meaning darkness. The man came, greeted them, and sat with the group. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said to him, “I adjure you by God: when you came into view of these people, did you tell yourself that no one among them was better than you?” He replied, “O God, yes.”
فِي الْحَدِيثِ: مَنْ قَالَ إِنِّي مُؤْمِنٌ فَهُوَ كَافِرٌ، وَمَنْ قَالَ إِنِّي عَالِمٌ فَهُوَ جَاهِلٌ، وَمَنْ قَالَ إِنِّي فِي الْجَنَّةِ فَهُوَ فِي النَّارِ، وَعَلَّمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ الصِّدِّيقَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى دُعَاءً قَالَ: قُلْ فِيهِ: اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَعُوذُ بِكَ أَنْ أُشْرِكَ بِكَ وَأَنَا أَعْلَمُ، وَأَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا لَا أَعْلَمُ، وَجَاءَ فِي الْخَبَرِ: الشِّرْكُ
fī al-ḥadīthi: man qāla ʾinnī muʾminun fahuwa kāfirun, waman qāla ʾinnī ʿālimun fahuwa jāhilun, waman qāla ʾinnī fī al-jannati fahuwa fī al-nāri, waʿallama rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾabā bakrin al-ṣiddīqa raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā duʿāʾan qāla: qul fīhi: Allāhumma ʾinnī ʾaʿūdhu bika ʾan ʾushrika bika waʾanā ʾaʿlamu, waʾastaghfiruka limā lā ʾaʿlamu, wajāʾa fī al-khabari: al-shirku
A report says, “Whoever says, ‘I am a believer,’ is an unbeliever; whoever says, ‘I am learned,’ is ignorant; and whoever says, ‘I am in the Garden,’ is in the Fire.” The Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, taught Abū Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, may God Most High be pleased, a supplication, saying, “Say in it: ‘O God, I seek refuge in You from knowingly associating anything with You, and ask Your forgiveness for what I do not know.’” A report also says, “Association
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٢
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 232
Volume Two, page 232
فِي أُمَّتِي أَخْفَى مِنْ دَبِيبِ النَّمْلِ عَلَى الصَّفَا، وَكَانَ مِنْ دُعَاءِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: إِنِّي أَسْتَغْفِرُكَ لِمَا عَلِمْتُ وَمَا لَمْ أَعْلَمْ، فَقِيلَ لَهُ: أَتَخَافُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟ قَالَ: وَمَا يُؤْمِنُنِي وَالْقُلُوبُ بَيْنَ أُصْبُعَيْنِ مِنْ أَصَابِعِ الرَّحْمَنِ يُقَلِّبُهَا كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ.
fī ʾummatī ʾakhfā min dabībi al-namli ʿalā al-ṣafā, wakāna min duʿāʾi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾinnī ʾastaghfiruka limā ʿalimtu wamā lam ʾaʿlam, faqīla lahu: ʾatakhāfu yā rasūla Allāhi? qāla: wamā yuʾminunī wa-al-qulūbu bayna ʾuṣbuʿayni min ʾaṣābiʿi al-raḥmāni yuqallibuhā kayfa yashāʾu.
in my community is more hidden than ants creeping over smooth rock.” Among the supplications of the Messenger of God, God bless him and grant him peace, was, “I ask Your forgiveness for what I have known and what I have not known.” He was asked, “Do you fear, Messenger of God?” He replied, “What can assure me, when hearts are between two fingers of the All-Merciful, who turns them as He wills?”
وَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (وَبَدَا لَهُمْ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْتَسِبُونَ) الزُّمَرُ: 47، قِيلَ: عَمِلُوا أَعْمَالًا ظَنُّوا أَنَّهَا حَسَنَاتٌ، فَلَمَّا كَانَ عِنْدَ الْحِسَابِ وَالْمِيزَانِ وَجَدُوهَا سَيِّئَاتٍ، وَقِيلَ كَانَتْ هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ مَبْكَاةَ الْعَابِدِينَ.
waqāla Allāhu taʿālā: (wabadā lahum mina Allāhi mā lam yakūnū yaḥtasibūna) al-zumaru: 47, qīla: ʿamilū ʾaʿmālan ẓannū ʾannahā ḥasanātun, falammā kāna ʿinda al-ḥisābi wa-al-mīzāni wajadūhā sayyiʾātin, waqīla kānat hādhihi al-ʾāyatu mabkāta al-ʿābidīna.
God Most High said, “There will appear to them from God what they had never anticipated” (al-Zumar 39:47). It was explained: they performed deeds they thought good, but at the reckoning and the scales they found them to be evil. It was said that this verse was a cause of weeping for worshippers.
وَقِيلَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا) الْأَنْعَامُ: 115، وَقِيلَ: صِدْقًا لِمَنْ مَاتَ عَلَى الْإِيمَانِ وَعَدْلًا لِمَنْ مَاتَ عَلَى الشِّرْكِ كَقَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: (إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَتُ رَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ وَلَوْ جَاءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ آيَةٍ) يُونُسُ: 96 - 97.
waqīla fī maʿnā qawlihi taʿālā: (watammat kalimatu rabbika ṣidqan waʿadlan) al-ʾanʿāmu: 115, waqīla: ṣidqan liman māta ʿalā al-ʾīmāni waʿadlan liman māta ʿalā al-shirki kaqawlihi taʿālā: (ʾinna alladhīna ḥaqqat ʿalayhim kalimatu rabbika lā yuʾminūna walaw jāʾathum kullu ʾāyatin) yūnusu: 96 - 97.
Concerning His words, exalted is He, “Your Lord’s word has been fulfilled in truth and justice” (al-Anʿām 6:115), it was said: in truth for those who die in faith, and in justice for those who die associating partners with God. This resembles His saying, exalted is He, “Those against whom your Lord’s word has become binding will not believe, even if every sign comes to them” (Yūnus 10:96–97).
وَقَالَ سُبْحَانَهُ: (وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَالٌ مِنْ دُونِ ذَلِكَ هُمْ لَهَا عَامِلُونَ) الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 63، وَقَالَ: (يَنَالُهُمْ نَصِيبُهُمْ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ) الْأَعْرَافُ: 37، وَقَالَ: (وَإِنَّا لَمُوَفُّوهُمْ نَصِيبَهُمْ غَيْرَ مَنْقُوصٍ) هُودٌ: 109، وَقَالَ: (وَلِلَّهِ عَاقِبَةُ الْأُمُورِ) الْحَجُّ: 41، وَقَالَ: (لَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ فِي السَّمٰوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ الْغَيْبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ) النَّمْلُ: 65.
waqāla subḥānahu: (walahum ʾaʿmālun min dūni dhālika hum lahā ʿāmilūna) al-muʾminūna: 63, waqāla: (yanāluhum naṣībuhum mina al-kitābi) al-ʾaʿrāfu: 37, waqāla: (waʾinnā lamuwaffūhum naṣībahum ghayra manqūṣin) hūdun: 109, waqāla: (wa-li-llāhi ʿāqibatu al-ʾumūri) al-ḥajju: 41, waqāla: (lā yaʿlamu man fī al-samāwāti wa-al-ʾarḍi al-ghayba ʾillā Allāhu) al-namlu: 65.
He said, glorified is He, “They have other deeds besides these which they will perform” (al-Muʾminūn 23:63); “Their allotted portion from the Book will reach them” (al-Aʿrāf 7:37); “We shall certainly give them their portion in full, without diminution” (Hūd 11:109); “To God belongs the outcome of all affairs” (al-Ḥajj 22:41); and, “No one in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except God” (al-Naml 27:65).
فَالِاسْتِثْنَاءُ فِي الْإِيمَانِ هُوَ مِنَ الْإِيمَانِ، وَالِاسْتِثْنَاءُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ مِنْ عَلَامَةِ الْأَوْلِيَاءِ، وَالْإِشْفَاقُ مِنَ الشِّرْكِ وَالنِّفَاقِ، هُوَ مِنْ مَزِيدِ الْإِيمَانِ لِئَلَّا يَسْكُنَ الْعَبْدُ إِلَى شَيْءٍ وَلَا يُزَكِّيَ نَفْسَهُ بِشَيْءٍ.
fa-al-istithnāʾu fī al-ʾīmāni huwa mina al-ʾīmāni, wa-al-istithnāʾu fī kulli shayʾin min ʿalāmati al-ʾawliyāʾi, wa-al-ʾishfāqu mina al-shirki wa-al-nifāqi, huwa min mazīdi al-ʾīmāni liʾallā yaskuna al-ʿabdu ʾilā shayʾin walā yuzakkiya nafsahu bishayʾin.
Qualifying one’s profession of faith is itself part of faith. Qualifying everything is a sign of God’s friends, and apprehension about association and hypocrisy belongs to faith’s increase, so that the servant rests in nothing and declares himself pure on no account.
وَقَالَ سَرِيٌّ السَّقَطِيُّ: لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا دَخَلَ إِلَى بُسْتَانٍ فِيهِ مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْأَشْجَارِ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ جَمِيعِ الْأَطْيَارِ فَخَاطَبَهُ كُلُّ طَيْرٍ مِنْهَا بِلُغَةٍ فَقَالَ السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ يَا وَلِيَّ اللَّهِ فَسَكَنَتْ نَفْسُهُ إِلَى ذَلِكَ كَانَ أَسِيرًا فِي أَيْدِيهَا.
waqāla sariyyun al-saqaṭiyyu: law ʾanna rajulan dakhala ʾilā bustānin fīhi min jamīʿi al-ʾashjāri ʿalayhā min jamīʿi al-ʾaṭyāri fakhāṭabahu kullu ṭayrin minhā bilughatin faqāla al-salāmu ʿalayka yā waliyya Allāhi fasakanat nafsuhu ʾilā dhālika kāna ʾasīran fī ʾaydīhā.
Sarī al-Saqaṭī said, “If a man entered a garden containing every kind of tree, with every kind of bird upon them, and each bird addressed him in a language, saying, ‘Peace be upon you, friend of God,’ and his soul found repose in that, he would be a captive in their hands.”
الْفَصْلُ السَّادِسُ وَالثَّلَاثُونَ فِي فَضَائِلِ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ وَالطَّرِيقَةِ وَطُرُقِ السَّلَفِ مِنَ الْأَئِمَّةِ
al-faṣlu al-sādisu wa-al-thalāthūna fī faḍāʾili ʾahli al-sunnati wa-al-ṭarīqati waṭuruqi al-salafi mina al-ʾaʾimmati
Chapter Thirty-Six: The Merits of the People of the Sunna and the Path, and the Ways of the Imams of Earlier Generations
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٣
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 233
Volume Two, page 233
السُّنَّةُ اِسْمٌ مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ الطَّرِيقِ، وَهُوَ اِسْمٌ لِلطَّرِيقِ الْأَقْوَمِ، يُقَالُ: طَرِيقٌ وَطَرِيقَةٌ وَسَنَنٌ وَسُنَّةٌ وَحُجَّةٌ وَمَحَجَّةٌ.
al-sunnatu ismun min ʾasmāʾi al-ṭarīqi, wahuwa ismun li-l-ṭarīqi al-ʾaqwami, yuqālu: ṭarīqun waṭarīqatun wasananun wasunnatun waḥujjatun wamaḥajjatun.
Sunna is one of the words for a way, specifically the most upright way. The terms include ṭarīq, ṭarīqa, sanan, sunna, ḥujja, and maḥajja.
فَمِنْ فَضَائِلِ السُّنَّةِ وَطَرِيقِ أَهْلِهَا التَّقَلُّلُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ، وَالْقَنَاعَةُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِأَدْنَى شَيْءٍ، وَالتَّوَاضُعُ لِلَّهِ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: فَضْلُ الْعِبَادَةِ التَّوَاضُعُ.
famin faḍāʾili al-sunnati waṭarīqi ʾahlihā al-taqallulu mina al-dunyā fī kulli shayʾin, wa-al-qanāʿatu mina Allāhi taʿālā biʾadnā shayʾin, wa-al-tawāḍuʿu li-llāhi bikulli shayʾin. wafī al-khabari: faḍlu al-ʿibādati al-tawāḍuʿu.
Among the merits of the Sunna and the way of its people are taking little of this world in everything, being content with the smallest thing from God Most High, and humbling oneself before God in everything. A report says, “The excellence of worship is humility.”
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَرْبَعٌ لَا يُوجَدْنَ إِلَّا بِعَجَبٍ: التَّوَاضُعُ، وَهُوَ أَوَّلُ الْعِبَادَةِ، وَالصَّمْتُ، وَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَقِلَّةُ الشَّيْءِ.
warawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾarbaʿun lā yūjadna ʾillā biʿajabin: al-tawāḍuʿu, wahuwa ʾawwalu al-ʿibādati, wa-al-ṣamtu, wadhikru Allāhi taʿālā, waqillatu al-shayʾi.
We have transmitted from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Four things are found only to one’s wonder: humility, which is the beginning of worship; silence; remembrance of God Most High; and having little.”
وَاِعْلَمْ أَنَّ التَّوَاضُعَ يَظْهَرُ بِمَعَانٍ خَمْسَةٍ: بِالْقَوْلِ، وَالْفِعْلِ، وَالزِّيِّ، وَالْأَثَاثِ، وَالْمَنْزِلِ. يَكُونُ فِي الْمُؤْمِنِ بَعْضُهَا، فَمَنْ كَمُلَتْ فِيهِ فَهُوَ مُتَوَاضِعٌ.
wa-iʿlam ʾanna al-tawāḍuʿa yaẓharu bimaʿānin khamsatin: bi-al-qawli, wa-al-fiʿli, wa-al-ziyyi, wa-al-ʾathāthi, wa-al-manzili. yakūnu fī al-muʾmini baʿḍuhā, faman kamulat fīhi fahuwa mutawāḍiʿun.
Know that humility appears in five things: speech, action, dress, furnishings, and one’s home. A believer may possess some of these; whoever possesses them all is humble.
وَالْكِبْرُ ضِدُّ التَّوَاضُعِ، وَهُوَ يَظْهَرُ أَيْضًا بِأَضْدَادِ هَذِهِ الْخَمْسَةِ. يُبْتَلَى الْمُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضِهَا وَيُعَافَى مِنَ الْبَعْضِ، فَمَنْ كَمُلَتْ فِيهِ فَهُوَ مُتَكَبِّرٌ، وَحَقِيقَتُهَا فِي الْقَلْبِ وَظَاهِرُهَا بِالْأَفْعَالِ وَالْأَقْوَالِ.
wa-al-kibru ḍiddu al-tawāḍuʿi, wahuwa yaẓharu ʾayḍan biʾaḍdādi hādhihi al-khamsati. yubtalā al-muʾminu bibaʿḍihā wayuʿāfā mina al-baʿḍi, faman kamulat fīhi fahuwa mutakabbirun, waḥaqīqatuhā fī al-qalbi waẓāhiruhā bi-al-ʾafʿāli wa-al-ʾaqwāli.
Pride is humility’s opposite and likewise appears in the opposites of these five things. A believer may be afflicted with some and spared others; whoever possesses them all is proud. Their inward reality lies in the heart, while their outward signs appear in actions and words.
ثُمَّ الْوَرَعُ عَنِ الشُّبُهَاتِ وَالْمُشْكِلَاتِ مِنَ الْعُلُومِ وَالْأَعْمَالِ: أَنْ لَا يُقْدِمَ عَلَيْهَا بِنُطْقٍ أَوْ عَمَلٍ، وَلَا يَعْتَقِدَ نَفْيَهَا وَلَا إِثْبَاتَهَا، خَشْيَةَ أَنْ يَكُونَ مُعْتَقِدَ الْبَاطِلِ أَوْ نَافِيًا لِحَقٍّ.
thumma al-waraʿu ʿani al-shubuhāti wa-al-mushkilāti mina al-ʿulūmi wa-al-ʾaʿmāli: ʾan lā yuqdima ʿalayhā binuṭqin ʾaw ʿamalin, walā yaʿtaqida nafyahā walā ʾithbātahā, khashyata ʾan yakūna muʿtaqida al-bāṭili ʾaw nāfiyan liḥaqqin.
Next comes scrupulous restraint concerning doubtful or obscure matters of knowledge and action: one should not venture into them in speech or deed, nor believe them false or true, for fear of embracing falsehood or denying a truth.
بَلْ يَكُونُ اِعْتِقَادُهُ فِيهَا تَسْلِيمًا لِلَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ، وَيَقُولُ: آمَنْتُ بِحَقَائِقِهَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى. فَذَلِكَ تَعَبُّدٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِيمَا تَشَابَهَ مِنَ الْأُمُورِ، أَنْ يَسْكُتُوا وَيُسَلِّمُوا.
bal yakūnu iʿtiqāduhu fīhā taslīman li-llāhi ʿazza wajalla, wayaqūlu: ʾāmantu biḥaqāʾiqihā ʿinda Allāhi taʿālā. fa-dhālika taʿabbudun mina Allāhi ʿazza wajalla li-l-muʾminīna fīmā tashābaha mina al-ʾumūri, ʾan yaskutū wayusallimū.
Instead, one’s conviction concerning them should be submission to God, mighty and majestic, saying, “I believe in their realities as they are with God Most High.” This is the worship God, mighty and majestic, requires of believers regarding ambiguous matters: to remain silent and submit.
وَبِذَلِكَ وَصَفَ الرَّاسِخِينَ فِي الْعِلْمِ، وَأَقْسَمَ بِنَفْسِهِ عَلَى نَفْيِ إِيمَانِ مَنْ لَمْ يُسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيمًا، وَجَعَلَ التَّسْلِيمَ مَزِيدَ الْإِيمَانِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمَا زَادَهُمْ إِلَّا إِيمَانًا وَتَسْلِيمًا﴾ الْأَحْزَابِ: 22.
wabi-dhālika waṣafa al-rāsikhīna fī al-ʿilmi, waʾaqsama binafsihi ʿalā nafyi ʾīmāni man lam yusallim taslīman, wajaʿala al-taslīma mazīda al-ʾīmāni fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿wamā zādahum ʾillā ʾīmānan wataslīman﴾ al-ʾaḥzābi: 22.
Thus He described those firmly grounded in knowledge. He swore by Himself that anyone who fails to submit completely lacks faith, and made submission an increase in faith in His saying, exalted is He, “It only increased them in faith and submission” (al-Aḥzāb 33:22).
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: إِنَّمَا الْأُمُورُ ثَلَاثَةٌ: أَمْرٌ اِسْتَبَانَ رُشْدُهُ فَاِتَّبِعْهُ، وَأَمْرٌ اِسْتَبَانَ غَيُّهُ فَاِجْتَنِبْهُ، وَأَمْرٌ أَشْكَلَ عَلَيْهِ فَكِلْهُ إِلَى عَالِمِهِ.
wafī al-khabari: ʾinnamā al-ʾumūru thalāthatun: ʾamrun istabāna rushduhu fa-ittabiʿhu, waʾamrun istabāna ghayyuhu fa-ijtanibhu, waʾamrun ʾashkala ʿalayhi fakilhu ʾilā ʿālimihi.
A report says, “Matters are only of three kinds: something whose rightness is clear, so follow it; something whose error is clear, so avoid it; and something that has proved obscure to him, so entrust it to the one who knows it.”
وَكَذَلِكَ اِبْنُ مَسْعُودٍ يَقُولُ: إِنَّ لِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ مَنَارًا كَمَنَارِ الطَّرِيقِ، فَمَا عَرَفْتُمْ مِنْهُ فَاِعْمَلُوا بِهِ، وَمَا لَمْ تَعْلَمُوهُ فَكِلُوهُ إِلَى عَالِمِهِ.
wa-kadhālika ibnu masʿūdin yaqūlu: ʾinna li-hādhā al-qurʾāni manāran kamanāri al-ṭarīqi, famā ʿaraftum minhu fa-iʿmalū bihi, wamā lam taʿlamūhu fakilūhu ʾilā ʿālimihi.
Ibn Masʿūd likewise says, “This Qurʾān has guideposts like the guideposts of a road. Act upon what you recognize in it, and entrust what you do not know to the one who knows it.”
وَكَانَ أَيْضًا يَقُولُ: أَنْتُمُ الْيَوْمَ فِي زَمَانٍ خَيْرُكُمْ فِيهِ الْمُسَارِعُ، وَسَيَأْتِي عَلَيْكُمْ زَمَانٌ يَكُونُ خَيْرُكُمْ فِيهِ الْمُتَبَيِّنُ؛ يَعْنِي لِوُضُوحِ الْحَقِّ فِي الْقَرْنِ الْأَوَّلِ وَلِدُخُولِ الشُّبُهَاتِ فِي زَمَانِنَا
wakāna ʾayḍan yaqūlu: ʾantumu al-yawma fī zamānin khayrukum fīhi al-musāriʿu, wasayaʾtī ʿalaykum zamānun yakūnu khayrukum fīhi al-mutabayyinu; yaʿnī liwuḍūḥi al-ḥaqqi fī al-qarni al-ʾawwali walidukhūli al-shubuhāti fī zamāninā
He also used to say, “Today you live in a time when the best of you is the one quickest to act; a time will come when the best of you will be the one who examines matters carefully.” He meant that truth was clear in the first generation, whereas doubts have entered our present
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٤
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 234
Volume Two, page 234
هَذَا، فَصَارَ الْحَقُّ غَامِضًا، فَكَانَ خَيْرُ النَّاسِ الْيَوْمَ الْمُتَثَبِّتَ بِالْوَرَعِ، كَمَا أَخْبَرَ أَنَّ خَيْرَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ الْمُسَارِعُ بِالْفَضْلِ.
hādhā, faṣāra al-ḥaqqu ghāmiḍan, fakāna khayru al-nāsi al-yawma al-mutathabbita bi-al-waraʿi, kamā ʾakhbara ʾanna khayrahum yawmaʾidhin al-musāriʿu bi-al-faḍli.
time. Truth has therefore become obscure, and the best person today is the one who proceeds cautiously through scrupulous restraint, just as he reported that the best person then was the one quickest to pursue excellence.
وَمِمَّا يَدُلُّكَ أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ هُوَ التَّسْلِيمُ، كَمَا أَنَّ الْإِيمَانَ هُوَ التَّصْدِيقُ، أَنَّ فِي قِرَاءَةِ بَعْضِ التَّابِعِينَ مِنْهُمْ جَعْفَرُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَاهُ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ وَمُحَمَّدِ بْنِ عَلِيٍّ أَنَّهُمَا قَرَآ: ﴿وَاِجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمِينَ لَكَ﴾ الْبَقَرَةِ: 128.
wamimmā yadulluka ʾanna al-ʾīmāna huwa al-taslīmu, kamā ʾanna al-ʾīmāna huwa al-taṣdīqu, ʾanna fī qirāʾati baʿḍi al-tābiʿīna minhum jaʿfaru bnu muḥammadin, waqad rawaynāhu ʿan ʾabī jaʿfarin wamuḥammadi bni ʿaliyyin ʾannahumā qaraʾā: ﴿wa-ijʿalnā muslimīna laka﴾ al-baqarati: 128.
One indication that faith means submission, just as faith means assent, is a reading of certain Successors, including Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad. We have also transmitted it from Abū Jaʿfar and Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī: the two read, “And make us submitters to You” (al-Baqara 2:128).
وَقَرَآ أَيْضًا: ﴿الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِآيَاتِنَا وَكَانُوا مُسْلِمِينَ﴾ الزُّخْرُفِ: 69. فَلَوْلَا أَنَّهُمَا بِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ لَمْ يَجُزْ أَنْ يُخَالِفُوا الْمَعْنَى فِي الْمَقْرُوءِ.
waqaraʾā ʾayḍan: ﴿alladhīna ʾāmanū biʾāyātinā wakānū muslimīna﴾ al-zukhrufi: 69. falawlā ʾannahumā bimaʿnan wāḥidin lam yajuz ʾan yukhālifū al-maʿnā fī al-maqrūʾi.
They also read, “Those who believed in Our signs and were submitters” (al-Zukhruf 43:69). If the two terms did not have a single meaning, it would not have been permissible for them to alter the meaning in what was recited.
وَكَذَلِكَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، فِي الْأَمْرِ الْمُتَشَابِهِ الَّذِي يُشْبِهُ الْحَقَّ مِنْ جِهَةٍ وَيُشْبِهُ الْبَاطِلَ مِنْ جِهَةٍ: لَا تُصَدِّقُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ وَلَا تُكَذِّبُوهُمْ، وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا: آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ.
wa-kadhālika qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, fī al-ʾamri al-mutashābihi alladhī yushbihu al-ḥaqqa min jihatin wayushbihu al-bāṭila min jihatin: lā tuṣaddiqū ʾahla al-kitābi walā tukadhdhibūhum, wa-lākin qūlū: ʾāmannā bi-Allāhi wamā ʾunzila ʾilaynā wamā ʾunzila ʾilaykum.
Likewise, concerning an ambiguous matter that resembles truth in one respect and falsehood in another, God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Neither affirm nor deny what the People of the Book tell you. Instead say, ‘We believe in God and what was sent down to us and to you.’”
هَذَا لِأَنَّ اللَّهَ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى أَنْزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ، فَهِيَ حَقٌّ، ثُمَّ أَخْبَرَ أَنَّهُمْ قَدْ حَرَّفُوهَا، فَاِحْتَمَلَ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَا يُخْبِرُونَ بِهِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِمَّا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى، فَلَا يَحِلُّ التَّكْذِيبُ بِهِ وَلَا اِعْتِقَادُ نَفْيِهِ.
hādhā liʾanna Allāha subḥānahu wataʿālā ʾanzala al-tawrāta, fahiya ḥaqqun, thumma ʾakhbara ʾannahum qad ḥarrafūhā, fa-iḥtamala ʾan yakūna mā yukhbirūna bihi al-muʾminīna mimmā ʾanzala Allāhu taʿālā, falā yaḥillu al-takdhību bihi walā iʿtiqādu nafyihi.
This is because God, glorified and exalted, sent down the Torah, so it is true; yet He then reported that they had altered it. What they tell believers might therefore belong to what God Most High sent down, in which case denying it or believing it false would be unlawful.
وَاِحْتَمَلَ مَا يُخْبِرُونَ بِهِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنَّهُمْ حَرَّفُوا، فَلَا يَحِلُّ قَبُولُهُ وَلَا اِعْتِقَادُ ثُبُوتِهِ، فَأَمَرَهُمُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِإِيقَافِ ذَلِكَ وَالْإِيمَانِ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى جُمْلَةً، فَإِنْ كَانَ مَا أَخْبَرُوهُمْ حَقًّا دَخَلَ فِيهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ بَاطِلًا لَمْ يَضُرَّهُ.
wa-iḥtamala mā yukhbirūna bihi al-muʾminīna ʾannahum ḥarrafū, falā yaḥillu qabūluhu walā iʿtiqādu thubūtihi, faʾamarahumu al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama biʾīqāfi dhālika wa-al-ʾīmāni bimā ʾanzala Allāhu taʿālā jumlatan, faʾin kāna mā ʾakhbarūhum ḥaqqan dakhala fīhi, waʾin kāna bāṭilan lam yaḍurrahu.
What they tell believers might also be something they altered, in which case accepting it or believing it established would be unlawful. The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, therefore instructed them to suspend judgment and believe collectively in what God Most High sent down. If the account was true, that belief included it; if false, it did him no harm.
فَالْمُسْلِمُ هُوَ الَّذِي يُسَلِّمُ مَا لَمْ يَظْهَرْ دَلِيلُهُ فِي الْعَقْلِ لِأَجْلِ الْقُدْرَةِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَالنَّقْلِ، كَمَا أَنَّ الْمُؤْمِنَ هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَدِّقُ بِمَا لَمْ يَظْهَرْ بِمُشَاهَدَةِ الْعَيْنِ: الْإِيمَانُ بِالْغَيْبِ، لِأَنَّ الْعَقْلَ بَصَرُهُ الْقَلْبُ كَالْعَيْنِ بَصَرِ الْجِسْمِ.
fa-al-muslimu huwa alladhī yusallimu mā lam yaẓhar dalīluhu fī al-ʿaqli liʾajli al-qudrati wa-al-sunnati wa-al-naqli, kamā ʾanna al-muʾmina huwa alladhī yuṣaddiqu bimā lam yaẓhar bimushāhadati al-ʿayni: al-ʾīmānu bi-al-ghaybi, liʾanna al-ʿaqla baṣaruhu al-qalbu ka-al-ʿayni baṣari al-jismi.
The Muslim is thus one who submits regarding something whose proof is not evident to reason, on account of divine power, the Sunna, and transmitted testimony. Likewise, the believer assents to what has not appeared to the eye: belief in the unseen. For reason has the heart as its sight, as the eye is the body’s sight.
وَقَدْ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: رُفِعَ الْقَلَمُ عَنِ الْمَجْنُونِ حَتَّى يَعْقِلَ، كَمَا قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿لَيْسَ عَلَى الْأَعْمَى حَرَجٌ﴾ النُّورِ: 61.
waqad qāla al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: rufiʿa al-qalamu ʿani al-majnūni ḥattā yaʿqila, kamā qāla Allāhu taʿālā: ﴿laysa ʿalā al-ʾaʿmā ḥarajun﴾ al-nūri: 61.
The Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “The pen is lifted from the person deprived of reason until he regains it,” just as God Most High said, “There is no blame upon the blind” (al-Nūr 24:61).
ثُمَّ تَرْكُ مَا لَا يَعْنِي مِمَّا قَدْ كُفِيَ وَمِمَّا لَمْ يَكِلْ إِلَيْهِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ وَالْفِعْلِ، لِأَنَّ الدُّخُولَ فِيمَا لَا يَعْنِي هُوَ التَّكَلُّفُ الْمَنْهِيُّ عَنْهُ الَّذِي أَخْبَرَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّ الْأَتْقِيَاءَ مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ بُرَاءُ مِنْهُ.
thumma tarku mā lā yaʿnī mimmā qad kufiya wamimmā lam yakil ʾilayhi mina al-qawli wa-al-fiʿli, liʾanna al-dukhūla fīmā lā yaʿnī huwa al-takallufu al-manhiyyu ʿanhu alladhī ʾakhbara rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾanna al-ʾatqiyāʾa min ʾummatihi burāʾu minhu.
Next comes leaving aside what does not concern one: speech and action already attended to on one’s behalf or never entrusted to one. Involvement in what does not concern one is the forbidden affectation from which God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, declared the God-fearing of his community free.
وَهُوَ يُشْغِلُ وَيَقْطَعُ عَمَّا يَعْنِي، وَفِيمَا يَعْنِي شُغْلٌ عَمَّا لَا يَعْنِي لِكُلِّ فَطِنٍ عَاقِلٍ. وَهُوَ أَصْلُ الْحِكْمَةِ فِيمَا أَخْبَرَ بِهِ لُقْمَانُ لَمَّا سُئِلَ: أَنَّى أُوتِيَ الْحِكْمَةَ؟ قَالَ: بِشَيْئَيْنِ: لَا أَتَكَلَّفُ مَا كُفِيتُ، وَلَا أُضَيِّعُ مَا كُلِّفْتُ.
wahuwa yushghilu wayaqṭaʿu ʿammā yaʿnī, wafīmā yaʿnī shughlun ʿammā lā yaʿnī likulli faṭinin ʿāqilin. wahuwa ʾaṣlu al-ḥikmati fīmā ʾakhbara bihi luqmānu lammā suʾila: ʾannā ʾūtiya al-ḥikmata? qāla: bishayʾayni: lā ʾatakallafu mā kufītu, walā ʾuḍayyiʿu mā kulliftu.
It occupies one and cuts one off from what does concern one. Any perceptive, rational person finds enough occupation in what concerns him to leave the rest aside. This is wisdom’s foundation, as Luqmān explained when asked how he had been given wisdom: “Through two things: I do not burden myself with what is taken care of for me, and I do not neglect what I am charged with.”
فَهَذَا شَيْءٌ لَا يَضُرُّ جَهْلُهُ وَلَا يَنْفَعُ فِعْلُهُ، وَلِأَنَّهُ شَيْءٌ كُتِبَ عَلَيْهِ لَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ فِيهِ فَضْلٌ، وَإِنْ سُمِعَ مِنْهُ وَظَهَرَ بِهِ، وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ فِيهِ مَزِيدٌ وَلَا لِغَيْرِهِ نَفْعٌ.
fa-hādhā shayʾun lā yaḍurru jahluhu walā yanfaʿu fiʿluhu, waliʾannahu shayʾun kutiba ʿalayhi lam yakun lahu fīhi faḍlun, waʾin sumiʿa minhu waẓahara bihi, walam yakun lahu fīhi mazīdun walā lighayrihi nafʿun.
This is something ignorance of which does no harm, and doing which brings no benefit. Since it is something recorded against him, he gains no merit through it, even if it is heard from him and makes him conspicuous; it brings him no increase and benefits no one else.
ثُمَّ كَفُّ الْأَذَى، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنَ الْوَرَعِ. وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَقُولُ: كَفُّ الْأَذَى كَسْبُ الْعَقْلِ، وَاِحْتِمَالُ الْأَذَى كَسْبُ الْعِلْمِ، وَالنَّصِيحَةُ لِلْخَلْقِ وَالرَّحْمَةُ لَهُمْ كَسْبُ الْإِيمَانِ.
thumma kaffu al-ʾadhā, faʾinna dhālika mina al-waraʿi. wakāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yaqūlu: kaffu al-ʾadhā kasbu al-ʿaqli, wa-iḥtimālu al-ʾadhā kasbu al-ʿilmi, wa-al-naṣīḥatu li-l-khalqi wa-al-raḥmatu lahum kasbu al-ʾīmāni.
Next comes refraining from harm, for that belongs to scrupulous restraint. Sahl, God Most High have mercy on him, used to say, “Refraining from harm is reason’s gain; bearing harm is knowledge’s gain; sincere concern for creatures and mercy toward them are faith’s gain.”
مِنَ الْعَمَلِ فِي قَطْعِ مَا قَدِ اِعْتَادَ مِنْ عَاجِلِ حُظُوظِ النَّفْسِ مِمَّا يَقْطَعُهُ عَنِ الْعَمَلِ لِأَجْلِ الْآخِرَةِ، وَإِعْمَالِ النَّفْسِ وَإِجْهَادِهَا، وَأَنْ لَا يَكُونَ لَهَا مُعْتَادٌ مِنْ شَهْوَةٍ تَعُودُ عَلَى النَّفْسِ مِنْهُ مُنَازَعَةٌ.
mina al-ʿamali fī qaṭʿi mā qadi iʿtāda min ʿājili ḥuẓūẓi al-nafsi mimmā yaqṭaʿuhu ʿani al-ʿamali liʾajli al-ʾākhirati, waʾiʿmāli al-nafsi waʾijhādihā, waʾan lā yakūna lahā muʿtādun min shahwatin taʿūdu ʿalā al-nafsi minhu munāzaʿatun.
Among such practices is cutting off the immediate gratifications to which the self has grown accustomed and which interrupt work for the hereafter, setting the self to work and exerting it, and allowing it no habitual appetite that returns to contend with it.
فَإِنَّ الْعَادَةَ جُنْدٌ غَالِبٌ لِأَجْلِهَا تَعَذَّرَتِ التَّوْبَةُ، وَلِغَلَبَتِهَا رَجَعَ الْعَبْدُ عَنِ الْاِسْتِقَامَةِ، وَهِيَ بَابٌ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الْهَوَى، إِلَّا فِيمَا أُمِرَ بِهِ الْعَبْدُ أَوْ نُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ.
faʾinna al-ʿādata jundun ghālibun liʾajlihā taʿadhdharati al-tawbatu, walighalabatihā rajaʿa al-ʿabdu ʿani al-istiqāmati, wahiya bābun min ʾabwābi al-hawā, ʾillā fīmā ʾumira bihi al-ʿabdu ʾaw nudiba ʾilayhi.
Habit is an overpowering army: because of it repentance becomes difficult, and through its ascendancy the servant turns away from uprightness. It is a gate of caprice, except in matters the servant has been commanded or encouraged to pursue.
قَالَ أَبُو سُلَيْمَانَ الدَّارَانِيُّ: إِنْ قَدَرْتَ أَنْ لَا يَكُونَ لَكَ وَقْتٌ مُعْتَادٌ فِي الْأَكْلِ تُنَازِعُكَ نَفْسُكَ إِلَيْهِ فَاِفْعَلْ. وَقَالَ: لَأَنْ أَتْرُكَ لُقْمَةً مِنْ عَشَائِي أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ قِيَامِ لَيْلَةٍ؛ أَيْ لِنَقْصِ النَّفْسِ مِنَ الْمُعْتَادِ وَالتَّقَلُّلِ أَيْضًا.
qāla ʾabū sulaymāna al-dārāniyyu: ʾin qadarta ʾan lā yakūna laka waqtun muʿtādun fī al-ʾakli tunāziʿuka nafsuka ʾilayhi fa-ifʿal. waqāla: laʾan ʾatruka luqmatan min ʿashāʾī ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya min qiyāmi laylatin; ʾay linaqṣi al-nafsi mina al-muʿtādi wa-al-taqalluli ʾayḍan.
Abū Sulaymān al-Dārānī said, “If you can avoid having a customary mealtime toward which your self pulls you, do so.” He also said, “Leaving a morsel of my supper is dearer to me than spending a night in prayer.” This means depriving the self of some of its customary share, and also taking little.
وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: تَرْكُ شَهْوَةٍ مِنْ شَهَوَاتِ
waqāla ʾayḍan: tarku shahwatin min shahawāti
He also said, “Abandoning one of the appetites of
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٥
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 235
Volume Two, page 235
النَّفْسِ أَنْفَعُ لِلْقَلْبِ مِنْ صِيَامِ سَنَةٍ وَقِيَامِهَا. هَذَا كُلُّهُ خَشْيَةَ إِيلَافِ الْعَادَاتِ، فَتُنَازِعَ النَّفْسُ إِلَى الْأَلْفِ فَلَا يُمْكِنُكَ ضَبْطُهَا لِغَلَبَةِ الْوَصْفِ.
al-nafsi ʾanfaʿu li-l-qalbi min ṣiyāmi sanatin waqiyāmihā. hādhā kulluhu khashyata ʾīlāfi al-ʿādāti, fatunāziʿa al-nafsu ʾilā al-ʾalfi falā yumkinuka ḍabṭuhā lighalabati al-waṣfi.
the self benefits the heart more than a year of fasting and night prayer.” All this is for fear of becoming attached to habits, so that the self strains toward familiar things and you can no longer control it because the disposition has prevailed.
ثُمَّ حُسْنُ الصَّبْرِ عَلَى مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ، وَحُسْنُ الصَّبْرِ عَمَّا نُهِيَ عَنْهُ، فَإِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَلَهُ فَضَائِلُ الْمَزِيدِ وَالْكَمَالِ.
thumma ḥusnu al-ṣabri ʿalā mā ʾumira bihi, waḥusnu al-ṣabri ʿammā nuhiya ʿanhu, faʾinna dhālika min ʾafḍali al-ʾaʿmāli walahu faḍāʾilu al-mazīdi wa-al-kamāli.
Next comes steadfast patience in doing what one has been commanded and in refraining from what one has been forbidden. This is among the finest deeds and carries the merits of increase and perfection.
وَفِي حَدِيثِ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: اِتَّقِ الْمَحَارِمَ تَكُنْ مِنْ أَعْبَدِ النَّاسِ. وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: تَكُنْ مِنْ أَوْرَعِ النَّاسِ.
wafī ḥadīthi ʾabī hurayrata ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ittaqi al-maḥārima takun min ʾaʿbadi al-nāsi. wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: takun min ʾawraʿi al-nāsi.
In Abū Hurayra’s report from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Avoid forbidden things and you will be among the most worshipful of people.” Another wording says, “You will be among the most scrupulous of people.”
وَمِنْ أَحْسَنِ مَا سَمِعْتُهُ مِنْ عَظِيمِ الْمَثُوبَةِ فِي الصَّبْرِ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ مَا حَدَّثُونَا فِي الْإِسْرَائِيلِيَّاتِ: أَنَّ رَجُلًا تَزَوَّجَ اِمْرَأَةً مِنْ بَلْدَةٍ، وَكَانَ بَيْنَهُمَا مَسِيرَةُ شَهْرٍ، فَأَرْسَلَ إِلَى غُلَامٍ لَهُ مِنْ تِلْكَ الْبَلْدَةِ لِيَحْمِلَهَا إِلَيْهِ، فَسَارَ بِهَا يَوْمًا.
wamin ʾaḥsani mā samiʿtuhu min ʿaẓīmi al-mathūbati fī al-ṣabri ʿani al-maʿṣiyati mā ḥaddathūnā fī al-ʾisrāʾīliyyāti: ʾanna rajulan tazawwaja imraʾatan min baldatin, wakāna baynahumā masīratu shahrin, faʾarsala ʾilā ghulāmin lahu min tilka al-baldati liyaḥmilahā ʾilayhi, fasāra bihā yawman.
Among the finest accounts I have heard of the immense reward for patiently resisting sin is this Israelite narrative told to us. A man married a woman from a town a month’s journey away. He sent to a servant of his in that town to bring her to him, and the servant traveled with her for a day.
فَلَمَّا جَنَّهُ اللَّيْلُ أَتَاهُ الشَّيْطَانُ فَقَالَ لَهُ: إِنَّ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ زَوْجِهَا مَسِيرَةَ شَهْرٍ، فَلَوْ تَمَتَّعْتَ بِهَا لَيَالِيَ هَذَا الشَّهْرِ إِلَى أَنْ تَصِلَ إِلَى زَوْجِهَا، فَإِنَّهَا لَا تَكْرَهُ ذَلِكَ وَتُثْنِي عَلَيْكَ عِنْدَ سَيِّدِكَ فَتَكُونُ أَحْظَى لَكَ عِنْدَهُ.
falammā jannahu al-laylu ʾatāhu al-shayṭānu faqāla lahu: ʾinna baynaka wabayna zawjihā masīrata shahrin, falaw tamattaʿta bihā layāliya hādhā al-shahri ʾilā ʾan taṣila ʾilā zawjihā, faʾinnahā lā takrahu dhālika watuthnī ʿalayka ʿinda sayyidika fatakūnu ʾaḥẓā laka ʿindahu.
When night covered him, Satan came and said, “A month’s journey separates you from her husband. Why not enjoy her through the nights of this month until you reach him? She will not dislike it and will praise you to your master, giving you greater favor with him.”
فَقَامَ الْغُلَامُ يُصَلِّي فَقَالَ: يَا رَبِّ، إِنَّ عَدُوَّكَ هَذَا جَاءَنِي فَسَوَّلَ لِي مَعْصِيَتَكَ، وَإِنَّهُ لَا طَاقَةَ لِي بِهِ فِي مُدَّةِ شَهْرٍ، وَأَنَا أَسْتَعِيذُكَ عَلَيْهِ يَا رَبِّ، فَأَعِذْنِي عَلَيْهِ وَاِكْفِنِي مَؤُونَتَهُ.
faqāma al-ghulāmu yuṣallī faqāla: yā rabbi, ʾinna ʿaduwwaka hādhā jāʾanī fasawwala lī maʿṣiyataka, waʾinnahu lā ṭāqata lī bihi fī muddati shahrin, waʾanā ʾastaʿīdhuka ʿalayhi yā rabbi, faʾaʿidhnī ʿalayhi wa-ikfinī maʾūnatahu.
The servant stood in prayer and said, “My Lord, this enemy of Yours has come and made disobedience to You seem attractive to me. I cannot withstand him for a month. I seek Your protection against him, my Lord: protect me against him and spare me his trouble.”
فَلَمْ تَزَلْ نَفْسُهُ تُرَاوِدُهُ لَيْلَتَهُ أَجْمَعَ وَهُوَ يُجَاهِدُهَا حَتَّى أَسْحَرَ، فَشَدَّ عَلَى دَابَّةِ الْمَرْأَةِ وَحَمَلَهَا وَسَارَ بِهَا. قَالَ: فَرَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى فَطَوَى لَهُ مَسِيرَةَ شَهْرٍ، فَمَا بَرَقَ الْفَجْرُ حَتَّى أَشْرَفَ عَلَى مَدِينَةِ مَوْلَاهُ.
falam tazal nafsuhu turāwiduhu laylatahu ʾajmaʿa wahuwa yujāhiduhā ḥattā ʾasḥara, fashadda ʿalā dābbati al-marʾati waḥamalahā wasāra bihā. qāla: faraḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā faṭawā lahu masīrata shahrin, famā baraqa al-fajru ḥattā ʾashrafa ʿalā madīnati mawlāhu.
His self kept tempting him throughout the night while he struggled against it until daybreak drew near. He saddled the woman’s mount, put her on it, and set off with her. God Most High then had mercy on him and folded up a month’s journey for him: before dawn flashed, his master’s city came into view.
قَالَ: وَشَكَرَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ هَرَبَهُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ مَعْصِيَتِهِ فَنَبَّأَهُ، فَكَانَ نَبِيًّا مِنْ أَنْبِيَاءِ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ.
qāla: washakara Allāhu taʿālā lahu harabahu ʾilayhi min maʿṣiyatihi fanabbaʾahu, fakāna nabiyyan min ʾanbiyāʾi banī ʾisrāʾīla.
The narrator said: God Most High rewarded his flight to Him from disobedience by making him a prophet; he became one of the prophets of the Children of Israel.
ثُمَّ إِعْدَادُ الْعُدَّةِ لِمَا يُسْتَقْبَلُ إِذَا كَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ مُرِيدِي السَّعْيِ لِلْآخِرَةِ، وَالشُّغْلُ بِالنَّفْسِ وَالْإِقْبَالُ عَلَيْهَا دُونَ النَّاسِ فَقَدْ وَجَبَ ذَلِكَ، وَالزُّهْدُ فِي فُضُولِ الشَّهَوَاتِ وَاِجْتِنَابُ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الشُّبُهَاتِ فَقَدِ اُفْتُرِضَ ذَلِكَ.
thumma ʾiʿdādu al-ʿuddati limā yustaqbalu ʾidhā kāna dhālika min murīdī al-saʿyi li-l-ʾākhirati, wa-al-shughlu bi-al-nafsi wa-al-ʾiqbālu ʿalayhā dūna al-nāsi faqad wajaba dhālika, wa-al-zuhdu fī fuḍūli al-shahawāti wa-ijtinābu kathīrin mina al-shubuhāti faqadi ufturiḍa dhālika.
Next comes making preparations for what lies ahead, when this is undertaken by those who seek to strive for the hereafter. Occupying oneself with one’s own self and attending to it rather than other people is obligatory. Renouncing excessive appetites and avoiding many doubtful matters have likewise been prescribed as duties.
وَقِلَّةُ الذِّكْرِ لِلنَّاسِ وَلِأُمُورِ الدُّنْيَا فَقَدْ حَسُنَ ذَلِكَ، وَمِنْهُ غَفْلَةٌ وَقَسْوَةٌ لِلْقَلْبِ، وَكَثْرَةُ الذِّكْرِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى وَالتَّذْكِيرِ بِهِ وَذِكْرِ آلَائِهِ وَنَعْمَائِهِ وَحُسْنُ الثَّنَاءِ عَلَيْهِ وَالْمَدْحُ لَهُ.
waqillatu al-dhikri li-l-nāsi waliʾumūri al-dunyā faqad ḥasuna dhālika, waminhu ghaflatun waqaswatun li-l-qalbi, wakathratu al-dhikri li-llāhi taʿālā wa-al-tadhkīri bihi wadhikri ʾālāʾihi wanaʿmāʾihi waḥusnu al-thanāʾi ʿalayhi wa-al-madḥu lahu.
Speaking little of people and worldly affairs is commendable, for such talk produces heedlessness and hardness of heart. One should abundantly remember God Most High, remind others of Him, recall His gifts and blessings, and offer Him fine praise and commendation.
وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَقُولُ: مَنْ جَالَسَنَا فَلْيَجْتَنِبْ ذِكْرَ ثَلَاثِ خِصَالٍ وَلْيَقْضِ فِيمَا يَشَاءُ: يَجْتَنِبْ ذِكْرَ النَّاسِ فَإِنَّهُمْ دَاءٌ، وَيَجْتَنِبْ ذِكْرَ الدُّنْيَا فَإِنَّهَا قَسْوَةٌ، وَيَجْتَنِبْ كَثْرَةَ الطَّعَامِ فَإِنَّهَا شَرَهٌ.
waqad kāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yaqūlu: man jālasanā falyajtanib dhikra thalāthi khiṣālin walyaqḍi fīmā yashāʾu: yajtanib dhikra al-nāsi faʾinnahum dāʾun, wayajtanib dhikra al-dunyā faʾinnahā qaswatun, wayajtanib kathrata al-ṭaʿāmi faʾinnahā sharahun.
One scholar used to say, “Let whoever sits with us avoid mentioning three things, and then take up whatever he wishes: avoid mentioning people, for they are a disease; avoid mentioning this world, for it brings hardness; and avoid excessive food, for that is greed.”
وَقَالَ عَالِمٌ آخَرُ: مَنْ جَالَسَنَا فَلَا يَذْكُرْ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَحْدَهُ، فَإِنْ كَانَ لَا بُدَّ مِنْ ذِكْرِ غَيْرِهِ فَلْيَذْكُرِ الْآخِرَةَ وَلْيَذْكُرِ الصَّالِحِينَ.
waqāla ʿālimun ʾākharu: man jālasanā falā yadhkur ʾillā Allāha waḥdahu, faʾin kāna lā budda min dhikri ghayrihi falyadhkuri al-ʾākhirata walyadhkuri al-ṣāliḥīna.
Another scholar said, “Whoever sits with us should mention God alone. If something else must be mentioned, let him mention the hereafter and the righteous.”
وَكَانَ سَهْلٌ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى وَرَضِيَ عَنْهُ يَقُولُ: السُّنَّةُ مَا كَانَ عَلَيْهِ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ، وَأَوَّلُ السُّنَّةِ الزُّهْدُ فِي الدُّنْيَا لِأَنَّهُمْ كَانُوا زَاهِدِينَ.
wakāna sahlun raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā waraḍiya ʿanhu yaqūlu: al-sunnatu mā kāna ʿalayhi al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʾaṣḥābuhu, waʾawwalu al-sunnati al-zuhdu fī al-dunyā liʾannahum kānū zāhidīna.
Sahl, God Most High have mercy on him and be pleased with him, used to say, “The Sunna is what the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions followed. Its beginning is renunciation of this world, for they were renunciants.”
وَكَذَلِكَ جَاءَ الْخَبَرُ فِي وَصْفِ الْفِرْقَةِ النَّاجِيَةِ: مَنْ كَانَ عَلَى مَا أَنَا عَلَيْهِ وَأَصْحَابِي. فَقَدْ كَانُوا عَلَى هَذِهِ الْأَوْصَافِ الَّتِي ذَكَرْنَاهَا، فَمَنْ كَانَ عَلَى ذَلِكَ فَهُوَ عَلَى السُّنَّةِ، فَهَذِهِ فَضَائِلُ السُّنَّةِ وَهُوَ مَزِيدُ الْإِيمَانِ وَحُسْنُ الْيَقِينِ.
wa-kadhālika jāʾa al-khabaru fī waṣfi al-firqati al-nājiyati: man kāna ʿalā mā ʾanā ʿalayhi waʾaṣḥābī. faqad kānū ʿalā hādhihi al-ʾawṣāfi allatī dhakarnāhā, faman kāna ʿalā dhālika fahuwa ʿalā al-sunnati, fa-hādhihi faḍāʾilu al-sunnati wahuwa mazīdu al-ʾīmāni waḥusnu al-yaqīni.
Likewise, a report describes the saved group as “those who follow what I and my Companions follow.” They possessed these qualities we have mentioned; whoever possesses them follows the Sunna. These are the Sunna’s merits: increased faith and sound certainty.
ذِكْرُ عُرَى الْإِيمَانِ وَجُمَلِ الشَّرِيعَةِ
dhikru ʿurā al-ʾīmāni wajumali al-sharīʿati
The Bonds of Faith and the Principles of the Sacred Law
قَالَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ وَصَدَقَتْ أَنْبَاؤُهُ: ﴿ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاكَ عَلَى شَرِيعَةٍ مِنَ الْأَمْرِ فَاِتَّبِعْهَا﴾
qāla Allāhu jalla thanāʾuhu waṣadaqat ʾanbāʾuhu: ﴿thumma jaʿalnāka ʿalā sharīʿatin mina al-ʾamri fa-ittabiʿhā﴾
God, exalted be His praise and true His tidings, said, “Then We set you upon a clear way of the command, so follow it”
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٦
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 236
Volume Two, page 236
الْجَاثِيَةِ: 18. فَالشَّرِيعَةُ اِسْمٌ مِنْ أَسْمَاءِ الطَّرِيقِ، وَهُوَ اِسْمُ الطَّرِيقِ الْوَاضِحِ الْمُسْتَقِيمِ الْوَاسِعِ، وَهُوَ وَصْفٌ لِطَرِيقٍ جَامِعٍ لِجَوَامِعِ الْمَحَاجِّ كُلِّهَا، كَأَنَّهُ طَرِيقٌ يَسْتَوْعِبُ وَيَجْمَعُ سَائِرَ الطُّرُقِ.
al-jāthiyati: 18. fa-al-sharīʿatu ismun min ʾasmāʾi al-ṭarīqi, wahuwa ismu al-ṭarīqi al-wāḍiḥi al-mustaqīmi al-wāsiʿi, wahuwa waṣfun liṭarīqin jāmiʿin lijawāmiʿi al-maḥājji kullihā, kaʾannahu ṭarīqun yastawʿibu wayajmaʿu sāʾira al-ṭuruqi.
(al-Jāthiya 45:18). Sharīʿa is one of the words for a way: a clear, straight, broad road. It describes a way that encompasses all the main thoroughfares, as though it were a road containing and bringing together every other road.
وَلِلطَّرِيقِ أَسْمَاءٌ كَثِيرَةٌ مِنْهَا الصِّرَاطُ الْمُسْتَقِيمُ وَالسَّبِيلُ وَالْمِنْهَاجُ وَالْمَحَجَّةُ وَالْمَنْسَكُ. وَجَاءَ مِنِ اِشْتِقَاقِ هَذَا اللَّفْظِ أَرْبَعَةُ أَسْمَاءٍ: شَارِعٌ، وَمَشْرَعَةٌ، وَشِرْعَةٌ، وَشَرِيعَةٌ؛ وَهُوَ اِسْمٌ لِأَوْسَعِهَا وَأَوْعَبِهَا لِجَمِيعِ الطُّرُقِ.
wali-l-ṭarīqi ʾasmāʾun kathīratun minhā al-ṣirāṭu al-mustaqīmu wa-al-sabīlu wa-al-minhāju wa-al-maḥajjatu wa-al-mansaku. wajāʾa mini ishtiqāqi hādhā al-lafẓi ʾarbaʿatu ʾasmāʾin: shāriʿun, wamashraʿatun, washirʿatun, washarīʿatun; wahuwa ismun liʾawsaʿihā waʾawʿabihā lijamīʿi al-ṭuruqi.
There are many words for a way, including the straight path, sabīl, minhāj, maḥajja, and mansak. Four nouns derive from this root: shāriʿ, mashraʿa, shirʿa, and sharīʿa. The last names the broadest of them, the one most fully encompassing all ways.
فَالشَّرِيعَةُ تَشْتَمِلُ عَلَى اِثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ خَصْلَةً هِيَ جَامِعَةٌ لِأَوْصَافِ الْإِيمَانِ؛ أَوَّلُ ذَلِكَ الشَّهَادَتَانِ وَهِيَ الْفِطْرَةُ، وَالصَّلَوَاتُ الْخَمْسُ وَهِيَ الْمِلَّةُ، وَالزَّكَاةُ وَهِيَ الطُّهْرَةُ، وَالصِّيَامُ وَهُوَ الْجُنَّةُ، وَالْحَجُّ وَهُوَ الْكَمَالُ، وَالْجِهَادُ وَهُوَ النَّصْرُ.
fa-al-sharīʿatu tashtamilu ʿalā ithnatay ʿashrata khaṣlatan hiya jāmiʿatun liʾawṣāfi al-ʾīmāni; ʾawwalu dhālika al-shahādatāni wahiya al-fiṭratu, wa-al-ṣalawātu al-khamsu wahiya al-millatu, wa-al-zakātu wahiya al-ṭuhratu, wa-al-ṣiyāmu wahuwa al-junnatu, wa-al-ḥajju wahuwa al-kamālu, wa-al-jihādu wahuwa al-naṣru.
The sacred law comprises twelve qualities encompassing faith’s characteristics. First are the two testimonies, which are the primordial disposition; the five prayers, which are the religious way; almsgiving, which is purification; fasting, which is a shield; pilgrimage, which is completion; and striving in God’s cause, which is victory.
وَالْأَمْرُ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَهُوَ الْحُجَّةُ، وَالنَّهْيُ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ وَهُوَ الْوِقَايَةُ، وَالْجَمَاعَةُ وَهِيَ الْأُلْفَةُ، وَالْاِسْتِقَامَةُ وَهِيَ الْعِصْمَةُ، وَأَكْلُ الْحَلَالِ وَهُوَ الْوَرَعُ، وَالْحُبُّ وَالْبُغْضُ فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ الْوَثِيقَةُ.
wa-al-ʾamru bi-al-maʿrūfi wahuwa al-ḥujjatu, wa-al-nahyu ʿani al-munkari wahuwa al-wiqāyatu, wa-al-jamāʿatu wahiya al-ʾulfatu, wa-al-istiqāmatu wahiya al-ʿiṣmatu, waʾaklu al-ḥalāli wahuwa al-waraʿu, wa-al-ḥubbu wa-al-bughḍu fī Allāhi wahuwa al-wathīqatu.
Then come enjoining right, which is the proof; forbidding wrong, which is protection; the community, which is mutual affection; uprightness, which is safeguard; eating lawful food, which is scrupulous restraint; and loving and hating for God’s sake, which is the secure bond.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا بَعْضَ هَذِهِ الْخِصَالِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَقَدْ جَاءَ نَحْوُهَا عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَاِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا.
waqad rawaynā baʿḍa hādhihi al-khiṣāli ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, waqad jāʾa naḥwuhā ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin wa-ibni masʿūdin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhumā.
We have transmitted some of these qualities from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace; similar accounts have also come from Ibn ʿAbbās and Ibn Masʿūd, God be pleased with them both.
ذِكْرُ شَرْطِ الْمُسْلِمِ الَّذِي يَكُونُ بِهِ مُسْلِمًا
dhikru sharṭi al-muslimi alladhī yakūnu bihi musliman
The Condition by Which a Muslim Is Truly Muslim
لَا يَكُونُ مُعْتَقِدَ الْبِدْعَةِ، وَلَا مُقِيمًا عَلَى كَبِيرَةٍ، وَلَا آكِلَ الْحَرَامِ، وَلَا طَاعِنًا عَلَى صَالِحِ السَّلَفِ، وَيَكُونُ كَافَّ اللِّسَانِ وَالْيَدِ عَنْ أَعْرَاضِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَأَمْوَالِهِمْ.
lā yakūnu muʿtaqida al-bidʿati, walā muqīman ʿalā kabīratin, walā ʾākila al-ḥarāmi, walā ṭāʿinan ʿalā ṣāliḥi al-salafi, wayakūnu kāffa al-lisāni wa-al-yadi ʿan ʾaʿrāḍi al-muslimīna waʾamwālihim.
He should neither embrace innovation, persist in a grave sin, consume what is unlawful, nor disparage the righteous of earlier generations. He should restrain his tongue and hand from Muslims’ honor and property.
وَيَكُونُ نَاصِحًا لِجَمِيعِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ مُشْفِقًا عَلَيْهِمْ، يَسُرُّهُ مَا يَسُرُّهُمْ وَيَسُوءُهُ مَا يَسُوءُهُمْ، سِيَّمَا لِأَئِمَّتِهِمْ، دَاعِيًا لِجُمْلَتِهِمْ، وَيَكُونُ مُخْلِصًا لِأَعْمَالِهِ كُلِّهَا لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى.
wayakūnu nāṣiḥan lijamīʿi al-muslimīna mushfiqan ʿalayhim, yasurruhu mā yasurruhum wayasūʾuhu mā yasūʾuhum, siyyamā liʾaʾimmatihim, dāʿiyan lijumlatihim, wayakūnu mukhliṣan liʾaʿmālihi kullihā li-llāhi taʿālā.
He should sincerely wish all Muslims well and feel compassion for them, rejoicing in what pleases them and grieving at what distresses them, especially in the case of their leaders. He should pray for them all and devote all his deeds sincerely to God Most High.
وَرُوِيَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَا يُسْلِمُ عَبْدٌ حَتَّى يَسْلَمَ قَلْبُهُ وَلِسَانُهُ، وَلَا يُؤْمِنُ حَتَّى يَأْمَنَ جَارُهُ بَوَائِقَهُ.
waruwiya ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: wa-alladhī nafsī biyadihi lā yuslimu ʿabdun ḥattā yaslama qalbuhu walisānuhu, walā yuʾminu ḥattā yaʾmana jāruhu bawāʾiqahu.
It is related from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “By Him in whose hand is my soul, a servant does not become Muslim until his heart and tongue are sound, nor does he believe until his neighbor is safe from his mischief.”
وَرُوِيَ عَنْهُ: ثَلَاثٌ لَا يَغِلُّ عَلَيْهِنَّ قَلْبُ مُسْلِمٍ: إِخْلَاصُ الْعِلْمِ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَمُنَاصَحَةُ وُلَاةِ الْأَمْرِ، وَلُزُومُ الْجَمَاعَةِ، فَإِنَّ دَعْوَتَهُمْ تُحِيطُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ.
waruwiya ʿanhu: thalāthun lā yaghillu ʿalayhinna qalbu muslimin: ʾikhlāṣu al-ʿilmi li-llāhi taʿālā, wamunāṣaḥatu wulāti al-ʾamri, waluzūmu al-jamāʿati, faʾinna daʿwatahum tuḥīṭu min warāʾihim.
It is also related from him: “Three things leave no rancor in a Muslim’s heart: dedicating knowledge sincerely to God Most High, offering sincere counsel to those in authority, and holding fast to the community, for their call encompasses those behind them.”
وَمَنِ اِجْتَمَعَتْ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْخِصَالُ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا فَهُوَ مِنْ أَوْلِيَاءِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ؛ وَهَذَا أَوَّلُ وَلَايَةٍ وَأَوَّلُ نَظْرَةٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى حَامِيَةٍ عَاصِمَةٍ رَاحِمَةٍ.
wamani ijtamaʿat fīhi hādhihi al-khiṣālu fī zamāninā hādhā fahuwa min ʾawliyāʾi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla; wa-hādhā ʾawwalu walāyatin waʾawwalu naẓratin mina Allāhi taʿālā ḥāmiyatin ʿāṣimatin rāḥimatin.
Anyone who combines these qualities in our present time is among the friends of God, mighty and majestic. This is the first degree of friendship and the first protecting, preserving, merciful regard from God Most High.
وَكَتَبَ عُمَرُ بْنُ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ إِلَى سَالِمِ بْنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ: اُكْتُبْ إِلَيَّ بِسِيرَةِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ فِي النَّاسِ، فَإِنِّي أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَسِيرَ بِهَا.
wakataba ʿumaru bnu ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi ʾilā sālimi bni ʿabdi Allāhi: uktub ʾilayya bisīrati ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu fī al-nāsi, faʾinnī ʾuḥibbu ʾan ʾasīra bihā.
ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz wrote to Sālim ibn ʿAbd Allāh: “Write to me about ʿUmar’s conduct toward people, God Most High be pleased with him, for I would like to follow it.”
فَكَتَبَ إِلَيْهِ: أَمَّا بَعْدُ، فَإِنَّكَ لَسْتَ فِي زَمَانِ عُمَرَ، وَلَا لَكَ رِجَالٌ كَرِجَالِ عُمَرَ؛ فَإِنْ عَمِلْتَ فِي زَمَانِكَ هَذَا وَرِجَالِكَ هَؤُلَاءِ بِسِيرَةِ عُمَرَ فَأَنْتَ خَيْرٌ مِنْ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.
fakataba ʾilayhi: ʾammā baʿdu, faʾinnaka lasta fī zamāni ʿumara, walā laka rijālun karijāli ʿumara; faʾin ʿamilta fī zamānika hādhā warijālika hāʾulāʾi bisīrati ʿumara faʾanta khayrun min ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu.
He replied: “To proceed: you do not live in ʿUmar’s time, nor do you have men like his. If, in this time of yours and with these men of yours, you act according to ʿUmar’s conduct, then you are better than ʿUmar, God be pleased with him.”
ذِكْرُ حُسْنِ إِسْلَامِ الْمَرْءِ وَعَلَامَاتِ مَحَبَّةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى لَهُ
dhikru ḥusni ʾislāmi al-marʾi waʿalāmāti maḥabbati Allāhi taʿālā lahu
The Excellence of a Person’s Islam and the Signs of God Most High’s Love for Him
يَكُونُ مُحِبًّا لِلْخَيْرِ وَأَهْلِهِ، مُجَانِبًا لِلشَّرِّ وَأَهْلِهِ، مُسَارِعًا إِلَى مَا نُدِبَ إِلَيْهِ أَوْ أُمِرَ بِهِ إِذَا
yakūnu muḥibban li-l-khayri waʾahlihi, mujāniban li-l-sharri waʾahlihi, musāriʿan ʾilā mā nudiba ʾilayhi ʾaw ʾumira bihi ʾidhā
He should love goodness and its people, keep away from evil and its people, and hasten to what he has been encouraged or commanded to do whenever
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٧
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 237
Volume Two, page 237
قَدَرَ عَلَيْهِ، حَزِينًا عَلَى مَا فَاتَ مِنْ ذَلِكَ إِذَا أَعْجَزَهُ، تَارِكًا لِمَا لَا يَعْنِيهِ مِنَ الْأَقْوَالِ وَالْأَفْعَالِ، بَرِيئًا مِنَ التَّكَلُّفِ؛ وَهُوَ اِجْتِنَابُ مَا لَمْ يُؤْمَرْ بِهِ وَلَمْ يُنْدَبْ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ تَرْكٍ وَفِعْلٍ.
qadara ʿalayhi, ḥazīnan ʿalā mā fāta min dhālika ʾidhā ʾaʿjazahu, tārikan limā lā yaʿnīhi mina al-ʾaqwāli wa-al-ʾafʿāli, barīʾan mina al-takallufi; wahuwa ijtinābu mā lam yuʾmar bihi walam yundab ʾilayhi min tarkin wafiʿlin.
he is able, grieving over whatever he misses through inability. He should leave aside speech and action that do not concern him, free of affectation: this means avoiding omissions or actions that he has neither been commanded nor encouraged to undertake.
مُصَلِّيًا لِلْخَمْسِ فِي جَمَاعَةٍ إِذَا أَمِنَ الْفِتْنَةَ وَسَلِمَ لَهُ دِينُهُ، وَمُجْتَنِبًا لِلْغِيبَةِ وَلِذِكْرِ النَّاسِ، يُحِبُّ لِلْكَافَّةِ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ وَيَكْرَهُ لَهُمْ مَا يَكْرَهُ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَمُسَارِعًا إِلَى الْخَيْرَاتِ، مُسَابِقًا إِلَى أَعْمَالِ الْبِرِّ وَالْقُرُبَاتِ.
muṣalliyan li-l-khamsi fī jamāʿatin ʾidhā ʾamina al-fitnata wasalima lahu dīnuhu, wamujtaniban li-l-ghībati walidhikri al-nāsi, yuḥibbu li-l-kāffati mā yuḥibbu linafsihi wayakrahu lahum mā yakrahu linafsihi, wamusāriʿan ʾilā al-khayrāti, musābiqan ʾilā ʾaʿmāli al-birri wa-al-qurubāti.
He should perform the five prayers in congregation when safe from temptation and with his religion secure; avoid backbiting and talk about people; wish everyone what he wishes himself and dislike for them what he dislikes for himself; hasten to good things; and race toward righteous deeds and acts that draw him near to God.
طَوِيلَ الصَّمْتِ، لَيِّنَ الْجَانِبِ، ذَلِيلًا لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ، عَزِيزًا عَلَى الْمُتَكَبِّرِينَ، لَا يُمَارِي فِي الْبَاطِلِ وَلَا يُدَاهِنُ فِي الدِّينِ، وَلَا يُبْغِضُ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَإِنْ كَانَ عَلَيْهِ أَوْ مِنْ أَبْعَدِ النَّاسِ مِنْهُ.
ṭawīla al-ṣamti, layyina al-jānibi, dhalīlan li-l-muʾminīna, ʿazīzan ʿalā al-mutakabbirīna, lā yumārī fī al-bāṭili walā yudāhinu fī al-dīni, walā yubghiḍu ʿalā shayʾin mina al-ḥaqqi waʾin kāna ʿalayhi ʾaw min ʾabʿadi al-nāsi minhu.
He should be long silent, gentle in manner, humble toward believers, and firm before the arrogant. He should neither dispute in support of falsehood nor compromise religion, and should not hate someone over any truth, even when it goes against him or comes from someone most distant from him.
وَلَا يُحِبُّ عَلَى شَيْءٍ مِنَ الْبَاطِلِ وَإِنْ كَانَ لَهُ أَوْ مِنْ أَقْرَبِ النَّاسِ إِلَيْهِ، كَارِهًا لِلْمَدْحِ مِمَّنْ يُحِبُّهُ، قَابِلًا لِلنُّصْحِ مِمَّنْ يُبْغِضُهُ، يَكُونُ الْمَدْحُ وَالذَّمُّ يَجْرِيَانِ مِنْ قَلْبِهِ مَجْرًى وَاحِدًا.
walā yuḥibbu ʿalā shayʾin mina al-bāṭili waʾin kāna lahu ʾaw min ʾaqrabi al-nāsi ʾilayhi, kārihan li-l-madḥi mimman yuḥibbuhu, qābilan li-l-nuṣḥi mimman yubghiḍuhu, yakūnu al-madḥu wa-al-dhammu yajriyāni min qalbihi majran wāḥidan.
Nor should he love someone over any falsehood, even when it favors him or comes from someone closest to him. He should dislike praise from one who loves him and accept counsel from one who hates him. Praise and blame should flow through his heart in the same way.
صَدُوقًا فِيمَا يَضُرُّهُ، غَيْرَ مُتَصَنِّعٍ بِمَا يَسْتَعْجِلُ نَفْعَهُ، سَرِيرَتُهُ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ عَلَانِيَتِهِ، مُحْتَمِلًا لِأَذَى الْخَلْقِ، صَابِرًا عَلَى بَلَائِهِمْ، مُنْفَرِدًا بِحَالِهِ عَنْهُمْ، تَارِكًا الْكَثِيرَ مِنْ مَجَالِسِهِمْ وَاِجْتِمَاعِهِمْ خَشْيَةَ دُخُولِ الشُّبُهَاتِ عَلَيْهِ، وَخَوْفًا مِنْ تَغَيُّرِ قَلْبِهِ لَهُ.
ṣadūqan fīmā yaḍurruhu, ghayra mutaṣanniʿin bimā yastaʿjilu nafʿahu, sarīratuhu ʾafḍalu min ʿalāniyatihi, muḥtamilan liʾadhā al-khalqi, ṣābiran ʿalā balāʾihim, munfaridan biḥālihi ʿanhum, tārikan al-kathīra min majālisihim wa-ijtimāʿihim khashyata dukhūli al-shubuhāti ʿalayhi, wakhawfan min taghayyuri qalbihi lahu.
He should tell the truth even to his own detriment, without cultivating appearances for immediate advantage. His inward life should surpass his outward show. He should bear people’s harm patiently, endure the trials they cause, keep his own condition apart from theirs, and leave many of their gatherings for fear of acquiring doubts or having his heart changed by them.
وَمَنِ اِجْتَمَعَتْ فِيهِ هَذِهِ الْخِصَالُ فِي زَمَانِنَا هَذَا فَهُوَ مِنَ الْمُرِيدِينَ لِلْآخِرَةِ، وَهَذِهِ وَلَايَةٌ ثَانِيَةٌ وَنَظْرَةٌ ثَانِيَةٌ، وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ أَبْدَالَ كُلِّ قَرْنٍ عَلَى قَدْرِ زَمَانِهِمْ، وَفِي كُلِّ قَرْنٍ سَابِقُونَ وَمُقَرَّبُونَ.
wamani ijtamaʿat fīhi hādhihi al-khiṣālu fī zamāninā hādhā fahuwa mina al-murīdīna li-l-ʾākhirati, wa-hādhihi walāyatun thāniyatun wanaẓratun thāniyatun, wayuqālu: ʾinna ʾabdāla kulli qarnin ʿalā qadri zamānihim, wafī kulli qarnin sābiqūna wamuqarrabūna.
Anyone who combines these qualities in our present time is among those who seek the hereafter. This is a second degree of friendship and a second divine regard. It is said that each generation’s spiritual substitutes correspond to its time, and every generation has its foremost and those brought near.
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ أَهْلِ التَّفْسِيرِ فِي قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَنْ طَبَقٍ﴾ الْاِنْشِقَاقِ: 19، قَالَ: لَتَرْكَبُنَّ فِي كُلِّ قَرْنٍ فِي طَبَقَةٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ عَلَى حَالٍ لَمْ يَكُونُوا عَلَيْهِ.
waqāla baʿḍu ʾahli al-tafsīri fī qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿latarkabunna ṭabaqan ʿan ṭabaqin﴾ al-inshiqāqi: 19, qāla: latarkabunna fī kulli qarnin fī ṭabaqatin mina al-nāsi ʿalā ḥālin lam yakūnū ʿalayhi.
An interpreter said of His words, exalted is He, “You will surely pass from stage to stage” (al-Inshiqāq 84:19): “In every generation, among a class of people, you will enter a condition they had not previously experienced.”
وَأَكْثَرُ مَا قِيلَ فِي الْقَرْنِ مِائَةُ سَنَةٍ، وَأَقَلُّ مَا قِيلَ فِيهِ أَرْبَعُونَ، وَأَوْسَطُ ذَلِكَ وَأَعْدَلُهُ وَأَشْبَهُهُ بِحَمْلِ الْأَحَادِيثِ وَالْأَخْبَارِ فِيهِ أَنَّ الْقَرْنَ سَبْعُونَ سَنَةً؛ وَهُوَ قَوْلُ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ.
waʾaktharu mā qīla fī al-qarni miʾatu sanatin, waʾaqallu mā qīla fīhi ʾarbaʿūna, waʾawsaṭu dhālika waʾaʿdaluhu waʾashbahuhu biḥamli al-ʾaḥādīthi wa-al-ʾakhbāri fīhi ʾanna al-qarna sabʿūna sanatan; wahuwa qawlu ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu.
The longest period said to constitute a generation is a hundred years, and the shortest forty. The intermediate and most balanced reckoning, best suited to understanding the traditions and reports, is seventy years. This is ʿAlī’s view, God be pleased with him.
لِأَنَّ رَأْسَ الْمِائَتَيْنِ تَمَامُ ثَلَاثَةِ قُرُونٍ مِنَ الْمَبْعَثِ، وَنَحْنُ الْآنَ فِي الْقَرْنِ السَّادِسِ مِنْ أَوَّلِ سَنَةِ أَرْبَعِينَ وَثَلَاثِمِائَةٍ، وَآخِرُهُ سَنَةُ عَشْرٍ وَأَرْبَعِمِائَةٍ.
liʾanna raʾsa al-miʾatayni tamāmu thalāthati qurūnin mina al-mabʿathi, wanaḥnu al-ʾāna fī al-qarni al-sādisi min ʾawwali sanati ʾarbaʿīna wathalāthimiʾatin, waʾākhiruhu sanatu ʿashrin waʾarbaʿimiʾatin.
For the beginning of the year two hundred completes three generations from the prophetic mission. We are now in the sixth generation, beginning with the year three hundred and forty and ending with the year four hundred and ten.
وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ الشَّمْسَ تَطْلُعُ مِنَ الْمَغْرِبِ بَعْدَ الْقَرْنِ السَّابِعِ وَهُوَ رَأْسُ الثَّمَانِينَ وَأَرْبَعِمِائَةٍ، وَعَلَى قَوْلِ مَنْ قَالَ: الْقَرْنُ مِائَةُ سَنَةٍ، تَطْلُعُ بَعْدَ سَبْعِمِائَةِ سَنَةٍ.
wayuqālu: ʾinna al-shamsa taṭluʿu mina al-maghribi baʿda al-qarni al-sābiʿi wahuwa raʾsu al-thamānīna waʾarbaʿimiʾatin, waʿalā qawli man qāla: al-qarnu miʾatu sanatin, taṭluʿu baʿda sabʿimiʾati sanatin.
It is said that the sun will rise in the west after the seventh generation, at the beginning of the year four hundred and eighty. According to those who take a generation to be a hundred years, it will rise after seven hundred years.
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: إِنَّ مَلَكَ الْمَوْتِ إِذَا جَاءَ لِقَبْضِ رُوحِ الْمُؤْمِنِ قَالَ لَهُ مَلَكَاهُ: أَنْظِرْنَا حَتَّى نَمْلَأَ مَسَامِعَهُ مِنَ الثَّنَاءِ الْحَسَنِ. فَيَقُولَانِ: جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ عَنَّا خَيْرًا، فَإِنَّكَ كُنْتَ مَا عَلِمْنَا سَرِيعًا فِي طَاعَةِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، بَطِيئًا عَنْ مَعَاصِيهِ، تُحِبُّ الْخَيْرَ وَأَهْلَهُ وَتَعْمَلُ بِمَا اِسْتَطَعْتَ مِنْهُ.
wafī al-khabari: ʾinna malaka al-mawti ʾidhā jāʾa liqabḍi rūḥi al-muʾmini qāla lahu malakāhu: ʾanẓirnā ḥattā namlaʾa masāmiʿahu mina al-thanāʾi al-ḥasani. fayaqūlāni: jazāka Allāhu ʿannā khayran, faʾinnaka kunta mā ʿalimnā sarīʿan fī ṭāʿati Allāhi taʿālā, baṭīʾan ʿan maʿāṣīhi, tuḥibbu al-khayra waʾahlahu wataʿmalu bimā istaṭaʿta minhu.
A report says: When the angel of death comes to take the believer’s soul, his two angels say, “Give us time to fill his ears with fine praise.” They then say, “May God reward you well on our behalf. As we knew you, you were quick to obey God Most High, slow to disobey Him, loving goodness and its people and doing whatever good you could.”
فَرُبَّ كَلَامٍ حَسَنٍ قَدْ أَسْمَعْتَنَا وَمَجْلِسٍ كَرِيمٍ قَدْ أَجْلَسْتَنَا، فَأَبْشِرْ بِالْمَوْعُودِ الصِّدْقِ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكَ: الْوُقُوفِ بَيْنَ يَدَيِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى بِالشَّهَادَةِ لَكَ عِنْدَهُ غَدًا.
farubba kalāmin ḥasanin qad ʾasmaʿtanā wamajlisin karīmin qad ʾajlastanā, faʾabshir bi-al-mawʿūdi al-ṣidqi baynanā wabaynaka: al-wuqūfi bayna yadayi Allāhi taʿālā bi-al-shahādati laka ʿindahu ghadan.
“How often you let us hear fine words and seated us in an honorable gathering! Rejoice, then, in the true appointment between us and you: standing before God Most High tomorrow to testify for you in His presence.”
ذِكْرُ حَقِّ الْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ وَهُوَ وُجُوبُ حُرْمَةِ الْإِسْلَامِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِينَ
dhikru ḥaqqi al-muslimi ʿalā al-muslimi wahuwa wujūbu ḥurmati al-ʾislāmi ʿalā al-muslimīna
A Muslim’s Claim upon Another Muslim: The Obligation to Honor Islam’s Sanctity among Muslims
وَذَلِكَ عَشْرُ خِصَالٍ مَجْمُوعَةٌ مِنْ سِتَّةِ أَحَادِيثَ؛ حَدِيثِ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: لِلْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ سِتُّ خِصَالٍ وَاجِبَةٌ، وَحَدِيثِ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ: حَقُّ الْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ سِتُّ خِصَالٍ، إِنْ تَرَكَ مِنْهَا شَيْئًا تَرَكَ حَقًّا وَاجِبًا عَلَيْهِ.
wa-dhālika ʿashru khiṣālin majmūʿatun min sittati ʾaḥādītha; ḥadīthi ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: li-l-muslimi ʿalā al-muslimi sittu khiṣālin wājibatun, waḥadīthi ʾabī ʾayyūba al-ʾanṣāriyyi: ḥaqqu al-muslimi ʿalā al-muslimi sittu khiṣālin, ʾin taraka minhā shayʾan taraka ḥaqqan wājiban ʿalayhi.
These are ten qualities gathered from six reports. ʿAlī’s report, God be pleased with him, says, “A Muslim is owed six obligatory duties by another Muslim.” Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī’s report says, “A Muslim’s claim upon another Muslim consists of six qualities; whoever neglects any of them neglects a right binding upon him.”
وَحَدِيثِ الْبَرَاءِ بْنِ عَازِبٍ: أَمَرَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِسَبْعٍ وَنَهَانَا عَنْ سَبْعٍ، وَحَدِيثِ اِبْنِ مَسْعُودٍ: لِلْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ أَرْبَعُ خِلَالٍ وَاجِبَاتٌ، وَحَدِيثِ سَعْدٍ وَأَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ فِي مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ، وَحَدِيثِ أَنَسٍ: أَرْبَعٌ مِنْ حَقِّ
waḥadīthi al-barāʾi bni ʿāzibin: ʾamaranā rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bisabʿin wanahānā ʿan sabʿin, waḥadīthi ibni masʿūdin: li-l-muslimi ʿalā al-muslimi ʾarbaʿu khilālin wājibātun, waḥadīthi saʿdin waʾabī hurayrata fī maʿnā dhālika, waḥadīthi ʾanasin: ʾarbaʿun min ḥaqqi
Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib’s report says, “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, commanded us to do seven things and forbade seven.” Ibn Masʿūd’s report says, “A Muslim is owed four obligatory duties by another Muslim.” There is a report of Saʿd and Abū Hurayra to similar effect, and Anas’s report: “Four of the rights
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٨
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 238
Volume Two, page 238
الْمُسْلِمِ عَلَيْكَ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ ذَكَرَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ، فَاِخْتَلَفَتِ الْأَلْفَاظُ فِي الْخِصَالِ وَاِتَّفَقَتِ الْمَعَانِي، وَذَكَرَ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي حَدِيثٍ مَا لَمْ يَذْكُرْهُ الْآخَرُ.
al-muslimi ʿalayka, ʾillā ʾannahu dhakara ghayra dhālika, fa-ikhtalafati al-ʾalfāẓu fī al-khiṣāli wa-ittafaqati al-maʿānī, wadhakara baʿḍuhum fī ḥadīthin mā lam yadhkurhu al-ʾākharu.
a Muslim has over you,” though he mentioned different things. The wording of these qualities varied, while the meanings agreed; some narrators mentioned in a report something another did not.
فَجَمَعْنَا اِخْتِلَافَهُمْ وَعَدَدَ جُمَلِ الْخِصَالِ فَكَانَتْ عَشْرَةً، إِلَّا مَا رَوَاهُ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ؛ فَإِنَّهُ حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ مُؤَكِّدٌ لِلْخِصَالِ وَزَائِدٌ عَلَيْهَا فِي الْأَلْفَاظِ نَذْكُرُهُ بَعْدَهَا.
fajamaʿnā ikhtilāfahum waʿadada jumali al-khiṣāli fakānat ʿashratan, ʾillā mā rawāhu ʾanasu bnu mālikin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu; faʾinnahu ḥadīthun gharībun muʾakkidun li-l-khiṣāli wazāʾidun ʿalayhā fī al-ʾalfāẓi nadhkuruhu baʿdahā.
We brought together their variations and counted the general qualities, making ten, apart from what Anas ibn Mālik related, God be pleased with him. His is an uncommon report reinforcing these qualities and adding to their wording, which we shall mention afterward.
فَأَمَّا الْخِصَالُ الْعَشْرُ الَّتِي كَثُرَتِ الْأَخْبَارُ بِهَا فَهِيَ أَنْ يُسَلِّمَ عَلَيْهِ إِذَا لَقِيَهُ، وَيُجِيبَهُ إِذَا دَعَاهُ، وَيُشَمِّتَهُ إِذَا عَطَسَ، وَيَعُودَهُ إِذَا مَرِضَ، وَيَشْهَدَ جَنَازَتَهُ إِذَا مَاتَ.
faʾammā al-khiṣālu al-ʿashru allatī kathurati al-ʾakhbāru bihā fahiya ʾan yusallima ʿalayhi ʾidhā laqiyahu, wayujībahu ʾidhā daʿāhu, wayushammitahu ʾidhā ʿaṭasa, wayaʿūdahu ʾidhā mariḍa, wayashhada janāzatahu ʾidhā māta.
The ten qualities frequently mentioned in reports are these: greet him when you meet him; accept when he invites you; invoke mercy for him when he sneezes; visit him when he is ill; and attend his funeral when he dies.
وَيَبَرَّ قَسَمَهُ إِذَا أَقْسَمَ عَلَيْهِ، وَيَنْصَحَ لَهُ إِذَا اِسْتَنْصَحَهُ، وَيَحْفَظَهُ بِظَهْرِ الْغَيْبِ إِذَا غَابَ عَنْهُ، وَيُحِبَّ لَهُ مَا يُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِهِ، وَيَكْرَهَ لَهُ مَا يَكْرَهُ لِنَفْسِهِ.
wayabarra qasamahu ʾidhā ʾaqsama ʿalayhi, wayanṣaḥa lahu ʾidhā istanṣaḥahu, wayaḥfaẓahu biẓahri al-ghaybi ʾidhā ghāba ʿanhu, wayuḥibba lahu mā yuḥibbu linafsihi, wayakraha lahu mā yakrahu linafsihi.
Fulfill his oath when he adjures you; advise him sincerely when he seeks your counsel; safeguard his interests in his absence; wish him what you wish yourself; and dislike for him what you dislike for yourself.
فَأَمَّا حَدِيثُ أَنَسٍ: فَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ إِسْمَاعِيلَ بْنِ أَبِي زِيَادٍ عَنْ أَبَانَ بْنِ عَيَّاشٍ عَنْ أَنَسٍ قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَرْبَعٌ مِنْ حَقِّ الْمُسْلِمِ: أَنْ تُعِينَ مُحْسِنَهُمْ، وَأَنْ تَسْتَغْفِرَ لِمُذْنِبِهِمْ، وَأَنْ تَدْعُوَ لِمُدْبِرِهِمْ، وَأَنْ تُحِبَّ تَائِبَهُمْ.
faʾammā ḥadīthu ʾanasin: farawaynā ʿan ʾismāʿīla bni ʾabī ziyādin ʿan ʾabāna bni ʿayyāshin ʿan ʾanasin qāla: qāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾarbaʿun min ḥaqqi al-muslimi: ʾan tuʿīna muḥsinahum, waʾan tastaghfira limudhnibihim, waʾan tadʿuwa limudbirihim, waʾan tuḥibba tāʾibahum.
As for Anas’s report, we transmitted from Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Ziyād, from Abān ibn ʿAyyāsh, from Anas: God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Four things belong to a Muslim’s rights: help their well-doer, seek forgiveness for their sinner, pray for their backslider, and love their penitent.”
فَهَذِهِ الْخِصَالُ دَاخِلَةٌ فِي تِلْكَ الْخِصَالِ وَجَامِعَةٌ لَهَا فِي مَعْنَى النَّصِيحَةِ لِأَخِيكَ، وَفِي أَنْ تُحِبَّ لَهُ مَا تُحِبُّ لِنَفْسِكَ.
fa-hādhihi al-khiṣālu dākhilatun fī tilka al-khiṣāli wajāmiʿatun lahā fī maʿnā al-naṣīḥati liʾakhīka, wafī ʾan tuḥibba lahu mā tuḥibbu linafsika.
These qualities are included in the others and encompass them through the meaning of sincere concern for your brother and wishing him what you wish yourself.
وَقَدْ كَانَ اِبْنُ عَبَّاسٍ يُؤَكِّدُ هَذَا الْمَعْنَى خَاصَّةً لِلْمُسْلِمِ عَلَى الْمُسْلِمِ، وَيَفْرِضُهُ فَرْضَ الْحَلَالِ وَالْحَرَامِ، وَيُفَسِّرُ بِهِ قَوْلَهُ: رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ، فَحَدَّثَنَاهُ فِي رِوَايَةِ جُبَيْرٍ عَنِ الضَّحَّاكِ عَنْهُ فِي قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: رُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ؛ يَعْنِي مُتَوَادِّينَ بَيْنَهُمْ، يَدْعُو صَالِحُهُمْ لِطَالِحِهِمْ.
waqad kāna ibnu ʿabbāsin yuʾakkidu hādhā al-maʿnā khāṣṣatan li-l-muslimi ʿalā al-muslimi, wayafriḍuhu farḍa al-ḥalāli wa-al-ḥarāmi, wayufassiru bihi qawlahu: ruḥamāʾu baynahum, faḥaddathanāhu fī riwāyati jubayrin ʿani al-ḍaḥḥāki ʿanhu fī qawli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ruḥamāʾu baynahum; yaʿnī mutawāddīna baynahum, yadʿū ṣāliḥuhum liṭāliḥihim.
Ibn ʿAbbās particularly stressed this duty of one Muslim toward another, making it binding like the laws of lawful and unlawful, and interpreting “merciful among themselves” by it. It was related to us through Jubayr, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, from him: the words of God, mighty and majestic, “merciful among themselves,” mean mutually affectionate, their righteous praying for their wayward.
إِذَا نَظَرَ الطَّالِحُ إِلَى الصَّالِحِ مِنْ أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ بَارِكْ لَهُ فِيمَا قَسَمْتَ لَهُ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ، وَثَبِّتْهُ عَلَيْهِ، وَاِنْفَعْنَا بِهِ.
ʾidhā naẓara al-ṭāliḥu ʾilā al-ṣāliḥi min ʾummati muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: Allāhumma bārik lahu fīmā qasamta lahu mina al-khayri, wathabbithu ʿalayhi, wa-infaʿnā bihi.
When a wayward member of Muḥammad’s community, God bless him and grant him peace, sees a righteous one, he says, “O God, bless the good You have allotted him, establish him firmly in it, and benefit us through him.”
وَإِذَا نَظَرَ الصَّالِحُ إِلَى الطَّالِحِ مِنْ أُمَّةِ مُحَمَّدٍ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: اللَّهُمَّ اِهْدِهِ وَتُبْ عَلَيْهِ وَاِغْفِرْ لَهُ. قَالَ اِبْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: هَذِهِ الْآيَةُ مِنْ حَلَالِكُمْ وَحَرَامِكُمْ.
waʾidhā naẓara al-ṣāliḥu ʾilā al-ṭāliḥi min ʾummati muḥammadin ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: Allāhumma ihdihi watub ʿalayhi wa-ighfir lahu. qāla ibnu ʿabbāsin: hādhihi al-ʾāyatu min ḥalālikum waḥarāmikum.
When a righteous member of Muḥammad’s community, God bless him and grant him peace, sees a wayward one, he says, “O God, guide him, turn toward him in mercy, and forgive him.” Ibn ʿAbbās said, “This verse belongs among your laws of lawful and unlawful.”
فَهَذِهِ الْخِصَالُ الْمَذْكُورَةُ جَامِعَةٌ مُخْتَصَرَةٌ فِي حُرْمَةِ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَوُجُوبِ حَقِّ بَعْضِهِمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ، لَا عُذْرَ لِأَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ فِي تَرْكِهَا إِلَّا مَنْ عَذَرَتْهُ السُّنَّةُ وَيَشْهَدُ لَهُ الْعِلْمُ، وَبَعْضُهَا أَوْكَدُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ.
fa-hādhihi al-khiṣālu al-madhkūratu jāmiʿatun mukhtaṣaratun fī ḥurmati al-muslimīna wawujūbi ḥaqqi baʿḍihim ʿalā baʿḍin, lā ʿudhra liʾaḥadin minhum fī tarkihā ʾillā man ʿadharathu al-sunnatu wayashhadu lahu al-ʿilmu, wabaʿḍuhā ʾawkadu min baʿḍin.
These qualities form a concise, comprehensive account of Muslims’ inviolability and their binding claims upon one another. None is excused from observing them except someone whom the Sunna excuses and for whom knowledge bears witness. Some are more emphatically binding than others.
وَأَكْمَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِيمَانًا أَقْوَمُهُمْ بِهَا وَأَسْرَعُهُمْ إِلَيْهَا، قَدْ كَثُرَتْ بِهَا الرِّوَايَاتُ. وَقَدْ كَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ تَرَكُوا مِنْهَا ثَلَاثَةً: إِجَابَةَ الدَّعْوَةِ، وَعِيَادَةَ الْمَرْضَى، وَشُهُودَ الْجَنَائِزِ.
waʾakmalu al-muʾminīna ʾīmānan ʾaqwamuhum bihā waʾasraʿuhum ʾilayhā, qad kathurat bihā al-riwāyātu. waqad kāna baʿḍu al-salafi tarakū minhā thalāthatan: ʾijābata al-daʿwati, waʿiyādata al-marḍā, washuhūda al-janāʾizi.
The believers most complete in faith are those most steadfast in fulfilling them and quickest to perform them; many accounts attest to them. Some of the earlier generations did leave three aside: accepting invitations, visiting the sick, and attending funerals.
إِلَّا أَنَّ هَؤُلَاءِ اِعْتَزَلُوا النَّاسَ أَصْلًا، وَكَانُوا أَحْلَاسَ بُيُوتِهِمْ لَمْ يَخْرُجُوا إِلَّا إِلَى الْجُمُعَاتِ، وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَرَكَ الْجَمَاعَاتِ، وَكَانَ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ تَبَوَّأَ الْجَبَّانَاتِ وَفَارَقَ الْأَمْصَارَ وَالْإِخْوَانَ.
ʾillā ʾanna hāʾulāʾi iʿtazalū al-nāsa ʾaṣlan, wakānū ʾaḥlāsa buyūtihim lam yakhrujū ʾillā ʾilā al-jumuʿāti, waminhum man taraka al-jamāʿāti, wakāna minhum man tabawwaʾa al-jabbānāti wafāraqa al-ʾamṣāra wa-al-ʾikhwāna.
These people, however, had withdrawn from society altogether. They stayed constantly in their houses, going out only for Friday prayers. Some even left congregational prayers; some settled in cemeteries and parted from towns and brethren.
وَقَالَ سَهْلٌ: مَا أَعْلَمُ شَيْئًا أَشَدَّ مِنْ حُقُوقِ النَّاسِ. وَكَانَ يَقُولُ: مَنْ كَفَّ أَذَاهُ عَنِ الْخَلْقِ مَشَى عَلَى الْمَاءِ. وَقَالَ أَبُو يَزِيدَ وَغَيْرُهُ: بُغْيَةُ الْعُقَلَاءِ السَّلَامَةُ مِنَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى.
waqāla sahlun: mā ʾaʿlamu shayʾan ʾashadda min ḥuqūqi al-nāsi. wakāna yaqūlu: man kaffa ʾadhāhu ʿani al-khalqi mashā ʿalā al-māʾi. waqāla ʾabū yazīda waghayruhu: bughyatu al-ʿuqalāʾi al-salāmatu mina Allāhi taʿālā.
Sahl said, “I know nothing more demanding than people’s rights.” He also used to say, “Whoever withholds his harm from creatures walks upon water.” Abū Yazīd and others said, “The intelligent seek safety from God Most High.”
وَمَنْ أَرَادَ السَّلَامَةَ مِنَ اللَّهِ فَلْيَسْلَمِ النَّاسُ مِنْهُ، فَمَنْ أَرَادَ أَنْ يَسْلَمَ النَّاسُ مِنْهُ فَلْيَبْعُدْ مِنْهُمْ. فَقَدْ أُنْشِدْتُ لِبَعْضِهِمْ فِي مَعْنَاهُ: النَّاسُ بَحْرٌ عَمِيقٌ ... وَالْبُعْدُ مِنْهُمْ سَلَامَهْ وَقَدْ نَصَحْتُكَ فَاُنْظُرْ ... لَا تُدْرِكَنَّكَ نَدَامَهْ.
waman ʾarāda al-salāmata mina Allāhi falyaslami al-nāsu minhu, faman ʾarāda ʾan yaslama al-nāsu minhu falyabʿud minhum. faqad ʾunshidtu libaʿḍihim fī maʿnāhu: al-nāsu baḥrun ʿamīqun ... wa-al-buʿdu minhum salāmah waqad naṣaḥtuka fa-unẓur ... lā tudrikannaka nadāmah.
Whoever wants safety from God should let people be safe from him; whoever wants people to be safe from him should keep his distance from them. These lines by one of them on this theme were recited to me: “People are a deep sea; distance from them is safety. I have counseled you, so take heed, lest remorse overtake you.”
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ: اِتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَاِتَّقُوا النَّاسَ. وَعَنْ
waqad rawaynā ʿan ʿumara bni al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu: ittaqū Allāha wa-ittaqū al-nāsa. waʿan
We have transmitted from ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, God Most High be pleased with him: “Be wary of God and be wary of people.” And from
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٣٩
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 239
Volume Two, page 239
اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ مِثْلُهَا: لَوْلَا مَخَافَةُ الْوَسْوَاسِ لَمْ أُجَالِسِ النَّاسَ. وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: لَدَخَلْتُ بِلَادًا لَا أَنِيسَ بِهَا، وَهَلْ يُفْسِدُ النَّاسَ إِلَّا النَّاسُ؟
ibni ʿabbāsin mithluhā: lawlā makhāfatu al-waswāsi lam ʾujālisi al-nāsa. waqāla marratan: ladakhaltu bilādan lā ʾanīsa bihā, wahal yufsidu al-nāsa ʾillā al-nāsu?
Ibn ʿAbbās comes a similar saying: “Were it not for fear of obsessive whisperings, I would not keep people’s company.” On another occasion he said, “I would enter a land without any companion. What corrupts people but other people?”
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ: كُلَّمَا كَثُرَتِ الْمَعَارِفُ كَثُرَتِ الْغُرَمَاءُ، وَكُلَّمَا أَطَالَتِ الصُّحْبَةُ تَوَكَّدَتِ الْحُقُوقُ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ: مَنْ عَرَفَ نَفْسَهُ اِسْتَرَاحَ، وَمَنْ عَرَفَ النَّاسَ تَعَنَّى. وَقَالَ بِشْرُ بْنُ الْحٰرِثِ فِي ضِدِّهِ: مَنْ عَرَفَ النَّاسَ اِسْتَرَاحَ.
waqāla baʿḍu al-salafi: kullamā kathurati al-maʿārifu kathurati al-ghuramāʾu, wakullamā ʾaṭālati al-ṣuḥbatu tawakkadati al-ḥuqūqu. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi: man ʿarafa nafsahu istarāḥa, waman ʿarafa al-nāsa taʿannā. waqāla bishru bnu al-ḥārithi fī ḍiddihi: man ʿarafa al-nāsa istarāḥa.
One of the early generations said, “As acquaintances multiply, creditors multiply; as companionship lengthens, obligations become firmer.” One scholar said, “Whoever knows himself finds rest; whoever knows people suffers.” Bishr ibn al-Ḥārith said the opposite: “Whoever knows people finds rest.”
وَقَدْ قِيلَ فِي مَعْنَى قَوْلِهِ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ: مُدَارَاةُ النَّاسِ صَدَقَةٌ، قَالَ: مُدَارَاتُهُمْ فِي الْعُلُومِ وَمُفَارَقَتُهُمْ فِي الْعُقُولِ. وَفِي أَحَدِ الْوُجُوهِ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿اِدْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ﴾ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ: 96، قَالَ: هِيَ الْمُدَارَاةُ.
waqad qīla fī maʿnā qawlihi ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu: mudārātu al-nāsi ṣadaqatun, qāla: mudārātuhum fī al-ʿulūmi wamufāraqatuhum fī al-ʿuqūli. wafī ʾaḥadi al-wujūhi min qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿idfaʿ bi-allatī hiya ʾaḥsanu﴾ al-muʾminūna: 96, qāla: hiya al-mudārātu.
His saying, blessings and peace upon him, “Tact toward people is charity,” has been explained as accommodating them in matters of knowledge while differing from them in understanding. One interpretation of His words, exalted is He, “Repel with what is better” (al-Muʾminūn 23:96), likewise takes this to mean tactful accommodation.
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مَنْ أُعْطِيَ حَظَّهُ مِنَ الرِّفْقِ أُعْطِيَ حَظَّهُ مِنْ خَيْرِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ، وَمَنْ مُنِعَ حَظَّهُ مِنَ الرِّفْقِ مُنِعَ حَظَّهُ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ.
wafī al-khabari ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: man ʾuʿṭiya ḥaẓẓahu mina al-rifqi ʾuʿṭiya ḥaẓẓahu min khayri al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati, waman muniʿa ḥaẓẓahu mina al-rifqi muniʿa ḥaẓẓahu mina al-dunyā wa-al-ʾākhirati.
A report from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, says, “Whoever receives his share of gentleness receives his share of the good of this world and the hereafter; whoever is denied his share of gentleness is denied his share of this world and the hereafter.”
ذِكْرُ سُنَنِ الْجَسَدِ
dhikru sunani al-jasadi
The Sunna Practices of the Body
وَفِي الْجَسَدِ اِثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ سُنَّةً، وَذَلِكَ مَأْخُوذٌ مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ أَحَادِيثَ مُتَفَرِّقَةٍ: مِنْهَا حَدِيثُ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ حِينَ اِسْتَبْطَأَهُ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالْوَحْيِ.
wafī al-jasadi ithnatā ʿashrata sunnatan, wa-dhālika maʾkhūdhun min thalāthati ʾaḥādītha mutafarriqatin: minhā ḥadīthu jibrīla ʿalayhi al-salāmu ḥīna istabṭaʾahu al-nabiyyu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-waḥyi.
There are twelve Sunna practices concerning the body, drawn from three separate reports, including the report of Gabriel, peace upon him, when the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, found him slow in bringing revelation.
خَمْسٌ مِنْهَا فِي الرَّأْسِ وَهِيَ: الْمَضْمَضَةُ، وَالْاِسْتِنْشَاقُ، وَالسِّوَاكُ، وَقَصُّ الشَّارِبِ، وَفَرْقُ شَعْرِ الرَّأْسِ.
khamsun minhā fī al-raʾsi wahiya: al-maḍmaḍatu, wa-al-istinshāqu, wa-al-siwāku, waqaṣṣu al-shāribi, wafarqu shaʿri al-raʾsi.
Five concern the head: rinsing the mouth, drawing water into the nose, cleaning the teeth with a toothstick, trimming the mustache, and parting the hair.
وَمِنْهَا سَبْعٌ فِي الْجَسَدِ وَهِيَ: الْخِتَانُ، وَالْاِسْتِحْدَادُ، وَاِنْتِقَاصُ الْمَاءِ وَهُوَ الْاِسْتِنْجَاءُ، وَنَتْفُ الْإِبْطِ، وَتَقْلِيمُ الْأَظَافِرِ، وَغَسْلُ الْبَرَاجِمِ، وَتَنْظِيفُ الرَّوَاجِبِ.
waminhā sabʿun fī al-jasadi wahiya: al-khitānu, wa-al-istiḥdādu, wa-intiqāṣu al-māʾi wahuwa al-istinjāʾu, wanatfu al-ʾibṭi, wataqlīmu al-ʾaẓāfiri, waghaslu al-barājimi, watanẓīfu al-rawājibi.
Seven concern the body: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair, cleansing with water after relieving oneself, plucking the armpit hair, clipping the nails, washing the finger joints, and cleaning the fingertips.
فَأَمَّا الْبَرَاجِمُ فَهِيَ مَعَاطِفُ ظُهُورِ الْأَنَامِلِ. لَمْ تَكُنِ الْعَرَبُ تُكْثِرُ غَسْلَ ذَلِكَ لِتَرْكِهَا غَسْلَ أَيْدِيهَا عَقِيبَ الطَّعَامِ، فَكَانَ يَجْتَمِعُ فِي تِلْكَ الْمَكَاسِرِ الْوَسَخُ فَأُمِرُوا بِغَسْلِهَا.
faʾammā al-barājimu fahiya maʿāṭifu ẓuhūri al-ʾanāmili. lam takuni al-ʿarabu tukthiru ghasla dhālika litarkihā ghasla ʾaydīhā ʿaqība al-ṭaʿāmi, fakāna yajtamiʿu fī tilka al-makāsiri al-wasakhu faʾumirū bighaslihā.
The barājim are the folds on the backs of the finger joints. The Arabs did not often wash them, since they neglected washing their hands after food. Dirt would collect in those creases, so they were ordered to wash them.
قَالَ أَبُو هُرَيْرَةَ وَغَيْرُهُ مِنْ أَهْلِ الصُّفَّةِ: كُنَّا نَأْكُلُ الشِّوَاءَ ثُمَّ تُقَامُ الصَّلَاةُ، فَنُدْخِلُ أَصَابِعَنَا فِي الْحَصْبَاءِ ثُمَّ نَفْرُكُهَا فِي التُّرَابِ وَنُكَبِّرُ.
qāla ʾabū hurayrata waghayruhu min ʾahli al-ṣuffati: kunnā naʾkulu al-shiwāʾa thumma tuqāmu al-ṣalātu, fanudkhilu ʾaṣābiʿanā fī al-ḥaṣbāʾi thumma nafrukuhā fī al-turābi wanukabbiru.
Abū Hurayra and others among the People of the Portico said, “We would eat roast meat, then the prayer would be announced. We would put our fingers into the gravel, rub them in the dust, and pronounce the opening magnification of God.”
وَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ: مَا كُنَّا نَعْرِفُ الْأُشْنَانَ عَلَى عَهْدِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَإِنَّمَا كَانَتْ مَنَادِيلُنَا بَوَاطِنَ أَرْجُلِنَا، كُنَّا إِذَا أَكَلْنَا الْغَمَرَ مَسَحْنَا بِهَا.
waqāla ʿumaru bnu al-khaṭṭābi raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu: mā kunnā naʿrifu al-ʾushnāna ʿalā ʿahdi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, waʾinnamā kānat manādīlunā bawāṭina ʾarjulinā, kunnā ʾidhā ʾakalnā al-ghamara masaḥnā bihā.
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb, God be pleased with him, said, “We did not know cleansing alkali in the time of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. The soles of our feet were our towels: when we ate greasy food, we wiped our hands on them.”
وَيُقَالُ: أَوَّلُ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنَ الْبِدَعِ بَعْدَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَرْبَعٌ: الْمَنَاخِلُ، وَالْأُشْنَانُ، وَالْمَوَائِدُ، وَالشِّبَعُ؛ فَهَذِهِ كُلُّهَا فِي شَأْنِ الْجَوْفِ، وَهُوَ شَرُّ وِعَاءٍ مُجَوَّفٍ.
wayuqālu: ʾawwalu mā ẓahara mina al-bidaʿi baʿda rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾarbaʿun: al-manākhilu, wa-al-ʾushnānu, wa-al-mawāʾidu, wa-al-shibaʿu; fa-hādhihi kulluhā fī shaʾni al-jawfi, wahuwa sharru wiʿāʾin mujawwafin.
It is said that the first innovations to appear after God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, were four: sieves, cleansing alkali, dining tables, and eating one’s fill. All concern the belly, the worst hollow vessel.
وَأَمَّا الرَّوَاجِبُ فَهِيَ جَمْعُ رَاجِبَةٍ وَهِيَ وَاحِدَةُ الْأَنَامِلِ. لَمْ تَكُنِ الْعَرَبُ يَتَّفِقُ لَهَا الْجَلَمَانِ فِي كُلِّ وَقْتٍ فَيَقُصُّونَ أَظْفَارَهُمْ، فَوَقَّتَ لَهُمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ لِقَصِّ الْأَظْفَارِ وَنَتْفِ الْإِبْطِ وَحَلْقِ الْعَانَةِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا.
waʾammā al-rawājibu fahiya jamʿu rājibatin wahiya wāḥidatu al-ʾanāmili. lam takuni al-ʿarabu yattafiqu lahā al-jalamāni fī kulli waqtin fayaquṣṣūna ʾaẓfārahum, fawaqqata lahum rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama liqaṣṣi al-ʾaẓfāri wanatfi al-ʾibṭi waḥalqi al-ʿānati ʾarbaʿīna yawman.
Rawājib is the plural of rājiba, meaning one of the fingertips. The Arabs did not always have shears available for clipping their nails, so God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, set them a period of forty days for clipping the nails, plucking the armpits, and shaving the pubic hair.
إِلَّا أَنَّهُ أَمَرَ بِتَنْظِيفِ مَا تَحْتَ الْأَظَافِرِ لِأَنَّهُ مَجْمَعُ التَّفَثِ، وَهِيَ الرَّوَاجِبُ، إِلَى أَنْ يَقُصُّوا أَظْفَارَهُمْ.
ʾillā ʾannahu ʾamara bitanẓīfi mā taḥta al-ʾaẓāfiri liʾannahu majmaʿu al-tafathi, wahiya al-rawājibu, ʾilā ʾan yaquṣṣū ʾaẓfārahum.
He nevertheless commanded them to clean beneath the nails, where grime collects, at the fingertips, until they clipped their nails.
وَجَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ اِسْتَبْطَأَ الْوَحْيَ، فَلَمَّا هَبَطَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ قَالَ لَهُ: كَيْفَ نَنْزِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لَا تَغْسِلُونَ بَرَاجِمَكُمْ وَلَا تُنَظِّفُونَ رَوَاجِبَكُمْ، وَقَلَحًا لَا تَسْتَاكُونَ؟ مُرْ أُمَّتَكَ بِذَلِكَ.
wajāʾa fī al-ʾathari: ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama istabṭaʾa al-waḥya, falammā habaṭa jibrīlu ʿalayhi al-salāmu qāla lahu: kayfa nanzilu ʿalaykum waʾantum lā taghsilūna barājimakum walā tunaẓẓifūna rawājibakum, waqalaḥan lā tastākūna? mur ʾummataka bi-dhālika.
A tradition relates that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, found revelation slow in coming. When Gabriel, peace upon him, descended, he said to him, “How can we descend to you when you do not wash your finger joints or clean your fingertips, and, with yellowed teeth, do not use the toothstick? Command your community to do so.”
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٠
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 240
Volume Two, page 240
وَيُقَالُ لِمَا تَحْتَ الْأَظَافِرِ مِنَ الْوَسَخِ الْأُفُّ، وَهُوَ الَّذِي يُقَالُ أُفٌّ وَتُفٌّ؛ فَالْأُفُّ وَسَخُ الظُّفْرِ، وَالتُّفُّ وَسَخُ الْأُذُنِ، وَقِيلَ: بَلِ التُّفُّ كَلِمَةُ اِتِّبَاعٍ لِلْمُبَالَغَةِ فِي التَّأَذِّي بِالْقَذَرِ الْمُؤْذِي.
wayuqālu limā taḥta al-ʾaẓāfiri mina al-wasakhi al-ʾuffu, wahuwa alladhī yuqālu ʾuffun watuffun; fa-al-ʾuffu wasakhu al-ẓufri, wa-al-tuffu wasakhu al-ʾudhuni, waqīla: bali al-tuffu kalimatu ittibāʿin li-l-mubālaghati fī al-taʾadhdhī bi-al-qadhari al-muʾdhī.
The dirt beneath the nails is called uff, as in the expression uff wa-tuff. Uff is nail dirt, and tuff is ear dirt. It is also said that tuff is merely a rhyming companion word, intensifying disgust at offensive filth.
وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُمْ فِي الْإِتْبَاعِ: جَائِعٌ نَائِعٌ، وَعَطْشَانُ نَطْشَانُ، وَلَا أَثَرَ لَهُ وَلَا عَنْبَرَ.
wamin dhālika qawluhum fī al-ʾitbāʿi: jāʾiʿun nāʾiʿun, waʿaṭshānu naṭshānu, walā ʾathara lahu walā ʿanbara.
Comparable rhyming expressions are jāʾiʿ nāʾiʿ, “utterly hungry”; ʿaṭshān naṭshān, “utterly thirsty”; and lā athara lahu wa-lā ʿanbara, “there is no trace of him, nor any ambergris.”
وَقِيلَ: مِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿فَلَا تَقُلْ لَهُمَا أُفٍّ﴾ الْإِسْرَاءِ: 23، أَيْ لَا تَعِبْهُمَا بِمَا تَحْتَ الظُّفْرِ مِنَ الْوَسَخِ، وَقِيلَ: لَا تُؤْذِهِمَا تَأَذِّيكَ بِمَا تَحْتَ ظُفْرِكَ مِنَ الْأَذَى، أَوْ لَا تُؤْذِهِمَا بِمِقْدَارِ ذَلِكَ.
waqīla: min hādhā qawlu Allāhi taʿālā: ﴿falā taqul lahumā ʾuffin﴾ al-ʾisrāʾi: 23, ʾay lā taʿibhumā bimā taḥta al-ẓufri mina al-wasakhi, waqīla: lā tuʾdhihimā taʾadhdhīka bimā taḥta ẓufrika mina al-ʾadhā, ʾaw lā tuʾdhihimā bimiqdāri dhālika.
It is said that God Most High’s words, “Do not say ‘uff’ to them” (al-Isrāʾ 17:23), derive from this: do not disparage your parents with the dirt beneath a nail. Another explanation is: do not hurt them as you are hurt by the filth beneath your nail, or do not hurt them even that much.
ذِكْرُ مَا فِي اللِّحْيَةِ مِنَ الْمَعَاصِي وَالْبِدَعِ الْمُحْدَثَةِ
dhikru mā fī al-liḥyati mina al-maʿāṣī wa-al-bidaʿi al-muḥdathati
Sins and Newly Introduced Innovations Concerning the Beard
قَدْ ذُكِرَ فِي بَعْضِ الْأَخْبَارِ: أَنَّ لِلَّهِ تَعَالَى مَلَائِكَةً يُقْسِمُونَ: وَالَّذِي زَيَّنَ بَنِي آدَمَ بِاللِّحَى. وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ اللِّحْيَةَ مِنْ تَمَامِ خَلْقِ الرَّجُلِ، وَبِهَا تَمَيَّزَ الرِّجَالُ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ فِي ظَاهِرِ الْخَلْقِ.
qad dhukira fī baʿḍi al-ʾakhbāri: ʾanna li-llāhi taʿālā malāʾikatan yuqsimūna: wa-alladhī zayyana banī ʾādama bi-al-liḥā. wayuqālu: ʾinna al-liḥyata min tamāmi khalqi al-rajuli, wabihā tamayyaza al-rijālu mina al-nisāʾi fī ẓāhiri al-khalqi.
Some reports mention that God Most High has angels who swear, “By Him who adorned the sons of Adam with beards.” It is said that a beard completes a man’s creation and outwardly distinguishes men from women.
فِي وَصْفِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: أَنَّهُ كَانَ كَثَّ اللِّحْيَةِ، وَكَذَلِكَ كَانَ أَبُو بَكْرٍ، وَكَانَ عُثْمَانُ طَوِيلَ اللِّحْيَةِ دَقِيقَهَا، وَكَانَ عَلِيٌّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ عَرِيضَ اللِّحْيَةِ قَدْ مَلَأَتْ مَا بَيْنَ مَنْكِبَيْهِ.
fī waṣfi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: ʾannahu kāna kaththa al-liḥyati, wa-kadhālika kāna ʾabū bakrin, wakāna ʿuthmānu ṭawīla al-liḥyati daqīqahā, wakāna ʿaliyyun raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ʿarīḍa al-liḥyati qad malaʾat mā bayna mankibayhi.
God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, is described as having a thick beard, as did Abū Bakr. ʿUthmān’s beard was long and fine, while ʿAlī’s, God Most High be pleased with him, was broad, filling the space between his shoulders.
وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ أَهْلَ الْجَنَّةِ مُرْدٌ إِلَّا هَارُونَ أَخَا مُوسَى عَلَيْهِمَا السَّلَامُ، فَإِنَّ لَهُ لِحْيَةً إِلَى صَدْرِهِ تَخْصِيصًا لَهُ وَتَفْضِيلًا.
wayuqālu: ʾinna ʾahla al-jannati murdun ʾillā hārūna ʾakhā mūsā ʿalayhimā al-salāmu, faʾinna lahu liḥyatan ʾilā ṣadrihi takhṣīṣan lahu watafḍīlan.
It is said that the people of Paradise are beardless except Aaron, Moses’s brother, peace upon them both, who has a beard reaching his chest as a special distinction and honor.
وَوَصَفَ بَعْضُ بَنِي تَمِيمٍ مِنْ رَهْطِ الْأَحْنَفِ بْنِ قَيْسٍ قَالَ: وَدِدْنَا أَنَّا اِشْتَرَيْنَا لِلْأَحْنَفِ اللِّحْيَةَ بِعِشْرِينَ أَلْفًا. فَلَمْ يَذْكُرْ حَنَفَهُ فِي رِجْلِهِ وَلَا عَوَرَهُ فِي عَيْنِهِ، وَذَكَرَ كَرَاهِيَةَ عَدَمِ لِحْيَتِهِ، وَكَانَ عَاقِلًا حَلِيمًا.
wawaṣafa baʿḍu banī tamīmin min rahṭi al-ʾaḥnafi bni qaysin qāla: wadidnā ʾannā ishtaraynā li-l-ʾaḥnafi al-liḥyata biʿishrīna ʾalfan. falam yadhkur ḥanafahu fī rijlihi walā ʿawarahu fī ʿaynihi, wadhakara karāhiyata ʿadami liḥyatihi, wakāna ʿāqilan ḥalīman.
A man of Banū Tamīm, from al-Aḥnaf ibn Qays’s clan, described him, saying, “We wished we could buy al-Aḥnaf a beard for twenty thousand.” He did not mention his crooked foot or defective eye, but regretted his lack of a beard, though he was intelligent and forbearing.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا مِنْ غَرِيبِ تَأْوِيلِ قَوْلِهِ تَعَالَى: ﴿يَزِيدُ فِي الْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَاءُ﴾ فَاطِرٍ: 1، قَالَ: اللِّحَى، وَفِيهِ وُجُوهٌ كَثِيرَةٌ. وَذُكِرَ عَنْ شُرَيْحٍ الْقَاضِي قَالَ: وَدِدْتُ لَوْ أَنَّ لِي لِحْيَةً بِعَشَرَةِ آلَافٍ.
waqad rawaynā min gharībi taʾwīli qawlihi taʿālā: ﴿yazīdu fī al-khalqi mā yashāʾu﴾ fāṭirin: 1, qāla: al-liḥā, wafīhi wujūhun kathīratun. wadhukira ʿan shurayḥin al-qāḍī qāla: wadidtu law ʾanna lī liḥyatan biʿasharati ʾālāfin.
Among uncommon interpretations of His words, exalted is He, “He adds to creation whatever He wills” (Fāṭir 35:1), we have transmitted the explanation “beards,” though there are many interpretations. Judge Shurayḥ is reported to have said, “I wish I had a beard, even at the cost of ten thousand.”
وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْأُدَبَاءِ: فِي اللِّحْيَةِ خِصَالٌ نَافِعَةٌ، مِنْهَا تَعْظِيمُ الرَّجُلِ وَالنَّظَرُ إِلَيْهِ بِعَيْنِ الْعِلْمِ وَالْوَقَارِ، وَمِنْهَا رَفْعُهُ فِي الْمَجَالِسِ وَالْإِقْبَالُ عَلَيْهِ، وَمِنْهَا تَقْدِيمُهُ عَلَى الْجَمَاعَةِ وَتَعْقِيلُهُ.
waqāla baʿḍu al-ʾudabāʾi: fī al-liḥyati khiṣālun nāfiʿatun, minhā taʿẓīmu al-rajuli wa-al-naẓaru ʾilayhi biʿayni al-ʿilmi wa-al-waqāri, waminhā rafʿuhu fī al-majālisi wa-al-ʾiqbālu ʿalayhi, waminhā taqdīmuhu ʿalā al-jamāʿati wataʿqīluhu.
A man of letters said, “The beard has useful qualities: a man is honored and regarded as learned and dignified; he is given an elevated place in assemblies and receives attention; he is placed ahead of the group and credited with intelligence.”
وَفِيهَا وِقَايَةٌ لِلْعِرْضِ؛ يَعْنِي إِذَا أَرَادُوا شَتْمَهُ عَرَّضُوا لَهُ بِهَا فَوَقَتْ عِرْضَهُ. وَقَالَ أَبُو يُوسُفَ الْقَاضِي: مَنْ عَظُمَتْ لِحْيَتُهُ جَلَّتْ مَعْرِفَتُهُ.
wafīhā wiqāyatun li-l-ʿirḍi; yaʿnī ʾidhā ʾarādū shatmahu ʿarraḍū lahu bihā fawaqat ʿirḍahu. waqāla ʾabū yūsufa al-qāḍī: man ʿaẓumat liḥyatuhu jallat maʿrifatuhu.
“It also protects his honor”: that is, when people wish to insult him, they make his beard their target, sparing his honor. Judge Abū Yūsuf said, “When a man’s beard grows great, his knowledge becomes grand.”
فَفِي اللِّحْيَةِ مِنْ خَفَايَا الْهَوَى وَدَقَائِقِ آفَاتِ النُّفُوسِ، وَمِنَ الْبِدَعِ الْمُحْدَثَةِ اِثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ خَصْلَةً، بَعْضُهَا أَعْظَمُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ وَكُلُّهَا مَكْرُوهَةٌ، قَدْ كُنَّا أَجْمَلْنَا ذَلِكَ عَدَدًا فِي بَابِ آفَاتِ النُّفُوسِ.
fafī al-liḥyati min khafāyā al-hawā wadaqāʾiqi ʾāfāti al-nufūsi, wamina al-bidaʿi al-muḥdathati ithnatā ʿashrata khaṣlatan, baʿḍuhā ʾaʿẓamu min baʿḍin wakulluhā makrūhatun, qad kunnā ʾajmalnā dhālika ʿadadan fī bābi ʾāfāti al-nufūsi.
Concerning the beard there are twelve traits involving hidden caprice, subtle afflictions of the self, and newly introduced innovations. Some are more serious than others, but all are objectionable. We previously listed them briefly in the chapter on the afflictions of the self.
فَأَمَّا تَفْسِيرُهُ فَإِنَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ خِضَابَهَا بِالسَّوَادِ لِأَجْلِ الْهَوَى وَتَدْلِيسِ الشِّيبَةِ، وَخِضَابَهَا بِالْحُمْرَةِ وَالصُّفْرَةِ مِنْ غَيْرِ نِيَّةٍ تَشْبِيهًا بِالصَّالِحِينَ وَالْقُرَّاءِ مِنَ السُّنَّةِ.
faʾammā tafsīruhu faʾinna min dhālika khiḍābahā bi-al-sawādi liʾajli al-hawā watadlīsi al-shībati, wakhiḍābahā bi-al-ḥumrati wa-al-ṣufrati min ghayri niyyatin tashbīhan bi-al-ṣāliḥīna wa-al-qurrāʾi mina al-sunnati.
To explain them: they include dyeing the beard black from caprice and to conceal gray hair deceptively, and dyeing it red or yellow without a proper intention, merely to resemble the righteous and the devout reciters of the Sunna.
وَتَبْيِيضُهَا بِالْكِبْرِيتِ وَغَيْرِهِ اِسْتِعْجَالًا لِإِظْهَارِ عُلُوِّ السِّنِّ وَسَتْرِ الْحَدَاثَةِ لِأَجْلِ الرِّيَاسَةِ وَالتَّعْظِيمِ، لِيَشْهَدَ عِنْدَ الْحُكَّامِ أَوْ لِيَنْفُقَ بِذَلِكَ حَدِيثُهُ وَيَدَّعِيَ بِالسِّنِّ مُشَاهَدَةَ مَنْ لَمْ يَرَهُ، فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ بَعْضُ الْمُحَدِّثِينَ وَبَعْضُ الشُّهُودِ.
watabyīḍuhā bi-al-kibrīti waghayrihi istiʿjālan liʾiẓhāri ʿuluwwi al-sinni wasatri al-ḥadāthati liʾajli al-riyāsati wa-al-taʿẓīmi, liyashhada ʿinda al-ḥukkāmi ʾaw liyanfuqa bi-dhālika ḥadīthuhu wayaddaʿiya bi-al-sinni mushāhadata man lam yarahu, faʿala dhālika baʿḍu al-muḥaddithīna wabaʿḍu al-shuhūdi.
They include whitening it with sulfur or other substances, rushing to display advanced age and conceal youth for leadership and esteem: to testify before judges, gain acceptance for one’s traditions, or use apparent age to claim having seen someone one never saw. Some traditionists and witnesses did this.
وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ نَتْفُهَا أَوْ نَتْفُ الشَّيْبِ مِنْهَا تَغْطِيَةً لِلتَّكَهُّلِ، وَمِنْهَا تَقْصِيصُهَا كَالتَّعْبِيَةِ طَاقَةً عَلَى طَاقَةٍ لِلتَّزَيُّنِ وَالتَّصَنُّعِ، وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ النُّقْصَانُ مِنْهَا
wamin dhālika natfuhā ʾaw natfu al-shaybi minhā taghṭiyatan li-l-takahhuli, waminhā taqṣīṣuhā ka-al-taʿbiyati ṭāqatan ʿalā ṭāqatin li-l-tazayyuni wa-al-taṣannuʿi, wamin dhālika al-nuqṣānu minhā
They include plucking it, or plucking out its gray hairs, to conceal middle age; trimming it into carefully arranged layers for adornment and affectation; and reducing it
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤١
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 241
Volume Two, page 241
وَالزِّيَادَةُ فِيهَا، وَهُوَ أَنْ يَزِيدَ فِي شَعْرِ الْعَارِضَيْنِ مِنَ الصُّدْغِ مِنْ شَعْرِ الرَّأْسِ حَتَّى يُجَاوِزَ عَظْمَ اللَّحْيِ، وَذَلِكَ هُوَ حَدُّ اللِّحْيَةِ، أَوْ يَنْقُصَ مِنَ الْعَظْمَيْنِ إِلَى نِصْفِ الْخَدِّ، وَذَلِكَ مُثْلَةٌ وَهُوَ نُقْصَانٌ مِنَ اللِّحْيَةِ.
wa-al-ziyādatu fīhā, wahuwa ʾan yazīda fī shaʿri al-ʿāriḍayni mina al-ṣudghi min shaʿri al-raʾsi ḥattā yujāwiza ʿaẓma al-laḥyi, wa-dhālika huwa ḥaddu al-liḥyati, ʾaw yanquṣa mina al-ʿaẓmayni ʾilā niṣfi al-khaddi, wa-dhālika muthlatun wahuwa nuqṣānun mina al-liḥyati.
or adding to it. This means extending the cheek hair from the temples, using the hair of the head, beyond the jawbone, which marks the beard’s boundary; or cutting back from the two bones to halfway down the cheek. That is mutilation, and a reduction of the beard.
وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ تَسْرِيحُهَا لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ تَصَنُّعًا، أَوْ تَرْكُهَا لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ شَعْثَةً مُفْتَلَةً مُغَبَّرَةً إِظْهَارًا لِلزُّهْدِ أَوِ التَّهَاوُنِ بِالْقِيَامِ عَلَى النَّفْسِ لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ عُرِفَ بِذَلِكَ.
wamin dhālika tasrīḥuhā liʾajli al-nāsi taṣannuʿan, ʾaw tarkuhā liʾajli al-nāsi shaʿthatan muftalatan mughabbaratan ʾiẓhāran li-l-zuhdi ʾawi al-tahāwuni bi-al-qiyāmi ʿalā al-nafsi liʾannahu qad ʿurifa bi-dhālika.
They include combing it for people’s sake as an affectation, or leaving it disheveled, tangled, and dusty for their sake, to display renunciation or disregard for personal care, because one has become known for that.
وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ النَّظَرُ إِلَى سَوَادِهَا عُجْبًا بِهَا وَخُيَلَاءَ وَغِرَّةً بِالشَّبَابِ وَفَخْرًا؛ وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ النَّظَرُ إِلَى بَيَاضِهَا تَكَبُّرًا بِكِبَرِ السِّنِّ وَتَطَاوُلًا عَلَى الشُّبَّانِ.
wamin dhālika al-naẓaru ʾilā sawādihā ʿujban bihā wakhuyalāʾa waghirratan bi-al-shabābi wafakhran; wamin dhālika al-naẓaru ʾilā bayāḍihā takabburan bikibari al-sinni wataṭāwulan ʿalā al-shubbāni.
They include looking at its blackness with self-admiration, swagger, youthful delusion, and pride; or looking at its whiteness with arrogance over one’s age and a sense of superiority to the young.
فَيَحْجُبُهُ نَظَرُهُ إِلَيْهَا عَنِ النَّظَرِ إِلَى نَفْسِهِ مِنْ تَعَلُّمِ الْعِلْمِ وَتَعَلُّمِ الْقُرْآنِ الَّذِي لَا يَسَعُهُ جَهْلُهُ وَالسُّؤَالِ عَمَّا يَجْهَلُهُ اِسْتِصْغَارًا لِغَيْرِهِ مِنَ الشَّبَابِ، أَوْ حَيَاءً مِنْ شَيْبِهِ، أَوِ اِسْتِنْكَافًا مِنْهُ.
fayaḥjubuhu naẓaruhu ʾilayhā ʿani al-naẓari ʾilā nafsihi min taʿallumi al-ʿilmi wataʿallumi al-qurʾāni alladhī lā yasaʿuhu jahluhu wa-al-suʾāli ʿammā yajhaluhu istiṣghāran lighayrihi mina al-shabābi, ʾaw ḥayāʾan min shaybihi, ʾawi istinkāfan minhu.
His gaze at it then keeps him from attending to himself: acquiring knowledge, learning the Qurʾān he cannot afford to remain ignorant of, and asking about what he does not know. He disdains the young, feels embarrassed by his own gray hair, or considers such inquiry beneath him.
فَيَظُنُّ بِجَهْلِهِ أَنَّ كَثْرَةَ الْأَيَّامِ الَّتِي بَيَّضَتْ شَعْرَ لِحْيَتِهِ أَعْطَتْهُ فَضْلًا أَوْ جَعَلَتْ فِيهِ عِلْمًا، وَلَا يَعْلَمُ أَنَّ الْعَقْلَ غَرَائِزُ فِي الْقُلُوبِ وَأَنَّ الْعِلْمَ مَوَاهِبُ مِنْ عَلَّامِ الْغُيُوبِ.
fayaẓunnu bijahlihi ʾanna kathrata al-ʾayyāmi allatī bayyaḍat shaʿra liḥyatihi ʾaʿṭathu faḍlan ʾaw jaʿalat fīhi ʿilman, walā yaʿlamu ʾanna al-ʿaqla gharāʾizu fī al-qulūbi waʾanna al-ʿilma mawāhibu min ʿallāmi al-ghuyūbi.
In his ignorance he imagines that the many days which whitened his beard have bestowed merit or knowledge upon him. He does not know that intelligence consists of dispositions implanted in hearts, and knowledge of gifts from the Knower of all unseen things.
وَمَنْ كَانَتْ غَرِيزَتُهُ الْحُمْقَ وَطَبِيعَتُهُ الْجَهْلَ كَثُرَتْ حَمَاقَتُهُ كُلَّمَا كَبِرَ وَعَظُمَتْ جَهَالَتُهُ إِذَا أَسَنَّ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا جَمِيعَ ذَلِكَ فِي كَثِيرٍ مِنَ النَّاسِ، وَهَذَا كُلُّهُ مُحْدَثٌ وَهُوَ يُضَاهِي سُنَنَ الْجَسَدِ الْاِثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ فِي الْعَدَدِ.
waman kānat gharīzatuhu al-ḥumqa waṭabīʿatuhu al-jahla kathurat ḥamāqatuhu kullamā kabira waʿaẓumat jahālatuhu ʾidhā ʾasanna. waqad rawaynā jamīʿa dhālika fī kathīrin mina al-nāsi, wa-hādhā kulluhu muḥdathun wahuwa yuḍāhī sunana al-jasadi al-ithnatay ʿashrata fī al-ʿadadi.
When someone’s disposition is stupidity and his nature ignorance, his foolishness increases as he grows older and his ignorance deepens with age. We have transmitted accounts of all these things concerning many people. All are innovations, matching the body’s twelve Sunna practices in number.
وَمِمَّا جَاءَ فِي جُمَلِ مَعَانِي مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْكَرَاهَةِ أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: حُفُّوا الشَّوَارِبَ وَأَعْفُوا اللِّحَى، فَقَوْلُهُ: حُفُّوا، أَيْ اِجْعَلُوهَا حِفَافَيِ الشَّفَةِ، أَيْ حَوْلَهَا، لِأَنَّ حِفَافَ الشَّيْءِ حَوْلُهُ.
wamimmā jāʾa fī jumali maʿānī mā dhakarnāhu mina al-karāhati ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: ḥuffū al-shawāriba waʾaʿfū al-liḥā, faqawluhu: ḥuffū, ʾay ijʿalūhā ḥifāfayi al-shafati, ʾay ḥawlahā, liʾanna ḥifāfa al-shayʾi ḥawluhu.
Among reports encompassing the matters we have described as objectionable is the Messenger’s saying, God bless him and grant him peace: “Trim the mustaches and let the beards grow.” His word ḥuffū means to keep them at the edges of the lip, around it, for a thing’s ḥifāf is its surrounding edge.
وَمِنْ ذَلِكَ قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَتَرَى الْمَلَائِكَةَ حَافِّينَ مِنْ حَوْلِ الْعَرْشِ﴾ الزُّمَرِ: 75. وَكَانَ بَعْضُ الْعُلَمَاءِ يَكْرَهُ حَلْقَ الشَّارِبِ حَتَّى تَظْهَرَ الْبَشَرَةُ وَيَرَاهُ بِدْعَةً.
wamin dhālika qawluhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿watarā al-malāʾikata ḥāffīna min ḥawli al-ʿarshi﴾ al-zumari: 75. wakāna baʿḍu al-ʿulamāʾi yakrahu ḥalqa al-shāribi ḥattā taẓhara al-basharatu wayarāhu bidʿatan.
An example is His saying, mighty and majestic, “You will see the angels surrounding the Throne” (al-Zumar 39:75). Some scholars disliked shaving the mustache until the skin appeared and considered it an innovation.
وَقَدْ كَانَ مَالِكُ بْنُ أَنَسٍ وَبَعْضُ عُلَمَاءِ الْمَدِينَةِ يَقُولُونَ: حَلْقُ الشَّارِبِ مُثْلَةٌ، إِنَّمَا هُوَ الْأَخْذُ مِنْهُ حَتَّى يَبْدُوَ الْإِطَارُ، وَالْإِطَارُ حُرُوفُ الشَّفَةِ مِنْ فَوْقُ.
waqad kāna māliku bnu ʾanasin wabaʿḍu ʿulamāʾi al-madīnati yaqūlūna: ḥalqu al-shāribi muthlatun, ʾinnamā huwa al-ʾakhdhu minhu ḥattā yabduwa al-ʾiṭāru, wa-al-ʾiṭāru ḥurūfu al-shafati min fawqu.
Mālik ibn Anas and certain scholars of Medina used to say, “Shaving the mustache is mutilation; it should only be trimmed until the rim becomes visible.” The rim means the upper edges of the lip.
وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ لَفْظَةٌ أُخْرَى: أَحْفُوا الشَّوَارِبَ، وَالْإِحْفَاءُ هُوَ الْاِسْتِئْصَالُ وَالْاِسْتِقْصَاءُ، وَهُوَ أَبْلَغُ مِنْ قَوْلِهِ: حُفُّوا. وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿إِنْ يَسْأَلْكُمُوهَا فَيُحْفِكُمْ تَبْخَلُوا﴾ مُحَمَّدٍ: 37، أَيْ يَسْتَقْصِي عَلَيْكُمْ.
wafī al-ḥadīthi lafẓatun ʾukhrā: ʾaḥfū al-shawāriba, wa-al-ʾiḥfāʾu huwa al-istiʾṣālu wa-al-istiqṣāʾu, wahuwa ʾablaghu min qawlihi: ḥuffū. wamin hādhā qawluhu ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ʾin yasʾalkumūhā fayuḥfikum tabkhalū﴾ muḥammadin: 37, ʾay yastaqṣī ʿalaykum.
Another wording of the report is “Clip the mustaches closely.” Iḥfāʾ means thorough removal and exacting thoroughness, stronger than ḥuffū. Compare His words, mighty and majestic, “If He were to ask you for it and press you hard, you would become miserly” (Muḥammad 47:37): that is, demand everything from you.
وَقَدْ كَانَ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُحْفِي شَارِبَهُ، وَنَظَرَ بَعْضُ التَّابِعِينَ إِلَى رَجُلٍ أَحْفَى شَارِبَهُ فَقَالَ: ذَكَّرْتَنِي أَصْحَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
waqad kāna kathīrun min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yuḥfī shāribahu, wanaẓara baʿḍu al-tābiʿīna ʾilā rajulin ʾaḥfā shāribahu faqāla: dhakkartanī ʾaṣḥāba rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
Many Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, used to clip their mustaches closely. A Successor saw a man who had done so and said, “You have reminded me of the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.”
قَالَ: فَقُلْتُ: هَكَذَا كَانُوا يُحْفُونَ شَوَارِبَهُمْ؟ فَقَالَ: نَعَمْ، وَأَشَدَّ مِنْ هَذَا كَالْحَلْقِ. وَلَيْسَ الْإِحْفَاءُ حَلْقًا إِلَّا أَنَّهُ شَبِيهٌ بِهِ.
qāla: faqultu: hākadhā kānū yuḥfūna shawāribahum? faqāla: naʿam, waʾashadda min hādhā ka-al-ḥalqi. walaysa al-ʾiḥfāʾu ḥalqan ʾillā ʾannahu shabīhun bihi.
The narrator said, “I asked, ‘Did they clip their mustaches this closely?’ He replied, ‘Yes, and more closely than this, almost like shaving.’” Close clipping is not shaving, though it resembles it.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي هَذَا الْحَدِيثِ ثَلَاثَةَ أَلْفَاظٍ أُخَرَ وَهُوَ: خُذُوا مِنَ الشَّوَارِبِ، فَإِنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَأْخُذُ مِنْ شَارِبِهِ، وَرُوِيَ: قُصُّوا الشَّوَارِبَ، وَجُزُّوا الشَّوَارِبَ.
waqad rawaynā fī hādhā al-ḥadīthi thalāthata ʾalfāẓin ʾukhara wahuwa: khudhū mina al-shawāribi, faʾinna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yaʾkhudhu min shāribihi, waruwiya: quṣṣū al-shawāriba, wajuzzū al-shawāriba.
We have transmitted three other wordings of this report: “Take something off the mustaches,” for God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, used to trim his mustache; also, “Cut the mustaches,” and “Shear the mustaches.”
فَهَذِهِ الثَّلَاثَةُ بِمَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ، وَهُوَ يَقْتَضِي أَخْذَ بَعْضِهِ وَتَرْكَ الْبَعْضِ، لَيْسَتْ كَالْإِحْفَاءِ. وَقَالَ الْمُغِيرَةُ بْنُ شُعْبَةَ: نَظَرَ إِلَيَّ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَقَدْ عَفَا شَارِبِي فَقَالَ: تَعَالَ، فَقَصَّهُ لِي عَلَى سِوَاكٍ؛ فَهَذَا نَصٌّ مِنْ فِعْلِهِ فِي أَخْذِ الشَّارِبِ.
fa-hādhihi al-thalāthatu bimaʿnan wāḥidin, wahuwa yaqtaḍī ʾakhdha baʿḍihi watarka al-baʿḍi, laysat ka-al-ʾiḥfāʾi. waqāla al-mughīratu bnu shuʿbata: naẓara ʾilayya rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waqad ʿafā shāribī faqāla: taʿāla, faqaṣṣahu lī ʿalā siwākin; fa-hādhā naṣṣun min fiʿlihi fī ʾakhdhi al-shāribi.
These three mean the same thing: removing part and leaving part, unlike close clipping. Al-Mughīra ibn Shuʿba said, “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, looked at me when my mustache had grown long and said, ‘Come here.’ He trimmed it for me over a toothstick.” This is explicit evidence from his practice of trimming the mustache.
وَقَدْ رُوِيَتْ لَفْظَةٌ غَرِيبَةٌ: طُرُّوا الشَّوَارِبَ طَرًّا؛ وَالطَّرُّ أَنْ يُؤْخَذَ مِنْ فَوْقِ الشَّارِبِ وَمِنْ تَحْتِهِ يَسْتَدِقُّ، وَالطُّرُّ الدَّقِيقُ الْمُسْتَطِيلُ الْمُسْتَخْرَجُ مِنْ شَيْءٍ أَكْثَرَ مِنْهُ حَتَّى يُحْمَلَ عَلَى وَصْفٍ
waqad ruwiyat lafẓatun gharībatun: ṭurrū al-shawāriba ṭarran; wa-al-ṭarru ʾan yuʾkhadha min fawqi al-shāribi wamin taḥtihi yastadiqqu, wa-al-ṭurru al-daqīqu al-mustaṭīlu al-mustakhraju min shayʾin ʾakthara minhu ḥattā yuḥmala ʿalā waṣfin
An uncommon wording has also been transmitted: “Trim the mustaches into a narrow strip.” This trimming removes hair above and below the mustache so that it becomes narrow. A ṭurr is a thin, elongated part taken from something larger, until it assumes a form
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٢
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 242
Volume Two, page 242
دُونَهُ أَوْ أَصْغَرَ مِنْهُ؛ وَمِنْ هَذَا سُمِّيَتِ الطُّرَّةُ كَأَنَّهَا مُسْتَخْرَجَةٌ مِنْ شَيْءٍ كَثِيرٍ مَجْعُولَةٌ عَلَى وَصْفٍ لَطِيفٍ.
dūnahu ʾaw ʾaṣghara minhu; wamin hādhā summiyati al-ṭurratu kaʾannahā mustakhrajatun min shayʾin kathīrin majʿūlatun ʿalā waṣfin laṭīfin.
less than or smaller than the original. Hence the name ṭurra, a fringe, as though it had been taken from a larger mass and given a delicate form.
وَكَانَ بَعْضُ السَّلَفِ يَتْرُكُ سِبَالَيْهِ وَهُمَا طَرَفَا الشَّارِبِ وَيُحْفِي وَسَطَ شَارِبِهِ، وَرُوِيَ هَذَا عَنْ عُمَرَ وَغَيْرِهِ، وَكَذَلِكَ رَأَيْتُ أَبَا الْحَسَنِ بْنَ سَالِمٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يَفْعَلُ.
wakāna baʿḍu al-salafi yatruku sibālayhi wahumā ṭarafā al-shāribi wayuḥfī wasaṭa shāribihi, waruwiya hādhā ʿan ʿumara waghayrihi, wa-kadhālika raʾaytu ʾabā al-ḥasani bna sālimin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yafʿalu.
Some of the earlier generations left their two mustache ends and clipped the middle closely. This is related from ʿUmar and others; I also saw Abū al-Ḥasan ibn Sālim, God Most High have mercy on him, do this.
فَأَمَّا قَوْلُهُ: وَأَعْفُوا اللِّحَى، يَعْنِي كَثِّرُوهَا، وَمِنْ هَذَا قَوْلُ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿حَتَّى عَفَوْا﴾ الْأَعْرَافِ: 95، أَيْ كَثُرُوا. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: إِنَّ الْيَهُودَ يُعْفُونَ شَوَارِبَهُمْ وَيَقُصُّونَ لِحَاهُمْ فَخَالِفُوهُمْ.
faʾammā qawluhu: waʾaʿfū al-liḥā, yaʿnī kaththirūhā, wamin hādhā qawlu Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿ḥattā ʿafaw﴾ al-ʾaʿrāfi: 95, ʾay kathurū. wafī al-khabari: ʾinna al-yahūda yuʿfūna shawāribahum wayaquṣṣūna liḥāhum fakhālifūhum.
His words “Let the beards grow” mean to let them become plentiful, as in God’s saying, mighty and majestic, “until they multiplied” (al-Aʿrāf 7:95). A report says, “The Jews let their mustaches grow and trim their beards, so differ from them.”
وَرَدَّ عُمَرُ بْنُ الْخَطَّابِ وَاِبْنُ أَبِي لَيْلَى قَاضِي الْمَدِينَةِ شَهَادَةَ رَجُلٍ كَانَ يَنْتِفُ لِحْيَتَهُ. وَنَتْفُ الْفَنِيكَيْنِ بِدْعَةٌ، وَهُمَا جَنْبَتَا الْعَنْفَقَةِ. شَهِدَ رَجُلٌ عِنْدَ عُمَرَ بْنِ عَبْدِ الْعَزِيزِ بِشَهَادَةٍ وَكَانَ يَنْتِفُ فَنِيكَيْهِ فَرَدَّ شَهَادَتَهُ.
waradda ʿumaru bnu al-khaṭṭābi wa-ibnu ʾabī laylā qāḍī al-madīnati shahādata rajulin kāna yantifu liḥyatahu. wanatfu al-fanīkayni bidʿatun, wahumā janbatā al-ʿanfaqati. shahida rajulun ʿinda ʿumara bni ʿabdi al-ʿazīzi bishahādatin wakāna yantifu fanīkayhi faradda shahādatahu.
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb and Ibn Abī Laylā, judge of Medina, rejected the testimony of a man who plucked his beard. Plucking the fanīkayn, the two sides of the small beard below the lower lip, is an innovation. A man who plucked them testified before ʿUmar ibn ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz, who rejected his testimony.
وَوَرَدَ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ النَّهْيُ عَنْ نَتْفِ الشَّيْبِ، وَقَالَ: هُوَ نُورُ الْمُؤْمِنِ. وَنَهَى عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ عَنِ الْخِضَابِ بِالسَّوَادِ، قَالَ: هُوَ خِضَابُ أَهْلِ النَّارِ، وَفِي لَفْظٍ آخَرَ: الْخِضَابُ بِالسَّوَادِ خِضَابُ الْكُفَّارِ.
wawarada ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-nahyu ʿan natfi al-shaybi, waqāla: huwa nūru al-muʾmini. wanahā ʿalayhi al-salāmu ʿani al-khiḍābi bi-al-sawādi, qāla: huwa khiḍābu ʾahli al-nāri, wafī lafẓin ʾākhara: al-khiḍābu bi-al-sawādi khiḍābu al-kuffāri.
A prohibition against plucking gray hair is transmitted from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace. He said, “It is the believer’s light.” He, peace be upon him, also forbade dyeing with black, saying, “It is the dye of the people of the Fire.” Another wording says, “Dyeing with black is the dyeing of the unbelievers.”
وَأَمَرَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَبَا بَكْرٍ أَنْ يُغَيِّرَ شَيْبَ أَبِيهِ، وَقَالَ: جَنِّبْهُ السَّوَادَ، وَقَالَ: هُوَ خِضَابُ أَهْلِ النَّارِ.
waʾamara ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾabā bakrin ʾan yughayyira shayba ʾabīhi, waqāla: jannibhu al-sawāda, waqāla: huwa khiḍābu ʾahli al-nāri.
He, God bless him and grant him peace, instructed Abū Bakr to alter the color of his father’s gray hair, saying, “Keep black away from him.” He said, “It is the dye of the people of the Fire.”
وَتَزَوَّجَ رَجُلٌ عَلَى عَهْدِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ وَكَانَ يَخْضِبُ بِالسَّوَادِ، فَنَصَلَ خِضَابُهُ وَظَهَرَتْ شَيْبَتُهُ، فَرَفَعَهُ أَهْلُ الْمَرْأَةِ إِلَى عُمَرَ، فَرَدَّ نِكَاحَهُ وَأَوْجَعَهُ ضَرْبًا، وَقَالَ: غَرَرْتَ الْقَوْمَ بِالشَّبَابِ وَدَلَّسْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ شَيْبَتَكَ.
watazawwaja rajulun ʿalā ʿahdi ʿumara raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu wakāna yakhḍibu bi-al-sawādi, fanaṣala khiḍābuhu waẓaharat shaybatuhu, farafaʿahu ʾahlu al-marʾati ʾilā ʿumara, faradda nikāḥahu waʾawjaʿahu ḍarban, waqāla: ghararta al-qawma bi-al-shabābi wadallasta ʿalayhim shaybataka.
A man who dyed his hair black married during ʿUmar’s time, God be pleased with him. When the dye faded and his gray hair appeared, the woman’s family brought him before ʿUmar, who annulled his marriage and had him painfully beaten, saying, “You deceived these people with youth and concealed your gray hair from them.”
وَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: الصُّفْرَةُ خِضَابُ الْمُسْلِمِينَ، وَالْحُمْرَةُ خِضَابُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ. وَكَانُوا يَخْضِبُونَ بِالْحِنَّاءِ لِلْحُمْرَةِ وَبِالْخَلُوقِ وَالْكَتَمِ لِلصُّفْرَةِ، وَيُقَالُ: أَوَّلُ مَنْ خَضَبَ بِالسَّوَادِ فِرْعَوْنُ لَعَنَهُ اللَّهُ.
waqāla rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: al-ṣufratu khiḍābu al-muslimīna, wa-al-ḥumratu khiḍābu al-muʾminīna. wakānū yakhḍibūna bi-al-ḥinnāʾi li-l-ḥumrati wabi-al-khalūqi wa-al-katami li-l-ṣufrati, wayuqālu: ʾawwalu man khaḍaba bi-al-sawādi firʿawnu laʿanahu Allāhu.
God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, said, “Yellow is the Muslims’ dye, and red the believers’ dye.” They used henna for red, and khalūq and katam for yellow. It is said that Pharaoh, God curse him, was the first to dye with black.
وَقَالَ سَرِيُّ بْنُ الْمُغَلِّسِ السَّقَطِيُّ: فِي اللِّحْيَةِ شِرْكَانِ: تَسْرِيحُهَا لِأَجْلِ النَّاسِ وَتَرْكُهَا مُتَفَتِّلَةً لِإِظْهَارِ الزُّهْدِ. وَقَالَ أَيْضًا: لَوْ دَخَلَ عَلَيَّ دَاخِلٌ فَمَسَحْتُ لِحْيَتِي لِأَجْلِهِ ظَنَنْتُ أَنِّي مُشْرِكٌ.
waqāla sariyyu bnu al-mughallisi al-saqaṭiyyu: fī al-liḥyati shirkāni: tasrīḥuhā liʾajli al-nāsi watarkuhā mutafattilatan liʾiẓhāri al-zuhdi. waqāla ʾayḍan: law dakhala ʿalayya dākhilun famasaḥtu liḥyatī liʾajlihi ẓanantu ʾannī mushrikun.
Sarī ibn al-Mughallis al-Saqaṭī said, “There are two forms of associating partners with God in the beard: combing it for people’s sake and leaving it tangled to display renunciation.” He also said, “If someone came in and I smoothed my beard for his sake, I would think myself guilty of such association.”
وَعَنْ كَعْبٍ وَأَبِي الْجِلْدِ وَصَفَا قَوْمًا يَكُونُونَ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ يَقُصُّونَ لِحَاهُمْ كَذَنَبِ الْحَمَامَةِ وَيُعَرْقِفُونَ نِعَالَهُمْ كَالْمَنَاجِلِ، أُولَئِكَ لَا خَلَاقَ لَهُمْ، وَذُكِرَ أَيْضًا عَنْ جَمَاعَةٍ أَنَّ هَذَا مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ.
waʿan kaʿbin waʾabī al-jildi waṣafā qawman yakūnūna fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni yaquṣṣūna liḥāhum kadhanabi al-ḥamāmati wayuʿarqifūna niʿālahum ka-al-manājili, ʾulāʾika lā khalāqa lahum, wadhukira ʾayḍan ʿan jamāʿatin ʾanna hādhā min ʾashrāṭi al-sāʿati.
Kaʿb and Abū al-Jild described people at the end of time who would trim their beards like a pigeon’s tail and curve their sandals like sickles: “Those have no share.” It is also related from a number of people that this is among the signs of the Hour.
وَقَالَ سَعِيدُ بْنُ جُبَيْرٍ عَنِ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: يَكُونُ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ قَوْمٌ يَخْضِبُونَ بِالسَّوَادِ كَحَوَاصِلِ الْحَمَامِ لَا يَرِيحُونَ رَائِحَةَ الْجَنَّةِ.
waqāla saʿīdu bnu jubayrin ʿani ibni ʿabbāsin ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: yakūnu fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni qawmun yakhḍibūna bi-al-sawādi kaḥawāṣili al-ḥamāmi lā yarīḥūna rāʾiḥata al-jannati.
Saʿīd ibn Jubayr related from Ibn ʿAbbās, from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “At the end of time there will be people who dye with black like pigeons’ crops; they will not smell the fragrance of Paradise.”
وَرَوَى أَبُو الْمُهَزِّمِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنَّ أَصْحَابَ الدَّجَّالِ عَلَيْهِمُ السِّيجَانُ، شَوَارِبُهُمْ كَالصَّيَاصِي وَنِعَالُهُمْ مُخَرَّطَةٌ؛ يَعْنِي شَوَارِبُهُمْ مُلْسٌ تَلُوحُ.
warawā ʾabū al-muhazzimi ʿan ʾabī hurayrata ʾanna ʾaṣḥāba al-dajjāli ʿalayhimu al-sījānu, shawāribuhum ka-al-ṣayāṣī waniʿāluhum mukharraṭatun; yaʿnī shawāribuhum mulsun talūḥu.
Abū al-Muhazzim related from Abū Hurayra that the Antichrist’s followers wear sījān, have mustaches like horns, and elongated, pointed sandals. That is, their mustaches are smooth and gleaming.
وَأَصْلُ الصَّيَاصِي الْقُرُونُ، وَهُوَ جَمْعُ صِيصَةٍ، وَمِنْهُ صِيصَةُ الدِّيكِ: الظُّفْرُ الثَّانِي الْأَمْلَسُ مُؤَخَّرَ رِجْلِهِ كَأَنَّهُ عَظْمٌ، وَقَوْلُهُ: عَلَيْهِمُ
waʾaṣlu al-ṣayāṣī al-qurūnu, wahuwa jamʿu ṣīṣatin, waminhu ṣīṣatu al-dīki: al-ẓufru al-thānī al-ʾamlasu muʾakhkhara rijlihi kaʾannahu ʿaẓmun, waqawluhu: ʿalayhimu
Ṣayāṣī originally means horns, the plural of ṣīṣa. Hence a cock’s ṣīṣa: the second, smooth claw at the back of its leg, like a bone. His words “they wear
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٣
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 243
Volume Two, page 243
السِّيجَانُ، يَعْنِي الطَّيَالِسَةَ، وَهُوَ جَمْعُ سَاجٍ، وَقَوْلُهُ: نِعَالُهُمْ مُخَرَّطَةٌ، أَيْ لَهَا أَعْنَاقٌ طِوَالٌ مُعَرْقَفَةٌ كَالْخَرَاطِيمِ، وَهِيَ أَكْمَامُ الْأَبَارِيقِ.
al-sījānu, yaʿnī al-ṭayālisata, wahuwa jamʿu sājin, waqawluhu: niʿāluhum mukharraṭatun, ʾay lahā ʾaʿnāqun ṭiwālun muʿarqafatun ka-al-kharāṭīmi, wahiya ʾakmāmu al-ʾabārīqi.
sījān” mean cloaks; the word is the plural of sāj. His words “their sandals are elongated and pointed” mean that they have long, curved necks like spouts, the mouths of ewers.
وَكَانَ اِبْنُ عُمَرَ يَقُولُ لِلْحَلَّاقِ: اُبْلُغِ الْعَظْمَيْنِ فَإِنَّهُمَا مُنْتَهَى اللِّحْيَةِ؛ يَعْنِي حَدَّهَا. وَلِذَلِكَ سُمِّيَتْ لِحْيَةً لِأَنَّ حَدَّهَا اللَّحْيُ، فَالزِّيَادَةُ عَلَى ذَلِكَ الْحَدِّ وَالنُّقْصَانُ مِنْهُ مُحْدَثٌ.
wakāna ibnu ʿumara yaqūlu li-l-ḥallāqi: ublughi al-ʿaẓmayni faʾinnahumā muntahā al-liḥyati; yaʿnī ḥaddahā. wali-dhālika summiyat liḥyatan liʾanna ḥaddahā al-laḥyu, fa-al-ziyādatu ʿalā dhālika al-ḥaddi wa-al-nuqṣānu minhu muḥdathun.
Ibn ʿUmar would tell the barber, “Reach the two bones, for they are where the beard ends,” meaning its boundary. It is therefore called liḥya because its boundary is the jaw, laḥy. Adding beyond that boundary or cutting within it is an innovation.
ذِكْرُ مَا جَاءَ فِي فِعْلِ بَعْضِ ذَلِكَ وَاِسْتِحْبَابِهِ
dhikru mā jāʾa fī fiʿli baʿḍi dhālika wa-istiḥbābihi
Reports of Practicing Some of These Things and Considering Them Desirable
إِنَّ مِنَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مَنْ كَانَ يَأْخُذُ مِنْ لِحْيَتِهِ فِي الْمَنَاسِكِ وَغَيْرِهَا، وَإِنْ قَبَضَ الرَّجُلُ عَلَى لِحْيَتِهِ وَأَخَذَ مَا تَحْتَ الْقَبْضَةِ فَلَا بَأْسَ، قَدْ فَعَلَهُ اِبْنُ عُمَرَ وَجَمَاعَةٌ مِنَ التَّابِعِينَ.
ʾinna mina al-ʿulamāʾi man kāna yaʾkhudhu min liḥyatihi fī al-manāsiki waghayrihā, waʾin qabaḍa al-rajulu ʿalā liḥyatihi waʾakhadha mā taḥta al-qabḍati falā baʾsa, qad faʿalahu ibnu ʿumara wajamāʿatun mina al-tābiʿīna.
Some scholars trimmed their beards during pilgrimage rites and at other times. There is no harm in a man grasping his beard and cutting what extends below his fist; Ibn ʿUmar and a number of Successors did so.
وَاِسْتَحْسَنَهُ الشَّعْبِيُّ وَاِبْنُ سِيرِينَ، وَكَرِهَهُ الْحَسَنُ وَقَتَادَةُ، وَتَرْكُهَا عَافِيَةً عَلَى خِلْقَتِهَا أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ.
wa-istaḥsanahu al-shaʿbiyyu wa-ibnu sīrīna, wakarihahu al-ḥasanu waqatādatu, watarkuhā ʿāfiyatan ʿalā khilqatihā ʾaḥabbu ʾilayya.
Al-Shaʿbī and Ibn Sīrīn approved of this, while al-Ḥasan and Qatāda disliked it. I prefer leaving it to grow in its natural form.
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا خَبَرًا: مِنْ سَعَادَةِ الْمَرْءِ خِفَّةُ لِحْيَتِهِ، إِلَّا أَنَّ بَعْضَ الرُّوَاةِ رَوَاهُ عَلَى مَعْنًى آخَرَ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ صَحَّفَهُ فَهُوَ غَرِيبٌ، كَانَ يَقُولُ فِيهِ: خِفَّةُ لَحْيَيْهِ، أَيْ بِتِلَاوَةِ الْقُرْآنِ، وَلَا أَرَاهُ مَحْفُوظًا.
waqad rawaynā khabaran: min saʿādati al-marʾi khiffatu liḥyatihi, ʾillā ʾanna baʿḍa al-ruwāti rawāhu ʿalā maʿnan ʾākhara, faʾin lam yakun ṣaḥḥafahu fahuwa gharībun, kāna yaqūlu fīhi: khiffatu laḥyayhi, ʾay bitilāwati al-qurʾāni, walā ʾarāhu maḥfūẓan.
We have transmitted a report: “A light beard is part of a man’s good fortune.” One transmitter related it with another meaning; unless he misread it, it is an uncommon version. He said, “the lightness of his jaws,” meaning in reciting the Qurʾān. I do not consider this wording reliably preserved.
وَقَدْ كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ ثُمَّ الصَّالِحُونَ بَعْدَهُ يُسَرِّحُونَ لِحَاهُمْ لِأَجْلِ الدِّينِ وَالسُّنَّةِ وَتَنْظِيفًا لِلطَّهَارَةِ وَنَزْعِ التَّفَثِ مِنَ الْقَمْلِ وَغَيْرِهِ وَلِإِسْقَاطِ شَعْرٍ مَيِّتٍ إِنْ كَانَ هُنَاكَ.
waqad kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama thumma al-ṣāliḥūna baʿdahu yusarriḥūna liḥāhum liʾajli al-dīni wa-al-sunnati watanẓīfan li-l-ṭahārati wanazʿi al-tafathi mina al-qamli waghayrihi waliʾisqāṭi shaʿrin mayyitin ʾin kāna hunāka.
God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and the righteous after him used to comb their beards for religion and the Sunna, cleansing them for purity, removing dirt such as lice and other things, and dislodging dead hair if any was present.
وَقَدْ كَانَ مِنَ الزُّهَّادِ مَنْ يَتْرُكُ لِحْيَتَهُ مُتَفَتِّلَةً لَا يُسَرِّحُهَا شُغْلًا عَنْ نَفْسِهِ، وَالصِّدْقُ بِعَيْنِهِ حَسَنٌ وَالصِّدْقُ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسَنٌ. قَالَ بَعْضُهُمْ: رَأَيْتُ دَاوُودَ الطَّائِيَّ مُنْفَتِلَ اللِّحْيَةِ فَقُلْتُ: يَا أَبَا سُلَيْمَانَ، لَوْ سَرَّحْتَ لِحْيَتَكَ! فَقَالَ: إِنِّي إِذًا لَفَارِغٌ.
waqad kāna mina al-zuhhādi man yatruku liḥyatahu mutafattilatan lā yusarriḥuhā shughlan ʿan nafsihi, wa-al-ṣidqu biʿaynihi ḥasanun wa-al-ṣidqu fī kulli shayʾin ḥasanun. qāla baʿḍuhum: raʾaytu dāwūda al-ṭāʾiyya munfatila al-liḥyati faqultu: yā ʾabā sulaymāna, law sarraḥta liḥyataka! faqāla: ʾinnī ʾidhan lafārighun.
Some renunciants left their beards tangled and uncombed because they were occupied away from themselves. Sincerity in itself is good, and sincerity in everything is good. Someone said, “I saw Dāwūd al-Ṭāʾī with a tangled beard and said, ‘Abū Sulaymān, why not comb it?’ He replied, ‘Then I would indeed have time to spare!’”
إِلَّا أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يَدْهُنُ شَعْرَهُ وَيُرَجِّلُهُ غِبًّا، وَأَمَرَ بِذَلِكَ فَقَالَ: وَاُدْهُنُوا غِبًّا، وَقَالَ: مَنْ كَانَتْ لَهُ شَعْرَةٌ فَلْيُكْرِمْهَا.
ʾillā ʾanna rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yadhunu shaʿrahu wayurajjiluhu ghibban, waʾamara bi-dhālika faqāla: wa-udhunū ghibban, waqāla: man kānat lahu shaʿratun falyukrimhā.
God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, however, used to oil and comb his hair at intervals. He commanded this, saying, “Oil your hair at intervals,” and said, “Whoever has hair should honor it.”
وَدَخَلَ رَجُلٌ ثَائِرَ الرَّأْسِ أَشْعَثَ اللِّحْيَةِ فَقَالَ: أَمَا كَانَ لِهَذَا دُهْنٌ يُسَكِّنُ بِهِ شَعْرَهُ؟ ثُمَّ قَالَ: يَدْخُلُ أَحَدُكُمْ كَأَنَّهُ شَيْطَانٌ.
wadakhala rajulun thāʾira al-raʾsi ʾashʿatha al-liḥyati faqāla: ʾamā kāna li-hādhā duhnun yusakkinu bihi shaʿrahu? thumma qāla: yadkhulu ʾaḥadukum kaʾannahu shayṭānun.
A man entered with unruly hair and a disheveled beard. He said, “Did this man have no oil with which to settle his hair?” Then he said, “One of you comes in looking like a devil.”
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي خَبَرٍ غَرِيبٍ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُسَرِّحُ لِحْيَتَهُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ مَرَّتَيْنِ. وَفِي خَبَرٍ أَغْرَبَ مِنْهُ قَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا: اِجْتَمَعَ قَوْمٌ بِبَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَخَرَجَ عَلَيْهِمْ، فَرَأَيْتُهُ يَطَّلِعُ فِي الْحُبِّ لِيُسَوِّيَ مِنْ رَأْسِهِ وَلِحْيَتِهِ.
waqad rawaynā fī khabarin gharībin: kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yusarriḥu liḥyatahu fī kulli yawmin marratayni. wafī khabarin ʾaghraba minhu qālat ʿāʾishatu raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhā: ijtamaʿa qawmun bibābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fakharaja ʿalayhim, faraʾaytuhu yaṭṭaliʿu fī al-ḥubbi liyusawwiya min raʾsihi waliḥyatihi.
In an uncommon report we have transmitted: God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, combed his beard twice each day. In a still more uncommon report, ʿĀʾisha, God Most High be pleased with her, said, “People gathered at the door of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and he came out to them. I saw him looking into the water jar to straighten his hair and beard.”
وَفِي الْخَبَرِ الْمَشْهُورِ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُمَشِّطُ لِحْيَتَهُ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ، وَأَنَّ الْمُشْطَ وَالْمِدْرَى لَمْ يَكُنْ يُفَارِقُهُ فِي سَفَرٍ وَلَا حَضَرٍ؛ فَهَذِهِ سُنَّةُ الْعَرَبِ الْمَعْرُوفَةُ فِيهِمْ، وَكَانَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَيْهَا وَكَانَتْ مِنْ أَخْلَاقِهِ.
wafī al-khabari al-mashhūri ʾannahu kāna yumashshiṭu liḥyatahu fī kulli yawmin, waʾanna al-mushṭa wa-al-midrā lam yakun yufāriquhu fī safarin walā ḥaḍarin; fa-hādhihi sunnatu al-ʿarabi al-maʿrūfatu fīhim, wakāna ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu ʿalayhā wakānat min ʾakhlāqihi.
The well-known report says that he combed his beard every day and that his comb and hair pick never left him, traveling or at home. This was the Arabs’ familiar practice; he followed it, blessings and peace upon him, and it belonged to his habits.
وَقَدْ كَانَ الشَّبَابُ يَتَشَبَّهُونَ بِالْكُهُولِ تَفْضِيلًا لِلْكُهُولِ، غَيْرَ عُجْبٍ بِالشَّبَابِ وَلَا فَخْرٍ بِالْحَدَاثَةِ. وَفِي الْخَبَرِ: خَيْرُ شَبَابِكُمْ مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِشُيُوخِكُمْ، وَشَرُّ شُيُوخِكُمْ مَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِشَبَابِكُمْ.
waqad kāna al-shabābu yatashabbahūna bi-al-kuhūli tafḍīlan li-l-kuhūli, ghayra ʿujbin bi-al-shabābi walā fakhrin bi-al-ḥadāthati. wafī al-khabari: khayru shabābikum man tashabbaha bishuyūkhikum, washarru shuyūkhikum man tashabbaha bishabābikum.
Young men used to imitate the mature out of respect for maturity, without self-admiration in youth or pride in being young. A report says, “The best of your young are those who resemble your elders, and the worst of your elders are those who resemble your young.”
وَفِي الْحَدِيثِ: إِنَّ مِنْ إِجْلَالِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى إِجْلَالَ ذِي الشَّيْبَةِ الْمُسْلِمِ. وَقَدْ كَانَ الشُّيُوخُ يُقَدِّمُونَ الشَّبَابَ وَيَرَوْنَ فَضْلَهُمْ بِالْعِلْمِ وَالدِّينِ تَوَاضُعًا وَإِخْبَاتًا، لَا تَكَبُّرًا بِالْكِبَرِ وَلَا غُلُوًّا.
wafī al-ḥadīthi: ʾinna min ʾijlāli Allāhi taʿālā ʾijlāla dhī al-shaybati al-muslimi. waqad kāna al-shuyūkhu yuqaddimūna al-shabāba wayarawna faḍlahum bi-al-ʿilmi wa-al-dīni tawāḍuʿan waʾikhbātan, lā takabburan bi-al-kibari walā ghuluwwan.
A tradition says, “Part of honoring God Most High is honoring the gray-haired Muslim.” Elders would give precedence to the young and recognize their merit in knowledge and religion, with humility and lowliness, without arrogance over their own age or excess.
كَانَ عُمَرُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ يُقَدِّمُ اِبْنَ عَبَّاسٍ وَهُوَ حَدَثُ السِّنِّ عَلَى أَكَابِرِ الصَّحَابَةِ وَيَسْأَلُهُ دُونَهُمْ.
kāna ʿumaru raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu yuqaddimu ibna ʿabbāsin wahuwa ḥadathu al-sinni ʿalā ʾakābiri al-ṣaḥābati wayasʾaluhu dūnahum.
ʿUmar, God Most High be pleased with him, would give Ibn ʿAbbās precedence over the senior Companions while he was still young and ask him questions rather than them.
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٤
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 244
Volume Two, page 244
وَرُوِيَ عَنْ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَغَيْرِهِ: مَا آتَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَبْدًا الْعِلْمَ قَطُّ إِلَّا شَابًّا، وَالْخَيْرُ كُلُّهُ فِي الشَّبَابِ، ثُمَّ تَلَا قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا فَتًى يَذْكُرُهُمْ يُقَالُ لَهُ إِبْرَاهِيمُ﴾ الْأَنْبِيَاءِ: 60.
waruwiya ʿan ibni ʿabbāsin waghayrihi: mā ʾātā Allāhu taʿālā ʿabdan al-ʿilma qaṭṭu ʾillā shābban, wa-al-khayru kulluhu fī al-shabābi, thumma talā qawlahu taʿālā: ﴿qālū samiʿnā fatan yadhkuruhum yuqālu lahu ʾibrāhīmu﴾ al-ʾanbiyāʾi: 60.
It is related from Ibn ʿAbbās and others: “God Most High has never given a servant knowledge except while young; all good is in the young.” He then recited His words, exalted is He, “They said, ‘We heard a young man speaking of them; he is called Abraham’” (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:60).
وَتَلَا قَوْلَهُ سُبْحَانَهُ: ﴿إِنَّهُمْ فِتْيَةٌ آمَنُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ﴾ الْكَهْفِ: 13، وَقَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَآتَيْنَاهُ الْحُكْمَ صَبِيًّا﴾ مَرْيَمَ: 12.
watalā qawlahu subḥānahu: ﴿ʾinnahum fityatun ʾāmanū birabbihim﴾ al-kahfi: 13, waqawlahu taʿālā: ﴿waʾātaynāhu al-ḥukma ṣabiyyan﴾ maryama: 12.
He also recited His words, glorified is He, “They were youths who believed in their Lord” (al-Kahf 18:13), and His words, exalted is He, “We gave him judgment while still a boy” (Maryam 19:12).
وَقَدْ كَانَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ إِذَا ذَكَرَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ: قُبِضَ وَلَيْسَ فِي شَعْرِ رَأْسِهِ وَشَعْرِ لِحْيَتِهِ عِشْرُونَ شَعْرَةً بَيْضَاءَ. فَقِيلَ: وَلِمَ يَا أَبَا حَمْزَةَ وَقَدْ أَسَنَّ؟ قَالَ: لَمْ يَشِنْهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِالشَّيْبِ. قِيلَ: أَوَشَيْنٌ هُوَ؟ قَالَ: كُلُّكُمْ يَكْرَهُهُ.
waqad kāna ʾanasu bnu mālikin ʾidhā dhakara rasūla Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama qāla: qubiḍa walaysa fī shaʿri raʾsihi washaʿri liḥyatihi ʿishrūna shaʿratan bayḍāʾa. faqīla: walima yā ʾabā ḥamzata waqad ʾasanna? qāla: lam yashinhu Allāhu taʿālā bi-al-shaybi. qīla: ʾawashaynun huwa? qāla: kullukum yakrahuhu.
When Anas ibn Mālik mentioned God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, he would say, “He died with fewer than twenty white hairs on his head and in his beard.” Someone asked, “Why, Abū Ḥamza, although he had grown old?” He replied, “God Most High did not mar him with gray hair.” “Is it a blemish?” he was asked. “You all dislike it,” he replied.
وَيُقَالُ: إِنَّ يَحْيَى بْنَ أَكْثَمَ وَلِيَ الْقَضَاءَ وَسِنُّهُ إِحْدَى وَعِشْرُونَ سَنَةً، فَقَالَ لَهُ رَجُلٌ ذَاتَ يَوْمٍ وَهُوَ فِي مَجْلِسِهِ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يُحْشِمَهُ بِذَلِكَ: كَمْ سِنُّ الْقَاضِي أَيَّدَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى؟
wayuqālu: ʾinna yaḥyā bna ʾakthama waliya al-qaḍāʾa wasinnuhu ʾiḥdā waʿishrūna sanatan, faqāla lahu rajulun dhāta yawmin wahuwa fī majlisihi yurīdu ʾan yuḥshimahu bi-dhālika: kam sinnu al-qāḍī ʾayyadahu Allāhu taʿālā?
It is said that Yaḥyā ibn Aktham became a judge at twenty-one. One day, while he sat in court, a man seeking to embarrass him asked, “How old is the judge, may God Most High strengthen him?”
فَقَالَ: مِثْلُ سِنِّ عَتَّابِ بْنِ أَسِيدٍ حَيْثُ وَلَّاهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِمَارَةَ مَكَّةَ وَقَضَاءَهَا، فَأَفْحَمَهُ.
faqāla: mithlu sinni ʿattābi bni ʾasīdin ḥaythu wallāhu rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾimārata makkata waqaḍāʾahā, faʾafḥamahu.
He replied, “The age of ʿAttāb ibn Asīd when God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, appointed him governor and judge of Mecca,” leaving the man speechless.
وَرَوَيْنَا عَنْ مَالِكِ بْنِ مِغْوَلٍ قَالَ: قَرَأْتُ فِي بَعْضِ كُتُبِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: لَا تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ اللِّحَى فَإِنَّ التَّيْسَ لَهُ لِحْيَةٌ. وَقَالَ بَعْضُ الْأُدَبَاءِ: كُلَّمَا طَالَتِ اللِّحْيَةُ تَشَمَّرَ الْعَقْلُ.
warawaynā ʿan māliki bni mighwalin qāla: qaraʾtu fī baʿḍi kutubi Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: lā taghurrannakumu al-liḥā faʾinna al-taysa lahu liḥyatun. waqāla baʿḍu al-ʾudabāʾi: kullamā ṭālati al-liḥyatu tashammara al-ʿaqlu.
We have transmitted from Mālik ibn Mighwal: “I read in one of God’s books, mighty and majestic: ‘Do not let beards deceive you; a he-goat has a beard.’” A man of letters said, “The longer the beard grows, the more the mind draws back.”
وَقَالَ أَبُو عَمْرِو بْنُ الْعَلَاءِ: إِذَا رَأَيْتَهُ طَوِيلَ الْقَامَةِ صَغِيرَ الْهَامَةِ عَرِيضَ اللِّحْيَةِ فَاِقْضِ عَلَيْهِ بِالْحُمْقِ، وَلَوْ كَانَ أُمَيَّةَ بْنَ عَبْدِ شَمْسٍ. وَقَالَ مُعَاوِيَةُ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: يَتَبَيَّنُ حُمْقُ الرَّجُلِ مِنْ طُولِ قَامَتِهِ وَعِظَمِ لِحْيَتِهِ، وَفِي كُنْيَتِهِ وَنَقْشِ خَاتَمِهِ.
waqāla ʾabū ʿamri bnu al-ʿalāʾi: ʾidhā raʾaytahu ṭawīla al-qāmati ṣaghīra al-hāmati ʿarīḍa al-liḥyati fa-iqḍi ʿalayhi bi-al-ḥumqi, walaw kāna ʾumayyata bna ʿabdi shamsin. waqāla muʿāwiyatu raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā: yatabayyanu ḥumqu al-rajuli min ṭūli qāmatihi waʿiẓami liḥyatihi, wafī kunyatihi wanaqshi khātamihi.
Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ said, “If you see him tall, small-headed, and broad-bearded, judge him foolish, even if he is Umayya ibn ʿAbd Shams.” Muʿāwiya, God Most High have mercy on him, said, “A man’s foolishness shows in his height, the size of his beard, his byname, and the inscription on his ring.”
وَكَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ النَّخَعِيُّ وَمِثْلُهُ مِنَ السَّلَفِ يَقُولُ: عَجِبْتُ لِرَجُلٍ عَاقِلٍ طَوِيلِ اللِّحْيَةِ كَيْفَ لَا يَأْخُذُ مِنْ لِحْيَتِهِ فَيَجْعَلُهَا بَيْنَ لِحْيَتَيْنِ، فَإِنَّ التَّوَسُّطَ فِي كُلِّ شَيْءٍ حَسَنٌ.
wakāna ʾibrāhīmu al-nakhaʿiyyu wamithluhu mina al-salafi yaqūlu: ʿajibtu lirajulin ʿāqilin ṭawīli al-liḥyati kayfa lā yaʾkhudhu min liḥyatihi fayajʿaluhā bayna liḥyatayni, faʾinna al-tawassuṭa fī kulli shayʾin ḥasanun.
Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī and others of the earlier generations used to say, “I wonder at an intelligent man with a long beard: why does he not trim it, making it intermediate between two kinds of beard? Moderation in everything is good.”
وَأُنْشِدْتُ لِبَعْضِ الظُّرَفَاءِ: لَا تَعْجَبَنَّ بِلِحْيَةٍ ... كَبُرَتْ مَنَابِتُهَا طَوِيلَهْ يَهْوِي بِهَا عَصْفُ الرِّيَاحِ ... كَأَنَّهَا ذَنَبُ الْحَسِيلَهْ قَدْ يُدْرِكُ الشَّرَفَ الْفَتَى ... يَوْمًا وَلِحْيَتُهُ قَلِيلَهْ.
waʾunshidtu libaʿḍi al-ẓurafāʾi: lā taʿjabanna biliḥyatin ... kaburat manābituhā ṭawīlah yahwī bihā ʿaṣfu al-riyāḥi ... kaʾannahā dhanabu al-ḥasīlah qad yudriku al-sharafa al-fatā ... yawman waliḥyatuhu qalīlah.
These lines by a wit were recited to me: “Do not admire a beard whose spreading growth is long; the gusting wind tosses it like a calf’s tail. A young man may one day attain honor though his beard is scant.”
وَأُنْشِدَ لِبَعْضِ الْعَرَبِ: لَعَمْرُكَ مَا الْفِتْيَانُ ... إِنْ تَنْبُتِ اللِّحَى وَلٰكِنَّمَا الْفِتْيَانُ ... كُلُّ فَتًى نَدِيٍّ.
waʾunshida libaʿḍi al-ʿarabi: laʿamruka mā al-fityānu ... ʾin tanbuti al-liḥā walākinnamā al-fityānu ... kullu fatan nadiyyin.
These lines were also recited from an Arab poet: “By your life, gallant men are not made when beards sprout; gallant men are every generous youth.”
وَلَمْ يَكُنِ الْأَشْيَاخُ يَسْتَنْكِفُونَ أَنْ يَتَعَلَّمُوا مِنَ الشَّبَابِ مَا جَهِلُوا، وَلَا يَزْرُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ لِصِغَرِ سِنِّهِمْ، إِذِ الْفَضْلُ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ، لَا مَانِعَ لِمَا أَعْطَى اللَّهُ مِنْ صَبِيٍّ أَوْ غَيْرِهِ وَلَا مُعْطِيَ لِمَا مَنَعَ اللَّهُ مِنْ كَبِيرٍ أَوْ غَيْرِهِ.
walam yakuni al-ʾashyākhu yastankifūna ʾan yataʿallamū mina al-shabābi mā jahilū, walā yazrūna ʿalayhim liṣighari sinnihim, ʾidhi al-faḍlu biyadi Allāhi yuʾtīhi man yashāʾu, lā māniʿa limā ʾaʿṭā Allāhu min ṣabiyyin ʾaw ghayrihi walā muʿṭiya limā manaʿa Allāhu min kabīrin ʾaw ghayrihi.
Elders did not disdain learning from the young what they did not know, nor belittle them for their youth. Bounty is in God’s hand, and He gives it to whom He wills. No one can withhold what He gives a child or anyone else, nor give what He withholds from an elder or anyone else.
وَقَالَ أَبُو أَيُّوبَ السِّجِسْتَانِيُّ: إِنِّي أَدْرَكْتُ الشَّيْخَ اِبْنَ ثَمَانِينَ سَنَةً يَتْبَعُ الْغُلَامَ يَتَعَلَّمُ مِنْهُ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُ: تَتَعَلَّمُ مِنْ هَذَا؟ فَيَقُولُ: نَعَمْ، أَنَا عَبْدُهُ مَا دُمْتُ أَتَعَلَّمُ مِنْهُ.
waqāla ʾabū ʾayyūba al-sijistāniyyu: ʾinnī ʾadraktu al-shaykha ibna thamānīna sanatan yatbaʿu al-ghulāma yataʿallamu minhu, fayuqālu lahu: tataʿallamu min hādhā? fayaqūlu: naʿam, ʾanā ʿabduhu mā dumtu ʾataʿallamu minhu.
Abū Ayyūb al-Sijistānī said, “I knew an eighty-year-old elder who followed a boy to learn from him. When asked, ‘You learn from this one?’ he replied, ‘Yes. I am his servant as long as I learn from him.’”
وَقَالَ عَلِيُّ بْنُ الْحَسَنِ: مَنْ سَبَقَ إِلَيْهِ الْعِلْمُ فَهُوَ إِمَامُكَ فِيهِ وَإِنْ كَانَ أَصْغَرَ سِنًّا مِنْكَ. وَقِيلَ لِأَبِي عَمْرِو بْنِ الْعَلَاءِ: أَيَحْسُنُ لِلشَّيْخِ الْكَبِيرِ أَنْ يَتَعَلَّمَ مِنَ الصَّغِيرِ؟ فَقَالَ: إِنْ كَانَتِ الْحَيَاةُ تَحْسُنُ بِهِ فَإِنَّ التَّعَلُّمَ يَحْسُنُ، فَإِنَّهُ يَحْتَاجُ إِلَى الْعِلْمِ مَا دَامَ حَيًّا.
waqāla ʿaliyyu bnu al-ḥasani: man sabaqa ʾilayhi al-ʿilmu fahuwa ʾimāmuka fīhi waʾin kāna ʾaṣghara sinnan minka. waqīla liʾabī ʿamri bni al-ʿalāʾi: ʾayaḥsunu li-l-shaykhi al-kabīri ʾan yataʿallama mina al-ṣaghīri? faqāla: ʾin kānati al-ḥayātu taḥsunu bihi faʾinna al-taʿalluma yaḥsunu, faʾinnahu yaḥtāju ʾilā al-ʿilmi mā dāma ḥayyan.
ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan said, “Whoever receives knowledge before you is your guide in it, even if younger than you.” Abū ʿAmr ibn al-ʿAlāʾ was asked whether an old man should learn from a young one. He replied, “If life befits him, learning befits him; he needs knowledge as long as he lives.”
وَقَالَ يَحْيَى بْنُ مَعِينٍ لِأَحْمَدَ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ وَقَدْ رَآهُ يَمْشِي خَلْفَ بَغْلَةِ الشَّافِعِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ: يَا أَبَا عَبْدِ اللَّهِ، تَتْرُكُ حَدِيثَ سُفْيَانَ بِعُلُوٍّ وَتَمْشِي خَلْفَ بَغْلَةِ هَذَا الْفَتَى وَتَسْمَعُ مِنْهُ؟
waqāla yaḥyā bnu maʿīnin liʾaḥmada bni ḥanbalin waqad raʾāhu yamshī khalfa baghlati al-shāfiʿiyyi raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu: yā ʾabā ʿabdi Allāhi, tatruku ḥadītha sufyāna biʿuluwwin watamshī khalfa baghlati hādhā al-fatā watasmaʿu minhu?
Yaḥyā ibn Maʿīn saw Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal walking behind al-Shāfiʿī’s mule, God Most High be pleased with him, and said, “Abū ʿAbd Allāh, do you leave Sufyān’s traditions with a short chain of transmission to walk behind this young man’s mule and listen to him?”
فَقَالَ أَحْمَدُ: لَوْ عَرَفْتَ مِنْهُ مَا أَعْرِفُ لَكُنْتَ تَمْشِي مِنَ الْجَانِبِ الْآخَرِ، إِنَّ عِلْمَ سُفْيَانَ
faqāla ʾaḥmadu: law ʿarafta minhu mā ʾaʿrifu lakunta tamshī mina al-jānibi al-ʾākhari, ʾinna ʿilma sufyāna
Aḥmad replied, “If you knew of him what I know, you would be walking on the other side. Sufyān’s knowledge,
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٥
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 245
Volume Two, page 245
إِنْ فَاتَنِي بِعُلُوٍّ أَدْرَكْتُهُ بِنُزُولٍ، وَإِنَّ عَقْلَ هَذَا الشَّابِّ إِنْ فَاتَنِي لَمْ أُدْرِكْهُ بِعُلُوٍّ وَلَا نُزُولٍ.
ʾin fātanī biʿuluwwin ʾadraktuhu binuzūlin, waʾinna ʿaqla hādhā al-shābbi ʾin fātanī lam ʾudrikhu biʿuluwwin walā nuzūlin.
if I miss it through a short chain, I can obtain through a longer one. But if I miss this young man’s understanding, I will not obtain it through either a short chain or a long one.”
وَسَمِعْتُ أَبَا بَكْرِ بْنَ الْجَلَّاءِ يَقُولُ: إِنِّي لَأَرَى الصَّبِيَّ يَعْمَلُ الشَّيْءَ فَأَسْتَحْسِنُهُ فَأَقْتَدِي بِهِ فَيَكُونُ إِمَامِي فِيهِ. وَمَا رَأَيْتُ أَشَدَّ تَوَاضُعًا مِنْهُ عَلَى عِلْمِهِ وَزُهْدِهِ.
wasamiʿtu ʾabā bakri bna al-jallāʾi yaqūlu: ʾinnī laʾarā al-ṣabiyya yaʿmalu al-shayʾa faʾastaḥsinuhu faʾaqtadī bihi fayakūnu ʾimāmī fīhi. wamā raʾaytu ʾashadda tawāḍuʿan minhu ʿalā ʿilmihi wazuhdihi.
I heard Abū Bakr ibn al-Jallāʾ say, “I may see a child do something, approve of it, and follow his example; he then becomes my guide in it.” For all his knowledge and renunciation, I never saw anyone more humble than he.
فَأَمَّا مَعْنَى الْخَبَرِ الَّذِي رُوِيَ: لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا أَتَاهُمُ الْعِلْمُ عَنْ أَكَابِرِهِمْ، فَإِذَا أَتَاهُمْ عَنْ أَصَاغِرِهِمْ هَلَكُوا، فَإِنَّ اِبْنَ الْمُبَارَكِ سُئِلَ عَنْ مَعْنَى ذَلِكَ فَقَالَ: أَصَاغِرُهُمْ أَهْلُ الْبِدَعِ، لِأَنَّهُ لَا صَغِيرَ مِنْ أَهْلِ السُّنَّةِ مِمَّنْ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمٌ.
faʾammā maʿnā al-khabari alladhī ruwiya: lā yazālu al-nāsu bikhayrin mā ʾatāhumu al-ʿilmu ʿan ʾakābirihim, faʾidhā ʾatāhum ʿan ʾaṣāghirihim halakū, faʾinna ibna al-mubāraki suʾila ʿan maʿnā dhālika faqāla: ʾaṣāghiruhum ʾahlu al-bidaʿi, liʾannahu lā ṣaghīra min ʾahli al-sunnati mimman ʿindahu ʿilmun.
As for the report, “People will remain well while knowledge comes from their elders; when it comes from their lesser ones, they perish,” Ibn al-Mubārak was asked what it meant. He replied, “Their lesser ones are the people of innovation, for no knowledgeable adherent of the Sunna is a lesser one.”
ثُمَّ قَالَ: كَمْ مِنْ صَغِيرِ السِّنِّ حَمَلْنَا عَنْهُ كَبِيرَ عِلْمٍ. وَقَدْ قِيلَ: إِنَّ قَوْلَهُ عَنْ أَكَابِرِهِمْ يَعْنِي أَصْحَابَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
thumma qāla: kam min ṣaghīri al-sinni ḥamalnā ʿanhu kabīra ʿilmin. waqad qīla: ʾinna qawlahu ʿan ʾakābirihim yaʿnī ʾaṣḥāba rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
He then said, “How often we have received great knowledge from someone young in years.” It has also been said that “from their elders” means from the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.
فَهَذَا مُوَاطِئٌ لِلْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ: لَا تَزَالُ أُمَّتِي بِخَيْرٍ مَا دَامَ فِيهِمْ مَنْ رَآنِي، وَلَيَأْتِيَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ زَمَانٌ يُطْلَبُ فِي أَقْطَارِ الْأَرْضِ فَلَا يُوجَدُ أَحَدٌ رَآنِي.
fa-hādhā muwāṭiʾun li-l-khabari al-ʾākhari: lā tazālu ʾummatī bikhayrin mā dāma fīhim man raʾānī, walayaʾtiyanna ʿalayhim zamānun yuṭlabu fī ʾaqṭāri al-ʾarḍi falā yūjadu ʾaḥadun raʾānī.
This agrees with the other report: “My community will remain well as long as someone who has seen me remains among them. A time will surely come when a search is made throughout the earth and no one who has seen me can be found.”
كَيْفَ وَقَدْ جَاءَ بِذَلِكَ لَفْظَةٌ ذَكَرْتُهَا: لَا يَزَالُ النَّاسُ بِخَيْرٍ مَا أَتَاهُمُ الْعِلْمُ عَنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَعَنْ أَكَابِرِهِمْ، فَإِذَا أَتَاهُمْ عَنْ أَصَاغِرِهِمُ اِسْتَعْصَى الْكَبِيرُ عَلَى الصَّغِيرِ فَهَلَكُوا.
kayfa waqad jāʾa bi-dhālika lafẓatun dhakartuhā: lā yazālu al-nāsu bikhayrin mā ʾatāhumu al-ʿilmu ʿan ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama waʿan ʾakābirihim, faʾidhā ʾatāhum ʿan ʾaṣāghirihimu istaʿṣā al-kabīru ʿalā al-ṣaghīri fahalakū.
Indeed, a wording I have cited states just that: “People will remain well while knowledge comes to them from the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, and from their elders. When it comes from their young, the elder resists the younger, and they perish.”
أَيْ فَذَلِكَ خَشْيَةَ أَنْ لَا يَتَعَلَّمَ مِنْهُ لِمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ مِنَ الْحَيَاءِ وَالتَّكَبُّرِ وَالْاِسْتِنْكَافِ. وَوَجْهٌ آخَرُ: هَذَا مَجَازُهُ عِنْدِي عَلَى الْخَبَرِ وَالْكَوْنِ لَا عَلَى الذَّمِّ.
ʾay fa-dhālika khashyata ʾan lā yataʿallama minhu limā dhakarnāhu mina al-ḥayāʾi wa-al-takabburi wa-al-istinkāfi. wawajhun ʾākharu: hādhā majāzuhu ʿindī ʿalā al-khabari wa-al-kawni lā ʿalā al-dhammi.
That is, the danger is that he will refuse to learn from him because of the embarrassment, arrogance, and disdain we mentioned. There is another interpretation: I take this as a description of what happens, rather than an expression of blame.
لِأَنَّهُ قَدْ جَاءَ فِي الْأَثَرِ وَصْفُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ فِي أَوَّلِ الزَّمَانِ بِتَعَلُّمِ صِغَارِهَا مِنْ كِبَارِهَا، فَإِذَا كَانَ آخِرُ الزَّمَانِ تَعَلَّمَ كِبَارُهُمْ مِنْ صِغَارِهِمْ، فَإِذَا كَانَ كَذَلِكَ فَهَذَا تَفْضِيلُ الْأَصَاغِرِ وَتَشْرِيفُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ عَلَى سَالِفِ الْأُمَمِ.
liʾannahu qad jāʾa fī al-ʾathari waṣfu hādhihi al-ʾummati fī ʾawwali al-zamāni bitaʿallumi ṣighārihā min kibārihā, faʾidhā kāna ʾākhiru al-zamāni taʿallama kibāruhum min ṣighārihim, faʾidhā kāna kadhālika fa-hādhā tafḍīlu al-ʾaṣāghiri watashrīfu hādhihi al-ʾummati ʿalā sālifi al-ʾumami.
For a tradition describes this community at the beginning of time as having its young learn from its elders, whereas at the end of time its elders learn from its young. If so, this praises the younger people and honors this community above the nations that preceded it.
لِأَنَّهُمْ لَمْ يَكُونُوا يَحْمِلُونَ الْعِلْمَ إِلَّا عَنِ الْقِسِّيسِينَ وَالرُّهْبَانِ وَالْأَشْيَاخِ الْعُبَّادِ وَالزُّهَّادِ، وَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةَ فِي آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ تَفْضُلُ سَالِفَ الْأُمَمِ فِي أَوَّلِ أَزْمِنَتِهِمْ بِأَنْ يَتَعَلَّمَ الْكَبِيرُ مِنَ الصَّغِيرِ كَمَا فَضَّلَهُمُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى بِهِ.
liʾannahum lam yakūnū yaḥmilūna al-ʿilma ʾillā ʿani al-qissīsīna wa-al-ruhbāni wa-al-ʾashyākhi al-ʿubbādi wa-al-zuhhādi, waʾakhbara ʾanna hādhihi al-ʾummata fī ʾākhiri al-zamāni tafḍulu sālifa al-ʾumami fī ʾawwali ʾazminatihim biʾan yataʿallama al-kabīru mina al-ṣaghīri kamā faḍḍalahumu Allāhu taʿālā bihi.
Those earlier peoples received knowledge only from priests, monks, elderly worshippers, and renunciants. The report says that this community at the end of time surpasses the earlier nations at the beginning of their eras through elders learning from the young, as God Most High has favored them with this.
فَذَلِكَ أَشَدُّ وَطْئًا لِلْخَبَرِ الْآخَرِ: أُمَّتِي كَالْمَطَرِ لَا يُدْرَى أَوَّلُهُ خَيْرٌ أَمْ آخِرُهُ، وَلِمِثْلِهِ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِ: كَيْفَ تَهْلِكُ أُمَّةٌ أَنَا فِي أَوَّلِهَا وَالْمَسِيحُ اِبْنُ مَرْيَمَ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي آخِرِهَا؟
fa-dhālika ʾashaddu waṭʾan li-l-khabari al-ʾākhari: ʾummatī ka-al-maṭari lā yudrā ʾawwaluhu khayrun ʾam ʾākhiruhu, walimithlihi mina al-shāhidi: kayfa tahliku ʾummatun ʾanā fī ʾawwalihā wa-al-masīḥu ibnu maryama ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī ʾākhirihā?
This accords more firmly with the other report, “My community is like rain: one does not know whether its beginning or its end is better,” and with similar supporting testimony: “How can a community perish when I am at its beginning and the Messiah, son of Mary, God bless him and grant him peace, is at its end?”
وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي الْخَبَرِ: لَا تَحْقِرُوا عَبْدًا آتَاهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عِلْمًا، فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى لَمْ يَحْقِرْهُ إِنْ جَعَلَ الْعِلْمَ عِنْدَهُ.
waqad rawaynā fī al-khabari: lā taḥqirū ʿabdan ʾātāhu Allāhu taʿālā ʿilman, faʾinna Allāha taʿālā lam yaḥqirhu ʾin jaʿala al-ʿilma ʿindahu.
We have transmitted in a report: “Do not despise a servant to whom God Most High has given knowledge, for God Most High did not despise him if He placed knowledge with him.”
وَكَانَ شُعْبَةُ يَقُولُ: مَنْ كَتَبْتُ عَنْهُ حَدِيثًا أَوْ تَعَلَّمْتُ مِنْهُ عِلْمًا فَأَنَا عَبْدُهُ. وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: إِذَا كَتَبْتُ عَنِ الرَّجُلِ سَبْعَةَ أَحَادِيثَ فَقَدِ اِسْتَرَقَّنِي.
wakāna shuʿbatu yaqūlu: man katabtu ʿanhu ḥadīthan ʾaw taʿallamtu minhu ʿilman faʾanā ʿabduhu. waqāla marratan: ʾidhā katabtu ʿani al-rajuli sabʿata ʾaḥādītha faqadi istaraqqanī.
Shuʿba used to say, “Anyone from whom I write down a tradition or learn some knowledge has me as his servant.” He once said, “When I have written seven traditions from a man, he has made me his slave.”
فَأَمَّا الْخِضَابُ بِالسَّوَادِ فَقَدْ يُرْوَى أَنَّ بَعْضَ الْعُلَمَاءِ مِمَّنْ كَانَ يُقَاتِلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى كَانَ يَخْضِبُ بِالسَّوَادِ، وَلَكِنْ لَمْ يَكُنْ هَذَا يَخْضِبُ بِهِ لِأَجْلِ الْهَوَى وَتَدْلِيسِ الشَّيْبِ.
faʾammā al-khiḍābu bi-al-sawādi faqad yurwā ʾanna baʿḍa al-ʿulamāʾi mimman kāna yuqātilu fī sabīli Allāhi taʿālā kāna yakhḍibu bi-al-sawādi, wa-lākin lam yakun hādhā yakhḍibu bihi liʾajli al-hawā watadlīsi al-shaybi.
As for black dye, it is related that some scholars who fought in God Most High’s cause used it. They did not, however, dye with it from caprice or to conceal gray hair deceptively.
إِنَّمَا كَانَ يَعُدُّ هَذَا مِنْ إِعْدَادِ الْقُوَّةِ مِنَ الْعُدَّةِ لِأَعْدَاءِ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، بِمَعْنَى قَوْلِ اللَّهِ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ: ﴿وَأَعِدُّوا لَهُمْ مَا اِسْتَطَعْتُمْ مِنْ قُوَّةٍ﴾ الْأَنْفَالِ: 60، وَإِظْهَارُ الشَّبَابِ مِنَ الْقُوَّةِ.
ʾinnamā kāna yaʿuddu hādhā min ʾiʿdādi al-quwwati mina al-ʿuddati liʾaʿdāʾi Allāhi taʿālā, bimaʿnā qawli Allāhi ʿazza wajalla: ﴿waʾaʿiddū lahum mā istaṭaʿtum min quwwatin﴾ al-ʾanfāli: 60, waʾiẓhāru al-shabābi mina al-quwwati.
Rather, such a person counted it as preparing strength among the preparations against God Most High’s enemies, in the sense of His words, mighty and majestic, “Prepare against them whatever strength you can” (al-Anfāl 8:60). Displaying youth is a form of strength.
وَقَدْ رَمَلَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَاِضْطَبَعَ هُوَ وَأَصْحَابُهُ لِيَرَاهُمُ الْكُفَّارُ فَيَعْلَمُوا أَنَّ فِيهِمْ جَلَدًا وَقُوَّةً، وَمَنْ صَنَعَ شَيْئًا بِنِيَّةٍ خَالِصَةٍ صَالِحَةٍ يُرِيدُ بِذَلِكَ
waqad ramala rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama wa-iḍṭabaʿa huwa waʾaṣḥābuhu liyarāhumu al-kuffāru fayaʿlamū ʾanna fīhim jaladan waquwwatan, waman ṣanaʿa shayʾan biniyyatin khāliṣatin ṣāliḥatin yurīdu bi-dhālika
God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, performed the brisk circumambulatory walk; he and his Companions bared a shoulder so that the unbelievers would see them and recognize their endurance and strength. Whoever does something with a sincere, sound intention, seeking thereby
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٦
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 246
Volume Two, page 246
وَجْهَ اللَّهِ تَعَالَى وَكَانَ عَالِمًا بِمَذْهَبٍ لَهُ ذَهَبَ إِلَيْهِ فَهُوَ فَاضِلٌ فِي عِلْمِهِ وَفِعْلِهِ، وَإِنْ كَانَ ذَلِكَ مِنْ دُونِ أَعْمَالِهِ لَمْ يُتَّبَعْ أَنْ يُسْتَنَّ بِهِ فِيهِ.
wajha Allāhi taʿālā wakāna ʿāliman bimadhhabin lahu dhahaba ʾilayhi fahuwa fāḍilun fī ʿilmihi wafiʿlihi, waʾin kāna dhālika min dūni ʾaʿmālihi lam yuttabaʿ ʾan yustanna bihi fīhi.
the countenance of God Most High, and knowingly following a position he has adopted, possesses merit in his knowledge and action. Yet if this is among his lesser deeds, he should not be followed as an example in it.
لِأَنَّا رَوَيْنَا عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: مِنْ شَرِّ النَّاسِ مَنْزِلَةً عِنْدَ اللَّهِ مَنْ يَقْتَدِي بِسَيِّئَةِ الْمُؤْمِنِ وَيَتْرُكُ حَسَنَتَهُ. فَأَخْبَرَ أَنَّ لِلْمُؤْمِنِ سَيِّئَةً وَأَنَّ مِنْ شَرِّ النَّاسِ مَنْ تَأَسَّى بِهَا مَعْذِرَةً لِنَفْسِهِ فِي هَوَاهَا.
liʾannā rawaynā ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: min sharri al-nāsi manzilatan ʿinda Allāhi man yaqtadī bisayyiʾati al-muʾmini wayatruku ḥasanatahu. faʾakhbara ʾanna li-l-muʾmini sayyiʾatan waʾanna min sharri al-nāsi man taʾassā bihā maʿdhiratan linafsihi fī hawāhā.
For we have transmitted from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: “Among the worst people in standing before God is one who follows a believer’s bad deed and leaves his good deed.” He thus stated that a believer can have a bad deed, and that among the worst people is one who imitates it to excuse his own self in its caprice.
بَابُ مَا ذُكِرَ مِنْ نَوَافِلِ الرُّكُوعِ وَمَا يُكْرَهُ مِنَ النُّقْصَانِ مِنْهُ
bābu mā dhukira min nawāfili al-rukūʿi wamā yukrahu mina al-nuqṣāni minhu
Reports Concerning Voluntary Prayer and the Disliked Reduction of It
قَالَ اللَّهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى: ﴿وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَإِدْبَارَ النُّجُومِ﴾ الطُّورِ: 49. رَوَيْنَا عَنْ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ فَسَّرَهُ قَالَ: رَكْعَتَا الْفَجْرِ.
qāla Allāhu subḥānahu wataʿālā: ﴿wamina al-layli fasabbiḥhu waʾidbāra al-nujūmi﴾ al-ṭūri: 49. rawaynā ʿan ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ʾannahu fassarahu qāla: rakʿatā al-fajri.
God, glorified and exalted, said, “Glorify Him during the night and as the stars withdraw” (al-Ṭūr 52:49). We have transmitted from ʿAlī, God Most High be pleased with him, that he explained this as the two prayer units before dawn prayer.
وَكَذَلِكَ فَسَّرَ قَوْلَهُ تَعَالَى: ﴿وَمِنَ اللَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَأَدْبَارَ السُّجُودِ﴾ ق: 40، قَالَ: رَكْعَتَا الْمَغْرِبِ، وَهَذَا عَلَى قِرَاءَةِ مَنْ كَسَرَ الْأَلِفَ، فَأَمَّا مَنْ نَصَبَهَا فَإِنَّ مَعْنَاهُ إِدْبَارُ الصَّلَوَاتِ أَيْ أَعْقَابُهَا وَأَوَاخِرُهَا.
wa-kadhālika fassara qawlahu taʿālā: ﴿wamina al-layli fasabbiḥhu waʾadbāra al-sujūdi﴾ Qāf: 40, qāla: rakʿatā al-maghribi, wa-hādhā ʿalā qirāʾati man kasara al-ʾalifa, faʾammā man naṣabahā faʾinna maʿnāhu ʾidbāru al-ṣalawāti ʾay ʾaʿqābuhā waʾawākhiruhā.
Likewise, he explained His words, exalted is He, “Glorify Him during the night and after prostration” (Qāf 50:40), as the two units after sunset prayer. This follows the reading with an i-vowel on the initial alif; with an a-vowel, it means the ending of the prayers, their aftermath and conclusion.
وَالتَّسْبِيحُ اِسْمُ الصَّلَاةِ النَّافِلَةِ لِكَوْنِ التَّسْبِيحِ فِيهَا، وَتُسَمَّى النَّافِلَةُ سُبْحَةً. فَمِنْ سُنَنِ الرُّكُوعِ وَاِسْتِحْبَابِهِ إِدْبَارَ الصَّلَوَاتِ وَقَبْلَهَا، الَّذِي لَا أَسْتَحِبُّ تَرْكَ شَيْءٍ مِنْهُ وَبَعْضُهُ أَوْكَدُ مِنْ بَعْضٍ، سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً مَجْمُوعٌ مِنْ خَمْسَةِ أَحَادِيثَ.
wa-al-tasbīḥu ismu al-ṣalāti al-nāfilati likawni al-tasbīḥi fīhā, watusammā al-nāfilatu subḥatan. famin sunani al-rukūʿi wa-istiḥbābihi ʾidbāra al-ṣalawāti waqablahā, alladhī lā ʾastaḥibbu tarka shayʾin minhu wabaʿḍuhu ʾawkadu min baʿḍin, sabʿa ʿashrata rakʿatan majmūʿun min khamsati ʾaḥādītha.
Glorification is a name for voluntary prayer because glorification occurs in it, and a voluntary prayer is called a subḥa. Among the established and recommended prayers after and before the prescribed prayers, none of which I would recommend omitting, though some are more emphatic than others, are seventeen units gathered from five reports.
حَدِيثِ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ سُئِلَ عَنْ صَلَاةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِالنَّهَارِ فَقَالَ: سِتَّ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً، وَحَدِيثِ اِبْنِ عُمَرَ: حَفِظْتُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَشْرَ رَكَعَاتٍ.
ḥadīthi ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhu ʾannahu suʾila ʿan ṣalāti rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama bi-al-nahāri faqāla: sitta ʿashrata rakʿatan, waḥadīthi ibni ʿumara: ḥafiẓtu min rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʿashra rakaʿātin.
These include ʿAlī’s report, God Most High be pleased with him: asked about the Messenger’s daytime prayer, God bless him and grant him peace, he answered, “Sixteen units.” Also Ibn ʿUmar’s report: “I learned ten units from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.”
وَحَدِيثِ أَبِي أَيُّوبَ الْأَنْصَارِيِّ فِي الصَّلَاةِ قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ، وَحَدِيثِ أَنَسِ بْنِ مَالِكٍ وَعَائِشَةَ فِي الصَّلَاةِ بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ الْآخِرَةِ وَفِي الْوِتْرِ، وَخَبَرِ أُمِّ حَبِيبَةَ الْوَارِدِ بِالْفَضْلِ مِنَ الْعَدَدِ: مَنْ صَلَّى فِي يَوْمٍ اِثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً غَيْرَ الْمَكْتُوبَةِ بَنَى اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ.
waḥadīthi ʾabī ʾayyūba al-ʾanṣāriyyi fī al-ṣalāti qabla al-ẓuhri, waḥadīthi ʾanasi bni mālikin waʿāʾishata fī al-ṣalāti baʿda al-ʿishāʾi al-ʾākhirati wafī al-witri, wakhabari ʾummi ḥabībata al-wāridi bi-al-faḍli mina al-ʿadadi: man ṣallā fī yawmin ithnatay ʿashrata rakʿatan ghayra al-maktūbati banā Allāhu taʿālā lahu baytan fī al-jannati.
There are also Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī’s report concerning prayer before noon prayer; the report of Anas ibn Mālik and ʿĀʾisha concerning prayer after the later evening prayer and the odd-numbered prayer; and Umm Ḥabība’s report on the merit of this number: “Whoever prays twelve units in a day beyond the prescribed prayers, God Most High builds him a house in Paradise.”
وَخَبَرٌ غَرِيبٌ رَوَاهُ أَهْلُ الْبَيْتِ مُوَاطِئٌ لِبَعْضِ مَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ تَعَالَى فَرَضَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً وَسَنَنْتُ لَكُمْ مِثْلَهَا.
wakhabarun gharībun rawāhu ʾahlu al-bayti muwāṭiʾun libaʿḍi mā dhakarnāhu: ʾinna Allāha taʿālā faraḍa ʿalaykum fī al-yawmi wa-al-laylati sabʿa ʿashrata rakʿatan wasanantu lakum mithlahā.
An uncommon report transmitted by the Prophet’s household accords with some of what we have mentioned: “God Most High has prescribed seventeen units for you in a day and night, and I have established the same number for you as Sunna.”
أَوَّلُ ذَلِكَ رَكْعَتَا الْفَجْرِ وَهُمَا سُنَّةٌ مُؤَكَّدَةٌ، وَأَرْبَعٌ قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ وَهُنَّ مُسْتَحَبَّاتٌ مُؤْثَرَةٌ فِي الْاِسْتِحْبَابِ، وَرَكْعَتَانِ بَعْدَهَا وَهُمَا سُنَّةٌ.
ʾawwalu dhālika rakʿatā al-fajri wahumā sunnatun muʾakkadatun, waʾarbaʿun qabla al-ẓuhri wahunna mustaḥabbātun muʾtharatun fī al-istiḥbābi, warakʿatāni baʿdahā wahumā sunnatun.
First are the two units before dawn prayer, an emphatic Sunna; four before noon prayer, recommended and given priority among recommended acts; and two after it, which are Sunna.
وَأَرْبَعٌ قَبْلَ الْعَصْرِ رَجَاءَ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ فِي دَعْوَةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَرَكْعَتَانِ بَعْدَ الْمَغْرِبِ وَهُمَا سُنَّةٌ مُؤَكَّدَةٌ، وَثَلَاثُ رَكَعَاتِ الْوِتْرِ مُؤَكَّدَةٌ.
waʾarbaʿun qabla al-ʿaṣri rajāʾa ʾan yadkhula fī daʿwati rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama, warakʿatāni baʿda al-maghribi wahumā sunnatun muʾakkadatun, wathalāthu rakaʿāti al-witri muʾakkadatun.
Then come four before afternoon prayer, in hope of inclusion in the Messenger’s supplication, God bless him and grant him peace; two after sunset prayer, an emphatic Sunna; and three units of the odd-numbered prayer, also emphatically recommended.
فَأَمَّا حَدِيثُ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ فَإِنَّهُ ذَكَرَ مِنْ صَلَاةِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ شَيْئًا لَمْ يَذْكُرْهُ غَيْرُهُ: أَنَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُصَلِّي الضُّحَى سِتَّ رَكَعَاتٍ فِي وَقْتَيْنِ.
faʾammā ḥadīthu ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu faʾinnahu dhakara min ṣalāti rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama shayʾan lam yadhkurhu ghayruhu: ʾannahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yuṣallī al-ḍuḥā sitta rakaʿātin fī waqtayni.
ʿAlī’s report, God be pleased with him, mentions something about the Messenger’s prayer, God bless him and grant him peace, that no one else mentioned: he, God bless him and grant him peace, used to pray six forenoon units at two different times.
إِذَا أَشْرَقَتِ الشَّمْسُ وَاِرْتَفَعَتْ قَامَ فَصَلَّى رَكْعَتَيْنِ، وَهَذَا هُوَ الْإِشْرَاقُ وَهُوَ الْوِرْدُ الثَّانِي مِنَ النَّهَارِ، وَإِذَا اِنْبَسَطَتِ الشَّمْسُ وَكَانَتْ فِي رُبْعِ السَّمَاءِ مِنَ الْمَشْرِقِ، وَمِثْلَهَا حِينَ تَكُونُ فِي ثَلَاثَةِ أَرْبَاعِ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ صَلَاةِ الْعَصْرِ، صَلَّى أَرْبَعًا.
ʾidhā ʾashraqati al-shamsu wa-irtafaʿat qāma faṣallā rakʿatayni, wa-hādhā huwa al-ʾishrāqu wahuwa al-wirdu al-thānī mina al-nahāri, waʾidhā inbasaṭati al-shamsu wakānat fī rubʿi al-samāʾi mina al-mashriqi, wamithlahā ḥīna takūnu fī thalāthati ʾarbāʿi al-samāʾi min ṣalāti al-ʿaṣri, ṣallā ʾarbaʿan.
When the sun shone and rose, he stood and prayed two units: this is the sunrise prayer, the second daily devotional period. When sunlight spread and the sun stood a quarter of the way across the sky from the east, corresponding to its position three quarters across at afternoon prayer, he prayed four.
وَهَذَا هُوَ الضُّحَى الْأَعْلَى وَالْوِرْدُ الثَّالِثُ مِنَ النَّهَارِ، وَالْمُوَاظَبَةُ عَلَى هَذِهِ الصَّلَاةِ بِمُرَاعَاةِ هٰذَيْنِ الْوَقْتَيْنِ مِنْ عَزَائِمِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَفَوَاضِلِهَا.
wa-hādhā huwa al-ḍuḥā al-ʾaʿlā wa-al-wirdu al-thālithu mina al-nahāri, wa-al-muwāẓabatu ʿalā hādhihi al-ṣalāti bimurāʿāti hādhayni al-waqtayni min ʿazāʾimi al-ʾaʿmāli wafawāḍilihā.
This is the higher forenoon prayer and the third daily devotional period. Persisting in this prayer while carefully observing these two times belongs among the firmest and most excellent practices.
وَذَكَرَتْ أُمُّ هَانِئٍ أُخْتُ عَلِيٍّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ أَنَّهُ صَلَّى الضُّحَى ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ أَطَالَهُنَّ وَحَسَّنَهُنَّ، وَلَمْ يَنْقُلْ هَذَا الْعَدَدَ غَيْرُهَا.
wadhakarat ʾummu hāniʾin ʾukhtu ʿaliyyin raḍiya Allāhu ʿanhu ʾannahu ṣallā al-ḍuḥā thamāniya rakaʿātin ʾaṭālahunna waḥassanahunna, walam yanqul hādhā al-ʿadada ghayruhā.
Umm Hāniʾ, ʿAlī’s sister, God be pleased with him, mentioned that he prayed eight forenoon units, making them long and fine. No one else transmitted this number.
وَأَمَّا عَائِشَةُ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَنْهَا فَإِنَّهَا ذَكَرَتْ أَنَّهُ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُصَلِّي الضُّحَى أَرْبَعًا وَيَزِيدُ مَا شَاءَ اللَّهُ فَلَمْ تَحُدَّ. وَقَدْ رَوَيْنَا فِي حَدِيثٍ مُنْفَرِدٍ أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُصَلِّي الضُّحَى سِتَّ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَقَدْ رَوَى
waʾammā ʿāʾishatu raḍiya Allāhu taʿālā ʿanhā faʾinnahā dhakarat ʾannahu ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yuṣallī al-ḍuḥā ʾarbaʿan wayazīdu mā shāʾa Allāhu falam taḥudda. waqad rawaynā fī ḥadīthin munfaridin ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yuṣallī al-ḍuḥā sitta rakaʿātin, waqad rawā
ʿĀʾisha, God Most High be pleased with her, mentioned that he prayed four forenoon units, God bless him and grant him peace, adding as many as God willed; she set no limit. In a separate report we have transmitted that the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, prayed six forenoon units. And
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٧
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 247
Volume Two, page 247
أَبُو أَيُّوبَ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ شَيْئًا تَفَرَّدَ بِهِ: أَنَّهُ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَدَعُ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ أَرْبَعًا بَعْدَ الزَّوَالِ وَقَبْلَ صَلَاةِ الظُّهْرِ يَقْرَأُ فِيهِنَّ بِمِقْدَارِ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ.
ʾabū ʾayyūba al-ʾanṣāriyyu ʿan rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama shayʾan tafarrada bihi: ʾannahu lam yakun yadaʿu ʾan yuṣalliya ʾarbaʿan baʿda al-zawāli waqabla ṣalāti al-ẓuhri yaqraʾu fīhinna bimiqdāri sūrati al-baqarati.
Abū Ayyūb al-Anṣārī uniquely related something from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace: he never omitted four units after the sun passed its zenith and before noon prayer, reciting in them an amount equal to Sūrat al-Baqara.
قَالَ: فَسَأَلْتُهُ عَنْ هَذِهِ الصَّلَاةِ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ أَبْوَابَ السَّمَاءِ تُفْتَحُ هَذِهِ السَّاعَةَ وَيُسْتَجَابُ الدُّعَاءُ، فَأَنَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ لِي فِيهَا عَمَلٌ صَالِحٌ.
qāla: fasaʾaltuhu ʿan hādhihi al-ṣalāti faqāla: ʾinna ʾabwāba al-samāʾi tuftaḥu hādhihi al-sāʿata wayustajābu al-duʿāʾu, faʾanā ʾuḥibbu ʾan yurfaʿa lī fīhā ʿamalun ṣāliḥun.
He said, “I asked him about this prayer, and he replied, ‘The gates of heaven open at this hour, and supplication is answered. I therefore love to have a righteous deed raised up for me during it.’”
وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي حَدِيثِ أُمِّ حَبِيبَةَ زَوْجِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مُفَسَّرًا: مَنْ صَلَّى فِي يَوْمٍ اِثْنَتَيْ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً غَيْرَ الْمَكْتُوبَةِ بَنَى اللَّهُ لَهُ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ: رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ، وَأَرْبَعًا قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ، وَرَكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَهَا، وَرَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْعَصْرِ، وَرَكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ الْمَغْرِبِ.
waqad jāʾa fī ḥadīthi ʾummi ḥabībata zawji al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama mufassaran: man ṣallā fī yawmin ithnatay ʿashrata rakʿatan ghayra al-maktūbati banā Allāhu lahu baytan fī al-jannati: rakʿatayni qabla al-fajri, waʾarbaʿan qabla al-ẓuhri, warakʿatayni baʿdahā, warakʿatayni qabla al-ʿaṣri, warakʿatayni baʿda al-maghribi.
The report of Umm Ḥabība, the Prophet’s wife, God bless him and grant him peace, gives the details: “Whoever prays twelve units in a day beyond the prescribed prayers, God builds him a house in Paradise: two before dawn, four before noon, two after it, two before afternoon, and two after sunset.”
وَرَوَاهُ اِبْنُ عُمَرَ فِي حَدِيثِهِ: حَفِظْتُ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فِي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ عَشْرَ رَكَعَاتٍ، فَذَكَرَهَا إِلَّا قَوْلَهُ: وَرَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ، فَإِنَّهُ قَالَ: تِلْكَ السَّاعَةُ لَمْ تَكُنْ تَدْخُلُ فِيهَا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ.
warawāhu ibnu ʿumara fī ḥadīthihi: ḥafiẓtu min rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama fī kulli yawmin ʿashra rakaʿātin, fadhakarahā ʾillā qawlahu: warakʿatayni qabla al-fajri, faʾinnahu qāla: tilka al-sāʿatu lam takun tadkhulu fīhā ʿalā rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama.
Ibn ʿUmar related it in his report: “I learned ten units each day from God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.” He listed them, but concerning the two before dawn he said, “At that hour you would not enter upon God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace.”
وَلَكِنْ حَدَّثَتْنِي أُخْتِي حَفْصَةُ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُصَلِّي رَكْعَتَيْنِ فِي بَيْتِهَا ثُمَّ يَخْرُجُ. وَقَالَ فِي حَدِيثٍ: رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ وَرَكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ. وَقَالَتْ عَائِشَةُ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلِّي بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ الْأَخِيرَةِ أَرْبَعَ رَكَعَاتٍ ثُمَّ يَنَامُ.
wa-lākin ḥaddathatnī ʾukhtī ḥafṣatu ʾannahu kāna yuṣallī rakʿatayni fī baytihā thumma yakhruju. waqāla fī ḥadīthin: rakʿatayni qabla al-ẓuhri warakʿatayni baʿda al-ʿishāʾi. waqālat ʿāʾishatu: kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yuṣallī baʿda al-ʿishāʾi al-ʾakhīrati ʾarbaʿa rakaʿātin thumma yanāmu.
“But my sister Ḥafṣa told me that he prayed two units in her house before coming out.” In another report he mentioned two before noon and two after evening prayer. ʿĀʾisha said, “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, prayed four units after the later evening prayer, then slept.”
وَقَالَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ: كَانَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُوتِرُ بَعْدَ الْعِشَاءِ بِثَلَاثِ رَكَعَاتٍ، يَقْرَأُ الْأُولَى: بِسَبِّحِ اِسْمَ رَبِّكَ الْأَعْلَى، وَفِي الثَّانِيَةِ: قُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ، وَفِي الثَّالِثَةِ: قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ.
waqāla ʾanasu bnu mālikin: kāna rasūlu Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yūtiru baʿda al-ʿishāʾi bithalāthi rakaʿātin, yaqraʾu al-ʾūlā: bisabbiḥi isma rabbika al-ʾaʿlā, wafī al-thāniyati: qul yā ʾayyuhā al-kāfirūna, wafī al-thālithati: qul huwa Allāhu ʾaḥadun.
Anas ibn Mālik said, “God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, performed three odd-numbered units after evening prayer. In the first he recited ‘Glorify the name of your Lord Most High,’ in the second ‘Say: O unbelievers,’ and in the third ‘Say: He is God, One.’”
وَقَدْ جَاءَ فِي خَبَرٍ أَنَّهُ كَانَ يُصَلِّي بَعْدَ الْوِتْرِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ جَالِسًا وَفِي بَعْضِهَا مُتَرَبِّعًا، وَفِي بَعْضِ الْخَبَرِ إِذَا أَرَادَ أَنْ يَدْخُلَ فِي فِرَاشِهِ زَحَفَ إِلَيْهِ وَصَلَّى فَوْقَهُ رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْقُدَ، يَقْرَأُ فِيهِمَا: إِذَا زُلْزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ، وَسُورَةَ أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ.
waqad jāʾa fī khabarin ʾannahu kāna yuṣallī baʿda al-witri rakʿatayni jālisan wafī baʿḍihā mutarabbiʿan, wafī baʿḍi al-khabari ʾidhā ʾarāda ʾan yadkhula fī firāshihi zaḥafa ʾilayhi waṣallā fawqahu rakʿatayni qabla ʾan yarquda, yaqraʾu fīhimā: ʾidhā zulzilati al-ʾarḍu, wasūrata ʾalhākumu al-takāthuru.
A report says that he prayed two units seated after the odd-numbered prayer; some versions say cross-legged. Another report says that when he wished to get into bed, he moved toward it and prayed two units upon it before sleeping, reciting “When the earth is shaken” and the sūra “Rivalry for increase distracts you.”
وَفِي رِوَايَةٍ أُخْرَى: وَقُلْ يَا أَيُّهَا الْكَافِرُونَ. فَإِنْ أَضْعَفَ الْعَبْدُ هَذِهِ السَّبْعَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً فَجَعَلَهَا أَرْبَعًا وَثَلَاثِينَ يُدَاوِمُ عَلَيْهَا وَيَجْعَلُهَا وِرْدَهُ مِنَ الصَّلَاةِ فَهُوَ أَفْضَلُ.
wafī riwāyatin ʾukhrā: waqul yā ʾayyuhā al-kāfirūna. faʾin ʾaḍʿafa al-ʿabdu hādhihi al-sabʿa ʿashrata rakʿatan fajaʿalahā ʾarbaʿan wathalāthīna yudāwimu ʿalayhā wayajʿaluhā wirdahu mina al-ṣalāti fahuwa ʾafḍalu.
Another version has, “and ‘Say: O unbelievers.’” If the servant doubles these seventeen units, making them thirty-four, and persists in them as his regular portion of prayer, that is better.
وَهَذَا مَذْهَبُ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ، وَاِحْتَجُّوا فِيهِ بِخَبَرٍ رَوَوْهُ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَنَّهُ قَالَ: فَرَضَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَلَى أُمَّتِي فِي الْيَوْمِ وَاللَّيْلَةِ سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً وَسَنَنْتُ لَهُمْ مِثْلَهُمَا.
wa-hādhā madhhabu ʾahli al-bayti, wa-iḥtajjū fīhi bikhabarin rawawhu ʿani al-nabiyyi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama ʾannahu qāla: faraḍa Allāhu taʿālā ʿalā ʾummatī fī al-yawmi wa-al-laylati sabʿa ʿashrata rakʿatan wasanantu lahum mithlahumā.
This is the practice of the Prophet’s household. They supported it with a report they transmitted from the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace: “God Most High prescribed seventeen units for my community in a day and night, and I established the equivalent of both for them as Sunna.”
وَإِنْ كَانَ الْحُفَّاظُ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّقْلِ يُضَعِّفُونَ هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ، إِلَّا أَنَّهُ قَالَ عَلَيْهِ الصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ: الصَّلَاةُ خَيْرٌ مَوْضُوعٌ، فَمَنْ شَاءَ أَكْثَرَ وَمَنْ شَاءَ أَقَلَّ، وَقَالَ: بَيْنَ كُلِّ أَذَانٍ وَإِقَامَةٍ صَلَاةٌ لِمَنْ شَاءَ.
waʾin kāna al-ḥuffāẓu min ʾahli al-naqli yuḍaʿʿifūna hādhā al-ḥadītha, ʾillā ʾannahu qāla ʿalayhi al-ṣalātu wa-al-salāmu: al-ṣalātu khayrun mawḍūʿun, faman shāʾa ʾakthara waman shāʾa ʾaqalla, waqāla: bayna kulli ʾadhānin waʾiqāmatin ṣalātun liman shāʾa.
Although the expert preservers of transmitted reports consider this tradition weak, he said, blessings and peace upon him, “Prayer is a good institution: whoever wishes may do more, and whoever wishes may do less.” He also said, “Between every call to prayer and its commencement there is prayer for whoever wishes.”
فَإِنْ فَعَلَ ذَلِكَ وَرَاعَاهَا عَلَى مَا يُرَتِّبُهُ فَهُوَ مُقَارِبٌ لِمَا ذَكَرْنَاهُ آنِفًا مِنَ السُّنَنِ وَالْاِسْتِحْبَابِ قَبْلَ الصَّلَوَاتِ الْخَمْسِ وَبَعْدَهَا: رَكْعَتَانِ قَبْلَ الْفَجْرِ، وَأَرْبَعٌ مِنَ الضُّحَى، وَأَرْبَعٌ قَبْلَ الظُّهْرِ، وَأَرْبَعٌ بَعْدَهَا.
faʾin faʿala dhālika warāʿāhā ʿalā mā yurattibuhu fahuwa muqāribun limā dhakarnāhu ʾānifan mina al-sunani wa-al-istiḥbābi qabla al-ṣalawāti al-khamsi wabaʿdahā: rakʿatāni qabla al-fajri, waʾarbaʿun mina al-ḍuḥā, waʾarbaʿun qabla al-ẓuhri, waʾarbaʿun baʿdahā.
If he does this and maintains the prayers according to his arrangement, it approximates the established and recommended practices before and after the five prayers that we mentioned: two units before dawn, four in the forenoon, four before noon, and four afterward;
وَأَرْبَعٌ قَبْلَ الْعَصْرِ، وَسِتٌّ بَعْدَ الْمَغْرِبِ، وَأَرْبَعٌ قَبْلَ الْعِشَاءِ وَسِتٌّ بَعْدَهَا، ثُمَّ يُوتِرُ بِوَاحِدَةٍ؛ فَهَذَا حِينَئِذٍ نَحْوُ مَا رَسَمْنَاهُ وَهُوَ مُشْبِهٌ لِمَا نَقَلْنَاهُ مِنَ الْآثَارِ، وَلْيَسْتَنِدْ إِلَى الْخَبَرِ الْمَأْثُورِ وَإِلَى فِعْلِ أَهْلِ الْبَيْتِ.
waʾarbaʿun qabla al-ʿaṣri, wasittun baʿda al-maghribi, waʾarbaʿun qabla al-ʿishāʾi wasittun baʿdahā, thumma yūtiru biwāḥidatin; fa-hādhā ḥīnaʾidhin naḥwu mā rasamnāhu wahuwa mushbihun limā naqalnāhu mina al-ʾāthāri, walyastanid ʾilā al-khabari al-maʾthūri waʾilā fiʿli ʾahli al-bayti.
four before afternoon, six after sunset, four before evening, and six afterward, followed by a single odd-numbered unit. This is then approximately what we outlined and resembles the traditions we transmitted. Let him rely upon the transmitted report and the practice of the Prophet’s household.
وَأَكْثَرُ مَا رُوِيَ مِنْ صَلَاتِهِ بَيْنَ الْعِشَاءَيْنِ مِمَّا نُقِلَ عَدَدُهُ سِتُّ رَكَعَاتٍ، وَأَكْثَرُ مَا رُوِيَ مِنْ صَلَاةِ الضُّحَى ثَمَانِي رَكَعَاتٍ، وَمِنْ صَلَاتِهِ بِاللَّيْلِ ثَلَاثَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً.
waʾaktharu mā ruwiya min ṣalātihi bayna al-ʿishāʾayni mimmā nuqila ʿadaduhu sittu rakaʿātin, waʾaktharu mā ruwiya min ṣalāti al-ḍuḥā thamānī rakaʿātin, wamin ṣalātihi bi-al-layli thalātha ʿashrata rakʿatan.
The greatest number transmitted for his prayer between sunset and evening, in reports that specify a number, is six units; for forenoon prayer, eight; and for his night prayer, thirteen.
إِلَّا حَدِيثًا مَقْطُوعًا مَوْقُوفًا عَلَى طَاوُوسٍ رَوَاهُ اِبْنُ الْمُبَارَكِ: أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ يُصَلِّي مِنَ اللَّيْلِ سَبْعَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً، فَهُوَ حَدِيثٌ شَاذٌّ، وَسَائِرُ الْأَخْبَارِ الْمُسْنَدَةِ عَنْ اِبْنِ عَبَّاسٍ وَعَائِشَةَ وَمَيْمُونَةَ وَأُمِّ حَبِيبَةَ إِنَّمَا هِيَ إِحْدَى عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً وَثَلَاثَ عَشْرَةَ رَكْعَةً.
ʾillā ḥadīthan maqṭūʿan mawqūfan ʿalā ṭāwūsin rawāhu ibnu al-mubāraki: ʾanna al-nabiyya ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama kāna yuṣallī mina al-layli sabʿa ʿashrata rakʿatan, fahuwa ḥadīthun shādhdhun, wasāʾiru al-ʾakhbāri al-musnadati ʿan ibni ʿabbāsin waʿāʾishata wamaymūnata waʾummi ḥabībata ʾinnamā hiya ʾiḥdā ʿashrata rakʿatan wathalātha ʿashrata rakʿatan.
The exception is a disconnected report stopping at Ṭāwūs, transmitted by Ibn al-Mubārak: the Prophet, God bless him and grant him peace, prayed seventeen units at night. This is an anomalous report. The other reports with connected chains from Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿĀʾisha, Maymūna, and Umm Ḥabība give only eleven or thirteen units.
وَأَسْتَحِبُّ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ الْعَبْدُ قَبْلَ كُلِّ
waʾastaḥibbu ʾan yuṣalliya al-ʿabdu qabla kulli
I recommend that the servant pray before every
الْجُزْءُ الثَّانِي، الصَّفْحَةُ ٢٤٨
al-juzʾu al-thānī, al-ṣafḥatu 248
Volume Two, page 248
صَلَاةٍ أَرْبَعًا وَبَعْدَهَا أَرْبَعًا إِلَّا مَا لَا صَلَاةَ قَبْلَهَا وَلَا صَلَاةَ بَعْدَهَا، ثُمَّ يَزِيدَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ مَا قَسَمَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى لَهُ.
ṣalātin ʾarbaʿan wabaʿdahā ʾarbaʿan ʾillā mā lā ṣalāta qablahā walā ṣalāta baʿdahā, thumma yazīda baʿda dhālika mā qasama Allāhu taʿālā lahu.
prayer four units and afterward four, except where no prayer is offered before or after it, and then add whatever God Most High allots him.
وَأَنْ يُصَلِّيَ الضُّحَى ثَمَانِيَ رَكَعَاتٍ وَيُوَاظِبَ عَلَيْهِنَّ، إِذَا أَنْشَطَ أَطَالَهُنَّ وَإِذَا فَتَرَ قَصَّرَهُنَّ، فَإِنَّ الْمُدَاوَمَةَ عَلَى الْعَمَلِ عَمَلٌ ثَانٍ وَهُوَ مِنْ أَفْضَلِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَأَحَبِّهِ إِلَى اللَّهِ تَعَالَى، وَإِلَّا اِقْتَصَرَ عَلَى أَرْبَعٍ يُدِيمُهُنَّ.
waʾan yuṣalliya al-ḍuḥā thamāniya rakaʿātin wayuwāẓiba ʿalayhinna, ʾidhā ʾanshaṭa ʾaṭālahunna waʾidhā fatara qaṣṣarahunna, faʾinna al-mudāwamata ʿalā al-ʿamali ʿamalun thānin wahuwa min ʾafḍali al-ʾaʿmāli waʾaḥabbihi ʾilā Allāhi taʿālā, waʾillā iqtaṣara ʿalā ʾarbaʿin yudīmuhunna.
I also recommend eight forenoon units maintained regularly, lengthened when energetic and shortened when weary. Perseverance in an action is itself a second action, among the finest deeds and most beloved to God Most High. Otherwise, one should keep to four units performed consistently.
وَلَا أَكْرَهُ أَنْ يُصَلِّيَ قَبْلَ الْمَغْرِبِ رَكْعَتَيْنِ بَعْدَ غُرُوبِ الشَّمْسِ، فَقَدْ قَالَ أَنَسُ بْنُ مَالِكٍ: كَانَ اللُّبَابُ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلُّونَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْمَغْرِبِ.
walā ʾakrahu ʾan yuṣalliya qabla al-maghribi rakʿatayni baʿda ghurūbi al-shamsi, faqad qāla ʾanasu bnu mālikin: kāna al-lubābu min ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yuṣallūna rakʿatayni qabla al-maghribi.
I do not object to praying two units before sunset prayer, after the sun has set. Anas ibn Mālik said, “The choicest of the Messenger’s Companions, God bless him and grant him peace, used to pray two units before sunset prayer.”
وَكَانَ أُبَيُّ بْنُ كَعْبٍ وَعُبَادَةُ بْنُ الصَّامِتِ وَأَبُو ذَرٍّ وَزَيْدُ بْنُ ثَابِتٍ وَغَيْرُهُمْ مِنْ أَكَابِرِ أَصْحَابِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ يُصَلُّونَهَا.
wakāna ʾubayyu bnu kaʿbin waʿubādatu bnu al-ṣāmiti waʾabū dharrin wazaydu bnu thābitin waghayruhum min ʾakābiri ʾaṣḥābi rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama yuṣallūnahā.
Ubayy ibn Kaʿb, ʿUbāda ibn al-Ṣāmit, Abū Dharr, Zayd ibn Thābit, and other senior Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, used to perform them.
وَقَالَ عُبَادَةُ أَوْ غَيْرُهُ: كَانَ الْمُؤَذِّنُ إِذَا أَذَّنَ لِصَلَاةِ الْمَغْرِبِ اِبْتَدَرَ أَصْحَابُ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ السَّوَارِيَ يُصَلُّونَ رَكْعَتَيْنِ.
waqāla ʿubādatu ʾaw ghayruhu: kāna al-muʾadhdhinu ʾidhā ʾadhdhana liṣalāti al-maghribi ibtadara ʾaṣḥābu rasūli Allāhi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama al-sawāriya yuṣallūna rakʿatayni.
ʿUbāda, or someone else, said, “When the caller announced sunset prayer, the Companions of God’s Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, would hurry to the pillars to pray two units.”
وَقَالَ أَيْضًا بَعْضُهُمْ: كُنَّا نُصَلِّي رَكْعَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْمَغْرِبِ، وَذَاكَ دَاخِلٌ فِي عُمُومِ قَوْلِهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: بَيْنَ كُلِّ أَذَانَيْنِ صَلَاةٌ لِمَنْ شَاءَ.
waqāla ʾayḍan baʿḍuhum: kunnā nuṣallī rakʿatayni qabla al-maghribi, wadhāka dākhilun fī ʿumūmi qawlihi ṣallā Allāhu ʿalayhi wasallama: bayna kulli ʾadhānayni ṣalātun liman shāʾa.
Another also said, “We used to pray two units before sunset prayer.” This falls under the general scope of his saying, God bless him and grant him peace, “Between every two calls there is prayer for whoever wishes.”
وَقَدْ كَانَ أَحْمَدُ بْنُ حَنْبَلٍ رَحِمَهُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى يُصَلِّيهِمَا فَعَابَهُمَا النَّاسُ عَلَيْهِ، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً: لَمْ أَرَ النَّاسَ يُصَلُّونَهُمَا فَتَرَكْتُهُمَا، وَقَالَ: إِنْ صَلَّاهُمَا الرَّجُلُ فِي بَيْتِهِ أَوْ حَيْثُ لَا يَرَاهُ النَّاسُ فَحَسَنٌ، وَذَلِكَ أَسْتَحِبُّ.
waqad kāna ʾaḥmadu bnu ḥanbalin raḥimahu Allāhu taʿālā yuṣallīhimā faʿābahumā al-nāsu ʿalayhi, waqāla marratan: lam ʾara al-nāsa yuṣallūnahumā fataraktuhumā, waqāla: ʾin ṣallāhumā al-rajulu fī baytihi ʾaw ḥaythu lā yarāhu al-nāsu faḥasanun, wa-dhālika ʾastaḥibbu.
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, God Most High have mercy on him, used to perform them, and people criticized him for them. He once said, “I did not see people performing them, so I left them.” He also said, “If a man prays them at home or where people do not see him, that is good.” This is what I recommend.
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