by Shariffa Carlo
I received an email the other day that was responding to another email wherein the writer had made reference to the large number of hadiths available to prove his point and how we could possibly ignore this body of evidence. The response in the second email was essentially that the problem was not the number of hadiths, but rather how we could possibly disobey a command from our beloved Prophet in even one sahih hadith.
I was struck by this. We spend so much time arguing with each other over the issues of Islam that I sometimes wonder if the purpose is just to argue. We have forgotten that being Muslim means SUBMITTING. We are supposed to submit to Allah. We are supposed to also submit to the commands of our beloved Prophet, because Allah ordered us to do so. We can not take one without the other. For instance, Allah orders us to pray. We do not know what is involved in the prayer except by the commands and actions of our beloved Prophet. So, if we obey the command in the Quraan, but ignore the sunnah, our prayer is invalid. We will pray as we feel like praying, omitting the obligatory actions and words in salat.
We have many examples of things which have been made obligatory or haram by hadith only, like 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood quoted this saying of the Prophet (hadith) while he was delivering a sermon: "May Allah curse the women who tattoo their bodies and those who pluck their eyebrows; those who separate their teeth to make them look more pretty and those who try to change the creation of Allah." A woman named Umm Yaqub from the tribe of Banu Asad came to know of these words. She approached Ibn Mas'ood and said: "O Abu 'Abd ar-Rahman! It was reported to me that you have cursed such and such women." He said: "Why should I not curse those whom the Prophet, peace be upon him, cursed and who are cursed in the Book of Allah as well." She said: "I have read whatever is contained between the two covers (i.e. the whole Qur'an)." Had you been a good reader, you would have discovered it. Did you not read the following verse? "So take whatever the Messenger gives you and keep away from what he forbids you." [Surah Al-Hashr :7]
Here the principle is firmly established by the companion of Rasul Allah. He shows us what the Prophet said and explains to us that the commandment of the Prophet is equal to a commandment from Allah. This is not the only place this is written, Allah has commanded us in many places in the Quraan to obey the Messenger. A few of these are:
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those charged with authority among you; and if you differ in anything among yourselves, then refer it to Allah and the Messenger if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is best and most suitable for final determination."
[Surah An Nisaa': 59]
Obey Allah and the Messenger; but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers.
[Surah Ali Imran: 32 ]
And obey Allah and the Messenger; that you may obtain mercy.
[Surah Ali Imran: :132]
Those are limits set by Allah: those who obey Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to Gardens with rivers flowing beneath, to abide therein (for ever) and that will be the supreme achievement. But those who disobey Allah and His Messenger and transgress His limits will be admitted to a Fire, to abide therein: And they shall have a humiliating punishment.
[Surah An Nisaa': 13-14]
How serious is this command? It is the most serious. Think about the one act that we can not stop doing -- whether the phone rings, your mom calls or anything short of a threat occurs. It is salat. When we begin salat, we should not stop unless there is a dire emergency. Yet, we have an example which shows that the call of the Prophet is and was more important than completing the salat.
Narrated Abu Said Al-Mualla: While I was praying, the Prophet passed by and called me, but I did not go to him till I had finished my prayer. When I went to him, he said, "What prevented you from coming?" I said, "I was praying." He said, "Didn't Allah say"O you who believes Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Messenger" (8.24)...
[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Number 226.]
Here we can clearly see the importance of obeying the Prophet. Knowing this, how do we apply it?
* First, we need to clear our minds of the misconception that we must fully understand everything in Islam.
** Second, we acknowledge that we are supposed to blindly follow ONLY Allah and His Prophet. Blindly follow?
This does not sound like Islam, does it? It is Islam. We can try to understand Islam, and one of the beauties of this religion is that we can understand so much, but we have to come to the realization that in all matters, after all the rationalizations are done, after all the angles have been explored, after all the rhetoric has been spun, we MUST obey Allah and His messenger, whether we understand it or not. There is no other way.
An example of this is the saying of Ali (raa). He stated (what means) that if Islam were by logic, we would not wipe over the feet in wudhu', we would wipe under them.
Not everything is clear for us. At some point, we have to just say, Labaik! and submit. At some point we have to recognize that if we are truly believers in Allah, that He is the Most Wise, the All knowing, that Allah is the Truth then we have to concede our own inadequacies and submit to Him completely, even when it defies our limited logic to do so.
The best generation was the generation of the companions of our beloved Prophet because when they heard a command, the acted immediately. Two examples of this are
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: I heard Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) addressing in Medina. He said: O people, Allah is giving an indication (of the prohibition) of wine, and He is probably soon going to give an order about it. So he who has anything of it with him should sell that, and derive benefit out of it. He (the narrator) said: We waited for some time that Allah's Messenger_be_upon_him) said: Verily Allah, the Exalted, has forbidden wine. So who hears this verse and he has anything of it with him, he should neither drink it nor sell it. He (the narrator) said: The people then brought whatever they had of it with them on the streets of Medina and spilt that. Sahih Muslim: Book 9, Number 3835:
and
Narrated Safiya bint Shaiba: 'Aisha used to say: "When (the Verse): "They should draw their veils over their necks and bosoms," was revealed, (the ladies) cut their waist sheets at the edges and covered themselves with the cut pieces." Sahih Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Number 282
They spilt the wine. They covered themselves. No excuses. No questioning. No disobedience.
In short, we have to stop taking excuses when we hear the book of Allah or the statements of the Prophet Even, when we follow our madhabs, we need to recognize that only Allah is perfect, and we can only take the Quraan and the statements of His beloved Prophet without questioning them. Anyone else can make mistakes. Our Prophet was protected by Allah from making mistakes in this deen. Allah says,
"(The Prophet) does not speak of his own desire. It is no less than Inspiration sent down to him."
[Surah An Najm: 3-4]
Everyone else can make mistakes, and when we find that they have made a mistake, we must go back to the most authentic evidences from the Quraan and the Sunnah without hesitation. Our great scholars have confirmed this:
Imam Abu Hanifah was asked: "What do we do if we find a saying of yours opposing the Book of Allah?" He replied: "Leave my saying and stick to the Book of Allah (Qur'an)." The questioner asked: "What if it contradicts a saying of the Prophet?" Abu Hanifah said: "Leave my saying in the face of the Prophet's saying." Again he was asked: "What if it goes against the saying of a Companion?" Again he said: "Leave my saying in the face of the Companion's saying." (Reported in Al-Qawl al-Mufeed by Shawkani.)
I received an email the other day that was responding to another email wherein the writer had made reference to the large number of hadiths available to prove his point and how we could possibly ignore this body of evidence. The response in the second email was essentially that the problem was not the number of hadiths, but rather how we could possibly disobey a command from our beloved Prophet in even one sahih hadith.
I was struck by this. We spend so much time arguing with each other over the issues of Islam that I sometimes wonder if the purpose is just to argue. We have forgotten that being Muslim means SUBMITTING. We are supposed to submit to Allah. We are supposed to also submit to the commands of our beloved Prophet, because Allah ordered us to do so. We can not take one without the other. For instance, Allah orders us to pray. We do not know what is involved in the prayer except by the commands and actions of our beloved Prophet. So, if we obey the command in the Quraan, but ignore the sunnah, our prayer is invalid. We will pray as we feel like praying, omitting the obligatory actions and words in salat.
We have many examples of things which have been made obligatory or haram by hadith only, like 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ood quoted this saying of the Prophet (hadith) while he was delivering a sermon: "May Allah curse the women who tattoo their bodies and those who pluck their eyebrows; those who separate their teeth to make them look more pretty and those who try to change the creation of Allah." A woman named Umm Yaqub from the tribe of Banu Asad came to know of these words. She approached Ibn Mas'ood and said: "O Abu 'Abd ar-Rahman! It was reported to me that you have cursed such and such women." He said: "Why should I not curse those whom the Prophet, peace be upon him, cursed and who are cursed in the Book of Allah as well." She said: "I have read whatever is contained between the two covers (i.e. the whole Qur'an)." Had you been a good reader, you would have discovered it. Did you not read the following verse? "So take whatever the Messenger gives you and keep away from what he forbids you." [Surah Al-Hashr :7]
Here the principle is firmly established by the companion of Rasul Allah. He shows us what the Prophet said and explains to us that the commandment of the Prophet is equal to a commandment from Allah. This is not the only place this is written, Allah has commanded us in many places in the Quraan to obey the Messenger. A few of these are:
"O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those charged with authority among you; and if you differ in anything among yourselves, then refer it to Allah and the Messenger if you do believe in Allah and the Last Day. That is best and most suitable for final determination."
[Surah An Nisaa': 59]
Obey Allah and the Messenger; but if they turn back, then surely Allah does not love the unbelievers.
[Surah Ali Imran: 32 ]
And obey Allah and the Messenger; that you may obtain mercy.
[Surah Ali Imran: :132]
Those are limits set by Allah: those who obey Allah and His Messenger will be admitted to Gardens with rivers flowing beneath, to abide therein (for ever) and that will be the supreme achievement. But those who disobey Allah and His Messenger and transgress His limits will be admitted to a Fire, to abide therein: And they shall have a humiliating punishment.
[Surah An Nisaa': 13-14]
How serious is this command? It is the most serious. Think about the one act that we can not stop doing -- whether the phone rings, your mom calls or anything short of a threat occurs. It is salat. When we begin salat, we should not stop unless there is a dire emergency. Yet, we have an example which shows that the call of the Prophet is and was more important than completing the salat.
Narrated Abu Said Al-Mualla: While I was praying, the Prophet passed by and called me, but I did not go to him till I had finished my prayer. When I went to him, he said, "What prevented you from coming?" I said, "I was praying." He said, "Didn't Allah say"O you who believes Give your response to Allah (by obeying Him) and to His Messenger" (8.24)...
[Sahih Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Number 226.]
Here we can clearly see the importance of obeying the Prophet. Knowing this, how do we apply it?
* First, we need to clear our minds of the misconception that we must fully understand everything in Islam.
** Second, we acknowledge that we are supposed to blindly follow ONLY Allah and His Prophet. Blindly follow?
This does not sound like Islam, does it? It is Islam. We can try to understand Islam, and one of the beauties of this religion is that we can understand so much, but we have to come to the realization that in all matters, after all the rationalizations are done, after all the angles have been explored, after all the rhetoric has been spun, we MUST obey Allah and His messenger, whether we understand it or not. There is no other way.
An example of this is the saying of Ali (raa). He stated (what means) that if Islam were by logic, we would not wipe over the feet in wudhu', we would wipe under them.
Not everything is clear for us. At some point, we have to just say, Labaik! and submit. At some point we have to recognize that if we are truly believers in Allah, that He is the Most Wise, the All knowing, that Allah is the Truth then we have to concede our own inadequacies and submit to Him completely, even when it defies our limited logic to do so.
The best generation was the generation of the companions of our beloved Prophet because when they heard a command, the acted immediately. Two examples of this are
Narrated Abu Sa'id al-Khudri: I heard Allah's Messenger (peace_be_upon_him) addressing in Medina. He said: O people, Allah is giving an indication (of the prohibition) of wine, and He is probably soon going to give an order about it. So he who has anything of it with him should sell that, and derive benefit out of it. He (the narrator) said: We waited for some time that Allah's Messenger_be_upon_him) said: Verily Allah, the Exalted, has forbidden wine. So who hears this verse and he has anything of it with him, he should neither drink it nor sell it. He (the narrator) said: The people then brought whatever they had of it with them on the streets of Medina and spilt that. Sahih Muslim: Book 9, Number 3835:
and
Narrated Safiya bint Shaiba: 'Aisha used to say: "When (the Verse): "They should draw their veils over their necks and bosoms," was revealed, (the ladies) cut their waist sheets at the edges and covered themselves with the cut pieces." Sahih Bukhari: Volume 6, Book 60, Number 282
They spilt the wine. They covered themselves. No excuses. No questioning. No disobedience.
In short, we have to stop taking excuses when we hear the book of Allah or the statements of the Prophet Even, when we follow our madhabs, we need to recognize that only Allah is perfect, and we can only take the Quraan and the statements of His beloved Prophet without questioning them. Anyone else can make mistakes. Our Prophet was protected by Allah from making mistakes in this deen. Allah says,
"(The Prophet) does not speak of his own desire. It is no less than Inspiration sent down to him."
[Surah An Najm: 3-4]
Everyone else can make mistakes, and when we find that they have made a mistake, we must go back to the most authentic evidences from the Quraan and the Sunnah without hesitation. Our great scholars have confirmed this:
Imam Abu Hanifah was asked: "What do we do if we find a saying of yours opposing the Book of Allah?" He replied: "Leave my saying and stick to the Book of Allah (Qur'an)." The questioner asked: "What if it contradicts a saying of the Prophet?" Abu Hanifah said: "Leave my saying in the face of the Prophet's saying." Again he was asked: "What if it goes against the saying of a Companion?" Again he said: "Leave my saying in the face of the Companion's saying." (Reported in Al-Qawl al-Mufeed by Shawkani.)
Imam Abu Hanifah also declared:"My way (Arabic: madh-hab) is whatever hadith (saying of the Prophet) that is proved to be authentic." (Shami 1:50, Al-Fulani in Iqaz, p. 62.)
Imam Malik ibn Anas said: "The saying of any person can be accepted or rejected, except for the Prophet of Allah, peace be upon him." (Reported by Ibn 'Abd al-Barr and Ibn Hazm. Also in Al-Yawaqeet wa Al-Jawahir 2:96.)
He (Reported by Al-Fulani in Iqaz, p. 72.) also said: "I am just a mortal; sometimes I am wrong, sometimes I am right - so check my opinions. Whatever agrees with the Book (i.e. the Qu'ran) and the Sunnah, accept it; whatever disagrees with them, reject it."
Once Imam Shafi'i narrated a saying of the Prophet (hadith). Someone from the audience said: "Do you say so as well?" On hearing this, the Imam was enraged. His face turned pale and he said: "Woe to you! Which earth would carry me, which sky would shelter me if I narrate a saying of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and do not hold the same view! Do you see a zunnar (belt worn by non-Muslims) on me? Or have you noticed me coming out of a church? How can I report something from the Prophet, peace be upon him, and not agree with ?!!"
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: "Do not follow me or Malik or Shafi'i or Auza'i or Thawri, but take from where they took (i.e. from the Qu'ran and authentic Sunnah)." (Reported by Al-Fulani and Ibn al-Qayyim.) He also said: "He who is on the verge of destruction rejects a saying of the Messenger of Allah, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him." (Reported by Ibn al-Jauzi.)
Sunnah does not simply mean that which is not obligatory. That is one of the meanings, but the sunnah is in essence the sayings, approvals, disapprovals, commands, and characteristics of the Prophet. So, within the sunnah we have the "sunnah" (those we have a choice about) acts and the "fard" (those we have no choice about) acts. We can not be like the Christians and the Jews and take our religion like a buffet, "I'll take a little of this and a little of that -- but I don't want any of that..." We have to accept the words of Allah and the Commands of our Prophet as they come, no picking and choosing. Islam is not for us to design, it is complete.
Anas reported that the Messenger of Allah said:
"I have left among you two things; you will never go astray as long as you hold fast to them: the Book of Allah and my Sunnah."
(Reported by Haakim.)
Brothers and sisters, I adjure you and I adjure myself, do not allow the shaytan to keep you from a commanded act. Fear Allah, Love Allah and Obey Allah. Do not be caught up with this scholar or that scholar or " we have been informed that the scholars disagree...".
Please, if you know that the scholars disagree, but you have Quraan or sahih hadiths in front of you, obey the sahih hadiths and forget the disputes. In the end, if you obeyed the Prophet, and it turned out the act was only sunnah, not fard, you will find with Allah two rewards, one for the act and another for simply obeying. Is that not infinitely better than to find two sins, one for not performing the act, and the other for disobeying? Think about it. Allah has made His signs clear. The religion is easy. We do not have to obey but Allah and His Messenger, and since the Messenger never speaks from himself, it is essentially only obeying Allah. Since Allah is the Most Wise, most Merciful, can we go wrong when we obey Him? Impossible.
Brothers and sisters. There are some acts which are not in dispute, except by those who would have us disputing among ourselves in this century. Salat is fard, zakat is fard, hajj is fard, hijab is fard, riba is haram, alcohol and all intoxicants are haram, gambling is haram, there are more, but the point is clear.
Please, if you ask a question of a "scholar" and be careful in choosing your scholars, make him or her work. Don't accept, "It is disputed or disagreed upon." as an answer. Demand evidences from your teachers! Ask, "Who disagrees", "What is their evidence?", " Is there a verse or a hadith to back him/her up?"
Anyone can say that halal is haram or haram is halal based on their logic, but this is not Islam. Islam is submission to Allah and His messenger, whether we can understand it or not. Don't let anyone fool you, we humans do not know everything. There are some things which Allah has not revealed to us. There are some things we do as Muslims that we can not explain, we do them because we obey Allah, that's it! End of story. If you think have to explain everything or you do not have to do it, then you do not believe Allah's Wisdom is greater than yours. In English, Islam can be summarized with one word, submission. Allah commands, the Muslim submits. The prophet commands, the Muslim submits.
Ya Allah! make us Muslims.
Ya Allah! Make us submit to your authority and keep us from worshiping our own selves over You!
Ya Allah, guide us, teach us and protect us from ourselves and from Your Wrath.
Ya Allah! Give us wisdom and knowledge and make us always of those who turn to You. Ameen.
I leave you with some more verses about obeying the Prophet:
"And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom Allah has bestowed favors from among the prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they! "
[Surah An Nisaa' :69]
"The answer of the believers, when summoned to Allah and His Messenger in order that he may judge between them, is no other than this: they say, 'We hear and we obey'. It is such as these who will attain success."
[Surah An Nur :51]
"But no, by your Lord! (O Muhammad) They cannot be believers until they make you judge in all disputes between them, and find in their souls no resistance against your decisions, but accept them with the fullest submission."
[Surah An Nisaa' :65]
"Obey Allah, and obey the Messenger, and beware (of evil): if you turn back, know that it is Our Messenger's duty to proclaim (the message) in the clearest manner. "
[Surah Al Maidah :92]
"They ask thee concerning (things taken as) spoils of war. Say: "(such) spoils are at the disposal of Allah and the Messenger: So fear Allah, and keep straight the relations between yourselves: Obey Allah and His Messenger, if you believe."
[Surah Al Anfal: 1]
"O ye who believe! Obey Allah and His Messenger, and turn not away from him when ye hear (him speak). "
[Surah Al Anfal: 20]
"O you who believe! answer (the call of) Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life; and know that Allah intervenes between man and his heart, and that to Him you shall be gathered. "
[Surah Al Anfal: 24]
"So take whatever the Messenger gives you and keep away from what he forbids you."
[Surah Al-Hashr :7]
"You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah."
[Surah Al Ahzab: 21]
"He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah."
[Surah An Nisaa': 80]
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