Monthly Archives: December 2009

In a hadith narrated by Abu Hurayrah , the Messenger of Allah said,

“There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah , the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but be says: ‘I fear Allah ‘, a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.”[1]

we will go through the meaning of the hadith as understood by our Salaf us-Saaliheen phrase by phrase and will remove the misconceptions regarding the hadith held by many of our Muslim brothers and sisters.

“There are seven…”
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar writes, “Apparently it is specifying the people who remember (Allah ) with the reward of the one who remembers (Him). Al-Kirmani refers to that with what is gained by the obedience (of ?) whether it is between the slave and His Lord or between him and the creation. And first of that is by the tongue and it is dhikr or with the heart and that is attachment to the mosque or with the body and that is growing up in worship (of Allah ). Second is general and it is the just person or specific with the heart and that is the mutual love or with the wealth and that is charity or with the body and that is chastity.”[2]

“…in His Shade…”
Al-Qaadhi ‘Iyaadh said, “And the meaning here is the shade of the throne (of Allah ).”[3] “And it is proven by a hadith (of) Salman from Sa’id bin Mansur with a good chain of narration , “There are seven whom Allah will shade in Shade of His throne.”[4]

Because of the Day of Judgement, the sun will be brought near the people’s heads so much so that they start sweating. Some will sweat until their ankles, some their shoulders whilst others will be totally immersed in their sweat and this will be according to the actions. That Day, there will be no shade except the Shade of the throne of Allah . Ibn Dinar said, “And the intended meaning of this Shade is dignity, protection and avoidance form disliked things in that situation.”[5]

More to come soon

And Allah knows best
[1]Sahih ul-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim

[2] Fath ul-Baari sharh Sahih ul-Bukhari

[3]Sahih Muslim bi sharh an-Nawawi

[4] Fath ul-Baari sharh Sahih ul-Bukhari

The word has been explained in three meanings as mentioned in Tafsir al-Qurtubi:

1)Doubt
2)Accusation
3)Deficiency

It seems that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has told us that in order for a non-Muslim to disprove the Qur’an or Islam, he/she has to prove one of the meanings of in regards to the Qur’an.

Doubt in:

a)it being from Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala
b)its authenticity
c)it being unadulterated


Accusation that:

a)it promotes immorality
b) it has laws of injustice that are not applicable in 21st century

Deficiency in its:

a)linguistic and literary form
b)language

So whenever a non-Muslim will ask a question regarding the Qur’an, it will be from or related to these categories. It is as if Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala already made it clear to us what type of questions should the du’aat expect. In addition, this shows the importance of doing da’wah because it is implictly mentioned in the very beginning of the Qur’an.

This also ayah shows the richness of the language used by Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala in the Qur’an.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows best

The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam went to As-Safa’, climbed up and called out, “O people!” The people gathered around him, some coming of their own accord and others sending people on their behalf to find out what was happening. The Messenger of Allah said, “O Bani `Abd Al-Muttalib, O Bani Fihr, O Bani Lu’ayy! What do you think, if I told you that there was a cavalry at the foot of this mountain coming to attack you — would you believe me?” They said, “Yes.” He said, “Then I warn you of a great punishment that is close at hand. Abu Lahab said, “May you perish for the rest of the day! You only called us to tell us this””[2]

BismiLlah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

Al-Imam ash-Shafi’i rahimahuLlah said, “Nobody who seeks this knowledge while he is wealthy and high in status will succeed. Rather, those who seek it while they are humble, having a low standard of living, and are serving the scholars will succeed.”

Ibn Wahb narrated that Malik bin Anas rahimahuLlah said, “Nobody will get what he wants from this knowledge until he wants from this knowledge until he experiences poverty that causes him to prefer it over anything.” [Al-Faqih wal-Mutafaqqih]

BismiLlah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim

Abu al-Adyan said, “I was with my teacher, Abu Bakr ad-Daqqaq. Something inappropriate took place, and I looked at it. He saw me looking at it, and said, ‘My son, you will suffer the consequences of this look, even if in the future.’ Twenty years passed in which I waited, not suffering anything. One night, I went to sleep thinking about this, and awoke to discover that I had forgotten the entire Qur’an.”[Talbis Iblis]

BismiLlah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim,

Abu Hurayrah radhi Allahu ‘anhu passed by a group of people who were eating a roasted sheep, and they invited him to sit and eat with them. He refused, saying, “The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam left this world without even satisfying his hunger with barley bread.”[Sahih al-Bukhari]

An-Nu‘man ibnu Bashir radhi Allahu ‘anhuma narrated that ‘Umar ibn ul-Khattab radhi Allahu ‘anhu was mentioning the poverty that the people had become stricken with, saying, “I saw the Messenger of Allah sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam spend the whole day upset because of hunger, as he could not even get low quality of dates with which to fill his stomach.” [Sahih Muslim]

Anas ibnu Malik radhi Allahu ‘anhu said, “The Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam never ate his meals at a dining table or in an individual plate, and he never at thin well-baked bread until he died.” [Sahih al-Bukhari]

BismiLlah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim,

Yahya bin Mu‘adh rahimahuLlah said, “A friend is the one who you don’t have to remind to remember you in his supplication, and that you don’t have to flatter and impress, and that you don’t have to apologise to.”

Abu Ja‘far rahimahuLlah said to his companions, “Can any of you put his hand in the pocket of his brother and take what he wants?” They replied, “No.” He said, “Then you are not brothers as you claim.” [Mukhtasr Minhaj ul-Qasidin]

BismiLlah arRahman ar-Rahim,

Ya’la ibn ‘Ubayd informed us; (he said): Muhammad ibn Ishaq informed us on the authority of Ibn Shihab, he one the authority of ‘Ubayd Allah ibn ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Utbah, he one the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas; he said: The Messenger of Allah sallAlahu ‘alayhi wassalam used to recite once the Book (i.e. Qur’an) before Jibril during Ramadhan every year. The Prophet sallAlahu ‘alayhi wassalam was more benevolent than the blowing wind. When it dawned after the night in which he recited the Qur’an before Jibril, he gave whatever he was asked. In the month (of Ramadhan) after which he expired, he recited twice. [Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabir 2:243]

Points of benefit:

1) It is now understood that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam used to finish the Qur’an at least once each Ramadhan and that we have to strive to the same.

2) The Messenger of Allah sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam used to recite with Jibril ‘alayhis salaam in order to check if he sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam was doing al right in his recitation (i.e. whether he remembered it perfectly or not). This shows we should do hifdh and check our recitation with a qualified teacher and it is better not to do it alone as one will find a lot of difficulty. It is also possible that one might be memorising wrong.

3) The beautiful way the sahabah radhi Allahu ‘anhum used to explain the behaviour of the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam.

4) “…more benevolent than the blowing wind…” means more merciful than the blowing wind Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala would cause to blow as a means of mercy for the ground for the plans to pollinate. So the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam was more benevolent than the wind that would the reason of plants to grow and blossom.

5) We also learn that the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam would recite the Qur’an at night as Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala commanded him in Surat ul-Muzammil, ayah 4:

“…and recite the Qur’an in a slow pleasant tone.”

6) After finishing the recitation, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala would bless the Prophet sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam by making him generous. Thus, we understand one of the many benefits of recitation of Qur’an is that he/she becomes better in akhlaaq if recited properly, understood and implemented.

7) He sallAllahu ‘alayhi wassalam repeated the Qur’an in his last year to perfect the tajweed, and recitation from memory. And this was one of the ways Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala protected the Qur’an from corruption from the beginning.

And Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala knows best

BismiLlah arRahman ar-Rahim,

Makhul rahimahuLlah said, “A slave doesn’t become completely sincere for forty (days) except that springs of wisdom are apparent from his heart and tongue.” [Bustan al-'Arifin of al-Imam an-Nawawi rahimauLlah ]