Commentary on Hadeeth, - Dought & clear, - * The shaking of the Throne at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh was only because of the joy of the Lord,may He be exalted; it was not a reflectionof any imperfection

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The hadith No 3803 In shahih bukhari volume 5 , Book of merits of Al Ansar says " Throne of ALLAH shook on the death of saad ibn Muaadh" Could you kindly explain what it means by the throne of ALLAH shook? The throne of ALLAH is upon which He subhana Wa taaala is Himself in a manner which befits him, Then how can the death of a creation shake that throne which represents His might and infinite power? He decreed death for the creation, does this not represent the weakness Of The Supreme nauzubillah? Kindly clarify on the subject
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
Al-Bukhaari (3803) and Muslim (2466) narrated from Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say: “The Throne shook at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh.”
Adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This is mutawaatir (i.e., narrated by so many from so many that it is inconceivable that they could all have agreed upon a lie). I bear witness that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said it.
End quote fromal-‘Uluw li’l-‘Aliy al-Ghaffaar(p. 89)
He reported it in full in his bookal-Fawaa’id(16) from Abu Sa‘eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “The Throne shook at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh, because of the joy of the Lord, may He be glorified and exalted.”
Its isnaad was classed as jayyid by al-Albaani inas-Saheehah(1288)
Inas-Sunnahby ‘Abdullah ibn al-Imam Ahmad (1058) it says: It was narrated that al-Hasan said: The Throne of the Most Merciful, may He be glorified and exalted, shook at the funeral of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Hasan interpreted it as referring to joy at (the coming of) his soul.
Secondly:
We must accept the hadeeths that speak of the attributes of Allah as they are; this also applies to what is connected to those attributes of matters of the unseen. Al-Aajurri narrated inash-Sharee‘ah(3/1146) that al-Waleed ibn Muslim said: I asked al-Awzaa‘i, ath-Thawri, Maalik ibn Anas and al-Layth ibn Sa‘d about the hadeeths which speak of the divine attributes. All of them said: Accept them as they come, without trying to interpret them. According to another report: Accept them as they come without discussing how (and their nature). Narrated by al-Bayhaqi inal-I‘tiqaad(p. 118).
In the answers to questions no. 138920and 178915we explained that the belief of Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaa‘ah with regard to the divine attributes is that they affirm them and they affirm their meanings on the basis of what they really are and in the light of what is indicated by the linguistic meaning of the word describing them; and they delegate to Allah knowledge of how they are and their essence, whilst believing that they cannot be understood as being indicative of any resemblance of the Lord or any of His attributes to any created being.
So we believe that the Most Merciful rose over the Throne, and we believe that the Throne shook in a real sense at the death of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh (may Allah be pleased with him). In some reports it says that that was because of the joy of the Lord, may He be exalted, as referred to above. But we cannot ask how did the Most Merciful rise over the Throne, just as we cannot ask how the Throne shook at the death of Sa‘d. Rather we let it pass and we believe in it without asking how or trying to interpret it or liken it to anything.
Adh-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The Throne is a creation of Allah that is subject to His control. If He wills that it should shake, it shakes by the will of Allah. Allah instilled in it a sense of love for Sa‘d, just as He instilled in Mount Uhud a sense of love for the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):“O you mountains. Glorify (Allah) with him” [Saba’ 34:10]and“The seven heavens and the earth and all that is therein, glorify Him” [al-Isra’17:44]. Then Allah included all things in that and said:“and there is not a thing but glorifies His Praise” [al-Isra’17:44]. And this is true. InSaheeh al-Bukhaariit is narrated that Ibn Mas‘ood said: We used to hear the tasbeeh of the food as it was being eaten. This is a broad topic and we have to believe in it.
End quote fromSiyar A‘laam an-Nubala’(3/183-184)
Al-Baghawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is more appropriate to understand these reports as they appear to be. The same applies to the words of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), “Uhud is a mountain that loves us and we love it.” The shaking of that which is inanimate with the Prophets and awliya’ (close friends of Allah) is not to be denied, as Uhud shook when the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), Abu Bakr, ‘Umar and ‘Uthmaan were on it, and as the palm-trunk pillar shook with sorrow when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) left it (and began to use the minbar instead).
End quote fromSharh as-Sunnah(14/180-181)
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The one who misinterprets that as meaning that the bearers of the Throne rejoiced must produce evidence to support what he says … even though the context and wording of the hadeeth are contrary to this interpretation.
End quote fromMajmoo‘ al-Fataawa(6/554)
Thirdly:
The fact that the Throne shook at the death of a created being does not suggest any imperfection on the part of the Lord, may He be glorified; what shortcoming is there in that? Whether we assume that the shaking was because of the joy of the Throne itself at the coming of Sa‘d’s soul, and its appreciation of that, according to what some of the scholars said, or it was because of the joy of the Most Merciful, may He be glorified and exalted, and His loving to meet His slave Sa‘d ibn Mu‘aadh (may Allah be pleased with him), as it says in the hadeeth: “Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah hates to meet him.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (6507) and Muslim (2683)
What imperfection can there be in the Throne because of that, let alone attributing any kind of imperfection to the Lord of the mighty Throne, may He be glorified and exalted??
The basic principle on which we must base our words is the soundness or otherwise of the hadeeth. We have previously stated that the hadeeth is sound beyond any shadow of a doubt, and that it is mutawaatir (i.e., narrated by so many from so many that it is inconceivable that they would all have agreed upon a lie) from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). Then we quoted the views of the scholars concerning the way in which it is to be understood.
The shaking of the Throne, the creaking of the sky, and so on are not attributes of the Most Merciful, may He be glorified and exalted, as we have pointed out; rather it is an attribute of the Throne, which is something created.
Ash-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The creaking of the sky has nothing whatsoever to do with the divine attributes; rather it is like the shaking of the Throne at the death of Sa‘d, and like the cleaving asunder of the heavens on the Day of Resurrection and so on.
fromal-‘Uluw(107)
And Allah knows best.

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Commentary on Hadeeth, - Dought & clear, - * What is the meaning of the hadeeth “Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt”?

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I would like an explanation of the hadeeth: “Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt”.
Praise be to Allah.
This hadeeth was narrated by at-Tirmidhi (2442), Ahmad (1630) and Ibn Hibbaan (722) from al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: I memorized from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): “Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt, for truth leads to reassurance and lies lead to uncertainty.” Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allah have mercy on him).
It was also narrated by an-Nasaa’i (5614) without the additional words “for truth leads to reassurance…”
Al-Mannaawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Leave that which makes you doubt” means: refrain from that which you are uncertain as to whether it is good or bad, halaal or haraam
“for that which does not make you doubt” that is: turn instead to that about which you are not uncertain, that which you are sure is good and halaal.
“for truth leads to reassurance” means: the heart is at ease with it
“and lies lead to uncertainty” means: they make the heart anxious and uneasy. At-Teebi said: This phrase explains the preceding words. What it means is: if you find yourself doubting (and uncertain about) something, then leave it, for the heart of the believer is at ease with the truth and is doubtful about lies and falsehood. Being doubtful about something is an indication that it may be false and wrong, so beware of it; and your feeling at ease with something is an indication that it is true, so take hold of it.
End quote fromFayd al-Qadeer3/529
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said: This hadeeth is an example of concise speech, and how excellent and beneficial it is to follow it. One may feel doubtful about many things, so we say: leave that which you have doubts about for that which you have doubts about, so that you may be safe and sound. If anything makes you feel doubtful and anxious, then leave it for something that does not make you feel doubtful, so long as this does not reach the level of waswaas (when you start doubting everything). If it does reach the level of waswaas, then do not pay any attention to it.
This has to do with acts of worship, interactions with others, marriage and all categories of knowledge.
An example of that in the case of acts of worship is that of a man who breaks his wudoo’, then prays, and he is not sure whether he did wudoo’ after breaking it or not. He is unsure, because if he did do wudoo’ then his prayer is valid, but if he did not then his prayer is invalid, so he remains anxious. In this case we say: Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt. The doubt in this case has to do with whether the prayer was valid and not doubting means that you should do wudoo’ and pray.
The opposite of the previous example is that of a man who does wudoo’ then prays, and he is not sure whether he broke his wudoo’ or not.
In this case we say: Leave that which makes you doubt for that which does not make you doubt. You have something which is certain, which is that you did wudoo’, then you were not sure whether this wudoo’ was broken or not. What you should ignore is the doubt or uncertainty as to whether the wudoo’ was broken or not. So calm down and ignore that doubt or uncertainty.
End quote fromSharh al-Arba‘een an-Nawawiyyah, p. 155
This hadeeth is a basic principle in the area of being prudent and is encouragement to ignore doubts. It is also a basic principle in the area of following that which is certain and ignoring that which is dubious.
Al-Haafiz Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
This hadeeth highlights the importance of being careful when faced with doubtful and dubious matters, and keeping away from them, because in the case of that which is definitely halaal, the believer will have no doubt in his heart concerning it – and doubt here means anxiety and worry – rather he will feel at ease and will have reassurance in his heart. As for that which is doubtful, he will feel anxiety and worry concerning it.
End quote fromJaami‘ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hukam, 1/280
And Allah knows best.

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Commentary on Hadeeth, - Dought & clear, - * Is the hadeeth “I have brought slaughter to you” saheeh, and how should it be understood?

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Can you comment on this hadeeth and its isnaad? Did the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say to Quraysh that he had come to them to slaughter them? How are we to understand this hadeeth? What is the meaning of the hadeeth? I hope that you can explain, because I find this hadeeth very confusing. The text of the hadeeth says: “I have brought slaughter to you.” The hadeeth was narrated by Shaykh ‘Abd as-Salaam ash-Shaami: Ya‘qoob said: My father told us, from Ibn Ishaaq who said: And Yahya ibn ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr told me, from his father ‘Urwah, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas. He said: I said to him: What is the worst incident of aggression and hostility that you saw on the part of Quraysh towards the Messenger of Allah? He said: I was present when their prominent figures met together one day in al-Hijr. They talked about the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), and they said: We have never put up with anything like that with which we are putting up with from this man. He has accused us of being fools, slandered our forefathers, criticised our religion, divided us and reviled our gods, and the matter has become very serious – or words to that effect. Whilst they were like that, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came walking until he touched the corner (of the Ka ‘bah, where the Black Stone is), then he passed by them as he circumambulated the House. When he passed by them, they made fun of some of the words he was saying, and I could see from his face that it caused him pain. Then he moved on, then when he passed by them the second time, they made fun of him in like manner, and I could see from his face that it caused him pain. Then he moved on, then when he passed by them the third time, they made fun of him in like manner, then he said: “Listen to me, O Quraysh! By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, I have brought slaughter to you.” The people were so shocked that each man among them froze, as if there was a bird on his head, and those who had spoken most harshly to him before that began speaking to him with the kindest words, saying: Leave us, O Abu’l-Qaasim, for by Allah you have never been an ignorant man. So he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) left them. The next day, they met together in al-Hijr, and I was with them. They said to one another: (Yesterday) you said how impatient you are becoming with him, and what you have heard about him and what he is saying, then as soon as he said something that alarmed you, you left him alone. Whilst they were talking about that, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) appeared and they rushed towards him as one and surrounded him, saying to him: You are the one who said such and such – referring to what they had heard about his criticism of their gods and their religion. The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Yes, I am the one who said that.” I saw one of them grab the neck of his garment, and Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq (may Allah be pleased with him) got up to defend him and said, weeping: Would you kill a man just because he says, my lord is Allah? Then they left him alone. That was the worst incident of aggression that I saw on the part of Quraysh.
Narrated by Imam Ahmad in his Musnad.
Praise be to Allah.
This hadeeth was narrated by Ahmad inal-Musnad(11/609 – Mu’sasat ar-Risaalah edition), from the Sahaabi ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas (may Allah be pleased with him). It was classed as hasan by the commentators, and also by Shaykh Ahmad Shaakir inTahqeeq al-Musnad. It was also classed as hasan by al-Haythami inMajma‘ az-Zawaa’id(6/19), and by Shaykh al-Albaani inSaheeh al-Mawaarid(1403).
In a report narrated by Imam al-Bukhaari (3678), it says that ‘Urwah ibn az-Zubayr (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr about the worst incident of aggression and hostility that he saw on the part of Quraysh towards the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). He said: I saw ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu‘ayt come to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) when he was praying and put his rida’ around his neck and throttle him severely. Then Abu Bakr came and pushed him away and said:“Would you kill a man because he says: My Lord is Allah, and he has come to you with clear signs (proofs) from your Lord?” [Ghaafir 40:28].
And it was narrated that the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “By Allah, you will not stop until His punishment comes upon you soon.” After that, he (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to his companions: “Be of good cheer, for Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will cause His religion to prevail, will make His word supreme and will grant victory to His Prophet. These people whom you see are among those whom Allah will slaughter at your hands soon.”
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar, inFath al-Baari(1/168) attributed it to az-Zubayr ibn Bakkaar, as did ad-Daaraqutni inal-Afraad, and he pointed out that this report is da‘eef (weak).
See:Fath al-Baari(1/166-170) for other versions of this hadeeth.
This wording, “I have brought slaughter to you”, undoubtedly has a sound meaning, and it should not cause confusion in the mind of the questioner or of any rational person. What is meant by slaughter here applies to a few specific individuals, who were the ones who persisted in disbelieving in Allah and waging war against Islam and its people, persecuting those who were in a weak position, oppressing women and old people among the believers, in order to turn them away from their religion, and imposing their principles and beliefs by means of murder, torture and persecution. These are the ones who killed some of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in the harshest manner. They stabbed Sumayyah, the wife of Yaasir, in her private part, and killed Yaasir when he was an old man, and tortured Bilaal in the desert, and plotted to kill the best of creation, namely Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). They did not omit any method of torture and oppression but they practised it against this group of believers, until they forced them to migrate to Abyssinia, nursing their wounds and bearing their pain, in the hope that they would find peace and safety with the king of Abyssinia.
This is some of what these criminals among the disbelievers of Quraysh did to the believers. As for their arrogance towards the Lord of mankind, that is another matter altogether, which Allah has told us about in dozens of verses in the Holy Qur’an. After all that, didn’t these people deserve to be killed in order to ward off their evil and save people from their harm?
Is it not wise and rational to confront them – sometimes – with force and threats and warnings, when their plots and aggression reach such a level?
Why would any rational person be confused and find it hard to accept the Prophet’s warning to them of a speedy punishment from Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, when they were more deserving of it than the people of ‘Aad and Thamood and the people of all the Prophets, whose enmity towards the Prophets and believers we know of from the Holy Qur’an?
Could any rational person forget to such an extent what these criminals did to the weak and oppressed believers? Could he forget the days of persecution and mistreatment that they suffered, which breaks the heart of anyone who reads their stories, then could he feel sympathy for the aggressors – who were the leaders of the disbelievers of Quraysh – because the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) threatened them with killing and slaughter on just one occasion?
Is this how matters are evaluated according to rational standards??
If those haters try to confuse people, and take these words out of context, and want to depict the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) as a shedder of blood and a lover killing and slaughter, their argument should not deceive rational people, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims. Rather what must be done is to evaluate this incident – like any other incident – on the basis of two important standards:
1. the context in which it occurred and the type of people addressed, and the incident which explains it and highlights what was intended by it;
2. examining all related texts objectively, by means of which it is possible to understand the Islamic point of view concerning this matter, not just looking at a single text only.
The one who does not do that will be misled and confused, and he will yielded his rational thinking to anyone who comes along with a specious argument and to anyone who is able to make evil and corrupt insinuations.
We also say:
How can you believe the claim of one who says that Islam came to kill everyone who does not follow it, when all people know for certain that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) pardoned the people of Makkah after their intense persecution of him? The angel of the mountains offered to crush them between al-Akhshabayn (two mountains in Makkah), but the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Rather I hope that Allah will bring forth from their loins people who will worship Allah alone, not associating anything with Him.”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3231) and Muslim (1795).
After the conquest of Makkah, he also pardoned the disbelievers of Quraysh who wronged the believers and devoured their wealth. In fact he even honoured some of their leaders in the hope that they would become good Muslims, when he said – on the day of the conquest of Makkah –: “Whoever enters the house of Abu Sufyaan will be safe.” Narrated by Muslim (331).
So how can you believe this claim when Allah, may He be exalted, has prescribed that we should accept the jizyah from the followers of other religions, and agree to their remaining under the protection and care of the Islamic state?
How can you believe this claim when we know for sure how the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) accepted a treaty with the Jews of Madinah and coexisted with them in the hope that they would adhere to the treaty and not break it treacherously? And he did not fight any of them until they were the ones who broke the treaty and committed acts of treachery.
Didn’t the Lord of Glory say, explaining the purposes behind the sending of the message in one sentence about our Prophet Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him):“And We have sent you (O Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) not but as a mercy for the ‘Alameen (mankind, jinns and all that exists)” [al-Anbiya’ 21:107].
Indeed, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, also says (interpretation of the meaning):
“If they (Jews) belie you (Muhammad blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) say you: ‘Your Lord is the Owner of Vast Mercy, and never will His Wrath be turned back from the people who are Mujrimoon (criminals, polytheists, sinners, etc.)’”
[al-An‘aam 6:147].
Al-Haafiz Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Here Allah, may He be exalted, says: If your opponents – O Muhammad – among the mushrikeen and Jews and others of their ilk reject you, then say: “Your Lord is the Owner of Vast Mercy”. This is encouragement to them to seek the mercy of Allah and follow His Messenger.
“and never will His Wrath be turned back from the people who are Mujrimoon” – this is a warning to them against opposing and going against the Messenger, the Seal of the Prophets. End quote.
Tafseer al-Qur’an al-‘Azeem(3/357)
It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was said: O Messenger of Allah, pray against the mushrikeen. He said: “I was not sent as an invoker of curses, rather I was sent as a mercy.” Narrated by Muslim (2599).
We hope that these words will be a beneficial reminder by means of which Allah will dispel the questioner’s confusion about the meaning of this hadeeth.
And Allah knows best.

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