Commentary on Hadeeth, - Dought & clear, - * Meaning of the hadeeth: "The Shaytaan has despaired of ever being worshipped by the worshippers in the Arabian Peninsula"

It is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "The Shaytaan has despaired of ever being worshipped by the
worshippers in the Arabian Peninsula." In another hadeeth it says:
"Night and day will not cease until al-Laat and al-'Uzza are
worshipped." And in another hadeeth it says: "Until the buttocks of
the women of Daws bump into one another going around Dhu'l-Khalasah."
My question is: from the first hadeeth it may be understood that no
shirk will ever be committed in the Arabian Peninsula. Whereas the
second hadeeth indicates that it will be committed.
Praise be to Allaah.
One of the things that are established by the scholars is that shirk
will take place in the ummah as is indicated by the sound texts, and
reality confirms this.
Many of the Arabs apostatized after the death of the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and many of them went back to
worshipping idols.
The mujaddid (renewer of the Faith) Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Wahhaab said:
"Chapter: Reports that some of this ummah will worship idols", then he
mentioned some ahaadeeth which indicate that.
With regard to the hadeeth: "The Shaytaan has despaired of ever being
worshipped..." the scholars have interpreted it in several ways:
1 - That the Shaytaan has despaired of ever getting all worshippers to
unite on kufr.
This view was favoured by the great scholar Ibn Rajab
al-Hanbali.Al-Darar al-Sunnah, 12/117.
2 - That this is a report of the despair that befell the Shaytaan when
he saw the conquests and how the people entered the religion of Allaah
in crowds. So the hadeeth is telling us what the Shaytaan thought and
he expected to happen. Then what really happened was something other
than that, for a reason decreed by Allaah.
This view was favoured by Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy
on him).Al-Qawl al-Mufeed, 1/211.
3 - That the Shaytaan despaired of the believers whose faith is
complete, because the Shaytaan has no hope that they will worship him.
This view was favoured by al-Aloosi. SeeDa'aawa al-Munaawi'een, 224.
4 - That the "al-" in the word "al-musalloon" (worshippers) refers to
a specific group of worshippers, and that what is meant is the
Sahaabah.
All of these interpretations are close in meaning, and the most likely
is the second. And Allaah knows best.

Commentary on Hadeeth, - Dought & clear, - * The story of magic against the Prophet (peaceand blessings of Allaah be upon him) and its meaning

Is the hadith about the magic on Prophet (PBUH) authentic? i've heard
alot about this.
Praise be to Allaah.
The hadeeth of magic against the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) is a saheeh hadeeth which was narrated by
al-Bukhaari, Muslim and other imams of hadeeth. Ahl al-Sunnah accept
this story and no one denies it except an innovator. There follows the
text of the hadeeth, its source, its meaning and the refutation by the
scholars of those who deny it.
It was narrated that 'Aa'ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) said:
A spell was put on the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) until he imagined that he had done a thing when he had not done
it. One day he made du'aa' then he said: "Do you know that Allaah has
shown me in what lies my cure? Two men came to me and one of them sat
at my head and the other at my feet. One of them said to the other,
'What is ailing the man?' He said: 'He has been bewitched.' He said:
"Who has bewitched him?' He said: 'Labeed ibn al-A'sam.' He said,
'With what?' He said: 'With a comb, the hair that is stuck to it, and
the skin of pollen of a male date palm. He said: 'Where is it?' He
said, 'In the well of Dharwaan.'" The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) went out to the well, then he came back and said
to 'Aa'ishah when he came back: "Its date palms are like the heads of
devils." I said: "Did you take it out?" He said: "No. Allaah has
healed me, and I feared that that might bring evil upon the people."
Then the well was filled in.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3268; Muslim, 2189.
'A comb
and the hairs stuck to it and.' The first one asked, 'Where is that?'
The other replied, '(That is) in the well of Dharwan.' " So
Allah's Apostle along with some of his companions went
there and came back saying, "O 'Aisha, the color of its
water is like the infusion of Henna leaves. The tops of
the date-palm trees near it are like the heads of the
devils." I asked. "O Allah's Apostle? Why did you not
show it (to the people)?" He said, "Since Allah cured me,
I disliked to let evil spread among the people." Then he
ordered that the well be filled up with earth
Al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
Al-Maazari said: The innovators rejected this hadeeth and claimed that
it detracted from the status of Prophethood and cast aspersions upon
it. They said: Everything that leads to that is false. And they said
that accepting that meant that we could not be sure of the laws that
he prescribed, because it is possible that he imagined that he was
seeing Jibreel when he was not there, and that something had been
revealed to him when nothing had been revealed. Al-Maazari said: All
of this is to be rejected, because the evidence that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was truthful in what he
conveyed from Allaah and that he was infallible in conveying it is
well established. The miracles bear witness to his truthfulness and
accepting something when there is evidence to the contrary is false.
With regard to some worldly matters for which he was not sent and
which have nothing to do with his message, then he was exposed to the
same as all other human beings, such as sickness. It is not
far-fetched to say that he could be made to imagine something with
regard to worldly matters that was not true, whilst at the same time
he was protected against such things with regard to matters of
religion.
Some people said that what is meant by this hadeeth is that he (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) imagined that he had had
intercourse with his wives when he had not done so. This is something
that people frequently imagine in their dreams, so it is not
far-fetched to say that he could have imagined that when he was awake.
I - Ibn Hajar - say: This is what is stated clearly in the report of
Ibn 'Uyaynah that is narrated by al-Bukhaari, which says: "until he
thought that he had had intercourse with his wives when he had not
done so."
'Iyaad said: Thus it is clear that the witchcraft prevailed over his
body and physical faculties, not over his discernment and beliefs...
Al-Mahlab said: The protection of the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) against the devils does not mean that they would
not try to harm him. Inal-Saheehit is narrated that a devil wanted to
spoil his prayer but Allaah protected him against him. The same
applies to witchcraft; the harm that affected him did not have any
impact on his conveying of the message, rather it was akin to any
other kind of sickness that afflicted him, such as having difficulty
in speaking or doing certain things, or experiencing illusions that
did not last. Rather it passed and Allaah foiled the plots of the
devils. End quote.
Fath al-Baari, 10/226, 227
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
How the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was guided
to treat the spell which Jews cast on him:
This has been denied by some people who said that this could not have
happened to him, and they thought that it was a shortcoming and a
fault. But it is not as they think, rather it comes under the heading
of sickness and pain that befell him; it is a kind of illness which
befell him just as he was also affected by poison - there is no
difference between the two. It is proven inal-Saheehaynthat 'Aa'ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) said: "The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was bewitched until he thought
that he had had intercourse with his wives when he had not done so,
and that is the worst kind of witchcraft." Al-Qaadi 'Iyaad said:
Witchcraft is a kind of sickness which happened to him like other
kinds of sickness. That cannot be denied and it does not detract from
his Prophethood.
With regard to his imagining that he had done something when he had
not done it, that does not have any impact on his truthfulness,
because of the evidence to that effect and the scholarly consensus
that he was protected from that. Rather it was one of the matters of
this world which are not the reason for which he was sent, and which
are not the basis of his virtue and in which he was like all other
human beings. It is not far-fetched to say that he might imagine some
things that were not real, then things became clear to him later on,
as indeed happened. End quote.
Zaad al-Ma'aad, 4/124
So it is clear that the hadeeth is saheeh, and that it does not
detract from the status of Prophethood. Allaah, may He be glorified
and exalted, protected His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and made him infallible before this spell was cast, during
it and afterwards. The spell did no more than make the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) think that he had had intercourse
with his wives when he had not done so; it had to do with a purely
worldly matter, and had nothing to do with his conveying of the
message at all. The words of the scholars quoted above are sufficient,
and whoever wants to know more may refer toFath al-BaariandZaad
al-Ma'aad.
And Allaah knows best.

Commentary on Hadeeth, - Dought & clear, - * Ruling on suicide and on offering the funeral prayer and praying for one who has committed suicide

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I have a cousin (the daughter of my maternal aunt) who died, and it seems most likely that she committed suicide. What is the ruling on one who commits suicide? What is his position before his Lord? What can her parents do to reduce her punishment?.
Praise be to Allaah.
Suicide is a major sin. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stated that the one who commits suicide will be punished with something like that with which he killed himself.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever throws himself down from a mountain and kills himself will be in the Fire of Hell, throwing himself down therein for ever and ever. Whoever takes poison and kills himself, his poison will be in his hand and he will be sipping it in the Fire of Hell for ever and ever. Whoever kills himself with a piece of iron, that piece of iron will be in his hand and he will be stabbing himself in the stomach with it in the Fire of Hell, for ever and ever.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5442; Muslim, 109.
It was narrated from Thaabit ibn al-Dahhaak (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever kills himself with something in this world will be punished with it on the Day of Resurrection.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5700; Muslim, 110.
It was narrated that Jundub ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Among those who came before you there was a man who was wounded and he panicked, so he took a knife and cut his hand with it, and the blood did not stop flowing until he died. Allaah said: ‘My slave hastened to bring about his demise; I have forbidden Paradise to him.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 3276; Muslim, 113.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) refrained from offering the funeral prayer for one who had committed suicide, as a punishment to him and so as to deter others from doing what he had done. But he gave the people permission to offer the funeral prayer for him, so it is Sunnah for the people of knowledge and virtue not to offer the funeral prayer for one who has committed suicide, following the example of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).
It was narrated that Jaabir ibn Samurah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: A man who had killed himself with a broad arrow-head was brought to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and he did not offer the funeral prayer for him. Narrated by Muslim, 978.
This hadeeth is evidence for those who say that the funeral prayer should not be offered for one who killed himself because of his sin. This is the view of ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azeez and al-Awzaa’i. But al-Hasan, al-Nakha’i, Qataadah, Maalik, Abu Haneefah, al-Shaafa’i and the majority of scholars said that the funeral prayer should be offered for him. They responded to this hadeeth by pointing out that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not offer the funeral prayer for him himself so as to deter the people from doing something similar, but the Sahaabah offered the funeral prayer for him. End quote.
Sharh Muslim, 7/47
This does not mean – if it is proven that your cousin did commit suicide – that you should not pray for mercy and forgiveness for her, rather you must do that because she needs that. Suicide is not kufr that puts a person beyond the pale of Islam as some people think, rather it is a major sin that is subject to the will of Allaah on the Day of Resurrection: if He wills, He will forgive it, and if He wills He will punish for it. So do not neglect to make du’aa’ for her and be sincere in doing so; perhaps that may be the means of Allaah forgiving her.
And Allaah knows best.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M

Commentary on Hadeeth, - Dought & clear, - * When should the words al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm (prayer is better than sleep) be said? In the first adhaan or in the second?

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I have been studying with this Shaikh in Dubai for the last two years. He revealed an astonishing so called fact that `As salatu Khairum minan Naoom`in FAJR Adhan is a Bi`da cause Hazarat Bilal use to use these words in TAHAJJUD Adhan and IBN MAKTOUM use to call the FAJR Adhan where by he did not use these words.The other evidence is that, by meaning of these words you are trying to compare SLEEP with FAJR Salat which should not be the case. He also said that Shaikh Albaani had made a Du`aa for the youngsters of today asking ALLAH to give them Hidaya to stop this Bi`da. If my Teacher is correct, why is it being followed in Mecca and Madina as well. Please give me your comments.
Praise be to Allaah.
It is narrated in a number of saheeh ahaadeeth that the words al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm (prayer is better than sleep) are to be said in the adhaan for Fajr. It is mentioned in some of them that this phrase is to be said in the first adhaan without stating what is meant by the phrase “the first adhaan” – is it the adhaan that is given before Fajr or is it the adhaan of Fajr itself?
These ahaadeeth include the following:
1 – It was narrated that Abu Mahdhoorah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I used to give the adhaan for the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and in the first adhaan of Fajr I used to say: “Hayya ‘ala al-falaah, al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm, al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm, Allaahu akbar Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah(come to prosperity, prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, there is no god but Allaah).”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 500; al-Nasaa’i, 647; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
2 – It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: In the first adhaan after the wordal-falaahit said:Al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm, al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm(prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep).
Shaykh al-Albaani said:
It was narrated by al-Tahhaawi (1/82) with a hasan isnaad as al-Haafiz said inal-Talkhees(3/169).
Al-Thamr al-Mustataab, p. 131
These ahaadeeth provide evidence for those who said that this should be said in the first adhaan which comes at the end of the night. But the correct view is that it should be in said the adhaan which comes after the time for prayer has begun. That is for a number of reasons:
(a)
The word awwal (first) is in relation to the iqaamah, and the iqaamah is the second call to prayer. In the saheeh Sunnah there are reports in which the iqaamah is called an “adhaan”, as in the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “Between each two calls (adhaanayn)...” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 598; Muslim, 838.
InSaheeh Muslim(739) the adhaan which comes after the time for prayer begins is called the first adhaan. This appears in the hadeeth narrated by ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) about the prayer of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). She said: He used to sleep during the first part of the night and wake up during the latter part, then if he had any need for intimacy with his wife he would satisfy that need, then he would sleep. Then when it was the time of the first call, he would wake up and pour water over himself, and if he was not junub he would do wudoo’ as a man does for prayer, then he would pray two rak’ahs.
What is meant by two rak'ahs here is the regular Sunnah of Fajr, as stated by al-Nawawi inSharh Muslim.
(b)
In some saheeh ahaadeeth it is clearly stated that the adhaan in which this phrase appears is calledadhaan salaat al-subh,adhaan al-fajr, etc. These phrases indicate that this adhaan should come after the time for the prayer begins and the adhaan that is given at the end of the night comes before the time for prayer begins. These ahaadeeth include the following:
1 – It was narrated that Abu Mahdhoorah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I said: “O Messenger of Allaah, teach me the Sunnah of adhaan.” He wiped the front of my head and said: “SayAllaah akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaah akbar, Allaahu akbar(Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great)… And if it is Fajr prayer, then say:Al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm, al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm(Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep).
According to another, similar report, it says: “Al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm, al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm(Prayer is better than sleep, prayer is better than sleep) in the first adhaan of dawn.”
Narrated by Abu Dawood, 501; al-Nasaa’i, 633; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
According to another report narrated by Abu Dawood (504) from Abu Mahdhoorah (may Allaah be pleased with him): He used to say in Fajr: “al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm(Prayer is better than sleep). Classed as saheeh by Shaykh al-Albaani inSaheeh Abi Dawood.
2 – It was narrated that Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: It is Sunnah for the muezzin, after sayingHayya ‘ala al-falaah(come to prosperity), to say: “al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm(prayer is better than sleep)” twice.
Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:
This was narrated by al-Daaraqutni (90), Ibn Khuzaymah in hisSaheehand al-Bayhaqi in hisSunan(1/423), and he said: its isnaad is saheeh.
It was also narrated by al-Daraaqutni and al-Tahhaawi (1/82) via Hushaym from Ibn ‘Awn with the wording: In the adhaan for Fajr prayer, when the muezzin said:Hayya ‘ala al-falaah(come to prosperity), he said: “al-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm(prayer is better than sleep),” twice. This version was narrated by Ibn al-Sakan who classed it as saheeh, as it says inal-Talkhees, 3/148
Al-Thamr al-Mustataab, p. 132
These ahaadeeth show that this phrase appears in the adhaan for Fajr prayer.
The adhaan which is the call to prayer is that which comes after the time for the prayer has begun, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When the time for prayer begins, then let one of you give the adhaan for you.” Agreed upon.
As for the adhaan which comes at the end of the night, this is not an adhaan for Fajr prayer as such, rather it is done “so that the one who is praying qiyaam may go back and the one who is asleep may wake up”, as is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) inal-Saheehayn. Thus it is clear that the phrase which appears in the adhaan which comes after the time for the prayer begins is not a bid’ah (innovation), rather it is Sunnah.
The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked:
What is the reason why the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), to sayal-salaatu khayrun min al-nawm, is not done in the first adhaan for Fajr, as is mentioned inSunan al-Nasaa’i, Ibn Khuzaymah and al-Bayhaqi?
They replied:
Yes, the this phrase should be mentioned in the first adhaan of Fajr, in accordance with the command of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). It is clear from the hadeeth that it is the adhaan that is done when the true dawn comes, and it is called ‘first’ in relation to the iqaamah, which is an adhaan according to sharee’ah, as it says in the hadeeth, “Between every two calls (adhaanayn) there should be a prayer.” The word adhaan here does not refer to the call that is given before the appearance of the true dawn. That call is prescribed in order to wake those who are asleep and so that those who are praying qiyaam may go back. It is not a call to announce the Fajr prayer. Whoever studies the ahaadeeth about this phrase will see clearly that they refer to the adhaan given to announce the time of Fajr, not the adhaan which is given at night just before dawn. End quote.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Baaz, Shaykh ‘Abd al-Razzaaq ‘Afeefi, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Ghadyaan, Shaykh ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Qa’ood.
Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Ifta’, 6/63
For more information on the refutation of those who say that this phrase should be said in the adhaan which comes before the time for the prayer begins, please seeal-Sharh al-Mumti’by Shaykh al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah have mercy on him), 2/61-64
As for the view of your teacher, that this phrase is comparing sleep with Fajr prayer, this is not correct, because this phrase is stating that prayer is better than sleep and thus encouraging the sleeper to stop sleeping and get up to do something that is better.
And Allaah knows best.

- PUBLISHERNajimudeeN M