History of the Sunnah -II: The era of the Companions and their followers

Most scholars group the main aspects of the methodology of the
Companionsin preserving the Sunnah into the following seven
categories: prudence in narrating the hadeeths, verification and
substantiation of the hadeeths before accepting them, critique,
discussions and assessment of the narration, traveling for search and
confirmation of the hadeeths, memorization, practice and writing of
the hadeeths. Some scholars refer to these aspects as 'rulings',
'methods' or 'ways' instead of methodology.
1- Prudence in narrating the Hadeeth:
Because of the fact that the Sunnah is a revelation and a sacred
Source for this religion, the Companionswere very careful when
narrating what the Prophet, sallallaahu alayhi sallam, said or did.
This vigilance was illustrated in:
· Avoiding narration unless they had to. 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Abi
Laylasaid:"I have metwith 120 Companionsfrom the Ansaar)supporters of
the Prophet(, none of whom would narrate a hadeeth or answer a
question of fatwa unless he absolutely had no choice but to do it. One
would have to go and ask another instead of him, so much so you would
keep going from one to the other until you get back to the first one
you asked."Theyunderstood that they were conveying the message brought
to themby the Prophetand that people see it as such,thus everyone
wanted the other to do that because they may know it better. This,
however, should not be construed to mean they avoided spreading the
message or teaching Islam to others. This prudence indicates they were
fully aware of their role and its significance. They would rather let
others, who may be more knowledgeable, do the job, but once they had
to do, they did it in the best way possible.
· Limiting or discouraging the narration. This attitude was
adopted for the purpose of protecting the Sunnah because it minimizes
the possibility of mistakes or forgetfulness that may otherwise cause
people to doubt the Sunnah or mistrust the narrators. This trend was
strongly encouraged by Caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Umar Ibn Al-Khattaaband
was accepted and practiced by the Companions. This attitude is founded
on the famous hadeeth narrated by many Companions:"It is sufficient
—for one to tumble into lying - to narrate or repeat everything he/she
hears."]Al-Bukhaari and others[
· Encouraging narration from knowledgeable Companions. To
strikea necessary balance between being cautious and insuring the
transmission of the religion and the spreading of its teachings, the
Companionswho had a great deal of knowledge—like those recommended by
the Prophet—never hesitated to narrate, write or teach the Sunnah.
There are hundreds of narrations that encourage such practice so long
as it is done in the right manner.
· Opting for verbatim narration. Guided with instruction in the
Hadeeth, "May Allaah bless the person who hears a statement from me
and conveys it as he/she heard it," the Companionsdid all that was
humanly possible to keep their narration verbatim of what they
actually heard from the Prophet. There are many reported incidents,
which testify tothis fact. Having such natural mastery of the Arabic –
that was common among them—and the fact that theysaw and heard the
Prophetsay, do and explain to them his teachings repeatedly, as well
as their understanding of the need for verbatim transmission of
narrations, all combined to make it easy for them not to cause changes
as they narrate any Hadeeth.
2- Verification of the Hadeeth before accepting it
This is an important tool that the Companionsestablished to safeguard
the Sunnah against any foreign material interference and accidental or
deliberate mistakes. This was a common prac­tice amongst all of the
Companionswhen receiving or narrating the Sunnah. Imaam
Ath-Thahabimentioned this practice, in one of his great
books,addressing the issue of Hadeeth Memorizers. Hesaid that it was
one of the ways used by of the four Caliphsto protect the Hadeeth. For
example, Abu Bakrwas asked to rule in the case of a grandmother who
came asking for her right in inheritance, hesaid that he knew of no
amount due to her neither in the Book of Allaah )i.e., Quran( nor the
Sunnah of the Prophet. But when Al-Mugheerahtold that he has
wit­nessed the Prophetgive one-sixth of the total amount of the
inheritance, heasked him if he had witness to substantiate this claim.
And when Muhammad Ibn Maslamahwitnessed to the truth of that figure,
Abu Bakraccepted it and gave the grandmother exactly that.
In the case of 'Umar Ibn Al-KhattaabAth-Thahabimentioned many
incidents that testify to the fact that healwaysascertained the
narrationwhen it was necessary to do so. Henarrated that Maalik Ibn
Awsheard 'Umarsay to 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn 'Awf, Talhah Ibn Az-Zubayr and
Sa'd Ibn Abi Waqqaas:"I ask byAllaah, Who maintains the Heaven and
Earth! Did you hear the Prophetsay: 'I am not to be inherited,
whatever I leave is to be given in charity'? They said:`Yes, Allaah is
our witness."]Ahmad[
After narrating the aboveincidents among others, Imaam
Ath-Thahabirepeatedly asserted that the verifications were not meant
to doubt the truthfulness of any of theCompanionsrather they were
necessary to establish a standard of care and respect for whatthe
Prophet, sallallaahu alay­hi wa sallam, said or did. Theydid that for
themselves and to institute a tradition to befol­lowed and honored
byall who come after them.
In summary, it is essential to note the following about this method:
- The purpose was to protect the Sunnah, not to doubt one another. All
of the Companionsaretrustworthy as clearly stated in the Quran, and
doubting their trustworthiness can certainly damage one's faith.
- The purpose, also, was to establish a method and set an example to
be followed by the rest of the Muslim nation. The truth, however,
remains that Companionsused to accept narration conveyed by any one of
them. Their request of witnesses or that the narrator gives an oath
that he is saying the truthwas to establish the methodology, so that
people would not take narrating a Hadeeth lightly. This fact may
further be supported when considering that:
- Sometimes theyrequired a witness while at others they had the
narrator give oath or reminded him of how serious it is to lie against
the Prophet. This variation indicates that the purpose was actually to
establish awareness ofthe significance of narrating the Hadeeth rather
than set up a requirement of having more than one narrator as a
condition for its authenticity.
- There are a very large number of narrations, which indicate that in
many cases the Companionshad actually accepted Hadeeth from one
narrator without seekingany substantiation or verification.

The effects of using weakHadeeth

The term "weak hadeeth" refers to any narration which does notfulfill
the conditions of authenticity. The scholarsof Hadeethagree that a
"weak hadeeth" must not be attributed tothe Prophetby saying: "The
Prophetsaid …".
Applying weak hadeeth in excellent deeds.
Very often when you point to the weakness of a Hadeeth you hear being
cited, someone willimmediately say: "But this Hadeeth is talking about
)the reward of( excellent deeds, and it is alright to refer to
unauthentic Hadeeth when talking about excellent deeds."
It has become a norm amongst the majority of a good number of scholars
and students of Islamic learning that it is alright to use weak
Hadeeth when it refers tothe reward of excellent deeds. They consider
it a fully accepted rule that should not be argued. They also would
quote the words of great scholars to support their point.
Before going into detail to refute the arguments of these people, let
me point out that they have, in general, misunderstood the sayings of
the great scholars of Islam they quote, relative to weak Hadeeth and
how it should be used.
This serious misunderstanding has led to the great epidemicof freely
using weak narrations; which certainly may involve lying against the
Messenger of Allaah.
Refutation of the claim:
First, we should mention that the rule cited earlier)that weak Hadeeth
can be used in excellent deeds( is not accepted byall the scholars of
Hadeeth. For instance, Abu Bakr Ibn 'Arabisaid: "The weak Hadeeth
should be absolutely avoided and not dealt with."
Second, we should know that the scholars of Hadeeth who permitted the
use of weak Hadeeth have set very strict rules applying to their use.
Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar Al-'Asqalaani
said: "There are three conditions that must be fulfilled in order to
use the weak Hadeeth:
a. It is well accepted that the weakness should onlybe slight. This
will help toexclude Hadeeth reported by liars or accused reporters )of
lying( who are known to commit big mistakes.
b. The weak Hadeeth should be used under already well-established
principles and should notbring in ideas of its own.
c. When a weak Hadeeth is used )after it fulfills theabove two
conditions(, it should not be believed tobe said by the Messenger of
Allaah; to do so we would be crediting him with that which he did not
say.
For the above conditions to be satisfied, people planning to use the
weakHadeeth should have the ability to:
1. Distinguish between the weak and the authentic Hadeeth in order to
fulfill condition)c( above, otherwise they may fall into lying about
the Messenger.
2. Distinguish between the slightly weak Hadeeth and those whichare
very weak or fabricated, in order to fulfill condition )a( above.
What should be very clear to Muslims is that the ability to make the
above two distinctions is not possessed except by avery small category
of thescholars of Hadeeth )whocan be counted on the fingers(.
In particular with reference to item )2( above, only a few of the
scholars of Hadeeth in all of the history of Islam have dealt with it.
Someone might justifiably ask: "Why are we so strict in this matter)of
using weak Hadeeth(, when some scholars of Hadeeth have permitted it?"
The answer to this question was given by a great scholar of Hadeeth,
Muhammad Naassir Ad-Deen Al-Albaaniwho said:
"The earlier scholars usedto mention the Hadeeth with their full
Isnaad)chain of Narrators(, so that any other scholar reading their
treatise could know from the chain of Narrators the degree of
authenticity of the Hadeeth."
We pray that this small introduction to the subject of weak Hadeeth
and using it as proof has helped in clarifying how dangerous this is.

Entering the marital bond – III: The Waleemah)wedding feast(

The swank of Waleemah festivities today has become more of an attempt
to out-spendone another rather than a gathering to offer gratitude to
Allaah.
The following is a scenario of a Waleemah for a Muslim couple who
recently entered the martial bond. Read through this situation and see
if you can pick out anything that may not be acceptable from an
Islamic perspective.
Abdullaah and Maysoona are a very happy couple due to their marriage
and beginning a new life together. They are planning their Waleemah
and are excited about the event. They are having a lavish dinner with
all the trimmings at a fancy hotel, spending close to 20,000 US
dollars. Fifty sheep have been slaughtered and there will be rice,
fruits, sweets, gifts, etc. for all of the guests. 500 of their
relatives and friends will be in attendance, all of them from wealthy
families. A musical band will be performing and the men and women will
have ample opportunity to sing alone and dance on the dance floor
provided. It is such a joyous event… or, is it? This event does not
seem so unusual and, in fact, it has become a rather common occurrence
in Muslim communities worldwide.
Unfortunately, as we look at the matter, we realize that much of what
is taking place here is un-Islamic and displeasing to Allaah,
Almighty. With an ideal opportunity to thank Allaah and be grateful
for His blessings, Muslims instead are ignoring the guidelines set by
Allaah and incurring His wrath. The following are some important
points to consider regarding the Waleemah.
"Be not Excessive"
Allaah warns the believers many times in the Quran not to be
extravagant. He, Almighty, Says)what means(:"And ]they are[ those who,
when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever,
between that,]justly[ moderate."]Quran 25: 67[ He, Almighty, also Says
)what means(:"O children of Adam, takeyour adornment ]i.e., wear your
clothing[ at every mosque, and eat and drink, but be not excessive.
Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess."]Quran 7: 31[
There are many Prophetic narrations that also encourage moderation and
warn against extravagance. People may assume that such a joyful
occasion as a wedding would be an exception to this rule, but thisis
not the case. Islam applies to all areas of life and, therefore,
should be adhered to. Muslims are actually competing with each other
in the amount of spending and often, there is a significant amount of
waste. Young men areavoiding marriage because they cannot afford the
expenses involved in both the large dowries and the lavish wedding
parties. All of this is very unacceptable, especially since we know
the importance of marriage in Islam. We should all be heedful of this
aspect since weare all inclined to enjoy the fancy and elegant items
of this life.
Invite the poor:
Abu Hurayrahnarrated that the Prophetsaid:"The worst food is the food
of a wedding feast to which the rich are invitedand the poor are left
out. If anyone rejects an invitation, he has rebelled against Allaah
and His Messenger."]Muslim, Ibn Maajah and At-Tabaraani[
Ibn Mas'oodalso said: "If onlythe rich are invited and the poor are
left out, we have been ordered not to respond to such an invitation."
An attempt should be made to invite both wealthy and poor people, and
some of the food should be given to the poor as a way of thanking
Allaah, Almighty,for His blessings. This is something that is easily
forgotten, but is significant in its meaning and intention.
Stick tothe limits of Allaah:
The limits of Allaah are set and clear. In relation to the Waleemah,
it is completely unacceptable to have a party in which there is open
mixing of men and women, dancing and singing together or lack of
Hijaab,music etc. This leads to all types of evil and temptation and
is an imitation of the non-Muslims. It is permissible, however, to
have the women and young girls sing and beat ONLY upon the
Duff)tambourine( as part of the wedding feast. The Messenger of
Allaahsaid:"Proclaim the marriage, solemnize it in the mosque, and
beat the Duff upon its occasion )for women(."]At-Tirmithi and Ibn
Hibbaan[ 'Aa'ishahreported that a woman was given in marriage to a
man of the Ansaar )supporters of the Prophet(. The Prophetsaid:"O
'Aa'ishah, was there no entertainment? The Ansaar are )people who(
enjoy entertainment."]Al-Bukhaari[ In another narration, the text
indicates that the Prophetsaid to 'Aa'ishah:"Did you send a young girl
with the bride to beat upon the Duff and to sing?"'Aa'ishahreplied,
'What should she say in her song?' Hereplied:"Let her say, 'to you we
have come, to you we have come! So welcome us, as we welcome
you!'"]At-Tabaraani[
It should be mentioned that singing and playing upon the Duffis only
reserved for women and young girls and is not meant for the men. Ibn
Taymiyyahsaid regarding this matter: "The Prophetallowed certain forms
of amusement at the wedding festivity and similar occasions, just as
he permitted women to beat upon the Duff during wedding celebrations.
During the Prophet'sera, none of the men used to beat upon the Duff or
clap his hands. Rather, it has been authentically related that the
Prophetsaid:"Clapping is for women…"]Al-Bukhaari[ Hecursed"women who
resemble men and men who resemble women."]Ahmad[
It is also important to mention that it is forbidden to have music
accompanied with singing, since musical instruments are prohibited in
Islam.
A Waleemah should be a time of happiness and celebration, but it is
also important to remember that true happiness only comes through
submission and obedience to Allaah and His commandments. This is
particularly important for such anevent as a wedding feast, since it
is a social event and an event thatcelebrates the beginnings of a
family. The practices that are carried out at one time and place may
spread to other times and places and also from generation to
generation. Unfortunately, in our day and age, many of these customs
have deviated from the path of Islam. Muslims need to ignore personal
desires and in place, return to the honorable guidelines given in the
Quran andthe Sunnah. Sisters can take the lead in this with regard to
the Waleemah since they often possess strong influence in the decision
making and planning of it.
By taking hold of the steering wheel and veering towards Islamic
practices you are choosing the right road to travel; and it will not
only be a wonderful start of your new life as a wife and later on
)Allaah willing( as a mother, but you will also be benefiting the
Muslim nation as a whole by your example.
Your Waleemah is the celebrationof your new life and a new journey for
you and your spouse – take the time to map out your life course with
the direction of Islam and you will never have to stop and ask for
directions.

Dought & clear - Ruling on one who misinterprets the attributes of Allah, may He be exalted

I want to ask about the one who denies the attributes of Allah: is he
a Muslim or not? Such asthe one who says that what is meant by the
"hand of Allah" is the power of Allah, and theymisinterpret other
attributes of Allah. Is it the case that these people who deny the
divine attributes are notof Ahl as-Sunnah, or are they beyond the pale
of Islam altogether?
Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
The teaching of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah with regard to the Tawheed
(Oneness) of the Divine names and attributes is that they believe in
what it says in the Book of Allah, may He be glorified and exalted,
and in that which is proven from the Messenger ofAllah (blessings and
peace of Allah be uponhim), without any misinterpretation(interpreting
them in a way other than they appear to mean) or likening Him to His
creation, and without distorting the meaning or denying the Divine
names and attributes. So they ascribe to Allah, may He be exalted,
that which He has ascribedto Himself and that which His Messenger
(blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) has ascribed to Him.
Ibn 'Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ahl as-Sunnah unanimously agreed on affirming and believing in all the
divine attributes mentioned in the Qur'an and Sunnah, and
understanding them in a true sense (as they appear to be),not as being
metaphorical. But theydo not discuss how any of them are. As forthe
innovators, Jahamis and Mu'tazilah, and the Khaarijis, all of them
deny them and do not understand any of them in a true sense (as they
appear to be).
End quote fromat-Tamheed, 7/145
Secondly:
The one who denies the names and attributes of Allah altogether and
does not ascribe them to Allah, may He be exalted, as is the case with
the baatinis (esoteric sects) and the extreme Jahamis, is a kaafir who
is beyond the pale of Islam, disbelieves in the Qur'an and Sunnah, and
goes against the consensus (ijmaa') of the ummah.
The same applies to anyone who denies any of the names or attributes
of Allah thatAllah, may He be exalted, has affirmed in His Book; he is
a disbeliever, because what is implied by his denial is that he
rejects the Qur'an.
With regard to the one who misinterprets any of the attributes of
Allah and distorts its meaning, such as those who misinterpret the
attribute of the hand as referring to His power, and they say that
istiwa' (rising over the Throne) means taking control of it, and so
on, he is mistaken in interpreting it in a manner other than
theapparent meaning, and he is an innovatorin so far as what he
believes is contrary to the Sunnah, and he has strayed from the path
of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah. But he is not a disbeliever just
because of this misinterpretation, and he may be excused for his
efforts to understand, depending on his levelof knowledge and faith.
Rather the measuring stick in that regard is the extent to which he
sought to learn what the Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be
upon him) taught and the extent of his keenness to follow him.
Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It is not permissible tomisinterpret the divine attributes or to
understand them in any way other than their apparent meaning in a
manner that is befitting to Allah, or to say that knowledge of what is
meant belongs only toAllah. Rather all of thatcomes under the heading
of the beliefs of the innovators. As for Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah,
they donot misinterpret the verses and hadeeths that speak of the
divine attributes, and they do not understand them in a way other than
the apparent meaning, and they do not say that knowledge of what is
meant belongs only to Allah. Rather they believe that every meaning
(of these attributes) that may be indicated is true in a manner that
is befitting to Allah, may He be exalted, without likening Him to His
creation.
End quote fromMajmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 2/106-107
He was also asked (may Allah have mercyon him):
Are the Ash'aris among Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah or not? Do we
regard them as being fellow Sunnis oras being disbelievers?
He replied:
The Ash'aris are among Ahl as-Sunnah with regard to most matters, but
they are not among them with regard to interpretation of the divine
attributes, but they are not disbelievers either. Rather among them
are some leading scholars and good people, but they erred in their
interpretation of some of the divine attributes.
They differed from Ahlas-Sunnah in some issues, such as the
interpretation of mostof the divine attributes, in which they were
mistaken. The view of Ahl as-Sunnah wa'l-Jamaa'ah is to accept the
verses and hadeeths that speak ofthe divine attributes as they came,
without interpreting them (in a way other than the apparent meaning),
denying them, distorting the meaning or likening Allah to His
creation.
End quote fromMajmoo' Fataawa Ibn Baaz, 28/256
Shaykh 'Abd al-'Azeez ar-Raajihi was asked:
If it is proven that the Ash'aris have misinterpreted one of the
divine attributes, are they to be regarded as disbelievers?
He replied: No, the onewho misinterprets and misunderstands some (of
the divine attributes) is not to beregarded as a disbeliever; the one
who denies one of the names of Allah becomes a disbeliever. Allah,
mayHe be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):"while they
disbelieve in the Most Beneficent (Allah)" [ar-Ra 'd13:30]. If he
denies one of the names or attributes ofAllah without misinterpreting
it, then he becomes a disbeliever. And Allah says (interpretation
ofthe meaning):"The Most Beneficent (Allah) Istawa (rose over) the
(Mighty) Throne (in a manner that suits His Majesty)" [Ta-Ha 20:5].
Ifhe denies this verse, he becomes a disbeliever, but if he
misinterprets it as referring to taking control, then in that case he
is confused, therefore we cannot say that he is a disbeliever. And
Allah knows best.