Ten Ahadith for Methodology

 

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

اَلۡحَمۡدُ لِلّٰہِ رَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِیۡنَ

والصلاة والسلام على خاتم النبيين

Select Ahādīth for Methodology

Hadīth #1

عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْجَمَاعَةِ وَإِيَّاكُمْ وَالْفُرْقَةَ فَإِنَّ الشَّيْطَانَ مَعَ الْوَاحِدِ وَهُوَ مِنَ الاِثْنَيْنِ أَبْعَدُ مَنْ أَرَادَ بُحْبُوحَةَ الْجَنَّةِ فَلْيَلْزَمِ الْجَمَاعَةَ

Adhere to the Jamā’ah and beware of separation, for indeed the Satan is with one but is distant from two. Whoever wants the best place in Jannah, then let him stick to the Jamā’ah

Commentary: In this Hadith is enshrined a golden principle, which if adhered to will save a soul of this Ummah from joining a deviant sect or movement, whether religious or political in nature. Of the seventy three divisions that were destined to occur within this Ummah, the denomination which is upon truth and is therefore saved is the one that constitutes the Jamā’ah. By this term is meant the mainstream congregation of the Ummah whose existence is continuous from the time of the Sahābah (radī Allāhu ‘anhum). The fundamental beliefs, practices and methodology of the Jamā’ah represent Islamic orthodoxy and normativity. The deviant sects and factions in this Ummah are those that broke off from the mainstream Jamā’ah, such as the Kharijites, the Shi’ites, the Qadarites, the Murji’ites, the Mu’tazilites, and in modern times, Hadith-rejecters, Qadianis, naturalists, materialists, modernists, etc. The Jamā’ah are those who are known as Ahl us-Sunnah or Sunnis, whose ‘Ulamā’ have a sanad which may be traced back to the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi was-sallam).

Hadīth #2

سَلَّطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ ذُلاًّ لاَ يَنْزِعُهُ حَتَّى تَرْجِعُوا إِلَى دِينِكُمْ

Allāh will establish disgrace upon you and will not remove it until you return to your Dīn

Commentary: This Hadīth elaborates upon the meaning of the Āyah:

اِنَّ اللّٰہَ لَا یُغَیِّرُ مَا بِقَوۡمٍ حَتّٰی یُغَیِّرُوۡا مَا بِاَنۡفُسِہِمۡ

Verily, Allāh does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in their souls

Today, if we see that the Ummah by and large has been seized with a humiliation and subjugation at the hands of the foreign powers it is a consequence of our collective spiritual and moral lapse. The situation will not be rectified in our favor until the Ummah collectively repents from its evil ways and returns to the teachings of Islām, along with purification of the soul through worship and remembrance of Allāh. The efforts of many in this Ummah to remove the disgrace through political and other non-religious means are totally futile.

Hadīth #3

يَأْتِي زَمَانٌ مَنْ عَمِلَ مِنْهُمْ بِعُشْرِ مَا أُمِرَ بِهِ نَجَا

A time comes when someone who does a tenth of what he is commanded is saved

Commentary: The Hadīth should not be abused by being understood as a justification to sin or motivate a Muslim to be lax in his observance of the divine commandments. Its purpose is to predict that in the latter days, due to the change in external circumstances and less facilitation for worship and good deeds, if a Muslim strives to comply with the divine commandments but is only able to fulfill a tenth of them despite sincere effort then he shall be saved from damnation.

Hadīth #4

مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُزَحْزَحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَيَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَلْتَأْتِهِ مَنِيَّتُهُ وَهُوَ يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَلْيَأْتِ إِلَى النَّاسِ الَّذِي يُحِبُّ أَنْ يُؤْتَى إِلَيْهِ

Whoever loves that they be delivered from Hellfire and entered into Paradise then let him die while he believes in Allāh and the Last Day, and treat the people how he loves to be treated

Commentary: The “Golden Rule”, namely, to treat others as one wishes to be treated, which is universal in being a moral principle among humanity, has been confirmed by the most holy Prophet Muhammad (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi was-sallam). This Hadīth also emphasizes that true faith in the holy Person of Allāh and in the Last Day, meaning the end of this world and the Resurrection, is the entire basis for salvation. It does not mean that one can be saved by merely professing faith in Allāh and the Last Day while rejecting the other Articles of Faith and fundamentals of the Religion, rather, that the other Articles of Faith and fundamentals of the Religion stem from faith in Allāh and in the Last Day.

Hadīth #5

الْحَلاَلُ بَيِّنٌ وَالْحَرَامُ بَيِّنٌ وَبَيْنَهُمَا مُشَبَّهَاتٌ لاَ يَعْلَمُهَا كَثِيرٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَمَنِ اتَّقَى الْمُشَبَّهَاتِ اسْتَبْرَأَ لِدِيِنِهِ وَعِرْضِهِ

The Halāl is clear and the Harām is clear, but between them are the Mushabbahāt (doubtful matters) that most of the people have no knowledge of. So whoever, out of Taqwā, saves himself from the Mushabbahāt has protected his Dīn and his honor

Commentary: From this Hadīth we derive the principle that it is superior to have Taqwā and avoid a doubtful matter rather than act upon a Fatwā that declares it permissible. By having an attitude to avoid a doubtful matter, whose permissibility is not definitive, a person will protect his Faith and his personal honor. There are many such controversial and doubtful matters regarding which the Fuqahā and ‘Ulamā’ differ. It is better to err on the side of caution and avoid those matters, such as smoking, music, protests, seafood, red clothing, isbāl, etc.

Hadīth #6

إِذَا أَتَاكُمْ كَرِيمُ قَوْمٍ فَأَكْرِمُوهُ

When the honored one among a people comes to you then honor him

Commentary: From the way of the Muslims is to honor and respect an individual or class who are considered noble among their people, unless that individual shows hostility toward Islām, or is known to be an oppressor and evil, then he should not be honored. This Hadīth enjoining us to honor the noble person of a people especially applies to their kings, rulers and leaders. Contrary to what some extremists believe, it is not against the Sharī’ah to show deference to the kings, rulers and leaders of the non-Muslims. Rather, to insult or humiliate a person considered noble among his people will create resentment and enmity between the Muslims and those people.

Hadīth #7

فَرُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ إِلَى مَنْ هُوَ أَفْقَهُ مِنْهُ وَرُبَّ حَامِلِ فِقْهٍ لَيْسَ بِفَقِيهٍ

The bearer of a fiqh might convey it to someone who has better understanding of it, and the bearer of a fiqh might not be understanding of it

Commentary: The context of this Prophetic statement is the virtue of conveying his Ahādīth. It confirms the possibility that the one to whom a Hadīth is conveyed may understand its meaning better than the one who conveyed it to him, even if the conveyor heard it directly from the blessed mouth of the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi was-sallam). This is especially true in the realm of prophecy. As time goes by and the fulfillment of a prophecy nears, the people of that time will naturally have a better understanding of the meaning and interpretation of the Hadīth than those who came prior to them and conveyed it.

Hadīth #8

اسْمَعُوا هَلْ سَمِعْتُمْ أَنَّهُ سَتَكُونُ بَعْدِي أُمَرَاءُ مَنْ دَخَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ فَصَدَّقَهُمْ بِكَذِبِهِمْ وَأَعَانَهُمْ عَلَى ظُلْمِهِمْ فَلَيْسَ مِنِّي وَلَسْتُ مِنْهُ وَلَيْسَ يَرِدُ عَلَىَّ الْحَوْضَ

Listen! Have you heard that after me will come rulers, whoever enters upon them and believes their lies and helps them in their oppression then he is not of me and I am not not of him nor will I receive him at the Hawd

Commentary: Many Ahādīth warn about the coming of oppressive rulers, while still enjoining the Believers to remain under their obedience and not rebel against them. This Hadīth has rare additional guidance in that while it also does not allow for the Believers to raise the sword against an oppressive ruler, it nevertheless enjoins us to stay away from them. It is a condemnation of those Muslims, including so-called Imams and scholars, who are close to the corrupt rulers and are frequently found in their palaces, courts and personal company. Historically, the pious Imams and Sufis of this Ummah, belonging to Ahl us-Sunnah, remained aloof from the rulers and the corridors of power. The corrupt and oppressive rulers of this Ummah will certainly be among those who are given the most severe punishment in the Afterlife, therefore, it is imperative that both the scholars and ordinary Muslims avoid association with them as much as possible. Likewise, in the search for a spiritual guide and scholar to take knowledge from, an ordinary Muslim should discount those who are close to the corrupt rulers and therefore likely compromised, and instead seek those who are far away from the corridors of power.

Hadīth #9

السُّلْطَانُ ظِلُّ اللَّهِ فِي الأَرْضِ

The Sultān is the Shadow of Allāh on the Earth

Commentary: By Sultān is meant a powerful or well established ruler. His existence and rule are in fact a manifestation of Allah’s mercy and compassion toward the people, hence why he is named the Shadow of God. As opposed to anarchy, the establishment of a State with a stable and strong rule benefits the ordinary people in that it grants them safety and a means to achieve prosperity while adhering to their Religion. For this and other reasons the Prophet (sall Allāhu ‘alayhi was-sallam) forbade us from insulting the Sultān, and warned that the consequence of doing so would be divine humiliation. Nevertheless, as explained concerning the previous Hadīth, the Believer should endeavor to remain aloof from the Sultān so as to save himself from fitnah.

Hadīth #10

مَنْ مَاتَ بِغَيْرِ إِمَامٍ مَاتَ مِيتَةً جَاهِلِيَّةً

Whoever died without an Imām died a death of Jāhiliyyah

Commentary: The term Jāhiliyyah signifies the state of society before the arrival of Islām and the state of an individual before his conversion to Islām, a state of ignorance and barbarism. The purpose is to emphasize the necessity of having an Imām to whom a Believer pledges his allegiance and remains in obedience to for as long as he lives, otherwise, despite being a Believer, he will be in a condition like the condition of a person who died without converting to Islām, a condition of ignorance and spiritual deprivation. Here, an Imām is not restricted to meaning the leader of the Muslims in an administrative sense, but also a religious guide and spiritual leader. There are many rulers, but only that one may be described as an Imām who is pious, learned in religious matters and guides the people to what is good.