Reasons to Reject Narrators of Ahadith

March 23, 2009 – 3:17 pm

weakchain

As you know, we cannot just accept a hadith from anyone–this is our deen! If anyone could just say what they wanted, we would have nothing left of the true, pure message of Allah.

The scholars have analyzed the biographies of every narrator of hadith. They compile information on when he was born, and where, his kunya, his tribe, who he met, what his character was, what other people narrated about him … piles and piles of information.

And in the analysis of the chain of narrators–those individuals who transmit a hadith from one to another, from Rasulullah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) to a collector (like Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim, etc.)–there are certain types of narrators that, if they are present in the chain, they automatically make the hadith da’eef.

Because they cannot be trusted.

Who are these people, and what are their characteristics? You might be surprised!

  1. Major Sinners. Anyone who commited a major sin (backbiting? Listening to music? Zina? Cheating? Stealing?) is discounted. Only people known for good, upright, moral character and conduct pass through.
  2. Liars. Anyone who lies is discounted.
  3. Accused Liars. Anyone who was accused of lying is discounted. Why? Throws some doubt on their character–maybe they did it, maybe not. Cannot be trusted.
  4. The Weak. Anyone whom a scholar met and said that he’s weak, or he’s not good, or his memory is not strong, automatically discounts a hadith.
  5. Known Fabricators. Some people are known to fabricate (invent) hadith, either by observation of scholars, or by their own admission (such as Nuh ibn Abi Maryam). They disqualify a hadith.
  6. The Unknown. Anyone whom the scholars do not know for sure if he’s a strong or weak narrator, disqualifies the hadith. Why? Maybe he’s weak! We don’t know! We know he narrated a hadith, and maybe a couple of people met him; but nobody commented to say he’s a strong narrator; so we don’t know!

Subhanallah, if you look at that list–especially the first three items–you will realize that the majority of Muslims today would disqualify ahadith that they narrate. I’m not talking about shuyookh, I mean the people you deal with day-to-day–yourself, your family, your friends.

Subhanallah, that’s how particular and picky the scholars of hadith were to preserve our deen! May Allah accept all their efforts and make us among the righteous people (ameen).

Action Steps:

  • Reflect on these criteria. Ask yourself, seriously: would I be cause for ahadith to be disqualified from being saheeh?
  • Make du’a for the scholars, especially the scholars of hadith. They’ve done a hard, difficult, long, thankless job; only Allah knows how much they did. Ask Him to reward them insha’Allah ameen. (Just raise your hands and do it right now, it just takes a few seconds.)

Wallahu ‘alam.

References

Lecture: Introduction to Mustalah-Hadeeth by shaykh Suhaib Hasan Abdul-Ghaffaar. Available free from http://islamlecture.com/mustalah.htm.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Aqeeda, Hadith, Islam | Tagged , , | Comments (7)

What is a Mursal Hadith?

January 7, 2009 – 1:47 pm

In the sciences of hadith, there’s something called a “mursal” hadith. What exactly is a mursal hadith? What is it’s status? What are the fiqh rulings on mursal ahadith? And why does it matter?

(Ok, for the answer to the last question, read and learn about the science of hadith. In a sentence: Scholars have devised an extremely rigorous process to determine which hadith are authentic, and which are not. You wouldn’t want to spend your whole life following a “hadith,” only to find out it really wasn’t legit, do you?)

A mursal hadith is a hadith where the chain only goes up to a tabi’ee. (So the hadith goes: X narrated, from Y, from Z, … from such-and-such a tabi’een.) Tabi’een are the generation after the companions–they are the sons and daughters and followers of Islam who came after the sahaba. Most hadith continue–the tabi’ee will narrate from a sahaba, who will narrate directly from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

So mursal ahadith are ahadith where the chain cuts off at the tab’iee level; it doesn’t go directly to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

And why is this important? Because a tabi’ee can narrate from another tabi’ee! It doesn’t necessarily mean that they heard it directly from a sahaba, who heard it from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم).

So the ruling on mursal ahadith? They are considered as da’eef ahadith. All the same rulings apply.

For example, in the issue of “does laughing in salaah break your wudoo?,” imam Abu Hanifa says yes, and cites a mursal hadith as his proof. The majority of scholars disagree, and insha’Allah this is the correct opinion–why?

Because the hadith is mursal (i.e. da’eef), and it contradicts shari’ah principles–why would it break your wudoo inside salaah, but not if you laugh outside salaah? (And these are not the only proofs; only a taste of the discussion.)

Wallahu ‘alam.

References

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib. The Purification Act. University of Toronto, Toronto. November 2006.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Aqeeda, Hadith, Islam, Salaah, Tahara | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

“Things” that Loved the Prophet

November 2, 2008 – 9:58 am

Bismillah

عن انس قال النبي ‏ ‏صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏ ‏لا يؤمن ‏ ‏أحدكم حتى أكون أحب إليه من والده وولده والناس أجمعين ‏

Anas radi Allahu anhu narrated that the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “None of you truly believes (has emaan) until I am more beloved to him than his father, his child and all of mankind.” (Bukhari and Muslim)

Loving the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam is a part of emaan, and Allah ta’ala has made it obligatory for us to love the Messenger alayhi salaam. Why? It is because loving the Prophet shows that you love Allah. It is because Allah sent him sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam that we are Muslims. There should be no one in this world more beloved to us than Allah and His Messenger.

We all claim to love the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam with our tongues, but do our actions show this?

When we love someone, how do we act? We want to be just like them. We think about them a lot. Whenever we remember them, we become happy. Their words comfort us. Their actions teach us. We love to hear about them all the time.

Do you really love the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam? Do you practice his sunnah? Do you read his words? Do you learn from his teachings? Do you read about his life? Do you defend him? Do you spread his message? alayhi Salaatu Rabbuna wa Salaam!

There are so many stories displaying the love of the sahaba for the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam that we can regurgitate them all, because we have memorized them and not internalized them.

Here are some stories of non-human living beings that loved him alayhi salaam based on a lecture by Shaykh AbdulBary Yahya, “things” that loved the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam more than we do!

The Tree Stump

Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah radi Allahu anhu: The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam used to stand by a tree or a date-palm on Friday. Then an Ansari woman or man said. “O Allah’s Apostle! Shall we make a pulpit for you?” He replied, “If you wish.” So they made a pulpit for him and when it was Friday, he proceeded towards the pulpit (for delivering the sermon). The date-palm cried like a child! The Prophet descended (the pulpit) and embraced it while it continued moaning like a child being quietened. The Prophet said, “It was crying for (missing) what it used to hear of religious knowledge given near to it.”
Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma narrated: The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam used to deliver his sermons while standing beside a trunk of a datepalm. When he had the pulpit made, he used it instead. The trunk started crying and the Prophet went to it, rubbing his hand over it (to stop its crying).

Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam used to stand by a stem of a date-palm tree (while delivering a sermon). When the pulpit was placed for him we heard that stem crying like a pregnant she-camel till the Prophet got down from the pulpit and placed his hand over it.

These ahadeeth are classified as mutawaatir, meaning so many sahaba narrated it that it cannot be fabricated. The different narrations show that they all witnessed it in the masjid. This is a miracle of the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and the narrations of the sahaba are all authentic, found in Bukhari and Muslim. This tree trunk, which seems like a lifeless being to us, is actually alive and was so affected by the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam. Allah ta’ala says the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam is a “rahmatan lil ‘aalameen”, a Mercy for all that exists, and we see this in how he comforted this stump. Imagine the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam soothing and hugging this tree stump!

Mount Uhud

Narrated Anas radi Allahu anhu: Allah’s Apostle sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam ascended the (mountain) of Uhud with Abu Bakr and ‘Uthman and it shook. Allah’s Apostle said, “Be calm, O Uhud!” I think he stroked it with his foot and added, “There is none on you but a Prophet, a Siddiq and two martyrs.” (Bukhari)

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam was traveling one time: “and when Uhud was within sight, he said: This is the mountain which loves us and we love it.” (Muslim)

This is a mountain, made up of rocks and stones, yet we are made of flesh and have been given hearts that beat…do we love the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam as this mountain? Do we shake like this mountain out of love for him?

A Stone

The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said, “I know a stone in Makkah that used to salute (give salaams) me before I received the revelation, I still know it now.” (Muslim)

How often do we salute/send salawaat on the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam? The Prophet knew this stone, and if we send salawaat on him, especially on Fridays, they will be presented to him from us.

A Tree

Narrated by Ya’la ibn Murrah ath-Thaqafi radi Allahu anhu said, “one time we were walking with the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam and he stopped at a place to spend the night. When the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam went to sleep, a tree uprooted itself and came to the Prophet and enveloped him. When the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam woke up, he said: ‘this is a tree that when it saw the Prophet, it asked Allah to give salaams to the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and Allah gave it permission.’” (Musnad Ahmad, Tabarani and Bayhaqi: Saheeh)

Do we ask to see the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam in our dreams? Yet a tree is asking to send salaams on the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa salaam.

These are not the only stories mentioned in the sunnah and witnessed by the Companions. Let us strive more to love the Prophet alayhi salaatu wa salaam: learn about his life, read about his companions, act upon his authentic statements and teachings, send salawaat upon him and defend him, alayhi salaatu wa salaam.

May Allah ta’ala shower His peace and blessings upon our Messenger, and fill our hearts with love for Him and his messenger, bless us to see him in our dreams and to grant us his companionship in Jannatul Firdaws, Ameen.

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Gems, Hadith, Sahaba, Seerah | Tagged | Comments (1)

The Dangers of using Weak Hadeeth

July 30, 2008 – 1:11 pm

Bismillah

Many scholars like Imam Bukharee rahmatulillah alay and Imam Muslim rahmatulillah alay have clarified the dangers of using da’eef (weak) ahadeeth.  Of the scholars that have used weak ahadeeth, they have done so with very strict conditions.

Ibn Hajar al-Askalani rahmatullilah alay, the father of the scholars of hadeeth, has said da’eef ahadeeth are only to be used when the following conditions are met:

  1. It is well accepted amongst the scholars of hadeeth that the weakness is only minor.
  2. The hadeeth is only used in light of the subject matter being well-established in other more authentic ahadeeth or the Qur’an
  3. The user of the da’eef hadeeth should not believe that it is really an act of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam because then it is possible we would be attributing acts to the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam that he may not have done. If we believed that it was truly the saying of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasalam we would under threat of his saying: “Whoever lies upon me intentionally then let him be sure of his place in the hellfire“
  4. We should not call people to any act based on da’eef ahadeeth
  5. A weak hadeeth can only be used to encourage good deeds which are already well-established in other more authentic ahadeeth or the Qur’an
  6. We cannot use da’eef ahadeeth to establish Islamic belief, creed, or matters of halal and haraam.

Source

Shakir, Abdur-Ra’uf.  “Usool us-Sunnah’ by Imam Ahmed ibn al-Hanbal: Lecture 1″ <http://www.islamlecture.com/usoolussunnah.htm>

By Abd al-Ahad | Posted in Hadith, Islam | Comments (2)

Where do you Stand with Allah?

June 7, 2008 – 7:49 pm

Bismillah

حدثنا زهير بن حرب وعثمان بن أبي شيبة وإسحاق بن إبراهيم قال إسحاق أخبرنا وقال الآخران حدثنا جرير عن منصور عن أبي وائل عن عبد الله قال قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن الصدق يهدى إلى البر وإن البر يهدى إلى الجنة وإن الرجل ليصدق حتى يكتب صديقا وإن الكذب يهدى إلى الفجور وإن الفجور يهدى إلى النار وإن الرجل ليكذب حتى يكتب كذابا

Translation: Narrated ‘Abdullah: The Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: Truthfulness (sidq) leads to righteousness (birr), and righteousness leads to Paradise. And a man keeps on telling the truth until he becomes and is written as a truthful person (siddeeq). And Falsehood/lying (kithb) leads to Al-Fajoor (wickedness, evil-doing), and Al-Fajoor (wickedness) leads to the Fire, and a man may keep on telling lies till he is written before Allah, a liar (kathaab). [Saheeh Bukhari, Book of Manners, #116]

Birr is from ba-ra-ra and it literally means a vast and open piece a land, with so many types of herbage and fruits. Birr means vastness of good deeds. Someone who is baarun (one who does birr) does all types of good deeds, and these people, al-abraar (plural of baarun), are those who are truly righteous. Next time you read the Qur’an, look for this word “al-abraar” (الابرار)and see which context these people are mentioned.

The hadeeth says that whoever is truthful, they will be lead to do these vast good deeds and then eventually they will be written as a “siddeeq”. Notice this word, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) did not say a ’saadiq’, but he said ’siddeeq’. A ’siddeeq’ is way better than a saadiq. They not only tell the truth, they always speak the truth, and they stand by it and live by it until it becomes their nature. All they do is tell the truth, again and again. Think of Abu Bakr as-siddeeq (رضي الله عنه‏) and how he earned this name.

On the other hand, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said that the man who lies will be lead to “fujoor” and then is written as a kathaab. Al-Fujoor is from fa-jeem-ra and it means to break open, cross, and deviate (significance of words beginning with fa). Fujoor is also intensified and it shows that causing corruption and wickedness is embedded in this person’s nature. Their actions are based on it and it is part of their character. Also, the word for liar used is a “kathaab”, which is not just a kaathib (a liar), but a huge liar. One who is always lying until it’s just second nature for lies to come out of his mouth. All they do is lie, again and again. Think of Musaylimah al-kathaab and how he earned this name.

So the question is, where do we stand with Allah (سبحانه وتعالى)? How are you written with Him? As a siddeeq or a kathaab? This reminder is for myself first and foremost.

Allahumma ijalnaa min as-siddeeqeen, wa la tajalnaa min al-khaathibeen. O Allah, make us among those who are always truthful, and do not make us among those who are liars. Ameen!

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Akhlaaq, Arabic, Hadith, Islam | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Conditions for Saheeh Hadeeth

March 27, 2008 – 8:16 am

Bismillah.

The study of hadeeth is one of the most noble sciences in Islam. The precision of this science, and the scholars who perfected it, is amazing and is not found in any other science–secular or Islamic. The sciences of hadeeth may be the most disputed science in Islam, simply because people do not understand the succinct process and scrutinization for only one narration to be accepted as authentic (saheeh). The Sunnah is the second source of legislation after the Qur’an, and Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) promised to protect the Sunnah:

إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ

Translation: We have, without a doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it (from corruption). [Suratul-Hijr, verse 9]

So those who deny the Sunnah (for reasons such as weakness and lack of authenticity) and claim to “follow the Qur’an” are further away from the Qur’an; and they do not truly follow it, because if they did follow the Qur’an, they would automatically turn to the Sunnah.

The term saheeh literally means “sound and healthy.” Its Islamic/legal definition means: a narration that is totally authentic, with no doubt in its authenticity, and is a certified statement of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). For a hadeeth to be taken as saheeh, five conditions must be met:

  1. Connected Isnaad: (isnaad is the plural of sanad, which is the chain of narrators). In Arabic: اتصال السند, ittisaal us-sanad. There cannot be a break in the chain. The narrators must have heard the hadeeth from each other, and if there is a break in the chain, the hadeeth is not authentic. (An example of a break in the chain would be a tabi’i narrating directly from the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). The successor/tabi’i couldn’t have met the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and had to have taken the narration from a companion, yet they did not mention the companion–so this would be a weak narration.)
  2. The narrators must be trustworthy and righteous.In Arabic: العدالة, al-’adaalah. The sub-conditions for ‘adaalah is that the narrator fears Allah, they are not known to commit major sins or consistent minor sins, and that they avoid all that people may consider shameful (faqawaar al-maroo’a). A modern day example of this would be that the Imam of the masjid would not come lead the prayer in shorts. Although shorts are technically fine to wear, some members of the prayer may consider it shameful and inappropriate for the Imam to lead the prayer in such clothing. So the narrators leave acts that can be seen as shameful by the people, even if they are not haraam or makrooh.
  3. Precision and accuracy of the narrators. In Arabic: ضبط الرواة dhabt ar-rawaah. There are two sub-conditions under dhabt:
    1. Precision and accuracy of the memory. In Arabic: ضبط الصدر, dhabt as-sadr.
    2. Precision of writing. In Arabic: ضبط الكتاب, dhabt al-kitaab. In terms of writing, some scholars of hadeeth had weak memories, so they would never narrate from their memories, but rather from their scribes or notes.
  4. No irregularities or inconsistencies. In Arabic: عدم الشذوذ, adamu as-shuthooth. Shuthooth is plural of shaath, and it literally means something irregular or not normal. An example of a shaath narration would be a hadeeth with a reliable narrator, but he contradicts a stronger narrator. So for a hadeeth to be authentic, it must be consistent.
  5. No hidden defects. In Arabic: عدم العلة, adamu al-’illah. An ‘illah, or a hidden defect is hard to detect and only the top scholars of hadeeth (like Imam Bukhari and Imam Ahmad) were able to detect them. Only through knowledge and experience will someone be able to detect an ‘illah in a hadeeth. Ibn al-Salah says, “A ma’lul (defective) hadith is one which appears to be sound, but thorough research reveals a disparaging factor.” An example of an ‘illah would be a narrator saying he narrated from his shaykh (his teacher) but he never heard from him, and rather took it from another student.

These are the five conditions for a hadeeth to be considered authentic, as stated by the scholars of this science. The only difference between a saheeh hadeeth and a hasan (good, one level lower than saheeh) is that the narrators have good memories and not excellent memories, they are still reliable, but their level of memory and precision is less than saheeh.

SubhanAllah, if someone takes the time to learn even the basics of this science, they will realize that those who claim the sunnah as unreliable have no idea what they’re talking about, and have never even studied this science! Allah has promised to preserve the sunnah, and with conditions such as these, the scholars of hadeeth have lived out this promise.

A great introductory resource if you would like to learn this science is a book by Shaykh Suhaib Hasan, known as “An Introduction to the Sciences of Hadeeth,” published by Dar-us-Salam–and take the AlMaghrib course known as Chain of Command: The Sciences of Hadeeth. Also, shaykh Yasir Qadhi has a set of introductory audio lectures on this science, which can be found here.

And Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) knows best.

References

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib Institute. Chain of Command: Hadeeth Sciences. University of Maryland, Rockville. July 2007.

By AmatulWadood | Posted in Hadith, Islam | Tagged , , | Comments (10)

Chain of Command

March 6, 2008 – 10:23 am
Chain of Command

The sciences of hadith, and its importance. What is “sunnah,” its importance, its authority in Islam, who were the scholars of hadith, their books, and what is the terminology of hadith.

Chain of Command is an AlMaghrib course taught by Abdul-Bary Yahya. This course is divided into two parts: first, the Muhadithoon, the Scholars of Hadith; and second, what is known as “Mustalah al-Hadith,” the terminology and categorization of hadith. Hadith sciences can undoubtedly be the most important science in Islam for one reason: all other sciences are based on it. Do you think our worship would be the same if we did not have the classifications of ahadith, from da’eef (weak) to saheeh (authentic)? How about fiqh? Aqeedah? Without the hadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) and his sunnah we would be completely lost.

Rasululllah (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: “There will not cease to be a group from my ummah dominant upon the truth. The ones who abandon them will not be able to harm them, until the decree of Allah comes.” [Saheeh Muslim] What do the scholars say about this group and hadith? Most importantly, there will always be a group among this ummah guided. Also, Imam Ahmad said, “if they are not the people of Hadith, then I don’t know who they are.” Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, “It is the scholars of Hadith.” This does not mean that other scholars are misguided, but if an individual does not believe in or rejects the ahadith, they will eventually go astray.

Some benefits of studying hadith:

  • You are able to follow in the footsteps, words and actions of the Messenger of Allah (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
  • You will have the ability to extract rulings from the sunnah of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
  • You will learn lots of Arabic by memorizing ahadith of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
  • Realize the miracle of “Jawaami’ al-Kalam,” small and concise words, that Allah gave to the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم)
  • You will send lots of salawaat on the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم). [The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) said: The people who will be nearest to me on the Day of Resurrection will be those who supplicate Allah more often for me.'']

Allah (عز و جل) blessed our Ummah with a special gift. It is known as the “isnad,” the chain in which a hadith is narrated. The isnad is so important, as it relates to us how this hadith reached us. Abdullah ibn Mubarak said, “The isnad to me is part of the deen (religion), and if it wasn’t for the isnad, anyone would say anything he wanted.”

This course is the best way to become closer to and love the Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم), and also cling to his sunnah. Imam Malik said, “The Sunnah is like the Arc of Nuh, whoever boards it will be saved, and whoever stays behind will be drowned.”

Posts
Primary Categories
References

Abdul-Bary Yahya. Lecture. AlMaghrib. Chain of Command.

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Be An Orange

September 12, 2007 – 7:40 am

This Ramadan…be an orange!

Say what?

“The example of a believer, who recites the Qur’an and acts on it, is like an orange (utrujjah) which tastes nice and smells nice.

And the example of the believer who does not recite the Qur’an but acts on it is like a date that tastes sweet but has no smell.

And the example of the hypocrite who recites the Quran is like a sweet basil which smells good but tastes bitter.

And the example of a hypocrite who does not recite the Qur’an is like a colocynth (bitter apple) which tastes bitter and has a bad smell.”

[Allah’s Messenger (صلي الله عليه وسلم), reported in Saheeh al-Bukhari]

Subhan Allah!

So, in sha Allah, we should all strive to be like the believer who is like an orange: the one who is emanating beauty because of his/her attachment to the Qur’an. And may Allah (سبحانه وتعالى) protect us from being like the hypocrites, ameen!

By abdulmutakkabir | Posted in Hadith, Islam, Tazkiyyah | Comments (1)

Fantastic Four

November 19, 2006 – 1:13 am

One day, the Prophet (peace be upon him) sat with his companions, early in the morning. He asked, “who among you is fasting this day?” Abu Bakr said “I am.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, “who amongst you followed the funeral bier (i.e. a janaazah) today?” and Abu Bakr said “I have.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “who amongst you served food to the needy?” Abu Bakr said “I have.” Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “who amongst you visited a sick person today?” Again, Abu Bakr said “I have.”

Then, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: All these four things don’t gather in one person except that Allah enters them into Paradise. [Sahih Muslim, Book 31 / #5580]

So how would you like to earn entry into Paradise? Yes? Well then, here’s your master plan to gather the above-mentioned qualities in yourself inshallah:

  • Fast every week, on Mondays and Thursdays.
  • Find some needy people, and ensure you provide them with food.
  • Visit any sick family members, relatives, and/or friends. If no one is sick, mashallah! Just drop by the hospital now and then.

Once the above three qualities become regular, the day you hear of a janazah, it will be an easy task for you to try and achieve all of them! And inshallah, you’ll have them ‘combined’ in you, just as the hadith mentions!

May Allah help us combine and instill these qualities within ourselves, that the Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) already mentioned as a way into Paradise, ameen!

Related Posts: What Concerns you? (An answer for — What will place us in paradise?)

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Hadith, Islam, Sahaba, Tazkiyyah | Comments (2)

Muhaddith Al-Albani

October 4, 2006 – 8:58 pm

A Muhaddith is one who studies and memorizes ahadith, and internalizes the science of hadith–the science that allows us to dissect and analyze ahadith and sort the authentic from the un-authentic. (You can read more about ahadith and their statuses here.) This includes memorizing the biographies of people involved in the narration, including their strengths and weaknesses (in terms of memory and piety).

Shaykh Muhammad Nasir-ud-Deen al-Albani, one of the greatest scholars of recent times, also studied ahadith and became a muhaddith–one the likes of we have not seen in centuries. This is why many contemporaries–scholars, imams, teachers–often will quote a hadith as saheeh or da’eef and say “according to Shaykh Al-Albani”. May Allah forgive his sins and accept all the amazing work he completed during his lifetime, ameen!

You can find a brief sketch of his life here, if you would like more details.

By Ilm Seeker | Posted in Hadith, Islam | Comments (0)