There are 5 new posts in "Bukhari Dars Blog"

Today's post is the second part of my notes from Lesson 183 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 8th February 2008. In this lesson, we studied ahadeeth 694-697. The notes below are for hadeeth 695 and the related chapter heading.

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باب: مَا قِيلَ فِي أَوْلاَدِ المُسلِمِين
Chapter: what has been said about the children of Muslims

This is related to hadeeth 677 and the chapter heading that we studied then: باب إذا أسلم الصبي فمات هل يصلى عليه وهل يعرض على الصبي الإسلام ا). When a child embraces Islam and then dies, should the funeral prayer be performed over him? And should Islam be presented to the child? The respected Shaykh explained a few laws during commentary of that hadeeth.

The first chapter heading is that what has been said about the children of Muslims and the second one which will be covered in the next part of my notes is what has been said about the children of polytheists (the pagans)?

If a child embraces Islam and then dies should the funeral prayer be performed over him? Secondly, should Islam be presented to the child? The respected Shaykh explained how we (from worldly perspective) should regard children who have died? He mentioned then that if a child lives in a Muslim family and both parents are Muslims then if the child passes away, the child will be considered Muslim. Since the child is a Muslim Salatul Janaza (funeral prayer) will be performed over the child. However, if a child dies in a non-Muslim household where both parents are not Muslims, then again everyone agrees that the child (from a worldly perspective) will not be regarded as a Muslim. Therefore the funeral prayer will not be performed over the child. The child will not be buried in a Muslim graveyard with Muslims. All the laws of death i.e. the washing of the body, funeral and burial related to the child will be such that Muslim laws will not be applied. The question we can ask is what happens if one of the parents is a Muslim?

The respected Shaykh explained that there is some difference of opinion but simplified the rulings regarding this. According to the majority of Muslims scholars from all the school of Fiqh, if one of the parents is a Muslim (either father or mother) then the child will be regarded to be a Muslim also. But remember that this refers to the household of the child; the child has to be living with both parents. If the parents are separated or divorced and the non-Muslim parent brings up the child only, the child would, for all intents and purposes, be following the religion of the parent they are living with. This is all related to the laws of the world (dunya). This is a very important distinction. It doesn’t just apply to funeral prayers but it is a very wide concept and it is important for everyone to know, Muslims and non-Muslims. This is because it is grossly misunderstood topic and often irrelevant objections are raised. As Muslims we have to apply and abide by the teachings of religion apparently; apparently from worldly perspective and the Ulamah (scholars) and Qazees (judges) have to make a judgment. However, that judgment is no comment on that rulings validity or acceptance in the sight of Allah as far as the hereafter is concerned.

There is one way of describing this; the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says in an hadeeth that I am but a human being; when two of you come before me with a dispute فلعل أحدكما أبين من الأخر , there is a great possibility that one of you is more eloquent than the other so he presents a more convincing case. If I judge in his favour and cut out a piece of land for him and he knows that the right does not belong to him and I cut out a piece of land for him then (based on his eloquence and argument) then فانما أقطع له قطعة من النار . The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم says I’m only cutting out a share of the hellfire for him. He should know that. Even though he is the Messenger of Allah, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is saying that he can only judge on what is apparent.

This example of a judgement regarding wealth is one example that we can only judge on what is apparent. The rulings based on the judgement of the ulama are no comment on the hereafter. Similarly, the respected Shaykh explained that when he spoke about the burial of children it is only as far as the dunya is concerned. Do we treat the child as a Muslim as far as laws of funeral, burial and prayer are concerned? This is what applies here not their position with Allah and what their judgment will be in the hereafter.

Hadeeth 695

   

Assalamu alaikum, today's post is the first part of my notes from Lesson 183 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 8th February 2008. In this lesson, we studied ahadeeth 694-697. The notes below are for hadeeth 694.

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باب: الميت يُعْرَضُ عَلَيهِ مقعده بِالغَدَاةِ وَالعَشِي

   

Assalamu alaikum, today's post is the final part of my notes from Lesson 182 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 1st February 2008. In this lesson, we studied ahadeeth 688-693. The notes below are for hadeeth 691-693.

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691. عَنْ أَسْماءَ بِنْتِ أَبِي بَكْرٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَتْ: قامَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم خَطِيبًا, فَذَكَرَ فِتْنَةَ الْقَبْرِ الّتِي يَفْتَتِنُ فِيهَا المَرْءُ, فَلَمّا ذَكَرَ ذلِكَ ضَجّ المُسْلِمُونَ ضَجّةً. رواه البخاري: 1373

691. Narrated Asmâ' bint Abu Bakr رضى الله عنهما : Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم once stood up delivering a Khutba (religious talk) and mentioned the afflictions and trials which people will face in their grave. When he mentioned that, the Muslims started crying loudly. (2:455O.B.)

This hadeeth refers to the khutbah that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم gave at the time of the Solar Eclipse (Hadeeth 76, Book of Knowledge). The mentioned the trial of the grave i.e. being questioned by Munkir and Nakir, which the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said will be as close to or similar to the fitnah of Dajjal. There was some din and clamour from the sahahab in fright when they heard this.

All of the of the Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaat believe in the punishment of the grave. Even the
Mutazilah who applied excessive logic and reasoning to the words of Allah believed in the punishment of the grave. Only a very small percentage from amongst the Mutazilah rejected belief in the punishment of the grave. The Shaykh said that today we find people who call themselves Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaat but do not believe in the punishment of the grave or suggest that belief in punishment of the grave is part of the creed or doctrine of Islam.

 

693. Narrated Abu Huraira رضى الله عنه : Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم used to invoke (Allâh): Allâhumma inni a'udhu bika min 'adhâbilqabr, wa min 'adhâbinnar, wa min fitnatilmahyâ walmamât, wa min fitnatil Masih Ad-Dajjâl. (O Allâh! I seek refuge with you from the punishment in the grave and from the punishment in the Hellfire and from the Fitnah (trial and afflictions etc.) of life and death, and the Fitnah (trial and afflictions etc.) of Al Masih Ad-Dajjâl. (2:459O.B.)

   

Assalamu alaikum, today's post is the second part of my notes from Lesson 182 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 1st February 2008. In this lesson, we studied ahadeeth 688-693. The notes below are for hadeeth 689 and 690.

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689. عَن ابْنِ عُمَرَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُمَا قَالَ: اطّلَعَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَلَى أَهْلِ الْقَلِيبِ, فَقَالَ: (وَجَدْتُمْ ما وَعَدَ رَبّكُمْ حَقّا). فَقِيلَ لَهُ: أَتَدْعُو أَمْواتًا فَقَالَ: (ما أَنْتُمْ بِأَسْمَعَ مِنْهُمْ, وَلكِنْ لاَ يُجِيبُونَ). رواه البخاري: 1370



689. Narrated Ibn 'Umar رضى الله عنهما : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looked at the dead people of the well (the well in which there were the bodies of those pagans killed during the battle of Badr) and said, Have you found true what your Lord promised you? Somebody said to him, You are addressing dead people. He replied, You do not hear better than they but they cannot reply. (2:452O.B.)

The refers to an incident that happened after the battle of Badr when 313 sahabah fought an army of around 1000 Quraish in which many of the chieftains of the Quraish fell. After the battle, many others were taken captive as prisoners. Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم stayed in the vicinity of Badr for three days. The bodies of the fallen Quraish remained there. After three days, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم came back to the battlefield and ordered the bodies of 24 of the chieftains of the Quraish whose bodies remained there to be placed in a well that was there. This does not refer to a built, raised well as we normally think of. It was an open well which hadn’t been built up – there was a natural well at Badr which was the reason why the Muslims had camped there in the first place. Those Quraish whose bodies were placed in that well became known as ‘People of the Well’. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم looked over them and addressed them - from other narrations we learn that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم addressed each one e.g. ‘Oh Abu Jahl’ and so on. He mentioned each of them by name and said ‘I have found the promise of my Lord to be true’ i.e. he shall give me victory over you. These are actually words of the Qur’an when the people of Jannah shall call out to the people of Jahanam ‘وَجَدْتُمْ ما وَعَدَ رَبّكُمْ حَقّا’. (‘We have discovered the promise of our Lord to be true. Have you discovered the promise of your Lord to be true?’). So, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم used the same words to address the chieftains of the Quriash who were dead ‘I have found the promise of my Lord to be true. Have you found the promise of your Lord to be true?’ The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم meant that you will be punished in your graves – have you discovered the punishment of your Lord to be true in the graves?
We learn from other narrations (such as that of Imam Muslim) that the person that spoke to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was Sayyiduna Umar ibn Khattab رضى الله عنه who said ‘Oh Prophet of Allah, Do you call out to the dead? They cannot hear you’. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said ‘You cannot hear any more than they can but they do not answer’. Now, there are some issues of discussion here. The first is a discussion about the punishment of the grave and second is whether the dead can hear.

The respected Shaykh discussed the second topic first – can the dead hear e.g. what is happening in their surroundings. This is a classical theological discussion and there was even a difference amongst the sahabah. Some people believe that Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها was of the opinion that the dead could not hear but the others believed that the dead could hear. This comes about because of the next hadeeth.

690. عَنْ عَائِشَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهَا قَالَتْ: إِنّمَا قَالَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: (إِنّهُمْ لَيَعْلَمُونَ الاَن أَنّ ما كنْتُ أَقُولُ حَقّ). وَقَدْ قَالَ اللهُ تَعَالَى: (إِنّكَ لاَ تُسْمِعُ المَوْتَى). رواه البخاري: 1371


690. Narrated A'isha رضى الله عنها : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, They (the Quraish pagans killed during the battle of Badr) now realise that what I used to tell them was the truth. And Allâh تعالى said, 'Verily! You cannot make the dead to hear (i.e. benefit them, and similarly the disbelievers) nor can you make the deaf hear. (V.27:80). (2:453O.B.)

This hadeeth is actually related to the previous subject matter. Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar رضى الله عنه narrates the incident that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم stood over the people of the well and addressed them. Actually, Sayyiduna Abdullah ibn Umar رضى الله عنه was not actually present at the battle of Badr as he was too young. Other sahabah also relate this hadeeth even though they were also not present. When Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها heard that certain companions were narrating this hadeeth actually she did not accept their narrations. For a certain time she was of the opinion that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم only said ‘They know now that what I used to say is the truth’. She accepted that they came to know of Allah’s promise but did not accept that they could actually hear the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. Also, it has been attributed to the scholars of the Hanafi fiqh that they say that the dead cannot hear. That ascription to the Hanafi scholars is not entirely correct. The Hanafi scholars do not believe that the dead cannot hear at all. Some of them draw the distinction that the dead can hear when Allah allows them to hear but not all of the time.

The reason why Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها believed this only for a certain time as Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal narrates a hadeeth where Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها says the same as Abdullah ibn Umar رضى الله عنه (hadeeth 688). Thus, this suggests that she retracted her earlier view and accepted what the other companions said. On many occasions, her opinions differed from those of the sahabah. The ulama of Islam whilst respecting her did not always accept her verdicts. They would say that whatever her understanding was, with all due respect to Umm ul Mumineen Aisha رضى الله عنها, she was not present on many occasions when the other senior companions were.

Many ulama believe that the dead can hear as there are clear, categorical hadeeth that state the dead can hear such as the ones we have covered. There are other hadith, for example, Imam ibn Abdul Barr relates a sahih hadeeth that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said ‘Whenever someone passes by the grave of a believer that they used to know in the dunya and they say ‘Assalamu alaikum’, Allah returns the spirit (ruh) to the deceased, and he hears the salaam and he actually responds by saying ‘Walaikum salaam’.