Hadith No. 43 – Sahih al-Bukhari

Salam,
Bismillah.

Interesting Hadith today.

Volume 1, Book 2, Number 43:

Narrated ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab:

Once a Jew said to me, “O the chief of believers! There is a verse in your Holy Book Which is read by all of you (Muslims), and had it been revealed to us, we would have taken that day (on which it was revealed) as a day of celebration.” ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab asked, “Which is that verse?” The Jew replied, “This day I have perfected your religion for you, completed My favor upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.” (5:3) ‘Umar replied,”No doubt, we know when and where this verse was revealed to the Prophet. It was Friday and the Prophet was standing at ‘Arafat (i.e. the Day of Hajj)”

How much the Jews know about us and our religion! They memorize Quranic verses and quote to us. I guarantee that if today’s random Muslim was in place of Umar (RA) that day, he wouldn’t even know it was a verse in the Quran. Knowing where and when it was revealed is out of the question!

But this is not what I plan to talk about today, although I think I’ve made a point there. Friday is what we’re talking about. This beautiful verse was revealed on a Friday. About which Ibn Kathir says:

This, indeed, is the biggest favor from Allah to this Ummah, for He has completed their religion for them, and they, thus, do not need any other religion or any other Prophet except Muhammad . This is why Allah made Muhammad the Final Prophet and sent him to all humans and Jinn. Therefore, the permissible is what he allows, the impermissible is what he prohibits, the Law is what he legislates and everything that he conveys is true and authentic and does not contain lies or contradictions.

…accept Islam for yourselves, for it is the religion that Allah likes and which He chose for you, and it is that with which He sent the best of the honorable Messengers and the most glorious of His Books. Ibn Jarir recorded that Harun bin `Antarah said that his father said, “When the Ayah, “This day, I have perfected your religion for you…” was revealed, during the great day of Hajj (the Day of `Arafah, the ninth day of Dhul-Hijjah) `Umar cried. The Prophet said, `What makes you cry?’ He said, `What made me cry is that our religion is being perfected for us. Now it is perfect, nothing is perfect, but it is bound to deteriorate.’ The Prophet said, ‘You have said the truth.’ What supports the meaning of this Hadith is the authentic Hadith:

«إِنَّ الْإِسْلَامَ بَدَأَ غَرِيبًا، وَسَيَعُودُ غَرِيبًا، فَطُوبَى لِلْغُرَبَاء»

(Islam was strange in its beginning and will return strange once more. Therefore, Tuba for the strangers.)

What an awesome verse! And what a beautiful day it must’ve been. We like to celebrate birthdays a lot, don’t we? Why not celebrate the revelation-day of this verse tomorrow – Friday (YES! It’s a coincidence. :D)? And how do we celebrate it? I plan to tell others about it, inshaAllah. Knowledge is what we lack, and knowledge is what I intend to spread.

Do tell how you celebrated the revelation-day of this verse! :)
Wassalam.

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