I Spy (Hadith No. 117)

Salam,
Bismillah.

We know of all kinds of spies in today’s world, thanks to movies. There’s intelligence, top secret confidential government stuff and the spy kids. Here we have a spy kid, but he’s after something really unusual. Something the intelligence wouldn’t be interested in. It’s how the Prophet (SAW) spends his night. ;)
This was Ibn ‘Abbas’s great idea: he called up his aunt Maimuna (the wife of the Prophet) and asked her to let him stay over at her place when the Prophet (SAW) visited her. Reason being, he would stay up all night and sneakily spy on the Prophet (SAW) to see how he spent the night at home. She allowed and this is what happened..

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 117:

Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas:

I stayed overnight in the house of my aunt Maimuna bint Al-Harith (the wife of the Prophet ) while the Prophet was there with her during her night turn. The Prophet offered the ‘Isha’ prayer (in the mosque), returned home and after having prayed four Rakat, he slept. Later on he got up at night and then asked whether the boy (or he used a similar word) had slept? Then he got up for the prayer and I stood up by his left side but he made me stand to his right and offered five Rakat followed by two more Rakat. Then he slept and I heard him snoring and then (after a while) he left for the (Fajr) prayer.

It might sound weird to some of the readers, but it was a matter of interest for most of the companions of the Prophet (SAW). As they saw him during the day, they knew how he dealt with his friends and other people. But to see how he spent his night and dealt with his family, one had to take such a step. And Ibn ‘Abbas proved bold enough. :)

Lesson: Don’t spy on other people, unless it’s an awesome person. ;)

Wassalam.

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Fighting Brings No Good (Hadith No. 114)

Salam,
Bismillah.

Every human has a different mind. That leads to different thinking, and hence difference of opinions.
It’s not wrong to disagree. Rather, thinking I’m-right-and-he’s-wrong isn’t right. This leads to fighting. And that brings no good at all. An example from the Prophet (SAW)’s time..

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 114:

Narrated ‘Ubaidullah bin ‘Abdullah:

Ibn ‘Abbas said, “When the ailment of the Prophet became worse, he said, ‘Bring for me (writing) paper and I will write for you a statement after which you will not go astray.’ But ‘Umar said, ‘The Prophet is seriously ill, and we have got Allah’s Book with us and that is sufficient for us.’ But the companions of the Prophet differed about this and there was a hue and cry. On that the Prophet said to them, ‘Go away (and leave me alone). It is not right that you should quarrel in front of me.” Ibn ‘Abbas came out saying, “It was most unfortunate (a great disaster) that Allah’s Apostle was prevented from writing that statement for them because of their disagreement and noise.

(Note: It is apparent from this Hadith that Ibn ‘Abbes had witnessed the event and came out saying this statement. The truth is not so, for Ibn ‘Abbas used to say this statement on narrating the Hadith and he had not witnessed the event personally.)

If they hadn’t argued about this matter, Prophet (SAW) could’ve left something very important for us. That ‘good’ was taken away because of the unnecessary argument.

Lesson: Do disagree. Don’t fight, though. :)

Wassalam.

Listening Is Better Sometimes.. (Hadith No. 113)

Salam,
Bismillah.

Listening is better sometimes. In some cases, most of the times. Abu Hurairah (RA) was a very authentic narrator of the Prophet (SAW)’s Ahadith. He spent a lot of time with the Prophet (SAW) himself. Read more about him here.

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 113:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

There is none among the companions of the Prophet who has narrated more Hadiths than I except ‘Abdallah bin Amr (bin Al-‘As) who used to write them and I never did the same.

Abu Huraira (RA) had memorized and narrated 5300 Ahadith. And Abdullah bin ‘Amr had narrated 700 only. This was the humbleness of Abu Huraira (RA) that he thought Ibn ‘Amr knew more than him. Another example of his humility:

“I grew up as an orphan. I emigrated as a poor person. I used to serve Gazevan’s daughter, Bushra. I served others when they stopped on the road. I drove the camels on the road. Then Allah made it possible for me to marry Bushra. Praise be to Allah who has strengthened His religion and made me an imam (leader).”

Anyway, notice that Abu Huraira (RA) mentions that other companions used to write the Ahadith but he himself never did so. He memorized so many Ahadith by only listening. Listening. And that’s what we’re discussing today.

When we’re listening to someone, do we really pay attention to them? Are we ‘only’ listening to them or are some other things going on in our minds? We need to know the key to effective listening. Get it here.

To be able to utilize this power of listening and not always rely on writing everything down, we’ve got to practice and polish our skill. Try to memorize something by just listening. Trust your memory for that matter. Take the risk. You might make a discovery! ;)

Wassalam.

The Exceptions of Mecca (Hadith No. 112)

Salam,
Bismillah.

In Hadith no. 104, we learnt about the sacredness of Mecca – the uniqueness of it. Some things that can be done in any other part of the Earth, cannot be done in this city. For example, killing (humans/animals) and cutting trees etc. Today’s Hadith will tell us about some exceptions regarding this sacredness…

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 112:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

In the year of the Conquest of Mecca, the tribe of Khuza’a killed a man from the tribe of Bani Laith in revenge for a killed person, belonging to them. They informed the Prophet about it. So he rode his Rahila (she-camel for riding) and addressed the people saying, “Allah held back the killing from Mecca. (The sub-narrator is in doubt whether the Prophet said “elephant or killing,” as the Arabic words standing for these words have great similarity in shape), but He (Allah) let His Apostle and the believers over power the infidels of Mecca. Beware! (Mecca is a sanctuary) Verily! Fighting in Mecca was not permitted for anyone before me nor will it be permitted for anyone after me. It (war) in it was made legal for me for few hours or so on that day. No doubt it is at this moment a sanctuary, it is not allowed to uproot its thorny shrubs or to uproot its trees or to pick up its Luqatt (fallen things) except by a person who will look for its owner (announce it publicly). And if somebody is killed, then his closest relative has the right to choose one of the two– the blood money (Diyya) or retaliation having the killer killed. In the meantime a man from Yemen came and said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Get that written for me.” The Prophet ordered his companions to write that for him. Then a man from Quraish said, “Except Al-Iqhkhir (a type of grass that has good smell) O Allah’s Apostle, as we use it in our houses and graves.” The Prophet said, “Except Al-Idhkhiri.e. Al-Idhkhir is allowed to be plucked.”

– Murderer can be killed in Mecca (Qisas)

– The Izkhar (grass) can be cut in Mecca

Wassalam!

The Written Qur’an (Hadith No. 111)

Salam,
Bismillah.

Arabs were illiterate at the time of the Prophet (SAW). They didn’t know how to read or write.

Many readers won’t find this statement strange at all. Because this is the concept we’re made to digest. And it’s the exact reason for the false belief that Qur’an wasn’t written at the time of the Prophet (SAW). That it was written way after his death. And that leads to doubts or uncertainty in it. But wait! Before developing any ideas, read this first..

Volume 1, Book 3, Number 111:

Narrated Ash-Sha’bi:

Abu Juhaifa said, “I asked Ali, ‘Have you got any book (which has been revealed to the Prophet apart from the Qur’an)?’ ‘Ali replied, ‘No, except Allah’s Book or the power of understanding which has been bestowed (by Allah) upon a Muslim or what is (written) in this sheet of paper (with me).’ Abu Juhaifa said, “I asked, ‘What is (written) in this sheet of paper?’ Ali replied, it deals with The Diyya (compensation (blood money) paid by the killer to the relatives of the victim), the ransom for the releasing of the captives from the hands of the enemies, and the law that no Muslim should be killed in Qisas (equality in punishment) for the killing of (a disbeliever).

So, people did actually read and write at that time. And Ali (RA) had a copy of Qur’an written with him. And other books with that…

Conclusion is, not all Arabs were illiterate. A few could read and write. A number of companions had written Qur’anic verses on leather, stones, leaves etc. The Qur’an that we hold in our hands today is the same version that was revealed to the Prophet (SAW). Alhamdulillah. Another thing to thank Allah about! :)

Wassalam.