Umar’s [RA] Leadership (Hadith No. 2689)

Bismillah.

Ahadith 2686 – 2688 (below) are repeats. See linked text for related posts.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 290 :
Narrated by Ibn ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu)
Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) and a group of the companions of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) set out with the Prophet to Ibn Saiyad. He found him playing with some boys near the hillocks of Bani Maghala. Ibn Saiyad at that time was nearing his puberty. He did not notice (the Prophet’s presence) till the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) stroked him on the back with his hand and said, “Ibn Saiyad! Do you testify that I am Allah’s Apostle?” Ibn Saiyad looked at him and said, “I testify that you are the Apostle of the illiterates.” Then Ibn Saiyad asked the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam), “Do you testify that I am the apostle of Allah?” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said to him, “I believe in Allah and His Apostles.” Then the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said (to Ibn Saiyad). “What do you see?” Ibn Saiyad replied, “True people and false ones visit me.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Your mind is confused as to this matter.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) added, ” I have kept something (in my mind) for you.” Ibn Saiyad said, “It is Ad-Dukh.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said (to him), “Shame be on you! You cannot cross your limits.” On that ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Allow me to chop his head off.” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “If he should be him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) then you cannot overpower him, and should he not be him, then you are not going to benefit by murdering him.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 290 :
Narrated by Ibn Umar (radiallaahu `anhu)
(Later on) Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) (once again) went along with Ubai bin Ka’b (radiallaahu `anhu) to the garden of date-palms where Ibn Saiyad was staying. When the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) entered the garden, he started hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms as he wanted to hear something from the Ibn Saiyad before the latter could see him. Ibn Saiyad was lying in his bed, covered with a velvet sheet from where his murmurs were heard. Ibn Saiyad’s mother saw the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) while he was hiding himself behind the trunks of the date-palms. She addressed Ibn Saiyad, “O Saf!” (And this was his name). Ibn Saiyad got up. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Had this woman let him to himself, he would have revealed the reality of his case.” Then the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) got up amongst the people, glorifying Allah as He deserves, he mentioned Ad-Dajjal, saying, “I warn you about him (i.e. Ad-Dajjal) and there is no prophet who did not warn his nation about him, and Noah warned his nation about him, but I tell you a statement which no prophet informed his nation of. You should understand that he is a one-eyed man and Allah is not one-eyed.”

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 291 :
Narrated by Usama bin Zaid (radiallaahu `anhu)
I asked the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) during his Hajj, “O Allah’s Apostle! Where will you stay tomorrow?” He said, “Has Aqil left for us any house?” He then added, “Tomorrow we will stay at Khaif Bani Kinana, i.e. Al-Muhassab, where (the Pagans of) Quraish took an oath of Kufr (i.e. to be loyal to heathenism) in that Bani Kinana got allied with Quraish against Bani Hashim on the terms that they would not deal with the members of the is tribe or give them shelter.” (Az-Zuhri said, “Khaif means valley.”) (See Hadith No. 659, Vol. 2)

Today’s Hadith:

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 292 :
Narrated by Aslam
Umar bin Al-Khattab (radiallaahu `anhu) appointed a freed slave of his, called Hunai, manager of the Hima (i.e. a pasture devoted for grazing the animals of the Zakat or other specified animals). He said to him, “O Hunai! Don’t oppress the Muslims and ward off their curse (invocations against you) for the invocation of the oppressed is responded to (by Allah); and allow the shepherd having a few camels and those having a few sheep (to graze their animals), and take care not to allow the livestock of ‘Abdur-Rahman bin ‘Auf and the livestock of (‘Uthman) bin ‘Affan (radiallaahu `anhumaa), for if their livestock should perish, then they have their farms and gardens, while those who own a few camels and those who own a few sheep, if their livestock should perish, would bring their dependents to me and appeal for help saying, ‘O chief of the believers! O chief of the believers!’ Would I then neglect them? (No, of course). So, I find it easier to let them have water and grass rather than to give them gold and silver (from the Muslims’ treasury). By Allah, these people think that I have been unjust to them. This is their land, and during the pre-lslamic period, they fought for it and they embraced Islam (willingly) while it was in their possession. By Him in Whose Hand my life is! Were it not for the animals (in my custody) which I give to be ridden for striving in Allah’s Cause, I would not have turned even a span of their land into a Hima.”

Look at Umar’s (radiallaahu `anhu) instructions to his freed slave.. he’s asking him to prefer the weak and poor over the rich and powerful. Everything he did in his caliphate speaks volumes about his wisdom and remarkable justice. He raised the bar to such heights for all future leaders of the ummah. Has anyone even come close yet?

Grazing Animals (Hadith No. 2055)

Bismillah.

Hadith no. 2054 (below) is a repeat. Read it here.

Volume 3, Book 40, Number 557 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “There are three types of people whom Allah will neither talk to, nor look at, on the Day of Resurrection. (They are): 1. A man who takes an oath falsely that he has been offered for his goods so much more than what he is given, 2. a man who takes a false oath after the ‘Asr prayer in order to grab a Muslim’s property, and 3. a man who with-holds his superfluous water. Allah will say to him, “Today I will with-hold My Grace from you as you with-held the superfluity of what you had not created.”

Today’s Hadith:

Volume 3, Book 40, Number 558 :
Narrated by As-Sab bin Jaththama (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, No Hima except for Allah and His Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam). We have been told that Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) made a place called An-Naqi’ as Hima, and ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) made Ash-Sharaf and Ar-Rabadha Hima (for grazing the animals of Zakat).

Himaa is the grazing pasture/ground for animals. The Hadith implies that one should not stop others from grazing their animals in open grounds. They should be open for public.

Did you know? There is no Zakah on animals (an`aam) that do not graze, and are fed – money being spent on them. Read more here.

That Cat You Tortured.. (Ahadith 2049 – 2050)

Bismillah.

Volume 3, Book 40, Number 552 :
Narrated by Asma’ bint Abi Bakr (radiallaahu `anhaa)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) prayed the eclipse prayer, and then said, “Hell was displayed so close that I said, ‘O my Lord ! Am I going to be one of its inhabitants?”‘ Suddenly he saw a woman, I think he said, who was being scratched by a cat. He said, “What is wrong with her?” He was told, “She had imprisoned it (i.e. the cat) till it died of hunger.”

Volume 3, Book 40, Number 553 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “A woman was tortured and was put in Hell because of a cat which she had kept locked till it died of hunger.” Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) further said, (Allah knows better) Allah said (to the woman), ‘You neither fed it nor watered when you locked it up, nor did you set it free to eat the insects of the earth.”

Something that might not seem very unrighteous can be huge in the sight of Allah. One might think “so what if I teased an animal a bit?” The answer is, you wronged a weak one. You had power over it that it did not have over you. And Allah does not reject the plight of the weak and oppressed. The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:

Three people’s du’as are never rejected: the one who is fasting, until he breaks his fast; the just ruler; and the one who has been wronged. Allah raises it above the clouds, and the doors of the skies are opened for it, and the Lord says, ‘By my Honour and Glory! I will help you, even if it be after some time!’
(Recorded in al-Tirmidhi)

We must be careful in our treatment of animals and all other living beings in general. Don’t think you can wrong someone and get away with it.

Kindness to Animals (Hadith No. 2048)

Bismillah.

Volume 3, Book 40, Number 551 :
Narrated by Abu Huraira (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “While a man was walking he felt thirsty and went down a well and drank water from it. On coming out of it, he saw a dog panting and eating mud because of excessive thirst. The man said, ‘This (dog) is suffering from the same problem as that of mine. So he (went down the well), filled his shoe with water, caught hold of it with his teeth and climbed up and watered the dog. Allah thanked him for his (good) deed and forgave him.” The people asked, “O Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam)! Is there a reward for us in serving (the) animals?” He replied, “Yes, there is a reward for serving any animate.”

Many Muslims have misunderstood Islam’s teachings regarding dogs, and this misunderstanding has led to the mistreatment of these animals. The Prophet said, “Purifying a container that a dog has licked (in order for human’s to use it) is done by washing it seven times, the first washing being with dirt.”2 However, according to some scholars, a dog’s fur is considered pure3. Nonetheless, Muslims are discouraged from keeping dogs inside their homes, as the Prophet has been reported as saying that angels do not enter into a house that has a dog4.

However, just because one does not keep a dog inside the home and doesn’t drink after it, that does not give one the right to neglect it, mistreat it, or kill it. The usefulness of this creature of God is indisputable. No other animal can compete with it in its loyalty to its caregiver, its abilities as a guard, and its talent for hunting. In fact, the Qur’an narrates in Surat Al-Kahf, or “The Cave,” the story of some pious youths who took refuge in a cave from the persecution and violence of the unbelievers. That these righteous people had a dog with them, and the fact that Allah mentions the dog and counts the dog among them, indicates that dogs are permitted to live among people. [And you would have thought them awake, whereas they were asleep. And We turned them on their right and on their left sides, and their dog stretching forth his two forelegs at the entrance (of the cave as a guard)] (Al-Kahf 18:18).

So dogs may be used for guards as well as for hunting, as the Qur’an also states: [They ask you about what is lawful for them (as food); Say: Lawful unto you are (all) things good and pure: and those beasts and birds of prey which you have trained as hounds, training and teaching them (to catch) in a manner as directed to you by Allah; so eat what they catch for you, but pronounce the name of Allah over it and fear Allah, for Allah is swift in reckoning] (Al-Ma’idah 5:4).

In two separate hadiths narrated by Abu Hurayrah (the cat-loving Companion), the Prophet told his Companions of the virtue of saving the life of a dog by giving it water and quenching its thirst: one referred to was a man who was blessed by Allah for giving water to a thirsty dog. The other was a prostitute, who filled her shoe with water and gave it to a dog that was lolling its tongue in thirst. For this deed she was granted the ultimate reward: eternal Paradise.

Islam asks people to reflect upon this and be aware of each person’s duty toward God’s creatures, which He has put on earth for our use, not for our abuse. When the Prophet was asked if God rewarded acts of charity to the animals, he replied, “Yes, there is a reward for acts of charity to every beast alive.”

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[2] Narrated by Muslim.

[3] See Fiqh Us-Sunnah by Sayyid Sabiq.

[4] Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Taken from: http://www.islamawareness.net/Animals/love.html

More on the issue of dogs here.

To Kill in Ihraam (Ahadith 1575 – 1578)

Bismillah.

Volume 3, Book 29, Number 52:

Narrated ‘Abdullah bin ‘Umar (radiallaahu `anhu):

Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “It is not sinful of a Muhrim to kill five kinds of animals.”

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Volume 3, Book 29, Number 53:

One of the wives of the Prophet narrated:

The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “A Muhrim can kill (five kinds of animals.)”

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Volume 3, Book 29, Number 54:

Narrated Hafsa (radiallaahu `anhaa):

Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “It is not sinful (of a Muhrim) to kill five kinds of animals, namely: the crow, the kite, the mouse, the scorpion and the rabid dog.”

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Volume 3, Book 29, Number 55:

Narrated Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa):

Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Five kinds of animals are harmful and could be killed in the Haram (Sanctuary). These are: the crow, the kite, the scorpion, the mouse and the rabid dog.”

Al-Qaasim ibn Muhammad said: I heard ‘Aa’ishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), say: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say:

“There are four things which are faasiq (corrupt) and may be killed at all times, whether one is in a state of ihraam [for Hajj and ‘Umrah] or not: kites, crows, mice/rats and mad dogs.”
Narrated by Muslim, 1198.

Ibn ‘Abbaas said: a mouse (or rat) came and started dragging the wick (of the lamp). It threw it in front of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), onto the mat on which he was sitting, and it burnt a hole the size of a dirham. He said, “When you go to sleep, extinguish your lamps, for the Shaytaan will tell creatures like this to do something like this so that you will be burned.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 5427.

The mice or rats that may live in people’s houses are among the harmful creatures or vermin (fuwaysiqah) which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded us to kill in all situations, whether we are in ihraam or not. The root of the word fuwaysiqah (fasaqa) means to deviate from the right way and to do harm; hence a sinner is described as “faasiq”, and these animals are called fawaasiq, as a metaphor for their evil nature; or it was said that it is because it is not haraam to kill them, whether one is in ihraam or not, for they have no sanctity or protection in any circumstances.

Read more on killing rats and mice, and an interesting comment on the Mickey Mouse here. :P