Who Do You Trust? (Hadith No. 2553)

Bismillah.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 158 :
Narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah (radiallaahu `anhu)
That he proceeded in the company of Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) towards Najd to participate in a Ghazwa. (Holy-battle) When Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) returned, he too returned with him. Midday came upon them while they were in a valley having many thorny trees. Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and the people dismounted and dispersed to rest in the shade of the trees. Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) rested under a tree and hung his sword on it. We all took a nap and suddenly we heard Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) calling us. (We woke up) to see a bedouin with him. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “This bedouin took out my sword while I was sleeping and when I woke up, I found the unsheathed sword in his hand and he challenged me saying, ‘Who will save you from me?’ I said thrice, ‘Allah.’ The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) did not punish him but sat down.

And in a narration of Abu Bakr Al-Isma`ili, the polytheist asked: “Who will protect you from me?” Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) replied, “Allah.” As soon as he said this, the sword fell down from his hand and Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) catching the sword, asked him, “Who will protect you from me.” He said, “Please forgive me.” Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “On condition you testify that there is none worthy of worship but Allah and that I am His Messenger.” He said, “No, but I promise you that I shall not fight against you, nor shall I be with those who fight with you”. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) let him go. He then went back to his companions and said: “I have come to you from one of the best of mankind”.

This does not only show the forgiving nature of the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) but also his complete trust in Allah. Something we need in our lives badly.

‘And He will provide him from (sources) he could never imagine. And whoever puts their trust in Allah, then He will suffice him. Verily, Allah will accomplish His purpose. Indeed, Allah has set a measure for all things.’ [65:3]

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The Swords of the Prophet [sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam] (Hadith No. 2552)

Bismillah.

I need to be more regular with this blog. May Allah give me the tawfeeq and forgive my shortcomings!

Ahadith 2550 – 2551 (below) are repeats. See linked text for related posts.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 155 :
Narrated by ‘Aisha (radiallaahu `anhaa)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) came to my house while two girls were singing beside me the songs of Bu’ath (a story about the war between the two tribes of the Ansar, i.e. Khazraj and Aus, before Islam.) The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) reclined on the bed and turned his face to the other side. Abu Bakr (radiallaahu `anhu) came and scolded me and said protestingly, “Instrument of Satan in the presence of Allah’s Apostle?” Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) turned his face towards him and said, “Leave them.” When Abu Bakr (radiallaahu `anhu) became inattentive, I waved the two girls to go away and they left. It was the day of ‘Id when negroes used to play with leather shields and spears. Either I requested Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) or he himself asked me whether I would like to see the display. I replied in the affirmative. Then he let me stand behind him and my cheek was touching his cheek and he was saying, “Carry on, O Bani Arfida (i.e. negroes)!” When I got tired, he asked me if that was enough. I replied in the affirmative and he told me to leave.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 156 :
Narrated by Anas (radiallaahu `anhu)
The ‘Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) was the best and the bravest amongst the people. Once the people of Medina got terrified at night, so they went in the direction of the noise (that terrified them). The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) met them (on his way back) after he had found out the truth. He was riding an unsaddled horse belonging to Abu Talha and a sword was hanging by his neck, and he was saying, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t be afraid!” He further said, “I found it (i.e. the horse) very fast,” or said, “This horse is very fast.”

Today’s Hadith:

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 157 :
Narrated by Abu Umama (radiallaahu `anhu)
Some people conquered many countries and their swords were decorated neither with gold nor silver, but they were decorated with leather, lead and iron.

This narration does not belittle decorating swords, it convinces us to look beyond the apparent. It’s not the decoration on the swords that helps an army win battles, rather it’s the sword holder and his faith in Allah, even if the weapon he carries isn’t of the finest quality.

Swords were decorated with silver since its radiance and brilliance would strike fear into the hearts of the enemies of Islam. We will now look into the matter of swords that belonged to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam).

In the books of Seerah it is narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had a number of swords. Some of the scholars said that he had nine swords, but there is no proof of that in the saheeh Sunnah except in the case of only one.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

He (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had nine swords: Ma’thoor, which was the first sword he owned and which he inherited from his father; al-‘Adb (cutting or sharp); Dhu’l-Fiqaar, which almost never left his side, its handle, its pommel, its ring, its decorations and the end of its scabbard were made of silver; al-Qal’i; al-Battaar; al-Hatif; al-Rasoob; al-Mikhdham; and al-Qadeeb. The end of the scabbard was of silver.

His sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar was acquired as booty at the battle of Badr, and it is the one that was shown in dreams.

When he entered Makkah on the day of the Conquest, there were gold and silver on his sword. [This was classed as da’eef (weak) by al-Albaani in Mukhtasar al-Shamaa’il (87)]. Zaad al-Ma’aad (1/130). See also:al-Taraateeb al-Idaariyyah by al-Kataani (1/343).

The only sword for which there is proof in the saheeh Sunnah is Dhu’l-Fiqaar.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) acquired his word Dhu’l-Fiqaar on the day of Badr and this is the one that he saw in a dream on the day of Uhud.

It was narrated by al-Tirmidhi (1561) and Ibn Maajah (2808) and classed as hasan by al-Albaani inSaheeh Ibn Maajah.

The phrase translated here as “acquired” means he took it in addition to his share of the booty.

Ahmad (2441) narrated – in a report classed as hasan by al-Arna’oot – a more complete account, in which the dream is described:

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) acquired his sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar on the day of Badr, and it is the one concerning which he saw a dream on the day of Uhud. He said: “I saw that my sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar was blunted and I interpreted that as some loss that would affect you. And I saw myself with a ram riding behind me and I interpreted that … ; and I saw myself wearing a strong coat of chain-mail and I interpreted that as Madeenah. And I saw cattle being slaughtered, and by Allaah what good cattle they are, by Allaah what good cattle they are.” What the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said came to pass.

The sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was called Dhu’l-Fiqaar because it had fine and beautiful engraving on it and engraving may be called fiqrah in Arabic. This was the most famous of his swords.

As for his sword al-Battaar, it is mentioned by Ibn Sa’d in al-Tabaqaat (1/486), but it is mursal – which is a type of da’eef (weak) report – its isnaad includes al-Waaqidi. And there are other ahaadeeth which are not saheeh.

Al-Haafiz al-‘Iraqi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: In al-Tabaqaat, Ibn Sa’d mentions the mursal report of Marwaan ibn Abi Sa’eed Ibn al-Mu’alla who said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) acquired three swords from the weapons of Banu Qaynuqa’: a sword called Qa’li, a sword called Battaar and a sword called al-Hatif.  After that, he got al-Mikhdham and Rasoob.

Its isnaad includes al-Waaqidi.

Takhreej Ahaadeeth al-Ihya’ (2471).

Al-Qal’i is named after Marj al-Qal’ah, a place in the desert.

Since there is no proof in the saheeh Sunnah that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) had a sword by this name, how can we believe that it existed in the form described by the one who claims that it is a picture of the sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)?

Secondly:

There is a description in the Sunnah of the sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), Dhu’l-Fiqaar, but it does not say that it included an image of anyone. How could the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have kept such a sword, when he is the one who forbade images and ordered that they be erased?

When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) conquered Makkah, he did not enter the Ka’bah until after he had issued instructions that the images inside it be erased.

It was narrated from Jaabir that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) commanded ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him), at the time of the conquest when he was in al-Bat-ha’, to go to the Ka’bah and erase every image that was inside it, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not enter it until it had been rid of every image that was inside it.

Narrated by Abu Dawood (4156); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood.

It is proven in the Sunnah that the handle of the sword Dhu’l-Fiqaar was made of silver.

It was narrated that Abu Umaamah ibn Sahl said: The pommel of the sword of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was made of silver. Narrated by al-Nasaa’i (5373) and classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

It is permissible to adorn a sword with a little silver, because there was some silver on the sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

Majmoo’ al-Fataawa (25/64).

Thirdly:

The claims made on that website – that this is the sword of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) – may be answered by noting that there is no proof that any of the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) survived for sure. Claims have been made that shoes, hair, garments and precious stones that belonged to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) exist in many parts of the world, and every nation claims that it is right and others are wrong. But it has been proven in the past and in recent times that the claims of many to possess items owned by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) are false, because they are making money out of these claims.

In his book Mafaakahah al-Khullaan fi Hawaadith al-Zamaan, Ibn Tuloon mentioned the events of 919 AH, when someone claimed to have in his possession a vessel and some of the sticks of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but then they realized that these were not relics of the Prophet, rather they were relics of al-Layth ibn Sa’d.

Some of the khulafa’ and senior Sahaabah preserved some relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), but many of them were lost in the turmoils that befell the Islamic state one after another.

For example, when the Tatars attacked Baghdad (656 AH), they burned the cloak (burdah) of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). When Timurlane attacked Damascus (803 AH), shoes that were said to have belonged to the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) disappeared.

Hence the imams doubted that it could be proven that any of the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have survived until now, and some of them are certain that it cannot be proven.

1 – Ibn Katheer (may Allaah have mercy on him) said, speaking of the garments of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):

I say: It is not known what happened to these three garments after that.

Al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah (6/10) and al-Seerah al-Nabawiyyah (4/713).

2 – al-Suyooti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

This burdah was in the keeping of the caliphs who passed it down to one another and wore it on their shoulders in processions, both walking and riding. It was being worn by al-Muqtadir when he was killed and was stained with blood. I think that it was lost during the turmoil caused by the Tatars. Inna Lillaahi wa inna ilayhi raaji’oon (verily we belong to Allaah and unto Him is our return).

Tareekh al-Khulafa’ (p. 14).

3 – The great scholar Ahmad Timur Pasha said – after listing the relics attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in Istanbul:

It is obvious that some of these relics may be genuine, but we do not see any of the trustworthy scholars stating definitely whether they are genuine or not. Allaah, may He be glorified, knows best about them. But with regard to some of them, we cannot hide our suspicion concerning them

Al-Athaar al-Nabawiyyah (p. 78)

And on p. 82 he said – after quoting reports of some of the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) seeking blessing from the hairs of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):

There is no sound evidence to prove that any of the hairs that were in the hands of the people could be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), because the hairs that the people have were some of that which had been shared out among the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them), but it is difficult to tell what is genuine from what is not.

End quote.

4 – Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

It is essential to note that we believe it is permissible to seek blessing from the relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and we do not denounce it, contrary to what our opponents think, but this seeking of blessing is subject to certain conditions, including the following:

Correct faith that is acceptable to Allaah. If a person is not a Muslim who believes sincerely in Islam, Allaah will never grant him any good by his seeking blessing in this manner.

It is also stipulated that the one who wants to seek blessing have found one of the genuine relics of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).

We know that relics such as his garments, hair, etc. have been lost and it is not possible for anyone to prove with certainty that any of them exist.

Al-Tawassul (1/145).

5 – Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him) said in an article entitled Ta’qeeb ‘ala Mulaahazaat al-Shaykh Muhammad al-Majdhoob ibn Mustafa:

With regard to things that are separated from the body (of the Prophet) (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) or things that were in contact with his body, blessing may be sought from them if they existed during his life and after his death if they have survived, but in most cases they did not survive after his death. As for the claims made by some charlatans nowadays that some of his hair etc still exists, these are false claims for which there is no evidence…

These relics do not exist now, because so much time has passed that it is most likely that they have disintegrated or been lost, and there is no evidence to support the claims made that some of them still exist.

Al-Bayaan li Akhta’ Ba’d al-Kuttaab (p. 154).

6 – Under the title Hal yoojad Shay’un min Athaar al-Rasool sall-Allaah ‘alayhiwa sallam fi’l-‘Asr al-haadir(Does any relic of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) exist at present?) Dr. Naasir ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Jadee’ describes types of seeking blessing and the rulings on them. On pp. 256-260 he explains that it is uncertain that any of the relics that exist currently can truly be attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and he states that many of the relics of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) have disappeared through the ages due to loss, wars and turmoil.

End quote.

And Allaah knows best.

Taken from IslamQA

Paradise is Under the Shades of Swords (Hadith No. 2466)

Bismillah.

Ahadith 2464 – 2465 (below) are repeats. See linked text for related posts.

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 71 :
Narrated by Jabir (radiallaahu `anhu)
My father’s mutilated body was brought to the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) and was placed in front of him. I went to uncover his face but my companions forbade me. Then mourning cries of a lady were heard, and it was said that she was either the daughter or the sister of Amr. The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Why is she crying?” Or said, “Do not cry, for the angels are still shading him with their wings.” (Al-Bukhari asked Sadqa, a sub-narrator, “Does the narration include the expression: ‘Till he was lifted?’ ” The latter replied, “Jabir may have said it.”)

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 72 :
Narrated by Anas bin Malik (radiallaahu `anhu)
The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Nobody who enters Paradise likes to go back to the world even if he got everything on the earth, except a Mujahid who wishes to return to the world so that he may be martyred ten times because of the dignity he receives (from Allah).” Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu’ba (radiallaahu `anhu): Our Prophet told us about the message of our Lord that “Whoever amongst us is killed will go to Paradise.” Umar (radiallaahu `anhu) asked the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam), “Is it not true that our men who are killed will go to Paradise and their’s (i.e. those of the Pagan’s) will go to the (Hell) fire?” The Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Yes.”

Today’s Hadith:

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 73 :
Narrated by ‘Abdullah bin Abi Aufa (radiallaahu `anhu)
Allah’s Apostle (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) said, “Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords.”

I tried Googling (funny how it sits well as a verb) this hadith to see what results I get. Three kinds of opinions (or people) found:

1. Islam is all about war and killing. Some compared the Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) to Hitler.
2. Apologetic Muslims: “Oh this hadith is actually part of a longer one, and it’s being taken out of context (which, by the way, it is!). Islam is peace peace peace.” Some even try to disqualify such ahadith to prove their points. Sigh.
3. Balanced (like me :P). Folks who say it like it is. Yes this hadith is misquoted. But it doesn’t mean it’s not authentic. Prophet (sallallaahu `alayhi wasallam) did say it. But then he also said “Paradise lies under the feet of mothers”. You see, jihad is not the only way to Jannah (Paradise), but it’s certainly one of the best. It’s not unimaginable for someone to say such words to the fighters right before facing a battle to boost their morale and get their intentions straight? Jannah is the ultimate goal after all.

Just FYI, the longer version:

Allah’s Apostle in one of his military expeditions against the enemy, waited till the sun declined and then he got up amongst the people saying, “O people! Do not wish to meet the enemy, and ask Allah for safety, but when you face the enemy, be patient, and remember that Paradise is under the shades of swords.” Then he said, “O Allah, the Revealer of the Holy Book, and the Mover of the clouds and the Defeater of the clans, defeat them, and grant us victory over them.”(Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 266l)