And Allah knows
best.
Every Muslim has to believe in all the hadeeths of the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) – if they are saheeh
(authentic) – and not reject any of them, because his hadeeths and his
Sunnah (teachings) are revelation (wahy) from Allah. Whoever rejects the
hadeeth of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
has rejected revelation from Allah.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“By the star when it goes down (or vanishes).
Your companion (Muhammad) has neither gone astray nor has
erred.
Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.
It is only a Revelation revealed.
He has been taught (this Quran) by one mighty in power
(Gabriel).
One free from any defect in body and mind then he (Gabriel in
his real shape as created by Allah) rose and became stable.” [53:1-6]
Allah has commanded the people to obey His Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him). He has enjoined this in many verses of the
Quran, of which we will quote some. Allah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad): “Obey Allah and the Messenger (Muhammad).”
But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers.” [3:32]
“He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed
Allah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a
watcher over them.” [4:80]
“O you who believe! Obey Allah and obey the Messenger
(Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you
differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah and His Messenger,
if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more
suitable for final determination.” [4:59]
“And perform As‑Salah (Iqamat‑as-Salah), and give Zakah and
obey the Messenger (Muhammad) that you may receive mercy (from Allah).”
[24:56]
And there are many similar verses.
The one who rejects the Sunnah is a kafir and an apostate.
Al-Suyooti (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his essay
Miftah al-Jannah fi Ihtijaj bi’l-Sunnah:
Note that whoever denies that the hadeeth of the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), whether it describes his words
or deeds, so long as it meets the conditions outlined by the scholars, may
be quoted as evidence, is a kafir and has gone beyond the pale of Islam; he
will be gathered with the Jews and the Christians or whomever Allah wills
among the kafir sects [i.e., on the Day of Resurrection].
Those who want to restrict themselves to the Quran only are
called al-Quraniyyoon. This view of theirs is an old view which the
Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) warned against in more
than one hadeeth, as we shall see below. Among the soundest evidence that
this view is false is the fact that those who say this do not really follow
what they say.
How do these people pray? How many times do they pray each
day and night? What are the conditions and details of zakah? What is the
nisab (threshold of wealth) for paying zakah? What is the amount that must
be paid? How do they do Hajj and ‘Umrah? How many times do they
circumambulate the Ka’bah? How many times do they go back and forth between
al-Safa and al-Marwah?
There are many other issues for which the details are not
narrated in the Quran, rather they are mentioned in the Quran in general
terms, and the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
explained them in detail in his Sunnah.
Would these people refrain from acting upon these rulings
because they are not narrated in the Quran?
If their answer is yes, then they have passed judgement
against themselves that they are kafirs, because they have denied a basic
principle of Islam that no Muslim has any excuse for not knowing and on
which there is unanimous consensus among the Muslims.
If they reply that they do not refrain from following these
rulings, then they have demonstrated that their view is false.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah said – after quoting the verses
that enjoin following the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) –
These texts enjoin following the Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) even if we do not find what he said
specifically referred to in the texts of the Quran. These verses also enjoin
following the Quran even if we do not find what is said in the Quran
specifically mentioned in the hadeeth of the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him).
So we must follow the Quran and we must follow the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Following the one implies
following the other, for the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) conveyed the Book, and the Book commands us to follow the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Book and the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) do not contradict one another at
all, just as the Book does not contradict itself. Allah says (interpretation
of the meaning):
“Had it been from other than Allah, they would surely, have
found therein many a contradiction.” [4:82]
And there are many hadeeths from the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) which state that it is obligatory to follow
the Quran and that it is obligatory to follow his Sunnah, for example, the
hadeeth in which he said: “I do not want to find any one of you reclining on
his pillow, and when he hears of something that I have commanded or
forbidden, he says, ‘Between us and you there stands this Quran, whatever we
find is permissible in it we will take as permissible, and whatever we find
is forbidden in it we will take as forbidden.’ For I have been given the
Book and something like it with it; it is like the Quran or more.” This
hadeeth is narrated in the books of Sunan and Musnad from the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allah be upon him) with a number of isnads (chains of
narration) from Abu Tha’labah, Abu Rafi’, Abu Hurayrah and others.
In Saheeh Muslim is it narrated from Jabir that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said in his Farewell Sermon: “I
am leaving behind among you something which, if you adhere to it, you will
not go astray after that. It is the Book of Allah.” The version narrated by
al-Hakim says “The Book of Allah and my Sunnah.” (Classed as
saheeh/authentic by al-Albani in Saheeh al-Jami’, 2937).
In al-Saheeh it is narrated from ‘Abd-Allah ibn Abi Awfa that
it was said to him: Did the Messenger of Allah leave a will? He said, No. It
was said, How then is it prescribed for people to make wills when the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not make a will? He
said, He made a will in which he enjoined (adherence to) the Book of Allah.
(Narrated by Muslim, 1634)
The Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah explains the Quran, as
it explains the number of prayers, how much should be recited in them, which
should be recited out loud and which quietly. It also explains the amounts
of zakah to be paid and the threshold at which zakah becomes due; the
rituals of Hajj and ‘Umrah; how many times one should circumambulate the
Ka’bah, go between al-Safa and al-Marwah and stone the Jamarat (pillars),
etc.
When any Sunnah is proven to be saheeh, the Muslims are
agreed that it is obligatory to follow it. There may be something in the
Sunnah which a person thinks appears to go against the apparent meaning of
the Quran and add to it, such as the Sunnah which explains the threshold of
stealing at which the hadd (Islamic legal) punishment becomes due, and the
Sunnah which stipulates that the married adulterer is to be stoned. This
Sunnah must also be followed, according to the view of the
Sahabah/Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) and those who followed
them in truth, and all the groups of Muslims.
Adapted from Majmoo’ al-Fatawa, 19/84-86
That which was brought by the Messenger (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) is true just as the Quran is true.
Secondly:
You should not forsake your family; rather you should treat
them kindly and strive to call them to follow and accept the Sunnah.
Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“Invite (mankind, O Muhammad) to the way of your Lord (i.e.
Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Revelation and the Quran) and fair
preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord
knows best who has gone astray from His path, and He is the Best Aware of
those who are guided.” [16:125]
“And We have enjoined on man (to be dutiful and good) to his
parents. His mother bore him in weakness and hardship upon weakness and
hardship, and his weaning is in two years; give thanks to Me and to your
parents. Unto Me is the final destination.
But if they (both) strive with you to make you join in
worship with Me others that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them
not; but behave with them in the world kindly, and follow the path of him
who turns to Me in repentance and in obedience. Then to Me will be your
return, and I shall tell you what you used to do.” [31:14-15]
And Allah knows best.
The story of how Salmaan came to Islam is a great story, full
of lessons and exhortations. We will let the questioner read the hadeeth in
full, so that he might benefit from it:
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Abbaas said: Salmaan
al-Faarisi told me his story from his own lips. He said:
I was a Persian man, one of the people of Isbahaan, from a
village thereof called Jayy. My father was the chieftain of his village, and
I was the dearest of Allaah’s creation to him. He loved me so much that he
kept me in his house near the fire, as girls are kept in. I strove hard in
the Magian religion until I became the keeper of the fire, which I tended
and did not let go out for a moment. My father had a huge garden, and he was
busy one day with some construction work, so he said: “O my son, I am too
busy with this building today, go and check my garden,” and he told me some
of the things he wanted done. I went out, heading towards his garden, and I
passed by one of the Christian churches, where I could hear their voices as
they were praying. I did not know anything about the people because my
father had kept me in his house. When I passed by and heard their voices, I
entered upon them to see what they were doing. When I saw them, I was
impressed with their prayer and I was attracted to their way. I said: By
Allaah, this is better than the religion that we follow. By Allaah, I did
not leave them until the sun set, and I forgot about my father’s garden and
did not go there. I said to them: Where did this religion originate? They
said: In Syria. Then I went back to my father, who had sent people out to
look for me, and I had distracted him from all his work. When I came to him,
he said: O my son, where were you? Did I not ask you to do what I asked? I
said: O my father, I passed by some people who were praying in a church of
theirs, and I was impressed with what I saw of their religion. By Allaah, I
stayed with them until the sun set. He said: O my son, there is nothing good
in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is
better than that. I said: No, by Allaah, it is better than our religion. He
was afraid for me, and he put fetters on my legs and kept me in his house. I
sent word to the Christians saying: If any Christian merchants come to you
from Syria, tell me about them. He said: Some Christian merchants came to
them from Syria, and they told me about them. I said to them: When they have
completed their business and want to go back to their own country, tell me
about that. So when they wanted to go back to their own country, they told
me about that, and I threw off the irons from my legs and went out with
them, until I came to Syria. When I reached Syria, I said: Who is the best
person in this religion? They said: The bishop in the church. So I went to
him and said: I like this religion, and I would like to stay with you and
serve you in your church and learn from you and pray with you. He said: Come
in. So I went in with him, but he was a bad man. He would command them and
exhort them to give charity, but he kept a great deal of it for himself and
did not give it to the poor; he had amassed seven chests of gold and silver.
I hated him deeply when I saw what he was doing, then he died and the
Christians gathered to bury him. I said to them: This was a bad man; he
commanded you and exhorted you to give charity, but when you brought it to
him he kept it for himself and did not give any of it to the poor. They
said: How do you know that? Show us where his treasure is. So I showed them
where it was and they brought out seven chests filled with gold and silver.
When they saw that they said: By Allaah, we will never bury him; then they
crucified him and pelted him with stones. Then they brought another man and
appointed him in his place. Salmaan said: I have never seen a man who does
not offer the five daily prayers who was better than him; he shunned this
world and sought the Hereafter and no one strive harder than him night and
day. I loved him as I had never loved anyone before, and I stayed with him
for a while. Then when he was about to die, I said: O So and so, I was with
you and I loved you as I had never loved anyone before, and now the decree
of Allaah has come to you as you see; to whom do you advise me to go? What
do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah, I do not know of
anyone today who follows what I followed. The people are doomed; they have
changed and abandoned most of what they used to follow, except for a man in
Mosul. He is So and so, and he follows what I used to follow, so go and join
him. When he died and was buried, I went to the man in Mosul. I said to him:
O So and so, So and so advised me when he died to come to you, and he told
me that you follow the same as he followed. He said to me: Stay with me. So
I stayed with him, and I found him to be a good man who followed the same as
his companion had followed. But soon he died. When he was dying I said to
him: O So and so, So and so advised me to come to you and told me to join
you, but now there has come to you from Allaah what you see. To whom do you
advise me to go? What do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah
I do not know of anyone who follows what we used to follow except a man in
Nasayyibeen. He is So and so; go to him. When he died and was buried, I went
to the man in Nasayyibeen. I came to him and told him my story and what my
companion had told me to do. He said: Stay with me. So I stayed with him and
I found him to be a follower of the same way as his two companions, and I
stayed with a good man. By Allaah, soon death came upon him, and when he was
dying I said to him: O So and so, So and so advised me to go to So and so;
then So and so advised me to come to you. To whom do you advise me to go and
what do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah we do not know of
anyone left who follows our way and to whom I can tell you to go, except a
man in ‘Ammooriyyah. He follows something like what we follow. If you wish,
go to him, for he follows our way. When he died and was buried, I went to
the man in ‘Ammooriyyah and told him my story. He said: Stay with me. So I
stayed with a man who was following the same way as his companions. I earned
wealth until I had cows and sheep, then the decree of Allaah came to him.
When he was dying I said to him: O So and so, I was with So and so, and So
and so told me to go to So and so; then So and so told me to go to So and
so; then So and so told me to come to you. To whom do you advise me to go
and what do you command me to do? He said: O my son, by Allaah, I do not
know of anyone who follows our way to whom I can advise you to go. But there
has come the time of a Prophet, who will be sent with the religion of
Ibraaheem. He will appear in the land of the Arabs and will migrate to a
land between two harrahs (lave fields; land with black rocks), between which
there are palm trees. He will have characteristics that will not be hidden.
He will eat of what is given as a gift but he will not eat of what is given
as charity. Between his shoulder blades is the Seal of Prophethood. If you
can go to that land then do so. Then he died and was buried, and I stayed in
‘Ammooriyyah as long as Allaah willed I should stay, then some merchants of
Kalb passed by me and I said to them: Will you take me to the land of the
Arabs and I will give you these cows and sheep of mine? They said: Yes. So I
gave them the cows and sheep, and they took me there, but when they brought
me to Waadi al-Qura they wronged me and sold me as a slave to a Jewish man.
When I was with him I saw the palm trees, and I hoped that this was the land
that my companion had described to me, but I was not sure. Whilst I was with
him, a cousin of his from Banu Qurayzah came to him from Madeenah, and he
sold me to him, and he took me to Madeenah. By Allaah, as soon as I saw it,
I recognized it from the description given to me by my companion. I stayed
there, and Allaah sent His Messenger, who stayed in Makkah as long as he
stayed, and I did not hear anything about him because I was so busy with the
work of a slave. Then he migrated to Madeenah, and by Allaah, I was at the
top of a palm tree belonging to my master, doing some work on it, and my
master was sitting there. Then a cousin of his came and stood beside him,
and said: May Allaah kill Banu Qaylah! By Allaah, right now they are
gathering in Quba’ to welcome a man who has come from Makkah today, and they
say that he is a Prophet. When I heard that, I began to shiver so much that
I thought I would fall on top of my master. I came down from the tree and
started saying to that cousin of his: What are you saying, what are you
saying? My master got angry and he struck me with his fist and said: What
has it got to do with you? Go back to your work! I said: Nothing; I just
wanted to make sure of what he was saying. I had something that I had
collected, and when evening came, I went to the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in Quba’, and I
entered upon him and said to him: I have heard that you are a righteous man
and that you have companions who are strangers and are in need. This is
something that I have to give in charity, and I see that you are more in
need of it than anyone else. I brought it near to him and the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his
companions: “Eat,” but he refrained from eating. I said to myself: This is
one. Then I went away and collected some more. The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) moved to Madeenah, then I came
to him and said: I see that you do not eat (food given in) charity; this is
a gift with which I wish to honour you. The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ate some of it and told his companions
to eat too. I said to myself: This is two. Then I came to the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he was in
Baqee’ al-Gharqad, where he had attended the funeral of one of his
companions and he was wearing two shawls and was sitting among his
companions. I greeted him with salaam then I moved behind him, trying to
look at his back to see the Seal that my companion had described to me. When
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw
me going behind him, he realized that I was trying to find confirmation of
something that had been described to me, so he let his rida’ drop from his
back, and I saw the Seal and recognized it. Then I embraced him, kissing
(the Seal) and weeping, and the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me: “Turn around.” So I turned
around and I told him my story as I have told it to you, O Ibn ‘Abbaas. The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted
his companions to hear that. Then Salmaan was kept busy with the work of a
slave, until he had missed attending Badr and Uhud with the Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). He said: Then the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to
me: “Draw up a contract of manumission, O Salmaan.” So I draw up a contract
of manumission with my master in return for three hundred palm trees which I
would plant for him, and forty uqiyahs. The Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to his companions: “Help your
brother.” So they helped me with the palm trees, one man gave thirty small
trees and another gave twenty, and another gave fifteen, and another gave
ten, i.e., each man gave according to what he had, until they had collected
three hundred small trees for me. Then the Messenger of Allaah (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to me: “Go, O Salmaan, and dig the
holes where they are to be planted. When you have finished, come to me and I
will plant them with my own hand.” So I dug the holes for them, and my
companions helped me, then when I had finished, I came to him and told him.
The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
came out with me and we started to bring the trees close and the Messenger
of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) planted them with
his own hand. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Salmaan, not one
single tree among them died. So I had paid off the trees but there still
remained the money. A piece of gold the size of an egg was brought to the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) from
one of his campaigns. He said: “What happened to the Persian who had a
contract of manumission?” I was summoned to him and he said: “Take this and
pay off what you owe, O Salmaan.” I said: How could this pay off everything
I owe, O Messenger of Allaah? He said: “Take it, and Allaah will help you to
pay off what you owe.” So I took it and weighed it for them, and by the One
in Whose hand is the soul of Salmaan, it was forty uqiyahs, so I paid them
their dues and I was set free. I was present with the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at al-Khandaq, and after
that I did not miss any major event with him.
Narrated by Ahmad in al-Musnad (5/441). The scholars
of hadeeth said: Its isnaad is hasan.
And Allaah knows best.
With regard to the hadeeth “Two rak’ahs with siwaak are
better than seventy rak’ahs without siwaak”, it is a da’eef (weak) hadeeth,
and is not saheeh (sound). The saheeh ahaadeeth are sufficient, praise be to
Allaah. End quote.
Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz
(26/288).
Al-Bayhaqi said concerning it in al-Sunan al-Kubra
(1/38): (It is) da’eef and its isnaad is not strong. It was narrated in both
marfoo’ and mursal reports. End quote.
Ibn al-Qayyim said in al-Manaar al-Muneef (p. 17): Its
isnaad is not strong. End quote.
It was classed as da’eef by al-Nawawi in al-Khalaasah
(1/88) and by al-Albaani in Da’eef al-Jaami’ (3519).
And Allaah knows best.