Tag: Hadith

Praise be to Allah.It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allah ibn Buraydah from his father (may Allah be pleased with them both) that a man came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and he was wearing a ring of gold. He said: “Why do I detect the stench of idols on you?” So he threw it away. Then he came and he was wearing a ring of iron, and he said: “Why do I see you wearing the jewellery of the people of Hell?” So he threw it away. He said: O Messenger of Allah, of what should I wear (a ring)? He said: “Wear (a ring) of silver, but no more than a mithqal (a measure of weight).” Narrated by Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi and al-Nasai. Al-Tirmidhi said: This is a ghareeb (strange) hadeeh. It was narrated from Iyas ibn al-Harith ibn al-Mu’ayqeeb that his grandfather said: The ring of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was made of iron overlaid with silver. He said: I kept it sometimes, and Mu’ayqeeb was in charge of the ring of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Narrated by Abu Dawood and al-Nasai.
In al-Saheehayn it is narrated from Sahl ibn Sa’d al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said to the one who proposed marriage to the woman who had offered herself in marriage to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him): “Look for something (to give as a dowry), even if it is a ring of iron.” This indicates that it is permissible to wear a ring of iron, as is indicated by the hadeeth of Mu’ayqeeb. As for the hadeeth of Buraydah quoted above, there is some weakness in its isnad (chain of narration). Thus it is clear that the more correct view is that it is not makrooh (disliked) to wear a ring of iron. But wearing a ring of silver is better, because the ring of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was made of silver, as is proven in al-Saheehayn. 
And Allah is the Source of strength. May Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions. End quote.

Praise be to Allah.
The faqeeh is the mujtahid who derives shar’i rulings,
explains the principles of sharee’ah and teaches people the rulings of their
religion. The focus of his specialty is the aims and goals of sharee’ah, the
clear verses of the Qur’aan and achieving sound understanding of what Allaah
wants from His slaves. 

This is something that can be done by only a few individuals,
because it requires extensive study of the texts, lengthy study and
examination of the words of the scholars, and intelligence in studying real
life situations and applying the rulings of sharee’ah to them. 

As for the narrator of hadeeth, he transmits what he hears of
the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him),
and he delivers what he receives with honesty and sincerity. His main
concern is to convey the hadeeth as he heard it by any possible means, but
he does not concern himself with explaining the meaning of the hadeeth or
deriving shar’i rulings from it, or knowledge of what abrogates and what is
abrogated, or what is general and what is specific. Rather his role is
limited to simply transmitting and narrating. 

This task requires precision and care in transmission, but it
does not require knowledge of fiqh or the basic principles (usool) of fiqh. 

Imam al-A’mash (may Allaah have mercy on him) described the
work of both the faqeeh and the narrator of hadeeth in detail. He said: 

“O fuqaha’, you are the doctors and we are the pharmacists.”
End quote. 

Naseehah Ahl al-hadeeth li’l-Khateeb al-Baghdadi
(1/45). 

It is no secret that the roles of the doctor and pharmacist
are complementary; they cannot do without one another. Both of them are good
and their influence is important. Islam also confirms that both the faqeeh
and the hadeeth narrator are good and will be rewarded by Allaah, but the
faqeeh (the doctor) is of a higher standing, as he pays attention to
understanding and deriving rulings. 

Some scholars derived this meaning from the words of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him): “May Allaah bless
a man who hears a hadeeth from us and memorizes it so that he can convey it
to others, for perhaps he is conveying it to one who will understand it
better than him, and perhaps the one who conveys knowledge does not
understand it himself.” Narrated by Abu Dawood (3660). 

Al-Ramahramzi (d. 360 AH) said: The Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) differentiated between the one who narrates
the Sunnah and the one who understands it, and he indicated that the one who
understands it is superior, by saying “for perhaps he is conveying it to one
who will understand it better than him, and perhaps the one who conveys
knowledge does not understand it himself.” By affirming the virtue of one,
the virtue of the other is automatically affirmed. For example: Maalik ibn
Anas and ‘Ubayd-Allaah al-‘Umari, or between al-Shaafa’i and ‘Abd al-Rahmaan
ibn Mahdi, or between Abu Thawr and Ibn Abi Shaybah. Fair-mindedness leads
you to determine that both are people of knowledge and virtue; this is the
attitude of fair-minded people that is reached by those who have knowledge
of the truth. End quote. 

Al-Muhaddith al-Faadil
(1/169-170). 

As for the one who combines both qualities, who understands
the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
and memorizes what he brought of knowledge, and understands the meanings,
and benefits himself and others thereby, these are the best of all types of
people. 

It was narrated from Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari (may Allaah be
pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) said: “The likeness of the guidance and knowledge with which
Allaah has sent me is that of rain falling upon the earth. Some of it is
good ground which receives the water and brings forth a great deal of
herbage and grass. Some of it is hard but it retains the water, and Allaah
benefits people by it, and they drink it and give it to their animals to
drink and use it for irrigation and grazing. And another part of it is
barren, it does not retain the water or produce herbage. That is the
likeness of one who gains an understanding of the religion of Allaah, and
Allaah benefits him by that with which Allaah has sent me, and he learns and
teaches others; and the likeness of a man who pays no attention to that, and
does not accept the guidance of Allaah with which I have been sent.” 

Imam al-Nawawi (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

As for the meaning of the hadeeth, it is likening the
guidance that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
brought to rain. It says that land is of three types, and the same is true
of people. 

The first type of land benefits from the rain and comes back
to life after having been dead, and it brings forth herbage from which
people, animals and plants benefit. This is like the first type of people
whom guidance and knowledge reach: such a person memorizes it and his heart
is brought back to life; he acts upon it and teaches others, so he benefits
from it and benefits others. 

The second type of land does not benefit from the rain
itself, but it does something good with it, namely holding the water for
others, so people and animals benefit from it. This is like the second type
of people; they have good memories but they do not have deep understanding
or deep insight by means of which they could derive meanings and rulings,
and they do not strive hard in worship. They memorize it and preserve it
until there comes along one who needs it and thirsts for the knowledge that
they have, a scholar who is able to benefit from it. So he takes it and
benefits others by means of that which they conveyed to him. 

The third type of land is the barren land that does not
produce any herbage and the like, and does not benefit itself from the
water, and does not retain it so that others may benefit from it. This is
like the third type of people; they do not have good memories or
understanding or insight. If they hear knowledge they do not benefit from it
or preserve it so that others may benefit. End quote. 

Sharh Muslim (15/47-48). 

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

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
likened the knowledge and guidance that he brought to rain, because of what
each of them bring of life, benefit, nourishment, medicine and all things
that are in people’s interests. This is true of both knowledge and rain. 

And he likened people’s hearts to the different types of land
on which rain may fall, because the land is the place that retains the rain,
and all kinds of beneficial plants grow, just as the heart understands
knowledge and bears fruit and manifests blessings and benefits. 

Then he divided people into three categories, according to
their readiness to memorize and understand its meanings and derive rulings
from it. 

1-People with good memories and
good understanding, who understand and comprehend the meanings, and derive
different rulings, wisdom and benefits from it. They are like the land that
absorbs the water, which is the likeness of the memory, and brings forth a
great deal of herbage and grain, which is the likeness of understanding,
knowledge and derivation of rulings. This is the likeness of the one who is
both a haafiz and a faqeeh, the people who both narrate and understand the
hadeeth.

2-People who are able to memorize
and classify reports, but they are not able to understand the meanings or
derive different types of rulings and benefits from them. They are like
those who read and memorize the Qur’aan, paying attention to the letters and
pronunciation, but they are not able to develop a proper understanding of
Allaah, as ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib said: “Except an understanding that Allaah
grants to His slave concerning His Book.” People vary greatly in their
understanding of the texts of the Qur’aan and Sunnah. Perhaps one person may
understand one or two rulings from the text, whereas another may understand
one hundred or two hundred. They are like the land that retains the water
for people so that they may benefit from it, drinking it or giving it to
others to drink or irrigating crops with it.

These two types are blessed, although the former are of
higher status. This is the bounty of Allaah which He gives as He wills, and
Allaah is the Owner of great bounty. 

3-Those who have no share of it,
who neither memorize it nor understand it, who neither memorize nor
comprehend it. Rather they are like the land that is barren and dry, which
neither produces herbage nor retains the water.

They are the ones who are doomed. The first two categories
share the qualities of learning and teaching, each according to what it has
accepted as sound and what has reached it. One may know and memorize the
phrases of the Qur’aan, whilst another knows its meanings, rulings and
sciences, but the third category does not know or teach. They are the ones
who neither benefited from the guidance of Allaah or accepted it. They are
worse off than cattle, and they are the fuel of Hell. 

This hadeeth also points to the honourable status and lofty
position of knowledge and teaching, and the wretchedness of those who have
no share of it; it mentions different categories of the sons of Adam with
regard to it – who is doomed and who is blessed; and it further divides the
blessed into those who are the foremost (in faith) and those who are among
“those on the Right Hand” (cf. al-Waaqi’ah 56:8). 

This indicates that the people’s need for knowledge is like
their need for rain, or even greater. If they lose knowledge then they are
akin to the land that is lacking rain.  

Imam Ahmad said: People need knowledge more than they need
food and drink, because they need food and drink once or twice a day, but
they need knowledge with every breath they take. End quote. 

Miftaah Daar al-Sa’aadah
(1/65-66). 

So how do you stand with regard to all this? What type of
land are you? Are you the type that will benefit itself and others, so that
you memorize and understand, act upon it and teach it to others? Or are you
one who will preserve it for others so that they may benefit, and the one
who points others towards a good deed will be like the one who does it (in
terms of reward)? 

We pray that Allaah will protect you. We think that you are
far above being like the barren land which never holds any water or produces
any vegetation, never memorizing or understanding, but appointing yourself
as judge to decide between the two groups! 

Look at your aims and goals; strive hard and set high goals
for yourself. Make yourself memorize and understand, and if you are not able
to do some of it, then at least be one who points others towards good deeds,
and does that which is enjoined upon him. 

And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.The hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah
ibn al-Hakam was narrated by Muslim (537) from Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam who
said: Whilst I was praying with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), a man among the people sneezed and I said:
Yarhamuk Allaah (may Allah have mercy on you). The people
glared at me and I said: May my mother be bereft of me! Why are you staring
at me? They started striking their hands on their thighs, and when I
realized that they were telling me to be quiet, (I felt angry) but I kept
quiet. When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) had prayed – may my father and mother be sacrificed for him; by
Allaah I have never seen a better teacher or better teachings before or
since; he did not rebuke me, hit me or revile me – he said: “This prayer is
not the right place for any of the people’s speech, rather it is tasbeeh,
takbeer and recitation of Qur’aan.” 
The hadeeth about the man
who prayed badly was narrated by al-Bukhaari (757) and Muslim (397) from Abu
Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) entered the mosque and a man
came in and prayed, then he came and greeted the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). The Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) returned the greeting and said:
“Go back and pray, for you have not prayed.” The man went back and prayed as
he had prayed before, then he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) and greeted him, and the Messenger of Allaah
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “Wa ‘alayk al-salaam.”
Then he said: “Go back and pray, for you have not prayed.” When he had done
that three times, the man said: By the One Who sent you with the truth, I
cannot do more than that. Teach me. He said: “When you go to pray, say
takbeer, then recite whatever you can of the Qur’aan. Then bow until you are
at ease in bowing, then rise until you are standing up straight. Then
prostrate until you are at ease in prostration, then sit up until you are at
ease in sitting. Then do that throughout the entire prayer.” 
Both ahaadeeth indicate
that the one who is ignorant is excused, but in the hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah he
is not commanded to repeat the prayer, whereas in the hadeeth of the one who
prayed badly, he is not commanded to repeat the prayers he had offered
before, rather he was commanded to repeat the current prayer only. 
Al-Nawawi (may Allaah have
mercy on him) said, commenting on the hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah: As for the
words of the ignorant one, it was because he was new in Islam, so they are
like the words of one who forgets, so they did not invalidate his prayer if
they were few, because of this hadeeth of Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam, which we
are discussing here, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) did not command him to repeat the prayer. But he taught him
that it is haraam to talk during prayers for future reference. End quote. 
With regard to commanding
the one who prayed badly to repeat his prayer when he did not command
Mu’aawiyah to do so, that is because there is a difference between doing
that which is forbidden and not doing that which is enjoined. Omitting what
is enjoined is not excused because of ignorance or forgetfulness when it is
possible to make it up, which is unlike doing what is forbidden. 
Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may
Allaah have mercy on him) said, in a discussion of things that are forbidden
whilst in ihraam: The correct view is that all of them may be excused. If a
person is excused due to ignorance, forgetting or being forced to do
something , there are no consequences to his actions whatsoever, whether it
has to do with having intercourse, hunting, clipping the nails, wearing
tailored garments or anything else. We have mentioned above evidence from
the Qur’aan, Sunnah and rational thought.  
The same applies to all
other actions that are forbidden during acts of worship; the ruling does not
apply, if they happen in cases of ignorance forgetfulness or compulsion,
because of the general meaning of the texts and because the penalty, fidyah
or kafaarah (expiation) is only prescribed in order to compensate for going
against the rules or to expiate sins, but the ignorant, forgetful person or
one who is forced did not deliberately go against the rules, and if he had
remembered, been aware or had the choice he would not have done it. 
If a person drinks by
mistake in Ramadaan (because he forgets he is fasting), he does not have to
make it up. The evidence for that is the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah
be pleased with him): “Whoever forgets when he is fasting and eats or
drinks, let him complete his fast, for it is Allaah Who has fed him and
given him to drink.” The one who does not deliberately go against the rule
is not sinning and does not have to offer any fidyah. 
Similarly, when ‘Adiyy ibn
Haatim wanted to fast, he took a black thread and a white thread, because of
the verse in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): “and eat
and drink until the white thread (light) of dawn appears to you distinct
from the black thread (darkness of night), then complete your Sawm (fast)
till the nightfall” [al-Baqarah 2:187]. They used to take the rulings
directly from the Qur’aan. But the Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) said to him: “Your pillow must be very wide, if the
black and white threads are beneath your pillow.” But he did not command him
to repeat the fast because he was ignorant of the ruling. 
Similarly, Asma’ bint Abi
Bakr (may Allaah be pleased with her) said that they broke the fast on a
cloudy day at the time of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), and he did not command them to make it up – because
they were unaware of the fact that the sun had not yet set. 
The same applies to prayer.
The evidence is that Mu’aawiyah ibn al-Hakam (may Allaah be pleased with
him) started to pray with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him) and a man sneezed, so he said, “Yarhamuk-Allaah (may Allaah
have mercy on you)” whilst he was praying. The people glared at him – i.e.,
they looked at him disapprovingly – and he (may Allaah be pleased with him)
said, “May my mother be bereft of me!”, i.e., he added more words to what he
had said. So they started to slap their thighs with their hands to make him
be quiet, and he fell silent. When he had said the salaam, the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called him. Mu’aawiyah
said: May my father and mother be sacrificed for him; by Allaah I have never
seen a better teacher or better teachings before or since; he did not rebuke
me, hit me or revile me – he said: “This prayer is not the right place for
any of the people’s speech, rather it is tasbeeh, takbeer and recitation of
Qur’aan.” And he did not tell him to repeat it because he was unaware of the
ruling. 
The texts point to this
principle, which is not blaming people for forgetting, not knowing, or being
forced to do something. This is what is implied by the words of Allaah
(interpretation of the meaning):
“your Lord has written
(prescribed) Mercy for Himself, so that if any of you does evil in
ignorance, and thereafter repents and does righteous good deeds (by obeying
Allaah), then surely, He is Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[al-An’aam 6:54], 
And the words of Allaah in
the hadeeth qudsi: “My mercy prevails over My wrath.” 
Omitting to do that which
is enjoined, however, is not excused on the basis of forgetting, ignorance
or being forced, when it is possible to make it up, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever sleeps and misses
a prayer or forgets it, let him pray it when he remembers it.” So it is not
waved in the case of forgetting. And because the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not waive the current prayer on the
grounds of ignorance, as we see in the hadeeth of the one who prayed badly;
he commanded him to repeat it even though he was ignorant, because he was
omitting to do something enjoined.  
Moreover, it is possible to
make up things that are enjoined, but forbidden things are over and done
with. But if a person is doing something that is forbidden, he should stop
doing it as soon as he realizes. If someone says that Allaah’s words
(interpretation of the meaning): “Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or
fall into error” [al-Baqarah 2:286] are general in meaning and include
both omitting things that are enjoined and doing things that are forbidden,
the response is that that is indeed the case; the one who does not do
something that is enjoined out of ignorance or because he forgets will not
be punished for not doing it, but not doing it means that he is obliged to
discharge his duty once the excuse is no longer applicable. End quote from
al-Sharh al-Mumti’ (7/200). 
And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “I have not seen any lacking in reason and religious commitment but (at the same time) more able to rob the wisdom of the wise, except one of you [women].” They said: How are we lacking in religious commitment and reason, O Messenger of Allah? He said: “Is not the testimony of a woman like half the testimony of a man?” They said: Yes. He said: “That is how she is lacking in reason. And when she menstruates, does she not refrain from praying and fasting?” They said: Yes. He said: “That is how she is lacking in religious commitment.” So the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) explained that her lacking in reason refers to her weak memory, and that her testimony must be supported by the testimony of another woman, in order to confirm the testimony, because she may forget, and add something to or take something away from her testimony, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And get two witnesses out of your own men. And if there are not two men (available), then a man and two women, such as you agree for witnesses, so that if one of them (two women) errs, the other can remind her” [al-Baqarah 2:282]. 
With regard to her lacking in religious commitment, that is because when she is menstruating or bleeding following childbirth, she does not pray or fast, and she does not make up the missed prayers, so this is lacking in religious commitment. But this lacking is not something for which she is called to account or blamed, rather it is something that happens by the will of Allah; for He is the One Who has prescribed that out of kindness towards her and so as to make things easier for her, because if she were to fast during menses and nifaas, that would harm her. By His mercy Allah has prescribed that she should not fast at the time of menses and nifaas, and she should make it up after that. 
With regard to prayer, at the time of menses she is unable to purify herself, so by His mercy Allah has prescribed that she should not pray, and the same applies to nifaas, and He has not prescribed that she should make it up, because making it up would be very difficult, as prayers are offered five times a day, and menses may last for several days, seven or eight or more, and nifaas may last as long as forty days. So by His mercy and kindness towards her, Allah has waived the duty of offering and making up prayers.  
This does not mean that her reason is lacking entirely, or that her religious commitment is lacking entirely, rather the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) explained that the lack in her reasoning has to do with what may happen of her testimony not being accurate, and the lack in her religious commitment has to do with what may happen of her missing prayers and fasts at the time of menses and nifaas.  But that does not imply that she is less than a man in everything, or that a man is better than her in everything. 
Yes, the male gender is superior to the female gender in general, for many reasons, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning): 
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because Allah has made one of them to excel the other, and because they spend (to support them) from their means” [al-Nisa’ 4:34]. 
But a woman may sometimes surpass a man in many things. How often has a woman surpassed men in her reason, religious commitment and memory. What is narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with regard to the female gender being inferior to the male gender in reason and religious commitment is from this point of view, which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) explained.  
A woman may do a great deal of righteous deeds and thus surpass many men in her righteous deeds, fear of Allah and status in the Hereafter. She may have a great deal of interest in some matters and thus able to give proper testimony, better than that of  some men in some issues in which she has an interest. She may strive in memorization and understanding these issues, thus becoming a reference point with regard to Islamic history and many other things. This is clear to anyone who studies the state of women at the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and after that. 
Thus it is clear that this lack does not mean that women cannot be relied on in narration (of hadith etc) or in giving testimony, if it is supported by another woman. It also does not mean that she does not fear Allah or that she cannot be among the best of Allah’s slave and the best of the female slaves of Allah, if she adheres strictly to Islam. Although fasting is waived for her at the time of menses and nifaas, she has to make it up, and even prayer is waived in her case, but she does not have to make it up. This does not imply that she is lacking in all things when it comes to fearing Allah, obeying His commands and becoming well-versed in matters that are of interest to her. It is a lack that is specific to reason and religious commitment, in the way that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) explained. So the believer should not accuse her of being lacking in all things, or of being weak in religious commitment in all aspects, rather it is a specific type of lacking that has to do with her religious commitment and reason, which has to do with accuracy of testimony and so on. So she should be treated fairly and the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) should be interpreted in the best possible manner. And Allah knows best. 
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baz (may Allah have mercy on him)

Praise be to Allah.Al-Bukhaari (6491) and Muslim (131) narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, relating from his Lord, may He be glorified and exalted: “Allah decreed good deeds and bad deeds, then He explained that. Whoever thinks of doing a good deed then does not do it, Allah will write it down as one complete good deed. If he thinks of doing a good deed and then does it, Allah [may He be glorified and exalted] will write it down between ten and seven hundred fold, or many more. If he thinks of doing a bad deed then he does not do it, Allah will write it down as one complete good deed, and if he thinks of it then does it, Allah will write it down as one bad deed.” 
Al-Bukhaari (5269) and Muslim (127) also narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will forgive my ummah for whatever crosses their minds so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it.” 
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 
These texts refer to four matters: the recording of good deeds and bad deeds, and thinking of good deeds and bad deeds. This is four matters.  
Then he said: 
… The third matter: thinking of good deeds. It is recorded as one complete good deed even if he does not do it, as it says in the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas and elsewhere. … In the hadeeth of Khuraym ibn Faatik it says: “… If a person thinks of doing a good deed but then does not do it and Allah knows that he thought of it and was keen to do it, He records for him one good deed…” [Narrated by Ahmad, 18556. al-Arna’oot said: Its isnaad is hasan. It was mentioned by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah]. This indicates that what is meant by “thinking of” here is the determination and resolve that are usually present when one is keen to do an action, not merely a passing thought that is not accompanied by any resolve or determination. 
Abu’d-Darda’ said: If a person goes to his bed, intending to pray during the night (qiyaam), then sleep overtakes him until morning comes, what he intended to do will be recorded for him. 
It was narrated that Sa‘eed ibn al-Musayyab said: If a person thinks of praying, fasting, going for Hajj or ‘Umrah, or going for jihad, then he is prevented from doing that, Allah will grant him the reward of what he wanted to do. 
Abu ‘Imraan al-Jawni said: It is said to the angel: Record such and such for So and so. He says: O Lord, he did not do it. He says: He intended it. 
Zayd ibn Aslam said: A man used to go around among the scholars, saying: Who will tell me of a deed that I may keep doing for Allah, for I do not like any hour of the day or night to come to me except I am striving for the sake of Allah, may He be exalted. It was said to him: You have found what you are looking for. Do good as much as you are able to, then when you become tired or you stop doing it, think about doing it, for the one who thinks about doing a good deed is like the one who does it. 
If the intention is accompanied by words or effort, the reward is ensured and the one who intended it is like the one who does it, as Abu Kabshah narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“[People] in this world are of four types: a person to whom Allah grants wealth and knowledge, so he fears his Lord with regard to it, upholds his ties of kinship with it, and acknowledges the rights of Allah concerning it – he is of the highest status. (The second is) a person to whom Allah grants knowledge but He does not grant him wealth, so he is sincere in his intention and says: If I had wealth, I would do the same as So and so does. He will be rewarded according to his intention and their reward will be the same. (The third type) is a person to whom Allah grants wealth, but He does not grant him knowledge, so he squanders his wealth without knowledge; he does not fear his Lord concerning it, he does not uphold his ties of kinship with it and he does not acknowledge the rights of Allah concerning it – he is of the worst status. (And the fourth type is) a person to whom Allah does not grant either wealth or knowledge, so he says: If I had wealth, I would do the same as So and so does. He will be requited according to his intention and their burden of sin will be the same.”
Narrated by Imam Ahmad, at-Tirmidhi and Ibn Maajah. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani because of corroborating evidence. 
The phrase “Their reward will be the same” is understood as meaning that they are equal with regard to the basic reward for actions, but not with regard to the multiplication of that reward. Multiplication of reward is only for the one who actually does a deed, not the one who intends it but does not do it. If they were equal in all regards, a tenfold reward would be recorded for the one who thought of a good deed but did not do it, and this is contrary to all the texts. That is indicated by the verse in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning): “Allah has preferred in grades those who strive hard and fight with their wealth and their lives above those who sit (at home). Unto each, Allah has promised good (Paradise), but Allah has preferred those who strive hard and fight, above those who sit (at home) by a huge reward” [an-Nisa’ 4:95]. Ibn ‘Abbaas and others said: Those who sit (at home), above whom those who strive hard and fight are preferred in grades are those who have excuses, and those who sit (at home), above whom those who strive hard and fight are preferred by a huge reward, are those who do not have excuses. 
Then he (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 
The fourth matter is thinking of evil deeds without doing them. In the hadeeth of Ibn ‘Abbaas it says that this will be recorded as one complete good deed. Similarly in the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah, Anas and others it says that it will be recorded as a hasanah (good deed). In the hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah it says “for he gave it up for My sake” (Muslim, 129). This indicates that what is meant is that if a person was able to do what he thought of of sin, but gave it up for the sake of Allah, may He be exalted, one good deed will undoubtedly be recorded for him for that, because his refraining from committing that sin for that reason is a righteous deed. 
But if he thinks of committing a sin, then does not do it for fear of other people, or in order to show off to them, then it was said that he will be punished for refraining from it with that intention, because giving precedence to fear of people over fear of Allah is haraam, just as aiming to show off to people is also haraam. If refraining from the sin is accompanied by such intentions, then he will be punished for refraining. 
Al-Fudayl ibn ‘Iyaad said: They used to say: Refraining from doing something for the sake of people is showing off and doing it for their sake is shirk. 
But if he tries to do it by all available means then is prevented from doing it because it is not decreed that he should do it, in that case a number of scholars stated that he will be punished for it, because of the hadeeth, “… so long as he does not speak of it or act upon it.” So if a person strives to commit a sin, then is unable to do it, he has acted upon it. Similarly, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “When two Muslims confront one another with their swords, the slayer and the slain will both be in Hell.” I said – or it was said – O Messenger of Allah, (we understand about) the slayer, but what about the slain? He said: “He wanted to kill his companion.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 31: Muslim, 2888). The words “so long as he does not speak of it or act upon it” indicate that if the one who thinks of a sin speaks of what he was thinking of, then he will be punished for thinking of it in that case, because he has committed a sin with his physical faculties, which is speaking with his tongue. That is also indicated by the hadeeth of Abu Kabshah quoted above, who said: (The fourth type of person) says: “If I had wealth, I would do with it what So and so does”, referring to the one who disobeyed Allah with his wealth. He said: “Their burden of sin will be the same.” 
Then he (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 
But if he changes his intention and gives up his resolve for no reason, will he be punished for what he thought of of sin, or not? 
There are two scenarios: 
The first is if his thinking of sin was a passing thought that he did not dwell on and it did not take root in his heart; rather he disliked it and was put off by it. This will be forgiven; it is like the awful thoughts or whispers that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was asked about, and he said: “That is clear faith.” [Narrated by Muslim, 132] 
When the verse (interpretation of the meaning) “…whether you disclose what is in your ownselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. Then He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills…” [al-Baqarah 2:284] was revealed, that was distressing for the Muslims and they thought that it included these passing thoughts. Then the following verse was revealed, in which it says (interpretation of the meaning): “Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear” [al-Baqarah 2:286]. (Narrated by Muslim, 126). This proved that with regard to that which they had no strength to bear, they would not be punished or brought to account for it, and it became clear that what was meant in the first verse was things that they resolved and intended to do. 
The second scenario is things that one has resolved and intends to do, that occurred to one’s mind and become established, and one dwells on them. These are of two types: 
(i)Acts of the heart (that have to do with belief), such as doubting or disbelieving in the Oneness of Allah, or Prophethood, or the Prophet’s mission, and other kinds of disbelief and hypocrisy. These are all things for which a person will be punished and by means of which he becomes a disbeliever and a hypocrite.
We may add to these all sins that have to do with the heart, such as loving that which Allah hates, hating that which Allah loves, arrogance, self admiration, etc. 
(ii)The second type has to do with that which is not actions of the heart; rather they are physical actions, such as zina, stealing, drinking alcohol, murder, slander and so on. If a person persists in wanting to do such things and resolving to do them, but he shows no outward indication of that, then there are two well-known scholarly views as to whether he will be held accountable for that.
The first view is that he will be held accountable for it. Ibn al-Mubaarak said: I asked Sufyaan ath-Thawri: Will a person be held accountable for thinking (of committing a sin)? He said: If he has resolved to do it, he will be held accountable. This view was regarded as more correct by many of the fuqaha’, scholars of hadeeth and scholars of kalaam among our companions and others. They quoted as evidence for that verses such as the following (interpretation of the meaning):
“And know that Allah knows what is in your minds, so fear Him”
[al-Baqarah 2:235]
“but He will call you to account for that which your hearts have earned”
[al-Baqarah 2:225]. 
(They also quoted as evidence) hadeeths such as that in which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Sin is that which wavers in your heart and you do not want the people to find out about it” (narrated by Muslim, 2553). They interpreted the hadeeth “Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will forgive my ummah for whatever crosses their minds so long as they do not act upon it or speak of it” as referring to passing thoughts and they said: Whatever a person dwells on and it takes root in his heart is included in what he earns and does, so it is not included in this hadeeth. 
The second view is that he will not be held accountable for mere intentions in all cases. This view is attributed to ash-Shaafa‘i and is also the view of Ibn Haamid among our companions, based on general meanings. Al-‘Awfi narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas something which is indicative of the same view…
End quote from Jaami‘ al-‘Uloom wa’l-Hikam, commentary on hadeeth no 37 (2/343-353). 
To sum up: 
If a person thinks of doing a good deed, and it takes root in his heart and he resolves to do that, what he intended to do will be recorded for him, even if he does not do it, although the reward for the one who does do it is better and greater. 
If a person thinks of doing a bad deed, then refrains from it for the sake of Allah, one complete good deed will be recorded for him. 
If a person thinks of doing a bad deed, then refrains from it for the sake of people, or he tries to do it but is prevented from doing so, one bad deed will be recorded against him. 
If a person thinks of doing it, then he changes his intention after having intended it, if it was only a passing thought he will not be held accountable for it, but if it was one of the deeds of the heart that had nothing to do with physical actions (i.e., it has to do with belief), then he will be held accountable for it. If it was a physical action and he persisted in thinking of it and resolved to do it, then the majority of scholars are of the view that he will be held accountable for it. 
An-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after quoting al-Baaqillaani’s opinion that the individual will be held accountable in this case: 
Al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad (may Allah have mercy on him) said: The majority of the early generation and the scholars, including the fuqaha’ and the muhadditheen, are of the same view as al-Qaadi Abu Bakr, because of the hadeeths which indicate that people will be held accountable for actions of the heart (i.e., that have to do with beliefs). 
But they said: This resolve will be recorded as one bad deed, and it is not the bad deed that the individual thought of, because he did not do it and he refrained from it for a reason other than fear of Allah. But persisting and resolving in and of itself is a sin, so it will be recorded as a sin, and if he does it, it will be recorded as a second sin. But if he refrains from it for fear of Allah, may He be exalted, it will be recorded as a good deed, as it says in the hadeeth, “for he gave it up for My sake”, thus his giving it up out of fear of Allah, may He be exalted, his striving to overcome his nafs that is inclined towards evil, and his going against his whims and desires is in fact a good deed. The type of thinking of an action that is not to be recorded against the individual is the passing thought that does not take root in the heart and is not accompanied by intention or resolve.
End quote from Sharh Muslim, 2/151 
Ibn Rajab (may Allah have mercy on him) favoured the view that (when a person commits a sin), it will only be recorded as one sin, without any multiplication, so the punishment is for the sin, and thinking of it is not added to it, because if thinking of it were added to the sin, the individual would be punished twice for committing one sin. We cannot say that this may also be applicable to good deeds and that one does a good deed after thinking of it, he should be rewarded for the good deed but not for thinking of it. We say that this is not correct, because if a person does a good deed, a tenfold reward will be recorded for him, and it may be that some of that is as a reward for thinking of doing the good deed. And Allah knows best. End quote. 
And Allah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.Firstly:
The writing down of the hadiths refers, in general terms, to the narrator writing down his reports on paper. This was known from the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
The main reason for that was to document and protect the reports from being lost or forgotten.
This reason is so clear that there is no need for further discussion of proof.
One example of that is what was narrated by al-Bukhari (113) from Abu Hurayrah, who said: There is no one among the companions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) who narrated more from him than me, except ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Amr, who wrote down his hadiths and I did not.
At the time of the Sahabah and senior Tabi‘in, there were a number of people who wrote down some of their reports, but they did not pay attention to documenting the hadiths in a specific manner, compiling them in books as the Quran was compiled in one mushaf. There are a number of reports which indicate that they were not in favour of compiling the hadiths in a book.
There were two reasons for that:
-1-
They wanted to protect the Quran from being abandoned, or to avoid anything being written down at the time when the Sahabah were collecting the Quran in writing, lest the two things become mixed and confused.
-2-
At that time, the hadiths contained only the words and actions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) which explained the verses of the Quran. The isnads (chains of narration) were also brief and were hardly mentioned; they were not so lengthy that the Arabs would not be able to memorize them, for they were people who had excellent memories and were keen to maintain that skill by memorizing things. Moreover, the hadiths are not like the Quran, recitation of which is an act of worship; the hadiths are to be acted upon. As that is the case, there was no need for each of the Sahabah to know all the hadiths with their exact wording; rather it was sufficient for each of them to know some of the hadiths, then ask one another [about other hadiths] when necessary.
Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Mu‘allimi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
In Islamic terms, what matters with regard to the hadiths is their meanings. They are not like the Quran, in which what matters is both the exact wording and the meaning, because it is the word of Allah in both wording and meaning, and is miraculous in both wording and meaning, and it is recited as an act of worship with its wording exactly as it was revealed. So it is no wonder that Allah reduced their burden and made it sufficient, in most cases, for some of the Sahabah to be aware of the hadiths and convey them.”(Al-Anwar al-Kashifah, in Athar al-Mu‘allimi 12/43).
Some of them at that time would narrate hadiths and would seek out hadiths when necessary for practical reasons, so that they could act upon them, without going beyond that.
Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Mu‘allimi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
… It was narrated from ‘Umar that he forbade narrating a lot of hadiths, and he did that for two reasons:
-1-
‘Umar’s preference was that narrating hadiths should only be done when needed.
-2-
What he stated clearly, which was that he preferred people not to be distracted from the Quran by listening to hadiths when there was no need to do so.
It was narrated from him that he said: “Narrate few hadiths from the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and only narrate that which is needed to be acted upon.”
The reference to acting in this quotation is general in meaning, and includes acts of worship, interactions with others and etiquette.”(Al-Anwar al-Kashifah, in Athar al-Mu‘allimi  12/61).
Dealing with the situation in that manner made it easy for them to memorize what they needed, therefore there was no urgent need to write the hadiths in a book. This is similar to the case of the Quran, which was revealed little by little, which made it easy for them to memorize it without needing to have the entire Quran in one book.
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
It has been proven that those who did not like to write down hadiths during the early period of Islam only disliked that so that no other book would be given the same importance as the Book of Allah, and the people would not be distracted from the Quran by anything else. Thus the Muslims were forbidden to acquire and read the previous Scriptures, because it is not possible to know what of their contents is true and what is false. Moreover, the Quran is sufficient and there is no need for the earlier Scriptures, because it supersedes them. And books of knowledge were prohibited during the earliest period, when Islam was very new, because there were so few people with proper knowledge at that time who could distinguish between revelation and other things. Most of the Bedouin had no understanding of religion and did not spend time with the scholars and knowledgeable people, so there was the possibility that they might confuse the books of hadith with the words of Allah in the Quran, and might believe that what was contained in the books of hadith was the words of Allah.
The people were instructed to memorize hadiths, because the isnads were short, as it was not long after the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). They were forbidden to rely on books, because that would lead to a decline in memorization to the point that it would be almost non-existent, but if there was no writing down of hadiths, then people’s memories would become strong, for a person’s memory is with him wherever he goes.”(Taqyid al-‘Ilm  p. 57).
Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Those scholars who disapproved of the writing down of hadiths disapproved for two reasons:
The first reason was so that there would be no book that was given the same importance as the Quran.
The second reason was so that the one who wrote down hadiths would not rely on what he had written and forego memorizing, in which case there would be fewer people who memorized hadiths.”(Jami‘ Bayan al-‘Ilm wa Fadlihi  1/292).
Secondly:
Later on, especially in the second century AH, there emerged an urgent need to write down the hadiths in books, because the situation had changed. The hadiths had become widely circulated among people, because when the Tabi‘in realized that the number of Sahabah and senior Tabi‘in was declining due to their dying, they strove to seek out the hadiths that they had narrated, which they collected and kept in written form.
Al-Bukhari (99) narrated from ‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-‘Aziz that he wrote to Abu Bakr ibn Hazm, saying: Seek out whatever hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) are extant and write them down, for I am afraid that with the death of the scholars, knowledge will disappear.
Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahman al-Mu‘allimi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
As a matter-of-fact, some of the senior Sahabah thought that conveying of hadiths was only to be done at a time of need, and they thought that if they conveyed hadiths to others when there was no need for that, there was the possibility of error for which they could be called to account, unlike when there was a need, in which case conveying what they knew of hadith was a must, and either Allah would protect them from error or a He would not bring them to account for it. Hence hadiths were narrated from all of them, and it was never narrated from any of them that he knew a hadith, but when there was a need to act according to its guidelines he refused to narrate it.
Some other Sahabah narrated hadiths even when there was no need for that, because they thought that conveying them before the need arose was something good, as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Narrate from me, and there is nothing wrong with it.” And there is other evidence which speaks of conveying knowledge and conveying hadiths.
Each of the two views has a point, and the scholars were all aiming to do good.
But when the number of Sahabah became few, the view of the second group carried more weight.”(Al-Anwar al-Kashifah, in Athar al-Mu‘allimi 12/61).
This is like the case of the Quran at the time of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): there was no urgent need to put it all together in a written book, but as the reciters among the Sahabah who had memorized it began to die one after another, there emerged the need to compile it all in one master copy.
It was narrated from ‘Ubayd ibn as-Sabbaq that Zayd ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Abu Bakr sent for me when the people of Yamamah had been killed (i.e., a number of the Prophet’s Companions who fought against Musaylimah). (I went to him) and found ‘Umar bin al-Khattab sitting with him. Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) said (to me):‘ ‘Umar has come to me and said: Casualties were heavy among the reciters of the Quran (i.e. those who knew the Quran by heart) at the Battle of Yamamah, and I am afraid that more heavy casualties may take place among the reciters on other battlefields, whereby a large part of the Quran may be lost. Therefore I suggest that you [Abu Bakr] should issue orders that the Quran be collected.” Narrated by al-Bukhari (4986).
And there are many similar reports, because the hadiths had begun to include the fatwas and verdicts of the Sahabah, then the views and fatwas of the Tabi‘in.
‘Abd ar-Razzaq narrated in al-Musannaf (11/258) from Ma‘mar that Salih ibn Kaysan said: I met Ibn Shihab when we were both seeking knowledge, and we agreed to write down some hadiths and other reports. So we wrote down everything that was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), then we wrote down what was narrated from his companions. I said: No, it is not part of the Sunnah. But he said: Yes, it is part of the Sunnah. So he wrote it down and I did not; he did well and I missed out.
Then the isnads (chains of narration) became lengthy and numerous, because the number of narrators increased.
In addition to that, many views of innovators began to spread among the people, and views based on personal opinion and fabrications of hadiths and reports also became widespread.
All of this prompted the leading scholars of hadith and Sunnah to compile what they had collected of hadiths in specialized books, so as to preserve the Sunnah and spread it among people.
Al-Khatib al-Baghdadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Scholars only began to write down knowledge and rely on writing down hadiths in books, after having been reluctant to do that, because hadiths and reports had become widespread; isnads had become longer; the names, kunyahs and lineages of narrators had become numerous; and technical terms varied, and people were unable to memorize all of that…”(Taqyid al-‘Ilm  p. 64).
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
You should understand, may Allah increase me and you in knowledge, that the reports of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) were not written down in books at the time of his Companions and the senior Tabi‘in, and they were not sorted into categories, for two reasons:
The first reason was because, in the beginning, they were forbidden to do that, as is proven in Sahih Muslim, because of the fear that some of that might become mixed with the Quran.
The second reason was because they had the ability to memorise things and their minds were clear, and because most of them did not know how to read and write.
Then towards the end of the time of the Tabi‘in, the writing down of hadiths and reports began, and similar hadiths and reports were grouped together in different categories, when the scholars scattered throughout different regions, and a lot of innovations appeared on the part of the Kharijis, Rafidis and those who denied the divine decree (Qadaris).
The first ones to compile the reports in books were ar-Rabi‘ ibn Subayh and Sa‘id ibn Abi ‘Urubah…”(Hadi as-Sari p. 6).
This has to do with general reasons, but there may have been specific reasons too. The author of each book may have had a specific motive, on the basis of which he chose to put hadiths in certain categories. For example, it is well known that al-Bukhari divided his book al-Jami‘ as-Sahih [Sahih al-Bukhari] into various categories for certain reasons.
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Abu ‘Abdillah Muhammad ibn Isma‘il al-Bukhari said: We were with Ishaq ibn Rahawayh and he said: Why do you not write a brief book in which you record the sound hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)?
He said: I liked that idea, so I began to compile the book of al-Jami‘ as-Sahih [Sahih al-Bukhari] …”(Hadi as-Sari  7).
Abu Musa al-Madini narrated in Khasa’is Musnad al-Imam Ahmad (p. 14):
It was narrated that ‘Abdullah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal said: I said to my father (may Allah have mercy on him): Why did you not like people to write books, then you did al-Musnad?
He said: I wrote this book to be a reference book, so that if people differed concerning the hadiths of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), they can refer to it. End quote.
And Allah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.A hadeeth concerning this was narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) but it is da’eef (weak). 
In al-Jaami’ al-Sagheer, al-Suyooti attributed it to Ibn Shaheen in his Targheeb: It was narrated from al-Diya’ from Jareer ibn ‘Abd-Allaah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The month of Ramadaan is suspended between heaven and earth and is not taken up to Allaah except by zakaat al-fitr.” 
It was classed as da’eef by al-Suyooti. Al-Mannaawi explained the reason for that in Fayd al-Qadeer, where he said: It was narrated by Ibn al-Jawzi in al-Waahiyaat and he said: it is not saheeh; its isnaad includes Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd al-Basri who is majhool (unknown). 
It was also classed as da’eef by al-Albaani in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth al-Da’eefah (43). He said: Even if the hadeeth were saheeh, the apparent meaning is that acceptance of the Ramadaan fast is dependent upon payment of sadaqat al-fitr, and if a person does not pay it, his fast will not be accepted, but I do not know of any scholar who says that … and the hadeeth is not saheeh. End quote. 
As the hadeeth is not saheeh, no one can say that the fast of Ramadaan is only accepted with zakaat al-fitr, because no one can know that except the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 
It is proven in Sunan Abi Dawood that Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined zakaat al-fitr as a purification for the fasting person from idle speech and obscene talk, and to feed the poor.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh Sunan Abi Dawood. 
This hadeeth explains the wisdom behind zakaat al-fitr, which is to make up for any shortfall that occurred during fasting. It does not say that fasting will not be accepted without zakaat al-fitr. 
And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.With regard to memorizing and learning the Prophet’s Sunnah, undoubtedly the basic principle is that all of that – for the one who is able – should be done in Arabic, the language in which the revelation came, and in which the hadiths were narrated in the books of Sunnah. This is better than memorizing the meanings translated into other languages, for two important reasons:
The first reason is:
Arabic is one of the symbols of Islam, and it is the language that was chosen by Allah, may He be exalted, to transmit the message of Islam. Whenever the Muslim is able to learn his religion in this language, he should not turn to any other language. This was the view of the righteous early generations.
Ash-Shafa‘i (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Every Muslim must learn as much of the language of the Arabs as he is able to so that he can testify in Arabic that La ilaha illa Allah wa Muhammad ‘abduhu wa rasuluhu (there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger), and he can recite the Book of Allah in Arabic, and recite the words of dhikr that he is enjoined to recite, such as takbir, tasbih and the tashahhud, and so on.
The more knowledge he can learn in the language which Allah made the language of the last of His Prophets and in which He revealed the last of His Books, the better it will be for him. End quote from ar-Risalah (p. 48-49).
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Ash-Shafa‘i said: … The language which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, chose was the language of the Arabs, in which He sent down His holy Book, and He made it the language of the last of His Prophets, Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).
Hence we say: everyone who is able to learn Arabic should learn it, because it is the foremost language that one should strive to learn, without forbidding anyone to speak a non-Arabic language.
Ash-Shafa‘i regarded it as disliked for one who knows Arabic to give names in any other language, or to speak it mixed with foreign words. What the leading scholars said concerning this issue was narrated from the Sahabah and Tabi‘in. End quote from Iqtida’ as-Sirat al-Mustaqim (1/521-522).
The second reason is:
Translated hadiths are translations of the meanings, and there are a number of hadiths in which the words are to be pronounced as they are in Arabic, so the one who memorizes them should pay attention to their pronunciation in Arabic as much as he is able, such as the hadiths which mention adhkar. This is indicated by the hadith of al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib, who said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said:
“When you go to your bed, do wudu’ as for prayer, then lie down on your right side and say: 
Allahumma aslamtu wajhi ilayka wa fawwadtu amri ilayka wa alja’tu zahri ilayka raghbatan wa rahbatan ilayka, la malja’a wa laa manjaa minka illa ilayka. Allahumma amantu bi kitabika alladhi anzalta wa nabiyyika alladhi arsalta (O Allah I submit my face to You, and I entrust my affairs to You, and I rely totally on You in hope and in fear of You. Verily there is no refuge nor safe haven from You except with You. O Allah, I believe in Your Book which You have revealed and in Your Prophet whom You have sent).  
Then if you die during the night, you will have died following the fitrah (sound nature of man). Make these the last words that you speak.” 
He said: I repeated it back to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), and when I reached the words. “Allahumma aamantu bi kitaabika alladhi anzalta (O Allah, I believe in Your Book which You have revealed),” I said: “Wa rasulika (And Your Messenger).” He said: “No. Wa nabiyyika alladhi arsalta (and Your Prophet whom You sent).”
Narrated by al-Bukhari (247) and Muslim (2710).
Al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
The most appropriate thing that can be said regarding the reason why the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) corrected the one who said “rasul (messenger)” instead of “nabi (prophet)” is that the wording of adhkar is tawqifi [i.e., they can only be known through divine Revelation and sound texts of hadith, with no room for ijtihad or alteration]. They must be recited as the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited them, because that pronunciation has special effects and benefits, and they should not be altered. Therefore they must be recited with the same pronunciation that was narrated from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). This is the view favoured by al-Maziri… End quote from Fath al-Bari (11/112).
With regard to other hadiths, in many cases there is a difference of scholarly opinion regarding their interpretation, so a translation will be based on the meaning favoured by the translator, or on what he understood, which may based on a weaker scholarly view, or it may be based on his own understanding which is incorrect, or it may be incorrectly expressed in the language into which it is translated.
In some hadiths, the Arabic wording may indicate a number of meanings, some of which are lost in translation, so the one who reads the translation understands only one meaning, and if the translator aimed to encompass all the meanings that are contained in the hadith, the translation would be so long that the one who wants to memorize it would tire of it.
But for the one who is not able to learn Arabic or memorize in Arabic, so he memorizes in his own language, he is still doing well. All that he is lacking is the pronunciation in Arabic, but if understands the meaning, this is beneficial knowledge that he has acquired, even if that has to do with adhkar, supplications (du‘a’s), ruqyah and the like. So there is nothing wrong with him offering supplication in translation, and remembering Allah in his language that he is able to speak.
For more information, see the answers to questions no. 262254 and 318586 .
Conclusion:
The one who is able to learn Arabic should study the Prophet’s Sunnah and memorize it in Arabic, with the pronunciation narrated in the books of Sunnah, because Arabic is a symbol of Islam and is the language in which the revelation came.
Memorizing in Arabic means memorizing the pronunciation, and in some cases the pronunciation is essential and required, such as adhkar. That will also preserve the full meanings, some of which may be lost in translation.
And Allah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.We may sum up our advice concerning the methodology of seeking knowledge of hadeeth as follows: 
Firstly: 
Paying a great deal of attention to memorising the texts of the Prophet’s Sunnah, because this is the aim and purpose for which the scholars established all the sciences of hadeeth. So it is not permissible for the seeker of knowledge to be distracted from the aim by the means. 
Memorising the texts of the Prophet’s Sunnah begins with memorising the hadeeths on which there is agreement between the two Saheehs (al-Bukhaari and Muslim), then by memorising those which were narrated only by al-Bukhaari, then by memorising those that were narrated only by Muslim. This will lead to accomplishing the first and most important stage in forming the hadeeth mentality in the one who is seeking knowledge of hadeeth. 
After that, he moves on to memorising hadeeths that are extra to those of the two Saheehs, which are to be found in the six books and the well-known Musnads. He may seek help in doing so by means of many books in which these extra reports (zawaa’id) are compiled and classified. 
The best ways of memorising include repeating the text to be memorised for a few days after the day on which he memorises it. This method was recommended by az-Zarnooshi (may Allah have mercy on him) when he said: 
The seeker of knowledge should recite the text repeatedly because he will not be able to memorise properly until he does that. He should repeat what he memorised on the previous day five times, and repeat what he memorised the day before that four times, and repeat what he memorised on the day before that three times, and what he memorised on the day before that two times, and what he memorised before that one time. This will help him to memorise and repeat. End quote. 
Ta‘leem at-Ta‘allum, p. 60 
If the student is not able to memorise completely, then he should do no less than reading these hadeeths often, so that he will be able to call them to mind and have a full comprehension of them.
This topic has been discussed in detail previously in the answer to question no. 113469 
Secondly: 
It is essential for the seeker of hadeeth knowledge to memorise different types of isnaads and whatever he can memorise of the names and biographies of narrators. The isnaads of the Prophet’s Sunnah can be divided – in terms of how well known they are – into three categories: 
1.
Well known isnaads, through any of which hundreds of hadeeths were narrated and they are regarded as one of the main channels through which the Prophet’s Sunnah came to us. Indeed there is no book among the six books that did not rely on them and narrate from many of them. Examples include: 
The isnaad of al-A‘mash from Dhakwaan Abu Saalih al-Sammaan, from Abu Hurayrah 
The isnaad of az-Zuhri from Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan from Abu Hurayrah. 
The isnaad of Hammaad ibn Salamah, from Thaabit ibn Aslam, from Anas. 
The isnaad of ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Umar al-‘Umari, from Naafi‘, from Ibn ‘Umar. 
It is possible to find out about these chains of narration, through which hundreds of reports were narrated, from the book Tuhfat al-Ashraaf by Imam al-Mazzi. 
The student may also seek help in memorising the narrators of these isnaads from the book Tabaqaat al-Mukthireena min Riwaayat al-Hadeeth by Shaykh ‘Aadil az-Zarqi, with a introduction by ‘Abdullah as-Sa‘d (published by Dar Tuwayq). 
If the seeker of hadeeth knowledge pays attention to these isnaads and memorises them, then start to connect these isnaads to the texts that he has previously memorised from the books of Sunnah, he will thus have instilled in his mind hundreds of hadeeths with their isnaads. In this way he will have started a new stage of acquiring deep knowledge of this noble science. 
2.
The second category is isnaads that are less well-known, through which dozens of reports were narrated, but they include some well-known issues such as interruptions in the chain of narration, ambiguity, omission of the name of the Sahaabi (mursal report) and so on. The student may study some of these isnaads in the book Tuhfat al-Tahseel by al-‘Alaa’i. 
If the seeker of knowledge pays attention to these isnaads too, and learns the problems associated with these types of isnaads, then he will achieved a great deal in this branch of knowledge. 
3.
The third category is the isnaads of mawdoo‘ (fabricated) and da‘eef (weak) isnaads, through which many hadeeths were also narrated, and which the seeker of knowledge must pay attention to, because it is not appropriate for the specialist to be unaware of reports that are well known among the scholars of hadeeth to be weak, faulty or fabricated. To achieve this, it is essential to persist in reading the books Meezan al-I‘tidaal by Imam adh-Dhahabi, al-Kaamil fi Du‘afa’ ar-Rijaal by Ibn ‘Adiyy, and al-Mawdoo‘aat by Ibn al-Jawzi. 
Thirdly: 
When the seeker of knowledge of the Prophet’s Sunnah has memorised a great deal of Sunnah texts, after that he may start to examine these texts more closely, finding out about ambiguous or difficult texts (ghareeb al-hadeeth) and the different ways in which they are interpreted. Al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: Knowledge is understanding and cognizance, not memorizing and narrating a great deal.
End quote from al-Jaami‘ li Akhlaaq ar-Raawi, p. 174 
But the seeker of knowledge must be aware of the necessity of limiting himself – at the beginning of his pursuit of knowledge – to the abridged commentaries that will explain the difficult texts, and not engage in lengthy study of fiqhi and other issues, which may be too difficult and too time-consuming for the student. He would do well to read an abridged commentary such as al-Mufhim lima Ashkila min Talkhees Saheeh Muslim by Imam al-Qurtubi, al-Minhaaj Sharh Saheeh Muslim ibn al-Hajjaaj by Imam an-Nawawi. He can sum up the meaning of the hadeeth and explanations of its vocabulary from these books in notes written in his own copy from which he is memorising the hadeeth, so that when he reviews what he has memorised of the Prophet’s Sunnah, he will also be able to read this summarised explanation of the hadeeth, thus attaining two benefits at the same time. 
With regard to studying fiqhi issues that are derived from the hadeeths, that is another matter altogether which he should not seek to learn from the commentaries on hadeeth; rather he should learn that from the books of fiqh which organise fiqhi issues into basic essentials and minor issues, according to one of the four madhhabs. 
Fourthly: 
With regard to sciences of hadeeth terminology (mustalah al-hadeeth), we advise the seeker of knowledge to obtain a copy of the book Tahreer ‘Uloom al-Hadeeth by Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Juday‘ and read it, study it and memorise its contents, because it is a pioneering book in its field which is distinguished by its highlighting the principles of the hadeeth sciences through examination of the different ways of hadeeth critics and through examination of all the principles that are mentioned in the books of biography. This is in addition to other books of mustalah al-hadeeth. 
If the book is too difficult for the student or he is a beginner, he should limit himself to Nuzhat an-Nazr Sharh Tuhfat al-Fikr by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar, or write a summary of the book of Shaykh ‘Abdullah al-Juday‘ and study his summary, so that when he understands it properly, he may move on to study of other books to increase his knowledge, the most important of which are an-Nukat ‘ala Ibn as-Salaah by al-Haafiz Ibn Hajar and Fath al-Mugheeth by al-Haafiz as-Sakhaawi. 
Fifthly: 
It is essential to give sufficient time to reading two other types of books too: 
1.
Books on ‘ilal wa takhreej, which represent the practical application of hadeeth sciences, from which the student may examine many examples of the rulings on and evaluation of hadeeths and isnaads; this will open up to him more areas of research and study. 
2.
Contemporary studies by specialists in the area of hadeeth, such as the books of al-‘Allaamah ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan al-Mu‘allimi (may Allah have mercy on him) and specialist academic essays. We are living in a time – praise be to Allah – when there is a revival of interest in hadeeth sciences the like of which you can hardly find in later periods of the history of Islamic knowledge. Many of these studies include academic debates and important research on essential topics, which the seeker of hadeeth knowledge should not ignore or fail to pay attention to. By reading these contemporary studies he will find that he will increase in knowledge and understanding, and new ideas will come to his mind that require further research and examination, and perhaps he will play a part in achieving that.
 Over and above all that, he has to remind himself to fear Allah, may He be exalted, for this is the purpose of all knowledge, and the one who is distracted by the pursuit of knowledge from acting has gone astray and is doomed. Rather the effect of acquiring knowledge has to be seen in the humility of the student and his good manners and attitude towards people. 
It was narrated that al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 
A man would seek knowledge, and soon that would be seen in his humility, his conduct, and the way he spoke and acted. End quote. 
Az-Zuhd by ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubaarak, no. 79 
Ibn al-Salaah (may Allah have mercy on him) says: 
If a person wants to start seeking knowledge of hadeeth or to learn any of the hadeeth sciences, let him first ensure that his intention is correct and sincere and purify his heart of any worldly aims, and let him beware of the trial of love of leadership. End quote. 
‘Uloom al-Hadeeth, p. 213 
And Allah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.
Firstly:
What is known as the “Introduction to Sahih Muslim” refers to the pages that Imam Muslim wrote at the beginning of his book “As-Sahih” before he started narrating the Hadiths of the book, which (i.e., the introductory pages) amount to about 30 pages in the printed versions.
He did not give it a specific name, but began the content of the introduction without a title, where he said (may Allah have mercy on him):
“In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful, all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, And the [best] outcome is for the righteous, and may Allah send blessings upon Muhammad, the seal of the prophets, and upon all the prophets and messengers.
To proceed: You, may Allah bestow mercy on you by granting you success from your Creator, mentioned that you intended to examine the collection of reports transmitted from the Messenger of Allah(peace and blessings be upon him) concerning the Sunnahs of the religion and its rulings, and what there is of reward and punishment, encouragement and deterrence, and other types of matters with the chains of narration by which they were transmitted, and which the scholars have exchanged among themselves…” End quote from “Introduction to Sahih Muslim” (p. 2).
However, scholars have conventionally referred to these pages as “The Introduction,” and some call it “Khutbat Al-Kitab.”
Secondly:
The subject of this introduction addresses the following points:
First: Clarifying the reason for the book’s composition.
Second: Explaining the subject of the book.
Third: Describing his methodology in the book.
Fourth: Discussing some issues of Hadith sciences that the reader of the book should be aware of.
Thirdly:
Is the introduction by Imam Muslim considered part of his book “As-Sahih”?
In terms of its narration and writing, it is not separate from “As-Sahih” because it has been narrated, copied, and printed as part of his book, and it has not been transmitted separately from it, so it is like any introduction or pologue of a book.
But in terms of its subject matter and content, it is not part of his book “As-Sahih”; rather, it is merely its introduction.
This is understood from the action of Imam Muslim, where he said after concluding the introduction:
“With the help of Allah, we begin, and we seek sufficiency in Him, and our success is only through Allah, Glorious is His Majesty.” End quote from “Sahih Muslim” (1/28).
Then he began to mention the Hadiths of his book.
Scholars have conventionally distinguished between “The Introduction” and “As-Sahih.” When they attribute a Hadith mentioned by Imam Muslim in “The Introduction,” they do not usually say it was narrated by Muslim in his “Sahih,” but rather they say it was narrated in “The Introduction to As-Sahih,” as is evident from the practice of Al-Mizzi in his book “Tuhfat Al-Ashraf,” and other scholars.
This distinction is clearly evident from what Al-Mizzi said in the introduction to his book “Tuhfat Al-Ashraf bi M`arifat Al-Atraf”:
“… To proceed: I have resolved, Allah willing, to compile in this book the common portions of the six books which are the mainstay of the Muslims and upon which most rulings revolve, namely:
Sahih Muhammad ibn Ismail Al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim ibn Al-Hajjaj An-Naysaburi, Sunan Abu Dawud As-Sijistani, Jami` Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abu `Abd Ar-Rahman An-Nasa’i, and Sunan Abu `Abdullah Ibn Majah Al-Qazwini, and what is similar to them, such as: The Introduction to the book of Muslim…” End quote from “Tuhfat Al-Ashraf” (1/3 – 4).
Likewise, they differentiate between the narrators mentioned in the introduction and those whose Hadiths Imam Muslim narrated in the main body of his book “As-Sahih.”
The narrator whose Hadiths Imam Muslim only narrates in the introduction is described as being among the men of Muslim in “The Introduction,” as Al-Mizzi did in his book “Tahdhib Al-Kamal,” where he said in the introduction to his book, defining the symbols of his book:
“The symbol for what Muslim narrated in As-Sahih is: (M), and the symbol for what he narrated in the introduction to his book is: (MQ)” End quote from “Tahdhib Al-Kamal” (1/149).
Those who came after him did something similar in the biographies of the narrators.
Ibn Al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
“… As for your saying: Muslim narrated from Sufyan ibn Husayn in his “Sahih,” it is not as you mentioned, but rather he narrated from him in the introduction to his book. Muslim did not stipulate in it what he stipulated in the book regarding authenticity, so it has its own status, and the rest of his book has another status, and the people of Hadith have no doubt about this.” End quote from “Al-Furusiyya Al-Muhammadiyya” (1/183).
And Allah knows best.