Tag: Q n A

Praise be to Allah.Ibn Sayyaad’s name was Saafi, or ‘Abd-Allaah, ibn (the son of) Sayyaad or Saa’id.
 He was one of the Jews of Madeenah, and it was said that he was one of the Ansaar. He was a child at the time when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) came to Madeenah. It was also said that he became Muslim.
 Ibn Sayyaad was a dajjaal (a liar), and he used to tell fortunes, sometimes what he said came true, and sometimes it did not. He became famous among the people, and it was rumoured that he was the Dajjaal. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to find out about him, so he used to go to him secretly, without revealing his identity to him, hoping to hear something from him. He also asked him some questions directly, to find out what he really was. He outlived the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), then he was lost on the day of al-Harrah. [comment deleted]
The story of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Ibn Sayyaad
 ‘Abdaan told us, ‘Abd-Allaah informed us, from Yoonus from al-Zuhri, who said, Saalim ibn ‘Abd-Allaah informed me that Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) informed him that ‘Umar set out with the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to look for Ibn Sayyaad, and they found him playing with some boys near the battlement of Banu Maghaalah. At that time Ibn Sayyaad was on the threshhold of adolescence. He did not notice anything until the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) struck him on the back with his hand. Then he said to Ibn Sayyaad, “Do you bear witness that I am the Messenger of Allaah?” Ibn Sayyaad looked at him and said, “I bear witness that you are the Messenger of the unlettered.” Ibn Sayyaad said to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), “Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allaah?” He ignored that and said, “I believe in Allaah and His Messengers.” Then he asked him, “What do you see?” Ibn Sayyaad said, “(Sometimes) a truthful one comes to me and (sometimes) a liar comes.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “You have been confounded.” Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “I am concealing something from you.” Ibn Sayyaad said, “It is al-dukh.” [Referring to Soorat al-Dukhaan]. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said to him, “Be off with you! You will never go beyond your rank.” ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, “Permit me to strike his neck (kill him), O Messenger of Allaah.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “If he is he (the Dajjaal), then you will not be able to overpower him, and if he is not (the Dajjaal), then your killing him will not do any good.”Saalim said, I heard Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) say: After that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and Ubayy ibn Ka’b set off to go to some date-palm trees where Ibn Sayyaad was. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) concealed himself in order to hear something from Ibn Sayyaad before Ibn Sayyaad saw him. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw him lying on his bed with a blanket around him from which was coming a murmuring sound. The mother of Ibn Sayyaad saw the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) hiding behind the trunk of the palm-tree and said, “O Saaf!” – which was his name – “Here is Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)!” Then Ibn Sayyaad jumped up and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, “If she had left him alone, things would have been made clear.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1355).
“Battlement” refers to a structure like a fortress.
Maghaalah was a tribe of the Ansaar.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) wanted to talk to Ibn Sayyaad without him realizing who he was.
“from which was coming a murmuring sound” means, a low voice, or moving the lips as in speech, or speaking in an indistinct manner.
See Fath al-Baari for the commentary on the above hadeeth in Kitaab al-Janaa’iz of Saheeh al-Bukhaari.
 ·Was Ibn Sayyaad the great Dajjaal?
 The hadeeth quoted above – which describes some of the features of Ibn Saayaad and how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) examined him – indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not pass judgement on the matter of Ibn Sayyaad, because it was not revealed to him (by Wahy) whether he was the Dajjaal or not.
 Many of the Sahaabah thought that Ibn Sayyaad was the Dajjaal. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allaah be pleased with him) swore that he was the Dajjaal in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and the Sahaabah, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not disapprove of that. Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir said, “I saw Jaabir ibn ‘Abd-Allaah swear by Allaah that Ibn al-Saa’id was the Dajjaal. I said, ‘Do you swear by Allaah?’ He said, ‘I heard ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab swear to that effect in the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not disapprove of that.’” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 6808).
Ibn ‘Umar told a strange story about Ibn Sayyaad which was narrated in Saheeh Muslim from Naafi’, who said: Ibn ‘Umar met Ibn Sayyaad on one of the paths of Madeenah, and said to him something which made him so angry that he swelled up and filled the road. Ibn ‘Umar went to Hafsah and told her about this. She said, “May Allaah have mercy upon you! Why did you upset Ibn Sayyaad? Don’t you know that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said that he (the Dajjaal) will emerge when something makes him very angry?” (Saheeh Muslim, 2932)
In spite of that, when Ibn Sayyaad grew up, hetried to defend himself and said that he was not the Dajjaal; he was apparently upset by this accusation, and he quoted as evidence the fact that the attributes of the Dajjaal described by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not apply to him.
 Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said: “We went out for Hajj or ‘Umrah, and Ibn Saa’id was with us. We stopped at a place to camp, and the people separated and I was left with him (Ibn Saa’id). I felt very nervous and afraid of him, because of what had been said about him. He brought his luggage and put it with mine. I said, ‘It is very hot – why don’t you put your things under that tree?’ So he did that. Then some sheep appeared before us, and he went and brought a large vessel (of milk) and said, ‘Drink, O Abu Sa’eed.’ I said, ‘It is too hot, and the milk is hot.’ In fact (the only thing wrong was) that I did not want to drink from his hand, or take anything from his hand. He said, ‘Abu Sa’eed, I have been thinking that I should take a rope and suspend it from a tree, and hang myself, because of what people are saying about me. O Abu Sa’eed, does anyone know more about hadeeth than you Ansaar? Are you not one of the most knowledgeable of people about the hadeeth of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? Didn’t the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say that the Dajjaal is a kaafir, and I am a Muslim? Didn’t the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say that he would be sterile, with no children, and I have left my child behind in Madeenah? Didn’t the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say that he will never enter Madeenah or Makkah, but I have left Madeenah and am headed for Makkah?’ … I was about to accept his excuses, then he said, ‘But, by Allaah, I know who the Dajjaal is, where he was born and where he is now.’ I said to him, ‘May you perish for the rest of the day!’” (Narrated by Muslim, no. 5211).
 According to another report, Ibn Sayyaad said: “By Allaah, I know where he is now and I know his father and mother.” It was said to him, “Would you not be happy to be that man?” He said, “If it were offered to me, I would not refuse.” (Narrated by Muslim, 521)
 The scholars were confused by the reports about Ibn Sayyaad. Some scholars said that he was the Dajjaal, and others said that he was not. Both groups had evidence (daleel) for what they said, and their views conflicted a great deal. Ibn Hajar tried to reconcile the two views by saying: the best way in which we may reconcile what is said in the hadeeth of Tameem al-Daari and the view that Ibn Sayyaad was the Dajjaal is to say that the Dajjaal is the exact same person whom Tameem al-Daari saw chained up, and that Ibn Sayyaad was a shaytaan (a devil) who appeared in the image of the Dajjaal at that time, until he went to Isfahaan, where he hid with his qareen, until the appointed time comes when Allaah will decree that he should emerge. Because the matter is so confusing, al-Bukhaari, instead of attempting a reconciliation, narrated the hadeeth of Jaabir from ‘Umar, believing it to be more saheeh, and did not narrate the hadeeth of Faatimah bint Qays about the story of Tameem. (Fath al-Baari, 13/328)
It was said that Ibn Sayyaad was one of the dajjaals or liars, but he was not the greater Dajjaal. And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.Islam began with the beginning of the Prophet’s mission, when Jibraa’eel (the Archangel Gabriel) brought down the Revelation from Allah in Makkah (Mecca) in the Arabian Peninsula. This occurred on a Monday in the month of Ramadaan, in the fortieth year of the Prophet Muhammad’s (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) life, thirteen years before his Hijrah (migration) to Madeenah (which marks the beginning of the Islamic or Hijri calendar). According to the Gregorian calendar, the beginning of the Prophetic mission happened around 608 or 609 CE. Salmaan al-Farsi, may Allah be pleased with him, one of the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) reported that between Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and Jesus (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), there were six hundred years.
And Allah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.Islam was spread by proof and evidence, in the case of those who listened to the message and responded to it. And it was spread by strength and the sword in the case of those who stubbornly resisted, until they had no choice and had to submit to the new reality.
And Allah is the source of strength. May Allah bless our Prophet Muhammad and his family and companions, and grant them peace.

Praise be to Allah.His full name was Abu’l-Fath, ‘Umar ibn Ibraaheem al-Khayyaami
al-Naysapoori. He was a poet and philosopher from among the people of Naysapoor, where he
was born and died.
He was born in 408 AH, in the town of Naysapoor, where he died and was
buried in 517 AH, or it was said, 515 AH.
He was a scholar who was well versed in mathematics, astronomy,
language, fiqh and history.
Because of his brilliance as an astronomer, he was appointed as director
of the observatory in Baghdaad, and because of his interest in philosophy, his name is
associated with that of Ibn Seenaa (Avicenna), who wrote articles filled with kufr which
put him beyond the pale of Islam.
He is also famous for his poetry, the best known of which is al-Rubaa’iyaat,
which is filled with ideas of kufr, promiscuity and heresy. No wonder the West took such
an interest in publishing and distributing this book! It has been translated into many
languages, such as English, French, Russian, German, etc. The British sought to spread the
ideas of immorality and promiscuity advocated by al-Khayyaam in al-Rubaa’iyaat,
so they spread it in the countries which they colonized, such as India and Iran, and
attributed it to one of the Muslims, rather one of the greatest of them – or so they
claimed.
One of the verses about wine – in al-Rubaa’iyaat –
says:
Drink wine, for it is the relaxation of the soul
A cure for the soul and heart, and entertainment.
If you are overwhelmed with stress and grief,
Save yourself through it, for it is like the ship of Nooh.
Denying the idea of resurrection after death, he said:
Get up before death seizes you
And take the rose-coloured (liquid) [i.e., wine] to expel darkness
O fool, you are not a piece of gold
To be buried and later brought forth
His words of promiscuity and immorality include the following:
As much as you can, follow the people of immorality
Destroy the structure of fasting and prayer
Receive the best words from al-Khayyaam
Drink, sing and pursue the good things
His mocking of the sharee’ah, his insolence towards his Lord and
his attitude towards repentance may be seen in the following words:
Every day I have the intention to repent
If night falls and I feel that I want to repent from drinking wine
Then the season of flowers comes and then,
O Lord, I repent from my intention to repent
Some researchers, such as al-Zarkali, said that later he repented and
performed Hajj. Others, such as ‘Abd al-Haqq Faadil, expressed doubts about the
attribution of al-Rubaa’iyaat to him.
Whatever the case, the Rubaa’iyaat do not indicate that he
repented, because they contain clear statements of kufr, wilful neglect of virtuous
attributes and rejection of the idea of repenting and turning to Allaah. Indeed, they
contain no indication that their author believed in Allaah and the Last Day.
The doubts about whether he wrote these words are outweighed by number
of people who attributed them to him. Allaah knows best what is really the case.
For more details on his life, see al-A’laam by al-Zarkali,
5/38; Mu’jam al-Mu’aalifeen by ‘Umar Ridaa Kahhaalah, 2/549; ‘Umar
al-Khayyaam bayna al-Kufr wa’l-Eemaan, by Ihsaan Haqqi; Thawrat al-Khayyaam
by ‘Abd al-Haqq Faadil.
May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

Praise be to Allah.Everything is standing in its position by the permission of Allaah,
whether it be the heavens and all that is in them or the earth and all that is on it
– even the rock which you asked about. Allaah says (interpretation of the meanings):
“Verily, Allaah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move
away from their places, and if they were to move away from their places, there is not one
that could grasp them after Him…” [Faatir 35:41]
“And among His Signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His
Command…” [al-Room 30:25]
The Rock in Bayt al-Maqdis is not suspended in space with air around it
on all sides; it is attached to the side of the mountain of which it is a part and by
which it is supported; both it and the mountain stand in their positions because of the
well-known physical laws governing the universe; in this regard it is like everything else
that exists. We do not deny that Allaah is Able to hold part of His creation in space; all
of creation is standing in space by the power of Allaah, as stated above. Allaah raised
the mountain above the people of Moosa when they refused to follow the laws that Moosa
brought them. It was held up by the power of Allaah. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
“And (remember) when We took your Covenant and We raised above
you the Mount (saying): ‘Hold fast to that which We have given you, and remember that
which is therein so that you may become al-muttaqoon (the pious).” [al-Baqarah 2:63]
“And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had
been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We said): ‘Hold
firmly to what We have given you, and remember that which is therein, so that you may fear
Allaah and obey Him.” [al-A’raaf 7:171]
But our point here is to explain what is in fact the case: the rock in
Jerusalem is not suspended in space, completely separate from the mountain; it is attached
to it and is supported by it. And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
commanded that the Jews be expelled from the Arabian Peninsula, and said
that no two religions should co-exist in the Arabian Peninsula. This is a
shar’i ruling. It is not permissible for any mushrik to remain there. With
regard to the presence of the Jews in Madeenah, Khaybar, etc., this was
before the command to expel them, as is well known. The command to expel
them came during the final illness of the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him), then ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) expelled
them after that.

Praise be to Allah.Al-Hallaaj was al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj, who was known as Abu Mugheeth, or Abu ‘Abd-Allaah. He grew up in Waasit, or it was said in Tastar, and he was connected with a group of Sufis including Sahl al-Tastari, al-Junayd, Abu’l-Hasan al-Noori and others. 
He traveled to many places, including Makkah and Khurasaan, and India where he learned sihr (magic, witchcraft). He finally settled in Baghdaad, where he was killed. 
He learned magic in India, and he was a trickster and cheat. He deceived many ignorant people thereby, and they were attracted by him, until they thought that he was one of the greatest awliya’ (close friends or “saints”) of Allaah. 
He is liked by most of the Orientalists, and they think that he was killed wrongfully because, as we shall see below, his beliefs were close to Christian beliefs and he preached a similar message. 
He was executed in Baghdad in 309 AH, because it was proven by his own confession and otherwise that he was a kaafir and a heretic. 
The scholars of his time were agreed that he was to be executed because of the words of kufr and heresy that were narrated from him. 
The following are some of the things that he said: 
1-He claimed to be a prophet, then he went further and said that he was God. He used to say, “I am Allaah,” and he commanded his daughter-in-law to prostrate to him. She said, “Should I prostrate to someone other than Allaah?” He said, “There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.”
2-He believed in incarnation and union with the Divine, i.e., that Allaah was incarnated in him, and that he and Allaah had become one and the same – exalted be Allaah far above that.
This is what made him acceptable to the Christian Orientalists, because he shared their belief in incarnation, for they believe that God was incarnated in Jesus (‘Eesa, peace be upon him). Hence al-Hallaaj spoke of divine nature and human nature as the Christians do. 
Some of the lines of verse that he composed said: 
“Glory be to the one Whose human form manifested the secret of His divinity
Then He emerged among His creation in the form of one who eats and drinks.” 
When Ibn Haneef heard these lines, he said, “May the curse of Allaah be upon the one who said this.” It was said to him, “This is the poetry of al-Hallaaj.” He said, “If this is what he believes, then he is a kaafir.” 
3-He heard someone reciting a verse from the Qur’aan, and he said, “I am able to compose something like that.”
4-Another of his lines of poetry says:
“People formed different beliefs about God, and I believe in everything that they believed.” 
These words imply that he approved of and believed in all forms of kufr that the misguided sects of humanity believe in, but it is a contradictory notion that no sound mind can accept. How can anyone believe in Tawheed and shirk at the same time? 
5-He said things which denied the pillars and basic principles of Islam, namely prayer, zakaah, fasting and Hajj.
6-He used to say that the souls of the Prophets had been reincarnated in the bodies of his companions and students. So he would say to one of them, “You are Nooh”; and to another, “You are Moosa”; and to another, “You are Muhammad.”
7-When he was taken out to be executed, he said to his companions, “Do not worry about this, for I will return to you after thirty days,” He was executed and he never came back.
Because of these sayings and others, the scholars were agreed that he was a kaafir and a heretic, and for this reason he was executed in Baghdad in 309 AH. Similarly, most of the Sufis denounced him and denied that he was one of them. Among those who denounced him was al-Junayd, and he was not mentioned by Abu’l-Qaasim al-Qushayri in his book in which he mentioned many of the Sufi shaykhs. 
The one who strove to have him executed and who held a council in which he ruled that he deserved to be executed was al-Qaadi Abu ‘Umar Muhammad ibn Yoosuf al-Maaliki (may Allaah have mercy on him). Ibn Katheer praised him for that and said, “One of his greatest and most correct judgements was his ruling that al-Husayn ibn Mansoor al-Hallaaj was to be executed.” (al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, 11/172) 
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: “Whoever believes what al-Hallaaj believed in and agrees with the ideas for which al-Hallaaj was executed, is a kaafir and an apostate, according to the consensus of the Muslims. For the Muslims executed him because of his belief in incarnation, union with the Divine and other heretical beliefs, such as his saying, ‘I am Allaah,’ and, ‘There is a god in the heavens and a god on earth.’ … Al-Hallaaj performed extraordinary feats and various kinds of magic, and there are books of magic which are attributed to him. In conclusion, there is no dispute among the ummah that whoever believes that Allaah can be incarnated in a human being and be as one with him, or that a human being can be a god, is a kaafir whose blood it is permissible to shed. On this basis al-Hallaaj was executed.”
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 2/480) 
He also said: “We do not know of anyone among the imams of the Muslims who spoke well of al-Hallaaj, neither among the scholars nor among the shaykhs. But some of the people did not comment on him because they did not know about him.”
(Majmoo’ al-Fataawa, 2/483) 
For more information, see Taareekh Baghdaad by al-Khateeb al-Baghdaadi, 8/112-141; al-Muntazam by Ibn al-Jawzi, 13/201-206; Siyar A’laam al-Nubalaa’ by al-Shihaabi, 14/313-354; al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah by Ibn Katheer, 11/132-144 
And Allaah is the Guide to the Straight Path.

Praise be to Allah.
The highest number of wives of Sulaymaan (peace be upon him)
that is mentioned in the saheeh ahaadeeth is one hundred, as was narrated by
al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh (5242) from Abu Hurayrah who said:
“Sulaymaan ibn Dawood (peace be upon them both) said: ‘Tonight I will go
around to one hundred women, each of whom will give birth to a boy who will
fight for the sake of Allaah.’ The angel said to him, ‘Say in sha Allaah (if
Allaah wills).’ But he did not say it, as he forgot. He went around to them
but none of them gave birth, apart from one woman who gave birth to half a
child. The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
‘If he had said in sha Allaah, he would not have broken his oath and he
would have had more hope of fulfilling his wish.’” (Narrated by Muslim,
1654). According to another report narrated by Muslim, he said ninety women.
According to a mu’allaq report narrated by al-Bukhaari in his Saheeh,
in the Chapter on seeking a son for jihad (Man talaba al-walad
li’l-Jihaad), he said ninety-nine women. 

Perhaps the one who said one hundred was rounding up the figure, and the one
who said ninety was rounding it down, as was suggested by al-Haafiz ibn
Hajar in his commentary on this hadeeth. 

But al-Haafiz ibn Hajar narrated in his story of Sulaymaan
(peace be upon him) in al-Bidaayah wa’l-Nihaayah, vol. 2, from many
of the salaf, that the number of Sulaymaan’s wives was one thousand.
Al-Haafiz ibn Hajar said likewise in Fath al-Baari, in his commentary
on hadeeth no. 3424. 

This number was narrated from the Children of Israel [i.e., the Jews], so we
neither believe it nor disbelieve it. There is nothing in the ahaadeeth
quoted above to either prove or disprove that. 

With regard to the reason for that, Allaah gives to those
whom He wills among His slaves whatever He wills of worldly power and
enjoyment. This is according to His great wisdom and grace. He is not to be
questioned about what He does, may He be glorified and praised. He gave to
Sulaymaan exclusively great power which He did not give to anyone after him.
So it is not far-fetched to suggest that He also gave him this great
strength which enabled him to marry this number of women. It should not
cross the mind of any Muslim that this matter implies any form of
belittlement towards this Prophet, rather it is a reflection of his perfect
power, virtue and manhood, and thus he hoped that Allaah would bless him, in
a single night, with one hundred sons, all of whom would go out as knights,
fighting for the sake of Allaah. But first and last we must believe that
Allaah creates whatever He wills and chooses, and none can overturn His
ruling or ward off His decree.

 And Allaah knows best.

Praise be to Allah.
Shaykh al-Shanqeeti (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: 

“(It was said to his son): ‘O Yahyaa
(John)! Hold fast the Scripture [the Tawraat (Torah)]’”

[Maryam 19:12 – interpretation of the meaning]

This means, ‘Hold fast the Tawraat’, i.e., by taking
it seriously and striving. That is to done by fist understanding the
texts correctly, then acting upon them in all aspects, believing in
its tenets, regarding as permissible that which it permitted and regarding
as forbidden that which it forbade, adhering to its etiquette, learning
lessons from its stories, and adhering to it in all other ways. Most
of the mufassireen say that what is meant here by al-kitaab (the
Scripture) is the Tawraat (Torah). 

“And We gave him wisdom while yet a child”

[Maryam 19:12 – interpretation of the meaning]

The scholars have a number of opinions as to what is
meant by wisdom, all of which are close in meaning and refer to one
thing, which is that Allaah gave him understanding of the Scripture,
so that he understood it and acted upon it whilst he was still a child. 

“And (made him) sympathetic to men”

[Maryam 19:13 – interpretation of the meaning]

This is mentioned in conjunction with wisdom, i.e., We
gave him sympathy (or compassion) from Us. Hanaan (sympathy,
compassion) means the mercy, compassion and empathy that was instilled
in him. The word hanaan is widely used among the Arabs to refer
to mercy and compassion, for example, they say, “Hanaanak wa hanaaneeka
yaa Rabb”, meaning, I ask for Your mercy O Lord. 

“and pure from sins”

[Maryam 19:13 – interpretation of the meaning]

This is mentioned in conjunction with the above, and
means, ‘We gave him purity’ i.e., he was free from sin and disobedience
because he obeyed Allaah and drew close to Him by means of that which
pleases Him. 

“and he was righteous”

[Maryam 19:13 – interpretation of the meaning]

This means, he obeyed the commands of his Lord and avoided
that which He forbade. So he never committed any sin and was never blamed
for any such action. 

“And dutiful towards his parents”

[Maryam 19:14 – interpretation of the meaning]

The word barr (dutiful) refers to one who does
acts of kindness, i.e., We made him honour his parents a great deal,
i.e., he was very kind towards them and treated them in a gentle manner. 

“and he was neither arrogant nor disobedient”

[Maryam 19:14 – interpretation of the meaning]

This means that he was not too arrogant to obey Allaah
or to obey his parents. Rather he was obedient towards Allaah and humble
towards his parents. This is the view of Ibn Jareer. Jabbaar
(arrogant) means one who is very oppressive towards people and mistreats
them. Everyone who is arrogant towards people and does them wrong is
described as jabbaar. 

“And Salaam (peace) be on him the day he was born,
and the day he dies, and the day he will be raised up to life (again)!”

[Maryam 19:15 – interpretation of the meaning]

Ibn Jareer said: “Salaam (peace) be upon him means”,
may he be safe and secure. The apparent meaning is that “And Salaam
(peace) be on him the day he was born” is a greeting from Allaah
to Yahyaa, and the meaning is safety and security. 

In Soorat Aal ‘Imraan Allaah says (interpretation of
the meaning): 

“… noble, keeping away from sexual relations with
women, a Prophet, from among the righteous”[Aal ‘Imraan 3:39]

The word sayyid (translated here as “noble”)
means one who is obeyed and followed by a large number of people. 

The word husoor (translated here as “keeping
away from sexual relations with women”) means that he kept himself
away from women even though he was able to have relations with them,
as an act of devotion to Allaah. That was permissible according to his
law, but the Sunnah of the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is to marry, not to remain
celibate… 

In the phrase “a Prophet, from among the righteous”,
the word Nabi (Prophet) is derived from the word naba’, meaning
important news, because the Revelation is important news from Allaah.
The righteous are those whose belief, actions, words and intentions
are correct. Righteousness is the opposite of immorality or corruption.
Allaah described Yahyaa as righteous and He described the Prophets in
a similar manner in Soorat al-An’aam, where He says (interpretation
of the meaning): 

“And Zakariyya (Zachariya), and Yahya (John) and ‘Eesa
(Jesus) and Ilyaas (Elias), each one of them was of the righteous”

[al-An’aam 6:85]

Praise be to Allah.
Shaykh
al-Shanqeeti said, commenting on the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):

“Do
you think that the people of the Cave and the Inscription (the news
or the names of the people of the Cave) were a wonder among Our Signs?”
[al-Kahf 18:9]

The apparent meaning is that the People of the Cave and
of the Inscription were all one group, mentioned in conjunction with
two things. This is in contrast to those who say that the people of
the Cave were one group and the people of the Inscription were another
group. Allaah told this story to His Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them) in this soorah, and He
did not mention anything about the people of the Inscription. This is
unlike those who claim that the people of the Cave were three persons
behind whom the rock fell and blocked the entrance of the cave in which
they were, so they prayed to Allaah by virtue of their righteous deeds;
they were one who honoured his parents, one who was chaste, and one
who was a hired labourer. Their story is well known and is proven in
al-Saheeh, but interpreting this aayah as meaning that these
were the people referred to therein is far-fetched as you can see. It
should be noted there is nothing about the story of the people of the
cave, their names and which part of the earth they were in that has
been narrated in any sound report from the Prophet

(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), in addition to what is
mentioned in the Qur’aan. The Mufassireen quoted many of those details
from the Israa’eeliyyaat (reports from Jewish sources) which we will
not quote here because they cannot be relied upon.