Example of
Abu Jamrah's Explanation of the Prophetic Sayings
by
Abu Muhammad, Abdullah son of
Abi Jamrah of Andalusia
(died 699 Hijra)
Abridged and rendered from
Arabic
by
Ahmad Ibn ad-Darwish
Khadeijah A. Darwish
Revised 7-6-2010
Preface
BLESSINGS
OF THE PROPHETIC EXPLANATION
"O
our Lord, give us mercy from You and gift us with righteousness in our
affairs"
Abi Jamrah, also known as Abi Jabrah reported:
"Ibn Atta'Allah As- Sakandari saw the Master of the Messengers in vision
who asked him, "Did you visit the sultan of the east and the west?"
Ibn Atta'Allah asked, "My master who is the sultan of the east and the
west?" He replied Abdullah ibn Abi Jabrah, when his sight falls upon a
person that person's shortcomings are repaired." Vision No. 70 from
"Jamrah's Beautiful Visions of the Prophet" praise and peace be upon
him.
"O our Lord, give us
mercy from You
and gift us with righteousness in our
affairs"
An
apt description of this book is "Joy of the Souls and their Sweetening
with the Knowledge of its Right and the Obligation over it."
The
author Shaykh Abdullah, Jamrah's son said:
Praise
be to Allah who has severed from our hearts the dark barrier of ignorance,
through the hand of light, coupled with the blessings, miracles and the impact
of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, from the tribe of Koraysh, a
descendant of Hashim.
Through
the indication of language, the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, revealed
to us many matters in which lie gems and rare treasures, that subsequently
reveal the beauty of the wisdom of their Creator as well as the obligation upon
creation to worship Him.
From
the great generosity and gifts of Allah transmitted via true transmission,
Allah enables us to see phases of His Unseen as gives us many a glimpse of what
He has prepared for those who adhere to the obligation to worship Him alone.
Through these transmissions we are also made aware of the warning and anger of
Allah that befall those who believed and then abandoned belief and learn of His
revenge, and punishment upon them.
Some
of these Revelationary phases are from the purity of indication, whereas others
are apparent and bear advance news of good tidings. When a listener hears them
they bear fruit as one good tiding is found to be followed by another, or part
of it confirms the other. In all events, joy is instilled not only in the
beginning but repeatedly, over and over again. Souls become joyful due to the
richness of its bounty of its news found in both text and poetry, all of which
certify the promise of Allah who does not renege on His promise, as He, the
Mighty, the Glorified speaks of His Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, in
His wise Revelation, saying, "We have not sent you except as a mercy to all the worlds." 21:107
Allah
praised Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, and his Companions whom
he chose for companionship and to share his victory. Allah made them the
principal branches for good and its causes. Of them he said, and he is the best
one to say, "And they had more rights to it and its people." Such
praise is more than the sun in light and more than musk in perfume, and more
than the moon in all its glory and beauty as long as eyes are occupied with
beauty, and as long as hearts incline to good, and give peace, guide, uplift
and raise higher."
The
forthcoming is an overview of the program of this book, which is called,
"The Gathering of the End in the Beginning of the Good and its Aim".
The aim of this book is to elucidate and to extract a greater benefit from the
sayings of our beloved Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, thereby spreading
its splendor. I have made it my practice to clarify the sayings by leading one
good to follow another so that it is followed by its principal which bears its
fruit with its marvels, because to complete the benefit of bearing fruit is the
ultimate picking of the fruit, and from its picking the picker knows its
benefit - in fact he will then know all the benefits.
Imam
Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, the compiler of the principal collection
of Prophetic quotations compiled his work in such a manner that each chapter
contains an indication for one hadith. This same hadith maybe repeated by
Bukhari several times in different chapters listing each relevant part of the
hadith since every hadith bears many meanings. My approach is the reversal of
the arrangement by encompassing all the meanings of one hadith under one unique
chapter - and what a chapter - in which the key is the hadith itself is
followed by the breakdown of the extracted meaning from the hadith. This
enabled me to mine the blessing of the hadith by following its phrasing, which
is both pure and sweet, and remember that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon
him, neither increased a letter nor reduced a letter except for a beneficial
meaning because he "does not speak out of desire" 53:2.
It
is because of this that all the learned scholars maintain that the Prophetic
sayings should be diligently transmitted in the same way as the Holy Koran
(with their devised scientific archiving methodology) because all are
from Allah either in Revelation by the Arch Angel Gabriel, which is called the
Koran, or inspired revelation which are the quotations of the Prophet, praise
and peace be upon him, also known as prophetic ways and behavior (sunnah), and
thirdly the Divine Quotations that speak of Allah outside the verses of the
Koran. This is because Allah, the
Mighty, the Glorified made the way of Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon
him, a verdict to be implemented by saying "In order that you judge
between people and with what Allah made you see"
There
are two schools of thought relating to the transmission of these categories of
revelation, one of which is that all should be transmitted verbatim. The other
school permit the transmission of the Prophetic quotations via its meaning
rather than strictly verbatim providing the transmitter has knowledge of its
meaning and comprehends its reality, and this is the more apparent of the two
opinions, the approach of which is evident amongst the transmission of the
Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, and the leading religious scholars
and those who follow them up to the Day of Recompense.
As
for the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, if a prophetic statement happened
to reach one of them and it was not reported verbatim, and at the same time it
did not affect the meaning, the Companions immediately used words such as
"I think it is such and such, or "I assume it was such and such"
for two reasons. The first reason is to be true and honest in their
transmission, the second was to protect the blessing of that special
pronouncing of the Prophet's idiom, praise and peace be upon him, least they
loose its blessings. An example of such is that reported by Abdullah, Omar's
son, may Allah be pleased with both of them. One day as Abdullah rode his camel
on Pilgrimage he was observed making his camel circle in a certain place, when
he was asked why he had done so he replied, "I do not know, I saw the
Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, doing it so I do it because he did
it." From this we learn that the Companions recognized the fact that all
of Prophet Muhammad's idioms and movements contain blessings and light, praise
and peace be upon him, and why not! Allah, the Mighty, the Glorified strongly
encourages and draws our attention in His Book saying, "Say (Prophet Muhammad), 'If you love Allah,
follow me and Allah will love you,'" 3:31 and this is an absolute order to follow the
articulation of the reality of fellowship in what is rendered by action or
statement and so forth, no matter whether it is a major or minor matter, and
this imprint of fellowship is observed in many of the deeds of the Companions,
and whosoever seeks further knowledge of their fellowship will have no trouble
finding it.
As
for the leading religious imams, may Allah be pleased with them, they held the
hadiths in tremendous respect and would treat them in the same way as they
treated the Koran, and from them, their idioms and letters they derived their
ruling articles of law – and what a ruling – upon which they established
principles for their schools of jurisprudence.
An
example of the tremendous respect these knowledgeable scholars had for the
hadiths, is found in an event which took place during the second generation,
when Imam Malik, the Imam of Medina, may Allah have mercy on him, was visited
by a caliph. Imam Malik did not come out immediately to greet him, and when he
came the caliph commented, "O Malik, do you continue to insult princes?"
Imam Malik replied, "By Allah I do not, I heard you from inside and
understood that you came only to hear a Prophetic saying. I was in a state of
minor impurity at that time, and I hate to relate a Prophetic saying whilst in
such a state, so I made ablution and then came out."
There
were other occasions when Imam Malik was asked by jurists to teach whereupon he
would inquire the nature of the subject to be taught. If the reply was that of
jurisprudence he would teach in whatever status he happened to be in, however,
if the request was to teach a Prophetic saying, he would purify and perfume
himself, wear his best clothes and on occasions stand over a vessel of
smoldering musk and wooden incense, and only then would he transmit the hadith.
There are many such stories concerning Imam Malik's manners and the great
respect he held the hadith, so much so that he became known as the "Prince
of Prophetic Quotations."
As
for the extraction of a legal ruling from a Prophetic quotation and reaping its
benefit, we return again to the example of Imam Malik who extracted three
rulings from the Prophet's statement, "When the obligation is triggered
and the ways have been directed, there is no first refusal."
- First refusal is only
between partners, not neighbors. (This is opposite to other jurists who
permit it for a neighbor. For example when a person seeks to have the
first right to buy his neighbor's house that is for sale).
- That the first refusal
does not exist except in something that can be separated. Therefore the inseparable
will not be subject to first refusal, and the proof of this is in the
Prophetic saying, "If the obligation is triggered."
3. The first
refusal is only in land and its like, and the proof for this is, " When the ways are directed" because
ways are only in land.
Needless
to say, there are many other examples and those wishing to discover more will
find them easy to research.
My
soul has always been eager for that which I mentioned earlier and to classify
the good followed by more good in the ways and statements of the Prophet,
praise and peace be upon him. However, it was somewhat hesitant until I was
requested to write a book in which I exposed the depth of the hadiths with
their meanings or thoughts which were prompted by my soul. Having received such
encouragement I responded hoping that Allah would bless and benefit both me and
him, and whosoever would read and incline to it thereafter.
This
book contains a myriad of rare jewels relating to the obligation of the
religion and Prophetic way. It contains its recommendations, good manners,
rules, indications to the reality in its true way and how to harmoniously
combine spirituality with the legal code, and to clarify the path of safety
that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, indicated and also the
indication to its opposite and warning. To support the validity of the
understanding of my research, I have used verses of the Koran and other
suitable supportive hadith that strengthen some by actual phrases and others by
the meaning.
Occasionally,
I follow the hadith with a story to promote its better understanding and to
clarify its meaning. Other times I mention insulting oneself due to its
neglect, hoping that it will stop its error. Also included are examples of the
refined manners and ways of the Companions which mirror their elite
understanding of the ways and sayings of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon
him, as they were not only aware but
implemented the knowledge attained into their way of life because of their
understanding of the fine phrasing of the hadith. Also, I draw your attention
to the caution paid by the Companions to their transmission together with their
beautiful discussion, through which is learned what is to be derived with
regard to the manners of religion when a statement of the Prophet, praise and
peace be upon him, alights upon an element, because none should be
neglected. One must always remember that
the Companions of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, were a selected
and close group who were raised to be the best.
Dear
reader, the immense value of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them,
should not be taken for granted or overlooked. The Companions of the Prophet,
praise and peace be upon him, surpassed the companions of all previous prophets
in every aspect, because Allah selected them to be the Companions of His Best
Beloved, who, as we know has a rank far superior and more elite than that of
all other prophets and it was they who shared his victory.
Allah
made the Companions of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, to be the
principal branches for the good and its causes. The truthfulness, honesty,
sound ethics, amongst many other fine qualities, has been well established and
one must never forget it was they who were in the presence of the Prophet,
praise and peace be upon him, who heard, understood, received and transmitted
first hand, the Koran and the sayings of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon
him. They were blessed with excellent memories, and received the supplication
of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him. The love of this world was
secondary to their great love of the Hereafter, they were attentive to not only
the words of the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, but his actions, so
much so that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, was cautious to display
his own supplementary good actions least the Companions diligently followed
them and thereafter the action became an obligation.
The
Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, clarified matters which the Companions
understood, and practiced in a perfect way. They protected, audited,
transmitted in all truth so there can be no doubt that they have a great favor
upon us. It is because of them that our rope has been connected to the rope of
our Master Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him, and the rope of our Lord, so
for them is the upper hand in truth and surpassing, may Allah reward them with
the best reward He gifts to a good doer! So dear reader, how can one neglect
their phrasing, and you must be aware that I did not mention even one tenth of
what is due to them from us.
If
the ungrateful person turns against the Companions and disbelieved a favor
Allah gifted to the Companions, it will be considered to be ignorance on the
part of the ingrate and that he is unlucky not to benefit on account of his
poor understanding coupled to the weakness of his faith, because if any
shortcoming could have reached the Companions this religion would not have a
leg to stand on because it is they who are, after the Prophet, praise and peace
be upon him, the source of transmission. Should the reputation of the
Companion's be unfairly pierced, then the Prophetic quotations and verses of
the Koran would be subjected to the feared status in which humanity would fall
into error, because after the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him,
there is no Revelation and indeed, Allah, the Glorified has said in His Book
"I warn you and whosoever (the Revelation) reaches."
The
impeccable reputation and distinction of the trusted deliverer is a condition
in the authentic delivery. Also the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him,
said, "If you hold tight to the Book of Allah, and my descendants, the
family of my house" and it is via them that we reach the pure water and
the tasty drink, because the pure source and reservoir is a condition for pure
drinking. And what puzzled some people regarding some traditions is only due to
the fact that they did not follow the Companions, similarly, due to their
ignorance of the elite ways such people were unable even understand the puzzle
itself. The Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, said, "My Companions
are like stars. If any of you follow their example, you are guided" and
there is no star but that he has a light and radiance. May Allah make us to be
among those who love them and follow their ways.
Having
said the above, I do not judge my soul to be innocent of stumbling into error,
however, I made my guide and example in this situation the statement of the
Imam Abdullah, Abbas' son, may Allah be pleased with both of them, when he was
asked about the marriage via power of attorney – if the husband dies before
consummation and before he paid her the obligation. A month passed and Abbas'
son had not answered, so the inquirers went to him and said, "O Companion
of the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be upon him, there is none other
than you to answer us in this matter." He replied, "Then if you
insist I will do my best. If I say the truth it is by the Favor of Allah and
His Mercy, but if I determine wrong it is from me and from satan."
I
called this book the "Joy of the Souls and its Sweetening with the
Knowledge of its Right and the Obligation over it." This book is the
explanation of my abridgement of Bukhari's reference of Prophetic sayings which
I called "The Rejoicing of Souls and its Sweetening through knowledge of
what is due to it and what is obligated to it."
I
seek the help of Allah, and there is no movement, nor power except by Him, and
He suffices me and is the best to rely upon and Allah praised our Master
Muhammad and his family and gave peace in abundance.
INTRODUCTION
"The Gathering of the
End, in the Beginning of Good and its Aim"
AN ABRIDGEMENT OF BUKHARI'S
AUTHENTIC PROPHETIC SAYINGS
Praise
be to Allah with the best of His praise, and praise and peace be upon our
Master Muhammad, the chosen of His Creation, and his Companions the chosen
masters of his company.
The
Prophetic sayings, with their comprehension, memorization, and protection are
amongst of the nearest means to reach Allah, the Mighty, the Glorified. Prophet
Muhammad, may Allah praise and venerate him and give him peace, tells us:
"For
whosoever delivers to my nation one Prophetic saying in order to establish my
prophetic way or annuls an innovation, is Paradise ."
The
Prophet, may Allah praise and venerate him and give him peace, also gives us
the good news that, "Whosoever memorizes to my nation one Prophetic
saying, there is for him the wage of seventy-one sincere prophets."
And
there are many other such statements.
Dear
reader, I have noticed people have become weaker in memorizing - though there
are plenty of books - due to the long chains of transmission. With this in mind
I decided to extract hadiths from the most authentic books and make an
abridgement of Prophetic sayings according to its need, and make an abridgement
of the chains with the exception of the first transmitters in order to ease
their memorization, if Allah, the High, wills. Therefore I chose the reference
of Bukhari because it is the most authentic and because he, may Allah, the High
have mercy upon him, was among the good people. Allah accepted the supplication
of Imam Bukhari who also supplicated for the reader of his reference. Indeed, I
have met many judges who are knowledgeable and well traveled, as well as the
masters of good virtue who said that Imam Bukhari's book, when read during
times of hardship, the hardship is removed and also that it has been safety
from being drowned in a sinking ship. So I received the blessing of the
Prophetic sayings so that the blindness of rusty hearts may be by the favor of
Allah, removed and that stern trials that lie layer upon layer on the heart
might be eased and that Allah willing by bearing the glorified Prophetic
sayings it can be saved from drowning in the oceans of bad innovation that are
contrary to the spirit of Islam.
Allah
has gifted me with success with which I transmit and explain 300 sayings of
Prophet Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him. This selection of hadith begins
with one that informs us of how the Messenger of Allah, praise and peace be
upon him, first began to receive Revelations, and the entrance of the people of
Paradise to Paradise, together with the favor of Allah therein in which they
are gifted with His continuous pleasure. It is for this reason I called the
book "The Gathering of the End, in the Beginning of Good and its
Aim"
It
is my hope that Allah completes for me and everyone who either reads or hears
it, the beginning of the good with its aim.
So I
ask Allah, the Generous, Lord of the Great Throne that He by His Favor make it
clear in our hearts and a cure to our religion because there is no Lord except
He, and may Allah praise our Master Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, and
praise be to Allah, Lord of the Words.
Beginning of the example of
Abu Jamrah's Prophetic Sayings Explanation
The Prophetic Beginning of
the Revelation
Lady
Ayesha, Mother of all believing men and women, may Allah be pleased with her,
said:
"The
first of the Revelations given the Messenger – Allah has praised him and given
him peace - was the good vision whilst he slept and he never saw a vision that
did not materialize as clear as the dawn. Thereafter seclusion in the Cave of Hira Cave
of Hira
(In
the beginning of the Revelation period the frequency between visitations were
longer).
Jabir,
son of Abdullah Al Ansari added more information about the infrequency of the
Revelation (that the Prophet) said:
"While
I was walking I heard a sound in the sky, so I raised my gaze and there was the
angel who came to me in Hira sitting on a chair between heaven and earth, I was
shaken and returned saying, "Cover me, cover me!" Then Allah, the
Mighty, the Glorified revealed, 'O you, the cloaked, arise and warn, and
exalt your Lord and purify your clothing and flee from the statues! 74:1-5.
Thereafter the Revelation became ardent and more frequent." This supplement was reported via ibn Shehab,
via Abu Salama son of Abdul Rahman, who received it from Jabir, son of Abdullah
Al Ansari.
This
hadith contains numerous benefits in which rules, manners, a collection of the
knowledge of faith, the knowledge of behavior, and how one can be raised in
spiritual ranks becomes apparent. It is because of these valuable, rich
meanings, that the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, spoke to Lady Ayesha,
Mother of Believers, may Allah be pleased with her, so that she might be honored to convey it to
her fellow Muslims - male and female alike – and they in turn may follow these
manners and thereby gain knowledge of
how they may be raised from one rank to another, and also to inform us how he
himself started.
The
soul has an overwhelming eagerness to discover how things altogether started in
the beginning. This then is a common factor innate in ordinary human beings, so
pause for a minute and ponder on this glorified matter made known directly to
the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, and the extra ordinary benefits he
received therefrom.
So
the conclusion of the wisdom is his upbringing and his raising with a perfect
moral behavior and it is because of this benefit that Lady Ayesha, spoke of it.
It was reported directly to her and subsequently transmitted from her, and
Allah willing, we will refer to some of these and draw your attention to them
according to the success given by Allah.
This
will be approached from different perspectives:
(We
draw your attention to how this vast knowledge is presented to humanity by a
lady, and how the Prophet, praise and peace be upon him, honored a lady to
pioneer the transmission of knowledge, as it is through them that children are
raised and taught.)
1.
Lady Ayesha said, "The first of the Revelations given to the Messenger –
Allah has praised him and given him peace - was the good vision whilst he
slept." In this saying lies the proof that for him a vision is from the
prophethood, and it is also a Revelation from Allah, because the beginning of
his prophethood and the Revelation began with visions.
2.
Her saying, "and he never saw a vision that did not materialize as clear
as the dawn." By this she meant the true vision and how, without delay, it
materialized, precisely as he had seen it.
One
may ask why she expressed the word "dawn" rather than using another
expression. The answer is that it was because the light of the prophetic sun
started by the true vision with its truthful materialization, and the light
continued to pierce and widen, and become clear until it became a sun, and this
is what was sent down upon him of guidance and criteria. Therefore, understand
that whosoever's inner self is light that person is in the status of accepting
the faith of what is sent down, as Abu Bakr believed and certified. Whereas
whosoever is blind, his inner sight is comparable to that of a bat in respect
of the time of the message, the sun shines, but he sees nothing as a bat comes
out during the night and hides during the hours of light, because a bat does
not see with the light of the sun, and so it is that people are arranged
between these two ranks according to the degree of light he was given. "Indeed, to whomsoever Allah assigns no light,
he shall have no light. 24:40. May Allah make us to
be among those whom He gave abundantly from this light (of the prophethood of
Muhammad, praise and peace be upon him), and give us the greater share of the
best of the fellowship.
To
Be Continued InshaAllah
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