The Meaning of the Length of the Necks of the Mu'adhdhins and Ta'wil (Figurative Interpretation)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned, in his explanation of the hadith, thatSunan Ibn Majah 725Sahih (Darussalam) he said something, and then he said, "Its apparent meaning is actual length."
The Shaykh:
Yes, indeed. On its apparent meaning, as we said, it is left on its apparent meaning and not interpreted. Some people say that "longer" means that when the sweat of the gathering comes, their heads will be raised so that the drowning does not choke them, and so on. All of this has no evidence for it, so the hadith is left on its wording. Yes.
The questioner:
He says, may Allah preserve you, "And its apparent meaning is actual length, so it is not permissible to resort to interpretation by other means except for one who is compelled." He asks: What is meant by this phrase?
The Shaykh:
"One who is compelled" means if ta'wil (figurative interpretation) is necessary. As for if there is no necessity for ta'wil, the wording is left on its apparent meaning.
Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success. He says: Al-Shawkani (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned, in his explanation of the hadith, that
The Mu'adh-dhin will have the longest necks of all people on the Day of Resurrection.
الْمُؤَذِّنُونَ أَطْوَلُ النَّاسِ أَعْنَاقًا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِThe Shaykh:
Yes, indeed. On its apparent meaning, as we said, it is left on its apparent meaning and not interpreted. Some people say that "longer" means that when the sweat of the gathering comes, their heads will be raised so that the drowning does not choke them, and so on. All of this has no evidence for it, so the hadith is left on its wording. Yes.
The questioner:
He says, may Allah preserve you, "And its apparent meaning is actual length, so it is not permissible to resort to interpretation by other means except for one who is compelled." He asks: What is meant by this phrase?
The Shaykh:
"One who is compelled" means if ta'wil (figurative interpretation) is necessary. As for if there is no necessity for ta'wil, the wording is left on its apparent meaning.
Source
شرح كتاب المنتقى من أخبار المصطفى صلى الله عليه وسلم، بداية من أبواب الأذان — islamhouse.com (49:50)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.