The Meaning of the Hadith: Islam Began as a Stranger

The Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta

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Fatwa No. ( 7377 ):

Q: We ask you, may Allah reward you, to explain to us the meaning of the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): Islam began as something strange and will go back to being strange
بدأ الإِسلام غريبًا وسيعود غريبًا كما بدأ
Sunan Ibn Majah 3986Sahih (Darussalam)
Does this mean that it will return to its former glory, dominance, and power as it was in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), or does it mean something else? This is with consideration of the hadith of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): The best among you (are) the people (who belong to) my age. Then those next to them, then those next to them
خير القرون قرني ثم الذين يلونهم ثم الذين يلونهم
Sahih Muslim 2535a
, for the apparent meaning of the hadith indicates that the best generation was the one in which the noble Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was, and that no generation will come that equals it in goodness. The first hadith, "Islam began," the word "as it began" at the end of it indicates that it will be as it was in the time of the Messenger (may Allah send prayers and blessings upon him and his family), and that love and harmony will prevail among the Muslims. In the form we see in this time of fighting among Muslims, division, and the tyranny of those in power over men of religion, with society mocking them and fighting them, and the invasion of Muslim lands by the West with destructive cultures and ideas that do not suit Muslims, and models of dress that expose the 'awrah (parts of the body that must be covered) of many of the tabarruj (women who display their adornment) Muslim women. Please provide us with a comprehensive answer, may Allah reward you and assist you.
A: The meaning of the hadith: that Islam began as a stranger when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) called people to it, and none responded to him except one after another,
so it was a stranger at that time due to the strangeness of its people, because of their fewness and weakness, along with the multitude of their enemies and their strength, their tyranny, and their dominance over the Muslims, until those who emigrated did so to Abyssinia to escape with their religion from fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) and with their souls from harm, oppression, injustice, and tyranny. And until the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) emigrated by the command of Allah the Exalted to Madinah after he had suffered severe harm, hoping that Allah would prepare for him those who would support him in his call and stand with him in supporting Islam. And Allah realized his hope, so He honored His soldiers and supported His servant. The state of Islam was established, and it spread by the power of Allah in the corners of the earth. And He, the Exalted, made the word of kufr (disbelief) the lower one and the word of Allah the upper one. And Allah is Mighty and Wise. To Allah belongs might, and to His Messenger, and to the believers. And the matter continued thus for a period of time, then division and weakness began, and the creeping of weakness and failure spread among the Muslims little by little, until Islam returned to being a stranger as it began. But that is not because of their fewness, for they were many at that time, but rather because of their failure to hold fast to their religion and cling to the Book of their Lord, and their turning away from the guidance of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), except for those whom Allah willed. So Allah occupied them with themselves and with turning to the world, and they competed in it as those before them competed, and they fought among themselves over its governorships and its legacy. So the enemies of Islam found ways into them and gained control of their lands and their necks, so they colonized them and humiliated their people and subjected them to severe punishment. This is the strangeness of Islam to which it returned as it began with it.
And a group of people, among them the shaykh (scholar or teacher) Muhammad Rashid Rida , saw that in the hadith there is a glad tidings of the victory of Islam after its second strangeness, taking this from the simile in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):

and it will return to being strange as it began

وسيعود غريبًا كما بدأ

Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2629Sahih (Darussalam)

, so just as after the first strangeness there was honor for the Muslims and spread of Islam, so it will be for it after the second strangeness victory and spread. And to add to the benefit, we attach for you the interpretation of al-Shatibi of the hadith in his book [Al-I'tisam] and with it a comment by the shaykh (scholar or teacher) Muhammad Rashid Rida from which the second opinion becomes clear, and this is the most apparent, and it is supported by what is established in the hadiths of the Mahdi and the descent of 'Isa (peace be upon him) at the end of time regarding the spread of Islam and the honor of the Muslims and their strength and the refutation of kufr (disbelief) and the disbelievers. And success is from Allah. And may Allah send prayers upon our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and his Companions and peace.

Source www.alifta.gov.sa

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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