I heard from one of the students of knowledge that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to teach before the Friday sermon. How do we reconcile this with the prohibition of gathering before
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The questioner : Shaykh, regarding the lesson before Friday, before the sermon, I heard from one of the students of knowledge that Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) used to give this lesson before Friday or before the sermon, and then the sermon would come and take its place!
The Shaykh : Yes, and what did Abu Hurayrah do?
The questioner : Of course, it is contrary to that.
The Shaykh : So what is the matter with you now regarding what you heard from the student of knowledge!
The questioner : The action of the Companions.
The Shaykh : Let us return now to the subject itself. Is the student of knowledge from whom you heard a scholar?
The questioner : A student of knowledge, not a scholar.
The Shaykh : So what is the issue to you, since he is a student of knowledge who saw a narration from Abu Hurayrah and cannot reconcile it with:Sunan Ibn Majah 1884Sahih (Darussalam)?
Did you not ask him this question, may Allah forgive you?
The questioner : By Allah, it slipped my mind.
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah forgive you.
The questioner : O Allah, amen.
The Shaykh : We have already granted you forgiveness in advance.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Now, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) may have done his action, and others may do it in every time and place. For example, an issue may arise, and someone stands to preach about it before the regular official imam’s sermon. It is said: Abu Hurayrah did such and such. But where does it come from that Abu Hurayrah did that as a permanent system?!
And finally, if he did that, his action might be viewed with acceptance if there were no hadith from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) contradicting what Abu Hurayrah persisted in. And persistence is not narrated at all. But if we assume this is an exaggeration to eliminate the root of the problem that arose in this student’s mind, and occupied the mind of someone like him, whether a student or not, then to eliminate the problem, we say: If the hadith said that Abu Hurayrah persisted, we would say: Abu Hurayrah or the Messenger of Abu Hurayrah?
The questioner : The Messenger of Abu Hurayrah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : Why do we care about every narration that is reported when we have a hadith from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that is contrary to that narration which is reported from other than the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
Take an example related to Abu Hurayrah: It is established from Abu Hurayrah in a hadith more authentic than the hadith of his lesson before the Friday prayer: He used to, when he performed ablution, roll up his sleeves like this for ease. We say: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, after performing ablution once, then twice, then three times, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said::
So, do you think that when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution, he did it like this?
No, certainly. The scholars of hadith do not differ on this that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to wash up to the elbows, as is the text of the Noble Qur'an.
So Abu Hurayrah did an addition to this washing that I mentioned to you.
Then a student of knowledge comes and says: I saw a hadith, and in Sahih Muslim it is stated that Abu Hurayrah did such and such. The poor man does not know that hadith, or he knows it and both are bitter. If he knows it, how does he divert his attention from acting according to what came from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to what came from Abu Hurayrah, contrary first: to the action of the Messenger and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him).
And secondly: Among the anecdotes about Abu Hurayrah is that once he was seen doing this action, so someone who was watching him caught his attention, and he said to him: Are you here, O son of Furuq? What did he say to him, O son of Furuq?!
The questioner : Son of Furuq.
The Shaykh : Son of Furuq, as if he was doing it and thought no one was watching him. What is the reason?
I know what the reason is. He used to think that this action was not a recommended practice, but he did it for himself as a precaution. Many people do this. And so he said: If he had known that someone was watching him, he would not have done this action. So this is not an act of worship.
That is to say, to bring the subject closer with an example: Some of the obsessives, or if you wish, the obsessives, may do an action and know that the obsession is not prescribed, but Satan has dominion over him. So if someone noticed him, he would not say to him: You must do what he did. He would know that he is overcome by his condition.
So jurisprudence is not an easy matter, my brother. Therefore, it is not befitting for us to say: By Allah, the preachers say such and such, or some of them say such and such, some students of knowledge say such and such, and so on. Otherwise, the matter would become chaos with no system.
The Shaykh : Yes, and what did Abu Hurayrah do?
The questioner : Of course, it is contrary to that.
The Shaykh : So what is the matter with you now regarding what you heard from the student of knowledge!
The questioner : The action of the Companions.
The Shaykh : Let us return now to the subject itself. Is the student of knowledge from whom you heard a scholar?
The questioner : A student of knowledge, not a scholar.
The Shaykh : So what is the issue to you, since he is a student of knowledge who saw a narration from Abu Hurayrah and cannot reconcile it with:
It was narrated that: Abu Hurairah said: “The Messenger of Allah forbade Shighar.”
نهى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن التحلق يوم الجمعةDid you not ask him this question, may Allah forgive you?
The questioner : By Allah, it slipped my mind.
The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah forgive you.
The questioner : O Allah, amen.
The Shaykh : We have already granted you forgiveness in advance.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
The Shaykh : Now, Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) may have done his action, and others may do it in every time and place. For example, an issue may arise, and someone stands to preach about it before the regular official imam’s sermon. It is said: Abu Hurayrah did such and such. But where does it come from that Abu Hurayrah did that as a permanent system?!
And finally, if he did that, his action might be viewed with acceptance if there were no hadith from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) contradicting what Abu Hurayrah persisted in. And persistence is not narrated at all. But if we assume this is an exaggeration to eliminate the root of the problem that arose in this student’s mind, and occupied the mind of someone like him, whether a student or not, then to eliminate the problem, we say: If the hadith said that Abu Hurayrah persisted, we would say: Abu Hurayrah or the Messenger of Abu Hurayrah?
The questioner : The Messenger of Abu Hurayrah (peace and blessings be upon him).
The Shaykh : Why do we care about every narration that is reported when we have a hadith from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that is contrary to that narration which is reported from other than the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
Take an example related to Abu Hurayrah: It is established from Abu Hurayrah in a hadith more authentic than the hadith of his lesson before the Friday prayer: He used to, when he performed ablution, roll up his sleeves like this for ease. We say: He (peace and blessings be upon him) said, after performing ablution once, then twice, then three times, and then he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
This is my ablution and the ablution of the prophets before me. Whoever adds to it or subtracts from it has transgressed and wronged.
هذا وضوئي ووضوء الأنبياء قبلي فمن زاد أو نقص فقد تعدى وظلمSo, do you think that when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) performed ablution, he did it like this?
No, certainly. The scholars of hadith do not differ on this that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to wash up to the elbows, as is the text of the Noble Qur'an.
So Abu Hurayrah did an addition to this washing that I mentioned to you.
Then a student of knowledge comes and says: I saw a hadith, and in Sahih Muslim it is stated that Abu Hurayrah did such and such. The poor man does not know that hadith, or he knows it and both are bitter. If he knows it, how does he divert his attention from acting according to what came from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to what came from Abu Hurayrah, contrary first: to the action of the Messenger and his saying (peace and blessings be upon him).
And secondly: Among the anecdotes about Abu Hurayrah is that once he was seen doing this action, so someone who was watching him caught his attention, and he said to him: Are you here, O son of Furuq? What did he say to him, O son of Furuq?!
The questioner : Son of Furuq.
The Shaykh : Son of Furuq, as if he was doing it and thought no one was watching him. What is the reason?
I know what the reason is. He used to think that this action was not a recommended practice, but he did it for himself as a precaution. Many people do this. And so he said: If he had known that someone was watching him, he would not have done this action. So this is not an act of worship.
That is to say, to bring the subject closer with an example: Some of the obsessives, or if you wish, the obsessives, may do an action and know that the obsession is not prescribed, but Satan has dominion over him. So if someone noticed him, he would not say to him: You must do what he did. He would know that he is overcome by his condition.
So jurisprudence is not an easy matter, my brother. Therefore, it is not befitting for us to say: By Allah, the preachers say such and such, or some of them say such and such, some students of knowledge say such and such, and so on. Otherwise, the matter would become chaos with no system.