Some Lessons from Some Stories That Occurred Among the Nations Before Us, and the Categories of Isra'iliyyat

The Shaykh : On this occasion, I must mention some lessons from some stories that occurred among the nations before us, which had a very wonderful effect due to the mindfulness of Allah. The summary of this is that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) created the laws of the universe for that purpose. For example, in Sahih al-Bukhari, it is narrated that a man from those before you came to another man and said, "Lend me one hundred dinars; lend me one hundred dinars." He said, "Bring a guarantor." He said, "Allah is the guarantor." He said, "Bring a witness." He said, "Allah is the witness." So he lent him one hundred dinars in gold and silver. Today the price is high, and tomorrow it will be low! They agreed on a day for repayment. The borrower set out with the one hundred dinars to trade in the sea. It seems that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) took him by the hand and granted him success. When the appointed day came, he was unable to go to his creditor. What did he do? Here is the wonder: he came to a piece of wood, carved it, and packed one hundred dinars of solid gold inside it, stuffing it well. Then he stood on the shore and said, "O my Lord, You were the witness and You were the guarantor." He threw this piece of wood into the sea, as if saying, "You, by Your wisdom and power, arrange things for me. I was unable to go to my partner to hand him the one hundred dinars." So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commanded the waves to take this piece of wood to the town where his partner was. His partner had gone out on the appointed day to meet his partner with the debt and waited in vain for a long time. Then his eyes fell upon a piece of wood before him, tossed about by the waves. It occurred to him to take this wood as fuel. He took it and found it heavier than its nature. He went to his house and broke it open; "crack, crack, crack," the one hundred dinars collapsed and sparkled. Amazing! Soon his partner came. Look at the truthfulness, sincerity, faith in Allah, and responsiveness to the rulings of the Shari'ah. He ignored what he had done; he did not ask the creditor, "Did the trust reach you?" He did not say it because he did not send it by a normal route; rather, he sent it by a route that breaks the usual course. Therefore, he passed over what he had done previously and lent him another one hundred dinars. Look how the famous proverb in some lands is realized: "Birds of a feather flock together." Both were truthful with Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). When the rich man saw the other one hundred dinars, he told him the story. He could have kept it secret, because there was no witness, no observer, or anything else; he could have taken this money and put it in his pocket, his right. As for the one that came to him by way of the sea, there was no name registered in the post office there to be held accountable. But Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the Accountant! So he told him the story and said, "My story and the wood were such and such." He said, "By Allah, I did this because I felt that the term had come, and I was unable to come to you at the appointed time, so I did what I did." He said, "May Allah bless you in your wealth, and Allah has paid off your debt for you, and Allah returned the one hundred dinars to you."
This is an explanation of a hadith in al-Bukhari that is marfu' (traced to the Prophet) and is not from the Isra'iliyyat. The Isra'iliyyat—I say this as a passing remark—even if they were close: the Isra'iliyyat are of two categories. One category—and it is the smaller one—is narrated by our truthful and trustworthy Prophet. If the chain of narration is authentic in that regard, then it is good, and it is obligatory for us to believe it. The other category—and it is the larger, more general, and more comprehensive one—is narrated from the People of the Book. Our position regarding this hadith is as it came from the Messenger (peace be upon him): . As for this hadith, it is from the first category, so we must believe in it because it reached us with a sound chain from the truthful, the one who is believed (peace and blessings be upon him).
Of this kind is also, from the perspective that it is from the Isra'iliyyat first, and from the perspective that it relates to the previously mentioned verse to the end of the verse; what Imam Muslim narrated in his Sahih—please— he said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: "While a man from those before you was walking in a desolate part of the land—in the desert—he heard a voice from the cloud saying to him: 'Water the land of so-and-so.'"
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Another questioner : "Abu Muhammad": May Allah bless you.

The Shaykh : Goodbye. I apologize for us after Maghrib; our relatives are here, and our sisters' daughters, and we must present their right to them, so I apologize to you. Yes?

Another questioner : Do we pray 'Isha' here?

The Shaykh : Until tomorrow—if Allah wills—and tomorrow is near for its observer!

Another questioner : After Maghrib?

The Shaykh : Oh?

Another questioner : After Maghrib.

The Shaykh : After Maghrib, but it is possible that we are given a chance during the day as well.
The point is: the man heard this voice, so he followed the cloud. And the cloud poured its load of rain into a garden in an orchard. He looked out and saw a man working with a spade in his land. When he looked at him and saw him, he said: "It seems you are a stranger?" He said: "Yes, but I heard a voice from the cloud saying: 'Water the land of so-and-so'; are you so-and-so?" He said: "Yes." He said: "By what did you deserve this favor from Allah, where He made the cloud serve you by pouring its load of rain into this land?"
This hadith reminded me of the story of that Bedouin who came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him and his family) on Friday, and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was delivering the sermon. He said: "O Messenger of Allah, the wealth and the families have perished due to the scarcity of rain, so ask for rain for us." He said (peace be upon him): . Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), the narrator of the story, said: "The sky swelled like the mouths of water skins." He said: "So we rained for a Saturday; meaning: a full week; until the same Bedouin or another one—the narrator was uncertain—came and said: 'O Messenger of Allah, the wealth and the families have perished due to the abundance of rain; so ask Allah for us to remove it.' He said: So the sky held back and did not rain except around the city, and the city was as if it had a cover on it—meaning a protective cover."
That story reminded me of this story in terms of contrast: the cloud there waters a specific land and does not water what is around it. Here, in the story of Anas, it waters what is around the city after the rains had become sufficient, so it was as if it had a cover on it. That is from the vast power of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So he asked him: "Are you so-and-so?" He said: "Yes." He said to him: "By what did you reach this favor?" He said: "I do not know; but I have this land, so I plant it and harvest it, then I divide its harvest into three parts: one third I spend to return to myself and my family, one third I return to my land, and one third I give in charity to my neighbors." He said to him: "That is it."
So by his mindfulness of Allah, Allah made the sky serve him, and that other man by his mindfulness of Allah, Allah made the sea serve him. We, I wonder, if we were mindful of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), would He preserve our wealth for us while we purify it with a correct, Shari'ah-compliant zakah? Without a doubt, but we are in need of such faith. So we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to strengthen our faith and to make the effect of our faith appear in our deeds. And now we say: Depart safely to your prayers.