Some people leave the sunnahs on the grounds that one is not punished for leaving them; so what is your guidance?
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The questioner : ... and one is not punished for leaving them.
The Shaykh : This is not a hadith; it is the statement of the jurists.
The questioner : Yes, it is the statement of the jurists. So some people leave the sunnahs on the grounds of this statement. What is your opinion? Is it negligence regarding the sunnahs under the claim that one is not punished for leaving them, and therefore there is no punishment for the one who leaves them?
The Shaykh : So, is the remedy to go to the opposite extreme and say: one is punished for leaving them?
The questioner : No, so there is guidance from your eminence.
The Shaykh : Guidance is obligatory.
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Guidance is obligatory. As for the fact that this statement is not a hadith, it is not a hadith. As for it being the statement of the jurists, this is a matter on which the jurists do not differ; as evidenced by the hadith of Abu Talhah, or Talhah ibn 'Ubayd Allah, in "Sahih al-Bukhari," in which a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about what Allah has made obligatory upon him. He mentioned for him the five prayers in every day and night. He said to him: "Is there anything else upon me besides them?" He said:Sunan an-Nasa'i 458Sahih (Darussalam). He said: "By Allah, O Messenger of Allah, I will not add to them or subtract from them." He said (peace and blessings be upon him): .
So there is no room for contradicting this rule that the doer of the sunnahs is rewarded and the one who leaves them is not punished; as evidenced by the Prophet's testimony regarding this man that if he is truthful in maintaining the five prayers, he will enter Paradise. But this does not mean neglecting the sunnahs; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) mentioned in some authentic hadiths his saying (peace be upon him):Jami` at-Tirmidhi 413Sahih (Darussalam), and in another narration in "Sunan Abu Dawud": . Therefore, paying attention to the sunnahs is a very important matter, especially for the people of this time who do not perfect their prayer, and his saying (peace be upon him) in another hadith applies to them: . This seems to indicate that the best of them is the one for whom half of the prayer is recorded.
So these people must have a provision of voluntary worship so that the Lord of the Worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He) completes the deficiency that occurred in their prayer, either in quantity or in quality. This is the perspective regarding not being deceived by that correct rule. So a person must be cautious with his religion and maintain the sunnahs of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), especially since some of these sunnahs, as is the case with the sunnah of Fajr, have a great and very large virtue; where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 416Sahih (Darussalam), just the two rak'ahs of Fajr, apart from his saying: . So reminding people of such virtues by those who maintain the sunnahs is the remedy so that they do not fall into that word which is said: that the definition of sunnah is that which the doer is rewarded for and the one who leaves it is not punished.
The Shaykh : This is not a hadith; it is the statement of the jurists.
The questioner : Yes, it is the statement of the jurists. So some people leave the sunnahs on the grounds of this statement. What is your opinion? Is it negligence regarding the sunnahs under the claim that one is not punished for leaving them, and therefore there is no punishment for the one who leaves them?
The Shaykh : So, is the remedy to go to the opposite extreme and say: one is punished for leaving them?
The questioner : No, so there is guidance from your eminence.
The Shaykh : Guidance is obligatory.
The questioner: Go ahead.
The Shaykh : Guidance is obligatory. As for the fact that this statement is not a hadith, it is not a hadith. As for it being the statement of the jurists, this is a matter on which the jurists do not differ; as evidenced by the hadith of Abu Talhah, or Talhah ibn 'Ubayd Allah, in "Sahih al-Bukhari," in which a man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about what Allah has made obligatory upon him. He mentioned for him the five prayers in every day and night. He said to him: "Is there anything else upon me besides them?" He said:
No, unless you do it voluntarily.
لا ، إلا أن تطَّوَّعThe man has succeeded if he is truthful; he will enter Paradise if he is truthful.
أفلح الرجل إن صدق ، دخل الجنة إن صدقSo there is no room for contradicting this rule that the doer of the sunnahs is rewarded and the one who leaves them is not punished; as evidenced by the Prophet's testimony regarding this man that if he is truthful in maintaining the five prayers, he will enter Paradise. But this does not mean neglecting the sunnahs; because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) mentioned in some authentic hadiths his saying (peace be upon him):
Indeed the first deed by which a servant will be called to account on the Day of Resurrection is his Salat. If it is complete, he is successful and saved, but if it is defective, he has failed and lost.
أوَّل ما يُحاسب العبد يوم القيامة الصلاة ، فإن تمَّت فقد أفلح وأنجح ، وإن نقصت فقد خاب وخسرIf it is deficient, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says to His angels: "Look, does My servant have any voluntary worship? Then complete for him his obligatory prayer with it."
فإن نقصت قال الله - عز وجل - لملائكته : انظروا هل لعبدي من تطوُّع فتتمُّوا له به فريضته ؟A man may pray a prayer, but only a tenth, a ninth, an eighth, a seventh, a sixth, a fifth, a quarter, or half of it is recorded for him.
إن الرجل لَيُصلي الصلاة ما يُكتب له منها عشرها تسعها ثمنها سبعها سدسها خمسها ربعها نصفهاSo these people must have a provision of voluntary worship so that the Lord of the Worlds (Blessed and Exalted is He) completes the deficiency that occurred in their prayer, either in quantity or in quality. This is the perspective regarding not being deceived by that correct rule. So a person must be cautious with his religion and maintain the sunnahs of his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), especially since some of these sunnahs, as is the case with the sunnah of Fajr, have a great and very large virtue; where he (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
The two Rak'ah of Fajr are better than the world and what is in it.
ركعتا الفجر خيرٌ من الدنيا وما فيهاWhoever maintains four rak'ahs before the Zuhr prayer and four rak'ahs after it, Allah forbids his body from the Fire.
من حافظ على أربع ركعات قبل صلاة الظهر وأربع ركعات بعدها حرَّم الله بدنه على النار
Source
www.al-albany.com
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