Encouraging Patience in the Trials with Which Allah Tests His Muslim Servant

The Shaykh : We are still in the chapter on encouraging patience in the trials with which Allah tests His Muslim servant, from the book *Al-Targhib wa al-Tarhib* by al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri, selecting from it the authentic hadiths in each chapter. In the previous lesson, we reached the seventieth hadith in the numbering of my copy, and this hadith is among those authentic hadiths. It is his saying:
And Fatimah al-Khuza'iyyah said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) visited a woman from the Ansar who was ill, and he said to her: She said: I am well, except that Umm Muldam has afflicted me. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: It was narrated by al-Tabarani, and its narrators are narrators of authentic hadiths.
This hadith resembles a hadith that passed in the previous lesson, except that this woman appears to have been in a better psychological state than that one; for when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked her about her condition, she answered by saying: "I am well, except for Umm Muldam." Umm Muldam is the fever, and this is a kunya (nickname) for it because it strikes its owner with pain. She said: "It has afflicted me," meaning it struck her with severity, and this fever persisted with her. So the Prophet (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) advised her, as is his way with everyone he sees among the afflicted, by saying: meaning: the fever, like the forge of the blacksmith, so the fever removes the impurity of the son of Adam, meaning his sins and transgressions. So it is fitting for everyone who is afflicted with such illnesses as the fever to be patient with it so that he may return from his sins as on the day his mother bore him.
The hadith that immediately follows is weak in its chain of narration, but the one after that is good. It is his saying: And from him—meaning al-Hasan—he said: They hoped that a fever of one night would be an expiation for past sins. It was narrated by Ibn Abi al-Dunya—also—and its narrators are trustworthy.
This hadith does not explicitly state that it is raised to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), because first, it is from the narration of al-Hasan, who is al-Hasan al-Basri. We have learned from our previous lessons that al-Hasan al-Basri was a man of the nobles and great scholars of the Tabi'un, their ascetics and their brave ones. He gathered many qualities that are rarely found in individuals. However, from the perspective of hadith science, there is something that prevents a scholar of hadith from using his hadith as evidence in some cases. That is when he narrates a hadith from a Companion, or even from someone below him—also from the Tabi'un—using the phrase "from" or the phrase "said," or any other phrase in which he does not explicitly state that he heard the hadith from that Companion or other. If he does not explicitly state that he heard it, his hadith is not used as evidence despite his high status and virtue, because he is classified among the *mudallis* (those who conceal defects) by those who know hadith science and its terminology.
In this hadith, we see first that al-Hasan al-Basri did not say here "from a specific Companion," but rather what did he say? "They hoped." From al-Hasan, he said: "They hoped." He did not mention the Messenger (peace be upon him) at all, first. Second, there is another hadith point here: "They hoped." This plural refers to whom? "They"—to the Companions or to the Tabi'un? Here is a rule among scholars of hadith: If a Companion speaks and says: "They hoped," referring to one of the Companions, then it is a text indicating that those he means are the Companions. But if a Tabi'i says—as here—"They," it is possible that he means the scholars of his time, meaning from the Tabi'un, and it is possible that he means these and some of the Companions whom he met.
In summary: Such a hadith is not given the ruling of being raised to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him); because first, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is not mentioned in it at all, and second, because the one narrating this report is a Tabi'i and not a Companion. If a Companion were saying this, it would mean that the Companions were hoping.
In any case, the purpose of such research and investigation is that we are still with those who hoped. We do not conclude from the virtue of what came in this report from al-Hasan al-Basri that a fever of one night is an expiation for all sins. If it were a hadith raised from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), explicitly attributed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), we would hold onto it firmly. But it is only a narration from al-Hasan from the scholars of his time; because they hoped that a fever of one night that strikes a Muslim would be an expiation for sins.
The hadith after that is weak in its chain of narration.
As for the following one, it is authentic, and we had read it on the occasion of a hadith that passed in the previous lesson, so there is no harm in repeating it. It is his saying: From Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The fever asked permission to enter upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: . She said: Umm Muldam. So he ordered her to the people of Quba, and they suffered from what Allah knows. They came to him and complained about it, and he said: . They said: Or will you do it? He said: . They said: So let her be. It was narrated by Ahmad, and its narrators are narrators of authentic hadiths, and by Abu Ya'la, and by Ibn Hibban in his *Sahih*, and al-Tabarani narrated it similarly from the hadith of Salman, and he said in it: So they complained about the fever to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: . They said: So let her be, O Messenger of Allah.
So this hadith here has two narrations, the first from Jabir and the other from Salman. The important thing is that the hadith is authentic, and it contains a strange piece of prophetic hidden knowledge that minds cannot grasp at all, no matter how high they rise; and that is his saying that the fever came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: . It may come to mind that it came to enter the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) house—for example—or that the intended meaning is that it asked permission to enter where he was in his city, the Holy City of Madinah. The important thing is that the strange knowledge in this narration is that the fever is like a person here in this hadith, whereas it is, as we know, a disease; a high fever that strikes a person. So how does the fever come? How does it ask permission? And how does the Messenger (peace be upon him) ask this? So she answers the Messenger's question: Umm Muldam. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) then ordered the fever to the people of Quba, meaning: the fever that asked permission to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in Madinah, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) refused to give her permission, but rather gave her permission to go to Quba. Quba is a district that was formerly for the Ansar who believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and supported him, and it has now become a district of Madinah due to the connection of buildings between them. From the Arabic perspective, it can be shortened or lengthened, so you can say "Quba" or "Quba'." Here it came with the shortening, not the lengthening. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) then ordered the fever not to enter Madinah but to come to Quba.
Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) said, and he was from the Ansar: "They suffered," meaning the people of Quba, "they suffered from what Allah knows," meaning from the severity and the disease that afflicts its owner due to the high fever that strikes him. "They came to him," the people of Quba returned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and complained about it to him, meaning they were comfortable from this plague, from this disease, but when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) gave her permission to come to Quba, they were afflicted by it and suffered from it. When the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heard their complaints, he gave them a choice and said: ; because this is part of the trial, . They said: Or will you do it? He said: . They said: So let her be.
When the Companions of the Messenger (peace be upon him) from among the Ansar of Quba realized that the fever remaining in their town was a great reward and an expiation for their sins, they were patient and content. This is the condition of the Muslim: he prefers what may tire him and what may exhaust him when he knows that he will receive a reward for it. I mentioned to you earlier the story of Ubayy ibn Ka'b, who was from the Ansar and who made a supplication for himself, and his story will come up now. He continued to live afflicted by the fever, but in his supplication he asked his Lord (Mighty and Majestic) not to exhaust him or tire him; that he would remain able to strive in the cause of Allah, to go out to the mosque and to the mosque of the Messenger (peace be upon him), and the like. So Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him), whenever any part of his body was touched, it was as if his body were fire because of the fever, but it did not affect him in terms of obedience and worship. I raised an objection and a difficulty and answered it by mentioning this hadith in which this story is related between the people of Quba and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he gave them the choice between the fever remaining with them, on the condition that their reward from Allah (Mighty and Majestic) would be the forgiveness of their sins, or its removal from them. When he gave them the choice, they said something with a subtle point, which perhaps some of you did not notice. They said: “Will you do it?” ... If the Messenger is giving them the choice, he says: . They said: “Will you do it?” The reason is the difficulty I raised yesterday, which is the well-known fact that a Muslim does not ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for affliction, but rather asks Him (Blessed and Exalted is He) to avert this affliction from them. So here the Messenger is giving them the choice; therefore, they were surprised. But the surprise disappears when we know that this fever is not an illness that would prevent the Muslim from performing his religious obligations, and that with its persistence it serves as an expiation for his sins, as in this hadith, which is in the hadiths mentioned in previous lessons. When they said, “Will you do it?” he answered in the affirmative; he said: . At that point, they said: “Leave it; leave it with us, and we will be patient with it.” This hadith reminds us that people differ in this regard, in terms of patience and lack of patience. Some are patient, and others are not. These people of Quba were patient and content with the fever that afflicted them in exchange for the forgiveness of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) for their sins.
Similarly, for example, that woman whose story passed with us also in this chapter, who used to have seizures and become exposed when she had them. She asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to make a supplication for her. He gave her the choice: if she wished, he would make a supplication for her and Allah would cure her, and if she was patient, she would have Paradise. She said: “Then I will be patient and have Paradise, but make a supplication to Allah that I not be exposed.” So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) made a supplication for her. This is what the sensible person does.
Meanwhile, you find that other blind man whom some people cite his story for what the story does not indicate. He came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while he was blind and said: “O Messenger of Allah, make a supplication to Allah to cure me.” He said: just as he said here to the Ansar completely, . He said: “Then make a supplication.” He had no patience. He said: “Then make a supplication.” So he said to him (peace be upon him): to the end of the hadith.
Thus, people are of different natures. So we ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to make our nature one of the best natures, and among that is that He make us patient with the trials and calamities He may test us with.
The hadith that follows contains the story of Ubayy that I referred to earlier, which came up with us in the previous lesson with a different narration. The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: And from Muhammad ibn Ma'adh ibn Abi ibn Ka'b, from his father, from his grandfather—meaning: his grandfather here is Ubayy ibn Ka'b the Ansari—that he said: “O Messenger of Allah, what is the reward of the fever?” He said: . Ubayy said: “O Allah, I ask You for a fever that does not prevent me from going out in Your cause, nor from going out to Your House or the mosque of Your Prophet.” He said: So Ubayy was never touched except that he had a fever. Al-Tabarani narrated it in al-Kabir and al-Awsat, and its chain is acceptable. Muhammad and his father, meaning the son of the Companion and his grandson, are mentioned in al-Thiqat. The hadith of Abu Sa'id regarding the story of Ubayy also came up earlier.
So this Ubayy, when he heard the virtue and reward of the fever, supplicated to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) that it would continue to afflict him, but while preserving his strength and energy to perform the obedience of his Lord (Mighty and Majestic), even jihad in the cause of Allah, which requires strength and energy, and one who is afflicted with a fever is usually not in that state.
The hadith that follows.

The questioner: Teacher, you mentioned a hadith with a different text ... .

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner: You mentioned a hadith with a different text.

The Shaykh: Go ahead.

The questioner: . Ubayy said: “O Allah, I ask You ...” It seems you mentioned an addition.

The Shaykh: Yes, in the word: “‘alayhi” (upon it).

The questioner: “O Allah, ‘alayhi” (upon it).

The Shaykh: “O Allah, ‘alayhi” (upon it), meaning based on this virtue mentioned in the hadith, “I ask You.”
The hadith that follows is authentic, and it is his saying: From Abu Rayhanah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: . In the second and third hadiths, and with them this chapter ends, there are other words and narrations, and the meaning is the same. So the second hadith is his saying: From Abu Umamah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he said: . Ahmad narrated it with an acceptable chain.
And from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: . Al-Bazzar narrated it with a good chain.
And these three hadiths are in reality a summary and collection of the meanings of the preceding hadiths; because some of those hadiths explicitly state that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) forgives the sins of one who is afflicted with a fever and is patient with it. And the necessary consequence of this forgiveness—and there is no doubt in that—is that he will not enter the Fire. This summary is what these three hadiths collected; where they say: “The fever is the believer’s share from the Fire, and it is from the heat of Hell;” meaning from the heat of Hell. But we must imagine that the fever has degrees. Perhaps a person is afflicted with a fever for five minutes, another for an hour, another for hours, another for days, and perhaps for his whole life, as you heard regarding the story of the people of Quba, and especially among them Ubayy ibn Ka'b.
As for the forgiveness that the one afflicted with a fever and patient with it deserves, this naturally no one can determine or specify it. Rather, the matter returns to Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and He (Blessed and Exalted is He), although He said: , is in addition to that of immense favor. These matters that He made expiations for the sins of man are a favor from Allah (Mighty and Majestic); otherwise, the matter is as He said (Mighty and Majestic): . Nevertheless, if Allah (Mighty and Majestic) afflicts us with calamities because we deserve them by what our hands have earned, and then He returns and makes them ... for us from our sins, this is a favor from Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
The summary of the matter regarding these last hadiths: Let no one imagine that a person among us, merely because he is afflicted with a type of fever, no matter how light it is and no matter how short the time, is done, “sukar” (safe) for his Paradise!! No, it is not so. Rather, this fever that will be, meaning, a protection for its owner from the Fire, appears—and Allah knows best—to be of a type that perhaps we do not know in terms of its intensity and in terms of its long persistence with the person. And in any case, as the many hadiths came in succession, the Muslim, whatever calamity he is afflicted with ... .