The Principle in Interpretation

The Shaykh : We are reciting for you the aforementioned hadith so that we may complete the commentary on the remaining paragraphs, as we had already commented on the first paragraph of it. The hadith is from Abu Dharr, who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked: "Which deed is the best?" He said: . He said: "Then which of the necks (slaves) is the best?" He said: . He said: "What do you think if I am not able to do some of the deeds?" He said: . He said: "What do you think if I am weak?" He said: .
In the previous lesson, we spoke in some detail about faith, and we mentioned that faith is not merely belief, but rather belief and action. The first of this action is the action of the heart, and then it is poured out upon the limbs. Now we say: The Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) coupled jihad with faith, and it is among the best of deeds. He said: There is nothing major here that needs to be mentioned and clarified except one thing, which is that when jihad is used in the texts of the Shari'ah, the intended meaning is fighting in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Likewise, when "the path of Allah" is used, the intended meaning is jihad in the path of Allah. However, both jihad and "the path of Allah" sometimes carry a broader and more general meaning than the jihad of fighting enemies and the path of Allah which is the jihad of fighting enemies. But the principle is that the term jihad and the term "the path of Allah" are interpreted as fighting the enemies. If there is a context that leads us to interpret jihad or "the path of Allah" with a broader meaning, we do so. But the principle is to interpret jihad and "the path of Allah" with its narrow meaning, which is fighting the enemies. For example, there is a hadith in which a man from the Companions passed by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) while some of the Companions were around him. The Companions of the Prophet were amazed by the youth, vigor, and strength of that Companion who was with them, and they wished that this would be in the path of Allah. The Companions of the Messenger (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) who were around him, when that young man passed by them, wished that this youth and that strength would be jihad in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). So he (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him) said: "If this young man whose youth and strength you have seen, if he goes out seeking provision for his young children, then he is in the path of Allah. And if he goes out seeking provision for two old men, meaning his parents, then he is in the path of Allah." A hadith like this broadened the meaning of "the path of Allah" to include a man seeking his livelihood for himself, his children, and his parents; this is in the path of Allah. But when the phrase "the path of Allah" comes alone, it should be interpreted only as jihad, meaning fighting the enemies. From here, some contemporary Islamic writers err when they come to the verse regarding the expenditures of zakah: and and and, and at the end they say: . They err when they interpret "in the path of Allah" with the general meaning. The meaning here, as we said earlier, when "the path of Allah" is used, the intended meaning is jihad, fighting the enemies only. As for this broad meaning for which we gave the example of that vigorous man, this broad meaning requires specific evidence. Here, the verse of alms and the expenditures of zakah came with "in the path of Allah" used in an absolute sense, so it must be understood as fighting the enemies, especially since Allah (Mighty and Majestic) specified the expenditures of zakah in this verse one by one, and their total is eight: If Allah (Mighty and Majestic) had intended by His saying: that general meaning encompassing all paths of good, there would have been no benefit from this detail, and there would have been no eloquence in this Noble Qur'an, which is naturally the most eloquent book on the face of the earth. How can He say: such and such and such and such, and then say "and in the path of Allah" with the broad meaning, or this broad meaning that includes the poor, the needy, the workers, and the freeing of slaves, and so on? This would nullify the eloquence and rhetoric of the Qur'an, especially since Allah (Mighty and Majestic) began this verse with His saying: And this in linguistic science is for restriction. "Indeed, the alms" means that zakah is not distributed except to these eight categories. If Allah (Mighty and Majestic) had intended by His saying: all paths of good, we would have nullified first the tool of restriction "inna" (indeed), and secondly this count: one, two, three, eight. What is the meaning of "and in the path of Allah" which they claim is with the broad meaning? Therefore, this is a new modern interpretation with no basis in the Book, nor in the Sunnah, nor in the interpretation of the Companions, nor in the sayings of the righteous Salaf. Rather, this new interpretation suggested to these people, or their Islamic emotions suggested to them, that they want to show Islam as a religion where zakah and the obligation of zakah are in all paths of good: building a school from zakah money, building a hospital from zakah money, building bridges, paving roads. All these are tricks, and they made these from the expenditures of zakah. This is an error. Zakah is not distributed except in one of these eight types specified by word and letter. So his saying (peace be upon him) in this hadith, in answer to the questioner's question: . Which jihad is this? The jihad of the enemies. That is because a person is exposed in this jihad to selling his soul, which is the most precious thing he owns, selling it cheaply in the path of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Therefore, this jihad is like faith in that it is the best of deeds.