How do you respond to those who say that the Friday bath is recommended because there is an indication that shifts the command to recommendation in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him)
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Yes, repeat the question.
The questioner : The question, O our Shaykh, concerns the rule that “a command implies obligation until an indication shifts it to recommendation.” Regarding the Friday bath, there is the hadith:Riyad as-Salihin 1152, and the other hadith, which is: Sunan al-Bayhaqi 1:1289. The second group asks: Why did you not consider this an indication that shifts this obligation to recommendation?
The Shaykh : You mean the second group that says
The questioner : that it is recommended.
The Shaykh : that the Friday bath is not obligatory.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : but rather that it is recommended.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Well, we believe that the second hadith, although it is not authentic in itself but is authentic through the totality of its chains, does not contradict the first hadith, which is authentic in itself. The matter is very clear, if only people would not stop at certain words without delving into their implications. I am now posing a question to every questioner who has even a little understanding of language and jurisprudence. I say: Perhaps due to the clarity of the issue, the first example I give may suffice for me instead of the last example I will give. I say: The ranks of prescribed matters and those commanded absolutely; all prescribed matters revolve between what is recommended (mandub) and what is obligatory (fard), with ranks in between. Now I say: In the terminology of jurists, above the recommended (mandub) is the desirable (mustahabb), and above the desirable (mustahabb) is the sunnah practice (musunnah). Let me stop here for now. Are the recommended (mandub) and the desirable (mustahabb) equal in excellence, or is it correct to say that the desirable (mustahabb) is better than the recommended (mandub)? It is correct. Is that so? Well, is it correct to say that the desirable (mustahabb) is like the sunnah practice (musunnah) in excellence, or is the sunnah practice (musunnah) better than the desirable (mustahabb)?
The student : ... .
The Shaykh : So we have reached the goal. The obligatory is better than the sunnah practice (musunnah), and it is all the more so that it is better than the desirable (mustahabb). So when he said in the hadith:, it is better and better and better. So the name of preference applies to the obligatory ruling more than it applies to the sunnah practice (musunnah) ruling, let alone the desirable (mustahabb) ruling. So the hadith does not mean choosing between ablution and the bath, but rather it clarifies that this is better than that only. So it does not give the rank of the bath; we take the rank from the first hadith. This is answer number one. And in my belief, it is a strong answer if we consider this meaning.
The student : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? Ah.
The questioner : The question, O our Shaykh, concerns the rule that “a command implies obligation until an indication shifts it to recommendation.” Regarding the Friday bath, there is the hadith:
Taking a bath (before coming to Friday prayers) is obligatory on every adult.
إن غسل الجمعة واجب على كلِّ محتلمSo whoever performs ablution, that is sufficient for him and it is good, and whoever bathes, the bath is better
فمَن توضَّأ فَبِهَا ونعمَتْ ، ومَن اغتسَلَ فالغسلُ أفضلThe Shaykh : You mean the second group that says
The questioner : that it is recommended.
The Shaykh : that the Friday bath is not obligatory.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : but rather that it is recommended.
The questioner: Yes.
The Shaykh : Well, we believe that the second hadith, although it is not authentic in itself but is authentic through the totality of its chains, does not contradict the first hadith, which is authentic in itself. The matter is very clear, if only people would not stop at certain words without delving into their implications. I am now posing a question to every questioner who has even a little understanding of language and jurisprudence. I say: Perhaps due to the clarity of the issue, the first example I give may suffice for me instead of the last example I will give. I say: The ranks of prescribed matters and those commanded absolutely; all prescribed matters revolve between what is recommended (mandub) and what is obligatory (fard), with ranks in between. Now I say: In the terminology of jurists, above the recommended (mandub) is the desirable (mustahabb), and above the desirable (mustahabb) is the sunnah practice (musunnah). Let me stop here for now. Are the recommended (mandub) and the desirable (mustahabb) equal in excellence, or is it correct to say that the desirable (mustahabb) is better than the recommended (mandub)? It is correct. Is that so? Well, is it correct to say that the desirable (mustahabb) is like the sunnah practice (musunnah) in excellence, or is the sunnah practice (musunnah) better than the desirable (mustahabb)?
The student : ... .
The Shaykh : So we have reached the goal. The obligatory is better than the sunnah practice (musunnah), and it is all the more so that it is better than the desirable (mustahabb). So when he said in the hadith:
So it is better
فهو أفضلThe student : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes? Ah.
Source
www.al-albany.com
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