Does dislike imply prohibition in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): “And three things are disliked to you: idle talk, asking too many questions, and wasting wealth”?

The questioner: Our Shaykh

The Shaykh : We prefer

The questioner : In *Sahih Muslim*, from the hadith of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn 'Awf (may Allah be pleased with him), in the meaning of the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), that he said or as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct.

The questioner : So, is the dislike here in the sense of prohibition, or does it have another meaning?

The Shaykh : No, the principle in every prohibition is that it is forbidden. But in my opinion, this is not what you are asking, because whether the dislike is a prohibitive dislike or a recommendatory dislike, as some may think, the important thing is to know what the disliked question is in its two categories, meaning whether it is for prohibition or for recommendation. Is that not your question?

The questioner : I am the one who wants to know. Yes, I want to know if this dislike is a lower degree of prohibition, or if it means recommendation, as Imam al-Nawawi said?

The Shaykh : No, I gave you the answer: this is for prohibition. Because dislike in the language of the Shari'ah is different from dislike in the language of the people of the Shari'ah or the people of a school of jurisprudence. Dislike in the language of the Shari'ah is prohibition. Because Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said, for example: We do not say here that it is a recommendatory dislike. This cannot be interpreted this way. A recommendatory dislike. Likewise, His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): So, whenever dislike is mentioned in the Qur'an or the Sunnah, it means prohibition. It is very, very rare for dislike to come in some hadiths in the sense of "not preferable." It is very rare. As for the schools of jurisprudence, with the Hanafis, if dislike is stated absolutely, it is for prohibition. If dislike is stated with the Shafi'is, it is for recommendation. And the correct view is that if dislike is stated in the Book and the Sunnah, it is for prohibition, unless there is an indication. So here, "idle talk" and "asking too many questions" means the prohibition of asking too many questions. But what is this excess? What is the forbidden excess? It is the one that includes asking questions. If the question is directed from the Companions to the Messenger, it is because the Messenger will convey to the Companions everything that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) orders him to convey to the people, as He (Mighty and Majestic) said: So there is no need for the Companions of the Messenger, who live with him and observe the revelation descending on every occasion, to ask the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) too many questions. This is if the question is from the Companions to the Messenger. And if the question is from the generation that came after them, meaning Muslims from the Tabi'un and those after them, then the intended meaning of this prohibition is asking too many questions, either to stump people, or to argue and prevail, or to inquire about hypothetical matters that cannot happen, or may happen but are very, very rare. So it is among the matters that a Muslim should not ask about.