Miscellaneous by Al-Albani-275
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The Shaykh : His statement, "And from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 35:55 Al-Hakim narrated it and said: 'It is authentic according to the conditions of Muslim,' and Abu Dawud narrated it in a longer form, saying: Sunan Abi Dawud 3861Hasan (Al-Albani) This hadith is among the strong hadiths. You have heard that Al-Hakim authenticated it according to the conditions of Muslim, and that is the case. However, we have marked it as *hasan* (good) rather than *sahih* (authentic) because one of its narrators has a slight weakness in his memory. This weakness, by the terminology of the scholars, lowers the hadith from the rank of *sahih* to the rank of *hasan*. Therefore, it is *hasan* and according to the conditions of Muslim.
And this is, in reality, something that people may find strange, namely "hasan and according to the conditions of Muslim." It must be known from the perspective of hadith sciences that the ranks of hadiths, even in the two Sahihs, are not all of the same rank in terms of authenticity. In the two Sahihs, there are hadiths that are *sahih* in themselves, and hadiths that are *hasan* in themselves. Indeed, in them there are *sahih* hadiths and *hasan* hadiths due to other supporting chains.
And this hadith is from the category of *hasan* in itself. There is no doubt that a hadith that is *hasan* in itself is a proof according to the scholars, and even if it were *hasan* due to other supporting chains. Therefore, this hadith is among the hadiths that one should pay attention to in its narration, understanding, and then application for those to whom the matter is obligatory. That is because this hadith encourages cupping on specific days, namely the days after the middle of the lunar month: the seventeenth and the nineteenth.
And this specification, and the fact that the cupping commanded in this hadith, or encouraged in this hadith, is on these days, is without a doubt an act of worship and a secret among the secrets of the Shari'ah. I may say that it may not be possible for the Muslim in general, and perhaps for the scholar in particular, to reach the knowledge of the essence and secret of this specification regarding the benefit of cupping on these days.
And this specification is not a strange or unknown matter in the Shari'ah. For example, you pray five prayers every day with different numbers of rak'ahs and different methods in terms of secrecy and loudness, and yet we pray without hesitation in this varying number. Likewise, here we hear the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) say:Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 35:55 In the other narration, the narration of Abu Dawud: Sunan Abi Dawud 3861Hasan (Al-Albani) So this specification with these individual days is among the unseen matters that one must believe in, and it is absolutely not permissible for us to wait for experimental science to testify to this Prophetic medicine that it is correct and that it is a cure and beneficial. This is absolutely not permissible Islamically. And if some of the weak in faith hesitate in accepting many of the authentic hadiths, which are stronger than our hadith here, which may be agreed upon by the two Shaykhs and accepted by all the scholars of the Muslims.
If there are some of the youth today who doubt such hadiths, this is without a doubt a weakness in faith and a weakness in knowledge of Islam. So such hesitation is absolutely not permissible, because it opens for the hesitating Muslim the door of doubt, not only in the hadith, but also in the Qur'an, which is the first of the two foundations of the Islamic Shari'ah. Because you all know that the Noble Qur'an cannot be understood except through the path of the Sunnah. So if doubt begins in a person regarding this Sunnah, it is without a doubt that it leads to doubt in the Qur'an itself. Because first, as we have stated repeatedly, the Qur'an cannot be understood except through the path of the Sunnah. So if a doubter doubts in a certain Sunnah, that leads him to doubt in the Qur'an itself, which is not interpreted except by the Sunnah. And second, because in the Qur'an there are matters above the intellect, and I do not say contrary to the intellect, but above the intellect, such that the intellect cannot encompass them and is unable to grasp the secret therein.
In the Qur'an there is a lot of this, especially what relates to matters that are supernatural, or to put it better, contrary to the cosmic laws that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) established and informed us of. So some matters come in contrast to these laws. If we do not believe in them on the basis that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) informed us of them in the Noble Qur'an, then doubt has entered the Qur'an, and the meaning of that is disbelief itself in the Qur'an.
Therefore, the door of doubt in the Qur'an is doubt in the Sunnah. I cannot imagine a Muslim with complete faith who does not doubt anything from the texts of the Qur'an, and at the same time doubts many of the texts of the Sunnah. These are two things that never coexist. So whoever doubts in the Sunnah from the intellectual or logical perspective, it is without a doubt that this leads him to doubt in the Qur'an itself.
And the greatest example of that is what I referred to earlier, namely what is known among scholars as miracles. Miracles are among the matters that are contrary to the custom, meaning that the custom did not proceed in that way. People doubt in them except for one who truly believes in Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Many people, in the past and present, when their minds were constrained by believing in such texts that contain matters contrary to the custom, they used to, and their like still do, try to interpret them figuratively. For example, the miracle of the splitting of the sea for Musa (peace be upon him) and his passage with his army of the Children of Israel, as if they were moving on a paved land. Until when the last man of the Children of Israel exited to the other shore, the sea returned and closed over Pharaoh and his army. This is among the very, very contrary-to-custom matters, with no parallel and no known example in the world. How do the deniers interpret such a miracle? They said: This is an expression of the natural tide and ebb of the sea.
So every person knows that the tide and ebb of the sea does not become with this system and this speed. Now, the sea was in its state, a surface of water, and in one moment it split into two halves, and this massive army moves, and no soldier exits, as we said, the last soldier, but it closes over the soldiers of Pharaoh. This is not a natural matter if we wanted to treat it as the ebb and tide of the sea. When the army of Musa (peace be upon him) entered, it ebbed, and when the last man of the Children of Israel exited, it flowed and returned. This is also an unnatural matter.
Therefore, there is no room for submission to every matter that is contrary to the custom established by the text with this condition. There is no way and no room for submission to every matter that is contrary to the custom established by the text, either in the Book or in the authentic Sunnah, until the Muslim is a believer. The first condition of faith, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Qur'an:[Al-Baqarah 2:2-3] This is the first condition: that you believe in everything that is hidden from your intellect, whether it is a natural material matter like these contrary-to-custom examples, or it is a scientific matter like this example we are in, that the cure on the nineteenth day, for example, there is a cure in these days for every ailment, and we will explain the ailment here. That is, this is a matter that the intellect does not know first, and it has not entered into medical scientific experimentation now, as far as I know.
Therefore, as Muslims, it is obligatory upon us to believe in this which the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed us of, because as he said:[An-Najm 53:3-4]
Sunan Abi Dawud 3861Hasan (Al-Albani) So the scholars interpreted the ailment here in a way that specifies it to what whose cause is the agitation of the blood and its stagnation in the body. So the hadith is not understood here Sahih al-Bukhari 5688 as it is in the case of some hadiths in which the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed, for example, the black seed contains a cure for every ailment. So this is absolute and in its generality. That is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), to confirm this generality in the black seed, made an exception and said: "Except poison, except death" Sahih al-Bukhari 5688 But here he said: Sahih al-Bukhari 5688 So the scholars understood that the ailment in which cupping is beneficial, and particularly on these individual days, is the ailment whose cause is the excess and agitation of blood in its owner.
Therefore, if there were, for example, as we mentioned in a previous lesson, cuppers who still practice this Prophetic medicine, they are advised to advise their clients to choose from the days of the lunar month: the seventeenth, the nineteenth, and the twenty-first. This is more beneficial than cupping on the other days.
Then, this encouragement in this hadith is only in the case where a person wants to undergo cupping not out of dire necessity, but as a precaution. Because cupping is of two types: cupping that a person is compelled to undergo due to the dominance and agitation of blood in his body; in that case, it is permissible and beneficial, by the permission of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), on whatever day he does it. But if there is no dire necessity for hastening, it is recommended to choose these days, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specified them by stating that healing is attained in them.
The 'Abbasian Festival: O my brothers, as much as possible, O our brothers.
The Shaykh : In this very hadith, in a narration—actually two narrations—which are among the weak hadiths regarding this matter, we have avoided them. So whoever has a copy of *al-Targhib* should mark that.
Now, we have another hadith, which is the last authentic hadith in this chapter, and it clarifies that there are specific days designated for healing.
Whoever undergoes cupping on the seventeenth of the month will have healing from every ailment.
من احتجم لسبعة عشرة من الشهر كان له شفاء من كل داءIf anyone has himself cupped on the 17th, 19th and 21st it will be a remedy for every disease.
من احتجم لسبعة عشرة وتسعة عشرة وإحدى وعشرين كان شفاء من كل داءAnd this is, in reality, something that people may find strange, namely "hasan and according to the conditions of Muslim." It must be known from the perspective of hadith sciences that the ranks of hadiths, even in the two Sahihs, are not all of the same rank in terms of authenticity. In the two Sahihs, there are hadiths that are *sahih* in themselves, and hadiths that are *hasan* in themselves. Indeed, in them there are *sahih* hadiths and *hasan* hadiths due to other supporting chains.
And this hadith is from the category of *hasan* in itself. There is no doubt that a hadith that is *hasan* in itself is a proof according to the scholars, and even if it were *hasan* due to other supporting chains. Therefore, this hadith is among the hadiths that one should pay attention to in its narration, understanding, and then application for those to whom the matter is obligatory. That is because this hadith encourages cupping on specific days, namely the days after the middle of the lunar month: the seventeenth and the nineteenth.
And this specification, and the fact that the cupping commanded in this hadith, or encouraged in this hadith, is on these days, is without a doubt an act of worship and a secret among the secrets of the Shari'ah. I may say that it may not be possible for the Muslim in general, and perhaps for the scholar in particular, to reach the knowledge of the essence and secret of this specification regarding the benefit of cupping on these days.
And this specification is not a strange or unknown matter in the Shari'ah. For example, you pray five prayers every day with different numbers of rak'ahs and different methods in terms of secrecy and loudness, and yet we pray without hesitation in this varying number. Likewise, here we hear the Messenger (may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him) say:
Whoever undergoes cupping on the seventeenth of the month will have healing from every ailment.
من احتجم لسبعة عشرة من الشهر كان له شفاء من كل داءIf anyone has himself cupped on the 17th, 19th and 21st it will be a remedy for every disease.
من احتجم لسبعة عشرة وتسعة عشرة وإحدى وعشرين كان شفاء من كل داءIf there are some of the youth today who doubt such hadiths, this is without a doubt a weakness in faith and a weakness in knowledge of Islam. So such hesitation is absolutely not permissible, because it opens for the hesitating Muslim the door of doubt, not only in the hadith, but also in the Qur'an, which is the first of the two foundations of the Islamic Shari'ah. Because you all know that the Noble Qur'an cannot be understood except through the path of the Sunnah. So if doubt begins in a person regarding this Sunnah, it is without a doubt that it leads to doubt in the Qur'an itself. Because first, as we have stated repeatedly, the Qur'an cannot be understood except through the path of the Sunnah. So if a doubter doubts in a certain Sunnah, that leads him to doubt in the Qur'an itself, which is not interpreted except by the Sunnah. And second, because in the Qur'an there are matters above the intellect, and I do not say contrary to the intellect, but above the intellect, such that the intellect cannot encompass them and is unable to grasp the secret therein.
In the Qur'an there is a lot of this, especially what relates to matters that are supernatural, or to put it better, contrary to the cosmic laws that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) established and informed us of. So some matters come in contrast to these laws. If we do not believe in them on the basis that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) informed us of them in the Noble Qur'an, then doubt has entered the Qur'an, and the meaning of that is disbelief itself in the Qur'an.
Therefore, the door of doubt in the Qur'an is doubt in the Sunnah. I cannot imagine a Muslim with complete faith who does not doubt anything from the texts of the Qur'an, and at the same time doubts many of the texts of the Sunnah. These are two things that never coexist. So whoever doubts in the Sunnah from the intellectual or logical perspective, it is without a doubt that this leads him to doubt in the Qur'an itself.
And the greatest example of that is what I referred to earlier, namely what is known among scholars as miracles. Miracles are among the matters that are contrary to the custom, meaning that the custom did not proceed in that way. People doubt in them except for one who truly believes in Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Many people, in the past and present, when their minds were constrained by believing in such texts that contain matters contrary to the custom, they used to, and their like still do, try to interpret them figuratively. For example, the miracle of the splitting of the sea for Musa (peace be upon him) and his passage with his army of the Children of Israel, as if they were moving on a paved land. Until when the last man of the Children of Israel exited to the other shore, the sea returned and closed over Pharaoh and his army. This is among the very, very contrary-to-custom matters, with no parallel and no known example in the world. How do the deniers interpret such a miracle? They said: This is an expression of the natural tide and ebb of the sea.
So every person knows that the tide and ebb of the sea does not become with this system and this speed. Now, the sea was in its state, a surface of water, and in one moment it split into two halves, and this massive army moves, and no soldier exits, as we said, the last soldier, but it closes over the soldiers of Pharaoh. This is not a natural matter if we wanted to treat it as the ebb and tide of the sea. When the army of Musa (peace be upon him) entered, it ebbed, and when the last man of the Children of Israel exited, it flowed and returned. This is also an unnatural matter.
Therefore, there is no room for submission to every matter that is contrary to the custom established by the text with this condition. There is no way and no room for submission to every matter that is contrary to the custom established by the text, either in the Book or in the authentic Sunnah, until the Muslim is a believer. The first condition of faith, as Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said in the Qur'an:
a guidance for those conscious of Allah - (3) Who believe in the unseen
هدى للمتقين الذين يؤمنون بالغيبTherefore, as Muslims, it is obligatory upon us to believe in this which the Messenger (peace be upon him) informed us of, because as he said:
(3) Nor does he speak from [his own] inclination. (4) It is not but a revelation revealed,
لا ينطق عن الهوى إن هو إلا وحي يوحىIf anyone has himself cupped on the 17th, 19th and 21st it will be a remedy for every disease.
من احتجم لسبعة عشرة وتسع عشرة وإحدى وعشرين كان شفاء من كل داءhealing in black cumin for all diseases
شفاء من كل داءThere is healing in black cumin for all diseases except death.
الحبة السوداء شفاء من كل داء إلا الموتhealing in black cumin for all diseases
شفاء من كل داءTherefore, if there were, for example, as we mentioned in a previous lesson, cuppers who still practice this Prophetic medicine, they are advised to advise their clients to choose from the days of the lunar month: the seventeenth, the nineteenth, and the twenty-first. This is more beneficial than cupping on the other days.
Then, this encouragement in this hadith is only in the case where a person wants to undergo cupping not out of dire necessity, but as a precaution. Because cupping is of two types: cupping that a person is compelled to undergo due to the dominance and agitation of blood in his body; in that case, it is permissible and beneficial, by the permission of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), on whatever day he does it. But if there is no dire necessity for hastening, it is recommended to choose these days, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) specified them by stating that healing is attained in them.
The 'Abbasian Festival: O my brothers, as much as possible, O our brothers.
The Shaykh : In this very hadith, in a narration—actually two narrations—which are among the weak hadiths regarding this matter, we have avoided them. So whoever has a copy of *al-Targhib* should mark that.
Now, we have another hadith, which is the last authentic hadith in this chapter, and it clarifies that there are specific days designated for healing.