Miscellaneous by Al-Albani-283

The Shaykh : The hadith that follows is a weak hadith. As for the hadith of the third man, it is also authentic, and it had been mentioned with us at the beginning of this book. That hadith is from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar, whereas this one is from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, and its source is different from the source of that one. So you will hear some differences between this and that, so do not be confused by the matter, because the narrators add to one another; this one remembers something that the other does not, and vice versa. He said: From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: The first phrase we encounter in this narration is this addition: "seeking provision for their families," because the hadith previously mentioned, which had been discussed with us at the beginning of the book, does not contain this phrase. To the end of the hadith, it was not mentioned in that hadith of Ibn 'Umar what caused these men to be on the road and in the desert until the rain caught them and they returned to the cave. Here, it clarifies the reason for us, saying: "seeking provision for their families," meaning seeking sustenance and livelihood, traveling across the earth as Allah the Exalted and Majestic commanded. So this is what led them to that situation. And this is also an expression, or this expression was not mentioned there. It was narrated by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih, and it was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim and others from the hadith of 'Umar. This is how it is in my copy, so whoever has it that way should correct it and attribute it to the hadith of Ibn 'Umar. And it was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim and others from the hadith of Ibn 'Umar in a similar manner, and it was mentioned previously, meaning at the beginning of the book, regarding sincerity to Allah the Exalted and Majestic. We return to the hadith and study some of its phrases and explain what may be obscure in them. "Three men from among those who came before you" means from the People of the Book. "Seeking provision for their families, so the sky rained upon them." This is an Arab style of expression, where "the sky" is used to refer to the place of rain, i.e., the rain. So "the sky rained upon them" means the rain caught them, as the poet said: "When the sky descends upon the land of a people" "When the sky descends upon the land of a people" means the Hour has stood, but the intended meaning of "the sky" here is the rain. "When the sky descends upon the land of a people *** We would have visited them, even if they were angry" So "the sky rained upon them" means the rain. "So they took refuge in a mountain," meaning in a cave in a mountain. This is an abbreviation found in this hadith, and its explanation is in the hadith of Ibn 'Umar mentioned and previously discussed at the beginning of the book. "So they took refuge in a mountain, and a rock fell upon them," meaning it blocked the cave from them, as in that hadith. "So one of them said to the others: 'The tracks have been erased and the rock has fallen,'" meaning due to the falling of the rains, if their families had looked for them, they would not have been able to follow their tracks, because the tracks had been erased by the rains and floods. So it is as if this group, i.e., one of them, is saying: "We are cut off from the world, and no one knows where we are. The tracks have been erased and the rock has fallen," i.e., the rock that blocked the cave from them. "And none knows your location except Allah, so call upon Allah with your most sincere deeds." "And none knows your location except Allah," and I passed over it... for the reader or the editor, because sometimes one reads from memory, so "none knows your location except Allah"... "with your most sincere deeds." This, as we explained there at that time, contains the legitimacy of seeking nearness to Allah through righteous deeds. "Call upon Allah with your most sincere deeds." There, Ibn 'Umar said about the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): In accordance with the saying of Allah the Blessed and Exalted in the Qur'an: So in this hadith, the hadith of Abu Hurayrah adds to the hadith of Ibn 'Umar by explicitly stating the legitimacy of a servant seeking nearness to Allah the Blessed and Exalted through a righteous deed of his.