Miscellaneous by Al-Albani-291

The Shaykh : The author (may Allah have mercy on him) says regarding the eighteenth hadith: And from Mu'adh, who said: I said, "O Messenger of Allah, advise me." He said: Al-Tabarani narrated it with a good chain, except that there is a break in it between Ibn Salama and Mu'adh.
This hadith does not contradict the symbol of goodness assigned to it, despite the break in its chain mentioned by the author (may Allah have mercy on him), because we mean that it is good due to other supporting evidence, like the previous hadith from Ibn 'Umar in the last lesson.
Here, Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) asks his Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to advise him, so part of his advice to him was his saying (peace be upon him): This is the highest rank that a servant can attain in remembering Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and fearing Him, remembering Allah and watching Him such that he is always aware that He sees him, for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) does not miss any hidden thing on earth or in the sky. This hadith, or this story from this hadith, is famous with a more authentic chain than this one, in the established hadith in the two Sahihs from Abu Hurayrah, and in Sahih Muslim alone from Ibn 'Umar, that famous hadith of Jibril (peace be upon him) when he came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the form of a man whom none of the Companions recognized, even though he did not have the signs of travel; he was wearing white clothes and was not disheveled or dusty, but they said that none of us recognized him either. So they combined strange, contradictory descriptions, because if he were a stranger, the signs of travel such as dust and dishevelment would have appeared on him, and if he were a resident, the Companions would have known him. So he was a stranger. The point is that in the hadith, which is a long one we have mentioned more than once, when he (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about ihsan (excellence in worship), he said: ... This is the highest rank of the ranks of a Muslim's worship of his Lord (Mighty and Majestic). So in that hadith, the first question of that stranger, who is Jibril as we mentioned based on the end of the hadith.
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about Islam, and Islam is practicing Islam outwardly, but this Islam does not benefit its owner unless it is accompanied by faith. And when I and others say it does not benefit its owner unless accompanied by faith, we mean the benefit in the Hereafter, that is, that he is saved by his Islam which is accompanied by faith. So he does not benefit from Islam unless it is accompanied by faith. But if it is not accompanied by faith, does his Islam benefit him in any way? The answer is that in this world, it may benefit him. This type is considered a hypocrite in the language of the Shari'ah, because he displays Islam but conceals disbelief, because his faith was not accompanied by his Islam. So what does he benefit? That he saves his self and his wealth, as (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic, mass-transmitted hadith: So this is what they benefited from if their Islam was not accompanied by faith. If they said it, their blood and wealth were safe from me. Did they say it with their tongues while faith did not enter their hearts, or did they say it believing in it in their hearts? Their reckoning in that matter is with Allah, but as long as they have spoken the word of tawhid (the oneness of Allah), the ruling mentioned in the hadith applies to them by his saying: So the first rank in the religion is Islam, and it may benefit its owner in this world and not benefit him in the Hereafter. As for the one who benefits from his Islam in the Hereafter, it is when it is accompanied by the second rank mentioned in the hadith of Jibril when he said to him: etc. Then came the third rank, and there is no rank after it, which is the rank of ihsan (excellence in worship): .