Explanation of the hadith of Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: A man before you was granted wealth by Allah, and he said to his sons when his death approached: Which father was I to you?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : The hadith, which is like the previous one, is the statement of the author, al-Hafiz al-Mundhiri (may Allah have mercy on him), regarding Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Sahih al-Bukhari 3478 meaning He bestowed upon him and gave him wealth.
قال فإنني لم أعمل خيرا قط فإذا مت فأحرقوني ثم اسحقوني ثم ذروني في يوم عاصف ففعلوا فجمعه الله فقال ما حملك ؟ فقال مخافتك فتلقاه برحمته It was also narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim. He explains that strange word by saying: "Raghasa" with a fathah on the ra and a ghayn with a diacritic after a sin without a diacritic: raghasahu. Abu 'Ubaydah said its meaning is that He increased it for him, meaning the wealth, and blessed him in it.
So this hadith is like the previous one, and it was from the narration of Abu Hurayrah, as I recall. Yes, and this indicates that this hadith, with the validity of its chain through its primary route, is not a strange, solitary hadith, but rather a group of Companions shared in its narration. The author mentioned two of them: the first is Abu Hurayrah, and the other is Abu Sa'id here. We had asked: What is the answer to this hadith, whose apparent meaning is that this testator, with the mentioned will—which is an unjust will—apparently disbelieved in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and doubted His ability to resurrect him... and to hold him accountable with the reckoning he deserves? We presented an answer in the previous lesson, but we were not satisfied with it, naturally, and we promised to bring the correct, convincing answer, if Allah wills. When this man made this will to be burned and his body's particles scattered after burning in the sea and in the air, there is no doubt that this act indicates disbelief. So how did Allah (Mighty and Majestic) not treat him according to his disbelief, but rather forgave him? We said in the previous lesson that disbelief is not forgiven, as evidenced by the previous verse:[An-Nisa 4:48] How did He forgive this? We said some might say that the verse negates that Allah forgives shirk (associating partners with Allah), so this man did not associate partners, but rather disbelieved. We clarified for you that there is no difference in the Shari'ah between disbelief and shirk; every disbelief is shirk and every shirk is disbelief, contrary to what some scholars, past and present, hold. And thus the verse [An-Nisa 4:48] means to disbelieve in Him, whether this shirk is, from the linguistic side, actual shirk—taking a partner with Allah—or it is disbelief by denying something that Allah legislated or informed about... That was the answer. So what is the correct answer? It is the answer given by Imam al-Khattabi and al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani and other commentators and memorizers. They said: "Indeed, this man..."
Amongst the people preceding your age, there was a man whom Allah had given a lot of money.
إن رجلا كان قبلكم رغسه الله مالاAnd he said to his sons when his death approached: Which father was I to you? They said: The best of fathers. He said: I have never done any good. So when I die, burn me, then grind me, then scatter me in a stormy wind. They did so, but Allah gathered him together and asked: What prompted you to do this? He said: Your fear. So He greeted him with His mercy.
فقال لبنيه لما حضر أي أب كنت لكم ؟ قالوا خير أبقال فإنني لم أعمل خيرا قط فإذا مت فأحرقوني ثم اسحقوني ثم ذروني في يوم عاصف ففعلوا فجمعه الله فقال ما حملك ؟ فقال مخافتك فتلقاه برحمته
So this hadith is like the previous one, and it was from the narration of Abu Hurayrah, as I recall. Yes, and this indicates that this hadith, with the validity of its chain through its primary route, is not a strange, solitary hadith, but rather a group of Companions shared in its narration. The author mentioned two of them: the first is Abu Hurayrah, and the other is Abu Sa'id here. We had asked: What is the answer to this hadith, whose apparent meaning is that this testator, with the mentioned will—which is an unjust will—apparently disbelieved in Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and doubted His ability to resurrect him... and to hold him accountable with the reckoning he deserves? We presented an answer in the previous lesson, but we were not satisfied with it, naturally, and we promised to bring the correct, convincing answer, if Allah wills. When this man made this will to be burned and his body's particles scattered after burning in the sea and in the air, there is no doubt that this act indicates disbelief. So how did Allah (Mighty and Majestic) not treat him according to his disbelief, but rather forgave him? We said in the previous lesson that disbelief is not forgiven, as evidenced by the previous verse: