Benefits of the Hadith of the Islam of 'Amr ibn 'Abasa - may Allah be pleased with him - .

Eid Abbasi : We move on to the jurisprudence of this report:
First: It contains a clear merit for this noble Companion; for he was, even in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, a man of sound intellect, sound thinking, strong personality, and sincerity in seeking the truth. He did not accept the worship of idols or the exaltation of statues, nor did he like the beliefs of the pre-Islamic age of ignorance. He was not a follower who went along with people in their misguidance, but rather he was waiting for the appearance of the true religion. When it reached him, he traveled to its companion and verified it from him, so he believed without delay.
Second: It indicates that many of the Arabs in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance were upon the sound innate natural disposition that had not been corrupted, and they were ready to join the call to the truth when it appeared. These people were the substance of Islam, its supporters, and the majority of it.
Third: It indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was certain that he would be victorious, that the outcome would be for him, and that his call would prevail. This is apparent in his saying (peace be upon him) to 'Amr: , and more explicit than that is his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . There are other hadiths containing this same affirmation from him (peace and blessings be upon him) that his religion would appear. And before all of that is the saying of Allah (Mighty and Majestic): , and similarly, of course, in our time.
Fourth: It contains the recommendation to take advantage of suitable opportunities to fulfill one's needs; for when opportunities pass and go, they rarely return. A person's success is measured, and his intelligence is shown, in his choice of the appropriate time for the appropriate matter, with the appropriate person, and in the appropriate manner to secure his desires. Abu Najih saw that the situation was suitable for asking his questions, so he asked them, and he benefited and gained. He received the answers expansively as he wished. Whereas, if it had been at another time when the Messenger (peace be upon him) was busy, he would have received summarized answers, or perhaps some of them would have been postponed for him, or, for example, he would not have had the time for him. This is a lesson we also benefit from in such a hadith.
Fifth: It indicates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would repeat some advices and commands many times due to their importance, so that they would be firmly established in hearts and minds. This is an important educational principle that educators resort to, and it is also good to take the lesson from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in this. This is indicated by what Abu Najih, the narrator of the hadith, reported from him that he heard the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) encouragement of the two prostrations of prayer performed with humility more than twenty times. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not disdain to repeat such things. Often, repetition has benefit. The Qur'an repeated some verses containing reminders and rebukes of hearts, as in Surat al-Rahman: , and similarly in other surahs. This is not in vain, nor is it mere repetition, nor is it boring; rather, it is for an important purpose so that important rules and ideas that their owner wants to be fixed in minds become firmly established in souls and remain. They cannot remain except through repetition; for one, two, or three times may be forgotten, or some of those who want to hear it may not have been present. Repetition has such benefits. Of course, wisdom lies in placing it in its proper place. Sometimes repetition is boring, and sometimes it is good. As was said in the definition of eloquence in the past: "Eloquence is the conformity of speech to the requirements of the situation"; that your speech conforms to what the situation in which you are requires.
A person may be in a place where people have come to him from a far distance, and they have emptied their hearts and minds to listen to his speech, and they are ready to listen to him, for example, for an hour or two. If he shortens his speech, he is not wise and not eloquent. Here, it is good to be detailed and explanatory. Whereas in another scene, people may be in distress, in a difficult situation regarding an important matter concerning them. Then it is not good to be lengthy or detailed, but rather it is good to be concise as much as possible. Thus, this is wisdom and this is eloquence. And our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) says: . So this repetition in a suitable place is a successful educational style. Educators have noticed it and used it in schools and elsewhere. They resorted to repeating slogans that represent certain goals or ideas. So in terms of method, it is a good method, but the important thing is that it is used for a good purpose as well, so that it yields the required benefit.
Sixth: The report explains the virtue of prayer, an important virtue in prayer; which is the virtue of humility (khushu'), and that a person be occupied with the remembrance of Allah, reflect on His greatness, and contemplate the meanings of the verses and dhikr he recites. And that two prostrations with these descriptions cause a person to emerge from all his sins as if he were born by his mother. Perhaps this reminds us of the hadith of Ibn 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) when he said: "I wish I had two prostrations that were accepted." Because Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) says: . The acceptance of two prostrations means that this person is one who fears Allah, and that is sufficient for him as a good news, success, and victory.
This reward for such an act, two prostrations of prayer performed with humility, is a great divine generosity and a great Lordly reward. Abu Umamah, the other Companion, did not delay in finding it strange when he heard it. And thus, sometimes hadiths pass by us containing such generosity and great reward, so we must not find them strange. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is the Owner of great favor, and nothing is too great for Him. He bestows good upon things that are sometimes simple in the eyes of people, but in them is the establishment of true servitude from the one who performs it for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And thereby he deserves that great reward. So Abu Umamah repeated the question to 'Amr, asking him to verify it, for perhaps he was mistaken, forgetting, or inattentive. But 'Amr affirmed the report to him with an affirmation that left no room for doubt or error. This indicates the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) concern in advising the Muslims to be humble in prayer and to perform it well, due to what he knew of the great reward for one who does so. He is the one who is compassionate toward his Ummah, advising it, loving for it all good. So this drove him to repeatedly remind the Muslims of this virtue many times. And there is no doubt that we are in most need of benefiting from this.
We acknowledge that in most of our prayers, we pray them in this manner, performing the dhikr and recitations, while the heart is inattentive, distracted, and occupied. This undoubtedly diminishes the reward. It is true that it lifts the responsibility of punishment if the pillars are complete, but the reward is only according to the degree of humility. Then, the benefits and objectives that follow from prayer, which the Wise Lawgiver (Glorified and Exalted is He) aimed at, are not realized except with such humility. So let us be humble in our prayer, and let us reflect in it. Let us not be taken up with quantity. If Allah wakes us up from the night, for example, to pray many prostrations, it is sufficient for us to have two prostrations in which we perform tranquility and humility, and reflect on their meanings. We glorify Allah and prolong the glorification, and prolong the qunut, prostration, and standing. That is better than many prostrations that one of us prays without being humble in them or remembering Allah in them except a little. Perhaps two prostrations of this type are better than a person's entire life. His whole life would be in vain, regret, and loss for him on the Day of Resurrection, except for such prostrations in which he feels transparency, humility, softness of the soul, clarity of mind, and great humility for Allah (Mighty and Majestic). He weeps, becomes humble, and supplicates. Then such an hour is better than his whole life. Life is not by the length of days and nights, but by the good in them. And there is no good like this great good.
Seventh: The report also indicates the virtue of wudu (ablution); in addition to its health and psychological benefits, it carries a great reward in the expiation and forgiveness of sins. The sins of every limb fall away with the water that leaves it after it is washed or wiped. How noble is Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He)! How merciful He is to His servants! How many doors He has opened to erase and remove the sins of man. Woe to that wretched person whose end after all this is entering the Fire. When one washes his hands, the sins of his hands are removed with the water; when he washes his face, the sins of his face are removed, and so on. The person who remains deserving of the Fire after all this means that he is one who persists in disobedience, and his sins are too numerous to count, such that these doors of good are not sufficient to expiate them.
Eighth: The report shows the commitment of the Companions to obeying the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from the very first day they entered Islam. They were disciplined soldiers who felt a sense of responsibility and knew the right of their commander over them in obedience. They did not issue a decision in any important matter except based on his opinion and consultation. Thus, Abu Najih asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as soon as he affirmed the two testimonies of faith, declaring to him that he was at his command. He asked him what he should do, whether he should remain in Makkah or stay with his people, and he waited for the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) signal. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered him to return to his people until Islam became manifest or until his command came to him. This clarifies that Islam is a religion of obedience, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: , and that it is a religion of organizing affairs, not something haphazard and chaotic. Islam is a religion of order, and it teaches us order in our worship in its clearest forms and greatest scenes.
Ninth: The report indicates the times when prayer is disliked (makruh). These are: first, after the Fajr prayer until the sun has risen the height of a spear or two spears; second, when the sun is at its zenith, until it begins to decline from the middle of the sky; and third, when the sun turns yellow and approaches setting. We do not say for the third case or the third time that the time of dislike is from after the Asr prayer until sunset; rather, I said: when the sun turns yellow. What indicates this is that there are hadiths that clarify or restrict the prohibition found in other hadiths, such as the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): ; so if you pray while the sun is high, there is no harm. Similarly, there are athar (reports) from the Companions. Our teacher addressed this issue in his book *Al-Silsilah al-Sahihah* in hadith number: .
There is no doubt that the dislike of prayer in these times is of the type of dislike that implies prohibition (kara'hat al-tahrim), not the type of dislike that implies it is better to avoid it (kara'hat al-tanzi), which is the opposite of what is preferred. This is especially true because this imitation (tashabbuh) occurs in the most specific matters of worship, which is prayer. You have seen that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) explained the reason for the prohibition of prayer in these times by stating that the disbelievers prostrate to the sun when it rises, when it is at its zenith, and when it sets. Imitating the disbelievers is not a matter of mere dislike (tanzi), but it is forbidden (haram). Therefore, we understand the dislike to be based on the principle found in the style of the Book and the Sunnah regarding dislike, which is prohibition. We see this in similar statements, such as when Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) mentioned types of forbidden things, including shirk (associating partners with Allah) in Surat al-Isra: and so on, then He said: . Similarly, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . It is not a matter of "it is permissible but better to leave it," but rather it is of the category of what is forbidden. Thus, wasting wealth is forbidden, and it is a form of extravagance and squandering.
This is a point that must be noted, for many people have gone astray and deviated, deriving invalid rulings because they did not pay attention to the implications of the terms used in the Book and the Sunnah. They interpreted some of these terms with technical terms that emerged hundreds of years later, such as the jurists' term "makruh" (disliked), and terms like "nawafil" (voluntary acts) and similar ones. The term "makruh" in the terminology of the later scholars specifically means "disliked in the sense of being better to avoid" (makruh tanzi) according to the Shafi'i school. Similarly, the term "yajib" (should) or "la yajib" (should not); "la yajib" means it is good that it not be done. However, we find in the Qur'an that it is used in the strongest sense of prohibition, as Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said, for example: ; it means the most abominable thing. One must be alert to such observations, for in them lies salvation from many slips and stumbles. Terms that appear in the Book and the Sunnah must be interpreted as they meant at that time, not by the technical terms, meanings, and implications that were later introduced.
Tenth: In the report, there is the virtue of night prayer, and that the last third of the night is better than other times in terms of prayer, supplication, and remembrance of Allah; for its reward is greater in it, and it is more likely to be answered and accepted, and it is witnessed by the angels of the night and the angels of the day, as is established in the Sunnah. There is no doubt that one of the most important reasons for this is that night prayer is far from showing off and seeking fame, and that a person is free from his preoccupations in it, and although the realization of humility in it is more spacious than in other times, in it the heart and tongue agree upon the prayer. And in that, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) says: , so means: in agreement and gathering of the self and thought in that time, they are at their peak, the night prayer, .
The eleventh benefit: The report indicates that deeds are included in the definition of faith (iman), based on the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in explaining faith that it is patience and generosity, and that the best of its qualities is good character. There are many well-known texts on this, and it is the view of the Salaf and the majority of the people of the Sunnah that deeds are part of faith. Faith is not merely belief in the heart or utterance with the tongue, but it is belief with the heart, utterance with the tongue, and action with the limbs. These three are what establish faith; meaning, this refers to complete faith. There is no doubt that it has degrees, and that the minimum is belief in the heart with utterance, if there is no compulsion or obstacle. Deeds increase faith. This is also connected to the discussion of faith increasing and decreasing; it increases with obedience and decreases with disobedience. Faith does not remain static as it is; rather, it either increases or decreases according to a person's progress in the obedience of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and his turning toward it, or his negligence and his obedience to the devils of mankind and jinn.
Naturally, in the issue of faith, there is a detailed discussion that we are not currently addressing, but it is no harm for me to mention to you, also in passing, something in which many people err. Sometimes faith (iman) and Islam are mentioned in the same sentence, in one verse or one hadith, in the same context. When faith and Islam are mentioned in the same context, faith is intended to mean what was defined in the hadith of Jibril, where he said: , and Islam is intended to mean what was also mentioned in the hadith of Jibril; that Islam is . The principle is that there is a difference between Islam and faith, but when is this difference observed? When they are mentioned together in one place. However, if the term "faith" appears in a verse alone, or the term "Islam" appears in a text alone without the other term being mentioned with it, then each is intended to mean what is meant by both together. If faith is mentioned in a verse and Islam is not mentioned with it, it is intended to mean both faith and Islam together, for example: ...