Miscellaneous by Al-Albani-264

The Shaykh : As for the one that follows it, it is a hasan hadith, and it is his statement: "And from 'Abdullah, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: Narrated by al-Bukhari and others. The 'Abdullah here is 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. It is generally a rule that when 'Abdullah is mentioned without qualification in later hadith books, the intended person is Ibn Mas'ud, among the four famous 'Abdullahs from the Companions, led by this 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, then 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, then 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, then 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas. The eldest of them in age, status, jurisprudence, and knowledge is 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. For this reason, they agreed that when they mention 'Abdullah without qualification, they mean Ibn Mas'ud. However, this rule should not be strictly adhered to in hadith books that are the foundations of the Sunnah and that narrate hadiths with their chains back to the Companions. The rule here is inconsistent and does not hold universally; indeed, it has no system. Rather, 'Abdullah is distinguished from these four by looking at the narrator from one of them. If the narrator, for example, from 'Abdullah is unqualified in the narration, such as 'Uqbah or Ibn al-Aswad or others from the Kufans, then it is 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud. If the narrator, for example, from 'Abdullah is unqualified in another chain or another hadith, such as Nafi' or Salim... that is 'Abdullah ibn 'Umar, because Nafi' would be his slave and Salim would be his son. If the narrator from 'Abdullah is someone other than these, such as 'Ata ibn Abi Rabah the Meccan or others, then it is 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas. And so 'Abdullah is identified in chains by looking at the narrator from him. As for when hadith scholars abbreviate the chains and collect the hadiths in concise books, if they say "from 'Abdullah," they mean Ibn Mas'ud. This Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadith for us from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: This... was close to Paradise and close to the Fire. Close to Paradise by his good deed and close to the Fire by his bad deed. Some scholars interpreted this closeness by considering that whether the deed is good or bad, it is a quality inherent in the person. So it is correct that this cause, which is the good deed or its opposite, is closer to him than the strap of his sandal. The strap of the sandal, perhaps it is not hidden from you all, refers to the thong of the sandal. This is how some commentators interpreted it. But it seems to me that we have no need for such an interpretation, because in my opinion, the hadiths interpret each other. There is the authentic hadith in al-Bukhari and others that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: This closeness is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) indicated in this hadith which we are now commenting on. And close to it is a hadith that may benefit many or few of those present, whose state is usually, after they leave or after the imam's taslim from the obligatory prayer, to leave immediately, rushing out of the mosque, in the manner of many people, represented by that Bedouin who came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) asking what Allah had made obligatory upon him. When he was informed of the five obligatory prayers and fasting Ramadan, he said: "Is there anything else upon me?" He said: He said: "O Messenger of Allah, by Allah, I will not add to them or subtract from them." He said: So many people are content with such economy and restriction in worship of Allah the Exalted and Majestic, limited to the obligations only, without the sunnahs and without the recommended voluntary acts. We must know that this, although permissible by the Shari'ah, is the path of those who are content with the least amount of work. Then he should be eager to perform these few, limited obligatory acts with completeness and perfection, such that he has not fallen short in any of them. He should fear, in the end, that he has not performed the obligations that Allah made obligatory upon him if he has fallen short in some of their pillars or conditions. Therefore, it is from the Sunnah to encourage all people to care for the sunnahs as well, not just the obligations, following the way of that Bedouin, because it is not possible for people to... upon them that if they make a statement, they fulfill it, and if they make a covenant, they also fulfill it. They may fall short, so they must have some reserve to make up for what is missing from the obligations. And the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) indicated this, which is a reality that our youth today, in particular, must be aware of and prepare for when he said: And in the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: The obligation may be deficient in quantity or quality, so this deficiency is made up by this voluntary act, which is from the reserve acts of worship. Therefore, it is not good for us to be hasty in leaving or departing after the imam's taslim from the prayer. Rather, we must come with much or little of the dhikr and recitations that have specific virtues mentioned in them. Among them is what I was about to mention to you as an interpretation of some other hadiths of the hadith... He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: What is the meaning of this hadith? That is, he will enter Paradise, and nothing will prevent him from entering Paradise except his remaining alive. So when he dies, he will enter Paradise. This hadith is an interpretation of our hadith here. So the main point of this hadith in its two parts is the encouragement of good deeds, by which a person enters Paradise, and the prohibition of bad deeds, by which their owner enters the Fire, may Allah the Exalted protect us. The hadith that follows it is a hasan hadith from Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : The one before it is hasan, and the one after it is hasan.