The meaning of the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the hadith of the Night Journey and Ascension: "Musa said: I weep because a young man was sent after me..."
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The Shaykh : Now, there is a point of difficulty in the hadith, which is his statement that a young man was sent after me. A young man is a minor, and it is well known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was only sent when he had completed forty years of age. So what is the answer to this difficulty?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Now, this is a valid approach. It says that in the previous nations, a person was called a young man even if he had reached forty years of age, because their lifespans were long. For example, Nuh reached a thousand years among his people, except for fifty years. Now, what do you say?
The student: Our master Musa is older in age than our master the Messenger of Allah, so necessarily he must look at him as being young in age, no matter how old the age of the Messenger of Allah is.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. So you are a young man because there is someone older than you! Rest now. It appears that the answer is what the brother said: that youth is a relative matter, or that he is called a young man in consideration of the time that passed before the prophethood. Yes.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Now, this is a valid approach. It says that in the previous nations, a person was called a young man even if he had reached forty years of age, because their lifespans were long. For example, Nuh reached a thousand years among his people, except for fifty years. Now, what do you say?
The student: Our master Musa is older in age than our master the Messenger of Allah, so necessarily he must look at him as being young in age, no matter how old the age of the Messenger of Allah is.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly. So you are a young man because there is someone older than you! Rest now. It appears that the answer is what the brother said: that youth is a relative matter, or that he is called a young man in consideration of the time that passed before the prophethood. Yes.