Explanation of the Book of Fitnahs and Rulings-06a

The reciter: 'Umar ibn Hafs ibn Ghiyath narrated to us, saying: My father narrated to us, saying: Al-A'mash narrated to us, saying: Sa'd ibn 'Ubaydah narrated to us from Abu 'Abd al-Rahman from 'Ali (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: .

The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest. This means that this man was a Companion who reached this level. The soul, especially the soul of a commander who sees himself as superior to those below him, cannot bear to be patient with such a thing. He ordered them to obey him, but the man became angry with them and said, "Has not the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered you to obey me?" They said, "Yes." He said, "I have resolved that you must gather firewood, light a fire, and then enter it." Three orders: that they gather the firewood, that they light it as a fire, and that they enter it. Yes, if it had only been gathering firewood and lighting the fire, it would have been easier, and they would have been obligated to obey him. But he ordered them to enter it. So they gathered firewood and lit it. When they were about to enter, they stood looking at one another and said, "We only followed the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to escape the Fire. Are we to enter it? Why did we believe except out of fear of the Fire? How can we enter it?" This is a clear analogy, is it not? Otherwise, one might say to them, "You believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to escape the Fire of the Hereafter, so if you enter the fire of this world in obedience to Allah, you have not disobeyed." But we say the analogy is clear: a person wants to escape the fire in this world and the Hereafter. Even the wrongdoer is not to be punished by fire. Then, while they were in this state—meaning they were hesitating—the fire went out. It is possible that its going out was one of the signs of Allah, meaning it went out unexpectedly. It is also possible that it went out according to custom. But what appears, and Allah knows best, is that it went out according to custom, because such a hesitation would be prolonged, and there would be doubt among them. Perhaps the fire he ordered them to light was not large. It cannot be said that it went out in an unusual way, meaning in a manner that defies custom, unless two things are present: first, that it was large, and second, that their hesitation was short. If this is established, then Allah is capable of all things. Otherwise, the default is that things proceed according to custom. As for the subsiding of his anger, this may have happened in a short time, because people are of four categories regarding anger, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) categorized them: one who is quick to anger and quick to calm down, one who is slow to anger and slow to calm down, one who is quick to anger and slow to calm down, and one who is slow to anger and quick to calm down. The best of them is the one who is slow to anger and quick to calm down. This man was perhaps among those who were quick to calm down. The important thing is that his anger subsided. It was mentioned to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he said: It became a fire connected to the Fire of the Hereafter. We seek refuge in Allah.