Explanation of the Book of Fitnahs and Rulings-08b

The reciter: Muhammad ibn Bashshar narrated to us, al-Aqdi narrated to us, Shu'bah narrated to us from Sa'id ibn Abi Burdah, who said: I heard my father say: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent my father and Mu'adh ibn Jabal to Yemen and said: Al-Nadr, Abu Dawud, Yazid ibn Harun, and Waki' narrated from Shu'bah from Sa'id ibn Abi Burdah from his father from his grandfather from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).

The Shaykh : This was discussed previously at the beginning of the book, where it was mentioned that the Messenger sent Mu'adh ibn Jabal and Abu Musa al-Ash'ari to Yemen, directing each to a different region. He sent one to Aden and the other to Sana'a, instructing them to meet one another for the sake of consultation and deliberation. He gave them this advice, and what a piece of advice it was! These are four great pieces of advice: making things easy, and its opposite is making things difficult. His saying means that if he had stopped there, they would not have agreed, because if making things easy is the prevailing practice, it is true that they are making things easy. But when he said "do not make things difficult," it means that there should be no difficulty in any situation. Likewise, "bring good news and do not drive people away." He did not say "do not warn," and there is a difference between the two. A warning that does not intend to drive people away is right and is not forbidden. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent as a bringer of good news and a warner. However, driving people away is what is forbidden. A warning may be appropriate in a place where it does not drive people away, and bringing good news may be more appropriate in a place than warning, or vice versa. Therefore, he forbade driving people away. Indeed, when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prolonged the prayer, Mu'adh said: Or the other man who led his companions in the Fajr prayer said: This is an example of driving people away. As for bringing good news, how do I bring good news to a disbeliever? What do I say? I say to him: "Bring good news! If you embrace Islam, Allah will forgive you what has passed, you will be as if you were born today, you will have Paradise, you will be saved from the Fire, and you will be gathered with the prophets, and so on." This is bringing good news. But driving people away, if one says, "Embrace Islam, you donkey, or else the Fire is for you," will he accept Islam or not? No, this only stokes the fire in his heart, and he will not accept Islam. So bringing good news is different from driving people away. As for making things easy, if we see, for example, an ignorant person who commits a forbidden act, and if we were to hold him accountable for that act, it would be difficult for him, we make it easy for him. If a man finds it difficult to pray with water, we make it easy for him and say, "Pray with dust." If a third man cannot fast, we make it easy for him and say, "Fast other days." And if his inability is not expected to end, we say, "Feed a poor person for every day." And so on. The important thing is to seek to make things easy as much as possible, to the extent that is possible. In this is evidence for the preference of what we previously said to the brother. I remember when I was a student, some birds passed by that were not pigeons, and I was amazed by them and raised my head. Then our Shaykh, Abd al-Rahman al-Sa'di (may Allah have mercy on him), said: "The hunt for knowledge is better than the hunt for birds." Yes, meaning merely looking with the eyes. Therefore, a student of knowledge should strive, because if a word is missed, the word that follows it, which is built upon it, will be lost.