Commentary on *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim*-04a
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: "And I have previously presented what they [al-Bukhari and Muslim] narrated in *the Sahihayn* from Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him): that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
And what al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said ".
The Shaykh : This, perhaps we can say, is *sunnah* (plural) more correctly, because he said:Al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim 1:104 and the one leading to the hole is the path, then the wording differs; the first is *lataktabun* and this is *lata'tabun*.
The reader: "And what al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:.
And all of this is presented in the manner of reporting the occurrence of that, and the blame for whoever does it"
The Shaykh : and the blame
The reader: "and the blame for whoever does it, just as he used to report what people would do on the eve of the Hour, regarding the signs and forbidden matters.
So it is known that imitating the Jews, the Christians, the Persians, and the Romans is something that Allah and His Messenger have blamed, and that is what is sought. It is not said: "If the Book and the Sunnah have indicated the occurrence of this, what is the benefit of prohibiting it?" Because the Book and the Sunnah have also indicated that there will always remain in this Ummah a group holding fast to the truth with which Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, until the Hour comes, and that they will not agree upon misguidance. So in the prohibition of that lies the increase of this victorious group, their firmness, and the increase of their faith. So we ask Allah, the One who responds, to make us among them. Also: even if it were assumed that no one among the people would leave this blameworthy imitation, there would be in knowing it the recognition of the ugly and faith in it, for the knowledge and faith in what Allah has disliked is good, even if it is not acted upon. Indeed, the benefit of knowledge and faith is greater than the benefit of mere action that is not accompanied by knowledge. For if a person knows what is right and rejects what is wrong, that is better than being dead-hearted, not knowing what is right and not rejecting what is wrong. Do you not see that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sahih Muslim 49a Muslim narrated it. And in another wording: Sahih Muslim 50a.
And the rejection of the heart is: believing that this is wrong and hating it for that.
So if this is achieved, there is faith in the heart. And if the heart lacks the knowledge of this right and the rejection of this wrong, this faith is removed from the heart".
The Shaykh : In my copy "and if it is lost from faith" perhaps it is a manuscript.
The reader: He pointed to it and said: "And if it is lost from the heart".
The Shaykh : A manuscript, yes.
The student: So *idha* with the *fa*.
The Shaykh : What?
The student: So *idha* with the *fa*
The Shaykh : Benefit
The student: So *idha*
The Shaykh : In our copy it is *idha* faqida, in yours it is *idha* fa, a manuscript, yes "So if this is achieved, there is faith in the heart, and if the heart lacks the knowledge of this" the *waw* is better, the *waw* is better.
The reader: "And also, a man may seek forgiveness for a sin while persisting in it, or he may do good deeds that erase it, or erase part of it, or he may reduce it, or his determination to seek it may weaken when he knows that it is wrong. Then, even if it were assumed that we knew that people do not leave the wrong and do not admit that it is wrong, that would not prevent the conveying of the message and the clarification of knowledge. Indeed, that does not drop the obligation of conveying nor the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil, according to one of the narrations from Ahmad—and the saying of many scholars.
Moreover, this is not the place for an exhaustive discussion of that, and praise be to Allah for what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reported, namely that: And this statement is not specific to this issue, but it applies to every wrong about which the Truthful One has reported its occurrence".
The Shaykh : The summary of this statement is that the author (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reported about that not as a legal approval, but as a report of something that will occur. And it is known that it is not permissible for us to follow the ways of the Jews and the Christians. So if someone says, "If that is the case, why did he report it?" the author (may Allah have mercy on him) explained that he reported it for the sake of knowledge and faith, and to warn people against it. His reporting is not to tell people, "It has happened, so do it," but so that people may guard against imitating the Jews and the Christians and falling into what they fell into. This is the summary of his statement (may Allah have mercy on him). And he says: That indicates it, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) reported that there will always remain a group from his Ummah manifestly upon the truth, and those who abandon them will not harm them. If all of them were to follow the ways of those who came before them, this Ummah would not be [as it is]. And this is clear. Yes.
You will surely follow the ways of those who came before you, heel following heel, so much so that if they were to enter the hole of a scorpion, you would enter it after them. They said: O Messenger of Allah, the Jews and the Christians? He said: Who else?
لتتبعن سُنن من كان قبلكم ، حذو القُذة بالقُذة ، حتى لو دخلوا جحر ضب لدخلتموه . قالوا : يا رسول الله ، اليهود والنصارى ؟ قال : فمن ؟And what al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said ".
The Shaykh : This, perhaps we can say, is *sunnah* (plural) more correctly, because he said:
Even if they entered the burrow of a scorpion, you would have entered it.
حتى لو دخلوا جُحر ضب لدخلتموهThe reader: "And what al-Bukhari narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
My Ummah will follow the path of the nations before them, span by span and cubit by cubit. They said: The Persians and the Romans? He said: Who are people but those?
لتأخذُن أمتي مأخذ القرون قبلها شبراً بشبر وذراعا بذراع ، قالوا : فارسُ والروم ؟ قال : فمن الناس إلا أولئك؟And all of this is presented in the manner of reporting the occurrence of that, and the blame for whoever does it"
The Shaykh : and the blame
The reader: "and the blame for whoever does it, just as he used to report what people would do on the eve of the Hour, regarding the signs and forbidden matters.
So it is known that imitating the Jews, the Christians, the Persians, and the Romans is something that Allah and His Messenger have blamed, and that is what is sought. It is not said: "If the Book and the Sunnah have indicated the occurrence of this, what is the benefit of prohibiting it?" Because the Book and the Sunnah have also indicated that there will always remain in this Ummah a group holding fast to the truth with which Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, until the Hour comes, and that they will not agree upon misguidance. So in the prohibition of that lies the increase of this victorious group, their firmness, and the increase of their faith. So we ask Allah, the One who responds, to make us among them. Also: even if it were assumed that no one among the people would leave this blameworthy imitation, there would be in knowing it the recognition of the ugly and faith in it, for the knowledge and faith in what Allah has disliked is good, even if it is not acted upon. Indeed, the benefit of knowledge and faith is greater than the benefit of mere action that is not accompanied by knowledge. For if a person knows what is right and rejects what is wrong, that is better than being dead-hearted, not knowing what is right and not rejecting what is wrong. Do you not see that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith.
من رأى منكم منكرا فليغيره بيده ، فإن لم يستطع فبلسانه ، فإن لم يستطع فبقلبه ، وذلك أضعف الإيمانbeyond that there is no faith even to the extent of a mustard seed
ليس وراء ذلك من الإيمان حبة خردلAnd the rejection of the heart is: believing that this is wrong and hating it for that.
So if this is achieved, there is faith in the heart. And if the heart lacks the knowledge of this right and the rejection of this wrong, this faith is removed from the heart".
The Shaykh : In my copy "and if it is lost from faith" perhaps it is a manuscript.
The reader: He pointed to it and said: "And if it is lost from the heart".
The Shaykh : A manuscript, yes.
The student: So *idha* with the *fa*.
The Shaykh : What?
The student: So *idha* with the *fa*
The Shaykh : Benefit
The student: So *idha*
The Shaykh : In our copy it is *idha* faqida, in yours it is *idha* fa, a manuscript, yes "So if this is achieved, there is faith in the heart, and if the heart lacks the knowledge of this" the *waw* is better, the *waw* is better.
The reader: "And also, a man may seek forgiveness for a sin while persisting in it, or he may do good deeds that erase it, or erase part of it, or he may reduce it, or his determination to seek it may weaken when he knows that it is wrong. Then, even if it were assumed that we knew that people do not leave the wrong and do not admit that it is wrong, that would not prevent the conveying of the message and the clarification of knowledge. Indeed, that does not drop the obligation of conveying nor the obligation of enjoining good and forbidding evil, according to one of the narrations from Ahmad—and the saying of many scholars.
Moreover, this is not the place for an exhaustive discussion of that, and praise be to Allah for what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reported, namely that:
A group from his Ummah will remain manifest upon the truth until the command of Allah comes.
لا تزال من أمته طائفة ظاهرة على الحق حتى يأتي أمرُ اللهThe Shaykh : The summary of this statement is that the author (may Allah have mercy on him) says that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) reported about that not as a legal approval, but as a report of something that will occur. And it is known that it is not permissible for us to follow the ways of the Jews and the Christians. So if someone says, "If that is the case, why did he report it?" the author (may Allah have mercy on him) explained that he reported it for the sake of knowledge and faith, and to warn people against it. His reporting is not to tell people, "It has happened, so do it," but so that people may guard against imitating the Jews and the Christians and falling into what they fell into. This is the summary of his statement (may Allah have mercy on him). And he says: That indicates it, for he (peace and blessings be upon him) reported that there will always remain a group from his Ummah manifestly upon the truth, and those who abandon them will not harm them. If all of them were to follow the ways of those who came before them, this Ummah would not be [as it is]. And this is clear. Yes.