Reading from the author's text with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "So Abu Musa warned the reciters against the time becoming long for them, so that their hearts would harden.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: "So Abu Musa warned the reciters against the time becoming long for them, so that their hearts would harden. Then, since breaking the covenant includes breaking what was entrusted to them of command and prohibition, and distorting words" ...
The Shaykh : And what Allah entrusted.
The reader: What did Allah entrust to them?
The Shaykh : Which copy? Do you have a copy if what he mentioned ... is a copy.
The reader: I wrote it, Shaykh, I recorded a copy "Then, since breaking the covenant includes breaking what was entrusted to them of command and prohibition, and distorting words from their places, by altering and interpreting the Book of Allah, Ibn Mas'ud reported what is similar to that.
Al-A'mash narrated from 'Ammarah ibn 'Umar, from al-Rabi' ibn 'Umaylah al-Fazari: 'Abdullah told us a hadith; I have not heard a hadith better than it except the Book of Allah, or a narration from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): "
The Shaykh : And their souls deemed it lawful
The reader: " ".
The Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest. It is a great statement from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and how similar his speech is to the speech of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)! When you read his speech that is from himself, you say it comes from the niche of prophethood. Look at his statement regarding congregational prayer:As-Sunan al-Kubra lil-Nasa'i 5:154 and the hadith was mentioned in full. When you read it, you say: were it not for the fact that it is established as being from the saying of Ibn Mas'ud, you would judge it to be from the saying of the Messenger. And this last phrase is one of the most important things: that whoever sees evil and cannot change it, if Allah knows from his heart that if he were able, he would change it, he is safe. Is the trick mentioned by this scholar permissible or not?
The student: Permissible.
The Shaykh : Yes. He knew that if he said no, they would kill him, and if he agreed with them, he would betray the Book of Allah. So he devised this trick: he placed it in a horn and hung it on his chest and said, "I believe in this." They thought he believed in this, meaning their book, and that it was what was in his heart, so they left him alone. But Allah the Exalted made the truth clear when he died; they dug him up and found this book, and they differed over it. This is an indication of what we mentioned in the exegesis: that the Children of Israel are not to be trusted with what they have of the books, because they forgot much of it; they forgot it in knowledge and they forgot it in practice.
The Shaykh : And what Allah entrusted.
The reader: What did Allah entrust to them?
The Shaykh : Which copy? Do you have a copy if what he mentioned ... is a copy.
The reader: I wrote it, Shaykh, I recorded a copy "Then, since breaking the covenant includes breaking what was entrusted to them of command and prohibition, and distorting words from their places, by altering and interpreting the Book of Allah, Ibn Mas'ud reported what is similar to that.
Al-A'mash narrated from 'Ammarah ibn 'Umar, from al-Rabi' ibn 'Umaylah al-Fazari: 'Abdullah told us a hadith; I have not heard a hadith better than it except the Book of Allah, or a narration from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him):
That when the time became long for the Children of Israel, their hearts hardened, so they invented a book from themselves, which their hearts desired and their souls deemed lawful
أن بني إسرائيل لما طال عليهم الأمد قست قلوبهم، فاخترعوا كتاباً من عند أنفسهم، اشتهته قلوبهم، واستحلته أنفسهمThe Shaykh : And their souls deemed it lawful
The reader: "
And their souls deemed it lawful, and the truth prevented them from much of their desires, until they cast the Book of Allah behind their backs, as if they did not know. They said: "Present this book to the Children of Israel; if they follow you, leave them alone, and if they oppose you, kill them." Then they said: "No, but send to so-and-so, a man from their scholars, and present this book to him. If he follows you, no one after him will oppose you, and if he opposes you, kill him, and no one after him will differ with you." So they sent to him, and he took a sheet of paper and wrote the Book of Allah on it, then placed it in a horn, then hung it around his neck, then put his clothes over it, then came to them, and they presented the book to him. They said: "Do you believe in this?" He gestured to his chest and said: "I believe in this, and why should I not believe in this?" – meaning the book in the horn – so they let him go. He had companions who visited him, and when he died, they dug him up and found the horn, and they found the book in it. They said: "Do you not see his saying: 'I believe in this, and why should I not believe in this?' He only meant this book." The Children of Israel differed in seventy-odd sects, and the best of their sects are the followers of Dhu al-Qarnayn. 'Abdullah said: "And whoever remains among you will see evil, and it is sufficient for a man who sees evil and cannot change it that Allah knows from his heart that he hates it."
واستحلته أنفسهم وكان الحق يحول بينهم وبين كثير من شهواتهم، حتى نبذوا كتاب الله وراء ظهورهم، كأنهم لا يعلمون، فقالوا : اعرضوا هذا الكتاب على بني إسرائيل فإن تابعوكم فاتركوهم، وإن خالفوكم فاقتلوهم، ثم قالوا : لا، بل أرسلوا إلى فلان رجلٍ من علمائهم، فاعرضوا عليه هذا الكتاب، فإن تابعكم فلن يخالفكم أحد بعده وإن خالفكم فاقتلوه، فلن يختلف عليكم بعده أحد، فأرسلوا إليه، فأخذ ورقة فكتب فيها كتاب الله، ثم جعلها في قرن، ثم علقها في عنقه، ثم لبس عليها الثياب، ثم أتاهم فعرضوا عليه الكتاب، فقالوا : أتؤمن بهذا ؟ فأومأ إلى صدره فقال : آمنت بهذا، ومالي لا أومن بهذا ؟ - يعني الكتاب الذي في القرن- فخلوا سبيله وكان له أصحاب يغشونه، فلما مات نبشوه فوجدوا القرن، فوجدوا فيه الكتاب، فقالوا : ألا ترون قوله : آمنت بهذا، وما لي لا أومن بهذا ؟ إنما عنى هذا الكتاب، فاختلف بنو إسرائيل على بضع وسبعين ملة، وخير مللهم : أصحاب ذي القرن . قال عبد الله : وإن من بقي منكم سيرى منكراً، وبحسب امرئ يرى منكرا لا يستطيع أن يغيره، أن يَعلم الله من قلبه أنه له كارهThe Shaykh : Allah is the Greatest. It is a great statement from 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and how similar his speech is to the speech of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)! When you read his speech that is from himself, you say it comes from the niche of prophethood. Look at his statement regarding congregational prayer:
That Allah the Exalted prescribed for His Prophet the ways of guidance, and they are among the ways of guidance
إن الله تعالى شرع لنبيه سنن الهدى وإنهن من سنن الهدىThe student: Permissible.
The Shaykh : Yes. He knew that if he said no, they would kill him, and if he agreed with them, he would betray the Book of Allah. So he devised this trick: he placed it in a horn and hung it on his chest and said, "I believe in this." They thought he believed in this, meaning their book, and that it was what was in his heart, so they left him alone. But Allah the Exalted made the truth clear when he died; they dug him up and found this book, and they differed over it. This is an indication of what we mentioned in the exegesis: that the Children of Israel are not to be trusted with what they have of the books, because they forgot much of it; they forgot it in knowledge and they forgot it in practice.