Benefits of the Hadith (I said: O Messenger of Allah, we are in the land of a people of the Book . . . ).
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The Shaykh : Among the benefits of this hadith is the permissibility of residing with the People of the Book, based on his statement: "We are in the land of a people of the Book". But is this absolute? The answer is no, because the texts indicate that migration is obligatory for one who is unable to manifest his religion. The apparent meaning of the hadith is that Abu Thalhah (may Allah be pleased with him) was able to manifest his religion and that the Muslims were distinguished from the disbelievers. However, if they were not distinguished and he could not manifest his religion, it would be forbidden for him, as Allah the Exalted said: [An-Nisa 4:97]. So, we say that this hadith is evidence for the permissibility of residing with the People of the Book in their land, but it is conditional on being able to establish one's religion; otherwise, migration is obligatory.
And among the benefits of this hadith is the eagerness of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to ask questions and the strength of their scrupulousness, to the extent that they asked about this minor issue. Thus, a person should ask about everything that is unclear to him. As for residing there and saying, "If it is forbidden, then Allah is Forgiving and Merciful," or reciting this verse and saying:[Al-Ma'idah 5:101], this is forbidden and not permissible.
Yes, and among the benefits of this hadith is that it is not permissible to use the vessels of the disbelievers except with two conditions. If we took the apparent meaning of the hadith, someone might say that if you are invited, you should not eat from their vessels. But this apparent meaning is not intended, without doubt, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ate from their vessels. A Jewish boy invited him to barley bread and a foul-tasting stew, and he ate. So the meaning is: Do we eat from their vessels if we borrow them from them, not if we are invited to eat and we eat?
And among the benefits of this hadith is the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) eagerness to keep the Muslim distant from the non-Muslim. That is, he forbade us from eating from their vessels unless we find no other, and also to wash them out of fear that we might mix with them and exchange vessels, where they come to us to borrow and we take from them. Because the further a person is from them, the better it is for him, without doubt. Now, these two conditions oblige a person not to use the vessels, because it is rare for someone not to find a vessel. Can a homeowner not have vessels? This is very rare. Then, if they have nothing and he borrows from the People of the Book, even if he sees the trace of water from washing in them, we say: Do not eat from them until you wash them, even if there is water in them now, meaning they are washed now. Do not eat until you wash them. So this involves a degree of restriction on using the vessels of the disbelievers. Now, if I have a vessel but it is not suitable for the guests who have come to me, meaning old vessels, small vessels, or broken vessels, and a disbeliever has vessels suitable for them, is it permissible in this case to take their vessels? Based on the apparent meaning of the hadith?
The student: It is not permissible.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, no. I have vessels, but the vessels in my house are sufficient for me. However, these guests are important people who need fancy vessels, and I do not have any. So, do I say that since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the honoring of the guest, this is a reason to borrow fancy vessels from them to honor the guest? Or do we say: Fear Allah as much as you are able, and since the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do not eat from them unless you find no other," I am finding [vessels] now. I present to the guest and say: "My brothers, excuse me, I have no other vessels." The apparent ruling is that if he excuses the guest in such a case, he is considered to have found other vessels. But if it is not possible, then every situation has its own ruling.
And among the benefits of this hadith is that when we see what people are doing today, mixing with the disbelievers, eating from their vessels, giving them vessels, and seeking their affection, we feel great regret. Therefore, we find that those who mix with them in this complete manner may love one of them more than they love a Muslim. This is very dangerous. Therefore, we must distinguish ourselves from them and keep our distance from them, and give them their rights. We give them their rights. If they are our neighbors, we give them the right of neighborliness. If they are relatives, we give them the right of kinship. If they are in need, we help them, if they are not fighting us in religion and not expelling us from our homes.
What is the connection of the hadith to the chapter on vessels?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, it is clear that the vessels of the disbelievers, although the original ruling is that they are lawful, become forbidden because they belong to them, unless we find no other. In that case, we wash them and eat from them. Now, what is your opinion if they rent out the vessels? Meaning, they are not lending them for free so that they do not have a favor over us, but they are renting them out. For example, a person who owns a large store gives them to whoever comes to rent from him. Does this fall under the hadith? Or do we say that in this hadith, there is no favor, and the rent he asks for is sufficient to keep away from mixing with him? I am hesitant in this matter. I have hesitation in this, because if you look at the fact that he has no favor over us and that the rent you will pay may be a deterrent from using their vessels, yes, we say here that there is no harm in renting from them. Now, if someone says: If they lent you a car, which is not a vessel, do we say you should not accept it unless you find no other?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes? The apparent ruling is no, unless we know that they will show off their favor over us or humiliate us with it, in which case it is not permissible for us to accept it. So, if we know that they will show off their favor over us and humiliate us for that, we do not accept it, because we are noble by what? By our religion. So we do not accept humiliation, and we, praise be to Allah, are able to ensure that no favor from them reaches us. And from 'Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ...
The student: The time is up.
The Shaykh : Is the time up?
Indeed, those whom the angels take [in death] while wronging themselves - [the angels] will say, "In what [condition] were you?" They will say, "We were oppressed in the land." The angels will say, "Was not the earth of Allah spacious [enough] for you to emigrate therein?" For those, their refuge is Hell - and evil it is as a destination.
إنّ الذين توفّاهم الملائكة ظالمي أنفسهم قالوا فيم كنتم قالوا كنّا مستضعفين في الأرض قالوا ألم تك أرض الله واسعة فتهاجروا فيها فأولئك مأواهم جهنّم وساءت مصيرًا * إلاّ المستضعفينAnd among the benefits of this hadith is the eagerness of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) to ask questions and the strength of their scrupulousness, to the extent that they asked about this minor issue. Thus, a person should ask about everything that is unclear to him. As for residing there and saying, "If it is forbidden, then Allah is Forgiving and Merciful," or reciting this verse and saying:
do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you
لا تسألوا عن أشياء إن تبد لكم تسؤكمYes, and among the benefits of this hadith is that it is not permissible to use the vessels of the disbelievers except with two conditions. If we took the apparent meaning of the hadith, someone might say that if you are invited, you should not eat from their vessels. But this apparent meaning is not intended, without doubt, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ate from their vessels. A Jewish boy invited him to barley bread and a foul-tasting stew, and he ate. So the meaning is: Do we eat from their vessels if we borrow them from them, not if we are invited to eat and we eat?
And among the benefits of this hadith is the Prophet's (peace and blessings be upon him) eagerness to keep the Muslim distant from the non-Muslim. That is, he forbade us from eating from their vessels unless we find no other, and also to wash them out of fear that we might mix with them and exchange vessels, where they come to us to borrow and we take from them. Because the further a person is from them, the better it is for him, without doubt. Now, these two conditions oblige a person not to use the vessels, because it is rare for someone not to find a vessel. Can a homeowner not have vessels? This is very rare. Then, if they have nothing and he borrows from the People of the Book, even if he sees the trace of water from washing in them, we say: Do not eat from them until you wash them, even if there is water in them now, meaning they are washed now. Do not eat until you wash them. So this involves a degree of restriction on using the vessels of the disbelievers. Now, if I have a vessel but it is not suitable for the guests who have come to me, meaning old vessels, small vessels, or broken vessels, and a disbeliever has vessels suitable for them, is it permissible in this case to take their vessels? Based on the apparent meaning of the hadith?
The student: It is not permissible.
The Shaykh : Yes?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : No, no. I have vessels, but the vessels in my house are sufficient for me. However, these guests are important people who need fancy vessels, and I do not have any. So, do I say that since the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the honoring of the guest, this is a reason to borrow fancy vessels from them to honor the guest? Or do we say: Fear Allah as much as you are able, and since the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said, "Do not eat from them unless you find no other," I am finding [vessels] now. I present to the guest and say: "My brothers, excuse me, I have no other vessels." The apparent ruling is that if he excuses the guest in such a case, he is considered to have found other vessels. But if it is not possible, then every situation has its own ruling.
And among the benefits of this hadith is that when we see what people are doing today, mixing with the disbelievers, eating from their vessels, giving them vessels, and seeking their affection, we feel great regret. Therefore, we find that those who mix with them in this complete manner may love one of them more than they love a Muslim. This is very dangerous. Therefore, we must distinguish ourselves from them and keep our distance from them, and give them their rights. We give them their rights. If they are our neighbors, we give them the right of neighborliness. If they are relatives, we give them the right of kinship. If they are in need, we help them, if they are not fighting us in religion and not expelling us from our homes.
What is the connection of the hadith to the chapter on vessels?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, it is clear that the vessels of the disbelievers, although the original ruling is that they are lawful, become forbidden because they belong to them, unless we find no other. In that case, we wash them and eat from them. Now, what is your opinion if they rent out the vessels? Meaning, they are not lending them for free so that they do not have a favor over us, but they are renting them out. For example, a person who owns a large store gives them to whoever comes to rent from him. Does this fall under the hadith? Or do we say that in this hadith, there is no favor, and the rent he asks for is sufficient to keep away from mixing with him? I am hesitant in this matter. I have hesitation in this, because if you look at the fact that he has no favor over us and that the rent you will pay may be a deterrent from using their vessels, yes, we say here that there is no harm in renting from them. Now, if someone says: If they lent you a car, which is not a vessel, do we say you should not accept it unless you find no other?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes? The apparent ruling is no, unless we know that they will show off their favor over us or humiliate us with it, in which case it is not permissible for us to accept it. So, if we know that they will show off their favor over us and humiliate us for that, we do not accept it, because we are noble by what? By our religion. So we do not accept humiliation, and we, praise be to Allah, are able to ensure that no favor from them reaches us. And from 'Imran ibn Husayn (may Allah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ...
The student: The time is up.
The Shaykh : Is the time up?