Benefits of the Hadith: “I was a man who experienced pre-seminal discharge, so I instructed al-Muqaddad to ask the Prophet…”
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The Shaykh : This hadith contains multiple benefits:
One of them is: the permissibility of a person informing others about himself regarding something he is shy to mention, out of necessity. You take this—O Usamah, the second Usamah—from where do we derive that it is permissible for a person to speak about himself with a description he is shy to mention, out of necessity?
The student:Bulugh al-Maram 69.
The Shaykh : Because this is something one is usually shy to mention, but if there is a benefit in it, there is no harm, and the person is not blamed for it.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: the permissibility of appointing a representative to seek a legal ruling, because Ali appointed al-Muqaddad to seek a ruling on his behalf regarding this issue.
And among its benefits is: the permissibility of acting upon the report of a single narrator in religious matters, and that is because Ali appointed al-Muqaddad for what purpose? Answer?
The student: For the purpose of acting upon what he is informed of.
The Shaykh : For the purpose of acting upon what he is informed of, and branching from this is the obligation of acting upon the report of a single narrator.
If someone asks: Does the report of a single narrator establish knowledge?
We say: No, but action is less than knowledge, meaning that it may be obligatory to act upon something that does not establish knowledge, because suspicion is sufficient in action. For example, the report of a single person does not establish knowledge, meaning that if he informs you, it is not possible for you to have certain knowledge in your heart, but in rulings, it is obligatory to act upon the report of a single narrator.
If someone asks: Does the report of a single narrator establish proof, meaning in matters of creed? The answer is: Yes, it establishes proof, and there is no doubt. The evidence for this is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send messengers as callers to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) without other people being with them in that mission, and he also used to write to kings and one person would take the letters, so the correct view is that the report of a single narrator is binding, and proof is established by it. As for whether it establishes knowledge or not, that is another discussion.
And the correct view is that it establishes knowledge through circumstantial evidence. Among the circumstantial evidence is: that the Ummah accepts this report. If they accept it, even if it is from a single person, it establishes knowledge. The most prominent example of this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 1 : because it is a singular, strange report; singular in its beginning, and absolutely singular, because it is clear that it is singular in its beginning.
Now, and among the benefits of this hadith is: that a person should not speak in the presence of his brother-in-law about matters related to women. Where do you derive this from?
The student: That Ali was shy to ask the Prophet.
The Shaykh : But did this shyness prevent him from understanding or deepening his understanding?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : Yes, good. So we take from this the benefit that a person should not speak in the presence of his brother-in-law about matters related to women, because of the embarrassment involved.
Now, if someone asks: Is it permissible for this shyness to prevent him from deepening his understanding of the religion? The answer is: No, and for this reason Ali ibn Abi Talib instructed al-Muqaddad to ask.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: the perfection of the manners of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and that is seen in the action of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) where he avoided asking the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about that, even though the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) requires frankness, but because this was one of the matters one is shy to mention, Ali ibn Abi Talib held back from it.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: the obligation of performing ablution from pre-seminal discharge, due to his saying: , and the apparent meaning of the hadith is that there is no difference between a small amount and a large amount, meaning in quantity, not in time or continuity, and that is the case.
But here is an issue, which is: that some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts, so they imagine that whenever they experience desire, they have discharged pre-seminal fluid, and they are troubled, not in winter or summer. Should they respond to this illusion or not?
The answer is: They should not respond to this illusion, because the original state is its absence, and because if they responded to it, Satan would lead them on and start making them imagine things greater than this. Therefore, we say: Do not respond to this illusion, and turn away from it.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: in the other narrations, that it is obligatory to wash the private parts from pre-seminal discharge. Is this a devotional act or a sensory act?
It depends on the disagreement of the scholars regarding his saying: Is the meaning that he washes his private part from it, so that it is specific to what the pre-seminal discharge touched?
If we say this view, and it has been said that it is the view of the majority, if we say this view: does its washing become sensory or devotional?
The student: Sensory.
The Shaykh : Sensory, why?
Because impurity must be washed, just as if it were on a garment or another limb.
And if we say: It is obligatory to wash the private parts, as is the stronger view, then this becomes a devotional act that is not rational. But what is the wisdom if its washing is devotional?
The scholars said: The wisdom of that is that washing the private parts causes the channels from which pre-seminal discharge comes to contract, and that this is purification and treatment, as it reduces it.
And some of them said, and perhaps they, meaning: those who say that, perhaps they have herded sheep, they said: If you wash the udder of a sheep with cold water, the milk contracts.
In any case, we say: It is devotional, but it has a benefit, which is: that the pre-seminal discharge contracts until it stops, by the permission of Allah.
Some scholars built upon this: if we say it is devotional, then intention is required in it, and if we say it is for a sensory thing, we do not need intention. And how can it be imagined that a person washes it without intention?
It is imagined that a man experiences pre-seminal discharge, and he immerses himself in a pond without intending to wash his private part. If we say it is devotional, that does not suffice for him, because he did not intend. And if we say it is for impurity, it suffices for him, because intention is not required for impurity. For this reason, if rain falls on a garment hanging on the roof, then it becomes pure, even if the person does not know about it, it becomes pure.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: that a person should not let shyness prevent him from deepening his understanding of the religion of Allah, because Allah the Exalted is not shy of the truth. For this reason, the women used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about matters they were shy to mention, until Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) praised the women who do this and said:.
But if the matter revolves between explicitness and hinting, and the need is removed by hinting and the benefit is achieved, is it better to be explicit or to hint?
The student: The second.
The Shaykh : It is better to hint, secondly, because we find in the Noble Qur'an that Allah uses euphemisms for intercourse, such as "coming" and the like, which indicates that hinting is better, except if your companion does not understand the hint, then you must be explicit.
A questioner asked a person and said: I came to my family in Ramadan, and he does not know what "I came" means. This must be explicit, because perhaps "I came to my family in Ramadan" could be understood as I arrived at their place from a journey, is that not so?
So if the one being asked does not understand the hint, then explicitness is necessary, but if he understands the phrase that achieves the purpose, it is sufficient.
Likewise, if the thing requires explicitness, then be explicit. For this reason, when the man came to confess to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about zina, he said to him: explicitly because this must be explicit.
One of them is: the permissibility of a person informing others about himself regarding something he is shy to mention, out of necessity. You take this—O Usamah, the second Usamah—from where do we derive that it is permissible for a person to speak about himself with a description he is shy to mention, out of necessity?
The student:
I was one who Madhi (urethral discharge) flowed readily and asked Miqdad
كنت رجلاً مذاءً فأمرت المقدادThe Shaykh :
I was a man who experienced pre-seminal discharge
كنت رجلا مذاءAnd among the benefits of this hadith is: the permissibility of appointing a representative to seek a legal ruling, because Ali appointed al-Muqaddad to seek a ruling on his behalf regarding this issue.
And among its benefits is: the permissibility of acting upon the report of a single narrator in religious matters, and that is because Ali appointed al-Muqaddad for what purpose? Answer?
The student: For the purpose of acting upon what he is informed of.
The Shaykh : For the purpose of acting upon what he is informed of, and branching from this is the obligation of acting upon the report of a single narrator.
If someone asks: Does the report of a single narrator establish knowledge?
We say: No, but action is less than knowledge, meaning that it may be obligatory to act upon something that does not establish knowledge, because suspicion is sufficient in action. For example, the report of a single person does not establish knowledge, meaning that if he informs you, it is not possible for you to have certain knowledge in your heart, but in rulings, it is obligatory to act upon the report of a single narrator.
If someone asks: Does the report of a single narrator establish proof, meaning in matters of creed? The answer is: Yes, it establishes proof, and there is no doubt. The evidence for this is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to send messengers as callers to Allah (Mighty and Majestic) without other people being with them in that mission, and he also used to write to kings and one person would take the letters, so the correct view is that the report of a single narrator is binding, and proof is established by it. As for whether it establishes knowledge or not, that is another discussion.
And the correct view is that it establishes knowledge through circumstantial evidence. Among the circumstantial evidence is: that the Ummah accepts this report. If they accept it, even if it is from a single person, it establishes knowledge. The most prominent example of this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended.
إنما الأعمال بالنيات وإنما لكل امرئ ما نوىNow, and among the benefits of this hadith is: that a person should not speak in the presence of his brother-in-law about matters related to women. Where do you derive this from?
The student: That Ali was shy to ask the Prophet.
The Shaykh : But did this shyness prevent him from understanding or deepening his understanding?
The student: No.
The Shaykh : Yes, good. So we take from this the benefit that a person should not speak in the presence of his brother-in-law about matters related to women, because of the embarrassment involved.
Now, if someone asks: Is it permissible for this shyness to prevent him from deepening his understanding of the religion? The answer is: No, and for this reason Ali ibn Abi Talib instructed al-Muqaddad to ask.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: the perfection of the manners of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them), and that is seen in the action of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) where he avoided asking the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about that, even though the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) requires frankness, but because this was one of the matters one is shy to mention, Ali ibn Abi Talib held back from it.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: the obligation of performing ablution from pre-seminal discharge, due to his saying:
Ablution is required for it
فيه الوضوءBut here is an issue, which is: that some people are afflicted with obsessive doubts, so they imagine that whenever they experience desire, they have discharged pre-seminal fluid, and they are troubled, not in winter or summer. Should they respond to this illusion or not?
The answer is: They should not respond to this illusion, because the original state is its absence, and because if they responded to it, Satan would lead them on and start making them imagine things greater than this. Therefore, we say: Do not respond to this illusion, and turn away from it.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: in the other narrations, that it is obligatory to wash the private parts from pre-seminal discharge. Is this a devotional act or a sensory act?
It depends on the disagreement of the scholars regarding his saying:
he washes his private part
يغسل ذكرهIf we say this view, and it has been said that it is the view of the majority, if we say this view: does its washing become sensory or devotional?
The student: Sensory.
The Shaykh : Sensory, why?
Because impurity must be washed, just as if it were on a garment or another limb.
And if we say: It is obligatory to wash the private parts, as is the stronger view, then this becomes a devotional act that is not rational. But what is the wisdom if its washing is devotional?
The scholars said: The wisdom of that is that washing the private parts causes the channels from which pre-seminal discharge comes to contract, and that this is purification and treatment, as it reduces it.
And some of them said, and perhaps they, meaning: those who say that, perhaps they have herded sheep, they said: If you wash the udder of a sheep with cold water, the milk contracts.
In any case, we say: It is devotional, but it has a benefit, which is: that the pre-seminal discharge contracts until it stops, by the permission of Allah.
Some scholars built upon this: if we say it is devotional, then intention is required in it, and if we say it is for a sensory thing, we do not need intention. And how can it be imagined that a person washes it without intention?
It is imagined that a man experiences pre-seminal discharge, and he immerses himself in a pond without intending to wash his private part. If we say it is devotional, that does not suffice for him, because he did not intend. And if we say it is for impurity, it suffices for him, because intention is not required for impurity. For this reason, if rain falls on a garment hanging on the roof, then it becomes pure, even if the person does not know about it, it becomes pure.
And among the benefits of this hadith is: that a person should not let shyness prevent him from deepening his understanding of the religion of Allah, because Allah the Exalted is not shy of the truth. For this reason, the women used to ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about matters they were shy to mention, until Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) praised the women who do this and said:
How excellent are the women of the Ansar; their modesty did not prevent them from seeking knowledge in religion.
نِعْمَ النساءُ نساءُ الأنصار لم يمنعهن الحياء أن يتفقهن في الدينBut if the matter revolves between explicitness and hinting, and the need is removed by hinting and the benefit is achieved, is it better to be explicit or to hint?
The student: The second.
The Shaykh : It is better to hint, secondly, because we find in the Noble Qur'an that Allah uses euphemisms for intercourse, such as "coming" and the like, which indicates that hinting is better, except if your companion does not understand the hint, then you must be explicit.
A questioner asked a person and said: I came to my family in Ramadan, and he does not know what "I came" means. This must be explicit, because perhaps "I came to my family in Ramadan" could be understood as I arrived at their place from a journey, is that not so?
So if the one being asked does not understand the hint, then explicitness is necessary, but if he understands the phrase that achieves the purpose, it is sufficient.
Likewise, if the thing requires explicitness, then be explicit. For this reason, when the man came to confess to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about zina, he said to him: