What is the ruling on acting upon the evidence of address (dalil al-khitab) if it is not known who acted upon it?
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The questioner : Shaykh!
The Shaykh : Yes, Salim?
The questioner : May Allah forgive you, O Shaykh... The ghusl (full ritual bath) from washing the dead is part of the rulings concerning the dead.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) established a wisdom regarding the ghusl related to the commands and prohibitions, and he did not order the women who washed his daughter to perform ghusl.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : I say: It is better for the one who washes the dead to perform ghusl.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had a daughter who passed away (may Allah be pleased with her), and he ordered the women to wash her.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And he did not order them to perform ghusl.
The Shaykh : He, may Allah bless you, this is an important issue. If the command comes and the command is authentic, it is not necessary for us to know that the Messenger directed the command to every single person, and it is not necessary for us to know that every single person executed the command. We have the evidence of address (dalil al-khitab) and we are content with it. If we said we do not act upon the evidence of address until we know that it was acted upon, that would be problematic, and many things we do not know about would be lost. But the reason is that the hadith is weak. Imam Ahmad says: "Nothing is authentic in this chapter". This is the reason. Did you understand?
Then another reason comes, which is: is the command for obligation or for recommendation?
There is disagreement among the scholars of usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) on this.
But pay attention to the point that Salim mentioned, for example. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the women who washed his daughter: and he did not mention, "When you are finished, perform ghusl." And he said regarding the one whose camel gored him: and he did not say, "Perform ghusl." And this was during the Farewell Pilgrimage. If this hadith were established, it is not necessary that he ordered them. If we said that it is obligatory that when the Messenger commands a matter, he must command every single person to do it, that would be difficult and not feasible. The default for commanded matters is that they are acted upon, and that prohibited matters are left alone. But because of the weakness of this hadith, we cannot oblige the servants of Allah with something that involves probability.
The student: What is your opinion, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Our opinion is that if he performs ghusl, it is better.
The questioner : The prohibition mentioned in the hadith of 'Amr ibn HazmMuwatta Malik 15:1 indicates obligation, the obligation of wudu' (ablution). And regarding the fact that there is something in the hadith, we have spoken about it, so we specify this matter and say it is recommended.
The Shaykh : Yes, this is complete. That is to say, according to the rule mentioned by the author of al-Nukat, the author of al-Furu' in al-Nukat. But we say: Since this hadith was accepted, became famous, and people acted upon it in what was mentioned in it, this indicates that it is authentic. For this reason, some scholars said: "Its fame suffices for its chain of narration". Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, refer, may Allah bless you, to the men of hadith so that you know. These are not intellectual issues where we say: we prohibit what we prohibit. These are matters of information, and one refers to the report in them.
The Shaykh : Yes, Salim?
The questioner : May Allah forgive you, O Shaykh... The ghusl (full ritual bath) from washing the dead is part of the rulings concerning the dead.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) established a wisdom regarding the ghusl related to the commands and prohibitions, and he did not order the women who washed his daughter to perform ghusl.
The Shaykh : How?
The questioner : I say: It is better for the one who washes the dead to perform ghusl.
The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
The questioner : The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had a daughter who passed away (may Allah be pleased with her), and he ordered the women to wash her.
The Shaykh : Yes.
The questioner : And he did not order them to perform ghusl.
The Shaykh : He, may Allah bless you, this is an important issue. If the command comes and the command is authentic, it is not necessary for us to know that the Messenger directed the command to every single person, and it is not necessary for us to know that every single person executed the command. We have the evidence of address (dalil al-khitab) and we are content with it. If we said we do not act upon the evidence of address until we know that it was acted upon, that would be problematic, and many things we do not know about would be lost. But the reason is that the hadith is weak. Imam Ahmad says: "Nothing is authentic in this chapter". This is the reason. Did you understand?
Then another reason comes, which is: is the command for obligation or for recommendation?
There is disagreement among the scholars of usul al-fiqh (principles of jurisprudence) on this.
But pay attention to the point that Salim mentioned, for example. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the women who washed his daughter:
Wash her three times or seven times
اغسلنها ثلاثا أو سبعWash him with water and suds.
اغسلوه بماء وسدرThe student: What is your opinion, O Shaykh?
The Shaykh : Our opinion is that if he performs ghusl, it is better.
The questioner : The prohibition mentioned in the hadith of 'Amr ibn Hazm
no-one should touch the Qur'an unless he was pure
لا يمس القرآن إلا طاهرThe Shaykh : Yes, this is complete. That is to say, according to the rule mentioned by the author of al-Nukat, the author of al-Furu' in al-Nukat. But we say: Since this hadith was accepted, became famous, and people acted upon it in what was mentioned in it, this indicates that it is authentic. For this reason, some scholars said: "Its fame suffices for its chain of narration". Yes?
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, refer, may Allah bless you, to the men of hadith so that you know. These are not intellectual issues where we say: we prohibit what we prohibit. These are matters of information, and one refers to the report in them.