Explanation of the Book of Purification-19
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh :" And from Suraqah ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: Al-Bayhaqi narrated it with a weak chain ":
That is: in sitting to relieve oneself.
Bulugh al-Maram 105 The jurists expressed it with the word "leaning," whereas the hadith says "sit." There is a difference between the two, because if we were to take the apparent meaning of the hadith, we would say that a person sits on his left leg, spreading it out, and extends his right leg, extending its shin. However, the words of the jurists do not indicate this; they indicate that you lean on the left leg and extend the right leg. This involves hardship, indeed severe hardship, especially for one from whom the impurity does not exit quickly. If he remains in this position for five or ten minutes, there is no doubt that he will strain himself. Therefore, praise be to Allah that He made this hadith weak so that we do not act upon it. Since this hadith is weak, either one should refer to the medical experts in this matter to determine which sitting position is easier for the excretion to come out, or the person should be his own doctor, looking to see if sitting straight is more comfortable and easier for the excretion to come out, or if leaning slightly to the left, or leaning slightly to the right, or leaning slightly to the left is better. The person is his own doctor in this matter, and he knows.
So if the medical experts say that such-and-such a sitting position is best, and there is nothing in the Shari'ah indicating a specific sitting position, then we accept their words, because these matters are greatly related to the health of the body. And to whom do we refer regarding what concerns the health of the body?
To whom, people?
The student: To the doctors.
The Shaykh : To the doctors. But suppose the doctor's statement contradicts what the Sunnah has brought?
The student: Prioritize the Sunnah.
The Shaykh : Yes, prioritize what the Sunnah has brought. For this reason, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed honey for a man with a stomach ailment, and the man drank the honey and his stomach became looser, his brother came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him: : Sahih al-Bukhari 5716 : That is, any substance, rule, or principle that contradicts what has been established by the authentic Sunnah and what has come in the Qur'an from medicine, we do not accept it, because the statement came from One who, if it is in the Book and the Sunnah?
It is from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and He is the All-Knowing, the Expert. And what the doctors say is either based on experiments or on indications that may be wrong or may be right.
In any case, if this hadith were authentic, we would act upon it and say that it is recommended for a person to do this.
And if it is not authentic, we are relieved of it. For this reason, we should, in debate and argumentation, demolish the evidence from its root before anything else, before arguing about its meaning. If it is not in the Qur'an or in the Sunnah whose authenticity is known, we say to the one who cited it: We demand the authenticity of the evidence. This is how Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) would debate the Rafidah in *Minhaj al-Sunnah* with this phrase. First, he would present the Rafidi's statement and say: The first point is that we demand the authenticity of the evidence. If it is not authentic, that is the end. If the root is not authentic, the branch is invalid. This is a rule that a person should apply when an arguer cites, for example, a hadith. The Qur'an is clear, but if he cites a hadith, perhaps this arguer does not know about the authenticity of the hadith and thinks it is authentic, and then he is alerted. And how many are the arguers who are people of innovation, and I mean by that: the people of innovation who bring weak hadiths. Therefore, crush their heads before anything else by demanding the authenticity of the transmission. Then, once the authenticity of the transmission is established, we then speak about the meaning.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) taught us regarding the place of relief: that we sit on the left leg and extend the right leg.
علمنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في الخلاء : أن نقعد على اليسرى ، وننصب اليمنىregarding the place of relief
في الخلاءthat we should sit on our left foot and keep erect our right foot
أن نقعد على اليسرى وننصب اليمنىsit
نقعدSo if the medical experts say that such-and-such a sitting position is best, and there is nothing in the Shari'ah indicating a specific sitting position, then we accept their words, because these matters are greatly related to the health of the body. And to whom do we refer regarding what concerns the health of the body?
To whom, people?
The student: To the doctors.
The Shaykh : To the doctors. But suppose the doctor's statement contradicts what the Sunnah has brought?
The student: Prioritize the Sunnah.
The Shaykh : Yes, prioritize what the Sunnah has brought. For this reason, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prescribed honey for a man with a stomach ailment, and the man drank the honey and his stomach became looser, his brother came to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him:
O Messenger of Allah, my brother drank the honey, but his stomach became looser. He said: Allah is truthful and your brother's stomach is lying.
يا رسول الله أخي شرب العسل ولكن زاد بطنه، قال : صدق الله وكذب بطن أخيكAllah has said the Truth, and the `Abdomen of your brother has told a lie.
صدق الله وكذب بطن أخيكIt is from Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and He is the All-Knowing, the Expert. And what the doctors say is either based on experiments or on indications that may be wrong or may be right.
In any case, if this hadith were authentic, we would act upon it and say that it is recommended for a person to do this.
And if it is not authentic, we are relieved of it. For this reason, we should, in debate and argumentation, demolish the evidence from its root before anything else, before arguing about its meaning. If it is not in the Qur'an or in the Sunnah whose authenticity is known, we say to the one who cited it: We demand the authenticity of the evidence. This is how Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) would debate the Rafidah in *Minhaj al-Sunnah* with this phrase. First, he would present the Rafidi's statement and say: The first point is that we demand the authenticity of the evidence. If it is not authentic, that is the end. If the root is not authentic, the branch is invalid. This is a rule that a person should apply when an arguer cites, for example, a hadith. The Qur'an is clear, but if he cites a hadith, perhaps this arguer does not know about the authenticity of the hadith and thinks it is authentic, and then he is alerted. And how many are the arguers who are people of innovation, and I mean by that: the people of innovation who bring weak hadiths. Therefore, crush their heads before anything else by demanding the authenticity of the transmission. Then, once the authenticity of the transmission is established, we then speak about the meaning.