Reading from the author's text with commentary and collation of manuscripts: "And Muhammad ibn Wadhih and others narrated
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reader: As for after: The Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *Iqtida' al-Sirat al-Mustaqim*: "And Muhammad ibn Wadhih and others narrated: that 'Umar ibn al-Khattab ordered the cutting down of the tree under which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was pledged allegiance, because people used to go under it. So 'Umar feared fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) for them. And the scholars differed".
The Shaykh : And this is among his good deeds for this Ummah (the Muslim community) (may Allah be pleased with him and may Allah reward him with good for it). If this tree had remained until our time, you would see the people of innovation (bid'ah) taking their imams, whom they claim to be imams, and sitting under it and pledging allegiance to them, and saying: "Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree," and the wali (close friend of Allah) takes the place of the Prophet.
But praise be to Allah, among the good deeds of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and how many good deeds he had, is that he cut down this tree.
And it is derived from this wise action of this Rightly Guided Caliph that everything from which fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is feared, even if it is originally permissible (mubah), must be removed to block the means to harm (sadd al-dhara'i'). Yes.
The reader: "And the scholars (may Allah be pleased with them) differed regarding visiting the shrines, so Muhammad ibn Wadhih said: Malik and others of the scholars of Madinah disliked visiting those mosques and those sites in Madinah, except Quba and Uhud. And Sufyan al-Thawri entered Bayt al-Maqdis (the Holy Temple) and prayed in it, but he did not follow those sites, nor prayer in them.
So these people disliked them absolutely, due to this hadith of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and because that resembles prayer at graves, as it is a means to adopting them as festivals".
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, not with me.
The reader: "And because that resembles prayer at graves, as it is a means to adopting them as festivals and to imitating the People of the Book, and because what Ibn 'Umar did was not agreed upon by any of the Companions".
The Shaykh : No, it is not with me; either it is missing from your copy or it is missing from mine.
The reader: He says: From here until the phrase: "And others recommended," approximately six lines are missing from manuscript A or T.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is with me, it is present in your copy, okay, read it.
The reader: "And because what Ibn 'Umar did was not agreed upon by any of the Companions, so it was not transmitted from the Rightly Guided Caliphs or others, from the Muhajireen and Ansar, that they used to specifically intend the places where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed.
And the correct view is with the majority of the Companions, because following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is by obeying his command, and it is in his action, by doing what he did in the manner he did it. So if one intends worship in a place, then intending worship in it is following him, like intending the sites of pilgrimage and the mosques".
The Shaykh : ... and that is that what was done by coincidence or custom, if we agree with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in it, we are not following him, contrary to what some people think. For example, we know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he departed from 'Arafah to Muzdalifah, stopped at al-Shi'b and urinated and performed ablution. Do we say: It is recommended (mustahabb) for us to stop at al-Shi'b and urinate and perform ablution? No, and even if we did that, it would not be worship nor following him (peace and blessings be upon him), because he only did that out of necessity; he needed to urinate so he stopped. Does it mean that we should bind our stomachs until the urine comes and we urinate here, or urinate without need, so that we would be contradicting the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
And similar to that is clothing. In the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), people wore the izar (lower garment), the rida' (upper garment), and the qamis (shirt), and most people wore the izar and the rida'. Do we say: It is from the Sunnah (recommended practice) to wear the izar and the rida' in a country where they do not know this? No, it is from the Sunnah (recommended practice) to agree with the people of the country in their clothing, except if it is forbidden (haram).
So pay attention to this point, because the Sunnah (recommended practice) is either specific (ayn) or generic (jins). The specific is that a thing is recommended (mustahabb) in its specific form, and the generic is that it is recommended (mustahabb) in its generic form. And such things that happened by coincidence are not ruled upon by legislation.
And among that is the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Makkah in the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage on the fourth day and remained shortening the prayer until he returned to Madinah. Do we say: There is no shortening (qasr) except for one who stays four days? No, because we know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Makkah on the fourth day by virtue of the journey; he left Madinah on the twenty-fifth of Dhul-Qa'dah and traveled until he arrived in Makkah on the fourth day, and he did not intend this. And the evidence that he did not intend it is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not inform the Ummah (the Muslim community) that whoever arrives in Makkah before the fourth day must complete the prayer. And if this had been obligatory (wajib), the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have clarified it to the Ummah (the Muslim community) due to the necessity of it. So pay attention to this great benefit mentioned by the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him), and that following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is not following the specific instance, but following the generic type, except if it is known that this specific instance is worship in itself, like intending 'Arafah, Muzdalifah, Mina, and the like. Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is among his good deeds for this Ummah (the Muslim community) (may Allah be pleased with him and may Allah reward him with good for it). If this tree had remained until our time, you would see the people of innovation (bid'ah) taking their imams, whom they claim to be imams, and sitting under it and pledging allegiance to them, and saying: "Indeed, Allah was pleased with the believers when they pledged allegiance to you under the tree," and the wali (close friend of Allah) takes the place of the Prophet.
But praise be to Allah, among the good deeds of 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), and how many good deeds he had, is that he cut down this tree.
And it is derived from this wise action of this Rightly Guided Caliph that everything from which fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is feared, even if it is originally permissible (mubah), must be removed to block the means to harm (sadd al-dhara'i'). Yes.
The reader: "And the scholars (may Allah be pleased with them) differed regarding visiting the shrines, so Muhammad ibn Wadhih said: Malik and others of the scholars of Madinah disliked visiting those mosques and those sites in Madinah, except Quba and Uhud. And Sufyan al-Thawri entered Bayt al-Maqdis (the Holy Temple) and prayed in it, but he did not follow those sites, nor prayer in them.
So these people disliked them absolutely, due to this hadith of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and because that resembles prayer at graves, as it is a means to adopting them as festivals".
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : No, not with me.
The reader: "And because that resembles prayer at graves, as it is a means to adopting them as festivals and to imitating the People of the Book, and because what Ibn 'Umar did was not agreed upon by any of the Companions".
The Shaykh : No, it is not with me; either it is missing from your copy or it is missing from mine.
The reader: He says: From here until the phrase: "And others recommended," approximately six lines are missing from manuscript A or T.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is with me, it is present in your copy, okay, read it.
The reader: "And because what Ibn 'Umar did was not agreed upon by any of the Companions, so it was not transmitted from the Rightly Guided Caliphs or others, from the Muhajireen and Ansar, that they used to specifically intend the places where the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stayed.
And the correct view is with the majority of the Companions, because following the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is by obeying his command, and it is in his action, by doing what he did in the manner he did it. So if one intends worship in a place, then intending worship in it is following him, like intending the sites of pilgrimage and the mosques".
The Shaykh : ... and that is that what was done by coincidence or custom, if we agree with the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in it, we are not following him, contrary to what some people think. For example, we know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he departed from 'Arafah to Muzdalifah, stopped at al-Shi'b and urinated and performed ablution. Do we say: It is recommended (mustahabb) for us to stop at al-Shi'b and urinate and perform ablution? No, and even if we did that, it would not be worship nor following him (peace and blessings be upon him), because he only did that out of necessity; he needed to urinate so he stopped. Does it mean that we should bind our stomachs until the urine comes and we urinate here, or urinate without need, so that we would be contradicting the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)?
And similar to that is clothing. In the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), people wore the izar (lower garment), the rida' (upper garment), and the qamis (shirt), and most people wore the izar and the rida'. Do we say: It is from the Sunnah (recommended practice) to wear the izar and the rida' in a country where they do not know this? No, it is from the Sunnah (recommended practice) to agree with the people of the country in their clothing, except if it is forbidden (haram).
So pay attention to this point, because the Sunnah (recommended practice) is either specific (ayn) or generic (jins). The specific is that a thing is recommended (mustahabb) in its specific form, and the generic is that it is recommended (mustahabb) in its generic form. And such things that happened by coincidence are not ruled upon by legislation.
And among that is the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Makkah in the year of the Farewell Pilgrimage on the fourth day and remained shortening the prayer until he returned to Madinah. Do we say: There is no shortening (qasr) except for one who stays four days? No, because we know that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) arrived in Makkah on the fourth day by virtue of the journey; he left Madinah on the twenty-fifth of Dhul-Qa'dah and traveled until he arrived in Makkah on the fourth day, and he did not intend this. And the evidence that he did not intend it is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not inform the Ummah (the Muslim community) that whoever arrives in Makkah before the fourth day must complete the prayer. And if this had been obligatory (wajib), the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) would have clarified it to the Ummah (the Muslim community) due to the necessity of it. So pay attention to this great benefit mentioned by the Shaykh (may Allah have mercy on him), and that following the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) is not following the specific instance, but following the generic type, except if it is known that this specific instance is worship in itself, like intending 'Arafah, Muzdalifah, Mina, and the like. Yes.