Benefits of the Hadith: (Do not restrain camels and sheep from their milk, and whoever buys them after that has the choice of two options after milking them . . . ).
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The Shaykh : The following benefits are derived from this hadith:
The first benefit: The prohibition of restraining camels and sheep from their milk, due to the prohibition in His saying:. So if someone asks: What is the wisdom behind that?
The answer: The wisdom behind that is two matters:
The first matter: Hurting the animal, because retaining the milk causes the animal to suffer without a doubt. The second: It is deception of the buyer; the deception of the buyer is apparent. And it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:Jami` at-Tirmidhi 1315Sahih (Darussalam).
And among the benefits of the hadith: The buyer of the restrained animal is given the choice between returning it or keeping it, due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):Sahih al-Bukhari 2150.
And among the benefits of the hadith as well: He has the choice for a period of three days. The connection to the number three is mentioned in many diverse texts, even:. And the number three is considered in the Shari'ah in many issues, including this hadith.
And among the benefits of the hadith: If he chooses to return it, it is obligatory for him to return with it a sa' of dates. So if someone asks: What if he does not have dates?
Then he returns with it the foodstuff that is most similar to dates, because there may be lands where they do not have palm trees and they do not have dates, so he returns the foodstuff that is most similar to dates. And it was said: Rather, he returns the milk itself, or if it is available, or its like if he has drunk it, or its value if the like is difficult to obtain. But the correct view is that he returns food that is closest to dates, because this is what the Lawgiver made a substitute for the missing milk. If returning the milk had been the intended purpose, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have said: Let him return the milk, and if that is not possible, then a sa' of dates.
Then we also say: Returning the milk itself is difficult, because the milk that was the subject of the contract is milk in the udder, and the milk in the udder is impossible to return and to estimate.
Now, among the benefits of the hadith: The prohibition of injustice. This is derived from the prohibition of restraining the animals, and it is so, for injustice is forbidden by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims. Allah the Exalted said:[Ash-Shuraa 42:40], and Allah Mighty and Majestic said: [Ash-Shuraa 42:42], and He said in the Holy Hadith: Sahih Muslim 2577a, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2030Sahih (Darussalam). The texts on this are many, and the scholars are in agreement on the prohibition of injustice.
Among the benefits of the hadith: The Shari'ah protects the rights of people. The way this is shown is: The prohibition of restraining the animals, and making the one who was deceived by it have the choice between keeping and returning.
Among the benefits of the hadith: If a person keeps the item after the loss of a required attribute, he keeps it without compensation, whether this attribute was stipulated verbally or by condition. The verbally stipulated one is that he says: It is a milch animal. In our case, you say: This is a sheep with a lot of milk. The one stipulated by condition is by what? By restraining it; it is a restrained animal. For this restraining gives the buyer the condition that it is a high-milking animal. So when this stipulated condition is gone, we say to the buyer now: Either you keep it as it is, or you return it, unlike a defect. The difference between them is what we mentioned earlier: What is a defect? A deficiency, a deficiency in the merchandise, because the requirement of the contract is that the merchandise be what? Sound and free from defects. As for this, it is the loss of perfection, so it is an addition to the original basis of the contract, which is soundness.
And among the benefits of the hadith: Establishing the choice for the person, meaning: that he acts by his own choice. This is a refutation of whom? Of the Jabriyyah who say: "The human being is compelled in his action and does not choose anything, rather he is like a palm leaf in the air and a feather".
And among the benefits of the hadith: The Shari'ah's eagerness to cut off disputes and stay away from them. Where is this derived from?
The student: A sa' of dates.
The Shaykh : From its estimation, estimating the compensation with a sa' of dates. And when we reflect on the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, we find that the Shari'ah prohibits everything that creates enmity and hatred between people, because it wants the Muslim community to be a united and loving community, like one body; if one part of it suffers, the rest of the body responds to it with fever and sleeplessness.
And this—meaning staying away from what causes discord, enmity, and hatred—is obligatory upon all Muslims, and it is more obligatory upon the students of knowledge specifically than upon others, because the students of knowledge are those who are followed as an example, and they are those who are pointed to with disapproval or approval. If they do evil, they become a source of joy for people, and their evil deeds appear in people's eyes greater than the evil deeds of others. And if they do good, they become a model for people in good and righteous work, and people love them.
It is very regrettable for us to find enmity, hatred, disputes, litigation, argumentation, and stubbornness for falsehood among many students of knowledge, in legal issues that should be a place of agreement and consensus, not a place of enmity, hatred, cursing, insulting, and alienation. For this is contrary to the Shari'ah and contrary to what Allah commanded and what Allah informed about this community:. If the Lawgiver prohibits some transactions that lead to dispute and enmity, how much more so for legal issues that are the cause of enmity and hatred?! This is truly a regrettable thing, and it is obligatory upon every Muslim, and especially upon the students of knowledge, to strive for everything that brings about the unity of hearts and the attainment of benefit.
I am not saying: Let people speak and make mistakes or be correct. No, but it should be clarified to people through calm and purposeful discussion. If the truth becomes clear, it is obligatory upon every person to follow it. And if it does not become clear, every person is excused. And the One who holds creation to account is Allah Mighty and Majestic, because what may become clear to me may not become clear to you, and what may become clear to you may not become clear to me. So why do we make such issues a cause of enmity and hatred among students of knowledge, until it is as if every group among them is a party, an independent party, as if they are not Muslims.
And the obligatory thing is the opposite for students of knowledge: that the student of knowledge should be with this scholar as the student is with the other scholar. Each of them wants the good, each of them wants the good guidance for the Muslims, and each of them wants to reach the desired goal: which is establishing the Shari'ah of Allah among the servants of Allah.
Now, among the benefits of the hadith: The number three is considered in many things, and by it things become clear. Things generally become clear in three. For example, if you ask permission to enter a man's house three times, it becomes clear that either he is not in the house, or he is averse to opening, or he is sleeping and resting. And is that not so?!
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the first asking of permission, he may not hear it. The second asking of permission, he may hear it but does not know the reality of the matter. And in the third, it generally becomes clear. So if he wants to open the door for you, he opens it, otherwise he leaves you. And so it is in many issues where the number three is considered.
The first benefit: The prohibition of restraining camels and sheep from their milk, due to the prohibition in His saying:
Do not restrain
لا تُصرُّواThe answer: The wisdom behind that is two matters:
The first matter: Hurting the animal, because retaining the milk causes the animal to suffer without a doubt. The second: It is deception of the buyer; the deception of the buyer is apparent. And it is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said:
Whoever cheats, he is not one of us.
من غشّ فليس مناAnd among the benefits of the hadith: The buyer of the restrained animal is given the choice between returning it or keeping it, due to his saying (peace and blessings be upon him):
whoever buys such an animal has the option of returning it
فمن ابتاعها فهو بخير النظرينAnd among the benefits of the hadith as well: He has the choice for a period of three days. The connection to the number three is mentioned in many diverse texts, even:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), when he spoke, would speak three times; when he greeted, he would greet three times; and when he asked for permission to enter, he would ask three times.
كان الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم إذا تكلم تكلم ثلاثا ، إذا سلم يسلم ثلاثا ، إذا استأذن يستأذن ثلاثاAnd among the benefits of the hadith: If he chooses to return it, it is obligatory for him to return with it a sa' of dates. So if someone asks: What if he does not have dates?
Then he returns with it the foodstuff that is most similar to dates, because there may be lands where they do not have palm trees and they do not have dates, so he returns the foodstuff that is most similar to dates. And it was said: Rather, he returns the milk itself, or if it is available, or its like if he has drunk it, or its value if the like is difficult to obtain. But the correct view is that he returns food that is closest to dates, because this is what the Lawgiver made a substitute for the missing milk. If returning the milk had been the intended purpose, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would have said: Let him return the milk, and if that is not possible, then a sa' of dates.
Then we also say: Returning the milk itself is difficult, because the milk that was the subject of the contract is milk in the udder, and the milk in the udder is impossible to return and to estimate.
Now, among the benefits of the hadith: The prohibition of injustice. This is derived from the prohibition of restraining the animals, and it is so, for injustice is forbidden by the Book, the Sunnah, and the consensus of the Muslims. Allah the Exalted said:
Indeed, He does not like wrongdoers.
إنه لا يحب الظالمينThe cause is only against the ones who wrong the people and tyrannize upon the earth without right. Those will have a painful punishment.
إنما السبيل على الذين يظلمون الناس ويبغون في الأرض بغير الحق أولئك لهم عذاب أليمO My servants, I have forbidden oppression for Myself and have made it forbidden amongst you, so do not oppress one another.
يا عبادي إني حرمت الظلم على نفسي وجعلته بينكم محرماً فلا تظالمواOppression shall be darkness on the Day of Judgment.
الظلم ظلمات يوم القيامةAmong the benefits of the hadith: The Shari'ah protects the rights of people. The way this is shown is: The prohibition of restraining the animals, and making the one who was deceived by it have the choice between keeping and returning.
Among the benefits of the hadith: If a person keeps the item after the loss of a required attribute, he keeps it without compensation, whether this attribute was stipulated verbally or by condition. The verbally stipulated one is that he says: It is a milch animal. In our case, you say: This is a sheep with a lot of milk. The one stipulated by condition is by what? By restraining it; it is a restrained animal. For this restraining gives the buyer the condition that it is a high-milking animal. So when this stipulated condition is gone, we say to the buyer now: Either you keep it as it is, or you return it, unlike a defect. The difference between them is what we mentioned earlier: What is a defect? A deficiency, a deficiency in the merchandise, because the requirement of the contract is that the merchandise be what? Sound and free from defects. As for this, it is the loss of perfection, so it is an addition to the original basis of the contract, which is soundness.
And among the benefits of the hadith: Establishing the choice for the person, meaning: that he acts by his own choice. This is a refutation of whom? Of the Jabriyyah who say: "The human being is compelled in his action and does not choose anything, rather he is like a palm leaf in the air and a feather".
And among the benefits of the hadith: The Shari'ah's eagerness to cut off disputes and stay away from them. Where is this derived from?
The student: A sa' of dates.
The Shaykh : From its estimation, estimating the compensation with a sa' of dates. And when we reflect on the texts of the Book and the Sunnah, we find that the Shari'ah prohibits everything that creates enmity and hatred between people, because it wants the Muslim community to be a united and loving community, like one body; if one part of it suffers, the rest of the body responds to it with fever and sleeplessness.
And this—meaning staying away from what causes discord, enmity, and hatred—is obligatory upon all Muslims, and it is more obligatory upon the students of knowledge specifically than upon others, because the students of knowledge are those who are followed as an example, and they are those who are pointed to with disapproval or approval. If they do evil, they become a source of joy for people, and their evil deeds appear in people's eyes greater than the evil deeds of others. And if they do good, they become a model for people in good and righteous work, and people love them.
It is very regrettable for us to find enmity, hatred, disputes, litigation, argumentation, and stubbornness for falsehood among many students of knowledge, in legal issues that should be a place of agreement and consensus, not a place of enmity, hatred, cursing, insulting, and alienation. For this is contrary to the Shari'ah and contrary to what Allah commanded and what Allah informed about this community:
And this is your community, one community.
وإن هذه أمتكم أمة وحدةI am not saying: Let people speak and make mistakes or be correct. No, but it should be clarified to people through calm and purposeful discussion. If the truth becomes clear, it is obligatory upon every person to follow it. And if it does not become clear, every person is excused. And the One who holds creation to account is Allah Mighty and Majestic, because what may become clear to me may not become clear to you, and what may become clear to you may not become clear to me. So why do we make such issues a cause of enmity and hatred among students of knowledge, until it is as if every group among them is a party, an independent party, as if they are not Muslims.
And the obligatory thing is the opposite for students of knowledge: that the student of knowledge should be with this scholar as the student is with the other scholar. Each of them wants the good, each of them wants the good guidance for the Muslims, and each of them wants to reach the desired goal: which is establishing the Shari'ah of Allah among the servants of Allah.
Now, among the benefits of the hadith: The number three is considered in many things, and by it things become clear. Things generally become clear in three. For example, if you ask permission to enter a man's house three times, it becomes clear that either he is not in the house, or he is averse to opening, or he is sleeping and resting. And is that not so?!
The student: Yes.
The Shaykh : As for the first asking of permission, he may not hear it. The second asking of permission, he may hear it but does not know the reality of the matter. And in the third, it generally becomes clear. So if he wants to open the door for you, he opens it, otherwise he leaves you. And so it is in many issues where the number three is considered.