Explanation of the Book: The Beginning of Revelation, Faith, and Knowledge-04b
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The reciter: Amr ibn Khalid narrated to us, saying: Zuhayr narrated to us, saying: Abu Ishaq narrated to us from al-Bara': Sahih al-Bukhari 40.
Zuhayr said: Abu Ishaq narrated to us from al-Bara' in this hadith of his: أنه مات على القبلة قبل أن تحول رجال وقتلوا فلم ندر ما نقول فيهم فأنزل الله تعالى : وما كان الله ليضيع إيمانكم That men died upon the qiblah before it was changed, and others were killed, so we did not know what to say about them, until Allah the Exalted revealed: "And Allah would not waste your faith.".
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah that Allah did not waste their faith. This hadith contains a detailed explanation of the matter: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to pray toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa when he first arrived in al-Madinah. But why did he pray toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa? Was it by the command of Allah?
The answer: Yes, by the command of Allah, because Allah approved of it for him. If Allah had not been pleased with it, He would have objected to it. Indeed, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:[At-Tawbah 9:43] [At-Tahrim 66:1] [Al-Ahzab 33:37] And it is not possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) would remain for this period praying toward a qiblah that Allah does not approve of. But this is part of the wisdom, so that it would become clear later that he is truly the Messenger of Allah, and that he did not conceal or equivocate. So he agreed with the People of the Book when he first arrived in al-Madinah. Even in his hair, when he first arrived in al-Madinah, he let his hair hang back without parting it. Then he remained in this state as long as Allah willed, until he began to part it afterwards. So when he first arrived in al-Madinah, he liked to agree with the People of the Book. Then after this, he prohibited agreeing with them.
And in the hadith there is a point of jurisprudence regarding the permissibility of acting upon the report of a single narrator. What is the evidence for this?
That the Companions who were praying acted upon his statement and turned toward the direction of al-Masjid al-Haram. This is because multiple reports are not required for religious news. Multiple reports are not required for religious news. For this reason, we act upon a single report, we act upon a single adhan, and we act upon the testimony of a single person in the entry of Ramadan.
So multiple reports are not required for religious news. This is also the case when the one who changed the qiblah informed them; the Companions acted upon it and no one objected to them.
And it is also derived from this that if a person realizes an error in his prayer and it is possible to correct it without breaking the prayer, he should correct it and continue in it. Because the Companions corrected it and continued. If someone asks: "Have you not said that it is a rule that if the end of a worship is invalid, and the worship is of a type where the invalidity of the end invalidates the beginning, then the whole thing is invalid?"
We said: Yes, we say this. But in this worship, the beginning was in the commanded manner and the end was in the commanded manner, so there is nothing in it that invalidates it. Therefore, the Companions did not restart this prayer.
And what is derived from this in terms of jurisprudence is the permissibility of movement that involves correcting the prayer. The movement that involves correcting the prayer: if the correction is recommended, then it is recommended; and if the correction is obligatory, then it is obligatory. So the movement to straighten the row or for the worshippers to be closer to one another, what is this?
It is recommended. And the movement to remove impurity from a person's body or to remove an impure garment that he can pray without, this is obligatory. And likewise, the movement to turn toward the correct direction of the qiblah is an obligatory movement. Yes.
The reciter: Shaykh, there is good speech regarding the translation.
The Shaykh : Fine.
The reciter: I mean his statement "your prayer at the House."
The Shaykh : Yes.
The reciter: Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The statement of Allah:[Al-Baqarah 2:143] 'Your prayer to al-Masjid al-Aqsa.' And on this basis, the author's statement 'at the House' is problematic, although it is established from him in all narrations, and there is no specificity for it to be 'at the House.' It has been said that there is a transcription error in it, and the correct meaning is 'your prayer to other than the House.' And in my opinion, there is no transcription error in it, but it is correct. And the objectives of al-Bukhari in these matters are subtle. The explanation of this is that the scholars differed regarding the direction toward which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) faced for prayer while he was in Makkah. Ibn 'Abbas and others said: He used to pray toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa, but he did not turn his back to the Ka'bah, rather he placed it between him and al-Masjid al-Aqsa. Others stated that he used to pray toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa. And others said he used to pray toward the Ka'bah, so when he moved to al-Madinah, he faced al-Masjid al-Aqsa. This is weak and necessitates the claim of abrogation twice. The first is more correct because it combines the two statements. Al-Hakim and others authenticated it from the hadith of Ibn 'Abbas. And it seems that al-Bukhari intended to indicate the certainty of the most correct view, which is that when the prayer was at the House, it was toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa. He limited himself to that, being satisfied with the priority, because if their prayer toward a direction other than the House while they were at the House was not wasted, then it is even more so that it would not be wasted when they were far from it. So the estimation of the speech is: meaning, your prayer which you prayed at the House toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa."
The Shaykh : There is a consideration in this. The correct thing is to say: Their prayer toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa in al-Madinah, as indicated by the end of the hadith regarding those who were killed or died before the change of the qiblah. As for the prayer at the Ka'bah, as mentioned, there are three statements regarding it:
The first statement: That he faces the Ka'bah, so his prayer is from the Yemeni side, meaning between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone, and he faces with this the Ka'bah and al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
And the second statement: And this is the closest of the statements. The second statement is that he faces the Ka'bah and does not care about al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
And the third: That he faces al-Masjid al-Aqsa, but does he place the Ka'bah behind him, or on his right, or on his left?
Allah knows best.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : What appears, and Allah knows best, is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) faces the Ka'bah. This is the apparent view because it is the qiblah of Ibrahim. And facing al-Masjid al-Aqsa, if what al-Hakim narrated is correct, that he faces the Ka'bah and al-Masjid al-Aqsa, then perhaps the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) knew this from the news of the Children of Israel.
Yes, Hamid.
When the Prophet (ﷺ) came to Medina, he stayed first with his grandfathers or maternal uncles from Ansar. He offered his prayers facing Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) for sixteen or seventeen months, but he wished that he could pray facing the Ka'ba (at Mecca). The first prayer which he offered facing the Ka'ba was the 'Asr prayer in the company of some people. Then one of those who had offered that prayer with him came out and passed by some people in a mosque who were bowing during their prayers (facing Jerusalem). He said addressing them, "By Allah, I testify that I have prayed with Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) facing Mecca (Ka'ba).' Hearing that, those people changed their direction towards the Ka'ba immediately. Jews and the people of the scriptures used to be pleased to see the Prophet (ﷺ) facing Jerusalem in prayers but when he changed his direction towards the Ka'ba, during the prayers, they disapproved of it.
أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان أول ما قدم المدينة نزل على أجداده أو قال أخواله من الأنصار ، وأنه صلى قبل بيت المقدس ستة عشر شهرًا أو سبعة عشر شهرًا ، وكان يعجبه أن تكون قبلته قبل البيت ، وأنه صلى أول صلاة صلاها صلاة العصر وصلى معه قوم، فخرج رجل ممن صلى معه فمر على أهل مسجد وهم راكعون فقال : أشهد بالله لقد صليت مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قبل مكة ، فداروا كما هم قبل البيت ، وكانت اليهود قد أعجبهم إذ كان يصلي قبل بيت المقدس وأهل الكتاب ، فلما ولى وجهه قبل البيت أنكروا ذلكZuhayr said: Abu Ishaq narrated to us from al-Bara' in this hadith of his: أنه مات على القبلة قبل أن تحول رجال وقتلوا فلم ندر ما نقول فيهم فأنزل الله تعالى : وما كان الله ليضيع إيمانكم That men died upon the qiblah before it was changed, and others were killed, so we did not know what to say about them, until Allah the Exalted revealed: "And Allah would not waste your faith.".
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah that Allah did not waste their faith. This hadith contains a detailed explanation of the matter: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to pray toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa when he first arrived in al-Madinah. But why did he pray toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa? Was it by the command of Allah?
The answer: Yes, by the command of Allah, because Allah approved of it for him. If Allah had not been pleased with it, He would have objected to it. Indeed, Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said:
May Allah pardon you, [O Muhammad]; why did you give them permission
عفا الله عنك لم أذنت لهمO Prophet, why do you prohibit [yourself from] what Allah has made lawful for you
يا أيها النبي لم تحرم ما أحل الله لكwhile you concealed within yourself that which Allah is to disclose
وتخفي في نفسك ما الله مبديهAnd in the hadith there is a point of jurisprudence regarding the permissibility of acting upon the report of a single narrator. What is the evidence for this?
That the Companions who were praying acted upon his statement and turned toward the direction of al-Masjid al-Haram. This is because multiple reports are not required for religious news. Multiple reports are not required for religious news. For this reason, we act upon a single report, we act upon a single adhan, and we act upon the testimony of a single person in the entry of Ramadan.
So multiple reports are not required for religious news. This is also the case when the one who changed the qiblah informed them; the Companions acted upon it and no one objected to them.
And it is also derived from this that if a person realizes an error in his prayer and it is possible to correct it without breaking the prayer, he should correct it and continue in it. Because the Companions corrected it and continued. If someone asks: "Have you not said that it is a rule that if the end of a worship is invalid, and the worship is of a type where the invalidity of the end invalidates the beginning, then the whole thing is invalid?"
We said: Yes, we say this. But in this worship, the beginning was in the commanded manner and the end was in the commanded manner, so there is nothing in it that invalidates it. Therefore, the Companions did not restart this prayer.
And what is derived from this in terms of jurisprudence is the permissibility of movement that involves correcting the prayer. The movement that involves correcting the prayer: if the correction is recommended, then it is recommended; and if the correction is obligatory, then it is obligatory. So the movement to straighten the row or for the worshippers to be closer to one another, what is this?
It is recommended. And the movement to remove impurity from a person's body or to remove an impure garment that he can pray without, this is obligatory. And likewise, the movement to turn toward the correct direction of the qiblah is an obligatory movement. Yes.
The reciter: Shaykh, there is good speech regarding the translation.
The Shaykh : Fine.
The reciter: I mean his statement "your prayer at the House."
The Shaykh : Yes.
The reciter: Ibn Hajar (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The statement of Allah:
And never would Allah have caused you to lose your faith
وما كان الله ليضيع إيمانكمThe Shaykh : There is a consideration in this. The correct thing is to say: Their prayer toward al-Masjid al-Aqsa in al-Madinah, as indicated by the end of the hadith regarding those who were killed or died before the change of the qiblah. As for the prayer at the Ka'bah, as mentioned, there are three statements regarding it:
The first statement: That he faces the Ka'bah, so his prayer is from the Yemeni side, meaning between the Yemeni corner and the Black Stone, and he faces with this the Ka'bah and al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
And the second statement: And this is the closest of the statements. The second statement is that he faces the Ka'bah and does not care about al-Masjid al-Aqsa.
And the third: That he faces al-Masjid al-Aqsa, but does he place the Ka'bah behind him, or on his right, or on his left?
Allah knows best.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : What appears, and Allah knows best, is that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) faces the Ka'bah. This is the apparent view because it is the qiblah of Ibrahim. And facing al-Masjid al-Aqsa, if what al-Hakim narrated is correct, that he faces the Ka'bah and al-Masjid al-Aqsa, then perhaps the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) knew this from the news of the Children of Israel.
Yes, Hamid.