Explanation of the Book: The Beginning of Revelation, Faith, and Knowledge-10a

The reciter: Isma'il narrated to us, saying: Malik narrated to me from Ibn Shihab from Isa ibn Talhah ibn 'Ubayd Allah from Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-As: .

The Shaykh : This hadith contains jurisprudential and non-jurisprudential issues. First: it is called the Farewell Pilgrimage because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) did not perform Hajj after his migration except this one, so it is the first and the last. Before the migration, he performed Hajj once, twice, or more. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would go out during the days of the season and present himself to the tribes. Al-Tirmidhi narrated:
It also contains the ruling that it is permissible for a person to issue a fatwa while riding a mount, and similarly, in place of a mount, a car, and there is no harm. It is not said that he must dismount to the ground; there is nothing wrong with it. Similarly, if he sets up a chair to sit on and issue fatwas to the people, there is nothing wrong with it, even if he is higher than the questioners, because there may be a public benefit in that.
It also contains the jurisprudential ruling that it is permissible to advance some of these actions over others; it is permissible to advance some over others. The scholars differed on this issue with several opinions: some said that advancing them is not permissible, and whoever advances them owes a blood sacrifice. Some said: advancing them is permissible absolutely, and the order is based on preference. Some said: advancing them is permissible if the person is ignorant or forgetful, based on his statement in this hadith, "I did not realize." The correct view is that advancing them is permissible even with awareness and knowledge, and the order is preferred but not obligatory. The evidence for this is that when the man asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), he said: Slaughter for the future, not the past?
The student: The future.

The Shaykh : He is saying, "I slaughtered for the future." If it had not been permissible, he would have said, "Do not repeat it," just as he said to Abu Bakrah, "May Allah increase your zeal, but do not repeat it." The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would not neglect any matter, however small, without specifying it. So when he said, "Slaughter it, and there is no harm," and did not say, "Do not repeat it," if he had said, "Slaughter it, and do not repeat it," we would have known that he meant, "Slaughter it," implying that there is nothing wrong with your previous slaughter.
Then, at the end of the hadith: From this comes the sa'y before the tawaf. He (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked about it, but it is not in the two Sahihs. He was asked: The intended meaning is the sa'y of Hajj. The majority of scholars understood the tawaf of Hajj to mean that the sa'y is before the tawaf, meaning the sa'y before the tawaf of arrival, and that applies to the one combining Hajj and 'Umrah and the one performing Hajj alone. But this understanding is weak, because the sa'y after the tawaf of arrival, if one is performing Hajj alone or combining, does not require, what? It does not require a question; it is known in itself. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) performed sa'y before the tawaf of Ifadah. The hadith is a question about a tawaf followed by sa'y, and about a sa'y after a tawaf. The sa'y after the tawaf of arrival does not fall under this. However, the flaw of some scholars in tracing such texts is what we have previously pointed out: what is it? That one believes, before seeking evidence, that a certain ruling is established. Then, when the texts come contrary to what one believes, one tries to force the texts to fit what one believed. And although the self sometimes cheats, the self truly cheats sometimes, and you may find a person forcing texts onto unpleasant, repugnant interpretations in order to complete what he was saying. But this is undoubtedly a deficiency in faith, a deficiency in faith, because Allah said to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): This is the purification of the inner self. This is the purification of the outer self. The submission of the inner self is that there be no resistance in our hearts to what has been decreed, even if it is contrary to what we want, even if it is what we dislike. And the submission of the outer self: And this is the obligation of every person, and especially students of knowledge. The obligation of the student of knowledge, when the evidence becomes clear to him from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger, is to say, "We hear and we obey." And this, by Allah, is not a defect for him; it does not diminish him in the sight of Allah or in the sight of creation. Rather, this increases his elevation. How sweet is the saying of the one who says: "I did not realize that this hadith indicates such and such," or "This hadith did not reach me," or "I did not realize that the verse indicates such and such," or "I did not know the specific exception," or "I did not know the abrogating text." But praise be to Allah who guided me to it, so now I am returning to it. This knowledge, and this obedience and submission to Allah and His Messenger: Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) used to say: "When a hadith is authentic, it is my madhhab in my life and after my death." And for this reason, those who debate the followers of Al-Shafi'i sometimes say, "This is the madhhab of your Imam." The hadith is authentic, and your Imam said, "When a hadith is authentic, it is my madhhab in my life and after my death." See the humility for Allah, even after death. If the words of Al-Shafi'i come contrary, and a hadith comes that contradicts them, we say, "The madhhab of Al-Shafi'i is this hadith, not what Al-Shafi'i said." We ask Allah for guidance. And in this hadith, there is also the breadth of the mercy of Allah the Exalted, which is apparent, in that the people on the day of 'Id are all in a state of ease. We say, if it is easy for you to dismount and perform tawaf in Makkah, dismount. If it is easy for you to slaughter, slaughter. If it is easy for you to stone, stone. Do what is easiest. And this is undoubtedly from the mercy of Allah, because the people are now scattered, each in a direction. But if it were said to the people, "You must order the stoning, then the slaughter, then the shaving, then the tawaf, then the sa'y," if it were said, "Order this sequence and it is mandatory," the people would gather on the ritual in one action, and there would be hardship on the people. But when the door is open, praise be to Allah, and the matter is made easy, each person does their part: these are occupied with stoning, these with tawaf, these with sa'y, these with slaughter, and these with shaving, until the matter becomes easy. Now, if someone asks: What is your opinion on the order of the pillars? We now know that the order of stoning, shaving, slaughter, tawaf, and sa'y is, what? On the basis of recommendation. But what is your opinion on the stoning? In the stoning, is the order on the basis of recommendation or on the basis of obligation? Some scholars hold that it is on the basis of recommendation, and that if a person advances the third pillar over the middle and the first, there is nothing wrong with it, but he has left the preferred action. Others hold that it is a condition, and it is not dropped by forgetfulness or ignorance. They distinguished it from the hadith of Amr ibn al-As by saying that this is one single act of worship, one single act of worship. And for this reason, if one advances prostration over bowing in prayer, even if forgetful, is he excused or not?
The student: He is not excused.

The Shaykh : All right, and if one advances 'Asr over Zuhr while forgetful.
The student: He is not excused.

The Shaykh : Not if forgetful or ignorant; he is excused. So they distinguished between an independent act of worship and the parts of an act of worship.