Explanation of the author's statement: Following the practices of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in both outward and inward matters
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The Shaykh : Wait, for example, no, sometimes I tell you to wait until I finish my dhikr, because the matter is not lost. There is no argument against you right now; the matter is not lost. Otherwise, we would leave off the dhikr and take the questions. And sometimes, if I accept the questions, I forget the dhikr and it is lost on me.
Now, he said: "Outwardly and inwardly" "Outwardly and inwardly". Outwardness and inwardness are relative matters. Is the meaning outwardly in what appears to people and inwardly in what is between them and themselves? Or outwardly in what appears in actions and inwardly in what the hearts conceal? Or all four matters? It includes all four matters: outwardly in what appears to people, inwardly in what they conceal within themselves and do behind closed doors, outwardly in visible actions, and inwardly in the actions of the hearts.
For example, reliance upon Allah, fear, hope, turning back, humility, love, and the like, all of these are from the actions of the hearts, and they are performed in the required manner. Prayer, with its bowing, prostration, standing, and sitting, charity, Hajj, and fasting, these are from the actions of the limbs, so they are outward.
Then know that the practices of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are divided into three categories, or rather more than three categories:
First: What he did as an act of worship. What he did as an act of worship; there is no doubt that we are commanded to follow it, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ahzab 33:21] So anything in which it does not appear that it was due to custom, or by the nature of creation and fitrah, or happened by coincidence, is an act of worship, and we are commanded to do it.
Second: What he did by coincidence. It happened this way by coincidence. It is not prescribed for us to imitate him in this, because it was not intended. For example, if someone said: "It should be that our arrival in Makkah for Hajj is on the fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah, because the Messenger arrived on the fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah." Is this prescribed? No, it is not prescribed, because the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on this day happened by coincidence.
If someone said: "When we leave 'Arafah and reach the valley where the Messenger descended and urinated, we should descend, urinate, and perform a light wudu." We say: No, this is not prescribed, because the Messenger stood there and did not tell the people to stand, perform wudu, urinate, and perform wudu.
Likewise, any similar matters that happened by coincidence, it is not prescribed to imitate him in them. Why is it not prescribed? Because the Messenger did not do it as an act of worship, and imitating him in it would be an act of worship. If we worship with something in which the Messenger did not worship, we would not be in agreement with his Sunnah. Therefore, it is not prescribed for us to imitate the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in this, because it is not a place of imitation.
Now, what he did by custom. What he did by custom, is it prescribed for us to imitate him? The answer is yes, we should imitate him, but in its genus, not in its specific type. Pay attention: we should imitate him, but in its genus, not in its specific instance. This is a matter that few people notice. They think that imitating him in what is by way of custom means imitating him in the specific type. They say it is not prescribed to imitate him in what is due to the influence of customs, based on the assumption that imitation is by the specific type or instance. And we say: We do not imitate him in what is by way of custom, or in what is influenced by customs, but by considering the genus. This means that we do what the custom of the people requires, unless there is a legal barrier preventing it. Otherwise, the Sunnah is for a person to do what the people do, as long as there is no legal barrier preventing it. For example, if someone said: "Is it from the Sunnah that I go out to the people wearing an izar, a rida, and a turban?" We say: It is not from the Sunnah. Glory be to Allah, I seek refuge in Allah, it is not from the Sunnah. The Messenger did it. We say: Did he do it as worship for Allah, or did he do it by custom? So the Sunnah is to do what the people are accustomed to, so that we do not go out with fame. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the clothing of fame, which makes people famous and goes out of their custom. If we, for example, wanted to wear the clothing of the Indians, while we are from the people of Najd, and a person went out in the morning to come to the lesson, and the man is Indian, yes, is this prescribed? This is not prescribed. Why? Because the custom, as long as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) submits to customs in such matters, the Sunnah is to follow the custom. I believe, and knowledge is with Allah, that if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had been in a time when people wore clothing other than this, he would have worn like them. This is what I believe, and knowledge is with Allah the Exalted and Majestic. So we follow the custom as long as it does not contradict the Shari'ah. If someone came and said: "By Allah, people are now civilized, their wealth has increased, and it has become the custom that they leave the shirt hanging, pulling it behind them by a span, and the shirt by half a span, and the trousers by a quarter of a span, in order: the shirt a span, the shirt half a span, and the trousers a quarter of a span." It does not contradict, yes. If this is the custom of the people, or the custom of a certain class of people, is this Sunnah? This is not permissible, because the Shari'ah has forbidden it. Or if he said: "By Allah, it has become the custom of people now that they wear silk, that their men wear silk." We say: This is not permissible, because the Shari'ah has forbidden it. But our discussion is about what the Shari'ah has not forbidden, in which the Sunnah is to follow the custom... The Sunnah is so that a person does not wear the clothing of fame. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
Now, unbuttoning the buttons of the garment. Is unbuttoning the buttons of the garment Sunnah or not? No, there is no doubt that it was reported from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). And I forgot, what is his father's name? Yes... The important thing is his name is Mu'awiyah . So do we say that this is Sunnah? The answer is no, because it is possible that he opened it for a reason. Because if the Sunnah was to open it, then buttoning it would be futile and of no benefit. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did that for one of the reasons. It may be that this Companion came and found that he had opened his garment, so he thought that this was from the Sunnah, so he went to follow him in that, to follow him in this. And the story of Jabir with Ja'far ibn Husayn in the long hadith of Jabir in Hajj, he says: Then he narrated the hadith to him. And this indicates that it is the custom of people that they... button their izar, they button their izar. So we do not say that this is from the Sunnah. We say: Now, if you need to open the buttons because you want to open them, open them, there is no barrier. For example, you are sweating and you want to breathe, there is heat in your chest, yes, you want to open it for air. The important thing is if there is a reason, there is nothing wrong, do this. But to do this believing that it is Sunnah, this needs evidence. Because the Sunnah means establishing that this is a Shari'ah, and establishing that this is a Shari'ah is heavier than a stone on a person's head. Otherwise, he would be saying about Allah without knowledge. He would be saying about Allah without knowledge. And we say: This is not haram, we do not say that it is haram. But we say: If it becomes the custom that people do not unbutton, and that only the people who... what are they?
The student: ...
The Shaykh : They are showing off. Yes, we say: Praise be to Allah, so free your soul from these people. But if there is a reason, there is no barrier. And the important thing is that this matter, and the scholars of usul al-fiqh call it "tahqiq al-manat" (verifying the point of application), is a matter that requires precision and depth. Not everything that is done is worship. Your establishing that this is worship, and the matter has a strong possibility that this is submission to custom, this is a big thing, not easy. That is, you are establishing that this is from the acts of worship, while there is a strong possibility in the matter that it is subject to the requirement of custom, that the Messenger did it by custom. This is a matter that requires caution, great caution. Because the original rule in acts of worship is what? Prohibition and prevention, until evidence is established that the Messenger did it by way of worship for Allah the Exalted and drawing near to Him. Otherwise, do not do it.
Now, we remain with what is done by nature. By consensus, what is done by nature is not an act of worship. For example, drowsiness leads to deep sleep. Yes. And Ibn Nas said, "I say this is an act of worship." Is that correct? No, but it may be an act of worship from one aspect, if it is done in a specific manner. For example, sleep: by nature, a human sleeps according to his nature, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) slept according to his nature and his humanity. However, it is recommended to sleep on the right side. It is recommended to sleep on the right side; this is a recommended practice, but it is a characteristic of a natural matter. Eating and drinking: what is it? It is nature and instinct; a human does it according to nature and instinct. But it may be an act of worship from another aspect if a person intends by it to obey the command of Allah, to enjoy His blessings, to gain strength for His worship, to preserve the body which is a trust in his care, and the like. From this aspect, it becomes an act of worship. Then, its manner also becomes an act of worship, such as eating with the right hand, saying the name of Allah at the beginning, and praising Him at the end, and the like.
Now, is forgetfulness an act of worship or nature? It is nature and instinct. Therefore, if someone says, "I do not want to intentionally forget in prayer. I do not want to intentionally say, 'O Allah, make me forget so that I can conclude the prayer after two rak'ahs,'" and he does this to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), because the Messenger concluded the prayer after two rak'ahs out of forgetfulness, it is the consensus of the scholars that this is not prescribed. Why? Because this is the result of nature. The Messenger forgot and concluded the prayer after two rak'ahs. We also say to you: strive to forget in order to conclude the prayer after two rak'ahs to follow the Messenger. No scholar says this. Therefore, we must know the difference in these matters and seek complete precision. However, the issue remains when the matter revolves around whether it is an act of worship or a custom. This is where there is disagreement among scholars, and you will find scholars differing on it. For example, growing hair: is the hair on the head a custom or an act of worship?
Some scholars see it as an act of worship and that it is recommended for a person to grow his hair such that it is either a *jummah* or a *lummah*, meaning either to the tips of the ears or to the earlobes, or to the shoulders. And they say it should be grown like this. Others see this as one of the ordinary matters, based on the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to the boy he saw who had shaved part of his head. He said to him: This indicates that this matter is not an act of worship; otherwise, he would have said, "Leave it," or "Leave it and do not shave anything from it." The result is that this issue, may Allah reward you, I love for you to pay attention to it, and not to be excessive in affirming what is not a recommended practice by making it a recommended practice, nor to be excessive in denying what is a recommended practice by denying that it is a recommended practice. Because some people, for example, say, "What does it matter to us regarding clothing? Clothing is one of the ordinary matters. What people have accustomed themselves to wearing is lawful, and if people have accustomed themselves to letting their garments hang down without arrogance or ostentation, this is a matter of custom, and the like." We say this is not correct. And Allah knows best.
"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his inner and outer being" We said that the inner and outer aspects have four forms: inner from the people and outer to the people, and inner in the hearts and outer in the deeds of the limbs. So they follow the traces of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in all of them, outer and inner.
He said: "And following, and the way of the people of the Sunnah is to follow the path of the earliest predecessors from the emigrants and the helpers" Because these earliest predecessors from the emigrants and the helpers are closer to the truth than those who came after them. So the further people are from the era of Prophethood, the further they are from the truth, and the closer people are to the era of Prophethood, the closer they are to the truth. And the more a person is eager to know the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Rightly Guided Caliphs, the closer he is to the truth.
Now, he said: "Outwardly and inwardly" "Outwardly and inwardly". Outwardness and inwardness are relative matters. Is the meaning outwardly in what appears to people and inwardly in what is between them and themselves? Or outwardly in what appears in actions and inwardly in what the hearts conceal? Or all four matters? It includes all four matters: outwardly in what appears to people, inwardly in what they conceal within themselves and do behind closed doors, outwardly in visible actions, and inwardly in the actions of the hearts.
For example, reliance upon Allah, fear, hope, turning back, humility, love, and the like, all of these are from the actions of the hearts, and they are performed in the required manner. Prayer, with its bowing, prostration, standing, and sitting, charity, Hajj, and fasting, these are from the actions of the limbs, so they are outward.
Then know that the practices of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) are divided into three categories, or rather more than three categories:
First: What he did as an act of worship. What he did as an act of worship; there is no doubt that we are commanded to follow it, by the saying of Allah the Exalted:
There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌSecond: What he did by coincidence. It happened this way by coincidence. It is not prescribed for us to imitate him in this, because it was not intended. For example, if someone said: "It should be that our arrival in Makkah for Hajj is on the fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah, because the Messenger arrived on the fourth day of Dhul-Hijjah." Is this prescribed? No, it is not prescribed, because the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) on this day happened by coincidence.
If someone said: "When we leave 'Arafah and reach the valley where the Messenger descended and urinated, we should descend, urinate, and perform a light wudu." We say: No, this is not prescribed, because the Messenger stood there and did not tell the people to stand, perform wudu, urinate, and perform wudu.
Likewise, any similar matters that happened by coincidence, it is not prescribed to imitate him in them. Why is it not prescribed? Because the Messenger did not do it as an act of worship, and imitating him in it would be an act of worship. If we worship with something in which the Messenger did not worship, we would not be in agreement with his Sunnah. Therefore, it is not prescribed for us to imitate the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) in this, because it is not a place of imitation.
Now, what he did by custom. What he did by custom, is it prescribed for us to imitate him? The answer is yes, we should imitate him, but in its genus, not in its specific type. Pay attention: we should imitate him, but in its genus, not in its specific instance. This is a matter that few people notice. They think that imitating him in what is by way of custom means imitating him in the specific type. They say it is not prescribed to imitate him in what is due to the influence of customs, based on the assumption that imitation is by the specific type or instance. And we say: We do not imitate him in what is by way of custom, or in what is influenced by customs, but by considering the genus. This means that we do what the custom of the people requires, unless there is a legal barrier preventing it. Otherwise, the Sunnah is for a person to do what the people do, as long as there is no legal barrier preventing it. For example, if someone said: "Is it from the Sunnah that I go out to the people wearing an izar, a rida, and a turban?" We say: It is not from the Sunnah. Glory be to Allah, I seek refuge in Allah, it is not from the Sunnah. The Messenger did it. We say: Did he do it as worship for Allah, or did he do it by custom? So the Sunnah is to do what the people are accustomed to, so that we do not go out with fame. Therefore, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the clothing of fame, which makes people famous and goes out of their custom. If we, for example, wanted to wear the clothing of the Indians, while we are from the people of Najd, and a person went out in the morning to come to the lesson, and the man is Indian, yes, is this prescribed? This is not prescribed. Why? Because the custom, as long as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) submits to customs in such matters, the Sunnah is to follow the custom. I believe, and knowledge is with Allah, that if the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) had been in a time when people wore clothing other than this, he would have worn like them. This is what I believe, and knowledge is with Allah the Exalted and Majestic. So we follow the custom as long as it does not contradict the Shari'ah. If someone came and said: "By Allah, people are now civilized, their wealth has increased, and it has become the custom that they leave the shirt hanging, pulling it behind them by a span, and the shirt by half a span, and the trousers by a quarter of a span, in order: the shirt a span, the shirt half a span, and the trousers a quarter of a span." It does not contradict, yes. If this is the custom of the people, or the custom of a certain class of people, is this Sunnah? This is not permissible, because the Shari'ah has forbidden it. Or if he said: "By Allah, it has become the custom of people now that they wear silk, that their men wear silk." We say: This is not permissible, because the Shari'ah has forbidden it. But our discussion is about what the Shari'ah has not forbidden, in which the Sunnah is to follow the custom... The Sunnah is so that a person does not wear the clothing of fame. And the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)
He forbade the clothing of fame.
نهى عن لباس الشهرةNow, unbuttoning the buttons of the garment. Is unbuttoning the buttons of the garment Sunnah or not? No, there is no doubt that it was reported from the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)
That one of the Companions came to him, and I think it was Mu'awiyah.
أنه جاءه أحد الصحابة وأظنه معاويةHe found that he had unbuttoned his garment, may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him.
فوجده قد فتح إزراره عليه الصلاة والسلامThat a group of people came to him, and he began to ask them, "Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?" until he reached me, and I said, "I am so-and-so, son of so-and-so." He said, "He placed his hand on my head, then unbuttoned my top button, then the one below it, then placed his hand on my chest."
إنه جاءه قوم فجعل يسألهم من أنت من انت من أنت ؟ حتى وصل إليه فقلت أنا فلان بن فلان يقول وضع يده على رأسي ثم فك إزراري الأعلى ثم الذي تحته ثم وضع يده على صدريThe student: ...
The Shaykh : They are showing off. Yes, we say: Praise be to Allah, so free your soul from these people. But if there is a reason, there is no barrier. And the important thing is that this matter, and the scholars of usul al-fiqh call it "tahqiq al-manat" (verifying the point of application), is a matter that requires precision and depth. Not everything that is done is worship. Your establishing that this is worship, and the matter has a strong possibility that this is submission to custom, this is a big thing, not easy. That is, you are establishing that this is from the acts of worship, while there is a strong possibility in the matter that it is subject to the requirement of custom, that the Messenger did it by custom. This is a matter that requires caution, great caution. Because the original rule in acts of worship is what? Prohibition and prevention, until evidence is established that the Messenger did it by way of worship for Allah the Exalted and drawing near to Him. Otherwise, do not do it.
Now, we remain with what is done by nature. By consensus, what is done by nature is not an act of worship. For example, drowsiness leads to deep sleep. Yes. And Ibn Nas said, "I say this is an act of worship." Is that correct? No, but it may be an act of worship from one aspect, if it is done in a specific manner. For example, sleep: by nature, a human sleeps according to his nature, and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) slept according to his nature and his humanity. However, it is recommended to sleep on the right side. It is recommended to sleep on the right side; this is a recommended practice, but it is a characteristic of a natural matter. Eating and drinking: what is it? It is nature and instinct; a human does it according to nature and instinct. But it may be an act of worship from another aspect if a person intends by it to obey the command of Allah, to enjoy His blessings, to gain strength for His worship, to preserve the body which is a trust in his care, and the like. From this aspect, it becomes an act of worship. Then, its manner also becomes an act of worship, such as eating with the right hand, saying the name of Allah at the beginning, and praising Him at the end, and the like.
Now, is forgetfulness an act of worship or nature? It is nature and instinct. Therefore, if someone says, "I do not want to intentionally forget in prayer. I do not want to intentionally say, 'O Allah, make me forget so that I can conclude the prayer after two rak'ahs,'" and he does this to follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), because the Messenger concluded the prayer after two rak'ahs out of forgetfulness, it is the consensus of the scholars that this is not prescribed. Why? Because this is the result of nature. The Messenger forgot and concluded the prayer after two rak'ahs. We also say to you: strive to forget in order to conclude the prayer after two rak'ahs to follow the Messenger. No scholar says this. Therefore, we must know the difference in these matters and seek complete precision. However, the issue remains when the matter revolves around whether it is an act of worship or a custom. This is where there is disagreement among scholars, and you will find scholars differing on it. For example, growing hair: is the hair on the head a custom or an act of worship?
Some scholars see it as an act of worship and that it is recommended for a person to grow his hair such that it is either a *jummah* or a *lummah*, meaning either to the tips of the ears or to the earlobes, or to the shoulders. And they say it should be grown like this. Others see this as one of the ordinary matters, based on the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) to the boy he saw who had shaved part of his head. He said to him:
Shave it all or leave it all.
احلق كله أو اتركه كله"The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his inner and outer being" We said that the inner and outer aspects have four forms: inner from the people and outer to the people, and inner in the hearts and outer in the deeds of the limbs. So they follow the traces of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in all of them, outer and inner.
He said: "And following, and the way of the people of the Sunnah is to follow the path of the earliest predecessors from the emigrants and the helpers" Because these earliest predecessors from the emigrants and the helpers are closer to the truth than those who came after them. So the further people are from the era of Prophethood, the further they are from the truth, and the closer people are to the era of Prophethood, the closer they are to the truth. And the more a person is eager to know the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Rightly Guided Caliphs, the closer he is to the truth.