The Book of Jihad, Expeditions, and Authority-04a

The Reciter: Hammad ibn al-Sari narrated to us, Ibn al-Mubarak narrated to us, from Ikrimah ibn Ammar, who said: Sammak al-Hanafi narrated to me, saying: I heard Ibn Abbas say: Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated to me, saying: , and Zuhayr ibn Harb narrated to us, and the wording is his, Umar ibn Yunus al-Hanafi narrated to us, Ikrimah ibn Ammar narrated to us, Abu Zamil, who is Sammak al-Hanafi, narrated to me, Abdullah ibn Abbas narrated to me, saying: Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated to me, saying: , Abu Zamil said: Ibn Abbas narrated to me, saying: , Abu Zamil said: Ibn Abbas said: .

The Shaykh : This hadith contains the support by the angels. The angels are a hidden realm, created by Allah from light. No desire for disobedience was placed in them; rather, they are listeners to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and obedient to Him. Allah, the Exalted, gave them complete submission and the strength of execution, as Allah, the Exalted, said regarding the angels assigned to the Fire: . And the second: . "They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them": this is complete submission, and "they do what they are commanded": this is the strength of execution, because disagreement may be due to inability or due to stubbornness, and the angels, peace and blessings be upon them, are not of these nor of those.
They are of various types, in terms of their works and duties, many types, and their number is such that no one can count them except Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , meaning that they are worthy of groaning. And the groaning is the sound of the saddle, a saddle for a camel when something heavy is tied to it, and you find it creaking. , despite its vastness and greatness, and this indicates the multitude of the angels.
And this also indicates that the Al-Bayt al-Ma'mur in the seventh heaven is entered by seventy thousand angels every day, who do not return to it until the Day of Resurrection. Glory be to Allah!
These angels are angels of mercy, and there is no harm in them for anyone, and they are strong in their actions, unlike the jinn, who are a hidden realm but created from fire, and therefore there is more harm in them, but the angels are stronger than them. When an ifrit of the jinn said to Solomon, peace be upon him: , in an instant the angels carried him by the supplication of this man and brought him, in an instant he said: . His saying "settled": this is not the settling that grammarians estimate. Grammarians estimate, for example: "Zayd was in the house," meaning: settled, and they prevent this attached phrase from being explicit; it must be omitted. But what is in the verse is not general settling, but specific settling, meaning it was found to be firmly established since a time of complete stability.
The important thing is that the angels, peace and blessings be upon them, are a hidden realm, they do not eat, they do not drink, and they do not need that, because they do not have cavities, as the Salaf, may Allah have mercy on them, said.
At Badr, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his companions were few, three hundred and nineteen men or so, and the Quraysh were between nine hundred and a thousand, and in this hadith they were a thousand. It is known that the Quraysh came with their limit, their swords, and they were, as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said about them: , with their strength, their swords and their nobles, and the Muslims were few compared to them, humble, because they did not go out for fighting, but rather they went out for the caravan. But Allah gathered them with their enemy without an appointment, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) called upon his Lord and sought nearness to Him by various means. So let us look:
He said: . This is from seeking nearness to Allah, I mean facing the qiblah in supplication is one of the causes of the acceptance of supplication, except if turning away from the qiblah is more appropriate, like the supplication of the preacher in the Friday sermon, for he does not turn to the qiblah, but rather his face is toward the people, because the benefit of this is greater than the benefit of facing the qiblah.
And among them also is that he extended his hands to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Extending the hands to Allah indicates the supplicant's seeking of compassion, and that he extended the hand of a poor person to a rich one, Mighty and Majestic, and it is one of the causes of the acceptance of supplication, as came in the hadith: , and as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned a man who lengthens his journey, disheveled and dusty, extending his hands to the sky: "O Lord, O Lord."
But does he extend his hands in every supplication?
We say the answer to this issue: What is reported regarding extending the hands, there is no doubt in the recommended practice of extending the hands in it, such as: the prayer for rain in the sermon, and such as extending the hands when standing at 'Arafah, extending the hands when standing on al-Safa and al-Marwah, and many other things. There is no doubt that extending the hands in these is established specifically.
The second: What is established regarding not extending the hands: such as supplication in the prayer, for the one praying supplicates between the two prostrations, and supplicates in the opening supplication, and supplicates in al-Fatihah also, and does not extend his hands. He only extends his hands in the prayer specifically in the qunut only. We say to the one who extends his hands while sitting between the two prostrations, or extends his hands while reciting the tashahhud, we say this is a religious innovation and it is forbidden.
Similarly, extending the hands in the state of the sermon in other than what the text has come with, which is the prayer for rain and the prayer for relief from a calamity. So if the preacher extends his hands, we would disapprove of him, as the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them, disapproved of one of the rulers of the Banu Umayyah when he extended his hands in the sermon in other than what the text has come with. We say extending the hands in this is a religious innovation and it is forbidden.
As for what is other than that, do we say that the default is to raise the hands, because that is among the etiquettes of supplication, or do we say that they are not raised except in a state of intense supplication and persistence, meaning the intensity of the du'a? As for ordinary du'a, the hands are not raised in it. This is a point where it is possible to say that there is no raising except in du'a that involves intense supplication to Allah the Exalted and persistence.
As for ordinary du'a, such as when I say, "May Allah forgive you and me," or when a person stands at the grave of the deceased after burial and says, "O Allah, forgive him, O Allah, make him firm," and there are many examples of this, we say that as long as there is no intense supplication or intensity in the du'a, the hands are not raised. So these are two possibilities:
The first: that the default is to raise the hands in du'a, and that it is among the etiquettes of du'a and among the causes of acceptance.
The second: that the raising is only done in cases of persistence and intense supplication.
In it, there is also persistence in du'a through repetition, whether with the same wording or with a synonym, as in his saying: . "I will come" and "I will fulfill" are synonyms. It is also permissible to repeat with the same wording, for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say between the two prostrations: "O Allah, forgive me, O Allah, forgive me, O Allah, forgive me," and he repeated with the same wording.
In it, there is also that among the means is mentioning the state that necessitates compassion, as in his saying: , for this is seeking nearness to Allah through a state that necessitates compassion and mercy.
The scholars (may Allah have mercy on them) have mentioned that seeking nearness to Allah in du'a is done through matters:
First: seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His names. For example, you say, "O Allah, O Forgiver, forgive me." The evidence for this is the saying of Allah the Exalted: . Here, the name by which one seeks nearness must correspond to the need. If you want to ask for forgiveness, what do you say? "O Forgiver." If you want to ask for mercy, you say "O Merciful." For provision, "O Provider," and so on.
Second: seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by His attributes, not by the name but by the attribute, as in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): . This is seeking nearness by the attribute of knowledge. From this is the du'a of istikharah: , and so on.
Third: seeking nearness to Allah the Exalted by the state of the servant, such as saying, "O Allah, I am poor and in need." From this is the saying of Musa: . And the three were combined in the du'a that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) taught Abu Bakr in his saying: .
Seeking nearness to Allah by the need of the supplicant in the hadith: .
Seeking nearness to Allah by His attribute: .
Seeking nearness by the name: .
Fourth: seeking nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by righteous deeds, at the head of which is faith, then the deeds, the deeds of the limbs. The evidence for this is His saying the Exalted about those of understanding: , meaning, because of our faith, forgive us. So this is seeking nearness by faith. And seeking nearness by righteous deeds is like the seeking nearness of the three men of the cave, who entered a cave and a rock closed in on them, and they could not move it, so each one of them sought nearness by his righteous deed and his sincerity. One of them sought nearness by complete kindness, the second by complete chastity, and the third by complete trustworthiness, and each one of them said: .
Fifth: seeking nearness to Allah Blessed and Exalted by the du'a of the righteous man, not by his person or his status, but by his du'a. And this is common. How many are those who ask the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to make du'a for them, as in the story of the man who entered asking the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) for du'a for rain, and the second Friday for du'a for health.
As for seeking nearness by the status of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), it is not permissible, and it is shirk (associating partners with Allah), but it is not major shirk, rather it is minor.
The aspect of this is that whoever seeks nearness by the status of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) has sought nearness by something that has not been established as a means. And whatever a person makes a cause, and it has not been established in the Shari'ah that it is a cause, it is a type of shirk. For example, the amulets that are hung out of fear of the evil eye; these are not a Shari'ah cause. It has not come from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that they are a Shari'ah cause, and therefore they are from shirk.
The aspect of this is that the one who does this believes that they are beneficial, so he has made them beneficial without knowledge, as if he is a creator of them to be a cause. This is the aspect of them being from shirk.
Also, does the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) benefit you? No, it is not from your work, nor from your earnings, but rather it benefits the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). For this reason, it has not come that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) used to seek nearness by the status of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
From the benefits of this hadith: the fighting of the angels with the Muslims, a tangible, felt fighting, as evidenced by the story of the man who saw a man from the polytheists rushing forward, and he heard a voice saying, "Advance, Hayzoom," so he killed him from the front of his face until he fell on his back, and he did not see anyone, but the one who killed him was from the angels. Is this counted as a mu'jizah (prophetic miracle), a sign of the Messenger, or a karamah (a miracle granted to a righteous person)?
If that was in a campaign in which the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was present, then it is a sign without doubt, because the commander was the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and they were aided by the angels. And if it was after him, then it is a karamah, or in his time but not with the campaign. But we must know that every karamah of a wali (close friend of Allah) is a sign for whoever follows him, because it is a testimony from Allah that this wali is on the truth.
And from it is the great benefit: that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) may exert independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), and the correct opinion may be contrary to his. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) consulted his Companions. Abu Bakr was gentle (may Allah be pleased with him), and he mentioned his argument, and 'Umar was severe. So let us look, he says, read this place.
The reader: Abu Zamil said: Ibn 'Abbas said: .

The Shaykh : In this is evidence for the specialness of the companionship, the companionship of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) with Abu Bakr and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both), and that they were with him in the position of those of sound opinion whom he consults in this great matter. Otherwise, among the Companions there are many people who are qualified for consultation.
The reader: .

The Shaykh : He mentioned three things: First, their kinship, that they are uncles and tribesmen, because they are all from Quraysh. Second: that the ransom that is taken, they become strong with it against the disbelievers, they take it from these people and perhaps they will fight them with it.
And the third: that if they are captured, and they see Islam and its leniency, and the people of Islam and their morals, then perhaps they will become Muslims. If they were killed, none of these three would be the case. So these are the factors that make the opinion of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) stronger.
The reader: .

The Shaykh : A paternal relative: a close relative of his.
'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had this opinion: that they should be killed, and that the one who kills them should be the closest person to them. 'Ali kills 'Aqil, and 'Aqil's relation to him is: his brother, he cuts his neck. And 'Umar says: "Let me have so-and-so, who was a relative of mine, so I will cut his neck." The difference between the two positions is very far, but 'Umar's position is: that these are the chiefs of disbelief, and the nobles of Quraysh, and that we must humiliate them with the strongest humiliation, and insult them with the strongest insult.
The killing, to be for us a moral honor, this is the opinion of 'Umar. And in this story is a great evidence of the difference between the character of 'Umar and the character of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with them both). 'Umar was severe and Abu Bakr was the opposite.
And in it is evidence for the permissibility of opposing the preferred one, if the one opposing sees that the truth is with him, and that it is not permissible to compromise in the truth. So here are the two men with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), both are in a position of consultation, and each one of them brought the opinion that he saw as better. 'Umar did not say: "Abu Bakr is more special with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) than I am, so I will not speak," or "I will not oppose them," because Abu Bakr started with his opinion first.
The reader: .

The Shaykh : Meaning: he inclined to the saying of Abu Bakr, which is taking the ransom and releasing them.
The reader: .

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah. The noble verse, Allah Mighty and Majestic said: , meaning: until he kills, and he has the awe, before he has captives from whom he takes ransom. And this verse indicates the strength of the opinion of 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), and therefore the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr were weeping, because they differed from the correct opinion in this.
But are they held accountable for it? The answer is: No, without doubt, because a verse was not revealed explaining the ruling, but rather, out of the intensity of their scrupulousness, they became weeping because they were not guided to the correct opinion.
The book that preceded this is that Allah the Exalted will preserve this message, and victory will ultimately be for it. So the wisdom of Allah required that the Muslims remain as they were until they achieved victory in another way. For this reason, He said: , so Allah made the spoils of war lawful for them.