Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful:
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The chapter on covering the private parts of Muslims and the prohibition of spreading them":
The private part (‘awrah) here refers to the moral private part, because the private part is of two types: a physical private part and a moral private part.
The physical private part is what is forbidden to look at, such as the front and back private parts and the like, which is well known in Islamic jurisprudence.
The moral private part is the defect and the bad character or behavior.
There is no doubt that man, as Allah Mighty and Majestic described him in His saying:[Al-Ahzab 33:72]:
Man is described with these two attributes: injustice and ignorance. So either he commits an error intentionally and is thus an oppressor, or he commits an error out of ignorance and is thus ignorant. This is the state of man, except for those whom Allah Mighty and Majestic has protected and guided to knowledge and justice; they walk in truth and guide to truth.
Since it is in man’s nature to fall short, to be deficient, and to have defects, it is obligatory for the Muslim toward his brother to cover his private part and not spread it, except out of necessity. If necessity calls for it, then it must be done, but without necessity, the better and more preferable course is to cover his brother’s private part. For man is a human being who may err out of desire, meaning out of a bad will to seek falsehood, or out of doubt, where truth becomes confused for him and he says or does falsehood. So the believer is commanded to cover his brother’s private part.
Suppose you see a man lying and deceiving in buying and selling. No, do not spread that among the people. Rather, advise him and cover for him. If he succeeds and is guided and leaves what he is doing, that is fine. Otherwise, it is obligatory for you to make his matter clear to the people so that they are not deceived by him.
If you find a man afflicted by looking at women, not lowering his gaze, then cover for him. Advise him and explain to him that this is an arrow from the arrows of Satan, for looking, may Allah protect us, is an arrow from the arrows of Satan, an arrow that strikes the heart of the servant. If he has immunity, he holds fast to Allah against this arrow that Satan has thrown into his heart. If he has no immunity, he falls into it and gradually descends until he reaches lewdness and evil, may Allah protect us. So as long as covering is possible, and there is no preponderant benefit or urgent necessity in revealing your brother’s private part, then cover it.
Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) cited as evidence the saying of Allah the Exalted:[An-Nur 24:19]: These are the ones who love that lewdness be spread. So what about the one who actually spread the lewdness? May Allah protect us, he will be more severely punished. The one who loves that lewdness be spread among the believers has two meanings:
The first meaning is that he loves the spread of lewdness in the Muslim society. This includes those who broadcast obscene films and wicked, licentious newspapers. There is no doubt that these people love that lewdness be spread in the Muslim society. They want the Muslim to be corrupted in his religion because of these obscene, corrupt magazines, or obscene, corrupt films, or the like that they spread.
Likewise, enabling these people, when one has the ability to prevent them, falls under loving that lewdness be spread among the believers. So the one who is able to prevent these magazines and these obscene films, but enables them to spread in the Muslim society, is among those who love that lewdness be spread among the believers:[An-Nur 24:19]
Also, the second meaning is that he loves that lewdness be spread in a specific person, not in the entire Muslim society, but in a specific individual. This also has a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. For example, if he loves that lewdness be spread in Zayd, a person among the people, for some reason, this also has a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. This is especially so in the case of the one for whom the verse was revealed in the context of defending him, who is the Mother of the Believers, A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). Because this verse is in the context of the verses of the slander. The slander is the lie fabricated by those who hated the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), those who loved that his bed be defiled, those who loved to insult him with his family, from among the hypocrites and their like.
The matter of the slander is well known. It is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he wanted to travel, would cast lots among his wives, which was part of his justice (peace and blessings be upon him). Whichever of them the lot came out for, he would travel with her. So he cast lots among his wives on a certain journey, and the lot came out for A’ishah, so he traveled with her. During their return, they camped in a place, meaning they slept in the last part of the night. When they slept, A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) needed to go out to relieve herself. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the departure in the last part of the night. So the people came and loaded her camel saddle, and they did not realize that she was not in it, because she was young. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her when she was six years old, entered her marriage when she was nine years old, and she died when she was eighteen years old. She was young and had not yet developed her body. So they loaded the saddle and thought she was in it, then they set off.
When she returned, she did not find the people in their place. But from her intelligence and wisdom, she did not go right and left looking for them. She stayed in her place and said: "They will miss me and return to my place". When the sun rose, there was a man named Safwan ibn al-Mu‘attal. He was from a group of people who, when they slept, did not wake up. Some people, when they sleep, do not wake up even if a cannon is fired at their ear. Safwan was among these people. He could not wake up until Allah Mighty and Majestic woke him, as if he were dead.
When he woke up and came, he found the Mother of the Believers, A’ishah, alone in a place in the desert. He knew her before the hijab was revealed. What did this man do, O brothers? He dismounted his camel and did not speak a word to her. He did not talk to her, nor did he say: What made you sit here? Nor did he say why?
The reason he did not speak was out of respect for the bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He did not want to talk to his family in her absence (may Allah be pleased with her). So he dismounted the camel and placed his hand on the camel’s knee, and did not say "ride" or speak anything. So she rode, and then he went with her, guiding her, until he was no longer driving the camel in a way that he would look at her—he was driving the camel so that he would not look, with the woman behind him.
When they approached the people in the late morning, when the day had risen, the hypocrites rejoiced greatly that they had found an opening to attack the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They accused the man of having relations with the chaste, dignified, pure, and clean bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They accused him of it, and they began to spread the lewdness, saying that this man did what he did. And three of the pure Companions fell into what the hypocrites fell into: Mistah ibn Uthathah, the son of A’ishah’s maternal uncle, and Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), and Humaynah bint Jahsh.
So there was a commotion, and the people began to talk. What is this? How can it be? Some were confused about the matter, and some denied it to the utmost degree. They said: It is not possible that the bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the purest bed on the face of the earth, be defiled.
And Allah, by His might, power, and wisdom, when they reached the city, caused A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) to fall ill. She was ill and remained confined to the house, not going out. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had the habit, when he visited her in her illness, to ask about her, sit with her, and talk. But at that time, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not talk. He would come in and say: meaning: How is she? Then he would leave. She (may Allah be pleased with her) found this strange, thinking what kind of treatment is this? But it never crossed her mind that anyone would talk about defiling the bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) at all.
We will talk about the story so as not to prolong it on you. If Allah wills, tomorrow, and success is from Allah.
The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted: "From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said:Sahih Muslim 2590b, narrated by Muslim".
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "The chapter on covering the private parts of Muslims and the prohibition of spreading them":
The private part (‘awrah) here refers to the moral private part, because the private part is of two types: a physical private part and a moral private part.
The physical private part is what is forbidden to look at, such as the front and back private parts and the like, which is well known in Islamic jurisprudence.
The moral private part is the defect and the bad character or behavior.
There is no doubt that man, as Allah Mighty and Majestic described him in His saying:
Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it. Indeed, he was unjust and ignorant.
إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الإنْسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُوماً جَهُولاًMan is described with these two attributes: injustice and ignorance. So either he commits an error intentionally and is thus an oppressor, or he commits an error out of ignorance and is thus ignorant. This is the state of man, except for those whom Allah Mighty and Majestic has protected and guided to knowledge and justice; they walk in truth and guide to truth.
Since it is in man’s nature to fall short, to be deficient, and to have defects, it is obligatory for the Muslim toward his brother to cover his private part and not spread it, except out of necessity. If necessity calls for it, then it must be done, but without necessity, the better and more preferable course is to cover his brother’s private part. For man is a human being who may err out of desire, meaning out of a bad will to seek falsehood, or out of doubt, where truth becomes confused for him and he says or does falsehood. So the believer is commanded to cover his brother’s private part.
Suppose you see a man lying and deceiving in buying and selling. No, do not spread that among the people. Rather, advise him and cover for him. If he succeeds and is guided and leaves what he is doing, that is fine. Otherwise, it is obligatory for you to make his matter clear to the people so that they are not deceived by him.
If you find a man afflicted by looking at women, not lowering his gaze, then cover for him. Advise him and explain to him that this is an arrow from the arrows of Satan, for looking, may Allah protect us, is an arrow from the arrows of Satan, an arrow that strikes the heart of the servant. If he has immunity, he holds fast to Allah against this arrow that Satan has thrown into his heart. If he has no immunity, he falls into it and gradually descends until he reaches lewdness and evil, may Allah protect us. So as long as covering is possible, and there is no preponderant benefit or urgent necessity in revealing your brother’s private part, then cover it.
Then the author (may Allah have mercy on him) cited as evidence the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Indeed, those who like that immorality should be spread [or publicized] among those who have believed will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يُحِبُّونَ أَنْ تَشِيعَ الْفَاحِشَةُ فِي الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِThe first meaning is that he loves the spread of lewdness in the Muslim society. This includes those who broadcast obscene films and wicked, licentious newspapers. There is no doubt that these people love that lewdness be spread in the Muslim society. They want the Muslim to be corrupted in his religion because of these obscene, corrupt magazines, or obscene, corrupt films, or the like that they spread.
Likewise, enabling these people, when one has the ability to prevent them, falls under loving that lewdness be spread among the believers. So the one who is able to prevent these magazines and these obscene films, but enables them to spread in the Muslim society, is among those who love that lewdness be spread among the believers:
will have a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter
فلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِAlso, the second meaning is that he loves that lewdness be spread in a specific person, not in the entire Muslim society, but in a specific individual. This also has a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. For example, if he loves that lewdness be spread in Zayd, a person among the people, for some reason, this also has a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. This is especially so in the case of the one for whom the verse was revealed in the context of defending him, who is the Mother of the Believers, A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). Because this verse is in the context of the verses of the slander. The slander is the lie fabricated by those who hated the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), those who loved that his bed be defiled, those who loved to insult him with his family, from among the hypocrites and their like.
The matter of the slander is well known. It is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), when he wanted to travel, would cast lots among his wives, which was part of his justice (peace and blessings be upon him). Whichever of them the lot came out for, he would travel with her. So he cast lots among his wives on a certain journey, and the lot came out for A’ishah, so he traveled with her. During their return, they camped in a place, meaning they slept in the last part of the night. When they slept, A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) needed to go out to relieve herself. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) ordered the departure in the last part of the night. So the people came and loaded her camel saddle, and they did not realize that she was not in it, because she was young. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) married her when she was six years old, entered her marriage when she was nine years old, and she died when she was eighteen years old. She was young and had not yet developed her body. So they loaded the saddle and thought she was in it, then they set off.
When she returned, she did not find the people in their place. But from her intelligence and wisdom, she did not go right and left looking for them. She stayed in her place and said: "They will miss me and return to my place". When the sun rose, there was a man named Safwan ibn al-Mu‘attal. He was from a group of people who, when they slept, did not wake up. Some people, when they sleep, do not wake up even if a cannon is fired at their ear. Safwan was among these people. He could not wake up until Allah Mighty and Majestic woke him, as if he were dead.
When he woke up and came, he found the Mother of the Believers, A’ishah, alone in a place in the desert. He knew her before the hijab was revealed. What did this man do, O brothers? He dismounted his camel and did not speak a word to her. He did not talk to her, nor did he say: What made you sit here? Nor did he say why?
The reason he did not speak was out of respect for the bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He did not want to talk to his family in her absence (may Allah be pleased with her). So he dismounted the camel and placed his hand on the camel’s knee, and did not say "ride" or speak anything. So she rode, and then he went with her, guiding her, until he was no longer driving the camel in a way that he would look at her—he was driving the camel so that he would not look, with the woman behind him.
When they approached the people in the late morning, when the day had risen, the hypocrites rejoiced greatly that they had found an opening to attack the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They accused the man of having relations with the chaste, dignified, pure, and clean bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). They accused him of it, and they began to spread the lewdness, saying that this man did what he did. And three of the pure Companions fell into what the hypocrites fell into: Mistah ibn Uthathah, the son of A’ishah’s maternal uncle, and Hassan ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him), and Humaynah bint Jahsh.
So there was a commotion, and the people began to talk. What is this? How can it be? Some were confused about the matter, and some denied it to the utmost degree. They said: It is not possible that the bed of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the purest bed on the face of the earth, be defiled.
And Allah, by His might, power, and wisdom, when they reached the city, caused A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) to fall ill. She was ill and remained confined to the house, not going out. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had the habit, when he visited her in her illness, to ask about her, sit with her, and talk. But at that time, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not talk. He would come in and say:
How are you?
كيف تيكم؟We will talk about the story so as not to prolong it on you. If Allah wills, tomorrow, and success is from Allah.
The reader: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and prayers and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted: "From Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) who said: