Explanation of Riyad al-Salihin-73b

The reciter: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) transmitted in the context of the hadiths in the chapter on the virtue of learning and teaching knowledge for the sake of Allah: “Narrated by Abu Musa (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:

Abu Musa (May Allah be pleased with him) reported: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The guidance and knowledge with which Allah has sent me are like abundant rain which fell on a land. A fertile part of it absorbed the water and brought forth profuse herbage and pasture; and solid ground patches which retained the water by which Allah has benefited people, who drank from it, irrigated their crops and sowed their seeds; and another sandy plane which could neither retain the water nor produce herbage. Such is the similitude of the person who becomes well-versed in the religion of Allah and receives benefit from the Message entrusted to me by Allah, so he himself has learned and taught it to others; such is also the similitude of the person who has stubbornly and ignorantly rejected Allah's Guidance with which I have been sent." [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

قال النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم: مثل ما بعثني الله به من الهدى والعلم كمثل غيث أصاب أرضًا فكانت منها طائفة قبلت الماء فأنبتت الكلأ والعشب الكثير، وكان منها أجادب أمسكت الماء فنفع الله بها الناس فشربوا منها وسقوا وزرعوا، وأصاب طائفة منها أخرى إنما هي قيعان لا تمسك ماء ولا تنبت كلأ، فذلك مثل من فقه في دين الله ونفعه ما بعثني الله به فعلم وعلم، ومثل من لم يرفع بذلك رأسًا ولم يقبل هدى الله الذي أرسلت به

Riyad as-Salihin 1378

Agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim”.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
In this hadith, which al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) cited in Riyad al-Salihin in the chapter on the virtue of learning and teaching knowledge for the sake of Allah, which Abu Musa narrated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), there is a wondrous and unique analogy. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) compared what Allah sent him with, of knowledge and guidance, to rain. The point of similarity is that rain brings the land to life, and revelation brings the hearts to life. For this reason, Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) named what He sent Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) with a “spirit.” He said, the Exalted: So revelation is rain, but as the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) analogized, it fell upon the land, and the land became three categories. The first category accepted the rain, drank it, and produced abundant grass and vegetation, so the people benefited from it because the land produced. The second category: low-lying ground that does not produce, but it held the water; it did not drink it, so the people watered their crops from it, were quenched, and planted. The third category: low-lying ground that swallowed the water and did not produce; it is salty, barren land that swallows water but does not produce. This is the example of one who understands the religion of Allah, so he learns and teaches. And it is the example of one who did not lift his head with it. The first and second images of the analogy apply to those who accepted the truth, so they learned, studied, benefited, and were benefited. But those who accepted the truth became two categories: a category to whom Allah the Exalted granted understanding (fiqh), so he takes jurisprudence and legal rulings from the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and teaches. And the second: a transmitter, but he does not have that understanding; that is, he carries the hadith, narrates it, and memorizes it, but he does not have jurisprudence. And this is also common. How many are the men of hadith who narrated the hadith but do not have jurisprudence? They are nothing but vessels from which people take. But those who distribute this water and benefit people with it are the jurists. These are two categories: a category that preserved the Shari'ah, comprehended it, understood it, taught it, and derived from it many rulings. These are like the land that accepted the water and produced grass, vegetation, and abundant grass. Another category are transmitters who only transmit hadiths but do not understand them much. These are like the land that held the water, so the people benefited from it and were quenched by it, because people take the hadith from these narrators, then derive rulings from it and benefit people with them. The third category: land that did not benefit from the rain; low-lying ground that does not hold water and does not produce grass. These have no good in them; they did not benefit from the revelation of Allah and did not lift their heads with it, refuge with Allah. They lie about the news and are arrogant about the command. These are the worst of the categories; we ask Allah for safety. So look within yourself: which of the three lands are you? Are you the land that accepted the water and produced grass and vegetation? Or the second land? Or the third land, refuge with Allah? And in this hadith is the goodness of the teaching of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), where he uses analogies for rational concepts with tangible things, because the perception of the tangible is closer than the perception of the rational. And how many are the analogies in the Qur'an: This is an analogy; if the statement had come simply as “whoever spends in the way of Allah a seed, he has seven hundred seeds,” it would not have settled in the mind as the analogy settles, because the analogy is constantly present in the mind. Allah the Exalted said: So using analogies is to bring knowledge closer, to establish it, and to aid in understanding. For this reason, you should, when you speak to a layperson and he does not understand, use an analogy for him. Use an analogy with something he knows and understands, so that he knows the rational concepts through tangible things. And success is from Allah.