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Breaking the fast as soon as the sun sets [Sunnah of Fasting]
Sa’îd b. Al-Musayyib reports from his father, “I was once sitting with ‘Umar when a group of people arrived from Al-Shâm. ‘Umar enquired about them and how they were; he asked, ‘Do the people of Al-Shâm hasten to break the fast.’ He said, ‘Yes.’ [‘Umar] said, ‘They will not cease to remain upon good as long as they do this, and do not wait for the stars [to come out] as the people of Irâq do.’”
‘Abd Al-Razzâq Al-San’ânî, Al-Musannaf 4:225.
‘Amr b. Maymûn Al-Awdî reports, “The Companions of Muhammad – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – used to be the quickest to break the fast and the slowest in taking the pre-dawn meal.”
Ibid. p226.
Ibn Al-Musayyib also reports that ‘Umar wrote to the commanders of the various regions, ‘Do not be of the procrastinators when breaking the fast, and nor of those who wait for the stars before they start praying [al-maghrib].’
Ibid. p225.
Mûsâ b. Anas reports that Anas [ibn Mâlik] used to have his slave-girl go to the top of his house, instructing her, ‘When the horizon becomes even (evenly lit, marking sunset), tell me.’
Ibn Abî Shaybah, Al-Musannaf 2:430.
Abû Al-Tiyâh Al-Daba’î reports that “he used to break fast with Ibn ‘Abbâs during Ramadân. When evening approached he would send a girl from his household to the roof [to look out], and when the sun set he would make the call to prayer (adhân). He would eat with us, and when he had finished, the call for the commencement of prayer {iqâmah) would be given, and he would pray, and we would pray with him.”
Ibid. p429.
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Eating to Fast [not Fasting to Eat]
It is reported that once, some good food was served to Anas [Ibn Mâlik] – Allâh be pleased with him, and [the person who served the food] was well off enough to afford good food. As he was eating, he kept a morsel of the food in his mouth for a while, then looked at the people and began to cry. Then he said, “By Allâh, I have accompanied people who, if they could get hold of this kind of food, would have fasted even more often, and spent less time not fasting. One of them would find only milk mixed with water [as food], which he would drink and then fast on.”
Al-Mu’âfâ b. ‘Imrân, Kitâb Al-Zuhd article 215.
The Weight of the Quran
It is reported that Ibn ‘Umar – Allâh be pleased with him – said, “We were the beginning [the heads] of this Ummah, and perhaps a man from the best of the Companions of Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – and the most righteous amongst them could maintain only one chapter of the Qur`ân or thereabouts. For the Qur`ân was weighty upon them, and they were given knowledge of it or action based on it. But the last of this Ummah will find the Qur`ân light [and easy] – the child and the non-Arab will recite it, without possessing any knowledge about it.”
Al-Harawî, Dhamm Al-Kalâm wa Ahlihî Vol. 5 p144.
Greetings of the Companions [a little known Sunnah]
Al-Sha’bî reports, “When the Companions of Muhammad – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – used to meet, they would shake hands; and when returning from travels, they would hug one another.”
Shaykh Al-Albânî states in Al-Sahîhah Vol. 1 p300, “[This is] recorded by Al-Bayhaqî Vol. 7 p100 with a sahîh chain of transmission from Al-Sha’bî.”
Abû Madînah Al-Dârimî – Allâh be pleased with him – reports, “When two of the Companions of Allâh’s Messenger – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – would meet, they would not part until one would recite to the other “By time, verily man is in loss…” (Sûrah Al-‘Asr). Then, one of them would say salâm to the other.”
Recorded by Al-Tabarânî in Al-Awsat, and others. Shaykh Al-Albânî graded its chain of transmission sahîh. See Al-Sahîhah, hadîth 2648.
Shaykh Al-Albânî states, “There are two points of benefit in this narration about the practice of our Salaf – Allâh be pleased with them all. The first is that they used to say salâm when parting, which has been explicitly mentioned in some statements of the Prophet…The other, we learn from the regular practice of the Companions, is reciting Sûrah Al-‘Asr [when parting], for we believe that they were the farthest of people from introducing into the religion a worship by which they sought to bring themselves closer to Allâh, except with some sanction from Allâh’s Messenger – peace and blessings be upon him, either through a statement from him, or an action of his, or by his tacit approval…”
Ibn Mas’ud on the Companions [with notes on Bid'ah Hasanah]
‘Abdullâh b. Mas’ûd – Allâh be pleased with him – said, “Verily, Allâh looked inside the hearts of people and found the heart of Muhammad – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – to be the best of all hearts, and so He chose him for Himself and sent him with His message. Then Allâh looked inside the hearts of people after Muhammad – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him – and found the hearts of his Companions to be the best hearts; so He made them the ministers and representatives of His Prophet, fighting for his religion. Thus, what the Muslims regard as good is good with Allâh, and what they regard as evil is evil with Allâh. And the Companions unanimously chose to take Abû Bakr – Allâh be pleased with him – as the successor [to lead the Muslims after the Prophet].”
Reported by Ahmad, Al-Tayâlisî and others, excluding the last sentence. Shaykh Al-Albânî graded its chain of transmission hasan. The narration is reported with the last sentence by Al-Hâkim, who said its chain of transmission is sahîh. Al-Dhahabî agrees, while Al-Hâfidh Al-Sakhâwî said, “It is mawqûf (reported as a statement of a Companion), hasan.” See Al-Albânî, Al-Da’îfah Vol. 2 pp17-19.
Notes
This narration emphasizes the significance of the understanding and consensus of the Companions, Allâh be pleased with them all. It highlights their superiority and authority as the ministers of Allâh’s Messenger, Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him.
After his analysis of this narration’s veracity, Shaykh Al-Albânî discusses its correct interpretation in the following points:
“It is amazing how some people argue for the existence of good innovations in the religion based upon this hadîth, and that the proof that these innovations are good is that the Muslims have taken them as a norm! It has become routine for them to argue on the basis of this hadîth when this issue is brought up. However, they miss the following points…” These are summarized below:
[1] This narration is mawqûf (a reported statement of a Companion, or someone other than the Prophet.) It therefore cannot be used as an argument to contradict unequivocal textual evidence that states “every bid’ah is misguidance,” as is authentically reported from the Prophet – Allâh’s peace and blessings be upon him.
[2] Even if it is supposed that this narration qualifies as a proof [on a par with the aforementioned texts], it does not in fact contradict those texts, for a number of reasons:
[a] The intended meaning is the consensus and agreement of the Companions over a matter. This is proven by the context, and is supported by Ibn Mas’ûd’s line of reasoning about the Companions’ consensus over selecting Abû Bakr as the Caliph. Therefore, “the Muslims” does not refer to all Muslims in all places and times; but instead to the Muslims of that time.
[b] If we suppose that “the Muslims” refers to Muslims in general, it definitely does not refer to every single Muslim – even the ignorant one who understands nothing about knowledge. Therefore, the statement must be interpreted to mean the knowledgeable (scholars) amongst the Muslims.
That being the case, who are these scholars? Are the blind-followers (al-muqallidûn) who have closed on themselves the door to understanding the religion from Allâh and His Messenger included amongst them? Are they those who claim the door to ijtihâd has been locked? For sure they are not included, and here is why:
Al-Hâfidh Ibn ‘Abd Al-Barr states in Jâmi’ Bayân Al-‘Ilm Vol. 2 p36, 37, “The definition of knowledge according to the scholars is whatever a person is clear and sure about. Anyone who is certain and clear about something knows it. Therefore, whoever is not certain about something but says it blindly following someone else, does not know it. Blind following is – according to the scholars – different from following (al-ittibâ’). Because following is to follow a person based on what has become clear to you of the correctness of his position, whereas blind-following is to say what he says while not understanding it or its reasoning.”
So when it comes to following the Sunnah, many of these blind-followers claim they are not qualified to go against the opinions in their schools of thought because – by their own admission – they are muqallidah, but when it comes to arguing for and supporting innovations in religion, they become mujtahidûn, interpreting and misinterpreting to justify the bid’ah that many laypeople practice!
And Allâh knows best.
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