It is reported that Al-Fudayl b. ʿAyyāḍ said, “When backbiting appears, brotherhood for Allāh will disappear; and at that time you will be like things plated with gold and silver: wooden on the inside, [merely] looking good on the outside.”
Abū Nu’aym, Hilyah Al-Awliyā`, Vol. 3 p395.
It is reported that if Hishām Al-Dustawā`ī – Allāh have mercy on him – didn’t have a torch on at home, he would toss and turn in bed until his wife would come with a torch. She asked him about this once, to which he replied, “If I don’t have a torch, I think about the darkness of the grave.”
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of Hishām Al-Dustawā`ī.
It is reported that Al-Mughīrah b. Shu’bah – Allāh be pleased with him – used to marry many women. He used to say, “A man who has one wife is ill when she is ill and has a period when she has hers, and a man with two wives is between two flaming fires.’ He used to marry four women at a time and divorce four at a time.
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of Al-Mughīrah b. Shu’bah
It is reported that Hishām b. ‘Urwah said, reporting from his father, ‘Urwah b. Al-Zubayr – Allāh have mercy on him , “He used to say to us when we were youths, ‘Why do you not seek knowledge? Even though [today] you are the youngsters, you are about to be the elders [in the future]. What is the use of being a shaykh when the shaykh is ignorant? Four years before the death of ‘Ā`ishah, I would say, if she died today, I would not feel regret about a single hadīth she had, for I had gathered them from her. I would hear that a Companion had a hadīth and would go to him. I might find that he was napping, so I would sit at his door and wait, and then ask him about it [later when he woke].’”
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of ‘Urwah b. Al-Zubayr.
‘Urwah b. Al-Zubayr was the son of Al-Zubayr b. Al-‘Awām and Asmā bint Abī Bakr, and the nephew of Ā`ishah – Allāh be pleased with them all. He studied under her and was regarded as one of the senior scholars of his time. He is one of the famous Seven Jurists.
It is reported that Muhammad Al-Bāqir – Allāh have mercy on him – said, “Never does any pride enter the heart of a man except that his intelligence decreases by the same amount.”
Al-Dhahabī, Siyar A’lām Al-Nubalā`, in his biography of Muhammad Al-Bāqir.
Muhammad b. ‘Alī b. Husayn b. ‘Alī b. Abī Tālib, known as Al-Bāqir, was the great-great grandson of the Prophet – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him.
ʿAbdullāh the son of Al-Imām Ahmad reports that his father, Al-Imām Ahmad, said, “The graves of Ahl Al-Sunnah who committed major sins are gardens (from Paradise) whilst the graves of the heretics (adherents of Bid’ah) who were ascetics are pits (from the Fire). The sinners from Ahl Al-Sunnah are the beloved (awliyā`) of Allāh, whereas the ascetics of Ahl Al-Bid’ah are the enemies of Allāh.”
Ibn Abī Ya’lā, Tabaqāt Al-Hanābilah Vol. 1 p182.
Al-Sha’bī reports, “When the Companions of Muhammad – Allāh’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-Albānī states in Al-Sahīhah Vol. 1 p300, “[This is] recorded by Al-Bayhaqī Vol. 7 p100 with a sahīh chain of transmission from Al-Sha’bī.”
Abū Madīnah Al-Dārimī – Allāh be pleased with him – reports, “When two of the Companions of Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’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…” (Sūrah Al-‘Asr). Then, one of them would say salām to the other.”
Recorded by Al-Tabarānī in Al-Awsat, and others. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded its chain of transmission sahīh. See Al-Sahīhah, hadīth 2648.
Shaykh Al-Albānī states, “There are two points of benefit in this narration about the practice of our Salaf – Allāh be pleased with them all. The first is that they used to say salām 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 Sūrah 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 Allāh, except with some sanction from Allāh’s Messenger – peace and blessings be upon him, either through a statement from him, or an action of his, or by his tacit approval…”
ʿAbdullāh b. Mas’ūd – Allāh be pleased with him – said, “Verily, Allāh looked inside the hearts of people and found the heart of Muhammad – Allāh’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 Allāh looked inside the hearts of people after Muhammad – Allāh’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 Allāh, and what they regard as evil is evil with Allāh. And the Companions unanimously chose to take Abū Bakr – Allāh be pleased with him – as the successor [to lead the Muslims after the Prophet].”
Reported by Ahmad, Al-Tayālisī and others, excluding the last sentence. Shaykh Al-Albānī graded its chain of transmission hasan. The narration is reported with the last sentence by Al-Hākim, who said its chain of transmission is sahīh. Al-Dhahabī agrees, while Al-Hāfidh Al-Sakhāwī said, “It is mawqūf (reported as a statement of a Companion), hasan.” See Al-Albānī, Al-Da’īfah Vol. 2 pp17-19.
Notes
This narration emphasizes the significance of the understanding and consensus of the Companions, Allāh be pleased with them all. It highlights their superiority and authority as the ministers of Allāh’s Messenger, Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him.
After his analysis of this narration’s veracity, Shaykh Al-Albānī 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 hadīth, 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 hadīth when this issue is brought up. However, they miss the following points…” These are summarized below:
[1] This narration is mawqūf (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 – Allāh’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’ūd’s line of reasoning about the Companions’ consensus over selecting Abū 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-muqallidūn) who have closed on themselves the door to understanding the religion from Allāh and His Messenger included amongst them? Are they those who claim the door to ijtihād has been locked? For sure they are not included, and here is why:
Al-Hāfidh Ibn ʿAbd Al-Barr states in Jāmi’ Bayān 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-ittibā’). 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 mujtahidūn, interpreting and misinterpreting to justify the bid’ah that many laypeople practice!
And Allāh knows best.
Muḥammad b. Al-Ḥanafīyah – Allāh have mercy on him – reports, “I asked my father (‘Alī), ‘Who is the best person after Allāh’s Messenger – Allāh’s peace and blessings be upon him?’ He replied, ‘Abū Bakr.’ I said, ‘And then who?’ He replied, “Then Umar.’ I feared he would say ‘Uthmān; I said, ‘And then you.’ He said, ‘I am just a man amongst the Muslims.’”
Al-Bukhārī and others.
Commenting on ʿAli’s response ‘I am just a man amongst the Muslims,’ Ibn Ḥajr states in Fatḥ Al-Bārī, “He said this out of modesty and humbleness, despite knowing that at the time of asking he was the best of people at the time, for this was after the killing of ‘Uthmān.”
May Allāh be pleased with them all.
It is reported that Sufyān b. ‘Uyainah – Allāh have mercy on him – said, “The intelligent person is not one who merely knows what is good and what is bad. The intelligent person is one who, when he sees what is good, follows it, and when he sees evil, shuns it.”
Abū Nu’aym, Hilyah Al-Awliyā`, Vol. 4 p16.