and hold firm to the fibre or bond of Allah, all of you and be not divided (Surah Ahl Imran verse 103)
This ayah is mentioned in the course of a reminder of Allah's ever present power and authority
Oh you who are securely committed to Allah bear Him in mind or be conscience of Him as the ever present corrective power in everything you do in life- that is what is due to Him and do not die except in a state of surrender to Allah (Surah Ahl Imran verse 102)
It is difficult to be self critical of our own selves. Some of you may have listened to self criticism in the last Jum'ah. It may have been difficult for you to listen to self criticism and in this Jum'ah we'll pursue the same line of self criticism. We consider the Muslims we criticized last week and the Muslims that we are criticizing this week to be equally Muslims- we just need a tune up. Allah says
Obey Allah and obey the Apostle and those who are invested with authority from among you (Surah An Nisa' verse 59)
Then, there is
whoever obeys the Apostle or Messenger certainly obeys Allah
He says, also
What-ever the Messenger has come to you with you take and whatever he has barred you from you abstain, leave alone or quit (Surah Al Hashr verse 7)
There are other ayaat and hadiths to this effect. Our attachment to Allah's Prophet is unconditional and therefore we have the majority of Muslims who have emphasized the Prophet's sayings or hadiths of Rasullillah, (as they should), but in this process were there any mistakes? Yes. Just as we quoted from Nahj Al Balagha last week to show how Muslims have gone off the deep edge with unmerited feelings and bad language towards Muslims, this week we will see how there are so-called hadiths that some Muslims just don't want to think about. We're going to quote this for you so that you can begin to feel that there is some detoxification process that has to take place in our thoughts.
Bukhari Sahih Hadith
This "hadith", (I don't think it's a hadith and I don't think you should think it's a hadith), but it's a statement that you will find in Sahih Al Bukhari and I'm going to quote it for you. OK- in Sahih Al Bukhari, ibn Abbas narrated that Umar ibn Al Khattab (radi Allahu anhuma) said in a khutbah that he presented from the Masjid of the Prophet during his last year as Khalifah. This is an honest translation of these words... Allah has sent Muhammad with the haqq i.e. the truth, legitimacy, validity, facts and fairness and He has brought down to him the Holy Writ and included in that which has been brought down to him is the ayah pertaining to stoning and we read, understood and reasoned it. According to this so-called hadith in Sahih Al Bukhari, Umar continues and says the Prophet of Allah stoned and we followed and did the same. According to this so called hadith sahih- he says I'm apprehensive that if time passes on and as the years and generations go by, there'd be someone who comes out and says By Allah we don't find an ayah concerning this issue of stoning in Allah's scripture. Thus they will go astray by abandoning an obligation that was revealed by Allah... Still, these are the words as you will find them- anyone, (especially those of you who say you are Sunnis), are invited to Allah's Holy Writ and this quote in Sahih Al Bukhari in which, (the following words pertaining to the same khutbah), we are told Umar delivered in the Masjid of the Prophet in his last year in Al Medinah- ...stoning is due per Allah's Book upon everyone who is guilty of adultery, be it a man or woman if there is established evidence, a pregnancy or a confession to this adultery. Then, it is quoted in other books of hadith to which Muslims, who call themselves Sunnis, refer for information and guidance. They come and quote to us this ayah that we don't find in Allah's book and they say in the books of hadiths, (which means), a person who commits adultery and is at an advance stage his life,
meaning or the assumption is that he or she is muhsal i.e. having been married and then committing adultery, then you stone them in an unqualified manner as a punishment from Allah. Still, in this same khutbah, we are told, (in what is supposed to be in an infallible book i.e.), Sahih Al Bukhari that Umar said and then, from among what we would read in the book of Allah do not desire away from your ancestors or forefathers because it is kufr committed by you to desire away from your forefathers, ancestors or predecessors. Brothers and sisters, thinking Muslims- is this compatible with what we understand from Allah's infallible book? Allah says in an ayah that all Muslims know, its common sense in
Of a certainty we have revealed this written consciousness and of a certainty We will preserve it
This is an ayah that all the Muslims, (regardless of whether you're a Sunni or Shi'i), refer to.
Now we encounter in some books of hadiths that there's an ayah that has been dropped out of Allah's book according to this hadith that we just sighted from Sahih Al Bukhari. OK- there was a lot of effort that was put into Sahih Al Bukhari; there's plenty of authentic, genuine and exact hadiths from Allah's Prophet, but does that make Sahih Al Bukhari on a par with Qur'an itself?! There's nothing wrong in it?! Al Bukhari has become equivalent to Rasulillah?! Obviously not! So, if we see a hadith like this, (anywhere, in any book of hadith- we have no personal issue with Al Imam Al Bukhari), that is so obviously out of step with the Qur'an, it is disregarded. It is easy; (it's) a rule of thumb for any Muslim- if you see a hadith that cannot fit into the meanings of the Qur'an you leave it aside.
Muslim Sahih Hadith
We go to Sahih Muslim, (you can go; you're invited/welcome/encouraged to do it) and we find the following hadith... We will quote for you 1st the original then the translation. OK- (what's) the background to this hadith; you have to understand what's going on? We are told in Sahih Muslim and in the books of history that Abu Musa Al Ash'ari (radi Allahu anhu) at one time invited Al Qurra, the Muslims who had memorised the book of Allah the Qur'an i.e. they knew the 114 Surahs in the Qur'an by heart, (a very good gesture/thing to do), and they came. We are told they were around 300. This is a hadith that is narrated to us in Sahih Muslim, We don't know how it is a hadith, but this is how it is projected), this is the quote word-by-word, honest to God. Abu Musa Al Ash'ari is saying to the Qurra' crowd that were there we used to read a Surah which in its length and robust meanings was similar to Surah Al Bara'a. I have forgotten it, except what I have memorised from it; now, he's going to quote for us what is supposed to be an ayah from what is supposed to be a Surah that is in the character of Surah of Surah Al Bara'a that is no longer in the Qur'an. Listen to this- now, he quotes what is an "ayah", (Surah Al Bara'a is well over 100 ayaat and he only remembered one ayah), and this is the ayah he recalls, (supposedly)... OK- what does this mean? If the son of Adam, (meaning we, the descendants of Adam), had two valleys of wealth and money, we would yearn/work for a third meaning a third valley that is full of money and wealth and nothing is going to fill the intestines/internal cavity of man except dirt. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the Qur'anic style, eloquence and fluidity of meaning and exceptional elegance. (But) anyone who is familiar, (you can) give him these words/two sentences and he'll say "this doesn't fit; this is not an ayah!" But we, (those of us who read Sahih Muslim), will tell you "this used to be an ayah." Not only do we have one problem, we have a complication of problems here. Then, it goes on and we are told still by Abu Musa Al Ashari we used to read in the years gone by a Surah which we found similar or a kin to Al Musabbihaat, (there's a sequence of Surahs in the Qur'an that begin with Sabbaha Lillah or Yusabbihu lillah, these Surahs are called Musabbihaat, they are not the long Surahs in the beginning and they're not the short Surahs of the Qur'an at the end; there's a flavour and there's a format for these Musabbihaat), this is in Sahih Muslim, I've been made to forget it (or) I've forgotten it, except that I have memorised of this now absent Surah the following... We're going to quote to you word by word again- OK- this is an ayah in another Surah; in Surat As Saff, Allah says
Oh you who are divinely committed why do you say that which you don't do. It is a major offense against Allah to say what you don't do (Surah As Saff verse 2-3)
OK- that ayah that beginning of the Surah and that whole ayah is something that all Muslims know, memorise and are familiar with; it's part of Surah As Saff, but here, we are told in Sahih Muslim- they don't even say yauma turjaun. It would have been more in the flavour and character of the Qur'an. They could have tried to put a little bit of eloquence to it to make it possible in the attention of some people, but NO!. Whoever fabricated this flunked in fabricating a hadith. We are told that this now long gone ayah along with its absent long gone Surah that is no longer in the Qur'an says Oh you who are firmly committed to Allah why do you say what you don't do, because it is going to be a testimony that you are going to carry as a burden on your neck/back and then you will be asked about it on the day of resurrection. Brothers and sisters- we think we (all) have enough understanding of Allah and His Prophet to know that we took one hadith from Sahih Al Bukhari and one from Sahih Muslim; these two hadiths contradict the book of Allah.
o, when we have hadiths that are so obviously contradictory and contrarian to the Book of Allah, who says I or any Muslim has to accept this. We don't accept this! For the fanatics who are out there, (we do have fanatics all over the place or all over the parking lot- fanatics are to be encountered everywhere), and want us to believe that these are hadiths- even though they are mentioned in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, we're not going to accept these types of so-called hadiths. Why? Because they violate the meanings we have in our possession that come to us from Allah via His divine Writ- it is that simple.
Now, we run into an issue that has developed throughout time- it is easy to understand why we find some of these statements in books like in Sahih Al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim if we can consolidate the political information that we have and what happened during the time of the Umawis and Abbasis. When we recall that information, (and we know how governments behave when there are learned persons around), they can easily obtain a copy of a book even if it is a book of hadith and they can squeeze in the types of hadiths that will give them legitimacy in the eyes of the public or that we'll score against their opponents or enemies. One of these, (you know- we are not infant Muslims, we have a little experience to our credit, you and I know how fanatical Sunnis behave and how they speak; we also know how fanatical Shi'is behave and speak, (let us give ourselves a little credit)- there are well established hadiths that are trans-denominational i.e. you'll find them in all the Madhaahib of Islam. These hadiths speak to the character, credibility and qualification of Imam Ali (radi Allahu anhu). What happens later on in history, (meaning during the time of the Umawis, there was a power and government that was against Ali, (we spent many Jum'ahs going through that), but as far as the books of hadiths are concerned, you can detect how these governments are not absent from the scholarly arena. You don't have to go far away- in our own time, there has been a translation of the Qur'an by Yusuf Ali and the government of Saudi Arabia did a job on that translation just in our life time- that's a very simple example of how they can get away with these things. So, here we have Al Bukhari and Muslim- they are not immune from what the governments of that time, for their own rationalization, wanted to do.
Al Mustadrak hadith by An Nisaburi.
We're going to quote another of what we consider to be a fabricated hadith- there is quite a familiar book in the literature of hadith- it's called Al Mustadrak by An Nisaburi. This Mustadrak, (it's like you're saying), is an addendum to the Sahihain because the full title of the book is Al Mustadrak Ala Sahihain. In it we are told that the Prophet said, this is concerning Umar (radi Allahu anhu)- we're quoting for you... What are we saying here? What is this so called hadith saying? We are told according to this book that the Prophet expressed these following words the 1st one to be embraced by Al Haqq i.e Allah is Umar and the 1st one to be greeted and shaken hands with by Al Haqq is Umar and the 1st one to be taken by the hand and to be whisked into Al Jannah or Paradise is Umar ibn Al Khattab- this is supposed to be a hadith?! Anyone who has an understanding of the times can detect that this is the foul play of governments because this Umawi government had to balance public opinion. They were dealing with the popularity of Ali and they were dealing with a public opinion that is sympathetic to Ali, (with all that we explained through that subtle and confrontational history); they had to build up some character against Ali so they come and fabricate this type of hadith and they slip it in to one of these books of hadith and they want Muslims to get the impression that there is some type of rivalry, competition, bad feelings or even animosity between Ali and Umar ibn Al Khattab. Any Muslim, (whether you're a Sunni or Shi'i- it doesn't matter), if you think there was any enmity or hostility between Ali and Umar ibn Khattab, you have fallen victim of the government of that time. We're living 1,300 years after that particular regime and still you're a victim of what that particular regime was doing to the people of that time.
Brothers and sisters, committed Muslims...
There are ayaat in the book of Allah which we all read and understand that should bring to us the camaraderie, brotherhood and intimacy that belonged to a 1st generation of Muslims that had it's weak points and strong points, (so to speak). The ayah that we quoted last week is likewise quotable this week
Muhammad is the Messenger the Apostle of Allah and those who are with him are strong, uncompromising, harsh and robust against the Kuffar; they are compassionate, merciful and kind towards themselves. You see them rukka'an sujjadan; asking of Allah's provision (Surah Al Fath verse 29)
Another ayah in the Qur'an you find saying there is an honorific title for
The pioneers of the Hijra and the pioneers of the Nusra i.e. the people who were forced out of Makkah at the beginning of that Prophetic struggle and the people who supported the Prophet during the beginning of an Islamic order in Al Medinah... (Surah At Taubah verse 100)
There's another ayah
Allah is satisfied with the Committed Muslims who gave you their allegiance... (Surah Al Fath verse 18)
But does this mean that point blank everyone during the time of Allah's Prophet, (according to some definitions), everyone who saw the Prophet, believed in him and prayed with him almost becomes infallible?! Is this what or how we understand what Allah is telling us when He says
when time came to mobilize for war there was a segment among them who concealed that which they did not express meaning what they were saying in public was not how they felt in private meaning they were hypocrites
The fanatical Muslims that we said are all around went to extremes- all of a sudden no one makes mistakes and everyone is virtuous- as if they don't read what Allah is saying in context; and then the other fanatics who say that there was a major treachery to the Prophet in his lifetime, on the day he passed away and for the coming generations. Brothers- committed Muslims and sisters- this is a mistake, a misreading of reality and a confusion of the facts.
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