Please, tell me about the authenticity of the following hadith .. and also tell me is there any thing wrong in this hadith ?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Assalamoalikum
please, tell me about the authenticity of the following hadith .. and also tell
me is there any thing wrong in this hadith ?
Umar ibn al-Khattab said:
As we sat one day with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace),
a man in pure white clothing and jet black hair came to us, without a trace of
travelling upon him, though none of us knew him.
He sat down before the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) bracing his
knees against his, resting his hands on his legs, and said: "Muhammad,
tell me about Islam." The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him
peace) said: "Islam is to testify that there is no god but Allah and that
Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and to perform the prayer, give zakat, fast
in Ramadan, and perform the pilgrimage to the House if you can find a
way."
He said: "You have spoken the truth," and we were surprised that he
should ask and then confirm the answer. Then he said: "Tell me about true
faith (iman)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace)
answered: "It is to believe in Allah, His angels, His inspired Books, His
messengers, the Last Day, and in destiny, its good and evil."
"You have spoken the truth," he said, "Now tell me about the
perfection of faith (ihsan)," and the Prophet (Allah bless him and give
him peace) answered: "It is to worship Allah as if you see Him, and if you
see Him not, He nevertheless sees you."
He said: "Now tell me about the Hour." The Prophet (Allah bless him
and give him peace) answered: "The one who is asked about it does knows no
more than the questioner."
He said: "Then tell me about its signs." The Prophet (Allah bless him
and give him peace answered: "That a slave girl shall give birth to her
mistress, and that you see barefoot, naked, destitute shepherds vying to build
tall buildings."
Then the visitor left. I waited a long while, and the Prophet (Allah bless him
and give him peace) said to me, "Do you know, ‘Umar, who was the
questioner?" and I replied, "Allah and His messenger know best."
He said,
"It was Gabriel, who came to you to teach you your religion" (Sahih
Muslim, 1.37: hadith 8).
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Answer:
Authenticity
of hadith Jibrael
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai, nobody!) worthy of
worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant
and the seal of His Messengers.
Your
Question: please, tell me about the authenticity of the following hadith .. and
also tell me is there any thing wrong in this hadith ?
To the best of our knowledge the exact translation of the above quoted hadith
from Sahih Muslim is a part of the following narration:
Sahih Muslim Hadith 1 Narrated
by Abdullah ibn Umar ibn al-Khattab
It is narrated on the authority of Yahya ibn Ya'mar that the
first man who discussed Qadr (Divine Decree) in Basrah was Ma'bad al-Juhani. Humayd ibn AbdurRahman al-Himyari and I set
out for Pilgrimage or for Umrah and said: ‘Should it so happen that we come
into contact with one of the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (saws) we
shall ask him about what is talked about Taqdir (Division Decree).’ Accidentally we came across Abdullah ibn
Umar ibn al-Khattab, while he was entering the mosque. My companion and I
surrounded him. One of us (stood) on his right and the other stood on his left.
I expected that my companion would authorize me to speak. I therefore said: ‘O AbuAbdurRahman! There
have appeared some people in our land who recite the Holy Qur'an and pursue
knowledge.’ And then after talking about
their affairs, added: ‘They (such people) claim that there is no such thing as
Divine Decree and events are not predestined.’
He (Abdullah ibn Umar) said: ‘When you happen to meet such people tell
them that I have nothing to do with them and they have nothing to do with me.
And verily they are in no way responsible for my (belief).’ Abdullah ibn Umar
swore by Him (the Lord) (and said): ‘If any one of them (who does not believe
in the Divine Decree) had with him gold equal to the bulk of (the mountain)
Uhud and then spend it (in the way of Allah), Allah would not accept it unless he
affirmed his faith in Divine Decree.’
He further said: ‘My father, Umar ibn al-Khattab, told me: ‘One day we
were sitting in the company of Allah's Messenger (saws) when there appeared
before us a man dressed in pure white clothes, his hair extraordinarily black.
There were no signs of travel on him. None amongst us recognized him. At last
he sat with the Messenger of Allah (saws).
He knelt before him, placed his palms on his thighs, and said: ‘O
Muhammad, inform me about al-Islam.’
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Al-Islam implies that you testify
that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah,
and you establish prayer, pay Zakat, observe the fast of Ramadan, and perform
pilgrimage to the (House) if you are solvent enough (to bear the expense of)
the journey.’ He (the inquirer) said:
‘You have told the truth.’ He (Umar ibn
al-Khattab) said: ‘It amazed us that he would put the question and then he
would himself verify the truth.’ He
(the inquirer) said: ‘Inform me about Iman (Faith).’ He (the Holy Prophet (sawsa)) replied: ‘That you affirm your
faith in Allah, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Prophets, in the Day of
Judgment, and you affirm your faith in the Divine Decree about good and
evil.’ He (the inquirer) said: ‘You
have told the truth.’ He (the inquirer) again said: ‘Inform me about ‘Al-Ihsan’
(performance of good deeds).’ He (the
Holy Prophet (saws)) said: ‘That you worship Allah as if you are seeing Him,
for though you don't see Him, He, verily, sees you.’ He (the enquirer) again said: ‘Inform me about the Hour.’ He (the Holy Prophet (saws)) remarked: ‘One
who is asked knows no more than the one who is inquiring (about it).’ He (the inquirer) said: ‘Tell me some of its
indications.’ He (the Holy Prophet (saws))
said: ‘That the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master, that you
will find barefooted, destitute goat-herds vying with one another in the
construction of magnificent buildings.’ He (the narrator, Umar ibn al-Khattab) said: ‘Then he (the
inquirer) went on his way but I stayed with him (the Holy Prophet(saws)) for a
long while. He (saws) then, said to me: ‘O Umar, do you know who this inquirer
was?’ I replied: ‘Allah and His Messenger
(saws) know best.’ He (the Holy Prophet
(saws)) remarked: ‘He was Jibrael (a.s.). He came to you in order to instruct
you in matters of religion!’
A very
similar narration with a slight change of sequence of the above quoted
narration from Sahih Muslim, popularly known as ‘Hadith Jibrael’, is also found
in the collection of Sahih Al-Bukhari narrated by Abu Hurairah, and considered
absolutely authentic according to the criteria of both Muslim and Bukhari.
Your
Question: ……and also tell me is there any thing wrong in this hadith ?
When any hadith has been accepted as authentic according to the criteria of
both, Muslim and Bukhari, it is what is termed by the scholars as
‘Muttaffiq-un-alayh’ or ‘unanimously agreed upon’ by two of the most authentic
and respected recorders of hadiths, Imam Muslim and Imam Bukhari.
To the
best of our knowledge, there is absolutely nothing ‘wrong’ with the narration;
and Allah Alone Knows Best.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan