You are Allah’s Witnesses Upon the Earth

Assalamu alaikum, after some time I have been able to post some more notes Alhamdulillah. Below are the first part of my notes from Lesson 181 of the Commentary of al Tajrid al Sarih (Book of Funerals, The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) which was delivered by our respected teacher Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq on Friday 25th January 2008.

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Chapter of People’s Praise of the Deceased

باب: ثَنَاءُ النّاسِ عَلَى المَيّت

686. عَنْ أَنَسٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ: مَرّوا بِجَنَازَةٍ فَأَثْنَوْا عَلَيْهَا خَيْرًا, فَقَالَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: (وَجَبَتْ). ثُمّ مَرّوا بِأُخْرَى فَأَثْنَوْا عَلَيْهَا شَرّا, فَقَالَ: (وَجَبَتْ). فَقَالَ عُمَرُ بْنُ الخَطّابِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ: ما وَجَبَتْ قَالَ: (هذا أَثْنَيْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ خَيْرًا, فَوَجَبَتْ لَهُ الجَنّةُ, وَهذَا أَثْنَيْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ شَرّا, فَوَجَبَتْ لَهُ النّارُ, أَنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءُ اللهِ في الأَرْضِ). رواه البخاري: 1367

Hadeeth 686 - Narrated Anas (bin Mâlik) رضى الله عنه : A funeral procession passed and the people praised the deceased. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, It has been affirmed to him. Then another funeral procession passed and the people spoke badly of the deceased. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, It has been affirmed to him. 'Umar bin Al Khattâb asked Allâh's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم , What has been affirmed? He replied, You have praised this one so Paradise has been affirmed to him; and you have dispraised (spoken badly of) the other, so Hell has been affirmed to him. You people are Allâh's witnesses on earth. (2:448O.B.)

The sahabah spoke about two funerals that had arrived. They spoke highly of one of the deceased. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said it has become incumbent (binding). When the second funeral arrived, the sahabah spoke ill of the deceased. They had nothing good to say about the deceased. Again, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said it has become incumbent (binding). This incident is made clearer by a narration in Imam Hakim’s Mustadrak. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked the sahabah that what good do you have to say about this person. They said that he loved Allah and His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and he worked hard to please Allah and His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم). When they spoke ill of the second person, the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) asked them to clarify why they spoke ill of this person. They said that he disliked Allah and His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم) and he worked hard to disobey Allah and His Rasul (صلى الله عليه وسلم). This is when the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that Jannah has become obligatory for him (i.e. for the first deceased) and Jahanam has become obligatory for the second deceased. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said to the companions ‘You are Allah’s witnesses upon the earth’. Sayidina Abu Bakr (رضى الله عنه) said ‘Ya Rasulullah. What is this?’ Sayidina Abu Bakr (رضى الله عنه) sought an explanation. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that Allah has angels upon the earth who speak on men’s tongues. When the angels want to say something good about someone their speech is manifest, or their inner feelings are expressed upon the tongues of man. Thus, Allah causes men to speak of what the angels want to say; good for good and bad for bad.

Allah manifested the praise of the first deceased and the ill words about the second deceased upon the tongues of the sahabah. This is why the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said ‘You are Allah’s witnesses upon the earth’.

In Imam Muslim’s narration the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said ‘It has become binding’ thrice and he also ‘You are Allah’s witnesses upon the earth’ thrice.

Does this mean that if we speak highly of the deceased will they go to Jannah? Also, we know from previous ahadeeth that we should not speak ill of the dead? How do we reconcile this with the current hadeeth?

Firstly, these were the companions and we cannot compare normal people to the sahabah. Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه) narrates a hadeeth in his musnad which clearly states that the first deceased was a believer. The companions praised him and then the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said that Jannah has become obligatory upon him and then prayed salat-ul-Jinazah over that deceased person. When the next funeral came, the companions spoke ill of this second deceased person. From this narration we learn that this person was one of the known hypocrites and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) refused to pray salat-ul-Jinazah over him.

Does this apply today? i.e. ‘You are Allah’s witnesses upon the earth’.

The Shaykh said the questions raised will be answered with the next hadeeth.

687. عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الخَطّاب رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: (أَيّمَا مُسْلِمٍ, شَهِدَ لَهُ أَرْبَعَةٌ بخَيْرٍ, أَدْخَلَهُ اللهُ الجَنّةَ). فَقُلْنَا: وَثَلاَثَةٌ, قَالَ: (وَثَلاَثَةٌ). فَقُلْنَا: وَاثْنَانِ, قَالَ: (وَاثْنَانِ). ثُمّ لَمْ نَسْأَلْهُ عنِ الْوَاحِدِ. رواه البخاري: 1368

Hadeeth 687. Narrated Umar رضى الله عنه : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: If four persons testify the piety of any Muslim, Allâh will grant him Paradise. We asked, If three persons testify his piety? He (the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم ) replied, Even three. Then we asked, if two? He replied, Even two. We did not ask him regarding one witness. (2:449O.B.)

This is an abridgement of a longer hadeeth. Imam Bukhari (رحمة الله عليه) mentions the full incident. The narrator arrived in Madinah at the time of Sayidina Umar (رضى الله عنه). There was a funeral and people praised the deceased. Sayidina Umar (رضى الله عنه) said ‘It has become obligatory (i.e. Jannah)’. A second funeral arrived and people again praised the deceased. Sayidina Umar (رضى الله عنه) said ‘It has become obligatory (i.e. Jannah)’. A third funeral arrived and people spoke ill of the deceased. Once again, Umar (رضى الله عنه) said ‘It has become obligatory (i.e. the fire)’. The narrator asked Sayidina Umar (رضى الله عنه) what he meant by this. Sayidina Umar (رضى الله عنه) narrated the hadeeth we are currently studying (i.e. Hadeeth 687). A very important point is that in Islam the minimum number of witnesses required in most cases is two. Two people’s testimony is normally a minimum. Hence, the sahabah did not ask about one.

The Shaykh explained that even today this hadeeth is valid; it is not restricted just to the sahabah. For example, if four people (there are conditions which will be elaborated upon later) testify to his goodness, then Allah will grant him Jannah.

We know from clear and categorical hadeeth that we should not speak ill of the dead. The Shaykh said that although in the first hadeeth the deceased was a hypocrite, then one could ask the question that why did people speak ill of the person in hadeeth 687 (as not all were sahabah amongst the gathering and cannot have known if the deceased was a hypocrite). So, why did they speak ill of this deceased person. The Shaykh said that these hadeeth about speaking ill of the dead are not absolute.

This ruling about when it is permissible to speak ill about the dead will become clearer in the next part of my notes from this lesson.

Recharge Your Imaan

Self-Harm and Mental Health

Assalamu alaikum, below are the final part of my notes for Lesson 180 of the Commentary of Book 24 (Book of Funerals) from al Tajrid al Sarih (The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq. In this lesson, Hadeeth 683-685 were covered. The respected Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq gave this lesson on Friday 18th January 2008.

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At the end of Lesson 180, the Shaykh addressed two questioned he had received relvant to the hadeeth on suicide we studied in the lesson. The first lesson was with regard to self-mutilation and self-harm as it is becoming quite common especially amongst teenage girls. The second question was with regard to the ruling for a person that commits suicide due to a mental illness.
The Shaykh said it is often very difficult to define personality disorders and mental health problems because a person who is mentally ill displays some of the same behaviour as a normal person. Thus, the Shaykh feels that a person who suffers from a personality disorder is in most cases responsible for his or her actions. The divorce of an insane person is not valid according to the Hanafi fiqh – this refers to clinical insanity. But, Shaykh said that it is not correct to say that a person’s talaq is not valid if he did not realise what he was saying as this cannot be defined as insanity. Even if someone has mental health issues, it still doesn’t mean that they are not responsible for their behaviour. The only time that someone is not responsible for their behaviour if they were dissociating with such intensity that they took on a completely different character. This used to be referred to as multiple personality disorder but is now called dissociative disorder. In this instance, the person would be completely unaware of what was going on.

Thus, if someone commits suicide, what should we assume? The Shaykh made it clear that we cannot judge anyone. Only Allah can judge and we can only go by what is apparent. For example, if someone utters the words of disbelief we can only go by what we have heard apparently and assume they are non-believers. However, we do not judge a person’s destiny in the hereafter. The Shaykh mentioned how we use the term mentally ill loosely and widely but in terms of the laws of shariah unless someone is suffering in such a manner that they are incapable of making the correct choice and completely lack conscious (as outlined above), then they are considered responsible for their actions. If a person is considered responsible for their actions in the dunya, then they are held accountable in terms of the law of Allah. Thus, if someone is mentally ill and commits adultery, theft or murder and is considered responsible for their actions then they will also be considered responsible if they committed suicide.

Self-harm is completely haram and one of the paths to suicide. The Shaykh said that lying is related as although some people lie because they are manipulative and deceitful a common view in psychiatry is that lying is an indicator of underlying mental health issues. Compulsive lying is related to personality disorders. However, no one excuses this as the person is still responsible for their actions. Similarly, self-harm is also related to personality disorders and is still haram and impermissible.

Some people self-harm with the view to actually kill themselves, however, others have no intention of committing suicide but they do it because of low self-esteem etc. Some people display parasuicidal behaviour where they threaten suicide but they do it to get attention and manipulate others. Self-harm in any form is haram.

The Shaykh ended the lesson by mentioning that we all go through problems in life. Life is about trials and tribulations. Everyone has to suffer bereavements, loss of wealth etc. The Shaykh also spoke very briefly about marriage and marital problems and said remember that you cannot marry without divorcing part of yourself!

Suicide in Islam

Assalamu alaikum, below are the first part of my notes for Lesson 180 of the Commentary of Book 24 (Book of Funerals) from al Tajrid al Sarih (The Abridged Saheeh al-Bukhari) by Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq. In this lesson, Hadeeth 683-685 were covered. The respected Shaykh Abu Yusuf Riyadh ul Haq gave this lesson on Friday 18th January 2008.

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باب: مَا جَاءَ فِي قَاتِلِ النّفْس

CHAPTER 41. – Chapter of what has been related about one who commits suicide.

683. عَنْ ثَابِتِ بْنِ الضَحّاكِ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ, عَنِ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: (مَنْ حَلَفَ بِمِلّةٍ غَيْرِ الإِسْلاَمِ, كاذِبًا مُتَعَمّدًا, فَهُوَ كما قَالَ. وَمَنْ قَتَلَ نَفْسَهُ بِحَدِيدَةٍ, عُذّبَ بِهَا في نَارِ جَهَنّمَ). رواه البخاري: 1363

683. Narrated Thâbit bin Ad Dahhâk رضى الله عنه : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, Whoever intentionally swears falsely by a religion other than Islâm, then he is what he has said, (e.g. if he says, ‘If such thing is not true then I am a Jew,’ he is really a Jew if he is a liar). And whoever commits suicide with a piece of iron will be punished with the same piece of iron in the Hellfire. (2:445O.B.)

Hadeeth 683 – the first part of this hadeeth deals with a certain type of oath and the second with suicide. This hadeeth is related to someone who makes an oath and swears by any deity other than Allah or religion other than Islam even though the person is a Muslim and does not believe in that deity or religion. Hence, they are lying e.g. if they swore in the name of one of the pagan goddesses even though they do not believe in goddess. The person does not become an apostate and the oath is meaningless. This is the meaning of ‘he is as he says’. The second form is far more serious; that is when a person says something along the lines of ‘If I don’t do such a thing, I am an apostate’, for example. According to Imam Malik (رحمة الله عليه), Imam Shafi (رحمة الله عليه), Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (رحمة الله عليه) this oath is meaningless. However, according to Imam Abu Hanifah (رحمة الله عليه) the person will become an apostate if he does not fulfil the oath.
The second part of the hadeeth is related to anyone who commits suicide with any sharp object. The Shaykh said that the word ‘حَدِيدَةٍ’ means any sharp object e.g. a knife or dagger. In Islam, there is a rule that punishment is often reflective of the crime – there is an Arabic phrase that punishment is of the category of the deed. Thus, as suicide is haraam, the person who poisons themselves will continue to poison themselves in Jahannum.

The Shaykh translated the following two hadeeth before explaining further about suicide in Islam.

684. عَنْ جُنْدَب رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ, عَنِ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ:
(كانَ بِرَجُلٍ جِرَاحٌ فَقَتَلَ نَفْسَهُ, فَقَالَ اللهُ: بَدَرَنِي عَبْدِي بِنَفْسِهِ, حَرّمْتُ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنّةَ). رواه البخاري: 1364

684. Narrated Jundab رضى الله عنه : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, A man was inflicted with wounds and he committed suicide, and so Allâh said: My servant tried to outdo me with his soul, so I have declared Paradise forbidden for him. (2:445O.B.)

685. عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: قَالَ النّبِيّ صلى الله عليه وسلم: (الّذِي يَخْنُقُ نَفْسَهُ يَخْنُقُهَا فِي النّارِ, وَالّذِي يَطْعُنُهَا يَطْعُنُهَا فِي النّارِ). رواه البخاري: 1365

685. Narrated Abu Hurairah رضى الله عنه : The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said, Whoever strangles oneself will continue to strangle oneself in the Hellfire (forever) and he who commits suicide by stabbing himself shall keep on stabbing himself in the Hellfire (forever). (2:446O.B.)

Hadeeth 684 - If a believer commits suicide, is Jannah declared forbidden for them forever? The Shaykh said this is not the case. It is known from verses of the Holy Qur’an and explicit hadeeth that if a person declares the testimony of faith, they will eventually go to Jannah whatever their sins. Their sins are subjective to the Will of Allah. Once they have been purified, they will enter Jannah. Thus, based on other evidences we cannot take Hadeeth 684 literally. The wording in this hadeeth is ‘my servant tried to outdo me with his soul’. Does this mean that a person managed to take their soul before their fixed time? This wording is just that the person tried to outdo their natural lifespan, however, it is still the decree and Qadr of Allah if the person commits suicide.

Does the Qur’an speak of suicide? The respected Shaykh said that the Qur’an does not speak of suicide directly but there are two verses from which the meaning can be derived to relate to suicide. The first is a verse of Surah Baqarah where Allah says ‘Spend in the way of Allah and do not cast yourselves with own hands to destruction and do good for indeed Allah loves those who do good’. Secondly, in Surah Nisa Allah says ‘Oh believers, do not consume each others wealth in a false manner unless it is trade between yourselves with mutual consent. And do not kill yourselves, indeed Allah is most merciful and compassionate with you’. The ulema say that the primary meaning of this verse of Surah Nisa is do not kill each other and does primarily does not speak of suicide. This verse is mentioning that one’s wealth and life are both sacred; do not take someone else’s wealth or life without just cause. The secondary meaning is related to suicide; as it’s not permissible to take another’s life, it is not permissible to take another’s life.

With the verse of Surah Baqarah, some ulema have derived the second meaning of this verse to mean suicide. The primary meaning of this verse is related to those that ceased spending in the way of Allah and going out in the Way of Allah. However, the ahadeeth is categorical that suicide is haraam and whoever commits suicide will face the displeasure of Allah and punishment in the hereafter.

Should a person who commits suicide have Salat-ul-Jinazah prayed over them? According to all the major schools of fiqh, they shall be treated as a normal deceased person and after washing and bathing the body, Salat-ul-Jinazah should be performed over them. However, according to the Hanafi fiqh, the leaders and people of dignity should not perform Salat-ul-Jinazah over those that commit suicide.

During the time of the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم), a man suffered a wound and took a spearhead and killed himself. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) did not perform Salat-ul-Jinazah over him. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم) said ‘As for me I will not perform Salat-ul-Jinazah over him’. This was to set an example; although the person who commits suicide will be given a burial this action was to serve as a deterrent i.e. so that they know that the best in the community will not pray for them. In effect, the person considering suicide would be deterred that they will be outcasts in a sense.