Contemplating the Qur’an is a treatise on following the Qur’an and the Sunnah, benefiting from the codified Madhhabs holistically whilst not following any one Madhhab rigidly or blindly, by Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti (1325-1393 H / 1907-1973 CE) of Mauritania and Saudi Arabia, one of the greatest authorities on the Qur’an of the 20th century CE and the 14th Islamic century. The treatise is an abridged translation of the author’s tafsir of an ayah of the Qur’an (Surah Muhammad, 47:24) from his monumental tafsir, Adwa’ al-Bayan (Lights of Eloquence).
In this treatise, the author covers the following topics:
Muslims must contemplate the Qur’an, learn it, understand it and act by it
There is no basis for those who say that the above is only for the mujtahids
A muqallid is not an ‘alim: a follower of opinions does not have knowledge
Saying that we cannot follow the Qur’an and Sunnah but must follow the codified Madhhabs, is one of the greatest falsehoods
A critique of Sawi’s view that holding to the apparent meanings of the Book and the Sunnah is one of the principles of kufr (blasphemy)
On Ijtihad,Taqlid and Madhhab; permissible and impermissible taqlid
He concludes with eleven “Important Notes About This Issue,” including:
the Four Imams were united in forbidding their blind taqlid;
Haram/Halal cannot be stated on the basis of taqlid;
the difference between taqlid & ittiba’;
our stance towards the Imams;
every Imam has been criticized for going against the Sunnah in particular matters (with examples);
muqallids must distinguish between their Imam’s actual views and those added to his Madhhab after him;
it is impermissible for a Muslim to believe that the era of ijtihad is closed, and that only four Madhhabs must be followed;
turning away from the Qur’an and Sunnah in favour of the Four Madhhabs is one of the greatest problems that has beset Muslims over recent centuries.
We have added five important Appendices.
Firstly, an earlier, concise fatwa from the Shaykh about following Madhhabs, given in 1385 H (1964/5 CE). The Shaykh moved on from this fatwa somewhat, but we include it for the sake of integrity.
Secondly, we mention the Shaykh’s broadening out from his basis of the Maliki Madhhab after becoming exposed in Mecca and Medina to diverse views and schools from around the Muslim world.
Thirdly, we correct a contemporary misquote from Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, whom the Shaykh quotes extensively in his full discussion.
The misquote attempts to portray Ibn al-Qayyim as saying the opposite of his actual position, so we are happy to set the record straight.
Fourthly, we show how Imam Shatibi also presented a holistic approach to the Madhhabs.
Finally, we include Zamakhshari’s classic, educational and entertaining poem about Madhhabi sectarianism.
Bismillah. This alleged incident, at the time of the Conquest of Mecca when the Ka’bah was purified of the 360+ idols around it and inside it, was famously mentioned by Martin Lings (Abu Bakr Siraj al-Din), may God have mercy upon him, in his book, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources.
In 1990, JIMAS (UK) published a then-recent exchange of letters in the Saudi Gazette between Abu Bilal Mustafa al-Kanadi [The Canadian], may God have mercy upon him, and Martin Lings, in which Kanadi was very critical of Lings: one of his criticism was Lings’ inclusion of this story in his Sirah (Biography of the Prophet), based on its mention by al-Waqidi in Kitab al-Maghazi (The Book of Military Expeditions) and al-Azraqi (d. 250 H) in Akhbar Makkah (History of Mecca). That exchange is reproduced at the bottom of this post, for reference. Neither correspondent referred to the Hadith expert Imam Dhahabi’s discussion and comment on this report.
Imam Dhahabi’s discussion and comment on this report
Muslim [bin Khalid] al-Zanji [The Negro], on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of his father [Abu Najih], who said: Men of the Quraysh sat and reminisced about the building of the Ka’bah … [The builders] depicted prophets, angels and trees inside it. They depicted Ibrahim [Abraham] divining with arrows. They depicted Jesus and his mother …
And in the hadith on the authority of Ibn Abi Najih, on the authority of his father [Abu Najih], on the authority of Huwaytib bin ‘Abdul ‘Uzza and others: On the day of the Conquest [of Mecca], the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, entered the House [of God]. He ordered for a cloth to be moistened and commanded that those pictures be effaced. He placed his palms upon the picture of Jesus and his motherand said, “Erase them all, except what is beneath my hand.” Al-Azraqi transmitted it.[1]
Ibn Jurayj said: Sulayman bin Musa al-Shami [The Syrian] asked ‘Ata’ bin Abi Rabah [The Mufti of Mecca] whilst I was listening, “Did you come across the statue[2] of Mary and Jesus in the House [of God]?” He replied, “Yes, I came across the embellished[3]statueof Mary with Jesus standing in her lap. There used to be six support pillars inside the House: the statueof Jesus and Mary was in the pillar nearest the door.” So I [Ibn Jurayj] asked ‘Ata’, “When was it destroyed?” He replied, “In the fire during the rule of Ibn al-Zubayr.” I asked, “Do you mean that it was there during the time of the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace?” He replied, “I do not know, but I think it was there during his time.”
Dawud bin ‘Abdul Rahman said, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: I then repeated the question to ‘Ata’ after a while. He said, “The statueof Jesus and his mother was in the middle pillar.”
Al-Azraqi said: [4] Dawud al-‘Attar [The Perfumier] narrated to us, on the authority of ‘Amr bin Dinar, who said, “I came across the statueof Jesus and his mother in the Ka’bah before it was demolished.”[5] Dawud said: One of the gatekeepers informed me on the authority of Musafi’ bin Shaybah that The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, said: “O Shaybah! Erase all the pictures except what is beneath my hand.” When he lifted his hand, there was Jesus, son of Mary, and his mother.
Al-Azraqi said, on the authority of Sa’id bin Salim: Yazid bin ‘Iyad bin Ju’dubah narrated to me, on the authority of Ibn Shihab [al-Zuhri] that The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, entered the Ka’bah containing pictures of angels. He saw the picture of Ibrahim [Abraham] and said, “May God fight them! They made him an old man divining with arrows.” He then saw the picture of Mary and placed his hand upon it, saying, “Erase all [the pictures] in it, except the picture of Mary.”
Al-Azraqi then quoted similarly with another chain of transmission. It is mursal [“hanging loose”; discontinuous].[6]But the statements of ‘Ata’ and ‘Amr are established (thabit): this is a matter that we had never heard of until today. [emphasis added]
Source:
al-Imam Shams al-Din Muhammad bin Ahmad bin ‘Uthman al-Dhahabi (d. 748 H / 1347 CE), Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’ (Biographies of Notable Nobles), ed. Dr Bashshar ‘Awwad Ma’ruf, Mu’assasat al-Risalah, Beirut, 1422 H / 2001 CE, vol. 26, pp. 67-69
[1] The editor of the Siyar adds the reference: Akhbar Makkah,1/165
[3]Muzawwaq: embellished, especially with quicksilver (mercury) or an amalgam of quicksilver and gold.
[4] The editor of the Siyar adds the reference: Akhbar Makkah,1/167-8
[5] The Ka’bah has been destroyed and rebuilt several times in its history due to floods, fires, earthquakes, etc.
[6]Mursal especially refers to a Follower (Tabi’i) quoting the Prophet directly without naming the Companion (Sahabi) from whom he must have heard the narration. In this case, Ibn Shihab [al-Zuhri] is a Follower and quotes The Prophet directly without naming the intervening Companion(s), so the narration is mursal. There is much difference of opinion amongst Hadith scholars about the authenticity of the mursal hadith. See the section on this topic in Suhaib Hasan, An Introduction to the Science of Hadith, Al-Qur’an Society, London, 1994, pp. 24-29.
ANALYSIS & BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES from Imam Dhahabi’s Tadhkirat al-Huffaz (Memoire of the Preservers of Hadith)
A. IBN SHIHAB AL-ZUHRI (50-124 H): The most knowledgeable of the Preservers of Hadith (Huffaz)
Abu Bakr Muhammad bin Muslim bin ‘Ubaydillah bin ‘Abdillah bin Shihab bin ‘Abdillah bin Zuhrah bin Kulab, The Qurayshi, The Zuhri, The Madinan, The Imam. He narrated Hadith from Ibn ‘Umar, Sahl bin Sa’d, Anas bin Malik, Mahmud bin al-Rabi’, Sa’id bin al-Musayyib, Abu Umamah bin Sahl and their generation of minor Companions (Sahabah) and major Followers (Tabi’in). The following narrated Hadith from him: Ma’mar bin Rashid, Awza’i, Layth, Malik, Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah and multitudes besides them.
Layth said, “I never saw a person of knowledge at all more comprehensive than Zuhri. He would narrate about encouragement of worship: you would say that he only specialised in that. If he narrated about the (history of) the Arabs and genealogies, you would say that he only specialised in those. If he narrated about the Qur’an and the Sunnah, then similarly … He was amongst the most generous of people … He used to drink honey a lot, but not eat apples. He said: I never forgot any knowledge after my heart had deposited it … No-one has had patience upon knowledge like my patience; no-one has spread knowledge the way I have.”
Nafi’ checked his memorisation of the Qur’an with Zuhri. (Zuhri memorised the entire Qur’an in eighty nights.) ‘Umar bin ‘Abdul ‘Aziz said, “No one remains more knowledgeable about past traditions than Zuhri.” Malik said, “Ibn Shihab remained, but there was no-one similar to him in the world.” Ayyub al-Sikhtiani said, “I did not see anyone more knowledgeable than him.” ‘Amr bin Dinar said, “I did not see the dinar (gold coin) and the dirham (silver coin) less important to anyone than Zuhri: they were like dung to him.” Others said: Zuhri was an accomplished soldier. He used to dye his grey hair with henna.
[The Umayyad Caliph] Hisham bin ‘Abdul Malik asked Zuhri to dictate some knowledge to one of his sons, so he dictated four hundred hadiths to him. Zuhri then assembled People of Hadith and narrated those four hundred hadiths to them. He met Hisham again after a month or so: Hisham tested him by telling him that the book of dictated hadiths had been lost. Zuhri called a scribe and dictated the hadiths again: these were compared against the original book, and there was not a single difference, not even in a letter. Makhul was asked, “Who was the most knowledgeable person you ever met?” He replied, “Ibn Shihab.” He was asked, “Then who?” He replied, “Ibn Shihab.”
Some further statements of Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri:
“Al-Qasim bin Muhammad said to me: I see that you are eager for knowledge: Shall I not then point you to one of its great vessels? … ‘Amrah bint ‘Abdul Rahman, for she grew up in ‘Aisha’s lap. So I came to her and found her to be an ocean that could not be exhausted.”
“I never revised knowledge at all.”
“Whoever would like to memorise hadiths, should eat raisins.”
“A Preserver of Hadith is only born once in forty years.”
“God has not been worshipped via anything better than knowledge.”
B. ‘AMR BIN DINAR, THE PRESERVER OF HADITH, THE IMAM (c. 46-126 H)
The person of knowledge of the Sanctuary (Haram). Abu Muhammad of Jumayh (their freed-slave), The Meccan, al-Athram. He heard traditions from Ibn ‘Abbas, Ibn ‘Umar, Jabir bin ‘Abdillah, Bajalah bin ‘Abdah, Anas bin Malik, Abu l-Sha’tha’, Tawus and many others. Shu’bah, Ibn Jurayj, the two Hammads [Hammad bin Zayd & Hammad bin Salamah], the two Sufyans [Sufyan bin ‘Uyaynah & Sufyan al-Thawri], Warqa’ and many besides them, all narrated from him.
Shu’bah said, “I did not see anyone more established in Hadith than ‘Amr.” Ibn Mahdi said: Shu’bah said to me, “I did not see anyone like ‘Amr bin Dinar.” Yahya al-Qattan and Ahmad [bin Hanbal] said, “He was more established than Qatadah.” ‘Abdullah bin Abi Najih said, “I never saw anyone at all with more (juristic) understanding than ‘Amr, not even ‘Ata’, Mujahid or Tawus.”
Ibn ‘Uyaynah said, “He would not leave the mosque. He would ride a donkey. I only ever saw him sitting down. He was a person of understanding (jurist). He would narrate by meaning … Trustworthy, Trustworthy, Trustworthy … He divided the night into three: he would sleep for a third, teach his hadiths for a third and pray for a third … We did not have anyone with more understanding, knowledge or preservation than ‘Amr bin Dinar.”
The Hafiz Ibn al-Mufaddal established him as one of the four amongst the top generation (of hadith-narrators) after the year 40 H: Zuhri, ‘Amr bin Dinar, Qatadah & Abu Ishaq al-Sabi’i.
C. MUSLIM BIN KHALID AL-ZANJI (100-180 H): “the Imam, the Man of Understanding (Jurist) … Shaykh of the Sanctuary (Haram).”
Muslim bin Khalid al-Zanji [The Negro]. He narrated Hadith from the likes of Ibn Abi Mulaykah, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri, ‘Amr bin Dinar, Zayd bin Aslam, Hisham bin ‘Urwah, ‘Abdul Malik Ibn Jurayj and their generation. He devoted himself to Ibn Jurayj for a while, gained juristic understanding and gave fatwas, concentrating on knowledge. He transmitted the (Qur’anic) letter variations (huruf) from ‘Abdullah bin Kathir, and gave Shafi’i permission to give fatwas. Shafi’i, Marwan al-Tatiri, Humaydi, Musaddad, Hakam bin Musa, the Hafiz Ibrahim bin Musa, Hisham bin ‘Ammar and others narrated Hadith from him.
Azraqi said, “He was a person of understanding and worship. He would fast all the time.”
Yahya Ibn Ma’in said, “There is no problem with him.”
Ibn ‘Adi said, “He is good in Hadith: I hope there is no problem with him.”
Abu Dawud said, “Weak in Hadith.”
Bukhari said, “Rejected in Hadith.”
Abu Hatim said, “He is not used as a proof.”
Ibrahim al-Harbi said, “He was the Jurist of Mecca.”
Suwayd said, “He was named ‘The Negro’ because of his black skin.” But Ibn Sa’d and others said that he was blonde: he was termed ‘The Negro’ via the irony of opposite meaning. Dhahabi: He died in 180 H, aged 80.
3D Isometric Flat Vector Conceptual Illustration of Stages Of Grief, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance
ISLAM & THE SEVEN STAGES OF GRIEF
Bismillah.
Previously, there were five stages of grief generally accepted amongst psychologists as: 1. SHOCK, 2. DENIAL, 3. ANGER, 4. BARGAINING, 5. ACCEPTANCE/HOPE.
Recently, some people have extended this to seven stages by adding GUILT & DEPRESSION after ANGER. But it varies from person to person: these are not necessarily linear stages: they may be cyclical or iterative. Hence, the 7 stages of grief are:
0.1 THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD’S YEAR OF GRIEF AND SORROW
The Prophet, peace be upon him, experienced his “year of grief or sorrow” (عام الحزن, ‘Ām al Huzn) during his tenth year of prophethood, ie 3 years before the Hijra, when his only wife Khadija, his stalwart support for 25 years, died, followed closely by his uncle, Abu Talib, his tribal protector as chief of his clan, the Banu Hashim.
(I’m grateful to the Christian priest, whose name I’ve forgotten, who attended our Qur’an discussion circles c. 2013-14 and wished to co-write with me a Christian-Muslim guide to grief, since he had read about the Prophet’s “Year of Grief.” I didn’t have the time or capacity to work on it at the time, but he gave me an idea that has come to fruition today, God-willing.)
0.2 PROPHET YA’QUB BIN ISHAQ BIN IBRAHIM, aka ISRA’IL (JACOB BEN ISAAC BEN ABRAHAM, aka ISRAEL)
In the Surah named after his 11th son, Prophet Yusuf (Joseph), grief is prominent in the “best of stories.”
قال إني ليحزنني أن تذهبوا به وأخاف أن يأكله الذئب وأنتم عنه غافلون
(Yusuf, Joseph, 12:13)
When his elder 10 sons ask for his permission to take Joseph for a day out, Jacob combines grief (for the past) with fear (of the future):
“It grieves me that you take him away (from me), and I fear that the wolf will devour him whilst ye are heedless of him.”
When his sons lie to him, saying that the wolf had indeed eaten Joseph, Jacob sees through their lies and resigns himself to “beautiful patience” (صبر جميل).
Later, when his first 10 sons manage to come home without the 12th son Binyamin (Benjamin) as well, Jacob expresses extreme sorrow for Joseph, reiterates his commitment to “beautiful patience” and goes blind from grief:
وتولّى عنهم وقال ياأسفى على يوسف وابيضت عيناه من الحزن فهو كظيم
(Yusuf, Joseph, 12:84)
Although Ibn Kathir quotes the commentator Dahhak as explaining kazeem here to mean ka’eeb: intense grief and broken in spirit, i.e. depressed, the vast majority of commentators agree that Prophet Jacob displayed beautiful patience and did not complain to anyone except God, restraining his sorrow and grief. Others amongst the Salaf said that he waited eighty years to see his beloved son Joseph, for whom his grief equalled that of seventy bereaved parents, but he “was never pessimistic about God.” (Tafsir Tabari)
1. SHOCK
1.1 UMAR BIN AL-KHATTAB: SHOCK, DENIAL, ANGER, ACCEPTANCE
Our Master Umar was in shock, denial and anger upon the news of the Prophet’s death, threatening to kill anyone who said that the Prophet was dead, until Our Master Abu Bakr said the famous words:
“Whoever worshiped Muhammad, he should know that Muhammad has died. Whoever worships God, he should know that God is The Ever-Living, Who Will Never Die.”
Abu Bakr also recited from Surah Āl Imran (The Family of Amram), the verses confirming that Muhammad was mortal and speaking of the possibility of his death, for every soul has a predestined moment of death, praising those who show gratitude. Umar commented: “It was as though I had never heard these verses before!” He rapidly reached the stage or station of Acceptance.
وما محمد إلا رسول، قد خلت من قبله الرسل، أفائن مات أو قتل انقلبتم على أعقابكم، ومن ينقلب على عقبيه فلن يضرّ الله شيئا، وسيجزي الله الشاكرين
وما كان لنفس أن تموت إلا بإذن الله كتابا مؤجلا، ومن يرد ثواب الدنيا نؤته منها، ومن يرد ثواب الآخرة نؤته منها، وسنجزي الشاكرين
Āl Imran, The Family of Amram, 3:144-5)
3. ANGER
3.1 KHALID BIN WALEED
Our Master Khalid bin Waleed, the Sword of God, was overcome by grief on his deathbed when he realised he wouldn’t be granted martyrdom on the battlefield (because no human’s sword could defeat the Sword of God). He was especially frustrated at knowing how many people are cowards. Khalid’s last words were:
“I have a wound on every inch of my body, but I’m dying like an aging camel. May the eyes of cowards never (find rest in) sleep!”
ASIDE:
Khalid bin Waleed’s extraordinary life and military genius and career deserve to be immortalised in an epic poem in English. I have written opening and closing stanzas for such a poem. I pray that I or someone else is able to complete it:
OPENING STANZA: THE TALE OF KHALID BIN WALEED
If your eyes do weep and your heart does bleed
At the state of the Muslim nation,
Then remember the tale of Khalid bin Waleed:
It is enough as inspiration.
[…]
CLOSING STANZA: KHALID BIN WALEED’S LAST WORDS
“I’m dying like a camel
(Or like an aging sheep):
May the eyes of cowards
Never rest in sleep!”
TRIVIUM: THE KHALID BIN WALEED PARK IN PESHAWAR, PAKISTAN
This park goes by its Urdu/Farsi name: Khalid bin Waleed Bagh. The locals are Pathan (Pashtun), and so pronounce it somewhat Farsi style, as follows, making the ‘a’ sound like ‘o’: Kholid bin Woleed Bagh. British Empire troops stationed in Peshawar heard it pronounced like this, switched the syllables around and nicknamed the park, the “Colly-Wolly Bean Bag.”
3.2 TRUE PATIENCE IS ONLY AT THE FIRST BLOW
Anas bin Malik narrated that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, passed by a woman who was weeping at a graveside, mourning a child she had lost. The Prophet said, “Fear God, and have patience.” She replied, not recognising him, “Get away from me, for you have not been afflicted by my affliction!” She was told that it was the Prophet who had spoken to her, so she came to his door and, finding no doorkeepers, said to him, “I did not recognise you.” He replied, “(True) Patience is only at the first blow.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
TRIVIUM: The Arabic for “blow” here is sadmah, root SDM. The name Saddam is derived from this as an intensive form, thus meaning, “One who delivers crushing blows.”
4. GUILT: JOSEPH’S BROTHERS
The 10 elder brothers of Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) had feelings of grief at the perceived favouritism of their father towards Yusuf. This manifested in Anger when some of them suggested killing him. Others felt guilty about this and suggested throwing him into a well, which is what they did. They must have had some feelings of guilt around this, and around lying to their father about Yusuf being eaten by a wolf. After many years, once they were reunited with Yusuf and his magnanimity, they went through the stages of Bargaining and Acceptance/Hope, admitting their mistakes to both Yusuf and their father Ya’qub. (Yusuf, Joseph, 12:91 & 12:97)
7. ACCEPTANCE/HOPE: NO FEAR, NO GRIEF
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, endured his Year of Grief with immense patience and acceptance. This is the way of “living in the moment” as “children of the moment in time” (abna’ al-waqt) without fear (of the future) or grief (for the past), the way of the “Friends of God” or saints. The phrase, “There will be no fear upon them, nor will they grieve,” occurs repeatedly in the Qur’an for the People of the Garden in the Hereafter. However, it applies to certain, select people in this world also:
In Imam al-Qushayri’s Treatise on Tasawwuf (Sufism), the first topic he discusses after brief biographies of early Sufis is that of Time (Waqt), where he says that “the Sufi is the son of his time,” i.e. that he lives in the moment. Shaykh Hamza Yusuf linked this to the above Qur’anic verse during a conversation in Abu Dhabi, 2022.
It is narrated from the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, that this applies to people in this world “who did not fear when the people had fear, and did not grieve when people grieved.” They will be surrounded by Light in the Hereafter, and made to sit upon pulpits of Light: even the Prophets and the Martyr-Witnesses will be amazed by their station. (Tafsir Tabari, #17,730 & #17,731)
Truly, the [compulsory] alms are only for: the poor; the needy; those who work upon them (in alms-collection); those whose hearts are brought near; those whose necks are under the yoke; those who have taken on a major debt; in the path of God; and the child of the path [i.e. the traveller]: an obligation from God: for God is Knowing, Wise.
(Surah al-Tawbah, Repentance, 9:60 Hafs)
TAFSIR TABARI ON THIS VERSE (SUMMARISED)
Imam Tabari (224-310 H / 839-923 CE) said:
As for “those whose hearts are brought near”: they were a group of people who were brought closer to Islam (through the incentive of being given wealth), who could not be (openly) supported. The alms benefited themselves and their close families. Such people were: Abu Sufyan bin Harb, ‘Uyaynah bin Badr, Aqra’ bin Habis and similar heads of tribes.
Similar to what we have said, has been said by the People of Interpretation.
Mention of those who said that: Ibn ‘Abbas, Yahya bin Abi Kathir, Zuhri, Mujahid, Hasan [Basri] and Qatadah. Yahya bin Abi Kathir said that such heads of tribes were given a hundred she-camels[1] each by the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace; a few others were given fifty each. Zuhri added that this phrase includes Jews and Christians who submit to God (via Islam), even if they are rich.
The people of knowledge differed about whether or not this category exists today, and whether anyone today may be given charity to bring them closer to Islam?
Some of them said: The category of “those whose hearts are brought together” is invalid today: there is no share in the compulsory alms except for those in need, those in the path of God and those who work upon them (in alms-collection).
Mention of those who said that: Hasan [Basri], ‘Amir [bin Sharahil al-Sha’bi] and ‘Umar bin al-Khattab.
When ‘Uyaynah bin Hisn came to [Caliph] ‘Umar bin al-Khattab [seeking to be given alms], ‘Umar said, “The Truth (has come) from your Lord: so whoever wishes to, may have faith; and whoever wishes to, may deny!” [Surah al-Kahf, The Cave, 18:29 Hafs] That is, there is no bringing near today.
‘Amir [bin Sharahil al-Sha’bi] said: Those whose hearts were brought near, were only during the time of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace: when Abu Bakr, may God Exalted’s Mercy be upon him, came to power, incentives stopped.
Others said: “Those whose hearts are brought near” exist in every age, and they have a right to some alms.
Mention of those who said that: Abu Ja’far [i.e. Imam Muhammad bin ‘Ali al-Baqir].
Abu Ja’far [i.e. Imam Tabari, who had his own, independent Madhhab] said:
The correct saying from amongst those, in my view, is that God has made alms to serve two purposes. One of them is to fill any gaps (of need) amongst the Muslims. The other is to aid and strengthen Islam. Whatever charity is to aid Islam and strengthen its means, this is given to both rich and poor. This is because it is not given to a person due to his need for it, but is given to him in order to aid the religion. This is just like what is given to a person for the sake of sacred war (Jihad) in the way of God, for that is given to him whether he is rich or poor, and not to fill his gap (of need). Similar are those whose hearts are brought near: they are given that charity even if they are rich: such giving to them seeks to benefit the matter of Islam and seeks to strengthen and fortify it.
The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave to whomever amongst those whose hearts were to be brought near, after God opened the victories for him: Islam spread and its people increased in honour. Thus, there is no proof in the argument of the one who says that “Today, no-one is to be brought near to Islam (via alms), because the people of Islam, by their great number, are prevented from being reached by anyone who wishes to give them alms.” The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave to those whom he gave whilst they were in the condition that has been described.
TAFSIR IBN KATHIR ON THIS VERSE (SUMMARISED)
Imam Ibn Kathir (700-774 H / 1300-1373 CE) said:
As for “those whose hearts are brought near”:
[1] Some were those who were given (alms) that they may submit (in Islam).
An example is that the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave to Safwan bin Umayyah out of the spoils (of war) at Hunayn, a battle that the latter had witnessed as a polytheist. Imam Ahmad, Muslim and Tirmidhi narrated that Safwan bin Umayyah said, “The Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, gave me (wealth) on the Day of Hunayn whilst he was the most hated of people to me, but he continued giving me (wealth) until he became the most beloved of people to me.”
[2] Some were given (alms) in order that they improve their Islam (having already submitted) and for their hearts to become firm.
An example is that he distributed (wealth), on the Day of Hunayn, to a group of tribal chiefs and nobles amongst the released captives: a hundred camels each. He said, “Truly, I give to a man whilst another is more beloved to me, fearing that God will upend him (the former) on his face in the Fire of Jahannam.”
In the two Sahihs (of Bukhari and Muslim), there is on the authority of Abu Sa’id that ‘Ali sent a small nugget of gold, (encased) in its rock, to the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, from Yemen: he divided it amongst four people: Aqra’ bin Habis, ‘Uyaynah bin Badr, ‘Alqamah bin ‘Ulathah and Zayd al-Khayr, and said, “I bring them near.”
[3] Some were given (wealth) because of the hope that their peers would submit (in Islam).
[4] Some were given (wealth) in order to elicit alms from those around them, or
[5] To ward off harm from the border lands around the territory of the Muslims.
The place for detailed explanation of this is the books of jurisprudential rulings (furu’).
And God knows best.
Can alms be given to those being brought closer to Islam, after the (time of) the Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace ?
There is difference of opinion in this matter.
It is narrated from ‘Umar, ‘Amir al-Sha’bi and a group (of authorities) that they are not to be given (alms) after his time, because God has honoured Islam and its people, established them firmly in the land and made the necks of others subservient to them.
Others said: Rather, they are to be given (alms) because he, Blessings and Peace be upon him, gave to such people after the Opening of Mecca [i.e. when Islam had already become established] and the Breaking of (the Tribe of) Hawazin [at Hunayn]: this was a situation where alms might be needed, so these could be diverted to them.
IMAM ABU BAKR AL-JASSAS (HANAFI) & QADI ABU BAKR IBN AL-‘ARABI (MALIKI)[2]
Imam Abu Bakr al-Jassas (305-370 H / 917-981 CE) said in his Ahkam al-Qur’an (Rulings of the Qur’an), whilst discussing the premise that alms are essentially for the poor:
If it is said that “those whose hearts were brought near” would receive alms without being poor, it would be said in reply: they would not receive it as alms; rather, alms would be collected for the poor, but some of it would be given to those whose hearts are brought near, in order to repel their harm against the poor amongst the Muslims, and that the former might submit in Islam, thus strengthening the poor amongst the Muslims. Thus, they would not receive it as alms; rather, alms were collected and used for the benefit (masalih) of the Muslims. This is because wealth given for the poor may be diverted for their benefit (masalih) if the Imam [i.e. the Caliph] rules over them and decides about matters beneficial to them (masalih).
[Summarised] Qadi Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi (468-543 H / 1076-1148 CE) said in his Ahkam al-Qur’an (Rulings of the Qur’an):
THE NINTH ISSUE [regarding this verse of the Qur’an]
About “those whose hearts are brought near,” there are four views:
They were given alms because of the weakness of their certainty, until this became strong. Those who said that they were Muslims, cited the examples of Abu Sufyan bin Harb, Aqra’ bin Habis and ‘Abbas bin Mirdas. Those who said that they were non-Muslims, cited the example of ‘Amir bin Tufail. Those who said that they were polytheists with an inclination towards Islam, cited the example of Safwan bin Umayyah.
Yahya bin Abi Kathir named them as leaders of the following [ten] tribes or clans: Banu Umayyah, Banu Jumah, Banu ‘Amir, Banu Asad, Banu Hashim, Banu Fazarah, Banu Tamim, Banu Nasr, Banu Sulaym and Thaqif.
Ibn Wahb narrated from Malik that he said: Safwan bin Umayyah, Hakim bin Hizam, Aqra’ bin Habis, ‘Uyaynah bin Badr, Suhayl bin ‘Amr and Abu Sufyan were amongst “those whose hearts were brought near,” and that on the day [of Hunayn] when Safwan was given alms, he was a polytheist.
Asbagh said, on the authority of Ibn al-Qasim: “Those whose hearts were brought near” were Safwan bin Umayyah and certain men of Quraysh.
The Shaykh Abu Ishaq named them to be forty men of the Quraysh and other tribes, including leaders and others.
THE TENTH ISSUE
There has been a difference of opinion as to whether [the category of] “those whose hearts are brought near” persisted.
Some of them said: They [i.e. this category of people] disappeared. This view was expressed by a group (of authorities), and was held by Malik.
Some said: They remain, because the Imam [i.e. the Caliph] may need to bring people near to Islam. [Caliph] ‘Umar discontinued them [i.e. this category of people] because of what he saw of the might of the religion.
My view is that if Islam is strong, this category disappears; but if such people are needed, they are given their share, just as the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, used to give the share. For it is narrated in the Sahih (authentic hadiths): “Islam began as a stranger, and will return as a stranger, as it began.” [Sahih Muslim]
THE ELEVENTH ISSUE
If we say that this category of people has disappeared, then their share returns to all the (other) categories, or to whichever (category or categories) the Imam decides, according to the previous explanation regarding the root of the disagreement.
Zuhri said: Half of their share is to be given to those who frequent the mosques. There is no evidence for this view. The first view (mentioned above) is more correct.
[1] A hundred camels represents a lot of wealth: it is the same as the diyah (blood-money) for murder. In today’s financial terms, it would approximate up to a hundred thousand US dollars or UK pounds, or even more. (AQS)
[2] The Hanafi and Maliki schools are complementary, in the sense that they represent the schools of Reason (Ahl al-Ra’y) and Tradition (Ahl al-Hadith) respectively. A holistic approach to the Sunnah combines these complementary approaches, as per Imam Shatibi (cf. Al-Shanqiti, OnMadhhabs & Taqlid, AQS, 1445/2023)
Imam Nawawi said in his Commentary upon the hadith of Sahih Muslim about fasting the six days of Shawwal:
“In it is a clear indication to support the position of Shafi’i, Ahmad, Dawud and those who agreed with them in recommending the fasting of these six days. Malik and Abu Hanifah said that it is disliked. Malik said in al-Muwatta’ , ‘I never saw any of the people of knowledge fasting these days … They said: It is disliked, in case people think it is obligatory.’ The evidence of Shafi’i and those who agree with him is this clear, authentic hadith: if the Sunnah is established, it is not to be abandoned because some people abandon it, and not even if most or all of them abandon it. Their saying, ‘in case people think it is obligatory’ is disproven by the fast of ‘Arafah, ‘Ashura and other recommended fasts.”
—
Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti said:
There is no doubt that in the compiled Madhhab of Imam Malik, there are derived rulings (furu’) that oppose some texts of the revelation. It is apparent that some of these texts did not reach him, may Allah have mercy upon him: had they reached him, he would have acted upon them. Other texts did reach him, but he chose not to act upon them due to another indication that he believed was stronger evidence.
An example of a text not reaching him is the hadith about fasting six days of Shawwal, after the fast of Ramadan. He, may Allah have mercy upon him, said in his Muwatta’ (The Well-Trodden Path),
“Truly, I never saw any of the people of knowledge and understanding fasting these days, and nothing has reached me regarding this on the authority of the predecessors (Salaf). The people of knowledge dislike this practice and fear that it is an innovation, and that ignorant and coarse people will add to Ramadan what is not part of it if they see the people of knowledge allowing it and practising it.”
Here, Malik says explicitly that fasting six days of Shawwal reached him neither on the authority of the Prophet, nor on that of any of the Salaf. There is no doubt that had encouragement from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to fast these days reached him, he would have fasted them and recommended others to fast them – it goes without saying that he would not have disliked the practice. This is because Malik would not have doubted that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, was more kind and merciful towards the community than he was, for Allah has described the Prophet in the Qur’an as being kind and merciful.
If fasting those six days necessitated the problem because of which Malik disliked the practice, the Prophet would not have encouraged it and he would have considered the problem that Malik identified. But the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, avoided and dismissed the problem because he knew that the month of Ramadan is too well-known to be confused with any of Shawwal. This is similar to the recommended prayers before and after the obligatory prayers: none of the people of knowledge ever disliked them for fear that the ignorant would add to the obligatory prayers. This is due to the five compulsory prayers being well-known and not confused with others.
Anyhow, it is not for any Imam to say that a matter that has been approved by the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, is disliked for fear of the ignorant thinking that it is obligatory. Fasting of the aforementioned six days, and the Prophet’s encouragement of this, is established authentically from him. The hadith was transmitted by Ahmad, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah via several Companions, including Thawban, Jabir, Ibn ‘Abbas, Abu Hurayrah and Bara’ bin ‘Azib, as explained by [Imam Shawkani,] the author of Nayl al-Awtar.
(Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti, Lights of Eloquence: Commentary on Qur’an, Surah Muhammad, 47:24)
NB: Both the Hafiz Ibn ‘Abdul Barr and Imam Nawawi, leading Hadith scholars from the Maliki and Shafi’i schools of jurisprudence respectively, approved fasting six days of Shawwal due to the authentic hadith, and preferred this over the view of Imam Malik.
Atlantic Desert Shore between City of Dakhla and Mauritania
With the Name of God, All-Merciful, Most Merciful
As we near the holiest nights of the year during Ramadan, Month of the Qur’an,
AL-QURAN SOCIETY, LONDON, UK
presents some lighter, inspiring reading when taking breaks from the intensity of the Magnificent Qur’an itself
An Ocean From The Desert
ترجمة الشيخ
محمد الأمين الشنقيطي
صاحب تفسير أضواء البيان في إيضاح القرآن بالقرآن
للشيخ عطية محمد سالم
قاضي المحكمة الشرعية بالمدينة المنورة
A BIOGRAPHY OF THE SHAYKH
MUHAMMAD AL-AMĪN AL-SHANQĪTĪ (1325-1393 H / 1907-1973 CE) born in Mauritania; returned to His Lord immediately after performing the Hajj pilgrimage, 1393 H & buried in Mecca near the Sacred Mosque (al-Masjid al-Haram) One of the greatest authorities on the Qur’an of the 14th Islamic century (20th century CE)
AUTHOR OF THE MAGNIFICENT TAFSĪR ADWÂ’ AL-BAYÂN (LIGHTS OF ELOQUENCE)
by SHAYKH ‘ATIYYAH MUHAMMAD SÂLIM
Judge, Law Court of Medina, Saudi Arabia
(c) AL-QURAN SOCIETY (UK Registered Charity): RAMADAN 1443 (APRIL 2022)
Lover of God, follower of the Prophets, Master of the Scriptures:
Qur’an, Sunnah, Sharia, Islam:
revered by people from Africa to Arabia, Mecca & Medina, & beyond,
from the widows, peasants & poor of the Holy Lands
to King Muhammad V of Morocco (Custodian of the Maliki Madhhab)
& King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud (Leader of the Salafi-Wahhabi Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) Teacher of the Qur’an at the Mosque of the Prophet Muhammad himself, may God bless him and grant him peace, to thousands of worshippers and pilgrims from around the world, one of the leading Shaykhs of Mauritania, aged 40, and then of Mecca & Medina in Saudi Arabia for the rest of his life until his death, aged 66
One of the main founders of, and teachers at: the many Islamic institutes of learning in Riyadh, the Muslim World League, Mecca; and the Islamic University of Madinah al-Munawwarah: the Enlightened City of the Prophet of Light, teaching thousands of students from all over the world, thus earning the informal accolade of
Shaykh-ul-Islam of his time
“There is no deed greater than explaining the Book of Allah in the Masjid of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace.“ (Shaykh Shanqiti, who indeed explained the entire Qur’an in the Prophet’s Mosque, where much of it was revealed, two or three times; wrote a brilliant, creative Tafsir (Commentary on the Qur’an) based on the formidable oceans of Bayan (the sciences of Eloquence & Rhetoric in Arabic): LIGHTS OF ELOQUENCE IN EXPLAINING THE QUR’AN BY THE QUR’AN
“He has not died – he who leaves such a legacy”
(Shaykh Shanqiti’s student, Shaykh ‘Atiyyah Salim, his teacher’s successor as a teacher at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina & Judge at the Law Courts of Medina)
(download for free via the above link)
IN HONOUR OF THE SHAYKH’S OWN TEACHINGS, IT IS PROHIBITED TO COMMERCIALISE HIS WORKS: You may freely distribute, re-share, re-upload this document (without altering it), etc. but you must not sell it for profit: selling at cost-price only is allowed. You may upload it on a monetized platform, but you MUST donate any money earned to charity, otherwise the Shaykh warned, in the Sacred Mosque of the Prophet himself in the City of Light, Madinah al-Munawwarah:
“I will not commercialise the Explanation of the Book of God, the Exalted. If anyone dares to sell my book for profit, I will say a prayer against him and I expect that such a prayer will be answered.“
May God reward our Shaykh and all his students & grand-students who contributed to this work, and to everyone who distributes this knowledge freely, Amin.
UPDATED: THIRD EDITION
The third edition, with additional direct memories of Shaykh Muhammad al-Amin al-Shanqiti by Shaykh Suhaib Hasan Founder of Al-Qur’an Society one of the eldest and most senior, living students of Shaykh Shanqiti
SUMMARY: Naked-eye moonsighting gives the 1st day of Ramadan 1443 as Sunday 3 April 2022 for the whole world except for North America where Saturday 2 April 2022 is a possibility. Moonsighting with a telescope gives the 1st day of Ramadan 1443 as Saturday 2 April 2022: some authorities and countries have already announced Ramadan for then. (Naked-eye moonsighting in Antarctica & New Zealand might give the 1st day as Monday 4 April 2022!)
Astronomical new moon occurred at 06:24 UT (GMT) today, on Friday 1 April 2022 (29 Sha’ban 1443).
Crescent (lunar) visibility diagrams, courtesy of the UK HMNAO/IOP Moonwatch project, now hosted by UKHO:
Friday 1 April 2022 / 29 Sha’ban 1443, evening (around the optimal time for moonsighting, about 20 minutes after sunset):
Global new (crescent) moon visibility for the evening of Friday 1 April, 2022 (29th Sha’ban 1443) – UK Moonwatch model
Global new (crescent) moon visibility for the evening of Friday 1 April, 2022 (29th Sha’ban 1443):
Not visible anywhere in the world, with the exception of the Americas.
The new crescent moon will be visible by naked eye in California, Mexico & parts of Central America, and by telescope in parts of South America. Given the ISNA Fiqh Council’s very reasonable judgment since the 1990s that North America is to be regarded as one horizon (matla’), this would lead to the 1st day of Ramadan 1443 being Saturday 2 April 2022 throughout North & Central America. If sighting by telescope is deemed acceptable, the same start date would apply to South America. However, I defer to the judgments of the relevant authorities in the Americas.
Saturday 2 April 2022 / 30 Sha’ban 1443, evening (around the optimal time for moonsighting, about 20 minutes after sunset):
Global new (crescent) moon visibility for the evening of Saturday 2 April, 2022 (30th Sha’ban 1443)
Global new (crescent) moon visibility for the evening of Saturday 2 April, 2022 (30th Sha’ban 1443):
Visible throughout the whole populated world, with the exception of Antarctica & most of New Zealand, where it will be visible the following evening.
Thus, for Oceania (with the possible exception of New Zealand), Asia, Africa & Europe, the 1st day of Ramadan 1443, based on local moonsighting, is Sunday 3rd April 2022.
Have a blessed & peaceful Ramadan: let us pray for, and serve, our brothers and sisters in humanity!
(Imam Dr) Usama Hasan,
Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, London, UK
29th Sha’ban 1443 / 1st April 2022
Postscript: The European Council for Fatwa & Research announced on 16/02/2022 that the 1st day of Ramadan for the whole world would be on Saturday 2nd April 2022, based on “detailed astronomical calculations.” They claim that these showed that the new crescent moon (hilal) would be visible “by telescope in West Africa and the Americas” after sunset on Friday 1st April 2022. This seems to be based on the Odeh model. I agree with their approach of determining Islamic lunar dates via astronomical calculations, but we need to agree which ones we are using. ECFR are accepting telescope observations, whereas many of us prefer naked-eye sighting. NB: the Odeh model predicts a narrower range of territory for naked-eye sighting, as is clear from the following visibility maps:
Global new (crescent) moon visibility for the evening of Friday 1 April, 2022 (29th Sha’ban 1443) – Odeh model
Global new (crescent) moon visibility for the evening of Saturday 2 April, 2022 (30th Sha’ban 1443) – Odeh model
Abridged translation from Islam Bahiri, Aisha’s marriage to the Prophet aged nine – a big mistake in the books of Hadith (in Arabic), Al-Yawm al-Sabi’, 15th July 2008. With additions from Salahi (2013).
Translation and editing by Usama Hasan
ABSTRACT
Aisha was about 18 years old when her marriage to the Prophet was consummated, and not nine. The narrations of Bukhari and Muslim saying otherwise are dubious in their texts and chains of transmission. They contradict the law (Sharia), the intellect, authentic hadiths, and the customs, habits and ethos of the age of Prophethood. Furthermore, they are completely incongruous with the timeline of the Prophetic mission.
1 The hadith of Bukhari about the age of Aisha at marriage
Imam Bukhari included this hadith with five slightly-different chains of narration in his Sahih:
Aisha said: The Prophet, may God bless him and grant him peace, married me when I was six years old. We then came to Medina and I gave myself to him: I was nine years old then.
2 Timeline of the Prophetic Mission
The foundational sources of Islamic history and of the life of the Prophet overwhelmingly agree on the following timeline of the Prophetic mission:[1]
570-1 CE: Birth of the Prophet
610: Beginning of the Prophetic mission (aged 40)
623: Migration (Hijrah) to Medina, after 13 years of the mission in Mecca
632-3: Death of the Prophet in Medina, after 10 years of his mission there.
3 Historical critique of the narration of Bukhari
According to the narration of Bukhari, the Prophet married Aisha in 620 when she was six, and the marriage was consummated in 623 when she was nine. This would mean that she was born in 614, four years into the Prophet’s mission. This is a glaring error, as we shall now show.
3.1 Comparing Aisha’s age to that of her older sister Asma
The above historical sources are unanimous that Asma was 10 years older than Aisha, and that Asma was born 27 years before the Hijrah, i.e. in 596.
Thus:
Asma was born in 596: she was 14 when the Prophetic mission began and 27 at the time of the Hijrah.
Aisha was born in 606: she was 4 when the Prophetic mission began and 17 at the time of the Hijrah. She was married at 14; the marriage was consummated when she was 17, or 18 if we allow for a few months after the Hijrah.
The historical sources are unanimous that Asma died soon after a famous historical incident, the death of her son Abdullah bin Zubayr at the hands of Hajjaj bin Yusuf in 73 H, when she was aged 100.
3.2 Tabari: all of Abu Bakr’s children were born before the Prophetic mission
The previous point is in agreement with Tabari’s statement that all of Abu Bakr’s children, including Asma and Aisha, were born before the Prophetic mission.
When the Prophetic mission began, Asma was 14 and Aisha was 4. This further confirms the weakness of Bukhari’s narration.
3.3 Comparing Aisha’s age to that of Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter
Ibn Hajar, author of the premier commentary on Bukhari, mentions a narration in his Al-Isabah that Fatima was born in the year of the rebuilding of the Ka’bah, when the Prophet was 35 years old, and that she was 5 years older than Aisha.
According to this, Aisha would have been born around the time of the Prophetic mission. She would then have been 13 at the time of the Hijrah, and not 9 as the narration of Bukhari says.
This again illustrates that the narration of Bukhari is unreliable and suffers from what is known as idtirab (inconsistency) in Hadith terminology.
[NB: Ibn Hajar does not appear to have noticed this inconsistency, because in his same work Al-Isabah, he repeats that Aisha was born four years into the Prophet’s mission, even though other narrations, some of which he himself mentions, indicates that she was born several years before this. – U.H.]
3.4 Aisha’s age when she accepted Islam
Ibn Kathir mentions in Al-Bidayah wa l-Nihayah that “amongst the females who accepted Islam during the first three years of the Prophetic mission were Asma and Aisha. This was whilst the Prophet’s preaching was covert. Then, in the fourth year of his mission, God commanded him to announce his mission publicly.”
This again contradicts the original narration of Bukhari, since the latter implies that Aisha was born in the fourth year of the Prophetic mission.
However, according to the correct calculation, Aisha was born 4 years before the Prophetic mission began and so was 7 when she accepted Islam, being just about old enough to do so.
[Salahi (p. 204) further adds that Aisha is mentioned in Ibn Ishaq’s Sirah, the earliest book on the biography of the Prophet, amongst the first fifty people to accept Islam. She is nineteenth on the list. There are no children on the list, although Ibn Ishaq mentions that she was young. Salahi estimates that she must have been at least ten, making her 18 at the time of her marriage. – U.H.]
3.5 Aisha’s early memories of Islam
Imam Bukhari himself narrates in a chapter, “Abu Bakr’s neighbouring the Prophet” that Aisha said:
“My earliest memories are of my parents already practising Islam. The Prophet would visit us daily, morning and evening. When the Muslims were persecuted, Abu Bakr left, intending to migrate to Abyssinia.” [He was persuaded to return from the outskirts of Mecca. – U.H.]
The historical sources are unanimous that the first Muslim migration to Abyssinia was in Year 5 of the Prophetic mission. If Aisha was born in Year 4 of the Prophetic mission, there is no way she could have remembered her father heading towards Abyssinia. But the correct date for her birth is 4 years before the Prophetic mission: this is consistent with her remembering her father’s attempted journey, when she would have been around 9 years old.
3.6 The appropriate age of marriage
In his Musnad, section on Aisha, Imam Ahmad narrates that when the Prophet’s first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid died, Khawlah bint Hakeem, wife of Uthman bin Maz’oon, came to the Prophet and suggested that he should remarry. When the Prophet asked to whom, she said,
“A virgin or a matron, as you wish.”
The Prophet replied, “A virgin.”
Khawlah then recommended Aisha.
This establishes that Aisha was ready for marriage at this time, and that the Prophet did not need to wait for a few years.
The Qur’an (Women, 4:6) confirms that the minimum age of marriage is the same as that for financial responsibility.
Therefore, there is no way that Aisha could have been only 6 years old at this time.
3.7 Aisha’s previous engagement
In his Musnad, Imam Ahmad also narrates from Khawlah bint Hakeem that Abu Bakr had already agreed with Mut’im bin Adi that Aisha would marry the latter’s son, Jubayr bin Mut’im. Abu Bakr then called off this engagement so that she could marry the Prophet.
Now, there is no way that Abu Bakr would have engaged her to Jubayr after the beginning of the Prophet’s mission, because Mut’im and his family were polytheists; Jubayr even fought against the Muslims at the Battles of Badr and Uhud. Thus, this engagement must have been when Jubayr and Aisha were both children, before the Prophet’s mission began. This again confirms that Aisha could not have been born four years into the Prophet’s mission; in fact, she was born four years before it began, as we have established above.
3.8 Aisha remembering the revelation of a Qur’anic verse as a child
Imam Bukhari narrates that Aisha said: “I was a little girl playing when this verse was revealed to Muhammad: Nay, the Hour is their appointed time; the Hour is more calamitous and more bitter.”[3]
Now, it is established that Surat al-Qamar was revealed c. 614 CE, around four years into the Prophet’s mission. This again is consistent with the correct view that Aisha would have been around 8 years old at this time: this fits with her saying, “I was a little girl playing then.”
3.9 A virgin must not be married without her permission
Imam Bukhari also narrates from the Prophet that he said, “A virgin must not be married without her permission.”
It is impossible that the Prophet could say such a thing and do the opposite, for if the original hadith is to be believed, Aisha was six years old and playing with her friends and dolls when she got married – there is no mention of her permission being asked. And even if it had been, it would have no Sharia acceptability, since it was before her age of responsibility, puberty and intellectual maturity.
3.10 Aisha nurses the wounded at the Battle of Uhud
[Salahi reminds us that Imam Bukhari also quotes that Aisha, along with Umm Salamah, nursed the Muslim soldiers at the Battle of Uhud, which took place 18 months after her marriage.[4] Had she been nine upon marriage, she would have been only eleven at this time. The Prophet did not allow anyone under 15 to join the army as a soldier – would he have allowed a girl of 11 to come along? (Abdullah bin Umar turned 15 between the Battles of Badr and Uhud: he was not allowed to participate at Badr, but was allowed at Uhud.)]
4 Criticism of the chain of transmission
The original hadith has five routes of narration in Sahih Al-Bukhari.
4.1 The narrations in Bukhari are all suspect, because they are those of Hisham bin ‘Urwah to the people of Iraq
The five different chains of transmission (isnad) given by Imam Bukhari all have two narrators between him and Hisham bin ‘Urwah, who narrates from his father ‘Urwah from Aisha. Thus, the hadith is singly-narrated by Hisham, Urwah and Aisha. The two narrators between Bukhari and Hisham in each case are all people of Iraq:
Farwah bin Abi l-Mighra’ and Ali bin Mishar
‘Ubayd bin Isma’il and Abu Usamah
Mu’alla bin Asad and Wuhayb
Muhammad bin Yusuf and Sufyan [bin ‘Uyaynah]
Qabisah bin ‘Uqbah and Sufyan [bin ‘Uyaynah]
Hisham appears to be the weak link in this chain. Ibn Hajar narrates in his Hady al-Sari as well as in his Tahdhib that Imam Malik did not approve of Hisham’s narrations to the people of Iraq. Imam Malik said that Hisham went to Kufa in Iraq three times to narrate hadiths: the first time, he said: “My father narrated to me that he heard Aisha …” The second time, he said: “My father informed me on the authority of Aisha …” The third time, he said: “My father, on the authority of Aisha …”
In other words, Imam Malik did not accept Hisham’s narrations in Iraq, since he went there to narrate in his old age when his memory had faltered somewhat, and he practised tadlis, i.e. obscuring or omitting the mode of transmission, making the narration suspect.
4.2 Hisham never narrated these hadiths in Medina: the Muwatta omits them completely
Furthermore, Imam Malik learnt hadiths directly from Hisham in Medina for many years, but the age of Aisha at marriage is not mentioned in the Muwatta at all. Thus, Hisham never mentioned this narration at all in Medina, but only in Iraq where his narrations are suspect anyway. These considerations strengthen the earlier historical ones, confirming that the hadith about the age of Aisha is seriously flawed.
5 Conclusion
Islam Bahiri concludes:
Aisha was about 18 years old when her marriage to the Prophet was consummated, and not nine. The narrations of Bukhari and Muslim saying otherwise are textually corrupt and dubious in their chains of transmission. They contradict the law (Sharia), the intellect, authentic hadiths, and the customs, habits and ethos of the age of Prophethood. Furthermore, they are completely incongruous with the timeline of the Prophetic mission.
Thus, we are not obliged to revere Bukhari and Muslim more than the Prophet, peace be upon him. We have the right to reject what they accepted and accept what they rejected. Islam is neither confined to the scholars of Hadith and Fiqh, nor to their time. Thus, we are able to critique, correct and evaluate the books of Hadith, Fiqh, Sirah and Tafsir. We are able to reject the numerous mistakes and fabrications found in them. In the end, these books are a purely human heritage: we are not obliged, and in fact it does not befit us, to imbue them with sacredness or divinity. We are equal human beings to the people of our history.
6 References
Islam Bahiri, Aisha’s marriage to the Prophet aged nine – a big mistake (or lie) in the books of Hadith (in Arabic), Al-Yawm al-Sabi’, 15th July 2008. Reproduced in Jamal al-Banna, Tajrid al-Bukhari wa Muslim min al-ahadith allati la tulzim [Expunging Bukhari and Muslim of non-binding hadiths], Da’wah al-Ihya’ al-Islamiyyah, Cairo, Dhu l-Qi’dah 1429 / November 2008.
Adil Salahi, Muhammad – His Character and Conduct, Islamic Foundation, Markfield, 2013, pp. 203-5
[1]Al Kamil fi l-Tarikh by Ibn al-Athir; Tarikh Dimashq by Ibn ‘Asakir; Siyar A’lam al-Nubala’ by Dhahabi; Tarikh by Tabari; Al-Bidayah wa l-Nihayah by Ibn Kathir; Tarikh Baghdad by Khatib Baghdadi; Wafayat al-A’yan by Ibn Khillakan and many others.
[2] The three years’ uncertainty in her date of death is simply due to uncertainty between the pre-Islamic lunisolar Arabian calendar and the Islamic lunar calendar: over a century, the two differ by three years. – U.H.
There are 2-3 million Pakistani Christians, about 1.3% of the country’s population.
Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers
Webinar: Protecting the Rights of Religious Minorities in the Age of COVID-19
with Minister Ijaz Alam Augustine,
Provincial Minister for Human Rights and Minorities Affairs in Punjab, Pakistan.
28th May, 2020 – notes by Usama Hasan
Minister:
We have been in power for 2 years. In Punjab [Pakistan’s most populous province, with over half of Pakistan’s population of approximately 220 million people], we have achieved gains for minorities that had not happened in the previous 70 years. [In 2019, Pakistan celebrated 72 years since Independence.]
The new Government of Punjab introduced a Minority Empowerment Package within its first 100 days. This has now been passed. It addresses the following:
Education – access to universities, where there is a 2% quota for minorities.
Prisons – reprieve for inmates if they turn to religion & reading scripture, on a par with Muslims.
Hate speech – control of. This is prevalent in Pakistan: incitement of religious hatred.
Previously, religious subjects were Islamic Studies only. Now, 60% is ethics & 40% according to one’s own religion, eg Bible for Christians, Gita for Hindus, Granth for Sikhs.
Religious tourism: our religious heritage was neglected for 70 years, including religious tourism & pilgrimage. Eg St. Thomas, disciple of Jesus, settled in Taxila for a while. Some 200-year-old churches had fallen into disrepair. These are now being repaired and maintained.
Jobs for minorities – we have a 5% government jobs quota for minorities, secured by the previous minister Shahbaz Shareef, but this was not being fulfilled. But minorities are not achieving university degrees (cf. 1 above).
Punjab, most populous province in Pakistan, is the first to achieve this milestone of 2% quota for religious minorities in HE & 5% in government jobs. Other provinces are following example set by Punjab.
In Punjab, we set up a board to remove religious hate speech from our educational textbooks. The hate speech was leading to many blasphemy cases also being brought against people from religious minorities.
Punjab was the first province to set up a high-level commission on forced conversion to Islam, especially of girls for marriage. The Federal government followed us to set up a national mechanism. The commission assesses whether a person is mature enough to change religions, especially for marriage, and whether the conversion is forced or of a free will.
Many forced conversions happened in underdeveloped, underprivileged, slum-like areas. We set up a ‘modern village’ in Christian-dominated Yuhannabad, population 300,000. This will eventually become a modern city. Funds have been earmarked for roads, water, sanitation, etc.
The funds for this development were doubled by Imran Khan’s government from Rs. 500 million [£2.5 million] to Rs. 1 billion [£5 million].
After Imran Khan’s government released Asia Bibi, we have reduced the current blasphemy cases from hundreds to 20-25 only. This is by introducing safeguards against frivolous blasphemy cases that were increasing before in number.
With help from the EU, we have improved our human rights record. We have district-level human rights committees now, including minority representation, to assess local human rights issues. This was part of the agreement for GSP+, a trade agreement between the EU and Pakistan.
When we have cases of religious discrimination reported, I visit the place personally.
Pakistan has about 40 24/7 Christian TV channels, unregistered with the regulator PEMRA. But the government has never taken any action against them.
These are some of our achievements & humble contributions in Punjab. This government has another 3 years, so we hope to achieve more by the grace of God: reduce discrimination & hate-speech, improve tolerance and create a more harmonious society.
We think the Marrakesh Declaration is a great resource. We wish to have a major interfaith conference in Pakistan. We proposed an interfaith forum in Punjab, which is in the process of being legally registered, & to have a major interfaith dialogue conference in Lahore. Our interfaith policy is being developed, influenced by the Marrakesh Declaration, with the input of religious minorities.
The Imran Khan government announced that all nationalised religious schools would be returned to the respective religious minorities. This includes the Ahmadis.
There is a current blasphemy case involving Ahmadis – we are dealing with it sensitively.
Covid-19 & religious minorities: there was some scapegoating of the Tablighi Jamaat early in the crisis – they were accused of having brought covid-19 to Pakistan and spread it here. But this scapegoating was quickly eliminated – we have no concept of majority/minority with regard to covid, since we are all in this together.
With covid, our curve in Pakistan is still rising and has not flattened yet. We are keen that structural discrimination against minorities is not increased or enhanced because of the covid crisis.
Regarding women’s and youth empowerment, our work on higher education covers some of that.
We have also offered 5,000 people (60% youth, 40% women) via 177 training centres in Punjab, free skills development & professional/technical training programme, with a sufficient monthly stipend of Rs 2,000 [£10]. We then provide them with Rs. 500,000 [£2,500] grant each for business start-up, entrepreneurship & development.
Sadly, no Christian organisation or country has contacted us about St. Thomas’ heritage in Pakistan, eg Taxila & for the last 72 years: there has been no major contact from the Vatican or Church of England. In contrast, embassies of Buddhist-majority countries have helped to fund the preservation of Buddhist sites.
Pakistan’s flag: the green represents the country’s Muslims, whilst the white strip on one edge represents religious minorities.
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