E H Stories From The Hadith By Shaykh Muhammad Zakariya Iqbal

Stories From the Hadith Allah; so whosoever performs the Hajj to the House (of Allah), or performs Umrah, there is no blame on him if he goes around them.}(AI-Baqarah,2: 158) When she was again at As-Safa at the end of her seventh round,she suddenly perceived a sound. She became very alert and askedherself to be quiet and pricked up her ears. There was the soundagain. She addressed herself to the voice, \"If you can help, I haveheard you!\" She paid very careful attention to the voice and traced itas coming from where her dear child was. There! There was theangel of the Lord of the worlds! He was the chief of them, Jibril 4#1'~'- He was jabbing into the earth with his heel. That was the pointof the Zamzam and suddenly water sprouted out from it. The waterthat she seeked at the mountains, sprang up below the feet of herinfant by the command of the Gracious Lord. Imagine the happiness and joy of the mother who now saw thelight of her life rescued from the claws of death and grow strong. Asif by a reflex action she began to scoop the water and thought aboutstoring it. She made out a sort of a pond with her hands so that watermay not escape. If she had let it alone then Zamzam would havebeen a spring about which the Prophet~ has said, \"May Allah havemercy on the mother of Isma'il! If she had let the Zamzam alone (andnot made a pond), it would have run as a spring.\" Th1:1s, Allah blessed her with life-giving water and she couldagain suckle her child-whose hunger was satiated and thirstquenched. Jibril r~'~ said, \"Do not fear that you would bedestroyed!\" He gave her the glad tidings that the child and his fatherwould construct the House of Allah and Allah would never let itsdwellers perish. Allah perfected His blessings on mother and son. In order thatthey may have company. We made people settle there. A caravan ofthe Bani Jurham passed from there and encamped in the outskirts ofthe valley of Makkah. They observed a species of bird which had thehabit of being near water and if they were merely passing by thenthese birds would not stop there, but they continued to fly overhead.However, these people were acquainted with the area and knew thatthere was no water here and no habitation. They sent a scout toinvestigate and he reported back that he had found a woman and an

Stories From the Hadith ==============53infant near water. Hence, all of them went there and observed the bubbling water.They were very happy and sought permission of the mother ofIsma'il to stay there. She consented to their stay but made itconditional that they will not have any right over water. They agreedto her condition and called their families too to stay with them forthey were nomadic people who took up temporary residence at afertile spot before proceeding to a new destination. Isma'il ~')(...)1 ~ grew up in this situation. He was very handsomeand graceful. He was active and good-mannered. His endearingnature compelled his neighbours to give him one of their girls inmarriage to him . Meanwhile, his mother died. she had no more fear or worry onaccount of her dear child and death came to her, death which is theend of all life. Ibrahim r')(...J' ~ who had been away from them for a long timecame to see his wife and child. He did not find Isma'il at home. Hehad gone to seek livelihood for his family. His wife complained tolbrahim r')(...J' ~ about their hardship and when he took leave of her,he asked her to tell her husband to change the threshold of his gate.(This was a figurative way of asking him to divorce his wife, and gethimself another wife, because she was not a contended woman whilewives of Prophets should show contentment.) She was unaware thathe was Isma'il's father and was leaving a message to him through herto divorce her. She conveyed the message to Isma'il ~')(...)1 ~ whounderstood it and divorced her. When Ibrahim r')(...J' ~ came a second time he found anotherwoman in his son's house and she was of an utterly differenttemperament. In spite of facing difficult times, she was grateful andcontent. So, he left message that she should be retained. He hadobserved that she was worth being a Prophet's wife. He prayed fortheir well-being before departing from there. It is worth remembering that lbrahim r')(...J' ~ asked what theyate. He was told that they ate meat and water. The Holy Prophet$has said that they did not have grain or cereals for if they had it, shewould have mentioned that and lbrahim r')(...J' ~ would have blessedthat too.

Stories From the Hadith It is amazing, therefore, that the people of Makkah who are*children of Isma'il ~\")U1 live on water and meat alone. They usecereal and grain very little and much use of meat is not harmful tothem while it would be damaging to any other people tocontinuously eat meat.When Sayyidina lbrahim ~\")U1 4:# came a third time, he met hisson. He was sharpening the arrows. Father and son met after a longtime and they treated each other as they should have. They salutedand embraced each other and shook hands. They enquired after each*other. Sayyidina Ibrahim ~~~ then informed his obedient son that .Allah had commanded him to build the Ka'bah and that Isma'ilshould help him. The obedient son lost no time in agreeing to followthe command of Allah. Thus, both of them took up the task ofbuilding the House on completion of which they invoked theblessings of Allah: , 1:. ~ ;;, ,... ... .. \"\" 11 .. IJ d:.ll:...o., .... 0~~: ~~ ~~:A~ ~I f' ~~~~.~ ~~-{Our Lord! Accept from us (this service). You, indeed You , arethe Hearer, the Knower.} (AI-Baqarah. 2: 127) Lessons and Messages The Hadith of this story is a source of knowledge and realities.If the Prophet $ had not narrated these facts to us, we did not haveany other. means to know how the Ka'bah was built and other factsconnected with it. The Qur'an has spoken only of the basic pointswhile the Messenger of Allah~ has related the details. 1. The first thing we learn is that Sayyidina Ibrahim r\")U' 4:#obeyed the command of Allah promptly without demur although itseemed that he would face difficulty and loss on obeying thecommand. Also, it seemed unintelligible to leave wife and child*alone in wilderness absolutely helpless. But, the behaviour ofSayyidina lbrahim r\")U' showed that Islam implies submission tothe commands of Allah. There is no question of asking for thewisdom behind the command, or of procrastinating until the wisdomis understood. It is the demand of the command that complianceshould follow without the least bit of unwillingness or hesitation. Accordingly, he had also jumped into the fire without waver. He

Stories from the Hadithdid not stop to ask his intellect what was to be done. Submission and prompt obedience is Islam. That is whatworship and.. adoration demands. No matter how diffJcult, harmful orunintelligible the command of Allah be, it is not worthy of a slave toask why or seek wisdom behind it or weigh it with intellect. Hence, it is imperative for a worshipper that he should notdilly-dally but he should execute the command of Allah forthwith. 2. Often man thinks that an action is unpleasant anddisadvantageous to him but, in reality, there is goodness andadvantage concealed in it for him. It looked foolish and anunpleasant conduct to leave one's family members all alone in adesolate place. But, many blessings were concealed in the action notonly for lbrahim ~\")(...J' ~ and his family but also for all mankind. Thisis very clear today. Every Muslim should remember this. Anything happening withAllah's will and consent may seem difficult and damaging to thembut finally their consequences are advantageous though hidden inthem. for instance, someone has booked 9 seats for himself by aflight and makes all preparation to board the plane but somehowmisses the flight. This is a very disgusting situation, but he maylearn later that the plane he missed crashed and the passengersperished. Obviously, the loss of missing the flight was offset by thesaving of life. The Qur'an has said:~~4 .... ~ ,, .. ,...., , f , .. ~ , , .. _.../r..)-'.JJJ-AJ - '·I -o' (l\" ' '-\"-lr.~r.l~'~ u ~I-u'r'<~IJ''-· A\"\"J\"liU..tiJ\"-'AC~~·u·I ~I '{It may be that you abhor a thing, while it is good for you, andit may be that you love a thing, while it is bad for you.}(AI-Baqarah,2:216) 3. This story also tells us that to obey the command of Allahdoes not preclude us, from seeking means. Rather, man must as faras possible seek means and instruments. Sayyidah Hajirah r'>~:...h ~did not give up when she did not find water but she adopted allmeans within her power to seek water for her child and herself. 4. A father must take care of his children's worldly life besidestheir religious matters. Sayyidina lbrahim r\")(...J' ~ first took care ofthe religious upbringing of his son and then he also cared for hismaterial life and livelihood. He enquired after him and prayed for

Stories From the Hadith ===============56abundance and blessings in his livelihood. When he had left themalone even then he invoked blessings in their sustenance. 5. We also learn from the Hadith that Sayyidina Isma'il ~~' 4.#was an adept archer for he was arranging his bows and arrows whenlbrahim ~~' 4.# met him. This is what prompted the Prophet$ to tellhis Companions~ .iJ, ..sJ>; once: yl) 1)\.S\" ~1.!11)\) ~t.-.1 ~ l_;oJl [\"0 Bani lsma'il! Practice archery because your father (lsma'il) was an archer.\"](Bukhari) 6. The Hadith also teaches us that the men of God and therighteous and their families must show patience and gratitude and becontent in every situation. They must not complain in difficult times.The first wife of Sayyidina Isma'il ~~' 4.# had a complaining natureand Sayyidina lbrahim ~~' 4.# asked him to divorce her.

Stories From the Hadith The Fifth Story Sayyidina lbrahim r')(.J' ~ and Sayyidah Sarah r')(.J1 ~ & Cruel KingIntroductory Words The experience that we are going to relate now shows howAllah protects His slaves from the adversity of their enemies. Heprotected Sayyidah Sarah r')(.Jt ~ from the mischief of a tyrant whenhe had evil designs against this wife of a noble Prophet. This storyshows how Allah helps those people who have no one to help them.Allah always protects those of His slaves who are near to Him and,therefore, dear, and He always debases their enemies.i1&.-.~ a~.,.\"..'.jr ~(~I'~\A :~; ~J 'v... :11~ !'::i ,:, , 't::.Jj ,~'Jt.::_, ~~I ... ... \...-.., J·•... J• ~~ ... ~ T-... '-\"' .... \ \"\"F i ~ ~ ~~;.~ ~(;.~ ~~ :~ ,~~~' :; j~ ji ,?l_,.LJ,:.J1&1 ~ ,~f :J\! ~~~~ ~~:;. '~~;.~ 4~i :~~ ~)ti 'f(• :1\~)~1 ~ ~~ Jllj ,~f ~~~~i:)~~~ ~~ '1 Jill '~~'~J W,j ~ill,~~ ~ill~~~ ~)U ,p';)-) ~? ~-;~ ')~ :.r;-; ~~J ,~~~J ~ ~i :- ·.~~~~I :~ill .~! :.;:£.) ~ ~ c)lS:JI ~ ·~-, 7~ ':.r;JJ. .:Jt! ~;..; ~~ ~~ :~~' ~ ;. ~~r Y.i :J\! :[.~~~ Jt!w,; ~ill ,~~ r\! ~ <.1-~1u ,~ ~ :J~:- ~ ~~ ~' :~t!

Stories From the Hadith'1~ ~') ~~J ,~1f~~J ~ ~~~ 8 ~~ ~~ ::J)JJ :~ .~!: :_;£)? ~ ,)lSJI ~~ ~ ~\"jj '~J) ~~~ ~~ :~~ :~;..~~i J\! YJ:.. Y.i J\! :~) ~ J\! ~ \"' :J~\"\" \"\" \"\" ,~\"l\" :J:;:i I J 0 \"'\"'\" \"\" ~J \"' }\"' 0 J ;jjj .illiJ \"\".j .j .,F' :Jt.a..:!Lo O 0., ~\!:.:.)\ ~)\!,ill,.0 ,,.... JlJ! ~) ,f.-T \A~IJ '~':i.! J~ lAY-;)' ,u,b> '1! J! ~l...)\j:yJ ~J,;..ij c)lSJI :-~ Jl1 ~i~~i :::J~ ,~')(..JI ~ ~~;.!:w. ili, ~) ~;..~ ~i:;. :~~~~ ~ 'J ~/i ~'J? 'J)~~~ 'J ~ ~ :~~~ ~')lj '1! ~')(.j, ~ ~';.! y~ ;J :JL!1:U. ;.A:;f 4W ~) :JjiJ ('\1\:.;J\j~\-~_f· J!) :Jji c~J~ ~~{.r.~';; J~ Js, Ji ~!~)G)~\";.~~~ jAG::.! :JL!) '<',.=~~'l' \" \" \"\" : J w ~)U, IJ\"w'\"\" ~i ar;, ~ ~) GA\A ~! ::J ~ ~! ~,~ \"' \"\" ....:;:.tJti~·}11 ~) JS. ~ ~)G 4:JL! ~)G \"\"' :JL! ~·o~:; : J~:\SJ ..;.i :u· :1... ~~ \"jj ,: ~i ~ ~ti ,lt.., ~(J ,; .r~:1'J ~ \"v·.,.4. °..~T ....,., , ,; \"' .... J·- ~ .. ~ ''.J.. l1 ~~~~ JW J.,:.~ o, ,..G... .\.-@rJ-J·G;. ~~ ~ ~~lJJ /A~'\1.. '~t'.:)ij .: ..,:; \"\" .. ,... \"ri>\" \" '':Jill ,~i ji ~~;- ~t! ~~~ ~jG ~ J!kt! Jj, ~~ fl~i Jj :.J, i·(~P1r'.e-~-\"~\"\"~• :J~ .~..... . . '~ ~~ /~-IL.~ ~~ ... J~~i 'J'J'~IJl1 ~-~,.~~ v--· 0 0 J '• ...., ... ~ \" 0 0 0 } ~,r! Jib .r.-lAl! J 4::Jl! , 4-o~l! ,I)~ ~~lW! ,I)W~~yu,. - ~ , J ... J 0 \"\"'~-\":, 0 ,... ... \"\" \"\" ... \"\" ... 0 .,-: \" \"\" ... \" .....,~r 'J ~~, ~i i\SJ'~ Jj, ~J ::0\J ~~ ,~~ tju ,~ . f.-tA~~~J .fU1 fL.:;. 4;J:!i ~i! :~;:)& ~i J\!Translation [It is narrated by Abu Hurayrah 4:.S- JJ1 ~; that the Prophet$ said: lbrahim emigrated with Sarah and entered a village

Stories From the Hadith where there was a king amongst the kings, or a tyrant amongst the tyrants. He was told that lbrahim had come (and was) accompan-ied by a woman who was one of the most charming women. So, the king sent for lbrahim and asked \"0 Ibrahim! Who is this lady with you?\" lbrahim replied, \"She is my sister.\" Then lbrahim returned to her and said, \"Do not contradict my statement for I have informed them that you are my sister. By Allah, there are no true believers on earth besides you and I.\" (So, you are my believing sister in religion.) Then lbrahim sent her to the king. When the king got to her, she got i.Jp and performed ablution, offered as-Salah (prayer) and made the supplication, \"0 Allah, if I have believed in You and Your Messenger, and have abstained except from my husband then do not let this disbeliever overpower me.\" On that the king fell down unconscious and started moving his legs. (The narrator then continues:) She supplicated Allah, '.'0 Allah, if he should die, the people will say that I have killed him.\" The king regained power and again proceeded towards her but she got up again performed ablution offered as-Salah and made the supplication, \"0 Allah, if I have believed in You and Your Messenger and kept my private parts safe from all except my husband then do not let this disbeliever get the better of me.\" The king again fell down unconscious and began moving his legs. (The narrators continue:) She said, \"0 Allah, if he shoul~ die, the people will say that I have killed him.\" The king got two or three such attacks, and after recovering from the last, he said, \"By Allah! You have sent a Satan to me. Take her to Ibrahim, and give her Hajirah.\" So, she came back to lbrahim and said, \"Allah humiliated the disbeliever, and gave us a slave-girl for service.\"] (Bukhari, Hadith # 2217) In another version also in Sahih Bukhari, Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah~JJ,._,..,J has said: [lbrahim did not tell a lie except on three occasions. Twice for the sake of Allah when he sai.d, \"I am sick\", (as-Saffat, verse98) and \"I have not done it but the big idol has done it.\"(ai-Ambiya, verse63)

Stories From the Hadith The third (was while) lbrahim and Sarah were going (on a journey) and they passed by the territory of a tyrant amongst the tyrants. Someone said to the tyrant, \"This man is accompanied by a very charming lady.\" So he sent for lbrahim and asked him about Sarah saying, \"Who is the lady (with you)?\" lbrahim said, \"My sister.\" Then he returned and said to Sarah, \"0 Sarah! There are no believers on the surface of the earth except you and I. This man asked me about you and I have told him that you are my sister, so do not contradict me.\" The tyrant then called Sarah and when she went to him, he tried to take hold of her with his hand, but he was confounded. He asked Sarah to pray for him and he would not harm her. So, she asked Allah to cure him and he was cured. He tried to take hold of her for the second time but (his hand got stiffer than before and ) was more confounded. He again requested Sarah. \"Pray to Allah for me and I will not harm you.\" Sarah asked Allah again and he became cured. He then called one of his guards and said, \"You have not brought to me a human being but you have brought a devil.\" The tyrant then gave Sarah, Hajirah as a girl-servant. Sarah came back to lbrahim while he was offering as-Salah (prayer). lbrahim gesturing with his hand asked, \"What has happened?\" She replied, \"Allah has foiled the evil plot of the infidel, and gave me Hajirah for service.\" Abu Hurayrah then said: That was your mother, 0 Bani Ma'as-Sama. (Children of the water of the sky)] (Bukhari Hadith# 3358 I Muslim, BookofExcellence oflbrahim 4/ 1840)The Prophets are InnocentofAll Sins Including Lying 1. The Hadith says: Sayyidina lbrahim ~\"£..)1 ~ did not tell a lieexcept on three occasions. What does the Arabic word Kaziba (lie) mean here? It isobvious that the word is not used in its true sense because it isimpossible that the Holy Prophets r\"£..J' ~ commit any kind of sin.The Ulama agree that the Prophets are innocent. In fact, the word is used here in relation to the listener and onewho is addressed. The listener understands another meaning in what

Stories From the Hadiththe speaker says although he does not mean that. This is called \"!.J.i(tawriyah) and it is an allusion, hint double entendre or a pun (playupon words). The responsibility that Allah has placed on theProphets regarding the conveying of the message leaves nopossibility for telling lies even to a very small degree. As far as affairs of the world are concerned, the authorities, bothearlier ai1d subsequent, hold possibility in either way on telling liesby the Prophets r')(..J1 ~ but the more correct view is that they areinnocent and have never told lies. Qadi Ayyad Maliki has said about this subject: \"The correct point is that as far as conveying or propagation is concerned (what is necessary to be conveyed to the people), it is even beyond imagination (that they would lie) though we may or may not believe in the possibility of their lying for the inferior..... because the office of prophethood is much above such things. If we leave open the possibility of Prophet~ telling lies then it would question their sayings, trustworthiness and reliability.\" Anyway, the word Kazaba here, does not mean he lied.Whatever Sayyidina Ibrahim r')(..J1 ~ said was a fact and true and hissaying could be interpreted in two ways. The addressee took thenearest and common meaning while the Prophet had the raremeaning in mind. His speech was figurative for Sayyidina Ibrahim,the friend of Allah, was far above speaking lies. 2. The last sentence spoken by Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ~ JJ1 ~;in the Hadith is: \"That (Hajirah) was your mother, 0 Bani Ma'as-Sama (0, children of the water of the sky).\" Imam Nawawi has said about the meaning of this phrase: \"Many scholars believe the Bani Ma' as-Sama refers to Arabs because their descent is direct and pure. They are not a mixed race. They are as free of mixing with others as rain water from the sky is free of impurities ofthe world.\" It is also said that it refers to the Ansar because their ancestorAamir bin Harithah bin Umraw al-Qays was called Ma as-Sama(water of the sky). But Allah knows best.

Stories From the Hadith =============== 62Explanation When lbrahim r')I..':.J' ~ emigrated from his homeland, SayyidahSarah r')I..':.J'~ was with him. Earlier, his people had plunged him intothe fire but it had turned into a cool resort for him at the commandof Allah. After that, he emigrated from there and kept setting campsat distant places and, obviously, he found no one to help him instmage lands. In such conditions, cruel and oppressing people oftenhave a wicked eye on immigrants and travellers and SayyidinaIbrahim r')I..':.J' ~ also encountered a tyrant intoxicated with power andauthority. He learnt that Ibrahim was in his territory with a beautifulwoman. In those days, these tyrants arrested the husband of awoman whom they liked to enjoy but if she was accompanied with afather or brother or she was unmarried, they did not bother her. This is why lbrahim r')I..':.J' ~ said that she was his sister.However, in spite of that the tyrant had evil designs on her. Ibrahimr')I..':.J' ~ sent her to the tyrant because as a Prophet he was confidentthat Allah would not let her suffer. The Prophets r'£..J' ~ are themost sacred and pure natured of all people and Allah chooses purewomen for them. While it is possible that a Prophet's wife may be adisbeliever but she cannot be an immoral woman. Wives of Prophetsare always pure and modest. Prophet Ibrahim r')I..':.J' ~ had full faith in Allah and knew thatSayyidah Sarah r')I..':.J' ~ would not come to harm at the hands of theevil king. So, he sent her to the king but informed her that he hadtold him that she was his sister-and this saying was a play uponwords, tawriyah. Tawriyah is a speech that may be interpreted in two ways. Theaddressee understands in a way that is contrary to what the speakerintends. It is proper to do so especially if one does it to preserveoneself from a tyrant or from his mischief. Such a course of action isnot the same as telling lies. The Messenger of Allah$ referred to it as a lie because itseemed such to the listeners. So, Sayyidina lbrahim r'£..J' ~ said to Sayyidah Sarah r')I..':.J' ~ thathe had told him that she was his sister. He added, \"The fact is thatthere is no one besides you and I on earth who is a believer. So, youare my sister in religion.\" Allah has said:

Stories From the Hadith o~~· 5'.-Iu~'._',:..\"¥..JI ~I 7{The believers are but brethren} (AI-Hujurat,49: 11)The Prophet $ has said that Ibrahim ~\")(.J' ~ lied three times.The Qur'an has reffered to it at two places. In one verse, lbrahim ~\")(.J' ~ is supposed to have said ~ ._s!! {Iam unwell} .'') Here, lbrahim~\")(.J'~ had resorted to tawriyah to ;avehimself from joining in a sinful activity when his people invited himto participate in their festival where idols were worshipped. Hemeant, \"I am upset and sad because of your idol-worship.\" That iswhat the word~ (saqeem) also means.The second time. when he was all alone and had theopportunity, he smashed all the idols and placed the axe in the neckof the biggest of them whom he had spared. Later, when he wasasked by his people about it, he said: oi.U ~• ' •~! .'<:' J.;j ·I~ 0:'{Nay he has done it-this, the big one of them ... } (AI-Anbiya,21 :63) Obviously, this thing was contrary to fact but Sayyidina lbrahim~\")(.J1 ~ spoke in this manner to present the people with an argument.In fact, they too conceded that the idol could not speak and lbrahim~\")(.J1 ~ was not talking sense. He took up the argument with theirwords and said that it was a pity that in spite of knowing all that theycontinued to worship the idols who neither spoke nor heard, neitherbenefited anyone nor harmed him. In short, all these three speeches were contrary to facts but theywere not lies. There is a maxim: o&:!-:'..foJI ..:..l4w ).>.~~I..::..~ \"The piety ofthe pious are the evil of the near ones.\" If a common man does anything against the recommended thenhe is not taken to task or blamed but the Prophet r\")(.J' ~ are slavesof Allah who are near to Him so if they do anything against a bettercourse then they are cautioned and reprimanded. Accordingly wefind in a Hadith that on the Day of Resurrection all the creatures willbe worried and distressed because of the severity of the occasion.So, they will go to different Prophets imploring them to recommendto Allah that He ease the severity and commence the reckoning. But,1As-Saftat. 37: 89.

Stories From the Hadith ============== 64all the Prophets r\")).:..h ~ will recall that they had gone against thebetter sometime or other and will repent and seek forgiveness forthat, and they will regret their inability to recommend. SayyidinaIbrahim r-A:..l1 ~' too, will express helplessness in the matter and recallthese three occasions which he will count as grave sins and seekforgiveness for that.Returning to the episode, Sayyidina Ibrahim r-A:.J1 ~ sentSayyidah Sarah r-A:..ll ~ to the tyrant and himself stood up in prayerbefore Allah-a meeting with, and a petition to, his Lord. Allahaccepted his supplication and helped Sayyidah Sarah r-A:..ll ~although there was no visible means of help. She too had madesuplications to Allah in her helpless situation, and He protected herand she maintained her chastity. Her supplication was, \"0 Allah, if Iam a believer in You and Your Messenger, and have preserved mychastity, then let not the disbeliever harm me.\"When she was there, he extended his hand towards her with evildesigns. The secret, unseen powers of nature seized him and madehim a cripple. Sayyidah Sarah worried that if the cruel man died thenshe would be blamed for killing him and he too pleaded with herthat he would cause her no harm if she beseeched Allah to restorehim to health.She prayed to Allah accordingly and he was cured, but hereverted to his devilish designs. Once again, unseen forces of natureseized him and he was seized more severely than before. Once againhe implored Sayyidah Sarah r-A:.J1 ~ to pray to Allah, and she did,and he was restored to health.This cruel man then summoned his couriers and guards andcomplained that they had brought a devil to him (for he thought thatonly a devil has secret powers). He ordered them to take her awayand deliver her safely to Ibrahim and he gave her Hajirah as aslave-girl. She is the very Sayyidah Hajirah r')(.J1 ~ who is themother of Sayyidina Isma'il r-A:..l1 ~ for Sayyidah Sarah r-A:..ll ~ hadgifted her to her husband, lbrahim r-A:.J1 ~ who married her. (we havespoken of this earlier.) .Imam Muslim has transmitted a Hadith of the Messenger ofAllah$.[You would soon conquer Egypt and that is the land of

Stories From the Hadith al-qirat (the Egyptian currency was so-called). So, when you conquer it, treat its inhabitants well for they have blood-ties with you or have a relationship of marriage.]<11 This means that the Prophet $ was among the descendants ofSayyidina Isma'il r')C...J' ~. the son of Sayyidah Hajirah r')C...J' ~. Shewas of Egyptian stock. She was the mother of the Prophet and theArabs and he spoke in this vein. Lessons and Messages 1. The most important thing this Hadith tells us is that the wivesof Allah's Prophets and Messengers r')C...J' ~ are honourable andchaste and they are safe and protected from evil. If any evil personshould try to harm them or harbours evil designs against them, Allahwill not only fail him in his mischief but also punish him. The wivesof the Prophets and Messengers remain unharmed because thesepeople are the most sacred and pure section of mankind. So, theirwives too are pure and chaste in conformity with Divine law: o~~~~...~:~:~~.~.~o.t·a_Ltl- {Good women are for good -men}<2> We have seen how Sayyidah Sarah r')C...J' ~ was protected by theunseen Hand of Allah. The sinning tyrant, on the other hand, waspunished. 2. We also learn from this Hadith that a believer must turn toAllah immediately when he is faced with trial. He must seek Hishelp through prayer (As-Salah) as, indeed, Sayyidina lbrahim r')C...J' ~and Sayyidah Sarah r')C...J' ~ immediately stood up in prayer andmade imploring supplications to Allah when they were seized withtrial. As a result Allah helped them preserve their honour andchastity. 3. The story brings out a reality that in his practical life man issometimes faced with a situation where he cannot do what he wishesto do. Rather, he has to submit to a great opposition and if he doesnot submit then he cannot protect himself or subdue the opposition.In such cases, rather than fight the opposition, he must place trust inthe Powers of Allah and let matters be left to His will and it is not1Muslim 6174, reported by Abi Zarr. 2 An-Nur, 24: 26.

Stories From the Hadith = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 66against Shari'ah to bow down to opposition for the moment.Sayyidina Ibrahim r~' ~ did not consider it reasonable to opposethe tyrant for he could not have, by himself, caused him any harmbut he would have suffered himself. So, he put the affairs in theHands of Allah. Lord of the worlds and made a heart-feltsupplication to Him for He is the Most Superior Power Whoprevents tyrants from being cruel and oppressive. And. He did. infact help them. Many People consider that it is manly and courageous to opposeand tl.ght rather than submit and bow down in such situations. Manis not always able to practice religion in every kind of situation andhe cannot always live his life according to his liking and wish. Insuch situations when fighting the opposing power could be harmful,it is better to adopt a policy of peace and seek a better way foroneself. The Truce of Hudaybiyah is an example in the life of theMessenger of Allah, Muhammad $. Sometimes it is moreimportant to refrain from shedding blood. It must be clear, however, that it does not imply that Muslimsmust surrender to the disbelievers or tyrants or always toe their linefrom fear of death or loss of property and wealth. Certainly never!Islam teaches us to live in honour and dignity and has prescribedJihad for that very end. The door of Jihad is always open forMuslims against every tyrant and colonist who aims at suppressingIslam or playing with the honour of Muslims or attacks them orprevents them from living peacefully or refuses to accept Islam'ssupremacy and subjugation of evil. To live honourably a Muslimwould cherish to die honourably and gain martyrdom. The teaching of submission is applied when wisdom demandsthat course. We get many examples of that in the lives of thehonourable Companions~~~ J,, '>'J-PJ and in events of battles andexpeditions. For example, there is the case of a number of Companions ~eingtaken captive by the enemy. The enemy king tried his best to getthem to renounce Islam but those people were firm and did not give ·in. Having failed in all his attempts, he had a very large fire kindledin which a large vessel filled with oil was placed. When the oil

Stories From the Hadithbegan to boiL he called their amir (the leader) and said to him. \"Ifyou renounce Islam, it is okay otherwise I would have you placed inthe oil.\" The Companion did not yield. The cruel king decided to put in more pressure. He asked foranother of the Companions to be brought to him and ordered that heshould be put in the fire. That man was cast into the burning oil andwithin moments he turned into ashes. The amir stood his groundand did not budge in the least, so the king directed his men to puthim into the raging fire. As he was ·being taken to the fire, tearsrolled down his eyes. The king had him brought back assuming thathe was afraid of death and might give in. He said to him, \"There isstill time. You can save yourself from fire.\" The Companion said,\"0, you think that tears have come to my eyes because I fear death.No! It is not so! I wept because I have only one life to give up inAllah's way. If I had a thousand, I would have given up them all, forthis one would be lost in just a few moments.\" Look at his sentiments! This answer placed the king in a quandary. He wondered whatsort of people those men were! They held death dear even when theywere in the hold of death; the king thought about his people andhimself, \"We do not even love life to that extent as they love death.\" The king decided, therefore, that instead of being put to deaththese people should be given some other punishment, something thatwould arouse their sense of modesty. He said, \"I am willing torelease you, if you kiss my head.\" The amir thought about it for a little while and then said, \"Yes! Iwill kiss your forehead on condition that you release all mycompanions too.\" The king agreed to that co11dition; and this man kissed the king'sforehead and got all his companions released from captivity. When they reached home, Sayyidina Umar 4:.So .iJ, ~J wasinformed of the entire episode and he was very happy with that. Hepraised this man's strength of belief and insight. He was steadfast and bold. He used his insight and got all hismen released. He could have fought against the king but that wouldhave been disastrous as well as against wisdom. He showedsteadfastness where that was called for; even the disbelieving king

Stories From the Hadithwas overawed by his firmness. When it was opportune that he usehis foresight, he did that and got his companions released. In fact, this is how every Muslim must conduct himself,showing firmness of faith and deep insight. Every Muslim mustwork to grasp on understanding of religion. 4. The fourth thing that the Hadith teaches us is that it is properfor a Muslim to accept a gift from an infidel or a tyrant (provided itdoes not compell him to waver in his belief). It was the devilish,cruel king .who presented a slave-girl to Sayyid;Jh Sarah ~')(.J' ~ andshe accepted the gift. Then, Sayyidina lbrahim ~')(.J' ~ confirmed heraction. Then, she presented the slave-girl, Hajirah, to SayyidinaIbrahim ~')(.J' ~ who married her and she was to become the motherof Isma'il r')(.J' ~- 5. When anyone receives a bounty or is rescued from a difficultythen he must not only express gratitude to Allah but also make theblessing known to others. It is known as tahdeeth ni'mah (publicityof ·blessing). When she was free from the tyrant king. SayyidahSarah r')(...J' ~ answered the question of Sayyidina Ibrahim r')(.J' ;.#,\"Allah has been merciful and the mischief of the disbeliever hasrebounded on him and saved me from his wickedness.\"

Stories From the Hadith The Sixth Story The Story of Sayyidina Lut ~~~ ~First Words Sayyidina Lut r')U' ~ was one of the prominent determinedProphets. He was faced with a people who were most hard-heartedand extremely cruel. They had lost all natural and instinctivetendencies and they had become inhuman losing all sort of moralvalues. They refused to heed the repeated calls to guidance of theProphet of Allah, and their savage behaviour was worse than whatanimals do. They were more brutal than brutes. Their unnatural·detestable conduct was a blur on human history. Sayyidina Lut' ~r')U' tolerated them for a long period of time. but when theytransgressed beyond limit, the Creator of nature let lose His arm ofpunishment which was as severe as their crime demanded. Theywere eliminated from the face of earth.:J\! ,~ ' ...?J i.J\"~ If.I .:.f' 45'JJ::-o \".) ~WI -.>JJ Jl1~:Wi J;.. ~u~u ,o)J ZJt(;, ~1:;:, ~Jf JJ1 ~j ~ ~~w;;,) ;;.~:; ~~ ,~:; ~~~>· ::,A:Wti ,~\"'JJ :,A)~~ ~~J ,4) ''~J Jil1 1)j~ ;.SJ Abi :,A:;~ f~~ :J\! ~T) lJ! ,~~~';At~ ;.J~ ~!) ~ ~ ~~ JtJ~ :l)li (VA :.)JA) ~(;., \".) 0Jj:;rj ,~ ...(A•:.),JA) .;4~J')J!~JI~jiaji~_)~i)l :J\!(V~ :.),JA)~) !Ill ,.. ,; .. ,..'J'~\I ~- ~ ~\ :- ~=J~ :) .r-r-- '.:• : '. ~.I ...~ '!' ..' Ul :J~ ~~\ '!: . : ..r)? '~~~;.~ ~1)) 1p)~6:~c.i:_,.:JJ :J\! <\"':.))A)~ ~ ~81 ~i ~ ~ ;.s-e::.; :l}f~ '~~~ :;.+!\ J~ (f,;/

Swries From the Hadith ===============:: 70 'J ~~) c~'\")J11:#~ J;. c~ ~ ~;. ~~~ cU)~i ~(;.,i ~;-:_ )~~ j;. <J')d(, fl~..h~~\5\" j;. c~\ ~ ,;.w,;: 'J4icl')~i :;J ~~:1c J.5l~, ~;J ~ ,~,-~J' c;..:;..P.~:~:~, ~IS\":· ~~ :;.J ,:..;.w J.5l~, ~ liS'j liS'~~~ ~~~ J;. ,.!J\"JJ ~J ~~ ~)~ :J\! Jlkj1 ~ ,~:Jl' 41 0~ ~ lA~ ~;J ,~;.5:1, ~~ ~w fL=J' 41 0~ ~ ~A~ ~/J ,~~~ ~w ~ ~i .JJ, ~G :• :;. -~'J~~~~~w~rJI Translation Hakim has transmitted in his mustadrak from Sayyidina lbn Abbas~Jh~)· He has said: [When the messengers of Allah (the angels) came to Lut-..,.l&. ~')(.J1 (in human form) he took them for guests who had come to meet him. He made them sit with him and when his three daughters came he made them sit between his guests and his people. His people came running to him unchecked. When he saw his people, (he recalled their nefarious habit and) he said, ~ 'J ~J'y.j ~:, ~~~_,i.ii ~ AJ-1:;. ~-4 ,.~;,. \"These are my daughters. They are (more) pure for you (than the guests, if you wish to marry them). Fear Allah and do not degrade me before my guests.\" (Hud, 11:78). They replied: -4)l.~~!1:fo-::r-.~-4'JWl. \"Certainly you know that we have nothing to -d~ with your daughters and you know well what we desire.\"(ll:79). So, Lutr')(.J'-..,.l&. said,~~~J!<if~:,ii:,i~~~r,J \"Would that I had power against you, or might have some strong support for refuge.\"(II:&O) Hearing all this, Jibril r')(.JI-..,.l&. (who was one of the guests in the form of handsome young men whom Lut r')(.JI-..,.l&. had not yet known as such) said: \"0 Lut! We are messengers of your Lord. They shall not reach you.\" (11: 81) Tllen, (with Allah's command) Jibril r')(.J' -.,.l&. battered their

Stories From the Hadith eyes and all of them crashed into one another and, one over the other, they turned back until they were at the door, saying to those who were there. \"We have come to you from the greatest sorcerer who has blinded us.\" They thus returned in the confusion to their homes. Then, in the middle of the night the whole settlement was raised up (with its people) and held suspended between the sky and earth. Its people could hear the birds in the atmosphere. Then, (from as much height) it was upturned over earth. A strong wind from the wrong side killed whoever was in its path but those who were out of its reach had stones falling on them. Sayyidina Lut ~\">U' ~ had meanwhile, left the settlement with his three daughters. When he reached an unspecified place in Syria, his eldest daughter died, and at that spot a spring called Al-Wariyah began to flow. He kept going forward as long as Allah Willed. His youngest daughter diea and the spring Ar-Ra'ziyah sprouted from there. Only the second ofthe three remained.] ( Hakim-ai-Mustadrak2/3 75)Explanation The story of Sayyidina Lut r\">U' ~ is found in the Qur'an in itsdifferent portions, in brief at some places and in detail at otherplaces. It is narrated in Surah Hud in some detail. However, thisHadith tells us some of the things that are not found in the Qur'an. We may summarise their story thus: The people of SayyidinaLut r\">U' ~ had lost sense of all moral values. They did not recognisethe unity of Allah or the office of His Prophet and they committedmany sins. However, the worst of sins that was a black spot inhistory and may even have shamed the devil was their abnormalsexual habit, homosexuality. They satisfied their sexual desires withyoung boys and children who had not yet grown hair. They had lostdesire for women completely and this was the detestable habit of allof them. Allah decreed that the earth should be purified of these wickedpeople and when that time came, He sent the angels to punish them.Jibril ~\">U' ~ came to Lut ~'j...J' ~ with other angels in the form of

Stories From the Hadith ===============72young men. He did not recognise them initially and treated them ashis guests hoping that his people did not learn of them for he knewtheir evil habit. But, what he had feared did transpire and his peopleforced entry into his house and each of them demanded that theyoung men should be handed over to him. Sayyidina Lut r')(.J' ~ tried to bring them to their senses. He toldthem that they should refrain from the abhorrent habit and if theyhad to satisfY their sexual appetite they could marry the daughters ofthe community. He pleaded with them that they should not let himdown before his guests. Say what he may, they did not relent butpersisted in their demand for the young men to be handed over tothem for, they asserted, they had nothing to do with his daughters. Sayyidina Lut r')(.J' ~ exclaimed, \"Would that I had strength toward off your mischief or that I had a strong place where I may seekrefuge.\" (He meant to say that if he had a strong backing, he wouldteach them a lesson). This was the moment when Sayyidina Lut ~r')(...J' involuntarily succumbed to human frailty and overlooked thehidden help of Allah, but this conduct is contrary to the better in thestandards set for Prophets of Allah r')(.J' ~- This is what the Prophet3 referred to when he said: JJ.~.!..l.!l ~) J! IoSJ 4\JLS\"' J.QJ U,y I ~_y.. [May Allah have mercy on Lut. He sought refuge in a strong support, (although Allah's support is most reliable) .\"] (Bukhari, Muslim, ti·om Abu Hurayrah) In one version, it says, \"May Allah forgive....\" Allamah Usmani has observed in his exegesis that everyProphet who came after Sayyidina Lut r')(.J' ~ belonged to a strongparty or tribe. (Ta.fsir Usmani, Surah Hud) The angels comforted Lut r')(.J' ~ saying, \"0 Lut! We are theangels of your Lord and these people will never make it to you.\" The Tafsir Mazhari comments: \"Jibril r')(.J'~ then asked for his Lord's permission to release punishment on them and he got it. At that, he resumed his original form and spread his wings. He had a pearl necklace on him, shining teeth, bright forehead, curly hair of snow-white colour both feet green. He then hit the people with one of his wings and they were

Stories From the Hadith = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 73blinded. They rushed back saying, 'Run away, Lut has thegreatest magician of the world at his house. And they have casta spell on us.' Then they turned to Sayyidina Lut~\")(.JI ~: Wait a bit! Wewill see you in the morning! Lut ~\")(.)1 ~ asked the angels about the appointed time oftheir punishment. They said: Morning! He urged them to hastenit, but they retorted: Is morning not near?\"(Mazhari,6/72)The angels directed Lut ~\")(.)1 ~ to leave the place in the last partof the night with his family. None of them should turn back to seeand he should not take his wife along for she was inclined towardsthe people and would share their punishment.There are two versions about what this meant:1) She went alongwith Lut ~\")(.)1 ~ but although they werecommanded not to look back while departing from the place yet sheturned to look back at her people. She saw them being punished andexclaimed, \"0, my people!\" Hardly had she said those words whenshe was detained and subjected to the same punishment. 2) Lut ~\")(.)1 ~ did not take her along at all. She remained with thepeople.Nevertheless, she was punished. As morning came, Allahcommanded His angels to unleash punishment on them and all ofthem were wiped out of the face of earth.&-:to~~, -~ OJ~, '· ~:~ 01~-:.1'... ''. •~·~- 1~-.~~~ b~' t .'-I'J1-~.I~!.J..u 1~-.~ 11£. 1:~ . ' , o~.)~{We turned the upside thereof downward, and rained'on itstones of baked clay, one after another, m~rked from yourLord.} (Hud, 11:82, 83) According to Baghawi they comprised of five colonies. Jibril ~~\")(.)1 placed one of his wings below them and raised them high andthey, on the top, heard the cock crowing and the dog barking. Theywere all asleep. Their vessels did not vibrate and none of them wasawakened. (Mazhari,6174) Once he had raised them up. Jibril ~\")(.)1 ~ turned them upsidedown and hurled them down on the earth. He followed that with ashower of stones and it continued for some time. Each of the stoneswas marked. Everyone of them perished and none survived. They

Stories From the Hadithnumbered about four hundred thousand people. Their colonies aretermed in the terminology of Qur'an as..:...~_;.. (mu'tafikat), theupturned. Lessons and Messages 1. The -Qur'an has narrated the story of Sayyidina Lut ~\")(..J1 ~frequently and the exegetes have commented on the historical detailsof this episode. Nevertheless, the Hadith on which our account isbased reveals certain aspects which the Qur'an does not tell us, forexample: i) Jibril ~\")(..J1 ~ raised the entire people and sett1ement high upand suspended them in mid-air so that they could even hear theheavenly birds. ii) Lut ~\")(..JI ~ had three daughters who accompanied him whenhe was going away from the place. (The Qur'an merely mentions hisdaughters.) The eldest of them died in Syria and Allah caused a spring toflow at the spot of her death. The spring is called AI- Wariyah. Theyoungest died further down in his journey and Allah caused thespring Ar-Ra'ziyah to flow at the spot of her death. Only one of herthree daughters survived when he had reached his destination.An ImportantPoint Torah was revealed to Sayyidinah Musar\")(..JI~ but subsequentlythe Jews made many changes in it. None of its copies today is theoriginal. May Allah punish them, they have not spared thehonourable Prophets r\")(..J1 ~ too from suggesting changes in theirlife accounts. But, Allah has His Own ways. The Book revealed to the last of the Prophets is safe fromchanges. Allah has narrated herein the accounts of the lives of HisProphets and the interpolations of the Jews are very clearly pointedout. They have also introduced their fables in the account of Lut's ~r\")(..J1 life. They have changed the Torah to include a very wicked andmischievous idea about ~ut r\")(..J1 ~. They have said that he had twodaughters with whom h.e left his homeland. When they took upresidence at a cave in a mountain near Su'ar (Zoar), his daughters

Stories From the Hadithremarked that their father did not have a male offspring and his lineof descent would cease with him. So they intoxicated him with winefor two nights-may Allah forbid us this thought-and one of themslept with him the first of these nights while he had lost allconsciousness. The second girl slept with him on the next night.Each of them conceived and they both had male offsprings. Thedescendants of the first are called Muaameen (Moabites) and of thesecond Amumeen (Ammonites).(Genesis, 19:30-31) The Qur'an and the Hadith have disclosed the falsehood of thefabricated Torah. It is an ugly slarxier on a sacred Prophet of Allahand the cruel people have gone to ~xtremes in telling lies andblaming the men of Allah. By Allah, the sacred Prophet is free fromimmodest behaviour whether open or concealed. All his life, hefought against immodest conduct and saw his people beingsubjected to punishment. How could he commit such an immoral actwhen Allah, the Great and Majestic, protects His sacred slaves? Inthe same way, his sacred and pure daughters were free fromimmorality and it was because of their piety that Allah hadcommanded them to move out of the punished settelement with theirfather. Certainly, it is the imagination of dirty minds that has fabricatedsuch tales about the sacred men. It is falsehood and lie. The Qur'anicterminology calls that muftarayat .;..4~. The Hadith has clearlyuncovered the falsehood of the Jews. 2. The second message that the Hadith gives us is that whenAllah decides to punish a people, He commands his pious slaves tomove away from there. This is what He asked Lut r~' ~ and hisfamily to do when the punishment was about to be given to hiswicked people. 3. Immodesty and sexual depravity is a very terrible sign of apeople being led to social downfall. It is the last point from whichdownfall sets in. Many people have been punished for their crimesand have been eliminated from the face of earth but the punishmentmeted out to the people of Lut r~' ~ was the severest. There is noexample of anyone being punished as severely as they were. Thereason is obvious: immodesty, the worst of sins. It is not painful that today the people who read these

Stories From the Hadithlesson-giving stories in the Qur'an and Hadith have themselves takento this worst of sins which brought grave punishment to ancientpeople. The Muslim youth are racing towards way wardness andimmoral behaviour. May Allah protect all Muslims from that.Aameen!

Stories From the Hadith The Seventh Story The Conversation Between SayyidinaAadam r\")(.J'~ & Sayyidina Musa r\")(.J'~Introductory WordsWe could never have known the story we are about to relateexcept through Divine revelation. However, there is no mention of itin the wahy matloo (the Holy Qur'an). ·we have learnt of it from thec'hief of Prophets and Messengers, Muhammad Ra~ulAllah $ onwhom be the best of benedictions. Further, there is no witness totestify to this incident so there is no other way we may learn of it.Sayyidina Aadam ~-q, ~ and Sayyidina Musa ~-q, ~ are bothamong the pre-eminent Prophets of Allah, the Exalted. The former isthe father of mankind and the latter is Kaleem Allah (one who hadthe distinction of having conversation with Allah). The dialogue thattook place between the two came to our knowledge through theProphet~. Where did they meet and have the conversation, andwhen and how? These are questions whose answers the Hadith doesnot provide us and we cannot know. Nevertheless, we believe firmlythat their meeting did take place because the truthful Prophet hastold us so, about whom, the Qur'an has said: ,_ ;;;, ,,0~'~' ' •['r'J\" j l..'Y' '' ·u,lI..S-'\"-t-''·'~1·''-~,L·.~t..{Nor does he speak- out of (his own) ,desire. This (Qur'an isnaught but a revelation revealed.}(An-Najm,53:3-4)\"J~ Alll ~) (~~ ~i ~ ~ ~J (,$1~' !.$))'Lof) :4 r')L.J' \"~1c ~)..) r~T ~~ :~; ~~ J;.,) J\l :Jil~~~ ~:, ,~~ Jj, ~:;1::. ~~~ r~~ c.;r :~-; J\l ,~-; r~' ~

Stories From the Hadith =============== 78:_r8, ~i ~ '~ \"J ~~J .~~ ~ ~~J '~JJ ~ J!~JPJ~, ~1::}~ ' ''~~~J ,~~.) ~G! JJ, ~~~ ~~~ ~'j.o ~i :~~~ Jill:s-~')Yl....' ~ \ ~~) ~. ,~ ~ ~j!) 'f~ ~J ::,G ~ (_(,l~, Jl1 .~~ ;;;J~ ~:; Jli ~~f ;:,t J.i '.'<',.':Jli :J.) ~YJ ~J ~~~ ~J ~ ~~) ~ :~~~ Jli;:,t J.! ~i ;:,t ~ JJ, ~SW~ ;:,t Js. ~:,Wi :Jli .;..;.; ·~.,. Jo-0J ~.)1J,... - ~:; ,., \"\" :WJ~\" ; ~..~lll J o J ,.. ,. \"\" ~'* \"~\",., .~. aJ..-.~t ~\"\" Jo ·:; JJ'\"\"JJliJl,-lllolAJ) <~'\"J:~'j.o :J Jill ·~y) ~.)T ~~ :~?~' ~ ~')? ~~)~~~ ~'j.o ~i :~~T:J Jill ~~~ ~ ~~~:}::. ~;:.t ~~~ ~~T~i~~f ;:,i J.! ~ j;J ;,.t ~ :J-:,13 ~ ~~) ~dG..r.. ili1 ~. ~~ ... .~~ '~Y ~~T~ ~ ~~ 'J~j Jill~~~ 4 :~J.. :J Jill ~J..) ~~~ ~! ~i ':??~' J ~~).JJ, ~~~ ,~;.. 4:~~~ :J Jli ~~~ ~ G:-;:.rJ .~::~:::. u~i ~i.~ ;:,i J.! ~ JJ, ~J~ ;t Js. :;.)it ·~~ ~ :b.) ·~~ ''Translation [Abu Hyrayrah ~JJ,~J reported that the Messenger ofAllah 3 said: There was an argument between Aadam andMusa r')U' ~ in the presence of their Lord. Aadam came thebetter of Musa. Musa said, \"Are you that Aadam whom Allahcreated with His Hand and breathed into him His spirit, andcommanded angels to fall in prostration before him and Hemade you live in Paradise with comfort and ease. Then youcaused the people to get down to earth because of your lapse?\"

Stories From the Hadith Aadam said, \"Are you that Musa whom Allah selected forHis Messengership and for conversation with Him andconferred upon you the tablets in which everything was clearlyexplained and granted you the audience in order to haveconfidential talk with you. What is your opinion, how longTorah would have been written before I was created?\" Musasaid, \"Forty years before.\"Aadam said, \"Did you not see these words, ..sJ;J ~J ~~~ ~)(Aadam disobeyed ·his Lord so he erred)?< 1 Musa said, \"Yes!\" lThereupon, Aadani said, \"Do you then blame me for an actwhich Allah had ordained for me forty years before He createdme?\" The Messenger of Allah$ said, \"This is how Aadamcame the better of Musa.] (This is the version in Muslim# 1396)The version in Bukhari is as follows:[Aadam and Musa argued with each other. Musa said toAadam, \"You are Aadam whose mistake expelled you fromParadise.\" Aadam•said to him, \"You are Musa whom Allahselecte~ as His Messenger and as the one to whom He spokedirectly; yet you blame me for a thing which had already beenpreordained for me by Allah before my creation. Allah'sMessenger$ said twice, \"So, Aadam overpowered Musa.\"](Bukhari#3409)Another version in Bukhari is: [Aadam and Musa argued with one another. Musa said toAadam, \"0 Aadam_! You are our father who disappointed usand turned us out of Paradise.\" Then Aadam said to him, \"0Musa! Allah favoured you with His Talk (talked to you directly)and He wrote the Torah for you wit~ His Own Hand. Do youblame me for an action which Allah had preordained for meforty years before my creation?\" So Aadam confuted Musa,Aadam confuted· Musa.\" The Prophet$ repeated thisstatement three times.](Bukhari#6614)Explanation The life of this world is made up of hardships. Every hlllllanbeing born in this world . has to face difficulty sometime or the other1Ta Ha, 20: 121.

Stories From the Hadithwhether he is rich or poor, city-dweller or villager, woman or man.Everyone has to face different kinds of ordeals. This is life. TheQur'an says: \", t:L.w,,'~i,l ,. , ,.., ,, 0•.~ '-F• 'u. ~ :ill{Certainly We created man to suffer hardship.}(AI-Balad,90:4) This goes on till the last breath before death. One could faceproblems related to earning livelihood, or, to family or residence.The morsel a man eats involves tremendous effort and labour toearn. For every morsel one man eats, several people put in a lot ofeffort. Indeed, it is nature's arrangement to put different people todifferent work so that man's mutual needs are fulfilled. Every blessing that we enjoy in this world has behind it a storyof hard work. Besides, there is illness in the process or unfavourableexternal circumstances, opposition from strangers or dissociation byclose circle of companions. In short, he goes through the grindingprocess all his life. Sayyidina Musa r..W' 4# is one of the pre-eminent, glorious anddetermined Prophets of Allah, the Great. He faced innumerablehardships in life. He had to fight Fir'awn and his army. He had toflee from Egypt to Madyan when a Coopt was killed (accidently) byhim and at Madyan he had to graze the cattle of Shu'ayb r..W' 4# foreight or ten years. When he was made Prophet he had to faceFir'awn's wrath. Every now and then, the Bani Isra'il showedstubbornness, disobedience and hostility. He went through muchhardship and difficulty. ~erhaps it was these difficulties that caused him to wonder if thebasis of worldly problems lay in the dismissal of Sayyidina Aadamr..W' 4# from Paradise. \"If he had not partaken from the forbiddentree, he would not have had to exit Paradise and land on earth. Hischildren too would then have stayed in Paradise with him. Theywould not have had to go through the vicissitudes of the world.\" Hence, when he met Sayyidina Aadam r..W' ~. he reminded himthat it was because of him that they had to face hardship in life. Hetold ·him that if he had not touched the forbidden tree and had beencontent with the other blessings in Paradise then he would not havebeen dismissed from Paradise.

Stories From the HadithObservation It is worth remembering that Sayyidina Aadam ~')U1 ~ was thefirst of mankind while Sayyidina Musa ~')U1 ~ was born hundreds ofyear later. So, it is impossible that the two could have met in theworld in their physical self. How. then, they met and where? TheHadith of the Prophet$ is silent on this issue. The Ulama have.nevertheless. advanced some explanation. Allama Navavi, thecommentator of Sahih Muslim, for example. has stated: \"Abu Al-Hasan AI-Qabisi has said that the souls of the two Prophets met in the heaven (sky) and they debated there. Qadi Ayad Maliki has said, 'This Hadith is to be taken at its words. Both of them met physically. We have seen in the account of AI-Isra' that the Prophet$ met the other Prophets ~')U~~ in the heavens and also led them in Salat at Bayt Al-Maqdis. Hence, it is not beyond reasoning that Allah might have given them life again as it is related about the martyrs.' There is also the possibility that they may have met and debated at the request of Musa ~')U1 ~ to Allah that he may be allowed to meet Aadam ~')U1 ~ in this world.\" (Nawavi, on Sahih Muslim2/335) Sayyidina Musa r')U' ~ reminded Sayyiclina Aadam r')U' ~ of thefavours of Allah upon him. He was created, given a soul, created asa perfect human being, the angels were commanded to prostratebefore him, given residence in Paradise-these favours called uponAadam ~')U1 ~ that he should have refrained from eating from theforbidden tree because Allah had placed on him that only onerestriction. Sayyidina Aadam ~')U1 ~ gave Sayyidina Musa r')U' ~ an answerabout which the Holy Prophet$ said, \"It silenced Musa.\" . He began with recounting the favours Allah had conferred uponMusa r')U'~· \"0 Musa! Allah chose you as a Prophet andMessenger, honoured you by speaking to you directly and grantedyou the Tablets of Torah. After receiving this honour, it did notbehove you to speak to me as you did. Just tell me, how much beforemy creation was the Torah written down?\" When Musa r')U' ~confirmed that it was written down forty years before the creation ofAadam r')U' ~. he said, \"Have you not read in it the verse: ~J ~~~ ~:,

Stories From the Hadith..s);J (And Aadam disobeyed his Lord, so he erred)?\"<'1 He said, \"Yes,of course!\" Then Aadam ~')U'-.# asked him, \"Then, in spite of thatyou blame me for something that Allah had decreed already fortyyears before my creation?\" (That is, he was to do something forwhich he would be expelled from Paradise.) The Messenger of Allah~ concluded that Sayyidina Aadam-.#r'.>C..J' gave a convincing reply. His reply convinced Sayyidina Musa-.#r')U' that it was wrong to blame Aadam r')U' -.# because all of us arebound by the Will of Allah Who had decided that man would be sentto earth and would be appointed His Khalifah (vicegerent) on earth.There was much wisdom behind that decision all of which wasundisclosed. It was to begin with Aadam r')U'-.# residing in Paradiseand disallowing him to approach a particular tree and its fruit. But,he would be tempted by the devil into eating that fruit and wouldthus be punished and sent to earth. Therefore, the reason for hisexpulsion from Paradise was not his eating the fruit but it was theWill of Allah and His predestination ordained for Aadam r')U'-.#. Lessons and Messages The Hadith gives us a number of messages: 1. The first message relates to correction of belief onpredestination. The Hadith refutes those who do not believe inpredestination. Nothing happens against the Will of Allah and whatHe has predestined. Whatever happens in the world followspredestination as ordained by Allah-although man does often usethe choice that Allah has bestowed on him. It is on the correct use,or misuse, of the choice that he is rewarded or punished. Anyway, itis a basic part of faith that we should believe in predestinationotherwise our faith and belief is imperfect. 2. The second message concerns etiquette and morals. TheHadith tells us that religious guides may hold differing opinions forwhich an oral debate and discussion is allowed. However, the limitsof Shari'ah must be observed and the exercise should be undertakento propagate truth., Besides, it is the characteristic of these peoplethat they should accept the truth when it is disclosed or confirmed.Sayyidina Mus a r')U'-.# knew that Sayyidina Aadam's r'.>C..J'-.#1 Ta Ha, 20: 121.

Stories From the Hadithargument was correct and he accepted it. 3. It is imperative that Believers believe in the unseen. What thetruthful Prophet ~ tells us of the unseen, we must believe in thatand regard as true. The story under discussion is an example of that.It is wholly a news of the unknown. The Holy Prophet ~ learnt itthrough wahy (revelation) and he passed it on to us. We mustbelieve in everything the Holy Prophet ~ tells us whether weencompass it or not with our limited understanding. However, the news of the unseen that other people give us is notreliable, for instance, what the sorcerers or astrologers say. It is notcorrect to believe in what they say. Similarly, it is wrong to rely onthe so-caled pirs, spiritualists and holy-men who claim forthemselves divine-nearness particularly when their behaviour goesagainst Shari'ah. 4. An important information we receive from the Hadith is thatthe Torah was written down forty years before the creation ofSayytdina Aadam ~~~ ~. Another important disclosure is that Allah had composed theTurah in His Own Hand (-that is as is worthy of Him). Both these things reflect on the excellence of Torah. Again theverse: O(S\"~'\"\"-4.::, ~:JI- ~r::, {And Aadam disobeyed his Lord so he erred.} It is in the Qur'an. It is a part of Torah too but the present copiesof the Book have dropped it. 5. The Hadith also teaches us that when two people differ on anopinion and debate on the issue then they must both describe eachother's good qualities so that the difference of opinion does not leadthem to hate each other. Sayyidina Musa~~~~ took care to describethe excellences of Sayyidina Aadam ~~~ ~ and, in his turn,Sayyidina Aadam ~~~ ~ remembered the merits of Sayyidina Musa~~~~.

Stories From the Hadith The Eighth Story The Case of Mu sa ~')C..J1 ~ And the StoneIntroductory Words . The Children of Isra'il are a people who have caused theProphets untold sufferings. They even killed a number of them.Their stubbornness is proverbial. The supplications of SayyidinaMusa ~'>U' \"-# earned them numerous benefits from Allah and therewere many occasions when his prayers got them relief from tryingcircumstances. In spite of that, some of their mischievous numbersdid not stop from causing hardship to Sayyidina Musa ~'>U' \"-#. Once,these people made it known that Musa ~\")I.W' \"-# had a disease on hisprivate parts and anyone who had it was called Adrah. Allah,however, decreed that this accusation should be refuted; hence, thefollowing incident took place.J\i :J\i ~ J'J1 ~~ ~;:~ ~i ~ :~ J 1$J~I ~JJ~:~ ok ·.... ~-~ ~ 1-;;. ,;. G ~-J. ~IS\".~·:..~~ :~;Jll 'J·~-JI..> \"\"... ....,-.... J• ......,. .... l..> J ~ ' - .... J- '' ..- ... ol~,....- o J~l ,o.a.! I LA!J Lo1J '../' _r.Lo!.,.,._~ ... o..-o ,~~ ~ ~ ~1.,..,.,(/~. , 1}\i .:Ji JJ1~Q ~) ,o~) t.~ ~ ~'j.J_ ~ ~r ~(} ' ~~J \"\" \"' .... ... .... ...~~ ~~ ~!J '~~y ~Q J! ~it_) ~ 'J·· :1,, ~ '~~ J:;. ' .... ' '~ o;;.rJ ,.JJ, JG:- ~ :;.,;.i u~--; o:,r; o~ ~; :G:.ti ,~p,~~) ,o~ u.? ?~ ~) ,~-. ;.li ~J:G:.ti ,~, ~\i) ,~')'~

Stories Frnm the Hadith~~~J ::Jj! ~l! ,W. ji ~ji ji uSU ,~~ )i:; 4:J ~4 ~~ .... ... ... ... \";u1 ~ '!.>~j111)i'J ~ 4.lJI oi;.i ~y j~T ::#~~ 1')~ ~ (~T ::#~1 <' ~ :...,.,1?\"~1) [~J .. , ... . ..... J. 0 -t 0 \"' ' ... 0 f..yAJ_ =~ ~~~ * ~; 'l.>~j ,~o J! ~ ~ ,a1jJ~:J,J_ =•!~~r! l.f-1 ~lS\" :Jli ,~~~ ~ ~~ y. o..l;.f ~~J?.; 0 , 00 ,, 0... ...... ..· •. \"::;... ....0 ...~~ ~:u ,~~' :Jr ~! ~ J.:. =~ ::,i ~; ~~ ~ ;u1j (,fill ,o~jc:f:J~~! J .?\"Y ,~:f; ~~ ~ ,~ ~ . ~Ji ~J! ,J-_ .=·~ ~~~;..~ ~'~J :(,fill '.?\"Y J1. ... ' ~~?' 'P 4'..F\"J :J~ ... S:.. :.. :.·Jr.~:__·::_Ju .... .... u\"\"..:..., ~ :..;,tu... .~.. ·.... ~JJ .•.. . ·J-Translation [Bukhari has transmitted the Hadith narrated by AbuHurayrah~JJ,..,..,J that the Messenger of Allah$ said: Musa was a very modest person who kept himself covered,none of his bod~ could be seen because of his extreme modesty.Some of the Bani Isra'il annoyed him by saying, \"He concealshimself to this extent only because of a defect in his skin, eitherleprosy or scrutal hernia, or some other defect,\" but Allahwished to clear him. So one day while he was alone, he took offhis clothes and put them under a stone and had a bath. When hehad finished having the bath he turned towards his clothes butthe stone took them and fled. Musa picked up his staff and ranafter the stone, saying, \"My garment, stone! My garment,stone!\" (He raced) till he ·reached a company of the Bani Isra'ilwho saw him naked in the most beautiful form Allah hadcreated so they cleared of what they used to accuse him. Thestone stopped there and Musa took his garment (and put themon). He began to beat the stone with his staff. By Allah, the stone still has some traces of the effect ofbeating, three; four or five scars. This is what to which Allah

Stories From the Hadithrefers when He said:e..,. 3T -., u T-.,' WI l ~~f.~~- -. ~I.J-• 0, .,J i.i;. ~ I~'·yJ ·--J<>~ I'.')-•J'-''> tii\"\" ll~'.~l,; , J tU 0:!_ : - o'~'·.~- J' ,<L\"'l.ll ~, ' 'u. l5\"\" J' I.'-yJf ,. lj{Oyou who believe! Be not likethosewhoanoyed Musa,but Alla:h cleared him of what they said, and he washonoured in Allah's sight.}< 1>] In another version of Bukhari, Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah ~Ju. JJ1 has quoted the Prophet~ as saying: [The Bani Jsra'il used to take bath in the nude (all together)looking at one another (shamelessly). Musar~~~ used to takebath alone (because of his modesty). They said, \"By Allah,nothing prevents Musa from taking a bath with us except thathe has a scrotal hernia (or some other disease). So, once Musawent to take a bath and put his clothes over a stone and thenthat stone ran away with his garment. Musa followed that stonesaying, \"My garment, 0 stone! My garment, 0 stone!\" Till theBani lsra'il saw him and said, \"By Allah, Musa has no defect onhis body.\" Musa picked up his garment and began to beat thestone. Abu Hurayrah added: By Allah! There are still six or sevenscars on the stone from that beating.f>(Bukhari, Book of Prophets and Book of Bath. Muslim, Book ofExcellencc-ExcellenceofMusa.)Explanation The truth was that it was the custom of the people of that timeto bathe in the nude at the well and they did not consider it to beimmodest. Sayyidina Musa ~~~ ~. however, did not follow thecustom and did not bathe naked. He followed the dictates ofShari'ah and modesty and he did not bathe in public. He was somodest that he did not uncover any portion of his body. The peopleread another meaning in this behaviour and publicised that he had adefect on his body which he did not like others to know. It was verypainful to Sayyidina Musa ~~~ ~ for it is the way of Allah that Henot only creates His .Prophets perfect in their spiritual life but Healso in their physical built. They have no physical disability or1 Al-Ahzab, 33: 69. Bukhari , 3404. 2 Bukhari, # 278.

Stories From the Hadithshortcoming. Thus, Allah decided to refute the Bani · Isra'il'saccusation and disclose the physical perfection and beauty of Musa~~~~. We have seen in the Hadith how this was done.When the stone flew with the garment of Sayyidina Musa~~~~with the command of Allah, he chased it until it stopped before agroup of the Bani Isra'il. They saw him naked and realised that hewas free from all the defects they had been claiming he hf:ld. Whenthe purpose was served the stone stopped. ·Musa ~~~ ~ claimed hisgarment and in a fit of anger and mental agony he released his staffon the stone so that it had scars on it. It is in reference to thisincident that the verse of the Qur'an was revealed:-u.15J- 1'-'~ ~!.... ili1 ~j~~--. ..'_ru,y'. J, 3T -U.:,!,JJlSI'' :Y,_~<~ IJ I' :-T -U.:,!,JJI'I~'.~lt- .Y ' ',y-0 ol~'-~-\"' -J.ll~'{0 you who believe! Be not like those who annoyed 'Musa, butAllah cleared him of what they said, and he was honoured inAllah's sight.} (AI-Ahzab,33: 69) Lessons and Messages 1: Allah does not tolerate that anyone should annoy HisProphets. He clears them immediately. Accordingly, He absolvedMusa~~~~ absolutely so that he should not be blamed again. That is why, He pointed out this incident and commanded theBelievers that they should not behave as those people who annoyedMusa ~~~~. In fact, in the verses preceding this one by twosections, Allah had instructed the Believers how they should conductthemselves with the Prophet if; and cautioned them that some oftheir actions were difficult for the Prophet$. Allah will not allow anyone to cause suffering to His Prophetsand if any foolish person would try to do that He would stop itimmediately. 2. It is not known for a stone to pick up clothes and fly away forit is lifeless and inanimate but everything is subject to the commandof Allah. It was, therefore, a demonstration of His perfect power andauthority. In the same way, it is through Allah's power that a wooden stickcaused scars on a stone. Stone is harder than wood and wood is

Stories From the Hadithliable to break if a stone is struck by it, and it leaves no mark on thestone. The truth is exactly as we have just said. The peculiarities ofeverything depend on the command of Allah. Fire burns but whenAllah ordered it, the fire turned cool for lbrahim ~')C..J1 ~- Again,poison kills man but it was panacea for Khalid bin Walid u. J.l1 ~;when he drank a bowl of it. It is the characteristic of water that itdrowns, but a whole army of the Companions marched over theDaj/ah (Tigris) on horseback and reached the other side. Hence, peculiarities of different things are also subject to thecommand of Allah and He sometimes demonstrates theextraordinary so that the forgetful ·and unheeding man may put insome thought 3. We learn from this Hadith that even the Prophet r')C..J1 ~ arenot safe from the distressing attitude of foolish people. The.re islesson in it for those engaged in religious preaching that differentpeople annoy them. They must show patience, for that is the onlycourse left to them and their ranks would be raised ·on that account. 4. The Holy Prophets !'')C..J1 ~ are a perfect example for theirpeople in every respect, manners, habits, social conduct, belief andworship. Allah makes them perfect in their unseen character as wellas their outward self. They have a beautiful character and ahandsome appearance. People are attracted to them and are inclinedto listen to them. As for Musa r~~ 4)s., Allah spoke highly of hispersonality as we have seen. Thus, Shari'ah also calls for the apparent personality and thoseresponsible for religious teaching and preaching should pay attentionto their outward respectability so that worldly people are inclinedtowards them and tend to listen to them. However, this respectabilityis not dependant on make-up but is a natural gift from Allah. It iscommon observation that Allah awards the noble Ulama perfectionin their inward spiritual life as also in their outward personality. Therefore, it is proper and praiseworthy for man to use availablemodes to enhance outward upkeep. Numerous Ahadith of the Holy 0Prophet$, both oral and practical, exhort us to adopt such means. 5. Sometimes, respectable people of an imposing personalityalso have to encounter situations beyond their power when they are

Stories From the Hadithcompelled to act in an unbecoming manner. Musa r'.>C.J' 4s- too wascompelled by situation to behave in a way not compatible with hisimposing outward personality and great inward character, of course,there is tremendous wisdom and reasoning concealed in such a caseas we saw in the example of Musai\"'.>C.J'4s-.

Stories From the Hadith The Ninth StoryMusa ~')(.J1 ~ and the Angel of DeathFirst Words The Prophet Musa~~~~ was a man of quick-temper. He was amajestic, awe-inspiring, wrathful person. The Prophets had thestrength of the men of Paradise. He had given but one blow to thecoopt (Qutbi) and that man died. We can imagine how quick-temperhe was from his striking his staff on the stone. When the angel ofdeath came to take away his soul and took his permission, hedemonstrated supreme majesty and the hand of Musa r~' ~ gavethe angel-in-human-form a black eye. The Holy Prophet $ describes this amazing incident in thismanner:~)f :J\! ~ :JJ, ~) a;..'jA ~i ~ ~ 'J ~}~, ~!)0 J~ '&) '~ 0~G:- LJi '~~~ (,~~le. ~-;. J~ ~}Jl ~t.~ t;)l :J\!j '~ ~ JJ, ~) ,~JJl ~; 'J p. J! ~:l'<J)i Jill:J\! ,~ r~ ~ o~ ~ c.b ~~ill/} i-- J; o~ ~:AI~ ~:.4 ~i JJ, Jw ,~'J\i :J\! ,~JJ, ~ :J\! ~~~ ~ ~ 'YJ ~i. '~ ~ :,u 1/!1.;~~ 'J~j J\! :J\! '~ i;.J~jXJ, JP)\"ll ,' ' .~- • \"11 '~\" --~ ~' t-Y· -t~,, '~\"G'.-. J-,•o.'r..,! ·r.e<-:---~-:-J~ ' ' 'IJill ~~~ ~ ~-;. J~ ~JJl ~ ~b:- :~ ~ ~~J} 'Jj0i,lAtlii ~:;J1 ~1~ ;;;s, ~~~ ~ ~'J.. (thli :J\! ,~ :AI

Stories From the Hadith~;. ~ ~ p. J~ :.s-3-.)i ~! :Jw ,Jw .JJ, J! :&J, '&) :J~~ ~~ J~ t;)\ :J~J '~ ~~ Jl1 ~) :J\! '~ill ~J ,~j.JI~)(j; LJ ,)j ;:. ~ !J~ ~ ~~~ ~) ;- :s-- ::,~ s~) ~~~,\" ,... ,. \":J~ .~-;; ;.s :J~ ~4:. ;.s :J~ ,t:., ~ :r~ ~~ r~ ~ !J~J\! '~ ~) ~~~ ~j'-11 ~ ~i :J~ .y) ~~ ~ ~~~~ ~f'' ~~ J~ o;.i ~:,'-1 ,o~:; '} JJ1) :~;~1 'J~:, --.~\"'-1,.1~1Translation [Sayyidina Abu Hurayrah 4.;S. JJ1 ~J said: The angel ofdeath was sent to Musa ~-;.:.J1 4.#. When he came to him, Musaslapped him (and knocked out his eye). The angel returned tohis Lord and said, \"You have sent me to a slave who does notwant to die.\" Allah (restored his eye_ and) said, \"Return to himand tell him to put his hand on the back of an ox and for everyhair that will come under it, he will be granted one year of life.\"Musa asked, \"0 Lord! What will happen after that?\" Allahreplied, \"Then death.\" Musa said, \"Let it come now.\" Musathen requested Allah to let him die close to the Sacred Land somuch so that he would be at a stone's throw distance.\" (AbuHurayrah added:) Allah's Messenger 3 said, \"If I were there, Iwould show you his grave below the red sandhill on the side ofthe road.\"] (This is the version ofBukhari)The version in Muslim is: [Abu Hurayrah ~ J.11 ..sJ'J reported the Messenger of Allahlf; as saying, that the Angel of Death came to Musa and said,\"Respond (to the call) of Allah (that is, be prepared for death).\"Musa gave a blow at the eye of the Angel of Death and knockedit out. The Angel went back to Allah and said, \"You sent me toYour servant who does not like to die and he knocked out myeye.\" Allah restored his eye to its proper place (and revived hiseyesight) and said, \"Go to My servant and say, 'Do you wantlife? And in case you want life, keep· your hand on the body of

Stories From the Hadith ============== 92 the ox and you would live such number of years as the (number of) hair your hand covers'.\" He said, \"What, then?\" He said, \"Then you would die\", whereupon Musa said. \"Then why not now?\" (He then prayed), \"Allah cause me to die close to the sacred land.\" The Messenger of Allah added, \"Had I been near that place I would have shown his grave by the side of the path at the red mound.\"] (Bukhari: Kitab AI-Janaiz, Hadith # 1339. Muslim: Kitah AI-Fadail. Hadith# 5851, 5852)Explanation This Hadith of the Holy Prophet$ informs us that before Hegives them death, Alla..1. offers His Prophets choice between deathand life. This is because of their distinction and honour. Some Ahadith tell us that Sayyidah Ayshah ~ .JJ, ~) said thatthe Messenger of Allah $ was also given the choice and hepreferred to meet the highest companions. He said: ~~~IJJ}I~i \"0 Allah, near the highest and best companions.\" These were the last words of the pure life and then the soultravelled to the higher world; ~~ ~J ~~;.~ ~ ~:t.~ w-- ~ ~~ ~J ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~)4 w-- ~ ~~ ~J ~ ~ ~14 ~~ ·~ :(_~ ~! ~(;.! ·~ . ~~ ~ .~' ~• ·~' ~. ~',.;!J~---I~~~-J~' .l,\";!~\~:.. 0 Allah! Bless him and give him peace. Anyway, when Allah sent the angel of death to Sayyidina Musar\")(:.J' ~. He sent him in human form; The Angel of Death 'Izra'il ~r\")(:.J', said to him, \"Answer willingly the summons of your Lord!\"This was, in fact, the sounding of the approach of the appointedtime. As we have seen, Musa r~' ~ was of a quick temper and onhearing this, he slapped the angel and knocked out his huinan eye. Sayyidina 'Izra'il r~' ~ was in a human form so he had humancharacteristics in him and that is why Musa r\")(:.J' ~ wa5 able to slaphim. AllaJ:l has bestowed the Prophet r\")(:.J' ~ with the power andability of men of Paradise, but if the angel of death had come in hisown form, Musa r~' ~ would not have been able to slap him.

Stories From the Hadith = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = 93'Izra'il ~u' .ys went to Allah and complained that the slave towhom He had sent him was unwilling to die. Allah instructed him to return to Musa ~u' .ys and give him thechoice between death and life. If he wished to live he may place hishand on the back of an ox and the number of hair he can enclosewithin his grasp would represent the number of years of his life. But,Musa ~u' .ys asked Allah, \"My Lord! What will happen after thosemany years?\" He was told that he would get death after those years.(That is the end of every living soul.) Musa~u'-Ys commented that ifdeath was the end anyway then why delay it. \"My Lord, I amprepared now! But, my desire is that death comes to me near thesacred land (Bayt Al-Maqdis).\" Allah let him have his desire. The Messenger of Allah $ said, \"If I was there, I would haveshown you his grave which lies near the red mound.\" Although he got a choice. Musa~u1.ys chose to die. He thoughtdeath would strike sooner or later, then why refuse to die when theangel had come. He would be saved the difficulties of life and wouldbe honoured with meeting Allah. While the souls of the martyrs flyin Paradise as green birds, those of the Prophets would certainlyenjoy more nearness to Allah. -o,.. J )LJ:,J o ~ ., J o l'I ~ 8ljp. ~J:?.{And certainly the Hereafter is better for you than the present.}(Ad-Duha, 93:4) Lessons and Messages 1. We learn of the greatness and respect enjoyed by the Prophets~u' ~· Allah lets them know before their death by offering themchoice between death and life. 2. The angels take up human form by the Will of Allah. Whenthey are in human form the angels get the human characteristics too.That is why the angel lost his eye when Musa ~u' .ys slapped himotherwise a human being is not strong enough to slap an angel. 3. We also learn from the Hadith that it is proper for a man todesire and supplicate Allah to cause him to die at a sacred place.Musa ru'-Ys had wished to die at the sacred land. On this basis, it isalso proper to wish and pray for death at an auspicious moment or

Stories From the Hadith ============== 94during blessed days. Thus, a person may pray that he die during Ramadan or on aFriday. However, only that will happen what Allah chooses. It must also be understood that if a man dies at a sacred place oron an auspicious moment or during blessed days it does not followthat he will receive salvation. That depends merely on deeds andtheir .acceptance by Allah. It is true, however, that man may receivethe blessings of a sacred place or an auspicious moment or days. ButAllah knows best!

Stories From the Hadith The Tenth Story The Old Woman of the Bani Isra'ilFirst Words If Allah causes some people to think of the Hereafter then theyspend every moment of their lives in trying to improve their chancesof a better life in that world and to have a companionship ofhonourable people there. Among such people was the old woman of the Bani Israil whomAllah had granted a long life. She used that blessing to better herfuture life. She did not waste .this opportunity. Musa~\")(.Jt-.,Js. asked her to show him the grave of Yusufr\")(.J'-.,~s- sothat when he took the Bani Isra'il away from Egypt, he could carryaway his corpse too. The old woman refused to oblige him unless hepromised her his company in Paradise. Allah granted her this wish.Brave people have their eyes on high targets. Among such bravepeople were the Companions ~ .JJ, ~) of the Holy Prophet ~ andnotable among them was Ukkasha bin Mihsan ;.;s. .JJ, ~)· He did notmiss the opportunity when the Holy Prophet~ revealed to hisCompanions that there would be seventy thousand such piouspeople who would go to Paradise directly without reckoning of anysort. This notable Companion got up eagerly and pleaded with hisbeloved Prophet~ , \"Messenger of Allah! Pray to Allah that I be oneof them!\" The Prophet ~ supplicated for him and gave him gladtidings that he would be one of those. Their faces would be brilliant,luminous, free from unpleasantness. Jy ~i .JJ, J~j 4Ji :~J.. ~i:; ~)2.. '. 'J ~w1 !.?!j a1u ,.JJ, ;J~j ~ :Jl! <~~~ ~ ~~~i ~> :.u J~ M ;-t~ ~'.r4

Stories From the Hadith .::;;; 4l\i ,~t ~ ~rJ ,~~(~(~~:;. }~ ~ b~ ~i ~~i) :~; .JJ, 'J~) ~ J~ ~~~~~:;,)~ L.j ,JJ, J~) 4:~~iJ~4J J~ cj.}=JI ~ ~ti ~~~~ ~ ; ,,!~i ~l)i ~Y ~i) :J\i~ IJI 41JI Jilyo ~ ~I y.. IJI ~~ ~ c~lr\"~ ,_p. ~~0 ~ ~\"\" 0 ... \"\" .... ... \"\" \"\". ... .,. ... J. • ,. :; ., \"\" , , ... J J 0 \"\" \"\" 0 ... 0 0 \"\" J - .... .... ' ._Q...,~~-;;J:;i~/-4(.S:lJ :J\i,~A:o~~~~~~~~~ ~)ti '~~~~:;. j~ ~~ ~-; ') :;; ~!JJ (. :(~\i'J ~ b}S1 ~ JJi ~ Jllj ~ :~~ -~fi;; ~ :;r~ :J~\A~ti ~ ~i :;J ~ ~\i (. Jll 'J~) 0J\"J :J\i .~1l)pl :~\i oj>,; LJi ~WII~ 1j~'ai1 :~~ (~~ ::.Jti ~~ ~)=111~~ ~)'i1 ~ \AJlli LJi ,~fir~~~~ lj~ Lj; c4A ·J~I'f'.J;PTranslation [Hakim has transmitted in Mustadrak that Abu MusaAl-Ash'ari has narrated that the Messenger of Allah 3 oncevisited an A'rabi, a villager. He received him very well andrespected the Prophet 3 very much. The Prophet 3 was veryhappy and said to him, \"0 A 'rabi ask what you want!\" He said,\"Messenger of Allah, a she-camel with her saddle and a fewsheep whose milk should satisfy my family members.\" He madethis request twice. The Messenger of Allah ~ said, \"Was it not possible foryou to ask me as the old woman of the Bani Isra'il did askMusa?\" The Companions~ JJt ~J asked him, \"0 Messenger ofAllah! What is the story ofthe old woman of the Bani Isra'il?\" He said to them, \"Musa r~' ~ decided to emigrate withthe Bani Isra'il but he got lost on the way. So, their educatedpeople said to him, \"We tell you that Yusufr~' ~ had got ourancestors to promise that we• would not go away from Egypt

Stories From the Hadith unless we took his bones away with us. Perhaps, we are lost because we have not fulfilled the promise.\" Musa~\":W~~ asked them which of them could point out his grave. They said that none apart from an old woman of the Bani lsra'il could point out the grave. Musa r-:W' ~ sent a messenger to fetch her and requested her to guide them to the grave of Yusufr-:W'~· She said, \"No, by Allah, no! I will never do that unless (you promise me that) I live with you in Paradise.\" Musa r-:W' ~did not like what-she said. However, he was told in a wahy that he should promise her what she wanted and he accepted her demand. The old woman took them to a small pond and said to them, \"Take out this water!\" When the water was pumped out, she said, \"Dig here!\" When they had dug out the earth, they found the bones of Yusuf r\":W' ~ inside. Then they continued their exile with the bones of Yusuf with them. The path was clear to them shining like day-light] (Hakim in Mustadrak2/644)Explanation Why did the Prophet ~ narrate this story to his Companions?The reason is explained in the commencing portion of the Hadith.The Prophet$ stayed with a villager during an expedition with hisCompanions~ JJ, ~). and he gave them a very exceptionalreception. The Prophet 1:f; pursued his noraml principle .:.n. -';i'•'?-,:n.-';il.!, \"The reward of goodn~ss is with goodness.\" Hence, he said tohim that if he had any need, he may ask for it. But the villager was a very simple man, not very intelligent. Hedid not think beyond his physical needs. He did not realise that oneshould ask in keeping with the stature of the person asked, notaccording to one's own standard. It was not asking too much of theHoly Prophet ~ if he asked him to solve his livelihood problems.The fellow asked according to his own perspective-a she-camel,with saddle to ride, a few sheep to provide milk to his family. Hisproblems were thus solved. The Prophet ~ did not like it. He thought that the man's

Stories From the Hadith =============== 98demands were petty. He could not even do as the old woman of theBani lsra'il. He should have asked in keeping with what the Prophet~ should have been asked. The Companions ~ JJ, ~J did not lose a moment to ask himabout the old woman of Bani Isra'il. This is the gist of what the Holy Prophet ~ related to them:Sayyidina Musa ~')C.J' 4# took the Bani Isra'il with him while leavingEgypt after Fir'awn had drowned but they lost the way. The scholarsand the educated people among them reminded Musa r')C.J' 4# thatSayyidina Yusufr')C.J' 4# had made their ancestors promise that theywould carry his dead body away with them if they ever emigratedfrom Egypt. They thought that they might have lost their waybecause of forgetting to take his remains with them. Sayyidina Musa r')C.J' 4# enquired if any of them knew where thegrave was but they said that none of them knew that except an oldlady who knew where it was. So, Musa r')C.J' 4# asked that they maybring her to him. He requested her, \"Show me where the grave of· Yusuff.)(..J14# is?\" The woman found for herself an opportunity to get from theProphet what she m~st cherished. She offered to show him the graveon condition that he promise her that she would have his company inParadise. Her standard was very high. She asked according to whatbehove the giver, the Prophet. , Sayyidina Musa r')C.J' 4# did not like her attitude. She should nothave asked in that f!lanner. Besides, what she had asked was notwithin his powers. Nevertheless, Allah Commanded him through a revelation thathe should concede to the old woman's demand. Accordingly, heagreed to her condition and she took him to the grave of Yusuf 4#r')C.J'. It was at a pond that she took them and asked them to draw outthe water and dig up the earth. They found Yusuf's r')C.J' 4# remainsthere in. They carried them along and found their path bright andshining as if it was day-time. Lessorls and lVlessages 1. We learn from the Hadith that man should aim high and

Stories From the Hadiihcherish the best. The Prophet~ said, \"Was it not possible for you toask as the old woman of the Bani Isra'il did?\" (Instead of worldlybenefits, you should have wished for the good of the Hereafter.) 2. The Hadith tells us many things of the Bani Isra'il: The promise that Sayyidina Yusuf ~~~ -.# had extracted fromthem. The Qur'an does not mention it but some editions of the Torahspeak of it. We find in Genesis 50: 25, \"Then Joseph asked his people to make a vow. 'Promise me', he said, 'that when God leads you to that land, you will take my body with you'.\" Also, in Exodus, 13: 19, \"Moses took the body of Joseph with him, as Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly promise to do. Joseph had said, 'when God rescues you, you must carry my body with you from this place'.\" The Prophet ~ mentioned this promise and confirmed some ofthe narrations of Torah. We also learn that Allah had preserved the grave of SayyidinaYusuf~~'-.# by concealing it in water. 3. Sometimes Allah warns and cautions a people through somebottlenecks when they forget an undertaking. The Bani Isra'il werethus reminded by making them use their way because they hadforgotten their promise to Yusufr~'-.#. 4: We also learn that succeeding generations are bound by thepromise by their ancestors to Prophets concerning future . Theundertaking of the Bani Isra'il to Yusufr~' ..;s. was binding on thefuture generation of Bani Isra'il. The Prophet 3 got his Companionsto swear allegiance which was binding on them as well as theirfuture generations.

Stories From the Hadith The Eleventh StorySamiri..... Worshipper of the CalfFirst Words .After Musa r')(.J' ~ had gone ·to Mount Tur, Samiri moulded outof golden jewellery a calf. Then he put into it the earth that wasbeneath the hoof of Jibril's .r')(.J' 4# horse so that it began to breathe.His people then · worshipped the calf The Qur'an has narrated thisincident, in brief at some occasions but in detail at some others. ThisHadith describes yet other details of this incident.~ LJ :Jli ~ Jl1 ~J Js- y. ~J~ J ~WI ~JJr :.-w. z.)~.- ').,li J''~ ,.'r.YJ'~1~ .·\" I~~..J, ~. ~ ~ '~\" ~ ~ Wl -- '!$,l£ ~ ~;. ~~~ ~Y. \"J a'?:a' Jli ~ ,~ ~~ ,~,~~~i ~-.; ~ :t))\A ~ J~ ,~-; :J~) ~l'lA ,~rw' ;.iJ J~~) ,~,~~ :;, J! ~-; &~ ~i Wi ~G '~) ~) ~~~-; J~ ~J~ ~ :t:,';A 41 J~ ,~r~i ~ ~i ~rw' ~i41~ s;../)' Ji ~ a-,..:i :- -h:J =~~w' J~ ~~ ~ =~~w. .... \"\"' \"\"' \"\" .~J_CJ~~IiS\")Js. jA) ,~ o~;.l ~;>t.;J' ~ ~; ~~ J! ~-; :4J =J~y ;'11 ~~ ~~~ ~~IS'~ s-WI ~~ :; l;..i (J ,~ ~~ ~ :J~ ~~--; ~ :~~ ()~ ,~:u, ~ ~J :L'~ :; J~ '1) oG:.rJ o4i ~ ~)' ~ ,:;?lS:.:J, ,:,~\! ,I'~!

Stories From the Hadith~~i ~~:.J! ~:; ~-; J~ .JJ, ._rju ,wi ~y;.;_. ~ e:!' J;J? ... \"' J .,.... 0 ~ 0 .... J. 0 ....... 0 \"' ... ·~rJAJS-~J'J3i~~p.W\"\" .... 0 ,..Translation [Hakim has transmitted in Mustadrak the narration ofSayyidina Ali ~ .JJ,.s\")· He said: After Musa r'}(.J' ~ had gone to his Lord, Samiri (asorcerer) decided (to mould a calf). He collected all thejewellery he could from the Bani Isra'il. He moulded thejewellery into the form of a calf. He then put into its hollow ahandful of dust so that it began to make sounds (like a calf withlite); he said to the Bani Isra'il, \"This is your god and the god ofMusa.\" Sayyiqina Harun r'}(.J' ~ said to them, \"0 my people, hasnot your Lord given .you a good promise?\" When Mlisa returned to. them and found that Samiri hadmisled them already, (in anger) he held the hair of-his brother(Harun). Harun told him what he had to say. Then Musa said toSamiri, \"How does it fare with you?\" (why did you do it?) Hesaid, \"I had seized a handful of dust from the footprints of theMessenger (Jibril r\"J,:..l' ~) and I put it into this calf. This seemed ·good to my mind.\" Musa ·took the calf and peeled it with a carpenter's plane.He was at the banks of a river when he was doing it (so that\" thepeelings fell into the river). Thus, whoever of the. worshippersof the calf drank the water of the river had his face turn intogolden colour. Then they asked Musa how they should repent? Musa r'}(.J' ~ said, \"Kill one another.\" So, they picked upknives and they began to stab one another. Someone stabbedhis father, another person stabbed his brother, withoutconsidering whom they killed. In this way they kiUed seventythousand of thems~lves. Allah ~hen Commanded Musa r'}(.J' ~ through a revelationthat they should cease (the killing). He said, \"I have forgiven .those who have been killed and accepted the repentance of therest. \"](Hakim in Mustadrak,2/412)