| 2 Bukhari hadiths


84
It was narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was asked during his Hajj: I slaughtered my sacrifice before stoning the Jamrah, and he gestured with his hand as if to say, There is no problem. Another person said: I shaved my head before slaughtering my sacrifice, and he gestured with his hand as if to say, There is no problem..

Commentary : The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) performed the Farewell Pilgrimage at the end of his life, in 10 AH. During this Hajj, he explained to the people their rituals and the rulings of Hajj, and what was permissible and what was forbidden of both words and deeds during the pilgrimage.
In this hadith, ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that during his Farewell Pilgrimage, when he was near the Jamrah after the sun had passed its zenith on the Day of Sacrifice, as narrated by al-Bukhari, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was asked questions. On this great occasion, amidst this great crowd, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) halted so that the pilgrims could ask him questions about what they needed to know of the rulings of Hajj. That included a man who made a mistake and forgot, so he did not do the rituals in the proper order, as he slaughtered his sacrifice before stoning Jamrat al-‘Aqabah. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) responded with a gesture to indicate that he approved of what he had done, or he made a gesture and said to him, “There is no problem,” so there is no sin on you and you do not have to offer a compensatory sacrifice. Someone else asked him about his having shaved his head before slaughtering the sacrifice, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) responded with a gesture to indicate that he approved of what he had done, or he made a gesture and said to him, “There is no problem,” so you have nothing to worry about and you do not have to offer a compensatory sacrifice for doing one action before another, or delaying it.
This was by way of making things easy for people, because the time of Hajj is a time of hardship, in which people encounter many difficulties and there are many necessary things that are required of the pilgrim, which may force people to do many things without following the proper order. So the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not insist that people do things in a particular order, for what matters is doing the actions of Hajj, even though it is preferable to follow his example and Sunnah in the manner he told people to do them, as was narrated from him..

85
It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Knowledge will be taken away, and ignorance and tribulations will prevail, and there will be a great deal of harj.” It was said: O Messenger of Allah, what is harj? He gestured like that with his hand, tilting it, as if he meant killing..

Commentary : No one knows exactly when the Hour will begin except Allah (may He be glorified and exalted), for He has kept that knowledge to Himself.
Nevertheless, He has ordained some signs of its approach, to alert the Muslim so that he may strive to prepare for that momentous Day.
In this hadith, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) tells us that one of the signs of the approach of the Hour is that beneficial knowledge that is accompanied by righteous deeds will be taken away, and will disappear from the earth with the death of its people. It will be reduced by their death but will not be erased from people’s hearts. Then the people will follow ignorant leaders who will speak about religious issues on the basis of their own personal views, and they will issue fatwas that are based on ignorance. Thus ignorance will prevail and spread among the people, and tribulations, disputes and division will become widespread; that will result in no one having fear of Allah in their hearts, and there will be a great deal of “harj.” When the people asked what harj meant, the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) made a gesture with his hand, from which it could be understood that the word referred to killing and unlawful bloodshed. This explanation is clearly mentioned in al-Sahihayn, where it says: They said: O Messenger of Allah, what is that? He said: “Killing, killing.” What is meant is that there would be tribulations and disputes, and that will be the cause of a great deal of killing among the Muslims, as is mentioned in a report narrated by Ibn Majah from Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him), in which it says that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “It will not be as a result of the polytheists killing the Muslims; rather you will kill one another, to the extent that a man will kill his neighbour, his cousin and his relative.”
This hadith indicates that Allah (may He be exalted) has already decreed that the ruin of life on earth will come once mischief and corruption become prevalent and widespread.
It also indicates that we are urged to acquire knowledge, for it will not be taken away except through the death of knowledgeable people.
This hadith is one of the signs of the prophethood of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)..

86
It was narrated that Asma’ said: I came to ‘A’ishah when she was praying, and I said: What is the matter with the people? She pointed to the sky, and I saw that the people were standing in prayer. Then she said, Subhan-Allah. I said: Is it a sign? And she nodded to say yes. So I started to pray [with the people] until I nearly fainted, so I began to pour water on my head. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) praised and glorified Allah (may He be glorified and exalted), then he said: “There is nothing that had not been shown to me before but it was shown to me [just now] whilst I was standing in prayer, even Paradise and Hell. Then it was revealed to me that you will be tested in your graves, like or close to” – I [the narrator] do not know which word Asma’ said – “the trial of the Dajjal. It will be said: What do you know about this man? As for the believer or the one who had certain faith” – I do not know which word Asma’ said – “he will say: He is Muhammad the Messenger of Allah; he came to us with clear proofs and guidance, and we responded and followed him; he is Muhammad” – three times. “Then it will be said: Rest, benefitting from your righteous deeds. We knew that you believed with certainty in him. As for the hypocrite or the one who had doubts” – I do not know which word Asma’ said – “he will say: I do not know; I heard the people saying something, so I said it too.”.

Commentary : The trial of the grave is one of the greatest trials that a person will undergo. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) always sought refuge with Allah from it at the end of his prayer.
In this hadith, Asma’ bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates that she went to the house of her sister ‘A’ishah, the Mother of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with her), and she found her praying, following the prayer of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in his mosque, as the houses of the Mothers of the Believers (may Allah be pleased with them) were attached to the mosque of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as is well known. Asma’ asked her, whilst she was praying, why the people were so scared and were praying at this time, which was not the time of the obligatory prayer. ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) responded to her as she was praying with a gesture, pointing towards the sky, as if she wanted to make her understand that the sign of a solar eclipse in the sky was the reason for this fear and this prayer. Thus Asma’ realized that this was a sign of the might and power of Allah (may He be glorified), so she joined the people in prayer and offered a lengthy prayer with them, until she got tired and signs of exhaustion appeared on her, to the extent that she poured water on her head to revive herself and so that she would not faint. That was because the eclipse prayer is two rak‘ahs, in each of which there are two bowings (ruku‘) and two recitations, and the imam makes each recitation and bowing very long, with the bowing as long as the recitation. This lengthy procedure may be exhausting for some, but it is by way of beseeching Allah and humbling oneself before Him, so that He will relieve the people of this calamity and distress.
Then when the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) had finished the prayer, he addressed the people. He began by praising and glorifying Allah as He deserves, then he told the people that there was nothing that he had not seen before but he saw it whilst standing in this prayer, and he looked at it, even Paradise and Hell. He saw them both and they were both visible and displayed before him. He began to describe what he had seen, and told the people that Allah had revealed to him the trial of the grave, in which people will be questioned by the two angels. This is something very difficult, almost as difficult as the trial of the Dajjal, and the trial of the Dajjal is one of the greatest and most dangerous of trials and tribulations. The word Dajjal comes from a root meaning to cover; he is so called because he will cover the truth with his falsehood. He will be a human being, and his emergence will be one of the major signs of the Day of Resurrection. Allah will test His slaves by means of him, and He will enable him to do some things that only Allah (may He be exalted) can do, such as bringing back to life a dead person whom he killed, or bringing about prosperity and abundance in this world. He will have with him his paradise and his hell, and his two rivers, and the treasures of the earth will follow him; he will order the sky to send down rain and it will do so, and he will order the earth to bring forth vegetation and it will do so. All of that will happen by the will and decree of Allah (may He be exalted).
The trial of which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) warned us will happen when a person is questioned in his grave: What do you know about this man? This is referring to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him). The response of the believer or the one who had certain faith will be: he is Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, who came to us with clear proofs and guidance, and we responded and followed him. He will say that three times, as Allah will make him steadfast with the word that stands firm and will inspire him to give the right answer. The angels will affirm that what he says is correct, and will give him the glad tidings of rest and being spared suffering, and they will say to him: “Rest, benefitting from your righteous deeds. We knew that you believed with certainty in him.”
As for the hypocrite, or the one who doubted and was hesitant, he will say I do not know, I am not certain, but I heard the people saying something in the former world, so I said it too. So I was not certain that he was a Prophet; rather I went along with what the people said outwardly. He will be in a state of wretchedness and punishment, the opposite of the believer.
This hadith affirms that the believer, the hypocrite and the disbeliever will be questioned in the grave.
It indicates that Paradise and Hell are already created and they exist at present.
It also confirms the emergence and trial of the Dajjal.
It indicates that perfect faith and perfect knowledge is the knowledge of Allah and His Messenger, and knowing the proof for that.
It indicates that women may attend the eclipse prayer in congregation in the mosques.
It indicates that it is prescribed for the one who is praying to listen to what he is told by someone who is not praying.
It indicates that one who is praying may gesture with his hand and head to the one who asks him one thing after another.
It indicates that it is prescribed to pray and beseech Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) when natural phenomena occur, such as solar and lunar eclipses, and earthquakes. .

87
It was narrated that Abu Jamrah said: I used to translate between Ibn ‘Abbas and the people. He said: The delegation of ‘Abdul Qays came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and he said: “Who are the delegation – or who are the people?” They said: [The tribe of] Rabi‘ah. He said: “Welcome to the people – or the delegation. You have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to regret.” They said: We have come to you from afar, for between us and you there is this tribe of the disbelievers of Mudar, and we cannot come to you except in the sacred month. Tell us something that we can tell to those whom we left behind, by means of which we may enter Paradise. He commanded them to do four things, and forbade to them four things. He commanded them to believe in Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) alone. He said: “Do you know what believing in Allah alone means?” They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. He said: “Testifying that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.” [And he commanded them] to establish prayer, give zakah and fast Ramadan, and to give one fifth of the war booty. And he forbade them to use gourds, glazed pitchers, and varnished jars. Shu’bah said: And perhaps he said hollowed-out stumps. And he said: “Memorize them [these rulings] and tell them to those you left behind.”.

Commentary : 103090.

88
It was narrated from ‘Uqbah ibn al-Harith that he married a daughter of Abu Ihab ibn ‘Aziz. A woman came to him and said: I breast-fed ‘Uqbah and the woman whom he married. ‘Uqbah said to her: I do not know that you breast-fed me, as you never told me that before. Then he sent word to the family of Abu Ihab to ask of them, and they said: We do not know that she breast-fed our daughter. He travelled to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Madinah and asked him, and the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “How [could you do that] after what was said?” So he left her, and she married someone else..

Commentary : When a woman breast-feeds a child who is not hers, that results in some Islamic rulings, and what becomes mahram (forbidden for marriage) through breastfeeding is that which becomes mahram through blood ties.
In this hadith, ‘Uqbah ibn al-Harith (may Allah be pleased with him) tells us that he married the daughter of Abu Ihab ibn ‘Aziz, whose name was Ghaniyyah and her kunya was Umm Yahya. Then a woman who was a wet-nurse came to him and told him that she had breast-fed him and the woman whom he had married; in other words, the woman whom he had married was his foster sister, because she had breast-fed both of them. ‘Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him) responded by saying: I do not know that you breast-fed me, giving the excuse that he knew nothing about that, or he denied that she had breast-fed him in the first place, as if he was accusing her of lying. ‘Uqbah also sent word to the family of Abu Ihab to ask them about that, and they said: We are not aware that she breast-fed our daughter. So they also denied that the woman who was making this claim had breast-fed the wife. In order to find out what he should do, ‘Uqbah rode from Makkah, because that was where he lived, and he went to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) in Madinah, to ask him about the matter. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) replied “How [could you do that] after what was said?”  In other words, how could you be intimate with her when it was said that she is your foster sister? That is not appropriate for a man of dignity and piety. So he separated them, in order to avoid falling into a dubious matter, or because his marriage was invalid, because the wet-nurse had affirmed that she had breast-fed both of them, although ‘Uqbah denied it. So the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) accepted her word and ordered ‘Uqbah to separate from his wife, and she married someone else.
This hadith indicates that we should avoid dubious matters.
It also indicates that one who does not know about a matter cannot have any argument against the one who does know it.
It also highlights the keenness of the Sahabah to seek knowledge, and their commitment to that which would bring them closer to Allah (may He be exalted)..