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Monday, July 14, 2014

SEEKING BLESSINGS FROM PROPHET (S), THE RIGHTEOUS & THEIR RELICS - Part 5:

From the Layman’s Desk: Islamic Article No.16: ISLAMIC BARAKA, Part 5:

In the Name of Allah, Most Beneficient, Most Merciful. 

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds, and blessings and peace of Allah upon His Prophet and Messenger Muhammad (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam), his Family and all his Companions.

Tabarruk with the Prophet's (sal Allahu Alayhi wasallam) Hair and Nails: 

There are very many hadiths on this.  Bukhari narrates in his Sahih in the Book of Clothing, under the chapter entitled "What is mentioned about gray hair," that `Usman ibn `Abd Allah ibn Mawhab said: "My family sent me to Umm Salama with a cup of water. Umm Salama brought out a silver bottle which contained one of the hairs of the Prophet, and it used to be that if anyone came under the evil eye or ill health they used to send her a cup of water through which she would pass this hair (for drinking). We used to look into the silver bottle: I saw some reddish hairs."

Uthman bin ‘Abdullah bin Mauhab said, “My people sent me with a bowl of water to Um Salama Radiyallaaho T`aalaa A`nhaa.” Isra’il approximated three fingers (‘indicating the small size of the container in which there was some hair of the Prophet sal Allaho alayhi wasallam. ’Uthman ® added, “If any person suffered from evil eye or some other disease, he would send a vessel (containing water) to Um Salama ®.  I looked into the container (that held the hair of the Prophet sal Allaho alayhi wasallam  and saw a few red hair in it.”  (Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 72, Number 784)

Anas said: "When the Prophet shaved his head (after pilgrimage), Abu Talha was the first one to take of his hair."[ Bukhari].

Anas also said: "The Prophet threw stones at al-Jamra, then sacrificed, then told the barber to shave his head right side first, then began to give the hair away to the people."[ Muslim].
He said: "Talha was the one distributing it." [Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud].

He also said: "When the Prophet shaved his head in Mina, he gave me the hair from the right side and he said: Anas! take it to Umm Sulaym [his mother]. When the Companions saw what the Prophet gave us, they began to compete to take the hair from the left side, and everyone was getting a share from that." [Ahmad narrated it].

Ibn al-Sakan narrated through Safwan ibn Hubayra from the latter's father: Thabit al-Bunani said: Anas ibn Malik said to me (on his death-bed): "This is one of the hairs of Allah's Messenger, Allah's blessings and peace upon him. I want you to place it under my tongue." Thabit continued: I placed it under his tongue, and he was buried with it under his tongue."

Abu Bakr said: "I saw Khalid [ibn Walid] asking for the Prophet's forelock and he received it. He used to put it over his eyes and then kiss it." It is known that he then placed it in his qalansuwa (head cover around which the turban is tied) and never faced battle again except he won. 

Al-Waqidi (Maghazi), Ibn Hajar (Isaba). Ibn Abi Zayd al-Qayrawani relates that Imam Malik said: "Khalid ibn al-Walid owned a qalansiyya which contained some of the Prophet's hair, and that is the one he wore the day of the battle of Yarmuk.

Al-Bayhaqi too narrates in his book Dala'il anNubuwwah. He narrated, with a sahih (A Sahih hadith is one of the two types of hadith that can be relied upon in deducing judgments. The other type is the hasan hadith.) chain that Khalid Ibn al-Walid lost a headgear (qalansuwah) he wore during the Battle of al-Yarmuk. He asked the people to help him find it and they searched repeatedly until it was found. They saw it was a very old qalansuwah and thought it strange that Khalid Ibn alWalid was so insistent on finding it. Khalid Ibn alWalid told them: "The Prophet performed Umrah and then shaved his head. I rushed with the people to get some of his hair. I got some of the hair from the front part of his head which I put in this qalansuwah. Every time I went into battle with this qalansuwah, Allah gave me victory."

Note: Nobody told Khalid ibn Walid ® to put the blessed hairs in his hat. He did this from his own accord. 

Ibn Sirin (one of the tabi`in) said: "One hair of the Prophet in my possession is more precious to me than silver and gold and everything that is on the earth and everything that is inside it." [Bukhari, Bayhaqi (Sunan kubra), and Ahmad].

Hafiz Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari, Volume 10, page 353, said: "They used to call the silver bottle in which the hair of the Prophet was kept jiljalan and that bottle was in the home of Umm Salama." 

Hafiz al-`Ayni said in `Umdat al-Qari, Volume 18, page 79: "Umm Salama had some of the hairs of the Prophet in a silver bottle. When some people got ill, they would go and obtain blessings from these hairs and they would be healed by means of their blessings. If a person were struck by the evil eye or any sickness, he would send his wife to Umm Salama with a mikhdaba or water-pail, and she would pass the hair through that water and then drink the water and he would be healed, after which they would return the hair to the jiljal."

Imam Ahmad narrates in his Musnad (4:42) from `Abd Allah ibn Zayd ibn `Abd Rabbih with a sound (sahih) chain as stated by Haythami in Majma` al-zawa'id (3:19) that the Prophet clipped his nails and distributed them among the people.

Ibn Sa'd writes:
"'Umar ibn 'abd al-Aziz had the Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) hair. He said: 'When I die bury me with the hair in my grave'
[Tabaqat Ibn Sa'd, chapter on 'Death of 'Umar ibn 'Abd al-Aziz']

Hafiz ibn Kathir writes:
"Mu'awiya had the Prophet's (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) nails and hair.He said: 'When I die can you bury the nails and hair with me in my grave'"[Ta'rikh Ibn Kathir, chapter on 'Death of Mu'awiya']

Also,  Ahmad ibn Hanbal had three hairs from the body of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He requested to be buried with one placed on his mouth, and the other two on each eye.  [p. 24. Tabarruk al-Sahaba bi Athar Rasul Allah. Sheikh Muhammad Tahir ibn Abd al-Qadir ibn Mahmud al-Kurdi.  (p. 13) Maktaba al-Qahira Publications, Cairo. 1997.]

Imam Ahmad is reported to have kept some hairs of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in the sleeve of his shirt. During the days of the fitna over whether the Qur’an was created, al-Mu‘tasim refused to burn this shirt, because of the blessings of the hair [in it].  [p. 112. Tashīh al-Aqā’id. Muhammad Abd al-Hāmid Budāyūnī.]

Throughout his life, Imam Bukhari used to keep the blessed hair of Prophet(sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) in his clothes."
[Muqadama Fathul Bari By Imam Hajr Asqalani page 645]

Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) Bow: 
Qadi Iyad reports in al-Shifa that Ahmad ibn Fazlawiyya possessed the bow of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He said, ‘I have never touched this bow with my hands expect with Wudhu since I learnt that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) held this bow with his hand.’  [p. 275. Al-Shifa. Qadi Iyad. p. 275. Dar Ibn Hazm Publications, Beirut, 2002.]  

Tabarruk with Prophet’s (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) visits or Places of Prayers: 

The Sahaba used to get benefit of Barakah by the house in which Rasool Allah [sal Allahu alayhi wasallam] entered:

Narrated Abu Burda:  When I came to Medina. I met Abdullah bin Salam. He said, “Will you come to me so that I may serve you with Sawiq (i.e. powdered barley) and dates, and let you enter a (blessed) house in which the Prophet entered? [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 58, Number 159]

It is also narrated in Sahih Bukhari that Sayyidina Ibn Umar, radi Allahu `anh, when travelling between Makkah and Madinah, would make a point of praying at the spots where the Holy Prophet (sal-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam) used to pray during his lifetime.  Clearly, Sayyidina Ibn Umar, radi Allahu `anh, wished to receive the Barakah of Nabi Muhammad, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam.

Thus it is also known that Ibn ‘Umar derived blessings even from walking in the same spots where the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) had walked and praying exactly where he had prayed both at the Ka’ba and on his travels, and that he watered a certain tree under which Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) had prayed so that it would not die.  
[Recorded by Bayhaqi in his Sunan al-Kubra (5:245), Abu Ya’la (10:87-88 #5724), Humaydi (#680, 682), Bazzar (Musnad, 1:81 #129), Tabarani (M. Awsat, 4:199), Ibn Abi Shayba (8:175), and Ibn Hibban (#7074). See also Ibn Hajar’s Fath al-Bari (1:569-70) and Imam Dhahabi’s Siyar A’lam an-Nubala (Chapter on Ibn ‘Umar)]
Vol. 1, Book 8, Hadith 471 (Sahih Bukhari):

It is related from 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to stop at Dhu'l-Hulayfa when he performed 'umra or hajj under an acacia tree at the spot where the mosque is in Dhu'l-Hulayfa. When he returned from an expedition or was coming from hajj or 'umra and was on that road, he came down along the riverbed and emerged from it and would make his camel kneel at the dip which is on the eastern side of the riverbed. He stayed there until morning, not at the mosque which is by the rocks nor on the hill with the mosque on it. There was a water channel there, where 'Abdullah prayed, with sand heaps in it. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray there. The floodwater drove the pebbles down until the place where 'Abdullah used to pray was buried. 

'Abdullah related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed at the site of the small mosque which is below the mosque at the hill at ar-Rawha'. 'Abdullah knew the place where the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had prayed. He said, "It is on your right when you are standing in prayer in the mosque." That mosque is on the right hand side of the road when you are going to Makka, a stone's throw or thereabouts from the largest mosque. 

Ibn 'Umar used to pray towards the small mountain which is at the end of ar-Rawha'. That mountain ends at the side of the road near the mosque, between it and al-Munsaraf when you are going to Makka. A mosque was built there. 'Abdullah did not pray in that mosque. He left it to his left and behind him. He prayed in front of it towards the mountain itself. 'Abdullah came back from ar-Rawha' and did not pray Dhuhr until he came to that place where he prayed. If he was coming from Makka and passed by it an hour before Subh or at the end of the night, he stopped until he could pray Subh there. 

'Abdullah related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to alight under a large sarj tree below ar-Ruwaytha on the right hand side of the road, facing the road in a wide level place and go on until he emerged from the small hill about two miles below the road of ar-Ruwaytha. The top of it is broken and inclines inward. It stands on a flat place where there are many sand-dunes.

'Abdullah related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed at the end of the upper part of the valley behind al-'Arj if you are on the way to Hadba.There are two or three graves at that mosque, on which are piles of stones, to the right of the path at the large stones marking the path. 'Abdullah used to return home from al-'Arj after the sun had declined from midday. He would pray Dhuhr in that mosque. 

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar related that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, alighted at the sarj trees at the left of the road in the river bed below Harsha. That slope joined the foot of Harsha about a bows-shot from the road. 'Abdullah used to pray at the sarj tree which was nearest the road. It was the tallest of them. 

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to alight at the slope which was closer to Marr az-Zahran towards Madina where it descends from the small valleys. He would alight on the flat of that slope to the left of the road when you are going to Makka. There is only a stone's throw between where the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, alighted and the road. 

'Abdullah ibn 'Umar related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to alight at Dhu Tuwa and spent the night there until morning when he would pray Subh when he was going to Makka. The place where the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,* prayed was a great mound which is not inside the mosque which was built there, but is lower down. 

'Abdullah related that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, faced the two gaps in the mountain between him and the tall mountain towards the Ka'ba. He put the mosque that was built to the left of the mosque at the end of the mound. The place where the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed was lower than it, on the black mound located ten cubits or thereabouts from the other mound. He prayed there facing the two gaps in the mountain between him and the Ka'ba. 

[End of Hadith]

An Islamic scholar points out:  Please see how beautifully and clearly Ibn Umar (ra) memorizes the places where Prophet (Peace be upon him) prayed. This hadith also proves of praying in Masajid which has graves inside them as Ibn Umar (ra) used to pray Dhuhr in that mosque of valley behind al-‘Arj. This hadith is also a proof of visiting all the holy places where Prophet (Peace be upon him) went. The Wahabis stop Muslims from this great Sunnah because they are against seeking Tabarruk from Athaar of Anbiya whereas Bukhari Shareef is filled with proofs that Sahaba took Tabbaruk from Athaar of Prophet (Peace be upon him). 

According to the Wahhabi Muhsin Khan, all the above hadiths of Sahih Bukhari in relation to the various places where Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) prayed on the way from Makkah to Madinah Shareef is impossible to translate and according to him it is “Narrated by Unknown”!  Therefore, there was no further translation by him.  Can you believe that?  According to Islamic scholars: “Although there are many examples of Muhsin Khan's lies and Dajl but this one is the ultimate of them all, because this has to do with the issue of taking Tabarruk from places where Prophet (Peace be upon him) prayed and this according to their guru Ibn Taymiyyah was ““shirk”” to the extent that Ibn Taymiyyah even tried to prove Ibn Umar (ra) as Mushrik in his Iqtida as Siraat al Mustaqeem (Audhobillah Min Dhalik!)… We ask the Wahabis what was impossible for Muhsin Khan to translate? This means that Muslims should not read Sahih Bukhari as there are impossible things beyond our comprehension in it? With such distortions/forgeries/corruptions to Sahih Bukhari these Wahabis are misguiding innocent new Muslims who think that Wahabis are on Tawhid whereas Christians and Jews would know that even the Tawhid of Wahabi is similar to theirs i.e. Tajseem-e-ELahi (Anthropomorphism).”

Next, similarly, Abu Musa al-Ash’ari, Ibn ‘Umar, Mu’awiya, Salama ibn Akwa’, and others used to search out the places where the Prophet (sal Allahu wasallam) prayed, and pray there for the blessings gained by that.
  
[For example: Bukhari (Kitab as-Salat, #448, 461-62, 472), Nasa’i (#1709), Imam Ahmad (2:75, 4:419),Bayhaqi (3:25), Tayalisi (#514), ‘Abd ibn Humayd (#774), Tabari’s Tafsir (11:33), Ibn Abd al-Barr’s Tamhid (5:119, 6:228, 13:65), Nawawi’s Sharh Sahih Muslim (5:161, 13:178) and Tahdhib al-Asma’ (1:262), Ibn Hajar’s Fath al-Bari (1:522, 571), Haythami’s Majma’ az-Zawa’id (3:295, 8:265), Malik’s Muwatta’ (1:423), Ruyani’s Musnad (#741, 757-59, 1142), Humaydi (#149), and others].

Narrated Yazid bin Al 'Ubaid: 
I used to accompany Salama bin Al-Akwa' and he used to pray behind the pillar which was near the place where the Qurans were kept I said, "O Abu Muslim! I see you always seeking to pray behind this pillar." He replied, "I saw Allah's Apostle always seeking to pray near that pillar." [Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 9, Number 481]

Other Sahaba used to ask Anas and Bilal where he (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) used to pray so they could pray in the same spots (Tabarani’s Mu’jam al-Awsat 3:350, 6:309).

Narrated Ibn 'Umar: 
The Prophet entered the Ka'ba along with Usama bin Zaid, 'Uthman bin Talha and Bilal and remained there for a long time. When they came out, I was the first man to enter the Ka'ba. I asked Bilal "Where did the Prophet pray?" Bilal replied, "Between the two front Pillars."
[Sahih Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 9, Number 483]

Hafiz Ibn Hajar (Isaba fi Tamyiz as-Sahaba, 4:424) stated that Zubayr ibn Bakkar recorded in Akhbar al-Madina (also Ruyani 2:230 #1106) that the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) entered the home of Sahl ibn Sa’d and sat in the middle of the house, and afterwards Sahl and his wife used to take that exact place as a place for prayer. 

Um Sulaym also asked the Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) to pray in her house, so they could take that as a place of prayer too (Tabarani’s Mu’jam al-Awsat, 6:305 #6481). 

Thus, the Sahabah would search out the places where the Holy Prophet (sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam)  prayed, and they would pray there.

`Utban ibn Malik was one of the Companions of the battle of Badr. After he became blind he said to the Prophet: "I would like you to pray in my house so that I can pray where you prayed." The Prophet went to his house and asked where exactly he would like him to pray. He indicated a spot to him and the Prophet prayed there.  [Bukhari (#406-07, 627, 645, 795, 1113), Muslim (#48, 1053), Imam Malik (#377), and many others.]
The version in Muslim has: I (`Utban) sent for the Prophet the message: "Come and lay for me a place for worship [khutta li masjidan]."  

Imam Nawawi in Sharh Sahih Muslim said: "It means: "Mark for me a spot that I can take as a place for worship by obtaining blessing from your having been there [mutabarrikan bi aathaarika]... In this hadith is evidence for obtaining blessings through the relics of saints (al-Tabarruk bi aathaar al-salihin)." Notice how many times (nine times total in his Sharh Sahih Muslim) already Imam Nawawi has shown that these Sahih hadiths prove the permissibility and recommendability of obtaining blessings thru the righteous and their relics. Imam Nawawi also said (Sharh Muslim 5:161): “From this hadith we gain three beneficial lessons: 1) it is permitted to obtain blessings from righteous people and the objects connected to them, 2) it is recommended to pray in the places the righteous used to pray, and 3) it is recommended to seek blessings from the places where the righteous people resided.”  

The Holy Prophet (sal Allahu alayhi wasallam) was also told to “pray in al-‘Aqiq because it is a blessed valley” (Bukhari #1436).  

Continued in Part 6…

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