Ulete tuuone
Sent using
Jamii Forums mobile app
Soma hapa
Praise be to Allah.
Allah, may He be exalted, says in Soorat al-Maa’idah (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. But if you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be made plain to you. Allah has forgiven that, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Forbearing”
[al-Maa’idah 5:101].
This verse forbade the believers to ask the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) about matters concerning which Allah had not said anything in His Book and had not said anything concerning them; splitting hairs and asking too many details about them might lead to them being prohibited, which would cause them hardship. It also forbade them to ask about things that were hidden from them and if they came to know about them it would upset them, such as how sound their attribution to their fathers was.
That indeed happened. Al-Bukhaari (540) and Muslim (2359) narrated from Anas ibn Maalik that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) came out when the sun had passed its zenith and led them in praying Zuhr. Then he stood on the minbar and spoke of the Hour, and said that momentous events would occur during it. Then he said: “Whoever would like to ask about anything, let him ask; you will not ask me about anything but I will tell you about it, so long as I am standing here.” The people wept a great deal, and he kept saying: “Ask me.” ‘Abdullah ibn Hudhaafah as-Sahmi stood up and said: Who is my father? He said: “Your father is Hudhaafah.” Then he kept saying, “Ask me.” Then ‘Umar knelt up and said: We are pleased with Allah as our Lord, Islam as our religion, and Muhammad as our Messenger. [The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)] fell silent, then he said: “Paradise and Hell were shown to me just now, on this wall, and I have never seen anything as good (as what I saw in Paradise) or anything as evil (as what I saw in Hell).”
Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, after narrating this hadeeth: Ibn Shihaab said: ‘Ubaydullah ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Utbah told me: Umm ‘Abdullah ibn Hudhaafah said to ‘Abdullah ibn Hudhaafah: I have never heard of a son more disrespectful to his parents than you. Could you be certain that your mother did not commit (immoral deeds) as some of the women of the Jaahiliyyah did, and thus you would expose her to scandal before the people? ‘Abdullah ibn Hudhaafah said: By Allah, if he had attributed me to a black slave, I would have accepted it.
End quote from Saheeh Muslim (4/1832).
Ash-Shawkaani (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his commentary on the verse in al-Maa’idah – “O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble” –: That means: do not ask about things that you do not need to ask about and that are none of your concern in matters of your religion. The words “if made plain to you, may cause you trouble” are describing those things. In other words: do not ask about things of this nature, which if they were made plain to you and were made obligatory upon you, would cause you trouble. Allah forbade them to ask the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) a great deal, because asking about matters that do not concern one or that one does not need to know may be a cause of it being made obligatory upon the one who asks the question and others. The words “But if you ask about them while the Qur’an is being revealed, they will be made plain to you” also describe those things. What is meant is: do not ask about things, for if you ask about them whilst the Qur’an is being revealed, which is whilst the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) is still among you and the Revelation is still coming down to him, they will be made plain to you, i.e., they will be explained to you by means of the answer that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) gives you or what is enjoined upon you by the Revelation. Thus that will be a cause of hardship and of making obligatory something that was not obligatory, or of the prohibition of that which was not prohibited. This is unlike asking about things after the Revelation ceased with the death of the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), for then no obligations or prohibitions would come about because of asking.
End quote from Fath al-Qadeer by ash-Shawkaani (2/92).