5 Hadiths Commonly Misunderstood

[Sayfullah]

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkQGja8ccW0
Lecture By Sheikh Dr Walid Samam^ah
د. وليد سمامعة: ‫إجماع أن الله موجود بلا مكان


Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, to Him belong the endowments and proper commendations. May Allah increase the honor of Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, raise his rank, and protect his nation from what he fears for it. Thereafter;
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم إن الحمد لله نحمده ونستغفره ونستهديه ونشكره ، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا ومن سيئات أعمالنا، من يهد الله فلا مضل له ومن يضلل فلا هادي له

IMAM MALIK'S SAYING ABOUT ISTIWA
A man came to Imam Malik at the masjid, as narrated in al-Asma' and As-Sifat by al-Bayhakiy from the route of Yahya son of Yahya, and he said to him: "O Abu Abdullah, الرحمن على العرش استوى كيف استوى Allah Istawa over the throne, so how is His Istiwa'? So Imam Malik got angry and started to sweat, and said to him: "Allah "Istawa" as He mentioned, one cannot say "How", and Allah is clear of the how (kayf). I see that you are an innovator!" and he ordered that he be taken out of the masjid.

This is the methodology of the Salaf, and the path of Asharis whom were among the Salaf.
As for the methodology of the Khalaf, they mainly used to do an explicit ta'weel (explicit interpretation, by assigning a specific meaning to such verse). The scholars said: "There's no harm in following this method when one is concerned about the trembling of the Aqeedah. Because some laymen if you leave them without interpretation, there will come those who will teach them tashbeeh (likening Allah to the creations). So the scholars said: "It's permissible to say that the meaning of the Ayah "Allah istawa on the throne" that Allah subjugated the throne. What does it mean He subjugated the throne? It means Allah preserved it in its place and controlled it from falling onto the skies and from destroying them. This is as Imam Aliy said: "Allah created the throne as a sign of His power, and not to take it as a place for Himself".

THE THRONE
The throne is the largest of the creations in size. If Allah subjugated the throne, then more so anything smaller ought to be subjugated by Allah. That's what Imam Qushairiy said in ar-Risalah al-Qushairiyah: "Allah istawa on the throne, He preserved it, He subjugated, and controlled it. As for sitting, all of Ahlus-Sunnah clear Allah from it. Because the sitting is the description of the creation. Sitting cannot be except to the one who has an upper body and lower body. And Allah praised Himself by saying "Allah istawa on the throne" and if istawa was interpreted with sitting then it would not be a praise. Because sitting is common between humans and animals. Allah is clear from this. Nothing resembles Him".

THE AYAH " 'A'AMINTUM MAN FIS-SAMA'"
As for the second Ayah in Suratul-Mulk " أأمنتم من في السماء أن يخسف بكم الأرض 'A'amintum Man Fissama'I 'ay-yakhsifa bikumul-'Ard". The Salaf used to say: "أمروها كما جاءت بلا كيف ولا تشبيه ولا تمثيل Mention those verses as they came without kayf (how), and without tashbeeh or tamtheel (likening or comparing). While believing in Tanzeeh, clearing Allah from being in a place and from time lapsing on Him. He is not contained in the sky. As for Khalaf, they said we clarify a specific meaning for it to understand and keep away bad thoughts. So they said: "the meaning of "man Fissama', it is Jibril peace be upon him, whose assigned to cause a quake. Because if Allah ordered Jibril to quake the earth under the idol worshippers, he would do it. But to claim "fis-Sama'" that it is about Allah being in the sky, it's untrue because all Ahlus-Sunnah reject it because the sky is created and filled with angels.

Imam at-Tirmidhiy narrated from Abu Dhar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said,
أَطَّتِ السَّمَاءُ وَحُقَّ لَهَا أَنْ تَئِطَّ مَا فِيهَا مَوْضِعُ أَرْبَعِ أَصَابِعَ إِلاَّ وَمَلَكٌ قائم أو راكع أو ساجد
This Hadith means: "The heaven has squeaked, and it has right to do so. There is not a space of four fingers in which there is not an angel who is standing, bowing or prostrating to Allah" so it's impossible to attribute to Allah being crowded with the angels in the space of four fingers.

Allah also revealed the Ayah: ‏ونُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَصَعِقَ مَنْ فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَمَنْ فِي الأَرْض
This Ayah means {And the Horn will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall dead}. So whoever is in the sky they will die, and that's the Angels they will die. Had Allah been in the heavens, then He would have been attributed with dying as such, but Allah is greatly clear from that. This is what the 'Ash^ari scholars said and this is how they clarified this ayah.

Similarly the hadith known by people:
ارْحَمُوا مَنْ فِي الأَرْضِ يَرْحَمْكُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ، أي الملائكة
This Hadith means: "Be merciful on to those on earth, and you will be shown mercy from Who's in heaven" that is the Angels because the messenger of Allah ﷺ in another narration said:
ارْحَمُوا أَهْلَ الأَرْضِ يَرْحَمْكُمْ أهل السَّمَاءِ
Hadith means: (show mercy to those who are on the earth (Ahlul-'Ard), and the ones in heaven (Ahlus-Sama') will show mercy to you). And It's not permissible to call Allah "Ahlus-Sama'". So in both verses they cleared Allah from resembling the creations, and they clarified a meaning to them.

HADITH AL-JARIYAH (SLAVE WOMAN)
As for the hadith, I will suffice by mentioning two hadiths. A popular hadith used by those who oppose Ahlus-Sunnah, using it as the main reliable proof for their beliefs. This hadith is known as Hadithul-Jariyah (The hadith of the slave woman). This hadith was narrated with many narrations that do not share a common meaning (rather very different meanings). The Ash^aris have two methods in this hadith, some they authenticated it but with ta'weel as Imam al-Bayhaqiy did in his explanation of Sahih Muslim.

The hadith is that a man came to the messenger of Allah ﷺ and said to him: O messenger of Allah, I had sheep and this slave used to herd them so the wolf came and ate one of them so I hit her. Now I would like to set her free if she's a believer. So it's narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said to her "'Aynallah" so she said: "Fis-Sama'" then he said "set her free she's a believer".
Imam Al-Bayhaqiy said this question here is about the status of Allah and not where is Allah. Because the word 'Ayn is used for the place and for the status. And it is impossible that our Prophet ﷺ had asked her about a location for Allah. Because Allah is the creator of the place and He existed before the place. So then the proper interpretation is about the status. As for her saying "Fis-Sama'", it means "Allah has a high status". This is known to Arabs. That's why Nabigha al-Ja^diy in front of our messenger ﷺ said:
بلغنا السماء مجدنا وسماءنا وإنا لنرجوا فوق ذلك مظهرا
فقال له النبي إلى أين المظهر يا أبى ليلى قال إلى الجنة إن شاء الله، فقال: أجل إن شاء الله.
Which means: "we have reached the skies in our majesty (high status), but we wish for a rank beyond that. Then the messenger ﷺ said: Where to O Abu Layla? He said to Paradise insha'Allah, the messenger ﷺ said: Yes indeed insha'Allah". So here the statement (Balaghnas-Sama'a) refers to reaching a high status. It does not mean that Allah is contained in the sky. How could the creator be contained in something that He Created, that's not possible.

As for the other group of Ash^ari scholars they said: This hadith cannot be used to refer to the attributes Sifat because the messenger ﷺ mentioned in (another) hadith which narrated by both Bukhariy and Muslim and it is a Mutawatir hadith, narrated by 15 companions that the Prophet ﷺ  said: "I was ordered to fight the people until they testify that no one is God except Allah". So he clarified that for one to become a believer he must utter the two testifications and so it's impossible for the messenger ﷺ to consider a person as a Muslim for just saying Allah is in the sky. This hadith that is in Sahih Muslim has this narration too so those scholars did not accept it and they said the correct narration is the narration of Malik in al-Muwatta', Imam Malik narrated that our Prophet ﷺ said to her: "Do you testify that no one is God except Allah"? she said "Yes". He said "Do you testify that I'm the messenger of Allah"? She said "Yes", so he said "Set her free she is Muslim".

This narration agrees with the Islamic principles. Imam Shafiy^iy said: "If a hadith is mentioned, then Malik is the star". Imam Abu Bakr al-Khatib al-Baghdadiy who was described as "the expert authors of Hadith are beginners compared to his books". The sahih Hadith is not accepted if it opposed the Mutawatir hadith when it cannot be interpreted properly. So for the hadith of slave woman, we either interpret it as we mentioned, or we say as the other Ash^aris and Maturidis said that it's an inconsistent hadith and cannot be used in Aqeedah. That's why Imam Nawawiy did not mention it under the chapter of Eman, rather he mentioned it under "the chapter of prohibition of speaking in prayer" to show that it cannot be used in Aqeedah.


HADITH OF DESCENT (HADITHUN-NUZOOl)
As for the other hadith, it's an authentic hadith narrated by al-Bukhariy in his sahih that our messenger said ﷺ:". ينزل ربنا (أي يُنزِل ملائكة بأمره) كل ليلة إلى السماء الدنيا في النصف الأخير 

"Yanzilu (or Yunzilu) Rabuna Kulla Laylatin ilas-Sama'id-Duniya fin-Nisfil-'Akhir" which means: "an Angel descends by the order of Allah to the lower sky and says: Your Lord says: "Is there any one who is making supplication so that I will answer his supplication? Is there anyone who is asking me for forgiveness so that I will forgive him? Is there any one who is asking for things so that I will give him? Until fajr is up".

This hadith the scholars of Ash^aris and Maturidis said, such as Hafidh Ibn Hajar who is the most famous scholar who interpreted Sahih Bukhariy, he said; "The scholars of Islam said this hadith cannot be taken literally that Allah descends, rather either we say as the Salaf said, such as Imam Malik bin Anas when he was asked about this hadith he said; نزول رحمة لا نزول نُقلة
Which means: "A descent of mercy and not a physical descent" or we say as some of the Salaf said: "the Angels of Mercy descend by the order of Allah to the lower sky and will say: Your Lord says: "Is there any one who is making supplication so that I will answer his supplication? Is there anyone who is asking me for forgiveness so that I will forgive him? Is there any one who is asking for things so that I will give him? Until fajr is up". What supports this tafseer is another hadith narrated by an-Nasa'iy that the Prophet ﷺ said: "Allah orders an angel in the last third of the night to call out: Your Lord says: Is there anyone supplicating so his supplication would be answered..". al-Hafidh al-^Iraqiy said: "the best interpretation for a narration is by another narration". The hadith is interpreted by another Hadith, and the Ayah by another Ayah.

Ibn Hajar reported from Imam Abu Bakr ibnul-^Aarabiy from Ibn Forak the known Ash^ariy who said: "Some of our sheikhs narrated this hadith (Yanzilu) by having a dammah on the ya' (Yunzilu) and by this the meaning is clear (that Allah orders an angel to descend). As for the one that doesn't accept this, which is what Ahlus-Sunnah said, and chooses to claim that Allah resides above and that He physically descends every night to the first sky.. say to him: The nights change based on the different countries. The night in Algeria is a day in another country. So if you take this hadith literally as you claim, then you rendered Allah descending to the sky and ascending to the throne, descending to the sky and ascending to the throne again at every moment in the day. And this is not said by anyone with a sound mind. So you must follow what the scholars said.

THE SKIES COMPARED TO KURSIY VS. ^ARSH

Also the Prophet ﷺ said in the authentic hadith narrated by Ibn Hibban in His sahih: "The seven heavens and earths in comparison to the Kursiyy, are like a ring thrown in a desert, and the Kursiyy in comparison to the Throne, is like a ring thrown in a desert". So the heavens in comparison to the Throne, is like a drop in an ocean. So the one who says that Allah is physically above and descends physically, we say to him: You have two scenarios and both are impossible: Either you say that Allah shrinks and shrinks until the sky fits Him, or you say that the sky stretches! Both claims are inevitably impermissible. So then the correct belief stands according to the saying of the Ash^aris and Maturidis (that an angel descends by the order of Allah). This is the creed of Ash^aris and this is their role in defending the Islamic Shariah.
Allah knows best.

AQEEDAH OF IMAM BAQILLANIY
Note: Imam al-Baqillaniy (one of the great Ash^aris) said in his book al-'Insaf page 65:
"And we do not say that the ^arsh (throne) is a place of settlement or rest for Allah, because Allah existed and there was no place, and when He created the place, He did not change". He also said: "Allah is clear from being in directions, or resembling the creations, and also He is not attributed with transformation or movement, nor with standing or sitting, because such attributes are of the creations, and Allah (the creator) is clear from that".
يقول القاضي أبو بكر محمد بن الطيب بن محمد بن جعفر بن قاسم، البصري، ثم البغدادي، ابن الباقلاني.328 هـ 402 هـ المالكي الأشعري ما نصه "ولا نقول إن العرش له- أي الله- قرار ولا مكان، لأن الله تعالى كان ولا مكان، فلما خلق المكان لم يتغير عما كان" اهـ.
وقال أيضا ما نصه: "ويجب أن يعلم أن كل ما يدل على الحدوث أو على سمة النقص فالرب تعالى يتقدس عنه، فمن ذلك: أنه تعالى متقدس عن الاختصاص بالجهات، والاتصاف بصفات المحدثات، وكذلك لا يوصف بالتحول والانتقال، ولا القيام ولا القعود، ولأن هذه الصفات تدل على الحدوث، والله تعالى يتقدس عن ذلك" اهـ.
That's the creed of al-Baqillaniy who reported the creed of the Salaf and Khalaf, which is the creed of the Prophet and the companions.

- Qadi ^Iad praised him saying: Al-Baqillani was known as Sayf Alsunna, Lisan al-Ummah, the scholar of Kalam and Hadith..
ذكر القاضي عياض في "طبقات المالكي" فقال: هو الملقب بسيف السنة، ولسان الأمة، المتكلِّم على لسان أهل الحديث، وطريق أبي الحسن، وإليه انتهت رئاسة المالكية في وقته، وكان له بجامع البصرة حلقة عظيمة
- Dhahabiy said also: قال الذهبي: الإمام العلامة، أوحد المتكلمين ومقدم الأصوليين. انتصر لطريقة أبي الحسن الأشعري كان سيفاً على المعتزلة والرافضة والمشبهة
The Imam and ^Allamah, the great scholar of Aqeedah and 'Usool, defender of the way of Abul Hassan (Al-Ash^ari), he was a sword on the devious Mu^tazilah, Rafidah, and Mushabbihah sects.
- Al-Hafidh Ibn ^asakr reported from ad-Damghaniy that Imam Abul Hassan at-Tamimi al-Hanbaliy said to his companions "Stick with this man (al-Baqillaniy), for he is indispensable".
- Imam al-Hafidh al-^Iraqiy, and Imam al-Qarafiy, and Ibn Hajar al-Haitamiy, and Mulla ^Ali al-Qari, and Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthariy and others reported that the Imams of the Four Schools whom are the guide of the Ummah (Imam ash-Shafi^iy, Malik, Ahmad and Abu Hanifah Radiallahu ^anhum) all declared those who attribute to Allah the direction or the body with kufur".
نقل الإمام الحافظ العراقي والإمام القرافي والشيخ ابن حجر الهيتمي وملا علي القاري ومحمد زاهد الكوثري وغيرهم عن الأئمة الأربعة هداة الأمة الشافعي ومالك وأحمد وأبي حنيفة رضي الله عنهم القول بتكفير القائلين بالجهة والتجسيم ".

This is the belief of all the Muslims. This is the belief of the Salaf, which is the belief of the Ash^aris despite the lies of the liars like the Mushabbihah. So in reality the Salaf were Ash^aries, and below is the proof that the Mushabbihah today such as the Wahhabis or falsely called salafis oppose the beliefs of the true Salaf.


Allah knows best.