HADITH 2

Also on the authority of 'Umar, radiyallahu 'anhu, who said:

"While we were one day sitting with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, there appeared before us a man dressed in extremely white clothes and with very black hair. No traces of journeying were visible on him, and none of us knew him.

He sat down close by the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, rested his knee against his thighs, and said, O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam." Said the Messenger of Allah,

sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, "Islam is that you should testify that there is no deity save Allah and that Muhammad is His Messenger, that you should perform salah (ritual

prayer), pay the zakah, fast during Ramadan, and perform Hajj (pilgrimage) to the House (the Ka'bah at Makkah), if you can find a way to it (or find the means for making the journey to it)." Said he (the man), "You have spoken truly."

We were astonished at his thus questioning him and telling him that he was right, but he went on to say, "Inform me about iman (faith)." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, "It is that you believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers and in the Last Day, and in fate

(qadar), both in its good and in its evil aspects." He said, "You have spoken truly."

Then he (the man) said, "Inform me about Ihsan." He (the Messenger of Allah) answered, " It is that you should serve Allah as though you could see Him, for though you cannot see Him yet He sees you." He said, "Inform me about the Hour." He (the Messenger of Allah) said, "About that the one questioned knows no more than the questioner." So he said, "Well, inform me about the signs thereof (i.e. of its coming)." Said he, "They are that the slave-girl will give birth to her mistress, that you will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep (competing with each other) in raising lofty buildings." Thereupon the man went off.

I waited a while, and then he (the Messenger of Allah) said, "O 'Umar, do you know who that questioner was?" I replied, "Allah and His Messenger know better." He said, "That was Jibril. He came to teach you your religion."" 

Background  

Al-Imam Muslim says: Towards the end of his life, Abdullah bin 'Umar (the son of 'Umar bin alKhattab) was told by two people that a new Islamic sect had emerged from Iraq. They were

Called Al-Qadariah and they denied al-qadar (fate). Thus Abdullah bin 'Umar narrated this hadith

Which mentions qadar as one of the pillars of Iman to refute the misconception of this sect.

Lessons

This hadith teaches the adab (ethics) of seeking knowledge:

· We should be clean and wear clean clothes. 

· We should sit properly and closer to the speaker. 

· Asking questions for better understanding. 

· Seek knowledge from the right source/authority. 

The method of seeking knowledge is through asking questions:

· The type of questions we ask should be meaningful - questions that will lead to valuable

knowledge and good action. 

· Asking good questions will result in better learning as well as teaching. Those who are

present when the questions are asked will also learn from the answers - thus, the

questioner is teaching the others. 

· When Ibn Abbas, one of the greatest Scholars among the Sahabahs, was asked how he

obtained all his knowledge, he replied: "with an inquisitive tongue (i.e. he always asked

questions) and a contemplating heart". 

· In many hadiths the Prophet, sallallahu 'alayhi wasallam, himself will start by asking

questions before he imparts with knowledge. Asking questions will prepare the

mind/heart so that it will be ready for the answers/knowledge - ready to absorb and

learn. In this hadith he calls Jibril "the questioner" which implies full appreciation and

encouragement of asking questions specially the ones that will lead to gaining more

knowledge. 

· In the Quran itself there are more than 1,200 questions - to serve different purposes - to

provoke the mind of the reader and force it to indulge in thinking about what he/she

reads. 

Scholars say that qadar can be seen at two levels:

i. We believe that Allah knew, with His ultimate knowledge, what all His creations will do,

even before the creations took place. Allah recorded all this knowledge in Al-

Lauhulmahfudz - the preserved tablet.

ii. We believe that it is the will of Allah that these things will take place, whether they are

good or bad. 

Allah created our willingness and our ability of doing things - we can only do something if we

are willing and able to do it. However, we are responsible for the choices we make.

Misconceptions about Qadar

Many Muslims believe that what they are going to do is caused by what has already been written

in Al-Lauhulmahfudz - they confuse 'causation' with 'association'. In truth what we have is

association, not causation. What we do is not caused by what is written by Allah. Allah with His

ultimate knowledge knew what we are going to do. He could easily have put the good-doers into

Jannah and the evil-doers into the Hellfire. But Allah is Adil (Just) so He created us in this life as

to test us which way to go. What we are going to do will match what has already been written

but it's not a matter of causation - what we do is out of our own willingness and ability and we

do have full responsibility on whatever choice we make.

Looking at guidance and misguidance, guidance (hidayah) is a gift (rahmah) from Allah. It is Allah

who created us and gave us the mind so we can distinguish between right and wrong to a certain

capacity. It is Allah who equipped us with

fitrah to like the truth and good and to dislike the

wrong and evil It is Allah who gave us the ability and power to do things and it is Allah who

sent the Messenger with the Message to guide us in things, which are beyond the reach of our

conception. So when it comes to guidance it is a bounty from Allah.

But when it comes to misguidance, it has to do with us. When we do bad deeds, it is from our

own willingness and ability.