As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatuallahi wa Barakatuhu

Hadeeth 15 : Islaamic Manners

On the authority of Abu Hurairah (radiAllaahu anhu) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) said :

It was related by al-Bukhaaree and Muslim.

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 15

His (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "Let him who believes in Allaah and the Last Day" means the one who believes with the complete Eemaan that will save him from the Punishment of Allaah, and will attain for him the Pleasure of Allaah; then for such a person, "let him speak good, or keep silent", because the one who believes in Allaah and does not fulfill everything that his Eemaan entails [ie. he falls into sin] then he fears His Threat [of Punishment] and he hopes in His reward, and he strives in performing what he has been commanded with, and in leaving that which he has been forbidden from. And the most important of what is upon him from this is being careful about his tongue and limbs, which are under his control, and which he will be asked about on the Day of Standing, as Allaah ta'aalaa has said : "Verily! The hearing, and the sight, and the heart, of each of those you will be questioned (by Allaah)" [al-Israa', 36]. And Allaah ta'aalaa has said : "Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)" [Qaaf, 18].

And the sins of the tongue are numerous, and because of this the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said : "And what is it that throws the people into the Hellfire upon their noses, except what their tongues have harvested" and he (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) has said : "Everything that the son of Aadam speaks will be a proof against him, except the dhikr of Allaah and his ordering the good and forbidding the evil". So whosoever understands this, and protects the rights of his Eemaan, then he will fear Allaah and have taqwaa of Him with regards to his tongue, and he will not speak except with good, or will remain silent.

Some of the 'ulamaa have mentioned that all of the Good Manners can be derived from four hadeeth, and they mentioned amongst them this hadeeth. And some them have said regarding the meaning of this hadeeth that if a person wishes to say something, then if that speech is good, and will surely be rewarded for, then let him say it. And if not, then let him keep silent - whether it is apparent that the speech is Haraam (forbidden) or Makrooh (disliked) or even Mubaah (permissible). So from this it is said that the permissible speech is to be left and avoided, and rather it is preferred to keep silent in such situations, out of fear that it may turn into something which is Haraam or Makrooh; and it is seen that this happens a great deal, and thus Allaah has said : "Not a word does he (or she) utter, but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it)" [Qaaf, 18].

However, the 'ulamaa have differed over whether everything that a person says is written down by the Recording Angels, including that which is considered Mubaah (permissible), or if it is only those things for which he may be rewarded or punished. And Ibn 'Abbaas (radiAllaahu anhu) and others have adopted this second opinion, and so in this case the aayah mentioned above would have its meaning restricted to those words or statements for which there is some kind of recompense - good or bad.

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "let him be generous to his neighbour" and "let him be generous to his guest" contains instruction on the rights of the neighbours and guests, and on doing good to them and encouragement upon protecting the limbs from doing harm to them, and also Allaah ta'aalaa has advised us in His Noble Book with Ihsaan (good behaviour, kindness, good treatment) towards the neighbours. And the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam has said : "Jibreel - alayhi as-salaam - did not cease to advise me regarding the rights of the neighbour, until I began to think that they would also receive a part of the inheritance".

And hospitality is from Islaam, and from the character of the Prophets and the Pious. And some of the scholars have made it obligatory, though the majority consider it to be from the noble, recommended traits of character. And the author of "al-Ifsaah" has said regarding this hadeeth :
"It should be believed that hospitality to the guest is a means of attaining nearness to Allaah, and that it is a form of worship of the Lord, and that this worship is not decreased if the guest is a wealthy person (rather than a poor man), nor is it affected if one presents for ones guest simple things from what one posseses. Rather, the correct hospitality is achieved by keeping a smiling countenace for ones guest, and beautifying ones conversation with him, and the Pillar of Hospitality is preparing a meal for the guest; and so one should be eager to prepare for him from what Allaah has provided and made easy, without causing oneself undue difficulty."

He then mentioned some other points on hospitality, before saying :
"And as for his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement 'let him speak good or keep silent', then this indicates that the Good Speech is better than keeping silent, and that silence is better than Evil Speech, and this is because the form of the Prophet's (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement contains a command. And from the Good Speech is conveying knowledge from Allaah 'azza wa jall and his Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, and teaching the Muslims, and commanding the good, and forbidding the evil, and reconciling the differences between people, and speaking well to the people, and from amongst the best of speech is the Statement of Truth, for the one who truly Fears and Hopes for the Recompense."

Summary :

• That one should only speak what is good and true
• That one must not under any circumstances speak evil or use filthy language
• That one should be kind and generous to ones neighbour
• That one should treat ones guest well
• That if one is a true Muslim then one would do the above, else ones [true] belief in Allaah and the Last Day is in question

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Hadeeth 17 : The Command to Slaughter and Kill in the Best Manner

On the authority of Abu Ya'laa Shaddaad bin Aws (radiAllaahu anhu), that the Messenger of Allaah sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said :

It was related by Muslim

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 17

The Arabic terms "al-qitlah" and "adh-dhibhah", used for killing and slaughtering respectively, refer to the manner and situation of the performance of these acts.

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement "then kill well" is general to all situations, whether it be slaughtering animals, or killing a human in Qisaas (equal retaliation) or killing as a Shari'ah Punishment, or other than that.

This hadeeth is from the Comprehensive Statements of the Prophet sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam, and contains many Principles. And the meaning of "killing well" is that one exerts himself the utmost in performing it well, and does not intend to cause unnecessary pain or torment through it. And "slaughtering well" in respect to livestock implies that one shows kindness to the animal to be slaughtered, and that one does not fell it to the ground cruelly or harshly, nor drag it from one place to another. It also includes facing it towards the Qiblah and taking the name of Allaah upon it, and cleanly and quickly cutting the throat and the two jugular veins, and then leaving it until it has turned cold. And it also includes recognising and acknowledging Allaah's favours upon us, and thanking Him and being grateful to Him for them, for verily He - subhaanahu - has subdued for us from amongst His creation whatever pleases Him, and has made Permissible for us what He could have made Forbidden, if He had so wished.

Summary :

• That it is obligatory on one doing something to do it in the best possible way
• That even killing must be done efficiently and well
• That the knife must be sharpened before using it for slaughtering an animal
• That sparing unnecessary suffering to the animal to be slaughtered is part of fulfilling the Deen
• That one must try to do everything in life in the best and most efficient manner possible

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Hadeeth 19 : Be Mindful of Allaah and Allaah will Protect You

On the authority of Abu 'Abbaas 'Abdillaah bin 'Abbaas (radiAllaahu anhumaa) who said : One day I was behind the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) [riding on the same mount] and he said :

It was related by at-Tirmidhee, who said it was a Good and Sound Hadeeth.

Another narration, other than that of Tirmidhee, reads :

Explanation of Hadeeth Number 19

The virtues and outstanding traits of 'Abdullaah bin 'Abbaas (radiAllaahu anhumaa) are more than can be enumerated, and the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) supplicated for him and said : "Oh Allaah! Grant him understanding (fiqh) of the Religion and teach him the Interpretation", and he also supplicated for him that he be given Wisdom twice over. And it has been narrated that he [ibn 'Abbaas] said that he "saw Jibreel (alayhi as-salaam) twice", though this narration is mursal and is not established. And Ibn 'Abbaas (radiAllaahu anhu) is the Ocean of Knowledge of this Ummah, and its Learned Scholar. And the Messenger of Allaah (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) considered him to be worthy of carrying a Legacy/Advice from him despite his small age, and so he said to him : "Be Mindful of Allaah and Allaah will protect you", and its meaning is "Be obedient to your Lord, ordering whatever He has ordered and forbidding whatever He has forbidden".

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement : "Be Mindful of Allaah and you will find Him in front of you" means "Perform your actions for His sake out of His obedience, and let yourself not be seen to oppose or disobey Him, then you will find Allaah with you in times of difficulty", as happened to the three men who fled to a cave to seek shelter from torrential rain, whereupon a huge rock descended upon the entrance to the cave and sealed it. So they said to one another : "Look to the pious actions that you have performed [in the past] and ask Allaah ta'aalaa by them, for verily He is the only One who can save us from this." So each one of them mentioned a good action that they had performed previously, purely for the sake of their Lord, so Allaah removed the rock that was blocking the entrance to the cave, and they were free from their imprisonment, and their story is well known from the Saheeh [of Muslim]. [Note: This story shows that one of the permissible, and indeed recommended, forms of Tawassul, or seeking Waseelah to Allaah, is through the good actions that one has performed.]

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement : "If you ask, then ask Allaah [alone]; and if you seek help, then seek help from Allaah [alone]" guides us to having Trust and Reliance upon our Protector, and that we should not take any Ilaah (object of Worship) except Him, and that we should not depend upon or be attached to anyone other than Him in all our affairs, no matter how small they may be. And Allaah ta'aalaa has said : "And whosoever puts his trust in Allaah, then He will suffice him" [at-Talaaq, 3].

So according to the degree by which a person relies upon other than Allaah ta'aalaa in his desires and by his heart, or in his hopes, then proportionately he has turned away from his Lord to those who cannot hurt him nor benefit him. And similarly in the case of Fear of other than Allaah, and the Prophet (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) emphasised this when he said : "And know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, they would not benefit you except with what Allaah had already prescribed for you", and similarly in the case of harm. And this is the essence of Eemaan in Qadr, and having eemaan in it is obligatory, the good of it and the evil of it. And once a Believer has conviction (yaqeen) in this then he sees no benefit in asking from other than Allaah or seeking help from them. And similar to this is the answer of al-Khaleel [Ibraaheem] alayhi as-salaam, to the question of Jibreel (alayhi as-salaam) when he was in the air having been thrown towards the Great Fire : "Do you have any need ?" to which he replied : "As for from you, then no. As for from Allaah, then definitely."

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement : "The Pens have been lifted and the Pages have dried" further emphasises what has preceeded, and there is no contradiction with that by way of abrogation or change.

And his (sallAllaahu alayhi wa sallam) statement : "And know that Victory comes with Patience, Relief with Affliction, and Hardship with Ease" informs him [Ibn 'Abbaas] to take note that Man in this World will be presented with trials and misfortunes, especially the Pious, due to the statement of Allaah 'azza wa jall :

and Allaah ta'aalaa has also said :

Summary :

• That it is allowed for two people to be seated on a mount if it does not over-burden the animal
• That if one takes care about Allaah's Rights, then He takes care of him
• That if one takes care of Allaah's Rights, then He helps him
• That one must ask of Allaah only, and seek His help only
• That we cannot be harmed or benefitted by anything or anyone, no matter how large they are in number or strong they appear, except by that which Allaah allows
• That what Allaah has allowed in our destiny will definitely occur
• That one should remember and take care of Allaah's Rights in times of ease, and Allaah will take care of him in times of difficulty
• That Victory comes with Patience
• That relief comes after suffering
• That ease comes after hardship

As Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu

Haadìth 21 : Say 'I believe in Allaah' and then be Steadfast