Abu Dawud

Benefits and Issues:
➊ Especially in times of tribulation, it is necessary for a person to remain in contact with firmly grounded scholars; only by benefiting from them can he safeguard his faith and actions. The noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) are the first link in this chain.
➋ Al-wala’ wal-bara’ is an extremely important issue; it is necessary for every believer to be aware of it and to act upon it—that is, to love the people of faith and to have enmity and aversion towards the disbelievers and atheists.
➌ No good deed can attain the status of acceptance without affirming and accepting all the particulars of faith (iman); among these, one important issue is belief in divine decree (qadar).
➍ It is obligatory that the knowledge of the Shari‘ah be acquired during the days of strength and youth. The student’s clothing should be extremely clean and pure, and he should deal with his teachers with utmost humility.
➎ Faith (iman) is the name for both the inward and outward actions—that is, affirmation with the heart (tasdiq bil-qalb), verbal declaration (iqrar bil-lisan), and righteous deeds (a‘mal salihah); whereas Islam is the name for the outward actions—that is, verbal declaration and righteous deeds. Islam is included within faith, but where a distinction between them is intended, the term “Islam” applies to outward actions, and “faith” applies to inward matters, which are necessarily entailed by outward actions.
➏ The attribute of ihsan—that is, for the servant to have the perception that he is seeing Allah, or at the very least, that Allah is seeing him—is a sign of the perfection of faith and Islam.
➐ Knowledge of the Hour (the Day of Judgment) is known to none except Allah.
➑ Disobedience of children and competing in the construction of ever taller buildings are, especially, among the signs of the nearness of the Hour.
➒ The statements of the Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)—that is, hadith and sunnah—are a legal proof (shar‘i hujjah). No human being, no matter how great, has any standing in the Shari‘ah for his statements or actions unless they are affirmed by al-Sadiq al-Masduq (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). Just as Jibril Amin (alayhis salam) had all the details of the religion pronounced by the tongue of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam); he did not say anything directly. And even if, hypothetically, he had said something, it would not have been a proof for the Ummah.
➓ The noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) did not know about the one who was coming; this means that the friends of Allah (awliya Allah) do not possess knowledge of the unseen (ghayb).
⓫ The word “deen” encompasses all outward and inward matters of the Shari‘ah.

Explanation: 1:
One stood to his right and the other to his left.

2:
That is, when something occurs, only then does Allah become aware of it; nothing is written or predetermined beforehand.

3:
That is, the slave-girl will become the mistress, and the one who ought to be in the position of mistress will be reduced to the status and rank of a slave-girl.

Commentary:

(1)
This hadith is famous by the name of the Hadith of Jibril (alayhis salam), and in it, important matters of the religion are mentioned.
It includes acts of worship, deeds of the heart and the rest of the body, obligations, Sunnah acts, and recommended acts, as well as prohibited and disliked matters.

(2)
By Islam, outward actions are meant, by which a person is judged to be Muslim or non-Muslim.
And by iman (faith), inner affirmation and certainty are meant, upon which salvation in the Hereafter depends.
Ihsan is also the highest level of iman, due to which beauty is produced in worship.

(3)
Most of the time, when the word iman is used, it refers to both inner affirmation and outward actions.
Similarly, by Islam is meant that Islam by which salvation in the Hereafter will be attained, i.e., performing righteous deeds on the basis of inner affirmation; in this sense, iman and Islam become synonymous when mentioned separately. However, when iman and Islam are mentioned together in any context, then iman refers to inner affirmation, and Islam refers to outward acts of obedience, as is stated in the Word of Allah, the Exalted:
﴿قالَتِ الأَعر‌ابُ ءامَنّا قُل لَم تُؤمِنوا وَلـكِن قولوا أَسلَمنا﴾ (Al-Hujurat: 14)
"The Bedouins say, 'We have believed.' Say, 'You have not [truly] believed; but say [instead], 'We have submitted [i.e., become Muslims]'" (i.e., have abandoned opposition and become obedient).

(4)
To worship Allah as though Allah's Essence is before you.
This means that the states of heartful attention, humility, reverence, fear, and hope, etc., should be at their perfection. Otherwise, seeing Allah while living in this world is not possible; no creature can bear it. However, in Paradise, the believers will be granted the vision of Allah—there is no doubt about this. The clear texts of the Qur'an and Hadith explicitly mention this, but its modality (kayfiyyah) is known only to Allah, the Exalted. See (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith: 7437 and Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 182).

(5)
No one knows the exact time of the establishment of the Hour (Qiyamah)—neither the Prophets nor the angels; only Allah, the Exalted, knows, for He alone is the Knower of the unseen.

(6)
Many signs of the Hour have been mentioned in the hadiths; some of them occurred long before the Hour, for example:
The Prophetic mission, the fire that appeared from the land of Hijaz, whose light reached the city of Busra in Syria—this event occurred in 654 AH.
For details, see (Fath al-Bari, Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, Kitab al-Fitan, Bab Khuruj al-Nar).
And some are yet to appear, for example:
The appearance of the Dajjal, the emergence of Imam Mahdi, the descent of 'Isa (alayhis salam), and the emergence of Gog and Magog (Ya'juj and Ma'juj).
These are major signs; in the present hadith, minor signs are mentioned.

(7) (أَنْ تَلِدَ الْأَمَةُ رَبَّتَهَا)
The slave woman will give birth to her mistress—this sentence has been explained in several ways:

(a)
One meaning is that slave women will become numerous, and the children born from slave women, being the children of the master, will be under the authority of the master, while their mother will still be called a slave, and the daughter will be considered the owner of her own mother.
The statement of Waki' rahimahullah points to this interpretation.

(b)
Another meaning is that children, instead of showing respect and honor to their parents, will adopt an attitude of insolence and rebellion towards them, and will command them in the manner that masters treat their slaves and slave women harshly.

(c)
Another opinion has also emerged that this hadith points to some issues arising in the modern era, for example:
Experiments have been conducted in which the sperm and ovum of a male and female are combined outside the female's body in a laboratory to create an embryo, which is then placed in the body of another female to complete the stages of creation.
Thus, the child born in whose body it was developed was not born from her own reproductive material.
As a result of these experiments, it is quite possible that a wealthy husband and wife may have their embryo nurtured in the body of a poor woman who is willing to endure the hardship for a small fee; when the child is born, the wealthy couple will be considered its parents, and the woman who bore the pain of childbirth will remain a hireling or a slave, and the child born will not consider her his mother but only a maid, and the woman herself will also consider herself as such.
Given the rapid decline of moral values in the present era, it is not far-fetched that this situation may become common in practice.
Wallahu a'lam. In Europe, where the concept of chastity and purity has vanished, such situations have already begun to be adopted.
May Allah, the Exalted, protect Islamic societies from this moral decline.

(8)
When wealth is attained after poverty, the correct approach is to thank Allah for this blessing and also fulfill the needs of the needy, so that benefits in the Hereafter may also be attained, as the people of Qarun said to him:
﴿وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّـهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَأَحْسِن كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّـهُ إِلَيْكَ﴾ (Al-Qasas: 77)
"And seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you."

(9)
It is not correct to build tall and grand buildings merely for one's own benefit, comfort, and for pride and boasting.

(10)
Beliefs and actions—all of these are part of the religion; therefore, for salvation in the Hereafter, both correct belief and correct action are necessary.

(11)
Qadar (divine decree) means that everything that will happen until eternity is already known to Allah.
Now, whatever happens, happens according to that knowledge which He has written.
The meaning of good and bad in qadar is that whatever appears to us as good, for example:
health, prosperity, abundance of produce and plenty, or what we consider as evil, for example:
famine, calamities, and hardships—all of this is happening according to His will and wisdom.
It is called good or evil from the perspective of the creation; otherwise, in every act of Allah there is some wisdom and benefit, and from that perspective, it is all good.

(12)
It is well-known and established that Jibril Amin (alayhis salam) would bring Qur'anic revelation, and in addition, from this narration it is also known that Jibril (alayhis salam) would come for the explanation and teaching of the matters of Islam.

(13)
There are multiple methods for learning religious and Islamic matters; among them is this method as well, that a session of questions and answers be held, by which matters are well impressed upon the mind.

(14)
The questioner should sit before the one being questioned with his knees bent, with respect and reverence, and the manner of speech should be extremely gentle and courteous.

(15)
Jibril Amin (alayhis salam) wore white clothing, and the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) encouraged wearing white clothing and himself liked it, to the extent that even for the deceased, white shrouds were chosen. (Jami' al-Tirmidhi, Al-Adab, Bab Ma Ja'a fi Lubs al-Bayad, Hadith: 2810)

Benefits:

➊ Belief in good and bad predestination (qadar) is a condition for the soundness of faith, and without believing in it, faith is not complete. Therefore, outright denial of predestination, incorrect division of predestination (i.e., attributing the ownership of good to Allah Ta’ala and considering the accursed Shaytan as the creator of evil), or indulging in unnecessary hair-splitting regarding the issue of predestination is contrary to faith. Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma declared disassociation from such people, and the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam described them as the Magians (Majus) of this Ummah. Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma narrates that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: «الْقَدَرِيَّةٌ مَجُوسُ هَذِهِ الْأُمَّةِ، إِنْ مَرِضُوا فَلا تَعُودُوهُمْ، وَإِنْ مَاتُوا فَلَا تَشْهَدُوهُمْ» The Qadariyyah (deniers of predestination) are the Magians of this Ummah; if they fall ill, do not visit them, and if they die, do not attend their funeral prayer.

[ابو داود: 4691، حاكم: 117/1، اسناده حسن]

➋ Affirmation of tawhid (monotheism) and risalah (messengership), establishing prayer, paying zakah, fasting in Ramadan, and performing Hajj for those who are able—these are the five pillars of Islam upon which the structure of Islam is established. Denial of any one of these pillars takes a person out of the fold of Islam; therefore, continual adherence to these pillars is a condition for the soundness of Islam.

➌ ‘Umrah is not included among the pillars of Islam. There is also a difference of opinion regarding its obligation, and according to the preferred view, performing ‘umrah is a recommended (mustahabb) act, not obligatory (wajib).

➍ For the validity of prayer, the completion of ablution (wudu) is a condition, and just as prayer is not valid without ablution, likewise, for the obligatory ablution, completing the ablution is necessary. If the ablution is incomplete, the prayer is also not valid. Furthermore, there are two conditions for the completion of ablution which must be observed:

1. It is obligatory to wash all the limbs of ablution, including wiping over the head, once each. If any one of these obligations is omitted, the ablution remains incomplete. Abdullah ibn ‘Amr radi Allahu anhuma reports: «رَجَعْنَا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مِنْ مَكَّةَ إِلَى الْمَدِينَةِ حَتَّى إِذَا كُنَّا بِمَاءٍ بِالطَّرِيْقِ، تَعَجَّلَ قَوْمٌ عِنْدَ الْعَصْرِ فَتَوَضَّوا، وَهُمْ عُجَالٌ، فَانْتَهَيْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ وَأَعْقَابُهُمْ بِيضٌ تَلُوحُ، لَمْ يَمَسُّهَا الْمَاءُ . فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم: وَيْلٌ لِلْأَعْقَابِ مِنَ النَّارِ .» “We returned from Makkah to Madinah in the company of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam. When we reached near a water source on the way, some people hastened to perform the ‘Asr prayer and performed ablution quickly. When we reached them, their heels were shining (dry), not touched by water. Upon this, the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: ‘Woe to the heels (left dry) from the Fire! (Complete your ablution).’” [مسلم: 241]

Similarly, it is narrated from Abdullah ibn Harith radi Allahu anhu that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: «وَيْلٌ لِلاعْقَابِ مِنَ النَّارِ، وَبُطُونِ الْأَقْدَامِ مِنَ النَّارِ» “Woe to the heels left dry in ablution and to the inner (middle) parts of the feet from the Fire.” [صحيح الجامع الصغير: 7133، صحيح]

2. Reciting “Bismillah” at the beginning of ablution is a condition for the validity of ablution. Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu reports that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: «لا صَلَاةَ لِمَنْ لا ُوضُوْءَ لَهُ، وَلا وَضُوْءَ لِمَنْ لَمْ يَذْكُرِ اسْمَ اللهَ عَلَيْهِ» The prayer of one who is not in a state of ablution is not accepted, and whoever does not mention the name of Allah when performing ablution

«بسم الله» his ablution is not valid. [ابوداؤد: 101، ابن ماجه: 399، صحيح الجامع: 7514، صحيح]

(1) "Placed on the knees" — Out of respect, he touched your knees. And there is no harm in this.

(2) "Shepherds of sheep and goats" — In the Arab environment, shepherds of sheep and goats were considered poor and lowly, whereas those who owned camels were regarded as honorable. Or, it is because shepherds were generally slaves and servants. In Arabic, the phrase "ar-ra‘ā’ al-bahm" was used. Several other meanings have also been given for this, for example: black-skinned shepherds, unknown shepherds, or destitute shepherds, etc.

(3) "Could not recognize" — The manner of the one who came was so astonishing that until the very end, even the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) could not realize it. It was only after he disappeared that it became known that he was an angel.

(4) "In the form of Dihyah Kalbi" — These words are rare and are contrary to the context of the hadith. The original words are those found in the narration of Umar (radi Allahu anhu): "la ya‘rifuhu minna ahad" — that none of us recognized him. From this clarification, it is known that the words "who came in the form of Dihyah Kalbi" are not correct, because if he had come in the form of Dihyah (radi Allahu anhu), then he would have been recognized. See: (Dhakheerat al-‘Uqba, Sharh Sunan an-Nasa’i: 37/229)

Hadith Authentication (Takhrij al-Hadith):
[صحيح مسلم 93]

Jurisprudential Explanation of the Hadith (Fiqh al-Hadith):
➊ This is a magnificent hadith. The summary of the omitted portion is that Abdullah ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma declared disassociation from those who denied predestination (qadar) and said: "If any one of them were to spend gold equal to Mount Uhud (in the way of Allah), Allah would not accept it from him." It is thus evident that the deeds of innovators of major innovations (bid‘ah kubra) are rendered void.
➋ Faith (iman) is the name of both statement and action; prayer (salah), fasting in Ramadan, and pilgrimage (hajj)—all four are actions and are among faith and its pillars.
➌ The exact date and time of the Day of Judgment (Qiyamah) is known only to Allah, and no one besides Allah is the Knower of the Unseen (al-ghayb). The news of the unseen that the noble Prophets (alayhim as-salam) conveyed was all informed through divine revelation (wahy). The noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) also did not know the unseen; otherwise, they would have recognized Jibril (alayhis-salam) beforehand.
➍ Angels have appeared in the world in human form, although their real form is other than this, and angels also have wings.
➎ This hadith contains a great many benefits. Among the senior scholars of Saudi Arabia, Shaykh Abdul-Muhsin bin Hamad al-Abbad al-Badr (hafizahullah) has written a tremendous and beneficial book of (79 pages) in explanation of this blessed hadith, «شرح حديث جبريل فى تعليم الدين», in which he has compiled many benefits. May Allah reward him with goodness.

Note (Tanbih):
This book has been published with my Urdu translation, research, and benefits.
Imam Qurtubi rahimahullah says: "This hadith is worthy of being called Umm al-Sunnah (the mother of the Sunnah), because it contains knowledge of (many) sentences of your (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) Sunnah." [فتح الباری125/1]
➏ It is established from the Shari‘ah texts that upon every legally responsible Muslim, five prayers in the day and night, fasting in Ramadan every year, zakah once every year, and pilgrimage (hajj) only once in a lifetime are obligatory.