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الادب المفرد
Adab al-Mufrad
كتاب صلة الرحمBook of Maintaining Ties of Kinship
بَابُ صِلَةِ ذِي الرَّحِمِ الْمُشْرِكِ وَالْهَدِيَّةِChapter: Maintaining Ties with a Polytheist Relative and Giving Gifts
Hadith 71
اُردوEn
حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَلاَمٍ، قَالَ: أَخْبَرَنَا عَبْدَةُ، عَنْ عُبَيْدِ اللهِ، عَنْ نَافِعٍ، عَنِ ابْنِ عُمَرَ، رَأَى عُمَرُ حُلَّةً سِيَرَاءَ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، لَوِ اشْتَرَيْتَ هَذِهِ، فَلَبِسْتَهَا يَوْمَ الْجُمُعَةِ، وَلِلْوُفُودِ إِذَا أَتَوْكَ، فَقَالَ: ”يَا عُمَرُ، إِنَّمَا يَلْبَسُ هَذِهِ مَنْ لاَ خَلاَقَ لَهُ“، ثُمَّ أُهْدِيَ لِلنَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مِنْهَا حُلَلٌ، فَأَهْدَى إِلَى عُمَرَ مِنْهَا حُلَّةً، فَجَاءَ عُمَرُ إِلَى رَسُولِ اللهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَقَالَ: يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ، بَعَثْتَ إِلَيَّ هَذِهِ، وَقَدْ سَمِعْتُكَ قُلْتَ فِيهَا مَا قُلْتَ، قَالَ: ”إِنِّي لَمْ أُهْدِهَا لَكَ لِتَلْبَسَهَا، إِنَّمَا أَهْدَيْتُهَا إِلَيْكَ لِتَبِيعَهَا أَوْ لِتَكْسُوَهَا“، فَأَهْدَاهَا عُمَرُ لأَخٍ لَهُ مِنْ أُمِّهِ مُشْرِكٍ.
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) that Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw a suit of striped silk clothes and said (to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him): "O Messenger of Allah! If you were to buy this and wear it on Fridays and for receiving delegations (how good it would look)," upon this the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "O Umar! This is worn only by the one who has no share in the Hereafter." Later, similar suits were sent to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a gift, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sent one suit as a gift to Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: "O Messenger of Allah! You have sent this to me, even though I heard you say about it what you said." The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I did not send it to you so that you wear it. My purpose in giving it as a gift was that you sell it (and benefit from its price), or give it to someone else." So Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) gave it as a gift to his polytheist brother from his mother's side.
Explanation & Benefits
Shaykh Maulana Usman Muneeb
Benefits and Issues:
➊ Even if a close relative is a polytheist, one should still maintain ties of kinship with them, as is made clear from the hadith.
➋ The purpose of giving gifts is to express mutual love, while it is not permissible to have love for a disbeliever. So why did Umar radi Allahu anhu give a gift to his polytheist brother? The answer is that the purpose could have been to win his heart. When there is hatred for disbelief in the heart, it is permissible to give a gift to a disbeliever for the sake of softening his heart, so that an effort may be made to bring him closer to Islam.
➌ From this hadith, the importance of maintaining ties of kinship is also evident, that even if a relative is a disbeliever, one should still maintain ties of kinship with him.
➍ From Umar radi Allahu anhu giving a silk garment as a gift to his polytheist brother, it is understood that disbelievers are not bound by the rulings of the Shariah. However, this issue is disputed. The scholars are agreed that disbelievers are bound by the fundamentals of the Shariah, i.e., they are obligated to bring faith. Regarding the subsidiary matters, such as: performing prayer, fasting, abstaining from the unlawful, etc., there are three opinions:
• Just as with the fundamentals, disbelievers are also obligated in the subsidiary matters.
• They are obligated in the fundamentals, but not in the subsidiary matters.
• In the subsidiary matters, they are not obligated regarding the commands (the things they are ordered to do), but they are obligated regarding the prohibitions (the things they are forbidden from).
The preferred opinion is that just as disbelievers are obligated to bring faith, i.e., it is necessary for them to believe, otherwise they will be punished, similarly it is also necessary for them to fulfill the subsidiary matters of the Shariah, because the Noble Qur’an explicitly states that the punishment for disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection will also be due to not performing prayer. Allah the Exalted says:
﴿مَا سَلَکَکُمْ في سَقَرَ() قَالُوْا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّیْنَ﴾ (al-Muddaththir: 42, 43)
“(It will be asked of the criminals:) ‘What led you into Hell?’ They will say, ‘We were not of those who prayed.’”
An objection is raised here: when their prayers are not accepted in the state of disbelief, then what is the meaning of demanding prayer from them?
Abu Ali al-Rajraji rahimahullah, answering this, says:
Disbelievers are commanded to leave the state of disbelief and bring faith, and, as a consequence, are also commanded to perform acts of worship, i.e., they are commanded to believe and then perform prayer. They are addressed regarding prayer in the same way as a person without ablution (wudu) is told to pray. This means: first perform ablution, then pray, because you are obligated to pray, and in the case of ritual impurity, you must also remove the barrier to its acceptance. Similarly, the disbeliever is also addressed regarding prayer: he should remove his disbelief, which is the barrier to the acceptance of prayer, and then perform prayer. (Raf‘ al-Niqab ‘an Tanqih al-Shihab: 2/286)
Therefore, from Umar radi Allahu anhu giving a gift to his polytheist brother, it is not established that it is permissible for polytheists to use it; rather, it is also possible that Umar radi Allahu anhu gave it for the purpose that he might sell it and make use of its value. This is the correct view. Otherwise, giving it to a disbeliever would be something that encourages actions contrary to Islam, which is the mindset with which the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave Umar radi Allahu anhu the silk suit, and accordingly, Umar radi Allahu anhu gave it as a gift to his brother. See the detailed explanation in the commentary of Hadith no. 26.
Or it may also be because when he does not accept the fundamentals of the Shariah, then whether or not he accepts the subsidiary matters is the same. That is, even if he does not wear this garment, he is still a disbeliever and deserving of Allah’s punishment, because refraining from wearing it would only be beneficial if he brought faith.
In short, even if a disbeliever observes the subsidiary matters of the Shariah, it will not benefit him, because intention is a condition in acts of worship, and the intention of a disbeliever, as long as he does not profess the testimony of monotheism, is not valid.
➊ Even if a close relative is a polytheist, one should still maintain ties of kinship with them, as is made clear from the hadith.
➋ The purpose of giving gifts is to express mutual love, while it is not permissible to have love for a disbeliever. So why did Umar radi Allahu anhu give a gift to his polytheist brother? The answer is that the purpose could have been to win his heart. When there is hatred for disbelief in the heart, it is permissible to give a gift to a disbeliever for the sake of softening his heart, so that an effort may be made to bring him closer to Islam.
➌ From this hadith, the importance of maintaining ties of kinship is also evident, that even if a relative is a disbeliever, one should still maintain ties of kinship with him.
➍ From Umar radi Allahu anhu giving a silk garment as a gift to his polytheist brother, it is understood that disbelievers are not bound by the rulings of the Shariah. However, this issue is disputed. The scholars are agreed that disbelievers are bound by the fundamentals of the Shariah, i.e., they are obligated to bring faith. Regarding the subsidiary matters, such as: performing prayer, fasting, abstaining from the unlawful, etc., there are three opinions:
• Just as with the fundamentals, disbelievers are also obligated in the subsidiary matters.
• They are obligated in the fundamentals, but not in the subsidiary matters.
• In the subsidiary matters, they are not obligated regarding the commands (the things they are ordered to do), but they are obligated regarding the prohibitions (the things they are forbidden from).
The preferred opinion is that just as disbelievers are obligated to bring faith, i.e., it is necessary for them to believe, otherwise they will be punished, similarly it is also necessary for them to fulfill the subsidiary matters of the Shariah, because the Noble Qur’an explicitly states that the punishment for disbelievers on the Day of Resurrection will also be due to not performing prayer. Allah the Exalted says:
﴿مَا سَلَکَکُمْ في سَقَرَ() قَالُوْا لَمْ نَكُ مِنَ الْمُصَلِّیْنَ﴾ (al-Muddaththir: 42, 43)
“(It will be asked of the criminals:) ‘What led you into Hell?’ They will say, ‘We were not of those who prayed.’”
An objection is raised here: when their prayers are not accepted in the state of disbelief, then what is the meaning of demanding prayer from them?
Abu Ali al-Rajraji rahimahullah, answering this, says:
Disbelievers are commanded to leave the state of disbelief and bring faith, and, as a consequence, are also commanded to perform acts of worship, i.e., they are commanded to believe and then perform prayer. They are addressed regarding prayer in the same way as a person without ablution (wudu) is told to pray. This means: first perform ablution, then pray, because you are obligated to pray, and in the case of ritual impurity, you must also remove the barrier to its acceptance. Similarly, the disbeliever is also addressed regarding prayer: he should remove his disbelief, which is the barrier to the acceptance of prayer, and then perform prayer. (Raf‘ al-Niqab ‘an Tanqih al-Shihab: 2/286)
Therefore, from Umar radi Allahu anhu giving a gift to his polytheist brother, it is not established that it is permissible for polytheists to use it; rather, it is also possible that Umar radi Allahu anhu gave it for the purpose that he might sell it and make use of its value. This is the correct view. Otherwise, giving it to a disbeliever would be something that encourages actions contrary to Islam, which is the mindset with which the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam gave Umar radi Allahu anhu the silk suit, and accordingly, Umar radi Allahu anhu gave it as a gift to his brother. See the detailed explanation in the commentary of Hadith no. 26.
Or it may also be because when he does not accept the fundamentals of the Shariah, then whether or not he accepts the subsidiary matters is the same. That is, even if he does not wear this garment, he is still a disbeliever and deserving of Allah’s punishment, because refraining from wearing it would only be beneficial if he brought faith.
In short, even if a disbeliever observes the subsidiary matters of the Shariah, it will not benefit him, because intention is a condition in acts of worship, and the intention of a disbeliever, as long as he does not profess the testimony of monotheism, is not valid.
Source: Fadlullah al-Ahad: Urdu Commentary on al-Adab al-Mufrad, Page: 71
