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الفتح الربانی
Fath al-Rabbani
مسائل البر وصلة الرحمIssues of Righteousness and Maintaining Family Ties
بَابُ مَا جَاءَ فِي تَعْرِيفِ الْبِرِّ وَالْإِثْمِChapter on what has been narrated regarding the definition of righteousness and sin
Hadith 8987
اُردوEn
عَنْ أَبِي ثَعْلَبَةَ الْخُشَنِيِّ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَخْبِرْنِي بِمَا يَحِلُّ لِي وَيُحَرَّمُ عَلَيَّ قَالَ فَصَعَّدَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَصَوَّبَ فِي النَّظَرِ فَقَالَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَآلِهِ وَسَلَّمَ الْبِرُّ مَا سَكَنَتْ إِلَيْهِ النَّفْسُ وَاطْمَأَنَّ إِلَيْهِ الْقَلْبُ وَالْإِثْمُ مَا لَمْ تَسْكُنْ إِلَيْهِ النَّفْسُ وَلَمْ يَطْمَئِنَّ إِلَيْهِ الْقَلْبُ وَإِنْ أَفْتَاكَ الْمُفْتُونَ وَقَالَ لَا تَقْرَبْ لَحْمَ الْحِمَارِ الْأَهْلِيِّ وَلَا ذَا نَابٍ مِنَ السِّبَاعِ
It is narrated from Sayyiduna Abu Tha’labah Khushani, may Allah be pleased with him, who says: I said, O Messenger of Allah! Tell me about those things which are lawful for me and those which are unlawful for me. The Noble Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, raised his gaze towards the sky and then lowered it, and said: Goodness is that which brings satisfaction to the soul and peace to the heart, and evil is that which neither brings comfort to the soul nor peace to the heart, even if those who give legal opinions continue to give their opinions. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, further said: Do not go near the meat of domestic donkeys and predatory animals with fangs.
Brief Explanation
Benefits: … The people who are meant by “those who are aware” are the dignified and learned individuals of society, from whom one feels a sense of shame.
Without a doubt, in Islamic Shariah, the matters of virtue and sin have been determined with clarity. The law presented in these blessed ahadith pertains to those who are of sound natural disposition and God-conscious, not to the general public, because ordinary people do not possess such knowledge of Allah, such awareness, or such taste that they can determine virtue or vice by the light of their own souls. As Allamah Ubaidullah Mubarakpuri rahimahullah has said: This hadith pertains to those whose inner selves are cleansed of impurities and whose hearts are pure from sins; this hadith does not relate to the general public, especially sinners, because those poor souls often mistake sin for virtue and virtue for sin. (Mir’at al-Mafatih: 1/117) The condition of people in the present age has, to a great extent, affirmed the meaning of Mubarakpuri sahib. Everyone has made self-invented standards of good and evil for their own lives; if a scholar presents a fatwa or arguments contrary to their criteria, either he will not be given enough importance for his words to be heeded, or it will be said to him that there is not so much strictness in Islam.
For example, there was a man who spoke very little, did not comment about others, and was a harmless person, but he did not perform the prayers (salah), was distant from recitation of the Noble Qur’an, did not observe the rules regarding women’s veiling, would indulge in light intoxication, and would shave his beard. Merely by observing his silence, people considered educated by worldly standards said that he must be an angel, because he remains silent and does not interfere in anyone else’s matters. This is the standard of the general public for calling someone good or bad: a person who does not pray is being called an angel. Silence within permissible limits is a good trait, but the entirety of Islam is not hidden within this one characteristic.
For the general public, the standard is the Qur’an and Hadith; they should understand virtues and sins in the light of the Qur’an and Hadith, and then fulfill the requirements of obedience to Allah and His Messenger.
Without a doubt, in Islamic Shariah, the matters of virtue and sin have been determined with clarity. The law presented in these blessed ahadith pertains to those who are of sound natural disposition and God-conscious, not to the general public, because ordinary people do not possess such knowledge of Allah, such awareness, or such taste that they can determine virtue or vice by the light of their own souls. As Allamah Ubaidullah Mubarakpuri rahimahullah has said: This hadith pertains to those whose inner selves are cleansed of impurities and whose hearts are pure from sins; this hadith does not relate to the general public, especially sinners, because those poor souls often mistake sin for virtue and virtue for sin. (Mir’at al-Mafatih: 1/117) The condition of people in the present age has, to a great extent, affirmed the meaning of Mubarakpuri sahib. Everyone has made self-invented standards of good and evil for their own lives; if a scholar presents a fatwa or arguments contrary to their criteria, either he will not be given enough importance for his words to be heeded, or it will be said to him that there is not so much strictness in Islam.
For example, there was a man who spoke very little, did not comment about others, and was a harmless person, but he did not perform the prayers (salah), was distant from recitation of the Noble Qur’an, did not observe the rules regarding women’s veiling, would indulge in light intoxication, and would shave his beard. Merely by observing his silence, people considered educated by worldly standards said that he must be an angel, because he remains silent and does not interfere in anyone else’s matters. This is the standard of the general public for calling someone good or bad: a person who does not pray is being called an angel. Silence within permissible limits is a good trait, but the entirety of Islam is not hidden within this one characteristic.
For the general public, the standard is the Qur’an and Hadith; they should understand virtues and sins in the light of the Qur’an and Hadith, and then fulfill the requirements of obedience to Allah and His Messenger.
