Bukhari

Hadith Commentary: Hafiz (rahimahullah) says that this seal was not on the Prophet’s (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) back at the time of his birth, as some have assumed; rather, after the splitting of the chest (shaqq al-sadr), the angels placed this mark.

This subject has been narrated by Abu Dawud Tayalisi and Harith ibn Asamah in their Musnads, and by Abu Nu‘aym in “Dala’il al-Nubuwwah,” and Imam Ahmad and Bayhaqi have also narrated it.

The phrase “like the egg of a partridge (hajlah)” is not present in most versions of the hadith, and the correct view is that it is present, because if it were not in the hadith, why would Muhammad ibn ‘Ubaydullah explain this word? Some have translated it as “like the egg of a hajlah,” and hajlah is the name of a bird that is smaller than a pigeon.

“Zar” with the precedence of the letter zā’ (ز) over the letter rā’ (ر), or with the precedence of the letter rā’ (ر) over the letter zā’ (ز), i.e., “raz,” is transmitted both ways.

By “raz” is meant “egg.”

The narration of Ibrahim ibn Hamzah has been included by Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) himself in the Book of Medicine (Kitab al-Tibb).

Hafiz (rahimahullah) said: I have not come to know the name of the maternal aunt of Sa’ib ibn Yazid.

However, his mother’s name was Mulaybah bint Shurayh.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has deduced from multiple hadiths that this Seal of Prophethood was not present at the time of the birth of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam; rather, the angels placed it as a sign between his two shoulders at the time of the splitting of the chest (shaqq al-sadr).
And Allah knows best.
(Fath al-Bari: 6/687)
2.
That Seal of Prophethood was like the "zar al-hajlah" as is explicitly mentioned in other narrations.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Marda, Hadith: 5670)
The explanation of "zar al-hajlah" has been given in two ways:
a.
Hajlah is a bird that resembles a pigeon.
Its beak and feet are red.
Its meat is very delicious.
Zar refers to its egg.
This meaning is also supported by a hadith narrated by Hazrat Jabir bin Samurah radi Allahu anhu.
He says:
I saw the Seal of Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam between his two shoulders, which (in size)
was like a pigeon’s egg and (in color)
was like the rest of his body.
(Sahih Muslim, al-Fada’il, Hadith: 6084(2344))
b.
Hajlah refers to the bridal palanquin, which is decorated with beautiful fabrics.
It has large buttons, meaning the Seal of Prophethood was like the knobs of a canopy, which are oval-shaped and the size of a pigeon’s egg, attached to the curtain that is hung over the canopy.
Most scholars have considered this latter meaning to be more correct.
3.
Hazrat Abdullah bin Sarjis radi Allahu anhu states that he had the honor of conversing with the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and also the privilege of sitting and eating with him.
He saw that sign, i.e., the Seal of Prophethood, which was near the soft bone of his left shoulder and was about the size of a closed fist.
Upon it was a cluster of moles like warts.
(Musnad Ahmad: 5/82)
Allamah Qurtubi rahimahullah says:
From many hadiths it is known that the Seal of Prophethood was a protruding thing near his left shoulder.
When its size was smaller, it was like a pigeon’s egg; when larger, it was about the size of a closed fist.
(Fath al-Bari: 6/688)
In this regard, Hazrat Abu Zayd Amr bin Akhtab radi Allahu anhu narrates that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam once told him to pass his hand over his back:
I began to pass my hand over his back, and suddenly my fingers touched the Seal of Prophethood.
The narrator says he was asked:
What was the Seal of Prophethood? He replied that it was a collection of a few hairs.
(Musnad Ahmad: 5/77)
4.
A detailed narration is reported from Hazrat Abdullah bin Sarjis radi Allahu anhu; he says:
Once I came to the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam when there was a crowd of people with him.
I walked around behind the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and he understood my intention.
He removed his blessed cloak from his back, and I saw the Seal of Prophethood between his two shoulders, about the size of a fist, around which were moles that looked like the heads of needles. Then I came before the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam and said:
O Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam! May Allah forgive you.
He replied:
“May Allah forgive you as well.”
People said to me, (You are fortunate because)
the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has prayed for you.
I said:
Yes! And for all of you as well, because Allah has commanded:
O Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam)! Pray for forgiveness for yourself and for the believing men and women.
(Muhammad: 47/19 and Sahih Muslim, al-Fada’il, Hadith: 6088(2346))
5.
Allamah Suhayli rahimahullah has written that the Prophet was protected from satanic whispers, and for this reason, the Seal of Prophethood was placed near the soft bone of the left shoulder.
This is the very place from which Satan finds an opportunity to interfere.
(Fath al-Bari: 6/689)

Hadith Commentary:
Hajlah is a type of bird.
In some narrations, the word is recorded as "raz al-hajlah" with the letter "ra" (ر) coming before the "za" (ز) with a dot, instead of the usual "za" with three dots.
This means that it was rounded like the egg of a chakor (partridge), and this is supported by the narration which al-Tirmidhi has reported from Jabir ibn Samurah, that the Seal of Prophethood of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was between his two shoulders, like a red protuberance the size of a pigeon’s egg (Lughat al-Hadith).

Hadith Commentary:
Or, just as a partridge (hajlah) is a bird and it has an egg, this Seal of Prophethood was your (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) special sign of prophethood.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
The Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam passed his hand over the head of Sayyiduna Sa’ib bin Yazid radi Allahu anhu and supplicated for goodness and blessing for him. Thus, Sayyiduna Ju’ayid bin Abdur Rahman says that he saw Sayyiduna Sa’ib bin Yazid radi Allahu anhu at the age of ninety-four, while he was healthy and strong. Upon my asking, he informed me that it was the result of the supplication of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that he was strong that day, and his eyes and ears were still functioning. None of his limbs had suffered any deficiency. (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Manaqib, Hadith: 3540) (2)
In any case, there is nothing objectionable or problematic in Shari’ah about taking a sick child to an elder so that he may supplicate (make du’a) for him. And Allah knows best.

Explanation:
The leftover water from ablution (wudu) was pure; that is why it was drunk. Therefore, those who claim that used water (āb-i-musta‘mal) is impure are completely mistaken.

Hadith Commentary:
The leftover water from ablution (wudu) was pure; that is why it was drunk.
Therefore, those who claim that used water (āb-i-musta‘mal) is impure are completely mistaken.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
This chapter is without a title, and there are two reasons for this: (1)
The term "fadhl ma’" (leftover water) has two meanings:
One is the water that remains in the vessel after performing ablution (wudu), and the other is the water that drips off the limbs after washing them during ablution, which is termed "ma’ musta’mal" (used water) in the terminology of the jurists (fuqaha).
The previous chapter discussed ma’ musta’mal, and this chapter mentions the water that remains in the vessel after ablution.
(2)
It is Imam Bukhari’s rahimahullah habit that if there remains any deficiency in the subject matter of the previous chapter, he compensates for it with a chapter without a title.
Here too, in the previous narrations, the permissibility of drinking ma’ musta’mal was mentioned, but the deficiency was that only washing the hands, mouth, and rinsing were mentioned, which is an incomplete ablution (wudu naqis).
This could have led to the objection that perhaps the ruling for complete ablution (wudu tamam) is different.
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah compensated for this in this untitled chapter and presented a hadith in which complete ablution is explicitly mentioned.

2.
Hazrat Sa’ib bin Yazid rahimahullah says:
I drank the leftover water.
There are two possibilities here: either the water remaining in the vessel after ablution is meant, or the water that dripped from the noble limbs was drunk.
However, using the water that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used for blessing and for the cure of illness seems more likely.

3.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has written that these ahadith refute those who consider ma’ musta’mal to be impure (najis), whereas ma’ musta’mal is not impure, because an impure thing is not worthy of blessing.
Then he wrote, quoting Ibn al-Mundhir, that the moisture remaining on the limbs after ablution or the drops that fall on clothes during ablution—there is consensus on their purity.
From this, it is evident that ma’ musta’mal is also pure, and declaring it impure is not correct.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/388)

4.
It should be clear that the difference of opinion among the jurists regarding "ma’ musta’mal" pertains to the ablution (wudu) or ritual bath (ghusl) performed as an act of devotion (taqarrub).
If ablution is performed over another ablution, or water is used merely for cooling or cleanliness, there is no difference of opinion regarding such water.
Such water is pure and purifying (tahir wa mutahhir).

5.
This hadith also shows that taking a sick child to an elder for supplication (du’a) is not against piety, and that loving children and praying for their goodness and blessing is a Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
The effect of the Prophet’s sallallahu alayhi wa sallam supplication for Hazrat Sa’ib bin Yazid radi Allahu anhu was that he was healthy and strong at the age of ninety-four (94), and his hearing and sight had not diminished.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Manaqib, Hadith: 3540)

6.
Islahi Sahib has also "pondered" (tadabbur) over this hadith and paved the way for its rejection.
Thus, regarding Hazrat Sa’ib bin Yazid’s radi Allahu anhu statement about the Seal of Prophethood (khatam al-nubuwwah), he comments as follows:
"It is questionable to accept the statement of a young child; did the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam keep the upper part of his body uncovered during prayer? If that happened, how did Sa’ib know what he was seeing? That it was the Seal of Prophethood? A child’s mind would not go in that direction, but such a thing could be put into his mouth.
In my view, the concept of the Seal of Prophethood does not conform to the principles of prophethood and the temperament of the religion; somehow this idea was propagated and spread among some people."
(Tadabbur Hadith: 1/290)

Our comments on this statement are as follows:
(1)
Islahi Sahib based his denial of the Seal of Prophethood on the claim that the upper part of the Prophet’s sallallahu alayhi wa sallam body was not uncovered during prayer, so the Seal could not have been observed.
Islahi Sahib’s very premise is entirely incorrect, because when Hazrat Sa’ib bin Yazid radi Allahu anhu saw the Seal of Prophethood, the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was not in prayer.
This is his own invented assumption, which is not supported by the ahadith.
(2)
Islahi Sahib says: How did Sa’ib know that what he was seeing was the Seal of Prophethood? Hazrat Sa’ib radi Allahu anhu narrated his own observation.
At that time, his childhood had ended.
By the grace of Allah, even at the age of ninety-four, he was healthy and strong.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Manaqib, Hadith: 3540)
Moreover, children who grew up during the Prophetic era were not like our children; rather, in the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, there were children who, at the age of six or seven, had memorized much of the Noble Qur’an and led people in prayer.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Maghazi, Hadith: 4302)
(3)
Islahi Sahib has alleged that such a thing could have been put into his mouth.
It is a matter of gratitude that in the chain of this narration, Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri is not present, who is a thorn in their throat; otherwise, he would have been blamed for this.
We say that the Orientalists and atheists have put the denial of the Seal of Prophethood into Islahi Sahib’s mouth, which he has uttered at the first opportunity.
(3)
Approximately ten Companions (sahabah) radi Allahu anhum observed the Seal of Prophethood, whose details are as follows: Hazrat Sa’ib bin Yazid radi Allahu anhu (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Wudu, Hadith: 190),
Umm Khalid bint Khalid radi Allahu anha, Jabir bin Samurah radi Allahu anhu (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Jihad wa’l-Siyar, Hadith: 3071),
Abdullah bin Sarjis radi Allahu anhu (Sahih Muslim, al-Fada’il, Hadith: 6088(2346)),
Qurra bin Iyas Muzani radi Allahu anhu (Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Libas, Hadith: 4082),
Rumaythah bint Amr radi Allahu anha (Musnad Ahmad: 6/329),
Abu Zayd Amr bin Akhtab radi Allahu anhu (Musnad Ahmad: 5/340),
Hazrat Salman al-Farisi radi Allahu anhu (Musnad Ahmad: 5/438),
the physician of the tribe of Banu Amir (Musnad Ahmad: 1/223).
Also, Imam Tirmidhi rahimahullah has referenced Hazrat Buraydah Aslami and Hazrat Abu Sa’id as well.
The great hadith scholars (muhaddithin) have established independent chapters in their works regarding the affirmation of the Seal of Prophethood, and Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, Imam Muslim rahimahullah, and Imam Tirmidhi rahimahullah have titled chapters on this and then established it through various ahadith.
Among the scholars of the People of the Book, this distinguishing sign of the Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam was well known. In this regard, only two testimonies are presented:
(1)
When the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam went to the region of Syria for trade with his uncle Abu Talib, accompanied by the elders of Quraysh, they met a monk on the way, who recognized him by the Seal of Prophethood.
(Jami’ al-Tirmidhi, al-Manaqib, Hadith: 3620)
(2)
A monk told Hazrat Salman al-Farisi radi Allahu anhu about the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam that he would not eat charity, would accept gifts, and would have the Seal of Prophethood between his shoulders.
Hazrat Salman al-Farisi radi Allahu anhu observed all three signs and accepted Islam.
(Musnad Ahmad: 5/443)
Despite all these facts, if it is said that the concept of the Seal of Prophethood does not conform to the principles of prophethood and the temperament of the religion, then in response it can only be said that these are the fruits and blessings of self-made and invented "tadabbur" (pondering).
Indeed, those who, in the name of Tadabbur Hadith, planted the thorny bush of hadith rejection, must now be feeling the pricking of its thorns before Allah:
( فَهَلْ وَجَدْتُمْ مَا وَعَدَ رَبُّكُمْ حَقًّا )
For the information of the esteemed readers, those who "ponder" over the ahadith first sacrificed the Noble Qur’an to their tadabbur.
Their interest in the ahadith is such that in the Tafsir Tadabbur Qur’an, which consists of eight volumes and more than four and a half thousand pages, only forty ahadith are mentioned in all four thousand eight hundred and seventy pages.
However, there is considerable inclination towards the subtleties of pre-Islamic (jahili) literature and lexicography.
They have stated four definitive principles for tafsir in the introduction to Tadabbur Qur’an: 1. Jahili literature, 2. The coherence (nazm) of the Qur’an, 3. Tafsir of the Qur’an by the Qur’an, 4. Mutawatir Sunnah. After this, ahadith are accepted only as speculative sources. Such disregard for ahadith is highly significant.
Note:
The nature, modality, and wisdom of the Seal of Prophethood will be explained in detail in the Book of Virtues (Kitab al-Manaqib).

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Hajlah:
The bride's palanquin or a swan.
(2)
Zar, plural of azrar:
Button,
large button or egg.
If it is "raz," then the meaning will be "egg."