Ibn Majah

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:
Regarding the remembrance (dhikr) after prayer, the hadith of Zayd ibn Thabit [سنن نسائي: 1351], regarding the call to prayer (adhan), the hadith of Abdullah ibn Zayd ibn Abd Rabbih [سنن ابي داؤد: 499 و اسناده حسن], and the aforementioned hadith indicate that, for the purpose of teaching, angels used to come in human form, and afterwards the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam (through revelation) would confirm this. It should be clear that in the Shariah, the dreams of anyone other than a prophet are absolutely not a proof, except for those dreams during the Prophetic era which the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself confirmed. Apart from this, no legal ruling can be derived from any dream, whereas the foundations of the sects and schools of some people are based solely on dreams, which is clearly false.

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Qadar:
It is read with a fatha on the dal and with sukun,
meaning estimation,
measure,
power and ability.
(2)
Yataqaffaroon:
They search and seek,
if the fa comes before the qaf, i.e., yatafarraqoon, then it means they extract subtleties,
they delve into depth.
(3)
Al-amra unuf:
Every matter is happening anew,
Allah ta’ala does not have prior knowledge of it,
Allah ta’ala comes to know of it after it occurs.
(4)
Hufatan:
Plural of haafin.
Those who are barefoot,
the singular of ‘uraat is ‘aarin,
those who are naked,
the singular of ‘aalah is ‘aa’il.
Poor and needy,
ri’aan with a kasrah on the ra is the plural of ra’in, meaning shepherd.
(5)
Yatatawaloon:
They will compete with each other in the height, elevation, and abundance of buildings, and boast to one another about their beauty and adornment.
(6)
Maliyyan:
With a fatha on the meem and shaddah on the ya,
to stay for a long time or for a while.
In the narration of Sunan, this period was three days.
Umar radi Allahu anhu had left the gathering early,
so the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam informed him later, and informed those present in the same gathering.

Benefits and Issues:
The arrival of Jibril alayhis salam and his conversation with the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam took place in the very last period of the Prophet’s life,
as if the religion which was completed
in your twenty-three-year life,
in the final period, its summary and essence was presented before the noble Companions radi Allahu anhum in the form of the questions of Jibril and your sallallahu alayhi wa sallam’s answers,
and this hadith is known as Hadith Jibril.
Since this hadith contains the essence,
summary, and fragrance of the entire religion,
just as Surah al-Fatiha contains the essence and core of the entire Qur’an,
this hadith is called Umm al-Sunnah or Umm al-Hadith,
just as al-Fatiha is called Umm al-Qur’an or Umm al-Kitab.

The essence and spirit of the religion are three things:
(a)
A person should completely surrender himself to Allah ta’ala, become obedient and submissive to Him,
spend his entire life in His servitude,
this is called Islam,
and its five pillars:
testimony and declaration of monotheism and messengership,
prayer,
zakat,
fasting, and pilgrimage to the House of Allah—these are the tangible form of Islam and the manifestation of servitude.

(b)
To believe in and have conviction in those unseen realities
which Allah ta’ala’s Messenger informs about and invites to believe in, this is called Iman (faith),
which has six pillars:
belief in Allah ta’ala,
the angels,
the revealed books,
the messengers,
the Last Day, and belief in divine decree (qadar), both good and evil.

(c)
Such firm conviction in Islam and Iman
that it leads to such awareness of Allah ta’ala’s Being that His commands and prohibitions,
and His orders and prohibitions are followed as if He is before our eyes and is watching us.
This state of obedience and servitude is called Ihsan.
Although a person cannot see in this world, he imagines seeing, because Allah ta’ala is indeed watching, and in reality, it is His seeing that matters, for He alone will give reward and recompense.

To have faith in Allah ta’ala:
This means to affirm all the attributes of perfection with which He is described in the Qur’an and Hadith, and to accept them without likening, representation, modality, or interpretation (bi-la tashbih wa tamthil, bi-la kayf wa ta’wil).
And to declare Him free and pure from all attributes of deficiency,
not to associate anyone with Him in His essence,
attributes, actions, or rights,
to acknowledge Him as the Creator, Owner, and Administrator of the entire universe,
to accept that only He is the owner of benefit and harm.
Therefore, He alone should be considered the fulfiller of all needs and the solver of all difficulties.

To have faith in the angels:
This means that they are an independent creation, just as humans,
jinn, and animals are each separate and independent creations.
Angels are a pure and honorable creation of Allah ta’ala,
i.e., “Ibadun Mukramoon” (honored and noble servants),
in whom there is no element of evil, mischief, disobedience, or rebellion.
﴿لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّـهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ﴾ (al-Tahrim: 6)
“They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and they do what they are commanded.”
﴿لَا يَسْبِقُونَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ وَهُم بِأَمْرِهِ يَعْمَلُونَ﴾ (al-Anbiya: 27)
“They do not precede Him in speech, and they act by His command.”
Thus, to believe from the depths of the heart in the attributes and duties described for them in the Qur’an and Sunnah is “Iman bil-Mala’ika” (faith in the angels).

The purpose of believing in the Books of Allah ta’ala is to accept that Allah ta’ala sent guidance for mankind from time to time, and now the final guidance is the Noble Qur’an, which is the confirmation and guardian (muhaimin) of all previous books.
This guidance is,
as it were, the final and most complete edition of the heavenly guidance,
which contains the essential, fundamental, and necessary subjects of all the heavenly books.
It is the most self-sufficient and makes one independent of all else.
It is the guarantor of the needs of all mankind until the end of time.
Now mankind is not in need of any other guidance (heavenly book)
or law and religion,
Allah ta’ala has taken the responsibility of its protection until the Day of Judgment,
He said:
﴿إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ﴾ (al-Hijr: 9)
“Indeed, We have sent down the Reminder, and indeed, We will be its Guardian.”

To have faith in the Messengers of Allah ta’ala means to sincerely affirm this reality that Allah ta’ala, from time to time, for the guidance of His servants,
sent His chosen,
selected, and special servants with a code of life and way of living as a manifestation of His pleasure to different regions and peoples.
They conveyed Allah ta’ala’s message to mankind with utmost honesty, trustworthiness, and sense of duty, and they devoted their lives to bringing people to the right path and saving them from disbelief and misguidance, enduring great hardship and effort in fulfilling their duty.
All of them were truthful and trustworthy,
none of them was negligent in fulfilling their duty, nor did any show laziness or indolence.
The circumstances of some of them are mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah, while most remain hidden,
He said:
﴿مِنْهُم مَّن قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُم مَّن لَّمْ نَقْصُصْ عَلَيْكَ﴾ (al-Mu’min: 78)
“Of them are some whose stories We have related to you, and of them are some whose stories We have not related to you.”
This chain of messengership and prophethood has ended with Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
Now it is not possible for any prophet or messenger to come, and whoever claims this,
or will claim it, is a liar and deceiver, and whoever believes in him will be outside the fold of Islam.
You sallallahu alayhi wa sallam are the Seal of the Prophets and the last Messenger of Allah ta’ala:
﴿مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَـٰكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّـهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ﴾ (al-Ahzab: 40)
“Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is not the father of any of your men,
but he is the Messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets.”
For all people until the Day of Judgment, salvation and success depend on following you alone, and adherence to your guidance and teachings is the sign and mark of faith.

Iman bil-Yawm al-Akhir (faith in the Last Day) means:
To have conviction in the reality that this world will come to an end at its appointed time, i.e., the present universe will be destroyed,
at the end of the world, Allah ta’ala by His perfect power will resurrect all mankind and take account of their lives,
whatever a person did in this world, he will be rewarded or punished for it, he will reap what he has sown,
a person’s success or failure depends on his own belief and actions.

Iman bil-Qadar (faith in divine decree) means:
To affirm that whatever happens in the world, whether good or evil, righteous or wicked,
disbelief and polytheism or faith and conviction,
adherence to the law and religion or disobedience and rebellion,
Allah ta’ala has prior knowledge of all of it, and everything is happening according to His will and decree,
but He likes faith, conviction, obedience, and submission, and dislikes disbelief and disobedience:
﴿لَا يَرْضَىٰ لِعِبَادِهِ الْكُفْرَ ۖ وَإِن تَشْكُرُوا يَرْضَهُ لَكُمْ﴾ (al-Zumar: 7)
“He does not approve disbelief for His servants, and if you are grateful, He approves it for you.”
Nothing in the world is possible without His will; whatever He wills happens, and whatever He does not will cannot happen,
it is not that He wills something else but something contrary to His will happens in this world—He is not helpless or powerless, rather He is the owner of perfect power.
His knowledge encompasses everything, i.e., it is eternal and everlasting.
He knows everything before it occurs, and whatever is happening in this world is according to His knowledge; it is not that His knowledge is something and what occurs is something else.

The Qadariyyah, who are followers of Ma’bad al-Juhani:
They deny these things,
according to them, Allah ta’ala does not have prior knowledge of anything,
rather, He comes to know when something occurs,
this sect is called Qadariyyah because they debate and scrutinize the issue of qadar (divine decree) excessively,
the people of truth entrust all matters to Allah ta’ala.
And they accept Allah ta’ala as the Creator of all actions,
whether good or evil,
righteous or wicked,
they consider man only as the doer (fa’il)
and acquirer (kasib),
whereas the Qadariyyah consider man himself as the creator of all actions,
thus, they attribute qadar and action to themselves,
that is why they are called Qadariyyah,
but this was the belief of the ancient Qadariyyah who are now extinct,
the Mu’tazilah are also called Qadariyyah,
because they too believed that the servant is capable and is himself the creator of his actions, whether good or evil,
disbelief and misguidance or guidance and righteousness.
The position of the Rafidah, i.e., the Shia, is also the same,
according to the Ahl al-Hadith, Allah ta’ala is the Creator of everything, there is no creator besides Him,
even the will and choice of man and his intentions and thoughts are created by Him.

The modern Qadariyyah:
They accept Allah ta’ala as the Creator of good and man as the creator of evil, so they are called dualists, because the Magians also consider light (Yazdan) as the creator of good and darkness (Ahriman) as the creator of evil,
whereas in reality these people are even worse than the Magians,
because they have made every human being a creator.

Ihsan:
This is that every person should perform every action with utmost excellence and perfection as if he is seeing Allah ta’ala with his own eyes,
because it is an established reality that He is seeing us even if we do not see Him,
thus, Ihsan relates to a person’s entire life and every movement and action.
Its reality is that Allah ta’ala’s servitude and obedience and compliance with every command should be done in such a way, and His accountability and reckoning should be feared in such a way, as if He is before us and is watching every movement and stillness, every word and deed of ours, and our motive and sincerity and effort are apparent to Him.

This reality can be understood as follows: a slave obeys his master’s command in one way when his master is present before him and he is certain that his master is watching his work, and in another way when the master is not present and the slave thinks his master is not watching his work,
generally, there is a difference in these two situations.
The attention, care, effort, diligence, beauty, and skill with which the slave performs his work in the presence of his master, when both are seeing each other,
he does not perform with the same excellence, effort, or enthusiasm in the absence or invisibility of the master.
This is the same with a person and his Creator and Master: when the servant feels that his Creator and Master is watching him,
his every action,
every word and deed, and its motivating force or motive is apparent to Him,
then the attention, care, effort, diligence, and sincerity that is present in his actions and behavior at that time is not present
when he does not have this awareness that his Master and Owner is watching him.
Therefore, at every word and action, this awareness of Ihsan should be present that I am seeing my Master as He is seeing me, because His seeing is an established reality,
so there is a need to develop the feeling of witnessing the Truth.

Imam Nawawi rahimahullah and Imam Sindhi rahimahullah have preferred this meaning,
but generally, the meaning is taken that the highest level is to develop the reality that I am seeing Allah ta’ala and He is seeing me,
this is called mushahadah al-haqq (witnessing the Truth).
Even if this level is not attained, at least the awareness and perception should be present that He (Allah ta’ala)
is seeing me,
even if I am not seeing Him, this is called muraqabah al-haqq (awareness of the Truth).
According to Imam Nawawi rahimahullah and Sindhi rahimahullah, man’s not seeing Allah ta’ala is a reality just as Allah ta’ala’s seeing man is a reality,
therefore, the awareness and mindfulness of muraqabah al-haqq is itself the means and intermediary to mushahadah al-haqq.

If a person does not know something, he should ask the people of knowledge,
and the people of knowledge should answer the questioner’s question cheerfully, and if the scholar does not know the answer to a question, he should clearly say, “I do not know,”
and after research and investigation, he can inform, and not knowing the answer to every question is not against the dignity of the people of knowledge,
because it is not necessary for a scholar to know everything.
The questions and answers between Jibril alayhis salam and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam are a manifestation of this reality, and the Noble Qur’an has stated this reality as follows:
﴿فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ (al-Nahl: 43)
“If you do not know, then ask the people of knowledge.”

Signs of the Hour:
(a)
A slave-girl will give birth to her mistress and master.
The commentators of hadith have mentioned various meanings for this phrase.
The meaning suitable to the present age is that among the signs of the coming and nearness of the Hour is that disobedience to parents will become widespread, to the extent that girls, in whose nature and disposition there is an abundance of the spirit of obedience and submission to mothers,
from whom rebellion and disobedience to mothers apparently seems very difficult, even they will not only be disobedient to their mothers,
but will, on the contrary, command them as a mistress commands her slave-girl.

(b)
The hungry,
naked, and goat-herding people, i.e., those of the lower class, will build lofty palaces and castle-like mansions,
in this phrase, it is indicated that near the Hour, worldly wealth and leadership,
chieftainship will come into the hands of those who are not worthy of it,
for them, the purpose and use of wealth and power will be to build tall and splendid palaces, and this will be considered a source of pride and boasting.
There will be competition in this regard—our country’s presidential palace,
prime minister’s house, and our leaders’ mansions are living proof of this.
The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam has described this reality in another hadith:
(إِذَا وُسِّدَ الأَمْرُ إِلَى غَيْرِ أَهْلِهِ فَانْتَظِرِ السَّاعَةَ)
(Bukhari)
“When authority is entrusted to those who are not worthy of it, then await the Hour.”

Removal of Some Doubts:
(1)
Some people, using this hadith as evidence, have declared it permissible to say “Ya Muhammad!” and to call upon him in this way, and have written that this calling is not against etiquette and respect,
if calling was against etiquette and respect, then saying “Ya Allah!” would also be forbidden,
in support of this, they have also presented those ahadith in which Allah ta’ala and the Prophets addressed the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam with “Ya Muhammad!”

The answer to this is:
(1)
Allah ta’ala,
Jibril alayhis salam, and some of the Prophets addressing you with “Ya Muhammad” (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was during your worldly life and in your presence, whereas today, “Ya Muhammad” is said considering you present and witnessing, for seeking help and assistance.
Therefore, this analogy is invalid,
to consider you present and witnessing and to seek help and assistance from you at this time is against the Qur’an and Sunnah.
Because now you have attained barzakh life,
and your connection and relationship with us has ended,
therefore, in this belief, even saying “Ya Rasul Allah!” is not correct.

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.

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.

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.