(This book is about the excellence of knowledge; man's superiority over other creatures is due to knowledge and intellect. The very first thing bestowed upon man was knowledge. «وعلم الادم» Prophet Adam (peace be upon him) was given knowledge. Because of this, he surpassed the angels in rank. In the Holy Qur'an, the first revelation was about knowledge: «اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ» [1] «خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ» [2] «اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ» [3] «الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ» [4] «عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ» [5] "Recite in the name of your Lord who created. Created man from a clot of blood. Recite, and your Lord is the Most Honorable, who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know." And it is said: «قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ» Can those who have knowledge and those who do not be equal? That is, they cannot be equal; those who have knowledge have great ranks. Here, by knowledge is meant religious knowledge, that is, the Holy Qur'an and the noble Hadith, and whatever is in accordance with both. Below are the hadiths which prove the excellence of knowledge.)
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ عَمْرٍو قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «بَلِّغُوا عَنِّي وَلَوْ آيَةً وَحَدِّثُوا عَنْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَلَا حَرَجَ وَمَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَيَّ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ» . رَوَاهُ البُخَارِيّ
‘Abdallah b. ‘Amr reported God’s messenger as saying, “Pass on information from me, even if it is only a verse of the Qur’an; and relate traditions from the Bani Isra'il, for there is no restriction; but let him who deliberately lies against me come to his abode in hell.” Bukhari transmitted it.
Explanation & Benefits
Hafiz Zubair Ali Zai
Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ This authentic hadith establishes that if a person possesses knowledge of even a single verse of the Noble Qur’an, he should convey it to his other brothers. It is necessary for the preacher to speak with evidence, but it is not required for him to encompass all evidences.
➋ The word “ayah” has four meanings: a verse of the Noble Qur’an, a specific sign distinguishing between two things, something very astonishing, and a great calamity. In the mentioned hadith, the first meaning is intended.
➌ Every person is tasked with conveying the religion according to his ability.
➍ It is permissible to narrate the traditions of Bani Isra’il, provided that these narrations are authentically established with a sound chain up to their narrator and are not contrary to the Shari‘ah of Muhammad «علي صاحبها الصلوة والسلام عدد النجوم فى السماء».
➎ To lie against the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is a major sin; rather, according to some scholars, it is disbelief (kufr).
➏ It is obligatory upon every Muslim to learn the knowledge of religion as needed, which supports the correction of his beliefs (‘aqidah) and actions (‘amal). If he is unable to acquire detailed knowledge, then it is incumbent upon him to refer to the rightly-guided scholars of sound creed and to acquire knowledge of the Book and Sunnah and consensus (ijma‘) (and the reports of the pious predecessors [salaf salihin]) from them.
◄ It should be remembered that a layperson going to the scholars to ask about an issue is not taqlid (blind following); otherwise, in the present era alone, there would be thousands of imams among the Hanafis and those who practice taqlid, whom people follow (!)—and it is evident that no one holds this view.
➐ The hadith is a proof (hujjah).
Source: Adwa al-Masabih fi Tahqiq Mishkat al-Masabih, Page: 198
Maulana Dawood Raz
Hadith Commentary:
There is no harm in relating the incidents of Bani Isra'il, provided that one neither affirms nor denies them, except for those which are established with an authentic chain of transmission.
Source: Sahih Bukhari: Commentary by Maulana Dawood Raz, Page: 3461
Shaykh Abdul Sattar al-Hammad
Hadith Commentary:
At the beginning of Islam, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbade the use of Israelite traditions, but when the truth of Islam became firmly established in people's hearts, he permitted, to a limited extent, only the narration of such matters that do not contradict the Qur'an and Hadith.
When narrating the incidents of Bani Israel, neither affirm nor deny them.
However, if the affirmation or denial of any incident is known from the Qur'an or Hadith, then there is no harm in affirming or denying it. But when narrating any incident attributed to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), it is necessary that it be narrated from trustworthy narrators, so that a lie is not attributed to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam).
The noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum) exercised great caution in narrating Hadith from the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), so that they would not fall under the warning (of punishment) mentioned (for lying upon him).
We too must keep this aspect in view when narrating Hadith.
One should avoid mentioning every kind of material, whether sound or unsound, in one's speeches.
Source: Hidayat al-Qari: Commentary on Sahih Bukhari, Urdu, Page: 3461
Shaykh Dr. Abdur Rahman Freywai
Explanation:
1:
From this hadith, it is understood that every person, to the extent of his knowledge, is obligated to convey whatever knowledge of the Qur'an and Hadith he possesses to others.
Even if he is aware of only a single divine command, it is his responsibility to inform others about it as well.
Regarding the Children of Israel (Bani Isra'il), only those matters should be narrated which are authentically established from the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) through sound chains of transmission.
Source: Sunan al-Tirmidhi – Majlis ‘Ilmi Dar al-Da‘wah, New Delhi Edition, Page: 2669