Mishkat al-Masabih

Takhrij: [صحيح مسلم 269]

Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ Shirk is such a sin that it burns and reduces all righteous deeds to ashes. Despite this, the majority of people in every era have remained involved in shirk.
The statement of Allah, the Exalted, is:
«وَمَا يُؤْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُم بِاللَّـهِ إِلَّا وَهُم مُّشْرِكُونَ»
“And most of mankind, even though you desire it, are not believers except that they commit shirk.” [سورة يوسف : 106]

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.