Mishkat al-Masabih

Takhrij:
[صحيح مسلم 6744]

Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ This debate and discussion between Adam alayhis salam and Musa alayhis salam, and their disputation, took place in the realm of Barzakh, in the heavens.
Once, the hadith scholar Abu Muawiyah Muhammad bin Khazim al-Dareer (d. 195 AH) narrated a hadith about this disputation, so a man asked: Where did Adam and Musa alayhima salam meet? Upon hearing this, the Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid rahimahullah became very angry and imprisoned that man. He considered the words of that person to be the words of heretics and zindiqs. See: [كتاب المعرفة والتاريخ للامام يعقوب بن سفيان الفارسي 181/2، 182 وسنده صحيح، تاريخ بغداد 223/5 وسنده صحيح]
↰ It is thus known that mocking hadith is the work of heretics and zindiqs.

➋ Allah, the Exalted, created Adam alayhis salam with His two hands; see: [سورۃ صٓ : 75] as befits His majesty and greatness.
↰ The hand of Allah is His attribute, in which it is obligatory to have faith. Here, interpreting "hand" to mean "power" is false and rejected, as it is contrary to the understanding of the pious predecessors (salaf saliheen).
In the book “al-Fiqh al-Akbar,” which is attributed to Imam Abu Hanifah but not established as authentic, it is written:
«فما ذكره الله تعالىٰ فى القران من ذكر الوجه واليد والنفس فهو له صفات بلا كيف ولا يقال ان يده قدرته او نعمته لان فيه ابطال الصفة وهو قول اهل القدر والااعتزال ولكن يده صفته بلاكيف»
“And for Him is a hand, a mouth, and a self (nafs), as is mentioned in the Noble Qur’an, but their modality (kayfiyyah) is unknown. And it is not correct to say that by «يد» is meant power and blessing, because saying so would necessitate the negation of His attribute, and this is the doctrine of the deniers of predestination (qadariyyah) and the Mu’tazilah. Rather, it should be said that the hand is His attribute, the modality of which is unknown.” [الفقه الاكبر مع شرح ملا على قاري ص 36، 37 البيان الازهر، اردو ترجمه صوفي عبدالحميد سواتي ديوبندي ص 32]
The meaning of “unknown modality” (majhool al-kayfiyyah) is that its reality is not known to us.

Note: This reference is presented because a group of Hanafi and non-Hanafi scholars consider this book to be authored by Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah. See: [مقدمة البيان الازهر از قلم محمد سرفراز خان صفدر ديوبندي ص16 تا 23]
◈ Sarfraz Khan Safdar writes:
“In short, al-Fiqh al-Akbar is indeed authored by our master Imam Abu Hanifah rahimahullah.” «لا ريب فيه» [مقدمة البيان الازهر ص23]
The narrator of this Deobandi «لا ريب فيه» book, Abu Muti’ al-Hakam bin Abdullah al-Balkhi, is considered weak by the majority of hadith scholars.
Regarding him:
◈ The Imam of Ahl al-Sunnah, Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal rahimahullah, said:
«لاينبغي ان يروي عنه۔۔ شئي»
“Nothing should be narrated from him.” [كتاب العلل 285/2 ت 1864]
◈ The eminent Imam of the science of narrators, Yahya bin Ma’in rahimahullah, said:
«وأبومطيع الخراساني ليس بشيء»
“And Abu Muti’ al-Khurasani is nothing.” [تاريخ ابن معين رواية الدوري : 4760]
↰ In addition to them, other hadith scholars such as Imam al-Nasa’i, Abu Hatim al-Razi, and Hafiz Ibn Hibban, among others, have also criticized him. Among the later scholars, Hafiz al-Dhahabi, regarding a hadith, said:
«فهٰذا وفعه أبو مطيع عليٰ حماد»
“So Abu Muti’ fabricated it upon Hammad (bin Salamah).” [ميزان الاعتدال 42/3]
↰ It is thus known that, according to Hafiz al-Dhahabi, the aforementioned Abu Muti’ was a fabricator (liar, one who invents hadith). Despite this criticism, it is extremely strange and astonishing for some people to say «لاريب فيه» about the treatise called “al-Fiqh al-Akbar.”

➌ Belief in predestination (qadar) is obligatory.

➍ The statement of those who say, “Paradise has not yet been created,” is false and rejected, because Allah, the Exalted, placed Adam alayhis salam in Paradise. According to Ahl al-Sunnah, both Paradise and Hell are created and will remain forever, and this is the true creed.

➎ There are two types of those who err and sin:
First: Those who, after making a mistake or committing a sin, sincerely repent, feel deep remorse and regret, and strive earnestly to reform themselves in the future.
Second: Those who, after making a mistake or committing a sin, persist in it, do not repent, do not feel remorse or regret, and do not strive for reform.
For the first type, it is permissible to use predestination (qadar) as an argument, and for the second type, it is not permissible to use predestination as an argument. For details, see: [شفاء العليل لا بن القيم ص35، 36] and the commentary on the Hadith of Jibril [عربي ص 65-67، اردو ص 104تا 107]
Whoever, after sinning or disbelieving, does not repent and then uses predestination as an argument, this method is that of the polytheists and disbelievers. See: [سورة الانعام آيت 148] and [سورة النحل آيت : 35]

➏ This hadith in Sahih Muslim is also present in brief form in Bukhari. [ح 3409، 4736، 7515]

➐ In debate and discussion, it is absolutely correct to present as evidence against the opposing party that which they themselves accept as true and valid.

Hadith Commentary:
Benefits and Issues:
The extent to which the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam encouraged, motivated, emphasized, and exhorted fasting before the obligation of Ramadan was not matched by the same degree of emphasis or exhortation afterward. However, in general, encouragement and urging toward fasting continued even after its obligation; its reward and merit were mentioned, and the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam himself continued to fast.