Muslim

Hadith Gloss:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Furjah:
The space between two things.

(2)
Halaqah (pl. halaq):
A gathering,
to sit in a circle.

(3)
Aawa ila Allah:
He sought refuge with Allah.

(4)
Aawahu Allah:
Allah took him into the lap of His mercy and pleasure.

(5)
Istahya:
He felt shy and embarrassed to return, and, due to the lack of space in the gathering, did not even consider squeezing himself in.

(6)
Istahya Allah minhu:
Allah was shy to deprive him of mercy,
He bestowed His mercy upon him.

Explanation:
It is established that in scholarly gatherings, one should sit wherever a place is found. The Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam described the condition of the aforementioned three men as an example. One person sat down wherever he saw a place in the gathering. The second, not finding any space, sat at the edge of the gathering. The third, not finding a place, turned away and left. In reality, turning away from the gathering of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam is akin to turning away from Allah. That is why the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used stern words regarding this. From this hadith, it is established that a person should sit wherever he finds a place in a gathering, even if he finds a place at the very end. Even today, those people who do not like gatherings of Qur’an and hadith are indeed very unfortunate.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah wishes to shed light through this hadith on the etiquettes of a scholarly gathering: if a student or any other eager person wishes to sit near the shaykh, he should arrive on time.
He should not disturb the people of the gathering in order to fulfill his own desire.
It is better for him to sit at the very end.
The intention is not to establish the superiority of one attendee over another.
In terms of blessings and benefits, all attendees of the gathering are equal.
Upon such gatherings, Allah’s mercies descend.

2.
If someone who comes later sees that there is an empty spot near the shaykh, he is permitted to pass by those present and sit in the empty place.
This is not “takhatti al-riqab” (passing over people’s necks),
which is prohibited in the Shariah.
This is permissible because those who were already sitting have acted disorderly and left a space empty at the front.
This also indicates the eagerness and desire of the one who sits at the front.
On this basis, he will be superior to the one sitting at the back, because his desire to attain goodness is greater.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/207)

3.
It is mentioned in the hadith that the second person acted out of modesty (haya).
This has two meanings:
(a)
Out of shyness, he did not contend with the people of the gathering, but sat wherever he found a place; his purpose was to participate in the scholarly gathering—what benefit would there be in causing discomfort to the attendees? (b)
He did not intend to sit, but out of shyness from the people of the gathering, he sat at the back.
This is the intended meaning in the hadith, because in another narration it is mentioned that this person had already passed by the gathering, but shyness overcame him, so he returned and sat down.
(al-Mustadrak lil-Hakim: 4/255)
In such a case, the matter will fall under (لَا يَشْقَى جَلِيسُهُمْ).

4.
From this hadith, the attribute of modesty (haya) of Allah the Exalted is established.
Some scholars have interpreted this to mean mercy and not punishing anyone, but the verifying predecessors did not approve of this approach; rather, in their view, the praiseworthy position is to affirm Allah’s attributes as they are.

5.
The fact that the third person turned away does not prove that he was a hypocrite, because sometimes, despite sincerity, a person is compelled by his needs. However, it is certain that he was deprived of that special mercy which was descending upon the people of the circle.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
The scholars are unanimous that it is permissible to form a circle (halqah) in the mosque for the remembrance of Allah and the acquisition of knowledge.
In all three of these ahadith, it is mentioned that the noble Companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in) would come to the mosque in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and benefit from his gathering.
Similarly, benefiting from a scholar generally occurs by sitting in a circle around him; therefore, the chapter heading of Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is established.
Since such benefit is usually attained by sitting in a circle, the chapter heading of Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is thus proven.
(Sharh Ibn Battal: 2/120)

➋
Some narrations indicate that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) expressed displeasure at forming circles in the mosque.
It is narrated from Jabir bin Samurah (radi Allahu anhu) that he said:
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) came to the mosque and the Companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in) were sitting in circles at that time.
He said, "What is the matter that I see you divided into separate groups?" This narration has been mentioned by Imam Muslim in his Sahih, but from the aforementioned narrations presented by Imam Bukhari rahimahullah, the permissibility of sitting in a circle in the mosque is established.
And those narrations in which displeasure is indicated refer to such circles that are unnecessary and without benefit; rather, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) considered such circles a sign of divisiveness.
Forming a circle establishes unity and agreement of hearts, but if there is a benefit in sitting in a circle, such as for education, then it is permitted to sit in a circular manner.
(Fath al-Bari: 1/728)

➌
From the first two ahadith, the permissibility of sitting in the mosque is established, in which the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is mentioned as delivering a sermon and the Companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in) are established as sitting and listening, and in the third narration, the second part of the chapter heading, i.e., sitting in a circle, is mentioned.
From the first and second narrations as well, Imam Bukhari's rahimahullah objective is established in this way: the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was delivering a sermon and the Companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in) were sitting in a circle in front of him on all sides to listen to his words, as they were sitting facing him from every direction.
Thus, the proof of sitting is explicit, and the proof of sitting in a circle is derived by implication; in the third narration, sitting in a circle is explicitly mentioned.
Since three people came to the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), one went back, and the remaining two attended his gathering; one of them saw that there was space in the circle, so he came and sat in the circle.
The other was overcome by shyness, so he sat at the end of the gathering. From this, it is established that the Companions (radi Allahu anhum ajma'in) would sit in a circle around the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and that sitting in a circle in the mosque for education and similar purposes is also established.
And this is the intended point.

➍
From this hadith, it is also known that the Witr prayer can be performed as a single rak'ah.
As mentioned in the hadith, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said:
"Witr is a duty upon every Muslim, so whoever wishes to pray five rak'ahs should pray five, whoever wishes to pray three should pray three, and whoever wishes to pray one rak'ah should pray one."
(Sunan Abi Dawud, al-Witr, Hadith: 1422)
It was said to Ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) that the Commander of the Faithful, Mu'awiyah (radi Allahu anhu), had performed only one rak'ah of Witr.
Ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu) replied:
He is a Companion; in another narration, he said: He is a jurist, meaning he has done correctly.
(Sahih al-Bukhari, Virtues of the Companions of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Hadith: 3764, 3765)
A detailed discussion regarding the Witr prayer will come in the Book of Witr, Hadith 990.
There, we will explain its number and the method of performing it, insha Allah ta'ala.

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[وأخرجه البخاري 66، ومسلم 2176، من حديث مالك به]

Jurisprudential Points:
➊ Without a valid Shar‘i excuse, one should not get up and leave during the admonition, teaching of the Book and Sunnah, or a reformative lesson.
➋ After entering the mosque, performing two units (rak‘ahs) of prayer is not obligatory (fard) or necessary (wajib), rather it is an emphasized Sunnah (sunnah mu’akkadah).
➌ Sitting with the scholar in the mosque is a Sunnah, and one should strive to sit close to the scholar. However, one must avoid stepping over people’s necks and causing discomfort to others; rather, one should sit wherever an empty spot is available.
➍ Upon arriving at a gathering, it is established to give salam during a lesson or sermon, and if even one person from the gathering responds, it is sufficient.
➎ According to Hafiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr, what is meant by Allah’s “having haya” (modesty) is that Allah forgave him. See: [التمهيد 1/317]
➏ Turning away the face means two things: either the person was a hypocrite, so Allah, being displeased, distanced him from His mercy; or, if he was an ordinary Muslim, he was deprived of the reward of the gathering.