Muslim

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
Dawab:
Plural of daabbah,
Moths and insects that fall into the fire,
Farash,
Moths enamored with light and fire,
Hujuz,
Plural of hujzah,
Waist,
The place where the sheet is tied.

(2)
Taqtahimun:
You are plunging into it without thinking,
You are leaping into it.

Benefits and Issues:
The desires of the self, which are a cause of destruction and ruin for a person,
People are becoming ensnared in them like moths,
And the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) has, with complete clarity, explained their harms and has endeavored to save the ummah from them.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
From this hadith, it is understood that a person is in greater need of a warner than a bearer of glad tidings, because being inclined towards good news is inherent in human nature, but to save him from destruction, guidance is necessary.

(2)
It is also understood from this hadith that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was greatly concerned for his ummah and was very compassionate and merciful towards them, as is stated in the noble verse:
“A Messenger has come to you from among yourselves. Your suffering is grievous to him. He is deeply concerned for you, and to the believers he is most kind and merciful.” ()
But the condition of the individuals of the ummah is such that they are trying to forcefully enter Hellfire.
()

Explanation of the Hadith:
The Compassion and Mercy of the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam):
From this hadith, it is understood that the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) wished and strove to save his ummah from Hellfire. For this reason, every sinful act and every deed leading to Hell was made clear before them so that they (the ummah) might be saved from Hell. Allah the Exalted has mentioned this very matter in the Noble Qur’an in the following way:
«لَقَدْ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ» [التوبة : 128]
“(O Muslims!) There has certainly come to you a Messenger from among yourselves; grievous to him is what you suffer, [he is] concerned over you and to the believers is kind and merciful.”

It is thus evident that it is a characteristic of the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) that every matter which causes distress to the Muslim ummah is hard upon him, and it is also his characteristic that he sincerely wishes that his ummah not be cast into Hell, and he also wishes to guide his ummah towards every good in this world and the Hereafter.

And among his lofty attributes is that he is extremely compassionate towards the believers, and for this reason, he desires that they perform righteous deeds and not commit sins so that they may become deserving of Allah’s Paradise.

Ibn al-‘Arabi (rahimahullah) says: “It is a well-known saying that when a moth suddenly sees light in the darkness, it advances towards the lamp thinking to benefit from its light, and in the end, it is burned.” [عارضة الاحوذي : 325/10]

Corrupt Belief Leads to Hellfire:
“In the same way, the example of people is that, apart from tawhid (monotheism), when they see any corrupt belief or tribulation, they advance towards it to benefit from it, and in reality, by becoming entangled in this corrupt belief, they ultimately end up in Hellfire.” [عارضة الاحوذي : 325/10]

Imam al-Ghazali (rahimahullah), while explaining this hadith, writes: “A human being, in the state of corrupt belief, is even worse than animals. For the insects that fall into the fire are burned up and finished in one go, whereas a human, by following the desires of his soul, enters the eternal fire from which there is no escape. Therefore, if a human follows his base desires, he is more ignorant than animals.” [ارشاد الساري : 403/5]

Thus, in the Noble Qur’an it is stated:
«لَهُمْ قُلُوبٌ لَا يَفْقَهُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا وَلَهُمْ آذَانٌ لَا يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا أُولَئِكَ كَالْأَنْعَامِ بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلُّ أُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْغَافِلُونَ» [الأعراف : 179]
“They have hearts with which they do not understand, and they have eyes with which they do not see, and they have ears with which they do not hear. They are like cattle; rather, they are even more astray. They are the heedless ones.”

In Fath al-Bari [319/11], this hadith is explained well: “In this hadith, the fire refers to the boundaries set by the Shari‘ah and the matters of sin, which have reached as far as the east and the west and have illuminated there. But instead of avoiding this fire, not transgressing the boundaries, and not falling into sins, people paid no heed to this matter and transgressed the boundaries and fell into sins, even though the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) repeatedly forbade it. It is as if you (O Prophet) are trying to save people from the fire by grabbing them by their backs, while the people are not listening to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), and in the end, they fell into the fire. Just as a person kindles a fire for his own benefit and for the benefit of others, but the moths fall into it. In the same way, the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) clarified the sins and the boundaries so that people would not transgress the boundaries nor fall into sins, but people fell into sins and transgressed the boundaries of Allah, and fell into the fire of Hell.” End, summarized.

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[صحيح بخاري 6483],
[صحيح مسلم 5955]

Fiqh al-Hadith:
➊ Obedience to the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) is obligatory.
➋ The salvation of all humanity lies only in acting upon the religion of Islam.
➌ It is permissible to explain one’s point through appropriate examples.
➍ An addition by a trustworthy narrator (thiqa) in a narration is authoritative.
➎ If in one authentic narration there are some additional words and in another narration those words are not present, there is no harm; the addition should be given consideration.
➏ Hadith is authoritative.
➐ A solitary report (khabar wahid) is authoritative.

Benefit:
In this hadith, the compassion of the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) for his ummah is established, showing how he (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) continuously strove to save people from the Hellfire. Fortunate indeed are those who responded to the call of the Noble Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) and became the most precious people in the universe. And unfortunate are those who opposed the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam), rejected his call, and erected obstacles before his mission—they became disgraced in this world and, in the Hereafter, Hell will be their fate. May Allah grant us the ability to support the religion. Ameen.