Muslim

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
(1)
yadukūn:
They continued conversing and discussing,
remained engaged in this issue.
(2)
anfidh ‘alā ruslik:
Continue on your way.

Benefits and Issues:
From this hadith it is understood that
to bring someone to guidance and faith
is better for a person than every precious possession in the world,
because among the Arabs, red camels were considered the most valuable wealth.

Hadith Commentary:
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) instructed Ali (radi Allahu anhu) that before engaging in battle, he should invite the enemy to Islam, present them with the path of guidance, and, as far as possible, avoid letting the situation reach the point of fighting.
Fighting is the last resort for defense.
If, without fighting, any enemy becomes peaceable or accepts Islam, then this virtue holds far greater value with Allah.
From this hadith, the virtue of Ali (radi Allahu anhu) is also established, as Allah decreed the conquest of Khaybar at his hands.
The wording of the chapter heading’s hadith, “khayrun laka min an yakoona laka humru al-ni‘am” (“better for you than having red camels”), is derived from this.
Subhan Allah! Guiding a person to the right path and turning him from disbelief to faith carries such a great reward.
Muslims should strive diligently in preaching, teaching, and exhortation.
For this is the inheritance of the Prophets, and for scholars to remain silent and restrain their tongues and pens is a grave matter.
The scholars and spiritual leaders (maulvis and mashayikh) of our time, who sit comfortably at home, enjoying rich morsels, remain silent when witnessing unlawful acts, do not advise the ignorant, and are immersed in flattering the wealthy and worldly people—
What answer will they give before the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) on the Day of Judgment?
The gratitude for the wealth of knowledge and virtue that Allah has bestowed is precisely to remain active in preaching and exhortation, and to make teaching and instruction one’s constant occupation.
Muslims in villages, who are unaware of religious matters and beliefs, should be made aware, and the call to Islam should be conveyed everywhere.
It is regrettable that the Christians, in order to spread their false belief of the Trinity, go about preaching in every village, settlement, road, and gathering, while Muslims, despite being upon the true belief of Tawhid, keep their tongues closed and make no effort to spread the true religion.
If any hardship arises in spreading the true religion, it should be regarded as pure happiness, blessing, and success.
See what hardships our Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) endured in inviting to Islam:
He was wounded, his head was split, his tooth was broken, he was abused. O Allah! If we are abused in Your path, then those insults are more delicious to us than the finest and sweetest morsels.
And if we are killed or beaten in spreading Your true religion, that is far greater than the robes and honors of these worldly kings.
O Allah! Open the eyes of the Muslims so that they too may begin striving wholeheartedly to spread the religion of their beloved Prophet, going from village to village preaching.
Let them print and distribute religious books and pamphlets for free—Ameen, O Lord of the worlds.
(Wahidi)
All praise is due to Allah, in this recent preaching tour of Bhoj Kuchh, which was conducted in 25 villages here, more than three hundred parts of Bukhari Sharif translated in Urdu, two hundred books on prayer, and more than two hundred various preaching pamphlets were distributed as gifts and for propagation.
May Allah the Exalted accept it.
And may He grant the best of rewards to all those who participated.
Book-based propagation in today’s era is a solid form of preaching, whose results can be far-reaching.
And with Allah is all success.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) instructed Ali (radi Allahu anhu) to invite people to Islam before engaging in fighting and warfare, to present to them the straight path, and to avoid resorting to combat as much as possible. Fighting is only the last resort for defense.
If the enemy accepts Islam without fighting, or at the very least agrees to a truce, then this action holds great value in the sight of Allah. Indeed, if someone accepts Islam or is guided to the right path through a person's efforts in preaching, the reward for such goodness is immeasurable! This is a form of ongoing charity (sadaqah jariyah) whose reward continues even after one's death.

➋
From this hadith, it is understood that bringing someone out of the darkness of disbelief into the light of faith is a cause of immense reward.
Muslims should remain actively engaged in exhortation, preaching, teaching, and instruction, for this is the practice of the Prophets (alayhim as-salam), and the people of Islam are its guardians and protectors.

Hadith Commentary: The purpose of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) was that, as far as possible, the situation should not reach the point of fighting; Islam is not an advocate of warfare, Islam desires peace, and its battles are only defensive.

Hadith Commentary:
It is understood from this that war is not the primary objective of Islam.
The true objective of Islam is the propagation of Islam, and if this can be achieved through preaching (tabligh), then there is absolutely no permission to fight.
Allah Almighty has clearly stated in the Noble Qur’an that Allah does not love those who spread corruption; rather, He desires justice, fairness, peace, and security.
Ali (radi Allahu anhu) is called the Conqueror of Khaybar because he was the one who finally took up the banner, and Allah granted victory at Khaybar through his hands.
Red camels are considered very valuable in the Arab lands.

Hadith Commentary:
1.
The true objective of Islam is the propagation of the religion; war and fighting are not the true objectives.
Allah, the Exalted, loves justice, fairness, peace, and security.

2.
Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has written that winning over the heart of a disbeliever so that he may become Muslim is better than killing him.
(Fath al-Bari: 7/597)

3.
According to the guidance of the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, Ali radi Allahu anhu first invited the Jews to Islam, but they rejected it and, under the command of their king Marhab, stood in opposition to the Muslims.
When the battle commenced, Marhab was the first to come forth and issued a challenge for single combat, appearing while saying:
“Khaybar knows that I am Marhab, armed, brave, and experienced, when the battle blazes.”
In response, Salamah bin Akwa’ radi Allahu anhu’s uncle, Amir radi Allahu anhu, came forth and said:
“Khaybar knows that I am Amir, armed, strong, and a warrior.”
Then both struck at each other, but Amir radi Allahu anhu was martyred in the field.
After this, Ali radi Allahu anhu came forward for the duel, reciting these verses as he entered the field:
“I am the one whom my mother named Haydar (lion).
I am as fearsome as a lion of the jungle.
I will repay them with the full measure of the spear for their blow, that is, I will respond to a brick with a stone.”
After this, he struck Marhab on the head with such a blow of the sword that he fell lifeless.
Afterwards, the fortress was conquered at the hands of Ali radi Allahu anhu.
It was from this fortress that Safiyyah radi Allahu anha was taken captive.
(Sahih Muslim, al-Jihad, Hadith: 4678(1807))

Hadith Commentary:
The relevance of this hadith to the chapter is as follows: The Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) instructed Ali (radi Allahu anhu) to present the invitation (to Islam) before initiating combat with the opposing party. Along with this, he also said that one should make every effort to guide the opponents to the right path. And remember, if even one person is guided to the righteous path through your efforts in propagation, it is more valuable for you than red camels.

In Arabia, red camels were considered far more valuable than black camels.
That is why, by way of example, the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) made this statement.

Islam is by no means desirous of war, jihad, or fighting with anyone.
It only seeks reconciliation, peace, and security. However, when defense becomes unavoidable, then it also commands a full and vigorous response.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
Red camels were a prized and desirable form of wealth among the Arabs.
The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) said to Ali (radi Allahu anhu):
“If you were to give away such beloved wealth in charity in the way of Allah, even then you would not attain the reward that you receive when a person becomes Muslim through your efforts.” Imam Bukhari (rahimahullah) wishes to clarify that the Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded Ali (radi Allahu anhu) to present the invitation to Islam to the opposing party before initiating combat.
This means that one should make every possible effort to guide the opponents to the right path first, because if even a single person is guided through our efforts of propagation, then this deed is a cause of great reward with Allah.
➋
It is also understood from this that Islam, at its core, does not desire war and fighting; rather, it seeks peace and security. However, when defense becomes unavoidable, then it also commands a full and vigorous response.