Reminder
عن ابن عبد البر عَنْ أَبِي حَنِيفَةَ رحمه الله قَالَ الْحِكَايَاتُ عَنِ الْعُلَمَاءِ وَمِجَالَسَتُهُمْ أَحَبُّ إِلَيَّ مِنْ كَثِيرٍ مِنَ الْفِقْهِ لأَنَّهَا آدَابُ الْقَوْمِ وَأَخْلاقُهُمْ
582 جامع بيان العلم وفضله لابن عبد البر
Ibn Abdul Barr reported: Abu Hanifa (رَحِمَهُ ٱللَّٰهُ) said, “The stories and gatherings of the scholars are more beloved to me than a great deal of Fiqh, for they have the best manners and character.” [Jami’ Bayan al-‘Ilm 582]
There is a heavy importance in sitting with the scholars and the elders of the Deen. From the many benefits of doing so, one is that to be in – or to learn from – such gatherings is better for the heart. True manners and character is learnt by emulation and from those you spend a lot of time with. In addition, it is worth noting that many scholars are not on social media (and for good reason). It is not worthwhile for them to be online unless they have something to offer that could not otherwise be accomplished well.
Hadith 4 – The Cycles of Life
عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه و سلم -وَهُوَ الصَّادِقُ الْمَصْدُوقُ-: “إنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ يُجْمَعُ خَلْقُهُ فِي بَطْنِ أُمِّهِ أَرْبَعِينَ يَوْمًا نُطْفَةً، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ عَلَقَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يَكُونُ مُضْغَةً مِثْلَ ذَلِكَ، ثُمَّ يُرْسَلُ إلَيْهِ الْمَلَكُ فَيَنْفُخُ فِيهِ الرُّوحَ، وَيُؤْمَرُ بِأَرْبَعِ كَلِمَاتٍ: بِكَتْبِ رِزْقِهِ، وَأَجَلِهِ، وَعَمَلِهِ، وَشَقِيٍّ أَمْ سَعِيدٍ؛ فَوَاَللَّهِ الَّذِي لَا إلَهَ غَيْرُهُ إنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا. وَإِنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إلَّا ذِرَاعٌ فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا”. [رَوَاهُ الْبُخَارِيُّ]، [وَمُسْلِمٌ]
On the authority of Abdullah ibn Masood (رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ), who said:
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and he is the truthful, the believed, narrated to us, “Verily the creation of each one of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days in the form of a nutfah (a drop), then he becomes an alaqah (clot of blood) for a like period, then a mudghah (morsel of flesh) for a like period, then there is sent to him the angel who blows his soul into him and who is commanded with four matters: to write down his rizq (sustenance), his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy (i.e., whether or not he will enter Paradise). By the One, other than Whom there is no deity, verily one of you performs the actions of the people of Paradise until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him, and so he acts with the actions of the people of the Hellfire and thus enters it; and verily one of you performs the actions of the people of the Hellfire, until there is but an arms length between him and it, and that which has been written overtakes him and so he acts with the actions of the people of Paradise and thus he enters it.” [Bukhari & Muslim]
Note: The word ذِرَاعٌ means a cubit or arm’s length.
This hadith is Mutafaqqun ‘Alayh (meaning both Imam al-Bukhari and Imam Muslim agree on its authenticity).
It is established by this hadith that there is a period of 120 days before the spirit of a person is blown into the foetus. This is taken into consideration when assessing the issue of abortion.
With regards to the meaning of the latter half of the hadith, it is more common for someone to go to hellfire but then Allah ﷻ changes the state of their heart, and they go to Jannah. This is becasue Allah ﷻ’s Mercy precedes his Wrath. A believer could also go to hell but this is rarer.
Furthermore, Allah ﷻ is with the one whose heart is broken as per another hadith (which has some weakness in it). We must understand that as humans, we are nothing, and we are weak. To have a broken heart means to understand that everything is with Allah ﷻ and that nothing we do will ever be enough to account for the blessings Allah ﷻ has given us. Therefore, in order to be honoured by Allah ﷻ, we must be humble in our relationship with Him.
The final part of the hadith relates to the importance of how a person ends his deeds. This is also mentioned in another hadith.
Thus, we must try to remember that as believers, we are never the same as we were the day before. We are always improving and never stagnating.
And Allah ﷻ knows best.