Al Adab al Mufrad

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Assalam o alaikum wa rahaumtullahi wa barakuthu.


I thought it would be beneficial to share ahadith specially focused on manners from Al Adab al Mufrad (by Imam Bukhari) with commentary by scholars included. May Allah help us to learn it, practice it and preach to other. All of them will be shared from Dakwah Corner version of Al Adab al Mufrad.



Chapter 1: On The Words of Allah The Exalted: "We Have Man to be Kind to His Parents." (Al-'Ankabut 29:8)

1. Abu 'Amr ash Shaybani said: "The owner of this house (and he pointed to the house of 'Abdullah b. Mas'ud) said, 'I asked the Prophet (ﷺ) which action Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, loves best. 'He said, "Prayer at its proper time." I asked, 'And after that?' He said, 'Then dutifulness to parents.' I asked, 'And after that?' He said, 'Then jihad in the way of Allah." He said: "He told me about these things. If I had asked him to tell me more, he would have told me more." (Authentic)

Commentary: The hadeeth exhorts toward observing the prayers at their stipulated times, and being dutiful to parents. It also shows the keenest of the companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) for good deeds, and the importance of giving responses to questions based on the condition and need of the questioner. Otherwise he (ﷺ) had mentioned faith in Allah and His messenger, Jihad and the well-performed pilgrimage, in that order, in other narrations as the dearest deed to Allah - the Most High

 

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2. 'Abdullah b Umar said: "The pleasure of the Lord lies in the pleasure of the parent. The anger of the Lord lies in the anger of the parent." (Sound)

Commentary: This is because Allah - the Mighty and Exalted - has ordered obedience and dutifulness to the parent. So, they must be obeyed except when they order disobedience to Allah, the most High. The hadeeth is also reported from the Messenger (ﷺ) as from his saying and graded authentic by Imam Al-Albanee in Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth is-Shaheehah (516)

Chapter 2: On the Dutifulness to One's Mother

3. On the authority of Bahz b. Hakim from his father through his grand-father, Mu'awiya b. Haida who said: "I asked, ''Messenger of Allah, towards whom should I be dutiful?' He said, "Your mother." I asked, "Then towards whom?' He replied, "Your mother.' Again I asked, "Then towards whom?' He answered, 'Your mother.' I said, 'Then towards whom should I be dutiful?' He said, 'Your father, and then the next nearest relative, and then the next nearest.'" (Sound)

Commentary: (1) The eagerness of the companions of Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) to know the ranks of good deeds is shown in this hadeeth. (2) Preference is given for the mother because she suffered the difficulties of pregnancy, child birth, breast-feeding and general care. (3) The fact that the nearest relatives should take precedence over others than them when we show kindness is also evinced in the narration.

 

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4. Ata' b. Yasar reported from Abdullah b. Abbas that: "A man came to Ibn Abbas and said, "I asked a woman to marry me and she refused to marry me. Another man asked her and she agreed to marry him. I became jealous and killed her. Is there a way for me to repent?' He asked "Is your mother alive?' The man replied, "No." Ibn Abbas said, "Repent to Allah, the Mighty and Exalted, and try to draw near to Him as much as you can.' Ata said: "I went and asked Ibn 'Abbas, 'Why did you ask him whether his mother was alive?' He replied, 'I do not know of any action better for bringing a person near to Allah than dutifulness to his mother.' " (Authentic)

Commentary: The people of knowledge should guide the rest of the people towards the things that benefit them such as how to repent from sins, no matter their gravity. Also, being obedient and kind to the mother is mentioned in this hadeeth as atonement for the sin of taking a soul unlawfully. Jealousy could lead to backbiting, slander, hatred and worse sins as killing.

 

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Chapter 3: On Dutifulness To One's Father

5. Abu Hurayra said: "Someone asked, 'Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), towards whom should I be dutiful?' He said, 'Your mother.' He was asked, 'Then towards whom?' He said, 'Your mother.' He was asked, 'Then towards whom?' He said, 'Your mother.' He was asked, 'Then towards whom?' He replied, 'Your father.'" (Authentic)

Commentary: Being kindhearted and respectful towards the father and the obligation of doing so is evinced in this hadeeth.

6. Abu Hurayra said: A man came to the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ) and asked: "What do you command me (to do)?" He replied, "Be dutiful towards your mother." Then he asked him the same question again and he replied, "Be dutiful towards your mother." He repeated it yet again and the Prophet (ﷺ) replied, "Be dutiful towards your mother." He repeated the question a fourth time and the reply was, "Be dutiful towards your mother." Then put the question a fifth time and the Prophet (ﷺ) said, "Be dutiful towards your father." (Authentic)

 

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Chapter 4: On Dutifulness To Parents, Even If Their Treatment Is Unjust

7. Ibn Abbas said: "Any Muslim who has Muslim parents and is dutiful to both of them seeking Allah's pleasure, Allah will open two gates of Jannah for him. If there is only one parent, then one gate will be opened. If he makes one of them angry, then Allah will not be pleased with him until that parent is pleased with him." He (Ibn Abbas) was asked: "Even if they treat him unjustly?" He said, "Even if they treat him unjustly." (Weak chain)

Chapter 5: On Kind Words to Parents

8. Taysala b. Mayas said: "I was with the Najadites (Khawarji, the followers of Najdah bin Amir) when I committed wrong actions which I supposed to be major sins. I mentioned that to Ibn Umar. He inquired, "What are they?' I said, "Such and such.' He stated, 'These are not major sins. There are nine major sins and they are: associating things with Allah; killing someone; desertion from the army when it is advancing; slandering a chaste woman; usury; consuming an orphan's property; heresy in the (sacred) mosque (of Makkah); scoffing (at Muslims); and causing one's parents to weep through disobedience. Ibn Umar then said to me, ' Do you fear the Fire? Do you want to enter the Paradise?" I said, 'By Allah, yes. ' He asked, 'Are your parents still alive?' I replied, 'My mother is.' He said, 'By Allah, if you speak kindly to her and feed her, then you will definitely enter the Paradise as long as you avoid the major sins.'" (Authentic)

Commentary: (1) This hadeeth highlights the importance of keeping the company of the people of Sunnah and referring to the scholars to understand the position regarding any matter in the religion. Perhaps Tarsal, was influenced by the Najadites to believe wrongly that the sin he committed was a major one. (2) We also learn from this hadeeth that sins are not entirely of the same category; some are major while other are considered minor with respect to the major ones and not by way of trivialising sin. (3) One of the meanings of expression, yastaskhiru is to burden people and to make them do a job without pay. Some of the scholars even consider it the most preponderant meaning here for its been mentioned after usury and consumption of an orphan's wealth both of which are illegitimate means to seek wealth. (4) The permissibility of swearing without been asked to swear while giving a religious verdict or admonition is pointed to in the narration. (5) As long as as one abstains from the major sins, speaking kindly to parents and feeding them is surely a means to attain admission to the Paradise by Allah's leaves

 

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9. 'Urwa commented on the verse, 'Lower the wing of humility to them out of mercy." (al-Isra' 17: 24) (it means): "Do not refuse them anything they love." (Authentic Chain)

Commentary: The exemption to this is when their desire inolves disobedience to Allah, the Mighty and Exalted: for the religion prohibits obedience to a creature in disobedience to the Creator.

Chapter 6: On Repaying Parents

10. Abu Hurayra said: "The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'A child cannot repay his father unless he finds him as a slave and then buys him and sets him free.'" (Authentic)

Commentary: It is as if the slave is non existent and that by his freedom he come into existence such that the child's action here, is as that of his parents through whom he came into existence from non existence