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THE BOOK OF PROPRIETY IN SPEECH
THE BOOK OF POETRY
THE BOOK OF DREAMS
THE BOOK OF EXCELLENT QUALITIES
Chapter 37: The Respect Due to the Prophet ................................. 456
Chapter 38: The Obligation to Follow the Prophet’s Religious Guidance ...................................................... 470
Chapter 39: Wishing to See the Prophet ......................................... 474
Chapter 40: The Merits of Jesus ....................................................... 476
Chapter 41: Some Merits of Abraham 482
Chapter 42: Some Merits of Moses .................................................. 491
Chapter 3: [Uthman ibn [Affan’s Merits....................................... 578
Chapter 4: [Ali ibn Abi Talib’s Merits ........................................... 589
Chapter 5: Sa[d ibn Abi Waqqas’s Merits .................................... 607
Chapter 6: Merits of Talhah and al-Zubayr 618
Chapter 7: Abu [Ubaydah ibn al-Jarrah’s Merits ........................ 625
Chapter 8: Merits of al-Hasan and al-Husayn ............................. 628
Chapter 9: Merits of the Prophet’s Family ................................... 632
Chapter 10: Merits of Zayd ibn Harithah and His Son, Usamah .......................................................... 634
Chapter 11: [Abdullah ibn Ja[far’s Merits ...................................... 638
TRANSLITERATION TABLE
Arabic Consonants
Initial, unexpressed medial and final: ء ’
With a shaddah, both medial and final consonants are doubled.
Vowels, diphthongs, etc.
Short:
Long:
Diphthongs:
In the name of God, the Most Compassionate, the Ever Merciful
PREFACE
We live in a time when people can spread their views around the globe at the touch of a button. Yet such views may come from people of little knowledge who can confuse and even misguide others. This is a concern that has become particularly acute with the widespread misrepresentation of Islam, both by those hostile towards it, and, unfortunately, even those who claim to profess it. Through their evil but eloquent schemes, such people can misrepresent the sacred teachings of this religion, and direct the ignorant and the ill-fated to perpetrate heinous crimes against both an innocent public and an innocent religion. Such deception and misinterpretation has sadly become all too common in our day, and among its causes is, undoubtedly, the relative inaccessibility of sound Islamic scholarship and literature in the English language. An additional cause is the suggestion that there is no difference between experts and non-experts. It is as though God never declared in His Book: ‘How can those who know be equal to those who do not know?’ (39: 9)
A plethora of problems can arise when non-experts begin to consider themselves experts on a subject matter. One can vividly illustrate with the example of a person who requires medical attention. A sensible individual would choose to be treated by a medical professional—an expert in the field—rather than risk their health by consenting to a medical procedure from someone who fancies themselves a doctor simply because they have read a medical textbook in their spare time. Indeed, there are serious legal consequences for those who claim to practice medicine without a recognized licence—one which is granted because they have been through rigorous training and examination. Such legal repercussions are entirely appropriate of course, for such frauds place people’s worldly lives at risk. Yet why is it that when it comes to our health we seek an expert opinion, but when it comes to our everlasting Hereafter so many of us prefer to follow someone who considers himself an expert after reading just a couple of books? Simply put: why do we risk our eternity by following those who are not qualified? Why do we not seek out recognized experts? As God the
BEFORE YOU READ
There are some important points that the reader, particularly a student of Hadith, needs to bear in mind when using this book. Although these have been explained in the Introduction to the first volume, it is considered worthwhile to remind readers of the editorial method followed in this work.
1. Numbering and references
It is surprising, but there has never been a full and serial numbering of hadiths in Sahih Muslim, and hence references to hadiths vary. A hadith is often referenced by book and chapter: ‘Related by Muslim, Book of Faith, Chapter so-and-so’, and so forth. This is a difficult method of referencing, particularly because the headings of some chapters run into two or three lines, or even longer. The fullest numbering of the hadiths in Sahih Muslim is that given in al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras li-Alfaz al-Hadith, but many hadiths are left without numbers. These are versions of the previous hadith, differing only in their chains of transmission, and it was probably felt that they should count with the earlier and often more complete version.
Al-Mu[jam al-Mufahras is a concordance of the words of the Prophet’s hadiths listed in the most important nine anthologies: al-Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa’i, Ibn Majah, as well as Malik’s al-Muwatta’, Ahmad’s al-Musnad and al-Darimi’s Sunan. It was prepared by a group of forty Western researchers of Islamic studies under the supervision of Arent Jan Wensinck (1882–1939) and edited by the Egyptian scholar Muhammad Fu’ad [Abd al-Baqi (1882–1967).i
i. Shaykh Muhammad Rashid Rida gave an English copy of A Manual of the Early Muhammadan Traditions by Arent Jan Wensinck, Professor of Arabic and Islam at the University of Leiden in Holland, to one of his regular students, Muhammad
THE BOOK OF GREETINGS
A RIDER GREETS A PEDESTRIAN
[4912–1]. (Dar al-Salam 5374) [Uqbah ibn Mukrim narrated to me:i Abu [Asim narrated; from Ibn Jurayj [H]. Also, Muhammad ibn Marzuq narrated to me; Rawh narrated; Ibn Jurayj narrated; Ziyad reported; that Thabit who is [Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd’s mawla reported to him; that he heard Abu Hurayrah say; that ‘God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said: “A rider offers the greeting, assalam [alaykum, to a pedestrian, and a pedestrian offers the greeting to one who is seated, and a smaller number of people offer it to a larger group”.’
Text Explanation
The hadith explains an aspect of Islamic manners. It should be understood that offering the greeting is a sunnah, but returning it is a duty. If there is a group of people, then offering the greeting is a collective sunnah, which means that if one or more of them says the greeting, the sunnah is deemed to have been done by all of them.
i. Related by al-Bukhari, 6232 and 6233; Abu Dawud, 5199.
If the recipient of the greeting is one person, he is duty-bound to return it, and if the recipient is a group, the return of the greeting is a collective duty that is deemed to be fulfilled if one of them returns it. The better alternative is that everyone in the group offers the greeting, and everyone in the other group returns it. Abu Yusuf says that everyone in the greeted group must return it. Ibn [Abd al-Barr and other scholars confirm that Muslims are unanimous that offering the greeting is a sunnah and returning it is a duty.
The minimum greeting is assalam [alaykum, in the plural form, but if it is offered to one person, then the minimum is assalam [alayk which is the singular form. Nevertheless, it is better to use the plural form when greeting one person so as to include with him the two angels he is assigned. It is also better to add wa rahmatullah, which means ‘together with God’s mercy’, and better still to add wa barakatuh, which means ‘and His blessings’. Yet, if the one offering the greeting merely says salam [alaykum, this is sufficient. The evidence cited by scholars for the addition of wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh is that the angels who visited Prophet Abraham said this after offering the salam greeting, as mentioned in Verse 73 of Surah 11. Moreover, in the tashahhud in prayer, all Muslims offer the greeting in its fullest form to the Prophet (peace be upon him).
It is discouraged for someone who is starting the greeting to commence with [alaykum assalam, which is the normal reply. If a person says it, then according to the correct and well-known view, that person deserves a return greeting, but some scholars say that he does not so deserve it. It is authentically reported that the Prophet said: ‘Do not say: [alayk assalam, as it is the greeting of the dead’, but God knows best.
The best and perfect return greeting is to say wa [alaykum assalam wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh. This means beginning with the conjunction wa, which means ‘and’. If one omits it, it remains good but is nonetheless short of what is best. If one limits one’s response to the first part, [alaykum assalam with or without wa, it is sufficient, but if he only says [alaykum which means ‘to you’, it is not enough of a response, according to the general view. However, if he says
wa [alaykum, then our scholars hold two views as to whether it is sufficient or not. If the one offering the greeting says salam [alaykum or assalam [alaykum and the greeted person uses the same form, it is good enough as a response, but the second is better as it contains the definite article.
The minimum greeting, starting or responding, must be audible to the other person. Nothing less is sufficient. The return greeting should be offered immediately. If one is given a greeting by someone who is absent, whether verbally with a messenger or in writing, a return greeting must be said immediately. In my book al-Adhkar, i I devote a section to the theme of greeting and what is relevant to it.
The hadith says: ‘A rider offers the greeting, assalam [alaykum, to a pedestrian, and a pedestrian offers the greeting to one who is seated, and a smaller number of people offer it to a larger group’. In al-Bukhari’s anthology, an addition is given, ‘and the younger person to the elder’. All this highlights what is desirable. If the reverse is done, it is acceptable but contrary to what is better.
Scholars say that the meaning of salam is that it is one of Almighty God’s names. Thus, assalam [alaykum is equal to ‘God’s name is upon you’, which means ‘may you enjoy His protection’, just as one says to another: ‘God be with you’. It is also said that salam means ‘safety’, i.e., may you be always safe.
i. al-Adhkar is a book by Imam al-Nawawi. Therefore, the pronoun ‘I’ refers to him.
RETURNING GREETINGS IS PART OF THE RIGHTS OF THE ROAD
[4912–2]. (Dar al-Salam 5375) Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah narrated: [Affan narrated; [Abd al-Wahid ibn Ziyad narrated; [Uthman ibn Hakim narrated; from Ishaq ibn [Abdullah ibn Abi Talhah; from his father. He said: ‘Abu Talhah said: “We were sitting in front of our homes engaged in conversation. God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) came and stood close to us. He said: ‘Why do you sit by the roadside? Avoid sitting by the roadside’. We said: ‘We mean no harm. We are only talking and discussing’. He said: ‘If you insist, fulfil the rights of the road: lowering one’s gaze, returning greetings and using proper speech’.”’
THE BOOK OF POETRY
RECITING POETRY
[5113–1]. (Dar al-Salam 5602) [Amr al-Naqid and Ibn Abi [Umar narrated:i both from Ibn [Uyaynah. Ibn Abi [Umar said: Sufyan narrated; from Ibrahim ibn Maysarah; from [Amr ibn al-Sharid; from his father. He said: ‘As I was riding behind God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) one day, he said to me: “Do you memorize some of Umayyah ibn Abi al-Salt’s poetry?” I said: “Yes”. He said: “Go on”. I recited a couplet. He said: “Go on”. I recited another couplet. He said: “Go on”. [I did] until I had completed one hundred couplets’.
[5114–000].ii Zuhayr ibn Harb and Ahmad ibn [Ubadah narrated to me: both from Ibn [Uyaynah; from Ibrahim ibn Maysarah; from [Amr ibn al-Sharid or Ya[qub ibn [Asim; from al-Sharid. He said: ‘God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) took me behind him on his mount…’ adding the same text.
i. Related by Ibn Majah, 3758.
ii. This hadith is attached to the previous one in Dar al-Salam’s edition.
THE BOOK OF DREAMS
A GOOD DREAM IS FROM GOD
Note: This chapter includes many hadiths with two main topics. Consequently, we will divide it into those two parts, commenting on the hadiths related to each of the subject areas separately.
[5125–1]. (Dar al-Salam 5613) [ Amr al-N a qid, Is ha q ibn
Ibr a h i m and Ibn Abi [Umar narrated:i all from Ibn [Uyaynah (Ibn Abi [Umar’s text); Sufyan narrated; from al-Zuhri; from Abu Salamah. He said: ‘I used to see dreams that would make me hot and quiver, but I would not be wrapped with a cloak. I then met Abu Qatadah and mentioned this to him. He said: “I heard God’s Messenger (peace be upon him) say: ‘[Good] dreams are from God and [bad] dreams are from Satan. If any of you sees a dream he dislikes, he should blow three times to his left, and seek refuge with God from its evil. It shall not do him any harm’.”’
i. Related by al-Bukhari, 5747, 6984, 6995, 7005 and 7944; Abu Dawud, 5021; al-Tirmidhi, 2277; Ibn Majah, 3909.
[5126–000]. (Dar al-Salam 5614-5615) Ibn Abi [Umar narrated: Sufyan narrated; from Muhammad ibn [Abd al-Rahman who is Talhah’s family’s mawla, Abd Rabbih and Yahya sons of Sa[id, and Muhammad ibn [Amr ibn [Alqamah; from Abu Salamah; from Abu Qatadah; from the Prophet: the same text, but their narration does not include Abu Salamah’s words: ‘I used to see dreams that would make me hot and quiver, but I would not be wrapped with a cloak’.
Harmalah ibn Yahya narrated to me: Ibn Wahb reported; Yunus reported to me [H]. Also Ishaq ibn Ibrahim and [Abd ibn Humayd narrated; both said: [Abd al-Razzaq reported; Ma[mar reported; both from al-Zuhri; with the same chain of transmission: the same text, but their narration does not include ‘would make me hot and quiver’.
In Yunus’s narration, the following is added: ‘He should spit to his left three times when he wakes up’.
ince its compilation over a thousand years ago, S . ah . ıh . Muslim has been recognised by scholars as an authentic collection of Prophetic teachings second only to that of Imam Bukh¯a r¯ı (d. 256/870). The hadith collection of Imam Muslim (d. 261/875) has had innumerable commentaries written on it down to modern times. However, there is no doubt that one commentary stands out as the most authoritative, namely that of the great Damascene scholar, Imam al–Nawawı (d. 676/1277), which in Arabic is entitled al – Minhaj Sharh . S . ah . ıh . Muslim ibn al –Hajjaj. This multidisciplinary commentary brings forth rich insights into the Arabic language, Qur’anic studies, Islamic law and jurisprudence, Islamic theology, Islamic spirituality and Islamic history.
The present translation by Dr Adil Salahi is the first time al–Nawawı ’s rich and authoritative commentary on S . ah . ıh . Muslim is being made available in English. This ground –breaking project marks a significant moment for Islam in the English language. Readers can now gain access to the timeless wisdom of the Prophet with the explanations of the ulama summarised by one of the ummah’s finest scholars.
This volume includes The Book of Greetings, The Book of Medicine, The book of Propriety in Speech, The Book of Poetry, The Book of Dreams, The Book of Excellent Qualities, The Book of the Prophet’s Companions’ Merits till Chapter 11.
Kube Publishing and Islamic Community Milli Gorus (ICMG) Australia are proud to present this new and complete translation of S . ah . ıh . Muslim together with Imam al–Nawawı ’s comprehensive commentary.
