Preservation of the Hadith in Islam

Preservation of the Hadith in Islam

Opening

"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

"All praise is due to Allah"

Introduction

In the name of Allah, Praise be to Allah. We are going to be talking about the Hadith. What are the Hadith? How do they play a role in the Muslim's life?

We will be right back with our next guest Nevad Azeem. Here on the Deen Show. I don't know why I did that. Maybe it's just to break the ice.

"Peace be upon you"

"And upon you be peace"

Thank you for being with us. (جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا - jazakallahu khairan). It's a pleasure and honor to be here. Thank you, thank you very much. And it's a pleasure and honor to have you on the show.

Guest Introduction

Host: Tell us, I got to apologize I chopped your name up.

Nevad Aziz: It's okay, it's quite commonly, you know, mistaken.

Host: How do you say it now?

Nevad Aziz: It's Nevad Aziz.

Host: Okay, Nevad Aziz. Tell us, you're with the Almagrib Institute?

Nevad Aziz: Correct.

Host: And you're born and bred in Montreal?

Nevad Aziz: Correct, yeah.

Host: And you finished from the prestigious Medina University?

Nevad Aziz: Correct, last year.

Host: So, we're not talking to a car mechanic about Islam. We're talking to somebody who knows this Deen, this way of life.

Nevad Aziz: I'd like to hope so.

Personal Background

Host: Tell us a little bit more about yourself.

Nevad Aziz: Well, I was born in 1981 in Montreal, Quebec. And I spent the vast majority of my youth in Montreal. With the exception of about two and a half years which were between New York and Pakistan. And the rest of my youth was spent in Montreal. Just like an average guy. And then around the age of 14 I was actually introduced to Dr. Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips. He had come to Montreal and he had a very large influence on myself and upon my family. And he actually encouraged me to pursue the path of seeking knowledge. And that is what I started to do at the age of 14. I started memorizing Quran at that time and studying Islamic studies as well as Arabic on the side. And then upon finishing college I pursued the Islamic University of Medina where I just finished from last year.

Host: Now, at the age of 14, you got many youth involved in gangs, trying to get fake IDs to get to the nightclubs, doing all sorts of things besides surrender submission to God alone. Right. And you're over here pursuing knowledge. How did this happen? How did this come about?

Nevad Aziz: My parents and my immediate family played a very big role in that. Especially my mom's sister's husband. He was very practicing at that time. And he would see me all the time. Instead of letting me play basketball, he's like, okay, let's go to the masjid. We're doing this. Or he tried to actually initiate basketball at the masjid instead. So he tried to combine them both. And this is what you see with the vast majority of youth that are raised practicing, that they manage to combine their deen with their dunya in one way or another. Because if you actually try to separate the two, then that's where problems occur. But Islam, rather than just being a religion of worship, it's actually a complete way of life. And unless you accept it as a complete way of life, there's going to be a deficiency in one place or the other. So I think that's what the biggest problem is when people try to divide Islam into a religious way and then another way of life, or what it may be.

Coming to Islam

Host: How did you come to the firm conviction that this was indeed the way of life of all the messengers of God, the last and final messenger of Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, the way of life that was ordained by the Creator of the heavens and the earth? Were you just going along with tradition, culture, what your parents were doing? Or did you actually look into the other ways? How did you come to know that this was indeed the way of life from the Creator of the heavens and the earth?

Nevad Aziz: Upon reading texts from the Quran and the Sunnah, I realized that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) took into consideration the three aspects of man: the mind, the body and the soul. And it is only a complete and perfect religion that would be able to do so. And if it's complete and perfect from that aspect, it had to be revealed from God. And this is why I was convinced that this was the way to go forward.

The Quran: The Living Miracle

Host: Now tell us the first evidence that's a living miracle, is the verbatim word of God.

Nevad Aziz: Correct. Allah in Arabic we say.

Host: The Quran.

Nevad Aziz: Correct.

Host: Tell us some of the elements that make this indeed something that if somebody looks into it, they're going to come to the same realization that over 1.5 billion people have come to today.

Nevad Aziz: Well there are several aspects to the Quran. You can divide the Quran into two aspects. Aspect number one is stories of the people of the past. And aspect number two is in terms of rulings and regulations. And to even make the first category more general, let's just conclude it with information versus that of rulings.

So when it comes to information, Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) gives us information about the creation of the heavens and the earth, the creation of mankind, how he came from a small clot of blood and thus became a full human being. Obviously when the time of the Quran's revelation, these things weren't known to scientists. They weren't known to the doctors. So this had to be from God himself that he revealed this to the Prophet (صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wasallam). So you have a scientific aspect to it as well.

Then you have a linguistic aspect to it. If you study the Quran, you will see that the prose of the Quran is so perfect and the grammatical rules of the Quran are so perfect that had it been from man himself, you would have found deficiencies or mistakes. I mean look at the best authors of our times today. They can write hundreds and hundreds of books, but not a single of them will be free from flaw. Whereas this book that was sent to a man who was unable to read and write, the Prophet (صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ - sallallahu alayhi wasallam) is free from deficiency from a grammatical and from a poetic prose point of view. So that is point number two.

Point number three, that there is other information in terms of people of the past, especially the Prophets and the righteous people, that it is not possible that a man who did not know how to read or write and did not leave Mecca, you know until past a certain amount of age, that he would have been able to gather this information. So thus it had to be from revelation as well. So I think these are three key aspects that prove the divinity of the Quran.

Who is Allah?

Host: We have a lot of non-Muslims that are tuning in. You said another Arabic word. You said Allah. Some people might have a misconception and there is some moon god, some other crazy ideas. Who is Allah?

Nevad Aziz: Linguistically, if you look at the word Allah, the correct position is that the word Allah is actually derived from the term Al-Ilah, which means that the one who is worshipped. And they often refer to Christianity, Judaism and Islam as the monotheistic religions based upon this very fact that they have this one entity that they call God that they worship. And in theory this is accurate, but obviously due to other differences, we eventually see that Islam is the only monotheistic religion at the end of the day.

So Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) or Allah glorified and exalted is He, in Islam is the entity that created all of us and sustains all of us and grants us all of our blessings and sustenance. And likewise if He is able to grant you all of that, then by default He grants you that which is more important, which is guidance, that which you need to survive in this world and in the hereafter. So that is what we refer to Allah as.

Host: So this is the one true Creator?

Nevad Aziz: Oh definitely.

Attributes of Allah

Host: Now give us real quick because this is very important, give us some attributes. Because some people would think that the Creator is a man, is the sun, is the moon and other parts of creation. So give us the true attributes of Allah.

Nevad Aziz: When we talk about Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) we have to keep two things in mind. One, Allah is not like His creation. That Allah being the Creator, He is not like His creation. So when you give Him attributes, even though we may use terms that are similar to that of humans, we still need to realize that they are in a way or in a form that are befitting His majesty.

Secondly, we have to realize that Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) He revealed characteristics about Himself so that we may actually know or may be able to relate to it. Because imagine if you have a God that you cannot relate anything to, there would be that disconnect. So Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) is a balance between the two, that He describes Himself as the ultimate entity that has some similarities to man, but in a way that is befitting of His majesty.

So when Allah talks about Himself, and this is the one proof from the Quran that explains everything when we talk about Allah, Allah says:

Quranic Verse:

"There is nothing similar unto Allah, and Allah is the All-Hearing and the All-Seeing."

Reference: Surah Ash-Shura (42:11)

So Allah affirms on one hand that there is nothing similar to Him, but at the same time Allah is affirming for Himself sight and hearing which are characteristics of a human being. So in terms of characteristics of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) you would have to affirm several of them by default. And when you think about God, you would have to know that He is alive. You would have to know that He is the all-knowing, the all-seeing, the all-hearing, and that He is able to do all things. These are things that any common or any level of education would have to accept. You don't have to be a great philosopher or a PhD doctor to accept this.

And in terms of other aspects, how Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) also tells us about His mercy. Because when you think of God, as humans we commit sins, we need a God that is merciful. Likewise we need a God that will hold us to account. Therefore Allah is Al-Hasib as well. So there are a lot of characteristics and attributes that we can talk about Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala). But the ultimate criterion of what it comes down to is whatever is perfection is Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala)

Does God Need a Son?

Host: Before we get into our main topic, tell us because you said, there might be some non-Muslim out there who has this in his head, because you said Allah is able to do all things. Some people think that He became a man or had a son. What do you guys say about this?

Nevad Aziz: I would say about this that there is a problem in the question and not in the answer itself. Why would God need to become a man? Why would He need to have a son? This would actually be a form of deficiency.

An interesting story that took place by a great scholar by the name of Al-Baqillani. He was a linguistic scholar and people came to him and they said you know the Christians want to meet with you and they want to have a discussion with you. So he said sure no problem. So he goes and enters the monastery and he greets all the priests and he says you know how are you doing? How is your family? How is your kids? And people started to uproar and they are like how can you insult our priests like that? How could you insult our priests? Don't you know that they are celibate? They don't get married and they don't have children?

And then he said that if this is a disgrace for human beings, then how about the one who created you? How can you affirm children for him?

Host: That's a good example.

Nevad Aziz: So you know it's normal for men to have kids because this is what human beings do. But Allah is different from man. There is no need for him to have kids and there is no reason that he would come in human form. This is what differentiates God from man. The fact that he is different.

Host: This is amazing what a beautiful analogy.

The Hadith: Introduction

Host: Let's get into this subject of Hadith. Because we have the miraculous living miracle the Quran, saved 1400 years that has been unchanged, miracle after miracle, you want science in there, your purpose of life is in there, where you are going when you die it's in there. But now there is another part, there is some confusion for some Muslims and also some people who are coming to Islam. They want to know the second miracle that has come that goes hand in hand with the Quran is this Hadith. Talk to us a little bit about the Hadith.

Nevad Aziz: In terms of the Hadith of the Prophet, I think when we get into this discussion, two things have to be discussed. Number one is the Authority of the Sunnah and it's relationship to the Quran. So I guess we'll start with that first.

The Authority of the Sunnah

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى throughout the Quran he says:

"And obey Allah and obey the messenger."

And in other ayat he says:

"That obey Allah and obey the messenger and those in authority amongst you."

Reference: Surah An-Nisa (4:59)

Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى in this ayah in Surah An-Nisa which I believe is Surah number 4 ayah number 59, He says obey Allah and obey the messenger and those in authority amongst you. So Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى over here is saying unconditionally you have to obey Allah and unconditionally you have to obey the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ. And then conditionally, this is actually a linguistic benefit of the ayah, then conditionally you have to obey those in authority amongst you.

He says ( وَأُولِي الْأَمْرِ مِنكُمْ . He didn't mention وَأَطِيعُوا again the word obey the first two unconditionally and the third is conditionally based upon the Sharia. So in order for this commandment to be relevant at all times, and we know that the Quran is a message for all times, this necessitates that the sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ would have to be preserved in one way or another. But let's put that on the side for one point.

Ibn Abbas, who was one of the greatest scholars of tafsir or exegesis as we call in English, he narrated that when the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was alive, this is what it meant to obey the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . And after

the death of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ it meant that we would follow his sunnah. So this is point number one in terms of authority. The Quran is at the same level as the sunnah and the sunnah is at the same level as the Quran. And the texts of this are many.

The Relationship Between Quran and Hadith

Point number two in this, in terms of the relationship of the Quran to the hadith, Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى says in another ayah in Surah An-Nahl that indeed we have revealed unto you a dhikr so that you may explain to mankind that which was revealed to them. So here Allah is talking about a different revelation that was revealed to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ so that he may explain a previous revelation. So the initial revelation is the Quran and the second revelation that was revealed to the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ was the sunnah itself.

And point number three, this is further emphasized in an ayah in Surah An-Najm where Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى says:

"That he does not speak of his own desire, of his own accord, but rather he speaks that which is revelation."

Reference: Surah An-Najm (53:3-4)

So all of these ayat put together with the other various ayat, they indicate and prove that the Quran comes along with the sunnah and the sunnah in fact is an explanation for the Quran. And this is why you will see that Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى speaks in various generalities and ambiguities in the Quran and the sunnah there comes to explain it.

And this is one of the easiest arguments against those people that deny the sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . How do you learn to pray? How do you know that you have to pray Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha? All of these things are not mentioned in the Quran.

Host: You can't do it without the hadith.

Nevad Aziz: Exactly, you need the sunnah, we're dependent upon it.

Preservation of the Sunnah

Nevad Aziz: So in terms of authority I think the debate is pretty much of no value. What the debate actually starts to occur is in terms of the preservation of the sunnah and its validity until our times today. This is where you can get a bit technical. And if you'll allow me I'd like to explain that as well.

Host: Yeah, if you don't mind, can you go into that now? For someone who says, okay I know that the Quran is preserved, but now, how do I know that man hasn't had his share of putting in his own words into these hadiths?

Nevad Aziz: Excellent جَزَاكَ اللَّهُ خَيْرًا. So now we mentioned in our point number two that Allah revealed the Quran, sorry, He revealed the sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in order to explain the Quran. So if the

explanation is needed almost as much as the Quran, if not more, then how does it make sense logically that only the origin would be preserved but not its explanation? Because what good is that origin without its explanation?

So from a logical point of view we understand that the sunnah needed to be preserved.

But now let's look at some of the texts pertaining to that as well. Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى says that we will preserve Ad-Dhikr, right? We revealed the dhikr and we shall preserve it. So this is a promise from Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى that anything that takes the title of ad-dhikr or the remembrance of Allah سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى it shall be preserved without a doubt. So that is point number one.

Historical Evidence of Preservation

Point number two, if you look in terms of the chronology of the preservation of the sunnah, you will see that the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had scribes for the sunnah just as he had scribes for the Quran. So these two didn't mix now. One was assigned for the writing of the Quran and the others were prescribed for writing of the sunnah, of the sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ And this is authentically established.

And you will see that even in one of the narrations of Sahih al-Bukhari, we all know that the most famous companion for narrating hadith, when you think of the most famous companion, who do you think of? Abu Huraira رضي الله تعالى عنه . He narrated the most hadith from the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . He has another narration in Sahih al-Bukhari which says that there is no companion that knew more hadith than me except for Abdullah ibn Amr ibn al-'As. And he said why is that? He said because he used to write down a hadith during the time of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . So this is indication number one.

Hadith Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Knowledge

Indication number two Ali رضي الله تعالى عنه had a scroll from the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ that he had written down himself that he had saved in a treasure chest, which is, that he had saved in a chest which is mentioned in Sahih al-Bukhari as well.

Hadith Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Knowledge

Point number three is when we study the chapter of Zakat. We know that we derive the rulings from the Quran and the Sunnah. The primary source for the Sunnah in terms of deriving rulings of Zakat is a letter that Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote to Anas رضي الله تعالى عنه who was a governor in another land. So Umar writes to Anas and he says that this is what the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ taught me in terms of the dividing of the Zakat and how much Zakat to take. And I advise you with the exact same thing. And he had it written down and sent to Anas.

So we can see that during the time of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ Hadith were actually being written down and the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ had no problem with this.

Addressing the Prohibition Hadith

A lot of people will come up with a point over here and they say we have an authentic hadith where the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says that I forbid you from writing down a Hadith. They'll take this general term and they say this proves that he did not want the Hadith to be written down.

But we say to this that this has to be taken in its proper context. And Ibn Hajar, one of the great scholars of Hadith who came in the 8th century, he said that one of two things takes place over here. Either this Hadith was abrogated, meaning that this is in the advocacy of Islam and it was later on abrogated. Because obviously we know the companions, they wanted to disobey the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . Thus they would have destroyed their scrolls.

Point number two and this actually makes more sense is that this ruling was particular for those scribes who were writing down the Quran. The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ did not want them to record Hadith so that it wouldn't be mixed with the Quran and one would be confused or construed with the other. So this is a refutation to that point. So this is in terms of the companions writing down a Hadith.

The Prophet's Encouragement to Preserve Hadith

And you'll notice that the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ actually took great precaution in the companions narrating Hadith of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ as well. Just to mention three brief points on this issue.

First Hadith:

The Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ says in one Hadith:

نَضَّرَ اللَّهُ امْرَأَ سَمِعَ مِنَّا حَدِيثًا فَحَفِظَهُ حَتَّى يُبَلِّغَهُ

"May Allah brighten the face of a man who narrates a Hadith from us just as he heard it."

Reference: Sunan At-Tirmidhi

So here is a form of encouragement.

Second Hadith:

Point number two, the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ said:

مَنْ سُئِلَ عَنْ عِلْمٍ فَكَتَمَهُ أَلْجَمَهُ اللهُ بِلِجَامٍ مِنْ نَارٍ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

"That let none of you withhold knowledge if he is asked about anything. And if he were to do so, then he would be branded from the Hellfire."

Reference: Sunan Abu Dawud

So point number one is to learn the Hadith, memorize it and narrate it just as you heard it. Point number two is that if you are asked about the Sunnah of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ and you don't make it clear to the people,

then know that you will be branded from the Hellfire.

Third Hadith:

And then point number three, he further emphasized this. He said:

مَنْ كَذَبَ عَلَيَّ مُتَعَمِّدًا فَلْيَتَبَوَّأْ مَقْعَدَهُ مِنَ النَّارِ

"That let whoever lies upon me intentionally prepare his seat in the Hellfire."

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim

So he psychologically prepared the companions of the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to memorize the Hadith just as he learnt them and convey them diligently and to beware of fabricating anything. And this is why they are called the most trustworthy of nations. So this is just at the level of the companions.

The Science of Hadith Authentication

Host: And I'm sure you want to include something over here. What is the meticulous nature of the collection of the Hadith? Knowing can you describe the biography of the person and what would a person have to fill as far as qualities for that Hadith to be accepted? And how many people does it line up from A, B, C to the last and final message of the Prophet?

Nevad Aziz: Okay, in terms of a Hadith to be authentic, there are five conditions that need to be met.

Five Conditions for Authentic Hadith

Condition Number One: اتّصَالُ السَّنَدِ )Continuous Chain(

It has to be a connected chain of narration from the Prophet صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ to the person who is compiling it. We have to know who is in between. You have to know everyone who is in between and those people actually have characteristics.

Condition Number Two: الضَّبْطُ Precision(

They have to have absolute perfect precision in narrating the Hadith of the Prophet صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

Condition Number Three: العَدَالَةُ )Trustworthiness(

They have to be trustworthy people that not only do their memories have to be on point, but they have to be people who are away from sin and away from innovation.

Condition Number Four: عَدَمُ الشُّذُوذ )Absence of Contradiction(

Or a lack of contradiction or opposition between the narrations amongst themselves.

Condition Number Five: عَدَمُ العِلَّةِ )Absence of Hidden Defects(

Example of Hadith Scrutiny

To give you an example of this, Imam Muslim, he tries to make a point in his Sahih about a particular Hadith. And this is the well known Hadith: The seven people who will be under the shade of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) on the day that there is no shade except his shade.

All of the narrations of this Hadith they say that the Imam gave charity so secretly that the left hand will not know what the right hand gave. But Imam Muslim if he wanted to prove a point in his Sahih, he goes on with the narration that the left hand will give that which the right hand will not know. So it's the exact opposite. So this type of deficiency it is even recorded along with Sahih collections just to prove a point that this is an inauthentic narration.

So all of these things meticulously put together, you are studying a connected chain of people where you know their names, their teacher's names, their father's names, and everyone that they study with. And you know the level of precision of their memory and you know how trustworthy they were in terms of their religion.

An average person in our times would not be allowed to narrate Hadith due to various reasons. From them is that our memories are nothing close to what the memories of the people of the past were. And two, our dedication to the religion is nothing like theirs as well.

Examples of Scholar's Memory and Piety

Just to give one example, we have the likes of Imam Al-Bukhari who has narrated to have said about himself that when he wanted to memorize a book that had two pages, he'd have to cover one side because it would interfere with his mind when he would read the other side. So he'd read a page once and he'd have to cover the other side so it wouldn't interfere in his mind and he'd be able to memorize a page like that. And similar stories have been narrated about Imam Shafi'i and other great Imams as well.

And in terms of their piety, it's narrated that Imam Al-Bukhari in the month of Ramadan, he would finish the Quran every three nights at night time in Salah. And then during the day he would finish the Quran once in terms of sitting and reciting the Quran. So this is a totally different level of piety and a totally different level of preservation and memorization of the text that we're talking about.

So without a doubt when you apply these very constraining rules to Hadith, without a doubt, the signs of themselves would have to be a form of revelation from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) in order for it to be so perfect.

Comparison with Previous Messengers

Host: So can you equate this from some of the messengers in the past where at that time, their time, if you were living during the time of Jesus peace be upon him, Moses, that they were the walking instructionals, they were the walking examples of the revelation that was given to them for that time? For instance, Moses, he was teaching the people about the Torah. Jesus peace be upon him and he was teaching the people about the Injil. So today we have the last and final revelation sent to mankind, the Quran, and the messenger, the last and final Messenger sent to mankind, he is teaching us through the Hadith the Quran.

Nevad Aziz: Exactly, I definitely agree with that. So this is the same thing, it makes sense.

Host: Oh yes, I mean this is the job of the messenger to explain the revelation that was revealed to him. And it would actually be unjust and unfair that a messenger would pass away and his message not be preserved. And this message has been preserved meticulously, whereas opposed the messengers before, they were for that time, that people, and we don't have it today.

Since this is the very last message till the day of judgment, it had to be preserved meticulously. Whereas the other religions, they would have abrogation and other religions would come thereafter. Therefore it wasn't as much of a necessity to preserve them, because a further revelation was coming, whereas in our situation, there is no further revelation. Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) says that he was (خَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ - Khataman nabiyyin), the seal of the prophets.

Closing Advice

Host: Yes, closing comments and suggestions for those who are looking into Islam, for those who have accepted Islam, give them some good advice.

Nevad Aziz: My advice for those people is something which I personally benefited from. Sahih al-Bukhari itself, Imam al-Bukhari (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah) he starts off his collection of Hadith with the first chapter being the beginning of revelation. And this is what you would think that Imam al-Bukhari would be talking about in this chapter.

But amazingly the very first Hadith he brings is the Hadith of Umar ibn al-Khattab where he says:

Hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 1; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1907)

"That indeed actions are by intentions and every man shall have that which he intends."

So from this we derive that Imam al-Bukhari (رَحِمَهُ اللهُ - rahimahullah) was setting a standard for all the Muslims that whether you are writing a book of Hadith, whether you are reading a book of Hadith, whether you are eating, whether you are sleeping, whether you are drinking, try to purify your intention as much as possible. Purify your intention, because when you purify your intention, this is when the help of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) comes. And this is how you

improve yourself, that each time you do something you have a specific intention of what you want to achieve and what you want to get out of it. So you are actually measuring your status in terms of where you are going.

So that is point number one.

Point number two, the last book in Sahih al-Bukhari is called Kitab at-Tawheed or the chapter of monotheism of Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala). And the Hadith he ends off with over here is:

Hadith:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 7563; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 2694)

"That there are two words which are light on the tongue, yet are heavy on the scales, and are beloved to Ar-Rahman, meaning the most merciful and the most compassionate, and they are: Subhanallah wa bihamdihi, Subhanallahil azeem."

And the point that Imam al-Bukhari is trying to do over here is that at the end of every act of worship that you do, you thank Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) that you were able to do this. Because it is only by his favor and his blessing that you were able to do it. And the fact that he chose you specifically to increase yourself in knowledge, to do any act of worship, to do any form of good, is a blessing from Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) himself that he needs to be thanked for.

So this is what I would summarize as my advice to all Muslims: that purify and renew your intentions and then thank Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى - subhanahu wa ta'ala) for all the blessings he has given you.

Closing

Host: May God almighty the creator of the heavens and earth, Allah reward you for being with us today. Thank you very much. And thank you everybody here for being with us here today on the Deen Show. We look forward to seeing you next week here inshallah God willing, until then.

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ

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