The Book of Faith

It is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Umar that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

I saw near the Ka'bah a man of fair complexion with straight hair, placing his hands on two persons. Water was flowing from his head or it was trickling from his head. I asked: Who is he? They said: He is Jesus son of Mary or al-Masih son of Mary. The narrator) says: I do not remember which word it was. He (the Prophet) said: And I saw behind him a man with red complexion and thick curly hair, blind in the right eye. I saw in him the greatest resemblance with Ibn Qitan I asked: Who is he? They replied: It is al-Masih al-Dajjal.

It is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that a delegation of Abdul Qais came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) and said:

Messenger of Allah, verily ours is a tribe of Rabi'a and there stand between you and us the unbelievers of Mudar and we find no freedom to come to you except in the sacred month. Direct us to an act which we should ourselves perform and invite those who live beside us. Upon this the Prophet (ﷺ) remarked: I command you to do four things and prohibit you against four acts. (The four deeds which you are commanded to do are): Faith in Allah, and then he explained it for them and said: Testifying the fact. that there is no god but Allah, that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, performance of prayer, payment of Zakat, that you pay Khums (one-fifth) of the booty fallen to your lot, and I prohibit you to use round gourd, wine jars, wooden pots or skins for wine. Khalaf b. Hisham has made this addition in his narration: Testifying the fact that there is no god but Allah, and then he with his finger pointed out the oneness of the Lord.

Abu Jamra reported:

I was an interpreter between Ibn Abbas and the people, that a woman happened to come there and asked about nabidh or the pitcher of wine. He replied: A delegation of the people of 'Abdul-Qais came to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He (the Prophet) asked the delegation or the people (of the delegation about their identity). They replied that they belonged to the tribe of Rabi'a. He (the Prophet) welcomed the people or the delegation which were neither humiliated nor put to shame. They (the members of the delegation) said: Messenger of Allah, we come to you from a far-off distance and there lives between you and us a tribe of the unbelievers of Mudar and, therefore, it is not possible for us to come to you except in the sacred months. Thus direct us to a clear command, about which we should inform people beside us and by which we may enter heaven. He (the Prophet) replied: I command you to do four deeds and forbid you to do four (acts), and added: I direct you to affirm belief in Allah alone, and then asked them: Do you know what belief in Allah really implies? They said: Allah and His Messenger know best. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: It implies testimony to the fact that there is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah, establishment of prayer, payment of Zakat, fast of Ramadan, that you pay one-fifth of the booty (fallen to your lot) and I forbid you to use gourd, wine jar, or a receptacle for wine. Shu'ba sometimes narrated the word naqir (wooden pot) and sometimes narrated it as muqayyar. The Prophet (ﷺ) also said: Keep it in your mind and inform those who have been left behind.

There is another hadith narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas (the contents of which are similar to the one) narrated by Shu'ba in which the Prophet (ﷺ) said:

I forbid you to prepare nabidh in a gourd, hollowed block of wood, a varnished jar or receptacle. Ibn Mu'adh made this addition on the authority of his father that the Messenger of Allah said to Ashajj, of the tribe of 'Abdul-Qais: You possess two qualities which are liked by Allah: insight and deliberateness.

It is narrated on the authority of Jabir b. 'Abdullah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

When the Quraish belied me, I was staying in Hatim and Allah lifted before me Bait-ul-Maqdis and I began to narrate to them (the Quraish of Mecca) its signs while I was in fact looking at it.

'Abdullah reported on the authority of his father 'Umar b. Khattab that he heard from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say:

I was sleeping when I saw myself making circuit around the Ka'bah, and I saw there a man of fair complexion with straight hair between two men. Water was flowing from his head or water was falling from his head. I said: Who is he? They answered: He is the son of Mary. Then I moved forward and cast a glance and there was a bulky man of red complexion with thick locks of hair on his head, blind of one eye as it his eye was a swollen grape. I asked: Who is he? They said: He is Dajjal. He had close resemblance with Ibn Qatan amongst men.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said:

I found myself in Hijr and the Quraish were asking me about my might journey. I was asked about things pertaining to Bait-ul-Maqdis which I could not preserve (in my mind). I was very much vexed, so vexed as I had never been before. Then Allah raised it (Bait-ul-Maqdis) before my eyes. I looked towards it, and I gave them the information about whatever they questioned me I also saw myself among the group of apostles. I saw Moses saying prayer and found him to be a well-built man as if he was a man of the tribe of Shanu'a. I saw Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him) offering prayer, of all of men he had the closest resemblance with 'Urwa b. Masu'd al-Thaqafi. I saw Ibrahim (peace be upon him) offering prayer; he had the closest resemblance with your companion (the Prophet (ﷺ) himself) amongst people. When the time of prayer came I led them. When I completed the prayer, someone said: Here is Malik, the keeper of the Hell; pay him salutations. I turned to him, but he preceded me in salutation.

It is narrated on the authority of Abdullah (b. Umar) that when the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was taken for the Night journey, he was taken to Sidrat-ul-Muntaha, which is situated on the sixth heaven, where terminates everything that ascends from the earth and is held there, and where terminates every- thing that descends from above it and is held there. (It is with reference to this that) Allah said:

" When that which covers covered the lote-tree" (al-Qur'an, Iiii. 16). He (the narrator) said: (It was) gold moths. He (the narrator further) said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was given three (things): he was given five prayers, be was given the concluding verses of Sura al-Baqara, and remission of serious Sins for those among his Ummah who associate not anything with Allah

Al-Shaibini reported to us:

I asked Zirr b. Hubaish about the words of Allah (the Mighty and Great):" So he was (at a distance) of two bows or nearer" (al-Qur'an, Iiii 8). He said: Ibn Mas'ud informed me that, verily, the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saw Gabriel and he had six hundred wings.

Al-Shaibani narrated on the authority of Zirr who narrated it on this authority of Abdullah that the (words of Allah):

" The heart belied not what he saw" (al Qur'an, Iiii. 11) imply that he saw Gabriel (peace be upon him) and he had six hundred wings.

Zirr b. Hubaish narrated it on the authority of 'Abdullah (that the words of Allah):

" Certainly he saw of the greatest signs of Allah" (al-Qur'an, liii. 18) imply that he saw Gabriel in his (original) form and he had six hundred wings.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Huraira that the (words of Allah):

" And certainly he saw him in another descent" (al-Qur'an, Iiii. 13) imply that he saw Gabriel.

It is narrated on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he (the Prophet) saw (Allah) with, his heart.

It is narrated on the authority of Ibn Abbas that the words:

" The heart belied not what he saw" (al-Qur'an, Iiii. 11) and" Certainly he saw Him in another descent" (al-Qur'an, Iiii. 13) imply that he saw him twice with his heart.

Abu Bakr b. Abi Shaiba narrated it on the same authorities.

It is narrated on the authority of Masruq that he said:

I was resting at (the house of) 'A'isha that she said: O Abu 'A'isha (kunya of Masruq), there are three things, and he who affirmed even one of them fabricated the greatest lie against Allah. I asked that they were. She said: He who presumed that Muhammad (ﷺ) saw his Lord (with his ocular vision) fabricated the greatest lie against Allah. I was reclining but then sat up and said: Mother of the Faithful, wait a bit and do not be in a haste. Has not Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said:" And truly he saw him on the clear horizon" (Al-Qur'an, Surat at-Takwir, 81:23) and" he saw Him in another descent" (Al-Qur'an, Surat Najm 53:13)? She said: I am the first of this Ummah who asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) about it, and he said: Verily he is Gabriel. I have never seen him in his original form in which he was created except on those two occasions (to which these verses refer); I saw him descending from the heaven and filling (the space) from the sky to the earth with the greatness of his bodily structure. She said: Have you not heard Allah saying: "Eyes comprehend Him not, but He comprehends (all) vision. and He is Subtle, and All-Aware" (Al-Qur'an, Surat al-An`am 6:103)? (She, i.e. 'A'isha, further said): Have you not heard that, verily, Allah says: "And it is not for any human being that Allah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise." (Al-Qur'an, Surat ash-Shura, 42:51) She said: He who presumes that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) concealed anything from the Book of Allah fabricates the greatest lie against Allah. Allah says: "O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the disbelieving people." (Al-Qur'an, Surat al-Ma'idah, 5:67). She said: He who presumes that he would inform about what was going to happen tomorrow fabricates the greatest lie against Allah. And Allah says "Say, 'None in the heavens and earth knows the unseen except Allah , and they do not perceive when they will be resurrected.'" (Al-Qur'an, Surat an-Naml, 27:65).

Dawud reported on the same authorities the hadith as narrated above by Ibn 'Uliyya and added:

She ('A'isha) said: If Muhammad were to conceal anything which was sent to him, he would have certainly concealed this verse:" And when you saidst to him on whom Allah had conferred favour and you too had conferred favour: Keep your wife to thyself and fear Allah, and you wast concealing in your heart that which Allah was going to disclose, and you wast fearing men while Allah has a better right that you shouldst fear Him."

Masruq reported:

I asked 'A'isha if Muhammad (ﷺ) had seen his Lord. She replied: Hallowed be Allah, my hair stood on end when you said this, and he (Masruq) narrated the hadith as narrated above. The hadith reported by Diwud is more complete and longer.

Masruq reported:

I said to 'A'isha: What about the words of Allah:" Then he drew nigh and came down, so he was at a distance of two bows or closer still: so He revealed to His servant what He revealed" (al-Qur'an, liii. 8-10)? She said: It implies Gabriel. He used to come to him (the Prophet) in the shape of men; but he came at this time in his true form and blocked up the horizon of the sky.

It is narrated on the authority of Abu Dharr:

I asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): Did you see your Lord? He said: (He is) Light; how could I see Him?