Loving RasulAllah صلى الله عليه وسلم
An Extract from Qāđī Íyāđ’s ‘Shifā’
QADI IYAD IBN MUSA AL-YAHSUBI
(476-544 AH / 1083-1149 CE)
Translation and Notes
Abu Hasan
All praise to Allāh, the Lord of all creation. Blessings and peace upon our master Muĥammad صلى الله عليه وسلم , the king of creation, the chief of all prophets and messengers, and who was sent with guidance and as a guide to the world. O Allāh! We ask Thee to guide us towards truth and upon the right path. This short work is a translation of a section from Kitāb al-Shifā bi Tárīfi Ĥuqūq al-Muşţafā, which is one of the finest biographies of the Prophet . Many scholars have said that: “A book of this kind has not been written in the history of Islām.” Someone has rightly said:
kulluhu’m ĥāwalu’d dawā’a walākin mā ata bi’sh-shifā’yi illā íyāđu
Everyone tried a hand at medicine – but, None could find a cure except Íyāđ
Qāđī Íyāđ is a prominent ĥadīth scholar, Mālikī jurist and an author of many important works. Nobody disputes that Shifā is his most famous work and he is best known as the author of Shifā. I have mentioned many editions of Shifā in the bibliography; this is only because of cross-references and other footnotes. Older editions have been consulted to verify and confirm certain passages as they are more reliable than digital typeset editions. As usual many thanks to brothers who reviewed this on a very short notice.
wa billāhi’t tawfīq.
Abu Hasan
12th Rabīý al-Awwal 1437
23rd December 2015
Read more: Loving RasulAllah, An Extract from Qāđī Íyāđ’s ‘Shifā’
Showing Reverence and Respect for the name of
Sayyidinaa Muhammad al Mustafa صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم
بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
نحمد الله العلي العظيم ونصلي على رسوله الكريم
وآله وأصحابه وأهل بيته أجمعين
One of the duties of the believer is to love and show the proper reverence and respect for our Master Sayyidinaa Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim. Love demands the utmost reverence and respect for the one claim to love. While showing our love for our Master Sayyidinaa Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim a believer a should not even mention the name of our Beloved Prophet Sayyidinaa Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم without a title, such as Sayyidina (Our Master), Nabiyyina (Our Nabiy) etc.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He, when calling him, does not call him with his name (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم); rather, He calls him in a manner that expresses honor and glorification. For example, in the Holy Qur’an, He calls him saying, “O ye Prophet, Yaa Ayyuhan Nabi!” and “O ye Messenger, Yaa ayyuhal Rasul!” .
Allahu ta’ala further says:
لَّا تَجْعَلُوا دُعَاءَ الرَّسُولِ بَيْنَكُمْ كَدُعَاءِ بَعْضِكُم بَعْضًاۚ
“ Make not the calling of the messenger among you as your calling one of another.” (An-Nur: 63).
When the name of Sayyidinaa Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم is used in a derogatory manner the individual deserves the punish of Allahu ta’ala. This blessed name was never given to anyone before our Beloved Nabiy Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa Aalihi wa sallim. Qadhi Iyadh in “Ash Shifa” mentions that this blessed name was never given to anyone before Sayyidinaa Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Sall Allahu ‘alaihi wa sallim.
The Tawassul of Sayyidina Adam by the Blessed name ofRasulullah صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم.
We know of the well-known hadith concerning the tawassul of Sayyidina Adam ‘alaihi salaam:
On the authority of authority of Sayyidinaa Umar ibn al Khattab radhi Allahu ‘anhu:
“When Adam committed his mistake he said: O my Lord, I am asking you to forgive me for the sake of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم. Allah said: O Adam, and how do you know about Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم whom I have not yet created? Adam replied, O my Lord, after You created me with your hand and breathed into me of Your Spirit, I raised my head and saw written on the heights of the Throne:
LA ILAHA ILLALLAH MUHAMMAD UN RASULULLAH
I understood that You would not place next to Your Name but the Most Beloved One of Your creation. Allah said: O Adam, I have forgiven you, and were it not for Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم I would not have created you.”
The hadith is also included by Qadi `Iyad among the “sound and famous narrations” in al-Shifa, and he says that Abu Muhammad al-Makki and Abu al-Layth al-Samarqandi mention it; Qadi `Iyad says: “It is said that this hadith explains the verse:
فَتَلَقَّىٰ آدَمُ مِن رَّبِّهِ كَلِمَاتٍ فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِۚ
‘And Adam received words from his Lord and He relented towards him’ (2:37)”; he continues to cite another very similar version through al-Ajurri (d. 360), about whom al-Qari said: “al-Halabi said: This seems to be the imam and guide Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Husayn ibn `Abd Allah al-Baghdadi, the compiler of the books al-Shari`a devoted to the Sunna, al-Arba`un, and others.’” This is confirmed by Ibn Taymiyya in his Qa`ida fi al-tawassul: “It is related by Shaykh Abu Bakr al-Ajurri, in his book al-Shari`a.”
Read more: Showing Reverence and Respect for the name of Sayyidinaa Muhammad al Mustafa
On Abbreviating the Salaat and Salaam on Sayyidinaa wa Mawlana Muhammad al Mustafa صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم
Imam Ahmad Rida Khan رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ said:
The Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ordered us to verbally utter salutations upon him when he is mentioned—O Allah! Send prayers, salutations, blessings upon him and his family and Companions forever! It is not enough to use the abbreviation “S” or “A.S.” or “S.A.A.W.” in place of the actual salutation. That is because these abbreviations do not convey a meaning by themselves, and are included in the import of Allah’s saying:
“But those who wronged changed a statement to other than what was said to them, so We sent down a punishment from the sky upon those who did wrong because they were actively defiant.” [al-Baqara: 59]
Just as the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم ordered us to send salutations upon him with our tongues, he also commanded us to send salutations upon him in writing, for, as it is said, “the pen is one of the two tongues.” It is mentioned in the collection of al-Fatawa al-Tatarkhaniya that the command to write out the salutations upon the Prophet صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم is emphatic in nature, and that to omit it is counted as a disparagement of Prophethood—Allah’s refuge is sought from that! Imam al-Tahtawi al-Hanafi wrote in his marginalia upon al-Durr al-mukhtar:
One must take great care in writing out the formula “prayers and salutations upon him” when mentioning the Messenger [of Allah] صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم and must never tire of repeating it. And if the formula is not written out in a book that one is reading, it must be uttered verbally. It is offensive to write an abbreviation for the formula used for invoking salutations [saying صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم Sall Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam] or divine pleasure [saying رضی اللہ تعالٰی عنہ radiya Allahu ‘anhu when mentioning a Companion]; rather, the formula should be written out in full.
Elsewhere in the al-Fatawa al-Tatarkhaniya it says:
If someone writes “A.S.” in place of “‘alayhi al-salam” he is guilty of disbelief because it is belittlement, and belittlement of the Prophets (prayers and salutations upon them all) is undoubtedly disbelief. And perhaps this position—if it’s assumed that the quote is authentic—is limited to the proviso that it be intentional , as the apparent position is that this does not constitute disbelief; although it is true, that the most precautionary way is to steer clear of anything that gives the impression [of belittlement] or anything doubtful.