. IÚ IÛJ ':?Ü?I Iljj ,H c.,tÝ (cont.)

As Allah states about the Law of Retribution, quoted above, "And there is [saving of] life for you in the Law of Equality in punishment, 0 men of understanding, that you may become pious" (al­ Baqara 1 78-179). 1 The other view accredited to al-Shafi'ee is that the prescribed punishment is only performed in non-Islamic lands if the caliph or ruler is present with them. Otherwise, they are not carried out. Hadith #15: "Whoever believes in Allah should ... " Hadith #1 5 "Whoever believes in Allah should . . . " / J . o .... ࣣ On the authority of Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him), the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good things or keep silent. Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be courteous and generous to his neighbor. Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be courteous and generous to his [traveling] visitor." Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim. Selected Vocabulary Ji;li - "he should speak", the J makes the form that of the imperative or command. The same is true for the J in the next three words of this selected vocabulary. w-..;l - "he should be silent" r..fa.li - "he should be courteous and generous." Both courteous and generous have been used to try to capture the true meaning of the Arabic word. Wehr, for example, has defined the word karam (r .ft) in the following manner: "noble nature, high-mindedness, noble-mindedness, noble-heartedness, generosity, magnanimity, kindness, friendliness, amicability, liberality, munificence."1 •.J4- - "his neighbor," the • is for "his" ࣛ - "his visitor" 1 J. M. Cowan, ed., Arabic-English Dictionary: The Hans Wehr Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic (Ithaca, NY: Spoken Languages Services, Inc., 1976), p. 821 . Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Takhreej Ten Followers narrated this hadith from Abu Huraira. Their narrations may be found in Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abu Dawood, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Musnad Ahmad, Sunan al-Kubra by al-Baihaqi and scores of others. The same hadith has also been narrated by a large number of other Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), including Abu Suraij, Aisha, Abu Ayyoob, ibn Abbaas, Anas ibn Maalik, ibn Masood, Jaabir ibn Samurah, Abu Umaamah, Abdullah ibn Amr, Abdullah ibn Umar, Zaid ibn Khaalid and Abu Saeed al-Khudri. Some of these narrations are authentic but most of them are weak.1 General Comments about the Hadith This hadith describes how the one who wishes to be a true believer must behave towards others. Al-Haitami states that this hadith is deserving to be called one-third of Islam since it covers all of the rulings concerning the tongue. He says that deeds are either of the tongue, the heart, or the physical body. This hadith covers the last third. 2 He also points out that this hadith is very similar in meaning to the hadith that states, "None of you truly believes until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself." He says that everyone is a neighbor to someone else. Therefore, if this hadith is truly applied, then the society will be filled with love and closeness toward one another. 3 About the Narrator: Abu Huraira Abu Huraira was discussed under Hadith #9. "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day" In this hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned three characteristics of those who truly believe in Allah and the Last Day. These acts are part of complete Imaan. This implies that the one who does not have these characteristics is not a true and complete believer. If someone claims to himself that he is a true and complete believer, then he must possess these characteristics. If a Muslim finds himself not having these characteristics, it should make him realize that there is room for improvement in his religion. He is not as close to Allah as he should be. He may not be among those people whom 1 See ibn Muhammad, pp. 1 19-128. 2 Al-Haitami, Fath, p. 1 55. 3 Al-Haitami, Fath, p. 1 55. Hadith #1 5: "Whoever believes in Allah should ... " Allah is pleased with and will enter directly into Paradise without any punishment at all. Note that in this hadith the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) only mentioned belief in Allah and the Last Day. This is done as a kind of encouragement for people to have those characteristics mentioned in the hadith. It will be on the Last Day that everyone will be held accountable for his deeds. These deeds include what the person ever said, how he treated his neighbor and how he treated his visitors. If he has not behaved properly in these matters, his recompense will be on the Day of Judgment. Hence, the explicit mention of the Last Day should be a reminder and driving factor that will lead every believer to ensure that he truly has the characteristics that the Prophet (peace be upon him) mentioned in this hadith.