Introduction (cont.)

In general, they used to perform all of the acts that they witnessed their example, the Prophet (peace be upon him), performing. They did not really distinguish between obligatory and voluntary acts. They would perform them all as part of the overall behavior of the Muslims. It was only among the later generations that the jurists concentrated on distinguishing what was obligatory from what was voluntary.2 lbn Daqeeq al-Eid points out that this differentiation was needed because people were not performing all of the acts as the early generations did. Hence, the general people had to know what acts they could not neglect and what acts they could neglect without sin. 3 Al-Bugha and Mistu state that if a community as a whole agrees upon abandoning a sunnah or recommended act, then they should be fought until they perform that act. This is because their behavior shows that they are willing to tum away from the way of the Prophet (peace be upon him).4 But, based on this hadith, al-Haitami argues against that opinion. He says that those who claimed that such people must be fought must provide evidence for their opinion. Among the evidence they provide is that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would wait to hear the call to prayer in the morning before he would attack a city. If he heard the call to prayer, he would not attack the city. If he did not hear it, he would attack the city. The argument here is that the call to prayer is a sunnah act, they claim, and is not obligatory. Al-Haitami answers this claim by saying that the Prophet (peace be upon him) did not refrain from attacking them simply because they performed a sunnah act but because that was a clear sign that they were Muslims.5 "Would I enter Paradise?" He [the Prophet (peace be upon him)] answered, "Yes." Ibn Rajah states that this hadith indicates that if a person performs the obligatory deeds and remains away from the forbidden ones, he will enter 1 Al-Bugha and Mistu, pp. 156-157. Also see ibn Daqeeq al-Eid, Sharh, pp. 59-60; al-Haitami, Fath, p. 1 82. 2 Al-Bugha and Mistu, p. 1 57. 3 lbn Daqeeq al-Eid, Sharh, p. 60. 4 Al-Bugha and Mistu, p. 156. Also see ibn Daqeeq al-Eid, Sharh, p. 60. 5 Al-Haitami, Fath, p. 182. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi Paradise. He states that there are numerous hadith that indicate this; indeed, they are mutawaatir. Here are a couple of the numerous hadith he presents:1 tP ... ,,. ,,,. tP ... tP tP ,.., ..-: ,.. ,, t tP ... - ... t ,\ JW : l|M/ + ill\ I/ - 1 -റII rr L'.,( . I 0i ./ ill\ . / odd I •. / c..?-; r-J / - q "1?:;- 1.$ ·: f യ ര .J f../" i.1:- rY' : ... 1 "' -'I , .h 1:•/. , , • , " Nf11 , Jo/ J/ I; }"'/ i1 ,_ i/. / ~i "... 1:1 / // o๹ ,..,AjJ ๶ 4.J !J ..,.;,; l .i..u ..WU 1.1 ഩ ๸) ௗ ) \ . .. ,,. .. ,,. • .J- - • ... • ... ,.. ,,. î з/ ":} T૲ ж ÒϹ\) Jli ::ic] r ଌJ i:::. Jfai1 ϺtS--Ji Òϻy_, ϼϽ\ t"...f •• I/ J/1 / i:../ 0f "'/ ·. / : i|M/ ǵ Ji1 i/ - Ǵ +I\ /Jli J-/ ஔ IJA 1ஓ rJ"" iX ..r.J • ๷ r if r-J /- q t..F" J പ ... { ... ... ,, ... J o.... ..-: \) JI · 1:.-/I, WI . ഫ ... / On the authority of Abu Huraira: A bedouin came to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said, "Point me to deeds that if I were to perform them, I would enter Paradise." The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "Worship Allah and do not associate anything with Him, establish the obligatory prayer, give the zakah and fast Ramadhaan." The man said, "By the One in whose hand is my soul, I will not add anything to this." When he had turned away, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said, "If it pleases someone to see a person from Paradise, he should look at that man." (Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.) In another hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) explicitly mentioned that only if the person were true to his words of fulfilling these conditions would he then enter Paradise. Al-Bukhari records a similar hadith with another bedouin, who also said he would do what is required and not add anything to it, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said at the end, "He will enter Paradise if he is truthful to his word." Ibn Rajah points out that although those deeds lead one to enter Paradise, at the same time, one may be performing deeds that are preventive factors and will keep one from entering Paradise. lbn Rajah then quotes the following hadith: 1 Cf., ibn Rajah, Jaami, vol. 1, pp. 514-518.