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For example, there would be no significance in mentioning leg and hand if this were the correct interpretation.3 ( 4) Allah supports His wali in the same way that a person uses his hands and legs to fight his enemy. According to al-Toofi, there is agreement among the scholars who are respected that this hadith is allegorical and it is in reference to Allah's helping and supporting His wali. Al-Shaukaani, though, argues that Allah is much greater than being compared to the weak arms and legs that a human possesses to fight off his enemy. Allah's help is much greater than what an individual could ever possibly muster by those limbs.4 ( 5) Allah protects the person's hearing to the point that he only hears what is good and pleasing to Allah. This interpretation requires taqdeer (assuming some missing words) and is, in essence, similar to the second interpretation stated above. (6) A sixth meaning is a little more detailed than the fifth. In this interpretation, Allah becomes what the person listens to or hears, sees and so forth. In other words, the person only listens to "My remembrance"; he only finds pleasure in reciting "My book"; he only sees the splendor of "My creation" and so forth. Al-Shaukaani finds this interpretation even more far­ fetched than the previous interpretation. He argues that if this is the understanding, what is one going to say about Allah becoming the person's leg and hand? Furthermore, he argues, this interpretation is not compatible with other authentic narrations of this hadith. 5 1 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 428. 2 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 429. 3 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 429. 4 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 429. 5 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 430. 1 156 Hadith #38: "Whoever Shows Enmity to . . . " (7) A seventh interpretation, that ibn Hajr ascribes to al-Khattaabi, is that these words refer to how quickly Allah responds to such a person's supplications which he makes by means of the limbs mentioned in this hadith. Al-Shaukaani quickly brushes this interpretation aside by saying that it has no relevance to the wording of the hadith itself. 1 (8) An eighth interpretation is given by Muhammad Rasheed Ridha. According to him, this hadith implies that Allah turns evil and lewdness away from His wali. He guides His wali to what pleases Him. It is by this guidance and blessing that a person now hears, sees, grasps, walks and ponders. He no longer follows his desires and lusts but he follows that guidance coming from Allah.2 (9) In this author's view, ibn Rajab's explanation seems to be one of the best. According to him, Whenever anyone strives to get close to Allah by performing the obligatory deeds and then the voluntary deeds, he will come closer to Him and it will raise him from the degree of faith to the degree of ihsaan3 and he will begin to worship Allah with an aura of [His] presence and watching as if he is seeing Him and his heart is filled with the recognition of Allah, His love, His grandeur, fear of Him, reverence for Him and His greatness. He will become delighted by His presence and crave turning to Him until his heart is so filled with the clear recognition of Him that it will be as if he is seeing Him with his eyes.4 When the heart is filled with the greatness of Allah, there is no room in the heart for anything else. The slave gets to a point where he abandons his own desires and cravings and only desires those things that Allah is pleased with. At that time, when he looks, he looks for the sake of Allah; when he speaks, he speaks for the sake of Allah; when he listens, he listens for the sake of Allah. This seems to be a plausible meaning for Allah's words in this hadith, "I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes ... " Allah describes the pious people for whom He becomes their eyes, ears and so on, in the Quran. They are the type of people who do not even turn to the evil that they see. They are completely numb to the effects of others' sins. This does not mean that they do not fulfill their duty of ordering good and eradicating evil but it means that they cannot even be tempted by the evil around them. Allah says about them in the Quran, 1 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 433. 2 Quoted by Hilaal, p. 435. 3 In the famous hadith of the Angel Gabriel, the Prophet (peace be upon him) defined ihsasn as, "Worshipping Allah as if you see Him and, [although] you do not see Him, [you know] that He sees you." That is Hadith Number 2 in this collection. 4 Ibn Rajab, Jaami, vol. 2, p. 345-346. 1 157 . Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi ... J J ... J ... J ... ... J ... ... ...