. J "" (cont.)

This means that Allah erases or confirms whatever He wills of what has been decreed-- although all of that is according to His pre-knowledge and what He has already recorded in the Preserved Tablet. Thus, Allah may confirm or change a person's life-span, sustenance and so forth. Allah also says, G\ B .ill·H 01 ̿ J JI ࣐࣑ খ Ka·'l 2j ࣏ Ȝ j'l Gj .... .... ; '/ .... ,,.. !;, ,.. ,,,. ,,.. JJ உ "And no aged man is granted a length of life, nor is a part cut off from his life, but it is in a Book. Surely, that is easy for Allah" (Faatir 1 1). This means there 1 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, p. 495. 2 The last part of this hadith is also interpreted as meaning, "keeping good relations with relatives," instead of "righteousness''. Recorded by al-Tirmidhi. According to al-Albaani, it is hasan. See al-Albaani, sahih al-Jaami, vol. 2, p. 1 27 1 . 1 1 75 Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi can be a change in a person's life-span but that change has already been recorded in the Preserved Tablet. Allah also says, ;,,,. -:. JJ. / ; ,.. ,,.J J ,.. ,J J±̽ ̾ Kj 54-i ଶ/, _;_r 9*  µ 0fJI ;. "He it is who created you from clay, and then has decreed a stated term. And there is with Him another determined term" (al-Anaam 2). This means that a person has two life-spans and Allah decrees and fulfills whichever He wills.1 Then al-Shaukaani states that when "a person's time comes," there will be no advance or delay with respect to that time. However, before that time actually comes, it is permissible for Allah to delay or change that time due to a person's prayer or righteous deeds. Similarly, He may advance that time due to some evil the person did, such as cutting off relations with relatives and so forth. The hadith that mention the fulfillment of a decree should be understood to imply that the person did not do anything special to delay that decree. The hadith that imply a change in a decree refer to cases where the person has done some act to change that decree. This is the only way to reconcile such apparently conflicting hadith. After these premises, al-Shaukaani returns to the hadith. He states that the "hesitation" is expressing Allah's love for His servant doing some deed that will delay his death. Allah is giving him a chance to supplicate or do some other deed that will prolong his life. If the slave does not do any such act and his time comes, Allah will then take his soul without any delay. So the "hesitation" is Allah waiting for the person to do some deed that will be a cause for Allah changing the decree and prolonging his life. (However, Allah did know beforehand whether the person would do such an act or not.) Al­ Shaukaani states that this interpretation does not imply anything unacceptable of Allah nor does it contradict any other text.2 Although al-Shaukaani took some twenty pages to completely present his argument, for his argument to be truly convincing, he would need stronger evidence to tie it directly to what is stated in this hadith. In conclusion, it is difficult to determine what is meant by Allah's hesitation in this hadith. It is clear that Allah "hesitates" but none of the explanations offered by the scholars seems convincing enough to consider it definitely the correct and proper interpretation. Allah knows best. 1 It should be noted that the interpretation that al-Shaukaani gives for this verse goes against what is commonly accepted as the correct interpretation. For example, it has been narrated from ibn Abbaas and numerous others that the second "determined term" is in relation to the resurrection or life in the Hereafter. Cf., ibn Katheer, Tafseer, vol. 2, p. 139. In al-Shaukaani's own commentary on the Quran, he mentions the interpretation mentioned above in the text but he does not ascribe it to anyone. See Muhammad ibn Ali al-Shaukaani, Fath al-Qadeer (Cairo: Mustafa al-Baba al-Halabi, 1 964), vol. 2, p. 99. 2 Al-Shaukaani, Qatr, pp. 496-5 16. 1 1 76 Hadith #38: "Whoever Shows Enmity to . . . " Other Points Related to This Hadith • Whoever opposes the Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is actually opposing the auliyaa of Allah. This is a point that many heretical groups, including but not restricted to the Shiah, have neglected. It is clear from the Quran and hadith that the Companions were people of imaan and taqwa. If a person opposes them, then Allah is declaring war upon him. 1 • It was stated earlier that it is not possible to identify one of Allah's auliyaa with certainty.