. J '-Ɵ  (cont.)

His calling the Prophet (peace be upon him) by his first name only, his walking over the necks of the people and his sitting directly in front of the Prophet (peace be upon him) all added to his appearance of being an apparently ignorant or ill-mannered bedouin Arab. At the end of the hadith, the Prophet (peace be upon him) explained that the bedouin-looking person was the Angel Gabriel who had come to teach them their religion. According to al-Haitami and others, his teaching was both in the form of his questions and also in his behavior. Hence, some conclusions can be made from his appearance and behavior.1 It is not clear to this author whether the commentators noticed that they seem to be making two contradictory suggestions here. First they are stating that the angel came in a very rude fashion and then they are suggesting that his example is one that can be followed. It seems that the key is to distinguish between what the angel did in order to get attention, to make sure that everyone would pay listen to him, from what he did as an example for others to follow. "extremely white clothing and extremely black hair." In other narrations, it also states that his clothing was so clean that there were no traces of dirt upon them. Scholars understand from Gabriel's appearance that it is recommended to have a good appearance and to be clean. 2 This is especially true when one is going to the mosque and when one is attempting to attain knowledge. White clothing is a preferred clothing, especially for the people of knowledge. According to al-Haitami, Umar recommended it for the reciters of the Quran.3 Cleanliness is also an important characteristic of the true Muslim and, like all characteristics of true Muslims, must be even more-so emphasized for the scholars and the students of knowledge. They should set the examples for others. 1 Al-Haitami, p. 59. 2 Al-Haitami, p. 59. 3 Al-Haitami, p. 59. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi There may be another aspect of note here. Islam places emphasis on both the outward and inward aspects of a human being. Neither aspect is neglected. One can understand from many texts that there is a strong relationship between the two. If one wants to attain knowledge, one must approach that knowledge in the proper manner by first having the correct intention and also by having the proper respect for the knowledge that he seeks to attain. Having proper respect for the knowledge includes being willing to sacrifice one's time and wealth for it as well as outwardly showing respect for it by sitting and appearing in a proper manner while attaining knowledge or passing on knowledge. "There were no signs of travel on him and none of us knew him." He was not from the people of Madinah and yet there were no signs that he had come from travel. Hence, his appearance was something special and immediately attracted the people's attention to him. Perhaps, Allah knows best, this was so the people would watch and listen to what he did very carefully. In this way, they would pay close attention to him, grasp his words and the Prophet's response and then pass it on to others who came afterwards. Umar said that none of them knew the man. This was not simply conjecture on Umar's part. In other narrations, it explicitly states that the people looked at each other and had no idea who this man was.1 "He [came and] sat next to the Prophet (peace be upon him). He supported his knees up against the knees of the Prophet (peace be upon him)" This should be the attitude of those who are truly seeking knowledge. They should try to get close to the teacher so that they can understand and hear everything he says correctly. Unfortunately, one does not always find such an attitude among Muslims today. They have more of a desire to sit in a comfortable way, with their backs against a wall, for example, rather than getting close to the teacher so that they can absorb as much as possible. "and put his hands on his thighs" Al-Nawawi declares that the Angel Gabriel put his own hands on his own thighs. However, in the narrations from ibn Abbas and Abu Amr al­ Ashari, it explicitly states that the Angel put his hands on the thighs of the Prophet (peace be upon him). This was also the conclusion of al-Baghawi, al­ Taimi and al-Teebi. Al-Turabashti also argues that this is the correct interpretation as this is the way a student should sit in front of his teacher. Perhaps it was done so he could best listen to the Prophet (peace be upon him) 1 Ibn Hajr, Fath (Daar al-Fikr), vol. 1, p. 160. 1 Hadith #2: The Hadith of Jibreel and absorb everything the Prophet (peace be upon him) had to say in response to the important questions he was about to pose.