Part 12

* Yahya Ibn Zakariyyah (?-148 A.H.) was considered one of the trustworthy scholars of hadith and a reciter of the Qur’an. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 52.]

* Ash‘ath Ibn Sawwar al-Kindi (80-136 A.H.) was a scholar and compiler of hadith. [Kitab alIman MZ, p. 52.]

** Mu‘awiyyah Abu ‘Amr Ibn al-Muhllab al-Azdi (?-214 A. H.) was a scholar of hadith. [Kitab alIman MZ, p. 52.}

* Al-Awza‘i, Abu ‘Amr ‘Abd al-Rahman Ibn ‘Amr (88-157 A.H.), was the main representative of the Syrian school of religious law. [EI 2, vol. 1, p. 772 and al-Zirikii vol. 4, p. 94.]

* Al-Zuhri, Muhammad Ibn Muslim Ibn Shihab (51-124 A.H.), was a well-known scholar of hadith and many of his students made collections of hadith based on his books and lectures. [M.

** Ibrahim Ibn Muhajir Abu Ishaq (n.d.) was a scholar of hadith who transmitted hadith from both Mujahid and Ibrahim. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 53.]

* Abu Daad al-Sijistant, Sulayman Ibn al-Ash‘ath (202-275 A.H.), was a well-known scholar of hadith and his principle work, Kitab al-Sunan, is considered one of the six canonical books of

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN IMAN, ISLAM AND IHSAN a7

*' Baqiyyah Ibn al-Walid (110-196 A.H.) was a scholar of hadith and transcribed hadhith from many sources, without discrimination. [M. M. Azami, p. 125.]

A hadith designated mursal has its isnad, chain of transmission, from a Successor directly to the Prophet, and not through a Companion.

Adherence to the Words of Allah and His Messenger

DisPUTE CONCERNING THE AUTHENTICITY OF CERTAIN HADITHS

Some people have disputed the authenticity of certain hadiths. Among such sayings is: “No prayer is accepted without ablution and no ablution is accepted without mentioning Allah’s name.” The first part of this hadith is to be understood as in the Prophet’s saying: “There is no prayer without tuhir, purification.”' This is agreed upon among Muslims since tuhir is obligatory before performing prayer. If the obligatory tuhiir, is negated, then the prayer is negated. Concerning the second part of the hadith, there is a well-known dispute about whether it is obligatory to mention Allah’s name or not when performing ablution. Most scholars of the Maliki, Hanafi, and Shafi‘I schools do not consider it obligatory. This is, however, one of the two opinions on the authority of Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal] that has been accepted by al-Khirqi,’ Abu Muhammad? and others. The second, which is also on the authority of Ahmad and is accepted by some scholars, makes mentioning Allah’s name when making ablution obligatory. Among them are Abu

The complete text of this hadith reads: The Prophet (pbuh) said: “No prayer is accepted without purification and no charity is accepted from the ghulal, dishonest person."

> AL-Khirgi, “Umar Ibn al-Husayn Ibn ‘Abd Allah Ibn Ahmad (2-334 A.H.), was a famous Hanbali jurist from Baghdad. (Ibn Badran, ‘Abd al-Qadir. al-Madkhal [14 Madhab al-Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, 2d. ed, Edited by ‘Abd Allah Ibn ‘Abd al-Muhsin al-Turki, Beirut, 1981 [this work is referred to in the text as Ibn Badran, al-Madkhal], pp. 416-17 and Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 54.]

Abu Muhammad, Muwaffaq al-Din Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad al-Hanbali (620 A.H.), was a scholar of figh. He wrote two books about jurisprudence, al-Kaff and al-Mugni‘. [Kitab alIman MZ, p. 54.]

ADHERENCE TO THE WORDS OF ALLAH AND HIS MESSENGER 49

If there is a dispute concerning an obligatory matter among the religious scholars, the words of Allah have clear significance in this regard. Then it is not permissible to negate the well-known essence of the words of Allah and His Messenger by the disputed sayings of the scholars. But some people grew up knowing only one line

‘Abu Ya‘la, Muhammad Ibn al-Husayn (2-458 A.H.) was a well-known Hanbali jurist. He wrote several books, among which are al-Khilaf al-Kabir and al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyvah. {Ibn Badran al-Madkhal, p. 417.}

Al-Daraqutni, Abu al-Hassan ‘Ali Ibn ‘Umar (306-385 A.H.), was born in one of the large quarters of Baghdad called Dar al-Qutn, where he obtained his nisbah. He was a man of wide learning, including hadith, recitation of the Qur’an, and fiqh. He contributed greatly to the critical study of hadith. Some of his well-known books are Kitab al-Sunan and Kitab ‘Ilal al-Hadith, which deal with the causes and weaknesses of the study of hadith. [E/ 2, vol. 2, p. 136 and Sezgin, vol 1, pp. 418-24.]

“Abd al-Haqq, Abu Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd Rahman, also known as Ibn al-Kharrat (?-581 A.H.), was a jurist and a scholar of hadith. He wrote a book entitled al-Mu‘tal Min al-Hadith concerning weaknesses of hadith. [Kitab al-Iman MZ, p. 54.]

Hadith mawgqif is the type of hadith whose isnad, chain of transmission, goes back to a Companion who received it from the Prophet (pbuh).

Hafsah, daughter of “Umar Ibn al-Khattab and wife of the Prophet, was born about five years before Prophet Muhammad’s mission. [E/ 2, vol. 3, p. 63-65.]

of thought of a particular madhab. Those people believed that their opinion constitutes the religion in its totality. It is like the person who prays alone and not in congregation, thinking that he has completely fulfilled his obligation. The truth of the matter is that scholars have two well-known opinions concerning the reward of such a prayer. In the madhab of Ahmad [Ibn Hanbal] two opinions on this matter were expressed. The first opinion is of the older followers, represented by the judge Abu Ya‘la, in explaining their madhab. The latter group, represented by Ibn ‘Aqil’ and others, said: “It is permissible for one to pray the prescribed prayers alone, without excuse; he is like the one who prays the noon Friday prayer. If he could perform it in congregation after that, he should do so; otherwise it would result ina sin similar to that of the one who abandons the Friday prayer. In this case he could still receive repentance.” The source of this statement is tendered by more than one among the scholars, and most of the reported traditions from the earlier Muslims, Companions, and Successors also support this.