Part 47

Anas ibn Malik said: “The Messenger of Allah 4% found a date that had fallen on the road and said: “Were I not afraid that it may be from sadagah (charitable gifts), I would have eaten it”, because the Prophet # and his blessed family were prohibited from eating from sadagah.

Al-Hasan ibn ‘Ali 4. said: “I have retained in my memory these words of Allah’s Messenger #: ‘Leave what causes you doubt, and turn to what does not causes you doubt. Truth is tranquillity, but falsehood is doubt.’”*

‘Aishah # said: “Abu Bakr had a servant who used to give him some of his earnings. Abu Bakr used to eat from it. One day he brought something and Abu Bakr ate from it. The servantasked him, “Do you know what this is?” Abu Bakr then enquired: “What is it?” The servant said: “Once, in my pre-Islamic period of ignorance, I foretold somebody’s future though I did not know this knowledge of foretelling

! Tafsir Ton Kathir (1/456).

? Recorded by the six scholars (al-Bukari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, alNasa’i and Ibn Majah).

> Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

* Recorded by al-Tirmidhi who categorised it as hasan sahih, and by al-Darimi.

so I cheated him, and when he met me, he gave me something for that service, and that is what you have eaten from.” Then Abu Bakr put his hand in his mouth and vomited whatever was present in his stomach.”

6. Preserving oneself from all types of illegal things

Abu Hurayrah @ reported that the Prophet 4% said: “O people! Allah is Good and He, therefore, accepts only that which is good. And Allah commanded the believers, as He commanded (all) the Messengers, by saying: (O Messengers,eat of the good things, and do the goods things; verily I am aware of what you do) and He 4 said: (O those who believe! Eat of the good things that We gave you)”. He 4 then made mention of a person who travelled widely, whose hair was dishevelled and covered with dust. He lifted his hands towards the sky and made the supplication: “O Lord! O Lord!”, yet his food, drink, clothes, and nourishment were unlawful. So how then could his supplication be accepted?”

Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri 2% reported that the Prophet 38 said: “He who eats lawfully earned food and acts according to my Sunnah, and people are safe from any excess on his part, will enter Paradise.”

Abu Hurayrah 2 reported that the Prophet 4 said: “There will come a time when a person will not care whether he takes from legal or illegal things.”*

7. Preserving oneself against excessive eating (guttony)

Abu Hurayrah # reported that the Prophet # once invited a nonbeliever as a guest, and ordered for a sheep to be milked, and he drank its milk, then from a second sheep and he drank from its milk, and so on until he had drunk the milk from the seventh sheep. When he got up in the morning, he embraced Islam. Then the Prophet 3 ordered for a sheep, and so the (Muslim) guest drank from its milk, yet when he ordered for the second one, he abstained. Whereupon the Prophet 3

' Recorded by al-Bukhari. ? Recorded by Muslim.

> Recorded by al-Tirmidhi. “ Recorded by al-Bukhari.

said: “A believer drinks for one intestine, while a non-believer drinks for seven intestines.”

The Prophet 3 also said: “A believer eats for one intestine, while a non-believer eats for seven intestines.”?

Al-Miqdad ibn Ma‘d Yakrib # heard the Prophet # say: “No man fills a pot worse than his stomach. Just a few mouthfuls are sufficient for a person to keep his back straight. But if he wishes to fill his stomach, then he should divide his stomach into three parts: He should fill one third of the belly with food, another third with drink and leave one third empty for easy breathing.”

“Umar 4 said: “Avoid a full belly; for it is a burden in life and smelly in death.”

Luqman said to his son: “O son, when the stomach is full, the mind fails to think (clearly), the wisdom is silenced, and the limbs become too numb to perform any kind of worship.”

Abu ‘Ubaydah al-Khawwas said: “Your death is in your fullness, but your safety is in your hunger. If you eat to your full, you become too heavy to move, you could sleep, and then your enemy could easily overpower and destroy you.”

‘Amru ibn Qays said: “Avoid a full belly; it hardens the heart.”

It has been said: “If you wish to have a good healthy body and sleep less, then you should consume less.”

It was narrated that Iblis, may Allah’s Curse be upon him, said to Yahya (John the Baptist) #4: “Maybe you shall eat to your fill and we shall make you too heavy to perform salah.” So Yahya %4 replied: “By Allah, I will never eat till I’m full, ever.” Iblis, may Allah’s Curse be upon him, replied: “By Allah, I will never offer any advice to a Muslim, ever.”

’ Recorded by Muslim.

? Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

> Recorded by Ahmad, the scholars of the Sunan. Al-Tirmidhi categrised it as hadith hasan.

al-Shafi‘i said: “A full stomach is a heavy burden upon the body; it removes one’s intelligence, causes sleepiness, and weakens a person in his acts of worship.”

The overall point is that when a person eats to his fill, Satan gets hold of him/her, and deprives him/her of doing good acts, making evil acts appear to be good for him/her. Allah 4% has summed up all this in the Verse: (Eat and drink but do not profligate)’.

The ninteeth shield: Preserving one’s private parts

Sahl ibn Sa‘d # reported that the Prophet 3 said: “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee him Paradise.”?

1. Preserving one’s private parts from adultery

Abu Hurayrah & reported that the Prophet # said: “When an adulterer commits illegal sexual intercourse, then he is not a believer at the time of doing, it; and when somebody drinks an alcoholic drink, then he is not believer at the time of drinking; and when a thief steals, he is not a believer at the time of stealing; and when a robber robs while people watch him, he is not a believer at the time of doing it.”?

Abu Hurayrah # reported that the Prophet stated: “Three (are the persons) with whom Allah would neither speak nor would He absolve on the Day of Resurrection: the aged adulterer, the lying king and the proud destitute.”

' Surat Al-A ‘raf, verse 31.

? Recorded by al-Bukhari.

3 Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim, * Recorded by Muslim and al-Nasa’i.

asked: ‘What is next?’ He # said: ‘To commit illegal sexual intercourse with your neighbour’s wife.”

Buraydah reported that the Prophet # said: “The sanctity of the wives of Mujahids is like the sanctity of their mothers for those who sit at home (i.e. do not go out for jihad). So, anyone who stays behind to look after the family of a mujahid yet betrays his trust would, on the Day of Judgment, be made to stand before that mujahid who would (be allowed to) remove whatever he likes from his meritorious deeds. So, what do you think (he would leave)?”

2. Preserving one’s private parts from sodomy

Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah reported that the Prophet 3 said: “The things I fear most for my people is what Lot’s people did.”?

‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas .& reported that the Prophet 48 said: “Allah will not look at a man who has anal intercourse with a man or woman.”*

‘Ali ibn Talaq 4 said: “I heard the Prophet 4% saying: ‘Allah is not ashamed of the truth. Do not have sexual intercourse with women through the anus.”*

3. Preserving one’s private parts from having sexual intercourse with animals

It was narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: “Four types of people are under the Wrath of Allah during the daytime and under the Curse of Allah at night.” I asked: “Who are they, O Messenger of Allah?” He # replied: “Men who imitate women, women who imitate men, a man having intercourse with an animal, and a man having intercourse with other men.”

' Recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

? Recorded by Muslim, Abu Dawud and al-Nasa’i.

3 Recorded by al-Tirmidhi, Tbn Majah, al-Hakim. Al-Tirmidhi categorised it as hasan gharib.

4 Recorded by al-Tirmidhi.

> Recorded by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhi who categorised it as hasan.

Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet # said: “Cursed is he who does the work of the people of Lot, and cursed is he who performs any sexual act with animals.”

Despite the weakness of such traditions, any sexual acts with animals is prohibited, for which the scholars recite the following Verse: {Those who guard their private parts — except from their wives or those they own as slaves, in which case they are not blameworthy; but those who desire anything more than that are people who have gone beyond the limits)’.

Tbn ‘Abbas # said: “If anyone has a sexual act with animal, then kill him and the animal too.”

4, Guarding one’s private parts from having intercourse with the menstruating woman

Abu Hurayrah 2 reported that the Prophet %& said: “If anyone resorts to a diviner and believes in what he says, or has intercourse with his wife when she is menstruating, or has intercourse with his wife through her anus, he has nothing to do with what has been sent down to Muhammad 38."

5. Guarding one’s private parts from sihaq (lesbianism) and masturbation

' Al-Hakim said the Hadith is authentic, but I (the author) say that the chain of narrations is weak, because it has the narration of Harun ibn Harun al-Taymi whom al-Hafid (in Tagreeb Tahdheeb) considered as a weak narrator.

? Surat al-Mu’minun, Verses 5-7.

> It was authenticated by al-Albani in “Jrwa’ al-ghalif(8/13) and in Sahih Ibn