بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده
Ālimah Siddiqa al-Farsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fi 'l Ḥadīth
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com
Title: Miftāḥ al-Jannah fi al-Iḥtijāj bi as-Sunnah
Genre: Ḥadīth
Language: Arabic
Author: Imām Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī
Publisher: Idārah aṭ-Ṭabāʿāh al-Munīriyyah
Pages: 54 pages
Overview
Imām Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī (raḥimahullāh) has authored this short treatise as a response to those who reject the authority of the aḥadīth of the Prophet Muhammad (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam). In the introduction, he explains that what drove him to write this treatise were the heretic opinions that were being circulated by the Zanādiqa and Rāfiḍah. Some rejected the prophethood of Prophet Muḥammad (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) altogether; claiming that Jibril (ʿalayhis-salām) made an error when delivering the message of prophethood, whilst others rejected the need for ḥadīth, and said that the Qur’an is sufficient, using baseless texts as proof. Imām Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī rejects these opinions and brings solid pieces of evidence against them with explicit verses of the Qur’an itself. He also brings evidence from ḥadīth, and the statements and practices of the Ṣaḥābah and Tābiʿūn (raḍī Allāhu ʿanhum) to refute their stance.
Content of the book
Imām Bayhaqī said: “If the sunnah of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) held no authority, then after one of his sermons, the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) would not have instructed the Companions saying, ‘Let those of you present, convey it to those who are absent.’” He then brought the following ḥadīth as another evidence and mentioned that it is mutawātir: “May Allah brighten a man who hears something from us and conveys it to others as he heard it, for many a one to whom it is brought retains it better than the one who heard it.” Finally, he mentioned the warning of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) against rejecting ḥadīth: “The Prophet (ﷺ) said: ‘Let me not find one of you reclining on his couch when he hears something regarding me which I have commanded or forbidden and saying: We do not know. What we found in the book of Allah; we have followed.’”
On one instance, ʿImrān ibn Ḥusain (raḍī Allāhu ʿanh) spoke regarding Shafāʿah when a man said to him, “You speak of certain things for which we do not find any basis in the Qur’an! Hearing this, ʿImrān ibn Ḥusain (raḍī Allāhu ʿanh) got angry and said, “Have you read the Qur’an?” The man said yes. ʿImrān (raḍī Allāhu ʿanh) continued: “Do you find in it that the Isha prayer is four units, the Maghrib prayer is three units, the morning prayer is two units, and Zuhr and Asr are four units?” The man replied in the negative, so ʿImrān (raḍī Allāhu ʿanh) said: “Then! from where do you know this? Is it not that you have taken it from us, and we have taken it from the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam)?” ʿImrān (raḍī Allāhu ʿanh) continued giving more examples and then said: “Have you not heard the saying of Allah: {Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it. And whatever he forbids you from, leave it.} [Qur’an 59:7]– Thus, we have taken certain things from the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) which you have no knowledge of!”
Imām Suyūṭī (raḥimahullāh) has again quoted Imām Bayhaqī (raḥimahullāh) where he has dedicated a chapter in response to those who take some weak ḥadīths as evidence to support the opinion that all the teachings of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) should be compared and check in the light of the Qur’an; whatever conforms to it, should be accepted, and whatever does not, should be rejected. Imām Shāfiʿī (raḥimahullāh) has said: “Some people who have rejected the aḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) have taken those reports attributed to the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) that state: “Whatever has come from me [as reports], then compare it to the Qur’an; whatever conforms to it, then I have said it, and whatever goes against it, then I have not said it.” – This ḥadīth has not been reported by anyone reliable. Rather, this has been reported by an unknown man with a broken chain, thus, such reports should not be accepted.”
Conclusion
Imām Jalāl ad-Dīn as-Suyūṭī (raḥimahullāh)’s treatise Miftāḥ al-Jannah fi al-Iḥtijāj bi as-Sunnah is a beneficial read on the topic of those who reject the authority of the aḥadīth of the Prophet Muhammad (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam). Despite its brevity, it covers a wide range of discussions related to the topic, and systematically goes through the various arguments and their answers. It not only presents the arguments and answers, rather, the author firstly introduces to the reader the sects of people who reject ḥadīth and on what basis. Thereafter, he brings verses from the Qur’an to establish the lofty rank of the Prophet Muhammad (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) and his aḥadīth. Finally, after presenting answers to the various arguments, he discusses the stance of the early scholars and the care and respect they had for the aḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam). Not only does the reader understand the rank of the Sunnah, and the falsehood of those who reject it, but also learns how to emulate the early pious predecessors in showing reverence to the aḥadīth of the Prophet (ṣal Allāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallam) and helping in purifying and propagating it.
The PDF can be accessed here.