بسم الله وحده والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده
ʿĀlimah Siddiqa al-Fārsiyyah
Student, Takhassus Fil Hadith
Checked and Approved:
Mufti Ismail Moosa
www.ulumalhadith.com
Title: Nasīhatu Ahl Al-Hadīth
Genre: Hadīth, Advice
Author: Imām Abūbakr Ahmad bin ‘Alī Al-Khatīb Al-Baghdādī
Researcher: Abdul Karīm Ahmad Al-Warīkāt
Publisher: Maktabah Al-Manār, Jordan
Pages: 48
To be successful in the pursuit of Islamic knowledge, and attain its fruits and blessings, a student is encouraged to adhere to certain guidelines and etiquettes. Our pious predecessors have given many pieces of advice on how one should balance their religion with the responsibilities of the worldly life. As seeking the knowledge of dīn is incumbent upon every Muslim, following the advice given by the scholars of Hadīth will not only be helpful for the students of Hadīth specifically, but also for every Muslim in general.
Overview
Nasīhatu Ahl Al-Hadīth is a short treatise written by Imām Al-Khatīb Al-Baghdādī (may Allah have mercy on him) [d. 463 AH]. his treatise was mentioned by Ibnu Khayr Al-Ishbīlī in his fihrisah, though Ustādh Yūsuf Al-‘Ush, in his book, Al-Khatīb Al-Baghdādī Mu’arrikhu Baghdād Wa Muhaddithuhā, assumed this treatise to be the same one as Imām Al-Khatīb’s other treatise titled: Iqtidhā Al-Ilm Al-‘Amal, when in reality, they are unconnected. The muhaqqiq (researcher), Shaykh ‘Abdul Karīm Ahmad Yūsuf Al-Warikāt used three different prints of Nasīhatu Ahl Al-Hadīth and the book, Al-Faqīh Wa Al-Mutafaqqih, which included the treatise Nasīhatu Ahl Al-Hadīth.
The book
This treatise focuses on addressing three key topics:
- Incentivizing the pursuit of knowledge at a young age, prior to being encumbered with the responsibilities of life.
- The importance of the coexistence of riwāyah (narrating) and dirāyah (understanding), as narrating Hadīth alone does not suffice; rather, it must be coupled with Fiqh along with the principles of Fiqh.
- Being mindful of taking knowledge from those eligible of disseminating it and referring to them when faced with doubts and confusion.
Excerpts from the book
Below are some beneficial excerpts from the treatise. For the sake of brevity, chains of transmission have been omitted and only the name of the original narrators have been mentioned.
Study before becoming preoccupied
Imām Ash-Shāfi’ī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “Study knowledge before you are put in charge, because once you assume responsibility, there is no way towards studying knowledge.” [p. 21]
The muhaqqiq comments on this saying: “The statement of Imām Ash-Shāfi’ī is absolutely true, because once a person undertakes a position of teaching and issuing juridical verdicts, more so of operating a business, he can no longer remain a student who can place his knees with the knees of scholars (i.e. seek knowledge rigorously). It will be difficult for him to avail himself to sit in the gathering of young students, when he can be identified as a well-known researcher, teacher or doctor. Hence, Imām Sufyān Ath-Thawrī has said: “Whoever takes charge in his youth, the least of his punishments would be that he will lose out on a big portion of knowledge.” [p.22]
Take knowledge from senior scholars
Abdullāh bin Muslim bin Qutaibah Ad-Dīnawrī said: “I was asked regarding the statement ‘The people’s matter will be good so long as they take knowledge from their seniors’. This statement means that public affairs will progress as long as superiority is awarded to senior scholars over juniors. Seniority comes with the prior traversion of the excitement and eagerness of adolescence, as well as its hastiness and foolishness. Their experience and involvement with knowledge ensures that it is deeply embedded in their memory, making it a reliable source of direction. They will not be overcome by desires, greed will not incline them (away from the dīn), and shaytān will not be able to make them slip, as do the youth. Seniors possess agedness, dignity, majesty, and prestige. The youth, however, are vulnerable. If a youngster experiences one of these dangers whilst issuing his verdict, he will destroy himself and others.” [p.30]
Study Hadīth with its interpretation
One day, Abu Al-‘Abbās bin ‘Uqdah said to us — after a man asked him for a hadīth —: “Seek less of Hadīth, for it does not benefit except those who understand its interpretation. Yahyā bin Sulaimān narrated from Ibn Wahb that he said, ‘I heard Imām Mālik saying: A lot of Hadīth is misguidance, I have narrated so many Ahadīth that I wish I did not narrate.’”
The muhaqqiq says: “It is impossible that Hadīth itself is misguidance! Rather, Imām Mālik (may Allah have mercy on him) refers to those Ahadīth that apparently appear contradictory, and cannot be reconciled except by an intelligent scholar. Only those people get misguided by Hadīth who take the Hadīth by its apparent, without any knowledge, and without distinguishing its abrogated from abrogator, and its specific from its general. This is why Ibn Wahb has said: ‘Had it not been for Imām Mālik and Imām Al-Layth, I would have been misguided.’ They asked him: ‘How is that?!’, he replied: ‘I collected a lot of Hadīth until I was baffled, so I would refer to Imām Mālik and Imām Al-Layth, and they would tell me to take this, and leave that.’” [p.35]
Studying saves one from humiliation
Muhammad bin ‘Ubaid (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “A man with a long beard came to Imām Al-A’mash and asked him about a matter as simple as the matters memorized by the children. So, Imām Al-A’mash said to him: ‘Look at his beard! It has the capacity of holding 4000 ahadīth, yet his question is as simple as those memorized by children.’” [p.37] In this incident, Imām Al-A’mash indirectly told the aged questioner that he should have sought knowledge at a young age, and that his ignorance regarding a matter memorized by children is something to be ashamed about. Thus, students of knowledge must strive to seek knowledge in their youth and not be shy to ask questions, so they do not face humiliation in their old age.
Mus’ab Az-Zubairī (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “I heard Imām Mālik bin Anas saying to his two nephews, ‘I see that you both are deeply engaged in this matter (Hadīth), and you seek it?’ They said yes. He said: ‘If you both would love to benefit from it, and that Allah allows you to benefit others through it, then seek less of it (Hadīth) but gain a thorough understanding of it.’”
Imām Al-A’mash (may Allah have mercy on him) said: “When I hear some hadīth, I said to myself, ‘I should sit near the pillar and pass verdicts for the people’. I then sat near a pillar, and the very first thing I was asked, I did not know the answer to it!”
The muhaqqiq says: “This is because hearing hadīth is one thing, and knowing its fiqh is something else! The ensuing story further elaborates on this point:
A woman stood by the gathering of Yahyā bin Ma‘īn, Abū Khaithamah, and Khalf bin Sālim in which they were discussing hadīth. She heard them saying ‘the Prophet ﷺ said, so and so narrated it, and no one narrated it except so and so, so she asked them regarding the permissibility of a woman giving ghusl to a deceased whilst menstruating because she was a corpse-washer herself. None of them was able to reply to her question, and instead started looking at one another. Then, Abū Thawr turned to her and said, “Go to Al-Muqbil”, so she turned to go to him, and Al-Muqbil had drawn near, so she asked him.
He replied: “She can wash the dead body due to the hadith of Al-Qāsim from ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah have mercy on her), that the Prophet ﷺ said to her: ‘Your menstruation is not in your hands’ and also due to her statement: ‘I would part the hair of the Prophet ﷺ with water whilst I was menstruating.’” Abū Thawr then said: “If she parted the hair of a living person, then it is even more suitable to part the hair of the dead.” Hearing this, they (Yahyā bin Ma‘īn, Abū Khaithamah, and Khalf bin Sālim) said: “Yes! So and so narrated that hadith to us, and we know it from the chain of so and so, and so and so” and they dived into its chain of narration. As a result, the woman said to them: “Then where were you until now?”. [p.38]
‘Ubaidullāh bin ‘Amr said: “A man came to Imām Al-A’mash and asked him regarding a juridical matter, whilst Imām Abū Hanīfah was sitting beside him. As a result, Imām Al-A’mash said: ‘O Nu’mān, answer regarding it!’ Imām Abū Hanīfah then answered the questioner. Imām Al-A’mash said to him: ‘How did you come to this verdict?’ Imām Abū Hanīfah replied: ‘From your hadīth which you narrated to me’. Imām Al-A’mash said: ‘Yes, we are the pharmacists, and you are the doctors’. [p.44]
To summarize, we gain many lessons from the above excerpts. A student of knowledge should not be quick to assume responsibilities and positions, and focus on studying knowledge for as long as possible. Knowledge should be sought from the senior scholars, as they have more experience and are safer from falling into the follies of youth. The knowledge of Hadīth is not confined to its apparent meanings, rather, every Hadīth has its Fiqh and context that needs to be studied concurrently. Last but not least, a student of knowledge should not hasten in conducting independent gatherings.