Fiqh al-Sunnah / Winter 2010
Sheikh Jamaal Zarabozo
2010-01-10 Class Notes
Textbook
Al-Sayyed Sabiq, Fiqh al-Sunnah (available most places where Islamic books are sold)
Outline of the class
Ablution and Ghusl
Wudu:
* Sh wonders how come people like to come to this class in person rather than online :)
* Purification for the prayer, "the prayer is not accepted without purification"
* Two forms: Purification by using water and purification by using soil.
* with water, 2 types: 1) Wudu, 2) Ghusl
* He touches upon some of the evidence related to wudu.
* Is there any other verse related to wudu in the quran?
* wudu comes from the word, "wada". Part of it's lexical meaning is "nazafah" or cleanliness. Wudu (with damma over the wauw), is the actual action of making wudu.
* Wadu (fatha over the wauw), is the water that is used.
Purification by using water and purification by using soil or earth
Water purification is of two types: Wudu and Ghusl
Wudu - Lexical meaning
Cleanliness, brightness
Actual act of making ablution
Water that is being used to make ablution
* what's a "jami' and mani'" definition of wudu?
* Definition according to the madahib:
- Hanafi: al-wudu is the washing and the wiping over the specific bodily parts.
- another hanafi: "wudu is the washing of 3 of the limbs and 1/4 of the head"
- Maliki: "It is an act of purification by water, it is related to specific bodily parts and done in a specific manner"
- Shafi': "it is use of water on specific bodily parts, begin with the intention"
- Hanbali: "the use of purifying water on the four bodily parts in the manner described by the shariah done in the proper order."
- each madhab has different definition. Each of them have a seperate conceptualizaiton of what wudu is. Some consider intention to be one of the arkaan.
- What about the hanafi? did they mention anything about niyyah? niyyah for them is not even fard, it's sunnah.
* another difference b/w the hanafis and the others, importance of order and doing action after another. Hanafi definition looks very barebone.
* Syed Sabiq's definition looks closer to hanafi definition.
* what about someone who rejects the idea of wudu for salah? If you reject wudu (for salah), it's an act of Kufr. Without dobt it's part of the deen.
* what about someone who intentionally prays without wudu? Hanafis say that anyone who belittles the deen, such as intentionally praying without wudu, this person is comitting kufr. Maliks say that this person is to be killed (the one who does not perform the acts of taharah). Shafis: if he does this intentionally, he should be asked to make tawbah, then he should be killed as hadd punishment, not as kufr.
* In the case of Hanbalis, it's easy, cuz they say, leaving the salah is kufr, and leaving the salat includes any action that is left related to the salaah.
* Law exists to show the magnitude of the action.
* Hanafis consider lots of things kufr we sometimes don't realize that.
* Action of delaying taking shahadah is act of Kufr by the hanafi ulema!!
* Wudu can be wajib, mustahab, mubah, makrooh and haraam.
* Wudu is wajib upon a person who is not in a state of purity (minor) and intends to perform a prayer.
* when is wudu, mustahab. (before sleeping, among the ulema-before teaching)
* wudu being makrooh. (you'll miss prayer but you already have wudu and you want to do wudu again.) Some ulema say that it's makrooh to repeat a wudu after you have made wudu and not done any acts of worship. It can lead to israaf and waswasa.
* When is wudu haram? when it would cause you harm.
* wudu which is mubah? answer depends on whether or not you're a hanafi. Because hanafi you don't need intention, so if you just do it, it'll be mubah. Difficult to think of a case where it's mubah.
* When was wudu made obligatory? Maidah:6.
* the story of angel jibrael showing the prophet (saw) how to do wudu in seerah books is in Makkah. But from isnaad point of view, anything that puts wudu in Makkah is doubtful. There's no strong evidence (e.g. Ibn hazm says wudu was not made part of shariah except in madinah). Others say it was made obligatory in madinah and it was sunnah in makkah. But most scholars are of the feeling that salaat was not salaat without wudu and that wudu was there from beginning but it's very hard for them to prove it.
* Is wudu unique to this ummah? The hadeeth about our body parts shining on the day of judgement shows us that there's something unique about our wudu. Type of worship was sanctioned to those before us as well but doibes Ibrahim (as) as doing wudu.
* fist hadeeth on pp 26 is sahih according to sh albani. May hadeeth of this nature, and many of them explicitly remove "al-kabair" from these acts. So it's minor sins not the major sins. In general, the kabair require tawbah.
* Second hadeeth is rejected (according to al-albani, ibn hibban).
* third hadeeth, "perfecting the ablution under difficult circumstances" -- situation where it would be uncomfortable for you to make wudu. It's important to remember, this hadith in no way implies that you're trying to seek any kind of hardship to get any kind of reward from Allah.
*The Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam also said, "know that the best of your deeds is salaah and no one guards the wudu except for the believer." -Ibn Maajah and shaykh Al-Albani said it is hasan.
In the text, sayed sabiq doesn't mention the conditions for wudu...
* There are two types of conditions (shurut) - which we will discuss next time.
2010-01-17 Class Notes
Any of the shurut or preconditions are not discussed in the text book and jumps into the obligatory parts of the wudu
Types of shurut
1. Shurut al-wujub (الشروط الوجوب): Conditions that make the wudu obligatory
2. shurut al-sahhah: (الشروط الصحه) Conditions that make the wudu sound/conditions for the validity of the wudu
3. Shuroot al-wujub wassahhah ma'an (together): something that falls into both categories.
Hanafis say that intention is not required for wudu. Is the action an act of ibadah, they say it is not, it is just an act of cleanliness. According to other madhabs, intention is required for wudu.
Hanafis could argue that if you were to give Quran to a non muslim, you would ask him to make wudu. Example of Umar and his sister asking him to wash before touch the quran. This story is not true or authentic.
One of the issues in Usool al-fiqh, do non muslims fall under the commands of the shareeah. Majority of the scholars say no, they are not obligated by the detail acts of shareeah
Conditions that make wudu sound (الشروط الصحه):
1) Islam (other than hanafis)
2) Al-Takleef (morally and legally responsible, al-baligh wal aqil - sane adult). What about a child who has reached the age of understanding but has not entered into the state of puberty...(he didn't discuss this further). What is the proof of this? the hadeeth that the pen has been lifted from 3 categories of people: Pre pubescent, sleeping person, and one not of sound mind
3) Being free of menstrual or post-partum bleeding. Ibn Nujaym, a hanafi scholar said: "it is mustahab for the menstruating woman to make wudu at the time of salah and sit at the place of salah and make tasbeeh/tahleel". This is an opinion by hasan al-basri and `ata bin abi rabah. However there are other early scholars that say there is no basis for this.
4) "Pure/Purifying water": The water has to be "pure/purifying". In this class what did we conclude about pure and purifying? That there is no water that is pure and not purifying, this was our conclusion in the class. (Sheikh used the word tahara when describing this condition)
5) Water must reach all of the places that it is supposed to reach. Nothing can be preventing water from reaching the part of body that is supposed to be washed e.g nail polish.
6) Special circumstances: People who are required to make wudu for every salat. A woman who is continuous bleeding that is not menstrual. Incontinency. For every salat they have to make wudu. In their case, one of the conditions for validity of wudu is that the time for the prayer has begun. Because of bleeding or incontinence they break the conditions of wudu, but because of their special condition, since they made the wudu after the prayer time has begun, their wudu is still valid. Discussion about whether they can make wudu before Maghrib time has begun. When Imam Shafai was in Iraq, his opinion was that the time for Maghrib was the time for adhan plus maghrib fard plus maghrib sunnah prayers. But when Imam Shafai went to Egypt he changed his opinion. (Others can make wudu at any time)
7) The water must be permissible. If it is stolen, you're wrong in stealing the water and your wudu is still valid and some say it's not valid. For US, this issue is not too relevant. If you dont have access to permissible water, then you can make tayyamum. Question about stolen electricity to pump water for wudu. The act of stealing electricity is haraam but the wudu itself is valid.
8) The ability to use water. Suppose someone is bedridden can he ask somebody to bring water to make wudu. No he is not required to ask. If somebody brings it to you, then the bedridden person would have the ability to use water. If somebody is in a very weakened state that they cannot do tayammum, then they just simply pray.
9)* Niyyah. Malikis consider the niyyah one of the obligatory acts of wudu. Shafi and and hanbali consider it one of the pre-requisites.Hanafis don't consider it at all required.
famous rule in fiqh: "if you give a ruling about something that does not imply that the thing you were discussing is necessarily permissible (halal)". This is with respect to discussion of removing toupee before wudu, however it does not imply that a toupee is halal.
* if prayer time occurs to a person who is already in a state of wudu, is it mustahab for a person to do the wudu again. There are some ahadith that give evidence for this.
Obligatory parts of the wudu
pp 27 (the obligatory parts of ablution)
Niyyah:
who is the group (in related by group)? 6 books + Imam Ahmed.
* Umar Al-Ashqar's PHD thesis on the concept of niyyah. This is a long discussion.
* What does Niyyah mean from shariah perspective? Majority say the intention is formed in the heart and there's an opinion of ahmed and abu hanifah that it's in the brain.
* Hanafi definition of intention, niyyah (for acts of ibadaat): purpose to perform an act of obedience and getting closer to Allah (swt) in the performance of actions.
* Shafi: intent to do something which accompanies the act itself.
* Hanbalis: the resolve of the heart to do an act of worship to Allah (swt).
* Hanafis: niyyah is sunnah for wudu or ghusl. For tayammum, it is purely an act of ibadah. It is simply sunnah in the case of wudu and in the case of ghusl.
* for other madahibs it is either a pre-requisite or a condition. For all 3.
Niyyah of ghusl for Jumuah:
If you take a shower everyday and you take a shower on Friday, then it is not considered ghusl. The thought that you are making a ghusl for tahara, as long as you have intention then you are in a state of tahara. On Fridays, you should realize that you are making ghusl for Friday prayres.
* what about the question of stating the intention of wudu. All the madahib agree that place for niyyah is in the heart or the brain. As for stating it aloud (you actually state it with your lips), some scholars like ibn taymiyyah say that there is ijma' that you do not say the intention except for Hajj. They say that "aimmah agree that stating the intention and repeating it is not sanctioned and if someone does it and continues to do it he should be disciplined."
* an opinion in the hanafi and an opinion in shafi madhab says that it is mustahab to state it. An-Nawawi in al-majmoo shar ul muhaddab said, the place of intention is in the heart and there's no condition to say it with the tongue and there is no difference of opinion about it, however it is recommended to say it with the heart....... However to do them both (tongue and heart) this emphasizes more and is more virtuous, this is what our companions say.
* What is the evidence for the shafi' to say this is the sunnah? Evidence, just a statement of Imam Shafi where he recommended it. There's no hadeeth to prove this.
* if this was needed the Prophet(saw) would have guided us. So in this case, it would be a bida'.
2010-01-24 Class Notes
Stating the intention aloud before making wudu.
There is no shareeah requirement to state the niyyah for wudu. Abu Abdullah az-zubayri, shafi scholar, started this of saying niyyah out loudly.
Stating it silently to oneself. None of the imams said it's recommended however some of their followers said that it is recommended (mustahab). To say something is mustahab, you need shariah ruling. Their only argument is to make sure the intention is present. If something becomes part of the practice, this also becomes customary and people start saying it without thinking. Then you may need an intention to say the intention :)
You have to be conscious of what you are doing. if you absent mindedly just wash your hands and feet, it is not wudu
Intention is something in the heart and it's the consciousness of the heart about the act you're doing. If you intention is one thing and you state the wrong thing. For example, you're playing dhuhr and your tongue says asr. What takes precedence? The one that is in the heart.
Do you have the have the intention all the way through? Or can you like think of something else during the wudu. Ruling: you have to have the intention before you start but after starting that ruling continues until you finish and you don't have to be thinking about each act unless you change your intention, if you consciously change your intention that would invalidate the wudu.
Question about having multiple intentions for wudu? I want to wash my face to cool down and I am also intending to perform wudu. It is ok
Waswasa - trap of the mind. Wherein you don't remember if you made the intention. If you are certain that you did not make intention (except Hanafi madhab), then you make intention and do the wudu again.
Why are you making wudu? What is your thought process?
To pray. If you did niyyah to read quran and hence did wudu. Now can you pray?
To avoid it, your intention is make tahara, as generic as possible and then you can pray, read quran, etc.
Nobody came to the prophet and asked question about the purpose of niyyah. This all came later. Niyyah is to distinguish between purifying for act of ibadah and not just for cooling down.
Niyyah for prayer has to be specific. You have to know which prayer you are performing. For wudu, you can be as generic as possible.
Washing the face: pp27
Maidah, v6. What's the difference between washing and wiping? In washing you take the water and you put the water onto your face. There has to be an amount of water that has to be put on to the face. Do you have to rub in the water? One opinion amongst the malikis is that you have to rub it in, but others say no you can
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Muhsin Khan: O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salat (the prayer), (1) wash your faces and (2) your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, (3) rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, (4) and (wash) your feet up to ankles. If you are in a state of Janaba (i.e. had a sexual discharge), purify yourself (bathe your whole body). But if you are ill or on a journey or any of you comes from answering the call of nature, or you have been in contact with women (i.e. sexual intercourse) and you find no water, then perform Tayammum with clean earth and rub therewith your faces and hands. Allah does not want to place you in difficulty, but He wants to purify you, and to complete His Favour on you that you may be thankful.
This is the hanafi fiqh. the 4 parts to the wudu, no niyyah mentioned here. If you have done these 4 things, then you have done the wudu. For the hanafis, if Allah says something in the Quran, it is very difficult to add anything from the Sunnah since they consider the quran definiitive. As obligations. They may take it as sunnah but they won't say it's obligatory. That's one of the key difference why Hanafis differ from the others in worship. Only exception would be if it was mutawatir hadeeth.
Can just wash your feet without using your hands, by simply running the water over it.
Is it necessary to do that with your hands? We know what the sunnah is, but is just washing acceptable. Only the shafis say yes to that.
There is no strong evidence that you have to wash the beard as an essential part of the wudu. Syed Sabbiq later discusses about beard.
Hadith of the prophet: Ear is part of the head.
So you don't have to wash it since it part of the head.
What about underneath the chin? No you don't have to wash it.
Eyebrows: Yes
Eyes: No you do not have to wash it.
Hanbalis consider mouth as part of the face. So you have to wash the mouth. Others do not consider it part of the face.
Discussion about the precedence and priority of qataee and dhanna. See the Usool al Fiqh class notes.
Mutawatir and non-mutawatic classification arose during the time of Mutazillah and then into the scholars of fiqh and then hadith.
Nose and mouth are not considered part of the face and hence they do not need to be washed. Beard is not considered part of the face.
Washing the arms to the elbow
Wash arm up until the elbow. Why should we wash the elbow? Quran says ila which could mean upto or until the elbow. The prophet used to wash the elbow, so you should wash it too.
Washing of the hands takes place as part of washing your arms upto the elbow.
Washing hands to start wudu is not an obligatory part. We will discuss it later whether it is sunnah.
2010-01-31 Class Notes
Sheikh is talking about hadith mentioned by Bangladeshi student in the last class. Sheikh did some research and found out this hadith.
Hadith: Prophet said to Anas, Oh my son if you are able to always stay in the state of wudu, then stay so, if you were to die in the state of wudu, then angel would consider you as shaheed. Kanz al Ummal say this hadith is from ibn Abbas.
The book says it is from the Kanz al Ummal, Treasure of the Workers, which is a collection of large number of hadith from various sources. This collection includes hadith from everywhere and without regard to its value. This hadith is considered to be fabritacted.
Kanz al Ummal is good book, but you have to be careful about fabricated hadith.
There have been few attempts at indexing hadith.
How would you search for hadith?
Use keyword, you might find that the narration is not authentic. It will not tell you that this hadith has another narration, or whether it is authentic.
Washing the arms to the elbow
Is it obligatory to wash elbow?
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Muhsin Khan: O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salat (the prayer), (1) wash your faces and (2) your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, (3) rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, (4) and (wash) your feet up to ankles.
The word "ila" is ambiguous. It could mean to include or exclude the elbow.
Dhahiris, Zafar (student #3 of Abu Hanifa), Tabari say that elbow is not supposed to be washed in wudu. Everybody else say that it is included.
Ila إِلَى means Ma (with) in some verses in the Quran.
Basic principle of tafseer. If there is some ambiguity in the Quran, then you have to seek guidance from the prophet. It was the role of the prophet to explain the Quran.
Can we find some examples?
Hadith about how to make wudu in which Uthman gave the example of how the prophet made wudu. In this hadith the prophet washed elbow.
There is another hadith of Abu Huraira, he said to perform wudu to go beyond the elbow and wash the upper arm, but he did not say that the prophet did it.
All of the hadith of the prophet show that he washed the elbow.
Zafar was one of the first ones who said that there is no need to wash the elbow. Before that there was ijmaa that elbow needs to be washed.
Washing the elbow is obligatory part of the wudu.
The command of the Quran is to wash the arm which includes everything from fingers to the elbow. If you wash your hand before the wudu, it does not make up for washing the hand when you are supposed to wash the arm.
Wiping the head
Ahkam ul Quran by ibn Arabi - Laws derived from Quran. He wrote atleast 11 pages on wiping the head. He quotes 11 opinions. Why are there so many opinions?
The word bi is the source of the problems. It implies that it does not have to be the whole head. One opinion is three hairs, another opinion is to wipe the nasiha or forelock (abu hanifa's opinion), wipe a quarter.
Hanafis are trying to define the bare minimum requirements.
Prophet wiped over his entire head, and in another hadith he wiped over the turban, another hadith he wiped the forehead only, another hadith he wiped over front portion of scalp, turban, and socks.
If you are wearing something on your head and it is cumbersome to remove it, then you may wipe over the turban or hijab for women. What about baseball cap, it is easy to take off, a turban is more involved to take off and wear. It depends on urf or custom.
Suppose I ask you what did the prophet wipe over when making wudu? And I answered he wiped over scalp, turban, and socks. What are we saying? Are we talking about one act? Was wiping over turban a replacement for wiping over the head?
Another hadith, prophet wiped nasiha, khuffain, and imama. Now what is implied here? The order is different, so it is not describing one act. Hence it is sufficient to just wipe the nasiha.
Another hadith, prophet wiped under the front of his imama, he did not remove the imama.
It is well known that ibn Umar used to wipe his forehead only and none of the sahaba objected to it.
Is it necessary to wipe the whole head? What is the evidence?
Hadith of Abdullah ibn Zaid from Sahih Bukhari. Somebody asked him and said can you show me how the prophet did wudu, Abdullah ibn Zaid showed how the prophet made wudu. Here he is showing more than the minimum acts. We have other hadith that showed that he did not always wipe his whole head.
Some are logical arguments: Wiping head means wiping the whole head.
ibn Umar is one of the strictest in imitating the prophet and we have authentic narration that he used to wipe only his forehead.
It is difficult to state that it is obligatory to wipe the entire head. It will be very difficult to prove.
2010-02-07 Class Notes
Washing the feet and heels
Opinion of majority of scholars it is obligatory to wash the feet. Another opinion it is obligatory to wipe over the feet according ibn Abbas Anas, Ali ibn Taalib, Hasan al Basri, Iqramah and others. Third opinion is you have a choice between washing and wiping your feet.
What is the proof for washing the feet?
Surah Al Maida: Wash in accusative case
In another Qiraat it is in genitive case referring to the bi in the ayat.
Hadith from Uthman and Zaid. Hadith of Abbas. Hadith of Ali. Which describe the wudu of the prophet. And it describes that he washed his feet.
Sheikh described the hadith of 'woe to the heels from the hell fire'... the sahaba were tired from travelling and they were not picking up the heels when they were washing their feet.
Hadith in Sahih Muslim, narration from Umar ibn Al Khattab, a person left a portion of his foot from being washed and the prophet asked him to go and perform wudu again.
A lengthy hadith that describes how sins fall from the individual as he performs wudu, this hadith describes washing of the feet.
Some people claim there is ijmaa about washing the feet. Some other scholars quote that there is ijmaa. However the questions of ijmaa are difficult to prove. But ibn Abbas, Ali, Anas and others said it is sufficient to wipe the feet. Another scholar (ibn Hajjar) claims that ibn Abbas, Ali, Anas had retracted their view, however his proof is statement of Abdullah ibn Layla that there is ijmaa among sahaba that it is obligatory to wash your feet. However is this statement from Abdullah ibn Layla evidence that Ali, Anas and ibn Abbas retracted their view?
Iqramah reports that feet have to wiped. Iqramah was a student of ibn Abbas.
ibn Abi Shayba says that two feet are supposed to be wiped, the top and the bottom
Shabi says that what you wash you have to wipe in Tayammum
At Tabari and Dhuhri Dhahiri say you can wash or wipe
Four madhab say that you have to wash
ibn Hazm and Tahawi were of the opinion that you wiped your feet and later it was abrogated and you were required to wash your feet. Proof is the reading of the Quran and hadith of woe to the feet.
Those who say wipe, they have hadith and reading from the Quran
ibn Hazm says grammatically the reading of the Quran
Washing your face, then wipe your head and wash your feet - his opinion is that grammatically washing clause and wiping clause....
Musnad Ahmad - Ali ibn Talib said, it is more appropriate to wipe the bottom of the feet until I saw the prophet wiping over the top of his feet. The chain is trustworthy. The problem with this narration is that it is talking about wiping over the khuffain and not feet.
The correct narration of this hadith, is that prophet is wiping over khuffain (footwear).
We don't have any authentic hadith form the prophet which describes his wudu as wiping over his feet.
What about Qiraah - wipe over - the hadith is wipe over the khuffain
Continuing with textbook
Following the correct order as described in Surah Al Maida verse 6.
Albani's comments: He has objection to Sayed Sabiq's statement that prophet never departed from the order. In reality there is a narration recorded by Ahmad, who said that prophet washed in a different order. The order of obligatory parts are in order, but the other parts are not in order. The chain is hasan. Shuaib Al Arnaut - says that this hadith is weak because it has some objectional portion in the text. This is a completely independent narration and there is no way to cross check it with other narrations of the hadith. So can we follow Shuaib's argument and say that there is a problem with the narration. There is another problem with the isnaad. There is a narrator in the chain, Abdul Rahman ibn Maysuraq from Hadramaut. ibn Hajjar concludes that he is maqbool, means he is accepted if there is some supporting evidence. There is no supporting evidence to accept his narration. Imam Ahmed interprets that if you forget then you can go and perform the steps that you forgot. So it is not an evidence that it is okay to depart from the order.
Is it obligatory to follow the order. For Hanafi it is sunnah and not obligatory to follow the order.
2010-02-14 Class Notes
Starting off from the Last Topic: Following the Prescribed Sequence:
Evidences that order is Sunnah
1. One of the proofs that order in sunnah and not obligatory is the verse of the Quran. It is the same verse that we are talking about.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Muhsin Khan: O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salat (the prayer), (1) wash your faces and (2) your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, (3) rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, (4) and (wash) your feet up to ankles.
2. In Arabic language if I were to say give Zaid wa Amr a dinar each, then linguistically the order of Zaid and Amr do not matter because of the conjunction wa. If the conjunction was thumma or ma then the order is implied.
Other evidences of it are:
Complete the hajj and Umrah
Establish salaat and pray zakaat
In the above examples the order is not mandatory.
This is opinion of hanafi, maliki and dhahari.
3. Report from ibn abi shayba in which Ali ibn talib that he did not consider which limb he started. Implies left or right limb. However it is different then saying washing feet before face etc.
4. Ibn abi shayba also reports that Abdullah ibn Masood said that it does not matter if you washed your feet before your face. Some people got that report wrong.
5. Fifth piece of evidence is the analogy of ghusl. The requirement of ghusl is that whole body has to be washed. Washing all at once is fine. Since order is not important in ghusl, they say the same applies to the wudu. Nawawi rejects this analogy. Nawawi considers entire body which is sexually defiled is one entity. Where as in wudu the parts are considered different entities.
Evidence that order is obligatory
1. Long Hadith found in Sahih Muslim that describes how sins fall off as you perform wudu. Prophet used the conjunction thumma or then. Then he washed his face, then he washed his hands, etc
To refute this evidence, the sheikh mentioned that If you do it in the order, then you get the benefits but the order is not really proscribed.
2. Verse from Quran
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلَاةِ فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُوا ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لَامَسْتُمُ النِّسَاءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا مَاءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُوا بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ ۚ مَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَٰكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهِّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ
Muhsin Khan: O you who believe! When you intend to offer As-Salat (the prayer), (1) wash your faces and (2) your hands (forearms) up to the elbows, (3) rub (by passing wet hands over) your heads, (4) and (wash) your feet up to ankles.
The evidence is that Allah swt put the thing that is to be wiped in between the things that are to be washed. And this is the evidence that the order is implied.
Nawawi responded to this evidence. He says that this verse is saying what is obligatory since there are other acts that are sunnan that are not mentioned in this ayat.
3. Style of the Arabic language. Principle: When arabs list something the order is listed by physical proximity, what is closest and then next closest and so on unless there is reason to do so. Hence it implies an order.
So the evidence is that arabic language would have proscribed start head, face, hands and then feet or vice versa. Since the order is proscribed in a different order there must be some reasoning behind it.
4. Narrations from the prophet. ibn Qayyam said that there is no report that prophet did not follow this order. Syed Sabbiq mentioned that there is one hadith that describes a different order.
One time prophet made wudu and said that Allah swt would not accept salat without performing wudu and he described the order of the wudu. This is a weak narration.
Another hadith: reported Nasai from Jaabir: theProphet made tawaaf and then he prayed at the place of Ibrahim and then he went out to Safah and Marwah. We begin from where Allah swt began.
there is a stronger narration: "we began where Allah began" this is graded hassan.
This hadith is describing the actions of hajj. This is regarding different form of Ibadaah. Is it permissible to perform Qiyaas or analogy in matters of ibadah?
It is not permissible to do Qiyaas in matters of ibadah.
Here they are applying a principle of the arabic language.
Discussion of the hadith as evidence of order is not obligatory by Albaani. The narrator is unknown. ibn Habban says that the narrator is theeqah (trustworthy) but that is because of his principle to assume that all unknown narrators are presumed to be theeqah. So we have to discount ibn Habban's jarh wa tadeel. So if this is the only evidence that wudu is not performed in order and there all the other narrations are describing order of wudu.
What is the conclusion?
Prophet's implementation of the order and the way he always performed in the order. Then we can conclude that the order is obligatory. It is the safest approach.
Obligatory acts of wudu according to syed sabbiq
Niyah, washing face, washing arms uptil the elbow, wiping head, washing the feet, following the proper order
Hanafis remove niyah and following the proper order
Some scholars added one more obligatory act: Doing them one after the other without break.
Next topic: Sunnan acts of the wudu
Saying bismillah before wudu
Maliki – Say it is Makrooh.
o Why don’t you say Bisimallah in the beginning of the Salat?
We did not get this information passed down to us as an act at the beginning of the salah.
Hadith: There is no wudu if name of Allah is not mentioned upon it. Reported by Tirmiddhi
Al Bukhari says this is the strongest report narrated on this topic. This does not mean that the hadith is strong. Sheikh is implying that it is a relative term. And we should not be fooled by it. This statement by Al Bukhari was made in response to a question most probably asked by Tirmiddhi.
Al albaani concludes that this hadith is hasan.
There is a contemporary scholar (ibn Ishaaq al huwaini, a student of Albaani) - he wrote a small booklet on this topic and he concludes that this hadith is hasan.
What are different views of tasmiyyah?
Hanafi, Shafiee and one narration from Ahmad say it is sunnah
One of the opinions among maliki, it is less than sunnah. Some malikis say it is mubaha. Opinion of Imam Malik that it is disliked.
Some scholars say it is waajib but it is dropped if you forget it. This is the opinion of Hanbalis
Some scholar from Patna, it is condition for the soundness of the wudu. It is also the opinion of dhahiris.
2010-02-21 Class Notes
Those scholar who say tasmiyyah is sunnah, one of their arguments is hadith in Sahih Muslim about having sexual relationships with your wife, you begin with saying Bismillah. So how can you argue from that it is sunnah to say bismillah before wudu? Al Ayni says that this is the furthest situation from dhikr and here you are required to say bismillah so it must be more applicable for acts of ibadaah. (Al Ayni's commentary on Sahih Bukhari)
It is a weak argument, do you say Bismillah Allahuakbar during salat? So it is not simly weak because it is Qiyaas but we have other evidence that we do not say bismillah before saying Allahuakbar.
There is no wudu for one who does not mention the name of Allah upon it - Hadith refered by Syed Sabbiq. None of its chains are authentic. Some scholars have concluded that it is hasan. Then you can use it as evidence for saying bismillah before wudu is an obligation.
لا وعضو
La لا here is strong form of negation. So it becomes an obligation from some scholars - that is their strongest argument or evidence.
Al Iraqi concluded that this hadith is hasan. Ibn Hajr says that there is some basis for this action.
The scholars who say that bismillah is obligatory also say that if you forget to say it, then it is overlooked.
Albani quoted a verse of the quran as an evidence that it is overlooked.
Scholars who say that it is not sanctioned to say bismillah.
They do not accept the hadith as evidence.
All of the hadith of prophet making wudu - none of those hadith mention bismillah.
In one case, Imam Ahmad said, I know of no hadith with authentic chain that reports to say Bismillah before wudu. But sheikh mentioned some other reports from Imam Ahmad which I could not follow correctly.
Contemporary scholar Dubyaan Al Dubyaan mentioned that there is general need to know how to make wudu. There has to be evidence on how to make wudu. None of the authentic hadith mention anything about tasmiyyah. His opinion is that tasmiyyah is not part of wudu. It is not sanctioned. Then after that the opionion is mustahab. Then after that the opinion is that it is obligatory. Then after that the opinion is that wudu is not sound without mentioninig bismillah. Dubyaan has published books about post partum bleeding and also about wudu.
THen he mentioned that it is disliked to say bismillah before wudu. He quotes Imam Malik.
Ibn Uthaymiyyah's opinion - you cannot deny the existence of the wudu if bismillah is not mentioned
La Al Nafih or La of negation could negate one of three things:
الوجود The existence of something,
the soundness of something,
الكمال the completeness of something.
La Illaha negates the existence of any ilah except Allah swt
There is no salat if surah Fatiha was not recited - salat is not sound
La wudu - may not be valid but you cannot deny the existence of the wudu
Then we moved on to the topic of using miswak during wudu and the comments by Albaani about miswak
Ø Next Topic – Dental Hygiene
o Albani comments
§ Starts with his comments at the statement form Amr ibn Rabiah. “I have seen the Messenger of Allah, upon whom be peace, on countless occasions using a toothbrush while fasting.” This gives the impress that this hadith is authentic. It is not so. The hadith is weak.
§ Albani states that he wishes that he would have used the statement that it is good to use the miswak anytime??????????
§ Albani speaks about the hadith on the one who is
”toothless” and he states that this is a weak hadith.
§ Hadith from Aishah who would wash the toothbrush for the Prophet is weak.
2010-02-28 Class Notes
What should be done if you forget to say bismillah before wudu?
Some scholars say okay. But ... madhab says that you wudu is not valid.
Some of the shafieeh scholars recommend saying auzubilla before saying bismillah.
Miswak
Using miswak is one of the acts of fitra.
What is the defintion of miswak?
What will you say to a non-muslim who asks what is a miswak?
Does miswak have to be from the arak tree?
Is there anything special about the arak tree?
The most common source of miswak during the time of the prophet was the arak tree. If you take this particular tree branch and study it using contemporary methods, it is similar to a toothbrush, it has fibres which are gentle. They contain beneficial elements for dental hygiene. You have to know how to use it properly and then it is found to be as effective as a toothbrush.
Miswak should not be too dry or too wet. You have to cut it every day. However these are not mentioned in the hadith of the prophet.
If the arak tree is not available then you can use palm tree or olive tree branches, however none of these hadith are authentic.
Should you use right hand or left hand when you brush with the miswak?
There is no basis for right or left hand. You can use any hand whatsoever.
Prophet has told us some of the virtues of miswak: It purifies the mouth and it is pleasing to the lord.
It was common practice of the prophet to use it. When he entered the house, he would start by using the miswak. In different narrations, he insisted on his followers using the miswak. I have encouraged you repeatedly to use the miswak.
Ibn Abbas said that prophet continued to ask us to use the miswak until we thought or feared that a revelation would come down considering it.
There are particular times when a miswak should be used. It is mentioned by Syed Sabbiq. He provides a list but does not provide any evidence.
1. At the time of ablution (wudu). There is a hadith of the prophet that if it was not a hardship on my ummah then I would have ordered them to use miswak. This hadith is used as evidence that the amr commands of prophet are obligations.
2. At the time of prayer.
3. At the time of reading the Quran.
4. Rising from sleep
5. When the taste of one's mouth is changed.
Another one that he did not mention was upon entering the house.
Using miswak is it sunnah?
Some scholars say it is obligatory to use before the salat. Your salat is void if you do not use it before salat. However this saying of Ishaq ibn Rahaway is not authentic.
It is an independent act prior to the wudu.
How about using miswak or dental hygiene as a whole?
Is it sunnah, wajib or mustahab?
It is definitely recommended.
You can say it is wajib because of you do not perform dental hygiene then it is harmful for you.
Rewards of the salat with or without using miswak
Salat with seewak is 70 times better than salaat without seewak. This is a weak hadith.
Using the siwak is already established in the shariah and based on that some scholars allow the use of weak hadeeth to promote the use of siwak but the sheikh disagrees with this methodology.
What about the toothpaste and the toothbrush instead of siwak?
- Dental hygeine wise, it's good. But what about in terms of reward? Does it have to be Miswak? Has to be from the arak tree to fulfill the sunnah? Like before salah and before making wudu, you use toothbrush and toothpaste. Is this acceptable?
Definition of Siwak from some of the books of fiqh: it is the use of a stick or something similar to in order to remove the changes on the teeth.
Based on that definition of fuqahah, does toothbrush fall under that definition? If it falls under the definition, then what's the problem with using it? Dubyan ad-dubyan says that Miswak is superior. He's of the opinion, the specific act of ibadah with respect to the wudu and salah has to be done with miswak. and he argues that miswak is superior because it's easier to carry, can be used in all times to carry, the toothpaste needs water, there's no way that someone can use toothpaste before every prayer, some people are allergic to toothpaste and nothing like that with miswak, and toothbrush could cause harm on the teeth. (sheikh does not think that those are very convincing).
Its difficult to argue that this has to be the way other than toothbrush and toothpaste. These arguments in itself doesn't mean that other method are not acceptable, especially give the definition by fuqaha.
What about using the Miswak? Is it proper to use the miswak in public? Hanafis and Malikis say it's disliked to use the miswak in the masjid. Thi is in particular in the mosque. They also use the evidence, when person urinated in the mosque, "the mosque is not a place for urine and other things, but it's for salat and rememberence of Allah and quran..." Imam Malik was of the opinion that trimming the nails or cutting the hair, similarly miswak should not be done in the masjid. Ibn Tahmiyyah was of the opinion that none of the salaf said that.
If you take the definition of the fuqaha of siwak, then the miswak that was used at the time of the Prophet (saw) was due to the time of the Prophet (saw). Otherwise the question of siwak, if it has to be from the arak tree, then most of the muslims in the world will not have access to the arak or palm tree. This might be something related to culture/time/place.
There's two sunnan acts that he mentions in the first part. One hadeeth that he mentions...