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Opinions Needed: Following the Sunnah?

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Opinions Needed: Following the Sunnah?
Anonymous
07/30/02 at 13:23:50
[slm]
I was at this Palesteinian friends house last night and we ended up talking about
dates(on trees :))
He then told me do you know this famous incident (which i had never heard of before) In
the Prophet's Peace be upon him life
"According to ancient Arab traditions they manually pollinate date trees to yeild a
better crop.The Prophet Peace be upon him told these people not do do that for Allah swt has
made nature take care of it, that year the yeild of dates was very low,so the Prophet
Peace be upon him told the people the  next year do what is the  best for you for you know
what is the  best for your self"
Using this my friend went on to argue that its just that the quraan we are bound to and  
not by the sunnah of the  Prophet Peace be upon him.

I would like to know the following
1) Was this incident true
2) Using THIS EXAMPLE how can I rebutt him
[wlm]
Re: Opinions Needed: Following the Sunnah?
jannah
07/30/02 at 13:53:39
[wlm]

Why does anything need to be "rebutted"? There are many incidents like this in the Sunnah to show people that Muhammad [saw] was a human being and made choices, mistakes, had likes and dislikes just like any other man. The difference is that he was guided, a prophet and was sent to bring Islam and mercy to all the worlds.

Now, not following the Sunnah or disavowing the Hadith is a whole other very serious issue. Islam is made up of both, you cannot understand the Quran without the Sunnah and you cannot understand the Sunnah without the Quran. How would you pray? How would you give Zakat? How would you rule the Ummah? How would you understand what the verses were referring to without the Hadith? It would be a mess and not a complete Deen.  Now ask your friend to ask themself why Allah would send a Messenger. Why not just send an Angel to hand over the Quran? Or why not send an Angel to be a prophet? [These are questions asked by the Kufar of the time as well.] Obviously because we are humans and we need a human to teach us how to implement the Quran. And even in the Quran itself there are direct orders to follow the Sunnah. So now which do you believe?


I find the phenomenon of the QuranOnly people to be rather disturbing and more illegitimate [if there is such a thing] than other wack distortions of Islam. Those that are proponents tend to not even to follow the Quran but just use the "all hadith are inaccurate etc" stuff to do whatever they want. They then usually take this a step further and say that Islam is in their heart and they don't need to "do" anything.

This reminds me of two things:

1. A story about one of the great Imams of the past [Shafii?] who was renowned as a debater. When asked if he ever lost, he said once. They were stunned and asked who it could possibly be and what had happenned? He said that he argued with many Muslim theologians but that one day he argued with a person of the street. Whenever he brought the argument around to the Quran and Sunnah the street person said "I don't take from that" so what can you do, how can you argue about Islam with such a person...

and 2. A conversation se7en had in high school:

[Se7en sitting in math class or something.] Brittany Spears wannabe cutsie girl comes in.

She: Se7en OMG I know all about you now!!!
7: ehhhhh?
She: yeah all that Islam stuff, this guy in 7th period explained it all to me
7: ahhh.. ohhh who was that?
She: [mentions some paki kid in school]
7: oh that's nice
She: YES! and you know, like,  you don't have to wear that you know [waving arms at hijab]
7: ah oh really?
She: yeah because you know, like, you just need to wear a veil over your heart like i do!  
Re: Opinions Needed: Following the Sunnah?
Fatimah
07/30/02 at 14:01:43
salam alaikum,
I found this..the link is on the bottom...

The story of the pollination of the date-palm trees describes how, when the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) migrated to Madeenah, he saw the people there pollinating the date-palm trees by hand, and he said to them, “If you do not do this, it should still be fine.” So they did not do it, and the crop failed, producing only bad dates. He passed by them and said, “What is wrong with your date-palms?” They said, “You told us such-and-such.” He said, “You know best about the affairs of your world.” (Reported by Muslim, 4358).
This report, if it indicates anything, indicates that with regard to worldly matters that have nothing to do with halaal and haraam or right and wrong, but are matters of trial and error, do not come under the mission of the Messenger  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) as the conveyor of the Message from His Lord. This hadeeth indicates that these matters are subject to trial and error. The Messenger  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) set us a practical example to encourage us, in worldly matters that have nothing to do with legislation, to do our utmost to find out which way of dealing with them is best, to research and explore these matters, to analyze our findings and observations, and to do other things that would help us to develop and make progress in the fields of agriculture, industry, construction and so on. In matters on which sharee’ah is silent and did not give any specific ruling, we are permitted to act within the general guidelines of Islam, such as the principle of not causing or reciprocating harm, and so on.
There is a big difference between this incident and its implications, and the reports in which the Messenger  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) stated that things were halaal or haraam, or that something would lead to punishment or not, or that certain transactions are valid or not, and other worldly or religious matters, because these formed the main part of his mission, and Allaah has commanded us to obey the Messenger  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in everything that he has conveyed from his Lord. (al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 1/45).
Those who try to confine Islam only to rituals of worship, such as prayer, fasting and Hajj, and want to separate religion from other aspects of life such as the social, economic and political spheres, and say that these are human affairs in which people can do whatever they want and can legislate and govern however they wish – these people are kaafirs and wrongdoers who do not want to make the sharee’ah of Allaah prevail in people’s lives or to allow Islam to guide the people’s affairs, even though Allaah has revealed it to govern and control and regulate, and life cannot be properly run and people cannot be happy without it. Without Islamic rule, people are lost and confused in the darkness, as we see today in all those societies that are not ruled by the sharee’ah of Allaah. We ask Allaah to guide us and to open our eyes and help us to accept and follow Islam. May Allaah bless our Prophet Muhammad.

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?ln=eng&ds=qa&lv=browse&QR=1053&dgn=3
NS
07/30/02 at 14:03:29
Fatimah
Re: Opinions Needed: Following the Sunnah?
Fatimah
07/30/02 at 21:36:07
[slm]
I thought this fatwa may help you understand why we follow not just the Quran, but hadith too. Also, if your friend says he only follows the Quran, then how in the world does he know how to pray?? All the details of salat are from hadith..that may be a good point to bring to him if you do decide to talk to him about this.
Allahu Alim.

Question:

Why are the words of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) counted as proof?

Answer:

Praise be to Allaah.

Hadeeth means the words, actions, approval or attributes that have been narrated from the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him).  

A hadeeth may either confirm things that are mentioned in the Qur’aan, such as prayer, zakaah, etc., or it may give details of things that are mentioned in the Qur’aan in general terms, such as the numbers of rak’ahs in each prayer, the thresholds for paying zakaah, the details of Hajj, etc. It may also explain rulings which are not mentioned in the Qur’aan, such as the prohibition on being married to a woman and her (paternal or maternal) aunt at the same time.  

Allaah revealed the Qur’aan to His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and commanded him to explain it to the people, as He said (interpretation of the meaning):  

“And We have also sent down unto you (O Muhammad) the Dhikr [reminder and the advice (i.e. the Qur’aan)], that you may explain clearly to men what is sent down to them, and that they may give thought”

[al-Nahl 16:44]
 

The hadeeth of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is a revelation (wahy) from his Lord. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):  

“Your companion (Muhammad) has neither gone astray nor has erred.

Nor does he speak of (his own) desire.

It is only a Revelation revealed”

[al-Najm 53:2-4]  

Allaah sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to call mankind to worship Allaah alone, and to disbelieve in any (god) apart from Him, and (He sent him) to bring the glad tidings of Paradise and warnings of Hell:  

“O Prophet (Muhammad)! Verily, We have sent you as witness, and a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner,

And as one who invites to Allaah [Islamic Monotheism, i.e. to worship none but Allaah (Alone)] by His Leave, and as a lamp spreading light (through your instructions from the Qur’aan and the Sunnah the legal ways of the Prophet)

[al-Ahzaab 33:45-46 – interpretation of the meaning]  

The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was anxious over this ummah; he did not know of anything good but he told them of it, and he did not know of anything evil but he warned them against it:  

“Verily, there has come unto you a Messenger (Muhammad) from amongst yourselves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or difficulty. He (Muhammad) is anxious over you; for the believers (he is) full of pity, kind, and merciful”

[al-Tawbah 9:128 – interpretation of the meaning]  

Every Prophet was sent only to his own people, but Allaah sent His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to all of mankind:  

“And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the ‘Aalameen (mankind, jinn and all that exists)”

[al-Anbiyaa’ 21:101 – interpretation of the meaning]  

Because the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) conveyed the revelation that was sent down to him from His Lord, it is obligatory to obey him. Indeed, obedience to him is obedience to Allaah:  

“He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed Allaah”

[al-Nisaa’ 4:80 – interpretation of the meaning]
 

Obedience to Allaah and His Messenger is the way to salvation and victory, and to happiness in this world and in the Hereafter:  

“And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell‑fire and will be admitted to Paradise)”

[al-Ahzaab 33:71 – interpretation of the meaning]  

Hence it is obligatory for all people to obey Allaah and His Messenger, because therein lies their success and salvation:  

“And obey Allaah and the Messenger (Muhammad) that you may obtain mercy”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:132 – interpretation of the meaning]
 

Whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger only harms himself, he does not harm Allaah in the slightest:  

“And whosoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger (Muhammad), and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment”

[al-Nisaa’ 4:14 – interpretation of the meaning]  

Once Allaah and His Messenger have decided a matter, no one has the right to choose concerning that or to object to it; rather it is obligatory to obey and to believe in the truth:  

“It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allaah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allaah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed into a plain error

[al-Ahzaab 33:36 – interpretation of the meaning]  

A person's faith is not complete until he loves Allaah and His Messenger, and love implies obedience. Whoever wants Allah to love him and forgive his sins must follow the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him):  

“Say (O Muhammad to mankind): ‘If you (really) love Allaah, then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’aan and the Sunnah), Allaah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allaah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful’”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:31 – interpretation of the meaning]
 

Love of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is not simply the matter of words to be repeated, rather it is the matter of belief and conduct, i.e., obedience to what he commands, belief in what he tells us, avoidance of what he forbids, and avoidance of worshipping Allaah in any way except that which he prescribed.  

When Allaah had perfected this religion and the Messenger had conveyed the message of his Lord, Allaah took him to be with Him. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) left this ummah with clear proof in which there is no ambiguity. No one deviates from it but he is doomed:  

“This day, those who disbelieved have given up all hope of your religion; so fear them not, but fear Me. This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion”

[al-Maa'idah 5:3 – interpretation of the meaning]  

By the grace of Allaah, the Sahaabah (may Allaah be pleased with them) preserved the ahaadeeth of the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon them), then the righteous salaf who came after them compiled them in books which are known as the Sihaah (Saheehs), Sunan and Musnads. The most sound of them are Saheeh al-Bukhaari, Saheeh Muslim, the four Sunans, the Musnad of Imaam Ahmad and the Muwatta’ of Imaam Maalik, etc.  

Allaah has perfected this religion. The Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not know of anything good but he taught it to his ummah, and he did not know of anything evil but he warned them against it. So whoever introduces anything into the religion,  of bid’ah (innovation) or myths, such as praying to the dead or circumambulating (tawaaf) their tombs, or praying to the jinn and awliya’ (“saints”), and other things that have not been prescribed by Allaah and His Messenger, all of that is to be rejected and not accepted, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours (Islam) that is not a part of it will have it rejected.” (Narrated by Muslim, 1718 )  


From Usool al-Deen al-Islami, by Shaykh Muhammad ibn Ibraaheem al-Tuwayjri (www.islam-qa.com)
07/30/02 at 21:37:35
Fatimah
Re: Opinions Needed: Following the Sunnah?
se7en
07/30/02 at 23:12:50

as salaamu alaykum,

two older threads that might be of interest to you are [url=http://www.jannah.org/cgi-bin/madina/YaBB.pl?board=madrasa;action=display;num=1018895631;start=5]here[/url] and [url=http://www.jannah.org/cgi-bin/madina/YaBB.pl?board=lighthouse;action=display;num=1016742448;start=1]here[/url].

wasalaam :)


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