1 00:00:00,850 --> 00:00:04,150 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 2 00:00:04,150 --> 00:00:09,599 The life of the salaf was defined by the harmony between their words and their deeds. 3 00:00:09,599 --> 00:00:15,410 They held fast to the Book, the Sunnah, and the traditions of the predecessors. 4 00:00:15,410 --> 00:00:17,710 They condemned relying on personal opinion. 5 00:00:17,710 --> 00:00:21,710 They also condemned the narration of fabricated and weak hadiths. 6 00:00:21,710 --> 00:00:26,620 Umar Ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 7 00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:31,120 I said to Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) during the time of al-Hudaybiyyah: 8 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:33,119 "O Abu Bakr, 9 00:00:33,420 --> 00:00:36,420 is he not truly the Prophet of Allah?" 10 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:38,509 He replied, "Yes." 11 00:00:38,509 --> 00:00:43,509 I said, "Are we not upon the truth and our enemy upon falsehood?" 12 00:00:43,509 --> 00:00:45,609 He replied, "Yes." 13 00:00:45,609 --> 00:00:49,609 I said, "Why, then, should we accept humiliation in our religion?" 14 00:00:49,609 --> 00:00:52,799 He said, "O man, 15 00:00:52,799 --> 00:00:57,799 he is indeed the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), 16 00:00:57,799 --> 00:00:59,799 and he does not disobey his Lord, 17 00:00:59,799 --> 00:01:01,799 and He is his Helper. 18 00:01:02,100 --> 00:01:04,099 So, hold fast to his path, 19 00:01:04,099 --> 00:01:07,959 for by Allah, he is upon the truth." 20 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:12,060 Shaybah Ibn Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 21 00:01:12,060 --> 00:01:16,060 Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) sat with me and said: 22 00:01:16,060 --> 00:01:19,060 "I have intended not to leave anything in it"— 23 00:01:19,060 --> 00:01:21,060 meaning the Ka'bah— 24 00:01:21,060 --> 00:01:23,060 "of gold or silver 25 00:01:23,060 --> 00:01:26,060 without distributing it among the Muslims." 26 00:01:26,060 --> 00:01:30,189 I said, "You will not do that." 27 00:01:30,189 --> 00:01:32,250 He asked, "Why?" 28 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:35,409 I said, "Your two companions did not do it." 29 00:01:35,409 --> 00:01:40,409 He replied, "They are two people whose example is to be followed." 30 00:01:40,409 --> 00:01:43,989 Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 31 00:01:43,989 --> 00:01:48,019 "Adhere to knowledge before it is taken away, 32 00:01:48,019 --> 00:01:51,019 and its being taken away is the passing of those who possess it. 33 00:01:51,019 --> 00:01:53,049 Adhere to knowledge, 34 00:01:53,049 --> 00:01:57,049 for you do not know when you might be in need of it, 35 00:01:57,049 --> 00:02:00,180 or when you might be in need of what someone else possesses. 36 00:02:00,180 --> 00:02:06,180 You will find people who claim to be calling you to the Book of Allah, 37 00:02:06,180 --> 00:02:09,180 while they have cast it behind their backs. 38 00:02:09,180 --> 00:02:12,180 So, adhere to knowledge, 39 00:02:12,180 --> 00:02:14,180 and beware of innovation, 40 00:02:14,180 --> 00:02:16,180 and beware of affectation, 41 00:02:16,180 --> 00:02:19,180 and beware of over-complication, 42 00:02:19,180 --> 00:02:21,180 and adhere to the ancient path." 43 00:02:21,180 --> 00:02:24,560 He (may Allah be pleased with him) also said: 44 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:26,560 "If you are asked about something, 45 00:02:26,560 --> 00:02:28,560 look into the Book of Allah. 46 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:32,560 If you do not find it in the Book of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, 47 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:37,560 then look to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). 48 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,560 If you do not find it in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah, 49 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:43,560 then look to what the Muslims have reached a consensus upon. 50 00:02:43,560 --> 00:02:47,719 If it is not among what the Muslims have reached a consensus upon, 51 00:02:47,719 --> 00:02:49,719 then exercise your own judgment. 52 00:02:49,719 --> 00:02:52,719 Do not say, 'I fear' or 'I am apprehensive,' 53 00:02:52,719 --> 00:02:54,719 for the lawful is clear, 54 00:02:54,719 --> 00:02:56,719 and the unlawful is clear, 55 00:02:56,719 --> 00:02:59,719 and between them are doubtful matters. 56 00:02:59,719 --> 00:03:03,719 So leave what makes you doubt for what does not make you doubt." 57 00:03:03,719 --> 00:03:08,139 Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: 58 00:03:08,139 --> 00:03:12,139 "Do you not fear that you might be punished or that the earth might swallow you up, 59 00:03:12,139 --> 00:03:17,139 when you say, 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,' 60 00:03:17,139 --> 00:03:19,780 and then someone else says, 'So-and-so said'?" 61 00:03:19,780 --> 00:03:23,780 It is narrated from Abdullah Ibn Mughaffal (may Allah be pleased with him) 62 00:03:23,780 --> 00:03:26,780 that he saw a man throwing pebbles with his fingers. 63 00:03:26,780 --> 00:03:28,780 He said to him, "Do not do that, 64 00:03:28,780 --> 00:03:32,780 for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 65 00:03:32,780 --> 00:03:35,879 forbade throwing pebbles, saying, 66 00:03:35,879 --> 00:03:38,879 'It does not hunt game, 67 00:03:38,879 --> 00:03:40,879 nor does it injure an enemy, 68 00:03:40,879 --> 00:03:43,879 but it may break a tooth, 69 00:03:43,879 --> 00:03:46,229 or gouge out an eye.'" 70 00:03:46,229 --> 00:03:49,229 Then he saw him doing it again after that, 71 00:03:49,229 --> 00:03:51,229 so he said to him: 72 00:03:51,229 --> 00:03:55,229 "I narrate to you from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 73 00:03:55,229 --> 00:03:57,229 that he forbade throwing pebbles, 74 00:03:57,229 --> 00:03:59,229 and yet you are doing it? 75 00:03:59,229 --> 00:04:03,060 I will not speak to you for such-and-such a time." 76 00:04:03,060 --> 00:04:07,060 Abdullah Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) said: 77 00:04:07,060 --> 00:04:12,120 "I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say: 78 00:04:12,120 --> 00:04:15,120 'Do not prevent your women from attending the mosques 79 00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:18,120 if they seek your permission to go.'" 80 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:21,350 Bilal Ibn Abdullah said, 81 00:04:21,350 --> 00:04:23,350 "By Allah, we will certainly prevent them." 82 00:04:23,350 --> 00:04:25,600 Abdullah turned to him 83 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,600 and rebuked him severely, 84 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:30,600 saying: 85 00:04:30,600 --> 00:04:34,600 "I tell you what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, 86 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:37,600 and you say, 'By Allah, we will certainly prevent them'?" 87 00:04:37,600 --> 00:04:41,180 Hudhayfah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: 88 00:04:41,180 --> 00:04:43,180 "O people of the villages, 89 00:04:43,180 --> 00:04:45,180 be upright, 90 00:04:45,180 --> 00:04:48,180 and follow the path of those who came before you. 91 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:51,180 For by Allah, if you are upright, 92 00:04:52,180 --> 00:04:55,180 you have indeed surpassed them by a great distance. 93 00:04:55,180 --> 00:04:58,180 But if you deviate to the right or the left, 94 00:04:58,180 --> 00:05:01,180 you have indeed gone far astray." 95 00:05:01,180 --> 00:05:05,819 Imam Malik Ibn Anas (may Allah have mercy on him) 96 00:05:05,819 --> 00:05:09,819 used to say, whenever those who deviate in religion were mentioned in his presence: 97 00:05:09,819 --> 00:05:13,980 "Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 98 00:05:13,980 --> 00:05:17,980 'The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 99 00:05:17,980 --> 00:05:20,980 and the leaders after him established practices. 100 00:05:20,980 --> 00:05:25,980 Adhering to them is following the Book of Allah the Almighty, 101 00:05:25,980 --> 00:05:28,980 and completing the obedience to Allah the Almighty, 102 00:05:28,980 --> 00:05:31,980 and strength in the religion of Allah. 103 00:05:31,980 --> 00:05:35,980 No one has the right to change or alter them. 104 00:05:35,980 --> 00:05:39,980 Whoever looks into anything that contradicts them, 105 00:05:39,980 --> 00:05:42,980 whoever is guided by them is truly guided, 106 00:05:42,980 --> 00:05:45,980 and whoever seeks victory through them is victorious, 107 00:05:45,980 --> 00:05:49,980 and whoever abandons them follows a path other than that of the believers, 108 00:05:49,980 --> 00:05:52,980 and Allah will leave him to what he has chosen, 109 00:05:52,980 --> 00:05:56,980 and will roast him in Hell—and what an evil destination!'" 110 00:05:56,980 --> 00:06:02,560 Umar Ibn Abd al-Aziz (may Allah have mercy on him) wrote to the people: 111 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:05,560 "There is no personal opinion for anyone regarding the Book of Allah. 112 00:06:05,560 --> 00:06:10,560 The opinion of the leaders is only in matters where no Book has been revealed, 113 00:06:10,560 --> 00:06:16,560 and no Sunnah from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has passed. 114 00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:24,319 And there is no opinion for anyone regarding a Sunnah established by the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." 115 00:06:24,319 --> 00:06:27,319 al-Hasan al-Basri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 116 00:06:27,319 --> 00:06:31,319 "By Allah, those whom I met from the early generation of this Ummah, 117 00:06:31,319 --> 00:06:36,420 what they said with their tongues was exactly what was in their hearts. 118 00:06:36,420 --> 00:06:40,420 By Allah, they were in agreement with the Book of their Lord 119 00:06:40,420 --> 00:06:44,420 and the Sunnah of their Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). 120 00:06:44,420 --> 00:06:51,449 When the night covered them, they would stand on their feet, prostrating with their faces, 121 00:06:51,449 --> 00:06:54,610 their tears flowing down their cheeks, 122 00:06:54,610 --> 00:06:59,680 beseeching their Lord to set them free from the Fire. 123 00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:04,680 If they were granted anything of this world, they would take only their sustenance, 124 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:07,680 and put the rest toward their Hereafter, 125 00:07:07,680 --> 00:07:10,680 and they would offer thanks to Allah for it. 126 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:14,680 And if it was withheld from them, they would rejoice and say, 127 00:07:14,680 --> 00:07:19,680 'This is a look from Allah and a test from Him for us.' 128 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:22,839 If they did a good deed, it would please them, 129 00:07:22,839 --> 00:07:25,839 and they would pray to Allah to accept it from them. 130 00:07:25,839 --> 00:07:29,839 And if they did a bad deed, it would distress them, 131 00:07:29,839 --> 00:07:32,839 and they would seek Allah's forgiveness for it." 132 00:07:32,839 --> 00:07:36,220 al-Zuhri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 133 00:07:36,220 --> 00:07:40,250 "Our scholars who have passed away used to say: 134 00:07:40,250 --> 00:07:43,250 'Holding fast to the Sunnah is salvation.'" 135 00:07:43,250 --> 00:07:47,800 Mujahid (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 136 00:07:47,800 --> 00:07:51,800 "Everyone's opinion can be accepted or rejected, 137 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:55,800 except for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)." 138 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:59,079 Ibn Sirin (may Allah have mercy on him) 139 00:07:59,079 --> 00:08:02,079 would not give his own opinion, 140 00:08:02,079 --> 00:08:04,079 except for something he had heard. 141 00:08:04,079 --> 00:08:07,370 He also said (may Allah have mercy on him): 142 00:08:07,370 --> 00:08:11,370 "As long as one is upon the tradition, he is on the right path." 143 00:08:11,370 --> 00:08:14,529 He also said (may Allah have mercy on him): 144 00:08:14,529 --> 00:08:16,529 "The first to use analogy was Iblis, 145 00:08:16,529 --> 00:08:19,529 and the sun and moon were not worshipped 146 00:08:19,529 --> 00:08:21,529 except through analogies." 147 00:08:21,529 --> 00:08:24,689 He (may Allah have mercy on him) was narrating to a man 148 00:08:24,689 --> 00:08:28,689 a hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), 149 00:08:28,689 --> 00:08:30,819 and a man said, 150 00:08:30,819 --> 00:08:33,820 "So-and-so said such-and-such." 151 00:08:33,820 --> 00:08:35,879 Ibn Sirin replied: 152 00:08:35,879 --> 00:08:39,879 "I narrate to you from the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), 153 00:08:39,879 --> 00:08:44,879 and you say, 'So-and-so and so-and-so said such-and-such'? 154 00:08:44,879 --> 00:08:47,879 I will never speak to you again." 155 00:08:47,879 --> 00:08:51,169 Qatadah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 156 00:08:51,169 --> 00:08:55,169 "I have not spoken from my own opinion for thirty years." 157 00:08:55,169 --> 00:08:58,779 Sa'id Ibn al-Musayyib (may Allah have mercy on him) saw 158 00:08:58,779 --> 00:09:02,779 a man praying two rak'ahs after the Asr prayer. 159 00:09:02,779 --> 00:09:03,779 He said to him, 160 00:09:03,779 --> 00:09:05,779 "O Abu Muhammad, 161 00:09:05,779 --> 00:09:08,779 will Allah punish me for praying?" 162 00:09:08,779 --> 00:09:09,779 He replied, "No, 163 00:09:09,779 --> 00:09:13,779 but Allah will punish you for contradicting the Sunnah." 164 00:09:13,779 --> 00:09:17,200 al-Awza'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 165 00:09:17,200 --> 00:09:20,200 "Adhere to the traditions of those who have passed, 166 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:22,200 even if people reject you. 167 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:25,200 And beware of the opinions of men, 168 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:28,200 even if they embellish them for you with words." 169 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,580 A man said to Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him): 170 00:09:32,580 --> 00:09:34,580 "O Abu Abdullah, 171 00:09:34,580 --> 00:09:37,580 do you accept this hadith?" 172 00:09:37,580 --> 00:09:38,580 He replied: 173 00:09:38,580 --> 00:09:42,580 "When I have narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) 174 00:09:42,580 --> 00:09:44,580 a sound hadith 175 00:09:44,580 --> 00:09:46,580 and I did not accept it, 176 00:09:46,580 --> 00:09:49,580 then I call you to witness that my intellect has departed." 177 00:09:49,580 --> 00:09:52,799 He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said: 178 00:09:52,799 --> 00:09:55,799 "If you find a Sunnah, follow it, 179 00:09:55,799 --> 00:09:58,799 and do not turn to the words of anyone else." 180 00:09:58,799 --> 00:10:02,090 He (may Allah have mercy on him) also said: 181 00:10:02,090 --> 00:10:09,159 "The people have reached a consensus that whoever has a Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) made clear to him, 182 00:10:09,159 --> 00:10:14,159 it is not for him to abandon it for the words of anyone." 183 00:10:14,159 --> 00:10:19,639 Abu Ubayd al-Qasim Ibn Sallam (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 184 00:10:19,639 --> 00:10:23,830 "The one who follows the Sunnah is like one holding onto burning coals, 185 00:10:23,830 --> 00:10:29,830 and this, today, is better in my view than striking with the sword in the path of Allah the Almighty." 186 00:10:30,830 --> 00:10:35,340 Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 187 00:10:35,340 --> 00:10:41,500 "Obedience to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is mentioned in the Book of Allah the Almighty 188 00:10:41,500 --> 00:10:44,500 in thirty-three places." 189 00:10:44,500 --> 00:10:47,600 Allah the Almighty said: 190 00:10:47,600 --> 00:10:53,690 “Make not the calling of the messenger among you as your calling one of another. Allah knoweth those of you who steal away, hiding themselves. And let those who conspire to evade orders beware lest grief or painful punishment befall them.” (24:63) 191 00:10:53,690 --> 00:11:00,039 It was said to him, "May Allah keep you alive, O Abu Abdullah, upon Islam." 192 00:11:00,039 --> 00:11:04,000 He replied, "And the Sunnah." 193 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,129 Abu Uthman al-Hiri (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 194 00:11:08,129 --> 00:11:14,129 "Whoever makes the Sunnah a leader over himself in word and deed will speak with wisdom, 195 00:11:14,129 --> 00:11:19,159 and whoever makes desire a leader over himself will speak with innovation." 196 00:11:19,159 --> 00:11:24,580 Allah the Almighty said: ﴾And if you obey him, you will be guided.﴿ 197 00:11:24,580 --> 00:11:27,580 al-Junayd (may Allah have mercy on him) said: 198 00:11:27,580 --> 00:11:30,580 "Our knowledge is bound by the Book and the Sunnah. 199 00:11:30,580 --> 00:11:37,580 Whoever has not memorized the Qur'an, has not written the hadith, and has not studied fiqh, is not to be followed." 200 00:11:37,580 --> 00:11:44,210 The life of peace exists between what is said and what is done.