In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Markaz Ifadah
for Humanistic Studies and Research
presents:
*Abridged Sahih al-Bukhari*.
Chapter: The Imam Turning to Face the People Upon Delivering the Salutation.
Narrated Samurah ibn Jundab (may Allah be pleased with him):
In another narration:
Whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) finished a prayer, he would turn his face toward us.
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) frequently used to ask his Companions:
"Has any of you seen a dream?"
He said:
So whoever Allah willed would recount their dream to him.
One morning he said:
"Last night, two visitors came to me,
and they raised me up."
In another narration:
"So they took me by the hand,
and brought me out to the Holy Land.
They said to me:
'Proceed.'
So I set out with them,
and we came upon a man lying down,
while another man was standing over him holding a boulder.
He was hurling the boulder at his head,
crushing his head with it.
In another narration:
He would shatter his head with it,
and the stone would roll away over here.
So he would go after the stone and retrieve it,
and before he returned, the man's head would restore to its original state.
Then he would return to him
and do to him just as he did the first time.
He said:
I said to them:
'Glory be to Allah! What are these two?'
He said:
They said to me:
'Proceed, proceed!'
He said:
So we proceeded,
and came upon a man lying flat on his back,
while another man stood over him with an iron hook.
He would insert it into one side of his face,
tearing his cheek to the back of his neck,
his nostril to the back of his neck,
and his eye to the back of his neck.
He would tear it open,
then turn to the other side
and do to it as he had done to the first side.
He would hardly finish with that side
before the first side was restored to its original state.
Then he would return to him
and do just as he did the first time.
He said:
I said:
'Glory be to Allah! What are these two?'
He said:
They said to me:
'Proceed, proceed!'
So we proceeded,
and came upon the likes of a tannur oven,
from which clamor and voices were echoing.
He said:
So we looked inside,
and there were naked men and women.
Flames were reaching them from beneath them,
and whenever those flames reached them, they shrieked in agony.
In another narration:
So we proceeded to an opening like a tannur oven,
narrow at the top and wide at the bottom,
beneath which a fire was blazing.
Whenever the flames surged,
they rose until they almost came out;
and whenever it subsided,
they fell back into it.
He said:
I asked them: 'Who are these people?'
He said:
They said to me:
'Proceed, proceed!'
He said:
So we proceeded,
and came upon a river red as blood.
In the river was a man swimming,
and on the riverbank stood a man who had gathered many stones beside him.
The swimmer swam as much as he swam,
then came to the one who had gathered the stones.
The man opened his mouth wide for him,
and he threw a stone into his mouth.
Then he went off swimming again,
and returned to him once more.
Every time he returned, he opened his mouth wide,
and he threw a stone into his mouth.
He said:
I asked them: 'What are these two?'
He said:
They said to me:
'Proceed, proceed!'
He said:
So we proceeded,
and came upon a man of hideous appearance,
as hideous as any man you could ever see.
Beside him was a fire that he was rekindling and running around.
He said:
I asked them:
'What is this?'
He said:
They said to me:
'Proceed, proceed!'
So we proceeded,
and came upon a lush garden, dense with greenery,
blooming with every color of spring blossom.
In the midst of the garden
was a very tall man,
whose head I could hardly see due to his height reaching into the sky.
Around him were more children than I had ever seen before.
In another narration:
So we proceeded until we reached a green garden,
in which stood a magnificent tree.
At its base was an old man and some children.
Near the tree was a man
stoking a fire in front of him.
They took me up into the tree,
and brought me into an abode better than any I had ever seen,
wherein were elderly men, young men,
women, and children.
Then they brought me out of it
and took me further up the tree,
bringing me into an abode that was even finer and superior,
wherein were elderly men and young men.
He said:
I asked them: 'What is this?
Who are these people?'
He said:
They said to me:
'Proceed, proceed!'
He said:
So we proceeded,
and reached a magnificent garden,
greater and finer than any garden I had ever seen.
He said:
They said to me:
'Ascend into it.'
He said:
So we ascended into it,
and reached a city built of bricks of gold and silver.
We came to the city gate
and asked for it to be opened;
it was opened for us,
and we entered it.
There we were met by men whose half was as handsome as any you could see,
while the other half was as ugly as any you could see.
He said:
They said to them:
'Go and jump into that river.'
He said:
There was a river flowing across,
its water as white as pure milk.
So they went and jumped into it,
then returned to us.
That ugliness had departed from them,
and they became of the finest form.
He said:
They said to me:
'This is the Garden of Eden,
and that is your dwelling place.'
He said:
My gaze looked upward,
and there was a palace like a white cloud.
He said:
They said to me:
'That is your dwelling place.'
He said:
I said to them:
'May Allah bless you both!
Let me enter it.'
He said:
'Not now,
but you shall surely enter it.'
In another narration:
'Raise your head.'
So I raised my head,
and behold, above me was the likes of a cloud.
They said:
'That is your dwelling place.'
I said:
'Let me enter my dwelling place.'
They said:
'You still have a lifespan remaining that you have not yet completed.
Were you to complete it,
you would enter your dwelling place.'
He said:
I said to them:
'Tonight I have seen truly wondrous things!
What is the meaning of all that I have seen?'
In another narration:
'You have taken me on a journey tonight,
"So inform me about what I have seen."
He said,
"They said to me,
'As for us, we will inform you.
As for the first man you came upon whose head was being smashed with a stone,
he is the man who learns the Qur'an and then rejects it,
and sleeps past the prescribed prayer.
As for the man you came upon
whose cheek was being torn to the back of his neck,
his nostril to the back of his neck,
and his eye to the back of his neck,
he is the man who goes out from his home in the morning
and tells a lie that reaches the horizons.
In a narration:
So this is done to him until the Day of Resurrection.
As for the naked men and women who were inside the structure resembling an oven,
they are the male and female adulterers.
As for the man you came upon swimming in the river and being fed stones,
he is the devourer of usury (*riba*).
As for the hideous-looking man
who was by the Fire, stoking it and running around it,
he is Malik,
the keeper of Hell.
As for the tall man in the garden,
he is Abraham, peace be upon him.
As for the children around him,
they are every child who died upon the innate natural disposition (*fitrah*).'
In a narration:
'And the first abode you entered
is the abode of the general believers.
As for this abode,
it is the abode of the martyrs.
I am Gabriel,
and this is Michael.'"
He said,
"Some of the Muslims asked,
'O Messenger of Allah,
what about the children of the polytheists?'
The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, replied,
'And the children of the polytheists as well.'
'As for the people whose one side was handsome
and whose other side was ugly,
they are a people who mixed a righteous deed
with another that was evil,
and Allah has pardoned them.'"
Commentary on the Hadith:
*Yagdu* (he goes out in the morning).
*Al-ghadat* is the period between the Dawn prayer and sunrise.
"Two visitors came to me tonight,"
meaning Gabriel and Michael, peace be upon them.
"They dispatched me,"
meaning they sent me.
"He hurls the rock down,"
meaning he drops it.
"And smashes,"
meaning he breaks.
"The stone rolls away,"
meaning it tumbles and descends from above to below.
"Until his head becomes whole again,"
meaning until it heals and recombines.
"With an iron hook (*kallub*),"
meaning a curved hook.
A hook is any curved piece of iron.
"One side," meaning one of the two sides.
"So he tears,"
meaning he cuts and splits open.
"Cheek (*shidq*),"
meaning the side of his mouth.
"And his nostril,"
the nostril is the nasal opening.
"So he does not finish,"
meaning he does not complete doing so,
"until that side becomes whole again as it was,"
meaning it returns sound and intact as it was before.
"Then he repeats what he did the first time,"
referring to the splitting and cutting.
"Resembling an oven (*tannur*),"
in which bread is baked.
"In it were clamor and voices,"
meaning a din and shouting whose meaning cannot be understood.
"So we looked inside it,"
meaning we peered into the oven.
The flame is the tongue of the fire.
"They shrieked,"
meaning they raised a commotion and cried out.
*Al-Dawda'*
refers to clamor and loud noise.
"I said to the two,"
meaning to the two angels.
"It subsided,"
meaning it abated.
"He opens his mouth wide for him,"
meaning he opens his mouth.
"And feeds him a stone,"
from *ilqam* (force-feeding),
which originally means placing a morsel into the mouth.
"Upon a hideous-looking man,"
meaning foul in appearance.
"As hideous as any man you could ever see in appearance,"
meaning in visual sight.
"Beside him was a fire he was stoking,"
meaning stirring it and gathering firewood for it
so that it would blaze.
"And running around it,"
meaning around the Fire.
"To a garden (*rawdah*),"
the origin of *rawdah*
is a pool of water,
named so due to the pooling (*istiradah*) of water in it.
Later, it was applied to low-lying land rich in grass and vegetation,
and it is also said: elevated land.
"Lush (*mu'timah*),"
meaning abundant in plants,
"with all the colors of spring,"
meaning with all its flowers.
"And behold, in the midst of the garden,"
meaning in its center.
"And behold, around the man were more children than I had ever seen,"
*wildan* is the plural of *walad* (child),
and what is meant here is the deceased children of the Muslims.
"I said to the two,"
meaning to the two angels.
"I have never seen a garden greater than it,"
meaning in status,
"nor more beautiful,"
meaning nor more splendid.
"They said to me,
'Ascend into it,'"
meaning climb up and rise.
"So we reached a city built of bricks of gold and bricks of silver,"
*laban* is the plural of *labinah* (brick),
and originally a brick is made from clay.
"An old man,"
the old man is Abraham, peace be upon him.
"So we asked for it to be opened,"
meaning we requested that the gate be opened to enter.
"One side of their form,"
meaning half of their form,
referring to their physical appearance.
"'Go and plunge into that river,'"
a command to enter and bathe in that river.
"And behold, a river flowing across,"
meaning flowing horizontally.
"As if its water were pure milk,"
meaning pure milk unmixed with water.
"That ugliness left them,"
meaning the deformity vanished,
so the ugly half became like the handsome half.
"They said to me,"
meaning the two angels said,
"'The Garden of Eden (*'Adn*).'"
*'Adan* means he resided,
and it was named so
because it is the Abode of Everlasting Residence.
"So my gaze raised,"
meaning he looked upward,
ascending,
meaning rising high.
"A white cloud (*rababah*),"
meaning a white cloud.
"Leave me,"
meaning allow me.
"As for now,"
meaning in the worldly life.
"He smashes his head,"
meaning he crushes it with a stone.
"He takes the Qur'an and rejects it,"
rejection (*rafd*) is discarding a thing and abandoning it;
he recites the Qur'an but does not act upon it.
"The man goes out early in the morning,"
meaning he departs from his house early.
"And tells a lie,"
meaning a single lie.
"The devourer of usury,"
meaning the one who engages in usurious transactions (*riba*).
Usury (*riba*)
linguistically means increase.
It is of two types:
*Riba al-Fadl* (usury of surplus)
and *Riba al-Nasi'ah* (usury of delay).
The Muslims have reached consensus on its prohibition in general,
even though they differed regarding its precise defining criteria and specific branches.
"Hideous in appearance,"
meaning foul to look at.
"Who was by the Fire, stoking it,"
meaning stirring it and gathering firewood for it so that it blazes.
Natural disposition (*fitrah*):
the origin of *fitrah* in the language
is the initial creation.
Its reality
is that which Allah Almighty has instilled in the hearts of all creation:
an inclination toward the outward and inward rulings of the Sacred Law,
just as He instilled in their hearts the love of truth and preferring it.
"They are a people who mixed,"
meaning they mixed righteous deeds with evil deeds,
such as daring to commit certain prohibitions
and falling short in performing certain duties,
while acknowledging that,
And hoping that Allah would forgive them,
May Allah pardon them,
Meaning He forgave them and pardoned them.
Among the points of benefit from the hadith:
Derived from the hadith is:
The recommendation for the imam to turn toward his companions after saying the taslim.
In it is that the wisdom behind facing the congregants
Is to teach them what they need to know,
And it was said: to inform anyone entering that the prayer has ended,
For if the imam remained in his position,
It might give the false impression that he is still in the tashahhud.
In it is guidance toward giving importance to dreams,
The recommendation to ask about them, and to mention them after the prayer.
In it is an illustration of the eagerness of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them)
To relate dreams to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
From their action, it is derived:
The recommendation to relate a dream to one who is knowledgeable in its interpretation.
In the hadith is the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) interpretation
Of his Companions' dreams.
In it is guidance for the dream interpreter to hasten to interpret them at the beginning of the day,
Before his mind becomes preoccupied with his worldly livelihood,
And because the dreamer's memory of it is still fresh and nothing has occurred to confuse it,
And because it may contain something that is recommended to expedite,
Such as encouraging good or warning against sin.
In it is an explanation of the virtue of spending time in discussing knowledge.
In it is the permissibility of turning one's back to the qiblah when sitting for knowledge or other matters.
In it is the recommendation to say "Subhan Allah" (Glory be to Allah) when expressing wonder.
In the hadith is that the visions of the prophets (peace be upon them) are divine revelation and truth.
In the hadith is that Hellfire is real,
That Hellfire has descending levels,
And that Hellfire is already created and currently exists.
In the hadith is an explanation of the various forms of punishment in the Hereafter,
And that the punishment continues as long as Allah Almighty wills,
And that the punishment is repeated upon the punished as it began the first time,
And that among the types of punishment is the crushing of the head,
And among the types of punishment is the tearing of the mouth, nose, and eye.
In it is an indication to guard the senses against sins and transgressions.
And among the types of punishment is swimming in a river of blood while swallowing stones.
In it is that the recompense is of the same nature as the deed,
And that whoever sends forth good will find it tomorrow on the Day of Resurrection,
"Every soul is held in pledge for what it has earned."
In the hadith is that Paradise is created and currently exists,
And that its bricks are made of gold and silver,
And that Paradise has stations and degrees,
And that people's ranks in it will correspond to their deeds.
In the hadith is a clarification of the fate of the deceased children of the Muslims,
And that they are under the care of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
As for the children of the polytheists, the scholarly disagreement regarding them is well known.
In the hadith is the Prophet's (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) sight of his residence in Paradise,
His sight of the Gardens of Eden,
His sight of Malik, the keeper of Hellfire,
And his sight of Ibrahim (peace be upon him).
Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was singled out for that status
Because he is the father of the Muslims.
In the hadith is a mention and description of some of the rivers of Paradise.
In it is that Paradise is the abode of permanent residence for the people of Tawheed in the Hereafter.
In it is a severe prohibition against abandoning the Qur'an, whether in recitation or implementation.
In it is a warning against lying in speech and in state,
And against conveying unverified accounts.
In it is the prohibition of adultery and fornication,
And the severe emphasis on its gravity.
The suitability of nudity for them is because they deserve to be exposed,
Since their habit was to conceal themselves in privacy,
So they were punished by having their privacy violated.
The wisdom behind the punishment coming upon them from beneath them
Is that their crime was committed through their lower limbs.
In it is an explanation of the punishment of the one who deals in usury (riba),
Who consumes it and is never sated by illicit gain.
In the hadith is a comparison of the one who mixes a righteous deed with an evil deed
To a handsome face paired with an ugly face.
In it is an explanation of the vastness of Allah's mercy, Mighty and Majestic, toward His creation,
In that He accepts their good deeds and pardons the ugly ones.
In the hadith, the keeper of Hellfire is named Malik.
On the authority of Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) led us in the Fajr prayer at al-Hudaybiya
Following rainfall that had fallen during the night.
When he finished, he turned to the people and said:
'Do you know what your Lord has said?'
They replied, 'Allah and His Messenger know best.'
He said: 'Allah said: "This morning, some of My servants became believers in Me, and some became disbelievers.
As for him who said: 'We have been given rain by the grace of Allah and His mercy,'
—And in a narration: 'We have been given rain by the mercy of Allah, His provision, and His grace'—
He is a believer in Me and a disbeliever in the star.
But as for him who said: 'We have been given rain by such-and-such a star,'
—And in a narration: 'We have been given rain by a star'—
He is a disbeliever in Me and a believer in the star."'
Commentary on the hadith:
"At al-Hudaybiya":
Al-Hudaybiya is located 22 kilometers west of Mecca,
On the old Jeddah road,
And it was named after a well there.
"Following rainfall" means right after the rain.
The rain was called "sama'" (sky) because it descends from the sky.
"By a star" means attributed to the influence of the star.
It was said that "now'" refers to the setting and disappearance of a star,
And other opinions were also stated.
Among the points of benefit from the hadith:
In the hadith, the imam poses a question to his companions
To alert them to ponder its subtle meaning.
In it is a demonstration of the exalted status of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
As he related directly from Allah, Mighty and Majestic,
Which is technically termed a Hadith Qudsi (sacred hadith).
In it is that Allah Almighty has created a cause for everything, to which a ruling is ascribed,
While in reality the true Doer is Allah Almighty,
Who is Omnipotent over all things.
In it is that people's belief regarding this matter falls into two categories, as stated in the hadith.
Chapter: The Imam Remaining in His Place of Prayer After the Taslim
On the authority of Nafi', he said:
"Ibn Umar used to pray voluntary prayers in the same spot where he performed the prescribed prayer."
Commentary on the hadith:
Chapter: The Imam Remaining in His Place of Prayer After the Taslim.
Meaning the imam staying seated in the spot where he prayed,
After finishing the prayer.
Among the points of benefit from the hadith:
Derived from the hadith is:
The prescribed nature of a worshiper remaining in his place of prayer
For remembrance, supplication, teaching, or performing voluntary prayer.
The narration indicates the permissibility of offering voluntary prayer in the same spot where the obligatory prayer was performed,
Though there is a well-known scholarly disagreement and detail regarding this.
Chapter: One Who Led the People in Prayer, Remembered a Need, and Stepped Over Them
On the authority of Uqbah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
"I prayed the Asr prayer behind the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Medina.
He pronounced the taslim, then stood up quickly,
Stepping over the necks of the people to reach one of his wives' apartments.
The people were startled by his haste.
Then he came out to them,
And seeing that they were astonished at his speed,
He said:
'I remembered a piece of uncoined gold that was with us.'
In a narration:
'I left a piece of uncoined gold at home that was from charity,
And I disliked that it should detain me.'
In a narration:
'That it should remain with us overnight or until evening,
So I ordered that it be distributed.'"
Commentary on the hadith:
"He stepped over" means he passed between them.
"The people were startled"
Meaning they felt alarmed,
And that was their habit whenever they saw him do something contrary to his usual custom,
Fearing that some revelation causing them distress might have been sent down.
"I remembered"
Meaning while I was in prayer,
"A piece of uncoined gold."
"Tibr" refers to gold that has not been minted into coin.
It was also said:
It refers to all earth gems extracted from mines,
Before being crafted and used,
And other opinions were stated.
"That it should detain me" means on the Day of Resurrection.
It was also said:
Preoccupying my thoughts away from turning and devoting myself to Allah Almighty.
Among the points of benefit from the hadith:
Derived from the hadith is:
The permissibility of stepping over people's necks for a pressing need that people cannot avoid,
Such as a nosebleed, an urgent need to urinate, or similar matters.
In it is that thinking during prayer about a matter unrelated to it
Does not invalidate it, nor does it detract from its completeness.
Chapter: Turning Away and Departing to the Right or Left
On the authority of Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with him), he said:
"None of you should give Satan a share of his prayer
By thinking that it is obligatory upon him to depart only to his right.
Indeed, I often saw the Prophet (peace be upon him) depart to his left."
Commentary on the hadith:
"Thinks" means believes.
Among the points of benefit from the hadith:
Derived from the hadith is:
A warning against the deception of Iblis (Satan),
For Satan entices a human being in his acts of worship
By making him imagine a need for excess scrupulousness.
In the hadith is an indication that acts of worship are strictly based on textual authority (tawqif),
And personal opinion has no scope in them.
Chapter: What Has Been Related Regarding Raw Garlic, Onions, and Leeks
On the authority of Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both),
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said during the Battle of Khaybar:
"Whoever eats from this plant—meaning garlic—
Must not approach our mosque."
And on the authority of Jabir ibn Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both),
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said:
"Whoever eats garlic or onions
Should keep away from us,"
Or he said:
"Should keep away from our mosque."
In a narration:
"Must not attend our mosques,
And let him sit in his home."
And the Prophet (peace be upon him) was brought a cooking pot—
In a narration:
Was brought a dish—
And he was informed that it contained green vegetables.
He detected an odor from it,
So he asked,
And was informed of the vegetables it contained.
He said:
"Bring it near,"
Pointing to one of his Companions who was with him.
When the Companion saw it, he disliked eating it.
The Prophet said:
"Eat,
for I hold private converse with those with whom you do not converse."
Commentary on the hadith:
"and onions and leeks."
Leeks are a green herb with an offensive odor.
"He was brought a pot"—
the pot in which food is cooked—
and he found [it to have an odor].
That is, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).
"Eat,
for I hold private converse with those with whom you do not converse"—
meaning the angel.
This hadith explains the reason for the prohibition,
which rests on two causes:
First,
causing harm to fellow Muslims;
and second,
causing annoyance to the angels.
Benefits derived from the hadith:
It is derived from the hadith that:
It is permissible to eat garlic and onions,
and doing so is not unlawful.
It also contains an instruction to refrain from coming to the mosque
after consuming garlic or similar foods.
In its general application, this extends to all public gatherings,
such as the Eid prayer grounds, funeral prayers, and banquet venues.
It also highlights the obligation to avoid anything that harms or offends Muslims.
On the authority of 'Abd al-'Aziz, who said:
A man asked Anas ibn Malik,
"What did you hear the Prophet of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
say regarding garlic?"
He replied,
"The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
'Whoever eats from this plant
should not approach us,'
or 'should not pray with us.'"
Commentary on the hadith:
"Should not approach us"—
meaning, should not come near our mosque.
Benefits derived from the hadith:
It is derived from the hadith that:
It is obligatory to stay away from anything that causes harm to people.
Some scholars have stated:
If someone is known to afflict others with the evil eye,
people ought to avoid him and guard themselves against him.
The ruler should also prevent him from mingling with people
and order him to remain in his home,
because his harm is far greater than the harm caused by someone who has eaten garlic or onions.