Part of The Musk of Discourse (series completed)
· Lesson 32 of 38
Musk Al-Khattab | Episode (61) | Hudhayfah scale
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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There are doubts that many people fall into,
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especially when searching for a legal ruling,
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regarding the permissibility or prohibition of a matter.
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That is where the doubt arises.
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But what is the scale by which a person can weigh emerging issues?
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Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked,
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"How does a man among us know if he has been afflicted by a trial?"
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He, may Allah be pleased with him, replied,
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"If he sees something as forbidden yesterday,
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and sees it as permissible today, then he has been afflicted by a trial."
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This is a clear scale.
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Hudhayfah outlines its features in brief, clear words.
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The clear meaning of the words of Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman
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confirms to us that he refers to what has been established as forbidden by the Shari'ah,
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that which does not fall into the realm of disagreement among Muslim scholars and jurists.
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This is what is intended by the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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"The lawful is clear and the unlawful is clear."
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So, if a Muslim reaches the point of doubting the prohibition of something whose prohibition is manifest,
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or the permissibility of something whose permissibility is manifest,
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then there is no doubt that he has been afflicted by the worst of trials, and we seek refuge in Allah.
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An example of this is for a person to be certain of the prohibition of bribery,
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regardless of how its names may change,
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and to know with certainty of its prohibition,
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then to soften and weaken before it,
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when its sweetness appears to him,
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mixed with the bitterness of sin and the evil of the consequence.
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Here, the Muslim must use this magnificent and precise scale
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to which Hudhayfah Ibn al-Yaman, may Allah be pleased with him, pointed.
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Other forbidden matters should be measured against bribery,
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those that have a connection to the desires of the human soul
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and its worldly interests,
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such as trading in certain forbidden items,
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or justifying clear usurious transactions
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in response to the soul's whims.
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This is the scale of Hudhayfah;
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if only we would weigh our affairs with it,
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those that waver between the lawful and the unlawful.