1. WITH THE NAME OF ALLAH THE ALL-MERCIFULTHE MOST MERCIFUL
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, a pure and blessed praise as our Lord loves and is pleased with, a praise that behoves the nobility of His face and accords with His magnificence. May Allah’s peace and blessings be upon Mulµmmad, the Unlettered Prophet, his family and his Companions.
Imam Ahmad records the hadith of Hanash aHiana1anI on the authority of ibn Abbas who said, ‘I was sitting behind the Prophet when he said, ”Young lad, should I not teach you some words through which Allah will occasion benefit for you?” I said, “Of course!” He said, “Safeguard Allah and He will safeguard you. Safeguard Allah and you will find Him in front of you. Know Allah in times of ease and He will know you in times of hardship. When you ask, ask Allah. When you seek aid, turn to Allah. The Pen has dried (after having written) all that will occur. If the whole of creation, in its entirety, was to try and effectuate some benefit for you through something that Allah has not ordained, they would not be able to do so; and if they wished to harm you through something that Allah has not decreed, they would not be able to do so. Know that great good lies in bearing with patience· what you dislike, that victory comes with patience, that relief comes with distress, and that with hardship comes ease.
This is how he related it via the route of Hanash along with two other isnads that are munqati, he mentioned that he did not differentiate the wordings of the various routes in this particular instance.
He also records it via the route of I:Ianash alone, summarised, with the wording, ”Young lad, I will relate some words to you: Safeguard Allah and He will safeguard you. Safeguard Allah and you will find Him before you. When you ask, ask Allah. When you seek aid, tum to Allah. The Pens have been lifted and the books have dried. If the nation were to come in order to benefit you with something that Allah has not decreed for you, they would not be able to; and if they desired to harm you with something that Allah has not decreed for you, they would not be able to.
A similar wording was recorded by Tirmidhi, “I will teach you some words: Safeguard Allah and He will safeguard you. Safeguard Allah and you will find Him before you. Know that if the nation came together in order to benefit you with something, they would not be able to do so except with something that Allah has already decreed for you; and were they to come together in order to harm you with something, they would not be able to do so except with something that Allah has already decreed against you. The Pens have been lifted and the scrolls have dried.
Hafiz Abu ‘Abdullah ibn Mandah said, ‘This hadith has various routes from ibn ‘Abbas and this is the most authentic of them… this isnad is well-known and its narrators are trustworthy and precise.’
I say: This hadith has been reported by a group of narrators from ibn ‘Abbas. Amongst them are his sons, ‘Ali, and ‘Ata and ‘Ikrimah. It is also reported from him by ‘Umar, the freed-slave of Ghufrah, and ‘Abdu’l-Malik ibn ‘Umayr and ibn AbI Mulaykah although it is said that they did not hear (Hadith) from him. All these islands are problematic and some contain additional wordings and others omit some wordings.
The fact that the Prophet gave this counsel to ibn Abbas has also been related from Ali ibn Abi Talib, Abu Sa’id al-Khudri,Sahl ibn Sa’d and other Companions. The isnads of all these are also problematic. ‘Uqayli mentioned that all the isnads of the Hadith are weak (layyin) with some being better than others.
I say: the best of these isnads is the narration of Hanash on the authority of ibn ‘Abbas that we have previously mentioned, ·It is a hasan isnad, having nothing untoward in it. We have discussed the various routes of this hadith in detail in Sharfi al-Tirmidhi; our purpose here, however, is to explain the meaning of the hadith and to expound upon its wordings.
This hadith comprises pieces of advice of paramount importance and universal principles that deal with the greatest and most noble aspects of this religion. This is true to such an extent that Imam Abu’l-Faraj in his work,Sayd al-Khatir, said, ‘I pondered this hadith and it struck me with awe; I was so astounded that Almost became light headed.’ Then he said, ‘The prevailing ignorance of this hadith and the lack of understanding thereof is truly distressing!’ This indicates that (ibn ‘Abbas) memorised the incident accurately, brought the words to mind, and accurately conveyed them. This is one of the hadiths that he heard from the Messenger of Allah directly for most of what he narrates is via the medium of another narrator, however these are taken as proof because they are the mursal narrations of a Companion (which are accepted). The reason for this is that he was very young during the time of the Prophet. The author (Baghawi) said that he was born three years before the Hijra and he was thirteen years old when the Prophet passed away, some said that he was fifteen at the time and yet others _said he was ten. However, he became a great scholar, the ocean of knowledge of this nation because the Prophet supplicated that he acquire wisdom, understanding and correct interpretation. He saw Jibril twice and he became blind at the end of his life. He passed away at Ta’if in the year 68H during the rule of ibn al-Zubayr at the age of seventy one. A large number of Companions and Successors narrate from him. “Young lad,” the point behind the address is that ibn ‘Abbas directs his attention to him and pays heed to what is said. “Shall I Teach You some words,” points of advice through which you may repress affliction and promote benefit and blessings.’
By ibn Rajah al-Hanbali
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