CHAPTER 4: THOSE ASKING FOR FATAWA (RELIGIOUS VERDICTS) – PART 1
The conduct of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, with the Bedouins (desert dwellers)
Introduction:
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, had perfect manners, which is evident in the way he showed kindness even to people known for their severe and harsh behaviour. There are many great examples of how the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, conducted himself with the Bedouins, who were known for harshness in their speech and actions, as Allah Says (what means): «The Bedouins are stronger in disbelief and hypocrisy and more likely not to know the limits of what [laws] Allah has revealed to His Messenger.» [Quran: 9:97]
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, reacted to their harshness with mercy and forbearance, as Allah Says (what means): «So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].» [Quran: 3:159]
It is known that Bedouins, the people who live in the desert, develop these qualities. This is why the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Whoever lives in the desert becomes harsh.”(Reported by Ahmad (8619) on the authority of Abu Hurayrah.) Ibn Al-Atheer (a scholar) said in his book An-Nihayah (281/1), “This means that he develops a harshness in his nature because of how little he deals with people.” This harshness shows even in his speech. As for a person that lives in the cities and towns, then you will see that he is more personable and his speech is softer and kinder than the man who lives in the desert.
Allah Says (what means): «And among the Bedouins are some who consider what they spend as a loss and await for you turns of misfortune. Upon them will be a misfortune of evil. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing. But among the Bedouins are some who believe in Allah and the Last Day and consider what they spend as means of nearness to Allah and of [obtaining] invocations of the Messenger. Unquestionably, it is a means
of nearness for them. Allah will admit them to His mercy. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.» [Quran: 9:98-99]
Allah The Almighty also Says (what means): «And among those around you of the Bedouins are hypocrites, and [also] from the people of Madinah. They have become accustomed to hypocrisy. You, [O Muhammad], do not know them, [but] We know them. We will punish them twice [in this world]; then they will be returned to a great punishment.» [Quran: 9:101] So some of them are believers and some are hypocrites.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not allow any of his Companions who came from the desert to live in Madinah to return to live in the desert again. Rather, this was considered from the major sins. ‘Abdullaah ibn Mas’ood (a Companion) said: “The one who accepts interest and the ones who witnesses it knowingly, the tattooer and the one who is tattooed for beautification, the one who withholds his Zakaat, and the one who returns to being a Bedouin after migrating are all cursed by Muhammad on the Day of Judgment.”(Reported by An-Nasa’i (5102).)
However, this is permissible in certain exceptional cases. Salamah ibn Al-Akwa’ (a Companion) narrated that he visited Al-Hajjaj (a ruler), so he said: “O Ibn Al-Akwa’, have you gone back and returned to being a Bedouin?” He said: “No, but the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, gave me permission to go back to the desert.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (7087) and Muslim (1862).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was gentle and merciful with them in spite of their harshness:
He would use kindness in dealing with them, and this is made clear from the narration of the Bedouin man who urinated in the mosque. Anas ibn Maalik (a Companion) said: “While we were in the mosque with the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, a Bedouin came and started urinating in the mosque. The Companions of the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Stop, stop!” The Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: “Do not interrupt him; leave him alone.” So they left him alone until he had finished urinating, then the Messenger of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, called him and said to him: “These mosques are not a place for urine or anything filthy, rather they are for the remembrance of Allah, prayer and reading Quran.” Then he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, ordered a man to bring a bucket of water and he poured it over the urine.”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (219) and Muslim (285).)
Abu Hurayrah (a Companion) said: “A Bedouin entered the Mosque while the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was sitting in it, so he prayed and then said: ‘O Allah, have mercy on me and Muhammad, and do not have mercy on anyone besides us!’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, turned to him and said: ‘You have confined a vast thing [meaning the Mercy of Allah].’ The same man later urinated in the mosque, so the people ran towards him. The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, told them: ‘Pour a bucket of water over it.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then said: ‘You were only sent to make things easy, not to make things difficult.’”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (220) and At-Tirmithi (147) and the wording is for At-Tirmidhi.)
In another narration: “The Bedouin man said after he gained some understanding:
‘The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then came to me, may my mother and father be sacrificed for him, and he did not criticise me or curse me. He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘These mosques are not to be urinated in, they were only built for the remembrance of Allah and prayer.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, then ordered for a bucket of water to be poured on the urine.”(Reported by Ibn Majah (529).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, responded to their bad manners with goodness:
Anas ibn Maalik narrated: “I was walking with the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and he was wearing a garment that had a thick collar. A Bedouin man came up to him and pulled him very harshly by his shirt, until it ripped and the collar was still around his neck. I looked at the neck of the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and I could see marks in it from the severity of the way the man had pulled him. He said: ‘O Muhammad! Give me some of the wealth of Allah that you have!’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, simply turned to him, smiled and ordered for him to be given some wealth.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (3149) and Muslim (1057) and the wording is for Muslim.)
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, forgave the Bedouin who tried to kill him:
Jaabir ibn ‘Abdullaah (a Companion) narrated that he went to a battle with the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in the direction of Najd. When the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, returned, they also returned with him. They stopped at midday in a valley with many trees in it. The people all took shade under different trees and the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, stayed under a tree and hung his sword on it. Jaabir said: “We all slept and then the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu
‘alayhi wa sallam, called us, so we came and found a Bedouin sitting near him (his name was Ghawrath ibn Al-Haarith). The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘This man took my sword when I was sleeping, and I awoke to find it in his hand, unsheathed. He said to me, ‘Do you fear me?’ I said: ‘No.’ He said: ‘Who will protect you from me?’ I said: ‘Allah’, three times, so he sheathed the sword. And this is him sitting here.’ Then the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not punish him.” (Reported by Al-Bukhari (2910) and Muslim (843).)
In another narration: “The sword then fell from his hand, so the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, picked it up and said: ‘Who will protect you?’ The man said: ‘Be the best captor.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Do you bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship but Allah, and I am the Messenger of Allah?’ He replied: ‘I promise that I will not fight you nor will I be with the people that fight against you.’ So the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, let him go, and he returned to his people saying: ‘I have come to you from the best of all people.’”(Reported by Al-Hakim (4322).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, pardoned him and did not punish him because of how eager he was to bring the disbelievers to Islam.
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was patient with their many questions:
The Bedouins would ask the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, often, while the Companions were timid out of reverence for the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. They would not ask about anything that was not previously mentioned out of fear that it would become prohibited, and they would be the cause of that and be sinful. Therefore, they would be happy to see the Bedouins when they came to Madinah so that they would ask the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the Companions would hear the answer and benefit.
Anas ibn Malik narrated:
“We were forbidden to ask the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, anything (except for a necessity). Thus, it pleased us if an intelligent person from the Bedouins would come to ask the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and we could listen. While we were sitting with the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in the mosque, a Bedouin man entered upon his camel and sat it down in the mosque and then tied it. He then asked them: ‘Which one of you is Muhammad?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, was sitting amongst them, so they said: ‘This fair-complexioned man who is reclining.’ The man said to him, ‘O son of Abd Al-Muttalib!’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Go ahead.’ The man said: ‘I am going to ask you and I will be direct in the way I ask so do not become angry with me.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘Ask what you wish.’
He said: ‘O Muhammad, your messenger came to us and told us that you claim that Allah had sent you (as a prophet). He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘He told the truth.’ He (the Bedouin) said: ‘Who created the heavens?’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘Allah.’ The Bedouin said: ‘Who created the earth?’
He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘Allah.’ He said: ‘Who raised these mountains and who created in them whatever is created there?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘Allah.’ The Bedouin said: ‘By the One Who created heaven and created the earth and raised these mountains, has Allah sent you?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Yes.’
The Bedouin said: ‘Your messenger also told us that five prayers are obligatory for us in our day and the night.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘He told you the truth.’ He (the Bedouin) said: ‘By Him Who sent you, is Allah the one who ordered you with this?’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Yes.’ The Bedouin said: ‘Your messenger told us that Zakaah had been made obligatory in our wealth.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘He has told the truth.’ The Bedouin said: ‘By Him Who sent you, is Allah the one who ordered you with this?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Yes.’
The Bedouin said: ‘Your messenger told us that it had been made obligatory for us to fast every year during the month of Ramadan.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘He has told the truth.’ He said: ‘By the One who sent you, is Allah the one who ordered you with this?’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘Your messenger also told us that Hajj to the House had been made obligatory for whoever is able.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘He has told the truth.’ The man turned away and said: ‘By Him Who sent you with the Truth, I will neither add anything to them, nor diminish anything from them.’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘If he is truthful, he will enter Paradise.’” (Reported by Al-Bukhaari (633) and Muslim (12).)
The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, would endure their interruptions while he was speaking, and would sometimes delay the answer until he finished:
Abu Hurayrah (a Companion) narrated: “While the Prophet of Allah, sallallahu‘alayhi wa sallam, was speaking to the people a Bedouin man came and asked: ‘When is the Day of Judgment?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, continued to speak, so some people said: ‘He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, heard what he said but disliked it.’ Others said: ‘Rather he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, did not hear him.’ When he finished speaking he, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘Where is the one who was asking about the Day of Judgment?’ He said: ‘Here I am, O Messenger of Allah.’ He, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: ‘When the trust is lost, then wait for the Day of Judgment.’ The man said: ‘How is it lost?’ The Prophet of Allah, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, replied: ‘If the affairs are given to those (people) undeserving of them, then wait for the Day of Judgment.’”(Reported by Al-Bukhari (59).)
By Muhammad Saalih Al-Munajjid
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