Allah Almighty says: {And whoever honors the sacred ordinances of Allah - it is best for him in the sight of his Lord.} [Al-Hajj: 30] He also says: {If you support Allah, He will support you and make firm your feet.} [Muhammad: 7]
1) They encourage us to honor the sacred ordinances and sanctities of Allah Almighty. A person should get angry for the sake of these things. That is the commendable anger.
2) A person can support Allah Almighty by supporting His religion, by conveying it, applying it, defending it, and getting angry when it is violated.
The chapter also contains the Hadīth reported by ‘Ā’ishah, which was cited in the chapter on forgiveness.
649/1 - Abu Mas‘ūd ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amr al-Badri (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: “A man came to the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) and said: ‘I join the Fajr prayer late because of so-and-so who leads it and prolongs it.’ I had never seen the Prophet so angry while giving a speech as he was on that day. He said: ‘O people, indeed some of you repulse. Whoever leads the prayer should make it brief because the congregation includes old men and youngsters and those who have some urgent work to do.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
1) A preacher should present the religion of Allah to the people in a calm and pleasant way.
2) It shows the Prophet’s anger when giving the sermon because the prohibitions set by Allah were violated. A person should follow the Prophet’s example in supporting the religion.
3) An Imām should not burden the people in prayer by prolonging it beyond what is prescribed in the Sunnah.
With regard to the performance of prayer, Imāms are of three types:
1. The Negligent: those who fall short and perform the prayer in a quick way that does not enable those praying behind to do the supererogatory elements of the prayer. Such Imāms are wrong and sinful and do not fulfill the trust assigned to them.
2. The Excessive: those who go to extremes and prolong the prayer in a way that makes it hard for people, as if one of them were praying alone. Such Imāms are also erroneous and wrongful to themselves.
3. The Moderate: those who take a moderate approach. They pray like the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Those are the best among the three types, and they fulfill the trust in the most perfect manner.
650/2 - ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) reported: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) once returned from a journey and I had covered a cupboard of mine with a thin curtain that had some images (of animate beings) on it. His face color changed (with anger) and he tore it up and said: ‘O ‘Ā’ishah, those who will receive the hardest punishment on the Day of Resurrection are those who try to create the like of Allah’s creation.’” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
-- -- --
--
1) It encourages us to get angry when the prohibitions set by Allah are violated, as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) got angry and tore up the curtain that had images.
2) A Muslim man should be a guardian over his family, commanding them to do what is right, forbidding them from doing what is wrong, and checking his house lest something that Allah prohibited enters it.
- In terms of their rulings, images fall under three categories:
1. Three dimensional images (like statues and carvings).
If the images are for living beings, such as humans and animals, they are prohibited and fall under the severe warning in this regard.
If they are for inanimate beings, such as trees and pots, they are permissible.
2. Non-three-dimensional images (hand-drawn): These are subject to the same ruling that applies to the three-dimensional images. They are prohibited in case they represent living beings and permissible if they represent inanimate ones.
3. Non-three-dimensional images taken by modern devices (photographs): They are subject to disagreement among the scholars. Some hold that they are permissible if used in permissible things and prohibited if used in forbidden things.
He who takes them is not subject to the relevant stern warning, as he does not emulate the creation of Allah Almighty, as is the case in hand-drawn images.
- Other scholars maintain that images of living beings are prohibited in all their forms and types and may not be done except in case of need and necessity, like the photos for identity documents and passports. And Allah knows best!
651/3 - She also reported that the Quraysh were very worried about the case of the woman from (the tribe of) Banu Makhzūm who had committed theft and wondered who should intercede for her with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). Some said Usāmah ibn Zayd was his beloved one, and so he may dare do so. Usāmah spoke to him about that matter, and the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: “Do you intercede regarding one of the legal penalties ordained by Allah?” Then, he got up and addressed the people, saying: “The people before you were ruined because when a noble person amongst them committed theft, they would let him go, but if a weak person amongst them committed theft, they would execute the legal penalty on him. By Allah, were Fātimah, the daughter of Muhammad, to commit theft, I would cut off her hand!” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
--
--
--
1) It is commendable to get angry for the sake of Allah. But anger for personal revenge or interests is mostly dispraised.
2) The high status of an offender should not spare him the legal punishment. The Shariah rulings should apply to the noble and the weak equally.
3) Discrimination between people in terms of the implementation of the legal punishments is an act of injustice, which throws nations into ruin.
4) It shows the great disapproval of negligence regarding the legal punishments and of those who allow them to be overlooked or intercede for this purpose regarding someone who deserves such a punishment.
5) It points out the status of Usāmah ibn Zayd (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) with the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him). He was known as the Prophet’s beloved one, and so was his father Zayd ibn Hārithah (may Allah be pleased with him).
652/1 - Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) noticed spittle in the mosque in the direction of the Qiblah. This was hard on him, and it showed on his face. So he got up and scraped it away with his own hand and said: “When you stand in prayer, you hold communion with your Lord and He is between you and the Qiblah. Let no one therefore cast out his spittle in that direction, but only to his left or under his foot.” Then, he caught hold of a corner of his garment, spat into it, folded it up, and said: “Or he may do like this.” [Narrated by Al-Bukhāri and Muslim]
The instruction regarding spitting to the left or under one’s foot applies to the case when one is outside the mosque. Inside the mosque, however, one should only spit in one’s garment.
--
1) Disapproval and anger should be shown when the sanctity of the mosques is violated.
2) As a preacher tells people about what is prohibited, he should also clarify to them what is permissible, lest he blocks the means to goodness for people. People are naturally disposed for action, not inaction.
3) Teaching people by example, as the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Or he may do like this”, as he spat in the hem of his garment and rubbed it against each other.