Abu Rayyah Rejects the Hadith, “In Jannah there will be Music”

Abu Rayyah Rejects the Hadith, “In Jannat there will be Music”

On page 255, Abu Rayyah says:

ومن غرائبه التى كان لا يفتئ يطالع الناس بها ليستهويهم كماكان يضحك الصبيان بلعبة الغراب وهو امير على المدينة من قبل معاوية تلك الغريبة التى عثرنا عليها اثناء قراءتنا لكتاب الكافى الشاف فى تخريج احاديث الكشاف للحافظ ابن حجر (ص 129) روى اسحاق فى مسنده من رواية مجاهد قيل لابى هريرة هل فى الجنة من سماع؟ قال نعم شجرة اصلها من ذهب و اغصانها من فضة و ثمارها الياقوت والزبرجد يبعث لها ريح فيحرك بعضها بعضا فما سمع شيئ قط احسن منه

Among his strange narrations which he used to tell people to fascinate them, just as he would amuse children by playing with a crow when he was appointed as the governor by Muawiyah, is a strange narration which we came across whilst reading the book al Kafi al Shaf fi Takhrij Ahadith al Kashshaf by Hafiz Ibn Hajar.^[1] Ishaq reports in his Musnad from Mujahid, “Abu Hurairah was asked, ‘Will there be music in Jannat?’ He replied, ‘Yes, there is a tree which has golden roots, silver branches and its fruits are pearls and jewels. A wind will be sent upon it, due to which some of it will clatter. (The sound that will be produced is such that) nothing better than it was ever heard before.’”

Our comment: If this hadith is from the strange narrations of Abu Hurairah radiya Llahu ‘anhu, then why is it also narrated by your infallible Imams?

Al Majlisi reports from ‘Asim ibn Humaid — Imam Jafar al Sadiq rahimahu Llah:

ما من عمل حسن يعمله العبد الا و له ثواب فى القران الا صلاة الليل-الى ان قال- قال قلت: جعلت فداك انى اردت ان اسئلك عن شيئ استحيي منه قال: سل, قلت : هل فى الجنة غناء؟ قال ان فى الجنة شجرا يامر الله ريحها فتهب فتضرب تلك الشجرة باصوات لم يسمع الخلائق بمثلها حسنا, ثم قال: هذا عوض لمن ترك السماع فى الدنيا من مخافة الله

The reward of every good action that a slave carries out is mentioned in the Qur’an except the salah of the night…

I said, “May I be sacrificed for you, I wanted to ask you something that I feel ashamed of.”

He said, “Ask!”

I asked, “Will there be music in Jannat?”

He replied, “There is a tree in Jannat, whose wind will be commanded by Allah. It will then blow, which will cause the tree to give off such sounds, the beauty of which was not heard by the creation before that.”

Thereafter he said, “This is the replacement for the one who abandoned listening to music in the world out of fear for Allah.”^[2]

It is reported from Imam al Baqir as well as Imam Jafar that the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to ‘Ali radiya Llahu ‘anhu:

يا على انه لما اسرى بى رءيت فى الجنة نهرا ابيض من اللبن-الى ان قال-ان فى الجنة لشجرا يتصفق بالتسبيح بصوت لم يسمع الاولون والاخرون بمثله

O ‘Ali, when I was taken for the ascension, I saw a white river of milk in Jannat… There is a tree in Jannat which clatters in glorification of Allah, in such a way that neither have the people of the former times, nor those of the latter times heard something similar to it.^[3]

Further on it is reported:

سئل النبى عن انهار الجنة كم عرض كل نهر منها؟ فقل :عرض كل نهر مسيرة خمسين عام يدور تحت القصور والحجب تتغنى امواجه و تسبح و تطرب فى الجنة كما يطرب الناس فى الدنيا

The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was asked regarding the rivers of Jannat; what is the breadth of each of them?

He replied, “The breadth of each river is the equivalent of a five-hundred-year journey. They flow under palaces and veils. Their waves sing and glorify and dance in Jannat just as people dance in this world.”^[4]

It is reported from Ibrahim:

ان فى الجنة لاشجارا عليها اجراس من فضة فاذا اراد اهل الجنة السماع بعث الله ريحا من تحت العرش فتقع فى تلك الاشجار فتحرك تلك الاجراس باصوات لو سمعها اهل الدنيا لماتوا طربا

There are trees in Jannat which have golden bells on them. When the inhabitants of Jannat will desire music, Allah will send a wind from below the ‘Arsh which will shake that tree, causing the bells to move and produce such sounds that if the people of the world had to hear it, they would die out of happiness.^[5]

He states under the title, “A rare chapter”:

وجدت فى بعض الكتب القديمة فاوردتها بلفظها ووجدتها ايضا فى كتاب ذكر الاقاليم والبلدان والجبال والانهار مع اختلاف يسار فى المضمون و تباين كثير فى الالفاظ اشرت الى بعضها فى سياق الرواية وهى هذه: مسائل عبد الله بن سلام و كان اسمه اسماويل فسماه النبى عبد الله عن ابن عباس قال لما بعث النبى امر عليا ان يكتب كتابا الى الكفار و الى النصارى و الى اليهود فكتب كتابا اولاه جبرئيل على النبى فكتب بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم من محمد رسول الله الى يهود خيبر…-الى ان قال- يا محمد فصف لى اشجار الجنة قال: فى الجنة شجرة يقال لها طوبى اصلها من در و اغصانها من الزبرجد و ثمرها الجوهر ليس فى الجنة غرفة ولا حجرة ولا موضع الا وهى متدلية عليه قال: صدقت يا محمد…

I found something in some of the old books, so I quoted it verbatim. I found the same in the book of continents, countries, mountains and rivers, with a slight difference in the meaning and a great difference in the wording. I have pointed out to some of them whilst quoting the narration. This is what I found; the laws concerning ‘Abdullah ibn Salam whose name was Ismawil. The Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam renamed him ‘Abdullah. It is reported from Ibn ‘Abbas that when the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was made a Rasul, he commanded ‘Ali to write a letter to the disbelievers, Christians, and Jews. Thus, he wrote the letter, which was dictated to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam by Jibril. He wrote, “In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. From Muhammad the Rasul of Allah to the Jews of Khaybar” … O Muhammad, describe to me the trees of Jannat. He said, “There is a tree in Jannat which is called Tuba. The roots are from pearls, the branches are green jewels and its fruit are gems. There is no room, cubicle or area in Jannat, except that a portion of the tree hangs over it.” He responded, “You have spoken the truth, O Muhammad…”^[6]

He states that Sayed Ibn Tawus says in his book, Iqbal al A’mal:

روينا بالاسانيد الصحيحة و الروايات الصحيحة الصريحة الى ابى المفضل محمد بن عبد المطلب الشيبانى من كتاب المباهلة…قال عيسى الهى وما طوبى؟ قال: شجرة فى الجنة ساقها و اغصانها من ذهب ورقها حلل و حملها كثدى الابكار احلى من العسل و الين من الزبد و ماءها من نسيم لو ان غرابا طار وهو فرخ لادركه الهرم من قبل ان يقطعها و ليس منزل من منازل الجنة الا و ظلاله من تلك الشجرة

We have narrated with an authentic chain and authentic explicit narrations to Abu al Mufaddal Muhammad ibn ‘Abdul Muttalib al Shaybani from the book of taking oaths and cursing… ‘Isa asked, “O my Rabb, what is Tuba?” Allah replied, “It is a tree in Jannat, the trunk, and branches of which are made from gold, the leaves from jewels, and its fruits are like the breasts of virgins; sweeter than honey and softer than butter. The water of it is from Nasim. If a baby crow flies beneath it, it will reach old age without being able to cross it. Every station in Jannat is shaded by that tree.”^[7]

Ni’mat Allah al Jaza’iri states, “Number seven, the types of entertainment and the greatest form being music”. It is reported that a villager came to the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam and said, “O Messenger, you have stated that Jannat will have everything, so where will the music be?” He replied:

نعم يا اعرابى ان فى شجرها اجراسا متعلقة اذا ضرب واحد منها خرجت منه نغمات لو ان اهل الدنيا سمعوا نغمة منها لماتوا من الشوق و الطرب

Yes, O villager, in Jannat there are bells hanging on the trees. When one of them is sounded, beautiful sounds emerge, such that if the people of the world were to hear one sound from it, they would die from desire and happiness.^[8]

Our comment: When they wish to disparage this great Sahabi, they employ all types of deception, lies, and propaganda. Their only goal is to raise doubts regarding his narrations. At times they accuse him of lying, at times, they say that all of his narrations are absurdities, nonsense, and fairy tales and at times they accuse him of taking his information from Ka’b al Ahbar and Wahb ibn Munabbih, who they dub a Jew. These are among the many lies forged against him. We hope that the reader has managed to see truth in this discussion of the lies of ‘Abdul Hussain, Abu Rayyah, and others. Glory be to Allah, the greatest irony is that these accusations rebound back onto their Imams and apply to them to a greater extent, a fact that they did not realise!

NEXT⇒ Abu Rayyah Rejects the Hadith, “The Punishment of the One Who Refuses to Pay Zakat on the Day of Qiyamah…”

[1] Al Kafi al Shaf fi Takhrij Ahadith al Kashshaf, pg. 29.

[2] Bihar al Anwar, 8/126-127.

[3] Ibid., pg. 138.

[4] Ibid., pg. 146.

[5] Ibid., 8/196, the chapter of Jannat and its bounties.

[6] Ibid., 60/241-255.

[7] Ibid., 21/317.

[8] Anwar al No’maniyyah, 4/295, illumination regarding Jannat and its bounties.

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