The Fifth Narration: Hussain ibn Sabrah, ‘Amr ibn Muslim, and I all went to visit Zaid ibn Arqam. As we sat at his side Hussain (ibn Sabrah) said to him, “O Zaid! You saw the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed behind him in salah, heard his speech, participated in military campaigns with him. ……

The Fifth Narration

Yazid ibn Hayyan says:

انطلقت أنا وحصين بن سبرة ، وعمرو بن مسلم ، إلى زيد بن أرقم ، فجلسنا إليه ، فقال له حصين : يا زيد ، رأيت رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – وصليت خلفه ، وسمعت حديثه ، وغزوت معه ، لقد أصبت يا زيد خيرا كثيرا . حدثنا يا زيد حديثا سمعت رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – وما شهدت معه . قال : بلى ، ابن أخي ، لقد قدم عهدي ، وكبرت سني ، ونسيت بعض الذي كنت أعي من رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – فما حدثتكم فاقبلوه ، وما لم أحدثكموه فلا تكلفوني ، قال : قام فينا رسول الله – صلى الله عليه وسلم – يوما خطيبا بماء يدعى خم ، فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ، ووعظ وذكر ، ثم قال : ” أما بعد ، أيها الناس ، فإنما أنا بشر يوشك أن يأتيني رسول ربي فأجيبه ، وإني تارك فيكم الثقلين : أولهما كتاب الله ، فيه الهدى والنور ، من استمسك به وأخذ به كان على الهدى ، ومن تركه وأخطأه كان على الضلالة ، وأهل بيتي ، أذكركم الله في أهل بيتي ” . ثلاث مرات . قال حصين : فمن أهل بيته يا زيد ؟ أليست نساؤه من أهل بيته ؟ قال : ” بلى ، نساؤه من أهل بيته ، ولكن أهل بيته من حرم الصدقة . قال : من هم ؟ قال : ” آل علي ، وآل عقيل ، وآل جعفر ، وآل العباس . قال حصين : وكل هؤلاء حرم الصدقة ؟ قال : ” نعم “

Hussain ibn Sabrah, ‘Amr ibn Muslim, and I all went to visit Zaid ibn Arqam. As we sat at his side Hussain (ibn Sabrah) said to him, “O Zaid! You saw the Messenger of Allah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prayed behind him in salah, heard his speech, participated in military campaigns with him. You witnessed much good O Zaid! Relate to us some of what you had heard from and witnessed by the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.”

He responded, “O my nephew! By Allah, I have become very old and a long time has passed (since the Prophet’s passing) and I have forgotten some of what I used to remember from the Prophet salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Accept from me what I relate and do not impose upon me (to narrate) what I no longer remember.”

He went on to say, “One day the Messenger salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam stood up to deliver a sermon at a watering stop known as Khumm. He praised and glorified Allah, admonished and reminded us and said, ‘Listen, O people, I am merely a human being. A Messenger from my Lord will soon approach me and I will respond to his call. I am leaving behind two weighty things; the First is the Book of Allah which contains guidance and illumination. Whoever hold firmly to it, will be guided and whoever leaves it will be misguided.”

Then he said, ‘(And the second is) My family (Ahlul Bayt). I remind you of Allah with regards to fulfilling the rights of my family. He said this three times’”

Hussain said to Zaid, “O Zaid! Who is his family? Aren’t his wives not part of his family?”

Zaid responded, “Yes! His wives are part of his family, but his family (in terms of blood relation) are those whom charity is unlawful for.”

Hussain asked, “Who are they?”

Zaid replied, “They are the family of ‘Ali, family of ‘Aqil, family of Jafar, and the family of Ibn ‘Abbas.”

Hussain then asked, “Is it not permitted to give charity to all of them?”

Zaid replied, “Yes.[1]

This narration appears thus in Sahih ibn Khuzaimah. It has also been recorded in Sahih Muslim.

Commentary and Lessons Learnt from this Narration:

This narration includes the Honorable Consorts of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam in the Ahlul Bayt, though not primarily as is understood from the statement ‘His wives are part of his family, but…’. It is due to this that sadaqah is impermissible for them but permissible for their freed slaves whilst the freed slaves of primary individuals from the Ahlul Bayt cannot accept sadaqah. This is further substantiated by the hadith of Barirah radiya Llahu ‘anha found in Sahih al Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, “It, charity, is her right and sadaqah is our right.”

Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam mentioned the Ahlul Bayt concurrent with the Qur’an to emphasize their esteemed status.

The repetition of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam was to stress the sincerity of his love and compassion. Furthermore, this would ensure that no one would have an excuse to fall lax in this regard.

Another reason for the repetition was so that the ummah would exercise patience with the Ahlul Bayt on any pitfall of theirs.

This narration holds glad tidings for the Ahlus Sunnah wa al Jama’ah who have held on firmly to these parting advices of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. They have practiced upon the Qur’an, revered the Ahlul Bayt, and stuck by their character and jurisprudic capabilities. This is in stark contrast to the other groups, two of whom are notable. One, who ceased practicing upon the Qur’an, proclaimed the Muslims disbelievers, and murdered many of the Muslims. The other, who claimed love for the Ahlul Bayt whilst blatantly attributing falsities to them, interpolating their faith, and waged war against their beliefs.

This narration is a sign of the true prophethood of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. He prophesied the misguidance of those who do not hold firmly to the Qur’an and do not revere the Ahlul Bayt. History remains proof of the truth of his salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam

The desirability of pronouncing the virtues of the Ahlul Bayt, especially on public platforms.

Refraining from adopting extreme beliefs regarding the Ahlul Bayt. Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam referring to himself said, ‘I am merely a human being’ and thus the Ahlul Bayt too are nothing more.

The narration is explicit that the Banu Hashim fall part of the Ahlul Bayt. The statement of Zaid radiya Llahu ‘anhu in this narration will be considered as the statement of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. Other narrations give strength to this fact as well.[2]

This narration further unequivocally declares sadaqah as impermissible for the Banu Hashim. The statement of Zaid is not one that can be logically deduced. It is of the speech of Rasulullah salla Llahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. There are many other narrations like this some of which will be explained in this book.

The desirability of giving a sermon whilst traveling if the need presents itself. If not, one should exercise restraint from extra activities in travel.

NEXT⇒ The Sixth Narration

[1] Sahih ibn Khuzaimah, Hadith: 2357.

[2] See hadith fifteen and thirty-one of this book.

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