A WOMAN CORRECTS A SCHOLAR BY IMAM ABUU MUS’AB In the Name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful First Words: A wise word is not anyone’s personal property. If Allah wills then He reforms great ulama’ (religious scholars) through women who are termed Naqis al-Aqal wad-deen (Incomplete in intellect and religion). This is the story of a scholar of Bani Isra’il whom a woman brought back on the right path. The Hadith: [Imam Malik has transmitted in his Muwatta that Yahya bin Sa’eed said that Qasim bin Muhammad said: My wife died and Muhammad bin Ka’b Al-Qurazi came to condole with me. He related to me that amongst the Bani Isra’il there was a pious learned man who was an authority (in religion). He had a wife whom he loved very much. She died and he felt such a great shock that he shut himself in his house, refrained from worldly pursuits and avoided meeting anyone. No one could visit him. A woman heard of that and went to his doors and said, ‘I have a religious question to ask him and I shall put it to him alone and it is not possible for me but to see him.” (Soon,) all those who were there went away disappointed but she was unmoved and did not go back insisting that there was no way out but to meet him. So, someone told him that there was a woman with a question and while other people had gone away she did not leave the door. The scholar allowed her in his house. The woman went to him and said that she had a question to ask. ‘What is it”, he enquired. She said, “I had borrowed some jewellery from a woman neighbor and wore it for a long time and it had been with me as a loan all this time. Now that woman wants it back. So, shall I return it to her?” He said, “Yes, by Allah, return it!” She pleaded, “But it has been with me for such a length of time… “He said, “That is why it makes it more imperative that you should return it for she gave it to you for such a long time at your request”. She said, ‘O you! The Lord be merciful to you! Why do you feel sorry for that which the Lord lent you (for a time) and then took it back from you? The Lord has a greater right than you.” The man contemplated over the matter and Allah granted him wisdom from her words.] (Malik, Hadith 555) Explanation/Commentry: Words of wisdom are not uttered by only the wise of the learned. Sometimes Allah causes an uneducated person to utter such wise words that very learned men benefit from that. In the foregoing narrative, a woman has been shown to speak wisely and without pretence to a learned scholar. In fact, she is shown to have used a psychological approach to convey to him the realities of life and she succeeded in bringing him out of his state of shock. Surely, man is sometimes suppressed by such a degree of shock that he becomes unable to shoulder responsibilities. This is what happened to the scholar. Although he was a great scholar, an authority who gave juristic guidance yet he was overwhelmed by grief. No one could know more than him that one must bear patiently sorrow for that is the way to please Allah and that is true faith and Islam. Obviously, he had not done that intentionally but he was so overwhelmed by sorrow that he had lost himself in it. Then Allah causes such a person to emerge from sorrow on hearing some simple words or on an ordinary experience. This scholar was awakened when the woman asked him for a ruling. He learnt or realized that his wife was a trust of Allah who as its Owner had all right to take her back. Just as he realized it, he came out of his sorrow. It was the same when the Holy Prophet (saw) died. The Companions (R.A) were very sad and sorrowful. They were dumbfounded with sorrow and did not know what to do. Then Abu Bakr (R.A) recited to them the verse of the Qur’an: {And Muhammad is but a Messenger} {Aal-Imran, 3:144} The Companions (R.A) were awakened to facts by this recital with a new spirit. Their restlessness gave way to peace and serenity. Surely, life is a trust bestowed by Allah. Man has been given it to use it properly. He must not betray the trust. Whenever, he wishes to take back his trust, he has every right to do so and no one can raise the slightest objection. Of course, there is bound to be sadness on the departure of someone and that is the right of love for him. But, if the sadness becomes an obstruction in discharging religious duties and other obligations then it is not praiseworthy but it is blameworthy. Lessons and Messages in the Hadith: 1.The first lesson we learn is that it is against Shari’ah to let ourselves be overwhelmed with sadness and sorrow to such an extent that we are unable to discharge our religious and other necessary duties. It is not approved by Allah. And it is a blameworthy act. This is because the sorrowful slave indicates by his behavior that he is not pleased with Allah’s pleasure. It is a grave sin to do that. His attitude also implies that he is displeased with what was decreed. 2.It is the right of those with whom we are acquainted that we condole with them. It is also a command of Shari’ah to condole with the bereaved and share his loss. 3.Words of comfort may be uttered when condoling. This is what Muhammad bin Ka’ab Al-Qurazi did when he consoled Qasim bin Muhammad. 4.This narrative tells us that even the learned and righteous become unaware sometimes and they lose the chain of their knowledge momentarily. But, they soon regain awareness on a slight indication. 5.It is the duty of the intelligent people to politely and wisely remind a scholar if he happens to do something out of unawareness or forgetfulness. The woman very wisely reminded the scholar what he should really do. 6.This narrative proves that the woman possessed great insight and was very intelligent. She knew very well that if a religious scholar succumbs to unawareness then he can become the cause of the unawareness of the entire world_all the people. She knew that she should try to bring him out of that condition. She also knew that it was very important to bring him back to facts and that is why she did not hesitate to surrender her dignity at his threshold. 7.Wisdom and insight is found in women too. Sometimes, they prove to be more intelligent and wise than men. This narrative is evidence of the statement. 8.Often examples and similtudes bring facts to light. This narrative emphasizes that we must use examples to convey our message or argument effectively and in a better way to the listener. The Qur’an has frequently used examples to explain its truth. The Messenger of Allah (saw) too often explained his teachings by giving examples. This shows that it is better and recommended to present examples in our speech and writings. 9.It is not improper to love one’s wife deeply. Rather, she has a right over it. It also is a means of chastity and modesty. This is proved by the Hadith. Nevertheless, it is imperative that one must not allow his love for his wife to overcome his duty to Allah and His commands, and he must not ignore the injunctions of Shari’ah because of his love for his wife. If his love for his wife causes him to neglect the injunctions of Shari’ah or to perpetrate sin then such a love is disallowed and unlawful. 10.When condoling with anyone it is better to relate events that may serve as guidance. Often people condole and express words of consolation to one who is bereaved but if he is doing something wrong his sin is overlooked on the idea that it is not proper to advice one who is afflicted. This is a wrong approach. It is as much the responsibility of one condoling to prevent anyone from committing a sin as it is to offer condolence. The scholar in the foregoing story was committing a sin by not being pleased with the pleasure of Allah and the woman politely drew his attention to it by citing an example. He benefited from that and came out of the condition of unawareness.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Aug 2013 19:20:40 +0000
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