Explaining the hadeeth of the prophet being the guardian of whoever dies indebted and refuting the concept of Haazir Naazir
False Claim : The below hadeeth proves that, prophet (s.a.w) is omnipresent (Haazir Naazir) or he is still alive and knows everything or is alive like before (as he was)
Hammam b. Munabbih reported: This is what Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) narrated to us from Allah’s Messenger (may peace he upon him). And he narrated many ahadith, and one was this: Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him said: I am, according to the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic, nearest to the believers of all the human beings. So whoever amongst you dies in debt or leaves behind destitute children, you should call me (for help) ), for I am his guardian. And who amongst you leaves property, his inheritor is entitled to get it, whoever he is.
[Ref: Sahih Muslim, Book 11, Hadith 3947]
Subhanallah !, i am amazed at how people interpret ahadeeth or give interpretations to ahadeeth as per their whims and desires. The khawaarij used to do this :
Ubaidullah b. Abu Rafi’, the freed slave of the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him), said: When Haruria (the Khwarij) set out and as he was with ‘ali b. Abu Talib (Allah be pleased with him) they said,” There is no command but that of Allah.” Upon this ‘Ali said: The statement is true but it is intentionally applied (to support) a wrong (cause)…
[Ref: Bukhari Book #005, Hadith #2334]
وكان ابن عمر يراهم شرار خلق الله وقال إنهم انطلقوا إلى آيات نزلت في الكفار فجعلوها على المؤمنين
“Ibn Umar considered the Khawarij and the heretics as the worst beings in creation, and he said: They went to verses which were revealed about the disbelievers and applied them to the Believers.
[Ref: Sahih Bukhari Volume 9, Page No 49-50, Chapter on killing Khawarjites and Mulhidin]
Now, the hadeeth of Saheeh Muslim, has a context to it, which is self explanatory as mentioned below:
Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that when the body of a dead person having burden of debt upon him was brought to Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) he would ask whether he had left property enough to clear off his debt, and if the property left had been sufficient for that (purpose), he observed funeral prayer for him, otherwise he said (to his companions) “You observe prayer for your companion.” But when Allah opened the gateways of victory for him, he said: “I am nearer to the believers than themselves, so if anyone dies leaving a debt, its payment is my responsibility, and if anyone leaves a property, it goes to his heirs”[Ref: Sahih Muslim, Book 11, Book of rules of inheritance, Hadith 3944]
Imam Nawawi under these similar ahadeeth, comments in his sharh Muslim saying what is briefly quoted and translated below:
Imam nawawi (r.h) said the prophet (s.a.w) did not pray the funeral of those who died with a debt so as to instill fear, awareness and eagerness to pay off their debts (for it is a very severe matter *) so the people would strive in doing so due to the fear of the consequences it had and also of not having the prophet (s.a.w) pray over them. But this was during the former or in the beginning of the Islamic era when the prophet (s.a.w) did not have the means (resources/supply/money) to pay off the debt of those who couldn’t. This hadeeth is a proof of his prophethood for no one beside the messenger (s.a.w) had the audacity or the courage to take up the responsibility of paying the debt of those in need. Some said that the prophet (s.a.w) used to help these needy from Bait ul-Maal (the Muslim treasury) whereas some said he used to help them from his own personal sources and some believed or have been quoted to say that this was wajib upon the prophet (s.a.w) (as he was their guardian and closer to them than others) . Some were of the opinion that the prophet (s.a.w) used to pay off their debts as donations and our companions have differed over the ruling whether the one who died with a debt should be relieved of it (his debt) from the bait ul-Maal or not (i.e or from other sources) ….. cont.
[Ref: Sharh nawawi a’la muslim 11/60, Mukhtasar]
* Al-Nasaa’i (4605) narrated that Muhammad ibn Jahsh (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: We were sitting with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) when he raised his head towards the sky, then he put his palm on his forehead and said: “Subhaan-Allaah! What a strict issue has been revealed to me!” We remained silent and were afraid. The following morning I asked him, “O Messenger of Allaah, what is this strict issue that has been revealed?” He said, “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if a man were killed in battle for the sake of Allaah, then brought back to life, then killed and brought back to life again, then killed, and he owed a debt, he would not enter Paradise until his debt was paid off.” Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Nasaa’i, 4367.
As we can see Imam Nawawi (r.h) did not understand this hadeeth to mean that the prophet (s.a.w) was Haazir naazir or he was omnipresent or he was incharge of the orphans and needy until Qiyamah. And neither did any other muhadith interpret this hadeeth to interpret it as the claimers have and we seek refuge in Allah from manipulating the deen. This hadeeth means that as long as the prophet (s.a.w) was present among them, he was their guardian but after he screened himself from this world (i.e died), it is the responsibility of the Khalifa, Ameer, ruler, or anyone in charge of the Muslims.
Furthermore, if the claim of these low minded people are put to a test, we will find that it contradicts the sunnah of the prophet (s.a.w) and the salafus saaliheen. We will quote only a few examples for they shall suffice
If the messenger (s.a.w) was the incharge of all the orphans or indebted poor people until qiyamah, then indeed he would be the best of incharge and we would need nobody else to take his place. Nevertheless, to the contrary we see how the prophet (s.a.w) himself encouraged us from taking care of the orphans :
It was narrated that Sahl ibn Sa’d said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “I and the one who sponsors an orphan will be like this in Paradise” – and he gestured with his index and middle fingers, holding them slightly apart.
[Ref: Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4998]
Another version states:
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Among the Muslims the best house is the house where an orphan is being well-treated. The worst house among the Muslims is the house where an orphan is being ill-treated. I and the guardian of the orphan will be like this in the Garden,” indicating the closeness of his two fingers.
[Ref: Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated this hadeeth and it was recorded by Imam Bukhari in al-adab al-mufrad]
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “He who relieves the hardship of a believer in this world, Allah will relieve his hardship on the Day of Judgment; he who makes easy what is difficult, Allah will make it easy for him in the world and the Hereafter; he who conceals the faults of a Muslim, Allah will conceal his faults in the world and the Hereafter; Allah helps the servant so long as he helps his brother; ………cont.
[Sahih Muslim, Book 35, Number 6518]
Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “One who strives to help a widow or the poor is like one who struggles in the cause of Allah.”
[Sahih Muslim 2982]
The Shaabas used to take care of orphans , thus showing that they did not await the prophet (s.a.w) to come take care of them. Had the prophet (s.a.w) been alive like before, then they and we all know the prophet (s.a.w) does not back out from his promise, so they would have waited:
Abu Bakr ibn Hafs reported that ‘Abdullah (r.a) would not eat unless an orphan was at his table.
[Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 136, Saheeh]
Another similar narration states :
Al-Hasan reported that an orphan used to eat with Ibn ‘Umar. One day he called for food and looked for this orphan but could not find him. He arrived after Ibn ‘Umar had finished. Ibn ‘Umar called for more food to be brought to him but they did not have any. So he was brought sawiq and honey. He said, “Here, have this! By Allah, you have not been cheated!” Al-Hasan said, “By Allah, Ibn ‘Umar was not cheated!”
[Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 134, Da’eef] Shumaysa al-‘Atakiyya said, “The disciplining of orphans was mentioned in the presence of ‘A’isha (r.a) and she said, ‘I would beat an orphan until he submits.'”
[Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 142, Saheeh] During the funeral of Abu Ubayda (r.a) , Muadh (r.a) was praising him and amongst one of the praises he (r.a) said “ You were one of those who showed mercy to the orphans and poor ….
{See Shaikh Ali Muhammad as-Sallabi’s Biography of Umar , Vol. 1, Page 427 for this and more such references}
(Once) a delegation came from Iraq to Umar ibn al-Khattab (r.a) among whom was Al Ahnaf ibn Qays (r.a). It was an intensely hot summer day and Umar had wrapped his head in an Abayah and was daubing the zakah camels with pitch. He said ” Oh Ahnaf, put aside your garment and come help Ameer ul-Momineen (r.a) with this camel, for these are the zakah camels to which the orphans, widows and poor are entitled“……. cont..
[Ref: Akhbaar Umar page 343; Ashaab ar-Rasool by Mahmoud al-Masri, 1/156]
Even the wives of the prophet, such as ‘Aisha (r.a) and others would distribute money and resources to orphans, poor and etc without awaiting for the prophet (s.a.w) to come take care of them. Two such examples are :
Abdullah ibn Az-Zubair reported: I have not seen anyone more generous than Aisha and Asma, although their generosity was different. Aisha would gather things and after they had been collected, she would share them; as for Asma, should would not leave anything for tomorrow.
[Ref: Al-Bukhari, Al-Adab Al-Mufrad, Number 280, Sahih]
Another lengthy narration states that when Umar (r.a) (who used to give plenty to the ummal momineen) came and gave a handsome amount to ummal momineen Zaynab bint Jahsh (r.a), she distributed 3/4th of it to the needy which included the orphans and poor relatives
[Ref: Az-Zuhd, page 166 via Maalik and its chain is Saheeh]
Umar (r.a) was so vigilant, that if he noticed businessmen hoarding in their possession ample quanitity of goods, thereby depriving the poor or needy from it, he used to warn them and restrict them from doing so. Many such examples can be read at Mawsoo’at Fiqh Umar page 28 and Ibid page 29, Also mentioned in Muwatta of Maalik
Narrated Aslam:
Once I went with `Umar bin Al-Khattab to the market. A young woman followed `Umar and said, “O chief of the believers! My husband has died, leaving little children. By Allah, they have not even a sheep’s trotter to cook; they have no farms or animals. I am afraid that they may die because of hunger, and I am the daughter of Khufaf bin Ima Al-Ghafari, and my father witnessed the Pledge of allegiance) of Al-Hudaibiya with the Prophet.’ `Umar stopped and did not proceed, and said, “I welcome my near relative.” Then he went towards a strong camel which was tied in the house, and carried on to it, two sacks he had loaded with food grains and put between them money and clothes and gave her its rope to hold and said, “Lead it, and this provision will not finish till Allah gives you a good supply.” A man said, “O chief of the believers! You have given her too much.” “`Umar said disapprovingly. “May your mother be bereaved of you! By Allah, I have seen her father and brother besieging a fort for a long time and conquering it, and then we were discussing what their shares they would have from that war booty.
[Ref: Sahih al Bukhaari, Vol. 5, Book 59, Hadith 479]
Notice how ‘Umar (r.a) did not rebuke the women for not going to the prophet (s.a.w) for help?
Umar (r.a) was known to be harsher than the sword of any other man but a very gentle hearted man towards widows and orphans [Ref: Al Farooq Umar ibn al-Khattab by Muhammad Rasheed Rida page 54-55]
Such was the case with all the sahaabas and our aslaaf may allah be pleased with them all. They did not understand that hadeeth of prophet to mean that he (s.a.w) would be haazir naazir and all the orphans were to be put under his trust. If he (s.a.w) was haazir naazir then no one would dare take over or step over the promise or task which the prophet (s.a.w) declared to be due upon him.
Some examples and fataawas from the Salafus Saaliheen
عَنْ أَسْمَاءَ بْنِ عُبَيْدٍ قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِابْنِ سِيرِينَ: عِنْدِي يَتِيمٌ، قَالَ: اصْنَعْ بِهِ مَا تَصْنَعُ بِوَلَدِكَ، اضْرِبْهُ مَا تَضْرِبُ وَلَدَكَ.
Asma’ bint ‘Ubayd said, “I said to Ibn Sirin, ‘I have an orphan in my care.’ He said, ‘Treat him as you would treat your own child. Beat him as you would beat your own child.'”
[Ref: Al-Adab Al-Mufrad 140, Saheeh]
It is reported that there used to be poor people in Al-Madînah who didn’t know where they were getting their food from. When ‘Alî b. Husayn passed away, they started missing what they used to be given at night.
Abû Hamzah Al-Thumâlî narrates that ‘Alî b. Husayn used to carry bread on his back in the darkness of the night and follow the poor people (to give it to them). He used to say, “Charity in the darkness of the night extinguishes the Lords anger.”
‘Amr b. Thâbit reports that when ‘Alî b. Husayn died, they found marks on his back from the sacks of provisions he used to carry at night to the houses of the widows.
Shaybah b. Nu’âmah narrates that when ‘Alî b. Husayn died they found out that he used to provide for a hundred (poor) families.
[Ref: Al-Dhahabî in Siyar A’lâm Al-Nubalâ’ under the biography of ‘Alî b. Husayn Zayn Al-‘Âbidîn. Al Dhahabhi also wrote that :‘Alî b. Husayn, known as Zayn Al-‘Âbidîn for his devout worship, was the great-grandson of the Prophet – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him. He was the only surviving son of Husayn, son of ‘Ali b. Abî Tâlib – Allah be please with them]
It is reported that ‘Amr b. Qays – Al-Malâ`î said, “They (the sahaabas and his aslaaf) used to dislike a man giving his child something with which the child would then go out and be seen by a poor person, causing him to cry over his family; or be seen by an orphan who would then cry over his family.”
[Ref: Imâm Ahmad, Al-Zuhd Vol. 3 p268.. ‘Amr b. Qays Al-Malâ`î lived in the time of the younger Tâbi’ûn. He died in 146H]
yahya related to me from Malik from yahya ibnSaid that Said ibn al-Musayyab was asked whowas obliged to pay the rent for a woman whose husband divorced her while she was in a leased house. Said ibn al-Musayyab said,”Her husband is obliged to pay it.” Someone asked, “what if her husband does not have it?” He said, “Then she must pay it.” Someone asked, “And if she does not have it?” He said,”Then the Amir must pay it.”
[Ref: Mawatta Imam Maalik Book #29, Hadith #29.21.66]
Again putting your claim of Haazir Naazir to test, then according to you the prophet (s.a.w) should be aware of every orphan or indebted Muslim but this is not what we read in the below narrations:
Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went to the burial grounds and said, “peace be upon you, home of a people who believe! We shall be among you, Allah willing. I wish that I had seen our brothers!” The people with him said, “Messenger of Allah! Are we not your brothers?” “No,” he said, “you are my companions. Our brothers are those who have not yet come..… ”
[Ref: Muwatta Maalik, Book #2, Hadith #2.6.29]
Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that Ibn `Abbas said, “The Messenger of Allah stood up once and gave us a speech in which he said, (O people! You will be gathered to Allah while barefooted, naked and uncircumcised;(As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it.) The first among the creation who will be covered with clothes will be Ibrahim. Some men from my Ummah will be brought and taken to the left (to the Fire) and I will yell, `They are my followers!’ It will be said, `You do not know what they innvovated after you (in religion).’ So I will say just as the righteous servant (`Isa) said (And I was a witness over them while I dwelled amongst them, but when You took me ﴿up﴾, You were the Watcher over them, and You are a Witness to all things. If You punish them, they are Your servants, and if You forgive them, verily You, only You are the Almighty, the All-Wise.) ……..cont. Al-Bukhari also recorded this Hadith in the explanation of this Ayah(from tafsir Ibn Katheer Surah al-Maaidah verse 117)
Prophet peace be upon him said to Ali (r.a) :
الشاهد يرى ما لا يرى الغائب
The absent can not see what the witness see.
[Ref: Musnad Ahmad 1/83, Ziaa in al-Mukhtarah 1/248, Silsilah as-Saheeha no: 1904]
Some Fatwas of scholars against this ridiculous , Hindu mythology of Haazir Naazir
Imam Qadhi Khan Hanafi (d 529h) said:
وهو ما كان يعلم الغيب حين كان فى الاحياء فكيف بعد الموت
He (peace be upon him) did not know the knowledge of unseen when he was alive, so how would he then have it after his death[Fatawa Qazi Khaan, Kitaab as-Siyar 4/468]
Abdul Hai Laknavee was asked : “It is the habit of the people of this city that during a calamity they call upon the prophets and awliyaa for help and they believe they are haadhir naadhir (omnipresent and watching), and that when they call upon them, they listen and supplicate for their needs, so is this permissible or not?
ANSWER
As a summay we will just mention one quote. Mulla Alee Qaaree wites in the Explanation of Fiqh ul-Akbar,
“Knowledge of the unseen is such affair which is for Allaah alone and humans are informed by means of insights miracles or signs inorder to bring evidence,from those things in which this is possible and doing this in way that is not possible for them. This is the reason why the books of verdicts mention that if someone by looking at the clouds, claims to have knowledge of the unseen and says today it will rain, then this is disbelief and the hanafiyyah have declared the people to be disbelievers who believe the Messenger of Allaah (Sallalaahu Alayhee Was-Sallam) had knowledge of the unseen because it contradicts the saying of Allaah, “Say no one knows the unseen of the heavens and the earths, except Allaah” this is how it is mentioned in Masaa’irah (a hanafee book of aqeedah).”
So believing that the prophets and the awliyaa are haadhir naadhir and to believe they hear our calls of need all the time in every situation, even if they are far away, is clear Shirk because this attribute is specific and solely for Allaah and no one is equal to him in this.
Fataawa Bazaaziyyah mentions, “Someone married (ie did a nikah) without witnesses and said, “I make Allaah, his Messenger and his Angels my witnesses” then he becomes a disbeliever (Kaafir) because he held the belief that the Messenger of Allaah (Sallalahu Alayhee Was-Sallam) and the Angels know the unseen.”
Bazzaaziyyah also mentions. “Similarly our scholars (ie the hanafee scholars) said about those people who believe the souls of the Maashaykh are haadhir, then they are disbelievers (Kaafirs).”[Translated by Abu Hibban and Abu Khuzayma, and taken from brother Asim ul Haq]
IF EVERY HADEETH OR VERSE WERE TO BE TAKEN LITERALLY ONLY , THEN : One day Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) noticed a Bedouin leaving his camel without tying it and he asked the Bedouin, “Why don’t you tie down your camel?” The Bedouin answered, “I put my trust in Allah.” The Prophet then said, “Tie your camel first, then put your trust in Allah”
[Ref: Sunan At-Tirmidhi]
The above hadeeth would mean we have to first buy a camel, tie it and then go ahead to put our trust in Allah for every matter that we do? or are we to understand that it means we as humans should try to be careful and use the brains Allah gave us and then put our trust in Allah. Can we jump into the fire first without thinking and then claim to have our trust in Allah? Obviously not, thus, the hadeeth is not to be taken literally, rather a lesson, an advice and command is to be learnt and understood from this. There are more such examples such as the prophet (s.a.w) using the word “Adhaab” for travelling, yet we don’t consider travelling to be an Adhaab now do we? It is a metaphorical statement of the arabic language, and were we to take it literally, then no Muslim should be travelling today !
Scholars spend years understaning and learning the usools, starting from the very basic, then moving on through manners and then so on and so forth. They sacrifice their diet , wordly life and etc to gain the knowledge , and are so cautious in giving fatwas for they fear lest they err or utter something which Allah might disapprove off. For them the most beloved statement is ” I do not know” and here we have online-Muftis, and facebook shuyukhs interpreting ahadeeth according to their whimps and desires. Every verse, hadeeth, athaar, etc need to be understood in accordance to the righteous predeccors (salafus saaliheen) in the light of Qur’an and sunnah. This is deen my friend, so do not play with fire. Always understand and learn from the shade of scholars, for they are more learned, more wise and blessed by Allah.
For a detailed refute on the topic of Haazir Nazir please visit : http://www.systemoflife.com/articles/aqeedah/370-response-to-ja-al-haq-1st-chapter-evidences-of-haadir-naadir-1st-fasal#axzz2QGRoRoeE
