Mujib
03-13-2004, 01:15 AM
OBTAINING BLESSINGS (TABARRUK) THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUS
(A:) To hold that things have properties that cause benefit or harm independently of the will of Allah is unbelief (kufr), whether such properties are considered natural or supernatural. But the contention of certain people that showing veneration (ta`zim) for the righteous or that obtaining blessings (tabarruk) through them or their effects constitutes worship of them or associating other with Allah (shirk) is not supportable by the prophetic sunna, which attests to the contrary, as may be seen from the following hadiths:
(1) Bukhari relates that `Uthman ibn `Abdullah said: “My wife sent me to Umm Salama with a cup of water [here the subnarrator Isra’il closed three fingers to show its size] in which to dip a lock containing some of the Prophet’s hair (Allah bless him and give him peace). Whenever a person was suffering from the evil eye or an illness, they would send her a vessel of water [A: which Umm Salama would dip the hair in, for treating the ill by their drinking it or washing with it]. I looked into the metal bell [N: holding the lock of hair] and saw some red hairs.”
(2) Bukhari relates from Abu Musa that “the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) called for a vessel of water, washed his hands and face in it, spat a mouthful of water back into it and then said to Abu Musa and Bilal, ‘Drink from it and pour the rest over your faces and chests.’”
(3) Bukhari relates from Mahmud ibn Rabi` that “when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) performed ablution, the Companions almost fought over the excess water.”
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) would never have permitted the like of this if there were any suspicion of associating partners with Allah (shirk) in it. In each of the above hadiths and others, there is a clear basis for the legal validity of obtaining blessings through the effects of the righteous (tabarruk), as it was done with the Prophet’s consent and wish by the Companions, this being the reason that Muslims after them have also done so. And Allah knows best.
Source: Reliance of the Traveller translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Notes and Appendices, w31.0-w31.1. The words of Shaykh `Abd al-Wakil Durubi are introduced by the letter A, and those of Shaykh Nuh `Ali Salman by the letter N.
(A:) To hold that things have properties that cause benefit or harm independently of the will of Allah is unbelief (kufr), whether such properties are considered natural or supernatural. But the contention of certain people that showing veneration (ta`zim) for the righteous or that obtaining blessings (tabarruk) through them or their effects constitutes worship of them or associating other with Allah (shirk) is not supportable by the prophetic sunna, which attests to the contrary, as may be seen from the following hadiths:
(1) Bukhari relates that `Uthman ibn `Abdullah said: “My wife sent me to Umm Salama with a cup of water [here the subnarrator Isra’il closed three fingers to show its size] in which to dip a lock containing some of the Prophet’s hair (Allah bless him and give him peace). Whenever a person was suffering from the evil eye or an illness, they would send her a vessel of water [A: which Umm Salama would dip the hair in, for treating the ill by their drinking it or washing with it]. I looked into the metal bell [N: holding the lock of hair] and saw some red hairs.”
(2) Bukhari relates from Abu Musa that “the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) called for a vessel of water, washed his hands and face in it, spat a mouthful of water back into it and then said to Abu Musa and Bilal, ‘Drink from it and pour the rest over your faces and chests.’”
(3) Bukhari relates from Mahmud ibn Rabi` that “when the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) performed ablution, the Companions almost fought over the excess water.”
The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) would never have permitted the like of this if there were any suspicion of associating partners with Allah (shirk) in it. In each of the above hadiths and others, there is a clear basis for the legal validity of obtaining blessings through the effects of the righteous (tabarruk), as it was done with the Prophet’s consent and wish by the Companions, this being the reason that Muslims after them have also done so. And Allah knows best.
Source: Reliance of the Traveller translated by Shaykh Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Notes and Appendices, w31.0-w31.1. The words of Shaykh `Abd al-Wakil Durubi are introduced by the letter A, and those of Shaykh Nuh `Ali Salman by the letter N.