مُفِيدُ الْمُسْتَفِيدِ فِي كُفْرِ تَارِكِ التَّوْحِيدِ
Benefits for Its Seeker Regarding the Kufr of Tawhîd's Forsaker
Muhammad bin Abd'il Wahhâb Rahimahullâhu Taâlâ
(1115 H-1206 H)11
[Preface]When a group from the people of Uyaynah apostated and when the people of Huraymilâ apostated, Shaykh'ul Islâm, the leader of the famous guides, Shaykh Muhammad bin Abd'il Wahhâb Rahimahullâhu Taâlâ was asked to pen down some words Allâh will benefit people with.
May Allâhu Taâlâ have mercy on him, he responded:[The Hadîth of Amr bin Abasah Radiyallâhu Anh]Muslim narrated in his Sahîh on the authority of Amr bin Abasah as-Sulamî Radiyallâhu Anh that he said:
In the era of ignorance, I believed that the people were upon misguidance and they were not upon anything (that would benefit them in the presence of Allâh). They used to worship the idols. Then I heard of a man in Makkah who was giving news. So, I rode my animal and went to him. I found the Messenger of Allâh Sallallâhu Alayhi wa Sallam hiding, while his people were acting audaciously against him. I adopted a friendly attitude (towards the Quraysh) until I managed to meet him in Makkah.
I asked him, "What are you?" He replied, "I am a Prophet." I asked, "What is a prophet?" He replied, "Allâh sent me." I asked, "With what did He send you?" He replied, "Keeping ties with kinship, breaking idols, and to unify Allâh without associating anything with Him." I asked, "Who is upon this with you?" He replied, "A free man and a slave."
Amr bin Abasah said: That day, with him was Abû Bakr and Bilâl. I said, "I will follow you." He said, "You will be unable to do this today. Don't you see my state and the state of the people? Rather, return to your family, when you hear that I am victorious, then come to me."
Amr bin Abasah said: So I returned to my family. I was with my family when the Messenger of Allâh Sallallâhu Alayhi wa Sallam went to Madînah. I used to ask about his news and ask people when he arrived in Madînah. When some of the inhabitants of Yathrib came, I asked them, "What did the man who went to Madînah do?" They said, "The people are hastening to him. His people wanted to kill him, but they were unsuccessful." After this, I came to Madînah, entered upon him, and said, "O Messenger of Allâh! Did you recognize me?" He said, "Yes, you are the man I met at Makkah."
Amr bin Abasah said: I said, "O Prophet of Allâh! Teach me what Allâh has taught you and I am ignorant of! Inform me of the prayer!" He said, "Pray the morning prayer. Then stop praying until the sun rises and elevates, for when it is rising, it rises between the horns of the devil, and the disbelievers prostrate to the sun at that time. Then pray, -for verily, the prayer is witnessed and attended by angels- until the shadow of the spear is the least (the sun is at its zenith); then stop praying, for at that time, Hell is heated up. When the shadow moves forward pray until the Asr prayer, for verily, the prayer is witnessed and attended by angels. Then stop praying until the sun sets, for verily, the sun sets between the horns of the devil, and the disbelievers prostrate to the sun at that time." Then Muslim narrated the rest of the Hadîth.12
Abu'l Abbâs Rahimahullâhu Taâlâ said, "The Nabî Sallallâhu Alayhi wa Sallam forbade from praying during sunrise and sunset. He did this by explaining that it rises and sets between the horns of the devil and that the disbelievers prostrate to the sun at that time. It is known that the believer does not intend to prostrate to other than Allâhu Taâlâ. It is also known that most of the people do not know that the sun rises and sets between the horns of the devil and that the disbelievers prostrate to the sun. The Nabî Sallallâhu Alayhi wa Sallam forbid from praying in this time, thus eliminating the object of resemblance.
What is also from this category is that when the Nabî Sallallâhu Alayhi wa Sallam prayed towards a stick or pillar, he would align it with his right eyebrow and it would not be directly in front of him. This is why he forbade praying towards anything that is worshipped besides Allâhu Taâlâ altogether. This is also why he forbade prostrating in front of a person, as it resembles prostrating to other than Allâh." End quote from Abu'l Abbâs.13
11- Ad-Durar'us Saniyyah, 9/396-446.
12- With similar wording in Muslim, Hadîth no. 832.
13- With similar wording in Ibnu Taymiyyah, Iqtidhâ'us Sirât'il Mustaqîm, 1/218-220.
