05-31-2003, 09:08 PM
by Sheikh Salim Morgan
From Ibn Masood (ra) who said that the
Prophet (sas) said: "Among that which
reached the people from the words of the
earlier prophethood: If you feel no shame,
then do whatever you wish." (Bukhari)
The Prophet (sas) informed us that this statement was part of one of the previously communicated teachings from Allah and that it was passed around among the peoples until it reached the beginning of this nation. Another version of this hadith starts out: "Nothing has reached the
people from the words of the previous prophethoods
except this..."
In any case, NOTHING which is allegedly from the
previous revelations can be trusted or said to contain truth or wisdom unless it is specifically confirmed by Allah's final communication to mankind, the one sent to Muhammad (sas) and the ONLY one which is preserved intact.
The meaning of these words can go two ways:
First Meaning:
The meaning is NOT an order to "do whatever you wish" which is the apparent meaning of the words, rather its meaning is condemnation or prohibition of that. Within this possible linguistic construction, there are two possible meanings:
1.That it constitutes a threat and a warning. Thus the meaning is: If you have no shame, then do whatever you wish and Allah will repay it fully and appropriately. Allah said:
{Those who deviate from truth
regarding our signs are not hidden
from us. Is the one thrown into the
fire better or the one who comes as
a believer on Qiyama? Do
whatever you wish for He surely
sees all that you do.}
{So worship whatever you like
beside Allah. Say, the losers are
those who lose themselves and
their families on Qiyama. Verily,
that is the clearest of losses.}
2.That it constitutes and informational statement. Thus the meaning would be: Whoever feels no shame will do whatever they wish, for that which prevents the commission of evil is shame and whoever has no shame will descend into all manner of obscenity and sin. This concept of an order which only means information is similar to the Prophet's (sas) statement: "Whoever knowingly lied about me, let him prepare himself for his place in the fire."
Shame is part of belief (iman).
From Abu Huraira from the Prophet
(sas) who said: "Faith is some seventy
odd parts and shame is one of the parts
of faith."
Ashajj ibn 'Asar said: Allah's Messenger
(sas) said to me, "You have two
attributes which Allah loves." I said,
"And what are they." He (sas) said:
"Maturity and shame." I said, "Have
they been with me since long ago or just
recently?" He (sas) said: "Since long
ago." I said, "Praise be to Allah who put
in my nature two attributes which He
loves."
There are two kinds of shame:
1.That which is innate and of the nature of the person.
Al-Jarraah ibn Abdullah Al-Hakamiy said: "I stayed away from sins out of shame for forty years and only after that I acquired some piety."
2.That which is acquired and part of a change one makes in themself for Allah.
From Abdullah ibn Mas'ood who said
that Allah's messenger (sas) said:
"Have shame before Allah as is
befitting." We said: "O Allah's
Messenger, we do have shame praise
be to Allah." He (sas) said: "Notthat,
rather having shame before Allah as is
befitting is to guard your head and
what it contains, your stomach and
what it takes in, to remember death
and disintegration and whoever desires
the hereafter leaves the ornamentation
of this world. Whoever does all that
has shame before Allah as is befitting.
(At-Tirmidhi said we only know this
hadith from this chain. It may be of
the words of Ibn Mas'ood and not
authenticated all the way to the
Prophet (sas)).
The Second Meaning
Another way of understanding this hadith is that the command to "do whatever you wish" is just that - an order. Under this contruction, the meaning is: "If that which you intend or desire to do is not something the doing of which causes shame - before Allah or before people - because it is of the good deeds, obedience, good character and good manners, then go ahead and do it."
Along these lines, some of the salaf said when asked about [muroo'a] (good and noble character), they answered:
That you should never do in secret that which would cause you shame in public.
From Abi Tamima Al-Hujaimiy from a
man from his people who said: "I met
Allah's Messenger (sas) on one of the
roads of Al-Madinah ... and I said to him
'Upon you be peace O Messenger of
Allah'. He (sas) said to me 'Upon you be
peace is the greeting of the dead. Upon
you be peace is the greeting of the dead.
Upon you be peace is the greeting of the
dead. Peace be upon you. Peace be
upon you', two or three times like that ...
Then I asked him about Al-Ma'roof
(good deeds) and he (sas) said:
"Do not belittle any good deeds. Even if
it is giving a piece of rope, giving a
shoelace, pouring water from your cup
into the container of one seeking water,
removing something harmful from the
road or path, to meet your brother with a
friendly face, to greet him with salaam,
to give companionship to the lonely and
even if someone speakes ill of you with
something that he knows to be true about
you and you likewise know it to be true
of him, do not speak ill of him so his
reward will be yours and his sin will be
upon him. And, that which your ears
would be pleased to hear (i.e., people
mentioning it about you), do it and that
which your ears would not like to hear,
stay away from it.
Whenever Islam defines a term, the Islamic definition supercedes and modifies and changes whatever the word meant among the people before that.
From Ishaq, who is ibn Suwaid, that Aba
Qatadah reported that: we were in the
presence of 'Imraan ibn Husain and a
group of us and among us was Bushair
ibn Ka'ab. 'Imraan narrated to us that
day saying: Allah's Messenger (sas)
said: "Shame is good - all of it." Or, it
was "All shame is good." Whereupon
Bushair ibn Ka'ab said: We find in some
of the books or the wisdom that some of
it is calmness and dignity for Allah's
sake and some of it is weakness. He
(i.e., 'Imraan) became angry until his
eyes became red and he said: "I see
myself narrating to you from Allah's
messenger (sas) and you oppose it?!" ...
Islam Began and Returns Strange
Islam started "strange" and went back to being "strange". Be among the "strangers" who "recitify what the people have corrupted".
From Ibn Umar (ra) that the Prophet
(sas) said: "Verily Islam started out
strange and will return to being strange
just as it started and it will shrink back to
between the two Mosques like a snake
retreating into its hole."